To
Venezuela FM Inner City Press
Asked Why Guterres Skipped
UNSC Meeting Now Dujarric Spin
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video
CJR PFT Q&A
UNITED NATIONS
GATE, February 11 – When the
foreign minister of Venezuela,
or at least of Nicolas Maduro,
Jorge Arreaza emerged from the
3 Sutton Place mansion where
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres lives alone and met
with him, Inner City Press
asked Arreaza two questions.
Video
here. First, did
Guterres explain to him why he
skipped the UN Security
Council's urgent meeting on
Venezuela on January 26?
Arreaza said that the Security
Council has not even come up
his in nearly one hour meet
with Guterres, who he called
very positive. Inner City
Press also asked if Arreaza
while in the U.S. would be
visiting the Federal Reserve,
where Venezuela's accounts
have been turned over to Juan
Guaido. No, he said, there are
other ways of dealing with
that than the minster of
foreign affairs. Afterward,
Guterres' spokes - / hatchet
man Stephane Dujarric in
response to "questions" from
the correspondents he allows
in and answers issued this:
"In answer to questions asked
about the Secretary-General’s
meeting with H.E. Mr. Jorge
Arreaza, Minister of the
People’s Power for Foreign
Affairs of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela, the
Spokesman said the
following:
The Secretary-General
reaffirmed that his offer of
good offices to both parties
remains available for serious
negotiation to help the
country out of the present
standoff for the benefit of
the people of
Venezuela.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman
for the
Secretary-General 11
February 2019." We'll have
more on this. When Inner City
Press showed up at Guterres or
rather the public's $15
million mansion on the corner
of 57th Street there was a
large black van in front. But
later Arreaza came with
flashing sirens. The UN Media
Acccreditation and Liaison
Unit did not even include this
meeting in its Media Alert,
but allowed in Telesur and a
Japanese TV crew which asked
Arreaza, Do you have any
message for Japan? To this has
Guterres sunk. US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo was in the
UN Security Council at 9 am on
January 26 for a meeting on
Venezuela, as was USUN charge
d'affaires Jonathan Cohen.
Inner City Press went to cover
the meeting, although banned
from any entry of the UN now
for 222 days by UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres amid
questioning his conflicts of
interest including on UN
briber CEFC China Energy. At
8:50 am, Guterres' security
remains in front of his / the
public's $15 mansion on Sutton
Place and 57th Street. While
Guterres' Global Censor Alison
Smale called the meeting
"urgent," Guterres could not
be bothered to be driven 15
blocks south to attend it.
Vine video
here. Now on February 11
Guterres is set to meet with
Maduro's Foreign Minister
Jorge Arreaza - in the same
publicly funded UN mansion on
Sutton Place and 57th Street
Guterres stayed in on January
26, skipping the urgent UN
Security Council meeting.
Inner City Press which
exclusively live-streamed
Guterres skipping the meeting
and refusing to answer why has
since then repeated asked in
writing, of Guterres, Amina J.
Mohammed, Alison Smale, Farhan
Haq and Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, why did Guterres
skip the meeting? They never
answered, despite telling UNSR
David Kaye, Inner City Press
on the public that they would
answer such questions.
Instead, in an ill-attended
February 11 noon briefing
Inner City Press was banned
from his deputy spokesman
Farhan Haq said he skipped it
because he was going to Park
East Synagogue that morning.
But the meeting was at 9 am,
and PES at 10:40 am. And
diplomats like US Jonathan
Cohen went to the Security
Council then PES. We'll have
more on this - including
live-streaming as is our right
from outside Guterres mis-used
mansion. Back on January 26
once Inner City Press got to
the gate, the meeting had
still not begun. First there
was a procedural vote whether
to hold it - it passed with
nine votes. China, Russia,
South Africa and Equatorial
Guinea voted no; Cote d'Ivoire
and Indonesia abstained. Inner
City Press filmed UNTV from a
bus stop on First Avenue,
Periscope video here,
where a passer-by it asked if
the UN could solve Venezuela
just laughed. After Pompeo's
speech - with Cohen behind him
- Inner City Press headed
north to a protest on 47th
Street. Transit here,
protest
here. Then up to Sutton
Place, where only at 10:35 am
did Guterres finally leave his
/ your mansion, to long idling
Mercedes. Inner City Press
filmed it. It usually
does not ask questions on
Sutton Place, but this one
called for it - "Why did you
not go to the Venezuela
meeting?" No answer. Video here,
Vine here,
January 28 question tweeted at
UN Spokesperson here.
