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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR Letter PFT Q&A, NY Post

UNITED NATIONS GATE, Sept 20 – Inner City Press on 5 July 2018 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' Department of Global Communication issued a letter banning Inner City Press from the UN - for life. With no due process. Guterres has 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 September 20 more than two hours before the noon briefing by Spokesman Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric, the day after he got asked about his and Guterres' censorship, and after the July 26 noon briefing had no questions at all, video here, Inner City Press submitted 1222 questions, including why it continues to be lawlessly banned from entering to ask questions in person: "There are more than 800+ 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 belatedly sent on Sept 6 (while you still withhold if-asked information about Cameroon child rape(s) in DRC),  and 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 (!) And now April 1, 3-30 (one answer in the entire month - corrupt), and now May 1-13, 15-17, 21-31, June 3-28, and July 1-2, 8-31 and August 1-5, 8-30, Sept 3-5, 9-19 many questions. 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.

 September 20-1: On the UN's cover up of its sexual exploitation, please immediately now respond to the question Inner City Press emailed to you yesterday to which you have provided no response at all: On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a request that you immediately provide the "if asked" information about the case of sexual exploitation by a Civilian Contractor in UNMISS / South South cursorily e-announced on September 19, including confirming or denying that the contractor is a South Sudan national or specifying which other and that you immediately provide the "granular" information that was promised today at noon to correspondents who barely ask or publish about this topic. Also, again, what is Guterres' answer, which you refused to provide after banned Inner City Press asked you and others in writing on the morning of August 19 that you "immediately provide all if-asked and additional information about the new allegation of SEA announced of child rape by a Cameroonian "peacekeeper" in DR Congo, and why this has been left so long UNanswered

September 20-2: On UN censorship, please immediately specify what SG Guterres' spokesman claimed in the September 19 noon briefing I was banned from are the "behavioral" issues that justify banning Inner City Press now 444 days, and what the spokesman claims are my contacts with UN Accreditation, other that a one line Kafka-esque denial.

September 20-3: Given the SG's claims this week to have been tough on China, what is his response to those who have accused Hong Kong police of torture and other abuses in their handling of more than three months of pro-democracy protests? 

September 20-4: On Thailand and democracy, what is the SG's belated comment and action if any on that the opposition is looking to petition the court and bring a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for ethical violations stemming from his oath blunder, Wan Muhammad Nor Matha, leader of the Prachachat Party, said on Thursday. 

September 20-5: On Nigeria and aid, what are the comments and actions if any of the SG and separately of DSG Amina J. Mohammed on that Nigeria’s army has closed down the activities of an international aid organisation, which it accuses of aiding Boko Haram...

September 19-1: On Cameroon, what are the belated comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that Cameroon’s law courts are at a standstill as lawyers for a third day Wednesday defy government threats and continue to protest what they say are widespread unbearable rights violations that include torture, illegal and prolonged detention of accused persons. 

September 19-2: On workers and migrants rights and the World Cut what are the SG' comments and actions if any on that  Qatar continue to be mistreated despite promises to improve rights ahead of the 2022 World Cup. Thousands of workers are going unpaid.  It adds that a new commission set up to help improve workers' rights is failing to protect them.

September 19-3: On Malawi, what is the comment and action if any of SG Guterres on the scenes in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, on Wednesday as civil society groups and opposition supporters protested against the results of May’s election. The demonstrations descended into chaos with shops and property destroyed and at least two local journalists assaulted.

September 19-4: On racism and Canada, what are the SG's comments and actions if any on the video that emerged on Thursday showing Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau smiling and gesturing with dark makeup covering his face, arms and legs.

September 18-3: What is the SG's response to the NGOs' letter that he must say and do more about China's abuse of Xinjiang? Why has he still not disclosed payments from Gulbenkian in his form covering 2016, given esp that Gulbenkian tried to sell its oil company to CEFC China Energy, convicted with Ho of UN bribery in the SDNY?

September 10-3: What are the SG's and USG Fleming's view of the ethics of UN Correspondents Association official taking a paid trip to China at this time, with regard to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and bribery by China Energy Fund Committee, which tried to buy the oil company of Gulbenkian Foundation which has made payments to the SG? See here

September 9-6: On UN sexual exploitation and abuse, again this the request that Inner City Press asked you and others in writing on the morning of August 19 that you "immediately provide all if-asked and additional information about the new allegation of SEA announced at 11:01 am today, of child rape by a Cameroonian "peacekeeper" in DR Congo and that you immediately provide the "if asked" information about  that you immediately provide the "granular" information that was promised last week at another noon briefing Inner City Press was banned from, to correspondents who barely ask or publish about this topic.

