UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- On February 19 without once speaking to Inner City Press, UN Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach order the Press to leave the UN, which it has covered for ten years, in two hours.
Since then, the basis for Gallach's ouster order has fallen apart. The meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room that Inner City Press openly live-streamed on Periscope was nowhere listed as closed. The UN either has no rule against use of the interpreters' booth in the UN Press Briefing Room, or as seen on March 23, does not enforce it.
But today's UN system has no self-correcting mechanism.
Some, it has become clear, are happy Inner City Press' reporting has been hindered - that reporting in some cases is into their involvement in UN corruption.
Several senior UN officials close to Ban Ki-moon have not only like him been close with Ng Lap Seng's, Frank Lorenzo's and Vivian Wang's South South News (March 24 video here) - they were for example at the very founding of Sheri Yan's Global Sustainability Foundation, one of two groups that even Ban has seen the need to (self) audit.
But as the scandal expands, one telling response has been to simply refer Inner City Press and its evidence back to Gallach herself.
As Inner City Press has replied, the concerns it has been raising include (1) conflict of interest by USG Gallach, (2) the seeming use of the punitive powers of her office to retaliate against Inner City Press' reporting, (3) her and her affiliates' misrepresentation of Inner City Press' restricted access to report, (4) a total lack of due process by her office and (5) lack of any UN process of appeal from her decision.
In this context, merely forwarding complaints and proof to USG Gallach is, clearly, not enough. In fact, it further shows just now broken today's UN is.
Gallach's letter cited an incident on January 29.
In that “incident,” Inner City Press openly sought to cover a meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room of an organization which had taken money from South South News, whose honorary president Frank Lorenzo has pleaded guilty to bribery charges as his vice president Vivian Wang has been indicted and funder Ng Lap Seng -- given a photo op with Ban Ki-moon by UNCA - remains under house arrest.
To seek to cover such a meeting is journalism.
By contrast, UNCA chief Giampaolo Pioli, who lobbied Gallach to throw Inner City Press out, came to the UN Security Council stakeout on Western Sahara and loudly and repeatedly called Inner City Press “an asshole.” Audio here.Gallach's February 19 letter citing some rule about civility. Will she enforce it on Pioli?
After the Western Sahara meeting, Gallach tweeted to a questioner from New Zealand who asked, “why did you remove the accreditation of Inner City Press?” Gallach replied, photo here, that “I did not! ICP is fully accredited! Can report from UN.?His privilege to use office was taken out, due to misbehavior.” Photo of Gallach's tweet here.
This is false. On March 21, Inner City Press was unable to reach the stakeout of the UN Security Council on Western Sahara as it had been able, until Gallach's decision of February 19. And on March 25, the moment Security Council president Gaspar Martins finished reading out the elements to the press - and Inner City Press but not the swearing UNCA boss Pioli asked him a question -- UN DPI staff told Inner City Press to leave the stakeout, even as diplomats remain.
Inner City Press said that to report on the meeting, it need to speak to the diplomats, many of whom has in the past spoken with in on background. But now with its Gallach-reduced pass, DPI staff said Inner City Press required an “escort” or minder to remain on the second floor.
What diplomat desiring to speak on background about Ban Ki-moon's questionable performance on Western Sahara would do so in view of a minder from Ban's Secretariat? It is FALSE that Inner City Press is fully accredited.
Furthermore, the “misbehavior” repeatedly citing by Gallach illusory. UNCA should have have been trying to hold a “closed” meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room - even Francois Hollande could not do that - and the event was nowhere listed as closed. Inner City Press live tweeted and live streamed it openly, from the booth in the back to avoid the heckling of Pioli's gang.
Dispositively, on March 23 UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq did nothing when two non interpreters were in the interpretation booth during the noon briefing. There is no clear rule, at least none that is enforced.
But compared to this disagreement, isn't coming to the UN Security Council stakeout to loudly call another reporter “an asshole” misbehavior? Gallach's ruling must be reversed. Watch this site.
On March 24 as Inner City Press was staking out the UN Security Council meeting about Western Sahara and Morocco's ordering out of the UN Peacekeeping mission there, a figure rarely seen at the stakeout approached.
Giampaolo Pioli the head of the UN Correspondents Association came over to where Inner City Press was typing and editing audio and video and said, “You're an asshole.”
Moments later, Inner City Press now with its UN accreditation pass downgraded to Non-Resident Correspondent by UN Department of Public Information chief Cristina Gallach at the behest of Pioli went to ask UN Security not to lock the glass door to the Security Council before the Council's president spoke at the stakeout.
