By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 28 – In a surreal press conference at the UN on Thursday, Inner City Press asked a woman on roller blades on the UN stage about Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's dismissal of claims the Department of Peacekeeping Operations spread cholera to Haiti. Video here, from Minute 28:18.
Inner City Press had been covering the Security Council when the press conference began, on UNTV, at 11 am. There was almost no one in the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium; in the end, only two reporters asked questions, including Inner City Press.
It was the statement by the president of the NGO Peace and Cooperation, Joaquín Antuña, that his group operates under the principles of the UN that made Inner City Press run through the garage to ask a question.
The UN mention its principles a lot these days. It says only journalists who abide by its principles can be accredited, and if the principles are violated, a reporter can be thrown out.
But the principles are not in writing, and as Inner City Press has exposed, and is trying to address through the Free UN Coalition for Access, there are no due process protections for reporters.
When Inner City Press got to the press conference, Ms. Anuska Gil propped on the table where the spokesperson usually sits. She had a map of where she'd skated; she cried at people's kindness.
When Inner City Press was called on, it thanked both on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access. But then it asked what this pro-UN NGO thought about the UN dismissing the Haiti cholera claim.
Antuña replied, “there are many negative aspects, but there are also positive aspects. Amnesty International does its work, we try to emphasize the positive aspect. The world needs the UN organization... I'm am not saying UN is wonderful. We refer to common values. UN resolutions of General Assembly are something approved by all the countries.”
Without getting into GA resolutions for example on the alleged attack on a Saudi diplomat in Washington, or other disputed votes, it wasn't a bad answer.
But some wondered, how could this NGO no matter how well meaning hold an hour long press conference for only two journalists?
Especially when the UN Department of Public Information's Stephane Dujarric last year openly threatenedInner City Press for signing into the building the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Yemen, Tawakkul Karman, who later spoke substantively at the UNTV stakeout, including some criticism of the UN for accepting immunity for Ali Saleh?
Does the UN give preference to speakers who are pro-UN? Or, as it clear, does it for now give improper preference for an Astroturf UN Correspondents Association which rather than defend journalists who are investigating the UN instead tried to get them thrown out of the UN, operating as the UN's Censorship Alliance?
Last June, UNCA tried to get Inner City Press' UN accreditation “reviewed” through a request to Dujarric from Voice of America, which said it had the support of Agence France Presse and Reuters -- whose bureau chief Louis Charbonneau after refusing written requests to explain now seems to dispute this, essentially thereby calling the Voice of America bureau chief a liar.
After Inner City Press exposed VOA's request and filed a Freedom of Information Act request, Charbonneau and UNCA's then-president asked Inner City Press to withdraw the FOIA request.
This, as a matter of investigative journalism principle, Inner City Press does not do.
Inner City Press was summoned to meet with Dujarric and another UN staffer who we will leave unnamed. Before an accreditation to the end of the year was offered, Inner City Press has handed a formal letter of reprimand for having signed-in the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
But verbally, not in writing, the conditioning of re-accreditation had to do with how to cover the UN, specifically not insulting Ban Ki-moon even inadvertently, nor UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous. This was and remains totally inappropriate.
And only yesterday, on the eve of the permitted roller blade press conference, Dujarric sent Inner City Press another formalistic letter, now criticizing a story it published using UNCA quotes from a meeting which Inner City Press announced was on the record, and "new" UNCA President Pam Falk screamed back, "He's going to write this up." Yes. Here it is.
Click here ("slander!"), here, here ("don't write about me!") and here for audio of Pam Falk; here for Charbonneau. There is more.
What's the basis of the letter? Inner City Press immediately asked, but 23 hours later there is no answer. Tick tick tock -- another form of reporting that Dujarric has felt free to tell Inner City Press it should not use. But here it is: tick tick tock, the questions should be answered. Watch this site.
