On Sri Lanka UN Guterres Used FP To Lie While Banning Press Now Called Out From Colombo

By Matthew Russell Lee, video

UN GATE, Sept 26 -- After covering the UN's failure on Sri Lanka, from the bloodbath on the beach through accepting Shavendra Silva as a UN Peacekeeping adviser, Inner City Press was roughed up and banned by Secretary General Antonio Guterres. FP said nothing.

  In February 2019 when Silva became Army Chief of Staff, Inner City Press puts in among its written questions to Spokesman Stephane Dujarric a question on this. Despite Dujarric's on camera promise to answer Inner City Press' written questions, no answer.

 In August when Silva was further promoted, Inner City Press asked again and again in writing, including to Guterres new chief of "Global Communications" Melissa Fleming. No answer; Fleming banned Inner City Press from the UNGA week.

  Now Dujarric's office has handed a claim, quite possibly not true, to his teacher's pet FP, long time correspondent Colum Lynch and DC-based Robbie Gramer. Neither ever wrote a word about Guterres using UN Security to physically rough up Inner City Press and ban it 450 days since. They call this a scoop, when it is just spoon feeding for those who want to feel good about the UN.

   On the morning of September 26, while simultaneous covering the SDNY Federal court where CEFC China Energy, financially linked to UNSG Guterres was convicted of UN bribery, Inner City Press asked Guterres, his spokesmen Stephane Dujarric and Farhan Haq and Melissa Fleming questions including "September 26-2: On Sri Lanka, please immediately explain why your Office refused to answer weeks of questions from Inner City Press about the impact of Shavendra Silva being made head of army (despite Dujarric on camera promise, and Smale's written promise, to answer ICP's questions) then handed the answer to FP and how that doesn't make FP the UN's teacher's pet? Is the belated decision even true?"

  No answer. Now this: "What is known about the suspension suggests currently deployed Sri Lankan peacekeeping units will remain in place until their tour ends but then be replaced by soldiers from another country. However, the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations appears to be adding a proviso that it might override the suspension if it exposed UN operations to serious operational risk.   “We will be looking for more clarity from the United Nations on what this means; the reputational risk to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations would be enormous if it tries to fudge this important human rights issue.  If you are going to talk about a ‘zero tolerance policy’ it has to be zero and it has to be done with conviction,” said ITJP’s Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka."

  So it might not even be true, as the government in Colombo is bragging. The UN is corrupt and censoring joke with its own sold-out chorus under Guterres. And what about the other compliant media that reported the UN's pseudo heroic lie? More on this to come.

  The United Nations under Antonio Guterres is so corrupt that it not only accepts "peacekeepers" from the Sri Lanka army run by war criminal Shavendra Silva - it's had as as official of UN Security run by Gilles Michaud a man links to earlier crimes in Sri Lanka where Tamils were killed in the Madhu church: Parkrama Sriwardana. This while Guterres bloviates about protecting houses of worship. He is a hypocrite and a censor of the Press which asks him questions, including this one.

  Guterres' head of UN Security in Jordan is a man who conducted assassinations, perhaps even of Rafic Hariri, for Michel Aoun of Lebanon.

  The UN Security official's name is Antoine Abi Samra; he was a military officer under Aoun. He has been promoted and protected by one Igor Mitrokhin in the UN Department of Safety and Security, ostensibly run by Gilles Michaud. It is an outrage.   

   Inner City Press first asked Guterres and his spokesman Stephane Dujarric about Mitrokhin in connection with South Sudan, based on complaints it received from whistleblowers in the UN mission there, UNMISS.

  With Dujarric and Guterres and his head of communications Melissa Fleming refusing to answer banned Inner City Press' written question, it nevertheless asked then reported why "Igor Mitrokhin of UNDSS from Russia is pushing David Shearer, SRSG of UNMISS and Principal Security Advisor, Graeme to take Nikolay Kovalev of Russia at all cost disregarding all rules."  