But on January 29 Antonio "Charlemagne"
Guterres rebuffed Guaido in a
letter his spokesman Stephane
"Expensive
French Restaurant"
Dujarric wouldn't even
confirm, while banning Inner
City Press for the 210th day:
"The United Nations are ready
to increase their activities
in Venezuela in the areas of
humanitarian assistance and
development,” Guterres told
Guaido in a letter dated Jan.
29 and seen by Reuters on
Wednesday. “For that, the
United Nations need, however,
the consent and cooperation of
the Government.” Some
reporting this didn't even
mention that Guterres stayed
in his mansion... Whatever
Guterres' position, he should
have gone. Full video here.
The video was seemingly
automatically de-monetized by
YouTube. But to their credit,
when Inner City Press
appealed, YouTube on January
29 wrote back: "Hi InnerCity
Press, Great news! After
manually reviewing your video,
we’ve determined that it is
suitable for all
advertisers: "For
Venezuela UNSC Meeting
Guterres Does Not Attend As
Banned Press Covers Protest
and Vote" Thanks,
The YouTube team." The lawless
UN of Guterres and his Global
Communicator Alison Smale, and
spokes- / hatchman Stephane
Dujarric, has no appeals
process; these three and
others did not answer Inner
City Press' January 28
question on this, on
Cameroon's arrest of an
opposition figure and the UN
itself killing two civilians
in South Sudan. Guterres is
killing the UN - softly. Now
on January 29, this from UN
State Department deputy
spokesperson Robert Palladino:
"On January 25, Secretary of
State Michael R. Pompeo
certified the authority of
Venezuela’s interim President
Juan Guaido to receive and
control certain property in
accounts of the Government of
Venezuela or Central Bank of
Venezuela held by the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York or
any other U.S. insured banks,
in accordance with Section 25B
of the Federal Reserve
Act. This certification
will help Venezuela’s
legitimate government
safeguard those assets for the
benefit of the Venezuelan
people. We call on other
governments to recognize
interim President Juan Guaido
and take similar steps to
protect Venezuela’s patrimony
from further theft by Maduro’s
corrupt regime." At 3 pm on
January 28 this became public:
"Today the Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC)
designated Petroleos de
Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA)
pursuant to Executive Order
(E.O.) 13850 for operating in
the oil sector of the
Venezuelan economy. PdVSA is a
Venezuelan stateowned oil
company and a primary source
of Venezuela’s income and
foreign currency, to include
U.S. dollars and Euros. “The
United States is holding
accountable those responsible
for Venezuela’s tragic
decline, and will continue to
use the full suite of its
diplomatic and economic tools
to support Interim President
Juan Guaidó, the National
Assembly, and the Venezuelan
people’s efforts to restore
their democracy,” said
Secretary of the Treasury
Steven T. Mnuchin." Afterward,
US House Foreign Affairs
Committee lead Republican
Michael McCaul (R-TX) released
the following statement in
response to the
Administration’s announcement
to roll out new U.S. sanctions
against Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro’s state-owned
oil company,
PDVSA. “After
years of mismanagement and
plummeting production, the
illegitimate Maduro regime can
no longer be allowed to siphon
off the proceeds of Petroleos
de Venezuela at the expense of
its citizens. Maduro’s
socialist policies and
systemic corruption have
created a humanitarian crisis
in which millions of people
are suffering greatly. The
United States and our allies
must continue to use all tools
necessary, including economic
and diplomatic, until
democracy is restored in
Venezuela. “I continue
to stand with interim
President Guaidó and the brave
people of Venezuela. The
Venezuelan military should
stand with the people and help
facilitate a peaceful
transition of power. It’s time
for the socialist nightmare of
Nicolas Maduro to come to an
end.” At the January 28 UN
noon briefing Inner City Press
was banned from, no one let in
asked about Guterres' absence;
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
said they had only seen
Guaido's letter "on Twitter" -
a platform on which he blocks
Inner City Press. Now this
canned read-out: "On 28
January, the Secretary-General
met with a Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) delegation headed by
the Chairman of CARICOM, Prime
Minister Timothy Harris of
Saint Kitts and Nevis, and
comprised of the Prime
Minister of Barbados, Mia
Mottley; the Prime Minister of
Trinidad and Tobago, Keith
Rowley; the Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Labour of
Grenada, Peter David: the
Secretary General of the
Caribbean Community, Irwin
LaRocque; as well as the
Permanent Representatives of
CARICOM Member
States.
