On Cameroon Inner City Press Asks UN Feltman of Failure, He Says UN Can't Just Go In

By Matthew Russell Lee, Video, 1st Person, this

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 -- The deference of the UN system's and many of its member states to Cameroon's corrupt 36-year president Paul Biya, and their complicity in his recent crackdown, continues. On March 29 Inner City Press asked the UN's Political Affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman (now being succeeded by another American Rosemary DiCarlo) about the UN's failure in Cameroon, where UN envoy Francois Fall equated secessionists to extremists. Periscope video here. Feltman replied that the UN can't go in and tell people what to do. 

But note, Secretary General Antonio Guterres did "just go in" and take Paul Biya's golden statue. And his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed "just went in" to Nigeria, twice, the second time to issue an absurd joint statement with her President Buhari covering over his role in refoulement. And note that Feltman never even got a closed door "Any Other Business" briefing about Cameroon in the UN Security Council. Feltman said the issues in Cameroon's Anglophone areas could get worse; he did not answer Inner City Press' question about the influence of former or current colonil powers in the UN and his Department. We'll have more on this. As noted, UN Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed was in Abuja as 47 people were illegally refouled to Cameroon;  she has been silent on that, as on continuing restrictions on the Press in her UN. She was back in Abuja. But when Inner City Press asked once again at the March 26 noon briefing, there was nothing on the refoulement. Here's what was said: Inner City Press: went to… to Abuja for the two days before she went to the Czech Republic, did the issue… I saw that she actually tweeted how she's concerned about UN staff being detained and that's… without reason.  The 47 individuals that were refouled from Nigeria to Cameroon and haven't been seen since, was this issue raised?  Did she have any headway on it?

Deputy Spokesman:  She did raise the issue of the situation of the… in Anglophone Cameroon more generally with her interlocutors.  So she has raised that while she was in Nigeria." Later Haq's office issued a Note to Correspondents, which Inner City Press published in full here. On March 27, Inner City Press asked Haq to explain it and he said to ask Nigeria. From the UN's transcript: Inner City Press: yesterday, I'd asked you whether the Deputy Secretary-General had raised these refouled or sent-back Cameroonians.  And you'd said that she raised it generally.  Then I saw the Note to Correspondents that came out afterwards, and I have to ask you something about it.  When she met with President Buhari, the line says:  "They also called for respect of the guarantees of fair and humane treatment of those recently arrested and deported to Cameroon."  And I guess it's strange to some, because even UNHCR has said that this refoulement was illegal.  So, does the "they"… it means that President Buhari sent them back, including UNHCR refugees, but is now calling for them to be treated fairly where he sent them back?

Spokesman:  To… to read the entire passage, the basic point is, as we said about the situation in Cameroon and the status of Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Deputy Secretary-General agreed on the need to respect international obligations on the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.  They also called for the respect of the rights of those recently arrested and deported to Cameroon.
Inner City Press:  So, I guess I… I just… I'm sorry, because it's… it's… it's… many people don't understand this.  If you're saying that they agreed on international obligations, the international obligation is not to have sent them back, but that's exactly what he did.  So, is he saying… is the President of Nigeria saying that this was wrong, and going forward, he won't do it?  What's he saying?

Spokesman:  I don't speak for the President of Nigeria…
Inner City Press:   I know, but you said "they".  It's kind of a joint statement.

Spokesman:  I did point out that they agreed on the need, like I said, to respect international obligations on the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

Inner City Press:  But, you say you don't speak for him, but the statement… the UN statement says "they called for the respect of the guarantee of fair and humane treatment", with the "they" referring to President Buhari.  Is he calling for Cameroon to treat fairly those he sent back in violation of international law?

Spokesman:  Beyond this note that was agreed upon, I would not have anything to say about the President of Nigeria's statements or his actions.  You'd have to ask the Government of Nigeria." But the UN put the statement out. As Cameroon purported to hold Senatorial elections amid the crackdown in the North-West and South-West Regions, it state media regulator, through the state TV, instructs all media on “The need for media reports to favor social cohesion, peace, national unity integration... The need for media content to reflect the present administrative and political disposition.” So, censorship. Meanwhile, Inner City Press hs appealed the UK Foreign Office's denial in full of Inner City Press' Freedom of Information request about Cameroon, as well as Yemen. We'll have more on this. On March 22, Inner City Press asked Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the UN Tijjani Muhammad Bande about the 47 people. Video here. He replied that he cannot answer, he doesn't know all the facts. "I would need information" about it, he said, "I am looking for verification."

Really? Isn't it his government, even more than (still) the government of Amija J. Mohammed. Still Tijjani Muhammad Bande UNlike Amina . Mohammed at least took the question, along with Niger's affable Ambassador Abdallah Wafy and offered some response. Amina J. Mohammed hasn't responded on that, on the CITES issues, or on this. On March 23 Inner City Press asked the Spokesman for Antonio "Golden Statue" Guterres and Amina J. "Rosewood" Mohammed, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: at the stakeout yesterday, the ambassador… the Permanent Representative of Nigeria, Tijjani Muhammad Bande, I asked him about these 47 people that were sent back to Cameroon, that… that UNHCR [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] has said were sent back, and criticized.  He said he doesn't have any information on it.  I'm wondering, given that the Deputy Secretary-General is going to be in Abuja, is this one of the issues that she's going to try to get an answer to?

Spokesman:  She had raised it with various officials in the past.

