UNITED NATIONS
GATE, March 19 –
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
19
four
hours before a
UN noon briefing where
Dujarric's
Deputy Farhan
Haq who did not
answer a single
question from
Inner City Press
but referred to
the "Dominican
Republic of the
Congo," Inner
City Press submitted 633 questions: "There
are more than 400+
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 1-16 (!)
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
19-1: On
Cambodia, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any on
that Phnom Penh
Municipal Court
last week issued
multiple arrest
warrants against
former
opposition
leader Sam
Rainsy and seven
other people
charged with
conspiracy to
treason and
incitement.
In a statement
issued by the
court on Tuesday
and obtained
yesterday, Judge
Koy Sao issued
eight warrants
for Mr Rainsy
and the seven
who fled
overseas in the
wake of the CNRP
being dissolved
in 2017.
The seven are
Eng Chhai Eang,
Mu Sochua, Ou
Chanrith, Ho
Vann, Long Ry,
Men Sothavrin
and Tok
Vanchan?
March
19-2: On the
Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act
(under which
Patrick Ho of
CEFC was
convicted, but
still not
audited by the
SG), what is the
SG's comment and
action on this,
copied to Inner
City Press:
"Contracts for
telecom
infrastructure
with more than
400% cost higher
and double paid
some services to
SITA supplier
(DDoS,
etc).
26.3.3 Some
dubious
contracts such
as Mr. Gabriel
Rosca have
worked on
Valencia with
the DFS team to
develop some
cloud templates
and after that
UN brought the
same templates
through a
Spanish company,
close to Mr.
Gabriel
Rosca.
26.3.4 Mr. Amat
Gaye
participated for
a week, in
Washington DC,
at a conference
related Project
Management
Institute (PMI),
although the
OICT Project
Management
methodology is
Prince 2.
26.3.4 Some
aspects related
licensing and
support that the
UN paid.
26.3.5 Mr.
Gabriel Rosca -
without to hold
a BS' degree,
diplomas or
certifications,
although in his
resume appear
that he has a BS
diploma, he is
formally
appointed as a
project manager
although he is
not, and he
works as a
system
administrator,
however, the UN
pays with 30+ %
more than for a
resource without
BS diploma. He
was nominated as
a “strategic
resource” on the
cloud project
notwithstanding
he did not have
practical
experience to
implement cloud.
He is an evident
conflict of
interests with
the UN"?
March
19-3: On UN
sexual abuse,
beyond the
questions from
Inner City Press
that you refused
to answer or
acknowledge
yesterday, what
is the SG's
response to the
criticism of him
by Code
Blue?
March
19-4: On press
freedom and
Venezuela, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any on
that " In a
report this
month, the
Caracas-based
Institute for
Press and
Society (IPYS)
said that so far
this year, 25
websites have
been blocked
during events of
public interest,
such as last
month's
Venezuela aid
concert on the
Colombian side
of the border
and efforts by
opposition
leaders to move
humanitarian
supplies into
the
country.
Blocked domains
included widely
read independent
news websites
such as Efecto
Cocuyo, El
Pitazo, and
Caraota Digital,
as well as
YouTube and
Instagram.
"Most websites
with anything
valuable to read
get blocked,"
Azpúrua said.
"Live coverage
of anything that
is newsworthy is
censored'"?
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
18-1: On the SEA
report which was
not sent to
Inner City Press
by the UN but by
others, and
which Inner City
Press
voluntarily
refrained from
reporting on
until the 10 am
deadline, please
before 10 am
explain (a) six
allegations were
considered
conduct in
violation of
non-fraternization
policies and not
to contain
indications of
sexual
exploitation or
abuse -
question: did
these cases not
involve sex?
March
18-2: On Kenya,
what is the SG's
comment and the
UN's action on
the starvation
in
Turkana?
March
18-3: On
"reform," on
Friday it was
said that 27 new
Resident
Coordinators are
being recruited.
Since these are
not on the SG's
webpage, please
immediately
state which 27
RC positions are
being recruited
for, and how
much it will
cost the UN and
the
public.
March
18-5: On Uganda,
what is the SG's
comment and
action if any on
reports that
least 104 people
who were taken
to various
health centres
after eating
poisoned
porridge
supplied by the
World Food
Programme (WFP),
have been
discharged.
