UNITED NATIONS
GATE, June
24
– 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 June 24
three
hours before the
UN noon
briefing in
which Dujarric's
deputy Haq
fielded referred
to previous
canned
expressions of
concern about
Myanmar on
which Guterres
is
"shameful"
Inner
City Press submitted 966
questions,
including why
it continues
to be
lawlessly banned
from entering
to ask
questions in
person:
"There
are more than
500+
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 belatedly
sent on
May 20
about sexual
exploitation
allegations
and 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, 3-30 (one
answer
in the
entire month -
corrupt), and
now May
1-13, 15-17,
21-31,
June
3-21,
many
questions.
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.
June
24-1: On China
and North
Korea, what is
the SG's
comment and
action if any
on that at
least 30 North
Korean
escapees have
been caught in
a series of
raids across
China since
April. “The
crackdown is
severe,” said
Y.H. Kim,
chairman of
the North
Korean
Refugees Human
Rights
Association of
Korea.
The recent
arrests have
mainly
happened away
from the North
Korean border,
where most
escapees get
caught.
Activists
worry about
this
development.
“Raiding a
house? I’ve
only seen it
two or three
times,” said
Kim.
June
24-2: On FAO,
what is the
SG's canned
statement on
the elevation
of China's Qu
Dongyu as head
of FAO (and
again will Mr.
Guterres
consider Andy
Tsang's record
including on
Hong Kong in
the UNODC
"race") and
specifically
on FAO, does
the SG as head
of the UN
system believe
FAO should
continue with
criminal
defamation
charges
against the
investigative
monthly
Italian
Insider, whose
editor could
be sentenced
to at least
three years in
prison and
ordered to pay
more than
100,000 euros
in damages
under Italy’s
criminal libel
law in
connection
with his
coverage of
alleged
corruption and
nepotism
within the
FAO, which has
its
headquarters
in Rome.
Beyond
thankfully
outgoing José
Graziano da
Silva, four
our other FAO
officials,
including
Graziano’s
chief of a
staff, are
also suing
Phillips for
around 100,000
euros...
June
24-3: On UN
retaliation
and
corruption,
AGAIN as asked
June 14,
please
immediately
explain the
raid on the
office and
computer of
Tony Wilson,
Chief,
Financial
Policy and
Internal
Controls at
the D-1 level
with the
Office of
Programme
Planning,
Finance and
Budget, and
provide the
SG's response
to what's
been
sent to Inner
City Press by
UN staff
worried about
further
retaliation
including now
this: "My
computers were
also taken for
this
investigation.
I got them
back the next
day supposedly
because they
weren't
supposed to
take them. I'm
still not sure
if I'm under
investigation
or
not.
Tony Wilson
had been my
Director since
like 2006
until the
recent
'reforms.'"
June
24-4: On press
freedom and
Ethiopia,
beyond the
SG's canned
weekend
statement,
what is his
position on
the cut off of
the Internet
in the
country? In
the UN, what
has the
accountability
been for Lt
Ronald E.
Dobbins and
those those
refused on
camera to give
their names?
What is each
of yours -
particularly
the SG's -
response to
the letter
written and
sent by
Burundi
activist
Manisha
Lievin? To the
April 15
letter to the
SG, DSG and
USG Smale for
which receipt
has not even
been
acknowledged,
other than a
single lawless
line from
MALU: "Your
media
accreditation
request, with
reference no:
M66561081, has
been
declined"?
This is a
formal request
for the UN's
explanation of
grounds for
this denied,
and since
SGcentral, the
SG's chief of
staff and
Deputy SG and
USG Smale
haven't even
confirmed
receipt of the
April 15
letter much
less
responded, for
reconsideration.
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.
June
21-4: On press
freedom and
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
belated
comments,
after the
golden statue
and UN Budget
Committee
deals, and
action if any
on that Paul
Biya's censors
have charged
journalist
Paul Chouta
with criminal
defamation and
"hate speech"?
Five police
officers
arrested
Chouta, who
works as a
reporter for
the privately
owned Cameroon
Web news
website, in
response to a
defamation
complaint
filed by
French
Cameroonian
writer
Calixthe
Beyala,
according to
Cameroon Web
editor-in-chief
Emmanuel
Vitus. Chouta
was detained
at the local
police
headquarters
following his
arrest, and on
May 31 was
denied bail,
according to
his lawyer,
Emmanuel Simh.