Now as the first in a series about the decay and corruption of UN Security under Guterres and Michaud Inner City Press is today reporting that this same Mitrokhin as one of the many war criminals he has promoted in the UN got Abi Samra the job in Jordan.  

Not only does this constitute Guterres' UN ghoulish providing safe haven for war criminals, as it has also done regarding Sri Lanka and Cameroon - in Jordan, Abi Samra using public money to pay a DSS employee to do nothing more than tutor his own son.

 Sources working in Lebanon link "Tony" Abi Samra to the assassination of Rafic Harriri and more, and ask Inner City Press how the UN didn't even check its own records. These is the corruption of Guterres, who bans the Press which asks. We'll have more on this.

 Past 4 pm on Friday, August 30 the UN issued a denial of accreditation with no reasoning other than that accreditation had previously been revoked:

"From:  malu at un dot org
Date: Fri, Aug 30, 2019 at 4:23 PM
Subject: U.N. eAccreditation request for Matthew Lee Ref # M5413398 has been declined
To: Inner City Press:

Greetings Matthew Lee from Inner City Press,  Your media accreditation request, with reference no: M5413398, has been declined for the following reason: Media accreditation was withdrawn on 17 August 2018."

  This is Kafka-esque, and corrupt. We will have more, much more, on this.

On Cameroon Belated UNSC Session Attempts To Cover Up Collusion By Guterres and SC Members

By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT NYP

UNITED NATIONS GATE, May 13 – As the UN Security Council holds a belated session about Cameroon, albeit an informal one with no expected outcome and notably not co-sponsored by veto holding colonial power France, hypocrisy and cover up of the UN's failure are evident. 

The head of the UN, Antonio Guterres, took a golden statue from Paul Biya in his last interaction, and cut a deal of silence for Biya's support in the UN Budget Committee which Biya's Ambassador Tommo Monthe chaired.

 The UK's Liam Fox bragged about UK-based New Age's hydro carbons deal with Biya, just as another example. Sycophant media which ignored than dismissed the killings now mechanically mis-report this "Arria formula" meeting, essentially to rehabilitate the remaining credibility of the UN and themselves, like Human Rights Warch which told Inner City Press Cameroon was not a top 90 problem to be included in HRW's 2018 World Report.

  Don't believe the hype. In 2009, for example, after the UNSC belatedly held such sessions on Sri Lanka, the lack of outcome emboldened the Rajapaksas to go ahead and "finish off" the Tamils in what's called the Bloodbath on the Beach. The UN system has not held anyone accountable; Guterres representative Singer was smiling with Mahinda Rajapaka this year. The only thing missing was a golden statute. 

Will what Guterres accepted from Biya beseen, or even mentioned, in the May 13 meeting that Inner City Press for reporting on it cannot even enter to cover in person, bannedfrom entering the UN for the 313th day by Guterres, with similar inaction by the UNSC members? Watch this site.

After Paul Biya who has ruled Cameroon for 36 years on January 28 had his opponent Maurice Kamto arrested, Inner City Press again asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his spokesmen for their comment and action, if any. This came after Guterres had Inner City Press roughed up on 3 July 2018 after it interviewed Biya's Ambassador about the two men's Budget Committee deals and banned from the UN since - Guterres even triedto get Inner City Press banned from the Park East Synagogue, here, which was denied / dodged by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who put up then took down a podcast in which he brags about his "mutually assured destruction" relationship with journalists, here. 

