| As
Cameroon Kills Civilians, UN
Silent 18 Hours, ICP Asked
UN For
Response
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Photo,
video
UNITED NATIONS,
October 2 – When Cameroon's
President for the past 30-plus
years Paul Biya came to meet
Antonio Guterres on September
22, before he went back to the
Hotel Inter-Continental in
Geneva, he was accompanied by
his state media and... Inner
City Press. Now Biya, still in
Geneva, has directed his
forced to use water cannons in
Buea, as they shoot to kill in
Belo in North-West Cameroon.
With the UN still silent 18
hours after Inner City Press
submitted written questions to
it on Cameroon - its
High Commissioner for Human
Rights Prince Zeid spoke on
Catalonia but not Cameroon -
Amnesty International issued a
statement that "the reported
unlawful killing of several
people in the Anglophone
regions by the security forces
coupled with the blocks on
Facebook and WhatsApp
represent an extremely
worrying escalation of the
government’s on-going campaign
to silence any form of dissent
in the West and South-West
regions of Cameroon." At the
UN's October 2 noon briefing,
lead Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric wasn't there; his
deputy has nothing at the top,
vaguely alluded to statements,
no answer. Meanwhile the UN's
Resident Coordinator in
Cameroon was robo-tweeting
pablum about World
Non-Violence Day, and France's
Ambassador Gilles Thibault was
expressing support to Yaounde
(for flora and fauna). Inner
City Press asked
the UN Resident Coordinator
Allegra Baiocchi for her
response - none yet - noted
the similarity to the UN's
silence in Myanmar
and emailed the UN's top three
spokespeople: " In light of
the government crackdown on
communications and unarmed
civilians in North-West and
South-West Cameroon, after the
UN's readout of September 22
and subsequent statement of
concern, this is a request for
the UN's already belated
response to the government's
killing. How many people does
the UN acknowledge have been
killed? What is the UN, both
the country team and the wider
UN, doing?" The lead spokesman
provided this interim
response: "We will try but may
not have answers until
tomorrow." Inner City Press
has asked that any and all
information be emailed to it
as soon as available. More
than 12 hours later, from the
UN, nothing. Watch this site.
According to the UN read-out,
the September 22 conversation
was entirely positive and did
not mention Biya's abuse of
Anglophones, or human rights
in any way. Now on October 1
Biya's forces have opened fire
from Buea to Ikiliwindi, Mamfe
to Nkwen, Ndu to Nguti. Still,
grainy footage has been sent
to Inner City Press of
Ambazonia independence
celebrations in Bamenda
despite the orders against
freedom of association and
movement, and ultimately
freedom of speech and of
belief. Biya has again
undermined the Internet and
rights to communicate in
Southern Cameroons, to which
Inner City Press after asking
the UN four days in a
row until exclusion now turns.
Here is a letter sent not only
to Inner City Press, but to
the UN Office of the
Spokesperson: "I am writing
from Southern Cameroons. I am
pleading you should use your
high office to stop the
genocide that President Biya
wants to exercise on the
English speaking Cameroonians.
a lot of people have lost
their lives already and yet
the President of Cameroons is
seriously planning to shed
more blood. The truth is
clear, the people of southern
Cameroons (English speaking )
was a country of its own
that legally voted to joint La
Republic of Cameroon. But now
La Republic of Cameroon are
treating these people as if
they colonize them or
conquered them in a war. sir
use your conscience, it could
have been your family going
through what we are going
through. Where is human rights
in the 21st Century where
people of a particular nation
turns to treat their fellow
brothers and sisters as slaves
and the whole world is
reacting as if there is
nothing happening Does it mean
that if tomorrow if I'm in one
top position in the world that
has to deal with the society i
will give deaf ears to a
situation that has to do with
millions of lives ? what is
wrong with the world today?
where is human right? there is
no justice at all? is it that
human lives no longer matters?
Please kindly react to stop
the genocide that is about to
happen in 48 hours." No
response from the UN. Here is
another letter: "Dear Matthew
Russell Lee, Inner City Press:
Accept my greetings and that
of those who can't write to
you. I am writing to you from
Buea, Southern Cameroons. Am
reacting to your articles on
September 28 concerning the
crisis in Southern Cameroons.
