UN of Guterres Claims Will Monitor No Show Sycophants As It Bans Inner City Press 297th Day

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive CJR Video

UNITED NATIONS GATE, April 27 – How corrupt and hypocritical is the United Nations of Secretary General Antonio Guterres? So much so that after cultivating a press corps including no-show sycophants while banning the Press which asks questions, now his UN on April 26 has said the sycophants have to swipe in. They don't have to produce any articles or, God forbid, questions UN corruption. (On which, April 25 Inner City Press interview, from 44:40.)

But Guterres' team has sent the below, including to no-shows Giampaolo Pioli and others, on which Inner City Press banned now 297 days for questioning Guterres' corruption on China and failure on Cameroon will be following up, beyond the Periscope videos it streamed to show the abuse before Guterres and Alison Smale had it roughs up, ousted and banned: "From: Tal Mekel, mekel [at] un.orgDate: Fri, Apr 26, 2019 at 2:10 PM Subject: Note on attendance To:    Dear resident correspondents,  As you know, MALU is responsible for ensuring the offices assigned to media outlets are being used in accordance with the requirements and agreements (on average 2-3 times a week).  To that end, we have long been monitoring by visiting the offices at various times of day.  Due to the unpopularity of these check-ins, we plan to implement a less intrusive system, which we believe will be better for all parties.  In the next few weeks, we will place several card readers for use of resident correspondents on the 3rd and 4th floors, and in the MALU office.  These readers are completely separate from the security access system. However, we will still be able to use the UN ID to swipe, for your convenience. Your IDs will need to be registered by MALU once a year, upon renewal of the pass.  We don’t expect correspondents to swipe every time you arrive or leave UNHQ – swiping once during the day will suffice to demonstrate you were at UNHQ.  The devices will only register basic information about time of swipe, which will only be seen by MALU.  The goal is not to monitor movements, but just to help verify over a period of time that journalists with offices, or are on the wait-list, are fulfilling their obligations.  This will help us allocate office space equitably.  We will update you in the coming days to register the IDs. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.  Have a nice weekend, Tal     Tal Mekel  Chief, Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit  Department of Global Communications  United Nations  Room S-250." 

Inner City Press is informed that, for once, there is push back. Raghida Dergham who brags about never having to go to the UN is predicted to be up in arms, just as she protested above Mekel and got to keep a solo office S315 though she never goes. Then there's the former UN Correspondents Association (1986) president and Egyptian state correspondent, Sanaa Youssef of Akbar al Youm to whom the UN gave Inner City Press' shared work space but who has yet to ask a single question. And another former UNCA president Giampaoli Pioli, who promised to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN for its accurate reporting on his conflict of interest in renting one of his Manhattan apartments to Sri Lanka's Ambassador and alleged war criminal (in the white flag killings case) Palitha Kohona then giving a "UN screening" to his propaganda film, rarely comes in. He still maintains S-422A-a, just as one of his henchmen has S-348B (there are more). We'll have more - will the UN, which claimed it threw Inner City Press out for daring to report on the UN Budget Committee when it actually met, at 10 pm, follow through on this? Watch this site.

   In the midst of Inner City Press' questioningin 2018 about Guterres' links to now convicted UN bribery Patrick Ho's China Energy Fund Committee and Guterres' failures on Cameroonand elsewhere, his UN Security twice roughed up Inner City Press on June 22 and July 3, 2018. 

Then after Inner City Press filed a New York Police Department complaint against the UN and its Lieutenant Ronald E. Dobbins, none of its written questions to UN Security chief Peter Drennen and Guterres were answered. There are no due process rights for journalists in the UN of Guterres. On April 15, a year minus a day since the UN accredited Inner City Press on 16 April 2018, Inner City Press submitted a formal application and letter for re-accreditation, including in light of the guilty verdict and sentencing against Patrick Ho of CEFC (video here), financial links to which Guterres has failed to disclose and has for 287days sought to censor to conceal. 

On the morning of April 17, without any reasoning or explanation, this: "Greetings Matthew LEE from ICP     INNER CITY PRESS,  Your media accreditation request, with reference no: M66561081, has been declined." Just as there was no hearing, noaction on assault by UN DSS Lieutenant Ronald E. Dobbins, and not appeals process, no reasons. Absolute lawless corruption.

