On
Cameroon Inner City
Press Asks UN
Guterres About
Thomas Awah
But No Answers
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR Goot
PFT NYP
UNITED
NATIONS GATE,
December
20 -- After
Paul Biya who
has ruled
Cameroon for
36 years lied
that
Transparency
International
was observing
his
re-coronation,
and
burned village
after village in
the Anglophone
regions
while hiring
lobbyists to
seek and get support
from UN
Secretary
General Antonio
Guterres,
on October 22 he
claimed
to win over 71% of
the vote and
even that 16% of
those eligible voted
in the
Anglophone
North-West and
South-West
regions. None
of this is
credible. Nor
is the new
report by
Guterres' failed
envoy Francois
Lounceny
Fall, nor
Fall's
presentation
to the Council, entry
to cover which
Guterres is
corruptly
barring Inner
City Press on
December 20,
for the 169th
day. On the
morning of December
20, Inner City
Press in
writing asked
Guterres, his
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric and
Global
Communicator
Alison Smale who
said such
questions
would be
answered the
following: "On
Cameroon, on
which you have
been refusing
Inner City
Press'
questions,
what is the
SG's comment
and action on
calls for the
Paul Biya's
government to
release
imprisoned
journalist
Thomas Awah
Junior, the
Northwest
correspondent
for privately
owned Afrik 2
Radio in
Yaoundé and
publisher of
the monthly
Aghem
Messenger
magazine, on
humanitarian
grounds. A
military court
on May 25,
2018,
sentenced Awah
to 11 years in
prison, after
he was
convicted on
several
charges
including
terrorism and
the spreading
of false news
use of the
charge of
“fake news.”
Again Francois
Fall describes
“Gender Desks”
in police
stations but
an Inner City
Press reader
today called
the Kumba
police station
and they'd
never heard of
it. What was
the basis of
Mr. Fall's
statement?" No
one allowed in
the briefing
by Dujarric,
Guterres and
Smale asked
anything about
this, and the
question
was not
answered. All
three are
abusers of
Press. After
Fall's pitch,
and dubious
claims
of concern
from countries
which are withholding
all documents
about Cameroon
which
Inner City
Press has
requested from
them under
Freedom of
Information
laws like the
Dutch WOB, on
December 13
and 14 Inner
City Press
asked the UN:
"December
14-6: On
Cameroon, on
which you have
been refusing
Inner City
Press'
questions, now
that Francois
Fall has said
he visited in
November and
met Government
officials,
state with
whom else he
met. He
describes
“Gender Desks”
in police
stations but
an Inner City
Press reader
today called
the Kumba
police station
and they'd
never heard of
it. What is
the basis of
Mr. Fall's
statement?" Hours
after the
December 14 UN
noon briefing
at which
those allowed
in asked not a
single
question about
anything
in Africa, much less
Cameroon,
Guterres'
deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq
sent this: "Regarding
question
December 14-6,
we have
provided Mr.
Fall’s
briefing to
the Security
Council, in
which he
details his
concerns about
Cameroon and
his work there." And the
Gender Desks?
Here
is a paragraph of
Fall's and
Guterres'
report: "5.
The security
situation in
the North-West
and South-West
regions of
Cameroon
continued to
deteriorate.
Sporadic
fighting
between
security
forces and
armed groups
was reported
throughout the
reporting
period. On 12
July, the
convoy of the
Minister
for Defence
was attacked
on two
separate
occasions near
Kumba in the
South-West
region. On the
night of 28 to
29 July, an
armed group
attacked a
prison in Ndop
in the
North-West
region,
resulting in
the escape of
163 inmates.
On 26
September,
armed
individuals
also attacked
a prison in
Wum in the
North-West
region,
leading to the
escape of 80
inmates. On 5
November,
nearly 80
students and
staff from a
secondary
school in
Bamenda, in
the North-West
region, were
kidnapped. All
of the
students
were released
the following
day. During
the reporting
period, there
were reports
of
sexual
violence
perpetrated by
both security
forces and
armed groups.
In response,
“gender desks”
were
established at
police
stations in
the South-West
region in an
effort to
establish a
safe and
confidential
reporting
process on
sexual and
genderbased
violence and
related
crimes. On 11
October,
religious
leaders of the
Catholic,
Protestant and
Muslim
communities in
the
English-speaking
regions held a
meeting
in preparation
for an
“Anglophone
General
Conference”
scheduled to
be held in
Buea,
in the
South-West
region, on 21
and 22
November, but
which was
later
postponed. At
the same
meeting, they
reiterated
their appeal
for the
cessation of
military and
insurgent
operations in
the
English-speaking
regions." And
Antonio Guterres...
took Biya's
golden statue,
made a Budget
Committee deal
to stay
quiet on the
slaughter, and
had roughed up
and banned for
161 days and
counting
the Press
which asked
him about it. Then
there is
the Paul
Biya government's
denial via
Xinhua
of having
killed a
priest from Kenya,
below,
nor Guterres' UN
system's
belated
expressions of
concern after
he sold out
for more than
a year and
most recently
has been refusing through
two spokesmen
to respond to or
even
acknowledge
Inner City
Press' formal
written
questions - even
when about circulating
reports of
the use of
chemical weapons.