The approach of the UN
concerning the Southern
Cameroons and it people,
proves time and again that the
UN must be very corrupt, and
have turned it back against in
commitment to protect human
rights freedoms, and states
sovereignty. How can the
Secretary General be talking
of his to consolidate peace
and the Territorial integrity
of Cameroon, when knows very
well that, the UN holds no
legal treaty that binds the
British Southern Cameroons
with LA Republique DU
Cameroun? I hereby want to
inform you that, I, as well as
an overwhelming majority have
chosen to separate from la
Republique DU Cameroun because
of what we have gone through
in 56 of forced union. If the
government of la République du
Cameroun, considered us
Southern Cameroonians as a
people with the same rights as
Francophones, if the
government wanted to make
peace and resolve this problem
from it core, I think the
repression taking place now
won't have been. While you
published on the Cameroon
crises yesterday, the
government of la Republique DU
Cameroun became violently
repressive and attacked and
beating people their homes,
taking seizing money and smart
phones, and taking them to
jail. As am writing to you
now, six people were shot
yesterday in the town of
Ekona, and a grandmother was
killed by the military in her
home. 14 years old kids are
being arrested and detained in
jails under very cruel
conditions. Since the
beginning of this crises since
November last year, 112 people
have been killed by the
military of la Republique DU
Cameroun. The la République du
Cameroun's government have
been using terrorism blackmail
the peaceful protests. I
hereby call on the Secretary
General to read the the UN
charter on human right and
freedoms, and the right for
self governance." Biya's
renewed attacks on the
Internet have ranged from
Bamenda to Kumbo and Kumba,
but are being circumvented by
VPNs. Meanwhile Inner City
Press is receiving video of
protests in front of the
Inter-Continental Hotel in
Geneva where Biya is staying.
Guterres praised Biya, then
belatedly called on him to
dialogue: while Biya is not
even in the country. His
landing in Geneva: "VP-CAL
used by #PaulBiya, President
of Cameroon (Boeing 777) on
2017/09/26 at 08:56:46." We
ran this sample letter to
Inner City Press: " woke up
this morning and discovered
Internet Services in Cameroon
have somehow been limited. I
am suspected the regime of
Paul Biya have tampered with
the internet service and
Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp, VPNs, Vcontact
aren't working. I am sure many
other social media have been
cut off as well.
There have been plans to
celebrate the symbolic
independence of this region
'the Former British Southern
Cameroons' on the 1st of
October 2017. That is on
Sunday and the region have
been heavily militarized by
the Biya regime, Homes of
people invaded, beaten , some
killed, many kidnapped and
with this shutdown to major
social media to which it
is where most of these crimes
are exposed, many have been
fearing a total Genocide that
can be perpetrated on the
people of that region. There
were rumors that, the internet
will be shutdown come 30th
September. The Minister of
Communications made a public
communique two days ago to
say, the internet won't be
shutdown but I guess it was
just a ploy as through some
websites are working, major
social medias ( Facebook,
Whatsapp, Twitter) have been
cut off. Please, make the
world know what is happening
in this region. This is a sly
move to blackout to the world
what atrocities the Biya's
regime is/will be perpetrating
in these regions." In
Fiango, Biya's security forces
have killed, reportedly
Enogene Basile, following
their September 28 killings in
Ekona. Watch this site. Inner
City Press on September 26, 27
and 28 asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
about these glaring omissions.
The first time, Dujarric
alluded to "private"
diplomacy. Then on September
27 when Inner City Press asked
ask, video here,
Dujarric said that UN envoy
Francois Fall will be going to
Cameroon "next week." On
September 28, Inner City Press
asked Dujarric deputy Farhan
Haq if this would be before or
after October 1, and Haq said
he didn't know. Hours later,
Dujarric's office put out a
statement of concern below,
which many see as too little,
too late, with its emphasis on
territorial integrity. On
September 29, Inner City Press
asked Dujarric not only about
the UN's surveillance of the
Press, on which he refused to
answer referring to the
question to the UN Department
of Public Information whose
chief Alison Smale has refused
to answer basic questions
for a month (now keeping a
close eye on Catalonia, if not
blatant crackdowns in
Cameroon), but also if
Guterres' concern is at
threats to those in Anglophone
Cameroon to stay indoors or be
treated as "terrorists," for
citing UN General Assembly
Resolution 1608. Video here.
