Tuesday, November 29, 2016

On Myanmar, Genocide Talk But US Accepted Outcome-Less Briefing By Nambiar, Ban's Brother Ki-ho Mined in Shan State


By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, November 29 -- Myanmar was the quiet topic of the UN Security Council on the evening of November 17, between meetings on South Sudan and Syria chemical weapons.
 Inner City Press was informed that while the US requested the closed door briefing, the US agreed as a condition that there would be no outcome to the meeting. 
The briefer was Vijay Nambiar, Ban Ki-moon's envoy on Myanmar as he was, disasterously, on Sri Lanka. And sources tell Inner City Press that amid the burning of Rohingyas' homes and rapes and killings in Rakhine State, Nambiar advised the Council to go easy on Myanmar and give them time. This is is disgusting, all around.  The UN has refused to provide a summary of what Nambiar said, but now issues this, on Prevention of Genocide:
"Note to Correspondents: Statement by Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide on the situation in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar

New York, 29 November 2016 - The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, expressed alarm at reports of the deteriorating security, human rights and humanitarian situation in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. Following attacks by armed assailants against border security posts in October 2016, the response of the military has reportedly been characterized by excessive use of force and other serious human rights violations against civilian population, particularly the Rohingya Muslim population, including allegations of extrajudicial executions, torture, rape and the destruction of religious property. “These allegations must be verified as a matter of urgency”, stated Adama Dieng. “If they are true, the lives of thousands of people are at risk. The reputation of Myanmar, its new Government and its military forces is also at stake in this matter.”  

The Special Adviser stressed that “the current restrictions on access to northern Rakhine State, which prevent verification of the allegations, are contributing to suspicion and alarm. Denying the allegations without allowing for their verification is counterproductive.” Mr. Dieng urged the Myanmar Government and the military to heed requests by the United Nations - and many others around the world - to authorise access and an immediate and thorough independent investigation into incidents reported in northern Rakhine state since October 2016. “If the allegations are found to be true, the Government must take immediate steps to stop them, prevent further violations and remedy the situation. Those found responsible for human rights violations must be punished. Failure to do so will only increase the risk of very serious international crimes that Myanmar has an obligation to prevent and punish under international law.”

Adama Dieng reminded the new Government of Myanmar of the trust placed in the Government by the international community as Myanmar transitions to democracy, noting that there have been significant steps forward in that regard. However, the Special Adviser underlined that “Myanmar needs to demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law and to the human rights of all its populations. It cannot expect that such serious allegations are ignored or go unscrutinised. Wherever and whenever these types of allegations are reported in the world, it is the duty of the international community to remind States of their responsibilities to their populations and their obligations under international law. Myanmar is no exception.”

Adama Dieng also took the opportunity to urge the Government of Bangladesh not to close its borders to refugees fleeing Myanmar. “Closing the border, deporting refugees or failing to provide assistance, exposes these populations to further violence that could, in the worst case, constitute international crimes”, the Special Adviser warned.

Adama Dieng concluded by saying that “the current violence did not come out of thin air. It is taking place against a background of very deeply rooted discrimination against specific sectors of the population and a failure to put in place conditions that would support peaceful coexistence among the different communities in Rakhine State.  The Government needs, for once and for all, to find a sustainable solution to the situation of the Rohingya Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities in Myanmar, a solution that is in full compliance with the international human rights standards that the Government has pledged to respect”. 
So, contradictory positions in the UN. Like this:
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in late August awarded the top UN job in Kenya to his own son in law, Siddharth Chatterjee, and did not even recuse himself.
  On September 27, Inner City Press directly asked Chatterjee about it, on Periscope. here. Vine here. Chatterjee hardly answered the long-standing questions; nor did Ban's spokesman. Neither set up the requested interview. 
Likewise, Inner City Press' requests for a copy of Ban Ki-moon's October 14, 2016 speech to the Council on Korean Americans, for which $100,000 sponsorships were sought, and its questions about a UN Ethics Office opinion on that and on Ban's mentor Han Seung-soo being a UN official and on the boards of directors of Standard Chartered Bank and South Korea's Doosan have gone unanswered, even as reiterated at the November 4 UN noon briefing. Video here.
On September 24, Inner City Press put these conflict of interest questions to Han Seung-soo, who left after the briefest of answers, here. 
Ban's brother Ban Ki-ho is involved with KD Power in mining projects in Myanmar's eastern Shan State, see below -- and in greenwashing "renewal energy" projects in Myanmar, here, consonant with Ban and his spokesman's silence on Morocco using corporate wind power projects to greenwash a land- (and map-) grab of Western Sahara for COP 22, here.
On November 17, Inner City Press again asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson, this time the deputy, Video here, UN transcript here: 
Inner City Press: my second question on Myanmar was, it’s now eight days ago that… when Stéphane [Dujarric] asked, I sent him links, including to a Myanmar Government website, about Ban Ki-moon’s brother through KD Power, engaged in mining in the country, and with Bosung Powertec, engaged in a tour with a visiting UN delegation.  So I’m just wondering, this… the South Korean mission also asked me for the same links, and I gave them to them.  I’m not sure in what capacity they asked for them, but it seems like… what is the answer on the brother of the Secretary-General engaged in financial activity in Myanmar as part of a UN visiting delegation?  Have you determined what was his role in what the Government says is a UN delegation?
Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq:  I haven’t any information about him participating in any UN work.   
 Why not?
  On November 9, Inner City Press since Ban's spokesman had refused to answer asked again, then provided the UN links and to the South Korean Mission to the UN at their request. From the November 9 transcript: 
Inner City Press: I'd asked about the brother of the Secretary-General, and two articles, both of which remain online… they have not been taken down, one of which says that he's involved in magnesium mining in Myanmar, and the other one links him by name to a UN delegation which toured Myanmar.  So you said you can't verify it.  And I wanted to know, is that can't or won't?  Because it seems like if there's an article describing a UN delegation touring for financial reasons a controversial conflict zone, it should be able to be… are you willing to at least look into what the delegation may have been and whether…

Spokesman:  You know, send me the article.  I haven't seen the article.  And, again, please try not to get the… my double chin with your periscope.  It's very annoying.

Inner City Press:  Okay.  Maybe we can lower the podium....
After the briefing Inner City Press sent Dujarric and others this, of which Dujarric in the hallway confirmed receipt:

Hello. I am sending three links regarding Ban Ki-moon's brother Ki-ho (through Bosung and KD Power) doing mining in Myanmar and touring with a UN delegation. 


"Memorandum of Understanding with KD Power of South Korea, which is managed by Mr. Ban Ki-Ho, brother of UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, for the exploration of Magnesium as well as cooperation in power sector in the eastern Shan State of Myanmar.  "

2) " Bosung Power Technology Co., a power supply material manufacturer where Ban’s younger brother Ki-ho is a vice president" 


Google-translated: 

"Bo Sung Powertec Co., Ltd, BUYANG INDUSTRIAL Co., Ltd, Germany Recycle Engineering Co., Ltd and visiting delegations from the United Nations"

Who was on the UN delegation?

Was any UN Ethics office opinion sought for Ban Ki-ho's role in a UN delegation in a war-torn country in which he does / gets business? 

Why / how is this appropriate?

Also for Ban's brother's business engagement in the UAE with Han Seung-soo, UN official who gives speeches in that capacity in the UAE while being on the board of Doosan, which also does business there.

On CAR / Bambari, here is one of the articles I asked about : http://rjdh.org/centrafrique-deplace-tuee-balle-a-bambari/

Inner City Press is still requesting a copy of the Secretary General's Oct 14 speech to the Council of Korean American (for which they sought $100,000 sponsorships), his Saudi water speech, and list of carbon off-sets bought that he cited in his SIPA speech.

There is more to ask; never received any response to the below.
  Later, Inner City Press received this from the South Korean mission to the UN:
"Korean mission... I'm writing to ask your help. At the UN noon briefing you mentioned Mr. Ban ki ho had tour with UN delegayions and there is a published article about Mr. Ban's tour with UN delegation. Could you please send the article or provide the link you mentioned?"
  Inner City Press provided the links and more - but again wonders what is the relation between South Korea's Mission to the UN and Ban Ki-moon, now that he wants to run for President of South Korea. 
On November 28 Ban's spokesman said, without any proof, that he understands Ban Ki-ho no longer works for KD Power. But when Inner City Press asked when was the last time Ban Ki-moon spoke with his brother Ki-ho, Spokesman Dujarric said glibly that he has no clue, and hasn't returned with any answer.

Might the game have been to have the South Korean mission make the contact for Ban? We'll have more on this.
Back on November 7, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric not only about Western Sahara - even as it was again threatened for this - but also about Ban's brother, video here
Inner City Press: I’d asked you last week about the Ethics Office, and you’d said there were too many connections in terms of Han Seung-soo and Ban Ki-ho, but I have one specific question.  I see you waiting, so I’m going to…

Spokesman:  Go ahead.

ICP Question:  Okay.  And the question is as follows:  There’s a published article, whose link I can provide you, which says that Ban Ki-ho’s… the company Bosung is involved in magnesium mining in Eastern Shan State in Myanmar, which is a highly controversial human rights state.  And the article states that Bosung went on a tour with, quote, a visiting delegation of the United Nations.  So I think… you may or may not say this is a legitimate question, but if the brother of the Secretary-General is on a business delegation in Myanmar that’s described by a publication there as being with a delegation of the United Nations, I’d like to ask you, who was on that delegation?

