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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT CEFC Video

UNITED NATIONS GATE, February 18 – How lawless is the United Nations of Secretary General Antonio Guterres? In the midst of Inner City Press' questioning in 2018 about Guterres' links to now convicted UN bribery Patrick Ho's China Energy Fund Committee, which paid former President of the General Assembly Sam Kutesa and had a contract with PGA Vuk Jeremic, and Guterres' failures on Cameroon and elsewhere, his UN Security twice roughed up Inner City Press on June 22 and July 3, 2018, see below.

 Now tellingly the UN's partner in censorship is bragging about getting an end of UNSC presidency press conference moved out of the UN Press Briefing Room where it would be on UN Television to its own clubhouse. They say that Equatorial Guinea, which has had the same president for more than 30 years, is agreeing to this reduction in public transparency and they hope it will be a trend. Here is it, from minutes sent to Inner City Press by several disgusted members of the United Nations Correspondents Association: "End of presidency press conference in UNCA room: Current UNSC president Equatorial Guinea’s Ambassador Anatolio Ndong Mba, will hold his end of presidency briefing in the UNCA room later this month with the hope that others will follow suit."

  The rest of these UN Correspondents Association minutes - the annual meeting, despite the UN saying it accredits thousands, had a total attendance of 56 -- say, "2018 UNCA Awards Budget: Valeria reported a great successful gala with more than 570 guests in attendance. The honorees--Amal Clooney and Adrian Grenier—were a big draw, bringing in more than $420,000, securing a healthy balance forward for 2019. Preparation is underway to confirm a December date, preferably on a Friday at Cipriani, but that depends on the SG’s availability (possibility of December 6th in the works). Giampaolo explained the total income from the gala generated a record-breaking positive balance. He also solicited input and help from the general membership to attract new sponsors and pointed to the positive cooperation with the Dag Hammarskjold Fund for Journalists that continues in its second year. Of the total UNCA Awards income, UNCA members (who bought tickets at $100) brought in $21,500, various missions, $20,000, tables, $296,500, individual tickets, $17,800 and prizes sponsorship, $65,000. 2018 UNCA General Budget: The UNCA general budget generated more than $30,215.01, with $24,215.01 coming from membership dues, (30 New members and 192 renewing members), and $6,000 from directory advertising. Expenses were $26,475.19, but more financial sources are needed to support all the activities." Who bought those tables, previously bought for example by UN briber Ng Lap Seng, buying access to the Secretary General? We'll have more on this.

Several disgusted members - the UN pushes people to join - forwarded Inner City Press this: "Dear colleagues... to kick off the new year, UNCA will host an informal meet and greet reception with the elected 5 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council at 5:30 pm in the Express Bar (Third Floor Conference Building).  The occasion is to facilitate interactions between diplomats and the press corps with the hopes of building good working relationships moving forward.  Drinks and food will be served.  I look forward to seeing you there.   Valeria Robecco President, United Nations Correspondents Association." Note that this drink fest is with Equatorial Guinea. We'll have more on this - and this:

  On January 15, current PGA María Fernanda Espinosa Garces gave a speech in the UN that Inner City Press, now banned for 208 days and counting, was not permitted to attend to cover. Nor did the UN app and "Audio Now" ostensibly offered by Guterres' USG Alison Smale work. Despite these hindrances and censorship, which has been appealed, it emerged that Espinosa Garces is convening a 4 February 2019 meeting with so-far unspecified former PGAs. One wondered, would Sam Kutesa who was shown in the recent Patrick Ho UN bribery trial to have taken $500,000 from CEFC, be one of them? Would Vuk Jeremic who met with worked for CEFC China Energy's Ye Jianming, who also met PGA - and now Guterres official - Peter Thomson? (We are not listing the evidence on CEFC - John Ashe, who was killed it is said by a weight dropping onto his neck while working out alone awaiting trial). How can Inner City Press, which actually covers these issues in a UN which claims to respect the right of anti-corruption journalists, be banned from covering UNGA? We said we'd have more on this - and now we do. While Espinosa and her spokesperson and team hold briefing with few to no questions, this has been announced and sent to Inner City Press by an insider disgusted at the censorship: "UNCA is pleased to invite you to an on-the-record Q&A session co-hosted by the Office of the President of the General Assembly, with past and present Presidents of the UN General Assembly taking place on Monday, February 4th at 6:00 pm in the Express Bar (Third Floor- Conference Building).  Following the discussion at 7:00 pm there will be a reception with drinks and canapes.  Please see below for more information.  The event is open to all UN correspondents.   Valeria Robecco President, United Nations Correspondents Association   ‘Strengthening Multilateralism and the United Nations’   On-the-record Question and Answer Session with Past and Present Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly   Express Bar, 3rd Floor, UN Headquarters 4th February 6:00pm to 8:00pm   Cocktails & Canapes at 7:00pm     Introductory remarks by Ms. Valeria Robecco, President of UNCA Remarks by H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly  Participants: H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd session of the General Assembly H.E. Mr. Peter Thomson, President of the 71st session of the General Assembly H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th session of the General Assembly H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremić, President of the 67th session of the General Assembly H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the 66th session of the General Assembly H.E. Mr. Joseph Deiss, President of the 65th session of the General Assembly H.E. Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, President of the 61st session of the General Assembly H.E. Mr. Jan Eliasson, President of the 60th session of the General Assembly & former UN Deputy Secretary-General."

