Inner City Press





In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYTAzerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .



These reports are usually available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis
,



Share |   

Follow on TWITTER

Home -

These reports are usually available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis

CONTRIBUTE

(FP Twitterati 100, 2013)

ICP on YouTube

More: InnerCityPro

BloggingHeads.tv
Sept 24, 2013

UN: Sri Lanka

VoA: NYCLU

FOIA Finds  

Google, Asked at UN About Censorship, Moved to Censor the Questioner, Sources Say, Blaming UN - Update - Editorial

Support this work by buying this book

Click on cover for secure site orders

also includes "Toxic Credit in the Global Inner City"
 

 

 


Community
Reinvestment

Bank Beat

Freedom of Information
 

How to Contact Us



As UN Bans Inner City Press 1264th Day No Answer By UN Spox Dujarric on UN DRC Rape UN Abandon Afghans, Ireland Censors, Legal Letter Reilly Cmr Fleming 9K UNanswered

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon IMF
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - CJR - PFT

UN GATE, September 8 – Inner City Press on 5 July 2018 was banned from entering the UN, two day after it was physically removed from conducting interviews outside meeting about the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' $6.7 billion budget.

  Then Guterres' Department of Global Communication, run by Melissa Fleming, issued a letter banning Inner City Press from the UN - for life. With no due process, no right of appeal.  Guterres has put the UN in the US Press Freedom Tracker, here. Guterres' Spokesman Stephane Dujarric falsely promised on camera that he would be answering banned Inner City Press' questions - but see below.

     On September 8 after Guterres again refused to answer but the IMF did answer, May 6 here, Feb 25 here, Feb 4 here, here (3 Dec 2020), like here,  before Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric, previously the face of UN lies on cholera in Haiti (and on July 9 saying he will continue hybrid briefings, exclusion of Inner City Press more and more absurd), not Associate "Spokesperson" Florencia Soto Nino who blocks Press on WhatsApp, not instead his now equally censoring Associate Eri Kaneko, nor Deputy Farhan Haq, held a briefing before which Inner City Press submitted yet more questions (blocked by Dujarric's screener Florencia Soto Nino on +1 917 226 7816 and Dujarric himself on +1 917 622 7652; he directed some favored scribes to Eri Kaneko on +1 917 208 8910, who now blocks Inner City Press on WhatsApp as well) including on the basis on which it continues to be lawlessly banned from entering to ask questions in person. Now also on the basis for withholding publicly funded UN video from the Press. There was no answer from Farhan Haq on +1 917 592 4591, not even a confirmation of receipt, and now UN official like Hua Jiang, Eri Kaneko, now on screen Jennifer Confilio, Adam Smook, Marisela Rivera and others to be named taking public money for a UN briefing blocking email questions about the UN's spread of Covid 19 - May 21 Inner City Press video with commentary here and here, edit here, June 16 video of Kaneko who had briefing go dark and never returned to explain here and here -- who will be held accountable? July 16 and ouster here, July 17 raw and UNTV... August 11 briefing and quarantine violations, Nov 23 here (with those allowed in obsessed by Antony Blinken and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whom we too will cover, and did even before nomination, here), Feb 11 here, Feb 12 here (short because Honduras coverage, another Guterres cover up), Feb 26 here, March 1 here, March 2 here, March 3 here (Twitter video briefing by Brenden Varma who blocks Inner City Press on Twitter), April 13 here, April 15 here, April 16 here, April 21 here, April 22 here, April 23 here, May 4 here, May 6 here, May 25 stand-up here, May 26 here, June 2 stand-up here, June 3 stand-up here, June 4 here,  June 8 stand-up here, June 17 stand-up here, IMF answer to ICP on June 24 here, VLOG Aug 3 here, Aug 4 here, Aug 9 here & Aug 9 Q&A here, Aug 16 Vlog here, Aug 24 Vlog at UN here, Aug 30 Vlog here, Inner City Press has asked:

These written question are posed and responses requested pursuant to the until-now broken commitment the the UN will "continue to answer e-mailed questions from Mr Lee" Inner City Press, here

Sept 8-1: Immediately explain the basis for banning me and Inner City Press from the UN and its briefings when not only the IMF on May 20, 2021 on Sudan and El Salvador, here

and IMF on June 10, 2021: on Tanzania and Cameroon  and on El Salvador

and Wilson Center on May 20, 2021 on North Korea, here, and also on March 26, 2021 the US State Department takes Inner City Press' questions, transcript here 

and May 27, 2021 "Briefing with Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Chung On the Secretary’s Upcoming Travel to San Jose, Costa Rica," "Let’s go the line Matthew Russell Lee.  QUESTION: Sure. Thanks a lot and thanks for taking the question. I had wanted to ask specifically about Honduras. There have been a series of cases in the Southern District of New York where the brother of the president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, his brother Tony was convicted of drug trafficking," see here.