 Nor has Inner City Press' September 2018 Freedom of Information Act request, here, been responded to. From the request: "On behalf of Inner City Press and in my personal capacity as its United Nations bureau chief, Matthew Russell Lee, this is a request pursuant to the federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 for the following information: 1) most pressingly, for the report on human rights abuse by the Cameroon military and of the US' knowledge thereof, on information and belief headed by Brig. Gen. Timothy McAteer and concluded in November 2017; 2) any and all other records in your possession concerning abuses by the Cameroon security forces, including but not limited to in the North-West and South-West regions, from January 1, 2017 to the date of your response to this request.  This request, particularly (1) above which can and should be treated separately, should be afforded expedited treatment. Inner City Press is reporting on abuses in Cameroon, including with the knowledge of the US - and why there has been no UN Security Council meeting on Cameroon. The US is for this month the president of the US Security Council and this request should be fully responded to in that time frame, including any necessary appeal."  Not a single document yet.We will have more on this.

In the run up to the so-called National Day on May 20 - in New York, before having Inner City Press roughed up and banned, Guterres' chief of staff Maria Luiza Viotti and his Deputy SG Amina J. Mohammed partied with Tommo Monthe in a Manhattan townhouse singing "Buvez du champagne," Video here, from 4:30 -- this: "The insecurity in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon keeps paralysing activities in that part of the country despite the failure of administrative officials to admit the fact. The Divisional Officer of Alou, Lebialem Division of the South West region has convened a meeting in Dschang to prepare for the National Day celebrations.  Due to the insecurity in Alou, the meeting can not hold in the locality but in neighbouring Dschang in the West region of Cameroon." We'll have more in the approach to this ghoulish Cameroun National Day, including in New York. 

  More here.

Inner City Press Asked IMF About DSK Revolving Door Cameroon and Digital Currency

By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT NY Post

NEW YORK CITY, March 21– When the International Monetary Fund held its biweekly embargoed media briefing on March 7, Inner City Press submitted five questions includingon Haiti which the IMF answered. But on March 21 the IMF added this, that it hopes the "uncertainty" is resolved quickly. Inner City Press has submitted five new questions, unanswered as of the embargo time perhaps due to the IMF changing its media website and sign in: 

"On Congo-Brazzaville, what is the IMF's comment on the revolving door report that The Republic of Congo sought the assistance of former International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the debt-strapped nation’s bid to secure a bailout stretches into a third year.  Strauss-Kahn and Lazard France Chief Executive Officer Mathieu Pigasse traveled to the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, in January for talks with President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Finance Ministry spokesman Adrien Wayi Lewy said?  

On Sri Lanka, what is the IMF's response to senior banker Rusiripala Tennakoon saying this IMF has failed to realize that the non-performing portfolio of the state banks will be in a worse situation in 2-3 months time.  He noted that by having to finance some of the state-owned enterprises, which are deteriorating the banks are running the risks of becoming undercapitalised.  Tennakoon noted that the IMF has failed to identify the impending danger the entire banking industry in the country is facing. He noted that especially, the state-owned banks and their non-performing portfolios are increasing tremendously signaling danger?  

What is the IMF's reaction to moves in the Marshall Islands toward the Sovereign (SOV) digital currency on an equal footing with the US dollar. It passed a key bill this week for SOV’s creation. "IMF has criticized the plans with a number of concerns including the risk of money laundering and that the Marshall Islands could lose its only corresponding banking relationship." What now?  

On Ukraine, what is the IMF's response, confirmation or denial to that Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement, Andriy Kozhemyakin, states that the U.S. and EU ambassadors, as well as the IMF mission, are asking to postpone consideration of bills regarding illegal enrichment. The statement came during the Conciliation Board meeting on Monday. Speaking of bills related to Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal enrichment), Kozhemyakin said: "The U.S. ambassador, the IMF mission, and the EU ambassador wrote me a letter today. They ask to postpone consideration of all draft laws as they are imperfect, including the presidential one." True?  

On Liberia, what is the IMF's comment on that the George Weah-led administration would be dealt a major blow amid the current economic turmoil as the biggest employer in the country’s private sector, Firestone Natural Rubber Company, announces the laying off of 800 employees.  “After a thorough and strategic review of its current operations in Liberia, West Africa, Firestone Natural Rubber Company, an indirect subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., has announced the difficult decision to reduce its workforce by 13% (approximately 800 employees) by early second quarter of 2019?  Also if there are any updates on Cameroon or Morocco." On Cameroon, not unrelated to the DSK history, there is rarely an answer. Watch this site.

