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By Matthew Russell Lee, Photos, Periscope

UNITED NATIONS, May 7 -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lavished praised on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on March 27, with not a word of the Saudi led bombing campaign that has killed civilians and caused cholera in Yemen. Now the Saudi led Coalition has bombed the center of Sana' and even the Norwegian Refugee Council has said it is appalled by Saudi-led coalition strikes on a highly-populated business district in Sana’a earlier today. We abhor the ongoing use of violence to intimidate civilian populations under the guise of efforts to protect them. Yemeni people are not collateral. Adherence to the laws of war is not optional." Inner City Press on May 7 asked the Deputy UN Ambassador of the UK, penholder on Yemen and arms seller to Saudi Arabia, a Yemen question on which they are, they say, to revert, see Periscope video here and below. Six hour later, nothing from the UK mission. At noon on May 7, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here: Inner City Press:  I wanted to ask you about Yemen.  There's been a Saudi-led Coalition airstrike in the middle of Sana'a on the presidential palace.  At least… some people say six civilians killed.  I don't know if there's more, but, given that the UN is presumably there, Lise Grande and various members of the team, what is the UN's comment on such an airstrike in the middle of a city?

Spokesman:  Sure, we've seen the reports of an airstrike reportedly striking several populated areas in Sana’a this morning, potentially causing civilian casualties.  We're working now to verify these reports and gather more information.  I think the Secretary-General has been very clear to all the parties on their need to uphold international humanitarian law, including taking steps to protect civilians.

Inner City Press: Thanks.  I also wanted… oh, I'd asked last week whether Mr. Martin Griffiths has any comment on the deployment by the UAE [United Arab Emirates] of soldiers to the Socotra Island.  And, since then, it's been reported that members of the [Abd Rabbuh Mansur] Hadi Government intend… or mulling… complaining to the UN about this breach of their sovereignty.

Spokesman:  Sure.  I mean, we've seen these reports related to the situation and tensions around Socotra Island.  We have no further information available to us at this point.  I mean, no complaint has been made to us.  We do call on all the parties to refrain from further escalation and remind everybody that the Socotra Archipelago has been inscribed on the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage List since 2008.  It's a site of universal importance because of its biodiversity with rich and distinct flora and fauna, and I think it's… safety of both its people and its environment needs to be secured." If you say so. The occasion for the check giving was Guterres accepting a $930 million check for the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan. But that's not the only buying going on. Former UN Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed reportedly went to the United Arab Emirates seeking a paid job like Bernardino Leon got there, negotiated while still with the UN. The UAE is also said to be looking for a place or landing for UN counter-terrorism official Jahangir Khan. Would this be ethical? Inner City Press asked that on April 25, see below - and on May 3 asked about the UAE's deployment on Socotra Island. UN transcript here and below. And while the UN and envoy Martin Griffiths have had nothing to say, now even Hadi is complaining. “The government is considering sending a letter to the United Nations demanding the dismissal of the Emiratis from the Yemeni intervention,” a Hadi official said, adding that "the UAE has occupied the airport and seaport of Socotra island, despite the Yemeni government's presence there. What the UAE is doing in Socotra is an act of aggression." And the UN and its envoy remain silent. On May 7 Inner City Press asked UK Ambassador Allen about it and he said he was not aware, his spokesman would revert. Here's what Inner City Press asked the UN on May 3: Inner City Press: on Yemen, and it's a specific question, the UAE (United Nations Arab Emirates) has deployed some 100 soldiers to Socotra Island, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  And the residents there — it's part of Yemen.  It's not part of the UAE — have been protesting it.  And I'm wondering whether it's something that Mr. Martin Griffiths is aware of and whether he thinks it's a… complies with… even with international law or is a useful step to have the UAE making a military deployment on Yemen Socotra Island.

