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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon

UN GATE, Dec 12 – Inner City Press on 5 July 2018 was banned from entering the UN, two day after it was physically removed from conducting interviews outside meeting about the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' $6.7 billion budget.

  Then Guterres' Department of Global Communication, run by Melissa Fleming, issued a letter banning Inner City Press from the UN - for life. With no due process, no right of appeal.  Guterres has put the UN in the US Press Freedom Tracker, here. Guterres' Spokesman Stephane Dujarric falsely promised on camera that he would be answering banned Inner City Press' questions - but see below.

     On December 12 after the man of undisclosed vacations Guterres again refused to answer but the IMF did answer, May 6 here, Feb 25 here, Feb 4 here, here, before Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric, previously the face of UN lies on cholera in Haiti, not never-answering Associate "Spokesperson" Florencia Soto Nino who blocks Press on WhatsApp, nor equally censoring Associate Eri Kaneko, nor UN Spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay - and not Deputy Farhan Haq, held a briefing before which Inner City Press submitted yet more questions - Inner City Press has asked the above, and Guterres and his new chief of staff Courtenay Rattray and others including Slovenia's Mission:

These written question are posed and responses requested pursuant to the until-now broken commitment the the UN will "continue to answer e-mailed questions from Mr Lee" Inner City Press, here

 What are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on the release of arms trafficking (and sometime-UN partner) Viktor Bout, in exchange for US star Griner? Disclose all business on the UN with Bout and his companies.  Again, now will direct quote from USG Michaud, and more on appeal now to each of you, since DSS despite its statements to PGA's spokesperson has yet to confirm receipt of appeal: On appeal Inner City Press filed yesterday with USG Gilles Michaud and each of you, as UNPGA Csaba Korosi's spokesperson Paulina Kubiak said UN DSS Sergeant told her is the process, (1) confirm receipt, (2) explain why USG Michaud previously wrote that DSS' only role was to ensure that journalists whose accreditation was stripped by DGC did not enter -- see the message in Dec 7 questions, from Gilles Michaud gilles.michaud@un.org  and see UN Media Accreditation & Liaison Unit Guidelines for ‘Non- Resident Correspondents’ which states, at para 2a: “Non-Resident Correspondents can access UNHQ through the Visitors’ Entrance at 46th Street and 1st Avenue between 0800-1900 hours from Monday through Friday. Non-resident Correspondents only have access to UNHQ on weekends or after hours accompanied by a resident correspondent or when a meeting is advised as taking place. Entry will be allowed two hours prior to the start of the meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting, the non-Resident correspondent must exit the premises within an hour, unless accompanied by a resident correspondent.” [Emphasis added.] The repeated use of the word “or” in the second sentence here: “weekends OR after hours accompanied by a resident correspondent OR when a meeting is advised as taking place” indicates that those conditions are alternatives, and in addition to the regular 8am to 7pm access in the previous sentence.   I had been on UN premises after 7pm on numerable occasions since he has been a ‘Non-Resident Correspondent’ in compliance with those rules, never being challenged by any of the DSS Security Officers who have observed him on each and every occasion he has done so. He has, in fact, been almost permanently escorted by a UN staff member (clearly oblivious of the considerable financial expense to the Organization) since February 2016. It is clear that the “risk” he presents is one of public scrutiny, which is hardly a legitimate matter for your department. The statement taken by officers Perry and Stancu does not record the time Mr. Lee entered the UN premises on 3 July, which he states was about 9:45am. The statement does however confirm that Mr. Lee was on the premises for the purposes reporting on a Fifth Committee Budget meeting. That meeting is understood to have run on until 4am the following morning, so it was clearly still going on at the time he was evicted. Mr. Lee’s statement also reflects his familiarity with the Guidelines indicating that he was required to leave the premises within an hour of that meeting concluding. The Media Accreditation & Liaison Unit guidelines - having been published by the UN and respected by Mr. Lee and other members of the press – must create a reasonable expectation that members of the press will not face harassment provided their activities remain complaint with them. The evidence suggests that Mr. Lee was doing that. Moreover, as is known to the MALU and as has been observed by your officers, he enjoyed that right peaceably and without criticism for 18 months. ST/AI/309 provides that “all persons on the premises are expected to comply with the directions that may be issued by the security officers in the performance of their functions” and that is not in dispute; but Mr. Lee was never given an opportunity to comply. Mr. Lee can be heard on the video repeatedly saying he was just typing, reporting on what he had been told by the Chairman of the meeting when he had his shirt torn by your officers. Your officers would certainly have been acting quite legally if Mr. Lee represented any kind of threat to the security of others or to the fabric of the building, but there is no credible information or independent assessment to support such a hypothesis. When interviewed, Mr. Lee insists that he tried to emphasise to Officer Perry that he was physically assaulted by your Security Officers before being afforded a reasonable opportunity to explain or refer to the MALU rules that apply to him, but Officer Perry declined to record that information. Moreover, Lt. Dobbins actions on 3 July cannot be considered without reference to the earlier incident of 22 June and Mr. Lee’s subsequent reporting of that event, which raises reasonable grounds to believe that Lt. Dobbins may not have been performing his duties or exercising his discretion in good faith. There does not appear to be any reason to believe that Mr. Lee had breached any rule or posed any threat when he was evicted.