The letter was sent to Guterres, his USG Alison Smale and her "personal assistant"Alison Corbet, his chief of staff Maria Luiza Viotti and her staffer Eihab Omaish, his Deputy SG Amina J. Mohammed and her chief of staff Nelson Muffuh, as well as to PGA Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, her chief of staff  KwabenaOseidanquah, her spokesperson Monica Grayley and staffers Nadia Kalb and Raquel Martins, to MALU chief Tal Mekel and others still to be named  along with a simple request for confirmation of receipt. Even this they had not done, a full 38 hours later. From what's been submitted: "A year ago on 16 April 2018 I was re-accredited to enter and cover the United Nations, as for many years before. Then I asked more and more questions about the Patrick Ho / CEFC China Energy UN bribery scandal, about the Secretary General, about Cameroon - and on 22 June 2018 I was pushed out of the UN Visitors Lobby while other non-resident correspondents remained there.    On 3 July 2018 as I covered the UN Budget Committee meetings as I have for years, I was physically roughed up by UN DSS Lt Ronald Dobbins and another who refused to give his name. On July 5 I was told I could not enter the UN and this remains the case, with no hearing and no appeal.     Now just less than a year since I was accredited, before the above and other facts of record, I am submitting this formal application for accreditation which you grant to correspondents who report far less, and far less critically, on the UN than Inner City Press.    It is particularly imperative that Inner City Press be allowed to enter and attend the noon briefing as hundreds of my questions have gone unanswered despite USG Smale's assurance to UNSR David Kaye, and Spokesman Dujarric's on camera assurance.     

Beyond the hundreds of articles covering the UN since the arbitrary ouster of 3 July 2018, for the record:  March 29, 2019, Hong Kong TV documentary on Patrick Ho CEFC, Inner City Press in front of UN and SDNY...

   For years Guterres received money as a board member of the Calouste Galbenkian Foundation, which despite its name is the 100% owner of Partex Oil and Gas. Partex has operations in Angola, Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Oman and Portugal. It was to a Portuguese court that Guterres, while justifying no listing some of his income, disclosed in 2016 that he was paid at least € 2735 per month for his position with the Gulbenkian Foundation.
   But while a now deleted Foundation web page (archived here) stated that Guterres continued with Gulbenkian into 2018, Guterres did not list it on his most recent, and so far lone, UN Public Financial Disclosure, which covered 2016 ("Disclosing financial and other interests for the 2016 reporting year"). 

  So why did Guterres disclose his position with the Club of Madrid, but not with the Gulbenkian Foundation / Partex Oil and Gas?  Inner City Press has a right to re-enter and pursue these questions.

UN of Guterres Uses Barred List To Push Press Out Then Poses With UN Correspondents Association Board

By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT CEFC Video

UNITED NATIONS GATE, March 23 – How lawless is the United Nations of Secretary General Antonio Guterres? In the midst of Inner City Press' questioning in 2018 about Guterres' links to now convicted UN bribery Patrick Ho's China Energy Fund Committee and Guterres' failures on Cameroon and elsewhere, his UN Security twice roughed up Inner City Press on June 22 and July 3, 2018. 

Then after Inner City Press filed a New York Police Department complaint against the UN and its Lieutenant Ronald E. Dobbins, none of its written questions to UN Security chief Peter Drennen and Guterres were answered. There are no due process rights for journalists in the UN of Guterres - and yet some correspondents smile with him and praise him, colluding in essence with censorship. 

  Take for example the 18 March 2019 UN Photo with this caption: "Secretary-General António Guterres (centre right) poses for a group photo with the Executive Committee of the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA).  First row from left to right: Betul Yuruk (Anadolu Agency); Giampaolo Pioli (Quotidiano Nazionale); Edith Lederer (Associated Press); Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Chef de Cabinet; Valeria Robecco (ANSA News Agency), UNCA President; Mr. Guterres; Alison Smale, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications; Maria Khrenova (TASS News Agency); Seana Magee (Kyodo News); and Oscar Bolanos (OMB News).   Second row from left to right: Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General; Sherwin Bryce-Pease (SABC South Africa); Farnaz Fassihi (Wall Street Journal); Widad Franco (NHK Japan Broadcasting); Melissa Kent (CBC/Radio-Canada); Nabil Abi Saab (Al Hurra TV); Luke Vargas (Talk Media News); Carole Landry (Agence France Presse); and Erol Avdovic (Webpublicapress)." We'll have more on this.

   Compare: on March 14, Inner City Press UN bureau chief, this reporter, was invited to press freedom event in the UN sponsored by the UN Missions of France, Lithuania and Greece. I RSVP-ed and was told to come up up my ticket at the Visitors Entrance. I did; I was given a ticket with my name on it. Tweeted photo here.

After waiting in line, I showed my drivers license and the ticket and was waved into a second line for the metal detectors, where a sign said no video allowed. Periscope video here, until voluntarily turned off. Halfway through the line, four UN Security officers and a supervisor came over and ordered me to leave, saying I am on their barred list. I asked to see the list. I was pushed from behind and told I would be shown the list outside. They took the paper ticket, saying it is property of the UN. (There's still this photo.) But once they pushed me out onto the stairs, no one came out with the list. First of a series of Periscope videos here. 

UNCA promoted the event: "Dear colleagues,   UNCA is extending an invitation from the Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN to a CSW63 side event with the members states of the Group of Friends for the Protection of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Women’s Media Foundation on Journalism and the Empowerment of Women: New Challenges in the Digital World, taking place on Thursday, March 14th at 1:15 pm in ECOSOC.  Please see the invitation and concept note below for more details.  The event is open to all UN correspondents.  Valeria Robecco President, United Nations Correspondents Association." 