Inner City Press:  But now, the Government is taking they don't know?

Spokesman:  I'm not aware that she plans to raise it.  If anything changes, I will let you know." What, to SABC?  On March 19, while constrained with a minder and a roped in cage, Inner City Press asked UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid if he had any updated death count, since he stopped at 10. Video here. He replied he needs to look at the statistics, I can't recall, the important issue is to have access. Inner City Press pointed to the visit or access of UN envoy Francois Lounseny Fall (who equated secessionists with extremists, justifying the crackdown). Zeid replied "like in West Papua, I am asking for access." But not asking as loudly as elsewhere. On March 19 Inner City Press asked Antonio Guterres' spokesman Staphane Dujarric, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: since you're going to look into the Deputy Secretary-General's trip to Nigeria, I'd wanted to know, previously, when she was there, the issue of the 47 Cameroonian — many of them UNHCR [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees], you know, accredited or whatever — designated refugees being refouled to Cameroon, [will she ask, [oes the UN know any more about where those 47 people are… Spokesman:  Nothing more than what we've said at the time." Can you head the golden statue Guterres accepted from Biya in October, and Amina J. Mohammed calling Buhari "my president"? The UN has enabled Biya in equating Boko Haram with the restorationist forces, as he did in his cabinet meeting on March 15 with this line: "Thanks to the firm action of our defense and security forces, we have been able to drastically curb the atrocities perpetrated by criminal groups in the Far North, North-West and South-West Regions." The violence in the Far North is entirely different from that in North-West and South-West Regions. But it was the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' envoy Francois Lounceny Fall who equated separatists with extremists; it was Guterres who stopped by Yaounde and took Biya's golden statue back in October. On March 16, Inner City Press asked Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: since it's so rare, I got asked today.  The President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, held his a Cabinet meeting for the first time since 2015, second one in the last six years, and one of the quotes coming out of it is to congratulate his defence and security forces for their… to drastically curb the atrocities perpetrated by criminal groups in the far north, north-west, and south-west regions.  And "the far north" seems to be a reference to Boko Haram, but "north-west" and "south-west" are the Anglophone regions, where there's a dispute about whether that part of the country is… actually is part of Cameroon.  So I wanted to know, given what's been said by François Fall and others about dialogue, if they took note of the speech, if they have any thought on it.  And I had also… and also on the issue that you had been talking about, about investigating leaks, I wanted to ask a very specific question.  If an internal UN memo concerning Cameroon, not submitted by the Government of Cameroon, but simply the UN's own analysis on why it might make sense to not speak out or to speak out, were to be leaked, is that the type of leak that would be investigated, since you said that it's done at the behest of or in order to protect Member States' ability to give information to the UN, if I understood you correctly?

Deputy Spokesman:  And part of what I said is that those are decisions to be taken ultimately by the managers who deal with the various files.  I wouldn't answer on any particular hypothetical circumstance.

Inner City Press: But is there any guidance… I know… Is there any guidance from the top of… are there cases where, from the top, the UN would say this is not an appropriate thing to investigate because it chills whistle-blowers?

Deputy Spokesman:  Obviously, you're aware of what the whistle-blower protections are, and all managers are aware of those.  Regarding your question on Cameroon and the behaviour of the security forces, we've also made clear our concerns about any excessive use of force, and we want to make sure both that security forces, wherever they're deployed, avoid excessive use of force, abide by international human rights norms, and in this particular case, of course, we want to make sure that nothing is done to forestall any efforts at dialogue.  Have a good weekend, everyone." Guterres is in Lisbon, again, for the weekend. Cameroon's UN ambassador Tommo Monthe is back - he said he was in Kingston for "the Seabed" - ready to chair the UN budget committee which plays host to Guterres' "reform" proposals. The Biya government is destroying historic places like Boa Bakundu, alongside the illegal refoulement to Yaounde from Nigeria, and other ongoing crackdowns. The UN's Central Africa representative Francois Lounceny Fall, who on UN Radio equated secessionists and extremists then ran from Press questions in UN Headquarters, deigned to visit Buea, along with the UN's resident coordinator Allegra Maria Del Pilar Baiocchi, more focused on promoting the UN than trying to prevent conflict and the killing of civilians. She has tweeted photos about the visit, nothing on the burned motor bikes and people, much less the illegal refoulement. 

UN Guterres Puts American Atop UN Political Affairs, Rosemarie DiCarlo, Susan Rice's Deputy

By Matthew Russell Lee, Periscope

UNITED NATIONS, March 28, updated – In the week former US diplomat Jeffrey Feltman is leaving the UN Department of Political Affairs after more than five years, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is naming another former US diplomat to succeed him: Rosemary A. DiCarlo. She was the deputy US Ambassador under Susan Rice; one wonders how it is that the Trump Administration chose her are "their" American, just as French placed Lacroix as its Frenchman at UN Peacekeeping, and the UK placed Mark Lowcock. Earlier, sources told Inner City Press the push was for Trump ally Dina Powell, but that she didn't want it. 

But Rosemarie DiCarlo? Inner City Press' experience with her is not negative -- she spoke up, to some degree, on the slaughter by the Sri Lankan government in the Tamil north - and technically she is a long time / civil servant. But again: Susan Rice's Deputy? Is this really who the Trump administration put forward? The same Trump who has named John Bolton, also with his history at the UN, as National Security Adviser? In the minutes after the announcement, one UN official told Inner City Press maybe Trump didn't nominate DiCarlo. Another said, Maybe Trump just doesn't care (about the UN position, which the US has controlled under Obama via Lynn Pascoe and Feltman). As a matter of reporting, we'll have more on this. How untransparent is the UN under Secretary General Antonio Guterres? On February 9, after Inner City Press exclusively reported that the UN's top Middle East post is slated for Susanne Rose with only "basic Arabic," Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq refused Inner City Press' questions about the selection process. 

The top UN Political Affairs position belongs to the United States. With Obama-nominee Jeffrey Feltman set to leave by March 31, now Feltman has used his final days to name an ally or protege to head the Middle East and Western Asia Division, to continue his views even under his replacement. It is Susanne Rose, who worked for Feltman in Beirut. But she speaks only "basic Arabic." There is grumbling in DPA - and elsewhere.  

Here's from the letter, by Feltman's deputy Miroslav Jenca since Feltman is in South Korea with Guterres, or to create the illusion of recusal: Rose was "Political and Economic Counselor in Beirut, Middle East Officer in Rome (where she spent the first year as an exchange diplomat at the NATO office of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs, and Economic Officer in Trinidad and Tobago.... Susanne speaks French, Italian, Spanish, German, and basic Arabic. She was born in Berkeley, California, and has a 14-month year old Havanese dog named Tartufo." 

Senior staff and diplomats have been asking Inner City Press which American will replace Feltman. On January 25, amid complaints of Guterres' silence and long weekends away, a name emerged leaving some shaking their heads: Dina Powell. "She's perfect," one said of Trump's deputy national security adviser for strategy of whom spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she's "returning home to New York. She’s expected to continue working with the administration on Middle East policy issues from outside the White House." Why not from the UN? (Some now tell Inner City Press she has declined the post.) Inner City Press notes she's been spotted in Davos, where Guterres at the last moment did not go. "Really?" demanded another, alongside a controversial Serbian government presentation in the UN Delegates' Entrance. Stranger things have happened. Guterres gave his "Global Communications" position to an official, Alison Smale, who refuses to answer Press questions even about whistleblowers'complaints about her Department of Public Information. 

Another Brit Martin Griffiths seems destined to take over the UN's Yemen envoy post, perhaps taking with him some staff currently assigned to Staffan de Mistura for Syria. Other Department of Political Affairs posts have already been given away, but not yet announced. Until now. 

To head the UN-affiliated International Organization for Migration (IOM), the US on February 2 nominated Ken Isaacs of the group Samaritan's Purse, active in Sudan and elsewhere. Inner City Press at the UN has been pursuing the story it first exposed of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres having recently met Sudan's Omar al Bashir, indicted for genocide in Darfur by the International Criminal Court, without even notifying the ICC in advance, as required. So after the US nomination, Inner City Press visited Isaac's Twitter account, to see if he'd opined on Guterres' unprecedented move. Isaacs' Twitter account, @KenIsaacs1, was accessible to the public; he had re-tweeted about the Nunes memo. 

But by February 3, the account was protected, not accessible. Photo here. Perhaps it's a function of the upcoming election among IOM member states, the scrutiny of involved officials - like Guterres himself. But what *does* Isaacs think of Guterres meeting with Bashir, indicted for war crimes in Sudan, without even telling the ICC in advance, and not disclosing it until Inner City Press asked at the UN noon briefing on January 29? Question here. Watch this site. 

Today's UN of Antonio Guterres, who just metwith ICC indictee Omar al Bashir, and his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed who has refused Press questions on her rosewood signatures and now the refoulement of 47 people to Cameroon from "her" Nigeria, has become a place of corruption and censorship. Amid UN bribery scandals, failures in countries from Cameroon to Yemen and declining transparency, today's UN does not even pretend to have content neutral rules about which media get full access and which are confined to minders or escorts to cover the General Assembly. 

Inner City Press, which while it pursue the story of Macau-based businessman Ng Lap Seng's bribery of President of the General Assembly John Ashe was evicted by the UN Department of Public Information from its office, is STILL confined to minders as it pursues the new UN bribery scandal, of Patrick Ho and Cheikh Gadio allegedly bribing President of the General Assembly Sam Kutesa, and Chad's Idriss Deby, for CEFC China Energy. 

Last week Inner City Press asked UN DPI where it is on the list to be restored to (its) office, and regain full office - and was told it is not even on the list, there is no public list, the UN can exclude, permanently, whomever it wants. This is censorship...

On Yemen, UN Guterres Praises and Takes $930M Check From Saudi Prince MBS Who Comes 30 Minutes Late

By Matthew Russell Lee, Photos, Periscope

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lavished praised on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on March 27, with not a work of the Saudi led bombing campaign that has killed civilians and caused cholera in Yemen. The occasion was Guterres accepting a $930 million check for the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan. Call it blood money. 

The Crown Prince -- MBS as he is known -- arrived a full hald hour later, with Guterres and his outgoing head of Police Affairs Jeffrey Feltman pacing around but not complaining. (Feltman whose last day at the UN is March 29 when asked if Trump might hire him laughed and said he didn't think so. This was after the 5 pm listed start time for the MBS photo op, but Inner City Press in an abundance of caution after repeated UN censorship threats was not yet Periscoping.) Alamy photos here.