As asked each of you on December 5, 2022: AGAIN, on UN's lack of press freedom and due process - immediately explain both the basis for UN Security at 801 1st Ave on the morning of Dec 2 tell me I am "banned" from entering the UN despite confirmed invitation to UN PGA Town Hall, and (2) the "appeals" process that DSS told PGA Spokesperson about to, conveyed to me.   Audio - 2:20 min version  Full 7 minutes  

What is the response of SG Guterres' / USG Fleming to the letter sent to her and others by the Quinn Emanuel law firm regarding ending Press censorship?  See "answer" August 9, here: letter received, no change in status - no reply.

After repeated non-answers to the above, on August 9 UN Spokesperson Dujarric was asked "Quinn Emanuel wrote a letter to the UN asking about reinstatement of our colleague Matthew Lee into the UN press corps. Do you have any comment on that?        Spokesman:  No. All I can tell you is that we've received the letter, and I'm not aware of any change to his status... It's been received. Whether or not it's been answered, I don't know yet." How can the UN, which preached press freedom, not even answer a letter for a journalist from a major law firm? What is your answer? When will Inner City Press be restored to resident correspondent status, like various state media?

Explain how it is legitimate for SG Guterres' DGC / USG Fleming and MALU (cc-ed here) to block Inner City Press from even WebEx questions to UNSC President Ireland, whose Alternate Political Coordinator and Spokesperson Eoghan McSwiney wrote to Inner City Press, "We would refer your request for access to the UN and to UN press conferences to the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit of the UN Secretariat." You are engaged in censorship, no? 

What is the UN's response to Inner City Press' Sept 13 application to MALU incluing for WebEx access to hybrid press briefings during UNGA 76, as it has at the IMF? Beyond last night's interim response projecting a decision in one or day days?  From: malu  Date: Wed, Sep 15, 2021 at 8:02 PM Subject: Your U.N. eAccreditation Request has been RECEIVED     Greetings Matthew Lee,  This is to confirm the United Nations Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit (M.A.L.U.) at New York Headquarters has received your request for accreditation...  Upon processing, a notification email (to the email address registered with the request)will provide the status update, to confirm an approval or rejection, and any additional information which may be required. 

Also IMF answering Inner City Press on Nov 4, 2021 on Ethiopia, Zambia and Chad here

Again, why did SG Guterres omit from his personal financial disclosure covering 2016 funds he received from Gulbenkian Foundation which sought to sell its oil company to convicted UN briber CEFC China Energy? 

And, on ongoing censorship of Press by SG Guterres, USG Fleming and Spox Dujarric, to this petition with 9000+ signatures here

On Inner City Press' exclusive reporting into UNTSO's scandal of public sex in the UN van, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on this, from whistleblower: "the men in the UNTSO car have been charged with transporting a passenger who was not authorized and also for not co-operating with the investigation."  Inner City Press asked, "Thanks - I'd heard they were restored to full pay."  Answer: "Still suspended, but have been getting salary for a year.  Now they have been accused of conduct unbecoming."    Confirm or deny - and explain the long cover up, for/of Michael Antoine.

On UNDT opacity, on which you have refused to answer, explain why on August 26, a supposedly "public" case was held - but the access link was dead, not only to Inner City Press but to the public at large: "UNDT/NBI/2020/022 (Mancinelli) The Applicant contests the Administration’s finding of misconduct and imposition of a disciplinary sanction against her." 

On SG son Pedro Guimarães e Melo De Oliveira Guterres, explain how the business of Explorer Investments has been reviewed for conflicts of interest. Explain immediately how Pedro Guterres doing business with Rwanda while Antonio Guterres was UNSG was and is not a conflict, and what was disclosed and to whom.

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