UNITED NATIONS
GATE, February 15
– Inner City Press on July 5
was banned from entering the
UN, the day after it filed a
criminal complaint against
UN Security for physically
removing it from covering
the meeting about the UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' $6.7 billion
peacekeeping budget, as
witnessed and essentially
cheered on by senior UN
official Christian Saunders,
tearing its reporter's
shirt, painfully and
intentionally twisting his
arm and slamming shut and
damaging his laptop. On
August 17, Guterres' Global
Communicator Alison Smale
issued a letter banning
Inner City Press from the UN
- for life. With no due
process. She and Guterres
have put the UN in the US
Press Freedom Tracker, here.
Smale said,
again, that the UN would
answer Press questions to
the Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric and his Office; Dujarric said the same on
camera.
On February 15
before a Farhan Haq briefing in which he got only three
questions, including
one from
on
Haiti from the UN
Censorship
Alliance that did
not even ask about
the UN against
killing people
there, this time
with an APC, Inner
City Press submitted 521 questions
"There are more than 300+
questions UNanswered.
While appreciating
and using what was sent on
January 29 after it was
read out in the briefing
room, no answers on Dec 17
or 18 or 19 or 20 or 21 -
another FIVE days in a
row, even as SG's direct
conflicts of interest and
failure to disclose
emerge, and a newest low.
While
appreciating the
lone partial
response to Question
Feb 8-8, nothing on
Dec 24 or Dec 26 or
Dec 27 or Dec 28, or
January 2, 3 or 4 or
8 or 9 or 10 or 11
or 14 or 15 or 16 or
17 or 18 or 21 or 22
or 23 or 24 or 25 or
28 - that was
FIFTEEN week-days in
a row, apparently
under orders, then a
simple post-facto
answer. Now what? No
answers on January
30 nor 31 nor
February 1 nor 4 nor
5 nor 6 nor 7 nor 11
nor 12 nor 13 nor
14. No answers at
all during those
four days of the US
v Ho trial showing
corruption in the UN
says it all. This
ban is just
censorship - and
Inner City Press
must be allowed back
into the noon
briefing to ask its
questions in person
and follow up on
them.
February
15-1: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on that "More than
150 people have been
charged with
"hostility to the
homeland" and
"insurrection" for
their role in
anti-government
protests in
Cameroon, the
vice-president of
the country's main
opposition party
said. The
president of the
Movement for the
Rebirth of Cameroon
(MRC) opposition
party, Maurice
Kamto, was among
those charged on
Wednesday in a
crackdown criticized
by human rights
campaigners.
He and around 150
other people were
arrested in late
January and have
been held for nearly
three weeks by
police in the
capital
Yaounde. They
have gone before a
judge in groups,
starting with Kamto
overnight Tuesday to
Wednesday. He was
charged with
"rebellion,
insurrection" and
"hostility to the
country".
Around twenty of
those detained have
been released on
bail, MRC's
vice-president
Emmanuel Simh
said.
"Hostility to the
country" is
punishable by the
death penalty in
theory, but the
penalty has not been
carried out in
Cameroon for more
than 30
years"?
February
15-2: On South Sudan
and SG's UN's faux
feminism, please
immediately provide
the SG's comment and
action on UNMISS
whistleblowers'
statement to Inner
City Press about the
recent "
recruitment, a total
of 131 candidates
sat for the written
test. 31 passed to
the competency based
interview stage
which for all
intents and purposes
could not be
classified as a
competency based
interview given that
the whole exercise
was a farce. 15 out
of 31 passed the
oral interview. All
but one of the
internal candidates
were rostered. There
had to be a
sacrificial lamb to
show that the
exercise was not to
roster the internal
or former internal
candidates so some
one had to be failed
and that was none
other than the
nemesis of the Chief
of Staff. Four
candidates were
recommended. 2 males
and 2 females for a
position that had
been cancelled and
re-advertised on the
basis that they
wanted to get female
candidates. All the
four recommended
candidates
miraculously
rejected the offer
and so Mr. Guy
Bennett became the
automatic
beneficiary before
the Nigerian who had
hitherto been acting
for almost two years
before he was
ejected in order to
preposition Guy
Bennett. So for a
position that was
supposed to be
filled by a woman it
was now filled by
Mr. BENNETT leaving
other women on
roster."
February
15-3: On Haiti and
UN impunity, again,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on accountability
after the death toll
of UN driving into a
collective taxi has
hit four? "A traffic
accident involving a
United Nations
armored vehicle
killed four people
and injured nine in
Port-au-Prince on
Saturday...The
vehicle of the
United Nations
Mission for Justice
Support in Haiti
(MINUJUSTH) lost the
use of its brakes
while driving in the
capital and collided
with a collective
taxi — known as a
tap-tap — according
to witnesses"
February
15-4: On Burundi,
what is the comment
and action of the SG
and separately SRSG
Kafando to the
report that "
"President Pierre
Nkurunziza says he
has given wealth to
Burundians since
2002, he wants to be
thanked. Thus,
offerings in money,
livestock or food
products are
collected throughout
the provinces and
have been used for
some time. A crusade
of prayer and
collection of
offerings was
organized from 24 to
27 January 2019 in
Gitega province
where President
Pierre Nkurunziza
was in person. At
least 1.8 billion
Burundian francs
were collected
during this crusade.