After a UN media accreditation "review" that did not include any opportunity to be heard for Inner City Press, Guterres' Under Secretary General Alison Smale on 17 August 2018 issued a letter "withdrawing" Inner City Press' UN media accreditation. Smale was asked how Inner City Press could appeal, including by UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression David Kaye, but did not answer that.

On 3 September 2018, facing the prospect of being unable to enter the UN to cover the General Assembly "high level" week for the first time in a decade, Inner City Press submitted an application for accreditation. But there was no action on it - in fact, during high level week, it emerged that Inner City Press had been put on a non-public "barred" list such that even if invited by a member state or UN agency, it could not enter the building.

Patrick Ho of CEFC was convicted on 5 December 2018. asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres what he will do to clean up the UN, where he has left CEFC without any audit, still in consultative status with the UN. On his way from his Mercedes to a glitzy UNCA fundraiser including George and Amal Clooney, Guterres refused to answer. This footage in now in a 22 minute Hong Kong TV documentary about the case, at Minute 22, here. Inner City Press again exclusively reported that Guterres had failed to include his paid position on the board of the Gulbenkian Foundation in his Public Financial Disclosure covering 2016 - and that Gulbenkian in 2018 was trying to sell its Partex Oil and Gas affiliate to CEFC as Guterres refused to audit CEFC and had Inner City Press which asked roughed up and banned.

On 2 January 2019 Smale's Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit has issued a denial of Inner City Press' September application for accreditation, stating only that

"Greetings Matthew LEE from ICP     INNER CITY PRESS,  

Your media accreditation request, with reference no: M72295425, has been declined for the following reason: Accreditation was withdrawn on 17 August 2018."

  This is Kafka-esque. Accreditation was withdrawn without any hearing or chance to appeal, but that decision is used to deny future accreditation. While preaching about due process and freedom of the press, Guterres' UN has a "one strike and your out" policy - even if there is no strike. The alleged violations were filming in place Smale's own MALU staff told Inner City Press it could film with out an escort, and recording her deputy in a known media stakeout position.

While Guterres was refusing throughout 2018 to begin any UN audit into China Energy Fund Committee, implicated in the UN bribery prosecution US v Patrick Ho, Guterres had a secret: his role on the board of Gulbenkian Foundation which was trying to sell its Partex Oil affiliate to CEFC. See Inner City Press' first exclusive report here.
   A now-removed Gulbenkian Foundation web page says Guterres continued as a board member into 2018. Archived here. In fact it was on 9 February 2018 that Gulbenian tweeted that Guterres was no longer on the board - AFTER it was reported that Gulbenian was trying to sell, or even had already sold, Partex to CEFC. This is called guilty knowledge. 
   For years Guterres received money as a board member of the Calouste Galbenkian Foundation, which despite its name is the 100% owner of Partex Oil and Gas. Partex has operations in Angola, Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Oman and Portugal. It was to a Portuguese court that Guterres, while justifying no listing some of his income, disclosed in 2016 that he was paid at least € 2735 per month for his position with the Gulbenkian Foundation.
   But while a now deleted Foundation web page (archived here) stated that Guterres continued with Gulbenkian into 2018, Guterres did not list it on his most recent, and so far lone, UN Public Financial Disclosure, which covered 2016 ("Disclosing financial and other interests for the 2016 reporting year"). 
  So why did Guterres disclose his position with the Club of Madrid, but not with the Gulbenkian Foundation / Partex Oil and Gas? 
   Following the roughing up and banning from the UN of Inner City Press which has covered the CEFC scandal throughout, Guterres' head of Global Communications Alison Smale promised UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression David Kaye, who asked, that the UN would still answer Inner City Press' written questions.
   But even as 2018 came to a close Guterres' spokesmen Stephane Dujarric and Farhan Haq left unanswered 36 questions in a row from Inner City Press, including this: “Beyond the 35 questions from Inner City Press you refused to answer this week, this is a request on deadline that you (1) state when SG Guterres left his position on the Gulbenkian Foundation,
(2) state why Gulbenkian was not listed on SG Guterres' public financial disclosure which covered 2016; 
(3) explain how it is not a conflict of interest for SG Guterres to have refused to start an audit of CEFC in the UN, as requested by Inner City Press in January 2018, given CEFC's bid for the oil business of Gulbenkian. 
Also, again, state why under SG Guterres there have been no updates to the UN public financial disclosures since those filed for 2016. Also, again, explain your refusal to answer any of Inner City Press' questions this week despite USG Smale's statements to GAP, me and UNSR David Kaye. On deadline.” In March 2019, Dujarric and Haq have not answered a single Inner City Press question, on a range of topics.
   The questions have also been sent to the e-mail addresses of Guterres, his chief of staff Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed, and Smale, who told Inner City Press she would take “under advisement” her 17 August 2018 pretextual withdrawal of Inner City Press decade long UN media accreditation.
  It seems clear that Guterres and his team have engaged in censorship for corruption, to conceal a blatant conflict of interest by Guterres. 
Back on 5 December 2018 Patrick Ho was found guilty of seven of eight counts of violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and month laundering. 
The night of the verdict I asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres what he will do to clean up the UN, where he has left CEFC without any audit, still in consultative status with the UN. On his way from his Mercedes to a glitzy UNCA fundraiser including George and Amal Clooney, Guterres refused to answer. This footage in now in a 22 minute Hong Kong TV documentary about the case, at Minute 22,here. The next day when asked by another journalist why Guterres had refused to answer banned Inner City Press' question, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric claimed that the UN has “cooperated” with the prosecution. 