The Secretary-General and the
CARICOM leaders discussed the
situation in Venezuela and its
implications for the
region. The
Secretary-General took note of
CARICOM’s concerns and
reiterated his offer of good
offices to facilitate dialogue
and negotiation between the
parties.
New York, 28 January 2019."
Here now is from Pompeo's
(January 25) interview
by Gustau Alegret of NTN24,
Q: Guaido said this
morning that Maduro could have
amnesty. Do you think
that he deserves this
amnesty? SECRETARY
POMPEO: We’ll have to
see how things proceed with
respect to it, and ultimately,
this will be a decision for
the Venezuelan people,
right? These – this is
their country; this is their
effort. It was the
Venezuelans who are in the
streets. It’s their
process. The United
States is aiming to make sure
that they get a chance to do
so in safety and security, and
we’ve now identified resources
– $20 million – to provide
humanitarian assistance,
demonstrating once again that
the United States is a real
force for good for the
Venezuelan people. We
intend to remain so.
QUESTION: How are you
going to canalize or
channelize this 20 million in
humanitarian help? The
government is under the
control of Nicolas
Maduro. Juan Guaido is
just the leader of the
National Assembly, so
far. SECRETARY
POMPEO: Well, he’s the
interim president. The
United States recognizes him
as such, and we will find a
methodology by which to get
this – these resources to the
people who need them the
most. QUESTION:
Tomorrow there is a UN
Security Council. What
do you expect from Russia and
China in this council?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Well,
we hope they’ll come to see
that the right path forward is
to reflect the will of the
Venezuelan people and to
recognize President Guaido as
the interim – as the interim
leader of that country.
It’s certainly not what
they’ve chosen to do so far,
but we expect every country to
see that what’s best for the
Venezuelan people, what the
Venezuelan people have
demanded, is the outcome that
the United States has now
acknowledged." On January 28
from Australia's Foreign
Minister Marise Payne, this:
"Australia recognises and
supports the President of the
National Assembly, Juan
Guaidó, in assuming the
position of interim president,
in accordance with the
Venezuelan constitution and
until elections are held.
Australia calls for a
transition to democracy in
Venezuela as soon as possible.
Australia supported the Lima
Group’s early call for Nicolas
Maduro to refrain from
assuming the presidency on 10
January, relayed through our
non-resident Ambassador to
Venezuela. We now urge all
parties to work constructively
towards a peaceful resolution
of the situation, including a
return to democracy, respect
for the rule of law and
upholding of human rights of
the Venezuelan people."
Earlier this: Venezuela's
military attaché in
Washington, Col. Jose Luis
Silva Silva, said he's
breaking with Maduro and
supporting Juan Guaido. And on
January 27, Pompeo said this:
"The United States accepted
interim President Juan
Guaido’s designation of Carlos
Alfredo Vecchio as the Chargé
d’Affaires of the Government
of Venezuela to the United
States on January 25.
Mr. Vecchio will have
authority over diplomatic
affairs in the United States
on behalf of
Venezuela.
