By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Series
UNITED NATIONS, November 30 -- Two weeks after Inner City Press formally gave UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric a link to an Internet page about Ban's brother Ki-ho engaged in mining in Myanmar's Shan state through South Korean firm KD Power -- as well as Bosung -- the response has been to have the page removed from the Internet.
On November 28 Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, without any proof, that he understands Ban Ki-ho no longer works for KD Power. But when Inner City Press asked when was the last time Ban Ki-moon spoke with his brother Ki-ho, Spokesman Dujarric said glibly that he has no clue, and hasn't returned with any answer.
While Team Ban, including the South Korean Mission to the UN which on November 10 asked Inner City Press for the since-disappeared KD Power link, and the Bosung links, think they have ended this particular inquiry into nepotism by asserting Ban Ki-ho is no longer with KD Power, they have not answered even once on Bosung.
Bloomberg lists Bosung as Ban Ki-ho's current employer, and Bosung also does business in Myanmar, in connection with a "UN delegation."
Inner City Press has submitted questions to Ban Ki-ho at Bosung but they have not been responded to.
Dujarric has said he would "buckle up" and answer the UN delegation, Bosung and other outstanding questions, but hasn't -- this despite him onNovember 29 telling Inner City Press that earlier that day he had spoken with Ban who said he'll return to South Korea in "mid-January." (Notably, Bloomberg View controlled by the same Bloomberg who Ban made a UN Special Envoy, is now saying Park should hang on until the end of the year so that Ban could run, see here: "If she departs near the end of the year, an election for her successor could be held in March. That would allow United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon time to finish out his term and, if he wishes, run to replace her.) From scandal to scandal - we'll have more on this.
Let's review: Inner City Press discovered that Ban Ki-moon's brother Ki-Ho's firm KD Power was thrown out of the UN Global Compact, the UN's easy-to-stay-in blue-washing mechanism for corporations. See here.
What does it say about Ban Ki-moon's actual commitment to human rights if he can't even get his own brother to meet the minimal requirements of the UN Global Compact? Inner City Press asked November 25 in writing, to three of Ban's spokespeople, and got no answer.
So on November 28 Inner City Press asked Ban's lead spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: on the brother of Ban Ki-moon, Ban Ki-ho and KD Power Company, there's a letter. They joined the Global Compact, and the signatory for KD Power was Ban Ki-ho. They've been expelled from the Global Compact as of 21 September 2015. So given what the Secretary-General has said about the Global Compact, does he find anything ironic that his brother's company for which he signed a letter has been expelled? And, two, the brother, Farhan [Haq], in your absence, said ask these questions about the mining in Myanmar and the UN delegation to the companies. I've now written to the email address that's on the brother's thing, and there's no response.
Spokesman: My understanding is that the Secretary-General's brother no longer works for the company. I think the Secretary-General would expect the Global Compact to enforce its rules in the same manner with every company, whether his brother may… had worked for the company or had not. I think that's… I think the Secretary-General welcomes the Global Compact's conducting of its… and enforcing of its rules and regulations blindly.
ICP Question: Given… given the still unresolved issue of… while he was engaged in mining in Myanmar, his mentioning by a government website as being a part of a UN delegation in the country, I'd like to ask you, just factually, when's the last time Ban Ki-moon spoke with his brother?
Spokesman: I have no clue.
Spokesman: My understanding is that the Secretary-General's brother no longer works for the company. I think the Secretary-General would expect the Global Compact to enforce its rules in the same manner with every company, whether his brother may… had worked for the company or had not. I think that's… I think the Secretary-General welcomes the Global Compact's conducting of its… and enforcing of its rules and regulations blindly.
ICP Question: Given… given the still unresolved issue of… while he was engaged in mining in Myanmar, his mentioning by a government website as being a part of a UN delegation in the country, I'd like to ask you, just factually, when's the last time Ban Ki-moon spoke with his brother?
Spokesman: I have no clue.