When MBS did arrive, there was a fast photo op then the media was ushered to wait in the conference room of Guterres' absent Deputy Amina J. Mohammed, delivering equally craven statements in her native Nigeria. Although the UN Department of Public Information run by British Alison Smale had said no shoulder-held video cameras in the conference room, exception was made for "Saudi official" media - just as Smale's DPI has purported to award Inner City Press' long time work space S-303 to "Egypt official" media Sanaa Youssef of Akhbar al Yom, who has not asked the UN a question in a decade. Exceptions are made. 

  Guterres' speech is here, along with MBS' claim he never violates international law notwithstanding bombing funerals and wedding parties. Guterres made a special category for the Saudi-led Coaltion: the so-called "good child killers" list. This invention was paid back on March 27 -- only half of the money comes from Saudi, the rest from the UAE -- and the killing is such to continue. The Security Council is being asked, however, to speak solely on missiles the Houthis have launched. One might ask, which came first. But exceptions are made. Back on March 15 as in the US Senate a bill attempting to end support to the Saudi-led Coalition's bombing of Yemen was proceeding toward its 55-44 failure, Inner City Press asked Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi if he is concerned at loss of support in the US for the bombing, which is killing children and spreading cholera. Video here. 

Al-Mouallimi called the bill an internal matter of the US, at an early stage; he said the US fully supports what his country is doing. He blamed all death of civilians on the Houthis. Earlier Inner City Press asked Sweden's deputy ambassador Carl Skau if the day's Security Council Presidential Statement had been agreed to be the Coalition and the Houthis. He said non Council members find their way to have input. But how do the Houthis? 

The UN, under Antonio Guterres, his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed and it turns out his Global Communicator Alison Smale, have made their position clear. Mohammed and Smale sent a long time the night before at a Saudi event on women's rights. 

Smale, who is responsible for restrictions on Inner City Press which she refuses to explain or reconsider, was at the event; on March 15 her restrictions resulted in Inner City Press unlike no-show state media from Egypt and others being initially unable to reach the Council stakeout. The glass door was inexplicably locked despite Guterres' spokesperson's office announcing that the Saudi ambassador would speak. Once he began, a UN Security officer nevertheless at the turnstile Inner City Press' pass no longer opens demanded that it have a minder or “sponsor.” This is UNacceptable, as it the continued death in Yemen. Watch this site.

The United Kingdom's murky role in the killings in Yemen persist even in the face of a Freedom of Information Act request from Inner City Press. 

More than five months ago on 15 August 2017 Inner City Press asked the UK government for records concerning Yemen. The UK sells weapons to Saudi Arabia, and has now implanted a UK citizen as UN envoy on Yemen in the person of Martin Griffiths (Inner City Press story and questions here.) After repeatedly extending the time to response, now the UK has denied access to all responsive records, letter here, saying that "the release of information relating to the UK’s discussion on UN business could harm our relations and other member states of the United Nations (UN)." 

Here on Patreon is the full denial letter, from which Inner City Press is preparing an appeal, on Cameroon as well - it has 40 working days. 

This is shameful - the UK is also exiting transparency. 

As Inner City Press pursues these questions at the UN, it remains restricted to minders by the head of the UN Department of Public Information Alison Smale, who it is noted is British - and functionally a censor. A retaliator, too? Smale has not explained why Inner City Press' long time work space is assigned to no-show, no-question Egyptian state media Akhbar al Youm. 

On Cameroon and Yemen, UK Denies Inner City Press FOIA Request After 170 Days, Preparing to Appeal, 40 Work... by Matthew Russell Lee on Scribd

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On US Expulsion of Russian Diplomats, ICP Asks Nebenzia If Raises to UN, He Say Too Slow

By Matthew Russell Lee, Video, Photo

UNITED NATIONS, March 26 – Back on March 14 after UK Prime Minster Theresa wrote a "Dear Antonio" letterto UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the poisoning in Salisbury of Sergey Skripal and his daughter, also injuring a policeman, a UN Security Council meeting was set for 3 pm, see below. On March 26, the US White House held an 8:30 am embargoed call, announcing the expulsion of 60 "intelligence officers" and the closure of Russia's Seattle consulate -- not for any attack on any military installation, they said. 

At the UN, Inner City Press sought comment from Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, first with a UN minder in front of the office of the President of the General Assembly - a minder the UN does not require for other correspondents - and then in the afternoon, more succesfully, outside of the UN. On Beekman Place after a lunch of the UN Security Council including Nikki Haley (Inner City Press' photo on Alamy here), Inner City Press asked Nebenzia if he'll raise it in the UN's Committee on Relations with the Host Country. He replied, By the time we raised it there, they're already gone. Video here.

