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UN of Guterres Blocks From UN Website IP of Inner City Press After UNCA Says Do Not Leak

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Video
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN

UN GATE, Sept 24 – While the United Nations speaks about press freedom and the upcoming UN General Assembly week under new President Zolkan Bozkir of Turkey, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has banned Inner City Press amid its questions about his finances and failures on Cameroon and in combatting or even just disclosing UN sexual abuse. 

Complicit in all this is the UN Correspondents Association.

 On September 17, Guterres' spokesman Staphane Dujarric was publicly asked about Guterres' ban on Inner City Press, and said "Mr. Lee's status remains uncharged. Video here.

  But then something changed. On September 19 and still as of this writing on September 20, the IP address Inner City Press uses was blocked from the UN's website. Video here. The UN sites worked when checked from another's laptop. So can the UN use public money to block Internet access to their "transparency" page by media which ask and criticize them about it?

  Certainly the UN Censorship Alliance / UNCA will not try to stop the UN's descent under Guterres.

   On September 23, the UNCA Executive Committee of Reuters, France 24, Xinhua, AFP and others -- list of those most responsible for this censorship of Press here -- issued this, forwarded to Inner City Press by several of their disgusted members: "Dear colleagues,   The UNCA Executive Committee deplores the situation that transpired in reference to the email from U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on the background briefing by Assistant Secretary-General Volker Turk on the Secretary-General’s upcoming speeches that was sent last Friday.   This behavior directly compromises the work of colleagues who respect and abide by the code of conduct outlined in the media guidelines when receiving accreditation as a United Nations Correspondent and will inevitably affect access to such briefings for all of us moving forward.   We strongly advise that all colleagues reporting at the United Nations continue to conduct themselves in a professional manner and adhere to the ethical standards and the code of conduct as expected.   Thank you for your attention and cooperation.   On behalf of the UNCA Executive Committee,   Valeria Robecco President, United Nations Correspondents Association."

[Note: This seems to obliquely refer to this video

  Let's review: first this UN Censorship Alliance tried to suck up to Guterres by supporting the ouster of independent Press. Then when some of their members, as they should, leaked - UNCA supported blocking Press access to the UN's websites. This organization is a travesty.

Also: Inner City Press deals with and respects embargoes all the time - at the IMF, State Department, in the courts. But even organizations with lame representatives on the UNCA board agree, when one is not party to an embargo agreement, one is not bound. UNCA has supported ouster of media that actually covers the UN, in favor of retirees and state media. UNCA is anti-press, anti press freedom.

On September 20, as Guterres' UN blocks Inner City Press not only on Twitter but from its publicly funded websites, a strange message from UNCA bigwig Ali Barada of whom we've previously reported " Ali Barada of An-Nahar,  filed a complaint against Inner City Press with the "Special Investigations Unit" of the UN Department of Safety and Security.    The only basis? What Inner City Press said when Barada bragged that he immediately deleted without opening Inner City Press' email requesting to see the "information available on request" listed in the report Barada signed off on - and which was then sent anonymously to the government against Inner City Press.    In fact, while all Inner City Press responded with was a run of the mill host country insult, Barada cited his involvement with a "terrorist" group, as a reason Inner City Press shouldn't express its opinion.  Update: And on Friday, July 6, Inner City Press had to spend two and a half hours with UN Security responding to Barada's frivolous and pretextual complaint."
 
  There's been more since - watch this site.

Watch this site.

Brenden Varma, for PGA Bozkir, has refused to answer Inner City Press' questions about his backsliding on the one reform from the UN corruption scandal Inner City Press reported on, often exclusively, about PGAs Ashe and Kutesa; Bozkir has an empty "Ethics" page.

Varma then blocked Inner City Press on Twitter. This is today's UN - we'll have more on this issue. Inner City Press should be given the codes to access and ask questions at briefings immediately, like the state media and retirees Guterres and Melissa Fleming prefer and favor.

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