As Inner City Press asked the guard not to lock the door to journalists, UNCA's Pioli again said, “You're an asshole. I'm telling you that you're an asshole. Quote me.” Audio here.
What's behind this? How did a journalists club turn into a club against a journalist, and why? Beyond Pioli's financial relationship with Palitha Kohona, who as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN Pioli unilaterally granted a "UN" screening of a war crimes denial film, there is for example the matter of South South News.
South South News is depicted in the October 2015 criminal complaint against John Ashe, Ng Lap Seng, Frank Lorenzo and others as a vehicle for bribery, to the tune of $12 million.
SSN video at 0:29 features Lorenzo (guilty plea) and Wang (indicted)
John Ashe's former spokesperson is a member of UNCA; a SSN anchor, too. These are among the reasons that Inner City Press sought -- facing retaliation - and seeks and will continue to seek to cover this corrupted organization, as part of the wider and expanding UN corruption scandal. Watch this site.
Pioli and his rental of one of his apartments to an accused war criminal, involved in Sri Lanka's notorious White Flag killings, then screening of his tenant's film, played a key role.
But there have been many enablers, among the Gulf and Western media on UNCA's board; there are been others to the very top of the UN who have benefited from and left unchecked this war on investigative journalism.
This as Pioli's UNCA took money from now-indicted Ng Lap Seng's South South News, gave SSN a journalism award and Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon. After after the indictments, Pioli was selling half-tables with Ban for $6,000 on Wall Street in December 2015. That Ban's UN tries to shield this from coverage is telling.
To try to oust or wipe out coverage of failure in Sri Lanka and more recently Burundi and Yemen to name but two is, of course, convenient, as well as stopping or hindering aggressive coverage of the expanding UN scandal in this waning year.
Margaret Besheer of Voice of America, who after being exposed in 2012 and her bosses saying in writing theirattempt to oust Inner City Press for her was wrong -- is at it again. She was standing pre-positioned at the UN gate on February 19, 2016 when Inner City Press was physically thrown out. These are tax dollars at work, violating the First Amendment.
There are more - former AFP, the current ones hardly better - and others who just follow along. Now their "leader" Pioli has come to the stakeout, not to report anything - he rarely does - but to loudly call a critic, who actually writes stories, an "asshole." And not one of them did anything. At the UN the journalists' club has become a club against a journalist.
Photo of Pioli at UNCA Ball, credit UN Photo/Amanda Voisard
Inner City Press replied that it believed and believes Pioli is corrupt, that he took rent money from Palitha Kohona then unilaterally granted Kohona's request as Sri Lanka's Ambassador for an UNCA / “UN” screening of his government's war crimes denial film, “Lies Agreed To.” And that Pioli after demanding censorship of Inner City Press' coverage has used UNCA and now DPI to try to throw Inner City Press out of the UN, just as Pioli first threatened.
Ban with Pioli, who told Inner City Press, "You are an asshole." Credit UN Photo/Evan Schneider
Another UNCA board member -- Inner City Press quit its elected position on that board in 2012, saying openly that Pioli was corrupt, now in taking money from indicted Ng Lap Seng's South South News and granting him a photo op with Ban Ki-moon -- said such language should not be used at the stakeout.
But it was Pioli who approached Inner City Press, which hasn't willingly spoke with Pioli in more than a year.
So it is for this person that Cristina Gallach first ordered Inner City Press out of the UN on two hours notice on February 19 and on whom she has since leaned in trying to defend her February 19 decision, which was reached without once speaking with Inner City Press.
Ban shakes with Cristina Gallach, who threw ICP out of UN on Feb 19, 2016 on 2 hours notice. Credit UN Photo
Her rationale was that Inner City Press secretly filmed a closed meeting, but that doesn't stand up: the meeting was nowhere listed as closed, and Inner City Press openly live-streamed and even live Tweeted it: hardly secret.
So the fallback argument was that since Inner City Press covered the UNCA event in the UN Press Briefing Room from one of the glassed-in interpreters' booths, in order to avoid just such a response as Pioli's “asshole” on March 24, it had violated some as-yet unproduced rule about not being in an interpreters booth.
