UNITED NATIONS
GATE, March 29
– 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 March 29 more
than two
hours
before a
UN noon briefing by
Dujarric's
deputy Haq
Inner
City Press submitted 681 questions: "There
are more than 300+
questions UNanswered.
And Monday Sept 17,
Tuesday Sept 18, Wed
Sept 19 and Thurs
and Fri Sept 21, that
whole week, no questions
answered. Nor Sept 25,
nor 28th - nor October 2
nor 3. While
appreciating and using
what was sent on March
28 in partial request to
Inner City Press'
questions about the UN
bribery sentence of
Patrick Ho of CEFC and
CEFC's 2018 attempt to
buy the oil company of
Gulbenkian Foundation
which paid the SG, 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. 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 nor 15
nor 18 nor 19 nor 20 nor
21 nor 22 nor 25 nor 26
nor 27 nor March 1 - 27
(!) 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.
March
29-1: On Nigeria, what
are the comment and
action of the SG and,
separately, DSG Amina J
Mohammed on that Federal
High Court Thursday
revoked the bail of the
leader of the Indigenous
People of Biafra (IPOB),
Nnamdi Kanu and ordered
his arrest?
March
29-2: On FAO, Mr. Servan
from FAO whom Inner City
Press asked your about
last year has apparently
been subject to
complaints by women
attending an ICSC
meeting in Geneva, with
the issue been raised to
the SG. Please confirm
or deny and state what
if anything the SG has
done.
March
29-3: On China and
Xinjiang / Uighurs, what
is the SG's comment and
action if any on this
account: "The alarm
rings at 5am every
morning in Yerzhan's
overcrowded concrete
cell. He dresses in a
thin blue uniform before
armed guards escort him
to a bathroom, where he
has minutes to wash
under supervision.
At 7am there is
breakfast: tea and a
single steamed bun for
each of the cell’s 18
inmates. For the
rest of the day, Yerzhan
is forced to sit
straight on a stool,
learn Mandarin, sing
patriotic songs and
memorise ruling
Communist Party
ideology. In
order to receive a small
portion of rice at noon
and 6pm he, like all the
others, must praise the
Chinese president and
shout “Long live Xi
Jinping!” Those
who refuse are
electrocuted with a
cattle prod that causes
their limbs to spasm
uncontrollably"?
March
29-4: On Zimbabwe, what
is the SG's comment and
action if any on that
alleged supporters of
the ruling Zimbabwe
African Nationalist
Union-Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF) were denying
some cyclone survivors
emergency aid, including
food, because they were
believed to support the
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC)
political party?
March
29-5: On the Dominican
Republic, what is the
SG's comment and action
if any on that police in
the Dominican Republic
routinely subject women
sex workers to rape,
beatings and verbal
abuse, a new report has
found?
March
29-6: On Comoros, what
is the SG's comment and
action if any on that
four people died
Thursday in a gunfight
at a military camp in
Comoros where police had
detained an opposition
presidential
candidate?
March
29-7: On Bahrain, what
is the SG's comment and
action if any on that
plight of Bahraini
activist Najah Yusuf, a
critic of the grand prix
race who has been jailed
by the government since
2017?
March
29-8: On freedom of
expression, what is the
SG's comment and action
if any on that lawyers
in Chad on Thursday
presented an application
to the courts seeking an
order to force
government to lift a
social media blackout.
But the Appeals Court
struck out the case
allowing the government
to continue the blackout
which has been in force
since March 2018? AGAIN,
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.
March
28-1: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
comment and
belated action,
if any, on
Biya's Army's
attack on Abuh,
North-West
region, which
burned an entire
neighborhood to
the
ground. A
woman in her 40s
said she spent
three days
hiding in the
surrounding
countryside with
her five
children after
the attack:
“When I came
back to the
village, my
house was gone,
with everything
inside. I am
left with
nothing but my
clothes.” How
does this square
with UNFPA's
current
propaganda trip
to
Yaounde?
March
28-2: On Sri
Lanka, what is
the SG's and
separate USG
Lacroix's
response to the
Army's statement
that "In that
effort, Sri
Lanka Army and
HRCSL maintain
strong cordial
and professional
relations with
mutual
understanding
and respect for
difficulty of
carrying out
their respective
roles which are
open to the
public
domain. It
is the opinion
of the Sri Lanka
Army that we as
Sri Lankans,
should be proud
that UN selected
HRCSL, our own
organization, to
carry out the
domestic
mechanism in HR
screening
process.
However, the
task is not that
easy as
thousands of
applications
have to be
scrutinized as
all three
services and the
Police are
engaged in UN
peacekeeping,
apart from the
duties that
HRCSL has to
perform
according to its
prime
mandate.
Sri Lanka Army
has the highest
confidence in
HRCSL that it
does its utmost
to expedite this
HR screening
process. It is
requested that
any queries in
this regard or
any matter with
regard to UN
peacekeeping by
Sri Lanka Army
be referred to
the Commander of
the Army or the
Directorate of
Media for
accurate and
current
information
without
resorting to
unauthorized
persons/entity
who would not
allow the
efforts of the
Sri Lanka Army
in UN
peacekeeping
further the
image of the
country"?
March
28-3: On Canada
and
peacekeeping,
please
immeidately
provide SG and
USG Lacroix
confirmation and
explanation of
that "One UN
official, who
spoke on
condition of
anonymity
because of
diplomatic
sensitivities,
says Canada
recently
provided a list
of conditions
about where and
when the plane
can be
used.
Those included a
stipulation the
plane only fly
in daylight and
only between
Entebbe and five
locations that,
according to the
UN official,
either don’t
have any
peacekeeping
units or are
easily
accessible by
road. As a
result, the UN
told Canada the
arrangement did
not meet its
needs"?
March
28-4: On
Pakistan and
press freedom,
what is the SG's
comment and
action on that
Pakistani
authorities are
investigating
five prominent
journalists and
a blogger for
displaying the
photo of slain
Saudi journalist
Jamal
Khashoggi’s on
social media
during Saudi
Crown Prince
Mohammed bin
Salman’s visit
to Pakistan last
month? AGAIN,
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.
March
27-4: On Brunei,
what is the SG's
comment and
action on
pending
provisions in
Brunei’s Penal
Code would allow
stoning and
amputation as
punishments –
including for
children. These
punishments are
provided for in
newly-implemented
sections of the
Brunei
Darussalam
Syariah Penal
Code that are
due to come into
force on 3 April
2019, according
to a discreet
notice on the
Attorney
General’s website.
March
27-6: On freedom
of thought and
expression and
China, what is
the SG's comment
and action on
the law
professor at
Tsinghua
University who
openly
criticised
Chinese
President Xi
Jinping has been
suspended and
placed under
investigation by
the university,
according to one
of his
colleagues and
several
academics
familiar with
the situation.
Xu Zhangrun, 56,
was suspended
this month after
he wrote several
articles
criticising
Beijing over
political and
social
issues?
AGAIN,
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.
March
25-5: On your /
Spokesperson
Dujarric's
recent podcast
interview,
please
immediately
explain what was
meant by a
relationship
with journalists
of "mutually
assured
destruction" -
and why the
podcast links
are mostly
404/no longer
online.
March
25-8: On the
SG's March 22
appearance on
96th Street,
please
immediately
provide the name
of the UN DSS
officer who
spoke to NYPD on
96th Street to
get them to
restraint in
advance Inner
City Press while
UN Photo and
others like AP
walked freely,
the basis for
this censorship
and any and all
records
regarding
it.
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