UNITED
NATIONS, May
31 -- As
furniture was
carted back
into the UN
Security
Council, in
the hallway
outside where
previously
there was a
media
worktable a
representative
of the
Department of
Public
Information
tried to
justify to
Inner City
Press the planned
banning of
media
workspace
there.
The Free UN Coalition for Access, ever
since it saw
the proposed
prohibition in
the draft UN
Media Access
Guidelines on
May 21, has
been asking
for a reversal
or explanation
of the
reduction in
media
access from
what existed
before the
Council's move
to the
basement,
and while it
was
downstairs.
And
for now, this
is the best
DPI can come
up with:
diplomats
sitting in
the strange
gazebo-like
alcove of the
so-called
Turkish Lounge
might
be concerned
about
eavesdropping.
This
strange
argument
immediately
followed the
statement that
the press
could sit IN
the gazebo
with a laptop.
So which is
it?
(The specter
of violating
privacy is
ironic from
DPI, which on
March 18 conducted
a
non-consensual
raid on
Inner City
Press' office
while UNCA's
president Pam
Falk took
photographs
she has yet to
explain --
more to come
on this.)
It
appears
increasingly
clear that the
proposed
elimination of
a media
worktable in
front of the
Security
Council is
supported, is
even
attributable
to, the Gulf
and Western
big wire
services that
control
the old UN
Correspondents
Association
Executive
Committee.
Inner
City Press
asked DPI for
identify of
the drafters
of the
following
paragraph:
"f.
The Security
Council
stakeout area,
including the
Turkish
Lounge, is
not to be used
as a permanent
workspace for
the media.
When the
Council is not
in session,
correspondents
should
minimize the
amount
of time in the
area, unless
interviewing
or conversing
with a U.N.
delegate or
official."
We
all agreed to
it, has been
the answer.
The parties to
the Guidelines
are UNCA --
apparently,
only the
Executive
Committee,
since there
has
been not
general
membership
meeting or
discussion of
agreeing to
this
reduction in
access -- DPI,
UN Security
and Ban
Ki-moon's
Office of
the
Spokesperson.
But
Ban's Office
at Friday's
noon briefing
said it didn't
even know when
the draft
Guidelines
would go into
effect.
The
UN preaches
transparency
and public
participation
to governments
about the
world. But
even on this
Guidelines, it
can't say who
proposed what,
what the
responses to
FUNCA's
proposed
amendments
are,
or when the
Guidelines --
which
Guidelines? --
would go into
effect. It's a
joke, except
it's not
funny.
It
has been
explained to
the top of DPI
that it is
with a media
worktable that
the Security
Council has
been able to
be covered
before the
temporary
move, and
during the
interim
period.
It
has been
explained,
since these
top DPI
officials like
some of the
wire services
rarely come to
the stakeout
that a range
of reporters
use the media
worktable at
different
time, for
example to
wait to
speak with
"their"
ambassador
during Council
open debates.
There is no
way to know
the specific
time of a
speaker, as
some run
over, and
people trade
places.
So
journalists have
been able,
while they
wait,
to work on
laptops at the
table, rather
than as DPI
and the UNCA
big
wigs now
propose, stand
up for three
or four hours
at a time. Why
require that?
We'll have
more on this.
Watch this
site.
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