Inner City Press: Yesterday, as you held your briefing, there were two individuals in the booth right there, the interpreter's booth, the other interpreter's booth. And I wanted to know, since it's been explained to me that there's some clear rule, it's been said that the Under-Secretary-General of Department of Public Information says that there's an extremely clear rule that only interpreters can be in these booths, and if anyone other than interpreters are in the booth, they face summary ouster from the United Nations. What was the use of this… please explain, because he's been asked for the rule and didn't provide the rule.
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, there was, in fact, a violation of the room, which we… which we have taken up…
Inner City Press: A violation of what rule? Can you provide the rule? Because she's been asked for the rule.
Deputy Spokesman: This is by our fellow DPI staff who were unaware of this, but they have been told they cannot use that room, that they cannot and must not.
Inner City Press: Who were they? And did you know yesterday when you did nothing during your presence there?
Deputy Spokesman: I did not know, because, as when you were hiding there, it's difficult for me to tell that there are people there.
Inner City Press: There's no hiding. They're totally visible. So, you're saying you didn't know and you did nothing, yet it's an extremely strong rule.
Deputy Spokesman: No, I didn't say I did nothing. In fact, we were apprised of this, and they cannot use that room. Thanks.
On his way out of the UN Press Briefing Room, Haq said to Inner City Press, “Liar.” This is the atmosphere created, when DPI and the Spokesperson's office have allowed a character like Pioli, angry at coverage of his financial dealings with Sri Lanka's ambassador, to essentially run the asylum.
It seems clear now that there must be a complete reversal of Gallach's February 19 order, based on false facts (closed meeting, “secret” filming), a dubious rule and at the behest of an UNCA boss who barely writes articles, seeks to control UN office space and comes to the UN Security Council stakeout to call a critic an asshole. We'll have more on this.
Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on February 9 told Inner City Press, “I'm done answering questions.” Vine here. On February19, Inner City Press was ousted from the UN, see below.
On March 18, Vivian Wang of South South News was indicted. While much of the coverage -- and UN spin -- tried to distance the UN Secretariat from the expanding scandal, it's important at this point to return to Ban Ki-moon with Vivian Wang, here; and Ban's "Communications" official who cut Inner City Press' accreditation with no due process, Cristina Gallach, with Vivian Wang, here.
Given Gallach's dealings with Vivian Wang, and that Inner City Press has questioned Gallach in October 2015 about her South South dealings, it seems clear that in any legitimate system, Gallach would have had to recuse herself from any decision to oust Inner City Press and cut its accreditation. We'll have more on this.
On March 18 while Inner City Press, ousted from the UN, hounded from its lobby even at 8 pm, sought answers at the US State Department briefing in Washington, at the UN in New York Ban's spokesman and Reuters engaged in any easy colloquy about the indictment.
Now that Lorenzo has formally pleaded guilty to bribery, the implications of the October 2015 charge sheet, which called Ng's and Lorenzo's South South News "NGO 1" -- casts new light on the ouster - and the ousters.
Since October 2015, the UN -- and its partner the UN Correspondents Association -- have been on notice that South South News was the vehicle for $12 million in bribes from Ng Lap Seng.
UNCA took some of this month, and delivered for Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon.
But for Inner City Press trying to cover, on just this corruption issues, the UNCA event in the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric and head of Communications Cristina Gallach threw Inner City Press into the street, Banned it from its office and cut its accreditation.
By contrasts, exposed South South News still has its UN office. Corruption is fine in Ban's UN - it's trying to COVER corruption that bring down disproportionate punishment, with no due process.
As described in the charge sheet, Lorenzo was president of South South News, through which Ng Lap Seng funnels $12 million in bribes from 2009 on.
(South South News is called "NGO-1" but also a self-described "21st Century media platform" - South South News.)
As Inner City Press has asked about and reported, South South News funnel tens of thousands of dollars into the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA). Then UNCA delivered Ban Ki-moon for a private photo-op with Ng Lap Seng, precisely when Ng was seeking / paying for anything seeming to show UN support for the Macau conference center he was trying to build.
How should South South News' payments to UNCA, and UNCA's role in Ng's photo op with Ban, be viewed? The question has been and will be asked. UNCA's response? A number of anonymous troll social media accounts, of the type Media Bistro linked in 2013 at the UN to Reuters and AFP, here. The difference this time is that Dujarric and DPI chief Gallach follow them, and one of Dujarric's staff openly "likes" the troll.
UNCA, Dujarrch and Gallach functionally tried to stop Inner City Press from covering this, see below. And the questioning, and reporting on corruption and censorship, has not been by wire services entertwined with UNCA. Inner City Press has raised this to them; watch this site.
