UNITED NATIONS
GATE, March 5
– Inner City Press on July 5
was banned from entering the
UN, the day after it filed a
criminal complaint against
UN Security for physically
removing it from covering
the meeting about the UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' $6.7 billion
peacekeeping budget, as
witnessed and essentially
cheered on by senior UN
official Christian Saunders,
tearing its reporter's
shirt, painfully and
intentionally twisting his
arm and slamming shut and
damaging his laptop. On
August 17, Guterres' Global
Communicator Alison Smale
issued a letter banning
Inner City Press from the UN
- for life. With no due
process. She and Guterres
have put the UN in the US
Press Freedom Tracker, here.
Smale said,
again, that the UN would
answer Press questions to
the Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric and his Office; Dujarric said the same on
camera.
On March 5 two hours before a Dujarric
briefing after Guterres
invited a
trustee of the
Century Fund -
as a
journalist -
to nosh on halibut
off the record, Inner City
Press submitted 585 questions: There are
more than 300+ questions
UNanswered. While appreciating
and using what was sent on
January 29 after it was
read out in the briefing
room, no answers on Dec 17
or 18 or 19 or 20 or 21 -
another FIVE days in a
row, even as SG's direct
conflicts of interest and
failure to disclose
emerge, and a newest low.
While
appreciating the
lone partial
response to Question
Feb 28-3,
nothing on Dec 24 or
Dec 26 or Dec 27 or
Dec 28, or January
2, 3 or 4 or 8 or 9
or 10 or 11 or 14 or
15 or 16 or 17 or 18
or 21 or 22 or 23 or
24 or 25 or 28 -
that was FIFTEEN
week-days in a row,
apparently under
orders, then a
simple post-facto
answer. Now what? No
answers on January
30 nor 31 nor
February 1 nor 4 nor
5 nor 6 nor 7 nor 11
nor 12 nor 13 nor 14
or 15 nor 18 nor 19
nor 20 nor 21 nor 22
nor 25 nor 26 nor 27
nor March 1
nor 4. No
answers at all
during those four
days of the US v Ho
trial showing
corruption in the UN
says it all. This
ban is just
censorship - and
Inner City Press
must be allowed back
into the noon
briefing to ask its
questions in person
and follow up on
them.
"March
5-1: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's
comment and action
if any on the
continued detention
of Michèle Ndoki has
been been held by
the Special
Operations Unit in
Yaounde since she
was arrested by
security forces
under unclear
circumstances?
Again, as not
answered, on
Cameroon and
Nigeria, what are
the comments and
actions of the SG
and separately of
the DSG on the
Nigeria court
decision that the
refoulement of Mr.
Ayuk Tabe and 46
others was illegal
and they should be
returned to Nigeria
from Cameroon? What
is the SG's comment
and action on the
reported burning
down of Bamunkumbit
in NW Cameroon by
government
soldiers?
March
5-2: On Saudi
Arabia, what is the
SG's comment and
action if any on
that Saudi Arabia is
moving to prosecute
a group of women’s
rights activists who
have been detained
for several months,
its state news
agency has
announced?
March
5-3: On CAR in light
of the UN
Secretariat's
bragging about the
Khartoum deal, and
your Office's
refusal to answer
questions about what
the outgoing SRSG
told Inner City
Press about UN
sexual abuse and
exploitation in CAR,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on that the peace
agreement in CAR,
signed in early
February, has been
in turmoil since the
establishment of a
new government on
Sunday: five out of
the fourteen armed
groups that signed
it have expressed
their disagreement
with the new
government
team?
March
5-4: On SEA, UN
harrassment and
impunity, what is
the SG's comment and
action on that on
Prashanti Tiwari, on
whose case Inner
City Press has
previously
repeatedly asked
your office about
without answer,
Bihar Police's CID
has ordered the
investigating
officer to file a
charge sheet against
him. In the
FIR filed in
February last year,
Prashanti had also
accused the UNFPA
country head for
India and Ena Singh
of assault. What did
the SG every do
about this
abuse?