Spokesman:  I have… this is the first I’ve heard of it.  I have absolutely no way to verify the information you’ve shared. 
  Okay there: Ban's brother Ki-ho is vice president of electric equipment firm Bosung (a/k/a Bo Sung), which has been on Myanmar tours with (unnamed) UN officials. See (and translate) this government web page, here:
"Industry, Republic of Korea Minister U Maung Myint Bo Sung Powertec Co., Ltd, BUYANG INDUSTRIAL Co., Ltd, Germany Recycle Engineering Co., Ltd and visiting delegations from the United Nations"
Ban's former chief of staff and vanity press book editor Vijay Nambiar is Ban's envoy on Myanmar. Did he go on this trip? 
In terms of mining, see this: "Bright Time has signed an Memorandum of Understanding with KD Power of South Korea, which is managed by Mr. Ban Ki-Ho, brother of UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, for the exploration of Magnesium as well as cooperation in power sector in the eastern Shan State of Myanmar."
 Is the UN's Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee aware of this mining project in east Shan State, with the brother of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon? Is the UN Ethics Office?

As noted, Ban's brother Ban Ki-ho is VP of a Korean electric equipment company, Bosung.  The CEO of Bosung, Lim Jae-Hwang, is a former executive with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).   Bosung Power Technology supplies its products primarily to KEPCO, which recently signed a deal with the UAE to build a nuclear plant.  
Doosan is providing the nuclear reactor. Ban's friend and mentor Han Seung-soo, whom Ban appointed to a senior UN position (which conveys diplomatic immunity) is on the board of directors of Doosan and has engaged closely with UAE on issues of Korean trade promotion and business.  Han has most recently served on the jury of the UAE Energy Prize.  Meanwhile, Ban's other brother Ban ki-sang served as an advisor to Keangnam, which developed properties in UAE for South Korean expatriates and businesses.
We'll have more on this.
On October 3, Inner City Press which since May 2015 asked about Ban's nephew's use of Ban's name in real estate deals, prior to Ban's eviction of Inner City Press, now asked about the nephew's fraud conviction,below. 
On October 6, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Farhan Haq again about Ban's nephew's fraud conviction, and a surreal email Ban sent to UN staff about... fraud. Many staff called it hypocrisy.Beyond the Vine video here, second half.  From the UN transcript: 
Inner City Press:  I wanted to ask you about an email that the Secretary-General sent, I think, to all staff about fraud yesterday.  It was a blast e-mail, a UNHQ (United Nations Headquarters) broadcast.  And it was sort of instructed staff to… that fraud is a serious matter.  There's something called the 2017 Leadership Dialogue.  And I guess, what triggered the e-mail.  In having read it and published it, it's not clear.  Is this something that's being newly announced?  Why was this anti-fraud e-mail sent yesterday?
Deputy Spokesman:  There are a number of internal e-mails that go out from time to time.  This is simply another one of those, and it's on a topic that the Secretary-General feels is important.
ICP Question:  And I guess… because I'd asked you this before, and I keep… I go… you had said that… to somehow to ask Colliers if the individual who's listed in the newspaper as the nephew of the Secretary-General as working for them at the time that the fraud that he was just convicted of occurred.  But I'm asking you… I want to, I guess, just reiterate.  As the UN, doesn't the UN have a duty, if it has existing contractors… and I just went by 45th Street today.  The sign is still up, so the UN is doing business with Colliers.  If a newspaper, widely circulated, says an employee of their company was convicted of fraud, isn't there some follow up totally outside of the familial relationship of the Secretary-General?
Deputy Spokesman:  We do not determine the staffing of Colliers.  You would have to ask them that.  Have a good afternoon.
On October 5, just hours after Ban's replacement was selected and his deputy spokesman told Inner City Press Ban will no longer hand out top posts (as he did, for example, to his own son in law on August 26), Ban sent his first post-Guterres email to UN staff, shamelessly about... fraud:
Date: 5 October 2016 at 2:01:33 PM GMT-4
Subject: Message from the Secretary-General to Staff on Fraud and Corruption

Dear colleagues,

Anyone who works for the United Nations has a fundamental responsibility to act with honesty and integrity at all times.  The vast majority of staff take pride in honouring this responsibility. But we operate in uniquely high-risk environments that expose our activities to significant risks. Fraud and corruption not only betray the trust placed in us by Member States; they damage our operations, our authority and our credibility, making it more difficult for all of us to do our work.

The comprehensive Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Framework, issued through Information Circular ST/IC/2016/25 on 9 September 2016, is designed to help staff promote and maintain a culture of integrity and honesty across the range of our operations and activities.  It details how our Organization acts to prevent, detect, deter, respond to and report on fraud and
corruption.   The United Nations has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption. This means that the administration will actively pursue all allegations, and will take all necessary disciplinary and contractual measures when wrongdoing is established.

The 2017 Leadership Dialogue – the discussion that all managers should have every year with staff who report to them – will focus on this Framework. I hope it will stimulate discussions between staff and managers at all levels on how the Framework can be applied.

Together, we must make every effort to promote the highest ethical
standards for our United Nations, as we serve the world’s people.

Warm regards,

The Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon"
   On October 2, Ban's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq replied that Ban has had "no contact" with his own nephew.
 So on October 4, Inner City Press asked about Ban's nephew's connection with UNDP's property manager, UN transcript here: 
Inner City Press: I understand that you'd said the Secretary-General has had no contact with his nephew Bahn Joo-hyun, but given that the article says that the acts that he engaged in were while he was an employee of Colliers International, which, if you remember this, there was back-and-forth.  Their plaque is still up on the FF Building on 45th Street.  I wanted to know, this is a UN question as opposed to a Secretary-General, if he doesn't speak to him.  Is this individual, a nephew of the Secretary-General, still employed by Colliers?  If so, does this finding by a court trigger any review of the UN's contracts with Colliers?

Deputy Spokesman:  You would have to check with Colliers whether he's an employee.  I wouldn't comment on someone who is not UN personnel. 
  Amid all this - and while refusing to answer basic questions - Ban Ki-moon has found a group to praise and flatter him, with photographs no less. This was sent to Inner City Press this afternoon by an amazed recipient, we publish it here:
"Dear colleagues, UNCA is pleased to inform you that a Photo Exhibition presenting the 10 years of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will take place at the end of November. Submissions are now open to all UN photographers to send their photos of Ban Ki-moon in action during his tenure. There will be a total of 25 photos selected to be exhibited at the opening of the event with the attendance of the Secretary-General.

Cia Pak, Scannews, will coordinate the submissions. Please see the instructions below on how to submit your work.

Best regards,

Giampaolo Pioli
UNCA President"
We'll have more on this.
Meanwhile, "court has ruled a nephew of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pay $590,000 in damages to a South Korean construction firm that was at the center of a major lobbying scandal last year. The Seoul Northern District Court recently handed down the sentence to Ban Joo-hyun, son of the U.N. chief's younger brother Ban Ki-sang, on charges of fabricating documents that allegedly expressed the Qatari government's intention to buy a high-rise building belonging to the firm, Keangnam Enterprises Inc.

"Ban Joo-hyun, who was an executive of a U.S. real estate investment company at the time, is accused of receiving the money from Keangnam Enterprises in 2014 in exchange for arranging the sale of the skyscraper in Vietnam to the Qatari government. In the process, he reportedly told Keangnam that he could use the influence of his uncle to directly contact the Qatari king."
  Ban's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq on October 3, when Inner City Press asked, declined comment except to say that Ban has "no contact" with his nephew. His brother's son? We'll have more on this.
 Inner City Press was informed by whistleblowing UN staff that Ban is now attempting, contrary even to a new feather-bedding rule his issued to place his staff wherever they want in the UN system, to place his longtime personal / appointments secretary Eun Ha (Isabelle) Kim as a P-3 Professional in the UN Office of Protocol. 
  Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric on September 29 said he has "no idea" about such a position, while accusing Inner City Press of dragging people -- Kim? Or Mr Ban?" - through the mud. Video here.

On September 28 Inner City Press published more, from even more complaining staff. They tell Inner City Press that Ban ALREADY broke the rules, promoting Isabelle Kim from General Service to a P-2 professional position, and now ordering the Office of Protocol to create a P-3 post for Ms. Kim. Staff are angry that the rules Ban applies to them do not apply to those close to Ban.
  On September 28, Dujarric told Inner City Press vaguely that there are many many to move from G to P, General to Professional. (Inner City Press previously asked Ban's deputy about UN Staff Rule 4.16 (ii) which states the following:

"Recruitment to the Professional category of staff from the General Service and related categories in the United Nations Secretariat: recruitment to the Professional category at the United Nations Secretariat of staff from the General Service and related categories having successfully passed the appropriate competitive examinations shall be made within the limits established by the General Assembly. Such recruitment shall be made exclusively through competitive examination."
  So did Ms. Kim take and pass this required competitive exam? Dujarric didn't answer, in fact ran off the podium to avoid Inner City Press' follow up question, to confirm or deny Ms. Kim is Mrs Ban's niece.Video here. From the UN transcript:
 Inner City Press:  I've asked Farhan [Haq] about this kind of indirectly, but I wanted to ask you directly to get a confirmation or denial.  We've received sort of complaints from a variety of staff members that a longtime aide of the Secretary-General Eun-ha Kim, or Isabelle Kim, may be in line for a P3 position in Protocol.  The reason I'm asking you this is because it's not… it's more than one person that said this would be wrong.  Their question is, how does a person go from general staff to professional staff?  Is it through a competitive exam, and if it's not, what is the loophole…?