On February 19 Inner City Press was ordered out of the UN, which it has covered for ten years as a Resident Correspondent with a shared office full of files, by a letter signed that day with two hours notice by Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach - who attended the September 2015 South South Awards with Lorenzo, photo here.
On Gallach's order, and with the participation of Ban's spokesman Dujarric, Inner City Press was thrown out onto First Avenue along with its laptop, but without its passport still in its shared office, by eight UN Security guards.Audio here. On February 22, UN Security told Inner City Press it was Banned from all UN premises.
After stories in BuzzFeed and Business Insider, Inner City Press re-entered the UN on a much reduced “non-resident correspondent” pass, Banned from covering such events as UN Security Council reform, Sri Lanka and terrorism, and the Office of the President of the General Assembly. (Inner City Press has continued, with sources, to report, for example here.)
The harassment continued: hours after Inner City Press raised its case orally to Ban Ki-moon and his deputy, UN Security against physically ordered Inner City Press to leave the UN, at 8 pm. Video here.
Dujarric said it is not his job to find Inner City Press a place to work. Q&A here. More and seemingly final threats were made on March 14 -- just before it emerged that Lorenzo is pleading guilty to bribery charges. Now what?
The UN has proved itself unable to reform itself. Under Secretaries General Inner City Press contacted about Gallach's outrageous no due process order, and her failure to recuse herself, did nothing. One said, You can only speak with Gallach; another said, I don't get involved in individual cases.
On March 14, after the threats and asked about Inner City Press' detailed email about the violation of its rights as a journalist, a third USG said, Do you expect me to respond to that? Well, yes.
The DC-based Government Accountability Project wrote to the US Mission to the UN urging them to work to get Inner City Press' resident correspondent accreditation and office restored. But US Ambassador for Management and Reform Isobel Coleman did not even respond to Inner City Press' detailed March 3 email; an oral question to Samantha Power at the UN Security Council stakeout on March 14 after the threats has gone unanswered. Vine here.
Now what? Beyond Lorenzo's guilty plea, how will the UN be cleaned up? All retaliatory acts must be rescinded and appropriate impartial investigations launched.
The pretext Gallach used to oust Inner City Press was its attempt on January 29 to cover a meeting of the UN Correspondents Association, which took money from Lorenzo's South South News and then granted a photo op with Ban Ki-moon to the main funder, also indicted Ng Lap Seng.
The meeting was in the UN Press Briefing Room, apparently “lent” to UNCA by Ban's spokesman Dujarric, who at UNCA boss Giampaolo Pioli's request came in and told Inner City Press to leave so he could see his “f*cking kids.”
Inner City Press said it would leave the glassed in interpreter's booth from which it was live-streaming the meeting as soon as UN Security asked it to. One guard came in and said that Spokesman Dujarric wanted Inner City Press to leave, which it did, and published a story and video.
Without once speaking to Inner City Press, Gallach used this “incident” as a pretext to throw Inner City Press out. Inner City Press has asked the UN the following questions:
Please explain the lending of the UN Press Briefing Room to Lorenzo, and that it was not listed in the days' UN Media Alert.
Please explain USG Gallach's appearance with Lorenzo at the South South Awards, which ICP reported, and that USG Gallach did not recuse herself from ordering Inner City Press' expulsion from its UN office on 2 hours' notice on February 19.
Please explain your [Dujarric's] role, on January 29 to February 19, in the expulsion of Inner City Press.
Please state who lend the UN Press Briefing Room to UNCA on Jan 29.
As a matter of UN ethics, shouldn't USG Gallach have offered me an opportunity to be heard, some due process?
As a matter of UN ethics, to whom an the UN Press Briefing Room be "lent," and by whom, on what basis, without disclosure?
Please provide your response: should staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General, and staff of DPI, accept free liquor and other gift from UNCA, while giving UNCA the UN Press Briefing Room and ousting other journalist whom UNCA's leadership doesn't like?
Please state, no or yes and explain: Do staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General provide advance copies of UN documents to favored journalists who are affiliated to UNCA?
And now: “This is a formal request for Ban Ki-moon's comment on the guilty plea for conspiracy to commit bribery etc by Frank Lorenzo.” Watch this site.
UNITED NATIONS, March 18 -- For more than six months Inner City Press has asked the UN about its dealings with Frank Lorenzo, former Deputy Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic and head of South South News, who has this week pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery at the UN.
Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on February 9 told Inner City Press, “I'm done answering questions.” Vine here. On February19, Inner City Press was ousted from the UN, see below.
On March, Vivian Wang of South South News is being indicted. While Inner City Press, ousted from the UN, hounded from its lobby even at 8 pm, seeks answers elsewhere, Ban's spokesman and Reuters engaged in any easy colloquy about the indictment.
Now that Lorenzo has formally pleaded guilty to bribery, the implications of the October 2015 charge sheet, which called Ng's and Lorenzo's South South News "NGO 1" -- casts new light on the ouster - and the ousters.
Since October 2015, the UN -- and its partner the UN Correspondents Association -- have been on notice that South South News was the vehicle for $12 million in bribes from Ng Lap Seng.
UNCA took some of this month, and delivered for Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon.
But for Inner City Press trying to cover, on just this corruption issues, the UNCA event in the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric and head of Communications Cristina Gallach threw Inner City Press into the street, Banned it from its office and cut its accreditation.
By contrasts, exposed South South News still has its UN office. Corruption is fine in Ban's UN - it's trying to COVER corruption that bring down disproportionate punishment, with no due process.
As described in the charge sheet, Lorenzo was president of South South News, through which Ng Lap Seng funnels $12 million in bribes from 2009 on.
(South South News is called "NGO-1" but also a self-described "21st Century media platform" - South South News.)
As Inner City Press has asked about and reported, South South News funnel tens of thousands of dollars into the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA). Then UNCA delivered Ban Ki-moon for a private photo-op with Ng Lap Seng, precisely when Ng was seeking / paying for anything seeming to show UN support for the Macau conference center he was trying to build.
How should South South News' payments to UNCA, and UNCA's role in Ng's photo op with Ban, be viewed? The question has been and will be asked. UNCA's response? A number of anonymous troll social media accounts, of the type Media Bistro linked in 2013 at the UN to Reuters and AFP, here. The difference this time is that Dujarric and DPI chief Gallach follow them, and one of Dujarric's staff openly "likes" the troll.
UNCA, Dujarrch and Gallach functionally tried to stop Inner City Press from covering this, see below. And the questioning, and reporting on corruption and censorship, has not been by wire services entertwined with UNCA. Inner City Press has raised this to them; watch this site.
On February 19 Inner City Press was ordered out of the UN, which it has covered for ten years as a Resident Correspondent with a shared office full of files, by a letter signed that day with two hours notice by Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach - who attended the September 2015 South South Awards with Lorenzo, photo here.
On Gallach's order, and with the participation of Ban's spokesman Dujarric, Inner City Press was thrown out onto First Avenue along with its laptop, but without its passport still in its shared office, by eight UN Security guards.Audio here. On February 22, UN Security told Inner City Press it was Banned from all UN premises.
After stories in BuzzFeed and Business Insider, Inner City Press re-entered the UN on a much reduced “non-resident correspondent” pass, Banned from covering such events as UN Security Council reform, Sri Lanka and terrorism, and the Office of the President of the General Assembly. (Inner City Press has continued, with sources, to report, for example here.)
The harassment continued: hours after Inner City Press raised its case orally to Ban Ki-moon and his deputy, UN Security against physically ordered Inner City Press to leave the UN, at 8 pm. Video here.
Dujarric said it is not his job to find Inner City Press a place to work. Q&A here. More and seemingly final threats were made on March 14 -- just before it emerged that Lorenzo is pleading guilty to bribery charges. Now what?
The UN has proved itself unable to reform itself. Under Secretaries General Inner City Press contacted about Gallach's outrageous no due process order, and her failure to recuse herself, did nothing. One said, You can only speak with Gallach; another said, I don't get involved in individual cases.
On March 14, after the threats and asked about Inner City Press' detailed email about the violation of its rights as a journalist, a third USG said, Do you expect me to respond to that? Well, yes.
The DC-based Government Accountability Project wrote to the US Mission to the UN urging them to work to get Inner City Press' resident correspondent accreditation and office restored. But US Ambassador for Management and Reform Isobel Coleman did not even respond to Inner City Press' detailed March 3 email; an oral question to Samantha Power at the UN Security Council stakeout on March 14 after the threats has gone unanswered. Vine here.
Now what? Beyond Lorenzo's guilty plea, how will the UN be cleaned up? All retaliatory acts must be rescinded and appropriate impartial investigations launched.
