By Matthew Russell Lee, part of a series
UNITED NATIONS, April 22 -- With the UN's already long delayed report into war crimes in Sri Lanka postponed until September, on April 22 Inner City Press asked Ivan Simonovic of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights if the UN expects an investigation and report by then, or only a staement on "modalities." Video here.
Tellingly, Simonovic said he has not been involved, but imagines the UN wants an investigation, not just (more) talk about an investigation. The office of Ban Ki-moon, when Inner City Press asked, had no meaningful comment.
On April 22, Inner City Press was there when Ban "accepted the credentials" of new Sri Lankan ambassador to the UN Amrith Rohan Perera, photos herethen with op-ed captions here and here. Now what?
Ban Ki-moon drinks Prosecco with those who arranged to screen Rajapaksas' and Kohona's war crimes denial inside the UN; this is the UN's Censorship Alliance.
On March 10, a film exposing crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka, "No Fire Zone," and the Rajapaksa government's video response denying war crimes, "Lies Agreed To," were both covered on BBC. No Fire Zone, Sinhala version, went online.
But what is the status of Lies Agreed To?
Inside the UN, which has a questionable record of non-response, cover-up and even participation in the Sri Lanka war crimes in 2009, and a more recent six month delay in releasing the promised inquiry report, "Lies Agreed To" -- but NOT "No Fire Zone" -- was screened, in September 2011.
When Inner City Press reported on the screening, then on the background fact that the person who agreed to the screening, Giampaolo Pioli, had previously been the landlord of Palitha Kohona, who as Sri Lanka's Ambassador requested the screen in the UN hosted by the United Nations Correspondents Association, then and now headed by Pioli, demands for censorship and expulsion began.
Unhappy with Inner City Press reporting, Pioli demanded that the story come down.
When Inner City Press instead of censorship offered amplifications and to publish a letter to the editor of any length, Pioli rejected it and pushed to get Inner City Press thrown out. After some of this was reported in the media in Sri Lanka, and Inner City Press informed Pioli of this and of death threats it had received, Pioli refused to suspend his campaign, instead trying to use the threats as leverage to get Inner City Press to publish a "box," that he would dictate, on the front of its website.
In this audio clip, after Inner City Press informed Pioli and other UNCA Executive Committee members that their kangaroo court proceeding had given rise to death threats, Pioli demands a "box of apology... as long as it is Inner City Press."
(The voice heard cutting in in support of Pioli is from Agence France Presse, which intervened in defense of Herve Ladsous, after-arising Vine here. On March 10 on BBC, before No Fire Zone direct Callum Macrae, an AFP reporter from Colombo said "No Fire Zone" may be too divisive. Macrae replies that truth serves everyone but the guilty - and we note thatGotabaya Rajapaksa now appears to be under a travel ban, here.)
When Inner City Press pointed out that it would have to explain why Pioli's rental of apartment to Kohona was reported, Pioli said "we don't need your justification," only that you "admit your mistake" for the last six months.
This is what UNCA became, the UN's Censorship Alliance, and what it is, and functions as. Inner City Press when its elected term on the UNCA Executive Committee ended quit the group and co-founded the new Free UN Coalition for Access, now defending the rights of journalists from Somaliland to Bangladesh and beyond. We will have more on this.
In this audio clip, Pioli admits that "I asked you to take down the reference" to him having rented one of his Manhattan apartments to Palitha Kohona, whose request for an UNCA screening of a Sri Lankan government war crimes denial film Pioli would later unilaterally grant. "Taking down" is a censorship - in this case, of a fact, having been Kohona's landlord, which Pioli doesn't deny.
Pioli said that rental arrangement was not only OK, but also couldn't be reported on, because he said he used a broker. One, that is dubious; two, as Inner City Press showed in July 2012, Pioli didn't use any broker to rent out a Hamptons property to anyone who could pay. Pioli's ad, on the Internet, offered
"ultra luxurious home was totally renovated in 2010 using the finest Italian materials and Italian artisans. Equally at home on the Amalfi Coast, you'll think you're in Italy, but you'll be on prestigious Red Creek Road in the heart of the Hamptons" with a rental price of "$80,000 - $90,000/month."
This was public, and can be questioned, and reported on. This is journalism.
Pioli on the day in question was angry that Inner City Press asked at the day's UN noon briefing about the propriety of landlord relations by correspondents ostensibly covering the UN. But the question is entirely within the bound of investigative journalism - and to try to get a reporter thrown out for asking such a question is censorship.
Now, despite the lack of any competition, Pioli has reappeared in the UN after a long hiatus to try to turn out the vote. But he has said, a person cannot be a member of UNCA and the Free UN Coalition for Access at the same time. Since this absurd rule is nowhere in UNCA's "Constitution," it seems Pioli has moved from attacking freedom of the press to attacking freedom of belief and association. Who supports this?
