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

UN GATE, Dec 31 – 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. The head of the UN Department of Global Communications said, again, that the UN would answer Press questions to the Spokesman Stephane Dujarric and his Office; Dujarric said the same on camera. On December 31 in place of what would have been a noon briefing by Spokesman Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric except he was once again too lazy, after the July 26 noon briefing had no questions at all, video here, Inner City Press submitted 1441 questions, including why it continues to be lawlessly banned from entering to ask questions in person: "There are more than 1000+ questions UNanswered. No answers at all during the four days of the US v Ho trial showing corruption in the UN says it all; no answers during the Honduras narco-president trial while UN bragged about taking his money, nor on OneCoin. 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.

December 31-1: On Libya and Turkey, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that Turkey has submitted a bill to parliament to allow it to deploy troops in Libya, as the conflict there intensifies.  Turkey is allied with Libya's UN-backed government, which is based in the capital, Tripoli.  The move, which comes earlier than expected, marks an acceleration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans.  The Libyan government has been fighting an insurgency by forces under Gen Khalifa Haftar based in eastern Libya 

December 31-2: On Sri Lanka, on which you have refused to answer banned Inner City Press' qustions, what are the belated comments and actions if any of SG Guterres now that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has appointed the Army Commander Shavendra Silva as the Acting Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in addition to his current post, with effect from tomorrow? What is the status of, and impact on, the UN using these Sri Lanka troops, on which you have previously issued misleading statements and refused Press questions? 

December 31-3: On Western Sahara and Morocco (for which you Delivered a statement on demand this month), what is SG Guterres' comment and action if any on the letter Brahim Ghali addressed the «the independence and impartiality of MINURSO». He urged Guterres to «take all necessary decisions and measures to guarantee that all its military, political and administrative activities are carried out in line with basic standards of UN peacekeeping».  Meanwhile, Ghali complained in his letter about the fact that «the SRSG and Head of MINURSO cannot meet with the Polisario in liberated territories».  In his letter, he recalled that his movement has already met with UN representatives in these areas. In March 2016, former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, while visiting the Tindouf camps, went to Tifariti and delivered a speech there.  However, with the election of Guterres, things have changed." What is SG Guterres' response? 

December 31-4: On Egypt, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that Armed men, who appear to have been security forces, physically attacked prominent Egyptian human rights lawyer Gamal Eid in Cairo on December 29, 2019. This was the second assault against Eid since October.  Eid, the executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANRHI), said that in the morning when he left his home in Cairo’s Maadi district, three cars without license plates were waiting on the corner. Ten or twelve men then beat him to the ground, threatened him with pistols, and threw paint on his face and clothes.

December 31-5: On North Korea / DPRK, what are the comments and action if any of SG Guterres on (1) this afternoon's release on bail of Virgil Griffith for attending a crypto currency conference in Pyongyang in April 2019; (2) SG Guterres' "exclusive" statement to Capitalist Tool publication Forbes about blockchain and why it was not put on the UN's website (provide it now), on (3) "Before Guterres pushes for more blockchain adoption at the UN, he might want to take stock of what it’s already got" per Decrypt, and (4) this, by the UN: "The United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF) this week approved its first round of funding for a project aimed at helping North Korea deal with climate change, the agency’s website indicated on Thursday.  The program, titled “Readiness and Preparatory Support for Capacity Building of NDA (National Designated Authorities) and establishment of a National Strategy Framework for engagement with GCF in the DPRK,” will be implemented through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to which GCF will be providing the funding." What steps have these UN bodies take with regard to sanctions on DPRK?

 December 31-6: On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - as Inner City press asked in writing on December 30 without response, this is a request that you immediately provide  the "if asked" information about the two new cases of sexual exploitation in CAR by Cameroonian UN "Police" that were put online after 5 pm on December 30 (a day when you refused to answer 7 questions including on previous UN rapes), and the (Dec 19) rape case by a UN Volunteer in DRC in June 2019 - what nationality? What's been done for the victim(s)? and the Dec 9 sex abuse cases in CAR by Gabon, DRC and Morocco UN "peacekeepers, and the Dec g  about the Office of the Special Envoy for the Sahel, and the two more November 26, 3 pm cases of sexual exploitation in CAR by Cameroon troops in September 2019 (!)

December 31-7: On SG Guterres' Town Hall in Geneva, on which you refused Inner City Press' Dec 20 question, what is your summary of what SG Guterres said given that Inner City Press will be publishing more of it?

 December 31-8:  As previously and repeated asked, where IS UNSG Antonio Guterres, and how much public money is he spending? 

December 31-9: On freedom of expression and Morocco what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately USG Melissa Fleming on that Omar Radi’s problems began in April, when he tweeted a condemnation of a judge’s verdict on dozens of leading activists of the Hirak, a tenacious protest movement that began in the northern Rif region in October 2016. The protesters have been demanding social and economic reforms, asking for jobs, hospitals, better infrastructure. The judge sentenced each of the activists with up to 20 years in prison — verdicts that received widespread condemnation from international observers.  After Radi first posted the tweet critiquing the judge’s verdict in April, he was summoned the same month by police for questioning that lasted for several hours.  On Dec. 26, the public prosecutor decided to charge Radi with “insulting a public servant.”He faces his next hearing on Jan. 2, when the judge could pronounce a verdict. 

December 31-10: On press freedom and Nepal, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately USG Melissa Fleming on that the Nepal government has proposed several pieces of legislation that undermine the rights laid out in the constitution. Three proposed bills – the Media Council Bill, which recommends reforms to the semi-autonomous Press Council; the Advertisement Regulation Bill, which would make publishers accountable for content in advertisements; and the Information Technology Bill – were flagged as having a negative impact on the press.

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.

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