The pretext Gallach used to oust Inner City Press was its attempt on January 29 to cover a meeting of the UN Correspondents Association, which took money from Lorenzo's South South News and then granted a photo op with Ban Ki-moon to the main funder, also indicted Ng Lap Seng.
The meeting was in the UN Press Briefing Room, apparently “lent” to UNCA by Ban's spokesman Dujarric, who at UNCA boss Giampaolo Pioli's request came in and told Inner City Press to leave so he could see his “f*cking kids.”
Inner City Press said it would leave the glassed in interpreter's booth from which it was live-streaming the meeting as soon as UN Security asked it to. One guard came in and said that Spokesman Dujarric wanted Inner City Press to leave, which it did, and published a story and video.
Without once speaking to Inner City Press, Gallach used this “incident” as a pretext to throw Inner City Press out. Inner City Press has asked the UN the following questions:
Please explain the lending of the UN Press Briefing Room to Lorenzo, and that it was not listed in the days' UN Media Alert.
Please explain USG Gallach's appearance with Lorenzo at the South South Awards, which ICP reported, and that USG Gallach did not recuse herself from ordering Inner City Press' expulsion from its UN office on 2 hours' notice on February 19.
Please explain your [Dujarric's] role, on January 29 to February 19, in the expulsion of Inner City Press.
Please state who lend the UN Press Briefing Room to UNCA on Jan 29.
As a matter of UN ethics, shouldn't USG Gallach have offered me an opportunity to be heard, some due process?
As a matter of UN ethics, to whom an the UN Press Briefing Room be "lent," and by whom, on what basis, without disclosure?
Please provide your response: should staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General, and staff of DPI, accept free liquor and other gift from UNCA, while giving UNCA the UN Press Briefing Room and ousting other journalist whom UNCA's leadership doesn't like?
Please state, no or yes and explain: Do staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General provide advance copies of UN documents to favored journalists who are affiliated to UNCA?
And now: “This is a formal request for Ban Ki-moon's comment on the guilty plea for conspiracy to commit bribery etc by Frank Lorenzo.” Watch this site.
UNITED NATIONS, October 15 -- As the scandal unveiled in the corruption charges against former UN General Assembly President John Ashe, Francis Lorenzo of South South News and others continues to expand, the compromised position of the UN Correspondents Association has come to the fore. The limited inquiry Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has requested from the Office of Internal Oversight Services will not get at this - nor at this:
Ban accepted an award, the "South-South Award for Women's and Children's Health," from none other than Francis Lorenzo, who paid UNCA, his colleague Vivian Wang who took photos with Mrs. Ban at an "UNCA Ball," and Antigua and Barbuda's then Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, here.
On October 15, Inner City Press asked Ban's Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq if Ban will return the award. From the transcript:
Inner City Press: The question I wanted to ask is, yesterday I was asking Stéphane [Dujarric] about some photographs that exist with the Secretary-General with some of the people named and even charged in the John Ashe case. And he’d said a lot of people take photographs; things happen. I wanted to ask you specifically about an award the Secretary-General received from, I guess, it’s called the South-South Award on Women and Children, and the photograph is a staged one… is, you know, a formal one, no photo-bombing, no selfie, of Mr. Frank Lorenzo, then-Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, Vivian Wang, who’s named in the papers as well. And I just wonder what, in retrospect… this is not something that will be captured by the OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] audit that was mentioned, because none of… those two groups are not involved in this, and yet Mr. Lorenzo is; the Prime Minister of Antigua who’s pretty much through the… that paper seems to have been receiving funds. Does an award like this get returned? How does the UN system analyse what happened in this instance, and what are the repercussions?
Deputy Spokesman Haq: Well, we are analysing what’s happened by doing an audit of the various actions. So that is, like Stéphane has made clear, our initial step in the matter, and we’ll see where that leads. If it leads to any particular course of action or any recommendations for where we’re to go next, we would follow it at that point. But we’ve taken the initial step, and we’re just waiting to see what the results of that will be.
Inner City Press: There are other awards, but this is one in which the two groups Sun Kian Ip and Global Sustainability Foundation are not involved in any way, and yet one of the charged individuals is giving this award. So would there… is there an expansion of this OIOS request? Or how does this get looked at?
Deputy Spokesman Haq: First, we will see how this particular audit goes and we’ll see whether there’s any need for an expansion that the point. But first we’re doing the initial step, and we’ll take that to its conclusion.
