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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR Letter PFT Q&A, NY Post

UNITED NATIONS GATE, Nov 6 – 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 November 6 more than four hours before a noon briefing by long gone Spokesman Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric as which he fielded miss-the-point questions ignored Guterres' own travel corruption to Lisbon while spinning the UNRWA resignation of Pierre Krähenbühl after the July 26 noon briefing had no questions at all, video here, Inner City Press submitted 1334 questions, including why it continues to be lawlessly banned from entering to ask questions in person: "There are more than 800+ 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 Sept 6 (while you still withhold if-asked information about Cameroon child rape(s) in DRC),  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 3-5, 9-30 and now October 1-3, 7-14, 16-31 and Nov 1-5 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.

November 6-1: On Sri Lanka, and UN lies and censorship, now that Sri Lanka's Army has bragged about deploying 243 more of Shavendra Silva's troops for UN pay in Mali, immediately and belatedly answer Inner City Press previously UNanswered question on this, and explain why it was not answered: November 4-2: On Sri Lanka in light of your and USG LaCroix's misleading annoucements on which you have refused to answer Press questions, please immediately respond as the UN has refused to with involved NGOs to whether the UN is considering actually deploying Sri Lanka / Shavendra Silva troops to Mali, up to 250 of them 

November 6-2: On Cameroon, what are the belated comments and actions if any of SG Guterres now that even NRC Handelsblad, Netherlands, says that the conflict between French and English-speaking Cameroon is intensifying. The national dialogue recently organised by the president only led to more escalation. Three years of civil war have now passed in Cameroon, with at least three thousand deaths as a result. What is the UN's casualty count? Where is the golden statue Guterres took from Biya? 

November 6-3: On Zimbabwe and health, what are the comment and actions if any of SG Guterres on that the government of Zimbabwe has fired 77 doctors who have been taking part in a strike since September over pay. 

November 6-4: On journalist safety and UNSC member Indonesia, what are the comments and actions if any two Indonesian journalists who had reported on an illegal oil palm plantation in Sumatra have been found stabbed to death. 

November 6-5: On corruption cover up and censorship, what are the comments and actions if any of expert SG Guterres now that a Tanzanian journalist being held on politically motivated charges is "willing" to negotiate a plea bargain as his health deteriorates? Erick Kabendera, who has helped to expose abuse of power by the country’s autocratic president, is willing to admit to wrongdoing despite his innocence, his sister Prisca said. 

November 6-6: On press freedom and incoming UNSC member Viet Nam, what are the comments and actions of SG Guterres before a Vietnamese court will hear an appeal on November 7, 2019 of a six-year sentence for Vietnamese environmental activist Nguyen Ngoc Anh convicted of criticizing the government on Facebook.

November 5-1: On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a request that you immediately provide the "if asked" information about the case of sexual exploitation against a Cameroon UN "military observer" in CAR and a Uruguayan UN "peacekeeper" in Haiti cursorily data dumped on November 4 at 4:30 pm and those on October 31 at 1:30 pm as well as previously requested without response about the child rape and sexual exploitation by UN "peacekeepers" from Cameroon and South Africa the UN cursorily disclosed on the afternoon of October 28 - about which Inner City Press did not this time immediately ask, given that each of you have refused for one week and counting to answer in any way with if-asked information about the child rape and sexual exploitation cases involving Indonesia, Mauritania and again Cameroon, in DRC and Central African Republic cursorily data dumped onto the UN website after 3 pm on October 21.

November 5-2: On Cameroon and press freedom, what are the belated comments and actions of SG Guterres on that the South West Chapter Cameroon Journalists Trade Union have showed up in court for their detained colleague, Samuel Wazizi. Police arrested Wazizi in August and handed him over to the military, which has since held him without access to his family according to his lawyer. Popularly known as “Halla Ya Matta,” prior to his arrest he worked for the Buea-based independent station; he might have been tortured or even possibly killed. 

November 5-3: On Turkey, Halkbank and impunity, on which you have previously refused to answer Press questions, what are the belated comments and actions if any of SG Guterres as on November 5 Halkbank is again summoned to SDNY federal court but attempts a cynical "special appearance" without accepting jurisdiction - a position still more responsible that the UN's in cases about the cholera it brought to Haiti?

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 3-19: 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 [and AOC unblocking Dov Hikind], 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. 

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