UNITED NATIONS
GATE, October 24 – The UN
maintains a secret list of
people banned from entering
its premises. On October 24
while barring Inner City Press
from events on Burundi, Syria
and Cameroon, UN Security
Inspector Matthew Sullivan
said the list would not be
provided to Inner City Press
as it is an "internal
document." He returned to brag
that the UN spoke with and
even affirmatively called NYPD
- the NY Police Department to
which Inner City Press
directed a Freedom of
Information Law request about
their knowledge of and
collusion with the UN's barred
list -- presumably to hinder
the release of any
information, or to retalate.
Video here. Things are getting
worse and worse at Antonio
Guterres' UN. Inner City Press
has appealed to both the
Mayor's Office including
International Affairs' Penny
Abeywardena and to NYPD,
through the OpenRecords portal
it like all New Yorkers is
directed to, thusly: "As a
journalist banned even today
from the UN - told that I am
on the no due process "barred"
list that is one of the
subjects of this FOIL request
I requested and am requesting
expedited processing of -
Today UN Security Inspector
Matthew Sullivan in barring me
from events on Burundi and
Syria said that the UN was
called by and called the New
York City government,
presumably about this request
and to impede or delay any
response. He called the UN
barred list an "internal
document." This is contrary to
US Constitutional (and
international human) rights -
but the purpose of this
interim appeal is in this new
light to demand expedited
response of all records in
your possession about this
list, to avoid or mitigate
collusion in the violation of
an American (and New York)
journalist's First Amendment
rights. For your information,
and in support of this appeal,
UN Inspector Sullivan bragging
about impeding this FOIL
request is now online here.
Please confirm receipt,
respond to this appeal and
provide the responsive
documents asap. -Matthew Lee,
Inner City Press." In further
Kafka-esque response, while
the NYPD response said to that
portal "to view additional
information and take any
necessary action," now NYPD's
Records Access Officer Richard
Mantellino says "Please be
advised that this email cannot
accept FOIL requests and/or
respond to inquiries or
matters related to such." So
who should we ask - the UN's
Matthew Sullivan? Antonio
Guterres? Watch this site?
Even the Security officers who
enforce the ban are not told
the reason why a person is on
the list: whether it was for
actual violence, or writing
articles questioning the
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' misuse
of public funds, for example.
One told Inner City Press the
secret list includes
"demonstrators" and "political
activists," audio here.
Since the City of New York
works with the UN including
this banned list which
includes New York City
journalists, Inner City Press
in mid October 2018 submitted
a request under the Freedom of
Information Law - but the
Office of Mayor Bill de Blasio
and his Mayor's Office of
International Affairs under
Penny Abeywardena are trying
to delay response for SIX
MONTHS until April 2019. Here
is the request: "On behalf of
Inner City Press and in my
personal capacity this is a
request under FOIL for all
records in the possession of
the NYC Office of the Mayor
including the Mayor’s Office
for International Affairs
(MOIA; collectively OOM)
regarding the exclusion of
persons in the last three
years from premises of the
United Nations, in and around
First Avenue and 42-48th
Streets in Manhattan,
including of NYC residents
including journalists. This is
also a request for all records
in the same time period of the
review, suspension or
revocation of pistol permits
for any UN personnel including
but not limited to UN
Department of Safety and
Security personnel and the
grounds therefore. To assist
you in identifying and
producing the responsive
records on an expedited basis,
I personally was physically
ousted from the UN by UN DSS
Lieutenant Ronald Dobbins and
another unnamed on 3 July 2018
as I staked out and covered,
as a journalist, the UN Budget
Committee meetings. On 4 July
2018 I filed a report at the
NYPD's 17th Precinct, despite
being told - erroneously I now
believe, including based on
how my First Amendment rights
have been impacted - that all
UN personnel have total
immunity. The report number is
#2018-017-2848. See also, The
UK Independent, here.
On 5 July 2018 when I went to
the UN to continue my work as
a journalist I was told I am
“banned.” I have since been
told that the UN has a
“current and active barred
notice” against me, that there
is a banned list that includes
“demonstrators” and “political
activists.” I am still banned
today, after 104 days. See
also,
https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-matt-lee-forcibly-removed-un-stripped-press-credentials/
and
https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/reporter-expelled-un.php
I find this deeply troubling
and worth of urgent Press
coverage. This request
includes but is not limited to
all records related to the
above, related to any
knowledge by OOM including
MOIA of any UN “banned” list
and how it is compiled, and
what due process protections
if any are in place, etc. Also
any knowledge by OOM including
MOIA of any disciplinary
measures taken against UN
Security officers or other
personnel, at least for the
past three years. I am also
requesting any record in your
possession referring to "Inner
City Press" for the past ten
years, with the past three
years to be provided on an
expedited basis. I am
requesting expedited process
and a waiver of fees - Inner
City Press is a non profit
news organization that
educated the public about the
operations of government(s)
and routinely receives fee
waivers from agencies at the
Federal, state and local
level." And here is the
response, to which we are
preparing an appeal: "The
Mayor's Office (OOM) has
acknowledged your FOIL
request... You can expect a
response on or about Friday,
April 26, 2019.
Additional Information:
Due to the volume of requests
that we have received, we now
estimate that we will be able
to provide you with a response
on or before the above date."
Disgusting. We will have more
on this.
Guterres
or apparently his head of
Global Communications Alison
Smale, if only as a proxy, can
put a journalist on the list
without any review, any
notice, any appeal. It is a
dictator's dream come true.
Inner City Press was
physically ousted twice by
Guterres' UN Security this
summer as it reported on his
now-15 flights to his home in
Lisbon with public funds, his
trading away of Cameroon human
rights abuses for favors in
the Budget Committee, and now
his son Pedro's undisclosed
business links in Africa.
Smale on August 17, without
once speaking to me covering
the UN for Inner City Press
for 11 years, withdrew my
media accreditation.
But it's
gone further than that. For
example, on October 11 I
showed up for a film screening
about sex trafficking, “Love
Sonia,” to which I had been
invited by the UN Office of
Drugs and Crimes. UNODC's New
York director personally put
me on the list for a post
screening reception and came
and met me and took me to the
UN gate to sign me in, since
my ticket - which she said
she'd seen - mysteriously
disappeared.
UN
Security refused to allow the
NY director of UNODC to sign
me in. “Even if he had a
ticket we'd have to check,”
one officer said. I was told
that a supervisor would come
out, and that UNODC would
speak to them. But after one
hour it never happened.
Guterres' chief of staff Maria
Luiza Viotti left the building
and I audibly told her, I'm
invited but I'm being blocked.
She did not even break stride.
The UN has
given me nothing in writing
that I am banned. Guterres'
spokesman has stated it as a
fact, without explanation or
rationale, on October
9 and 11, while refusing
to answer my e-mailed
questions despite Smale's
promise they would be answered
to supposedly respect my
"journalistic endeavours."
Another UN Security officer
told me, No one is going to
help you. You are on the list.
I asked him, who else is on
the list? He mentioned
“demonstrators” and "political
activists" and others. Audio here.
Tellingly,
NOT on Guterres' banned list
are those who pleaded guilty
to UN bribery for example
in the Ng Lap Seng - John Ashe
case. They are not banned by
Guterres, UNlike the
journalist who most closely
covered those convictions, and
the current
UN bribery case of Patrick Ho
and the China Energy Fund
Committee. Guterres is fine
with bribery, but bans those
who investigate and expose it.
UNSG Guterres
thinks he can ban people
without no notice, no due
process, no review? And that
it won't be noticed or
reviewed? Watch this site.
***
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