UNCA
Won't Answer
on Meeting or
Votes, Tears
Down FUNCA
Posters
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 17 --
"This is like
the Arab
Spring," a UN
correspondent
said Monday
night out on
Third Avenue.
"It's the
second
anniversary of
Tunisia, but
here it's the
UNCA spring."
The
UN has long
partnered with
the UN
Correspondents
Association,
but there is
something
wrong with it.
Even the
simplest of
questions, it
will not
answer. And
when
challenged, it
clams up and
even tears
down, for
example
posters
questioning
its rule. See
tweeted photo
here.
Because they
torn it down,
here
is the poster
itself, click
here.
On
December 16,
Inner City
Press asked
the UNCA
president and
some executive
committee
members to
please state
the agenda of
the December
21 meeting
they've
announced,
what they
propose to
vote on.
There
was no answer,
nor throughout
the work day
at the UN on
Monday. But at
5 pm, as Inner
City Press
stood at the
Security
Council
stakeout
posing questions
on Syria
and Eastern
Congo to top
UN
humanitarian
Valerie Amos,
the UNCA
president
walked briskly
past.
Not to
ask any
questions --
and not
answering them
either, all
day. So Inner
City Press has
reiterated the
question in
writing.
But
even hours
later,
spotting Il
Duce again,
there was no
answer.
Meanwhile a
supporter of
the Free UN
Coalition for
Access issued
an alert from
the UN:
FUNCA's
posters were
being torn
down.
Where
UNCA had its
posters, with
one exception,
FUNCA had put
one up. (The
exception was
on the door of
the Media
Accreditation
and Liaison
Unit, to not
make them make
a decision.
Yet.)
But it
has been
verified: at
the entrances
to the press
area, on
floors 1 and
on 1B, the
posters were
torn down. So
they do not
answer
questions, and
they try to
stamp out
opposition.
Back
in June
2012, Voice of
America
saying it had
the support of
Reuters
and Agence
France Presse
asked the UN
to "review'
the
accreditation
of the
investigative
Press.
Confronted
with the
documents,
obtained under
the Freedom of
Information
Act, none of
the three or
the other UNCA
executive
committee
members have
provided any
explanation.
There
are other
questions,
because the
UNConstitutional
attempt to
push elections
beyond 2012
and hold over
in power.
Recently to
the entire
UNCA
membership a
message was
sent detailing
that the UNCA
President had
neglected for
months to pay
the UN for
microphone and
audio
services, and
threatening
not to provide
sound for Ban
Ki-moon on
December 12.
While
questions have
not been
answered,
sound was
provided, and
presumably
will be at the
December 19
award ceremony
for Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
But toward
what end?
At an
event in the
UN's Delegates
Entrance
Monday night,
another
Permanent Five
member of the
Security
Council's
Permanent
Representative
was informed
of FUNCA, and
laughed and
wished it
well. Another
senior UN
official was
informed and
expressed
trepidation.
It's the UNCA
Spring, it
must be said.
One party rule
is no good.
Watch this
site.
, 
