Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

UN Claims It Didn't Lend Press Room to Ng Lap Seng Fundee, Reuters Cuts Off for UNCA

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 3 -- The UN won't provide a simple list of when and to whom it “lent” the UN Press Briefing Room, from the “reservation” Spokesman Dujarric gave to the entourage of French President Hollande on September 23, 2014 until his murky “lending” of the UN Press Briefing Room to UNCA on January 29, 2016 and subsequent ejection of Inner City Press.

On February 3, Inner City Press for the second day in a row asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq to provide a list of to whom his office, or simply lead UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, “lent” the UN Press Briefing Room. Haq on February 3 now said there is no list, but they have the information.

So Inner City Press asked a question about the information: has the UN Press Briefing Room been “lent” to any affiliate or fundee of Ng Lap Seng or the Global Sustainability Foundation, named in the US Attorney's corruption indictment.

Haq said, “No.” But since the UN Press Briefing Room was, Dujarric said, “lent to UNCA” on January 29, and UNCA has taken funds from Ng Lap Seng's entities, Inner City Press asked Haq if he was sure.

Haq insisted that money is not asked for to lend the UN Press Briefing Room. But that was not the question: has it been lent to a grantee of Ng Lap Seng.

   As Inner City Press was still asking, Reuters' UN correspondent Michelle Nichols, holding Reuters' apparently Permanent seat on the UNCA board, cut in, saying “You're clutching at straws.” Video here

Fast transcript:

ICP: I wanted to ask you again for a list, or disclosure, of use of this room approved by the office of the spokesman. Yesterday you said that you’re in charge of the room, you have the information, do you have it now?

Haq: We have the information but we don’t have a list. We don’t keep a list. We do this case by case.

ICP: So can I ask a question –

Haq: The bottom line, Matthew, and this is an important thing, we keep all press briefings in this room open to all press. The meeting that you were trying to crash into on Friday was not a press briefing.

ICP: My question is this – anything that you excude people from you’re going to say is not a briefing. As a simple question. One, I think you should disclose the list, since it’s public –

Haq: There’s no such list.

ICP: Public resources are being used. Since you say you have it –

Haq: There’s not a list. We have the information. There’s not a list.

ICP: Okay. Here’s the question. Has the room been lent, by your office, to any affiliate or fundee of Ng Lap Send or the Global Sustainability Foundation, both of which are named in the US Attorney’s office indictment?

Haq: No.

ICP: You know that to be the case?

Haq: I know that to be the case. I know that to be the case.

ICP: You heard the word “fundee” and you said no.

Haq: I know that it’s not a question. No one puts up money…

ICP: That’s not what I asked. I said have you lent the room to a fundee of Ng Lap Seng or the Global Sustainability Foundation? If you need time to answer it, please email it. But that’s the question.

Haq: I don’t need any time to answer this. Look, some of the ways the room is used is, for example, we talk to college students. That’s open to college students.

ICP: You can exclude that from the list. I’m not interested in that.

Haq: It’s open to the model UN, people who are not part of the model UN don’t go. In this case, on Friday, it was open to the correspondents’ association, that was their organizational meeting.

ICP: You’ve heard the question, right?

Haq: I’ve heard the question. That’s my answer.

ICP: You asked Stephane? You said you would. That’s his answer too?

Reuters / UNCA: You’re really clutching at straws.

ICP: I didn’t ask you any questions. You should ask your own questions.

Haq: If you’re so keen on the rules, you shouldn’t hide in the interpreter’s booth.

ICP: I didn’t hide there. It’s totally glass. Can you please look at it? I didn’t hide there. I was sitting right there. Something is really desperately wrong. I didn’t ask Reuters a question, just for the record.

Inner City Press was not asking Reuters any question. On February 2, the former Reuters UN bureau chief cut in, as did the Agence France Presse correspondent Carole Landry (who is also on UNCA's board). We'll have more on this.