Also at the UN, the new UK Permanent Representative Karen Pierce presented her credentials last week (Inner City Press coverage here, including on Picasso / Matisse and Guterres' Portuguese things). We'll have more on this. On March 14, UK Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Allen read from the letter and its points, adding for example that "We have not jumped to conclusions. We have carried out a thorough, careful investigation, which continues. We are asking the OPCW to independently verify the nerve agent used. We have offered Russia the chance to explain. But Russia has refused. We have therefore concluded that the Russian state was involved." Nikki Haley spoke, here, including that "The Russians complained recently that we criticize them too much. If the Russian government stopped using chemical weapons to assassinate its enemies; and if the Russian government stopped helping its Syrian ally to use chemical weapons to kill Syrian children; and if Russia cooperated with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons by turning over all information related to this nerve agent, we would stop talking about them. We take no pleasure in having to constantly criticize Russia, but we need Russia to stop giving us so many reasons to do so." Here's some of what Russia's Nebenzia said, as transcribed by Inner City Press: The United Kingdom requested that closed consultations be held. We asked the president of the Security Council to change the format of the meeting and change it from closed consultations to an open briefing. We did this because we wanted to make sure that everyone should see what is happening here. We have the letter which contains completely irresponsible statements and which it is even difficult for me to comment on the vocabulary. It contains threats to a sovereign state, towards a ermanent member of the Security Council, which is at variance with international law and 2.4 of the UN charter. I would like to understand the following: do our British colleagues understand this? The first question that we want to put is this: why is it that the representatives of the United Kingdom are dragging this issue into the Security Council? And they ignore the procedures which London, in line with their own international commitments, has to abide by. Namely involving the specialized organizations. We’re talking about the use of a toxic chemical on British soil. We see that the answer to this is obvious. The reason this is being dragged into the security council is that they do understand, the genuine experts on chemical weapons are at the Hague, and those experts will not be convinced by their arguments. In other words, they are afraid of having a real, genuine, professional discussion of this topic. The Russian Federation thinks it is completely unacceptable to launch unjustified accusations, as contained in the letter from Theresa May dated 13 of March to the Secretary General of the UN. It states that we had something to do with the use of toxic chemicals in Salisbury and requested in 24 hours to admit that we committed a crime. In other words, confess. We do not speak the language of ultimatums. We do not use that language with anyone. And we will not allow to be spoken to in that way either. But w are polite, and on the 14th of March we did send a note to the foreign office where we reaffirmed that we had nothing to do with this incident, and asked for the samples of the substance being used, and asked for a joint investigation. All the more so since one of the people impacted was a Russian national. This was refused. A hysterical atmosphere is being created by London, and also being completely non-transparent. We saw today the announcement that Russian diplomats are being expelled and bilateral relations are being frozen. I want to ask my UK colleague whether this applies to the UN as well. We also saw announcements about a prepared cyvber-attack against Russia. We would like to warn that this will not remain without reaction on our part. We are compelled to make the following conclusion: that the authorities of the UK are interested in finding the truth last. They are guided by something else. They are losing the propaganda ways of recent years and they are trying to influence the public, which is very easy to influence and not well educated. But this does not have any facts other than the unsubstantiated claim that there is a Russian trace in all of this. This is not the first time Russian nationals in the UK have their lives endangered. When such instances are not investigated or we are not allowed to become acquainted with such investigations. London should first try and determine what is happening on their territory before going ahead and accusing others, because that’s what polite people do. We would suggest to the British side to immediately involve the procedures in chapter 9.2 of the convention on chemical weapons, because it provides for requests for explanation and providing answers to the requesting state as quickly as possible and no later than 10 days after the request was received. The British colleagues do know about that but they are in no hurry of invoking the convention which they’re party to. We demand that material proof be provided of the allegedly found Russian trace in this high-resonance event, without this stating that there is incontrovertible truth is not something that we can take into account. Until now, we have not seen anything besides stating that this is highly likely. In such a situation it would be legitimate to approach the technical secretariat of OPCW and ask them to carry out an independent laboratory analysis of the chemicals that the British authorities have.Now, a few words about the chemical side of this. In the Russian Federation, no scientific research or development work [inaudible] were carried out. Since the beginning of the 1970s, a whole litter of countries implemented bookends (?) on creating new types of chemical paralytic agents, in particular in the United states and in the Soviet Union. This was called the X. In line with a decree by the president of the Russian Federation, in 1992, the Soviet developmental work in the area of chemical weapons in Russia were stopped. In 2017 the Russian Federation completed the destruction of all existing stocks of chemical weapons. This has been verified by the relevant international entity, namely the OPCW. The United States has not, to dates, destroyed their chemical stockpile. In the 1990s, [inaudible] some documentation was taken out of our country. The positive results that they’ve obtained in the west are classified but has been confirmed in open sources, and we do have the reference to that. The identification of the toxic substance used in the incident is leaking out. The most probably source origin are the countries which have since the end of the 90s been carrying out intensive research on these kinds of weapons, including the UK. If the UK is so convinced this is the gas, that means that they have samples of this, and they have the formula for this, and they are capable of manufacturing it. We are living in a very special time. In front of our eyes, incredible things are happening. The process of replacing the presumption of innocence with the presumption of guilt is taking place. Today, ambassador Haley is an experienced chemist. She stated that she would talk today about the crimes committed by Russia. We have no further time, to determine who is the guilty party. No investigation is needed. In the letter by the prime minister of the UK, it is stated that this is highly likely. But even in this, you have exceeded your reliable ally. If the Soviet prosecutors thought that confession was the best kind of proof, well, now, using the expression of Minister Lavrov, what is the best kind of proof is suspicion. It is no longer necessary to show to the Council test tubes with unknown white substances. It is enough to send a letter which contains an egregious attitude towards a sovereign state. And we are witnessing the same when it comes to Syria. Now Russia is being pushed towards the number of those who violate the convention. Let me simply remind you about the UK involvement in the attacks on Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya. This led to numerous suffering against civilians. Don’t forget, the UK is well known as state which uses targeted assassinations by drones. Hearing from you invectives against us is something that is odd. There is no proof, which is all the more odd. I can name a number of countries who benefit a great deal from this incident, and accusing Russia of it. What could be the motivation that the Prime Minister of the UK could have for the attempt on Sergei Skribal, who after the investigation, after he served his sentence, then pardoned and given over to the British was no longer of any kind of threat to my country. But, he is a perfect victim, which could justify any kind of lie, or dirt tarnishing Russia. We have stated many a time that anything along those lines, any kind of provocation or ceratin events could happen. And today we are witnessing the fact that the authorities of the UK are consciously trying to tarnish Russia, stooping to any low. Arthur Conan Doyle, the British classic, famous in his country and very popular in Russia, has a series of stories about Sherlock Holmes. He has a hapless character in those stories, Inspector Lestrade from Scotland Yard. He doesn’t have the method of deduction, he’s not particularly smart. His role is to be the background for the extraordinary detective powers of Sherlock Holmes. Lestrade latches on something that is on the surface of a crime and is in a hurry to provide banal conclusions, only to be overturned by Sherlock Holmes who always finds what is behind the crime and what is the motive for it. Of course, I am not trying to say that those who work in Scotland Yard today are not professional, but we could all stand to benefit from having a Sherlock Holmes with us today. The collective inspector Lestrade today are the high level members of the UK government, who are coming up with egregious, superficial, and unsupported accusations, which have far-reaching consequences. Russia calls upon the officials of the UK to give up no the practices which belong in the 19th century, give up on ultimatums and threats and unsupported accusations, give up on colonial habits. Once again: Russia had nothing to do with this incident. The ultimatum from London is something we consider to be something we cannot pay attention to. And we expect – we consider null and void and we expect that the UK will act in strict adherence with the convention of chemical weapons and other international instruments, including the European convention on assistance on criminal matters, and will provide samples of substances that the UK investigation is referring to for a joint investigation, since you are saying that they are Russian in origin. This is not optional. This is a mandatory requirement undr the convention. We stand ready for such an investigation. We have nothing to fear; we have nothing to hide. The mechanism for 9.2 of the convention on chemical weapons is something that we’ve already mentioned. If the explanations provided were insufficient, then we can turn to the governing body of the OPCW. This is the only civilized way of settling the issue. Since we are being accused of violating the convention without any justification, there is no other way out. And fruitless dialogue with specialists in this area is something we cannot avoid. We are ready for open and constructive discussion within the framework of OPCW. We would like to disseminate a draft statement for the press which sums up my statement and emphasizes the fact that the mechanisms in chapter 9 of the chemical weapons conventions are mentioned and we hope and expect that all members of the Council will support this. Thank you." Then, "I’ve already said everything I wanted to say in my statement. I simply wanted to underscore one thing. We didn’t have a proper request in line with the convention on chemical weapons for which we are ready. What we were given was a 24 hour ultimatum. Once again let me underscore that this is the format in which we will not respond to unsubstantiated allegations which were launched against us before any kind of answer was received from us. We're ready to cooperate with the British government in order to investigate this unfortunate incident. I do not think that anything I said earlier is in contradiction with this statement of mine.." Days after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres close protection security ordered Inner City Press to stop live-streaming on Periscope during a photo opportunity in which Guterres conveyed his "very, very warm regards" to Egypt's censoring strongman Sisi, it has emerged that Sisi had journalists arrested for "filming without a license," see below. Corruption and its cover up occur in both places. Inner City Press, while covering the UN bribery scandal of Macau based business man Ng Lap Seng was evicted by the UN and restricted still. 

