By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Video Q&A
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
UN GATE, August 14 – Each day, the current United Nations gets worse. For some time we have focused on Secretary General Antonio Guterres moving from concealing his links to UN briber CEFC China Energy to banning the Press that asks, to failures on Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras (JOH) & Nigeria (Nnamdi & Igboho).
Now the sleaze and censorship extends to Afghanistan, in crisis as the Taliban take city after city amid reports of Afghan army phantom soldiers. The UN, as Inner City Press exposed, had its own phantom staff there. Now under Gutteres, the UN refuses to answer any of banned Inner City Press' questions, including this month, Where *is* Guterres?
Now on August 14 from the US State Department (which has yet to act on Guterres' ban on US-based Press), this: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani about developments in Afghanistan. They discussed the urgency of ongoing diplomatic and political efforts to reduce the violence. The Secretary emphasized the United States’ commitment to a strong diplomatic and security relationship with the Government of Afghanistan and our continuing support for the people of Afghanistan."
On August 12-13 Guterres returned from an undisclosed vacation and came to read a statement about Afghanistan and, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, take no questions. But he took one, from a partner, and then disappeared. Again.
The UN has neither responded to or offered any explanation when a lawyer's letter - to UN official Fleming, and Tal Mekel, and to each UNCA Executive Committee member - urged them to have a dialogue about ending the UN's banning and censorship of Inner City Press.
On August 9, journalist Benny Avni asked Dujarric about the letter, video here, transcript:
Question: My second question is the law firm ‑‑ what is it called? ‑‑ Quinn Emanuel wrote a letter to the UN asking about reinstatement of our colleague Matthew Lee into the UN press corps. Do you have any comment on that?
Spokesman: No. All I can tell you is that we've received the letter, and I'm not aware of any change to his status.
Question: You're not aware? I mean, aren't you part of the group that decides the fate of... or even the negotiations... The letter calls for renegotiation [Cross talk]
Spokesman: I decide the fate of no one. [Laughter] Trust me, trust me, my authority is extremely limited, whether at home or at work. What I can tell you and, joking aside, is that the letter has indeed been received, and I'm not aware of any... and there has been no change in Mr. Lee's status.
Question: Has the letter been answered? Do you plan to answer it?
Spokesman: It's been received. Whether or not it's been answered, I don't know yet.
The letter was received by the UN's Melissa Fleming, Maria Luiza Vioti and Tal Mekel and to each UNCA Executive Board member, to them citing UNCA's stated goals that it has a charter to supposedly uphold.
What's next? Since the letter, Inner City Press has published exclusive stories not only from the U.S. court systems but about the United Nations, including its agencies UNOPS, UNFPA, UNITAR and UNESCO. (Also credited in AP, Daily Mail, and Nigeria's Sahara Reporters, amid answers from the IMF.)
But none of its written questions have been answered by the UN Spokespeople, and it remains banned from entry to the UN's briefings. This must end.
Having asked for a colleagial discussion, and while still offering it, things must turn to the law. UNCA is a New York State non-profit which has not only not abided by its stated goals - it has tortiously interfered with a journalist's right to cover the United Nations. The United Nations itself propounds Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and has other legal duties that must be addressed by national courts, particularly in the UN's host country...