Note: Lorenzo has been arrested; Baldwin is throughout the charge sheet and Vivian Wang was the money woman. But since this award was through IOSSC and SS-SCSD, Ban's limited inquiry will not get at it. We'll have more on this.
Spencer, Wang, Ban and Lorenzo, copy URL for source/ credit
While UNCA does not represent all journalists accredited to cover the UN -- Inner City Press for example quit the group in 2012 with another Executive Committee member and co-founded the new Free UN Coalition for Access -- the UN gives it a privileged position, a large clubhouse on the third floor of the UN and, automatically, the first question at press conferences.
But is that appropriate, given that UNCA received money from South South News, “NGO 1” in the filing against Ashe? Not only did UNCA receive money from South South News: it gave the group an “UNCA award” at a ceremony at the high-ceilinged Cipriani's restaurant on December 15, 2011.
Inner City Press, which did not quit UNCA in fully ripened disgust in 2012, was present in December 2011 and witnessed, when Secretary General Ban Ki-moon came into Cipriani's, him being shepherded into a side room for photographs with Asian men in business suits who Inner City Press did not then recognize -- but now does.
UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, when Inner City Press asked on October 13 about what it had seen, said perhaps Inner City Press had "condoned" it. Video here. But Inner City Press quit UNCA afterfinding conflicts of interest in it, and being "ordered" to not report on this. From the October 13 transcript:
Inner City Press: I want to ask inevitably about the revelations about Mr. [John] Ashe and Frank Lorenzo and others. And just as you… as the lead Spokesman, a person that travels around with the Secretary-General, how… what would you say to the photos that exist of the Secretary-General with David Ng, who was since indicted, and Frank Lorenzo and, particularly, in instances where it appears that groups that receive contributions from the two and then put them in a room to have photographs with the Secretary-General? Is this something that… how does the Secretary-General view this in retrospect, and what's going to be done in the future?
Spokesman: First of all, a photo of the Secretary-General with any individual should in no way be interpreted as a sponsorship or agreement. It's just a photo. The Secretary-General is very much a public figure, attends a lot of public events where there are a lot of people. Sometimes people come up to him and ask to have their photo taken. And it's done within the… within, obviously, the security constraints that need to be had. I think whether it's the Secretary-General of the United Nations or anyone in leadership position, you will find when you travel with them that a lot of people want to have their photo taken with them. Inasmuch as that is… we try to control that, sometimes it's difficult to do so. I think the Secretary-General is as shocked as anyone in this building at the charges that were levelled at these two individuals. And he's very disappointed at the accusations towards the United Nations.
Inner City Press: obviously, to business interests having an actual kind of formal handshaking one, I guess I'll just say that that is worth something to them. That's why they…
Spokesman: I'm not… I'm not debating that point… [cross talk] I'm just saying that having a picture of the Secretary-General with any individual should in no way be seen as a sponsorship, approval, making them BFF's or anything.
Inner City Press: I guess I just want to be more specific. If an event… and there's one that actually, as it turns out, I witnessed in Cipriani. If the Secretary-General enters a large space and is then taken to a smaller space for such photographs, what's the basis for that, as opposed to people with selfies? I mean, I understand what you're saying…
Spokesman: I think, you know, if you were there, then maybe you condoned the event as well. The issue is the Secretary-General attends a lot of events. Sometimes there is a VIP reception. None of it should be construed as anything as the Secretary-General having his picture taken with anyone.
Inner City Press: it's been a number of days now; I'm assuming that, if not you, OLA [Office of Legal Affairs], someone has read through this long FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] affidavit. And I want to just ask you again, because in it, it says that, after the… the… the official UN document about the Macau centre was procured, there was a separate payment to Mr. Ashe, separate communications with a UN official number one, who reissued the document as a… amended… revised for technical reasons, with the name of the company in it. And it seems to me, even before you waiting for an OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] investigation, the scope of which wouldn't touch that, who in the UN is actually… how does it work, first of all? Who… which part of the UN amends documents after they're released? Is it DGACM [Department for General Assembly and Conference Management]…?
Spokesman: Listen, I'm not going to talk about the specifics of the case. But it is clear that if the President of one of the legislative bodies in this Organization which controls the agenda, or a sponsoring country for resolution, asks the Secretary-General to amend a text, we serve as the Secretariat. It's not… it's… it doesn't entail sponsoring of what's inside that text.
While Inner City Press' answer to the spokesman's "if you were there, then maybe you condoned the event as well," is that Inner City Press quit UNCA after finding conflicts of interest in it, and being "ordered" to not report on this, we'll have more on this.
