UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- On February 19 without once speaking to Inner City Press, UN Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach order the Press to leave the UN, which it has covered for ten years, in two hours.
Since then, the basis for Gallach's ouster order has fallen apart. The meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room that Inner City Press openly live-streamed on Periscope was nowhere listed as closed. The UN either has no rule against use of the interpreters' booth in the UN Press Briefing Room, or as seen on March 23, does not enforce it.
But today's UN system has no self-correcting mechanism.
Some, it has become clear, are happy Inner City Press' reporting has been hindered - that reporting in some cases is into their involvement in UN corruption.
Several senior UN officials close to Ban Ki-moon have not only like him been close with Ng Lap Seng's, Frank Lorenzo's and Vivian Wang's South South News (March 24 video here) - they were for example at the very founding of Sheri Yan's Global Sustainability Foundation, one of two groups that even Ban has seen the need to (self) audit.
But as the scandal expands, one telling response has been to simply refer Inner City Press and its evidence back to Gallach herself.
As Inner City Press has replied, the concerns it has been raising include (1) conflict of interest by USG Gallach, (2) the seeming use of the punitive powers of her office to retaliate against Inner City Press' reporting, (3) her and her affiliates' misrepresentation of Inner City Press' restricted access to report, (4) a total lack of due process by her office and (5) lack of any UN process of appeal from her decision.
In this context, merely forwarding complaints and proof to USG Gallach is, clearly, not enough. In fact, it further shows just now broken today's UN is.
Gallach's letter cited an incident on January 29.
In that “incident,” Inner City Press openly sought to cover a meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room of an organization which had taken money from South South News, whose honorary president Frank Lorenzo has pleaded guilty to bribery charges as his vice president Vivian Wang has been indicted and funder Ng Lap Seng -- given a photo op with Ban Ki-moon by UNCA - remains under house arrest.
To seek to cover such a meeting is journalism.
By contrast, UNCA chief Giampaolo Pioli, who lobbied Gallach to throw Inner City Press out, came to the UN Security Council stakeout on Western Sahara and loudly and repeatedly called Inner City Press “an asshole.” Audio here.Gallach's February 19 letter citing some rule about civility. Will she enforce it on Pioli?
After the Western Sahara meeting, Gallach tweeted to a questioner from New Zealand who asked, “why did you remove the accreditation of Inner City Press?” Gallach replied, photo here, that “I did not! ICP is fully accredited! Can report from UN.?His privilege to use office was taken out, due to misbehavior.” Photo of Gallach's tweet here.
This is false. On March 21, Inner City Press was unable to reach the stakeout of the UN Security Council on Western Sahara as it had been able, until Gallach's decision of February 19. And on March 25, the moment Security Council president Gaspar Martins finished reading out the elements to the press - and Inner City Press but not the swearing UNCA boss Pioli asked him a question -- UN DPI staff told Inner City Press to leave the stakeout, even as diplomats remain.
Inner City Press said that to report on the meeting, it need to speak to the diplomats, many of whom has in the past spoken with in on background. But now with its Gallach-reduced pass, DPI staff said Inner City Press required an “escort” or minder to remain on the second floor.
What diplomat desiring to speak on background about Ban Ki-moon's questionable performance on Western Sahara would do so in view of a minder from Ban's Secretariat? It is FALSE that Inner City Press is fully accredited.
Furthermore, the “misbehavior” repeatedly citing by Gallach illusory. UNCA should have have been trying to hold a “closed” meeting in the UN Press Briefing Room - even Francois Hollande could not do that - and the event was nowhere listed as closed. Inner City Press live tweeted and live streamed it openly, from the booth in the back to avoid the heckling of Pioli's gang.
Dispositively, on March 23 UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq did nothing when two non interpreters were in the interpretation booth during the noon briefing. There is no clear rule, at least none that is enforced.
But compared to this disagreement, isn't coming to the UN Security Council stakeout to loudly call another reporter “an asshole” misbehavior? Gallach's ruling must be reversed. Watch this site.
On March 24 as Inner City Press was staking out the UN Security Council meeting about Western Sahara and Morocco's ordering out of the UN Peacekeeping mission there, a figure rarely seen at the stakeout approached.
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, 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.
As Inner City Press asked the guard not to lock the door to journalists, UNCA's Pioli again said, “You're an asshole. I'm telling you that you're an asshole. Quote me.” Audio here.
What's behind this? How did a journalists club turn into a club against a journalist, and why? Beyond Pioli's financial relationship with Palitha Kohona, who as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN Pioli unilaterally granted a "UN" screening of a war crimes denial film, there is for example the matter of South South News.
South South News is depicted in the October 2015 criminal complaint against John Ashe, Ng Lap Seng, Frank Lorenzo and others as a vehicle for bribery, to the tune of $12 million.
SSN video at 0:29 features Lorenzo (guilty plea) and Wang (indicted)
John Ashe's former spokesperson is a member of UNCA; a SSN anchor, too. These are among the reasons that Inner City Press sought -- facing retaliation - and seeks and will continue to seek to cover this corrupted organization, as part of the wider and expanding UN corruption scandal. Watch this site.
Pioli and his rental of one of his apartments to an accused war criminal, involved in Sri Lanka's notorious White Flag killings, then screening of his tenant's film, played a key role.
But there have been many enablers, among the Gulf and Western media on UNCA's board; there are been others to the very top of the UN who have benefited from and left unchecked this war on investigative journalism.
This as Pioli's UNCA took money from now-indicted Ng Lap Seng's South South News, gave SSN a journalism award and Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon. After after the indictments, Pioli was selling half-tables with Ban for $6,000 on Wall Street in December 2015. That Ban's UN tries to shield this from coverage is telling.
To try to oust or wipe out coverage of failure in Sri Lanka and more recently Burundi and Yemen to name but two is, of course, convenient, as well as stopping or hindering aggressive coverage of the expanding UN scandal in this waning year.
Margaret Besheer of Voice of America, who after being exposed in 2012 and her bosses saying in writing theirattempt to oust Inner City Press for her was wrong -- is at it again. She was standing pre-positioned at the UN gate on February 19, 2016 when Inner City Press was physically thrown out. These are tax dollars at work, violating the First Amendment.
There are more - former AFP, the current ones hardly better - and others who just follow along. Now their "leader" Pioli has come to the stakeout, not to report anything - he rarely does - but to loudly call a critic, who actually writes stories, an "asshole." And not one of them did anything. At the UN the journalists' club has become a club against a journalist.
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.
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.
UNITED NATIONS, March 26 -- 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, a figure rarely seen at the stakeout approached.
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, 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.
As Inner City Press asked the guard not to lock the door to journalists, UNCA's Pioli again said, “You're an asshole. I'm telling you that you're an asshole. Quote me.” Audio here.
