In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYT,  Azerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .

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

UN GATE, Feb 13 – 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 budget On August 17, Guterres' Department of Global Communication issued a letter banning Inner City Press from the UN - for life. With no due process, and into 2020 under DGC's Melissa Fleming, no right of appeal.

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 February 13 in connection with a lame noon briefing by Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric after the July 26 noon briefing had no questions at all, video here, Inner City Press submitted 1566 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... 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.

February 13-1: Again on Cameroon, given that 8,000 people have fled from Cameroon into Nigeria in the past two weeks because of an upsurge in violence and some arrived with gunshot wounds - what is the UN doing? Why didn't SG Guterres even mention this conflict in his communications at the AU?

February 13-2: On Myanmar, what is the SG doing to get the Internet turned back on, as he didn't in Cameroon? 

February 13-3: On Hong Kong and China, what are the comment and actions if any of SG Guterres on that  three human rights monitors from the Civil Rights Observer were arrested in Causeway Bay on January 1. It happened during a police dispersal after a police-approved procession was cut short over clashes between officers and protesters at a vandalized bank. The observers explained their role to the officers, but were still taken into custody for taking part in an unlawful assembly.  The arrested observers claimed that they were verbally abused by police officers during their detention which lasted for 40 hours. Their personal belongings, including their clothes, observer uniforms and cards, mobile phones and cameras were confiscated. 

February 13-4: On coronavirus, what are the comment or actions if any of SG Guterres on Samoa’s decision to refuse entry into the country of eight of its citizens over coronavirus fears has been criticised as a violation of international law by a legal expert.  Eight people were denied entry into Samoa over the weekend as they returned home from India, traveling through Singapore 

February 13-5: On corruption and Angola, on which you refused to answer yesterday, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on the Luanda Leaks exposure of Isabel dos Santos of Angola, and as Inner City Press has repeatedly asked, what are his comments and action on the repeated retweeting of Isabel dos Santos' denials by his close staffer Aguinaldo Baptista? After, for example, exposure of the corrupt urban development project near Luanda for which some 3,000 families were driven from their homes to make way for the development? And now after The Portuguese bank EuroBic has announced it will end its business relationship with Africa's richest woman, Isabel dos Santos. 

February 13-6: Immediately describe the role of Angola and the dos Santos family in the campaign of Antonio Guterres ot become UNSG. 

February 13-7: On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - as Inner City press asked in writing in 2019 without response, this is a request that you immediately provide the if-asked information for the report of UN rape in Darfur data dumped to Conduct and Discipline website on the morning of January 17 and 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 (!)

February 13-8: 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 has now publishing more of it? Please explain SG Guterres' statement that interns should not (ever) be paid, and how this is not create unfair advantage for the most affluent?

February 13-9: As previously and repeated asked, where has UNSG Antonio Guterres been for the past week(s), and how much public money has he spent? Is he going directly to and from Addis? Or any stop overs? At what cost? 

February 13-10: On press freedom and Denmark what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately USG Melissa Fleming on that  A Danish appeals court on Thursday increased the fines given to a major newspaper group and its chief editor for publishing a book based on interviews with Denmark's former domestic intelligence agency chief that the spy service had claimed could contain secrets.  The Eastern High Court said the Politiken media group and the daily’s boss Christian Jensen violated a ban by publishing the book, which is based on Jakob Scharf's seven years as head of the Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service,

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.

***

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com

Past (and future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now: Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540

Search innercitypress.com  Search WWW (censored?)

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

 Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com for