UN in Murky Drone Procurement Throws Out Low Bidder, Dovgolopy Wants EU Sole Source for DRC Drones

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, March 22 -- In UN Procurement, the lowest bidder doesn't always win. For years the process has been untransparent, and now it is getting worse. Inner City Press is exclusively informed that in the bidding for the UN's Democratic Republic of the Congo UAS or Unmanned Aerial Systems (drones) program, the low bidder is being displaced by more favored companies, unilaterally, by UN Procurement chief Dmitry Dovgopoly.

The story, exclusive to Inner City Press, goes like this: out to bid is a $50 million contract to provide Unmanned Aerial Systems services to the UN's MONUSCO in the DRC for a term of five (3 + 1 + 1) years. The present company, Leonardo, has a contract which expires in November. PPI beat out Leonardo, CAE, Thales, Qintetiq, Airbus and Trans Capital.

But shortly after our award, UN Procurement chief Dmitry Dovgopoly refused to approve the agreed upon terms and demanded PPI perform a demonstration flight prior to contract signature. Inner City Press covered Dovgopoly and similar tricks back when he was at the “D-1” level, and received pushback and is currenty still restricted to minders in the UN for pursuing its anti-corruption coverage into the UN Press Briefing Room, its work space purportedly assigned to a no-show Eygptian state corresponent Sanaa Youssef who has not asked a question in ten years.

In this case, Dovgopoly is said to be lobbied by European interests, see the list of bidders above. As Inner City Press reported, the UN drone program was pushed by Herve Ladsous, the fourth of now five Frenchmen in a row to run UN Peacekeeping.

Dovgopoly's “ditch the winner” campaign has included two site inspections and the demand for a demonstration flight prior to deployment, none of which was performed with Leonardo or Thales. PPI tells Inner City Press it agreed to all demands and began manufacturing of aircraft with its contractors. Dovgopoly canceled the demonstration flight a month later. The manufacturing of aircraft has been suspended as a result.