What's behind this? How did a journalists club turn into a club against a journalist, and why? Beyond Pioli's financial relationship with Palitha Kohona, who as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN Pioli unilaterally granted a "UN" screening of a war crimes denial film, there is for example the matter of South South News.
South South News is depicted in the October 2015 criminal complaint against John Ashe, Ng Lap Seng, Frank Lorenzo and others as a vehicle for bribery, to the tune of $12 million.
SSN video at 0:29 features Lorenzo (guilty plea) and Wang (indicted)
John Ashe's former spokesperson is a member of UNCA; a SSN anchor, too. These are among the reasons that Inner City Press sought -- facing retaliation - and seeks and will continue to seek to cover this corrupted organization, as part of the wider and expanding UN corruption scandal. Watch this site.
Pioli and his rental of one of his apartments to an accused war criminal, involved in Sri Lanka's notorious White Flag killings, then screening of his tenant's film, played a key role.
But there have been many enablers, among the Gulf and Western media on UNCA's board; there are been others to the very top of the UN who have benefited from and left unchecked this war on investigative journalism.
This as Pioli's UNCA took money from now-indicted Ng Lap Seng's South South News, gave SSN a journalism award and Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon. After after the indictments, Pioli was selling half-tables with Ban for $6,000 on Wall Street in December 2015. That Ban's UN tries to shield this from coverage is telling.
To try to oust or wipe out coverage of failure in Sri Lanka and more recently Burundi and Yemen to name but two is, of course, convenient, as well as stopping or hindering aggressive coverage of the expanding UN scandal in this waning year.
Margaret Besheer of Voice of America, who after being exposed in 2012 and her bosses saying in writing their attempt to oust Inner City Press for her was wrong -- is at it again. She was standing pre-positioned at the UN gate on February 19, 2016 when Inner City Press was physically thrown out. These are tax dollars at work, violating the First Amendment.
There are more - former AFP, the current ones hardly better - and others who just follow along. Now their "leader" Pioli has come to the stakeout, not to report anything - he rarely does - but to loudly call a critic, who actually writes stories, an "asshole." And not one of them did anything. At the UN the journalists' club has become a club against a journalist.
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.
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.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who had accepted a South South prize from Lorenzo and Wang, as Inner City Press reported in October 2015, never commented. But his UN put South South News content in its UNTV archive, which after Press questions it as only partial explained; links with DPI remains unexplained.
Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on February 9 told Inner City Press, “I'm done answering questions.” Vine here. On February19, Inner City Press was ousted from the UN, see below.
On March 18, Vivian Wang of South South News was indicted. While much of the coverage -- and UN spin -- tried to distance the UN Secretariat from the expanding scandal, it's important at this point to return to Ban Ki-moon with Vivian Wang, here; and Ban's "Communications" official who cut Inner City Press' accreditation with no due process, Cristina Gallach, with Vivian Wang, here. And here are Ban and Gallach together:
| Ban swears in Gallach, Feb 3, 2015, credit UN Photo/Mark Garten
On March 22, Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq questions about South South News, which Haq characterized as "bullying," video here,UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: Can I ask you about South-South News?
Deputy Spokesman Haq: Yeah.
Inner City Press: Okay. In light of the new indictment of Vivian Wang, I have some questions, because the intertwining of the UN, particularly DPI (Department of Public Information) and South-South News seems extensive, so just in rapid fire…
Deputy Spokesman: I would object to that characterization, but proceed.
Inner City Press: All right. Then let's see. Let's go down the line. In the 64th meeting of the UN-DPI NGO, there's a reference slipped into the text to South-South News distribution. I want to know, is that at reference to South-South News? And if so, what's it doing in there? I also wanted to know, Stéphane Dujarric did an interview with South-South News, which is online. There was a matching programme for a grant, a thing that the Secretary-General appeared at in which, on UN News Centre itself, it says this was a matching grant from South-South News. What was the protocol for this now maligned or described as essentially corrupt and a vehicle for bribery entity to make such matching grants? I also wanted to know, as I've asked before without explanation, how South-South News got its content into the UN webcast archives, which no other entity does. So I'll stop, there's more, but since you say they're not intertwined, can you describe those five intertwinings and what the UN is going to do about it given that South-South News is not part of the Ban Ki-moon-defined audit of bribery in the UN?
Deputy Spokesman Haq: Well, we'll see what any audit… what the results of an audit are once that's completed, first off. Second off, I believe we researched into the appearance of South-South News on the UN archive. I believe one of my colleagues has been looking into that, and we'll try to get further information on that. Stéphane Dujarric gives interviews to lots and lots of people, including most of you in this very room. That has nothing to do with checking out the credentials of who it is who is interviewing him when that happens.
Inner City Press: Since the… [cross talk]
Deputy Spokesman: It’s the same as with the rest of us. Please stop interrupting me.
Inner City Press: Okay. Well, you did yesterday. Yesterday you walked out as I was asking questions. So I just want to make sure you remain…
Deputy Spokesman: You were not asking questions.
Inner City Press: Yes, I was.
Deputy Spokesman: No. No, you were trying to defend an action that you took some time ago which you know to be in the wrong. I'm not going to engage with you on that. I’ve said my piece on that. [cross talk]
Inner City Press: I was asking you a question about how this room was used. [cross talk] Say whatever you want, but don't leave the podium, please, until the questions are finished.
Deputy Spokesman: I will answer all your questions. I do not give in to bullying from anyone any time. Anyway…
Inner City Press: You're the one at the podium.
Deputy Spokesman: I do not give in to bullying from anyone at any time. Anyway, regarding the status of South-South News, however, I mean, in light of the latest information, that is something that is being reviewed. And we'll have to see where we go with that.
Inner City Press: So this one where it says… it saysmatching funds from the media platform South-South News, this is a un.org News Centre story. What is that about? Can you… I guess I'm wondering, you said that you're looking into the archives, but I asked this questionmore than a month ago. So how long does it take to find out how, during the tenure that Mr. Dujarric was in charge of UN Television, this information got put in? I mean, what exactly are you doing to investigate it is my question.
Deputy Spokesman: One of my colleagues has been asking around about how that was. Yes?
On March 24 - on the 23rd, Haq forestalled any South South News follow up by saying, only one more question -- Inner City Press asked Haq again, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: On South-South News, the other day, I asked you some specific questions, of how their content was included in UN webcast archives, I went back and looked. This is something that I asked in October. So, you'd said that somebody is looking into it. Given that it's now March, what exactly have… how have they been looking into it? And also, I want to read you something that's on South-South News's website today, which says, South-South News received backing of UN Under-Secretary-General of Department of Public Information. And I wanted to know… I'm looking at it now. Does this still stand? What do you say to this presentation?
