UN Guterres Uses Public Money To Fly Spox To Charlemagne Prize For DW Propaganda on Deaths in Portugal Not Cameroon

By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR LetterPFTracker

UNITED NATIONS GATE, May 30 – Amid his complicity in the killing of civilians in Cameroon and his refusal to even audit UN briber CEFC China Energy to which he is linked, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has used public money to fly himself and his team, including spokesman Stephane Dujarric from New York, for himself to receive the Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. 

 There is no showing of benefit to the UN, much less the people it it supposed to help. There have been no answers by Dujarric to banned Inner City Press' questions including: "May 29-3: On the use of public funds, and transparency, given that you've only said SG will "travel on to Aachen in Germany, from 29 to 30 May to receive the International Charlemagne Prize, an honour which has been awarded anually since 1950 for efforts made in the service of European unification.       The Secretary-General will be back in the office on Monday, 3 June" - where will the SG be from May 30 to June 3, separately, at what cost to the public including security costs?"

   And, tellingly, there is a propaganda story about Guterres on Deutsche Welle, complete with inaccuracies.  Debased DW, or maybe just the bylined David Ehi, reports: "When he did not stand for a third term as UNHCR chief in 2015, rumors swirled that he held ambitions for the UN's top job. Guterres was initially regarded as an outsider, as many people would have preferred to see the first female UN secretary-general, preferably from Eastern Europe." No, there is a system of geographical rotation. And Guterres begged Ban Ki-moon for a one year extension at UNHCR and was turned down. 

  Still, even the propaganda recounts that "In the second term of his minority government, however, he came under increasing pressure due to an unbalanced distribution of EU funds: Large chunks flowed into ambitious projects such as the 2004 European Championship in football at a time when rural infrastructure in the country was crumbling. The collapse of a bridge that left more than 70 dead and the poor PS results in local elections finally spelled the end of the Guterres government in December 2001." To try to save the UN, and lives, Guterres could not be dumped from the UN fast enough.

   But DW (or Ehi) calls Guterres a "guardian," despite the deaths he distractedly oversees, in Cameroon and elsewhere. Who is writing this stuff?

  Visible in the photo, not on the UN website, of Guterres at the Charlemagne podium is Dujarric himself, flown over for the occasion. Maybe he too will use this junket to go home, to Paris. To this has the UN, and coverage of the UN, descended.

Earlier in the year Guterres told the world, on video, to join the UN for an "urgent" Earth Hour and turn off the lights between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm on 30 March 2019. But at the UN itself, the lights were ablaze through the entire hour, as live streamed by Inner City Press here. And up at the empty $15 million mansion Guterres sometimes lives in, on Sutton Place and 57th Street, the third story lights were on, and even a UN Security car in front: pure waste. Periscope here. 

  Now on Monday May 27, the mansion has been empty since Saturday, video here, but the UN won't say where Guterres has been for two days. In fact, Guterres' lead spokesman Stephande Dujarric who has refused to answer the written questions of Inner City Press whom he has banned proudly displayed the prosciutto pizza he ate on May 27, tagging (CNN) relative Federico S. Quadrani, here. 

  Tellingly, Dujarric displaying his pizza to the sycophants he spoon feeds in the UN Press Briefing Room garnished Likes from the long time Voice of America correspondent Margaret Besheer with whom Dujarric worked to get Inner City Press banned, here, and for example another Dujarric crony Jon Banner now working as EVP of corporate Pepsi. Bon appetit! We'll have more on this.

  Since the UN not only conceals Guterres' use of public funds to loll around his house in Lisbon but doesn't even provide any real schedule or read outs when Guterres is ostensibly working, here's from the public schedule of Austrian "Federal President Dr. Ing. Alexander Van der Bellen - Monday, May 27th  - 3.30 pm: Conversation with UN Secretary-General António Guterres (Presidential Chancellery)." We'll have more on this. And on this, in Vienna: Uyghurs: China's Concentration Camps in a Mute World, 28 May 2019 from 18:30-20:30. Guterres, of course, is fully in the pocket of China, including after UN briber CEFC China Energy's bid to buy the oil company of Gulbenkian Foundation whose payments to Guterres were omitted, intentionally it seems clear, from Guterres' financial "disclosure" covering 2016.

On May 24 banned Inner City Press asked in writing: "May 24-4: As the SG heads to Vienna, please immediately state his position on the many UN sexual harassment issues at UNOV, on which banned Inner City Press has previously asked you (without repsonse) and reported on e-mails leaked it it for example: "Mr Zabaar said the #Metoo Movement is in conflict with the UN code of conduct" and "Ms Kuleshnyk compared the name of the Club with an hypothetical Club named Osama Bin Laden." A cover letter recites that " Mr Guterres had a staff meeting in the VIC on May 14, 2018, and Monica publicly asked him for his support in a question. Mr Guterres reserved his reply." What is the SG's position? And provide in writing updates on and read-out from this most recent trip.  May 24-4a: Separately, state today whether the SG is stopping over in Lisbon either on his way to UNOV or thereafter, and if so at what cost to the public, including security costs."