Karamoja region
was last week
thrown into
panic after the
lead agency in
fighting hunger
in the
famine-prone
area,
distributed
Super Cereal
porridge, sugar
and cooking oil
to 120 families
at Alakas Health
Centre II in
Amudat District,
which turned out
to be
poisonous?
March
18-6: What is
the SG's comment
and action on
this, copied to
Inner City
Press, on a "
possible FCPA
violation may
have occurred
between
Microsoft
Corporation and
the United
Nations [now
see here.]
March
18-7: On
cyber-censorship
in Turkey, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any on
that the
judicial
authorities
blocked almost
3,000 online
articles last
year and the
government is
beginning to
clamp down on
online video
services? 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
15-1: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any on
that 26 people
who were
arrested in
Cameroon in
January during
protests called
by opposition
leader Maurice
Kamto have been
given one-year
jail terms for
“illegal
gathering and
demonstration”
or just planning
to take part in
a non-political
demonstration?
What does the UN
say about the
reported murder
of civilians by
Biya's forces
yesterday in Sop
and Melim?
March
15-5: Please
explain the
basis of Inner
City Press
yesterday
afternoon being
singled out and
pushed out of
the metal
detector line at
the Visitors
Entrance of the
UN despite
being
invited and with
a ticket to the
press freedom /
CSW event
"Journalism and
the Empowerment
of Women: New
Challenges in
the Digital
World." The DSS
officers said it
was based on a
"barred" list
and that they
would show me
the list once I
left. But they
never did. This
is a request to
see this barred
list, and
separately to be
informed how
people are put
on it, what due
process if any
is afford, and
how a person put
on the list can
appeal. In my
case this is a
request to be
informed what
person or
persons put me
on the list, and
why.
March
14-3: On UN
bribery and
Patrick Ho's
sentencing
submission --
where did the $1
million a year
in
"administration"
go? Is any going
to be returned,
as was done in
the case of Sun
Kian Ip
Foundation?
Again: the
filing states
inter alia that
"Beginning in
2013, the CEFC
Think Tank also
held annual
symposia at the
United Nations
(“UN”) devoted
to issues raised
at the most
recent annual
political
convention in
China. In
addition, the
CEFC Think Tank,
in consultation
with the UN
Department of
Economic and
Social Affairs
(“UN-DESA”),
established and
funded the
“Powering the
Future We Want”
grant—an annual
$1 million award
for a promising
sustainable
energy project
(the “Energy
Grant”). The
CEFC Think Tank
donated
approximately $2
million to the
UN every year to
fund the prize
and its
administration."
What entity or
subdivision of
the UN took the
$1 million
beyond the $1
million "prize"?
What are the
details on the
2013, 2014,
2015, 2016, 2017
and 2018
"symposia" by
this UN bribery
group? Again,
why has SG not
initiated an
audit at least
like Ban Ki-moon
did on Sun Kian
Ip - and why did
the SG omit his
paid board
position with
Gulbenkian
Foundation,
which tried to
sell its oil
company to CEFC,
from his public
financial
disclosure
covering 2016?
When are the
already delayed
public financial
disclosures,
including that
of Alison Smale
who had not yet
published
anything, be
made
available?
March
13-5: On
Venezuela and
press freedom,
what is the SG's
comment and
action if any on
the
disappearance /
detention of
journalist
Luis Carlos
Diaz? 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
11-3: Also on
Uganda, perhaps
relatedly, what
is the SG's
comment and
action on
President
Museveni's
threat to pull
Ugandan troops
from
AMISOM?
March
8-1: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any on
the holding over
of barrister
Michele Ndoki,
whom the
government
previously shot,
on charges like
Maurice Kamto of
"rebellion"?
March
8-2: On UN
corruption and
bribery,
yesterday
evening Inner
City Press saw
in front of the
UN and
questioned
Francis Lorenzo,
who pleaded
guilty to UN
bribery. Please
immediately
state the last
time convicted
UN bribery felon
Francis Lorenzo
entered the UN
(same for former
El Salvador
Ambassador
Carlos Garcia,
who it was shown
facilitied
Lorenzo's
illegal acts,
and for Patrick
Ho), and state
whether Lorenzo
is affiliated in
any way to the
Dominican
Republic mission
to the UN.
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