March
5-5: On China, what
is the SG's comment
and action if any on
reports that
Chinese hackers have
targeted more than
two dozen
universities in the
U.S. and around the
globe as part of an
elaborate scheme to
steal research about
maritime technology
being developed for
military use?
March
5-6: On Japan and
due process, what is
the SG's comment and
action if any on
Carlos Ghosn now
having been detained
for more than 100
days without
charges?
March
5-7: Please
immediately state
who, with public
funds, the SG
invited to eat
halibut with him on
March 4, and why it
was not on his
public schedule.
Please state whether
the UN considers
"The Century Fund"
to be a media and if
so, why - and,
AGAIN, immediately
explain how it is
legitimate to ban
from enter into the
UN the media that
has been asking
about these and
other questions,
with no hearing or
appeal.
March
4-2: On Haiti and
the UN vehicle
killing civilians
that I have repeated
asked your Office
about without
answer, now Inner
City Press has been
asked, " UN bus
crash in Haiti. DO
you know who the
best person to
call/email to get a
response from the UN
is?" Now asking you
for whom they should
contact, and your
belated
answer.
March
4-3: On India and
Pakistan, what is
the SG's comment and
action on a UN
system Goodwill
Ambassador, Priyanka
Chopra, tweeting
"Jai Hind" after
India's airstrikes
on Pakistan, and on
the petition that
she be removed from
any UN
position?
March
4-4: What is the
SG's comment and
action on the
BuzzFeedNews scoop
that the World Wide
Fund for Nature
funds vicious
paramilitary forces
to fight
poaching?
March
4-5: On Sudan and
Qatar, what is the
SG's comment and
action on
whistleblowers
telling Inner City
Press that UNAMID
staff improperly
share information
with Qatar's
intelligence
service?
March
4-6: On Sudan, what
is the SG's comment
and action on that
ICC-indicted Omar
al-Bashir on Friday
delegated his powers
and authority as
head of the ruling
National Congress
Party to its deputy
head, Ahmed Mohamed
Haroun - who is also
indicted by the ICC?
Again, how many
times has Mr.
Guterres met Bashir,
and why? Has he met
Ahmed Haroun?
March
4-7: On
sustainability and
waste, given that
all of the second
floor lights at the
UN residence were
ablaze on March 2
while it was still
daylight outside
(and no DSS in
front), what is the
SG's policy on use
of electricity in
the residence, and
why were all the
lights on when, it
appears, he was not
in the
residence?
February
26-2: On sexual
abuse and
exploitation, beyond
the if-asked
information about
recent cases Inner
City Press has
requested that your
Office has refused
to provide as it
previously did, what
is the SG's response
to the criticism
that his "civil
society advisory
group" is misnamed,
not representative
of civil
society?
February
26-4: On Venezuela
and the the press
freedom the SG spoke
about in Geneva
yesterday, what is
his comment and
action if any on the
reported detention
of Univision's Jorge
Ramos by the
authorities? AGAIN,
immediately explain
how it is legitimate
to ban from enter
into the UN the
media that has been
asking about these
and other questions,
with no hearing or
appeal.
February
25-1: On Chad and
France, on which
your Office has
refused to answer
for three weeks, now
it is alleged that
the rebel group
France bombed is
funded by Qatar.
What is the SG's
comment and action,
including in light
of evidence UN NGO
China Energy Fund
Committee offered
weapons for oil to
Idriss Deby. Again,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on the now second
set of French
airstrikes on
Chad?
February
25-2: On UN
spending, DGACM and
OSSC, please confirm
or deny that
Argentina informed
DGACM is would /
could not pay to fly
UN interpreters
business class to
the upcoming OSSC
meeting there, and
that interpreters
have been cajoled to
"volunteer" to fly
economy by being
given additional
time off, to be paid
for by all member
states. Also, is USG
Pollard flying
economy - or
business class?
Why?
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