Spokesman:  I'm not going to… I mean, you know, you may want to drag…

Inner City Press:  It's not dragging.

Spokesman:  …drag people through the mud.

Inner City Press:  So you say.

Spokesman:  And I'm not going to go into the details of individual staff members' cases, because I don't think it's fair for anyone who works in this organization.  But all the rules are being followed, and this case does not involve the Secretary-General.

ICP Question:  You say dragging through the mud, but my question is, I'm saying staff members at var… a variety of levels have said, since this G to P wall, which they think is wrong, applies to them and you have people with PhDs that can't do it, they're extremely interested to know how somebody close to the Secretary-General could do it?

Spokesman:  There are various ways of people to go from G to P in this organization.

ICP Question:  I read Farhan a rule that…

Spokesman:  And I've seen it, and I'm telling that you all the rules are being followed.

ICP Question:  Is there currently a P-3 post in protocol that exists?

Spokesman:  I have no clue.  Thank you
   Ms. Kim, we note, was with Ban (and Han Seung-soo and others) up to fifteen years ago, when Han was President of the General Assembly and Ban, his chief of staff. 
Also on that dream team: current South Korean ambassador to the UN and Ban promoted Oh Joon, former Ban promotee Yoon Yeocheol, Kim Bong-hyun who previously told Inner City Press to cover Ban more positively, and others - click here for the list, still online for now.
 Inner City Press also asked Ban Ki-moon's in law if he had been present at and played a role in the Jaffna Hospital massacre in Sri Lanka. He did not deny this -- rather, he said it was not "pertinent." He said he would answer at an "opportune time."
On September 28, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about it, Beyond the Vine video here, UN transcript here: 
Inner City Press:  the Secretary-General's son-in-law, Siddharth Chatterjee.  I know I'd asked you in writing, maybe ten days ago to be able to ask him the questions that your office hadn't answered.  And I did find him in the lobby yesterday, and he said to me, "Oh, we'll find an opportune time."  So it wasn't clear to me… and he also said, as to some of the questions, "They're not pertinent."  I don't know if that referred to whether who the selection panel was or who the other candidates were.  But it led me to want to ask you, did your office, in fact, ask him ten days when I asked you whether he would answer the questions?  Because it seemed like he was unaware of the request.  That's how he came off.

Spokesman:  I think everyone is aware of your interest in speaking to Mr. Chatterjee, and it's not… you're welcome to contact whomever you want and request an interview.  Whether or not they grant you one is really up to them.

ICP Question:relatedly, because there's now… I've seen this controversy around the resident coordinator for Syria.  And some people are saying it's Mr. Ali Al-Za’tari to replace Mr. [TYacoub El] Hillo.  And I just wanted to know, was the same process used?  Can you say a little bit more about the inter-agency panel, DOCO…?

Spokesman:  The inter-agency panel… every resident coordinator goes through the same process with the inter-agency panel.  A recommendation is then sent to the Secretary-General, whether it's Mr. Za’tari or any of the other ones.  I told you many-a-times on his… on Mr. Chatterjee that the Secretary-General stayed away from that process.  We do expect the new humanitarian coordinator, resident coordinator, to arrive in Damascus very early next month and to take up his position.  There is an acting… somebody acting in that stead until his arrival.

ICP Question:  But in the same way that I asked you whether UNDPA (Department of Political Affairs) and the Secretariat was… played a role in the Kenya resident coordinator, because it seems that it's clear that they did in Syria… so did they in Kenya?

Spokesman:  I will not go into any further detail than I already have.
Further? Ban's spokesman  Dujarric has refused to provide basic information about the promotion, and about Chatterjee's military activities in Sri Lanka. Nor has he responded to Inner City Press' written request for information or to interview Chatterjee, a UN official who blocks Inner City Press on Twitter.
But Ban Ki-moon's son in law has hung around New York for more than a week, meeting with bankers and set on September 27 to meet Ban's deputy Eliasson. Ban didn't recuse himself from promoting his son in law, but does this side-step. Inner City Press at noon on September 27 asked Ban's deputy spokesman if Chatterjee, as resident coordinator, will answer questions on the way up or down. “We'll certainly convey your request.” Vine here.
   While less than an hour before Chatterjee's visit to his father in law's 38th floor there was no answer, Chatterjee appeared in a staged Facebook Live, where he said “the Secretary General” without disclosing that Ban is his father in law. Vine here. 
So Inner City Press went to ask Chatterjee about it. First, it told the UN Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit (MALU), to avoid any pretextual action as in February of this year by Ban's head of communications Cristina Gallach. Then it set up in the lobby. After getting other quotes or responses from Ambassadors and a foreign minister, Chatterjee and other man came down.
  Inner City Press asked, Who were the other candidates? Who was on the panel? No answer. Inner City Press asked about the Jaffna Hospital. Chatterjee turned back and said he would set up a time to talk - strange, Inner City Press has been requesting that for some time - but to “turn that off,” meaning the authorized PeriscopeVine here.

   Inner City Press remained to ask more questions. At a certain point the minder(s), officers and elevator man left - and then the cars left. It was over.
  But Ban's increasing lawlessness is not limited to his son in law, nor to his mentor Han Seung-soo, who despite MOONlighting as a UN official and board member of Standard Chartered Bank and Doosan, this week dodged Inner City Press' questions unlike Jacob Zuma and Sheikh Hasina, here.
  Exposing or even inquiring into the ever increase irregularities in the Ban Ki-moon administration give rise, as Inner City Press found earlier this year and during this General Assembly debate week, to retaliation. 
Inner City Press was ordered to leave the UN on February 19 on two hours notice by Ban's chief of "public information," Cristina Gallach - for seeking to cover an event in the UN Press Briefing Room which was nowhere listed as Closed.
Ban and Gallach are giving Inner City Press' long time work space to an Egyptian state media, Akhbar Al Yom, whose representative Sanaa Youssef rarely comes to the UN -- contrary to the stated requirement for resident correspondent accreditation, which has been stripped from Inner City Press -- and never asks any questions. 
During UNGA debate week, Inner City Press could only cover a meeting on Yemen if accompanied by a minder  (Gallach was asked about this, on camera) who asked who Inner City Press wanted to interview; it was locked out of the media "bullpen" then urged, mid-edit, to leave the small "focus booth" it's been reduced to using. Team Ban has been informed of all of this, responding that "time" will somehow solve it. How?
 On September 23 Ban's and France's head of peacekeeping Herve Ladsous said openly, "I never answer your questions, Mister" when asked about rapes; Ladsous' UN spokesman got Ban's UNTV to keep the microphone away from Inner City Press. Video here. 
After being told that Ban's son in law is in New York, Inner City Press has asked Ban's spokespeople, fully four of them:
"This is a request to interview the UN's Resident Coordinator in Kenya Siddarth Chatterjee, appointed to the job by his father in law Ban Ki-moon, in light of [him saying / Tweeting to another of his father in law's officials,] “Look forward to seeing you at UNGA." It seems he has appeared at the Princeton Club in NY.
"Since the OSSG has declined to answer several questions about Resident Coordinator Chatterjee, this is a request for the interview. Please advise asap."
 So far, nothing. Chatterjee, as we've noted, blocks Inner City Press on Twitter - strange, for a UN Resident Coordinator. 
Instead of answering the earlier questions, Team Ban arranged for Chatterjee's military commander Dalvir Singh to slam in Huffington Post Inner City Press' “accusations of human rights violations against Chatterjee. Major Chatterjee was a star member of my battalion, the 10th Para Special Forces, and at no time was my battalion or any member of my unit ever involved in any form of human rights violation.” 
 Really? What about the Jaffna Hospital Massacre?  Inner City Press exposing Ban's nepotism has been covered in Sri Lanka, here - and now in South Korea, here (translated) where Ban hopes to run for president. Here's a machine translation: 
"Ban last month, his son-in-law sit da-Kenya resident coordinator of the United Nations whether the chatter in the decision to appoint. The United Nations Office of the resident coordinator as the national diplomatic missions to individual countries hit greets. Chapman, Mr. ban's youngest daughter, popping Hyun-Hee's husband. Hyun-hee and Chae was elected Secretary General of the UN ban popping were married in 2006. Hyun-Hee Mr. currently UNICEF Kenya Office is known to be being worked on. 
 This has never been a textbook case of ' human resources ' Office, saying the issue would be raised by the professional journalist Matthew Lee of inner city press, the media. Lee shunned the press ban this personnel (recusal) not to apply points to criticize. He said, "would call into question the qualities of chatter, nor at the UN for a long time, one of those who deny that. But he is considering ban evasion law that might have the application lies, "he said.
 India is a special forces work on the chatter when the matter was a Huffington Post Moon vir Singh retired warden contributed from popping "always was a priority public than himself," and Office personnel are raised allegations of the accused journalists. He was working as a journalist for the "qualification (credential)-RI, suspicious and ethics awareness as the UN's bloggers" and not "evil?" is appealed
 Not on the basis of the human rights abuses of false attacks ".  Lee, the reporter himself the last few years, a series of critical reports about the ban were taken with them, and because of this, the UN resident journalists deprived of his or her eligibility status.”
On September 17, as Inner City Press covered the UN Security Council meeting on Syria, under Ban's eviction order it was first locked out of the UNSC stakeout, then told to leave the UN by a UN Security officer. This is Ban's UN. We'll have more on this.
On September 15, Inner City Press again asked Ban's spokesman about Chatterjee's record in Sri Lanka -- no answer - and the panel that "recommended" him to Ban. Vine here, UN transcript here, with the UN using many more "inaudibles" than on other questions: 
Inner City Press: the last you answered about promotion of the Secretary-General’s son-in-law into the top post in Kenya was that you hoped that at least the agencies or some information about this inter-agency panel could be provided, and I think it should be.  So I wanted to know do you have now any information on that…?  [inaudible]

Spokesman:  I don’t have an update, but if I have something, I will share it with you.