   CEFC remains an accredited non governmental organization with the UN's Economic and Social Council, while investigative Inner City Press for which I have been covering the case has been dis-accredited by and ousted from the UN, put on a list of those permanently banned without notice, due process or appeal. 

As Inner City Press Reports on Corruption, UNCA's Giampaolo Pioli Calls It “An Asshole” at UNSC, ICP Cites Sri Lanka, Ng Lap Seng: Game Over?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 -- As Inner City Press was staking out the UN Security Council meeting on March 24 about Western Sahara and Morocco's ordering out of the UN Peacekeeping mission there, Giampaolo Pioli the head of the UN Correspondents Association came over to where Inner City Press was typing and editing audio and video and said, “You're an asshole.”

   Moments later, in advance of question and answer by the Council's President about Western Sahara, when Inner City Press now with its UN accreditation pass downgraded to Non-Resident Correspondent by UN Department of Public Information chief Cristina Gallach at the behest of Pioli went to ask UN Security not to lock the glass door to the Security Council before the Council's president spoke at the stakeout, Pioli again said, “You're an asshole. I'm telling you that you're an asshole. Quote me.” Audio here.

Photo of Pioli at UNCA Ball, credit UN Photo/Amanda Voisard
 
  Inner City Press replied that it believed and believes Pioli is corrupt, that he took rent money from Palitha Kohona then unilaterally granted Kohona's request as Sri Lanka's Ambassador for an UNCA / “UN” screening of his government's war crimes denial film, “Lies Agreed To.” And that Pioli after demanding censorship of Inner City Press' coverage has used UNCA and now DPI to try to throw Inner City Press out of the UN, just as Pioli first threatened.


Ban with Pioli, who told Inner City Press, "You are an asshole." Credit UN Photo/Evan Schneider

  Another UNCA board member -- Inner City Press quit its elected position on that board in 2012, saying openly that Pioli was corrupt, now in taking money from indicted Ng Lap Seng's South South News and granting him a photo op with Ban Ki-moon -- said such language should not be used at the stakeout.

  But it was Pioli who approached Inner City Press, which hasn't willingly spoke with Pioli in more than a year.

  So it is for this person that Cristina Gallach first ordered Inner City Press out of the UN on two hours notice on February 19 and on whom she has since leaned in trying to defend her February 19 decision, which was reached without once speaking with Inner City Press.


Ban shakes with Cristina Gallach, who threw ICP out of UN on Feb 19, 2016 on 2 hours notice. Credit UN Photo

  Her rationale was that Inner City Press secretly filmed a closed meeting, but that doesn't stand up: the meeting was nowhere listed as closed, and Inner City Press openly live-streamed and even live Tweeted it: hardly secret.

  So the fallback argument was that since Inner City Press covered the UNCA event in the UN Press Briefing Room from one of the glassed-in interpreters' booths, in order to avoid just such a response as Pioli's “asshole” on March 24, it had violated some as-yet unproduced rule about not being in an interpreters booth.

  But on March 23 Inner City Press observed and filmed two non-interpreters in the “other” interpreters booth in the UN Press Briefing Room while UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq read out statements and did NOTHING about the use of the interpreters booth.

  On March 24, Inner City Press asked Haq about it, from the UN Transcript:

Inner City Press: Yesterday, as you held your briefing, there were two individuals in the booth right there, the interpreter's booth, the other interpreter's booth.  And I wanted to know, since it's been explained to me that there's some clear rule, it's been said that the Under-Secretary-General of Department of Public Information says that there's an extremely clear rule that only interpreters can be in these booths, and if anyone other than interpreters are in the booth, they face summary ouster from the United Nations.  What was the use of this… please explain, because he's been asked for the rule and didn't provide the rule.

Deputy Spokesman:  Yes, there was, in fact, a violation of the room, which we… which we have taken up…

Inner City Press:  A violation of what rule?  Can you provide the rule?  Because she's been asked for the rule.

Deputy Spokesman:  This is by our fellow DPI staff who were unaware of this, but they have been told they cannot use that room, that they cannot and must not.

Inner City Press:  Who were they?  And did you know yesterday when you did nothing during your presence there?

Deputy Spokesman:  I did not know, because, as when you were hiding there, it's difficult for me to tell that there are people there.

Inner City Press:  There's no hiding.  They're totally visible.  So, you're saying you didn't know and you did nothing, yet it's an extremely strong rule.

Deputy Spokesman:  No, I didn't say I did nothing.  In fact, we were apprised of this, and they cannot use that room.  Thanks.