Yeah - no clue. Later on November 28, a senior Ban Ki-moon official came to Inner City Press, while it was confined to a minder, aided it for asking about when Ban last spoke to his brother.
Might the game have been to have the South Korean mission, which also asked Inner City Press for the KD Power and Bosung links on November 10, make the contact for Ban?
Might the game have been to have the South Korean mission, which also asked Inner City Press for the KD Power and Bosung links on November 10, make the contact for Ban?
KP Power's since-violated “Letter of Commitment” to Ban Ki-moon was signed by his brother Ban Ki-Ho, put on Scribd here by Inner City Press, without any disclosure of the direct family relationship, just as Ban's son in law Siddharth Chatterjee, whom Ban promoted to the top UN job in Kenya, never discloses this relationship in his self-serving, human rights up front-free pieces which are run by Thomson Reuters and some others as a way to curry favor with Ban Ki-moon.
Ban Ki-moon can't or won't even get his son in law Siddhart Chatterjee, whom he promoted to the UN Resident Coordinator position in Kenya, to comply with his post-Sri Lanka failure "Rights Up Front" scheme. Sidd stayed silent amid targeting of South Sudanese in Kenya, and killings by police. In fact, the UN and Sidd have refused to divulge his role in killings in Sri Lanka.
Back on November 9 Inner City Press sent Dujarric and others this, of which Dujarric in the hallway confirmed receipt - note that the first link was then disabled, so that it leads nowhere:
"I am sending three links regarding Ban Ki-moon's brother Ki-ho (through Bosung and KD Power) doing mining in Myanmar and touring with a UN delegation.
1) http://www.brighttime.com.mm/bright-time-resources/2-uncategorised.html
"Memorandum of Understanding with KD Power of South Korea, which is managed by Mr. Ban Ki-Ho, brother of UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, for the exploration of Magnesium as well as cooperation in power sector in the eastern Shan State of Myanmar. "
"I am sending three links regarding Ban Ki-moon's brother Ki-ho (through Bosung and KD Power) doing mining in Myanmar and touring with a UN delegation.
1) http://www.brighttime.com.mm/bright-time-resources/2-uncategorised.html
"Memorandum of Understanding with KD Power of South Korea, which is managed by Mr. Ban Ki-Ho, brother of UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, for the exploration of Magnesium as well as cooperation in power sector in the eastern Shan State of Myanmar. "
Now the page is gone: "The server can not find the requested page." So how did that happen, now? But here it is in archive (search for Ban Ki-Ho). And there are photographs...
This is Ban Ki-moon censorship, this time to try to conceal nepotism and exploitation of resources in a war zone, using the UN's name.
Meanwhile Ban's spokespeople have refused to respond to or even comment on the underlying conflict of interest, now telling Inner City Press its only way forward with the story is to contact two South Korean firms, KD Power and Busong Powertec, that Ban's brother Ki-ho works with. The firms' websites are entirely in Korean and have no e-mail contacts except to the webmaster. Master of censorship and nepotism.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in late August awarded the top UN job in Kenya to his own son in law, Siddharth Chatterjee, and did not even recuse himself.
On September 27, Inner City Press directly asked Chatterjee about it, on Periscope. here. Vine here. Chatterjee hardly answered the long-standing questions; nor did Ban's spokesman. Neither set up the requested interview.
Now in November, Ban's spokespeople have refused to answer about Ban's brother Ki-ho's mining in Myanmar after Ki-ho toured with a "UN delegation," referring all questions to websites in Korean like this, see below
Likewise, Inner City Press' requests for a copy of Ban Ki-moon's October 14, 2016 speech to the Council on Korean Americans, for which $100,000 sponsorships were sought, and its questions about a UN Ethics Office opinion on that and on Ban's mentor Han Seung-soo being a UN official and on the boards of directors of Standard Chartered Bank and South Korea's Doosan have gone unanswered, even as reiterated at the November 4 UN noon briefing. Video here.
On September 24, Inner City Press put these conflict of interest questions to Han Seung-soo, who left after the briefest of answers, here.
