| After
UN Evicted ICP, Spokesman
Dujarric Dropped the F-Bomb,
Truth Over Chinese Duck
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Series,
Video, Reply
UNITED NATIONS,
March 16 – The
day after
learning that
Ban Ki-moon
had OK-ed the
UN's
Cristina Gallach's eviction of Inner City Press, the
next morning I wrote up some
of the story, about the
diplomatic immunity game, and
the staff disgust with
Gallach. The stories both
showed up in Google News just
before the noon briefing and
then I sent in to ask about
them. Long time
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
seemed angrier than usual,
telling me I should just ask
the US Mission about the legal
status people have, and
refusing to answer about
Gallach's number two deputy
fleeing to Brussels. On this
last one, he walked away from
the podium and said, “Matthew
that's a f*cking stupid
question.”
For the record, I
said loudly. I was glad I'd
turn my Periscope on. When the
UNTV video went up, the sound
cut off just before Dujarric
dropped the F bomb, his second
one on me. I synced it with
the Periscope and put it
online. He was going to love
this one.
It was the end of April
and I headed down First Avenue
to the Chinese mission for
their End of Security Council
presidency reception. They had
duck and shrimp; several
people looked surprised to see
me. Once in this same large
room I'd had a one on one
interview with then-Ambassador
Li Baodong, just before going
on a Security Council trip to
Sudan. There'd be no more of
that.
A woman in the know told me
“they” had used Ban Ki-moon in
his last year to do this to
me.
Who do you mean by
'they,' I asked him.
The United
Nations
Correspondents
Association,
she said. You know, the other
journalists. The UN
Correspondents
Association?
Could it really be that petty
and that low? Another
journalist, Chinese, called me
over to ask, Why are you not
in UNCA?
I explained to him as best as
I could, that I'd been asked
to take a truthful article
off line, that big media
used UNCA as a way to beat
down smaller competitors, then
go after then if they
complained.
Oh, he said. Now I get
it.
I was alone, apart from the
pack. There was nothing to do
but embrace it and see where
it would lead.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
Past
(and future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now: 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
2006-2017 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
for
|
,
