Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

Even of "Inalienable Rights," Censorship by Ban & Gallach Hinders Coverage

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 29 -- When amid Press questions about UN corruption Ban Ki-moon and his Communications chief Cristina Gallach evicted Inner City Press from its long time shared office, they not only begin confining the Press to “minders” to cover any events on the UN's second floor, including of the UN Security Council.

They also denied it a place to work, and the possibility to cover many UN meetings including on November 29 a meeting addressed by Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson about the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

In order to get to the meeting, Inner City Press unlike the other correspondents present and not present in the UN Press Briefing Room, or even though always absent like Egyptian state media Akhbar al Yom's Sanaa Youssef, being rewarded for now with Inner City Press' office, was required to get a minder.

Even then, while other passed freely through the turnstile, UN Security demanded to know why Inner City Press wanted to go onto the second floor. This is targeted censorship. Once in front, Inner City Press even with a minder was able to learn some things - until it was time to have to leave, with the meeting still ongoing. Other favored correspondents continued to move freely, not even covering the meetings, just drinking coffee. This is the targeted censorship regime of Ban and Gallach, right in midtown Manhattan. UNreal - and hypocritical, when compared to Ban's and Gallach's unit's statements about West Bank journalists.

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