 On his way out of the UN Press Briefing Room, Haq said to Inner City Press, “Liar.” This is the atmosphere created, when DPI and the Spokesperson's office have allowed a character like Pioli, angry at coverage of his financial dealings with Sri Lanka's ambassador, to essentially run the asylum.

   It seems clear now that there must be a complete reversal of  Gallach's February 19 order, based on false facts (closed meeting, “secret” filming), a dubious rule and at the behest of an UNCA boss who barely writes articles, seeks to control UN office space and comes to the UN Security Council stakeout to call a critic an asshole. We'll have more on this.

UN Scandals Underlie Inner City Press' Ouster: Cristina Gallach Was At South South, Which Funded UNCA, Ng Got Photo Op With Ban

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 23 -- After Inner City Press was summarily ejected from the UN, which it has covered for ten years, on February 19, the ostensibly deciding official Cristina Gallach told no less than Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos Horta that Inner City Press would still be able to cover the UN.

What she didn't say was that Inner City Press' ability to cover the unfolding UN corruption scandal in which she has played a role would be curtailed.

  Gallach also did say that the complainant against Inner City Press, Giampaolo Pioli's UNCA, is also involved in the Frank Lorenzo and Ng Lap Seng scandal, as well as other financial irregularities.

  South South News of Ng and Lorenzo, both now under indictment, gave money to UNCA and Ng was given by UNCA a photo op with Ban Ki-moon.

  Gallach in her short tenure at the UN already hobhobbed with Lorenzo at his South South Awards, as reported by Inner City Press - but Gallach did not recuse herself from issuing a ruling to throw Inner City Press out of the UN.

  Gallach and this conflict of interest was not mentioned, yet, in theFebruary 22 BuzzFeed piece, here - despite being the signer of the ouster order without even having sought or allowed Inner City Press side of the story.

 That piece said the UNCA, rather than explain why it sought to get the Press thrown out, would be putting out a statement later. Well here it is: "UNCA President Giampaolo Pioli made clear at the start of the meeting that it was a closed meeting for UNCA members only."

 This is a laughable. It is not for Giampaolo Pioli, more of a landlord than a journalist, to declare any event in the UN Press Briefing Room to be "closed."

 As Inner City Press said on January 29, and before that when with Dujarric also involved Francois Hollande tried to close the UN Press Briefing Room to all but the French traveling press, the UN Press Briefing Room is presumptively open to all journalists. On January 29, there was no notice in the UN Journal of a closed meeting, nor any sign on the door.

 So essentially, Cristina Gallach is ousting Inner City Press because it didn't obey an order by Giampaolo Pioli.

  But the two are united: Pioli's UNCA took Lorenzo's and Ng's South South News' money; Gallach was with Lorenzo at the South South Awards.

  When Pioli told Inner City Press to get out of the UN Press Briefing Room, and Inner City Press on principle and to follow the UNCA - Lorenzo story refused, Gallach plotted three weeks then threw Inner City Press out of the UN.

  It is too dangerous, apparently, to have a bloggest "spewing" - the words of UNCA's Masood Haider - when the scope and implications of the Ng Lorenzo scandal are still not known. These go to the very top of the UN - thus, no one up there has held Gallach to account for an "investigation" that omitted the defendant, and for not recusing herself.

  This must all be investigated, and will be. Inner City Press should not have to accept dramatically reduced access, especially at this time. And those who tried this gambit must face new scrutiny.

  When Inner City Press came to the UN on the morning of Monday February 22, with another journalist there to sign Inner City Press in as a guest, UN Security said, “You are Banned from the UN.”  Audio here.

  Inner City Press left the UN pass office, and set up shop in the Isaiah plowshares park across from the UN. Several Permanent Representatives, at least two Under Secretaries General (the same rank as Gallach) and many staff came to express outrage at the UN's censorship.

 But in the UN Press Briefing Room, which was "lent" to the UN Correspondents (or Corruption) Association back on January 29, the reaction was different.

 In an embarrassing colloquy, long time UNCA board member Masood Haider asked Spokesman Dujarric about "the blogger Matthew Lee" who has been "spewing on the Internet reports whether false or not."Vine here; Video here; UN transcript here:

UNCA Question:  Stéphane, can you please tell us about the blogger, Mr. Matthew Lee, who has been very active on the internet spewing all kinds of reports, whether false or not?  What is the status now?

Spokesman:  Mr. Lee has available to him a non-resident pass for four months and which, last I heard, he had not claimed, but that's what he has available.  I know there were reports that we had “seized his files”.  Completely untrue.  His office remains untouched.  And we await him to return so he can vacate his office.  Thank you.

  Yeah - thank you for the set-up question to put propaganda in to the UN record. 

On February 19 Inner City Press asked to get its passport and most important files but was pushed out onto First Avenue by UN Security Deputy Chief Michael McNulty without either. That's not seized? That's OK?

