UNITED NATIONS, September 3 – Two days before today's North Korean hydrogen bomb test, incoming UN Security Council president for September Tekeda Alemu of Ethiopia held a long press conference at the UN and only mentioned North Korea once, per the UN Department of Public Information's summary, here. Now the US Mission says, "Ambassador Haley and her counterparts from Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting to be held in the open chamber in response to North Korea’s latest nuclear test. The Security Council session will be held tomorrow, Monday, September 4, at 10:00 a.m. EDT."
On September 3 in Vienna it was said, "Journalists with permanent accreditation to the VIC need no further credentials. All others must be signed in separately upon presentation of a Press ID." Again with the two-tier media access system - and although CTBTO's twitter feed replied to Inner City Press that it would be webstreamed on CTBTO.org, it was not. There appeared an apology and link to Facebook Live, with less than 60 viewers. [Later, the Facebook video was put up on YouTube, here.] Zerbo said, among other things, "With regard to the plume, wherever it goes, we have stations... Right now the plume seems to be going north... Twitter feed is forced on us by media, by you... First to our member states, then a statement, then tweet, I think we have to follow the modern world. Our prime way to communicate is to our member states." This is today's UN / international system. Many hours later, Antonio Guterres or really his spokesman who refused 15 of Inner City Press' 17 questions last week put this out: "The Secretary-General condemns the underground nuclear test announced by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). This act is yet another serious breach of the DPRK’s international obligations and undermines international non-proliferation and disarmament efforts. This act is also profoundly destabilizing for regional security. The DPRK is the only country that continues to break the norm against nuclear test explosions. The Secretary-General reiterates his call on the DPRK leadership to cease such acts and to comply fully with its international obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions. The Secretary-General remains in contact with all parties concerned." Guterres had no comment on WIPO working on North Korea's cyanide patent. In late August after North Korea submitted a letter to the UN Security Council about the joint US - South Korea military exercised (Inner City Press put it online here), North Korea fired a missile right over Japan's Hokkaido island. On August 29, there was an emergency UN Security Council meeting - leading to the read out and adoption in the Council chamber past 8 pm, of Presidential Statement, below, that Inner City Press published before the meeting. After Egypt read it out - Egyptian state media Akhbar al Yom, to which the UN is trying to give Inner City Press' long time office, was not even present for this - there were speeches by Nikki Haley, Japan's Bessho, China's Liu and Russia's Nebenzia. Then UN Security threw the press out of the stakeout, to continue work in the lobby since its long time office is assigned to a no-show DPI and UNCA favored retired former journalist. Since then, UN Security refused to allow Inner City Press to enter the UN - at a time tourists as well as state media retirees like Akhbar al Yom's Sanaa Youssef and others are allowed in - to do its work, on this. Inner City Press on September 1 asked Ambassador Alemu four questions, including on Burundi (on the Council's agenda) and the Oromo Protests, a major human rights issue. Video here. But when the UN Department of Public Information wrote up the press conference, it did not even MENTION Burundi, much less the Oromo protests. See UN document here. What is wrong with UN DPI, a corrupt UN Department which spends $200 million a year in public funds, but doe not even has any rules, content neutral or otherwise, on how it accredits and/or restricts the independent press which covers the UN? Where is the new head of DPI, Alison Smale, listed as starting September 1? Where is Antonio Guterres, still silent on the reversal of the Kenyan election scam he praised, and whose spokesman Stephane Dujarric refused to answer 14 of Inner City Press' 17 questions last week? On the morning of August 29, US Ambassador Nikki Haley stopped at the Security Council stakeout and said, as to North Korea, "Enough is enough." Alamy photos here. UK Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Allen said that he didn't want to prejudge the meeting, but that the entire world condemns North Korea's action. (This included, however belatedly, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, or at least his Associate Spokesperson. Under Guterres, the UN World Intellectual Property Organization has helped North Korea with cyanide patent(s), as Inner City Press asked Nikki Haley about, see below.) Meanwhile the chair of the UN Security Council 1718 Committee, Sebastiano Cardi of Italy, told Inner City Press DPRK arms sales to Syria and/or the UAE was not discussed in his August 25 meeting. Vine Camera video here. The UN Security Council on Saturday August 5 met and adopted new sanctions, including a ban on the export of seafood, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore. On the evening of August 4 the UN itself allow North Korea to censor an art exhibit in its lobby (exclusive Inner City Press coverage here), at an event attended by (former?) US Mission to the UN spokesperson Kurtis Cooper. On August 8, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), top Democrat on the East Asia Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that “a miniature nuclear warhead in North Korea is a massive and unacceptable threat to the United States... We need a coherent and comprehensive strategy from the Trump administration that focuses on immediate direct diplomacy and increased economic pressure, along with military deterrence with regional allies to confront this grave national security threat. Last weekend, the United Nations Security Council imposed sweeping new sanctions to slash North Korea’s exports by upwards of $1 billion. The UN took an important step, but... President Trump must work to start direct and immediate talks with North Korea. We cannot afford to wait any longer. The consequences of inaction are too great.” We'll have more on this. In other UN censorship news, while Inner City Press remains under restriction, the Egyptian state media the UN is trying to give its office to didn't even come in, with Egypt as Security Council president. The UN was asked but would not explain this absurdity.
