UN GATE, May 2
– Inner City Press
has been banned from
entering the UN by
UNSG Antonio
Guterres since 5
July
2018. While
Guterres'
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric said on
camera he was
answering banned
Inner City Press'
many questions,
he is not.
It is a lie,
see below,
with no
answers on
Cameroon,
Honduras, UN
rapes,
Guterres'
corruption - now
on Coronavirus.
Guterres is corrupt.
And he is not
alone at the
UN - after
four PGAs in a
row
took bribes,
on April
24, 2020 there was a
rare briefing
by Reem
Abaza of the
OPGA, online
but with the
media of nearly
all GA
members'
excluded, along
with Inner
City Press. Reem
Abaza - and
the PGA and GA
-
she was complicit
in the
censorship of
Press of
Dujarric,
saying she was
taking all questions
when Inner
City Press was
blocked and
only the
same dozen
state media and
retires would
ask.
Now
on May 2-3,
this piece of
hypocrisy: "
BY H.E.
TIJJANI
MUHAMMAD-BANDE,
PRESIDENT OF
THE UN GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
3 May
2020
The World
Press Freedom
Day,
proclaimed in
1993 by the
United
Nations, was
inspired by
the efforts of
African
journalists
who in 1991
produced the
landmark
Windhoek
Declaration,
calling for
media
pluralism and
independence.
Since then,
celebrating
the World
Press Freedom
Day marks our
recognition of
journalists
and media
professionals
around the
globe, whose
work has
contributed to
exposing
injustice and
hardship
experienced by
those whose
voices are
often silenced
or
threatened.
We must
continue to
defend a free
world
press.
The crucial
role of
journalism is
even more
relevant in
the
unprecedented
wake of
COVID-19, when
our very lives
depend on a
balanced
perspective of
unbiased
information,
constructive
public debates
and credible
accountability.
The
coronavirus
pandemic has
given new rise
to flows of
misinformation,
as well as
politically
and
commercially-biased
news,
amplifying
threats to
press freedoms
around the
world.
Yet, it is
only a
well-informed
public that
can be best
equipped to
tackle issues
that matter
most. We
are still
struggling to
get it
right.
Threats
against
journalists
and media
workers are
not new
phenomena.
Their dignity,
and the
integrity of
their work are
still under
attack in too
many places
around the
world. Female
journalists
face a double
burden: being
attacked as
journalists,
and as women.
We must stand
with them in
solidarity.
Similarly,
when
publications
are censored,
fined, and
suspended – we
must voice
that this
undermines the
foundations of
freedom of
opinion and
expression,
which are
enshrined in
Article 19 of
the Universal
Declaration of
Human
Rights.
I want to
thank all
journalists
who put their
lives and
freedoms on
the line to
defend the
idea of free
speech and
expression.
Let me also
pay tribute to
all those who
have lost
their lives as
a result of
their
journalistic
endeavours.
There is great
work to be
done. We
have no room
for either
cynicism or
apathy. We
should strive
together, to
deliver for
all."
More pathetic
- two days
later, the transcript
was not as
Abaza promised
on the PGA's
website,
where the
most recent
schedule for
Bande was
from March 2.
What has he been
doing for six
weeks? Who
does he work
for? Why has he
debased the
Office of the
PGA and the GA
itself
by colluding
and being complicit
with
Dujarric's censorship?
Abaza did
the same scam
briefing on
May 1. We'll
have more on
this.
Bande's office in
2019
never answered Inner
City Press' written
questions:
"Tijjani
Muhammad-Bande
will be
traveling to
Paris, France
on November 10
to attend the
Paris Peace
Forum." She
didn't say who was
paying; nor
have she or
the PGA
answered about
why Inner City
Press is banned
from entering
to cover
the PGA. Now on a
craven trip to
Nigeria,
"Muhammad-Bande
noted that the
UN system
assisted
Nigeria in
dealing with
the regional
problem of
Boko Haram,
even as he
expressed
delight over
the success of
the war
against
insurgency in
the
country.
In his
remarks,
Onyeama
assured Bande
of Nigeria’s
support.
“Your vision
is one that
this country
and this
governments
identifies
with and it
also
correspond to
our priorities
as a
government,”
he added." What
about the illegal
refoulement by
their Nigeria
of Ayuk Tabe
and others to
Cameroon? ANd
why the most
basic,
can't the Press
enter the UN
to ask? We
will not rest.
,
