UNITED NATIONS
GATE, April
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 April
5
more than two
hours
before the UN
noon briefing Inner
City Press and FUNCA (the
Free UN Coalition for
Access) submitted
701 questions: "There
are more than 300+
questions UNanswered.
And Monday Sept 17,
Tuesday Sept 18, Wed
Sept 19 and Thurs
and Fri Sept 21, that
whole week, no questions
answered. Nor Sept 25,
nor 28th - nor October 2
nor 3. While
appreciating and using
what was sent on March
28 in partial request to
Inner City Press'
questions about the UN
bribery sentence of
Patrick Ho of CEFC and
CEFC's 2018 attempt to
buy the oil company of
Gulbenkian Foundation
which paid the SG, 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. 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 nor 15
nor 18 nor 19 nor 20 nor
21 nor 22 nor 25 nor 26
nor 27 nor March 1 - 27
(!) And
now April
1, 3-4.
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.
April
5-1: On Sri Lanka,
please explain why SG's
resident coordinator
Hanaa Singer met with
Mahinda Rajapaksa given
his history, and confirm
or deny that as reported
she said "Sri Lanka
would be a great role
model as she has set a
great example in
achieving the SDGs set
out by the UN." Again,
since on "reform," on
March 15 it was said
that 27 new Resident
Coordinators are being
recruited and these are
not on the SG's webpage,
where are these
recruitment notices?
Does it impact Ms.
Singer? Again, please
immediately state which
27 RC positions are
being recruited for, and
how much it will cost
the UN and the
public.
April
5-2: On Saudi Arabia,
what is the SG's comment
and action if any on
that Saudi Arabia
detained seven
activists, including two
US citizens, on
Thursday, after the
killing of journalist
Jamal Khashoggi last
year? Salah al-Haidar, a
dual Saudi-US citizen
who is the son of
prominent women's rights
defender Aziza
al-Yousef, was one of
those arrested.
April
5-3: On Nigeria, what
are the comments and
actions of the SG and
separately DSG Amina J
Mohammed on that Vvdeo
footage circulating
online appears to
implicate Nigerian
security forces engaged
in abuse of a group of
men. The footage shows
around two dozen armed
men wearing military
camouflage repeatedly
whip about 15 men. The
beating caused huge
welts on the victims’
backs. They were forced
to lay on the ground,
screaming in pain. One
man was ordered to keep
his eyes open despite
the blazing sun. A man
in uniform could be
heard saying that the
victims were bandits.
Another man wore a shirt
with the insignia
'Special Force'?
April
5-4: On Cambodia, what
is the SG's comment and
action, given his own
total lack of due
process for the Press,
that opposition party
leader Kem Sokha remains
under house arrest for
over 18 months. On March
19, 2019, an
investigating judge in
Cambodia’s politically
controlled courts
rejected Sokha’s renewed
request to drop the
charges against him. The
judge provided no update
or additional
information about the
completion of his
investigation and
whether the case will be
sent to trial.
April
5-5: On press freedom
and Australia, what is
the SG's comment and
action given his own
critiques of social
media that New laws
designed to prevent
videos of terrorist
attacks being shared on
social media may go too
far and criminalise
whistleblowers, legal
experts say. The
Unlawful Showing of
Abhorrent Violent
Material Bill became law
this afternoon after
being proposed by the
Prime Minister only six
days ago - a very quick
turnaround, and one
that's raised concerns
the impact hasn't been
thought through.
Under the laws, social
media companies risk
fines of up to 10 per
cent of the platform's
annual turnover if they
take too long to remove
"abhorrent violent
content". The Law
Council of Australia,
said the legislation
doesn't provide any
exception for videos
shared in the public
interest. "The
difficulty with this
legislation is it
doesn't provide a
defence for
whistleblowers or media
companies who are
publishing atrocities
they are trying to draw
to the world's
attention," he
said. "We are very
concerned about this
impacting on media
freedom." What is each
of yours - particularly
the SG's - response to
the letter written and
sent by Burundi activist
Manisha Lievin? 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.
April
4-1: On Myanmar and the
Rohingya, what is the
SG's comment and action
on that in a valley in
Buthidaung township,
near a village that was
home to Rohingya Muslim
families. “A
military airstrike
killed five people,
including one of our
villagers, at around 4
pm yesterday,” Zaw Kir
Ahmed, a community
leader from Kin Taung
village said?
April
4-2: On UN bribery and
censorship, what now is
the SG's comment and
response to the April
3article in Serbia about
CEFC which Mr Guterres
has refused to audit -
and about his refusal to
answer, and censorship
of Press "Gutereš had
and had his own
financial link with the
CEFC, through the
Gulbenkian Foundation.
On the orders of
Guteres, on June 22 and
July 3, 2018, the
security came to me, and
I was banned from
reporting from the UN.
