In UN
Scandal News,
ICP Asks Ban's
Spox &
Lykketoft of
Piao Guilty
Plea, In
Denial?
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 15 --
Ban Ki-moon's
tenure as UN
Secretary
General became
embroiled in
one scandal
after another
in 2015 -- but
at his
“year-end”
press
conference he
refused to
answer a Press
question
directly on
it. Video
here and
embedded
below. Vine
here. On
January 5,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman,
below. On
January 14, at
Ban's
stakeout,
Inner City
Press was
again denied a
question.
Now one of
those in the
scandal, Heidi
Piao, is said
to be ready to
cooperate. She
was -- and is
-- with the
Global
Sustainability
Foundation
which
reportedly
funneled
bribes at the
UN, and at the
founding of
which some
very close to
Ban were
present.
Inner City
Press:
yesterday one
of the
individuals
arrested in
the UN
corruption
cases
involving,
allegedly,
John Ashe and
Ng Lap Seng,
Heidi Piao has
pled guilty
and has said
she will
cooperate, so
this seems to…
as before,
you've always
said, it's
just an
allegation.
Seems like if
somebody
pleads guilty
and is going
to serve time,
there's
probably
something to
the
allegation.
What does the
Secretary-General…
I noticed in
his speech
about his
priorities
there was not
a mention of
UN reforms or
trying to look
into
this.
Does he see
this as more
serious now?
Spokesman:
I think we've
always taken
these
allegations
seriously, and
I wouldn't
want anybody
to think
otherwise.
The audit that
he ordered by
OIOS is
ongoing.
It should be
wrapped up, I
believe, at
some point
next
month. I
think UNDP is
also in the
final stage of
reviewing
their
audit.
As we've said,
we will also
be putting
forward some
recommendations
to the
President of
the General
Assembly's
Office to
ensure that
there is
greater
transparency
and
efficiencies
in how both
the
Secretariat
and,
obviously, the
PGA's office
is run.
Inner
City Press
asked asked
current PGA
Mogens
Lykketoft
about the
guilty plea, video here.
Indicted
businessman Ng
Lap Seng,
charged with
paying bribes
to buy a
document from
Ban's
Secretariat
for a UN
conference
center in
Macau, has
withdrawn his
December 10
request for a
speedy trial,
and says he
may ask to
sever his
trial from
that of former
UN President
of the General
Assembly John
Ashe.
Will this
extend his UN
corruption
case past the
tenure of Ban
Ki-moon? Or
impact the
continue
reports of Ban
as a player in
South Korea's
upcoming
Presidential
race?
On
January 5,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, from
the transcript:
Inner City
Press: I would
assume that
you’ve seen
that the
businessman Ng
Lap Seng, who
stands to be
put on trial
for having,
among other
things,
purchased
documents from
the
Secretariat,
is the way I’d
phrase it,
through the
John Ashe
case, has
asked to have
his case
severed and
delayed.
He’s no longer
asking for a
speedy
trial. I
wanted to know
if you have
any comment
and if the UN
Secretariat
had… or its
UNDP (United
Nations
Development
Programme)
office of
South-South
Cooperation
have been
contacted or
are
cooperating in
any way with
these various
trials.
Spokesman:
No, I’m not
aware of any
contacts.
We can ask the
South-South
office.
Inner City
Press:
And I guess…
it was said,
when this
first came up,
that the
director of
the
South-South
office was new
and that’s why
he never came
forward to… to
talk about
what these
serious
charges mean
for his
office.
Is he now less
new? Can
he come
forward?
Spokesman:
I’m sure he’s
less new by
the day; each
day and every
day we get
older and we
get less
new.
That’s the
laws of
physics and
biology, which
we can’t
fight.
You’re welcome
to get in
touch with his
office.
Inner City
Press: I
have. I
want to
emphasize to
you that a
simple
document, a
supposedly
public
document, they
signed with
Dominica has
yet to be
released, so…
Spokesman:
Okay.
Okay
what?
Beyond the
indictments of
the former PGA
Ashe, Ng Lap
Seng, Sherri
Yang and
others, on
December 31
Inner City
Press asked
four of Ban's
spokespeople
questions
including:
"Regarding the
report on the
sexual abuse
in CAR and how
the UN handled
it, please
state the
identity of
the senior
officer in the
Executive
Office of the
Secretary
General do
which a
section of the
report is
devoted, or
explain why
your Office
will not
provide the
name, in terms
of
accountability.
"Please
confirm or
deny that
Andrew Gilmour
is seeking
employment
outside of the
EOSG, and
provide the
SG's view of
its senior
official
leaving or
seeking to
leave before
he does."