Deputy Spokesman Haq: Yes, my colleague did look into this. The request was from UN-Habitat to use some information that was provided by South-South News for a project by Habitat.
Inner City Press: I just am noting on the South-South News question that there's more than one use, and one that I'm looking at now is called "A High-level Political Forum: A Focus on Climate", and it has nothing to do with UN-Habitat. So, I guess I'd encourage you, since it was asked in October, there's not just one… there probably is one that's from UN-Habitat, but there are number of them.
Where will it end? Including USG of DPI support?
On March 21, Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, Vine here (full video not given by 8 pm), UN transcript here.
If South South Chediek belatedly takes questions on his dealings, it will be more than what's been done by Cristina Gallach, who after refusing to directly answer Inner City Press' October 2015 question about her attendance at the South South Awards with Frank Lorenzo threw Inner City Press out of the UN with no due process on Feb 19.
Given Gallach's dealings with Vivian Wang, and that Inner City Press has questioned Gallach in October 2015 about her South South dealings, it seems clear that in any legitimate system, Gallach would have had to recuse herself from any decision to oust Inner City Press and cut its accreditation. We'll have more on this.
On March 18 while Inner City Press, ousted from the UN, hounded from its lobby even at 8 pm, sought answers at the US State Department briefing in Washington, at the UN in New York Ban's spokesman and Reuters engaged in any easy colloquy about the indictment.
Now that Lorenzo has formally pleaded guilty to bribery, the implications of the October 2015 charge sheet, which called Ng's and Lorenzo's South South News "NGO 1" -- casts new light on the ouster - and the ousters.
Since October 2015, the UN -- and its partner the UN Correspondents Association -- have been on notice that South South News was the vehicle for $12 million in bribes from Ng Lap Seng.
UNCA took some of this month, and delivered for Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon.
But for Inner City Press trying to cover, on just this corruption issues, the UNCA event in the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric and head of Communications Cristina Gallach threw Inner City Press into the street, Banned it from its office and cut its accreditation.
By contrasts, exposed South South News still has its UN office. Corruption is fine in Ban's UN - it's trying to COVER corruption that bring down disproportionate punishment, with no due process.
As described in the charge sheet, Lorenzo was president of South South News, through which Ng Lap Seng funnels $12 million in bribes from 2009 on.
(South South News is called "NGO-1" but also a self-described "21st Century media platform" - South South News.)
As Inner City Press has asked about and reported, South South News funnel tens of thousands of dollars into the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA). Then UNCA delivered Ban Ki-moon for a private photo-op with Ng Lap Seng, precisely when Ng was seeking / paying for anything seeming to show UN support for the Macau conference center he was trying to build.
How should South South News' payments to UNCA, and UNCA's role in Ng's photo op with Ban, be viewed? The question has been and will be asked. UNCA's response? A number of anonymous troll social media accounts, of the type Media Bistro linked in 2013 at the UN to Reuters and AFP, here. The difference this time is that Dujarric and DPI chief Gallach follow them, and one of Dujarric's staff openly "likes" the troll.
UNCA, Dujarrch and Gallach functionally tried to stop Inner City Press from covering this, see below. And the questioning, and reporting on corruption and censorship, has not been by wire services entertwined with UNCA. Inner City Press has raised this to them; watch this site.
On February 19 Inner City Press was ordered out of the UN, which it has covered for ten years as a Resident Correspondent with a shared office full of files, by a letter signed that day with two hours notice by Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach - who attended the September 2015 South South Awards with Lorenzo, photo here.
On Gallach's order, and with the participation of Ban's spokesman Dujarric, Inner City Press was thrown out onto First Avenue along with its laptop, but without its passport still in its shared office, by eight UN Security guards.Audio here. On February 22, UN Security told Inner City Press it was Banned from all UN premises.
After stories in BuzzFeed and Business Insider, Inner City Press re-entered the UN on a much reduced “non-resident correspondent” pass, Banned from covering such events as UN Security Council reform, Sri Lanka and terrorism, and the Office of the President of the General Assembly. (Inner City Press has continued, with sources, to report, for example here.)
The harassment continued: hours after Inner City Press raised its case orally to Ban Ki-moon and his deputy, UN Security against physically ordered Inner City Press to leave the UN, at 8 pm. Video here.
Dujarric said it is not his job to find Inner City Press a place to work. Q&A here. More and seemingly final threats were made on March 14 -- just before it emerged that Lorenzo is pleading guilty to bribery charges. Now what?
The UN has proved itself unable to reform itself. Under Secretaries General Inner City Press contacted about Gallach's outrageous no due process order, and her failure to recuse herself, did nothing. One said, You can only speak with Gallach; another said, I don't get involved in individual cases.
On March 14, after the threats and asked about Inner City Press' detailed email about the violation of its rights as a journalist, a third USG said, Do you expect me to respond to that? Well, yes.
The DC-based Government Accountability Project wrote to the US Mission to the UN urging them to work to get Inner City Press' resident correspondent accreditation and office restored. But US Ambassador for Management and Reform Isobel Coleman did not even respond to Inner City Press' detailed March 3 email; an oral question to Samantha Power at the UN Security Council stakeout on March 14 after the threats has gone unanswered. Vine here.
Now what? Beyond Lorenzo's guilty plea, how will the UN be cleaned up? All retaliatory acts must be rescinded and appropriate impartial investigations launched.
The pretext Gallach used to oust Inner City Press was its attempt on January 29 to cover a meeting of the UN Correspondents Association, which took money from Lorenzo's South South News and then granted a photo op with Ban Ki-moon to the main funder, also indicted Ng Lap Seng.
The meeting was in the UN Press Briefing Room, apparently “lent” to UNCA by Ban's spokesman Dujarric, who at UNCA boss Giampaolo Pioli's request came in and told Inner City Press to leave so he could see his “f*cking kids.”
Inner City Press said it would leave the glassed in interpreter's booth from which it was live-streaming the meeting as soon as UN Security asked it to. One guard came in and said that Spokesman Dujarric wanted Inner City Press to leave, which it did, and published a story and video.
Without once speaking to Inner City Press, Gallach used this “incident” as a pretext to throw Inner City Press out. Inner City Press has asked the UN the following questions:
Please explain the lending of the UN Press Briefing Room to Lorenzo, and that it was not listed in the days' UN Media Alert.
Please explain USG Gallach's appearance with Lorenzo at the South South Awards, which ICP reported, and that USG Gallach did not recuse herself from ordering Inner City Press' expulsion from its UN office on 2 hours' notice on February 19.
Please explain your [Dujarric's] role, on January 29 to February 19, in the expulsion of Inner City Press.
Please state who lend the UN Press Briefing Room to UNCA on Jan 29.