In fact, Gutereš took
advantage of his
security from the UN to
distance me from his
speech at the Park East
Synagogue, and recently
physically stopped me
while he entered the
mosque in 96th
Street" and now this
- "Patrick
Ho, a businessman who
was sentenced to three
years in prison for his
role in the world's
corrupting affair,
claims investigative
journalist Matthew
Russell Li in the
documentary "Hong Kong
Connection, Patrick Ho's
List." Li, in a
documentary broadcast on
the Hong Kong
Radio-Television portal,
revealed Jeremic's role
in this affair, a tens
of millions of dollars,
as well as his private
dilutes, which he made
while serving as the
chairman of the United
Nations General
Assembly. -
Jeremic's testimony at
the Ho trial was
problematic because he
turned out to be working
for "CEFC Energy" (a
Chinese conglomerate led
by Ho, prim. Aut.) While
serving as the chairman
of the UN General
Assembly. He took their
money, exchanged e-mails
with them ... He did
many things. It is
surprising to me that
the focus of the
prosecution was at Ho.
The prosecutors used his
testimony to show how Ho
established a
relationship, and in
fact what Jeremic was
doing might be worse for
the public - Li
said.
Investigative reporters
also uncovered the flows
of money flowing to
Jeremic's accounts. Hoov
CEFC paid Jeremic as a
consultant a total of $
5.3 million. It turns
out that some companies
that paid this money are
completely phantom,
because they do not
exist at the registered
addresses at all."
As always, what is the
process of appealing or
getting a hearing on the
now 274 day ban amid
this questions, or
process to reapply which
was denied summarily on
2 January 2019? How is
this not
censorship?) and
the translated 22 minute
documentary about
Patrick Ho and CEFC's
bribes through the UN
including Mr. Guterres'
refusal to answer Inner
City Press' question on
it on 5 December 2018,
and that Inner City
Press for allegedly not
complying with interview
"rules" has been
disqualified from
reporting within the
UN? Again,
the sentencing
memorandum includes
quotes from his e-mails
regarding aiming to
violate sanctions and
deal in arms not only to
Chad but also South
Sudan, Libya &
Qatar. What is the SG's
comment and action?
Again, why has no audit
even been begun of CEFC,
at least like the one
Mr. Guterres'
predecessor did of Ng
Lap Seng's Sun Kian Ip
Foundation? Why did Mr
Guterres omit payments
from Gulbenkian
Foundation, which sought
to sell its oil company
Partex to CEFC China
Energy, from his public
financial disclosure
covering 2016? Where are
the more recent public
financial disclosures -
has Mr. Guterres ended
that program? Why?
April
3-3: On UN sexual abuse
and exploitation, please
immediately provide all
if-asked further
information about the
allegations put online
on March 28 when there
was no noon briefing,
regarding Burundi and
Republic of Congo
peacekeepers and still
the Cameroon troops'
rape allegations you
have not provide any
further information on.
Again, 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? (b) four
allegations involved
sexual harassment,
physical assault and
paternity claims, which
were considered not to
contain indications of
sexual exploitation and
abuse - question: isn't
fathering a child with a
beneficiary of UN
"assistance" per se
exploitation? (c) three
allegations involved
sexual assaults between
United Nations
personnel, but not with
beneficiaries of
assistance - question:
confirm this was "blue
on blue," on which the
UN has previously
refused to answer Inner
City Press; (d) one
allegation involved a
member of United Nations
personnel not associated
with a peacekeeping
mission; one allegation
did not involve sexual
exploitation and abuse -
question - what are the
bases of these
statement?; and one
allegation was received
by OIOS in 2018 but will
be recorded in 2019,
once it is referred to
the Member State
concerned - question:
what is the member state
concerned and what have
they done, as of 18
March 2019?
April
3-5: On Cameroon and
freedom of expression,
what is the SG's comment
and action if any on
that "popular makossa
icon Longkana Ango Simon
aka Longue Longue was on
Tuesday arrested in
Douala by security
forces, sources have
said. Sources say Longue
Longue was arrested at a
hotel in Douala before
he was ferried to the
Judicial Police in
Bonanjo for
questioning.
Though no reeason has
been advanced for his
arrest, sources say it
could be connected to a
recent video the artist
published on social
media criticising the
regime in place.
In the video released
last week, the artist
claimed the detained
leader of the Cameroon
Renaissance Movement
Maurice Kamto had won
the October 7
Presidential election
but did not provide
proofs to back his
claims up. He
accused incumbent Paul
Biya of stealing Kamto’s
challenging the regime
to organise elections
city by city and Kamto
will emerge
winner. He
described Maurice
Kamto’s arrest and
detention as politically
motivated"? What is each
of yours - particularly
the SG's - response to
the letter written and
sent by Burundi activist
Manisha Lievin? 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.
April
1-2: Given UN
consultants' testimony
to Inner City Press
about being misled by
the UN about their tax
liabilities, and
criticism of the UN for
shirking
responsibilities to its
host countries and
works, what IS the UN
policy ont the (over)
use of consultants to
avoid paying benefits,
specifically at UNOPS in
Geneva about which Inner
City Press has
previously asked without
answer, and now also in
Bonn?
March
25-5: On your /
Spokesperson
Dujarric's
recent podcast
interview,
please
immediately
explain what was
meant by a
relationship
with journalists
of "mutually
assured
destruction" -
and why the
podcast links
are mostly
404/no longer
online.
March
25-8: On the
SG's March 22
appearance on
96th Street,
please
immediately
provide the name
of the UN DSS
officer who
spoke to NYPD on
96th Street to
get them to
restraint in
advance Inner
City Press while
UN Photo and
others like AP
walked freely,
the basis for
this censorship
and any and all
records
regarding
it.
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