Dovgopoly has reportedly since alleged that PPI misrepresented a relationship with one of its proposed vendors, which PPI denies. Dovgopoly has sent PPI notice rescinding the notice of consideration for award and requested from the UN's Christian Saunders, whom Inner City Press has also covered, permission to directly negotiate with competitors due to the urgent need to provide MONUSCO with airborne ISR capability as soon as possible. He has requested permission to inform vendors of the allocated budget, and allow vendors to revise their technical proposals to “accommodate the financial constraint.”

Inner City Press understands that the UN's Headquarters Committee on Contracts has ruled the losing competitors' bids no longer valid since the Request For Proposals was from October 2016. It seems Dovgopoly wishes to discloses how much money is available and allow vendors to inform the UN services they can perform and dictate the price. Paying more for less! But it has happened before, as Inner City Press. And now, under Antonio Guterres. We'll have more on this.

Reuters Has $6M Sole Source ICE Contract With US Homeland Security, Tracking "Aliens"

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 18 –  The US Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a sole source contract with Thomson Reuters Special Services in order "to identify and locate illegal aliens that pose a threat to public safety and/or national security." 

Since Thomson Reuters holds itself out as independent media, heading the White House Correspondents Association and, at the UN, with a seemingly permanent seat on the board of the dubious UN Correspondents Association (which most recently partnered with Kazakhstan, for example, here), Inner City Press after viewing the Federal Business notice checked to make sure the recipient of this more than $6 millioin ICE contract is, in fact, part of the media company. 

Sure enough, this pitch online: "Analyze risk indicators found in public records and open source to help detect, prevent, and respond to insider incidents with the Thomson Reuters Special Services (TRSS) Insider Threat Service. With customized alerts and data delivery unique to your mission, TRSS Insider Threat Service complements your internal evaluation and control programs and provides case analysis with in-depth analytic reports by trained experts." 

This is the same Thomson Reuters which for example at the UN has used its insiderstatus to lobby to get smaller investigative Press thrown out. Here was a message with Reuters signature block to the UN's Stephane Dujarric, which Inner City Press not only saw but published, only to have Google grant a frivolous Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaint(that an anti-Press email could be copyrighted) and banned from Search. The complainant - now lobbying for Human Rights Watch -Louis Charbonneau's successor has continued the campaign, followingup with a false complaint to UN Security, which subsequently ousted Inner City Press, audio here. Throughout, Reuters to the level of Stephen J. Adler to TR "corporate responsibility and social impact" Rachel Moseley never answered Press questions. What is the impact, then, of this Thomson Reuters contract? We'll have more on this.

With UN Briber CEFC Still In UN ECOSOC, Czech Connection UNveiled by Inner City Press

By Matthew Russell Lee, Video, Q&A, HK here

UNITED NATIONS, March 18 – Four months after the arrest for UN bribery of Patrick Ho, the head of China Energy Fund Committee full funded by CEFC China Energy, his ultimate boss at CEFC Ye Jianming was brought in for questioning in China. Then management and day to day operations of CEFC were reportedly taken over by the Shanghai city government's investment arm, Shanghai Guosheng Group Company. At the UN, Inner City Press asked if this meant that its fundee could not longer be in special consultative status to UN ECOSOC; this has not been answered. In fact, as HRW, CPJ and UN official Andrew Gilmour critiqued ECOSOC on March 16, this corruption was not mentioned. 

Now Inner City Press makes this connection: the president of ECOSOC is Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN. Her president, in Prague Castle, is Miloš Zeman -- who, like Uganda's Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa when he was UN President of the General Assembly, made Ye Jianming an official adviser. Tellingly, Zeman has sent two officials to Chinese to inquire into the status or, or help, Ye Jianming: chancellor Vratislav Mynár and economic advisor Martin Nejedlý have flown to Shanghai. Under Ye Jianming, CEFC bought up Czech soccer league champions FK Slavia Praha, two luxury hotels and even a stake in seven regional breweries. 

 Inner City Press has repeatedly written to the Czech Mission to the UN, to the attention of  Marie Chatardová as President of ECOSOC, asking how China Energy Fund Committee given all of the above can remain in special consultative status with ECOSOC. The Mission, like Antonio Guterres' Secretariat's spokesperson for ECOSOC, has refused to answer. As to the Czech Republic, the reason for inaction and stonewalling of the Press may now be clear - alongside Antonio Guterres' Secretariat. We'll have more on this.