Dujarric didn't show up at the February 2 noon briefing, so Inner City Press had to ask his Deputy, Farhan Haq. The UNCA representative, Reuters retiree Evelyn Leopold, immediately tried to cut off the question with a loud, “Here we go again.” (This was echoed afterward by Carole Landry the English language correspondent of Agence France Presse, silent when the UN Press Briefing Room was given over to Hollande and others were asked to leave). Here's Periscope of the glass box the AFP scribe "reports" Inner City Press was "hidden" in; here's February 2 video:

UN transcript:

Inner City Press: I'd wanted to ask Stéphane this, but I'm… I'll… I guess I'll ask you it. Yesterday, I was trying to ask, and I think I was cut off, but my question was, he said, "Who gets to use this room is really my decision." So, I wanted to ask you, it's something I've asked him before…

UNCA Representative, cutting in: Here we go again.

Deputy Spokesman: Let's make sure that everyone gets the opportunity to ask questions, please.

Inner City Press: Thanks. What I wanted to ask is that there was… there was an instance in 23 September 2014, where the French delegation of François Hollande used the room. There was some… it was called a misunderstanding. I have some communication with Stéphane. At that time… I guess what I want to know is, between then and now, how often does this happen? And is it really the case that one individual decides who uses the room? And I ask because we're often told here that everything is about Member States. And so, I wanted to know, between 23 September 2014, and Friday when it was, again, I guess rented… lent out… excuse me… to UNCA [United Nations Correspondents Association], how many private uses of this room have there been? And I'm asking because, given that it's an extraordinary claim to say it's one person's decision who uses it, I'd just like to know how many times was it used?

Deputy Spokesman: It's our office that gets consulted on these matters. There's a big difference between providing rooms for briefings, where we try to make sure that briefings are open to all reporters, and providing the room just as a room for a different sort of event by an organization or by a group. But, in any case, it's our office that controls the use of the room.

Inner City Press: So, do you have the information? Can you give a list?

Deputy Spokesman: It's not really…

Inner City Press: It's important because at least it…[avoids misunderstanding when something is public and when it is not]

Deputy Spokesman: Yes, we have the…

Inner City Press: …when something is public and when it's not. Excuse me. I'm sorry. I mean…

Deputy Spokesman: I was being assured your question would be accorded with due respect, so please do not talk over my answers.

Inner City Press: Sure. I wanted to clarify. Go ahead.

Deputy Spokesman: The basic point is, yes, you know, we know who holds meetings in this room. We're the ones who have the keys. We hold the responsibility for opening of the room up. We do that primarily for press briefings. Every now and then, there are things like organizational meetings or other things that are not briefings.

Inner City Press: So, why is there a problem providing that list, if you have the list and you, obviously, have the information? Is it somehow confidential?

Deputy Spokesman: It's not confidential. But, frankly, the problem with the room last Friday had to do with a violation caused by one individual hiding in the room, surreptitiously recording colleagues…[See glass box here]

Inenr City Press: I didn't hide. Again… I'll say it again. I'm sitting there live tweeting it and Periscoping it. So, it's hardly hiding. But, I want to ask you again, in the spirit of transparency, you have the information. This doesn't seem like there's any reason that it's secret. Just can you provide a list of uses of this room by your office lent out between 23 September 2014 and Friday?

Deputy Spokesman: I can ask Stéphane, but honestly, this is something that we provide information for our colleagues in the Department of Public Information. It's not a secret. And it's… and to that extent, but I don't want you to muddy the issue. The problem of last Friday was not a problem having to do with the use of the room.

Inner City Press: I'm not muddying the information.

Deputy Spokesman: That was entirely legitimate. What’s unusual is for one person to…

Inner City Press: When François Hollande held a press conference here, I was asked to leave. They said they would call security, and I didn't leave, because I feel there's a right to cover events in this room. If you can provide the list, you should provide the list.

Deputy Spokesman: All right. You can say what you want to justify your actions.

   So, Haq admits that his or Dujarric's Office maintains a list -- but eight hours and counting after the briefing refuses to provide it. Inner City Press asked for it again: there is no diplomatic basis for withholding it. This shows why there should be a UN Freedom of Information Act, something which while requested by the Free UN Coalition for Access Ban Ki-moon has tellingly done nothing about during his opaque tenure.