What is the response of SG Guterres' / USG Fleming to the letter sent to her and others by the Quinn Emanuel law firm regarding ending Press censorship?  See "answer" August 9, here: letter received, no change in status - no reply.

After repeated non-answers to the above, on August 9 UN Spokesperson Dujarric was asked "Quinn Emanuel wrote a letter to the UN asking about reinstatement of our colleague Matthew Lee into the UN press corps. Do you have any comment on that?        Spokesman:  No. All I can tell you is that we've received the letter, and I'm not aware of any change to his status... It's been received. Whether or not it's been answered, I don't know yet." How can the UN, which preached press freedom, not even answer a letter for a journalist from a major law firm? What is your answer? When will Inner City Press be restored to resident correspondent status, like various state media?

Explain how it is legitimate for SG Guterres' DGC / USG Fleming and MALU (cc-ed here) to block Inner City Press from even WebEx questions to UNSC President Ireland, whose Alternate Political Coordinator and Spokesperson Eoghan McSwiney wrote to Inner City Press, "We would refer your request for access to the UN and to UN press conferences to the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit of the UN Secretariat." You are engaged in censorship, no? 

On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a repeated request on the new cases of UN sexual abuse in DRC by a UN "peacekeeper" from Burkina Faso - data-dumped at 11:02 am on Sept 8, 2021 - and UN child rape in CAR by UN "peacekeeping" troops from Cameroon - and Nepal peacekeeper child rape in DRC that you immediately provide the "if asked" information which Inner City Press already asked each of your for without response (cover up)

On Ethiopia, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that officials in Ethiopia have accused Tigrayan fighters of killing 119 civilians in the neighbouring region of Amhara

On Guinea, confirm or deny that UNIDO staffer Bashir Conde is a relative of Alpha Conde - on deadline. 

On racism and the UN, in the UNPAN case of Kamara-Joyner Inner City Press has asked you about without answer, what now in SG Guterres' response to this petition with 350+ signatures

And, on ongoing censorship of Press by SG Guterres, USG Fleming and Spox Dujarric, to this petition with 9000+ signatures here

On Gambia, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that  a new political alliance announced in The Gambia between the party of ex-President Yahya Jammeh and the governing party has thrown into doubt whether some of the former ruler's victims will get justice. 

On Afghanistan and abandonment of UN system staff alleged to Inner City Press by whistleblower, what on deadline are SG Guterres responses to these:  "Shameless UN “humanitarian heroes”  Former “arm chair hero” Paul Heslop, head of UN demining office in Kabul, was 1st to jumped ship and run away from his duty in Kabul, causing fellow Brits, international and afghan staff to feel shame and disgust, at a time when Guterres assured the world that the UN was there to stay and assist. 

and  "UNDP in Afghanistan is refusing to help national staff to leave the country. While other international organisations have evacuated all staff including guards and drivers, UNDP is declining to evacuate any national staff.

On UAE, what are the comments and actions of SG Guterres on that a group of African workers in the United Arab Emirates have been brutalised, thrown into jail and then deported mostly to Uganda, Cameroon and Nigeria.

On Inner City Press' exclusive reporting into UNTSO's scandal of public sex in the UN van, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on this, from whistleblower: "the men in the UNTSO car have been charged with transporting a passenger who was not authorized and also for not co-operating with the investigation."  Inner City Press asked, "Thanks - I'd heard they were restored to full pay."  Answer: "Still suspended, but have been getting salary for a year.  Now they have been accused of conduct unbecoming."    Confirm or deny - and explain the long cover up, for/of Michael Antoine.

 On COVID and the "honor system" UNGA week, and the positive test in UN's FF building that whistleblowers sent to Inner City Press, do they "come to work while tests are pending" instructions comply with NYC rules? And, how much is the UN paying in taxpayer money each year for the FF building? 

On Cameroon, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on the "Cameroon military opening fire at Christians in Bail/Ambazonia worshipping yesterday Sunday?    

On UNDT opacity, on which you have refused to answer, explain why on August 26, a supposedly "public" case was held - but the access link was dead, not only to Inner City Press but to the public at large: "UNDT/NBI/2020/022 (Mancinelli) The Applicant contests the Administration’s finding of misconduct and imposition of a disciplinary sanction against her." 

Given the Aug 24 UNDT case about UNDP Country Director Samuel Bwalya colluding / forging with Ethiopia's government, immediately state how many other cases of UN staff or officials colluding with Ethiopia's government the UN is aware of, and describe each.

On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a repeated request on the new cases of UN child rap in CAR by UN "peacekeeping" troops from Cameroon - and Nepal peacekeeper child rape in DRC - data-dumped at 11:36 am on August 19, 2021 that you immediately provide the "if asked" information which Inner City Press already asked each of your for without response (cover up), also all those earlier July and the June 15 data-dumped cases none of you have answered Inner City Press on, also about case of child rape in CAR by a Gabon "peacekeeper," a UN civilian child rape in DRC and a UN civil sex abuse case in South Sudan    

On Afghanistan and the UNAMA memo from Marija Sendekovic Inner City Press obtained and published, questions: How was Almaty selected? What other cities were considered? What information was required? Was it a bidding process? How long ago did the UN make this plan? How many staff are in Almaty? WHY DID YOU REFUSE TO ANSWER FROM AUG 16?

