As
Sri
Lanka Gloats
of Jail for
Press, Cites
UNCA, Attacks
Increase
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 4 -- In
covering the
UN, Inner City
Press speaks
with
nearly
everyone here,
from the UN
Security
officers sold
out by
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon after
they were
beaten by
Turkish
president
Erdogan's
guards,
through
diplomats up
to, though
less and less
frequently, Ban himself.
But
some in the UN
refuse to
respond to
Inner City
Press. These
include top UN
Peacekeeper
Herve Ladsous,
his adviser Sri Lankan
general (and
alleged war
criminal)
Shavendra
Silva, and
a dozen
members of the
UN
Correspondents
Association
Executive
Committee.
There are not
unconnected.
Following
a witch
hunt
against Inner
City Press for
reporting on a
past financial
relationship
between Sri
Lankan
Permanent
Representative
Palitha
Kohona and
UNCA President
Giampaolo
Pioli (click here
for more
nuance) and on
the last
minute
selection of
second choice
Herve
Ladsous, the
UN Executive
Committee on
May 29 mass
e-mailed out a
letter
vaguely
charging Inner
City Press
with
harassment.
The
letter,
signed
by signed by
Reuters' Louis
Charbonneau,
Flavia
Krause-Jackson
of
Bloomberg,
Talal Al-Haj
of Al-Arabia,
Margaret
Besheer of
Voice of
America and
Timothy
Witcher of
Agence France
Presse, was to
set up a
"Board of
Examination"
to
"investigate"
Inner
City Press
with an eye to
expelling it.
But
on June 3, a
major
government
aligned
newspaper in
Sri Lanka, the
Sunday
Observer,
quoted with
approval the
UNCA Executive
Committee
indictment
of Inner
City Press.
The newspaper
concluded that
that "if the
allegations
against Lee
are proven,
the UN
headquarters
will be made
out of bounds
for him. If
the harassment
charges are
proven he
could
face a jail
term of up to
six years."
It
also reports,
citing
"authoritative
diplomatic
sources,"
that
"The
United
Nations
Correspondents’
Association
(UNCA) has
initiated an
inquiry
against Inner
City Press
correspondent
Matthew
Russell Lee
who was
operating from
the UN
Headquarters
on his
unethical and
unprofessional
behaviour,
authoritative
diplomatic
sources told
the
Sunday
Observer
yesterday. The
Executive
Committee of
the UNCA met
on
May 29 to
discuss his
conduct
following many
complaints
received by
the
Association
and voted 13
to one in
favour of
setting up a
five-member
board of
examination.
Lee's
unethical
coverage in
the Inner City
Press
dominated
issues and
sensitive
affairs
concerning Sri
Lanka as well.
The
meeting
was attended
by the
President of
UNCA Giampiolo
Pioli and the
Vice
Presidents
among others.
In a letter
requesting an
inquiry
against Lee,
five executive
committee
members wrote
to the UNCA
President, 'We
feel it’s time
to consider
whether he
truly belongs
to an
organisation
of journalists
committed to
professionalism,
ethics and
covering the
United
Nations.' The
complaints
against him
include
harassment of
media
colleagues at
the UN.
The
members
of the
examination
board will be
decided on by
June 1 and
work will
begin
thereafter.
The
examination
board will
have to report
back to the
Executive
Committee
within 10
days.
The
sources
said if the
allegations
against Lee
are proven,
the UN
headquarters
will be made
out of bounds
for him. If
the harassment
charges are
proven he
could face a
jail term of
up to six
years."
Who
might those
"authoritative
diplomatic
sources"
be? Who is
this UNCA
Executive
Committee
serving? The
article is
online at
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2012/06/03/new11.asp
After
publication
of the
article, Inner
City Press
wrote to each
member of
the UNCA
Executive
Committee with
a copy of the
article,
formally
asking them to
disassociate
themselves
from and bring
about the
immediate
cessation of
this anti
press freedom
climate that
has led
to this
article.
None responded
to this
request in
writing; only
one
gave so much
as a phone
call.
Member Talal
Al-Haj of
Al-Arabiya,
twenty hours
after being
shown the
above article,
responded by
sending
another mass
e-mail against
Inner City
Press. One wag
advises
Al-Haj: just
send it
directly to
Shavendra
Silva and
Kohona next
time, save the
other
journalists'
time.
Meanwhile as
should have
been or
perhaps was
foreseen by
UNCA Executive
Committee
members, the
anti
Press flow is
increasing.
We'll have
more on all
this - watch
this site.
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