In Gitega province,
the young
Imbonerakure have
traveled the town of
Gitega from 21
January 2019 to
raise money and
food. From boutiques
to boutiques, from
shops to stores,
from pharmacies in
pharmacies, kiosks
in kiosks, ... they
required between
2000 and 5000 FBU in
failing which they
closed the doors. In
Rumonge province,
the provincial
secretary of the
ruling party,
Diomede Niyonsaba
sent invitations to
all heads of public
and private
services,
organizations 21
non-governmental
organizations and
association leaders
working in the
province for their
ask to participate
in this presidential
crusade"? And AGAIN,
please immediately
explain how it is
legitimate to ban
from enter into the
UN the media that
has been asking
about these and
other questions,
with no hearing or
appeal.
February
14-1: On Western
Sahara, what is the
comment and action
of the SG and
separately Horst
Kohler to the EU
agreement with
Morocco regarding
fishing off Western
Sahara?
February
13-2: On Cameroon,
again, what is the
SG's comment and
action on the now
formal charges of
"rebellion" against
Maurice Kamto, which
could carry the
death penalty, in
light of what your
Office says Biya's
FM told him in
Addis? Simarily,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on the filmed recent
mass arrest of youth
in the Anglophone
regions?
February
13-3: What is the
SG's and OIOS'
comment and action
on whistleblowers
complaint to Inner
City Press that Moin
Karim uses UNOPS and
his authority as
regional director,
to ‘hire’
consultants in
Geneva on symbolic
lump-sum contracts
that pay
‘contractors’
symbolic fees (few
hundred to few
thousand US dollars)
who then use their
contracts to obtain
Swiss work permits
and stay in
Switzerland for
several years. It is
said that a number
of individuals, who
otherwise would not
be eligible to
reside in
Switzerland, have
entered the country
on those fake
contracts and are
now seeking
citizenship, or are
temporarily hiding
from their
respective
authorities?
February
13-4: On Sudan and
the ICC, in light of
your answer
yesterday to Al
Jazeera only about
the AU "family
photo" while
refusing to answer
Inner City Press'
written question
despite your on
camera statement
that you would
answer, please
immediately deny or
confirm and read out
that " United
Nations
Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres met
with Sudan’s
president on the
sidelines of the
African Union summit
in Addis Ababa, said
Foreign Minister
El-Dirdeiry Ahmed in
a statement released
on Monday. The
meeting of al-Bashir
with Guterres was
reported by the
official news agency
SUNA saying it took
place at the
Sheraton Hotel in
Addis Ababa on the
sidelines of the
32nd Ordinary Summit
of the African
Union." How many
times in total has
Guterres met Bashir
- and any other ICC
indictees?
February
14-5: On Myanmar,
what the SG's
comment and action
on the arrest of
seven student for
having burned
portraits of
government
ministers? And
AGAIN, please
immediately explain
how it is legitimate
to ban from enter
into the UN the
media that has been
asking about these
and other questions,
with no hearing or
appeal.
February
13-2: On Sudan and
the ICC, please
immediately deny or
confirm and read out
that " United
Nations
Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres met
with Sudan’s
president on the
sidelines of the
African Union summit
in Addis Ababa, said
Foreign Minister
El-Dirdeiry Ahmed in
a statement released
on Monday. The
meeting of al-Bashir
with Guterres was
reported by the
official news agency
SUNA saying it took
place at the
Sheraton Hotel in
Addis Ababa on the
sidelines of the
32nd Ordinary Summit
of the African
Union." How many
times in total has
Guterres met Bashir
- and any other ICC
indictees?
February
13-3: On Saudi
Arabia and press
freedom, what is the
SG's comment and
action on that a top
Saudi official who
was fired after
being accused of
playing a role in
the killing of
dissident journalist
Jamal Khashoggi
continues to serve
as an informal royal
adviser: Saud
al-Qahtani, who
previously served in
effect as the
right-hand man to
Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman?
What is the status
of the MOU with MBS'
MiSK Foundation of
the SG's Youth
Adviser?
February
13-4: On Thailand
and press freedom,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on that Thailand’s
telecoms regulator
on Tuesday suspended
the operating
license of a
television channel
linked to ousted
former Prime
Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra weeks
ahead of a general
election? Two
programs on Voice
TV, Tonight Thailand
and Wake Up News,
spread information
that caused public
confusion and
divisiveness, said
the National
Broadcasting and
Telecommunications
Commission, without
elaborating. And
AGAIN, please
immediately explain
how it is legitimate
to ban from enter
into the UN the
media that has been
asking about these
and other questions,
with no hearing or
appeal.
February
12-1: Please
immediately explain
why the SG's meeting
yesterday 6-6:50 pm
was not listed in
the UN Media Alert,
and separately why
some but not other
media were in fact
allowed in to "the
residence." Again,
in light of the
claim yesterday that
is was impossible to
attend the UNSC
meeting on Venezuela
then the Park East
Synagogue event
(even though USUN
charge d'affaires
Jonathan Cohen and
others did it),
explain why the
Secretary General
did not bother to
attend the 9 am UNSC
"urgent" meeting on
Venezuela on January
26. And state
whether the SG has
been working from
"the residence"
mid-day, and if so,
why.
February
12-2: On sexual
abuse and
exploitation and the
UN's and its TCCs'
increasing lack of
transparency, what
is the SG's comment
and action on the
report today from
Serbia that "The
United Nations
states that it was a
complaint that was
received in January,
that it was an
alleged victim and
that the proceedings
against the
suspected leader
were also within the
UN and Serbia. The
Ministry of Defense
did not answer the
question of the
Whistleblower
whether an
investigation and a
disciplinary
procedure is being
conducted against
that member of the
Serbian Armed
Forces.... the case
of sexual
exploitation for
which the suspected
Serbian soldier was
first reported by an
independent American
journalist Matthew
Lee, who has been
writing about abuses
in the United
Nations for years."
Explain why you have
refused to provide
the if-asked
information Inner
City Press
requested.
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