On UN retaliating against whistleblowers, what is SG Guterres' response to recent public statements by Emma Reilly that steps are being taken to fire her by September 17 [formal request you confirm the date], , under a UN claim that whether names of Uighur dissidents were given to China is irrelevant to the case? Now, confirm or deny that USG Pollard is inquiring into / investigating UN staff who re-tweet Emma Reilly, as she states.

 On the in-person, no-vax "honor system" UNGA week Inner City Press has asked each of you in writing about every week day since Aug 3, what is you response to a Turtle Bay resident responding to presumptive Manhattan BP Mark Levine with "As a resident of the United Nations neighborhood, the evident disregard the UN is showing for its own World Health Organization's guidance is not appreciated"? 

 Why is the investigation of Fabrizio Hochschild taking so long, particularly in light of the quotes attributed by the SG by Swanson in the audio Inner City Press exclusively published

 As I asked in writing on the morning of July 6, without answer from any of you, On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a request on the new 2021 UN sex abuse in DRC and Haiti by UN "peacekeeping" civilian international UN staff members, including UN Volunteers, with nationality not given (alleged rape), dumped at 10 am on July 6, 2021 that you immediately provide the "if asked" information, also the June 15 data-dumped cases none of you have answered Inner City Press on, also about case of child rape in CAR by a Gabon "peacekeeper," a UN civilian child rape in DRC and a UN civil sex abuse case in South Sudan, all data dumped at 12:35 pm on Jan 5, 2021, ... This is a request that you immediately confirm receipt of these questions and requests.  This is a request that you immediately confirm receipt of these questions and requests and explain how UN spox and official blocking such questions is not complicity -Matthew Russell Lee, InnerCityPress.com

  On Honduras, given the March 22 guilty verdict in SDNY court with defense lawyer telling Inner City Press that President JOH has been or will be indicted, here, please immediately explain why SG Guterres' representative in Honduras Mrs. Shackelford on March 11 took and tweeted a selfie with a Honduran military official.

  After UNDT purported to order me to destroy evidence of sexual harassment by UN staff Padula, AGAIN what are the responses of SG Guterres and his consigliere Soares, UN General Counsel now that the appeal has been acknowledged and said to be on ePortal with case number? "Weicheng Lin  9:39 AM  Dear Mr. Lee,  I acknowledge receipt of your filing.   Case: UNAT/2020/1502 Dear Respondents,  We received an Appeal of UNDT Orders 178 (NY/2020) and 179 (NY/2020) filed by Mr. Lee on 21 December 2020.  Mr. Lee who is not a staff member nor a party to the case of the Applicant filed an appeal against these orders with the Appeals Tribunal.  The Registrar accepted the submissions and instructed that they be transmitted to the parties in the UNDT proceedings, and the Secretary-General for comments within 30 days."    How is it acceptable that each of your takes public money and refuses to answer or even acknowledge Press questions, including about UN staff's sexual abuse? 

On SG son Pedro Guimarães e Melo De Oliveira Guterres, explain how the business of Explorer Investments has been reviewed for conflicts of interest. Explain immediately how Pedro Guterres doing business with Rwanda while Antonio Guterres was UNSG was and is not a conflict, and what was disclosed and to whom. 

State whether SG Guterres, as he told FOSS, went to Massachusetts and if so whether he will stay there are least three days for testing (and be tested if and when back), under new NY rules 

Immediately explain, given the Amir Dossal was on board of Epstein's procurer Ghislaine Maxwell's Terramar Project and Inner City Press has repeatedly asked you each about in writing, how Spokesman Dujarric's Oct 30 on camera statement is not aware of any other UN connection to Epstein, beyond IPI, was and is not a lie and cover up. 

Again, why did Guterres not list Gulbenkian, linked to CEFC China Energy, in his disclosure covering 2016?  What are Guterres' comments on IPI and Epstein, why would he not say why he left the board? Why has he not quit Club of Madrid? Why was Amir Dossal on Board of Terramar of Ghislaine Maxwell

On UN staffer Karim Elkorany, indicted in SDNY for lying to FBI about drugging and raping women while working for UN in Iraq, immediately state what the outcome of the victim complaining to the UN was - and why Elkorany was back at liberty in New Jersey.

On Honduras and COVID corruption by the Juan Orlando Hernandez administration, what are the comment and actions if any of SG Guterres on the corruption allegations here? And again, what is the read out of Guterres' panel sent to Honduras? 

  Immediate comments on the leaked audio of OSSC Chediek Inner City Press published Aug 5 on SoundCloud here (1 of 6)  

More here.

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA

Mail: Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540



Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

 Copyright 2006-2021 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com for