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By Matthew Russell Lee, Photos, Periscope

UNITED NATIONS, March 30 -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lavished praised on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on March 27, with not a word of the Saudi led bombing campaign that has killed civilians and caused cholera in Yemen. The occasion was Guterres accepting a $930 million check for the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan. Now on March 30, from the US White House, this: "Yemen’s Houthis have responded to efforts by the United Nations to reinvigorate a political process in Yemen by threatening to conduct more reckless missile attacks, like those they conducted on Sunday.  These actions call into question the Houthis’ commitment to a peace process. These attacks again demonstrate that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is continuing to disrupt a nascent political process, escalate hostilities, and destabilize the region by proliferating weapons to the Houthis and others.  The United States will remain steadfast in helping our partners defend themselves, providing desperately needed humanitarian assistance, and supporting an inclusive United Nations process to help resolve the conflict and bring peace and security to the region." But what UN efforts to reinvigorate (what) political process in Yemen? Was it Griffiths, or Guterres taking the Saudi check? For two days now, Inner City Press has been asking the UN a simple question: What IS the Secretary General? No answer. On March 29, the day after the UN Security Council Press Statement below, Iran's mission to the UN had written to the outgoing Dutch president of the Security Council, and Antonio Guterres, beginning: "Upon instruction from my Government and with reference to the letter dated 26 March 2018 (S/2018/266) from the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, and pursuant to my letter dated 22 January 2018 regarding missile launches during Saudi’s military aggression against Yemen, while the Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects those baseless allegations contained in this letter, I have the honor to draw your attention to the following: The Islamic Republic of Iran has never transferred or smuggled missiles, arms and military equipment to Yemen in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions 2216 and 2231. Iran strongly opposes all biased and false claims in this regard. As Yemen is under total blockade by the Saudi-led Coalition, the possibility of smuggling ballistic missiles is an unfounded and imaginary claim." We've put the full letter on Scribd, here. And here's the UNSC Press Statement: "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest possible terms the multiple Houthi missile attacks, including the use of ballistic missiles, targeting several cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including its capital Riyadh, on 25 March 2018, which threatened civilian areas and resulted in at least one fatality. The members of the Security Council underlined that such attacks pose a serious national security threat to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as a wider threat to regional security. The members of the Council also expressed alarm at the stated intention of the Houthis to continue these attacks against Saudi Arabia, as well as to launch additional attacks against other states in the region.

The members of the Security Council called on all Member States to fully implement all aspects of the arms embargo as required by the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2216 (2015) and in that regard expressed their grave concern at the reports of continuing violations of the arms embargo.

The members of the Security Council expressed their grave concern at the continued deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen and the devastating humanitarian impact of the conflict on civilians and called on all parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access.

The members of the Security Council expressed grave distress at the level of violence in Yemen.  The members of the Security Council called upon all parties to comply with international humanitarian law.

The members of the Security Council reiterated the need for all parties to return to dialogue as the only means of delivering a negotiated political settlement and engage constructively with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, with a view towards swiftly reaching a final and comprehensive agreement to end the conflict and address the ongoing humanitarian crisis." Given that on March 27 Guterres did not mention the bombing or the Children and Armed Conflict list that the Saudi led Coalition is still (barely) on, Inner City Press on March 28 asked Guterres' spokesman Farhan Haq, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: meeting and ceremony yesterday with the Saudi Crown Prince.  Although it's reported that he was, you know… the Secretary-General was pushing for a, you know, political solution, I didn't really hear anything said about the civilian casualties of the bombing campaign.  And I know that Saudi Arabia's listed in this kind of unique way in the children and armed conflict as a country that has… that's listed, but it's trying to do better.  Who at the meeting… the closed-door meeting, on the Secretariat's side, was… I guess… was that even discussed, steps being taken by the Coalition to not kill children?  And, also, Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman was there, and I guess he's… obviously, he's Political Affairs, but given that Thursday is his last day, has there been any progress in getting him to actually come and have a press conference here, as was referred to by Stéphane [Dujarric]?

Deputy Spokesman:  Yes.  I do, in fact, expect that we will have Jeffrey Feltman available to speak to you in this room tomorrow.  We're working out the timing with our colleagues in the Department of Political Affairs, and we'll make an announcement when that happens.  Regarding the discussions, both the Secretary-General's remarks and the note that we issued are… serve as our readout of that meeting, and that's the basic details that we'll share.  And regarding the question of the children and armed conflict report, that report is still being worked out on, and we believe that it will be completed this summer...