  But of course, from the corrupt spokesman of Guterres Stephane Dujarric, no answer at all, just jokes with his scribes about the New York Mets. The mansion is empty. After his "executive time," Guterres in Vienna is said by Inner City Press sources there to be headed to the ultra expensive Hotel Sacher. Here's his public schedule: "27 May to 2 June 2019      The Secretary-General will arrive in Austria on Monday, 27 May to attend a number of meetings around the 40th anniversary of the UN presence in Vienna.  He will also attend the annual meeting of the R20, an organization that brings together leaders from around the world of politics, business and the private sector who are focussed on fighting climate change.  He will travel on to Aachen in Germany, from 29 to 30 May to receive the International Charlemagne Prize, an honour which has been awarded anually since 1950 for efforts made in the service of European unification.        The Secretary-General will be back in the office on Wednesday, 3 June." So wait - after he spends public money to get a bogus prize - Kid Charlemagne - where is he going? Guterres is corrupt, he steals public money and has roughed up and censors the Press that asks. #DumpGuterres.

Ignoring FDLR Flights, Deutsche Welle Promotes Martin Kobler, Of Race to Replace Ban Ki-moon as UNSG & Mary Robinson

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 3, more here -- On the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN envoy Martin Kobler has appeared on Deutsche Welle, from Germany. The interviewer didn't ask but told Kobler, the UN used to work with war criminals but now it doesn't.

  But why didn't the DW interviewer do cursory research to find and ask why his MONUSCO mission flew the FDLR leader, charged with war crimes, from Eastern Congo to Kinsasha? 

   This is a question that Kobler dodged in June, picking up the habits of UN Peacekeeping boss Herve Ladsous -- who refuses to even respond to Press questions. 

 On DW, Kobler said it is important to address mistakes, which is a good thing to say. And certainly Kobler and MONUSCO staff do some good work in DRC, which the UN itself daily promotes. But as another example, what about at least checking out allegations, by the imprisoned rights defender Mbonimpa and others, that Burundi's ruling party is training its youth wing in Kiliba Ondes in the DRC? Isn't that MONUSCO's job?

   Now there's talk of a "Great Lakes" event in August, a sort of last hurrah for Mary Robinson as she leaves it to replace Jen Stoltenberg (who is NATO-bound) as climate envoy.

   An Irish betting site has included, among candidates to replace Ban Ki-moon as Secretary General, Mary Robinson. Like with Helen Clark, this would be on the theory that the need for a belated female SG would trump the Eastern European Group's dibs on the post. But by what logic Martin Kobler? We'll have more on this.

 Background on the FDLR flight(s) -- Back on June 27 amid reports that the UN flew a sanctioned militia leader of the FDLR on a UN aircraft in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujurric about it at the UN noon briefing on June 27:

Inner City Press: why did MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] fly him to Goma to Kisangani and then to Kinshasa when, in fact, I think there’s an arrest warrant for him?

Spokesman Dujarric: I’m not aware of any other services provided to him by MONUSCO.

  When other sources indicated to Inner City Press that this flying service WAS provided by MONUSCO, Inner City Press asked Dujarric again at UN noon briefing on June 30:

Inner City Press: I asked you on Friday a pretty straightforward question, which is whether MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] used its helicopters to, prior to the denial by the Security Council’s 1533 Sanctions Committee, to transfer this… the FDLR’s [Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda] leader within the [Democratic Republic of the Congo]? And I’m wondering if you have an answer on that?

Spokesman Dujarric: I don’t have anything to add.

Inner City Press: Does that mean --

Spokesman Dujarric: If I had something to add, I would tell you. Yes, in the back?

So Dujarric had nothing to add to his June 27 statement that “I’m not aware of any other services provided to him by MONUSCO.” So did he still think that was true? Had he even asked UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous -- who sitting beside Dujarric had refused Press questions on the DRC, video here -- or MONUSCO under Martin Kobler?

On July 1, Inner City Press asked Dujarric again:

Inner City Press: why did MONUSCO undertake to fly to Goma, to Kisangani and Kinshasa? And the reason why I keep asking about this is it seems like it’s a use of UN resources, just knowing why this flight took place.

Spokesman: Sure, if I have something on that I will share it with you

  For Dujarric to have nothing to supplement his statement ofJune 27 that “I’m not aware of any other services provided to him by MONUSCO,” he either did not ask Ladsous' DPKO or they lied to him.

  On July 2, after Martin Kobler belatedly disclosed that yes, under him MONUSCO flew the FDLR leader, Inner City Press asked Dujarric. Laughably, given Ladsous' refusal to answer Press questions, Dujarric said, you could pick up the phone. UN Video here, from Minute 7.

Dujarric first said he never denied the flight. But he's said, even according to the UN's own transcript, “I’m not aware of any other services provided to him by MONUSCO,” and then said nothing when asked twice more about this.

Inner City Press asked, can we assume that when a question is asked in his briefing room, you at least try to get an answer? When did you get this information? Dujarric did not answer this.

Footnote: Dujarric was asked if he will participate in the softball soccer game of the UN Correspondents Association, to which Dujarric sets aside the first questions in briefings and has defended in meeting(s) with the new Free UN Coalition for Access -- which, to put it mildly, is “deeply concerned” by inaccurate answers in the UN Press Briefing Room. Softballs with scribes? We'll have more on this.