At UN, Ban Ki-moon's Media Partner Called Press “Mentally Sick,” Gallach Only Evicted Press, WHO Q&A;

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• published: 12 Oct 2016
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Ban Ki-moon's Media Partner Called Press “Mentally Sick,” Gallach Heard That, But Only Evicted Press, WHO Says Inappropriate, DPI Cuts Off By Matthew Russell Lee UNITED NATIONS, October 11 -- When the UN held its World Mental Health Day press conference on October 11, the representative of the UN World Health Organization Nata Menabde spoke about human rights. Inner City Press then asked her to apply what she had said to a particular case, this year, in Ban Ki-moon's UN. In short, when Inner City Press sought to cover an event in the same UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, 2016, finding it related to the John Ashe now only Ng Lap Seng UN bribery scandal, the president of the UN Correspondent Association Giampaolo Pioli said repeatedly from the podium, “You are mentally sick.” Beyond the Vine video here. WHO's Nata Menabde on October 11 said this was inappropriate, including the UN Department of Public Information reviewing the video and ignoring the stigma, instead throwing Inner City Press out of the UN (in retaliation for corruption coverage, including of DPI chief Cristina Gallach). Inner City Press began to ask a follow up question by the DPI moderate, Dan Shepherd, cut the question off, saying it was not relevant. (The panelists, including Palau Ambassador Caleb Otto, disagreed with DPI, and shouldn't it be their decision?) A BuzzFeed story about Gallach's eviction of Inner City Press on behalf of Ban Ki-moon, who partners with UNCA and is praised by them, forthcomingly in photos see below, reported on the video that Gallach saw and used that several UNCA members “can be heard in the video making disparaging remarks about Lee. 'The problem is we work with a mentally sick person who is not a journalist,' one woman can be heard saying.” Who was that? Voice of America, which stealthly asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric to throw Inner City Press out of the UN? FOIA document here. Reuters, which tried the same and worse? AFP, which has used this same “journalists first” line to try to take the first question at the stakeout? We'll have more on this, including but not limited to the ramification of Ban's Under Secretary General for Public Information Cristina Gallach's selective review of use of video, which Inner City Press uploaded, only to censor. 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. Questions about letting the Saudi led Coalition off the Children and Armed Conflict annex for Yemen remain unanswered, along with others. 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 conviction, below. 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.... 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.