September 4-8: Immediately explain the single lawless line from MALU on 30 August 2019: "Greetings Matthew Lee from Inner City Press, Your media accreditation request, with reference no: M5413398, has been declined for the following reason: Media accreditation was withdrawn on 17 August 2018." This is a formal request for the UN's explanation of grounds for this denial. And a demand for answer to these questions, which MALU has declined to answer:  Who made the decision?  Where is the list of those accredited by [MALU]?  What and to whom is the process of appeal? 

September 3-17: In light of the death of Jeffrey Epstein, now on August 27 multiply accused of sex trafficking along with Ghislaine Maxwell who was allowed to promote her now closed charity in the UN Press Briefing Room, as Inner City Press asked without any UN response on July 22, please immediately disclose all UN interactions with his Ghislaine Maxwell's TerraMar Project and relatedly, with Paolo Zampolli. 

September 3-19: On press freedom and Cameroon, on which you refused to answer on August 13 despite saying the office was staffed and answering, now more specific: what is the SG's comment and action if any, post golden statue, to that Paul Atanga Nji, territorial administration minister, says Cameroon's journalists are becoming highly unpatriotic.  "They have one main objective, just to sabotage government action, to promote secessionist tendencies," said Nji. "I urge them to be responsible. Those who do not want to respect the laws will be booked as being recalcitrant and will be treated as such"... Now that the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled against public officials blocking critics on Twitter even if the official claims their account is private, what is the justification for UNSG Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, with the UN flag in his profile photo and Guterres promoting content, blocking Inner City Press? What is SG Guterres' response / reaction to UN DSS and Guterres' actions on Inner City Press being listed in the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, here.  In the UN, what has the accountability been for Lt Ronald E. Dobbins and those those refused on camera to give their names? What is each of yours - particularly the SG's - response to the letter written and sent by Burundi activist Manisha Lievin? Immediately explain the single lawless line from MALU on 30 August 2019: "Greetings Matthew Lee from Inner City Press, Your media accreditation request, with reference no: M5413398, has been declined for the following reason: Media accreditation was withdrawn on 17 August 2018." This is a formal request for the UN's explanation of grounds for this denied, and since SGcentral, the SG's chief of staff and Deputy SG and USG Fleming have not even responded... 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 - and respond that Inner City Press on August 24 applied like 100s or 1000s of others to cover the upcoming UNGA high level week, including now formally offering to answer any quesions the UN / DSS might have, having been vetted and accredited elsewhere since, as both USG DSS Michaud and MALU have formally been timely informed -- and how it is possible that a media that closely covers and uncovers the UN could be denied entry, other than (SG) censorship.

May 15-3: On the Public Financial Disclosures for 2017 belatedly published over the weekend of April 27-28, please state why Mohammed Ibn Chambas, like the Executive Secretary of the UN Biodiversity Convention, Cristiana Paşca-Palmer, UNICEF's Henriette Fore, with documented links to ExxonMobil and others, USG Mark Lowcock (undisclosed while the Secretariat's speaker at the UNSC Arria on Cameroon), UNCTAD's Mukhisa Kituyi, UN Women's Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UNOG chief Michael Moller, UNDP chief Achim Steiner,  Heidi Mendoza, Adama Dieng, UN Security chief Peter Drennan, Rosemary DiCarlo and Nicholas Haysum, is not even on the list. OIOS chief Inga-Britt Ahlenius reported - why not Mendoza? Where IS Mendoza? Isn't it a bad practice for the UN's head (anti) genocide definition official to conceal from the public even cursory financial disclosure? Did DiCarlo decline to make any public disclosure despite being the UN's top political officer? What is the even plausible applicability of this line from SG Guterres' web page: "Please note that given the multi-cultural environment of the UN and the often security sensitive locations where UN staff are either working or come from, full public disclosure may not always be a viable or sensible option for certain staff members"? Why has Guterres changed the previous system in a which a "choosing not to disclose" statement was upload and listed, to one which helps conceal who reports and who does not?  Again, state why considering the UN bribery conviction of Patrick Ho of CEFC, and CEFC's attempt to purchase the oil company of Gulbenkian Foundation which paid Mr. Guterres in 2016 was omitted from his online public financial disclosure covering 2016, and why Guterres has not even started an audit of CEFC in the UN. 

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