UN Guterres Met Finland FM, His Security Ordered Inner City Press To Not Periscope

By Matthew Russell Lee, Photos

UNITED NATIONS, May 11 – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres met Finland's Foreign Minister Timo Soini on May 11, and Inner City Press went up intending to photograph (Alamy photos here) and stream Periscope video as it had with Iceland's President in the morning. But once in Guterres' conference room, two UN Security officers told Inner City Press it could not Periscope. "But I did this morning," Inner City Press replied. "That because there were remarks," one of the officers said. No more that in this Finnish one: Guterres' small talk, of the type his predecessor Ban Ki-moon routinely allowed to be recorded and even used to praise his visitor. Was this because Inner City Press Periscoped Guterres telling Egypt's Ambassador to convey his "warm regards" to Sisi? Wasn't that newsworthy? The other UN Security officer declined to explain - UNTV was shooting video, but would apparently be counted on to censor anything embarrassing. "This is on the order of the speechwriter," one of the UN Security officers said. But who is the speechwriter? It is certainly not spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who tried earlier in the week to entirely ban Inner City Press from photo ops, saying they were only for photo agencies (clarified to be, those who do not write). So is it the writing that is the problem? Periscope or not, those present hear what is said, and see where they are brought through. Since we have been censored, here's writing for example about Guterres' back pillow, brought back and forth from his office to the conference room. The menus and place cards, for exmple for Rosemary DiCarlo (the swearing in of whom Inner City Press was banned from). How about that the meeting, at most, lasted ten minutes, since when Inner City Press went at the appointed 2:40 pm time for Guterres' photo with UN Force Commanders it had already happened, ten minutes early? What is wrong with today's UN? What are they so willing to censor to ensure is not shown? Earlier on May 11 Guterres met Iceland's President Gudni Th. Johannesson and First Lady Eliza Reid and Inner City Press openly Periscoped; other than in-house UNTV and UN Photo, Inner City Press was the only media there. Alamy photo,Periscope. This came two days after Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric had Inner City Press blocked from covering Guterres' meeting with Al Sharpton while allow another media to cover. Dujarric said he was trying to bring "order" by excluding any photographer who also writes articles like this one. That is clearly censorship, but the decision was not revoked; Dujarric called Inner City Press "self-centered" for questioning it. Video here. We'll have more on this - and on Finland, where Gudni Th. Johannesson will visit on May 15, when Guterres will also again be in Europe. In other news, Eliza Reid recent presented the Icelandic crime writing award to Eva Björg Ægisdóttir. Guterres' UN is ripe for crime writing, what with the still unacted on UN bribery by Patrick Ho's China Energy Fund Committee, still in special consultative status with UN ECOSOC. Watch this site. Guterres disclosed the existence of a meeting with Martin Luther King III and Kweku Mandela at 3:30 pm on May 9 - but Inner City Press was not allowed as before to go up to the UN's 38th floor and photograph it. It was told that since it also files written reports, it is not a photo agency. This is the new censorship system of Guterres and his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. So Inner City Press waited as it its right in the lobby, until Martin Luther King II came down - with Al Sharpton. Photo here. Inner City Press asked the two what they discussed with Guterres and was told it is still premature to announce it. Periscope video from here. Tellingly, there was no UNTV camera there, and a lone non-UN paid photographer. Whether he writes, as Inner City Press is accused of, is not known, including to the UN. Another attendee told Inner City Press Guterres was rude and dismissive to some of the attendees, including it seems Kweku Mandela, not shaking his hand - we can't dispute, as we weren't there by the Guterres / Dujarric "rules." On May 10 Inner City Press asked Dujarric about it. He said he didn't know Sharpton had been there, and stonewalled on the censorship "rule" he had put forward. Video here. From the UN's May 10 transcript: Inner City Press:  Yesterday, there was a photo op at 3:30.  I tried to go.  I wasn't allowed to go.  Another photographer did go up, but I did learn that, while it was listed that Martin Luther King III would be there, I didn't learn, except by standing in the lobby at the end of the meeting, that Al Sharpton was also at the meeting.

And, when he came down, he said that something is in the works with the UN, but it's too early to confirm it.  So, I want… one, I also have to say I don't understand the logic of John… my colleague John, the photographer, going up and me being disallowed.  But, two, if you're going to pick and choose who can go to photo ops, can you provide an updated media alert if, in fact, someone like Al Sharpton did attend or someone of the prominence of Al Sharpton did attend the meeting…

Spokesman:  I have to tell…
Inner City Press:  …and do you have a readout…

Spokesman:  I will be fully transparent and let you know that I had no idea Al Sharpton was going to attend.

Inner City Press: So, why can't you just let people go to the photo ops to find for themselves…

Spokesman:  "We've had… we've had this colourful debate yesterday."

 Inner City Press will always debate and oppose censorship. Earlier on May 9 Guterres swore in Rosemary DiCarlo as his head of Political Affairs on May 9 and only "photo agencies" were permitted to cover it. Inner City Press, which arrived more than 30 minutes early, was excluded. Inner City Press previously published a story on DiCarlo's history as the Deputy to Susan Rice and Samantha Power - the swearing in was newsworthy. It asked Guterres' Spokesman Stephane Dujarric why it was being excluded, and what "photo agencies" area. Dujarric replied, "i’m trying to bring a bit more order and sent to how we do photo ops. 'Photo agencies'  are entities whose  imain purpose is photo coverage." Inner City Press noted this must also exclude Reuters, AP and AFP: their main purpose as entities is not photo coverage. But Inner City Press is informed that already a list of Guterres approved coverers is being prepared. The UN under Guterres has hit a new low. We'll have more on this. Back on April 26, before Guterres' ramped up censorship, he met Cote d'Ivoire Foreign Minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh, and as the two walked down the hall toward Guterres' conference room, Inner City Press was ordered not to take the normal hallway photo. Then Guterres after a perfuctory handshake beckoned Amon-Tanoh into his office, a so called tete a tete. The purpose, as with so much Guterres does, wasn't clear.