As a matter of UN ethics, shouldn't USG Gallach have offered me an opportunity to be heard, some due process?
As a matter of UN ethics, to whom an the UN Press Briefing Room be "lent," and by whom, on what basis, without disclosure?
Please provide your response: should staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General, and staff of DPI, accept free liquor and other gift from UNCA, while giving UNCA the UN Press Briefing Room and ousting other journalist whom UNCA's leadership doesn't like?
Please state, no or yes and explain: Do staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General provide advance copies of UN documents to favored journalists who are affiliated to UNCA?
And now: “This is a formal request for Ban Ki-moon's comment on the guilty plea for conspiracy to commit bribery etc by Frank Lorenzo.” Watch this site.
UNITED NATIONS, March 17 -- For more than six months Inner City Press has asked the UN about its dealings with Frank Lorenzo, former Deputy Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic and head of South South News, who is now pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery at the UN.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who had accepted a prize from Lorenzo, never commented; Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on February 9 told Inner City Press, “I'm done answering questions.” Vine here. On February19, Inner City Press was ousted from the UN, see below.
Now that Lorenzo has formally pleaded guilty to bribery, the implications of the October 2015 charge sheet, which called Ng's and Lorenzo's South South News "NGO 1" -- casts more light on the ouster - and the ousters.
Inner City Press has had its accreditation cut and has for now been Banned from its shared office, for trying to cover an event by South South News fundee UNCA in the UN Press Briefing Room.
South South News, amazingly, still has its UN office even though, beyond its corruption, it is as of March 17 simply stealing the stories of another publication, Inter Press Service (IPS).
(That UNCA has descended into a tool to defend andfacilitate the theft by wire service(s) of exclusive reports by independent Press is just another irony, related to the ouster, that we will explore.)
Since October 2015, the UN -- and its partner the UN Correspondents Association -- have been on notice that South South News was the vehicle for $12 million in bribes from Ng Lap Seng.
UNCA took some of this month, and delivered for Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon.
But for Inner City Press trying to cover, on just this corruption issues, the UNCA event in the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric and head of Communications Cristina Gallach threw Inner City Press into the street, Banned it from its office and cut its accreditation.
By contrasts, exposed South South News still has its UN office. Corruption is fine in Ban's UN - it's trying to COVER corruption that bring down disproportionate punishment, with no due process.
As described in the charge sheet, Lorenzo was president of South South News, through which Ng Lap Seng funnels $12 million in bribes from 2009 on.
(South South News is called "NGO-1" but also a self-described "21st Century media platform" - South South News.)
As Inner City Press has asked about and reported, South South News funnel tens of thousands of dollars into the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA). Then UNCA delivered Ban Ki-moon for a private photo-op with Ng Lap Seng, precisely when Ng was seeking / paying for anything seeming to show UN support for the Macau conference center he was trying to build.
How should South South News' payments to UNCA, and UNCA's role in Ng's photo op with Ban, be viewed? The question has been and will be asked. UNCA's response? A number of anonymous troll social media accounts, of the type Media Bistro linked in 2013 at the UN to Reuters and AFP, here. The difference this time is that Dujarric and DPI chief Gallach follow them, and one of Dujarric's staff openly "likes" the troll.
UNCA, Dujarrch and Gallach functionally tried to stop Inner City Press from covering this, see below. And the questioning, and reporting on corruption and censorship, has not been by wire services entertwined with UNCA. Inner City Press has raised this to them; watch this site.
On February 19 Inner City Press was ordered out of the UN, which it has covered for ten years as a Resident Correspondent with a shared office full of files, by a letter signed that day with two hours notice by Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach - who attended the September 2015 South South Awards with Lorenzo, photo here.
On Gallach's order, and with the participation of Ban's spokesman Dujarric, Inner City Press was thrown out onto First Avenue along with its laptop, but without its passport still in its shared office, by eight UN Security guards. Audio here. On February 22, UN Security told Inner City Press it was Banned from all UN premises.
After stories in BuzzFeed and Business Insider, Inner City Press re-entered the UN on a much reduced “non-resident correspondent” pass, Banned from covering such events as UN Security Council reform, Sri Lanka and terrorism, and the Office of the President of the General Assembly. (Inner City Press has continued, with sources, to report, for example here.)
The harassment continued: hours after Inner City Press raised its case orally to Ban Ki-moon and his deputy, UN Security against physically ordered Inner City Press to leave the UN, at 8 pm. Video here.
Dujarric said it is not his job to find Inner City Press a place to work. Q&A here. More and seemingly final threats were made on March 14 -- just before it emerged that Lorenzo is pleading guilty to bribery charges. Now what?
The UN has proved itself unable to reform itself. Under Secretaries General Inner City Press contacted about Gallach's outrageous no due process order, and her failure to recuse herself, did nothing. One said, You can only speak with Gallach; another said, I don't get involved in individual cases.
On March 14, after the threats and asked about Inner City Press' detailed email about the violation of its rights as a journalist, a third USG said, Do you expect me to respond to that? Well, yes.
The DC-based Government Accountability Project wrote to the US Mission to the UN urging them to work to get Inner City Press' resident correspondent accreditation and office restored. But US Ambassador for Management and Reform Isobel Coleman did not even respond to Inner City Press' detailed March 3 email; an oral question to Samantha Power at the UN Security Council stakeout on March 14 after the threats has gone unanswered. Vine here.
Now what? Beyond Lorenzo's guilty plea, how will the UN be cleaned up? All retaliatory acts must be rescinded and appropriate impartial investigations launched.
The pretext Gallach used to oust Inner City Press was its attempt on January 29 to cover a meeting of the UN Correspondents Association, which took money from Lorenzo's South South News and then granted a photo op with Ban Ki-moon to the main funder, also indicted Ng Lap Seng.
The meeting was in the UN Press Briefing Room, apparently “lent” to UNCA by Ban's spokesman Dujarric, who at UNCA boss Giampaolo Pioli's request came in and told Inner City Press to leave so he could see his “f*cking kids.”
Inner City Press said it would leave the glassed in interpreter's booth from which it was live-streaming the meeting as soon as UN Security asked it to. One guard came in and said that Spokesman Dujarric wanted Inner City Press to leave, which it did, and published a story and video.
Without once speaking to Inner City Press, Gallach used this “incident” as a pretext to throw Inner City Press out. Inner City Press has asked the UN the following questions:
Please explain the lending of the UN Press Briefing Room to Lorenzo, and that it was not listed in the days' UN Media Alert.
Please explain USG Gallach's appearance with Lorenzo at the South South Awards, which ICP reported, and that USG Gallach did not recuse herself from ordering Inner City Press' expulsion from its UN office on 2 hours' notice on February 19.
Please explain your [Dujarric's] role, on January 29 to February 19, in the expulsion of Inner City Press.