Nor was the UN even mentioned in the New York Times' story about CEFC - Kutesa was, but not that he was PGA. This is propaganda. This comes while the UN, embroiled in a second corruption case involving Ng Lap Seng whose assistant Jeffrey Yim was sentenced to seven months in prison on February 28 (Inner City Press coverage here), has yet to even remove CEFC from its "special consultative status" to the UN Economic and Social Council. Now with the Chinese government taking action, for whatever its reason, will the UN belatedly move? Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric on March 1, video here, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: this China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC) case, the head of the whole organization in China has been called in for questioning, Mr. Ye Jianming.  And I wanted to know, because it seems like since that indictment in November, China Energy Fund Committee has remained with special consultative status… Spokesman:  We've… I've answered that question already.  That is an issue… the Member States… a Member State committee grants that special consultative status to the NGO.  That Member State committee needs to act if they want to withdraw that status. Inner City Press: António Guterres is the head of the UN system.  Does he have… does he have… has he taken note that there are two separate developing UN corruption cases involving briberies taking place at the UN and what’s his response…? Spokesman:  We're very much aware of the issue and our legal counsel… our legal office is cooperating on these cases with the national authorities." We'll have more on this claim. Tellingly, Reuters which barely covers the UN corruption cases - in fact, it has a board seat on the UN Correspondents Association which accepted $50,000 from Ng Lap Seng's South South News - "reports" on the question of  Ye Jianming and CEFC's business in the Czech Republic, Russia (last year's deal for a 14 percent stake in  Rosneft PJSC for $9 billion) and Kazakhstan without even MENTIONING the indictment of Ho of CEFC, and the clear reference to Ye Jianming in the indictment, in connection with Sam Kutesa and the Uganda scheme. We'll have more on this. Ho was denied bail on February 5, in a lengthy oral order that found the weight of evidence against him substantial. On November 20, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued an indictment against the head of the UN ECOSOC accredited China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC) Patrick Ho and former Senegal foreign minister Cheikh Gadio,accused together of bribing Chad's President Idriss Deby -- as well as, for Ho, of bribing former UN President of the General Assembly Sam Kutesa, now as then the foreign minister of Uganda, since 2005, allegedly for the benefit of President Yoweri Museveni. On February 5, Inner City Press asked the UN Spokesman why CEFC is still in "special consultative status" with ECOSOC, transcript here (video here) and below, than ran to the courthouse. There, US District Court Judge Katherine Forrest asked Prosecutor Daniel C. Richenthal to describe the weight of the evidence. "How strong is your case?" she asked, to some laughter. Very strong, he said, adding that Ho has been emailing the "Shanghai-based Energy Company" (that would be CEFC China Energy) from MCC detention, to launch a public relations campaign. It may be backfiring: Judge Forrest in her ruling denying bail noted that if Chinese government press is describing the case as political, it would make fleeing and remaining in China all the easier. Richenthal said that Ho could travel to other places - he listed Chad, Uganda, Iran and Russia. The continued home detention of UN bribery convictee was raised by Richenthal and Judge Forrest, and not favorably. Gadio was alluded to as not yet indicted - he'd said to be talking about a plea - and Judge Forrest emphasized November 5 as the trial date. She said there was leave to re-apply for bail but said such an application should include what Ho's lawyer Mr Kim called the "context" of the payments. Kim said they including country-wide charitable and military aid. From a Chinese energy company? From the UN's February 5 transcript: Inner City Press: Patrick Ho, who is the head of the China Energy Fund Committee, is arguing again for bail today.  And the US, in opposing it, put it in writing that they've executed a search warrant at China Energy Fund Committee, the NGO's (non-governmental organization) offices in Virginia.  It seems the China Energy Fund Committee is still in special consultative status with ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) even as its offices are being raided and… and its head is in jail.  What are the procedures for… for…? Spokesman:  As far as I'm aware… you know, the consultative status of ECOSOC, as opposed to the DPI (Department of Public Information) status, is one that is managed by the Member States.  There is a committee of ECOSOC that is made up of Member States.  They give… they grant or deny consultative status to various NGOs.  I think we'll have to look… you can contact ECOSOC to see what the exact rules are, but my assumption would be that, if Member States grant, only Member States can take away." So, Guterres is doing nothing. On February 6, after another non-response by ECOSOC's chair, Inner City Press asked Guterres' and Dujarric's Deputy Farhan Haq, video here, UN transcript here: Inner City Press:  yesterday, the… Patrick Ho, the head of the China Energy Fund Committee here, was denied bail.  And in the… in the hearing, basically, the prosecution said and the judge said that she found weight to be given to the evidence that basically the NGO [non-governmental organization] was a front for bribery to Sam Kutesa and others.  So, given that… how this trial is going, I'm wondering, again, Stéphane [Dujarric] had said that the Secretariat plays no role in sort of following through and making sure that China Energy Fund Committee can't continue to say it's a… in special consultative status with ECOSOC [Economic and Social Council].  I've written to the ECOSOC chair now twice, 28 November 2017 and today, but I don't have anything back.  Is there any spokesperson for ECOSOC that can at least say what the process is? Deputy Spokesman:  There is a spokesperson for the President of the Economic and Social [Council], and I can give you that contact afterwards. Inner City Press: Because… because Brenden… oh.  Yeah.  Anyways, I'd written before to that same individual, and there was no response.  I'm just… guess I'm wondering, what is their… what is the… does the Secretary-General… given that trial that's now moving forward and what's coming out in it, does he believe in the same way that he has… asserting himself as to agencies on other issues, that he should maybe get involved to ensure that there's not a… a named briber saying that they're in consultative status with the UN? Deputy Spokesman:  "Well, UN bodies themselves have been dealing with the problems created by the China Energy Fund Committee in their own ways, but what you're talking about is consultative status that's granted by Member States through the Economic and Social Council, and that decision would have to be taken by Member States." Then Inner City Press emailed the alluded to spokesman, one Paul Simon. Hours later, nothing. In advance of the February 5, the prosecution in writing asserted that "since the Complaint was signed and Ho was arrested, the evidence of his guilt has only become stronger, as the Government has interviewed witnesses, executed search warrants (including for the Virginia office of the Energy NGO), and obtained documents from third parties." Tellingly, this Energy NGO, China Energy Fund Committee, is *still* in special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council - and Guterres met with Uganda's Museveni, who is in the complaint, at the same AU summit where Guterres metSudan's Omar al Bashir, without issuing any read-out.