Deputy Spokesman:  "We haven't made any comment on this.  I'll see whether there's any particular position that Mr. Griffiths is taking.  But his work, as you know, is focused primarily on making sure that the parties to the Yemen peace process get back to the table." Six hours later, nothing from Haq or Griffiths. On April 25 Inner City Press asked Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: There are published reports that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is seeking to create an offer position to Mr. Jehangir Khan, a current UN official, in the same way that Bernardino León moved from being the UN envoy in Libya to working for the diplomatic one.  It's said that they're seeking a counter-terrorism post for him.  It's also said that Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed recently visited the UAE and sought a UAE-funded position.  I don't know… can you distinguish… one, would it be against UN rules for a current UN official to be seeking a job…

Spokesman:  First of all, on Mr. Jehangir Kahn, as far as I understand, those reports are false.  Second…

Inner City Press:  Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

Spokesman:  …On Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, he no longer works with the United Nations, so I have no way to verify what his whereabouts are.  And I know that he discharged his role as Special Envoy with complete impartiality and only keeping the interests of the United Nations at the centre of his work.

Inner City Press:  Are there any kind of what's called anti-revolving-door provisions?  Meaning, would the Secretary-General view it as normal and fine if a recent UN official went to work, you could say it's hypothetical, but since it happened in the case Bernardino León, what are the current rules and best practices for UN officials when they leave a UN post?