Pioli's attempts to censor are public. In a previous audio clip, here, Pioli as UN Correspondents Association president said it was fine that he withheld a copy of a complaint filed to the UN (in this case, by Reuters, copy went to Pioli as then-head of UNCA) -- that is, no due process for journalists. What kind of organization is UNCA? Under Pioli?
Inner City Press quit UNCA, and co-founded the Free UN Coalition for Access with another Executive Committee member who quit UNCA in disgust. Now Pioli says no one could be a member of both. What kind of UN/CA is this?
Note: later Reuters tried to get a leaked copy of its complaint banned from Google's Search, claiming it was private and copyrighted, here. What kind of organization is this?
In a previous audio clip, two days before formally beginning a process to try to get Inner City Press thrown out, Giampaolo Pioli as President of the United Nations Correspondents Association complains about Inner City Press reporting that he rented out of his Manhattan apartments to "Palitha" [Kohona, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN] in the context of Pioli unilaterally using UNCA to screen a Sri Lanka government war crimes denial movie inside the UN.
Two days later, Pioli would convene a UN Correspondents Association Excutive Committee meeting to "examine" Inner City Press and try to throw it out - first of UNCA, then of the UN at a whole. This is the Pioli slated to return, with no competition at all, to head what he made the UN's Censorship Alliance.
In a previous audio clip, Pioli tried to dictate to Inner City Press how it should have covered Sri Lanka, suggesting it should simply transcribe what "Palitha" (Kohona) and Shavendra Silva said and not report that he, Pioli, had rented out of his Manhattan apartments to Kohona before agreeing to use UNCA to screen the Sri Lankan government's war crimes denial film inside the UN.
"Why did you have to" report that? Pioli demanded, claiming the rental arrangement was significantly further in the past than it was.
When Inner City Press refused to remove the article from the Internet, and Pioli refused the offer to publish a letter to the editor, Pioli made good on his threat to try to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN. Complaints were filed by Pioli's first vice president from Reuters, who also used the Reuters servers for the campaign.
Now Pioli has reappeared, slated to re-take over the helm of UNCA, now the UN's Censorship Alliance. Who will serve him last his past first vice president, a position current held by a representative of Turkish media? As to how correspondent Pioli owns so much real estate, there is a Turkish connection on which we will have more. The UN cannot be allow to further decay on press freedom and access. Watch this site.
Pioli toasts, Sri Lanka censorship demands not shown, UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
In the last audio clip, Pioli as President of the UN Correspondents Association said of this Press story about him, "take it out" -- that is, remove the entire story from the Internet -- because it is false or, he then says, "basically false."
But Pioli first complained that he still found online (audio) facts of which he admitted "nothing is false" -- that before unilaterally deciding to screen a Sri Lankan government film denying war crimes he had rented one of his Manhattan apartments to Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN.
What was reported wasn't false, but Pioli ordered "take it out" and off the Internet. That is censorship. One question is, why is Pioli now seeking to return as head of UNCA, which he turned into the UN Censorship Alliance?
The same clip has Pioli's then Vice President, himself a censor, here, deriding Inner City Press as a blogger someone "using" UNCA. In fact, after seeing how it could be used for censorship, Inner City Press quit UNCA and co-founded the new Free UN Coalition for Access.
On September 6, 2011 without consulting with other UNCA board members Pioli used the UN's Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium and UNCA's now-debased logo to host a war crimes denial film by Sri Lanka's government. Inner City Press reported on the event, here.
Numerous "emergency" UNCA meetings followed, including about Inner City Press' coverage of Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row to head UN Peacekeeping despite his role during the Rwanda genocide of 1994; there was an amateurish statement drafted by Pioli about ethics.
Then Pioli, supported by Agence France Presse, said that no dissent, no matter how short, could to appended to the statement. Audio clip here. AFP even said, send it out yourself - seemingly an invitation to write about the issue, which happened and led to threats to oust Inner City Press from the UN, which Voice of America requested saying it had the support of AFP andReuters, which then tried a cover-up, here.
(There was was an even more free press unfriendly "apology" drafted by Pioli, as well as his UNCA stirring up death threats which have been ongoing -- but that's another story.)
The day of Pioli's UNCA screening -- without UNCA board approval or even notice -- of Sri Lanka's war crimes denial, attempts at outright censorship began.
Pioli had a financial relationship with Sri Lanka's ambassador Palitha Kohona, renting Kohona one of Pioli's Manhattan apartments. Inner City Press was told if it persisted in reporting this, Pioli would get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN. Inner City Press offered to run a response by Pioli, of any length, but the demand was that the article be removed from the Internet in its entirety: pure censorship. This is UNCA