Ban's
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq,
while leaving
Inner City
Press
questions on
Burundi and
South Sudan
entirely
UNaddressed,
sent this:
From: Farhan
Haq [at]
un.org
Date: Thu, Dec
31, 2015 at
12:11 PM
Subject: Press
Qs in lieu of
a UN noon
briefing:
Burundi, S.
Sudan, Haiti,
EOSG, still SG
travel, UNOG,
Ohio, Ethiopia
/ free press;
still Jordan,
UNHQ, UN
scandals /
reforms,
Yemen; thanks
in advance
To: Matthew
Lee [at]
InnerCityPress.com
Cc: Stephane
Dujarric [at]
un.org, FUNCA
[at] funca.org
"Regarding
accountability
and the CAR
report, the
panel put out
the
information it
chose to
provide and we
have made
available the
entire report,
without any
redactions.
Follow-up
action is
being studied
at present.
"We have no
comment on
staff
movements.
Staff are free
to seek
employment
opportunities."
This
last would
appear to
apply to yet
another UN
scandal in
2015: envoy to
Libya
Bernardino
Leon
negotiating a
cushy job with
the United
Arab Emirates
while
purporting to
represent the
UN on Libya.
With
Ban off on a
"private"
visit to
Vienna,
tweeted by the
UN Office
there, the UN
has yet to
answer Inner
City Press'
simple
question about
the cost(s):
"With regard
to the
Secretary
General's
current trip
to Vienna,
tweeted by the
UN there, for
purposes of
transparency
including in
light of the
indictment of
ex-UNPGA John
Ashe and the
new PGA's
disclosures,
what are the
costs to the
UN budget, and
what are the
other costs
and who is
paying them?"
Ban's envoy to
Libya Bernardino
Leon was
exposed by
leaks as
having taken
instructions
and then a job
from the
United Arab
Emirates.
And Ban's head
of UN
Peacekeeping,
Herve
Ladsous,
is listed in
UN Dispute
Tribunal
documents as
having tried
to cover up
child rapes in
Central
African
Republic by
peacekeepers
from his
native France.
Inner
City Press,
which Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric did
not call on
despite
calling two
separate times
on the same UN
Correspondents
Association
scribe, asked
audibly, “Do
you have any
update on the
John Ashe
indictment?
Bernardino
Leon? These
were major
developments
this year.” Vine here.
But Ban
refused to
answer the
question. He
walked out of
the briefing
room, shaking
hands scribes.
The press
conference
began with
Dujarric
setting aside
the first
question for
the head of
UNCA, who
thanked Ban
for attending
an event on
Wall Street for
which UNCA
charged $6,000
to sit with
Ban. This
is the UN
Corruption
Association.
A
question on or
to cover up
the sexual
abuse scandal
was arranged,
with Agence
France Presse
congratulating
Ban for this
response to
the sexual
abuse scandal.
(Senegalese
Babacar Gaye
was urged to
resign,
Ladsous who on
camera linked
the rapes to
“R&R," video here, remains in
place.)
Ban read out a
wan answer on
Burundi;
his deputy
spokeperson
refused an
Inner City
Press question
on Burundi at
the previous
day's noon
briefing.
We'll have
more on this.
Ban once
promised
monthly press
conference but
his last one
was three
months before,
then nine
months before
that. On
September 16
with the UN
being less
than
successful in
mediating in Yemen
and Libya,
Syria and
South Sudan,
accused of
rapes in
Central
African
Republic and
killing 8,000
in Haiti with
cholera (after
40,000 died in
Sri
Lanka with
little
response from
the UN),
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon was
asked, What is
your legacy?
Dujarric
himself cut
off Inner City
Press
questions on
what Ladsous
said, and
declined to
answer on
Reddit in an
“Ask Me
Anything.” (He
didn't say
he's ANSWER
everything,
one wag
pointed out.)
But
even beyond
the scandals,
Ban did not in
his opening
statement
mention
Somalia, or
CAR, or
Darfur; none
of the
questions
selected by
Dujarric was
about Africa.
(One wire
points out
Africa was
part of a
UN-at-70
question;
noted.)
Inner City
Press also
tried to ask
about Burundi
-- nothing -
and South
Sudan, on
which we are
preparing a
story.
It was
Voice of
America with
the “What is
your legacy”
question. Ban
said he'd
answer next
year. Inner
City Press
might answer
sooner. Watch
this site. Follow @innercitypressFollow @FUNCA_info
, 