On June 10, he
was charged
with
defamation,
spreading
false news,
and hate
speech. His
next court
appearance is
scheduled for
July 9...
June
18-2: On the
SG and China,
what is his
response to
Dolkun Isa,
president of
the World
Uyghur
Congress, who
called the
Xinjiang visit
by Voronkov
“an
irrevocable
mistake on the
part of
General
Secretary
Guterres.”
“It is truly
shameful for
the UN
June
14-5: Since
the SG claimed
publicly that
the mansion he
lives in
"cannot" be
sold, please
immediately
provide any
and all
documents with
such a
restriction,
and separately
explain why
the concept of
cy pres or
reformation of
donor intent
has not been
explored.
Separately,
Boutros
Boutros Galli
wrote in his
book that the
building was
given by
Arthur
Houghton
through the
United Nations
Association of
the USA. What
actual
inquires, with
UNA-USA or any
successor to
Houghton or
Corning Glass,
has Guterres
made?
June
11-1: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any
on this report
from Chinese
state media:
"YAOUNDE, June
10 (Xinhua) --
Cameroon's
House Speaker
of National
Assembly
Cavaye Yeguie
Djibril on
Monday
denounced
foreign
interference
in the
country's
internal
affairs which
he referred to
as
"conspiracy."
"Cameroon has
become an
object of
conspiracy
intended to
destabilize
the country.
To justify
their
interference
in internal
affairs, the
conspirators
pretend to
denounce it."
Again, how
many offices /
desk does the
Secretariat
give to
Chinese state
media inside
the UN?
June
4-3: On UN
sexual abuse
and
exploitation,
AGAIN as
requested on
the morning of
June 3
immediately
disclose what
IS the new
"allegation of
SEA" which the
UN on the
morning of
June 3
announced by
e-mail.
Clicking
through to the
UN website,
the previously
announced case
against South
Africa
peacekeeper is
no longer at
the top of the
page, and it
is unclear
what the new
allegation is.
This lack of
clarity is
unacceptable.
May
15-3: On the
Public
Financial
Disclosures
for 2017
belatedly
published over
the weekend of
April 27-28,
please state
why Mohammed
Ibn Chambas,
like the
Executive
Secretary of
the UN
Biodiversity
Convention,
Cristiana
Paşca-Palmer,
UNICEF's
Henriette
Fore, with
documented
links to
ExxonMobil and
others, USG
Mark Lowcock
(undisclosed
while the
Secretariat's
speaker at the
UNSC Arria on
Cameroon),
UNCTAD's
Mukhisa
Kituyi, UN
Women's
Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka,
UNOG chief
Michael
Moller, UNDP
chief Achim
Steiner,
Heidi Mendoza,
Adama Dieng,
UN Security
chief Peter
Drennan,
Rosemary
DiCarlo and
Nicholas
Haysum, is not
even on the
list. OIOS
chief
Inga-Britt
Ahlenius
reported - why
not Mendoza?
Where IS
Mendoza? Isn't
it a bad
practice for
the UN's head
(anti)
genocide
definition
official to
conceal from
the public
even cursory
financial
disclosure?
Did DiCarlo
decline to
make any
public
disclosure
despite being
the UN's top
political
officer? What
is the even
plausible
applicability
of this line
from SG
Guterres' web
page: "Please
note that
given the
multi-cultural
environment of
the UN and the
often security
sensitive
locations
where UN staff
are either
working or
come from,
full public
disclosure may
not always be
a viable or
sensible
option for
certain staff
members"? Why
has Guterres
changed the
previous
system in a
which a
"choosing not
to disclose"
statement was
upload and
listed, to one
which helps
conceal who
reports and
who does
not?
Again, state
why
considering
the UN bribery
conviction of
Patrick Ho of
CEFC, and
CEFC's attempt
to purchase
the oil
company of
Gulbenkian
Foundation
which paid Mr.
Guterres in
2016 was
omitted from
his online
public
financial
disclosure
covering 2016,
and why
Guterres has
not even
started an
audit of CEFC
in the
UN.
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