   Instead of providing this basic information, Haq claimed Inner City Press is “mudding the waters” of having covered the January 29 meeting of UNCA, including about this group's offering of space in the UN to those who pay it money, from an entirely visible, glassed in box, from which Inner City Press live-tweeted and live-streamed Periscope video. Here's saved Periscope video of what this “hiding place” looks like.

We'll have more on this - and will continue to pursue the list of UN privatization of the Press Briefing Room. Watch this site.

But UN Spokesman Stepane Dujarric on February 1, when Inner City Press asked him under what rule he had given over the UN Press Briefing Room to the UNCA groups which charged $6,000 to sit with Ban, said “who gets to use this room is really my decision.” Vine here.

   Really? The use of the UN Press Briefing Room is decided, without any rules, by this one individual? The same individual who often dodges Inner City Press' questions by saying “It's up to member states”?

   But there are other problems here. After Dujarric previously lent the UN Press Briefing Room on September 23, 2014 to the entourage of the president of Dujarric's native France Francois Hollande, video here, it was then indicated that it wouldn't happen again.

Then on September 25, 2014 when Inner City Press asked Dujarric “please state which countries during this UNGA have used the UN Press Briefing Room for briefing not open to all UN correspondents, other than France at 11 am on September 23. (Also, what was your role on September 23 around 11 am in the room behind the Press Briefing Room podium?)”

Dujarric replied, in writing, “I dont have the information on the first point for you. On the second, I'm not sure that I understand it except that I was just looking into the room. I tend to be a curious person.”

   Dujarric “didn't have the information” on private use of the UN Press Briefing Room, which use he says “is really my decision”? We'll have more on this.

On Wall Street in December 2015, the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA) sold seats with Ban Ki-moon for $6,000 ($12,000 for a full table). Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric how this could be and was first told, As long as it's transparent.

UNCA previously took money from Macau-based casino magnate Ng Lap Seng, now under house arrest for bribery at the UN, and gave him a photo op with Ban. Now the UN or at least Dujarric gave this UNCA, now the UN Corruption Association, its UN Press Briefing Room -- and on January 29 threw out the Press seeking to cover this meeting of a group that has sold the UN and Ban, amid scandals.

On February 1, Inner City Press went to the next UN noon briefing to asked Dujarric what the rules for throwing media out of the UN Press Briefing Room are, and to explain his poking at Inner City Press' phone to stop its Periscope streaming broadcast of the event in the UN Press Briefing Room, video here, transcript here.

Dujarric cut off questions, including about his "lending" of the UN Briefing Room to the entourage of France's Francois Hollande - which will continue. In fact, the UN omitted or censored Inner City Press' entirely audible question about Hollande from the transcript. Dujarric made a threat. This is today's UN.

   (This Periscope video show how non-hidden this box is.)

Sitting in a glassed in booth live-tweeting and livestreaming Periscope video cannot be called "hiding," even in the UN.

Inner City Press pointed out the obvious: this booth is entirely glassed in and visible from the podium he spoke at, and from the rostrum used on January 29 by UNCA's head Giampaolo Pioli and two board members (one from US government Broadcasting Board of Governors, as is relevant to the censorship bid contrary to the US First Amendment.)

Dujarric cut off Inner City Press' follow up question; uniquely the entire first row of the briefing room was this day filled with UNCA board members, two from Agence France Presse (they asked nothing), and Pioli, who also asked nothing. One wondered if Dujarric, who on January 29 told Inner City Press it should "join UNCA" arranged or collaborated with this dubious "show of force."

At least, unlike January 29, Dujarric did not jab at Inner City Press' camera, and the Reuters correspondent who twice blocked the camera with paper on January 29 did not do so this time.

One is left wondering if the UN's Dujarric believes he can eject any media, at any time, from any event in the UN Press Briefing Room, and if he, Reuters or UNCA will try the same camera-banning they engaged in on January 29 in the UN Press Briefing Room at the UN Security Council stakeout. Watch this site.

At the January 29 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Dujarric about Ban's paid / sold appearances, transcript here.