Dujarric replied that he
doesn't have "granularity"
about what's being done and
said. But he put this out:
"The Secretary-General is
deeply concerned about the
situation in Cameroon,
including with regard to the
recent security incidents in
Bamenda and in Douala, and
mounting tensions in the
South-West and North-West
regions related to planned
events on 1 October. The
Secretary-General has
encouraged the Cameroonian
authorities to continue their
efforts to address the
grievances of the Anglophone
community. He urges the
authorities to promote
measures of national
reconciliation aimed at
finding a durable solution to
the crisis, including by
addressing its root causes.
The Secretary-General supports
upholding the unity and
territorial integrity of
Cameroon and urges all parties
to refrain from acts that
could lead to an escalation of
tension and violence. The
Secretary-General believes
that genuine and inclusive
dialogue between the
Government and the communities
in the South-West and
North-West regions is the best
way to preserve the unity and
stability of the
country. The
Secretary-General stands ready
to support these efforts,
including through the United
Nations Regional Office for
Central Africa (UNOCA). "
We'll see. On September 26,
Dujarric replied that Guterres
would say there is a time for
public diplomacy, and a time
for private diplomacy. Video
here. Some wonder, how many
people have to die, or what
kind of people, for it to be
time for UN "public"
diplomacy? Earlier on
September 22 Inner City Press
interviewed Southern
Cameroonians out on 47th
Street, then asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
about people killed that very
day. UN transcript
here and below. The crackdown
is also financial: Biya's
Minister of Finance has
threatened the National
Frincne Credit Bank in Bamenda
with loss of its license for
taking part in the "Ghost
Town" expression of desire for
independence, or in the first
instance a referendum. See
letter here. This
politicization should trigger
action by the "decision making
phere" [sic] written about by
Biya's state
media, the kind of media
that the UN and now its new
head of Public Information
favor over independent
press. From the
September 22 UN transcript:
Inner City Press:
there’s a protest right now of
Southern Cameroonians on 47th
Street, but more importantly,
there’s one in Southern
Cameroon where five people
have been killed today, as
Paul Biya gave his speech, so
I’m wondering… I know
the Deputy Secretary-General
had some interest in the
issue. There’s Mr.
[Francois Lonseny] Fall.
Are they aware of these
protests? Spokesman:
"We’ve seen the reports I
think we would definitely… we
would call on the authorities
to show restraint and ensure
that people have the right to
demonstrate freely." But on
the UN's 27th floor, it was
all smiles. And much later the
UN put this read-out on its
website: "The
Secretary-General met today
with H.E. Mr. Paul Biya,
President of the Republic of
Cameroon. The
Secretary-General appreciated
Cameroon’s hospitality towards
the refugees.
They discussed the latest
political developments in the
country, as well as regional
issues, including Boko Haram
and the situation in the
Central African Republic. The
Secretary commended Cameroon
for its efforts to combat Boko
Haram, and reiterated the
readiness of the United
Nations to support the
Government in all areas." No
mention of the Anglophone
areas, much less the day's
killings. This is a new low,
even for today's UN. UN
Department of Political
Affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman
had left the floor with the
Australian delegation; it was
unclear if any UN Human Rights
official was present. One of
Biya's handlers even signed
the UN visitors book in
advance for him. When Guterres
greeted his next visitor he
did so in French then
apologized, the last meeting
was in French. Back September
19. Guterres ended with two
photo ops. The first was
Paraguay's President Horacio
Manuel Cartes Jara, who spent
a long time writing in the
UN's visitors' book, followed
by a short meeting. Alamy
photos here.
Next and last was Uzbekistan's
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Guterres said pointedly, just
the signature. But something
was lost in translation: he
still started writing. Alamy
photos here.
Then the Press was ushered
out. Already on the way in
before the Paraguay photo op,
the Media Entrance on 47th
Street was locked. The
questions about double
standards of media access,
including retaliatory
restrictions still in place on
the investigative Press while no-show,
no-question state media like
Egypt's Akhbar al Yom have
full access have yet to be
answered by the official now
responsible, Alison Smale.
According to a photographer
allowed into the smaller
"G-200" room, Smale was there
to greet "her" Prime Minister,
Theresa May.
***
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