On October 13, Inner City Press asked this follow up:
Inner City Press: I just want to directly ask you about the idea that it's sort of people struggling to get photos with the UN officials. There was a… there was a peacekeeping day concert that was… for which solicitation of… you know, sponsorship was sought by a group called World Harmony Alliance, and it had nothing… the group has nothing to do with peacekeeping, but they paid for day. They… they… in fact, the funder complained that he didn't get the promised photograph with Ban Ki-moon, but I wonder, what was… what's the UN's understanding when they take outside financial sponsorship for such a day? I mean, former UN official [Ibrahim] Gambari was seen with the same group taking photographs on the fourth floor in the Millennium Hotel. What's it all about? What’s happening?
Spokesman: What former officials do in hotels is really not of my purview.
Inner City Press: Sure. What about UN peacekeeping?
Spokesman: I would take a look at that actual programme, but I would expect every part of the UN to do due diligence when it partners with an outside organization. And just… I'll leave it at that.
On October 12, Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, video here, transcript here:
Inner City Press: in light of these charges against John Ashe, Frank Lorenzo, and others, it's emerging that the Secretary-General, if not met, had staged photo opportunities with a number of the individuals charged. And I wanted to know, in looking at this, do you have some kind of a comment on how these occurred, particularly in instances where they may have been arranged by a third party, been arranged by an organization that invited Ban Ki-moon and then received funds from South-South News or others and then put the two together on photograph? Was that appropriate? And what would be your response to… to OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] looking at that or otherwise?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding that, as you're aware, the Office of Internal Oversight Services will do an audit. They've been requested to do that, and so we'll be able to see whether there was any effect from either the relationship with these various groups, these two groups, the Sun Kian Ip Group and the Global Sustainability Foundation, and any of the monies received. So, we'll await what they have to say about any of this.
Inner City Press: But, given that Mr. Frank Lorenzo has been charged and he's now out on $2 million bail, he was head of South-South News, which spread $12 million, according to the documents, throughout the UN system. So, what was, how, what was the criteria used to choose these two NGOs and not either South-South News or International Organization for South-South Cooperation or South South Steering Committee on Sustainable Development? It seems like it's a very limited inquiry and…
Deputy Spokesman: It's not really an inquiry. It's an audit, and this is initial step. If OIOS feels like there is something… there's a direction which they need to go as a result of these initial results, they're certainly free to do that, but we needed to get the ball rolling and have an initial step forward so that we can look into what exactly is the impact of the monies and the relationship with these groups.
John Ashe at UNCA with former president, after and before Pioli click photo for source / credit
Back in December 2011, shepherding Ban for this (compensated) photo op with dubious businessmen was Giampaolo Pioli, then as now the president of UNCA. South South News interviewed Pioli that night, bragging of the UNCA award it got / paid for, screenshot from video here.
(For context it must be noted too that Pioli rented one of his Manhattan apartments to Palitha Kohona then granted Kohona's request as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to screen his government's war crimes denial film “Lies Agreed To” in the UN's Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium: this precipitated Inner City Press quitting UNCA, in full disclosure.)
How can UNCA be given first questions to ask about a scandal involving South South News, from which UNCA took more then to which it gave an award? And what are the other implications?
(In terms of Mr. Ng's desire for photo ops, Inner City Press is informed that he separately wanted a photo with US President Obama, and paid six figures to a middleman - who disappeared with the money. UNCA on the other hand, one wag noted, delivered Ban Ki-moon for photos at Cipriani's.)
UNCA, it should be noted, has been and is open to business interested beyond Mr. Ng and South South News. Another UNCA awards ceremony was sponsored by a company called “Acoona;” the Italian oil company ENI pays the group money.
But UNCA's South South News connection, given what has been disclosed and charged this week, should at a minimum and as a first step disqualify UNCA from first questions from the UN, and from the continuation of its role.
Consider: if it gave rise to criminal charges that South South News paid Ashe to get a GA document for Ng to show off in Macau, who about South South News paying UNCA, and UNCA delivering Ban for a photo op with Ng, that Ng could use for related purposes? We'll have more on this.
Wider, and going forward in this series, limiting UN investigation to OIOS - whose director of investigations Stefanovic has resigned, Inner City Press hereby exclusively reported on October 9 - looking at only two NGOs is laughable. The scandal is expanding: there is a pattern here, pattern and practice. Watch this site.
