UNITED NATIONS
GATE, Sept 4
– Inner City Press
on 5 July
2018 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' Department
of Global Communication
issued a letter
banning Inner City
Press from the UN -
for life. With no
due process.
Guterres has
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 September
4 more
than three
hours before a
noon
briefing by Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric with
in the front
row two state
media and a
retiree,
after the July 26
noon briefing
had no
questions at all,
video here,
Inner
City Press submitted 1185
questions,
including why
it continues
to be
lawlessly banned
from entering
to ask
questions in
person:
"There
are more than
700+
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
August 7
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
3-28,
and July 1-2,
8-31 and August
1-5,
8-30,
Sept 3 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.
September
4-1: On UN
opacity,
please
immediately
state: where
IS Workneh
Gebeyehu
Negewo, whom
SG Guterres
back on 8
March 2019
named as
director
general of the
United Nations
Office at
Nairobi. Inner
City Press'
sources in
Kenya tell it
he has STILL
not been seen
there. Why has
the UN of
Guterres said
nothing?
September
4-2: On
Tunisia, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any
on that the
Indictment
Chamber of the
Court of
Appeal of
Tunis, on
Tuesday
evening,
rejected the
request for
the release of
"Heart of
Tunisia"
presidential
candidate
Nabil Karoui
who was
arrested last
August 23 on
suspicion of
money
laundering and
tax evasion
following a
complaint
filed against
him by
organisation I
Watch?
September
4-3: On press
freedom (and
China's
bribery) and
Australia,
what is the
SG's comment
and action if
any on that Dr
Chau Chak
Wing's
defamation
case against
the ABC's Four
Corners
highlights the
inadequacies
of Australia's
defamation
laws.
Two relatively
safe things to
say about Dr
Chau Chak Wing
are that he is
very rich and
very
litigious. He
has this year
taken down The
Sydney Morning
Herald and the
ABC in
defamation
cases.
September
4-4: On
Bangladesh,
what is the
SG's comment
and action if
any on that
BNP
Chairperson
Khaleda Zia
sought bail
from the High
Court (HC) in
Zia Charitable
Trust
Corruption
case in which
she has been
sentenced to
seven years’
imprisonment
by a lower
court. Khaleda
submitted a
bail petition
to the HC
through her
lawyer
Barrister
Kayser Kamal
saying that
she is
seriously ill
as she has
been suffering
from different
complicated
diseases.
September
4-5: On press
freedom and
the DRC which
the SG just
left while
saying nothing
about this,
what is his
comment and
action now if
any dozens of
media outlets
have been shut
down in the
Democratic
Republic of
Congo in the
latest
crackdown
against
journalists, a
local media
rights group
said on
Tuesday.
Congolese
group
Journalist in
Danger (JED)
said "around
thirty" media
outlets were
closed "around
the
country".
"They were
accused of not
paying taxes,"
Tshivis
Tshivuadi,
JED's
secretary
general
said.
September
4-6: On UNRWA,
what is the
SG's response
to the Swedish
comment that
Krähenbühl,
appointed a
colleague who
he was
romantically
involved with
as adviser.
“It is awful
to abuse UN
resources. The
leadership of
the UN agency
UNRWA should
be replaced if
the
allegations
are true”,
says Peter
Eriksson,
Swedish
Minister for
International
Development
Cooperation.
September
4-7: What is
the SG's
comment and
action on his
USG Melissa
Fleming
publishing the
personal
identifying
information of
a refugee girl
and her
family, which
publication is
illegal under
a number of
countries'
(and courts')
laws? Has OIOS
"taken note"
of it?
September 4-8:
Immediately
explain the
single lawless
line from MALU
on 30 August
2019:
"Greetings
Matthew Lee
from Inner
City Press,
Your media
accreditation
request, with
reference no:
M5413398, has
been declined
for the
following
reason: Media
accreditation
was withdrawn
on 17 August
2018." This is
a formal
request for
the UN's
explanation of
grounds for
this denial.
And a demand
for answer to
these
questions,
which MALU has
declined to
answer:
Who made the
decision?
Where is the
list of those
accredited by
[MALU]?
What and to
whom is the
process of
appeal?
September
3-3: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
belated
comment and
action if any
post golden
statute to
that ten
leaders of the
separatist
Ambazonia
Interim
Government in
Cameroon
lodged an
appeal on
August 26,
2019, against
their August
20 convictions
and life
sentences by a
military court
following a
trial that
raises serious
concerns of
due process
and violations
of fair-trial
rights.
