On MDGs, Rwanda Says Its Not for Donors, Ban Cites "Gilani" of Australia, Africa Absence Surprise

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 -- At the “MDGs Momentum” event in the UN's re-opened lobby on Friday afternoon, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon thanked the Ambassadors of the two countries chairing his MDGs advisory group: Australia and Rwanda. (Inner City Press photo here.)

  Both, as it happens, were elected to the Security Council this year. Australia may be said to represent donor countries, and Rwanda the developing world. 

  But Rwanda's Permanent Representative Eugene Richard Gasana made a point of saying, in his speech, that his country is not for MDGs at the behest of donors.

  For Rwanda in the recent past, one wag noted, donors have been fickle: here today, gone tomorrow.

  Afterward Inner City Press asked Gasana about the line. “It's about national ownership,” he said. “It's all about us. Nobody should champion the MDGs because they got money.”

Another speaker, Jeffrey Sachs, said that Rwanda's neighbors are all inspired by its progress on the MDGs. Again one wag had to note, that's not been the message from the neighbor in Kinshasa -- which now, at least according to the UN's Herve Ladsous, is belatedly suspending military officers for the 126 rapes in Minova in late November 2012.

  In offering this thanks, Ban Ki-moon cited Rwanda's President Kagame and Australia's “Prime Minister Gilani.” Inner City Press was there, and heard and taped it. 

 Afterward, the Australian delegation tried to insist it had not happened. And to respond to that, and because the UN often just doctors up its transcripts, Inner City Press is uploading the audio clip, here.

  In fairness, Ban was recounting his call -- on Skype -- to courageous schoolgirl Malala in Pakistan, and about kicking off a soccer game in front of 90,000 fans.

Afterward, more surprise was expressed that in his meeting Thursday with US President Barack Obama -- that's a name Ban wouldn't get wrong -- Ban didn't raise any issues about Africa, “not even about Mali,” as one African diplomat put it.

“Maybe these things seem important to us here, but are not important even to Ban Ki-moon out there,” the diplomat continued, pointing outside to rainswept First Avenue. Perhaps not. Watch this site.

UN Refuses Press Qs on Haiti, Congo Rapes & Raid, Mad about De Mistura Scoop?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 5 -- That UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey almost never has answers to questions is one thing.

  But on April 5 Del Buey decided he wouldn't even let questions be asked. 

 Del Buey simply refused to take Inner City Press questions on Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, countries in which the UN has peacekeeping missions (mis) run by Herve Ladsous costing $800 million and over $1 billion, respectively. To this low has Ban Ki-moon's UN sunk.

The first speaker at Friday's noon briefing was Ban's main spokesman Martin Nesirky, who been gone all week in San Marino, Andorra, Monaco and now Madrid. 

  The purpose of the call-in was to describe and promote a call Ban made -- by Skype! -- to Malala, the courageous schoolgirl shot be extremists in Pakistan.

   Nesirky said clips from the call would soon be uploaded to YouTube.

(Flashback: after the UN raided Inner City Press' office on March 18, on March 19 a UN supervisor wrote to demand that the after raid video be removed from YouTube as a “first step.” This request, about which Inner City Press answered questions from the Department of Public Information which led the raid, has never been withdrawn.)

  As a question to Nesirky, Inner City Press asked him to confirm the Vatican's report that Ban will visit Pope Benedict in Rome on April 9, and to confirm a visit to and appointment of Staffan De Mistura, currently deputy foreign minister of Italy as UN envoy to Mali, “as we have reported.”

“Who's we?” Nesirky asked.

“Inner City Press,” was the answer. Nesirky would not even confirm the Vatican visit. Mighty dangerous, the Vatican.

After Nesirky spoke about Ban's time at the UN World Tourism Organization, Del Buey read out announcements then said he would take questions. 

 After leaving Inner City Press for last, as has become the norm, Inner City Press said for planning purposes that it would ask questions about Sudan, Haiti and the DRC -- all countries in which the UN has peacekeeping missions (mis) run by Herve Ladsous.

  After saying he didn't know about a Small Arms Survey report on South Sudan, Del Buey turned away and told another correspondents, “last question.”

  Why? Inner City Press asked.

  Del Buey seemed to say because he'd been in the room too long. But he took very few questions -- in fact on April 3 he managed to hold his briefing right during Susan Rice's stakeout, taking only two questions in a record low six minute briefing. Is he tired?

  The UN's Censorship Alliance, known as UNCA, never challenges the decline of access to information at the UN. The most recent posting on its glassed-in bulletin board is from February 1.

Meanwhile DPI, from the non-UNCA bulletin board won through advocacy by the Free UN Coalition for Access, recently tore down every flier, saying they were too old, including a critical flier from late March.

  The president of UNCA Pamela Falk of CBS took photos of the March 18 raid, then issued a legal threat to Inner City Press not to write about it.

To this as the UN descended. As to the questions Del Buey refused to taken, much less answer, watch this site.