Spokesman:  I think everyone expects people to use their best judgment.  Evelyn?" On April 24 the UN in Geneva stated: "In Yemen, at least 45 people, reportedly all civilians, have been killed by airstrikes in three separate incidents over the past four days. The dead include women and children. Many others were injured.
Last Friday, 20 April, at around 11:00 am, a Saudi-led Coalition airstrike killed all the passengers in a civilian vehicle travelling near Al-Areish village in the Mawza district of Taizz governorate. A total of 21 civilians including five children are reported to have died in this attack. Eyewitness told our staff in Yemen, that the victims were returning to their home on a small rural road, when the airstrike destroyed their vehicle. The bodies of the victims were so badly burned and mutilated that they have been hard to identify. Local inhabitants insisted to our staff that, at the time of the attack, there were no military objects in the vicinity of the targeted area. Two days later, on Sunday 22 April, airstrikes caused a large number of civilian casualties in two separate incident. In the most devastating of these, at around 20:30-21:00 hrs, during a wedding ceremony in the Bani Qa'is district of Hajjah governorate, preliminary inquiries by our staff suggest that two airstrikes killed at least 19 civilians and injured some 50 others, of whom more than half were children. According to information received by UN human rights staff in Yemen, the two Coalition airstrikes destroyed a wedding tent in the grounds of a civilian house in Al-Raqah village, while the victims were celebrating the marriage of their relatives. Local inhabitants informed our staff that the victims do not have any political affiliation – not to say that that would have made the wedding party a legitimate target. They also claimed there were no military objectives in the vicinity of the targeted area at the time of the attack. Initial information indicates that 29 children were among the 50 or more people injured in the attack. The final toll of deaths and injuries during this incident may be higher. Earlier on Sunday, at around 14:00, in the Midi district of Hajjah governorate, a Coalition airstrike reportedly hit a civilian house, killing all five members of a single family, including three children and one woman. Our staff were informed that the victims were having lunch inside their house, in an area called Al-Hadwariah, when it received a direct hit from a missile. The family’s neighbours told UN human rights staff that they had seen warplanes in the area just before the incident. We note that the members of the Coalition are conducting an after-action review of the attack on the wedding party, but urge them to fully investigate all these latest deadly attacks independently, thoroughly and transparently." After the check handover, Guterres arranged to travel to Saudi Arabia on April 12 - but delayed it for the Saturday Syria meeting of the Security Council, outside of which Inner City Press asked Guterres, quite audibly, Now are you going to Saudi Arabia? Call it Blood Money Tour II. Inner City Press asked Guterres' spokespeople in writing to inform it when Guterres leave New York, and the costs. There has been no response, as usual with Guterres, on costs. (He doesn't like to answer Press questions, Vine video here.) But the UN on Sunday evening issue this: "the Secretary-General stayed back in New York over the weekend to address the Security Council on Saturday. His Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter Terrorism Office, Vladimir Voronkov, was at the Arab League Summit in his absence. The Secretary-General arrives in Riyadh on Monday and he will attend the 16th meeting of the United Nations Counter Terrorism Centre Advisory Board on Tuesday, where he will deliver remarks at the opening session of the meeting as planned.  The Secretary-General is still expected to be back in New York on 18 April." Blood Money II is back on.  Here are the questions Inner City Press submitted to Guterres' top two spokesmen on April 14, no answers at all: "reiterating Inner City Press' request to be informed when the Secretary General leaves New York, in this case for Saudi Arabia, and of any stop overs....as well separately of costs involved. Also, on the new Sexual Exploitation and Abuse cases put on the UN website at 5 pm on Friday April 13, please explain why one of them is dated April 20, 2018. And on the incident in CAR of a peacekeeper found with ammunition, please state the nationality of the peacekeeper, or explain why you will not." On April 11, the US State Department - Inner City Press was there on April 10, asking two questions, here - has issued this: "The United States strongly condemns today’s Houthi missile attack on Riyadh.  We support the right of our Saudi partners to defend their borders against these threats, which are fueled by the Iranian regime’s dangerous proliferation of weapons and destabilizing activities in the region.  The Houthis’ continued attacks on Saudi population centers calls into question their commitment to helping shape a peaceful, prosperous, and secure future for Yemen.  We continue to call on all parties to return to UN-facilitated political negotiations and move toward ending the war in Yemen." But what about the Saudi air strikes, in Taiz and elsewhere? In France, a legislator in Emmanuel Macron's party is calling for an investigation of French arms sales to the Coalition, while Macron's minister assures it's all good. Sebastien Nadot and 15 other co-signatories are pushing for a 30-member commission "to study France’s compliance with international commitments regarding arms export licenses, munitions, training, services and assistance that our country has granted during these three years to the belligerents of the conflict in Yemen." Spinning prior to the Paris visit of Crown Prince MBS, compliant wires quoted an anonymous Macron flack that "there is a very strict control of arms exports ... which obeys very precise criteria, including the concern for situations in which civilian populations may be endangered." Really? Killing children with airstrikes? On April 4, Inner City Press asked the new UN Ambassador of the UK, Karen Pierce, about the recent Saudi airstrike which killed 12 civilians, among them seven children. She replied that the Saudi government adheres to international humanitarian law. Video here, Vine here. From the UK transcript: Inner City Press: On Yemen, have you seen the news of the air strike that killed 12 including 7 children. I am wondering if the Council, do you feel that the Saudi Coalition is being careful enough in how it bombs?
AMB PIERCE: I haven’t seen the news of that. I think that is is apparent and we have discussed this with our Saudi friends that there needs to be a political solution to the conflict in Yemen. We support Martin Griffiths the new Special Envoy and his work. I do know that in respect of Coalition operations, the Saudi government adheres to International Humanitarian Law. We talked to them bilaterally about that and we have offered them training to enhance their own efforts to that end but the obvious route forward is an inclusive political process. We will be discussing Yemen later in the Council in April and we will look forward to hearing from the new Special Envoy about that." We'll have more on this. Given that UNSG Guterres did not mention the bombing or the Children and Armed Conflict list that the Saudi led Coalition is still (barely) on, Inner City Press on March 28 asked Guterres' spokesman Farhan Haq, who said what Guterres said, is what he said. Asked how was in the meeting to following up on children and armed conflict listing, there was no answer - and no Virginia Gamba was seen. Blood money works, at the UN.