On January 29, UNCA leadership including Giampaoli Pioli, two scribes for the US Broadcasting Board of Governors, one from Reuters and others demanded that Inner City Press not cover a meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room.

Suspending their meeting in which they discussed among other tawdry topics selling UN space to those who pay them money, UNCA called in UN Spokesman Dujarric and his deputy and then UN Security, who are the request of Dujarric asked Inner City Press to leave.

There were ironies aplenty. Not only about a group of "correspondents" trying to close and make secret their meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room, but also that it was Dujarric who told Inner City Press that the UN Press Briefing Room would not again be "lent out," after Inner City Press challenged the lending out to French President Francois Hollande.

   Dujarric, deploying the F-bomb, Vine here, told Inner City Press, Yes, I am ordering you out, you can put it in your story. Vine here. He tried to turn Inner City Press' camera phone off. Vine here.

His deputy, pointing at Inner City Press, told some of the scribes, "He lies a lot" -- after providing patently false answers about UN peacekeeping and other topics.

The Voice of America correspondent Margaret Besheer, last seen claiming there were Liberians in Burundi, to which in an untransparent process she (and Reuters and AFP) accompanied the recent Security Council trip, made comments which most contexts are deemed antithetical to free press. She's done it before (see this letter to Dujarric); she said "go on your meds."

Pioli, landland to Sri Lanka's ambassador who then gave him an UNCA / "UN" screening to that country's war crimes denial film, insisted that to stand up for the right to cover meetings in the UN Press Briefing Room one must be crazy. He never asks questions: he's a landlord. See here.

Here's more to be said, but for now, here is the video.

Ban's interaction with this UN Corruption Association are NOT transparent. The new Free UN Coalition to Access, which on January 27 thanked the New York State Comptroller and others at a 1:15 pm press conference with no one in UNCA's "holy seat," has repeatedly critiqued this lack of transparency, as journalists should.

Amazingly, while this UN Corruption Association routinely tries to lure briefers away from the UN Press Briefing Room, now the UN gives it that room for this meeting: UN Censorship Alliance. We'll have more on this.

On January 20, Inner City Press received a solicitation:

"UNA-UK is delighted to invite you to an event with H.E. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the morning of 5 February 2016... We are giving UNA-UK members and supporters the opportunity to book their place before tickets go on general sale and also recognising your ongoing support by offering a discounted rate (tickets will be £10 reduced from £15).

Click here to book your place - use the code [removed upon UNA-UK request] to claim your discount."

So you can only hear Ban Ki-moon on London for 15 pounds - or 10 pounds if you join the organization. In New York, UNCA charges money (and only distributes information the UN gives it to those who pay its dues) - and still charges to sit with Ban.

With the UN embroiled in scandals including the indictments of the former President of the General Assembly John Ashe and Macau businessman Ng Lap Seng and the founder of South South News, on December 14 the UN Correspondents Association sold seats with Ban Ki-moon for $6000. Periscope I here; Periscope II here.

UN corruption, never reformed, rises from the Ashes, courtesy of UNCA, now the UN Corruption Association.

And yet, from inside Cipriani Wall Street, one of the musicians paid to play has an open mind, and when shown reporting on UN corruption asks, Should I make a scene? Tweet here.

Just ask, who here paid $6000 as solicited by UNCA to sit with Ban Ki-moon. And why pay it? With Ng Lap Seng, it's clear.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Ban supports journalists. But the UNCA he's supporting tries to get them out of the UN. RSF did good work of late. But willful blindness does not help journalists.

The new EU representative naively said, First UNCA; the Turkish mission tweeted a photo of Ban (after its Perm Rep hob-nobbed with him in front of Monaco's painting, ignoring the invasion of Iraq, whose Ambassador arrived in tux to the Corruption Ball, we excuse him.)

Since UNCA previously at such an event at Cipriani sold photo ops with Ban Ki-moon to now-indicted Ng Lap Seng, who will be this year's Ng Lap Seng? Into Cipriani, this time the one on Wall Street, passed many tuxedoed individuals never seen at the UN. What were they buying? What safeguards had been added since Ng Lap Seng and John Ashe? None.