Please state who lend the UN Press Briefing Room to UNCA on Jan 29.
As a matter of UN ethics, shouldn't USG Gallach have offered me an opportunity to be heard, some due process?
As a matter of UN ethics, to whom an the UN Press Briefing Room be "lent," and by whom, on what basis, without disclosure?
Please provide your response: should staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General, and staff of DPI, accept free liquor and other gift from UNCA, while giving UNCA the UN Press Briefing Room and ousting other journalist whom UNCA's leadership doesn't like?
Please state, no or yes and explain: Do staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General provide advance copies of UN documents to favored journalists who are affiliated to UNCA?
And now: “This is a formal request for Ban Ki-moon's comment on the guilty plea for conspiracy to commit bribery etc by Frank Lorenzo.” Watch this site.
UNITED NATIONS, March 16 -- For more than six months Inner City Press has asked the UN about its dealings with Frank Lorenzo, former Deputy Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic and head of South South News, who is now pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery at the UN.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who had accepted a prize from Lorenzo, never commented; Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on February 9 told Inner City Press, “I'm done answering questions.” Vine here. On February19, Inner City Press was ousted from the UN, see below.
Now that Lorenzo has formally pleaded guilty to bribery, the implications of the October 2015 charge sheet, which called Ng's and Lorenzo's South South News "NGO 1" -- casts new light on the ouster - and the ousters.
Since October 2015, the UN -- and its partner the UN Correspondents Association -- have been on notice that South South News was the vehicle for $12 million in bribes from Ng Lap Seng.
UNCA took some of this month, and delivered for Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon.
But for Inner City Press trying to cover, on just this corruption issues, the UNCA event in the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric and head of Communications Cristina Gallach threw Inner City Press into the street, Banned it from its office and cut its accreditation.
By contrasts, exposed South South News still has its UN office. Corruption is fine in Ban's UN - it's trying to COVER corruption that bring down disproportionate punishment, with no due process.
As described in the charge sheet, Lorenzo was president of South South News, through which Ng Lap Seng funnels $12 million in bribes from 2009 on.
(South South News is called "NGO-1" but also a self-described "21st Century media platform" - South South News.)
As Inner City Press has asked about and reported, South South News funnel tens of thousands of dollars into the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA). Then UNCA delivered Ban Ki-moon for a private photo-op with Ng Lap Seng, precisely when Ng was seeking / paying for anything seeming to show UN support for the Macau conference center he was trying to build.
How should South South News' payments to UNCA, and UNCA's role in Ng's photo op with Ban, be viewed? The question has been and will be asked. UNCA's response? A number of anonymous troll social media accounts, of the type Media Bistro linked in 2013 at the UN to Reuters and AFP, here. The difference this time is that Dujarric and DPI chief Gallach follow them, and one of Dujarric's staff openly "likes" the troll.
UNCA, Dujarrch and Gallach functionally tried to stop Inner City Press from covering this, see below. And the questioning, and reporting on corruption and censorship, has not been by wire services entertwined with UNCA. Inner City Press has raised this to them; watch this site.
On February 19 Inner City Press was ordered out of the UN, which it has covered for ten years as a Resident Correspondent with a shared office full of files, by a letter signed that day with two hours notice by Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach - who attended the September 2015 South South Awards with Lorenzo, photo here.
On Gallach's order, and with the participation of Ban's spokesman Dujarric, Inner City Press was thrown out onto First Avenue along with its laptop, but without its passport still in its shared office, by eight UN Security guards.Audio here. On February 22, UN Security told Inner City Press it was Banned from all UN premises.
After stories in BuzzFeed and Business Insider, Inner City Press re-entered the UN on a much reduced “non-resident correspondent” pass, Banned from covering such events as UN Security Council reform, Sri Lanka and terrorism, and the Office of the President of the General Assembly. (Inner City Press has continued, with sources, to report, for example here.)
The harassment continued: hours after Inner City Press raised its case orally to Ban Ki-moon and his deputy, UN Security against physically ordered Inner City Press to leave the UN, at 8 pm. Video here.
Dujarric said it is not his job to find Inner City Press a place to work. Q&A here. More and seemingly final threats were made on March 14 -- just before it emerged that Lorenzo is pleading guilty to bribery charges. Now what?
The UN has proved itself unable to reform itself. Under Secretaries General Inner City Press contacted about Gallach's outrageous no due process order, and her failure to recuse herself, did nothing. One said, You can only speak with Gallach; another said, I don't get involved in individual cases.
On March 14, after the threats and asked about Inner City Press' detailed email about the violation of its rights as a journalist, a third USG said, Do you expect me to respond to that? Well, yes.
The DC-based Government Accountability Project wrote to the US Mission to the UN urging them to work to get Inner City Press' resident correspondent accreditation and office restored. But US Ambassador for Management and Reform Isobel Coleman did not even respond to Inner City Press' detailed March 3 email; an oral question to Samantha Power at the UN Security Council stakeout on March 14 after the threats has gone unanswered. Vine here.
Now what? Beyond Lorenzo's guilty plea, how will the UN be cleaned up? All retaliatory acts must be rescinded and appropriate impartial investigations launched.
The pretext Gallach used to oust Inner City Press was its attempt on January 29 to cover a meeting of the UN Correspondents Association, which took money from Lorenzo's South South News and then granted a photo op with Ban Ki-moon to the main funder, also indicted Ng Lap Seng.
The meeting was in the UN Press Briefing Room, apparently “lent” to UNCA by Ban's spokesman Dujarric, who at UNCA boss Giampaolo Pioli's request came in and told Inner City Press to leave so he could see his “f*cking kids.”
Inner City Press said it would leave the glassed in interpreter's booth from which it was live-streaming the meeting as soon as UN Security asked it to. One guard came in and said that Spokesman Dujarric wanted Inner City Press to leave, which it did, and published a story and video.
Without once speaking to Inner City Press, Gallach used this “incident” as a pretext to throw Inner City Press out. Inner City Press has asked the UN the following questions:
Please explain the lending of the UN Press Briefing Room to Lorenzo, and that it was not listed in the days' UN Media Alert.
Please explain USG Gallach's appearance with Lorenzo at the South South Awards, which ICP reported, and that USG Gallach did not recuse herself from ordering Inner City Press' expulsion from its UN office on 2 hours' notice on February 19.
Please explain your [Dujarric's] role, on January 29 to February 19, in the expulsion of Inner City Press.
Please state who lend the UN Press Briefing Room to UNCA on Jan 29.
As a matter of UN ethics, shouldn't USG Gallach have offered me an opportunity to be heard, some due process?
As a matter of UN ethics, to whom an the UN Press Briefing Room be "lent," and by whom, on what basis, without disclosure?