And the extortionate offer - no access unless with much reduced rights - is entirely disproportionate to the non-existent "crimes," which was to seek to cover an event in this same UN Press Briefing Room, by UNCA which took money from indicted Ng Lap Seng's and Frank Lorenzo's South South News then gave Ng Lap Seng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon.

  UNCA President Giampaolo was there, leaving first from the February 22 Press-less press conference; another UNCA board member slapped Dujarric on the back. Great job!

  Bloggers are, of course, hacked to death in Bangladesh, a country on whose free press record USG Gallach never even replied to a detailed email from the Free UN Coalition for Access, for protection for a Bangladeshi journalist then in the UN. Spewing indeed.

 Dujarric took the opportunity to deny that the UN had seized Inner City Press' files -- the reality is, when Inner City Press asked on February 19 to take the most important of them, and its passport, it was denied by UN Security. On February 22, UN Security said Inner City Press is Banned from all UN premises.

  Dujarric said, as if it's ok, that Inner City Press is being "offered" much reduced access, for four months. But Inner City Press did nothing wrong, and the "investigation" by Gallach which led to its ouster did not involve a single conversation with or reaching out to Inner City Press.

  Any reduced access to loss of office space -- which Masood Haider, who hardly writes articles, has, and UNCA President Giampaolo Pioli has, a private office, while writing about Morgan Freeman -- is unfair and is to cast a chill of freedom of the press. No staged colloquy can hide that. We'll have more on this.

  Later, after being told to leave even the UN Pass office, a UN Under Secretary General told Inner City Press Gallach had told other USGs that Inner City Press was in fact in the building - that AFTER Inner City Press was told by UN Security, twice, that it is banned from all UN premises and was told to leave the UN Pass office.

 Ban Ki-moon's Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who'd also told those who questioned him that Inner City Press could end and cover “his” briefing on Monday.

  False. UN Security then said, you cannot wait in the pass office, you are banned from all UN premises. Trying to cover the UN Security Council meeting on Syria from the Isaiah plowshares park across from the UN, various Ambassadors came to say they were appalled. But Gallach's office has told then, nothing will be done.

  This is disgusting censorship by an increasingly corrupt UN.

As Inner City Press at the UN pursues unfolding stories of corruption, peacekeepers committing rapes in the Central African Republic, UN inaction in Burundi, South Sudan and Yemen, on February 19 with two hours notice UN Under Secretary General Cristina Gallach ordered Inner City Press to be ousted. Letter here.

   On the evening of February 19, UN Security Deputy Chief Michael McNulty, who refused to provide his name (audio), pushed Inner City Press out onto First Avenue (audio), having cut off its Periscope video livestream (video) and not allowed it to get its files, coat or passport from its longtime shared office. Gallach wants the office back, to retaliate and so the UN Correspondents Association can, in essence, sell the UN space just as it sells access to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

  On February 20, Inner City Press posed four questions to Dujarric and his deputy Farhan Haq, with a copy to Gallach --which 24 hours later have not been answered or even acknowledged (while both Dujarric and Gallach were wildly spinning to those who contacted them, includingNobel Laureate Jose Ramos Horta, see here, who was told there was no problem taking over Inner City Press' office and undermining its ability to report, edit videos, conduct interviews. There is a big problem. Here are the questions:

"Please state the status and condition of all of my papers and property in my office, Room S-303A, including investigative papers, communications from sources including whistleblowers and my passport and when I will have the access to them that I was denied on February 19 and since.

Please state when the Resident Correspondent UN pass I have had for years, but which was torn off my neck on Feb 19, will be returned, in connection with 1, above, and the UNSC meeting(s) and UN Noon Briefing on Monday February 22.

Please state and explain the role of the Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary General in the deprivations in 1 and 2, above.

Finally, for now, please state the Secretary-General's position on UN Security Deputy McNulty on February 19 threatening twice to have me “handed over to NYPD” (including the concomitant acceptance by the UN of the NYPD's jurisdiction), of UN Security officers grabbing my phone which was live-broadcasting Periscope video at the UN Security Council stakeout and turning it off.

I have other questions but these are most pressing, for immediate answer."

  And as yet, 42 hours later, no answer. Watch this site.

  While Inner City Press was writing up a UN Security Council meeting on Syria that went into the evening, and Periscope broadcasting, UN Security guards walked up, grabbed Inner City Press' laptop, blocked its Periscope camera and turned off the livestream. Video here.

  Then eight UN Security officers led by Deputy Chief McNulty tore off Inner City Press' UN ID badge and carted off Inner City Press' laptop and camera, returning these by throwing them on the sidewalk of First Avenue. Audio here.

 They did not allow Inner City Press to get coat or sweater, or the files in its office. No provision was made for this.

  The ejection letter was signed by the Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Galach of Spain but ultimately Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is in charge. Ban and his chief of staff Edmond Mulet and Deputy SG Jan Eliasson were all written to with details as this took place.

  USG Gallach's office, Darrin Farrant in charge, merely "took note" of questions about and criticism of the lack of due process. Gallach did not respond to email, even from Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta, here.