Here's the IMF's March 7 transcript: "There is question on Haiti coming from Matthew Lee in New York. I'll take a couple of Matthew's questions as usual. And Matthew is asking about any updates I can give him on Haiti. And I can say that an IMF team is in Port Au-Prince as we speak to complete the Article IV consultation. But more than that, to discuss a possible IMF financial arrangement with Haiti. And we will hear more on that very, very soon.  But I can say that the mission will propose that what the mission will propose is highly concessional, on the most concessional terms we can offer for Haiti and it will highlight social protection. It will highlight the fight against corruption while deferring any fuel price adjustments until the government is able to guarantee that the most vulnerable will be protected from any negative effects.  Those of you who follow Haiti, you know, will understand the context of what I have just said. And again, the mission will communicate its findings at the end of the visit." Now, 11 hours later, the IMF announces this: "In response to a request from the Haitian authorities, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Chris Walker visited Port-au-Prince from February 25 to March 8, 2019 to discuss IMF support for measures to ease poverty, encourage good governance, raise growth and stabilize the country’s economic situation. At the end of the visit, Mr. Walker issued the following statement:  “I am pleased to announce that in support of the government and the people of Haiti, we, the IMF, the Haitian government and the Central Bank of Haiti (Banque de la République d’Haiti (BRH)) have reached an IMF staff-level agreement on a concessional 0 percent, three-year loan of US$ 229 million for Haiti. This agreement will have to be approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, which is expected to consider Haiti’s request in the coming weeks.  “The agreement we have reached is aimed at helping Haiti overcome its current fragile state, and alleviating the hardship of the most vulnerable. We have placed social protection firmly at the center of the accord, and once the agreed measures are successfully implemented, the poorest in Haiti will be among the first to benefit in a tangible way.  The program provides money for a variety of social protection measures ranging from school feeding, through targeted cash transfers, to money for social housing.  “Priority has also been given to the fight against corruption and improvements in governance.  The IMF backs the government’s aim of state reform.  In its agreement, it has drawn up measurable targets to boost this fight with the goal of injecting greater transparency into the management of public finances, tax and revenue administration, as well as expenditure control.  “To enable Haiti to return to macroeconomic stability, the loan to Haiti represents 100 percent of quota, and the money will be disbursed over the three years of the program which is subject to regular Executive Board and staff reviews.  “The loan is offered under the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) which allows lending at concessional rates and is aimed at stabilizing Haiti’s economy by putting its budget deficit on a downward trajectory and managing its debt, while protecting the poorest in the country.  “The visit also encompassed the IMF’s Article IV consultation, or its regular check of the health of the country’s economy.  Real growth remains near its four-year average of 1.5 percent.  The country has been facing severe financing constraints while political turbulence has discouraged private investment and limited action on needed fiscal reform.   “Under the program, we expect that financial constraints will be relaxed, allowing for faster growth.   “We at the IMF are ready to partner with Haiti on its economic revitalization. We will also encourage other multilateral agencies and countries to support the country. We have talked to partner agencies and they are willing to help. It would also be very helpful for Haiti’s bilateral partners to step forward at this critical time.  “The mission would like to thank the authorities and all those with whom they met for their warm welcome and the frank and constructive discussions.'"  