On March 27 the Crown Prince -- MBS as he is known -- arrived a full hald hour late, with Guterres and his outgoing head of Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman pacing around but not complaining. (Feltman whose last day at the UN is March 29 when asked if Trump might hire him laughed and said he didn't think so. This was after the 5 pm listed start time for the MBS photo op, but Inner City Press in an abundance of caution after repeated UN censorship threats was not yet Periscoping.) Alamy photos here.  Inner City Press on March 28 asked Haq why no Feltman press conference and was told there will be one on March 29, Feltman's last day. Watch this site.

When MBS did arrive, there was a fast photo op then the media was ushered in to wait in the conference room of Guterres' absent Deputy Amina J. Mohammed, delivering equally craven statements in her native Nigeria. Although the UN Department of Public Information run by British Alison Smale had said no shoulder-held video cameras in the conference room, exception was made for "Saudi official" media - just as Smale's DPI has purported to award Inner City Press' long time work space S-303 to "Egypt official" media Sanaa Youssef of Akhbar al Yom, who has not asked the UN a question in a decade. Exceptions are made.

  Guterres' speech is here, along with MBS' claim he never violates international law notwithstanding bombing funerals and wedding parties. Guterres made a special category for the Saudi-led Coaltion: the so-called "good child killers" list. This invention was paid back on March 27 -- only half of the money comes from Saudi, the rest from the UAE -- and the killing is such to continue. The Security Council is being asked, however, to speak solely on missiles the Houthis have launched. One might ask, which came first. But exceptions are made. Back on March 15 as in the US Senate a bill attempting to end support to the Saudi-led Coalition's bombing of Yemen was proceeding toward its 55-44 failure, Inner City Press asked Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi if he is concerned at loss of support in the US for the bombing, which is killing children and spreading cholera. Video here.

Al-Mouallimi called the bill an internal matter of the US, at an early stage; he said the US fully supports what his country is doing. He blamed all death of civilians on the Houthis. Earlier Inner City Press asked Sweden's deputy ambassador Carl Skau if the day's Security Council Presidential Statement had been agreed to be the Coalition and the Houthis. He said non Council members find their way to have input. But how do the Houthis?

The UN, under Antonio Guterres, his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed and it turns out his Global Communicator Alison Smale, have made their position clear. Mohammed and Smale sent a long time the night before at a Saudi event on women's rights.

Smale, who is responsible for restrictions on Inner City Press which she refuses to explain or reconsider, was at the event; on March 15 her restrictions resulted in Inner City Press unlike no-show state media from Egypt and others being initially unable to reach the Council stakeout. The glass door was inexplicably locked despite Guterres' spokesperson's office announcing that the Saudi ambassador would speak. Once he began, a UN Security officer nevertheless at the turnstile Inner City Press' pass no longer opens demanded that it have a minder or “sponsor.” This is UNacceptable, as it the continued death in Yemen. Watch this site.

The United Kingdom's murky role in the killings in Yemen persist even in the face of a Freedom of Information Act request from Inner City Press. 

More than five months ago on 15 August 2017 Inner City Press asked the UK government for records concerning Yemen. The UK sells weapons to Saudi Arabia, and has now implanted a UK citizen as UN envoy on Yemen in the person of Martin Griffiths (Inner City Press story and questions here.) After repeatedly extending the time to response, now the UK has denied access to all responsive records, letter here, saying that "the release of information relating to the UK’s discussion on UN business could harm our relations and other member states of the United Nations (UN)." 

Here on Patreon is the full denial letter, from which Inner City Press is preparing an appeal, on Cameroon as well - it has 40 working days. 

This is shameful - the UK is also exiting transparency. 

As Inner City Press pursues these questions at the UN, it remains restricted to minders by the head of the UN Department of Public Information Alison Smale, who it is noted is British - and functionally a censor. A retaliator, too? Smale has not explained why Inner City Press' long time work space is assigned to no-show, no-question Egyptian state media Akhbar al Youm. 

On Cameroon and Yemen, UK Denies Inner City Press FOIA Request After 170 Days, Preparing to Appeal, 40 Work... by Matthew Russell Lee on Scribd

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