By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 16 -- As the scandal unveiled in thecorruption charges against former UN General Assembly President John Ashe, Francis Lorenzo of South South News and others continues to expand, the compromised position of the UN Correspondents Association has come to the fore.
Now, beyond the funding by David Ng's South South News following by an UNCA award to SSN and UNCA providing Ng with a photo op with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, yet another Ng connection has emerged. On October 16, Inner City Press asked the UN about it, video here and below.
In a sponsorship not reviewed in Ban's limited OIOS inquiry into only two NGOs, David Ng is listed as the "Main Sponsor of the 62nd Annual DPI/NGO Conference," here on the site of the World Congress of Peoples for the United Nations - which lists itself as "honored to co-sponsor the United Nations Correspondents Association" prize. Ng's support to WCPUN, some passed through to UNCA, has extended to its magazine Centerpoint.
But like the "South South" award Ban took from Lorenzo and then-prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda Baldwin Spenser, as reported yesterday by Inner City Press, none of these other Ng connections, including to UNCA which provided Ng with a photo op with Ban, will be touched by the limited audit Ban has ordered.
On October 16, Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq about this, and why UNDP's South South director won't hold a press conference or answer written questions, video here, transcript here:
Inner City Press: In continuing to look at what has been alleged by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District and Mr. David Ng, who has been charged with a variety of things, is listed on the website of a group called WCPUN as the quote, main sponsor of the annual DPI/NGO conference. So I wanted to know — it seems like — I know that this audit is looking at one of his foundations and another foundation, but this seems, if it's true, and this is also… this is a group that sponsors, actually, one of the UNCA (United Nations Correspondents’ Association) awards that's handed out by the Secretary-General. What… is the intent of your inquiry to find out ways in which David Ng, now charged with corruption, corrupting the UN, has dealt with the UN? And if so, how can you explain him being a main sponsor of a DPI/NGO conference, or is this incorrect?
Deputy Spokesman: First of all, we would need to be able to see whether this is in fact correct. Ultimately what we're trying to do with this audit — not an inquiry, by the way, again it's an audit — is to see what the effects of the money by these groups is, where it goes. As we've said in the past, this is an initial step, and we'll see whether it needs to be followed up by others, but what we're trying to do first and foremost is just to determine the scale and the nature of what we're dealing with.
Inner City Press: But it just, and maybe I'm calling it wrong. This audit, if it's only looking at two NGO's, it wouldn't… this Mr. David Ng in his own name could be a sponsor as he claims to be.
Deputy Spokesman: I don't think there's any point in prejudging what is done before it's done. Let's see what they come up with...
Inner City Press: when this first came up I submitted questions to the UNDP South-South Office. Although, the Deputy Spokesman there is a nice individual, I haven't received any written answers. It seems like… I guess I'd encourage if one of the responses of the Secretariat is that it's really over there, some attempt to either get them to answer written questions or written answers would strongly be appreciated.
Deputy Spokesman: They gave us written answers which Stéphane read at the noon briefing a few days ago...
Inner City Press: Is this new director so busy that he can't find 20 minutes to do a press conference in the two weeks since the scandal broke? It's a scandal that goes directly to the heart of his office.
Deputy Spokesman: You're kidding, right? Of course he's busy. You realize that last week was his first week. That was a busy week, right? I mean, I think we all can see that that was a lot of the work.
Inner City Press: The credibility of his entire agency is in question, so you would think this would be kind of job one.
Deputy Spokesman: And they are proceeding. They've been giving us… I have no problem with them. They've been giving us a wealth of information. It's not like they've held back on that. Have a nice weekend.
A PGA rep, an UNCA rep, a DPI rep, Duarte, NG & another
copy URL for source / credit
While UNCA does not represent all journalists accredited to cover the UN -- Inner City Press for example quit the group in 2012 with another Executive Committee member and co-founded the new Free UN Coalition for Access -- the UN gives it a privileged position, a large clubhouse on the third floor of the UN and, by the UN Secretariat butnot Ambassadors, here Tanzania, the first question at press conferences. (When Tanzania's Ambassador called on Inner City Press first on October 14, the UNCA representative made a scene, then told Inner City Press to "shut up," here.)
