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As UN Bans Inner City Press E-Asks Spox Haq of Cameroon Libya Turkey Uighurs N Korea UN Sex Abuse Burundi Fleming Bans Press 1000+ UNanswered

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

UN GATE, Jan 3Inner 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 January 3 before a noon briefing by Deputy Spokesman Farhan "Rape Cover Up Man" Haq standing in for Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric, after the July 26 noon briefing had no questions at all, video here, Inner City Press submitted 1454 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.

January 3-1: On Cameroon, what are the comment and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately of USG Melissa Fleming on the return of refugees to Cameroon from Nigeria and other countries in the region. The Paul Biya government has been bragging about these, but many in Cameroon and elsewhere question where it is again refoulement, like that of Ayuk Tabe and 46 others, unacted on by the UN system.? And, again, on Paul Biya's New Years speech threatening more state violence in SW and NW regions? 

January 3-2: On Libya, what are SG Guterres' comments and actions if any on published reports that "millions of euros in U.N. food contracts were under negotiation with a company controlled by a militia leader, even as other U.N. teams raised alarms about starvation in his detention center..."al-Khoja, the militia leader flown to Rome for the U.N. migration meeting...  al-Khoja used sections of the U.N. center to train his militia fighters and built a luxury apartment inside." 

January 3-3: Also on Libya, what are SG Guterres' belated comments and actions if any now that Turkey's parliament has passed a bill that will allow the government to deploy troops to Libya to intervene in the civil war? Turkish lawmakers passed the bill on Thursday, with 325 in favour to 184 against. 

January 3-4: On China, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that Jewher Ilham, 25, the daughter of Chinese economics professor Ilham Tohti, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for his advocacy of the rights of China's Uighur minority, has said that "there are lists of companies that export products made in the concentration camps. Actually, most of the factories in the Xinjiang region are designed for labor camps." 

January 3-5: On "UN75," please immediately state how the UN selected Vox to partner with: "To inspire and inform the dialogues, the UN is also partnering with Vox Media’s brand studio, Vox Creative, to create a video informed by interviews with 38 people from around the world, sharing their experiences and opinions related to important global issues, to be launched on 6 January." 

January 3-6: 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 (!)

January 3-7: 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?

January 3-8:  As previously and repeated asked, where was UNSG Antonio Guterres for the past week(s), and how much public money has he spent? 

January 3-9: On press freedom and Burundi, what are the comment and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately of USG Melissa Fleming on that Burundi’s public prosecutor on December 30 asked for a 15-year prison term for four journalists for privately owned online news outlet Iwacu and their driver who are charged with undermining state security, according to Iwacu and other news reports. The prosecutor is also seeking to have the five stripped of their right to vote for five years after the imprisonment, and to have their property--including phones, camera, and a company car--confiscated, according to the same reports. The court is expected to rule on the case later in January, the same sources said.  The news team—broadcast reporter Christine Kamikazi, head of politics desk Agnès Ndirubusa, English service reporter Egide Harerimana, photojournalist Térence Mpozenzi, and driver Adolphe Masabarikiza—were arrested in October 2019

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?

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.

More here.

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