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UN Physically Removes Independent Media From NYC HQ For Exposing Institutional Corruption
For years, the United Nations seems to have been embroiled in an endless string of scandals and cover-ups, and yet rarely, if ever, has anyone ever actually been held to account. This has led a number of pundits to accuse the institution of being ‘above the law’ and riddled with institutional corruption.
This latest story only reaffirms these accusations…
matthew-russell-leeIndependent journalist Matthew Russell Lee (photo, left) founded Bronx-based Inner City Press in 2005 and received official press accreditation to cover the United Nations in New York City. He was the first-ever independent, non-affiliated blogger to be given access to the UN’s inner sanctum. Since then Inner City Press has broken stories on a number of controversial stories: peacekeeper rapes in Africa, UN cholera in Haiti, war crimes in Sri Lanka and Burundi, the Sudans, SEMG and Yemen (see a leaked letter here), as well as corruption within UN Headquarters (cocaine shipments through its mail room and the current bribery scandals).
Apparently, it was all too much for diplomatic luminaries at the UN. Last month, Lee was forcibly ejected from the UN headquarters.
The DC-based Government Accountability Project, which defends UN and other whistleblowers, believes that the ouster of Inner City Press from the UN’s press office is “retaliatory in response to independent, critical journalism.”
UN Restricts of Free Press
On the afternoon of February 19th, Inner City Press questioned UN inaction in South Sudan and Burundi and financial irregularities, and was handed a letter from Ban Ki-moon’s Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach ordering Inner City Press to surrender its Resident Correspondent accreditation of eight years and be removed from the UN by 5 pm. In a letter that gave Inner City Press only two hours notice, Gallach told Inner City Press to surrender the key to its long-time shared office. Read the UN letter here. Later, while Inner City Press was writing up a UN Security Council meeting on Syria that went into the evening, a total of eight UN Security guards under Deputy Chief Michael McNulty tore off Inner City Press’ UN ID badge and grabbed Inner City Press’ laptop and camera, before throwing them on the sidewalk on First Avenue as well as physically throwing journalist Matthew Lee on the street in freezing weather, without a coat. Audio here; video as UN Security turns off Inner City Press’ Periscope livestream here:
