UNITED NATIONS,
September 30 – It is telling
that the new pro-UN book "A
Worldly Affair," though
copyrighted 2017, does not
even mention the 2016 UN
bribery scandal of former
President of the General
Assembly John Ashe, much less
now convicted briber Ng Lap
Seng. It does however praise
Antonio Guterres, who came in
as Secretary General in 2017,
and acknowledge Maher Nasser,
who moderated an event
promoting the book, and
shouting down the Press which
asked about Ashe and Ng. Haiti
is mentioned in connection
with Brooklyn - diplomats
living there, and "Albanians
in The Bronx." It is an
essentially elitist book, with
a sidebar o the UN's mansion
at 3 Sutton Place, bought in
1972 for Kurt Waldheim and renovated
at a cost of $4.5 million for
Ban Ki-moon. It derides the
cheap construction of Uganda
House, and laughs at the penthouse
in Libya House shown by Ali
"Treiki." For weeks the UN
promoted its book event
featuring author Pamela
Hanlon.
But when Inner
City Press went and asked
about the UN having brought
cholera to Haiti and paid
nothing, and whether Haitians
in Brooklyn had been able to
get any accountability from
the UN, there was no answer.
A heckler in the
audience said loudly that the
question was not appropriate.
Video here.
So Inner City Press followed
up on Ms. Hanlon's statement
that the land under the UN is
still US territory. If so,
what of John Ashe selling
diplomatic posts from inside
his UN General Assembly
President's office, and Inner
City Press for covering the
scandal being thrown out onto
First Avenue by eight UN
Security officers? Audio here.
(NYPD told Inner City Press it
has no jurisdiction to take
criminal complaints, even for
assault, for anything east of
the First Avenue curb.)
That question wasn't answered,
either, including by Penny
Abeywardena, Commissioner of
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Office
for International Affairs.
Instead Maher
Nasser, in charge of the UN
Department of Public
Information from April 1 until
tomorrow, said “it's always
about you” and ended the
event, encouraging those
present to buy books for
signing. And so it goes at the
UN.
***
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