Please provide your response: should staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General, and staff of DPI, accept free liquor and other gift from UNCA, while giving UNCA the UN Press Briefing Room and ousting other journalist whom UNCA's leadership doesn't like?
Please state, no or yes and explain: Do staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General provide advance copies of UN documents to favored journalists who are affiliated to UNCA?
And now: “This is a formal request for Ban Ki-moon's comment on the guilty plea for conspiracy to commit bribery etc by Frank Lorenzo.” Watch this site.
UNITED NATIONS, March 15 -- For more than six months Inner City Press has asked the UN about its dealings with Frank Lorenzo, former Deputy Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic and head of South South News, who is now pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery at the UN.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who had accepted a prize from Lorenzo, has yet to comment; Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on February 9 told Inner City Press, “I'm done answering questions.” Vine here.
Inner City Press: I wanted to ask you, there was – today – it was announced today that the deputy ambassador of the Dominican Republic, Frank Lorenzo, is set to plead guilty to bribery charges at the UN. So I wanted to ask, what’s the State Department’s view of that case? Do you view it as just a slip-up in the president of the General Assembly’s office, or is it a reflection of a wider corruption or sale of access at the UN and what the Government Accountability Project also calls retaliation against the press reporting on the case? Do you – what do you make of this case that began in October and is ongoing, the wheels are turning?
MR KIRBY: I’m going to have to take that question. I do not believe I have anything for you on that. So you’re going to have to let me get back to you.
Inner City Press waited until 10 pm to publish this, but so far there is no answer.
On February 19 Inner City Press was ordered out of the UN, which it has covered for ten years as a Resident Correspondent with a shared office full of files, by a letter signed that day with two hours notice by Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach - who attended the September 2015 South South Awards with Lorenzo, photo here.
On Gallach's order, and with the participation of Ban's spokesman Dujarric, Inner City Press was thrown out onto First Avenue along with its laptop, but without its passport still in its shared office, by eight UN Security guards.Audio here. On February 22, UN Security told Inner City Press it was Banned from all UN premises.
After stories in BuzzFeed and Business Insider, Inner City Press re-entered the UN on a much reduced “non-resident correspondent” pass, Banned from covering such events as UN Security Council reform, Sri Lanka and terrorism, and the Office of the President of the General Assembly. (Inner City Press has continued, with sources, to report, for example here.)
The harassment continued: hours after Inner City Press raised its case orally to Ban Ki-moon and his deputy, UN Security against physically ordered Inner City Press to leave the UN, at 8 pm. Video here.
Dujarric said it is not his job to find Inner City Press a place to work. Q&A here. More and seemingly final threats were made on March 14 -- just before it emerged that Lorenzo is pleading guilty to bribery charges. Now what?
The UN has proved itself unable to reform itself. Under Secretaries General Inner City Press contacted about Gallach's outrageous no due process order, and her failure to recuse herself, did nothing. One said, You can only speak with Gallach; another said, I don't get involved in individual cases.
On March 14, after the threats and asked about Inner City Press' detailed email about the violation of its rights as a journalist, a third USG said, Do you expect me to respond to that? Well, yes.
The DC-based Government Accountability Project wrote to the US Mission to the UN urging them to work to get Inner City Press' resident correspondent accreditation and office restored. But US Ambassador for Management and Reform Isobel Coleman did not even respond to Inner City Press' detailed March 3 email; an oral question to Samantha Power at the UN Security Council stakeout on March 14 after the threats has gone unanswered. Vine here.
Now what? Beyond Lorenzo's guilty plea, how will the UN be cleaned up? All retaliatory acts must be rescinded and appropriate impartial investigations launched.
The pretext Gallach used to oust Inner City Press was its attempt on January 29 to cover a meeting of the UN Correspondents Association, which took money from Lorenzo's South South News and then granted a photo op with Ban Ki-moon to the main funder, also indicted Ng Lap Seng.
The meeting was in the UN Press Briefing Room, apparently “lent” to UNCA by Ban's spokesman Dujarric, who at UNCA boss Giampaolo Pioli's request came in and told Inner City Press to leave so he could see his “f*cking kids.”
Inner City Press said it would leave the glassed in interpreter's booth from which it was live-streaming the meeting as soon as UN Security asked it to. One guard came in and said that Spokesman Dujarric wanted Inner City Press to leave, which it did, and published a story and video.
Without once speaking to Inner City Press, Gallach used this “incident” as a pretext to throw Inner City Press out. Inner City Press has asked the UN the following questions:
Please explain the lending of the UN Press Briefing Room to Lorenzo, and that it was not listed in the days' UN Media Alert.
Please explain USG Gallach's appearance with Lorenzo at the South South Awards, which ICP reported, and that USG Gallach did not recuse herself from ordering Inner City Press' expulsion from its UN office on 2 hours' notice on February 19.
Please explain your [Dujarric's] role, on January 29 to February 19, in the expulsion of Inner City Press.
Please state who lend the UN Press Briefing Room to UNCA on Jan 29.
As a matter of UN ethics, shouldn't USG Gallach have offered me an opportunity to be heard, some due process?
As a matter of UN ethics, to whom an the UN Press Briefing Room be "lent," and by whom, on what basis, without disclosure?
Please provide your response: should staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General, and staff of DPI, accept free liquor and other gift from UNCA, while giving UNCA the UN Press Briefing Room and ousting other journalist whom UNCA's leadership doesn't like?
Please state, no or yes and explain: Do staff of the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General provide advance copies of UN documents to favored journalists who are affiliated to UNCA?
And now: “This is a formal request for Ban Ki-moon's comment on the guilty plea for conspiracy to commit bribery etc by Frank Lorenzo.” Watch this site.
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 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.
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.
UNITED NATIONS, February 19 -- The UN on February 19, after Inner City Press asked about UN inaction in South Sudan and Burundi and financial irregularities, was handed a letter to leave the UN by 5 pm. Letter here.
The 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.
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.
This was a principled dispute whether the UN and Ban Ki-moon's Spokesman Stephane Dujarric can order a journalist out of the UN Press Briefing Room, and can "lend" the UN Press Briefing Room for private events to anyone they choose, from French President Francois Hollande ("lent" to by Dujarric) or the UN Correspondents Association a/k/a/ UN Corruption Association, apparently lend to without much knowledge by new head of DPI Cristina Gallach.
Even major UNCA members have told Inner City Press it was a mistake by the UN or Gallach to give the UN Press Briefing Room for a private UNCA event. The only reason was the UNCA chief Giampaolo Pioli was paying waiters for a corrupt open bar event up in the large clubhouse the UN gives to UNCA.