We'll have more on this - and this: on March 7 Rice said he was not aware of any IMF contact with Team Guaido on Venezuela... On February 7 Inner City Pressasked, "On Barbados, former co-chair of Jamaica’s EPOC Richard Byles has said the circumstances which forced Jamaica to turn to the IMF were very similar to those currently faced by Barbados with very high debt to GDP ratios and low foreign reserves. Any IMF comment? Has Barbados reached out to the IMF?" Rice responded about the EFF program initiated last October - here's from the transcript: "There is one other -- a couple of other questions on line I'll take. One is on Barbados where, again, Matthew Lee is asking the former co-chair of Jamaica's EPOC, Richard Byles, has said the circumstances which forced Jamaica to turn to the IMF were very similar to those currently faced by Barbados, very high debt levels, low foreign reserve. Any IMF comment, has Barbados reached out to the IMF, the answer is clearly yes because last October our Board approved a program, a financial program for Barbados under our extended fund facility, one of those instruments that we can use when countries are in difficulty. So just confirming that." And on Zimbabwe: "Then let me take a few calls from this -- there is one on Zimbabwe asking about -- what is our comment on reports that Zimbabwe has cleared its arrears with the IMF but the country still owes, he says 687 million to the African Development Bank, 1.4 billion to the World Bank, 322 million to the European investment bank and on recent developments including the crackdowns in the country.  We have talked quite a bit about Zimbabwe here in the past but just to answer the question, it’s -- I can confirm that -- and I’ve said it before here, that Zimbabwe has cleared, indeed, its arrears to the IMF but arrears remain outstanding to other multilateral creditors, including the World Bank and that severely limits Zimbabwe’s access to international financial support -- Zimbabwe has no arrears to the IMF. Our rules preclude lending given the arrears to other financial institutions.  And on the crackdown he asks about, I don't have too much to add beyond what I said here before, which is that we encourage all stakeholders to collaborate peacefully -- and I think that's the word I would want to stress, is the "peacefully" -- and, you know, try to develop policies that will stabilize the economy and promote sustainable and inclusive growth. It's clearly a very difficult situation there in Zimbabwe and we recognize that." Inner City Press also asked, "On Nigeria, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, has said the nation’s economy will grow by 3.01 per cent this year, compared to a forecast of two per cent by the International Monetary Fund. What is the IMF's response?  What is the IMF's comment on the making public of US “Field Manual (FM) 3-05.130, Army Special Operations Forces Unconventional Warfare” and its mentions of the IMF? On Cameroon, now the US is cutting military aid due to human rights violations (and a Cameroon minister threatening opponents with a Holocaust). Do these issues, and the continued crackdown in the Southwest and Northwest of the country, have no impact the IMF's continued programs with the Biya government?" Somehow these Cameroon questions don't get answered. We'll have more on this. On Venezuela Rice made it clear that IMF has not spoken with Guaido, saying the IMF will take its guidance from the international community and stating of the IMF, "we don't do politics, we do economics." We'll have more on this.  Back from the IMF's January 17 transcript answering Inner City Press' Zimbabwe question at the time. RICE: "I'll take one more online and that's about Zimbabwe and asking for the status of where we are with the countries debt and relation with the IMF and did we have any comment on the unrest and the government crackdown there is the question.  So in answer to that, I would say that of course Zimbabwe is facing major challenges and just in terms of the unrest, we encourage all stakeholders to collaborate peacefully in developing and implementing policies that will stabilize the economy and promote sustainable and inclusive growth.  On the overall economic situation, debt and the IMF, there has been no real change in what I have said here recently which is Zimbabwe continues to be in a difficult situation regarding debt with protracted arrears to official creditors including multilateral creditors such as the World Bank which severely limits Zimbabwe's access to international financial support.  In terms of the IMF, Zimbabwe has in fact cleared its arrears to us, to the Fund, but our rules preclude lending to a country that is still in or under arrears to other international financial situations. So until that particular situation is resolved, we would not be moving forward with a financial support for Zimbabwe.  I said here the last time that the authority's economic policies we felt were headed in the right direction broadly in terms of addressing the fiscal deficit and monetary policy and so on. I won't repeat what I said the last time but that’s where we are on Zimbabwe." 

More here.