UN
Security's
Bongi Testifies, As
Letter Raises
Turkish
Dust-Up
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 19, updated re June 20 --
While prior
to today's
testimony by
UN Security
Chief David
Bongi seeking
to explain
re-testing his
officers
Inner
City Press
asked,
"What'll Bongi
say." Then on June 20, Inner City Press asked:
Inner
City
Press: There
is within the
Department of
[Safety and]
Security,
a widely
circulated
open letter
talking about
the management
of
security. It
is a pretty
comprehensive
view and is
addressed to
the
Secretary-General,
delegates, I
have spoken to
literally
dozens of
people that
have received
it. And I
wanted to ask
you about a
particular
part of it
that goes back
to the
incident in
September
where there
was a conflict
or a
misunderstanding
between
Turkish
security and
UN security.
It talks about
Chief David
Bongi, saying
that he was
present, but
then
criticizing
him for doing
nothing. It
was implicit
in that
incident that
the
Secretary-General
went ahead
and
apologized. I
wanted to
know, what is
the response?
The letter
goes ahead
with a lot of
other stuff
which I won’t
go into. Is
the
Secretary-General
aware of this
critique from
within
Security and
what is his
response to
it,
particularly
on this
incident,
still, of
live
controversy
within
Security about
the incident
of September?
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky: I
don’t have
anything for
you on that,
Matthew. Okay?
All right,
thanks very
much. Have a
good
afternoon.
Is
Starr's
letter,
which does not
even mention
much less
address the
Turkish
"Erdogate"
dust up, all
the response
that there
will be? [Starr re-appeared in 2017 authoring what some called a whitewash report of the murders in the DRC of UN experts Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan. Here was Inner City Press' question to US Ambassador Nikki Haley, video here.
Inner City
Press exclusively
reported on a
UN Dispute
Tribunal
preliminary
injunction
which
confirmed
criticisms
long made of
fairness
in the UN
Department of
Safety and
Security by
whistleblowing
Security
officers and
Inner City
Press.
After two
weeks of
further
testimony,
summarized
below, on June
18 chief David
Bongi appeared in
front of the
UNDT. Here's from
our
whistleblower
reporter's
view of
yesterday's
proceedings,
followed by
portions of an
explosive
"open letter"
--
...here is a
short excerpt
of the
Q&A.
Question:
Do
you know the
meaning of
CMO?
Bongi:
Yes
I do it mean
Capital Master
blablabla that
the O is not
realy
define but
anyone with
common sense
will know the
meaning.
Question:
Are
you sure
everyone
should know
the meaning of
CMO?
Bongi:
Yes,
anyone should
know the
meaning.
Question:
What
if I told you
that the
Management
laywer said in
the open court
that he
doesn’t know
the meaning?
Bongi:
Eemmm
maybe some
staff don't
know the
meaning of
some acronyms.
That
is
just a little
piece; it was
all pretty
interesting.
It
all began, in
a sense, with
a leaked
master plan of
promotion
which
Inner City
Press obtained
and published
in 2009
entitled Possible
Transfers
and
Assignments /
Reassignments." The
list
undermined the
credibility of
interviews
that were
being
conducted,
implying that
some decisions
have already
been made.
And so a Panel
was set
up, in UN
style, to
investigate.
But chief
Bruno Henn
refused to be
interviewed by
the Panel,
Inner City
Press learned.
Inner
City Press
then covered
Bongi along
with Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, Under
Secretary
General Greg
Starr, when Ban failed
to back up UN
Security after
they were
beaten by
guards for
Turkey's
Erdogan.
Inner
City Press
covered Bongi
most recently
after
exposing the
cover-up of
14 kilograms
of cocaine in
the UN mail
room. Both
of these
stories
were stolen
without credit
by big
media
at the UN,
who now after
Inner City
Press
complained have set up
their own
Panel to seek
to
expel
Inner City
Press. The UN
Dispute
Tribunal
probably can't
take
that case: but
a real court
could.
While Bongi
was
testifying on
Monday, an
"Open Letter"
including to
the
Secrtary
General (who
is, again,
traveling)
circulated. It
was nearly
immediately
obtained by
Inner
City Press.
Inner City
Press
sought comment
and input from DSS
officials, and
there are
portions not
published
below in order
to not invade
privacy.
Previously,
Inner City
Press has
asked the
spokespeople
of the
traveling Ban
Ki-moon to
respond to the
security
officers'
complaints
in the UNDT,
and before
that about
Erdo-gate,
without
meaningful
response. If
such is later
received on
this, it will
be published.
We will have
more
on this --
watch this
site.
, 