But is that appropriate, given that UNCA received money from South South News, “NGO 1” in the filing against Ashe? Not only did UNCA receive money from South South News: it gave the group an “UNCA award” at a ceremony at the high-ceilinged Cipriani's restaurant on December 14, 2011.
Inner City Press, which did not quit UNCA in fully ripened disgust in 2012, was present in December 2011 and witnessed, when Secretary General Ban Ki-moon came into Cipriani's, him being shepherded into a side room for photographs with Asian men in business suits who Inner City Press did not then recognize -- but now does.
UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, when Inner City Press asked on October 13 about what it had seen, said perhaps Inner City Press had "condoned" it. Video here. But Inner City Press quit UNCA afterfinding conflicts of interest in it, and being "ordered" to not report on this. From the October 13 transcript:
Inner City Press: I want to ask inevitably about the revelations about Mr. [John] Ashe and Frank Lorenzo and others. And just as you… as the lead Spokesman, a person that travels around with the Secretary-General, how… what would you say to the photos that exist of the Secretary-General with David Ng, who was since indicted, and Frank Lorenzo and, particularly, in instances where it appears that groups that receive contributions from the two and then put them in a room to have photographs with the Secretary-General? Is this something that… how does the Secretary-General view this in retrospect, and what's going to be done in the future?
Spokesman: First of all, a photo of the Secretary-General with any individual should in no way be interpreted as a sponsorship or agreement. It's just a photo. The Secretary-General is very much a public figure, attends a lot of public events where there are a lot of people. Sometimes people come up to him and ask to have their photo taken. And it's done within the… within, obviously, the security constraints that need to be had. I think whether it's the Secretary-General of the United Nations or anyone in leadership position, you will find when you travel with them that a lot of people want to have their photo taken with them. Inasmuch as that is… we try to control that, sometimes it's difficult to do so. I think the Secretary-General is as shocked as anyone in this building at the charges that were levelled at these two individuals. And he's very disappointed at the accusations towards the United Nations.
Inner City Press: obviously, to business interests having an actual kind of formal handshaking one, I guess I'll just say that that is worth something to them. That's why they…
Spokesman: I'm not… I'm not debating that point… [cross talk] I'm just saying that having a picture of the Secretary-General with any individual should in no way be seen as a sponsorship, approval, making them BFF's or anything.
Inner City Press: I guess I just want to be more specific. If an event… and there's one that actually, as it turns out, I witnessed in Cipriani. If the Secretary-General enters a large space and is then taken to a smaller space for such photographs, what's the basis for that, as opposed to people with selfies? I mean, I understand what you're saying…
Spokesman: I think, you know, if you were there, then maybe you condoned the event as well. The issue is the Secretary-General attends a lot of events. Sometimes there is a VIP reception. None of it should be construed as anything as the Secretary-General having his picture taken with anyone.
Inner City Press: it's been a number of days now; I'm assuming that, if not you, OLA [Office of Legal Affairs], someone has read through this long FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] affidavit. And I want to just ask you again, because in it, it says that, after the… the… the official UN document about the Macau centre was procured, there was a separate payment to Mr. Ashe, separate communications with a UN official number one, who reissued the document as a… amended… revised for technical reasons, with the name of the company in it. And it seems to me, even before you waiting for an OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] investigation, the scope of which wouldn't touch that, who in the UN is actually… how does it work, first of all? Who… which part of the UN amends documents after they're released? Is it DGACM [Department for General Assembly and Conference Management]…?
Spokesman: Listen, I'm not going to talk about the specifics of the case. But it is clear that if the President of one of the legislative bodies in this Organization which controls the agenda, or a sponsoring country for resolution, asks the Secretary-General to amend a text, we serve as the Secretariat. It's not… it's… it doesn't entail sponsoring of what's inside that text.
While Inner City Press' answer to the spokesman's "if you were there, then maybe you condoned the event as well," is that Inner City Press quit UNCA
after finding conflicts of interest in it, and being "ordered" to not report on this, we'll have more on this.