ICP Question:  And I’d asked you in writing about… it goes back some time but about the son-in-law’s activities in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian peacekeeping force.  And since he’s gotten his commander to write an op-ed saying that questions about this are unreasonable… [inaudible]

Spokesman:  Whatever words I’ve had to say about… on this issue, I have used.  I really have nothing else to add… [inaudible]

ICP Question:  Right, but you said… the last thing you said was you would look into the inter-agency panel… [inaudible]

Spokesman:  I have nothing… [inaudible]  Yes, that I said.  On the rest, I have nothing else to add. 
 Meanwhile Ban's son in law is using the first place his military commander dumped his piece to run propaganda interviews linking himself to the SDGs.
Singh's / Team Ban's piece from its first version to its second picked up links to Team Ban's raid on Inner City Press' office, and material from the UN Censorship Alliance. These suggestions came from within Ban's UNHQ.
  Dalvir Singh wrote “To attack the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who happens to be Chatterjee’s father-in-law, using his service in Sri Lanka is not only absurd but deserves to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.” And then the threats began. This is a new low.
Ban's promotion of his son in law is contrary to the ICSC Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service on "Familial dealings" --
In Ban's cases, these "familial dealing" include not only the son in law promoted without recusal or transparency, now lashing out at the Press by proxy, but also the nephew, "Dennis Bahn," with a company managing UN real estate, during the name of the UN and his uncle to drum up more business, see below. 
Now there is a scandal and conviction in South Korea with Ban's - and his nephew Bahn's -- fingerprints all over it. "South Gyeongsang Governor Hong Joon-pyo was found guilty Thursday of taking money from the late businessman and politician Sung Wan-jong and sentenced to 18 months in prison, ending his presidential ambitions. Hong, 62, stood trial on charges that he accepted 100 million won ($91,601) from the late Sung, former chairman of the Keangnam Enterprises."
  Ban's brother Ban Ki-sang was a consultant to Keangnam for seven years; Ban's nephew Dennis "Bahn Joo-hyun said to a contact at Keangnam that he would invite his high-profile uncle to a social gathering, where members of the Qatar Investment Authority would be present." 
Ban's UN scandals also include others close to Ban such as Han Seung-soo, allowed by UN to be a UN official and on the board of directors of South Korea's Doosan, and of UN bank Standard Chartered.
For alleged violation of of the ICSC Standards, UN system whistleblowers such as Moncef Kateb of WIPO have been fired. But Ban does it openly: something about a fish and from the head, see also below.
The response to Inner City Press' questioning has been, as happened in 2012, threats. To this has the UN descended under Ban. 
After Inner City Press asked about the textbook case of nepotism of Ban and his son in law, video here, Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric replied that an inter-agency advisory panel had been involved, before Ban signed the letter appointing his own son in law to the post. But Dujarric has refused to say who was on the panel, or who the other candidates were. Nor has he provided any information about Chatterjee's activities in Sri Lanka. 
This is a new low for Ban Ki-moon's UN, widely viewed as having failed in Sri Lanka in 2009, and on Yemen and Burundi and elsewhere in 2016. 
In terms of answering basic questions, when Inner City Press last year asked about the questionable real estate dealings of Ban's nephew Joo-hyun “Dennis” Bahn, with a company managing the 45th Street building of UNDP and who used the name of Ban and the UN to do dubious business, Ban's Spokespeople said they would not answer questions about Ban relatives who are not UN staff. (Then Ban and his USG Gallach evicted Inner City Press, NYT herepetition here.)
  Now they won't answer basic questions about Ban relatives who ARE officials of the UN, promoted by Ban without recusal.
   Now we note that a New York underwriter has put out an alert about “Joohyun Dennis Bahn” --
“Bulletin: NYSA000340
To:All New York State Agents, Office Counsel, and Managers
RE:Louis Cho, Joohyun Dennis Bahn, Dennis Bahn
Effective immediately, all policy-issuing offices are instructed not to accept any orders or close any transactions involving the people listed below without prior written approval of Stewart Title Insurance Company Agency Legal Services.
Louis Cho
Joohyun Dennis Bahn
Dennis Bahn
In the event you have an open order on the people listed above please email,” etc. It's all in the family. So is the sense of entitlement: in the midst of this, only last month Ban's nephew posted this, about buying his (seemingly many) Mercedes:
"I have been purchasing my Mercedes from Benzel-Busch for many years especially with Giovanni Barbaro. This dealership provides great service and Giovanni is there to work with you all the time. Once he lent his own company car as a loaner when there wasn't one available. Great overall experience and I would highly recommend this dealership as well as Giovanni."
 Ironically, Ban appointed a UN Special Envpy on Road Safety, Jean Todt, who is on the board of directors of a company which runs cars and even online poker. A fish rots from the head.
When Inner City Press first reported on Ban accepting Sri Lankan military figure Shavendra Silva as an adviser, and the background to the screening of the Sri Lankan government's war crimes denial film "Lies Agreed To" inside the UN, the results included death threats and attempts to get Inner City Press out of the UN -- repeated, more disgustingly, in 2016.
In September 2016 an ally of Ban's son in law Chatterjee, Dalvir Singh, has called this series of articles, despite Ban's spokesman's stonewalling and refusal to answer, unfair -- "scurrilous, unfounded and mendacious accusations" by a "blogger."

He has re-upped his / Sid's / Ban's article on Huffington Post, saying Inner City Press - which Ban ousted and evicted -- is "a blogger of questionable credentials, poor ethics and a filthy office." Not anymore! Ban Ki-moon EVICTED Inner City Press in retaliation. NYT herepetition with links here.  And see this newly edited 24-minute emerging documentary.
Click here for Inner City Press' exclusive uploading of an attempt to move a UN office out of Kenya, reportedly to Bonn -- an attempt removed from the Internet, just as Chatterjee has gotten articles in the Indian and Kenyan media removed, while offering inducements in his father in law's Secretariat to prevent further such coverage of nepotism and his history.
Dalvir Singh wrote that Inner City Press, “a blogger of questionable credentials.... has hurled scurrilous, unfounded and mendacious accusations of human rights violations against Chatterjee. Major Chatterjee was a star member of my battalion, the 10th Para Special Forces, and at no time was my battalion or any member of my unit ever involved in any form of human rights violation.”
    Thou dost protest too much. Beyond the Jaffna University heli-drop on October 11, 1987, there was the Jaffna hospital massacre ten days later on October 21, 1987.  Here is the Wiki-time line (some say this may explain Ban's willingness to let the Saudi led Coalition off the UN's Children and Armed Conflict annex for attacks on health and other civilian facilities in Yemen)
"October 21, 1987 - 11h – The hospital environment came under cannon fire from the vicinity of Jaffna Dutch Fort and from overhead helicopters.
11h30 – A shell fell on the Outpatients Department (O.P.D) building.
13h – The chief consultant on duty was informed that Indian troops had been sighted at nearby Shanti Theatre Lane.
13h30 – A shell fell on Ward 8, killing seven persons. The chief consultant who went out with another doctor to survey the situation spotted some empty cartridges, suggesting that persons had been firing from inside the hospital premises.
14h – The chief consultant's attention was drawn to the presence of some armed LTTE fighters inside the hospital. The chief consultant went with Dr. Ganesharatnam and asked the group to leave the premises. The leader of the group agreed and they left.
14h5 – The chief consultant was informed that another group of LTTE men had come inside. Dr. Ganesharatnam requested that the chief consultant go with another doctor to speak to the LTTE group and ask them to leave. It is not clear if the LTTE men ever left the hospital.
14h, 16h – A few staff members left the hospital for lunch through the back door.
16h – Staff heard shooting for 15-20 minutes from the vicinity of the gasoline station on Hospital Road. No retaliatory fire from the hospital was heard.
16h20 and onward – According to an eyewitness, the IPKF entered the hospital grounds through the front gate, came up along the corridor and warned everybody inside the hospital. The IPKF fired into the Overseer's office and other offices. The eyewitness saw many of his fellow workers killed, including the overseer and an ambulance driver. The eyewitness also saw a soldier throw a grenade at a man, killing several people.
According to another eyewitness, the IPKF came into the Radiology room, which was filled with people including the patients evacuated from Ward 8, and fired indiscriminately. Those who pretended to be dead by lying on the floor escaped the attack.
Throughout the night a few bursts of fire and grenade explosions were heard.
October 22, 1987 - 8h30 – Dr. Sivapathasundaram was seen walking out of the hospital with three nurses. They were walking with their hands up shouting, "We surrender, we are innocent doctors and nurses."[3] Shots were fired; Dr. Sivapathasundaram was killed and the nurses injured.
11h – An Indian Army officer turned up at one of the wards and was confronted by a doctor. The doctor explained the situation to the officer and later, with help of the officer, she called out to her colleagues and those who were injured to come out with their hands up. About 10 staff members who were alive were escorted out. They found their colleague Dr. Ganesharatnam dead. Later in the day all the dead bodies in the hospital were collected and burned."

