UN
Guterres Now To China After CEFC
Bribes and Gulbenkian Foundation
Oil Bid Corrupt South South
Brags of Contacts
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR Letter
PFTracker
UNITED NATIONS
GATE, April 25 – Before Inner
City Press was roughed
up by UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres'
Security on June 22 and July
3, 2018 and banned since
then, it insistently asked for
disclosure of how many of
Guterres' publicly funded
trips took him through his
real home, Lisbon. The
questions are not been
answered by Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, who on 2 November
2018 simply bicycled
away as Inner City Press
asked about Guterres' failure
in Cameroon and attempt to get
even Park East Synagogue to
oust Inner City Press from
covering his October 31 speech
about tolerance.
Before 10 am on
April 25, Inner City Press
asked Guterres' spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, as well as
Guterres' email address and
that of his deputy and Alison
Smale, "April 25-1: Now
that SG Guterres is
lavishing praise on
China's "Belt and Road"
please immediately provide
the full transcript of
Guterres' "interview with
Chinese journalists" from
which this propaganda came
out: "UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres said
Tuesday that the Belt and
Road Initiative is a "very
important opportunity" to
the world. With such a
huge volume of investment
for international
cooperation as the Belt
and Road Initiative, it is
a "very important
opportunity for enhancing
the capacity to implement
the sustainable
development goals and an
important opportunity to
launch green perspectives
in the years to come,"
Guterres said during an
interview with Chinese
journalists at the UN
headquarters before
leaving for the second
Belt and Road Forum for
International Cooperation
in Beijing. (Xinhua)."
Immediately state how many
staff of Xinhua and other
Chinese state media the UN
DPI/DGC has granted
accreditation to to
currently enter the
UN.
April 25-2:
Immediately state how much
Guterres and team's trip to
China is costing, the size
and composition of the UN
delegation, and who is
paying for it (given that
even the PGA now discloses
this information).
Again, state whether after
the UN bribery conviction of
Patrick Ho of CEFC, and
CEFC's attempt to purchase
the oil company of
Gulbenkian Foundation which
paid Mr. Guterres in 2016
(omitted from his online
public financial disclosure
covering 2016), he intends
to raise corruption and UN
bribery issues with China." More than seven
hours later, no answer at
all. But the UN South
South Cooperation
Office, which fronted for Chinese
businessman Ng
Lap Seng,
was tweeting
photos of its
meetings in
Beijing
including Jorge Chediek
and his
(Chinese) deputy
Xiaojun Grace
Wang, here. China
was bragging
that Guterres
would cravenly
show up at its
Belt and Road
event, after
Guterres
refused to
audit UN
briber CEFC
China Energy.
CEFC tried to
buy the oil
company of
Lisbon based
Gulbenkian
Foundation the
payments of
which to
Guterres were
not included
in his public
financial
disclosure
covering 2016.
This was
days after
Guterres'
Alison Smale
and Tal Mekel
summarily denied
Inner City
Press
application to
re-enter the
UN to ask
questions, and
after guards
physically pushed
Inner City
Press out of
the line for a
press freedom
event in the
UN it was
invited to and
had a ticket
for, then
refused to
provide the
banned-by-Guterres
list they said
was the basis
of their
action.
We'll have
more on this. On March 2 with
Guterres presumably in New
York but not in the mansion at
5 pm - there were no UN
security vehicles nearby - he
nonetheless left all lights in
the second floor blazing. This
is pure waste, pure hypocrisy
given what Guterres claims
about his commitment to
sustainability - all the more
so because it was broad day
light. On matters ranging from
censorship and corruption to
this, the hypocrisy gets worse
and worse. On November 20, the
day Guterres accepted the resignation
of Erik Solheim -- which
Guterres hypocritically demanded
on November 19 -- for similar
misuse of public funds to
travel to Oslo and Paris,
Inner City Press asked
Guterres who his travel to
Lisbon was any different.
Guterres refused to answer,
got into the back of his
publicly funded Mercedes and
drove off. Video here.
On November 21 Dujarric was
asked how / where Guterres
would spend the next day, US
Thanksgiving and replied
Guterres would be "glued to
his email." But past 11 am on
November 21 there was none of
the usual UN Security in front
of the $15 million publicly
funded mansion on Sutton Place
where Guterres (sometimes)
lives. Vine video here.
