After UN Cuts Off Syria on UN Television Again, UN Tells Inner City Press It Wishes It Had Censored More Effectively and Completely in 2012

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 20 -- When Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari held a press conference on June 18 in the UN Press Briefing Room, the UN's internet broadcast cut off.

  This wasn't the first time.

  As Inner City Press reported in June 2012, UNTV cut off as Ja'afari spoke in the UN General Assembly to respond to comments by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the then-President of the General Assembly from Qatar, now a Ban Administration official on the Alliance of Civilizations.

  So on June 19, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about the cut-off, transcript here, video here:

Inner City Press: it may seem minor to you, but in the briefing that was done yesterday by the Syrian Ambassador, [Bashar] Ja’afari, there were some complaints, this has happened before, this is why I’m asking you, there were some complaints about the webcast of it, that it actually was not viewable. So I wanted to know, have you looked into this? Do you have any comment on it? I believe that they’ve made some complaint about it since it’s happened before.

Spokesman Dujarric: It’s not minor at all. We’re very much aware that there was a cut in the live coverage. There was an issue relating to the way video goes from this room and other rooms into the MAM system and into whatever other systems that are used. You’re well aware that we’ve had issues before. It impacted live events yesterdays, not only this press briefing for the Syrian Ambassador, but also a live GA [General Assembly] event, so this was not the only event that was impacted. Everything that was live was impacted. The archive video is now up on the web for all of the events. The Under-Secretary-General for Public Information has been in contact with the Permanent Representative of Syria, has offered his apologies and has shared the explanation with him that I’ve just shared with you.

  But questions continued to mounts. So on June 20 after Dujarric had repeated that this cut-off was purely technical, Inner City Press asked about the previous case in June 2012.Video here.

  At that time, Inner City Press received the following answer:

Subject: Your question on UNTV
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com
Date: Sun, Jun 10, 2012 at 5:20 PM

Regarding your question on UNTV's broadcast last Thursday, this is what the Spokesperson had to say about it on Friday, 8 June:

"I have a message from our colleagues in the News and Media Division. They very much regret and apologize for the brief disruption of the UN's broadcasting of the General Assembly meeting on Syria yesterday. This was due to a miscommunication within the division. Every effort is being made to prevent similar occurrences in the future."

  When Inner City Press brought up this June 7, 2012 incident on June 20, 2014, spokesman Dujarric (who in 2012 was the head of the UN News and Media Division) said that in fact the error in 2012 was been to allow Ja'afari to speak AT ALL on UNTV. 

  He said the arrangement was that Ban and the Qatari PGA could speak, then the UNTV was supposed to go off. But UNTV showed the first part of Ja'afari's response before cutting off -- that, according to Dujarric, was the error.

  So the UN wishes it censored more, or censored more effectively. Click here for more on the UN's Censorship Alliance, opposed by the new Free UN Coalition for Access. Watch this site.

   

UN Blames "Clerical Error" For Cutting Off UNTV of Palestine's Saeb Erakat Speech, After 7 Hours; Are Closed Meetings Filmed?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 -- On what basis does the UN decide to cut off the UN Television broadcast of a speech by Palestine's negotiator Saeb Erakat, as happened on May 20?

  Inner City Press asked the question right after the cut-off,wrote about it, and six and a half hour later was told by the chief of UNTV Stephane Dujarric, "On the video coverage of the Palestinian meeting, we were advised by the conference officer that the meeting would now be closed. For further information, I would ask you to speak to the organisers of the event."

  But the day's UN Journal clearly said that the session would be webcast, that is, televised:

Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

10:30 to 13:00 352nd meeting [webcast] Economic and Social Council Chamber (CB)

Briefing by Mr. Saëb Erakat, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Chief Palestinian Negotiator

  The UN having announced in advance that something would be televised would seem to trump whatever an unnamed conference officer said, no? So Inner City Press again asked Dujarric:

"Once UNTV cut off, I went to the balcony and [the meeting was not closed.] And later, at least after the noon briefing, the UNTV broadcast was back on. Not sure how to square any of this with the answer you've sent, now at 6 pm. Who is the conference officer you are referring to? I'm writing on this."

  Dujarric responded: "As for the Palestinian meeting, that's the info I have now. When I get something more, I will share." Inner City Press continued to wait before publishing this article. Then, past 7:15 pm, this from the UN's Dujarric:

From: Stephane Dujarric [at] un.org
Date: Mon, May 20, 2013 at 7:18 PM
Subject: Re: Pressing Q: why did UNTV cut off while Saeb Erakat spoke on Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People? & bulletin board, etc
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com
Cc: funca [at] FUNCA.info, Maher Nasser [at] un.org

Dear Matthew, Due to a clerical error the meeting was listed as closed and notate available to UNTV. However, we will have a recording made available to us tomorrow. It will then be posted on the UN webcast page.

Best

Stephane Dujarric (Mr.)
Director, News & Media Division | Department of Public Information
United Nations Headquarters | Room: S-1056 New York, NY, 10017

  It's still hard to understand what "clerical error" could have been deemed to trump the day's UN Journal, which plainly listed the session as open and webcast. 

  Getting these procedures right is important. Why would UNTV rely more on an unnamed conference officer and unspecific clerical error than on the UN Journal and UN Department of Public Information's Media Alert, which listed the session as open?

  And if a recording exists, the session was video-taped. Does this mean that other meetings that UNTV thinks, rightly or wrongly, are closed are video-taped?

  These are questions that people including diplomats were asking as Monday came to an end in the UN's North Lawn building. We'll have more on this tomorrow. Watch this site.

French-Drafted CAR Statement Silent on Bozize Arrests, No Call to Disband Like M23

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 4, updated with video -- When the Central African Republic press statement of the UN Security Council was read out by Council president Masood Khan of Pakistan Friday at 6 pm, there were three journalists present. 

  While UN Television hustled and set up their camera, there was no live UN webcast of the statement. (Inner City Press has uploaded video, here.) This is how far CAR has fallen, compared to Syria and Libya before it.

  After Khan finished the statement and turned to leave, Inner City Press asked him two questions, which he graciously took. First, Inner City Press asked how many countries the UN has been informed have sent troops into CAR, beyond Gabon?

Khan said this was discussed, but he did not have a list.

Second, Inner City Press asked about the arrest of people perceived to support the Seleka rebels, including at least two ex parliamentarians. Khan referred to a portion of the statement about targeting of ethnic groups, but would not go beyond it.

Back on January 3, after a briefing of the Council by UN Department of Political Affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman, Inner City Press asked French Ambassador Gerard Araud, what about the Bozize government's arrest of people perceived to support the Seleka rebels?

Araud replied, "That would be one of the messages of the Council."

But it does not appear to be in the press statement. The more vague "targeting of ethnic groups" is not the same thing; it does not mention the government. The CAR statement calls on the "Seleka coalition" to withdraw from towns it has taken over. 

But it does not call on these rebels to "disband," as the French drafted text on the Democratic Republic of Congo called on the M23 mutineers. What is the difference?

France's deference on CAR stands in contrast to its active stance on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it has called the M23 mutineers outlaws, was critical of UN official Susana Malcorra meeting with them, and has not deferred to the Kampala process.

On CAR on January 3, Araud told the press, that "the goal is to have a political agreement in Libreville [on January 8, then] a national unity government."

But some of the rebels say they haven't heard of the talks, or don't believe in them. Watch this site.