Italy
Uses Pioli's
UN Corruption
Association
for UNSC
Campaign
Banner
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 4 --
Amid a UN
scandal of
Macau
businessman Ng
Lap Seng
having bought
the UN through
former
President of
the General
Assembly John
Ashe and South
South News
honcho Frank
Lorenzo, there
is some talk
of reforming
the ways in
which
campaigning to
replace Ban
Ki-moon as
Secretary
General can be
done.
But
campaigning
for Security
Council seats
remains
entirely
unreformed.
With the
collusion of
the UN
Correspondents
Association,
which after
taking money
from Lorenzo's
South South
News gave Ng a
photo op with
Ban at
Cipriani,
the Italy
Mission which
is running
against Sweden
and the
Netherlands
for a Council
seat not only
handed out
free food on
December for
in the
clubhouse the
UN gives to
UNCA: it
posted its
Security
Council
campaign
banner inside
UNCA, facing
out. Photo
here.
Italy's
“in” was that
not only is
one Giampaolo
Pioli, without
any term
limits, still
head of UNCA:
he now has his
former
protege, now
with ANSA, as
a Vice
President.
This is
the same Pioli
who not only
tried to get
the
investigative
Press thrown
out for
reporting on
his favor
to the Sri
Lankan
ambassador who
rented one of
Pioli's
apartments
but also made
campaign
contributions
in a race he
was ostensibly
covering
for his media
in Italy,
Quotiadiano
Nazionale.
Should
journalists
give money to
politicians
they are
“covering”?
Should a group
of
correspondents
given a room
by the UN use
it for their
country's
campaign for a
Security
Council seat?
This is
today's UN,
and its UN
Corruption
Association.
They
say there's no
free lunch. In
today's UN
there is
Italian food
given to
scribes to
promote a week
of for-pay
lunches,
consonant with
Italy's run
for a Security
Council seat
against Sweden
and the
Netherlands.
The
hosts, the UN
Corruption
Association
UNCA -- now
selling seats
with Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon for
$6000, see
below -- just
anointed two
Italian
journalists
among its top
five
officials,
including
hold-over
president
Giampaolo
Pioli who has
tried to censor
and eject the
investigative
Press, here.
Absurdly,
Pioli's
derivative
invitation to
those who pay
UNCA money
calls it an
“exclusive
aperitivo.”
Pioli's tenure
is marked not
only with
censorship but
also bread and
circuses, and
events having
little to do
with the UN,
such as the
launch of a
kid's book by
a hedge fund
executive.
(This on top
of screening
war crimes
denial films
for the Sri
Lankan
ambassador, to
whom Pioli
rented one of
his Manhattan
apartments, here.)
But why
would Italy,
or separately
the three
chefs Sonia
Balacchi,
Filippo La
Mantia and
Michele
Biagiola,
think it
benefits them
to go behind
closed doors
with a group
that has
engaged in censorship,
and is now
selling access
to Ban
Ki-moon?
Such an event
could easily
be held in the
mission, the
UN's Ex-Press
Bar, or any
number of
other
locations.
It's a (bad)
choice, or as
some say, an
Italian thing.
We'll have
more on this.
With
the UN
embroiled in
scandals
including the
indictments of
former
President of
the General
Assembly and Macau
businessman Ng
Lap Seng
and Frank
Lorenzo and
their South
South News,
one would
expect the UN
press corps,
even the
entity the UN
itself chooses
to set aside
first
questions for,
to be pursuing
rather than be
involved in
the scandals.
But
with the UN
Correspondents
Association,
this year more
than ever,
that is not
the case.
UNCA's just
completed"elections"
had no
competition at
all for the
officer seats,
now doled out
to AFP,
France 24, the
US
Broadcasting
Board of
Governors
and ANSA from
holdover
president
Giampaolo
Pioli's
native Italy.
This
UNCA
"leadership"
represents
Italy and
France, and
old media --
tellingly,
those new
media which
chose to run
(Inner City
Press quit
UNCA after its
censorship
bid) for
lesser UNCA
seats were not
selected. Also
tellingly, the
UN
Spokesperson's
office
promoted the
scam election,
using its
loudspeaker to
try to get out
the vote (for
candidates who
had no
opponents.)
The
ringmaster,
Giampaolo
Pioli, came
through the UN
Security
Council
stakeout not
to ask any
question or
even listen to
answers on
South Sudan or
Syria; he glad
handed his
unopposed
slate and then
headed to the
UN bar. He has
arranged more
Italian
toasting,
seeingly part
of Italy's
actually-opposed
campaign for a
Security
Council seat
(more on this
in future
dispatches).