All the
alleged
evidence
against the
men was only
presented to
the defense in
court during a
single 17-hour
overnight
hearing that
started on
August 19. The
court admitted
thousands of
pages of
statements and
documents as
evidence
against the
accused and
over 1,000
items of
forensic
evidence, such
as guns,
spears, and
laptops.
Sisiku Ayuk
Tabe and nine
other leaders
had been
arrested in
January 2018
in Nigeria’s
capital,
Abuja, and
forcibly
returned to
Cameroon, in
an
extrajudicial
transfer -
what did
Guterres, or
Melissa
Fleming, do on
that?
September
3-4: On China
and Xinjiang,
what is the
SG's comment
and action if
any on that
the number of
people
arrested and
imprisoned in
China's
Xinjiang
skyrocketed in
2017,
according to
official data,
as Beijing
tightens its
grip on the
troubled
region with
surveillance
and mass
detentions.
One in five
arrests made
in China in
2017 took
place in
Xinjiang,
although the
region is home
to just two
per cent of
the country's
population,
data from the
local
prosecutor's
office
shows...
September
3-5: On
Colombia and
press freedom,
what is the
SG's comment
and action on
that
Colombia’s
renowned
public
television
news program,
Noticias Uno,
will be taken
off the air,
the program’s
producer said
Sunday.
September
3-16 On Hong
Kong, what is
the SG's
comment and
action on the
Hong Kong
government
failing to
submit the
long overdue
human rights
report to the
United
Nations.
Signatories to
the
International
Covenant on
Civil and
Political
Rights are
required to
ensure that
basic civil
and political
rights are
protected...
September
3-7: On Gabon,
what is the
SG's
knowledge,
comment and
action if any
on Gabon
saying Ali
Bongo has not
been admitted
to hospital in
London, but is
on a private
visit to the
UK capital
where he will
undergo
routine
medical
checks, a
statement from
the presidency
says.
The
60-year-old is
recovering
from a stroke
that he had
while on a
trip to Saudi
Arabia last
October. “The
president is
not
hospitalised…
but is in his
private
residence in
London, where
he took a few
days off with
his family."
What is the
source of
funds of
Bongo's London
private
residence?
September
3-8: On UNSC
member Kuwait,
what are the
SG's belated
comments and
actions if any
on that more
than a dozen
Bidun
activists
detained in
Kuwait since
July 2019
began a hunger
strike on
August 22 to
protest human
rights
violations
against
themselves and
the Bidun
community...
September
3-9: On
Cameroon and
press freedom,
what are the
SG's belated
comments and
actions if any
on that Amadou
Vamoulke, the
head of the
Cameroon Radio
Television for
nine years in
which he
repeatedly
spoke out
against the
government’s
monopoly on
television
coverage and
the
criminalization
of media
workers,
officially
arrested and
detained at
the Yaounde
Kondengui
Prison in
2016?
September
3-10: Again,
regarding the
statement sent
on August 28
by the Under
Secretary
General of
DSS, copied to
Hua Jiang and
others, please
immediately
explain
a) why, since
DSS states
that it does
not have a ban
/ bar / block
on me but only
enforces that
I not exercise
the rights of
a UN
accredited
journalist
(which were
stripped from
me without any
hearing or
right to
appeal), I
have in the
past year been
blocked from
entering the
UN even with
invited with a
ticket,
and b)
why, since DSS
states that it
does not have
a ban / bar /
block on me
but only
enforces that
I not exercise
the rights of
a UN
accredited
journalist
(which were
stripped from
me without any
hearing or
right to
appeal), my
August 24
application to
enter the UN
like 100s of
other
correspondents
to cover the
upcoming UNGA
high level
week has not
yet been
granted,
and c)
with regard to
USG Michaud
writing
that "On
10 July 2018
UNDSS escorted
Mr. Matthew
Lee from the
UNHQ complex
after he
attempted to
gain
unauthorized
access to a
locked area" -
explain, at
long last,
what this
"locked area"
was, since it
was only the
(unlocked)
Vienna Cafe
outside the UN
Budget
Committee
meeting which
by the rules I
was allowed to
cover,
and d)
with regard to
USG Michaud
writing that
the "DSS role
is now limited
to ensuring
that
unaccredited
individuals do
not enter the
premises," how
it is that
tourists, and
NGO visitors,
who are not
accredited by
DPI/DGC are
allowed in by
DSS, but I
have not been
for the past
year. Again,
please
immediately
explain wny my
August 24
application to
enter the UN
like 100s of
other
correspondents
to cover the
upcoming UNGA
high level
week has not
yet been
granted
September
3-11: Also on
access to the
UN, please
immediately
provide the
UN's response
to this
complaint
received by
Inner City
Press: Mamadou
Sy and Assetou
Sy living in
NYCHA Dyckman
houses at 3716
10th Avenue
apartment 4A
ny ny 10034
running an
organization
Called “ USA
Mali
charitable
association of
New York” also
known as
UMACA.
