By Matthew Russell Lee, Scope, song, II, song II
UN GATE, August 20 -- On Western Sahara, Inner City Press has repeatedly asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, his spokesmen and now Communications chief Melissa Fleming about sexual harassment charges against his representative Colin Stewart, which it has exclusively reported as credited here and even here.
On August 27, 2021 Guterres after massive delay gave the MINURSO post to Alexander Ivanko of the Russian Federation, who previously served as Director of Public Information for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo - where when, before Guterres ousted it, Inner City Press asked Ivanko five questions, four of which he essentially no-commented on, here.
In August 2022, the failing government of Peru in a quid pro quo after a murky meeting with Morocco reversed previous administrations' policy and recognized that country's land grab of Western Sahara. But how long will the Peruvian administration hang on? What do its foreign policy moves mean? Watch this site.
The UN's corruption on Western Sahara, down to the nitty gritty of cutting off Polisario's UNTV mic and banning Inner City Press from the stakeout under previous Spanish UN DGC chief Cristina Gallach (succeeded by the amazingly even less responsive Fleming) has now spread.
Spain, whose botched and bogus withdrawal as colonial power left the vacuum into which Morocco stepped, has now after threats of being overwhelmed by migrants sided with Morocco and sold out those it colonized.
On March 29, FM Bourita said "the letter of the prime minister of Spain to His Majesty expressing support to the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as the basis for any solution to the Sahara issue is a very positive development... there is this dynamic – and de Mistura is also part of this dynamic – is how to shift into an outcome-oriented effort." Mistura is part of this?
Bourita also said, or claimed, "On Ukraine, Moroccan position is very clear and it has been expressed many times." Only not in the UN General Assembly, where Morocco didn't even abstain - it simply didn't vote.
Now in April, this: "Bir Lehlu (Saharawi Republic), April 9, 2022 (SPS)- The POLISARIO Front suspends its contacts with the current Spanish Government (communiqué) General Secretary. 1. As a result of the Pedro Sánchez government's declaration of support for the Moroccan plan, aimed at legitimizing the annexation by force of Western Saharan territories and, consequently, confiscating the inalienable rights of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence. 2. In view of the concrete steps that have been taken in this direction by the government of Pedro Sánchez. 3. Based on the responsibilities that concern the Spanish State towards the Saharawi people, as well as towards the United Nations itself and, as the administering power of the territory, these commitments are irrevocable: The Polisario Front decides to suspend its contacts with the current government of Spain."
And from UNSG Guterres' Mistura? Nothing. Cashing the checks in Europe, at least more openly than Guterres. We'll have more on this.
Inner City Press has been contacted by UN whistleblowers outraged at what they say is already a pro-Morocco scandal at MINURO under - literally - Ivanko. They tell Inner City Press, none of whose questions the UN will answer even to confirm or deny, that Ivanko has struck up a predatory relationship with a Moroccan woman who was recruited into MINURSO by now-rewarded predator Colin Stewart.
Inner City Press put this question and another - about UNRWA and Afghanistan - to all UN spokespeople. Nothing.
Still with no answer, on January 25 Inner City Press added more: that the uncle married the woman and promised to work to get her a UN job, moving her into Western Sahara and thereby colonizing, the UN colonizing.
(Inner City Press has the victim's name but, as it does in the current US v. Ghislaine Maxwell case on which Guterres refuses to answer why he had a representative, Amir Dossal, on Maxwell's Terramar project board, it is not publish the name - in the case of the UN, for now).
The whistleblowers also telling recount that given his lack of commitment to decolonization, Guterres told Grandi - subject now of an Afghanistan and UNRWA scoop - to keep UNHCR's Western Sahara work "sleeping" for now.
Sleeping indeed. With the UN refusing to answer, even to confirm or deny, on March 10 this: whistleblowers in Western Sahara says that the Force Commander, General Zia Rahman, has gotten a local Moroccan woman pregnant. He is already married and therefore wants to avoid any scandal so has asked SRSG Alex Ivanko to help cover up this wrongdoing by arranging a payment to the pregnant woman and her family, and to ensure that this does not tarnish his record. Now Ivanko plans to marry the Moroccan lady that he has been having an affair with. As part of dowry arrangements he has bought a villa locally for her family worth 74,000 Euros. It is not clear if OIOS has started investigating either of these 2 cases."
No answers from the UN of Guterres and Fleming.
The UN under Guterres is less and less accountable, less and less transparent. But we will not rest - even as we publish another UN scandal, in Afghanistan. Watch this site.
Guterres has also given the Western Sahara envoy post out: "Staffan de Mistura of Italy as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara. He succeeds Horst Köhler of Germany, who completed his assignment on 22 May 2019 and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his steadfast and intensive efforts which laid the foundation for a new momentum in the political process on Western Sahara." Momentum? Here's Mistura Q&A in 2017 with Inner City Press on video - will he end or benefit from Guterres' Press-ban?
And what about US Secretary Antony Blinken? He issued this: "The United States warmly welcomes the appointment of Staffan de Mistura as the new UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary General for Western Sahara. Personal Envoy de Mistura brings considerable expertise – addressing challenges in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria – to this important position and we will actively support his efforts to promote a peaceful and prosperous future for the people of Western Sahara and the region." What about a referendum with independence as an option? What about UN censorship, on which his Department (and US Mission) have gotten a letter?
Guterres has repeatedly refused to answer, and denied Inner City Press access to the UN he lets dozens of Moroccan state media into as he and Fleming continue the ban on Inner City Press supported by a frivolous complaint filed against Inner City Press' coverage from the UN Security Council stakeout. So, after the December 2020 developments, on SoundCloud this song, here.
On December 26, 2020 amid report of abuse below, Morocco trolls comically called out not only Inner City Press, banned for questioning Guterres not only on his support for colonialism not only in Western Sahara but also Cameroon, CAR and elsewhere, but also a UN insider, "The Plant," Abdel Hamid Siyam, here.
This guy is let into every UN briefing, usually only asking about one issue, entirely silent on UN ban of Press. But the trolls don't like his questions either, though when asked what secret (or "closet") meeting it covered, they reply "We don't need to remember the facts.. Everyone knows the story."
Yeah - sounds like Melissa Fleming.
Guterres' role in orchestrating colonial lies, from Western Sahara to Cameroon, and censoring and banning independent Press and refusing its questions, is decisive. Here are just some of the Morocco state media Guterres and Melissa Fleming let in, and Steph Dujarric answers, from the UN Censorship Alliance (UNCA) --
Enhari Naoufal Moroccan News Agency (MAP) UN correspondent United Nations Secretariat Building Room S-0419 New York NY 10017 enharinaoufal@gmail.com Tel: 917-530-2673
Benyoussef Bouchra Quid.MA Tel: (212) 758-6461 Mobile: (201) 873-5656 www.quid.ma @b.bouchra2001 -- "does not exist" (also a UN staff member - incredible)
There are more, and there will be more. Guterres should be fired.
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