| On COVID 19 Inner City Press
Asks Polisario Sidi Omar Who Says UN Told As
Morocco No Quarantine
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Periscope, song,
II
UN GATE, April
16, video – On
Western
Sahara, Inner
City Press has
repeatedly
asked UN
Secretary General
Antonio
Guterres, his
spokesmen and
Communications
chief Melissa
Fleming
about sexual
harassment
charges
against his Special
Representative
Colin Stewart,
which it has
exclusively
reported as
credited here
and even here.
Inner City
Press has also
repeatedly
asked the UN
about the situation
of Sahrawi and Rif
political
prisoners
in Morocco, with
renewed
urgency now
amid the COVID-19
pandemic. No
answers at
all.
On April 18, three
days after
Inner City Press
got an answer
about Morocco
from the IMF
at its now
virtual Annual
Meeting, here,
and in transcript
here,
Inner City
Press asked
Frente
POLISARIO's UN
representative
Sidi Omar
about the (under)
performance of
the UN
Secretariat of
Antonio
Guterres, the new "virtual"
/ untransparent
meetings of
the Security
Council, and
the issue of
COVID-19.
Sidi Omar
began by
noting that
Inner City
Press which long
covered the UN
Security
Council
stakeout in
person until being
banned by Guterres,
and said his
Secretariat is
not standing
up to
Morocco's
abuses in
Western
Sahara. On
these he added
the travel
into Western Sahara
by people from
Morocco
without any
quarantine at
all. That
has been
raised to
Guterres'
Secretariat,
along with censorship. Watch
this site.
On
April 16, Inner
City Press put
the question
to a panel
convened by
Amnesty
International.
It asked, "Q:
Is there any
specific
information on
the situation
of Sahrawi
prisoners in
Moroccan
jails? More
generally, do
you think
funding, like
that announced
by the IMF,
should
encourage or
be conditioned
on better
treatment
including amid
COVID-19 of
detainees,
including what
were referred
to as 'common
criminals'?
Thanks."
Inner City
Press orally
added a
question about
the UN's
performance,
given the lack
of an envoy
not only on
Western Sahara
but also on Libya
(which also
arose), after
the resignation
of Ghassan
Salame.
Amnesty's
Philippe
Nassif,
advocacy
director for
the Middle
East and North
Africa,
replied that COVID-19
has been as a
pretext
for muzzling
the press, and
to expect a
report from Amnesty
soon. Video here. Amnesty
activist and
Center for
Human Rights
in Iran board
member
Nazanin
Boniadi spoke
movingly about
situation in
Iran, where there
have been
prison riots
and 38
were recently
killed. Inner
City Press had
hoped for a
response about
Salame (and
the UN) from
Randa
Slim in Lebanon. Maybe
next time.
Watch this
site.
Meanwhile,
UNSG Guterres
has refused to
answer the
Press' questions
about COVID-19 in Moroccan
jails,
like Ksar el Kbir, and
the UN's
busses in South
Sudan,
and even UN Security's
gym
in UNHQ,
and on
August 30, 2019
denied
Inner City
Press access
to the UNGA week he
let dozens of
Moroccan
state media
into as he and
Fleming
continue
the ban on
Inner City
Press
supported by a
frivolous
complaint filed
against Inner
City Press'
coverage from
the UN
Security
Council
stakeout.
***
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