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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT NY Post

UNITED NATIONS, November 20 – Two days after Inner City Press exclusively reported that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was giving the top job at the UN Alliance of Civilizations, now on November 20 it is confirmed. Yet Guterres who had Inner City Press roughed up on June 22 and July 3 still has it banned from entering the UN. Here's his November 20 announcement: "Following consultations, United Nations Secretary-General has appointed Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé of Spain as his High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, from 1 January 2019.

Mr. Moratinos succeeds Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser of Qatar, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude for his vision and leadership in enhancing dialogue with stakeholders and strengthening the work and objectives of the Alliance.

Mr. Moratinos has committed his professional and political career to international relationships and development cooperation, notably as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (2004-2010), holding the presidency of the United Nations Security Council and chairmanships-in-office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe and the Council of the European Union." Today's UN and its partners are well versed in hypocrisy - but sometimes things go so far they must be noted in advance. On November 19 the UN Alliance of Civilizations, which engaged in open censorship inside the UN in May 2018 by spiking a film screening to cover up for Egypt and Turkey, opened an event with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, himself a censor, giving a hypocritical speech. Guterres said "Just a few hours’ drive from here is the city of Pittsburgh. Less than a month ago, Pittsburgh was the scene of a horrendous attack." True. But when Guterres gave his speech about the attack, he first tried to get Park East Synagogue security to oust Inner City Press from the event, as it asks about his own compliance with the principles of the UN Charter, while he covered up slaughter in Cameroon in exchange for favors in the UN Budget Committee that Cameroon chairs, his son Pedro's undisclosed business in Africa and his misuse of public funds to fly to Lisbon 16 times. Guterres continued: "I am pleased to welcome you to this opening session of the eighth Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. I thank High-Representative Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser for his service in guiding the Alliance over the past six years." And now, as Inner City Press has exclusive reported from sources even while banned from the UN for the 138th day, banner Guterres later in the day will meet with the person is set to be given the UNAOC top post by Guterres: Miguel Ángel Moratinos. Inner City Press, roughed up by Guterres' Security on June 22 and July 3 and now put by Guterres on his secret banned list, will cover it from outside. This is today's UN. On December 5 in an expensive catering hall near the UN, Secretary General Antonio Guterres who this summer had investigative Inner City Press roughed up, ousted and banned ever since will appear in a tuxedo as a guest of honor - of the UN Censorship Alliance. The tickets are expensive and the guest list is secret. Previously this group, formally the United Nations Correspondents Association, took money from now convicted UN briber Ng Lap Seng and then provide Ng a photo op with the Secretary General. Who will be paying this year?

  What we can report is that the UN Correspondents Association's prize for broadcast media is sponsored - that is, paid for - by the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the same group which in May 2018 canceled an event in order to censor testimony about Egypt, Turkey and others. Photo here. Inner City Press (video of the type used as a pretext to oust it here), and even then how self servingly UNCA, along with CNN's Brian Selter and others, expressed outrage.

 Now UNCA is taking their money, just as they took Ng Lap Seng's money then lobbied to get Inner City Press which reported on it ousted from the UN.

  So on the morning of November 8, banned from the UN noon briefing for the 127th day by Antonio Guterres - but according to spokesman Stephane Dujarric, at the request of at least some bigwigs in UNCA, the UN's Censorship Alliance, Inner City Press submitted written questions to Guterres, his Deputy Amina J. Mohammad, his Global Communicator Alison Smale and two spokesmen including: "November 8-5: It appears that the “UN Alliance of Civilizations” is sponsoring an award at an event the SG is slated to attend on December 5. Please state whether any UN money is being used to sponsor this award, and what safeguards are in place such that access to or photos with the SG are not exchanged for money as presumptively took place with regard to now incarcerated UN briber Ng Lap Seng." More than six hours later, not a single answer to any of the questions, despite Smale's promise to UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression David Kaye that questions would be answered. There's more sleaze, back in the news again: after the Sri Lanka government of Mahinda Rajapaksa and Palitha Kohona, and military figure turned UN adviser Shavendra Silva slaughtered tens of thousands of Tamil civilians, UNCA gave what was called a “UN screening” to their war crimes denial film Lies Agreed To. The decision was made, without consulting then UNCA board members like the author, by UNCA President Giampaolo Pioli. Who is organizing this year's tuxedo sleaze fest with UNAOC? Giampaoli Pioli, and his handpicked successor. We'll have more on this.

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