On April 25 Guterres me Central African Republic's President Faustin Archange Touadera on April 25, not long after 17 corpses were placed in front of the UN base there, and amid sexual abuse claims against UN peacekeepers. Guterres started the 1:45 pm meeting early; he had already done his fast handshake with Touadera when, at 1:43 pm, two CAR journalists came in. They missed the handshake. One of them neared Touadera with his camera and was brought back by UN Security. Then as fast as it began it was over. "Fast Tony," someone said on the way down in the elevator.  Fast to dismiss the Press, slow to reinstate or even respond. On April 24 Guterres met Juri Ratas, Prime Minister of high tech Estonia, even as his UN evicted and still restricts Inner City Press for using tech to report on the UN, specifically Periscope live streaming an event in the UN Press Briefing Room in pursuit of the UN bribery story. On April 24 Guterres' photo ops got even shorter, as noted by those at the Estonia one, and the Montenegro foreign minister Srdan Darmanovic before it. (Alamy photos here). Guterres goes on one trip after another, while the problems of management, staff relations, censorship and ineffective mediation get worse and worse. More coverage, more streaming, more transparency could do nothing but help. So we'll continue. Five days earlier Guterres met Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonen, who has been in that job before the recent change of Prime Minister. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss? But Guterres' was already looking ahead - right until the 5 pm Ethiopia meeting, Guterres was with his Disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu, and Political (some say, Cameroon) adviser Khassim Diagne, among others. Nakamitsu is going to the upcoming Security Council retreat in Sweden. Inner City Press' story on that is here. On April 13 Guterres met Pedro Roque, as President of Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. Inner City Press, minutes after Guterres dismissively waved off its question about Gaza (Vine here) by the UN Security Council stakeout where UN Security was trying to improperly hinder the Press' filming, went to cover it. Alamy photos here. One in Roque's delegation gave Guterres a thick book, Muslims. Guterres left the conference room saying, I want to make sure to take it to my home. But which home? The publicly funded $50 million mansion on Sutton Place? Or his real home in Lisbon? As to the title, it's ironic while Guterres is proposing to move any UN system jobs to Budapest of Victor Orban, to support or cover up UNCHRC's relocation to Budapest when Guterres ran it (see Inner City Press exclusive here.) Guterres, just back from five days in China is leaving on April 13 to Saudi Arabia, only coming back on April 18. The Press remains restricted, hindered and dismissed even where it is allowed to ask questions. So here's a question: wasn't this book a gift to the UN, and not to Guterres personally? Can he just take such gifts home? And where, we ask again, is the golden statue Guterres took from Cameroon's 36 year president Paul Biya in October 2017? We'll have more on this. On April 4 Guterres met Guyana's Vice President Carl Greenidge and after a quick handshake and visitor's book signing ushered him along with acting chief of UN Political Affairs Miroslav Jenca into his office. Greenidge had days before filed papers with the International Court of Justice on Venezuela's claim to two-thirds of Guyana's land. Some wondered if Guterres would make a similar, come into my office offer to Venezuela. Guterres is rarely in New York: after a four day unannounced trip to Lisbon, he will be taking off again to China, April 6 to 11. Earlier on April 4 he or his Office made the swearing in ceremony of four officials Closed Press, and didn't even have UNTV make a video. Who knows what was said or pledged to. Moments before Greenidge's arrival, Guterres exited his office with his chief of staff and his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed, who interlocutors say downplayed the Note to Correspondents about her trip to Nigeria that was issued after Inner City Press repeatedly asked. Fifteen months of Inner City Press being more restricted than no-show state media like Egypt's Akhbar al Yom, assigned the work space Inner City Press was evicted from for pursuing the Ng Lap Seng UN bribery case, which April 4 saw another guilty plea, here.This is today's UN. Back on March 28 Guterres met Indonesia's Foreign Minister Mrs. Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi on March 28 and did his usual fast and perfunctory handshake - until she made him do it again, so that a member of her delegation could get a photo of it with his smart phone. Periscope video here. One might think Guterres, who so often speaks of learning from women after he took the Secretary General-ship which many said was ready for a woman. But 15 minutes later with the Defense Minister of Cote d'Ivoire Hamed Bakayoko, Guterres did the same fast and perfunctory hand shake. Inner City Press had managed, down in front of the Security Council, to ask Bakayoko about the French "Force Licorne" in his country, and the French "Force Sangaris" accused of child sexual abuse in Central African Republic. Bakayoko gamely answered that the Ivorian army trains its troops; earlier, French Secretary of State attached tothe Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne refused to answer Inner City Press' quite audible question about Sangaris' abuses, choosing to answer about North Korea. Earlier still on March 28 Guterres met German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass at 9:20 am. Some ten minutes before, a gaggle of media traveling with the Foreign Minister came into the UN Department of Public Information office. Despite repeated calls, the requested sniffer dog never arrived. A fast decision led to a fast ascent to the 38th floor to witness an equally fast and perfunctory handshake by Guterres, who called signing the UN Visitors' Book "the price you pay." Mass replied, "It's a small price." Inner City Press' photos on Alamy here; Periscope video here.