Amnesty International's 1988 annual report cites reports of the Indian Peace Keeping Force's rapes of Tamil women and extra-judicial executions. Was it from his son in law that Ban took his advice on Sri Lanka, before sending Vijay Nambiar, brother of general Satish Nambiar, for the “finish” in 2009?
   More to the point, what is the relationship between Dalvir Singh's screed and Ban Ki-moon? Ban's son in law has grateful re-tweeted Dalvir Singh's article; beyond the continued stonewalling and eviction of Inner City Press, the Guardian wrote that the only time Ban got upset in their interview was in defense of his son in law Siddharth Chatterjee. So Ban Ki-moon is responsible... We'll have more on this.

Dalvir Singh says of Inner City Press "I have noted that he seems to be obsessed with Major Chatterjee since 2007 when his father-in-law Ban became the UN Secretary-General."

  If true - that is, if not ghost written by Chatterjee, or his father in law's handlers, note the citation to the UN Censorship Alliance - why would this Indian military figure be "noting" Inner City Press' coverage since 2007? And doesn't this just indicate that Ban Ki-moon's ouster and eviction of Inner City Press in 2016, through Ban's USG Cristina Gallach, is blatant retaliation for coverage? This is censorship.

This is Team Ban's response to questions and stories about the John Ashe and Ng Lap Seng case, DPI Gallach's failure to do due diligence, all leading to ouster and eviction. 
Dujarric refused to say who was on the inter-agency panel; he told Inner City Press to "ask UNDP," which in term told Inner City Press to ask something called the "DOCO" which doesn't have a spokesperson and has not answered questions submitted three days ago.
Dujarric didn't answer any of Inner City Press' questions submitted on Friday September 2 at noon, then rejected in-person questions calling them "ridiculous accusations." Dujarric canceled his briefing again on September 9. Meanwhile Ban's son in law Chatterjee's response is to block Inner City Press on Twitter, photo here. 
This is Team Ban's response to questions and stories about the John Ashe and Ng Lap Seng case, DPI Gallach's failure to do due diligence, all leading to ouster and eviction. 

Who Paid For UN DPI's Gallach To Go Get Catalan Award UNanswered 4 Days



By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 29 -- Following the election of Donald Trump on November 8-9 UN high officials, one of them told Inner City Press on November 14, “have been freaking out. They don't know how much is going to be cut, and from where.”

   Here's a suggestion, based not only on Inner City Press' personal experience at the UN (NYT here) -- including now not only the violation of the UN mailbox to which people all over the world have written to Inner City Press but also the unilateral seizure of the mail in it -- but also interviews with staff, diplomats and elected officials: if there is one UN Department to be cut, even eliminated, it is the Department of Public Information (DPI).

   Since Cristina Gallach of Spain took DPI over, the Department has been in decline, while Gallach herself presumptively uses UN -- that is, public -- money to fly around giving little publicized speeches and picking up awards for herself, if only in Catalan.

To this simple question there has been no answer for four days and counting. Gallach called it an honor, on Twitter, here - while complaining to a Gulf media she gives a large UN office to about the "difficult" role of social media in the 2016 elections, here.

On November 28 with three Spokespeople for Ban Ki-moon, for whom Gallach ousted and evicted and now restricts Inner City Press having refused for three days to answer a simple question of who paid for this travel, we published this, translated from Catalan:

“The Association of Journalists of Catalonia has announced the winners of the eighth edition of the Awards Press Office : journalist Cristina Gallach, Cristina Gallach, head of communications of the UN, the Rovira i Virgili University and the Provincial Government of Barcelona. The awards will be presented on November 11 in the framework of the Congress of Journalists of Catalonia recovered. The Prize 2015 has been Spokesman for the journalist Cristina Gallach, who has extensive experience covering different areas: press, radio, television agencies, corporate and media sources.”

    Was travel to get this personal award - as a journalist - paid for by the UN? We are awaiting the answer. DPI sources, disgusted, say that while USG Gallach should have answered on Friday, she was preening in New England. We note again: the UN Spokesperson's office were open and people getting paid, but no answer. And lead spokesman Stephane Dujarric, to whom the question was sent, said at the November 28 noon briefing he wasn't at all aware of the event, despite the link below. From the UN transcript:

Inner City Press: can you answer a question that I sent to you on Friday?  One of the UN officials named in their official capacity in the OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] audit, do you consider it fair to ask whether travel to various places is, in fact, paid by the UN or not paid by the UN, and if so, can you answer the question that was submitted to your office and… and Farhan and…

Spokesman:  You know, every… if a trip… I don't recall the question.  I know you sent it.  I just don't remember off the…

Inner City Press:  So if the SG goes to get a personal award in Catalonia, is this… is… can this be paid by the UN, or is it not paid by the UN?

Spokesman:  I'm not aware of the particular case…  [Cross talk]

Inner City Press:  Sent you the link.

Spokesman:  Obviously, there is… there are rules and regulations which are followed.

 But a full day later, Ban's spokesman Dujarric provide no information, even as he said he would "buckle down" and provide answers. We'll have more on this.

Inner City Press asked about this at the November 22 noon briefing - then on November 25, a paid UN day when Ban Ki-moon's spokesman canceled the briefing but said questions about be answered, formally asked six questions, one about Gallach's rule-less censorship and this one on use of funds:
“In terms of UN Ethics and spending of public money, please state whether the trip by USG Gallach to Catalonia to get an award was paid for by the UN, and if so why and how much, https://twitter.com/BecarioslaCaixa/status/797018977289519104 and separately provide a list of USG Gallach's UN-paid trips for the past year.”

   This information should, obviously, be provided and when it is, or isn't, we will write about it again. In covering Ban Ki-moon's November 25 reward to Spain's Bernardino Leon after Leon sold out the UN and Libya by negotiation a UAE job, Inner City Press' last 2015 coverage of Leon came back up. Some point to a link to follow-Spaniard Gallach's February 2016 ouster of Inner City Press without so much as once speaking with Inner City Press or giving it any right to be heard. Gallach Must Go.



Who paid for UN official 's travel for award that has nothing to do with UN? ICP asked; so far, no answer. 

While the UN where it sees fit announces the travel of other Under Secretaries General, those of Gallach are not announced (or, most often, reported anywhere).

Recently, one was reported, if only in press releases. But while Gallach spent UN / public money to go, there was no mention of the UN. Perhaps it was a pretext to go pick up an award elsewhere. Maybe Gallach should just keep on traveling.

   How many trips have there been? What has been the benefit to the UN, of Gallach going to pick up Catalan awards? How much has it all cost? We'll have more on this.

Gallach was put atop DPI as Ban Ki-moon's attempt to ingratiate himself to Spain during its now-ending UN Security Council term, it has not only evicted the investigative Press without any due process or appeal, it has most recent named as the UN's gender empowerment ambassador not an actual person but rather a cartoon character, Wonder Woman.

   Gallach, after not consulting with staff or even the top of UN Women, ignored the staff and mission protest to her ceremony promoting a forthcoming movie.

  Now in a move surprising even to Inner City Press, its long time mailbox on the UN's third floor had the "Inner City Press" sign removed and all of the mail in the box was taken. It was to this box that whistleblowers, many of them from inside the UN system, sent information to Inner City Press.

For the UN to believe it can seize the correspondence in a journalist's box is a new low, even for Gallach and Ban Ki-moon. We'll now be running examples of the type of corruption complaints submitted, concerning Ban Ki-moon and his promoted son in law, Gallach and other Ban officials.

  During a recent meeting in the UN of representatives of the UN Information Centers, a participant called Inner City Press aside and said, among other things, that if they were seen with Inner City Press they would "pay the consequences." Who runs the UNICs? Gallach.

   Before Gallach put a target on Inner City Press for daring to ask her about her role in the UN bribery scandal, there were other Department of Public Information officials in communication with Inner City Press, on how and why this changed we'll have more. The UN Department of “Public” Information has become a parody of its title under Gallach, now to the point of seizing the Press' mail.

    In terms of outright corruption, even the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services audit of the John Ashe / Ng Lap Seng ongoing bribery case found that Gallach did no due diligence of at least two Ng Lap Seng funded events in the UN, including involving the UN's slavery memorial.