New PGA Mogens Lykketoft arrived, as did Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson and David Nabarro, who stopped in the rain to speak with Inner City Press, as did another Under Secretary General. How can the UN and its group of scribes remain so UNreformed, despite indictments and public scandal?

The bureau chief of Voice of America, who previously tried to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN after it reported on UNCA corruption, the boss Giampaolo Pioli renting one of his apartments to Sri Lanka's ambassador then screening his war crimes denial film in the UN, this time seemed to give the finger, flip the bird to the press. Ah, journalism.

Is it journalism to solicit and take money from those you ostensibly cover? Where does it go? We'll have more on this.

Earlier on December 14 UNCA lobbed three softball questions to Ban -- none on Burundi, for example -- from the former president of UNCA Pamela Falk, then the current vice president and finally the current questioner for UNCA. Inner City Press loudly asked a question about the killings in Burundi, which Ban declined to answer. Vine here.

Inner City Press for the new Free UN Coalition for Access asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about the propriety of UNCA selling seats with Ban. Dujarric said, "As long as it's transparent." Is that the standard?

One would expect the UN press corps, even the entity the UN itself chooses to set aside first questions for, to be pursuing rather than be involved in the scandals.

One might also expect UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to be more cautious of colluding in events in which access to him has been sold.

But with the UN Correspondents Association, this year more than ever, that is not the case. The group or its leadership, headed by Italian paparazzi scribe Giampaolo Pioli who after trying to get the investigative Press thrown out of the UN now covers actors like Morgan Freeman while others at his paper cover the UN, is selling seats with Ban Ki-moon for $6,000.

In response to Press questions about this UNseemly sale of access, Ban's spokesman said "as long as it's transparent." Will that keep the indictments from expanding?

Inner City Press on December 11 spoke with indictee Frank Lorenzo, pictured here with Ban Ki-moon, as written up by "Italian News."

Photo: #BanKiMoon at South South Awards with indictees. Ban's set to repeat, with knowledge. #UNCA pic.twitter.com/l8iyuE1OAt
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 14, 2015

This year's sale of Ban, like to Ng Lap Seng in 2011, is an Italian job, run by pazarazzi / "correspondent" / landlord Giampaolo Pioli.

How does this UNCA sleaze fest differ from the South South Awards, inextricably linked to the indictments of Ng Lap Seng, South South News' Frank Lorenzo and former President of the General Assembly John Ashe? Hardly at all. So what will happen? We'll have more on this.

Here is a photo of Ban Ki-moon at South South Awards with several indictees, here.

For now we can report that at the December 11 closed door session on "Revitalization of the General Assembly," both the UN's Controller and Ban Ki-moon's new chief of staff Edmond Mulet made arguments for post-Ashe reforms that a number of member states found far too little. And Ban is slated to have seats next to him sold for $6000. We'll have more on this too.

On December 10, days after Pioli used the large room the UN gives to UNCA, its UN Censorship Alliance, to campaign for a Security Council seat for his native Italy by giving out free meats, the view into the Club was blocked. So much for transparency.

Here is a photo of the Clubhouse:

The flier on the glassed-in bulletin board, under the "election" results, is of fine recently deceased journalist Haider Rizvi. Inner City Press' obituary hinted at it, but now we're compelled to say: UNCA, or its sidekick, tried to get him thrown out of the UN. There'll be a memorial for Haider, which can be participated in online, on December 12 - in Lahore. Truth is what journalism is about. But here's Pioli on Morgan Freeman:

UNCA's "elections" had no competition at all for the officer seats, now doled out to AFP, France 24, the US Broadcasting Board of Governors and ANSA from holdover president Giampaolo Pioli's native Italy.

This UNCA "leadership" represents Italy and France, and old media -- tellingly, those new media which chose to run (Inner City Press quit UNCA after its censorship bid) for lesser UNCA seats were not selected. Also tellingly, the UN Spokesperson's office promoted the scam election, using its loudspeaker to try to get out the vote (for candidates who had no opponents.)