Before 9 am on Monday November
26 Inner City Press in writing
asked Guterres, his Deputy
Amina J. Mohammed and his two
spokesmen: "November 26-3: As
asked November 23 without any
answer at all, please
immediately state where SG
Guterres has been since
November 21, how much it has
so far cost the UN budget /
public, including in light of
the Spokesman's response on
Nov 21 that the SG would be
“scrolling his email” and in
the context of officials such
as previous host city Mayor
and now UN official Bloomberg
disclosing when he was out of
town and where - and of SG
Guterres now reported role in
demanding Erik Solheim “pull
himself, now” for just such
undisclosed personal travel?"
Twelve hours later this was
not answered, despite the
promise of answers from
Guterres' Communicator Alison
Smale to UNSR David Kaye. But
at the day's noon briefing
Inner City Press was banned
front, when asked why Guterres
has said nothing on Ukaine,
Dujarric said: "the
Secretary-General is on plane
on his way back to New York as
we speak. He is being
fully briefed on the
situation." So that's
admitting Guterres was gone -
while refusing to say where or
how much it cost. And so much
for being "glued to his
email." Today's UN is corrupt.
On Friday November 23 when the
Spokesperson's Office was
open, people getting paid,
Inner City Press submitted
five written questions
including, beyond Cameroon,
DRC and India, this: "November
23-3: Please immediately state
where SG Guterres is, how much
it is costing the UN budget /
public, including in light of
the Spokesman's response on
Nov 21 that the SG would be
“scrolling his email” and in
the context of officials such
as previous host city Mayor
and now UN official Bloomberg
disclosing when he was out of
town and where." Even by the
next day, not one of the
questions was answered,
including about a Kenyan
priest killed by Biya's army
in Cameroon, despite UK USG
Alison Smale's promise to UNSR
David Kaye that questions
would be answered. This on the
eve of a trial that will show
how irresponsible and corrupt
Guterres has been as
UNSG. And Friday
evening, still the empty
mansion, Vine here.
Seems Guterres has taken off
again. Even Trump tells the
public where he is going
(Florida). Even billionaire
NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who
unlike Guterres didn't use
public money for his travel,
ended up disclosed he was
going to the Caribbean. How
untransparent and arrogant can
Guterres get, while having
roughed up and still banned
the Press that asks? Guterres
has had Inner City Press banned
from the UN for life, by his
Alison Smale. But Inner City
Press, even banned, on August
28 published the first in an
exclusive and detailed series.
Now on November 3 with this
total lack of transparency
from the UN Secretariat
itself, Inner City Press can
exclusively report that
Guterres' current four day trip
to Lisbon, his 16th as
Secretary General, was only
booked on October 24, making
it more expensive, and is
entirely paid for by the
public. What was the pretext
for the trip? A 15 minute "Web
Summit" speech; Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
said it would be live streamd
- free, one assumed - on the
Web Summit platform. But
there, to see it, members of
the public had to
"pre-register" for €850 for
the 2019 Web Summit (purchased
by Lisbon for 10 years). Now
we can report that on each of
his 16 publicly-funded junkets
to Lisbon Guterres has taken
two UN Security with him. How
much does it cost? The UN
refuses to answer, prefers to
rough up and ban the Press
that asks. This time they have
refused to confirm - or
attempt to deny - that
Guterres staffer Aguinaldo
Baptista went as well. Inner
City Press asked, 23 hours
ago: "November 5-1: Please
state the cost to the UN
budget of the SG's current
trip to Lisbon, deny or
confirm that staffer Aguinaldo
Baptista has also traveled
there and if so the cost and
rationale for that, Web Summit
(?) or CPLP, and what the
benefit to the UN and public
is of travel to receive this
CPLP award. What other UN
staff and security went, for
how long, and how much has it
cost the public?" No answer.
Totally unaccountable, not
unlike Paul Biya's use of
funds from Cameroon's coffers
to pay hotel bills in Geneva
in cash. Birds of a feather.
As to the Lisbon speech, Inner
City Press immediately put a
how to see it question to
Dujarric and his deputy - no
answer on that. So clicking
the obligatory "yes" to
pre-register and accept Web
Summit promotions, even then
just as Guterres began
blathering about medical
devises and dating apps the
screen was cut off and the
promotion blocked it again,
unable to be moved. Vine video
here.