    Three strikes and you're out. Further, why does the UN need its own propaganda arm? It debilitates UN officials to think they can avoid the actual Press and do softball “interviews” with the UN's own media. There are some good people in DPI, and not only they but some of their functions could find homes in other Departments. But as of today, and in the near future, the UN Department of Public Information should be cut.  We'll have more on this.

As Antonio Guterres prepares to take over as UN Secretary General from Ban Ki-moon on January 1, one litmus test will be whether those Ban-era officials implicated in corruption like the Ng Lap Seng / John Ashse UN bribery case are moved out, or retained for political reasons.

   Here's the test: while Cristina Gallach of Spain, to whom Ban Ki-moon gave the top job at the UN Department of Public Information in an attempt to ingratiate himself to Spain which had just come onto the Security Council, is repeatedly criticized in the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services audit of l'affaire Ng Lap Seng (here at Paragraphs 37-40 and 20b), and summarily evicted the investigative Press for asking her about her role - will she remain?

   Rajoy of Spain may want to keep an Under Secretary General, but is retaliatory incompetent Gallach the right one? Why not give Spain the UN Disarmament USG post, if they get one at all? Gender parity cannot be made a pretext to protect corruption and censorship. Busca una otra.

   Sources tell Inner City Press that Gallach's previous boss and protect, Javier Solana, may try to play his Socialist Party cards to keep her on. But is that appropriate?


Cristina Gallach with indicted Franciso Lorenzo, asked then evicted Press

  As the UN bribery scandal gathered force Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for an audit by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services of Sheri Yan's Global Sustainability Foundation (GSF), David Ng Lap Seng's Sun Kian Ip Group and its affiliates including the "World Harmony Foundation" and South South News, among others.

  The audit, completed early this year but first put online by Inner City Press, directly criticizes Cristina Gallach, the Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, Paragraphs 37-40 -- and 20b.

This last concerns the lack of any due diligence by the UN Department of Public Information under Under Secretary General Cristina Gallach of Ng Lap Seng's GWF's sponsorship of the “Ark of Return” ceremony.

Now in November, a person charged along with Ng Lap Seng, Jeffrey Yin, has made a motion to suppress what he said when arrested in September 2015. His motion says among other things that he was awake for more than 24 hours. Whether it would furhter push back Ng's trial, already put beyond the time when Ban Ki-moon, on whose watch it happened and whose Secretariat including Gallach bear responsibility, is not yet known.

   Even in January, Antonio Guterres will have taken over from Ban Ki-moon. Will Guterres move past Ban Ki-moon's only partial cooperation -- and Ban's and Gallach's retaliation against Inner City Press for having dug into each of their roles in the scandal since October 2015? In that month, Inner City Press asked Gallach about her role in the South South Awards with South South News' Francis Lorenzo. Video here.

  In February 2016, on the thinnest of pretexts and without once speaking with Inner City Press, Gallach ordered it out of the UN on two hours notice, then evicted its long time office in April. South South News, described in the case as a conduit for bribery, remains in its office, never asking any quesitons at the UN, like Egyptian state media Akhbar al Yom to which Gallach purports to give Inner City Press' office.

  Gallach herself must go - but will she? How, for example, would the laudable ideal of gender parity apply to incompetent or corrupt holdover official? We'll have more on all this.

On August 23, 2016, the International Day for the Remembrance of Slavery and its Abolition, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here

On June 29, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Farhan Haq about it , video here, UN transcript here and below.

On August 11, lawyers for Ng Lap Seng filed in Federal court their formal demand to the UN and Ban Ki-moon's chief lawyer Manuel de Serpa Soares to produce a slew of financial and other information, including all of its communications with South South News.

 SSN is described in the file, by the prosecution, as a vehicle of bribery but the UN has left it in its office -- a conflict of interest -- while evicting Inner City Press which asked questions about it. Ban Ki-moon's UN is corrupt. We'll have more on this.

On July 29 Shiwei Yan a/k/a Sheri Yan was sentenced to 20 months in prison, was fined $12,500 and forfeited $300,000. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's press release, here.

As this player in on UN scandal was sentenced, the UN outright stonewalled on basic Press questions about a news scandal, while having evicted the questioning Press and confining it to minders. Then it said the event was canceled as a basis to answer no questions.

This is Ban Ki-moon's UN: Ban attended Sheri Yan's father's one person art show, had his photo taken at it. See here.


Ban and Yan's bio, credit via photo links

The UN claims the Ng Lap Seng and Sheri Yan case has nothing to do with it or especially Ban, who wants to run for President of South Korea. But this is false.

Ban is allowing new privatization of the UN, through UN Security; his spokesman is trying to discourage questions about it by accusing Inner City Press of “unethical Googling,” after having played a role in ousting and evicting Inner City Press. This is Ban's UN.
From the prosecutor's new letter:

"in an email dated on or about March 12, 2010, an individual affiliated with the State Council Information Office, an entity of the PRC government, sent an email to a business associate of Ng, containing a draft letter (in Chinese) for Ng to sign or approve. According to a draft translation prepared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), the letter, which began with Ng introducing himself as a member of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (“CPPCC”), a political advisory body, and as the “Chairman of the Board of the United Nations South South News,” stated in pertinent part:

[quote] my greatest wish is to fairly and objectively report the social development, religion, culture, and ideology of China through the South South News, a global media platform authorized by the UN, to display China’s soft power, counter malicious, distorted news by anti-China forces, and let the whole world hear a true voice that comes from China to understand the real China. . . .

. . . I will select suitable regions in China to establish a South South Cooperation Organization International Conference Center and a South South News Network Media Production Center as a base of operations for South South News.

Hope that the plan to establish two centers and the development of South South News in China can obtain strong support from the government of China. [unquote]

As the Court is aware, South South News, the entity described in the above email, is the conduit through which the Government alleges that defendants Ng and Jeff C. Yin funneled some of their bribe and money laundering payments.”

   So it says South South News was “authorized” by the UN; the prosecution says Ng and Yin used South South News as a conduit for bribery in the UN. And as of July 8, South South News still has its UN official from Ban Ki-moon as Inner City Press while investigating it was evicted and is now restricted to only cover events on the UN Conference Building's second floor -- ECOSOC and the Trusteeship Council Chambers, the General Assembly and General Assembly President's office -- with one of Ban Ki-moon's minders. This is Ban's UN.

From the UN's June 29 transcript:

Inner City Press: Monday down in… in Federal Court, there was a hearing for Mr. Ng Lap Seng in the ongoing case, and Assistant District Attorney [Daniel] Richenthal basically widened the case and said they're going to be… there's more things they're looking at as to Ng Lap Seng, and he also described in more detail a, quote, conduit of bribery taking place within the UN.  And I wanted to know, since you've said you're monitoring it, what is the UN's response to the new information that was presented on Monday?

Deputy Spokesman:  Yeah, we are aware of the latest information, and, as I've pointed out, the situation of South-South News is under review.  It continues to be under review, but certainly, any new information is useful in light of that.

After the above, a corporate news wire which has a conflict of interest on this passed through South South News' claims that it has had "
no connection with any government at any level" - this is false. But the conflicted corporate wire, with its own Permanent seat on the board of hte UN Correspondents Assocation which took money from Ng's South South News, merely passes through the denial. Call it journalism? We'll have more on this.

On June 27, former South South News reporter turned spokesperson for John Ashe and now his family wrote to the UN press corps, some of whom she saw over the weekend:

"Dear Friends and Dear UN and Media Representatives, I am kindly forwarding a Statement from the Family of the late John. W. Ashe, President of the UN General Assembly 68th Session, at the request of his widowed wife, Anilla Cherian.I have accepted to forward this Statement in my personal capacity and in honor of Ambassador Ashe’s legacy as a long-serving diplomat.  I will not be addressing any questions and I do appreciate your understanding.

It was very nice seeing several of you over the weekend. I hope you are all doing well."

If the goal was to distinguish South South News from John Ashe and Ng Lap Seng, this doesn't do it.

The audit deals with South South News - which as of June 27 STILL has a UN office, photo here, UNlike Inner City Press. In Ban's UN one only gets due process if one has money, or pays money, as South South News did, including to the UN Correspondents Association which then gave Ng Lap Seng a photo-op with Ban. Or as the Saudis did to get Ban to remove them from the Yemen Children and Armed Conflict annex.

On June 27 in Federal Court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal said that South South News was a conduit for bribery involving the now conveniently (and mysteriously) deceased former PGA John Ashe. (Some with links to Ashe try to erase all trace, but here is one: UNCA with AAshe's spokesperson Konja, formerly of South South News), which one wire-with-a-conflict covering this story never mentions. Compare to this.)



Those with links to dead-under-indictment  (RIP) try to erase links but here's one: UNCA

Meanwhile while Inner City Press can only work with minders, its office given to Akhbar Elyom's correspondent, a former UNCA presdient,  sits empty and Gallach gallavants in Paris. We'll have more on all this.

Ban's audit, notably, does not mention that Ban accepted Ng's South South Award and was in the program of Ng's August 2015 event in Macau.

