Ukraine PR Sergeyev Tells Inner City Press that LifeNews Duo Not “Pure Journalists,” Odessa Probe Will Including Chemicals, OPCW?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 23 -- When Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN Yuriy Sergeyev held a press conference two days before the May 25 elections, Inner City Press began by asking him why chocolate magnate Petro Poroshenko had not agreed to participate in debates.

  Sergeyev replied that he understands Poroshenko would, if there is a second round.

  Then Inner City Press asked Sergeyev about the “UN” painted helicopters shown by LifeNews as being in Ukraine, and about the two LifeNews journalists detained.

  Sergeyev said he contacted his government's defense department and was assured that helicopters that serve for pay in UN peacekeeping mission returned painted white but with the UN insignia “erased.” He said the filming was not in Ukraine.

  Inner City Press asked if it was in a UN peacekeeping mission why the soldiers around the copter were in camouflage and not UN blue helmets. This has not been answered.

  On the LifeNews journalists, Sergeyev said they had confessed to not being “pure journalists” and had revealed Ukraine military positions.

  Inner City Press asked if that wasn't always a possible charge of war reporters. It might also be asked which others detained while engaged in acts of journalism, sometimes, are not “pure journalists.” 

  The Free UN Coalition for Access supports these journalists and will continue to ask about their fate, as itasked the UN's Ivan Simonovic this week. For now, the UN monitoring team says it cannot confirm their location.

  On a second round, Inner City Press asked about the four or five investigations of the May 2 murders in Odessa thatSimonovic had described. Sergeyev said Simonovic must have been referring to four or five versions of events, because there are only Ukrainian investigations.

  Inner City Press at the day's noon briefing asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric how many investigations of Odessa there are, and if one involving the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons is being considered. The request is in, Dujarric said, we have to see. See what? Watch this site.

   

UN Has No Answers on Ukraine Copters & Detained Journalists, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Even Libya

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 19 -- After a weekend of mayhem, from Libya to northern Mali, Syria to Ukraine, one expected the UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric to have answer3 on Monday, May 19.

But on Libya, when Inner City Press asked, Dujarric had no answer even though the UN has a mission there.

On Ukraine, Inner City Press asked for the fifth time about the Kyiv authorities being depicted using “UN” marked helicopters, and now the detention and abuse of journalistsfrom LifeNews which ran the footage.

  Dujarric said he had nothing on this either. On the journalist question, he didn't even mouth some generality about commitment to freedom of the press. 

  The Free UN Coalition for Access has noted this UN Secretariat's selective invocation of the right to information, and cozy relationship with a scan correspondents' association which has dragged its feet even on the case of adues-paying member to whom French ambassador Gerard Araud said, on camera, “you are not a journalist, you are an agent.”

  On Burundi, Inner City Press asked about the arrest of a human rights defender for saying on radio what was contained in a UN cable, that the ruling CNDD party is arming and training its youth wing - and adding that the training in happening in Uvira in South Kivu, Eastern DRC which the UN has a UN Peacekeeping mission run by Herve Ladsous.

  Dujarric had nothing on this either, even on if the UN received letters calling for a probe of the cable directed to Ban Ki-moon by NGOs and the opposition political parties. This is called a cover-up.

Finally on Sri Lanka, after a report issued over the weekend casting new light on Ban adviser Vijay Nambiar's role as surrendering rebels were killed in May 2009, Dujarric had nothing on that either.

  Afterward an observer asked Inner City Press if this was the norm, four questions and no answers, and asked why by contrast Dujarric entertained repeated but pointless follow-up questions from the head of the aforesaid correspondents' association. That's why it's called the UN's Censorship Alliance. But should these questions be answered? Watch this site.