By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, July 1 -- As the US held closed door bilateral meetings with other members of the UN Security Council on its proposed program of work for its presidency in July, Inner City Press alone just outside the chamber asked the Ambassadors going in and out about the US plans for the month.
Their thematic debate, Inner City Press was told, is on the 17th of July about the protection of journalists. A concern was expressed that the US' choices for speakers are not balanced -- “all report for US, UK or French outlets,” one diplomat complained exclusively to Inner City Press, naming a reporter from US-based Associated Press and Richard Engel of NBC.
"There's an Iraqi and Somalia, too, but they report for Western media," the complainant continued.
There are, of course, journalists for non-Western media who are attacked and at risk. Wouldn't it be a further reaching debate with them included?
Recently Inner City Press reported how the top officials at the UN Correspondents Association, from CBS and Reuters, asked blatantly one-sided questions, on Edward Snowden and Syria.
UNCA's president for 2013, Pamela Falk of CBSNews.com,asked then US Ambassador Susan Rice about “autocratic” countries like Ecuador, adding Russia and China. Is Ecuador autocratic? Is that really the focus of the NSA revelations?
This one sided view pervades today's UN, to the point of the UN Department of Public Information trying to ban even the sign of an alternative group, the Free UN Coalition for Access. Watch this site.