Guterres has put the UN up for
sale, sometimes intentional,
sometimes because he just has
contempt. Also at the Summit,
behind this promotional
paywall, is Tony Blair. Inner
City Press also raised the
issue to Guterres' Global
Censor Alison
Smale, Deputy
SG Amina J. Mohammed, her
chief of staff Nelson Muffuh and staffer
Aguinaldo Baptista, who along on the public dime. Was
this justified
by Guterres'
personal Prize
from the
Community of
Portuguese
Speaking
Countries,
CPLP -
previously
awarded to,
among others,
the currently
incarcerated
Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva?
The decision
to give it to
Guterres was
made months
ago in July in
Cabo
Verde,
where
Guterres' son
Pedro
Guimarães e
Melo De
Oliveira
Guterres does
UNdisclosed
business; no
recusals or
safeguards
from Guterres,
only the
roughing up
and banning of
the Press
which asks. On
November 5,
Inner City
Press asked: "it
was said that
the SG's
speech in
Lisbon will be
streamed on
Web Summit
platform. But
there, after a
mere minute,
it says To
continue
watching,
pre-register
for the 2019
Web Summit. So
it is for-pay?
Question Nov
5-1 is
reiterated:
“November 5-1:
Please state
the cost to
the UN budget
of the SG's
current trip
to Lisbon,
deny or
confirm that
staffer
Aguinaldo
Baptista has
also traveled
there and if
so the cost
and rationale
for that, Web
Summit (?) or
CPLP, and what
the benefit to
the UN and
public is of
travel to
receive this
CPLP award.
What other UN
staff and
security went,
for how long,
and how much
has it cost
the public?” And as
Guterres'
15 minutes
speech,
ostensibly
justifying all
this public spending,
approached
there was no
answer.
We'll have more on this. Back
on September 7 Inner City
Press reported that Guterres
intends to use even Kofi
Annan's death and the
September 13 event in Ghana as
a pretext to again fly to
Lisbon. He'll turn it into a
five day junket, leaving New
York on September 11 (when
he's arranged a Myanmar white
washing CPPF meeting, also
reported exclusively by banned
Inner City Press, here),
offer praise sure to be ironic
of Kofi Annan who Rest in
Peace never had a critical
journalist roughed up and
banned - then fly to Lisbon on
the public dime, until
September 16. How much will it
cost? The UN refuses to
answer. But it is not their
money. And the climate of
cover up includes Guterres not
disclosing his own son Pedro
Guimarães e Melo De Oliveira
Guterres' business links in
Africa and elsewhere. We'll
have more on this: it is what
journalism is supposed to do,
hold institutions and those
who lead them accountable.
Here from multiple member
state sources and open
source are the dates of
Guterres' first 14 -- 30% of
total UN trips - through
Lisbon for each of which Inner
City Press has asked, and not
been answered, and live-stream
Periscope of the UN's empty
massion on 57th Street and
Sutton Place for which it was
roughed up and banned:
1/13/2017-1/20/2017
NY->Lisbon->Geneva->Davos
Platz->Zurich
2/9/2017-2/20/2017
NY->Istanbul->Riyadh->Dubai->Abu
Dhabi->Muscat->Doha->Cairo->Frankfurt->Bonn->Munich->Lisbon
2/24/2017-2/27/2017
NY->Lisbon->Geneva
3/25/2017-3/31/2017
NY->Lisbon->Amman->Baghdad->Arbil->Gaziantep
5/9/2017-5/22/2017
NY->London->Beijing->Strasbourg->Geneva->Lisbon
5/25/2017-5/29/2017
NY->Catania->Lisbon
6/20/2017-6/26/2017
NY->Entebbe->Lisbon
6/27/2017-7/4/2017
NY->Washington
DC.->Geneva->Lisbon,
(30/06/2017 - 04/07/2017 in
Lisbon)
11/3/2017-11/7/2017
NY->Lisbon
2/12/2018-2/19/2018
NY->Kuwait->London->Munich->Lisbon
3/14/2018-3/16/2018
NY->Rome->Lisbon
5/11/2018-5/19/2018
NY->Lisbon->Vienna->Brussels->Washington
DC
5/23/2018-5/31/2018
NY->Geneva->Lisbon->Paris->Bamako
7/6/2018-7/11/2018
NY->Lisbon->Addis
Ababa->Kinshasa
Do the
member states paying for this
- whom Guterres' Smale quotes
without name as supporting the
roughing up of and permanent
ban on Inner City Press, agree
with this? Do they know this?