The ringmaster, Giampaolo Pioli, came through the UN Security Council stakeout not to ask any question or even listen to answers on South Sudan or Syria; he glad handed his unopposed slate and then headed to the UN bar. He has arranged more Italian toasting, seeingly part of Italy's actually-opposed campaign for a Security Council seat (more on this in future dispatches).

It's become the UN's Censorship Alliance - having tried to get the investigative Press thrown out of the UN - and the UN Corruption Association, selling photo ops and seats with Ban Ki-moon. Call them Ban Ki-moon shots.

While calling for an audit of sale of UN access under John Ashe, should Ban openly allow access to him to be sold? He appears intent on doing so, or operating by inertia, on automatic pilot. Inner City Press now learns that Ban's twice delayed report on the cover up of peacekeepers' rapes in the Central African Republic will be pushed further back, after the sell-out, buried. We'll have more on this.

UNCA's awards, such as they gave to South South News for money, include awards and payments to entities who've served on their own Board.

In 2011 under then (and now) president Giampaolo Pioli, UNCA took money from the South South News of now-indicted Ng Lap Seng, then gave South South News an UNCA award and gave Ng Lap Seng a photo op with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Now in November 2015, Pioli has solicited $6000 from UN Ambassadors for seats at the “VIP” table at the UNCA “Ball” on Wall Street: to sit with Ban Ki-moon. Here is UNCA's pitch:

"Dear Ambassador,

The United Nations Correspondents Association is honored to invite you to participate and contribute to the 20th annual UNCA Awards event with guest of honor U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, recipient of the 2015 Global Advocate of the Year Award for climate change. Exclusive raffle prizes include business class airline tickets around the world with hotel accommodations and a grand prize FIAT 500X car. As your esteemed presence will ensure the success of this event, we are pleased to send you the below opportunities to attend the gala dinner:

Mission Table Special Price / $6000 (half-table) 5 seats at VIP table at the gala event

Special Ambassador Contribution / $2,000 -1 VIP ticket for Ambassador with premium seating to dinner + 1 complimentary VIP ticket for spouse or guest -Special acknowledgement of the Ambassador and the Mission in the UNCA Awards Journal of the evening -Additional tickets for UN Diplomats of the Mission can be purchased at the special price of $750 each

Giampaolo Pioli, UNCA President
Please make all checks payable to 'UNCA Awards Committee'
Contributions to the UNCA Awards Committee are tax deductible.
The UNCA Awards Committee is a 501-c(3)"

This is precisely the type of sale of access involved in the indictments of Ng, Sheri Yan and Frank Lorenzo.

While others are announcing audits and freezing such contacts, UNCA under Pioli is bulling forward, charging ever more money, getting ever further from journalistic purposes.

On November 20, Pioli's UNCA circulated a list of candidates with no competition for any of the six officer positions. It also pre-announced its awards, including to Reuters (on its Board) and others. We'll have more on this.

    For the three running unopposed for five president slots, two were already on the UNCA board during the relevant time period; the other is Pioli's former protege at Quotidiano Nazionale. It's an Italian thing.

   Running for Treasurer? It's Agence France Presse, whose previous correspondent tried to use a position on the UNCA board to censor Press coverage of Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row atop UN Peacekeeping.

Reuters is in the mix, too, and another which joined Pioli in trying to censor coverage of Pioli unilaterally approving a Sri Lankan government war crimes denial film for a “UN” screening, after Pioli rented one of his apartments to Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN. This is UN. But amid the new scandals at the UN, this is something new: watch this site.

Footnote: Inner City Press after Pioli's and others censorship bid, and attempt to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN (uncovered along with documents still to be published by a Freedom of Information Act request, here, and questioned by the New York Civil Liberties Union), quit the UNCA board and co-founded, with another who'd quit UNCA as corrupt, the Free UN Coalition for Access.

FUNCA does not seek any automatic first questions, but opposes the UN setting aside first questions for an entity which, as now shown, is enmeshed in the very UN scandals that must be asked about. Watch this site.

Follow @innercitypress Follow @FUNCA_info

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