They obtained
a 501c3
through me
which they
used to get
CSW status at
the United
Nations. The
problem there
is they used
that status to
bring in many
many people to
the UN grounds
in NYC by
getting them
UN passes.
More
disturbing is
the amount of
people they
traffic in to
the USA with
their status
as CSW members
by the UN
General
Assembly.
September
3-12: On
Burundi and
Tanzania, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any
on that
Tanzania plans
to send back
Burundi
refugees to
their homeland
soil as at
October 1. The
Tanzanian
government
said that they
were working
with the
United Nation
(UN) to secure
their return
effect
effectively.
Question: how
is Tanzania
working with
the UN? Do the
UN and SG
agree with
this forced
refoulement?
September
3-13: On UN
sexual
exploitation
as banned
Inner City
Press asked
each of you
yesterday
morning
without any
response, "On
UN sexual
exploitation
and abuse -
alleged - this
is a request
that you
immediately
provide the
"if asked"
information
supplied about
other cases in
the past
before Inner
City Press was
banned, about
the cursory
update this
morning
listing a SEA
case by a
Republic of
Congo
(Brazzaville)
peacekeeper at
MINUSCA in
CAR. ...
September
3-17: In light
of the death
of Jeffrey
Epstein, now
on August 27
multiply
accused of sex
trafficking
along with
Ghislaine
Maxwell, the
subject of
a September
4 SDNY hearing
who was
allowed to
promote her
now closed
charity in the
UN Press
Briefing Room,
as Inner City
Press asked
without any UN
response on
July 22,
please
immediately
disclose all
UN
interactions
with his
Ghislaine
Maxwell's
TerraMar
Project and
relatedly,
with Paolo
Zampolli...
September
3-19: On press
freedom and
Cameroon, on
which you
refused to
answer on
August 13
despite saying
the office was
staffed and
answering, now
more specific:
what is the
SG's comment
and action if
any, post
golden statue,
to that Paul
Atanga Nji,
territorial
administration
minister, says
Cameroon's
journalists
are becoming
highly
unpatriotic.
"They have one
main
objective,
just to
sabotage
government
action, to
promote
secessionist
tendencies,"
said Nji. "I
urge them to
be
responsible.
Those who do
not want to
respect the
laws will be
booked as
being
recalcitrant
and will be
treated as
such"... Now
that the US
Court of
Appeals for
the Second
Circuit has
ruled against
public
officials
blocking
critics on
Twitter even
if the
official
claims their
account is
private, what
is the
justification
for UNSG
Spokesperson
Stephane
Dujarric, with
the UN flag in
his profile
photo and
Guterres
promoting
content,
blocking Inner
City Press?
What is SG
Guterres'
response /
reaction to UN
DSS and
Guterres'
actions on
Inner City
Press being
listed in the
U.S. Press
Freedom
Tracker, here.
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?
Immediately
explain the
single lawless
line from MALU
on 30 August
2019:
"Greetings
Matthew Lee
from Inner
City Press,
Your media
accreditation
request, with
reference no:
M5413398, has
been declined
for the
following
reason: Media
accreditation
was withdrawn
on 17 August
2018." 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 Fleming
have not even
responded...
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 - and
respond that
Inner City
Press on
August 24
applied like
100s or 1000s
of others to
cover the
upcoming UNGA
high level
week,
including now
formally
offering to
answer any
quesions the
UN / DSS might
have, having
been vetted
and accredited
elsewhere
since, as both
USG DSS
Michaud and
MALU have
formally been
timely
informed --
and how it is
possible that
a media that
closely covers
and uncovers
the UN could
be denied
entry, other
than (SG)
censorship.
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.
,