Nor does Ban's audit mention that his Sri Lanka adviser Vijay Nambiar and his spouse, Ban Soon-taek, were both present at the founding of the Global Sustainability Foundation; the latter took photos with South South News' indicted Vivian Wang at the UN Correspondents Association ball where UNCA gave Ng, from whose South South News it took money, a photo op with Ban himself.

On April 16, at Ban's and his USG Cristina Gallach's direction, Inner City Press' long time UN office in S-303 was evicted and five boxes of files were dumped onto First Avenue. Video here and here.

On April 20, the Free UN Coalition for Access sign on S-303 was removed (photo here) without the consent of Inner City Press' office mate, also a FUNCA member, who was told that the lock was being changed, presumably to sell the office to someone else. Inner City Press immediately objected to MALU, the DSG, Chef de Cabinet and Spokesman, putting them on notice.

And lo and behold it was given to a former UNCA president who never comes to the UN, never asks questions: Saana Youssef of Egyptian state media Akhbar Elyom. This is Ban's UN.

  UNCA, at least under Giampaolo Pioli, openly tells people to pay it money, it can get them UN official space. This is corruption.

  Now since the eviction of Inner City Press, South South News has sent out a press release saying that despite the guilty plea by its President Francis Lorenzo and indictment of its Vice President Vivan Wang, it is clean - and blames its problems on a "few independent journalists." Wonder who's referred to - as the other one(s).

 Not Reuters, which passes through without analysis South South News' press releases - and without disclosing that Reuters' Lou Charbonneau and now Michelle Nichols have occupied Reuters' permanent seat on the Executive Committee of the UN Correspondents Association, which took South South News' money then arranged a photo op for Ng Lap Seng with Ban Ki-moon.

  South South News' founding is described in the John Ashe and Ng Lap Seng indictment; it is portrayed through gauze in the OIOS audit. The name South South News has appeared in the Panama Papers.

  
Inner City Press on January 29 sought to cover an UNCA event held in the UN Press Briefing Room, which was nowhere listed as closed.  On February 19 Gallach, without recusing herself, unilaterally deactivated Inner City Press UN residential correspondents pass, and had Inner City Press' reporter physically thrown out on First Avenue without coat or passport. Audio here.

  This is called retaliation. On the afternoon of April 12, Inner City Press while with another colleague asked Ban about Gallach's orders.

  "That is not my decision," Ban said quickly. He is aware; the ouster and censorship serve him, but he says it is not his decision, just as for example Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa or higher profile censors might.

  On the evening of April 12 Gallach ordered the final eviction of all of Inner City Press' investigative files on Saturday, April 16 at 10 am. This is the face of today's UN corruption.



Here is some of what the OIOS audit says, about USG Gallach:

"37. On 30 June 2015, Global Sustainability Foundation sponsored an exhibition titled “The Transformative Power of Art” in the visitors’ lobby at United Nations Headquarters. This exhibition was curated by an Italian artist, whose works were displayed along with the works of other artists participating in one of his workshops.

38. Exhibitions in publicly accessible areas at Headquarters are governed by the Secretary General’s Bulletin ST/SGB/2008/6, which stipulates, inter alia, as follows:

(a) The United Nations Exhibits Committee, which is an interdepartmental body of the Secretariat chaired by the Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information [Cristina Gallach] is the standing body that reviews and authorizes such exhibitions;

(b) Any proposal originating from an NGO or foundation must be accompanied by a written communication of support from a Secretariat department or office, a separately administered organ or programme of the United Nations, an organization of the United Nations system or a permanent or observer mission to the United Nations;

(c) Exhibit proposals focusing on a specific individual, or originating from a single artist, shall not be permitted;

(d) The Exhibits Committee may, at its discretion, reject a proposal for an exhibit in part or in its entirety, or require the elimination or alteration of any part thereof; and

(e) The secretariat of the Exhibits Committee shall inform the Assistant Secretary General, Office of Central Support Services, of the authorization granted for a proposed exhibit.39. OIOS noted that the exhibition held of 30 June 2015 was not in compliance with these provisions. The Exhibits Committee did not authorize the exhibition because it did not receive a proposal in accordance with (b) above. The Chef de Cabinet of the Office of the President of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly informed the Exhibits Committee of the President’s decision to host a series of major cultural events, which included an exhibition, reception, and concert. The Committee informed the Office of the President that the exhibition was not in accordance with the regulations for exhibits in publicly accessible areas at Headquarters, but the Office of the President decided to proceed with the exhibition anyway. Therefore, the Exhibits Committee did not accept, reject or alter the “proposal”.

40. OIOS notes that the Exhibits Committee only had an advisory role in the matter, and in the circumstances described, it could not have possibly prevented the staging of the event. However, considering that the exhibition was attended by the Secretary-General and other senior Secretariat staff despite its non-compliance with the Secretary-General’s bulletin on exhibits, the perception that the NGO was given preferential treatment or favour (that too without performing any due diligence checks) could have an adverse impact on the Organization’s reputation. This risk is aggravated by the allegations in the criminal complaint against Sun Kian Ip group, with whom this NGO is affiliated."

While Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric has said this audit will not be made public until April 22, on April 6 as a full text exclusive Inner City Press published the audit while noting affiliates the UN audit omitted, and portions of the audit that some involved seem to be trying to cover up, including not only as to the Department of Public Information, but also the Global Compact and other back-doors into the UN, including but not limited to "Friends of the UN."

  Beyond the Under Secretary General of the Department of Public Information's responsibility for exhibits in the Visitor's Lobby such as the one indicted Sheri Yan's Global Sustainability Foundation held on June 30, 2015, she was also in charge when GSF was allowed, without any due diligence, to on March 25, 2015 sponsor an event entitled "Unveiling of the 'Ark of Return' Permanent Memorial." Audit at Paragraph 20 (b).

  Inner City Press asked the UN about DPI's engagement with the Global Sustainability Foundation around the Ark of Return in October 2015. To be diplomatic, this should have led to / required a recusal.

   DPI, the audit says, was "associated" with Ng Lap Seng's and Frank Liu's World Harmony Foundation through something called the "Friends of the UN" based in Los Angeles / Santa Monica. We'll have more on this.

  As Inner City Press demonstrated even before publishing the audit, the Global Compact as of April 2016 lists Ng's World Harmony Foundation as a member, despite the October 2015 indictments.

  Now we note that the Global Compact, represented at Ng's Macau event in August 2015, has a representative who because not a UN staff member kept the iPad Ng's Sun Kian Ip foundation gifted. What kind of "anti corruption" UN Global Compact is this?

On April 11, after publishing the above, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about it, and when Ban will answer questions. Video hereUN transcript here:

Inner City Press:  on this OIOS inquiry, I want to ask you something.  One of the entities controlled by Mr. Ng Lap Seng is World Harmony Foundation.  I don’t know if it was you or Farhan [Haq] last week that said it’s still a member of the Global Compact, but it also seems to partner with DPI (Department of Public Information) is associated through something called Friends of the United Nations, which seems to be based in Santa Monica, California.  It’s a little unclear.  Can you say, is this one of the ground balls that you guys are going to be running down, in terms of what other groups enter through that way?  Also, what explains World Harmony Foundation six months after the indictment still being part of the Global Compact?  And one other Global Compact question.  The audit specifically says that, of the iPads given out at the Macau event in August, the representative of the Global Compact has not returned it, said that he’s not going to return it.  He’s not a staff member and he’s keeping it.  It’s right in the audit.  And so I wanted to know, since the Global Compact said it’s about transparency, anticorruption, is this okay?  And why isn’t he a staff member if he’s representing the Global Compact?

Spokesman Dujarric:  I don’t know.  That’s a question you should… in terms of World Harmony, whether or not they’re still a member, is a question you can ask of the Global Compact.  Obviously, as we said, the audit is an initial step, and other issues are being pursued.

Inner City Press:  But are they going… I mean, I guess Global Compact, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), are they going to hold a press conference?

Spokesman Dujarric:  You should ask them.  They have press people, like the Secretariat, and they’re there to answer questions.

Inner City Press:  And the Secretary-General, you said he’ll be in the room tomorrow, but he won’t speak.  Looking at the list of press conferences, it seems like the last one was December of last year…

Spokesman:  He will have… there will be some sort of a press conference… there will be a press conference, probably on Friday, tied to the climate event.

  Climate of corruption, some say.

To be diplomatic, on April 8 this is what Inner City Press asked Dujarric, video hereUN transcript here:

Inner City Press: this OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] audit, I obtained it, published it and I want to ask just for today, two specific questions about it.  One is, it talks about funds going to this thing called UNPAN, which I've heard of, but it seems to be pretty obscure.  And in looking at its website, it claims to be publishing articles they say were published in December 2016, which hasn't actually occurred yet.  So, there's something a little… What's been done on the recommendations as to… to UNPAN and the use of its name by the entities that were audited....

Spokesman:  The recommend… the audit, I think, as all of you have seen now, includes recommendations and includes the status of those recommendations, and we're following through with them.