Now, trying to obfuscate (we are being diplomatic) all this, Gallach has written - to a Nobel Peace Prize winner no less - that
"From: Cristina Gallach Date: 19 February 2016 at 9:23:37 PM GMT-5 To: "J. Ramos-Horta" Subject: Re: Pls clarify
Dear mr Ramos-Horta,
Many thanks for your message which allows me to inform you about the decision I have taken on the type of accreditation that Mr Lee has and will have in the future.
Recently mr Lee openly broke the rules that guide all the resident correspondents."
Inner City Press did NOT violate any rule; at the time Gallach sent this evasive email, her UN guards were tearing the UN pass of Inner City Press' neck and refusing to allow it to access its files or even its coat on an 18 degree night.
To top it off, Gallach in the three week since the event she mis-presents did not ONCE try to email or speak with Inner City Press about why it believed and believes it has a presumptive right to cover events in the UN Press Briefing Room.
Who chose this person to be in charge of the UN's public information and press accreditation office?
Inner City Press uses the word "lie" advisedly, since UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, on video / Periscope, announced while acting to eject Inner City Press from the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, "He lies a lot."
Is this how a UN Spokesperson, even a deputy, should be speaking about a UN correspondent?
Gallach repeated this same ill-informed anti-Press position, without once speaking with the Press, to at least one Permanent Representative of a UN Member state, and had her "bag carrier" Darrin Farrant tell a UN Security Council member state that nothing could or would be done.
Who runs the UN?
(As Inner City Press reported, Gallach attended the South South Awards just before the indictments. What "rules" did that violate - actual laws that have led to legal indictments?)
UN Security demanded ICP's pass, which it declined to provide at least until 5 pm. Then UN Security told Inner City Press its grounds pass was being revoked in full and it could not re-enter the UN for any purpose.
UNITED NATIONS, February 15, updated -- When UN President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft announced a trip this week to Europe and Morocco, on the issue of who is paying, which Inner City Press has asked both him and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Lykketoft's press release said:
“Mr. Lykketoft’s visit to Morocco is at the invitation of the Government of Morocco and travel and accommodation in Brussels and Stockholm are paid for by the Office of the President of the General Assembly's Trust Fund.”
This seemed an indirect way of saying that the Government of Morocco is paying for travel to and accommodation in the country. (Lykketoft's office, after an Inner City Press, has yet to confirm or explain this.)
Lykketoft's press release, sent out at midnight on Sunday, says the trip relates among other things to human rights. So Inner City Press has also asked the four spokespeople for the Office of the PGA, to “state if the human rights issues of Western Sahara, for example, will be raised by the PGA.”
But why then take the funding for the trip from the Government of Morocco, which opposes the referendum on independence which the UN is supposed to have held for decades?
In this context, citing COP 22 can be viewed as a cop-out. Lykketoft's midnight press release also said, “Mr. Lykketoft will be accompanied on the trip to Brussels by Chef de Cabinet H.E. Tomas Anker Christensen, and Senior Adviser Pierre-Christophe Chatzisavas. He will be also joined by Political Director Kamal Amakrane in Morocco.”
With
all due
respect, the
genial
Kamal Amakrane previously
worked at the Kingdom of Morocco's mission to the UN. Lykketoft's
spokespeople have yet to provide the Press requested list of who in his
Office is "seconded" and who is paid by the UN.
Particularly as the bribery case against former PGA John Ashe proceeds, with two guilty pleas and also indicted former Dominican Republic Deputy Permanent Representative (and South South News executive) Francis Lorenzo found to NOT have immunity, taking Moroccon government funding for a trip to Morocco with a Morocco-provided staffer, particularly (but not only) if not addressing the obvious issue of Western Sahara, seems ill-advised. We'll have more on this.
Since Mogens Lykketoft took over as UN President of the General Assembly, Inner City Press has asked him about Denmark: Danish former PM Helle Thorning Schmidt using his office if not him to campaign to head UNHCR, and funds from Denmark and others. Now, Inner City Press has asked Lykketoft's office about his comments about Denmark, so far without answer.
On the morning of January 29, Inner City Press asked Lykketoft's two spokespeople:
“This is a request for quick comment on what PGA Lykketoft has been quoted as saying about Denmark (see below). Among other things, can you explain the use of (UN) background, and how the PGA intends to use his platform at the UN with regard to Denmark's reputation.”
But there has been no answer. Inner City Press' sources have provided this loose summary:
“A tired and sad Lykketoft explains that his choice of words in his private birthday party speech were not for public consumption. He did not plan the leak. He understands that people in Denmark have attacked his choice of words. He spoke with humor and did *not* make any implied allegations of wrongdoing. He did not imagine that some of his guests would forward his speech to the press.
“But he is very sad about the state of Denmark, and he is sad that the former government could not prevent the liberals and Løkke getting into power. He stresses that is not happy at all of what is said abroad about Denmark for the moment. This is much more serious. This has damaged Denmark's reputation.We have a common obligation to minimize the damages. He will do it from his platform in the UN.”
Inner City Press' questions, in part, about about this use of the UN platform. We'll have more on this.
Two weeks after UN President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft said that in the wake of the indictment of his predecessor John Ashe he would be more transparent, on November 17 Inner City Press asked Lykketoft's spokesperson for basic disclosures: of Lykketoft's daily schedule, and of what gratuities he receives, including free tickets to events others are paying for, sometimes substantially paying for.Video here, and embedded below.
Lykketoft's spokesperson said he was not disclosing his daily schedule due to concerns raised by his security detail. But these are from the UN Department of Safety and Security, the same DSS which provides security to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his Deputy Jan Eliasson, for both of whom a daily scheduled is published, in advance.
On gratuities including free tickets, Lykketoft's spokesperson said it was the type of disclosure that Lykketoft had said he would make -- then he added that in some even most of these cases Lykketoft would be attending in his official capacity and therefore not expected to pay.
That's what makes it a gratuity that should be disclosed.
Let's take an example. As Inner City Press has raised, the UN Correspondents Association is soliciting $6,000 or more for tickets to its “ball” on Wall Street, including sitting at the “VIP” table. This seems like selling access to Ban Ki-moon -- a sample Permanent Representative approached Inner City Press and called UNCA's solicitation “disgusting” -- and one wonders what Lykketoft things about it. More pertinently, is he participating in it? Either taking a comped ticket, or worse, sitting at the very VIP table access to which is being sold?
