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By Matthew Russell Lee, Periscope, song, II

UNITED NATIONS GATE, June 19 – On Western Sahara, when the UN Security Council's rare meeting began back on 21 March 2018, Secretary General Antonio Guterres' personal envoy Horst Kohler walked in with security. Asked if he would speak with the press afterward, he had one word: "No." On 22 May 2019 Kohler quit and has yet to be replaced.

  But it's coming, and as usual under Guterres, it's breaking bad. It's reported that Guterres has proposed to appoint an African national, from a French-speaking country, as the new UN Secretary-General's personal envoy for Western Sahara. Typical - while France opposes any human rights monitoring by the "UN" peacekeeping force MINURSO, neo colonial Guterres in search of a second term to finally kill off the UN tried to placate P5 France by allowing FrancAfrique to run the Western Sahara file. We'll have more on this.

On June 10, from the Polisario, this: "On Friday 7 June, three Sahrawi civilians were brutally beaten by agents of the Moroccan paramilitary and security forces in city of Smara, occupied Western Sahara. As shocking video footage documents, the young men were pulled from their vehicle and violently attacked by plainclothes security forces in retaliation for their peaceful celebration of the release of Sahrawi political prisoner, Salah Lebsir.    A brutal attack by the Moroccan occupation police against a Sahrawi citizen from Western Sahara Sadly, this brazen act of terrorism was not an isolated event. Recent months have seen a surge of oppression and brutality by Moroccan forces against Sahrawi civilians living in the occupied territories. These attacks take place amidst a complete media blackout, in which Sahrawi journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders are unjustly persecuted and detained in retaliation for documenting human rights violations in the occupied territory. Such was the case of Ms Nazha El Khalidi, who was arrested on 4 December 2018 simply for using her phone to record and live-stream a peaceful demonstration in the city of El Aaiún, the capital of occupied Western Sahara."

But Guterres hates live streaming - he banned Inner City Press from streaming his craven grip and grins, before having Inner City Press roughed up and banned now 342 days. As Guterres' retaliatory ban on Inner City Press even entering the UN, now in its 300th day and based on a frivolous Morocco Mission complaint, the UN Security Council passed, only 13-0-2, an extension of MINURSO's mandate for six months. Banned Inner City Press is putting the resolution online here, and notes that under Guterres the UN has yet to solve anything, while making most conflicts worse.  Before the December 19 UN noon briefing Inner City Press in writing asked Guterres, his Spokesman Stephane Dujarric and Global Communicator Alison Smale who promised answers, questions including this: "December 19-3: On Western Sahara, confirm SG receipt of and state his response to letter of Polisario urging him to clear “mines that threaten the lives of Saharwis” and that on Friday, December the 14th, two mines caused the “death of a Sahrawi man and serious injuries to others”? Dujarric didn't read out the question the way for example even the IMF does with Inner City Press' questions; he entertained questions from pro-Morocco scribes to which he and Guterres and Smale give UN office space even if they write no articles. Today's UN is corrupt.  

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