 Guterres' Under Secretary General Alison Smale on 17 August 2018 issued a letter "withdrawing" Inner City Press' UN media accreditation. Smale was asked how Inner City Press could appeal, including by UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression David Kaye, but did not answer that. 

  In 2017, the year in which CEFC's Patrick Ho was indicted and arrested for UN bribery, CEFC in the UN engaged at least twice with Lenni Montiel, including for example on 6 July 2017, and also with DESA official Pingfan Hong. Some photos here. Inner City Press before Guterres had it roughed up and banned now 176 days for its inquiries into Guterres' corruption has politely questioned both Montiel and Hong - but Guterres has made that impossible and his Spokesmen refused to answer any written questions, for more than a week now. There are more connections.

  Guterres got favors from Peter Thomson when Thomson was President of the General Assembly. Rudimentary open source research - including on the UN's own website here - finds that Thomson, like implicated Sam Kutesa and John Ashe and Vuk Jeremic, visited CEFC's Ye Jianming in Hong Kong. What was discussed? Inner City Press previously covered, critically but civilly, Thomson. Now corrupt Guterres has had Inner City Press roughed up and banned 175 days, with his Spokesman Stephane Dujarric refusing to answer any questions despite the promise of Guterres' USG Alison Smale.

   After receiving favors from Thomson as PGA, Guterres gave him a job in his Secretariat, Representative on Oceans. Here is Patrick Ho, interviewed by Guterres' DESA, on Oceans. There should have been an audit. There still should be. Another of Guterres' special advisers, Jeffrey Sachs, after denying Inner City Press' documented report Sachs was on a UN - CEFC board, abruptly closed his Twitter account, story here. Guterres goes on robo-tweeting from parts unknown, spending public money undisclosed. Guterres should explain and / or resign.  We will have more in this series.

   A now-removed Gulbenkian Foundation web page says Guterres continued as a board member into 2018. Archived here. In fact it was on 9 February 2018 that Gulbenian tweeted that Guterres was no longer on the board - AFTER it was reported that Gulbenian was trying to sell, or even had already sold, Partex to CEFC. This is called guilty knowledge.

 While Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric is refusing to answer Inner City Press' written questions, contrary to promises by Guterres' Global Communicator Alison Smale, it appears Guterres' evasive defense is claiming that he left Gulbenkian in November 2016 and therefore somehow had no conflict of interest in refusing and blocking the obviously needed UN audit of CEFC after the arrest of its Patrick Ho for UN bribery. This defense is dubious.

  Why did Gulbenkian take down its webpage disclosing that Guterres remained on board into 2018? Why - sixteen months after Guterres ostensibly left - did they wait until February 2018 to tweet that he left? Because their negotiations with CEFC became public (see 2 February 2018 Bloomberg here, and 6 February MacauHub here: "CEFC China Energy buys Portugal’s Partex Oil & Gas.")

  In any event, Guterres' "2017" Financial Disclosure, which explicitly says it covered the year 2016 in which even in this new story he remained on Gulbenkian's board into November, more than 80% of the year - did not disclose his role in Gulbenkian, only on the Club of Madrid. Guterres has had previous financial disclosure omissions, for example in Portugal, here. CEFC was hardly unknown: it bought a Portuguese insurance company in November 2017, here.

    Guterres' failure to disclose and, separately and even more so, his refusal to audit CEFC in the UN was a direct conflict of interest, which he has tried to cover up by roughing up and banning Inner City Press which asked him about it. (See January 2018 press conference here, July 2018 roughing up by Guterres' UN Security here, banning letter via Press Freedom Tracker here.)

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