  When Inner City Press was thrown out onto First Avenue, standing waiting, laughing and filming, was Voice of America's Margaret Besheer and another board member of the UN Correspondents Association, whose president Giampaoli Pioli told Inner City Press if it didn't remove a (truthful) article about his screening of a war crimes denial film for a tenant of his, Sri Lanka's then ambassador Palitha Kohona, he would get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN.

  But who is running this asylum? Ban Ki-moon, his spokesman also involved Stephane Dujarric (who threw Inner City Press out of the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, also trying to turn off ICP's Periscoping phone), and, some surmise, some who don't like Inner City Press' questions. We'll have more on this.

  The pretext was Inner City Press three weeks earlier seeking to cover a meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room by an organization which has taken money from now indicted Ng Lap Seng and Frank Lorenzo's South SOuth News, then gave Ng Lap Seng a photo op with Ban.

(As Inner City Press reported, Gallach attended the South South Awards with Frank Lorenzo, photo here, just before his indictment.  She should have been recused from any decision-making on this.)

  UN Security demanded ICP's pass - and later tore it off.

UN Censorship Alliance Belatedly Comments, That Its Giampaolo Pioli Rules UN Press Room and Can Get Others Kicked Out

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 23 -- After Inner City Press was summarily ejected from the UN, which it has covered for ten years, on February 19, the ostensibly deciding official Cristina Gallach told no less than Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos Horta that Inner City Press would still be able to cover the UN.

She didn't disclose how curtailed Inner City Press' access would be under this extortionate "offer." This UN Director of Communications was not mentioned, yet, in the February 22 BuzzFeed piece, here - despite being the signer of the ouster order without even having sought or allowed Inner City Press side of the story.

 That piece said the UNCA, rather than explain why it sought to get the Press thrown out, would be putting out a statement later. Well here it is: "UNCA President Giampaolo Pioli made clear at the start of the meeting that it was a closed meeting for UNCA members only."

 This is a laughable. It is not for Giampaolo Pioli, more of a landlord than a journalist, to declare any event in the UN Press Briefing Room to be "closed."

 As Inner City Press said on January 29, and before that when with Dujarric also involved Francois Hollande tried to close the UN Press Briefing Room to all but the French traveling press, the UN Press Briefing Room is presumptively open to all journalists. On January 29, there was no notice in the UN Journal of a closed meeting, nor any sign on the door.

 So essentially, Cristina Gallach is ousting Inner City Press because it didn't obey an order by Giampaolo Pioli. How pathetic.

  When Inner City Press came to the UN on Monday morning, with another journalist there to sign Inner City Press in as a guest, UN Security said, “You are Banned from the UN.”  Audio here.

  Inner City Press left the UN pass office, and set up shop in the Isaiah plowshares park across from the UN. Several Permanent Representatives, at least two Under Secretaries General (the same rank as Gallach) and many staff came to express outrage at the UN's censorship.

 But in the UN Press Briefing Room, which was "lent" to the UN Correspondents (or Corruption) Association back on January 29, the reaction was different.

 In an embarrassing colloquy, long time UNCA board member Masood Haider asked Spokesman Dujarric about "the blogger Matthew Lee" who has been "spewing on the Internet reports whether false or not."Vine here; Video here; UN transcript here:

UNCA Question:  Stéphane, can you please tell us about the blogger, Mr. Matthew Lee, who has been very active on the internet spewing all kinds of reports, whether false or not?  What is the status now?

Spokesman:  Mr. Lee has available to him a non-resident pass for four months and which, last I heard, he had not claimed, but that's what he has available.  I know there were reports that we had “seized his files”.  Completely untrue.  His office remains untouched.  And we await him to return so he can vacate his office.  Thank you.

  Yeah - thank you for the set-up question to put propaganda in to the UN record. 

On February 19 Inner City Press asked to get its passport and most important files but was pushed out onto First Avenue by UN Security Deputy Chief Michael McNulty without either. That's not seized? That's OK?

And the extortionate offer - no access unless with much reduced rights - is entirely disproportionate to the non-existent "crimes," which was to seek to cover an event in this same UN Press Briefing Room, by UNCA which took money from indicted Ng Lap Seng's and Frank Lorenzo's South South News then gave Ng Lap Seng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon.

  UNCA President Giampaolo was there, leaving first from the February 22 Press-less press conference; another UNCA board member slapped Dujarric on the back. Great job!

  Bloggers are, of course, hacked to death in Bangladesh, a country on whose free press record USG Gallach never even replied to a detailed email from the Free UN Coalition for Access, for protection for a Bangladeshi journalist then in the UN. Spewing indeed.

 Dujarric took the opportunity to deny that the UN had seized Inner City Press' files -- the reality is, when Inner City Press asked on February 19 to take the most important of them, and its passport, it was denied by UN Security. On February 22, UN Security said Inner City Press is Banned from all UN premises.

  Dujarric said, as if it's ok, that Inner City Press is being "offered" much reduced access, for four months. But Inner City Press did nothing wrong, and the "investigation" by Gallach which led to its ouster did not involve a single conversation with or reaching out to Inner City Press.