Inner City Press: I'd asked Farhan [Haq] yesterday about the 30 June 2015 event in the Visitor's Lobby, which has a section of the whole audit about DPI [Department of Public Information] being in charge of it, not doing it.  I want to ask you about another event, which was 25 March, this unveiling of the Ark of Return permit memorial, which they said was no due diligence done of the Global Sustainability Foundation.  It seems like, in this audit, they make these two findings about DPI, these two events, but it's only looking at it, I guess, institutionally.  As I've asked you, when Global Sustainability Foundation was founded in this building, a senior adviser of the Secretary-General and his spouse were present…

Spokesman:  I mean, I think…

Inner City Press:  Does this audit look at individuals or only entities…?

Spokesman:  The audit looks at… looked at the systems.  When there are issues related to individuals, further investigations are being done.

Inner City Press:  Right.  But, it seems like they only mention the individuals that were in the criminal complaint.  There was nothing…

Spokesman:  You know, the audit… I think the audit speaks for itself and outlines how we're following up with it.

 There is a need for follow up.

  The audit cites Ng's Interntional Organization for South South Cooperation's engagements with, or capture of, the UN agency UNPAN, the UN Public Administration Network. A visit on April 8, 2016 to UNPAN's website finds them featuring articles they say were publishd in December 2016 - that is, in the future. Ironically, the article(s) address the topic of corruption. That is today's UN.

   The audit for example does purport to cover South South News, but not the big money South South Awards held in September 2015 at the Waldorf Astoria including the Under Secretary General of the Department of Public Information (DPI) Cristina Gallach.

   (Inner City Press in October 2015 questioned Ms. Gallach about her participation in the South South Awards, video here. On February 19, 2016 Gallach ordered Inner City Press to leave its long time office and stripped its Resident Correspondent accreditation, without once speaking to it. This is the subject of an April 5 letter to Ban Ki-moon from the Government Accountability Project, demanding that this “crude and heavy handed” retaliation be reversed, watch this site.)

 On April 7, Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq a first round of questions about some of the limitations of the audio, video here,


UN transcript here:

Inner City Press: I've now obtained and published this OIOS audit of selected NGOs and related entity that you said will come out on 22 April.  And there's different things I want to ask you about it, but main thing I want to ask about is, there's an entire section that runs from paragraph 37 through paragraph 40 that it's about an exhibit they say was improperly held in the Visitor's Lobby on 30 June 2015.  And it goes through a lot of detail, and it says that the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Public Information is in charge of the exhibits committee and, I guess, in charge of the space.  And somehow, this exhibit was held in violation of a number of the rules that apply to it.  What I'm wondering is, what is the response?  Obviously, it seems like you guys have had access to this audit even before it was sent to Member States.  What is the thinking… the way they walk through it is they say… it seems strange. If she's in charge of the space and the exhibit took place without complying with the rules, what is the response to her responsibility for that?  And what steps have been taken?  The audit doesn't say that any steps have yet been taken to address that.

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  Well, with regard to the specific cases referred to in the audit, actions being taken to determine responsibility and any follow-up and any measures that may be deemed appropriate.  And so, we'll continue to study that.

Inner City Press:  And who decides? In getting the audit, there obviously is a long section about South-South News, but I noticed that a related entity of which there's been a lot of coverage is South-South Awards.  And it's unclear, it's not mentioned once in here.  And this is something that… I mean, the Secretary-General received the South-South Award.  This is an entity that's absolutely connected to Ng Lap Seng and Frank Lorenzo et al.  So, the question is, who… maybe that's OIOS, but who decided on the scope of this audit, the date that it would start, 1 January 2012, and the exclusion of… of… one of the things that people covering this scandal have focused on are these glitzy events in the Waldorf.  The Under-Secretary-General of DPI did attend in September, but prior to that, Ms. [Susana] Malcorra took an award for Ban [Ki-moon].  Why is this not in the audit?  And will there be an audit of South-South Awards going forward?

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  I think the audit is what it is.  It's prepared by the professional people in the Office of Internal Oversight who deal with audits.  And you can evaluate the results for yourself.

Inner City Press:  And just one other thing I wanted to ask about, because I know I'd asked Stéphane [Dujarric] and you, going back to October, about the inclusion of South-South News content in UN Television archives.  And, eventually, you came back with this answer that it was due to Habitat.  And I just… I've pointed out to you that there's a number of things that have nothing to do with Habitat, a number of inclusions that you just search UNTV for "South-South News".  But, I do notice in this audit that there is a reference to South-South News and Habitat.  So, I wanted to know, was this finding that you said of people looking into how it got in there, was it basically just taken from reading the audit, or was there a… a… a… an analysis, either by your office or DPI, of how the many other inclusions of South-South News and UNTV archives took place?

Deputy Spokesman:  No, our office had checked with DPI.  That was prior to us knowing about the results of the audit.

   Similarly, using timing as a basis of omission, by stopping the audit at January 1, 2012, OIOS did not address the issue of Ng's South South News getting a photo op directly with Ban Ki-moon in December 2011 at the UN Correspondents Association ball at Cipriani's 42nd Street after giving money to UNCA including for a two page ad spread in UNCA's “ball book.”

  While Dujarric's deputy Farhan Haq allowed four UNCA board members from Reuters, France 24 and Agence France Presse to seek to rebut this including by directly addressing Inner City Press in the noon briefing on April 6, the cut-off at January 1, 2012 is problematic, especially as related to Ban Ki-moon himself.

  The audit goes out of its way to say that Ban's Executive Office of the Secretary General did not know when a letter to it was modified to add the name of Ng's firm and of South South News. How is that possible? And again, why was Ban's direct dealing with Ng cut out from the audit by a matter of days?

   Many of the irregularities in the audit are things first reported by Inner City Press, such as  Yan's Global Sustainability Foundation funding the UN's slavery memorial, including an engagement with Gallach's DPI which even the audit criticizes while DPI tries to deny.

  Undeniable is that Gallach chaired the UN Exhibits Committee which allowed the bogus “Transformative Power of Art” exhibit on June 30, 2015.

   How does Gallach's no due process ouster of Inner City Press on February 19, 2016, when Inner City Press was thrown into the street and its laptop on the sidewalk by eight UN guards, look now that the audit is out? Even with the audit inexplicably omitting the South South Awards -- Ban Ki-moon got one of the awards -- the audit chides DPI for lack of due diligence for its slavery event, and Gallach as chair of the Exhibit Committee which allowed the Jun 30, 2015 “Transformative Power of Art” exhibit.

  Gallach, who was questioned by Inner City Press about her role at the South South Awards with Frank Lorenzo, had a conflict of interest and should never have been near the decision to thrown Inner City Press out of the UN.

 That decision must be reversed, as the Government Accountability Project has asked Ban, even before Inner City Press published the specifics of the audit.

Courthouse News Service of April 6 reports on GAP's first letter:

"The Government Accountability Project complained about Lee's fallout in a Feb. 26 letter to the U.S. Permanent Mission of the United Nations.
     'The action targeted Matthew Lee alone, and appears to be retaliatory in response to independent, critical journalism,' wrote Beatrice Edwards, the project's international program director.
     UNCA, the group whose meeting Lee got in trouble for recording, has denied the appearance of unfairness. 'UNCA stands for press freedom and vehemently defends rights of journalists at the UN and around the world,' the statement says."

  Really? Where? It was the Free UN Coalition for Access asking this month about the UN requiring minders, not only in UN Headquarters but also in South Sudan. The Courthouse News continues:

"Lee blasted what he described as 'post-hoc' justifications for his ouster, which he compared to a Franz Kafka novel. 'Initially, they tried to say that I secretly filmed a closed meeting,' he said.
'That's fallen apart because the meeting wasn't recorded as closed.' Lee laughed off allegations that he entered a restricted area to secretly film the meeting, which he broadcast via a popular web-casting platform. 'It's hard to say that a Periscope live-streaming with my arms up is secret,' he said.

     By downgrading his residential correspondent credentials to a second-tier status, the U.N. has restricted Lee's freedom of movement, forced him to be chaperoned by a minder."

  That's right, a UN minder courtesy of UN Communications chief Cristina Gallach and ultimately, Ban Ki-moon. In terms of violations, and cover up, see Paragraphs 37 through 40 of the OIOS audit.


   Inner City Press on April 5 asked if Ng's World Harmony Foundation is still part of the UN Global Compact; deputy spokesperson Haq said he would check but never came back with an answer. On April 6 Inner City Press asked again and Haq said yes - now we see it is confirmed and criticized in the audit.

   Worse while Inner City Press from October 2015 on asked Dujarric and Haq how South South News got its content in the UNTV archives run by Gallach's DPI, Haq belatedly mentioned only one use, connected to HABITAT. Now we see the HABITAT - South South News interaction is listed in the audit, which it seems Haq consulted before answering (and whatever else he did with the audit).

  But why didn't OIOS look into South South News' OTHER inclusions in DPI's archives of UNTV? Watch this site.

Another question, now more poignant with the full audit online, is why the wire services reporters from Reuters and Agence France Presse, on the Executive Committee of the UN Correspondents Association which took Ng's South South News' money and then gave Ng a photo op with Ban Ki-moon, didn't even MENTION that DPI, their partner in censorship, was listed and criticized in the audit.

 Not only the South South Awards, but the the Gallach-approved bogus exhibition criticized in detail in the audit is nowhere in their reports. Hence the April 6 threat and April 6 noon briefing, video here. We'll have more on this