Ban
Ki-moon's UN
Set to Lease
Its Land in
Geneva To
Insider Group,
No Bidding
Process,
Everything for
Sale
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Follow Up on
Exclusives
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 25 --
Under
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, the
UN has become
so lawless
that his UN in
Geneva has
decided to
lease a plot
of land with a
historical
building on it
for $20
million for 99
years. But it
seems there
has been no
procurement
process so it
is not clear
that the UN
and its member
states are
getting the
best price.
The land would
go to a
private
foundation
that has
pledged to
build a music
complex next
to the UN.
Sounds good?
The foundation
doesn't appear
to have a
website. The
foundation
itself is
fronted by a
lawyer rather
than an expert
on music. It
is also not
clear why this
outfit has
been exempted
from a
transparent
request for
offers
process.
Last year,
Group of 77
warned Ban
against
divesting UN
land as that
land belongs
to member
states. It
seems the
request was
ignored by
Ban. Anything
goes.
As
Inner City
Press reported
on August 25,
Ban's
son-in-law
Siddharth
Chatterjee was
just named
UN Resident
Representative
in Kenya
without Ban
recusing
himself.
How
is this
acceptable in
an
international
organization?
Or this: Ban's
mentor Han
Seung-soo is a
UN official
allowed to be
on the boards
of directors
of Standard
Chartered,
which has UN
banking
contracts, and
Doosan which
makes sales to
countries Han
gives “UN”
speeches to.
On August 25,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric if
Ban had
recused
himself from
any role in
his
son-in-law's
promotion, video here.
Inner
City Press:
Mr. Chatterjee
was named the
UN
representative
in
Kenya.
So I wanted to
know, what’s
the process
for the naming
of a resident
representative?
And given this
he’s the
son-in-law of
the
Secretary-General,
was there any
recusal
made?
I’m not saying
he’s not
qualified.
I’m not saying
he’s not a
long-time
official.
I’m just
wondering what
is the
process…[inaudible]…
for someone
being named…
Spokesman:
The regular
process was
used.
The fact that
he is, indeed,
the son-in-law
of the
Secretary-General,
I think, does
not take away
anything from
his very
strong service
over the
years…
Inner
City Press:
I’m asking
about the
process.
Spokesman:
Thank you.
Dujarric's
only response
is that
Chatterjee is
qualified.
That's not the
question. Nor
have the
questions
about Han
Seung-soo, who
refuses Ban's
supposed call
for public
financial
disclosure,
been answered.
Instead, Inner
City Press
which has
asked about
each of
Chatterjee's
promotions
though the UN
system under
Ban (for
example to
and from
UNOPSincluding
censorship
by the son in
law, like Ban)
and in the
past ten
months about
Ban's and his
head of
communications
Cristina
Gallach's
links with
the John Ashe
/ Ng Lap Seng
UN bribery
scandal, was
ousted from
the UN in
February 2016
(audio
here) and
had its
investigative
files evicted
onto First
Avenue in
April
(video here).
NYT
here.
Since then
Inner City
Press has been
BANned
from covering
UN events
on the second
floor unless
it has a
minder which
stays with it
all the time;
sometime Inner
City Press is
told there are
not enough
minders, and
coverage is
entirely
prohibited.
This is
censorship
under Ban
Ki-moon.
Gallach's
DPI is giving
Inner City
Press' long
time shared
office to an
Egypt state
media, Akhbar
Al Yom, whose
UN
representative
Sanaa Youssef
rarely comes
to the UN, and
never asks
questions -
Dujarric
refused to
confirm this
obvious fact,
saying he
"does not take
attendance" --
but who is a
former
president of
the
Ban-friendly
UN
Correspondents
Association.
Inner
City Press put
the question
of recusal to
Ban's
spokesman
Dujarric
entirely
civilly,
without
(there)
calling into
question
Chatterjee's
qualification
or history
(including in
Sri Lanka, to
which Ban
Ki-moon is
ironically
headed for a
visit). Watch
this site.
, 