Here is UNCA's recent pitch:
"Dear Ambassador,
The United Nations Correspondents Association is honored to invite you to participate and contribute to the 20th annual UNCA Awards event with guest of honor U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, recipient of the 2015 Global Advocate of the Year Award for climate change. Exclusive raffle prizes include business class airline tickets around the world with hotel accommodations and a grand prize FIAT 500X car. As your esteemed presence will ensure the success of this event, we are pleased to send you the below opportunities to attend the gala dinner:
Mission Table Special Price / $6000 (half-table) 5 seats at VIP table at the gala event
Special Ambassador Contribution / $2,000 -1 VIP ticket for Ambassador with premium seating to dinner + 1 complimentary VIP ticket for spouse or guest -Special acknowledgement of the Ambassador and the Mission in the UNCA Awards Journal of the evening -Additional tickets for UN Diplomats of the Mission can be purchased at the special price of $750 each
Giampaolo Pioli, UNCA President Please make all checks payable to 'UNCA Awards Committee' Contributions to the UNCA Awards Committee are tax deductible. The UNCA Awards Committee is a 501-c(3)"
What - to sell photo ops with Ban Ki-moon to businessness / brothel owners indicted for corruption and out on $50 million bail, the same money used to make contributions and then get UNCA "journalism" awards?
These UNCA prices, though elevated, are less than what UNCA took from Ng Lap Seng's vehicles.
Having been told by the UN Office of the Spokesperson to ask the PGA's office where Ashe's and Sam Kutesa's documents are, Inner City Press asked the PGA Office's spokesperson - who said they don't have them. Round and round, UNreformed.
Inner City Press will, of course, be covering the UN General Assembly session on November 20 about migration and refugees, and the Third Committee, etc. But these are very basic disclosures that are being requested - the information should be disclosed.
Back on November 4, without one mentioning the name of John Ashe, much less his fellow indictees Ng Lap Seng, Frank Lorenzo and Sheri Yan, on November 3 both UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft gave speeches about post-indictment reform.
After the two speeches, Inner City Press asked Lykketoft about his proposal still allow financial flows from "host organization[s]" like Ng Lap Seng's Sun Kian Ip Group and if Lykketoft would establish a Freedom of Information procedure so that the Press and public could requested documents. Lykketoft replied, on this, "we have no access whatsoever to documents from earlier PGA offices." Video here.
Then when Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, "Does the Secretariat have any of Mr. Kutesa or Ashe’s documents?" Dujarric replied, "I’m not aware that we do, because those are the documents held by the presidents themselves."
This is a major problem - how can this be? On November 4, Inner City Press asked again, video here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to ask about these documents as well, because it seems, it was pretty extraordinary yesterday that Mr. Lykketoft said he has no records of Ashe or Kutesa and what you said here. So I wanted to ask you a very specific question, for example, in the charge document by the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] there is extensive emailing between Ng Lap Seng and his affiliates and the PGA. There's also reference to the Chief of Staff and people that are actually UN staff members. And I'm… I've looked at this thing called archives.un.org, which instructs staff to, like, retain records, record-retention policy. So I wanted you to know or to say maybe later today, would emails from these outside parties to people working in Mr. Ashe's office, such as the Chief of Staff, have been retained?
Spokesman: I think, the office the President of the General Assembly is run by the President of the General Assembly. So I would encourage you to aim your questions in that direction.
Inner City Press: We asked yesterday and he said he has nothing…
Spokesman: I can't… I can't speak to the details of how either Mr. Ashe or others have run their offices.
Inner City Press: But do you see the problem on this?
Spokesman: I'm not arguing with you about the line of questioning. I just… that's as far as I can go.
Lykketoft on November 3 published some "transparency" material on his Office's website which, upon Inner City Press review, appears largely derived from a previous PGA Handbook by Switzerland and "its" PGA Deiss. That docuemnt states:
... "the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM) Executive Office is responsible for all financial, personnel, and general administrative matters concerning DGACM, including the Office of the PGA.. In executing his/her duties, the PGA is supported by the Office of the President of the General Assembly (Office of the PGA, or OPGA). The team supporting the PGA is also called “the Cabinet of the PGA.” Although the Office of the PGA is independent in the execution of its mandate, for administrative purposes it is attached to the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM)."
So doesn't DGACM have these documents? Here's a UN "Frequently Asked Questions" Inner City Press has found: "records, like all assets, are the property of the Organisation...You need to list the most important groups of records and documents required to fulfill your function. You should be familiar with how these key records are protected, who has access to them and how long they need to be kept. What are you and your team members specific responsibilities?"
What, indeed. We will have more on this. Watch this site.
From the PGA's Office's transcript:
Inner City Press: thanks for doing the stakeout. I see in your information note under official travel, it says that other funding sources can be used including host organisation. And since some of the allegations are that, for example, as recently as August 2015, Mr. Ng Lap Seng and his Sun Kian Ip foundation... he's since been indicted... travel for UN staff, ambassadors and others to Macau, how is this going to close that loophole in which a business... in... in... a business executive can offer luxury hotels, first-class tickets to faraway places?
And I also wanted to ask you... I'm going to say this, I guess, diplomatically. The Presidents of the 68th and 69th sessions, both of their spouses took compensated positions with NGOs that have since been... the heads have since been indicted, Global Sustainability Foundation and South-South News, I mean the heads of each. How would you address that?
And, finally, would you consider implementing some sort of a freedom of information policy in your office i.e., rather than just putting things on your website, if the press or public make a request for a document, unless there's some reason to withhold it, to make it available in a certain period of time? Thanks a lot. Sorry for the long question.
President Lykketoft: "I think I'm not able to go much further into the accusations raised. That's not for me to... to comment on. And I can say that we have no access and thus maybe also a procedure that should be changed in the future, but we have no access whatsoever to documents from earlier PGA offices. So I can't give you any details about what was present there and... and... in that connection, I think, it's... it's of interest what the Secretary-General just said about the investigation he has put into force about what is of information in connection with the case in other parts of the UN organisation. But we have no access to any of this now if you look backwards.
If you look forwards, of course, I would be willing to provide any kind of access to information about travelling I do during my tenure as President.
Much of what we have committed ourselves to do has to be generalized during the considerations in the General Assembly over the revitalisation, probably in... in the shape... in the form of resolution. But what I can tell you here is what we will do, how we will proceed with the openness of information during this coming year."
Dujarric tried to say that having records about the Trust Fund account that Ashe barely used was enough. But where are the documents? Is there no UN document retention policy applicable here? Dujarric did not answer. We'll have (much) more on this.
Mogen Lykketoft, meanwhile, couldn't bring himself to say Ashe's name, only referring to the President of the 68th General Assembly session. Lykketoft, who allowed his Office to be used for fellow Dane Helle Thorning-Schmidt to campaign for the top spot in the UN's refugee agency UNHCR, said he will be making reform proposals. We will be there - with questions for Lykketoft.
Ban again mentioned what he told Inner City Press at his last stakeout, a task force under his chef of staff Susana Malcorra. But as Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Dujarric, with all due respect, Malcorra accepted one of Ng's South South Awards, for Ban. We'll have more on this.