Inner City Press: I'd asked you yesterday about the son… the son, Ahmed Saleh, and I just want to make clear, he's in the UAE.  I don't know if Mr.… if Martin Griffiths… is he going to go there as well to… to speak to relevant…?

Deputy Spokesman:  No, I'm not aware of any plans for the UAE.  During this particular juncture, he's visiting Riyadh and Sana'a."

On March 27 the Crown Prince -- MBS as he is known -- arrived a full hald hour late, with Guterres and his outgoing head of Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman pacing around but not complaining. (Feltman whose last day at the UN is March 29 when asked if Trump might hire him laughed and said he didn't think so. This was after the 5 pm listed start time for the MBS photo op, but Inner City Press in an abundance of caution after repeated UN censorship threats was not yet Periscoping.) Alamy photos here.  Inner City Press on March 28 asked Haq why no Feltman press conference and was told there will be one on March 29, Feltman's last day. Watch this site.

When MBS did arrive, there was a fast photo op then the media was ushered in to wait in the conference room of Guterres' absent Deputy Amina J. Mohammed, delivering equally craven statements in her native Nigeria. Although the UN Department of Public Information run by British Alison Smale had said no shoulder-held video cameras in the conference room, exception was made for "Saudi official" media - just as Smale's DPI has purported to award Inner City Press' long time work space S-303 to "Egypt official" media Sanaa Youssef of Akhbar al Yom, who has not asked the UN a question in a decade. Exceptions are made.

  Guterres' speech is here, along with MBS' claim he never violates international law notwithstanding bombing funerals and wedding parties. Guterres made a special category for the Saudi-led Coaltion: the so-called "good child killers" list. This invention was paid back on March 27 -- only half of the money comes from Saudi, the rest from the UAE -- and the killing is such to continue. The Security Council is being asked, however, to speak solely on missiles the Houthis have launched. One might ask, which came first. But exceptions are made. Back on March 15 as in the US Senate a bill attempting to end support to the Saudi-led Coalition's bombing of Yemen was proceeding toward its 55-44 failure, Inner City Press asked Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi if he is concerned at loss of support in the US for the bombing, which is killing children and spreading cholera. Video here.

Al-Mouallimi called the bill an internal matter of the US, at an early stage; he said the US fully supports what his country is doing. He blamed all death of civilians on the Houthis. Earlier Inner City Press asked Sweden's deputy ambassador Carl Skau if the day's Security Council Presidential Statement had been agreed to be the Coalition and the Houthis. He said non Council members find their way to have input. But how do the Houthis?

The UN, under Antonio Guterres, his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed and it turns out his Global Communicator Alison Smale, have made their position clear. Mohammed and Smale sent a long time the night before at a Saudi event on women's rights.

Smale, who is responsible for restrictions on Inner City Press which she refuses to explain or reconsider, was at the event; on March 15 her restrictions resulted in Inner City Press unlike no-show state media from Egypt and others being initially unable to reach the Council stakeout. The glass door was inexplicably locked despite Guterres' spokesperson's office announcing that the Saudi ambassador would speak. Once he began, a UN Security officer nevertheless at the turnstile Inner City Press' pass no longer opens demanded that it have a minder or “sponsor.” This is UNacceptable, as it the continued death in Yemen. Watch this site.

The United Kingdom's murky role in the killings in Yemen persist even in the face of a Freedom of Information Act request from Inner City Press. 

More than five months ago on 15 August 2017 Inner City Press asked the UK government for records concerning Yemen. The UK sells weapons to Saudi Arabia, and has now implanted a UK citizen as UN envoy on Yemen in the person of Martin Griffiths (Inner City Press story and questions here.) After repeatedly extending the time to response, now the UK has denied access to all responsive records, letter here, saying that "the release of information relating to the UK’s discussion on UN business could harm our relations and other member states of the United Nations (UN)." 

Here on Patreon is the full denial letter, from which Inner City Press is preparing an appeal, on Cameroon as well - it has 40 working days. 

This is shameful - the UK is also exiting transparency. 

As Inner City Press pursues these questions at the UN, it remains restricted to minders by the head of the UN Department of Public Information Alison Smale, who it is noted is British - and functionally a censor. A retaliator, too? Smale has not explained why Inner City Press' long time work space is assigned to no-show, no-question Egyptian state media Akhbar al Youm. 

On Cameroon and Yemen, UK Denies Inner City Press FOIA Request After 170 Days, Preparing to Appeal, 40 Work... by Matthew Russell Lee on Scribd

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