After his accreditation, Mr.
Vecchio met with Under
Secretary of State for
Political Affairs David Hale,
who reaffirmed the United
States’ strong support for
interim President Guaido’s
leadership of Venezuela.
The United States looks
forward to working with Mr.
Vecchio and other diplomatic
staff as designated by interim
President Guaido." The EU put
out this on January 26:
"Federica Mogherini, High
Representative for Foreign
Affairs and Security
Policy/Vice-President of the
European Commission, held in
these hours a series of
conversations regarding the
latest developments in
Venezuela and the work of the
European Union and its
partners for a peaceful and
inclusive democratic solution
to the benefit of all
Venezuelans.
Federica Mogherini coordinated
the EU position, reflected in
the Declaration issued this
afternoon on behalf of the 28
Member States, through
contacts, among others, with
the Spanish and the Italian
Prime Ministers, Pedro Sanchez
and Giuseppe Conte
respectively, the Foreign
Minister of the Netherlands,
Stef Blok, and senior
representatives of the
governments of France,
Germany, Italy, Spain and the
United Kingdom.
The High Representative also
talked to the UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres" -
what, spoke to an official who
although living in a $15
million publicly funded
mansion 15 blocks away didn't
even bother to go to the
meeting? Pompeo for New Years
was in Brazil for the
inauguration of Jair
Bolsonaro. While there, he met
Peru's foreign minster and
others about Venezuela. On
January 23 Pompeo has
announced, "The United States
recognizes Juan Guaido as the
new interim President of
Venezuela." Soon afterward,
Maduro gave US diplomatic
personnel 72 hours to leave
the country. The US has
requested a UN Security
Council meeting on Saturday,
January 26 at 9 am - Inner
City Press will cover it
through sources, but remains banned
from even entering the UN by
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres, as bad and a more
hypocritical censors that the
strongmen he purports to
criticize. (In fact, Guterres
this month told UN staff that
asking human rights questions
of governments is "impolite"
and arrogant," Inner City
Press video here).
On January 25, Pompeo's deputy
spokesperson Robert Palladino
announced, "U.S. Secretary of
State Michael R. Pompeo will
travel to New York to
participate in an open meeting
of the UN Security Council on
the situation in Venezuela on
Saturday, January 26.
During the Security Council
meeting, Secretary Pompeo will
underscore the
Administration’s support for
the Venezuelan people.
Secretary Pompeo will urge
members of the Security
Council and the international
community to uphold
international peace and
security by recognizing Juan
Guaido as the constitutional
interim President of
Venezuela, and call for
support for the transitional
government in their quest to
restore democracy and the rule
of law." Guterres,
gallivanting in Davos, finally
issued a statement through his
spokesman Stephane Dujarric:
"Statement attributable to the
Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General on
Venezuela The
Secretary-General is concerned
over reports of casualties in
the context of demonstrations
and unrest in Venezuela and
calls for a transparent and
independent investigation of
these incidents. At this
critical time, he urges all
actors to lower tensions and
pursue every effort to prevent
violence and avoid any
escalation. The
Secretary-General underlines
the urgent need for all
relevant actors to commit to
inclusive and credible
political dialogue to address
the protracted crisis in the
country, with full respect for
the rule of law and human
rights" -- this while Guterres
was having his guards brag and
stop the camera of Inner City
Press at a screening of Jeff
Bezos' Amazon Studios'
"Beautiful Boy" with Steve
Carrel, here.
Earlier this, from US State
Department deputy spokesperson
Robert Palladino: "Deputy
Secretary of State John J.
