As
Guatemala Ends CICIG UN
Guterres Takes Note of Failure
While Banning Press and
Heading to China
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR Letter
PFT Q&A
UNITED NATIONS,
August 31 – Back on 25 August
2017 when Guatemalan President
Jimmy Morales came to New York
to meet with UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres on
August 25, media mostly
Spanish and Inner City Press
set up a stakeout in the UN
Secretariat lobby, to
afterward hear his views on
Ivan Velasquez and the future
of the CICIG. The meeting
began at 5 pm, but it was well
after 6 pm when Guterres came
down to his waiting car and
driver. Inner City Press
asked, Que pasa con la CICIG?
But Guterres merely waved.
Moments later his spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, who
declined to answer or even
confirm receipt of written
questions from Inner City
Press, issued a canned
read-out which "reiterated his
confidence in Commissioner
Ivan Velásquez.” But what has
been the follow up? Guterres
had Inner City Press roughed
up on June 22 and July 3 and
banned since then, amid Press
questions about his
corruption. Now no August 31,
full circle: "The
Secretary-General takes note
of the decision of President
Jimmy Morales not to request
an extension of the Agreement
between the United Nations and
the Government of the Republic
of Guatemala on the
establishment of an
International Commission
Against Impunity in Guatemala
(CICIG), whose mandate ends on
3 September 2019. The
Secretary-General recalls the
important contribution of
CICIG to the fight against
impunity in Guatemala under
the leadership of its
Commissioner." Another failure
under Guterres. But he's
focused on using public money
to travel to Lisbon, now to
China, and on roughing up and
banning the Press which asks.
On May 10, 2018, Inner City
Press asked Dujarric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: wanted
to ask you, there's at least
three senators and one
representative in Washington
that are… have written
to put a hold on $6 million to
be paid to CICIG, and their
reason for it is what they say
is a lack of due process, that
instances have come up where
Mr. Velásquez has essentially
bullied defendants in one
case, they say, on behalf of a
Russian bank.
And so I'm wondering, when
you… when you issue these
expressions of support, is it
something that… that the
Secretary-General has actually
looked at these cases and
said…
Spokesman: CICIG
operates under established
rules through an agreement
between the UN and the
Government of Guatemala.
There are all sorts of
built-in mechanisms.
CICIG has received broad
support from Member States,
and we hope that continues."
On 21 March 2018 when Inner
City Press asked about
Guatemala removing 11 police
investigators from the CICIG,
Guterres' spokesman didn't
know about it, and did not
comment by the end of the day
six hours later. From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: I know
that the Secretary-General has
spoken in the past about CICIG
[the International Commission
against Impunity in Guatemala]
in Guatemala. And now
the Government there has
removed 11 of its police
investigators that were
working with it, and Ivan
Velásquez says this is clearly
an attempt to undermine the
CICIG. So I was… do you
have any…
Spokesman: I'll check…
check the reports. The
Secretary-General firmly
stands behind the work of the
Commission and the
Commissioner.." But six hours
later, nothing. Back on August
27, 2017 after not speaking at
or even coming to the waiting
stakeout at the UN, Morales
issued a video, on Twitter,
declaring Valasquez persona
non grata. Here.
Guterres is with sheikhs in
Kuwait; Inner City Press asked
his spokesman Stephane
Dujarric: "This is a Press
request on deadline for the
UN's / Secretary General's
response to this,
from Jimmy Morales of
Guatemala. Also please explain
why UN Photo still does not
have any photo of the Morales
/ SG photo op online, and
state where Yemen envoy IOCA
is, if he is not in Kuwait
(didn't see him in the photo).
Inner City Press has more
questions and will be
submitting them for responses,
while noting that Friday's
question was not even
acknowledged, much less
answered. Please explain." He
replied, "Statement coming
shortly." Then, a tweet from
Jeffrey Feltman's DPA: ".@UN
Secretary-General shocked at
announcement that Guatemala's
President has declared
@Ivan_Velasquez_ persona non
grata." Shocked implies that
Morales didn't raise this
possibility in their long
meeting on Friday. More to
follow.
More to
come.
***
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