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

UN GATE, Dec 19 – 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. The head of the UN Department of Global Communications said, again, that the UN would answer Press questions to the Spokesman Stephane Dujarric and his Office; Dujarric said the same on camera. On December 19 before a noon briefing by Spokesman Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric in which he joked about those state media he lets in falling asleep, after the July 26 noon briefing had no questions at all, video here, Inner City Press submitted 1406 questions, including why it continues to be lawlessly banned from entering to ask questions in person: "There are more than 900+ questions UNanswered. Just recently, Nov 1-11, 13-29, Dec 2-16 many questions. No answers at all during the four days of the US v Ho trial showing corruption in the UN says it all; no answers during the Honduras narco-president trial while UN bragged about taking his money, nor on OneCoin. 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.

December 19-1: On China and freedom of the press, what are the belated comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately USG Melissa Fleming on that this week, Macau, a place that on paper at least shares with Hong Kong the core value of freedom of the press, denied entry to eight journalists from the city assigned to report on the "celebrations" with Xi? 

December 19-2: Please immediately explain the statement of SG Guterres that "Libya is today a cancer" and how it is appropriate, as a reference to an entire country and people. 

December 19-3: Where is SG Guterres going after Italy? At what cost to the public?

December 19-4: On DRC and impunity, what are the belated comments of SG Guterres on that Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have not brought to justice those responsible for the massacres of ethnic Banunu in Yumbi territory one year ago.  On December 16 and 17, 2018, hundreds of ethnic Batende assailants killed at least 535 people and wounded 111 more, though the actual death toll is most likely much higher. The assailants also damaged, destroyed, and pillaged more than 1,500 houses as well as health centers, schools, and polling places, according to witnesses, the United Nations, and the Congolese government. Congolese military justice officials have begun preliminary proceedings, but they are closed to the public and the status of the investigations is uncertain.  

December 19-5: AGAIN on UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is another request that you immediately provide the "if asked" information about the new (Dec 9) sex abuse cases in CAR by Gabon, DRC and Morocco UN "peacekeepers, and the Dec g  about the Office of the Special Envoy for the Sahel, and the two more November 26, 3 pm cases of sexual exploitation in CAR by Cameroon troops in September 2019 (!)

December 19-6: Also on UN sexual exploitation, and Brazil, Uruguay, and Canada, what are the belated comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on the study that interviewed approximately 2,500 Haitians about the experiences of local women and girls living in communities that host peace support operations -- 265 told stories that featured children fathered by UN personnel. And now that The report implicates U.N. personnel from 13 countries, the majority of which were from Brazil and Uruguay, according to the report. Canada ranked seventh

December 19-7: On Malawi and governmental authorities' sexual abuse, what are the comments and action if any of SG Guterres on that Malawian police officers raped and sexually assaulted women, some of them in the presence of their children, during a security operation in October, an official state commission responsible for investigating human rights violations has said.  In a damning report published on Wednesday, the influential Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) said its investigations revealed that at least one girl below the age of 18 was sexually assaulted, while seven women were raped. 

December 19-8: On press freedom and Albania, what are the belated comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately of USG Melissa Fleming on that   Albania's Parliament approved a controversial set of government-proposed anti-defamation laws on Wednesday, which critics say grant the nation's top media regulator too much power. 

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 3-19: 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 [and AOC unblocking Dov Hikind], 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.

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