On October 13, Inner City Press asked this follow up:
Inner City Press: I just want to directly ask you about the idea that it's sort of people struggling to get photos with the UN officials. There was a… there was a peacekeeping day concert that was… for which solicitation of… you know, sponsorship was sought by a group called World Harmony Alliance, and it had nothing… the group has nothing to do with peacekeeping, but they paid for day. They… they… in fact, the funder complained that he didn't get the promised photograph with Ban Ki-moon, but I wonder, what was… what's the UN's understanding when they take outside financial sponsorship for such a day? I mean, former UN official [Ibrahim] Gambari was seen with the same group taking photographs on the fourth floor in the Millennium Hotel. What's it all about? What’s happening?
Spokesman: What former officials do in hotels is really not of my purview.
Inner City Press: Sure. What about UN peacekeeping?
Spokesman: I would take a look at that actual programme, but I would expect every part of the UN to do due diligence when it partners with an outside organization. And just… I'll leave it at that.
On October 12, Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, video here, transcript here:
Inner City Press: in light of these charges against John Ashe, Frank Lorenzo, and others, it's emerging that the Secretary-General, if not met, had staged photo opportunities with a number of the individuals charged. And I wanted to know, in looking at this, do you have some kind of a comment on how these occurred, particularly in instances where they may have been arranged by a third party, been arranged by an organization that invited Ban Ki-moon and then received funds from South-South News or others and then put the two together on photograph? Was that appropriate? And what would be your response to… to OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] looking at that or otherwise?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding that, as you're aware, the Office of Internal Oversight Services will do an audit. They've been requested to do that, and so we'll be able to see whether there was any effect from either the relationship with these various groups, these two groups, the Sun Kian Ip Group and the Global Sustainability Foundation, and any of the monies received. So, we'll await what they have to say about any of this.
Inner City Press: But, given that Mr. Frank Lorenzo has been charged and he's now out on $2 million bail, he was head of South-South News, which spread $12 million, according to the documents, throughout the UN system. So, what was, how, what was the criteria used to choose these two NGOs and not either South-South News or International Organization for South-South Cooperation or South South Steering Committee on Sustainable Development? It seems like it's a very limited inquiry and…
Deputy Spokesman: It's not really an inquiry. It's an audit, and this is initial step. If OIOS feels like there is something… there's a direction which they need to go as a result of these initial results, they're certainly free to do that, but we needed to get the ball rolling and have an initial step forward so that we can look into what exactly is the impact of the monies and the relationship with these groups.
John Ashe at UNCA with former president, after and before Pioli
click photo for source / credit
Back in December 2011, shepherding Ban for this (compensated) photo op with dubious businessmen was Giampaolo Pioli, then as now the president of UNCA. South South News interviewed Pioli that night, bragging of the UNCA award it got / paid for, screenshot from video here.
(For context it must be noted too that Pioli rented one of his Manhattan apartments to Palitha Kohona then granted Kohona's request as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to screen his government's war crimes denial film “Lies Agreed To” in the UN's Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium: this precipitated Inner City Press quitting UNCA, in full disclosure.)
How can UNCA be given first questions to ask about a scandal involving South South News, from which UNCA took more then to which it gave an award? And what are the other implications?
(In terms of Mr. Ng's desire for photo ops, Inner City Press is informed that he separately wanted a photo with US President Obama, and paid six figures to a middleman - who disappeared with the money. UNCA on the other hand, one wag noted, delivered Ban Ki-moon for photos at Cipriani's.)
UNCA, it should be noted, has been and is open to business interested beyond Mr. Ng and South South News. Another UNCA awards ceremony was sponsored by a company called “Acoona;” the Italian oil company ENI pays the group money.
But UNCA's South South News connection, given what has been disclosed and charged this week, should at a minimum and as a first step disqualify UNCA from first questions from the UN, and from the continuation of its role.
Consider: if it gave rise to criminal charges that South South News paid Ashe to get a GA document for Ng to show off in Macau, who about South South News paying UNCA, and UNCA delivering Ban for a photo op with Ng, that Ng could use for related purposes? We'll have more on this.
Wider, and going forward in this series, limiting UN investigation to OIOS - whose director of investigations Stefanovic has resigned, Inner City Press hereby exclusively reported on October 9 - looking at only two NGOs is laughable. The scandal is expanding: there is a pattern here, pattern and practice. Watch this site.