Sullivan met today with
Guyanese Foreign Minister Carl
Greenidge in Washington,
D.C. Both leaders
commended the strength of the
U.S.-Guyana partnership, and
Deputy Secretary Sullivan
affirmed Guyana’s sovereign
rights and jurisdiction within
its Exclusive Economic
Zone. They also
discussed preparations for
Guyana’s upcoming national
elections as well as the
importance of U.S.-Guyana
cooperation for Guyana’s
safety and security in light
of instability in neighboring
Venezuela. " A bit earlier
this, from Pompeo: "The United
States stands with interim
President Juan Guaido, the
democratically elected
National Assembly, and the
people of Venezuela as they
peacefully restore
constitutional order to their
country. We stand ready
to support interim President
Guaido as he establishes a
transitional government and
carries out his constitutional
duties as interim President,
including determining the
status of diplomatic
representatives in the United
States and other
countries. We welcome
interim President Guaido’s
directive to all diplomatic
missions in Venezuela that
Venezuela intends to maintain
diplomatic relations with all
countries. The United
States maintains diplomatic
relations with Venezuela and
will conduct our relations
with Venezuela through the
government of interim
President Guaido, who has
invited our mission to remain
in Venezuela. The United
States does not recognize the
Maduro regime as the
government of Venezuela.
Accordingly the United States
does not consider former
president Nicolas Maduro to
have the legal authority to
break diplomatic relations
with the United States or to
declare our diplomats persona
non grata. We call on
the Venezuelan military and
security forces to continue
protecting the welfare and
well-being of all Venezuelan
citizens, as well as U.S. and
other foreign citizens in
Venezuela. We call on
all parties to refrain from
measures that are inconsistent
with the privileges and
immunities enjoyed by members
of the diplomatic community.
The United States will take
appropriate actions to hold
accountable anyone who
endangers the safety and
security of our mission and
its personnel." From Brazil at
the beginning of January
Pompeo's Deputy Spokesperson
Robert Palladino issued this
read out: "Secretary of State
Michael R. Pompeo met today
with Peruvian Foreign Minister
Néstor Popolizio Bardales
[and] applauded Peru’s
efforts in accommodating more
than 600,000 Venezuelan
refugees and migrants who have
fled the worsening economic
and humanitarian crisis in
Venezuela. Secretary
Pompeo and Foreign Minister
Popolizio discussed the need
to increase pressure on the
Maduro regime to return
democracy and prosperity to
the Venezuelan people."
Now on January 15, this from
US Vice President Mike Pence:
"Vice President Pence spoke by
phone today with Juan Guaido,
the President of the National
Assembly of Venezuela, to
recognize his courageous
leadership following his
arrest and intimidation this
weekend, and to express the
United States’ resolute
support for the National
Assembly of Venezuela as the
only legitimate democratic
body in the country. The Vice
President firmly emphasized
that the long-standing goal of
the United States and all
freedom-loving nations is to
restore democracy to Venezuela
through free and fair
elections, and end the
unprecedented humanitarian and
economic crises in the
once-rich cradle of Bolivar.
Vice President Pence
encouraged Mr. Guaido to build
unity among political groups,
and pledged continued support
from the United States until
democracy is restored. " On
January 12, US State
Department deputy spokesperson
Robert Palladino has issued
this"We stand with the
Venezuelan people, and we
praise the fierce commitment
to democratic principles of
the elected members of the
Venezuelan National
Assembly. We commend the
courage of the National
Assembly’s leadership,
particularly its president,
Juan Guaido, and his decision
to invoke the authorities of
the Venezuelan
Constitution. We call on
all Venezuelans to uphold and
respect the role of the
National Assembly, as
established in the Venezuelan
Constitution of 1999, and, in
particular, for the security
forces and the armed forces to
respect all protections the
constitution affords to Guaido
and the other members of the
National Assembly, especially
their safety and
welfare. The people of
Venezuela deserve to live in
freedom in a democratic
society governed by the rule
of law. It is time to
begin the orderly transition
to a new government. We
support the National
Assembly’s call for all
Venezuelans to work together,
peacefully, to restore
constitutional government and
build a better future.
