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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT NYP

UNITED NATIONS Gate, February 18 –After Paul Biya who has ruled Cameroon for 36 years on January 28 had his opponent Maurice Kamto arrested, Inner City Press again asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his spokesmen for their comment and action, if any. This came after Guterres had Inner City Press roughed up on 3 July 2018 after it interviewed Biya's Ambassador about the two men's Budget Committee deals and banned from the UN since - Guterres even tried to get Inner City Press banned from the Park East Synagogue, here, which was denied / dodged by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Guterres alongside his cover up for Biya has been covering up his own links to UN briber CEFC China Energy, which brought Chad's Idriss Deby (recently supported by French air strikes) $2 million in cash in a box. Now from Chinese state media on February 18: "Officials of African Development Bank (AfDB) said Friday studies were under way to construct a railway to link Cameroon and Chad.  “There are three major projects. One is on the ring road, the other one is interconnection project between Chad and Cameroon and the third one is a major study of railway between Cameroon and Chad,” AfDB Cameroon manager Kone Solomane told reporters after meeting with Cameroon’s Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute in the capital, Yaounde, on Friday.  He said the meeting was intended to inform the prime minister of the approval of the projects.  It is unclear when the construction of the railway will begin, but officials said it will “significantly” elevate trade between the two countries." Between two elderly dictators propped up by France, and increasingly owned by China.  From Cameroon: "More than 150 people have been charged with "hostility to the homeland" and "insurrection" for their role in anti-government protests in Cameroon, the vice-president of the country's main opposition party said.  The president of the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) opposition party, Maurice Kamto, was among those charged on Wednesday in a crackdown criticized by human rights campaigners.  He and around 150 other people were arrested in late January and have been held for nearly three weeks by police in the capital Yaounde.  They have gone before a judge in groups, starting with Kamto overnight Tuesday to Wednesday. He was charged with "rebellion, insurrection" and "hostility to the country".  Around twenty of those detained have been released on bail, MRC's vice-president Emmanuel Simh said.  "Hostility to the country" is punishable by the death penalty in theory, but the penalty has not been carried out in Cameroon for more than 30 years." This race to the bottom by Paul Biya has been in parallel with Guterres' six calls to Biya, which Dujarric refuses to answer questions about.  But Guterres and Dujarric have offered no answer to this Inner City Press question: "what is the SG's comment and follow up action, if any, on that Kamto is currently held at the building of the Groupement spécial d’opérations in Yaoundé. According to his lawyers, Kamto could be charged with: insurrection, hostility against the homeland, criminal association, threats to public order, rebellion, group rebellion, and inciting insurrection,and that there are currently up to 200 people, of whom the majority are MRC supporters, in detention following protests on January 26, and, again, on the arrest and detention of journalists Théodore Tchopa and David Eyengue Nzima merely for covering the opposition gathering in Douala. Again, what are the read-outs of his six conversations with Paul Biya and most recently of Francois Fall's visit there?" No answer. An UNacceptable fraud. After Guterres bragged again, this time in French, about his talks with Biya's government, Cameroon forces burned down the hospital in Kumba in the Anglophone Southwest Region. The UN usually calls attacks on medical facilities a war crime but as we have seen, Biya's Cameroon is a special case for Guterres, since it chaired the UN Budget Committee. But Guterres has nothing to say about Biya's burning of a hospital. And now Chinese state media argues for Biya that US aid was not used for its human rights abuses: "Cameroon’s Ministry of External Relations has denied allegations that its army was using U.S. military assistance to carry out human rights violations.  “Cameroon strongly denies accusations that U.S. military assistance has been used to commit human rights violations.  “While we have acknowledged instances of human rights violations" - they were not with US' fungible funds? This and Guterres are pathetic. Before 9 am on Febuary 11, Inner City Press in writing asked Guterres, Amina J. Mohammed, Alison Smale, Farhan Haq and "Spokesman" Stephane Dujarric: "February 11-1: On Cameroon, what is the SG's comment and action on the deadly burning down of the hospital in Kumba in the Anglophone Southwest Region, and on the imprisonment of nurse Njongwan Emeline for "unauthorized" filming the authorities mass arrests in Buea? In this context, please immediately specify the SG's statement on "dialogue avec le Premier Ministre [du Cameroun] et il nous a promis que tout ce fait pour créer des conditions de respect des droits de l’homme et de dialogue pour que la situation puisse se normaliser"?" Twelve hours later, nothing. Guterres is entirely silent on Biya's lock up of Njongwan Emeline, for filming a video of the arrest of dozens of young people in Buea early this week.
As Guterres pledges his support to Biya, she remains locked up. Birds of a feather, flock together.  Guterres has no credibility on Cameroon - he covered up Biya's slaughter since Cameroon was chair of the UN Budget Committee, took Biya's golden statue, had Inner City Press roughed up and banned 230 days and counting and bragged he spoke six times with Biya - while refusing any read outs. Back on February 9 Dujarric, who blocks Inner City Press on Twitter, issued this about his Boss Gutterres: "the Secretary-General met today with H.E. Mr. Joseph Dion Ngute, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cameroon on the margins of the African Union Summit.     They discussed the latest political developments in the country, including the situation in the North-West and South-West regions. The Secretary-General reiterated the readiness of the United Nations to continue to support Cameroon in its efforts to strengthen peace, democracy and development.  Addis Ababa, 9 February 2019  Stéphane Dujarric  Spokesman for the Secretary-General." Continue? After Guterres took Biya's golden statue and UN Budget Committee favors and stayed silent on all Biya's killings in the Anglophone zones?   More here.

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