How arrogant or out of touch a
self-styled world leader is
has been revealed in the
Leader's contemptuous approach
to freedom of the press and
whose who even gently chide
him on it, including a Nobel
Peace Prize winner. No, this
is not a reference to Donald
Trump, but to UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres. The
Nobel Peace Prize winner who
has sought the reversal of
Guterres' outrageous 56 day
and counting ban on Inner City
Press even entering the UN is
Jose Ramos Horta of Timor
Leste, still serving Guterres'
UN, who told Inner City Press
on August 27, "Dear Matthew I
did reach the very inner
sanctum of the UN system
reporting on your case to no
avail. Apologies but I don't
know what else I can do."
Later on August 27 an
independent journalist asked
Guterres' spokesman Stephane
Dujarric why things are not
fixed with Inner City Press'
access, since it "looks bad"
given other attacks on press
freedom. Video here.
Dujarric tried to cut the
journlist off, insisting to
say this is about freedom of
the press would be wrong.
(Then why is it in the Press
Freedom Tracker, here,
and the Columbia
Journalism Review, among
others
for example in the UK,
Japan,
Italy
and Cameroon?)
Dujarric changed the earlier
reference to Inner City Press
being in a "garage ramp" -
something Guterres' Grand
Inquisitor Alison Smale never
asked Inner City Press about -
to being in the "parking lot."
(Inner City Press' pass worked
to get there, many use it as a
way to exit, and several
senior UN official,
anti-Guterres sources of Inner
City Press ask to meet it and
give it documents there. Maybe
that's the reason.) Dujarric
then said that Inner City
Press creates a "hostile
environment" for the
diplomats, some times
correspondents and always UN
officials it covers. Seems
clear the ban is entirely
about freedom of the Press,
freedom to question, and a
Secretary General and
vindictive team of holdovers
who seek to retaliate against
questions and coverage,
including live streamed
covering, with a lifetime ban
with no appeal. Here
is an example of Inner City
Press' August 28 questioning
at the Delegates Entrance,
since Guterres and Alison
Smale have banned it from the
Security Council stakeout. Is
this
hostile? Would Guterres,
former NYT bureau chief Smale
and former former Dujarric
like to write Inner City
Press' questions? Its
articles? Perhaps to omit all
refernce to Cameroon
and what Guterres did and
didn't do? On August 28 during
an empty noon briefing Inner
City Press was again banned
from, it asked in writing
Dujarric, Alison Smale, Amina
J. Mohammed and others 13
questions including: "At
yesterday's noon briefing you
said I am banned because I was
“found in the parking lot.”
Since no one spoke to me about
this, please state when and
where, and explain how that is
a violation if non resident
correspondents' passes open
those doors, unlike the
bathrooms on the 4th floor,
and how this Trumped up into
so serious a violation as to
ban me, including from the
upcoming UNGA week. Also,
again, name the diplomats (and
UN staff and journalists) you
yesterday publicly said I
created a hostile
environmental for. Honestly,
that was not my intent. But I
have a right to know. And it
sounds troublingly similar to
questioning and critique: free
press. August 28-2: This is
again a request to be informed
-- including if the question
is view as hostile - of the
reason on the SG's Public
Financial Disclosure page USG
Smale is not listed, while
Natalia Gherman who was named
to her position later than USG
Smale is listed and has made
public disclosure - and for an
explanation why Smale did not
recuse herself as was clearly
called for from banning me."
While two other questions were
answered on August 28, these
were not touched. This is
censorship. For now,
though, Nobel Peace Prize
winner who has worked for the
UN has been rebuffed. What
they say Trump is, Guterres is
as well and more so - only
Guterres has actually roughed
up and banned a critical
journalist for 55 days, with
total impunity. Hence this
story. After
having covered
the UN since
2005 for Inner
City Press,
and pursued
stories of UN
under-performance
from Sri Lanka
to Darfur and
Haiti to Yemen
and most
recently
Secretary
General
Antonio
Guterres' failure and
conflict of
interest on Cameroon,
at 4 pm on
Friday August
17 I got a
four page letter
from Under
Secretary
General Alison
Smale,
formerly the
New York
Times' Berlin
bureau chief. We've put
the letter on
Scribd here,
Patreon
download here.
The
letter
informed me,
without a
single
opportunity to
be heard and
offer
rebuttal, that
“your
accreditation
is hereby
withdrawn
pursuant to
the
Guidelines.”
