By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, April 29 -- After disputes about spying and the UN's failure to translate or treat languages fairly, the speeches in the Committee on Information ended on April 29 with replies by Ukraine and Russia.
Ukraine's youthful spokesman criticized Russia for having referred to the Kyiv junta, saying that all countries except Russia recognize it. (He did not state the basis for this, after for example 58 abstentions in the UN General Assembly on the resolution against the referendum in Crimea.)
Russia's spokesman kept his reply light and briefing, noting that he'd spoken of multi-ligualism in the morning, and now his Ukrainian colleague had learned Russian. Further speeches seemed sure to follow later on April 29 in the Security Council.
On the topic of language inequality, Inner City Press and the Free UN Coalition for Access at the April 29 noon briefing asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric why the UN's in-house EZTV has two French channels, France 24 and TV 5 Monde, CNN and Fox News from the US, Al Jazeera and BBC, but no channel in Chinese or Russian.
Cost, Dujarric replied. But who votes on or oversees these budgets? When Inner City Press asked about (Western) "P3 TV," Dujarric said, That's not a question. No, it is not: it's a current fact.
There are culture fights at the UN, and there are also language wars. Or at least skirmishes, as took place on April 28 in the Committee on Information. Delegates from Argentina to Cuba and China asked why the UN Webcast archives are not in Spanish or Chinese, Russian or Arabic. At least the question was answered, but the logic is not entirely clear.
Even from the UN's in-house EZTV, which offers CNN and Fox, BBC and Al Jazaeera, TV 5 Monde and France 24, the Chinese and Russian channels have been removed, Inner City Press hereby reports and the Free UN Coalition for Access dubs "P3 TV" for the three Western permanent members of the UN Security Council.
There are two French channels, and none in Chinese or Russian. Meanwhile as Argentina's delegate pointed out on April 28 in the Committee on Information, it is Spanish and not French that is the second most popular language for those visiting the UN's website. Que pasa?
More insidiously, France's outgoing Permanent Representative to the UN Gerard Araud on April 15 told a UN accredited correspondent (not this one) who asked a critical question, "You are not a journalist, you are an agent."
Inner City Press on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access has asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric to convey to the French mission the UN's stated position, that correspondents should be treated with respect. So far it has not happened.
The attacked correspondent has for days asked the UN Correspondents Association's Executive Committee to take some action -- as, we note, it did with respect to another media, and another Ambassador. But the attacked journalist tells Inner City Press that UNCA is "dragging its feet." Others are not surprised.
Amid all this, the UN will be celebrating World Press Freedom Day with none other than the president of UNCA, which is dragging its feet on defense of journalists inside the UN (after having attacked at least one, then engaged in censorship), and while UNCA does NOTHING on more serious attacks on press freedom in Ethiopia and Burundi. World Press Freedom Day, indeed. We'll be there: watch this site.
Footnote: In fairness, initiatives like DPI's Brown Bag Lunch series with for example UN Security and the UN envoy to Libya were good. But Under Secretaries General like Herve Ladsous still openly refuses particular media's questions, and other USGs rarely if even take questions. Improvements, including a UN Freedom of Information Act and improved UN Media Alert, are needed. Watch this site.