  Any reduced access to loss of office space -- which Masood Haider, who hardly writes articles, has, and UNCA President Giampaolo Pioli has, a private office, while writing about Morgan Freeman -- is unfair and is to cast a chill of freedom of the press. No staged colloquy can hide that. We'll have more on this.

  Later, after being told to leave even the UN Pass office, a UN Under Secretary General told Inner City Press Gallach had told other USGs that Inner City Press was in fact in the building - that AFTER Inner City Press was told by UN Security, twice, that it is banned from all UN premises and was told to leave the UN Pass office.

 Ban Ki-moon's Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who'd also told those who questioned him that Inner City Press could end and cover “his” briefing on Monday.

  False. UN Security then said, you cannot wait in the pass office, you are banned from all UN premises. Trying to cover the UN Security Council meeting on Syria from the Isaiah plowshares park across from the UN, various Ambassadors came to say they were appalled. But Gallach's office has told then, nothing will be done.

  This is disgusting censorship by an increasingly corrupt UN.

As Inner City Press at the UN pursues unfolding stories of corruption, peacekeepers committing rapes in the Central African Republic, UN inaction in Burundi, South Sudan and Yemen, on February 19 with two hours notice UN Under Secretary General Cristina Gallach ordered Inner City Press to be ousted. Letter here.

   On the evening of February 19, UN Security Deputy Chief Michael McNulty, who refused to provide his name (audio), pushed Inner City Press out onto First Avenue (audio), having cut off its Periscope video livestream (video) and not allowed it to get its files, coat or passport from its longtime shared office. Gallach wants the office back, to retaliate and so the UN Correspondents Association can, in essence, sell the UN space just as it sells access to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

  On February 20, Inner City Press posed four questions to Dujarric and his deputy Farhan Haq, with a copy to Gallach --which 24 hours later have not been answered or even acknowledged (while both Dujarric and Gallach were wildly spinning to those who contacted them, includingNobel Laureate Jose Ramos Horta, see here, who was told there was no problem taking over Inner City Press' office and undermining its ability to report, edit videos, conduct interviews. There is a big problem. Here are the questions:

"Please state the status and condition of all of my papers and property in my office, Room S-303A, including investigative papers, communications from sources including whistleblowers and my passport and when I will have the access to them that I was denied on February 19 and since.

Please state when the Resident Correspondent UN pass I have had for years, but which was torn off my neck on Feb 19, will be returned, in connection with 1, above, and the UNSC meeting(s) and UN Noon Briefing on Monday February 22.

Please state and explain the role of the Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary General in the deprivations in 1 and 2, above.

Finally, for now, please state the Secretary-General's position on UN Security Deputy McNulty on February 19 threatening twice to have me “handed over to NYPD” (including the concomitant acceptance by the UN of the NYPD's jurisdiction), of UN Security officers grabbing my phone which was live-broadcasting Periscope video at the UN Security Council stakeout and turning it off.

I have other questions but these are most pressing, for immediate answer."

  And as yet, 42 hours later, no answer. Watch this site.

  While Inner City Press was writing up a UN Security Council meeting on Syria that went into the evening, and Periscope broadcasting, UN Security guards walked up, grabbed Inner City Press' laptop, blocked its Periscope camera and turned off the livestream. Video here.

  Then eight UN Security officers led by Deputy Chief McNulty tore off Inner City Press' UN ID badge and carted off Inner City Press' laptop and camera, returning these by throwing them on the sidewalk of First Avenue. Audio here.

 They did not allow Inner City Press to get coat or sweater, or the files in its office. No provision was made for this.

  The ejection letter was signed by the Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Galach of Spain but ultimately Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is in charge. Ban and his chief of staff Edmond Mulet and Deputy SG Jan Eliasson were all written to with details as this took place.

  USG Gallach's office, Darrin Farrant in charge, merely "took note" of questions about and criticism of the lack of due process. Gallach did not respond to email, even from Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta, here.

  When Inner City Press was thrown out onto First Avenue, standing waiting, laughing and filming, was Voice of America's Margaret Besheer and another board member of the UN Correspondents Association, whose president Giampaoli Pioli told Inner City Press if it didn't remove a (truthful) article about his screening of a war crimes denial film for a tenant of his, Sri Lanka's then ambassador Palitha Kohona, he would get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN.

  But who is running this asylum? Ban Ki-moon, his spokesman also involved Stephane Dujarric (who threw Inner City Press out of the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, also trying to turn off ICP's Periscoping phone), and, some surmise, some who don't like Inner City Press' questions. We'll have more on this.

  The pretext was Inner City Press three weeks earlier seeking to cover a meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room by an organization which has taken money from now indicted Ng Lap Seng and Frank Lorenzo's South SOuth News, then gave Ng Lap Seng a photo op with Ban.

(As Inner City Press reported, Gallach attended the South South Awards with Frank Lorenzo, photo here, just before his indictment.  She should have been recused from any decision-making on this.)

  UN Security demanded ICP's pass - and later tore it off.