The United States government
will continue to use the full
weight of U.S. economic and
diplomatic power to press for
the restoration of democracy
in Venezuela." On
January 10 Pompeo issued a
statement beginning: "The
United States condemns
Maduro’s illegitimate
usurpation of power today
following the unfree and
unfair elections he imposed on
the Venezuelan people on May
20, 2018. The United States
remains steadfast in its
support of the Venezuelan
people and will continue to
use the full weight of U.S.
economic and diplomatic power
to press for the restoration
of Venezuelan democracy.
Today, we reiterate our
support for Venezuela’s
National Assembly, the only
legitimate branch of
government duly elected by the
Venezuelan people. It is time
for Venezuela to begin a
transitional process that can
restore the constitutional,
democratic order by holding
free and fair elections that
respect the will of the
Venezuelan people. To
advance this goal, the United
States has taken aggressive
action against the Maduro
regime and its enablers. Most
recently, on January 8, the
United States imposed
sanctions on seven individuals
and 23 entities involved in a
corruption scheme to exploit
Venezuela’s currency exchange
practices. By rigging the
system in their favor, these
individuals and entities stole
more than $2.4
billion..." On January 4,
foreign ministers from 12
Latin American countries and
Canada announced in Lima that
their governments would not
recognize Maduro as president
if he attempts to remain in
office and urged him to turn
over power to the National
Assembly. The Maduro
government accused this Lima
Group of "encouraging a coup
d'etat" on instructions from
the Trump administration.
Mexico, which is a member of
the group, withheld its
support for the statement.
Where is this going? On
corruption, UNSG Antonio
Guterres has for weeks refused
Inner
City Press'
questions about
why it is
not a conflict
of interest to
refuse to
audit CEFC when in
2018 it
tried to buy Partex
Oil & Gas
from the
Gulbenkian
Foundation of
which Guterres has
been a
paid
board
member...
We'll have more on this - and
on Brazil and the UN now. When
the UN's First Committee met
for the first time in this
73rd session of the UN General
Assembly, it was a fight and
recorded vote on Day 1. Brazil
proposed a briefing by the
Secretary-General
of the Agency
for the
Prohibition of
Nuclear
Weapons in
Latin America
and the
Caribbean;
Syria said
there should
be more time
to consider
it. Finally
Brazil called
for action,
and it was the
United States
and Israel
which voted
No, along with
27
abstentions,
and 86 for. Elected
Noël Diarra
(Mali) and
José Ataíde
Amaral
(Portugal) as
Vice-Chairs
joining
Vice-Chair
Marissa
Edwards
(Guyana) and
Muna Zawani
Idris
(Brunei), the
Rapporteur.
Inner City
Press, banned
from the UN
and its
General
Assembly and
member states
for the 93d
day by
Secreary
General
Antonio
Guterres,
could only live
tweet, not
ask questions.
Committee
chair Ion
Jirga repeated
told member
states, the
ball is is
your court. It
is not a good
beginning.
After Guterres for his own
reasons had Inner City Press
roughed up and banned since
July 3, Llorenti's Mission has
yet to respond to this,
regarding (now) October 11:
"find myself banned from even
entering the UN, since 3 July
2018 when I was physically
ousted while staking out the
Fifth Committee meeting from
the Vienna Cafe area, at the
invitation of member states on
the Committee. I would like to
request that you / your
Mission ensure that I can
enter the UN to cover and
hopefully ask a question at
your Program of Work press
conference tomorrow, and after
that to cover / stakeout such
meetings at the October 11
consultations on Western
Sahara / MINURSO, which is
almost impossible to cover
without being in the building.
As you may know, there are
numerous Morocco state media
given office space and
resident correspondent status
by DPI under USG Alison Smale,
who has refused to answer a
single one of my 10 e-mails.
They will cover the Western
Sahara meeting, from their
perspective. I believe I have
a similar right to continue
this issue.
Responsible are Chef de
Cabinet Viotti (who was called
by the Reporters Committee on
Freedom of the Press) and/or
DSG Amina Mohammed. Or,
pending that, please have the
Mission bring me in to these
meetings. The only written
communication I have received
from the UN is this letter
from USG Smale, here."
We'll have more on this.
***
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