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

UN GATE, Dec 27 – 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 27 in place of what would have been a noon briefing by Spokesman Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric except he was once again too lazy, after the July 26 noon briefing had no questions at all, video here, Inner City Press submitted 1434 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 2-20 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 27-0: On North Korea / DPRK, what are the comments and action if any of SG Guterres on both the prosecution of Virgil Griffith for attending a crypto currency conference in Pyongyang in April 2019 and this, by the UN: "The United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF) this week approved its first round of funding for a project aimed at helping North Korea deal with climate change, the agency’s website indicated on Thursday.  The program, titled “Readiness and Preparatory Support for Capacity Building of NDA (National Designated Authorities) and establishment of a National Strategy Framework for engagement with GCF in the DPRK,” will be implemented through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to which GCF will be providing the funding." What steps have these UN bodies take with regard to sanctions on DPRK? 

December 27-1: On Libya and Turkey (and Syria militia), what are the comments and action if any of SG Guterres on that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to send Turkish troops to Libya at the request of Tripoli as soon as next month, putting the North African country's conflict at the centre of wider regional frictions.  Turkey's Parliament will next meet on January 7, meaning, pending approval, Turkish troops could be deployed as early as January 8 

December 27-2: On press freedom and Vietnam, set to head the UN Security Council and hold a Jan 2 press conference when you still have none, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately USG Melissa Fleming on that Vietnamese authorities are blocking defense lawyers from speaking with a journalist detained for criticizing Vietnam’s government, saying that their investigation into the writer’s case has not yet finished. Independent journalist Pham Chi Dung was detained on Nov. 11 

December 27-3: On CAR on which Inner City Press asked each of you yesterday without any response, what are the comments and more importantly actions if any of SG Guterres on reports that at least 11 people were killed in fighting between militiamen and traders in a restive district of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). Now, after more than 24 hours of UNSG silence and inaction from location UNdisclosed, this: "At least 35 people have died in clashes between traders and militiamen in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui, the local Red Cross says.

December 27-4: On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - as I asked at 4 pm on December 20 wihtout response, this is a request that you immediately provide the "if asked" information about the new (Dec 19)r ape case by a UN Volunteer in DRC in June 2019 - what nationality? What's been done for the victim(s)? and the 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 27-5: On SG Guterres' Town Hall in Geneva, on which you refused Inner City Press' Dec 20 question, what is your summary of what SG Guterres said given that Inner City Press will be publishing more of it?

December 27-6:  As previously and repeated asked, where IS UNSG Antonio Guterres, and how much public money is he spending? 

December 27-7:  On Morocco and freedom of expression and of the press, what are the comments and action if any of SG Guterres on that a Moroccan YouTuber was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison for "insulting the king" in a video broadcast on social networks, his lawyer said.  The YouTuber Mohamed Sekkaki, known as "Moul Kaskita", was sentenced by a court in the western city of Settat to four years in prison... Also on Thursday, journalist Omar Radi, 33, was detained in Casablanca and now faces trial, his lawyer Said Benhammani said. 

December 27-8: On press freedom and Hong Kong and China, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately USG Melissa Fleming on that a police officer displayed a journalist’s Hong Kong identity card and press pass in front of a live streaming camera during a stop and search on Thursday.

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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