It cited what it
called three
previous
warnings. But
on further
inspection there is
no there,
there. See
below. In the
middle of the
now 55 day
ban, Jose
Ramos Horta who has
known and
answered Inner
City Press
for years
wrote to it,
somewhat
comedicly, "I
am puzzled by
such an
extreme DPI
decision of
banning you
for life from
UNHQ for
reporting
purposes. Here
in Timor Leste
our Govt never
ever barred a
journalist
from entering
a public space
and reporting
even though
our Media has
never been
friendly with
Govt
officials.I
cannot imagine
how serious an
offense you
may have
committed that
may have
justified such
an extreme
action by DPI.
Did you throw
a bomb, rotten
eggs,
tomatoes,
spaghetti at
some guy? I
shall try to
reach the SG." And
then, on
August 27, "Dear Matthew I
did reach the very inner
sanctum of the UN system
reporting on your case to no
avail. Apologies but I don't
know what else I can do." This
is how arrogant and out of
touch Guterres is, Lusophone
or not. People would report
this about Trump, whole
profiles of those they say
should have spoken out -
Mattis, Kelly, members of
Congress and the Senatre - and
isolation and rage. But what
about Guterres? Jose Ramos
Horta, who has never had a
problem being public, is a man
of integrity, on the right
side on this one when all is
said and done. What about
others? We'll have more, much
more, on this - there has been
other outreach, and more to
come. One individual, even
with a former NYT Global
Communicator like Alison
Smale, cannot be allowed to
censor like this, to impose a
ban on a journalist for the
first time in 40 years, an
active journalist Guterres and
Smale and UNnamed others want
to prevent or hinder Inner
City Press from covering this
UN General Assembly High Level
Week and the UN going forward.
We will not rest. Watch this
site.
In her
lifetime ban
letter, Smale
also
claimed that
Guterres'
spokesmen
would answer
Inner City
Press' e-mailed
questions. But
this it
false. Of the
fourteen
question Inner
City
Press e-mailed
to them,
and Smale,
and Deputy
SG Amina
J. Mohammed
and others on
August 23 and
24, not one
was answered.
Not one.
Including:
"August 24-3:
Given that
Deputy
Spokesman Haq
told
IPS “we
respect his
press rights,
but we also
want to
respect
other’s press
rights. And
some
journalists
feel their
press rights
have been
impeded by his
actions” -
state, since
this is the
basis of me
being banned,
who these are,
and how they
feel their
press rights
have been
impeded by my
actions. Also
all video and
other evidence
that Haq
alluded to to
IPS should be
produced,
today, since
it is the
basis of my
being banned."
Nothing has
been provided,
eight
hours later, by Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric who was
drawing pay all
day
after having
essentially
ordered or
passed on from his
boss the
order to rough up
Inner
City Press.
From the IPS
article: "Lee
has been known
for asking
thought-provoking
questions
during daily
briefings and
at press
stakeouts. He
has reported
on global
conflicts such
as those in
Sri Lanka,
Congo,
Somalia, and
others... However,
the incidents
with Lee
started back
in 2012, when
he was warned
by the DPI to
treat his
fellow
journalists
with respect."
That's not the
case. In 2012, the
President of
the UN
Correspondents
Association
Giampaolo
Pioli, who had
rented one
of him Manhattan
apartments
to one Palitha
Kahona then unilaterally
granted his
request or
demand for an
UNCA screening
of the war
crimes denial
film of the Sri Lanka
government he
represented at
the UN,
ordered Inner
City Press to
remove from the
Internet its
article about
the conflict
of interest.
Inner City Press
declined but offered
to publish any
response, at any
length. Pioli
and the UNCA
board demanded
removal of the
article, and
ultimately
Inner City Press quit UNCA
and
co-founded
FUNCA, the
Free UN Coalition for
Access. The UN claimed it
was uninvolved
- instead,
then head of
Accreditation
Stephane
Dujarric tried
to condition
Inner City Press'
re-accreditation as a
resident
correspondent
on more
positive
coverage of
the Secretariat,
specifically
his fellow Frenchman
Herve
Ladsous, the
head of Peacekeeping who
famously said peacekeepers
would rape less
if they had
more
"R&R." So
from 2012 it
was the UN
trying to
strong arm
positive
coverage of
its officials,
and using the aura of
"other correspondents"
in UNCA as the
leverage -
making UN the
UN Censorship
Alliance.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-303,
UN, NY 10017 USA
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2019 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
|