By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, January 16 – Ban Ki-moon left the UN on January 1 and tellingly his first move was to take legal action against the press. Before he left, he named his own son in law Siddarth Chatterjee to the top UN top in Kenya.
Ban's scripted re-entry to South Korea has featured the kissing of babies, the mis-introduction of money into the express train subway, and claims he advocated for the downtrodden - despite selling out 10,000 dead Haitians, and more Yemenis than that.
On January 16-17 Inner City Press, which Ban had evicted from the UN as it reported on his corruption, was interviewed on Seoul's TBS Radio show "News Factory of Kim Ou-Joon," their transcript here (just machine-translate), Periscope here.
The topics TBS Radio asked about included Ban Ki-sang, Dennis Bahn, Ban Ki Ho and Ban Ki-moon's eviction and restriction of Inner City Press, which remains ongoing under Ban's holdover head of DPI Cristina Gallach. Some excerpts:
Q: It has been Mr. Ban 's brother since a few years ago. Mr. And Collier International, whose son Bahn Joo Hyun joined the company and sold the Vietnamese building. Does this company have anything to do with the United Nations?
Matthew: I have been suspicious of Dennis Bahn for a long time before this indictment. Because Denis Bahn was working for Collier International, Colliers International could be said to be a lease for a UN building. It is a company that receives rent from the United Nations. I used to ask the United Nations if Dennis Bahn could work at Colliers International. Before Mr. Ban Joo tried to sell a building in Vietnam, I think there is a problem in his own work that Ban Ki-moon has worked for a company that his relatives can call a lease of the United Nations. I was not convinced at all. I argued that there should be provisions for the benefit of UN affiliates for the relatives of senior UN personnel. I already asked Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Ban Ki -moon in May 2015, about Ban 's nephew. Information about this case has been released since 2015. In fact, not only that, but Mr. Banjo knows that he has been fined for manipulating documents in addition to the charges. But the United Nations has not responded to this and other reporters in charge of the United Nations have not covered the case. To say that Ban Ki-moon does not know about this incident is not making sense at all.
Matthew: I have been suspicious of Dennis Bahn for a long time before this indictment. Because Denis Bahn was working for Collier International, Colliers International could be said to be a lease for a UN building. It is a company that receives rent from the United Nations. I used to ask the United Nations if Dennis Bahn could work at Colliers International. Before Mr. Ban Joo tried to sell a building in Vietnam, I think there is a problem in his own work that Ban Ki-moon has worked for a company that his relatives can call a lease of the United Nations. I was not convinced at all. I argued that there should be provisions for the benefit of UN affiliates for the relatives of senior UN personnel. I already asked Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for Ban Ki -moon in May 2015, about Ban 's nephew. Information about this case has been released since 2015. In fact, not only that, but Mr. Banjo knows that he has been fined for manipulating documents in addition to the charges. But the United Nations has not responded to this and other reporters in charge of the United Nations have not covered the case. To say that Ban Ki-moon does not know about this incident is not making sense at all.
Except to outgoing US Ambassador Samantha Power...
On January 13, when Inner City Press asked outgoing US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power about the indictment of Ban Ki-moon's brother and nephew, who used Ban's and UN's name to try to sell a building in Vietnam.
Tellingly, Samantha Power said no comment, "that does not involve the UN." Video here.That is false - the indictment describes Ban Ki-moon's nephew Dennis Bahn using the UN General Assembly to angle to meet the Amir of Qatar, which Ban Ki-moon in fact did, on September 24, 2013.
But it's a two-way streets. One of Ban's very first announcements in South Korea is that he supports the US' deployment of THAAD missiles.
One hand washes the other. But one hand is leaving, and the other may well lose. Watch this site.
Even on his main claim, of being a solution to the North Korea problems, Ban Ki-moon has been a failure. Click here for 2011 coverage from Inner City Press, which Ban Ki-moon is desperation in 2016 would have his head of "Communications" Cristina Gallach evict from the UN, and restrict still. How different is Ban Ki-moon from is portrayal of Kim Jong-un?
Interest in South Korea is growing about Ban Ki-moon's brother Ban Ki-ho's mining in Myanmar, including Ki-ho not only being on a "UN delegation" as ICP first reported, but having a January 21, 2015 meeting with Myanmar officials - and UN officials. We'll have more on this: including on an upcoming South Korean radio program.
Ban's moonlighting mentor Han Seung-soo was allowed by Ban to be a UN official while his Doosan Infracore sold desalinization equipment in the UAE, where Han gave speeches - and sold equipment to a gold miner(hmm) in Myanmar.
And after leaving the UN, Ban openly enlisted a person still in the UN job he'd given him, Jeffrey Sachs, to campaign for South Korea's presidency with him. This is now reported by CNBC as well, here.
Inner City Press on January 9 asked Ban's holdover spokesman Stephane Dujarric about Sachs' comments and Dujarric said, as he so often does without coming back with anything, that he will look into it. Video here.
This while media reports link “full time” UN official Kim Won-soo to Ban's wannabe campaign.
Ban Ki-moon has used and abused the UN, not only the General Assembly resolution he is ignoring by running, but by using public taxpayers' money to further his own ambition.
In his final year Ban evicted Inner City Press from the UN, where still under his successor it remains restricted to minders to cover events on the UN's second floor.
Back in 2009, when Inner City Press reported on Ban's nepotism in connection with a promotion of Ban's son in law, an invitation to lunch came from South Korea's Mission to the UN.
Then deputy ambassador Kim Bong-hyun used the lunch to berate Inner City Press on how to cover (and not cover) Ban. (The article, and his full reply, are here). Now he's listed on Ban's campaign team, along with still UN official Kim Won-soo and former South Korean Ambassadors to the UN Kim Sook and Oh Joon.
Oh Joon has just given an interview claiming that press criticism of Ban Ki-moon is of his "inclusive leadership." How about his nepotism: son in law promoted to top UN job in Kenya, nephew with UN landlord, brother Ki-ho mining in Myanmar after being on a UN delegation?
Tellingly, the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services never looked into or acted on these; Ban through still at the UN Cristina Gallach had Inner City Press evicted and still restricted, still even on January 9, 2017 harassed for daring to cover the UN...
Sachs, Ban and his fan club, UN Censorship Alliance, UN Photo
In early January, Inner City Press asked Kim Won-soo directly, when will you be leaving the UN? He refused to answer, backing away smiling. But it is no joke, to take public funds while reportedly on the campaign team of a political candidate. We'll have more on this.