It's
become the UN's
Censorship
Alliance -
having tried
to get the
investigative
Press thrown
out of the UN
- and the UN
Corruption
Association, selling
photo ops and
seats with Ban
Ki-moon.
Call them Ban
Ki-moon shots.
While
calling for an
audit of sale
of UN access
under John
Ashe, should
Ban openly
allow access
to him to be
sold? He
appears intent
on doing so,
or operating
by inertia, on
automatic
pilot. Inner
City Press now
learns that
Ban's twice
delayed report
on the cover
up of
peacekeepers'
rapes in the
Central
African
Republic will
be pushed
further back,
after the
sell-out,
buried. We'll
have more on
this.
UNCA's
awards, such
as they gave
to South
South News
for money,
include awards
and payments
to entities
who've served
on their own
Board.
In 2011
under then
(and now)
president
Giampaolo
Pioli, UNCA
took money
from the South
South News of
now-indicted
Ng Lap Seng,
then gave
South South
News an UNCA
award and gave
Ng Lap Seng a
photo op with
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon.
Now in
November 2015,
Pioli has
solicited
$6000 from UN
Ambassadors
for seats
at the “VIP”
table at the
UNCA “Ball” on
Wall Street:
to sit with
Ban Ki-moon.
Here is UNCA's
pitch:
"Dear
Ambassador,
The United
Nations
Correspondents
Association is
honored to
invite you to
participate
and contribute
to the 20th
annual UNCA
Awards event
with guest of
honor U.N.
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
and H.S.H.
Prince Albert
II of Monaco,
recipient of
the 2015
Global
Advocate of
the Year Award
for climate
change.
Exclusive
raffle prizes
include
business class
airline
tickets around
the world with
hotel
accommodations
and a grand
prize FIAT
500X car. As
your esteemed
presence will
ensure the
success of
this event, we
are pleased to
send you the
below
opportunities
to attend the
gala dinner:
Mission Table
Special Price
/ $6000
(half-table) 5
seats at VIP
table at the
gala event
Special
Ambassador
Contribution /
$2,000 -1 VIP
ticket for
Ambassador
with premium
seating to
dinner + 1
complimentary
VIP ticket for
spouse or
guest -Special
acknowledgement
of the
Ambassador and
the Mission in
the UNCA
Awards Journal
of the evening
-Additional
tickets for UN
Diplomats of
the Mission
can be
purchased at
the special
price of $750
each
Giampaolo
Pioli, UNCA
President
Please make
all checks
payable to
'UNCA Awards
Committee'
Contributions
to the UNCA
Awards
Committee are
tax
deductible.
The UNCA
Awards
Committee is a
501-c(3)"
This is
precisely the
type of sale
of access
involved in
the
indictments of
Ng, Sheri Yan
and Frank
Lorenzo.
While
others are
announcing
audits and
freezing such
contacts, UNCA
under Pioli is
bulling
forward,
charging ever
more money,
getting ever
further from
journalistic
purposes.
On
November 20,
Pioli's UNCA
circulated a
list of
candidates
with no
competition
for any of the
six officer
positions. It
also
pre-announced
its awards,
including to
Reuters (on
its Board) and
others. We'll
have more on
this.
For the three
running
unopposed for
five president
slots, two
were already
on the UNCA
board during
the relevant
time period;
the other is Pioli's
former protege
at Quotidiano
Nazionale.
It's an
Italian thing.
Running for
Treasurer?
It's Agence
France Presse,
whose previous
correspondent
tried
to use a
position on
the UNCA board
to censor
Press coverage
of Herve
Ladsous,
the fourth
Frenchman in a
row atop UN
Peacekeeping.
Reuters
is in the mix,
too, and
another which
joined Pioli
in trying to
censor
coverage of
Pioli
unilaterally
approving a
Sri Lankan
government war
crimes denial
film for a
“UN”
screening,
after Pioli
rented one of
his apartments
to Palitha
Kohona, Sri
Lanka's
Ambassador to
the UN.
This is UN.
But amid the
new scandals
at the UN,
this is
something new:
watch this
site.
Footnote:
Inner City
Press after
Pioli's and
others
censorship
bid, and
attempt to get
Inner City
Press thrown
out of the UN
(uncovered
along with
documents
still to be
published by a
Freedom
of Information
Act request,
here, and
questioned
by the New
York Civil
Liberties
Union),
quit the UNCA
board and
co-founded,
with another
who'd quit
UNCA as
corrupt, the Free UN Coalition for Access.
FUNCA
does not seek
any automatic
first
questions, but
opposes
the UN setting
aside first
questions
for an entity
which, as now
shown, is enmeshed
in the very UN
scandals that
must be asked
about.
Watch this
site.
* * *
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