In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYT,  Azerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .

By Matthew Russell Lee, Scope, song, II, song II

UN GATE, Jan 12 -- On Western Sahara, Inner City Press has repeatedly asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, his spokesmen and now Communications chief Melissa Fleming about sexual harassment charges against his representative Colin Stewart, which it has exclusively reported as credited here and even here.

   On August 27, 2021 Guterres after massive delay gave the MINURSO post to Alexander Ivanko of the Russian Federation, who previously served as Director of Public Information for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo - where when, before Guterres ousted it, Inner City Press asked Ivanko five questions, four of which he essentially no-commented on, here. 

  Inner City Press has been contacted by UN whistleblowers outraged at what they say is already a pro-Morocco scandal at MINURO under - literally - Ivanko. They tell Inner City Press, none of whose questions the UN will answer even to confirm or deny, that Ivanko has struck up a predatory relationship with a Moroccan woman who was recruited into MINURSO by now-rewarded predator Colin Stewart.

Inner City Press on the morning of December 20 put this question and another - about UNRWA and Afghanistan - to all UN spokespeople. Farhan Haq serviced a handful of sichophants from his home in New Jersey, insiders said "UN Press Op Goes Virtual, Again: Dear Resident Correspondents,  This is to inform you that for the remainder of the week briefings by the Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly will be fully virtual." Today's UN is disgusting.

(Inner City Press has the victim's name but, as it does in the current US v. Ghislaine Maxwell case on which Guterres refuses to answer why he had a representative, Amir Dossal, on Maxwell's Terramar project board, it is not publish the name - in the case of the UN, for now).

  The whistleblowers also telling recount that given his lack of commitment to decolonization, Guterres told Grandi - subject now of an Afghanistan and UNRWA scoop - to keep UNHCR's Western Sahara work "sleeping" for now. And still:

On January 12, 2022, the UN sent out this canned statement and banned all Inner City Press questions about about: "The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, will begin his first visit to the region and landed in Rabat today. He will initially meet Moroccan officials in Rabat and then Frente POLISARIO officials in Tindouf/Rabouni. He is also planning to visit Algiers and Nouakchott during this trip.      The Personal Envoy looks forward to hearing the views of all concerned on how to make progress towards a constructive resumption of the political process on Western Sahara.     Brussels/New York, 12 January 2022." Brussels? If you are a friend of Big Tony, you can take big public dollars to work from / stay at home.

  The UN under Guterres is less and less accountable, less and less transparent. But we will not rest - even as we publish another UN scandal, in Afghanistan. Watch this site.

Guterres has also given the Western Sahara envoy post out: "Staffan de Mistura of Italy as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara.    He succeeds Horst Köhler of Germany, who completed his assignment on 22 May 2019 and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his steadfast and intensive efforts which laid the foundation for a new momentum in the political process on Western Sahara." Momentum? Here's Mistura Q&A in 2017 with Inner City Press on video - will he end or benefit from Guterres' Press-ban?

And what about US Secretary Antony Blinken? He issued this: "The United States warmly welcomes the appointment of Staffan de Mistura as the new UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary General for Western Sahara.  Personal Envoy de Mistura brings considerable expertise – addressing challenges in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria – to this important position and we will actively support his efforts to promote a peaceful and prosperous future for the people of Western Sahara and the region." What about a referendum with independence as an option? What about UN censorship, on which his Department (and US Mission) have gotten a letter?

 Guterres has repeatedly refused to answer, and denied Inner City Press access to the UN he lets dozens of Moroccan state media into as he and Fleming continue the ban on Inner City Press supported by a frivolous complaint filed against Inner City Press' coverage from the UN Security Council stakeout. So, after the December 2020 developments, on SoundCloud this song, here.

  On December 26, 2020 amid report of abuse below, Morocco trolls comically called out not only Inner City Press, banned for questioning Guterres not only on his support for colonialism not only in Western Sahara but also Cameroon, CAR and elsewhere, but also a UN insider, "The Plant," Abdel Hamid Siyam, here.

This guy is let into every UN briefing, usually only asking about one issue, entirely silent on UN ban of Press. But the trolls don't like his questions either, though when asked what secret (or "closet") meeting it covered, they reply "We don't need to remember the facts.. Everyone knows the story."

Yeah - sounds like Melissa Fleming.

Guterres' role in orchestrating colonial lies, from Western Sahara to Cameroon, and censoring and banning independent Press and refusing its questions, is decisive. Here are just some of the Morocco state media Guterres and Melissa Fleming let in, and Steph Dujarric answers, from the UN Censorship Alliance (UNCA) --

Enhari Naoufal Moroccan News Agency (MAP) UN correspondent United Nations Secretariat Building Room S-0419 New York NY 10017 enharinaoufal@gmail.com Tel: 917-530-2673

Benyoussef Bouchra Quid.MA  Tel: (212) 758-6461 Mobile: (201) 873-5656 www.quid.ma @b.bouchra2001 -- "does not exist" (also a UN staff member - incredible)

There are more, and there will be more. Guterres should be fired.

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com

Past (and future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now: Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

 Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com for