Before
9 am on November
28,
heading to
cover the
third day of
the UN bribery
trial of US v
Ho, Inner City
Press in
writing asked
Guterres and
his spokesmen,
"November
28-2: On
Cameroon,
beyond the
many
unanswered
questions,
what is the
SG's comment
and action on
that ten
leaders who
were
[illegally
refouled] from
Nigeria
earlier this
year will face
trial next
month on
terrorism
charges that
could lead to
the death
penalty, one
of their
lawyers said
after a court
hearing on
Tuesday. Among
them is Sisuku
Julius Ayuk
Tabe. Mr Tabe
and his
co-defendants
have been
charges with
10 offences,
including
terrorism,
advocating
terrorism,
secession,
civil war and
revolution."
Nine hours
later, while
answer another
question about Romania,
no answer
at all on
Cameroon and
Guterres
heading
out of town
again, with
Inner City Press which
asks banned
for the 147th day,
no end in
sight. The UN
of Guterres is
cortupt.
On
November 26Inner
City Press
asked in
writing
Guterres, his
Deputy
Amina J.
Mohammed,
Communicator
Alison Smale
and two
spokesmen
questions
including "November
26-1: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
comment and
action on the
killing by
government
forces, of
Kenyan priest
Cosmas Omboto
Ondari, Vicar
of the St
Martin of
Tours Parish
in Kembong,
Mamfe, now
what Kenya's
FM Principal
Secretary
Macharia Kamau
has demanded
answers from
the Biya
government?
What is the
UN's knowledge
of and action
on the alleged
use of
chemical
weapons (!) in
Bali in
Cameroon?" While
lead spokesman
Stephane Dujarric's
deputy Farhan
Haq sent
responses to
two other
questions -
one a mere
link to a
press
conference
Guterres
banned Inner
City Press
from, the
other an
evasive recycled
statement from the
first UN
bribery case -
nothing on
Cameroon.
Guterres
comments on
reports of
chemical
weapons in,
for example,
Syria. What
explains his
silence and
censorship on
Cameroon?
On November
25 Kenya's
Principal
Secretary for
Foreign
Affairs, and
former UN
official,
Macharia Kamau
said the
ministry would
continue
pursuing the
answers on
circumstances
that led to
the priest's
death. "The
government of
Kenya, through
its High
Commission in
Abuja, Nigeria
has urgently
and formally
inquired from
the government
of the
Republic of
Cameroon about
the
circumstances
leading to
Father
Ondari's
death,"
Macharia said. "As
we mourn the
death of one
of our
citizens, the
ministry
continues to
relentlessly
pursue answers
on this sad
event."
Here's hoping
he does - he
has seen the
corruption of
the UN, when
it awarded
Nairobi based
UNEP to
an absentee
director, and
under the
time of
Antonio
Guterres and
his lax sending
Roselyn
Akombe,
censorship of
Press,
and more.
We'll have
more on this. On
November
21 banned
Inner City
Press reported
Biya's
forces' murder
of a Kenyan
priest - the
Bishop of
Mamfe cites
eye
witnesses the
shots were
fired by
government soldiers,
from their
passing vehicle.
Now with the
UN silent and
once again
covering up, even
where Guterres
is, Biya's
government is
again denying
as they did
after killing
Charles Wesco, now
via
Xinhua: "The
preliminary
investigations
reveal that
the authors of
this criminal
act did this
to discredit
the defense
and security
forces."
Joseph Beti
Assomo,
Cameroon's
Defense
Minister said
in a statement
on Friday." Guteres
is silent and
missing; he
has refused to
audit China
Energy Fund
Committee
which is
charged with
bribery in th
UN, and has
banned
Inner City Press
which asked
about that and
about Cameroon
for 140 days
and counting.
On
the morning
of November 23
Inner City
Press asked
out of town
Guterres (by email, which
he is
supposedly scrolling)
and his
spokesmen:
"November
23-2: On
Cameroon what
is the SG's
comment and
action on the
murder, by
government
forces, of
Kenyan priest
Cosmas Omboto
Ondari, Vicar
of the St
Martin of
Tours Parish
in Kembong,
Manyu, and
what follow up
the SG / UN
even did on
the murder of
missionary
Charles
Wesco."
Guterres'
spokesman's
office was ope
and people
getting paid
(though Dujarric
didn't sign
Guterres'
derivative statement
on Pakistan),
but no answer.
We have
more on
Father Cosmas
Omboto Ondari,
a Mill Hill
Priest from
Kenya, serving
as the
Parochial
Vicar of the
St Martin of
Tours Parish
in Kembong, near
Mamfe in Manyu. It's
said, now
by many, that
he was
shot twice by
the
Cameroonian
military in
front of the
Church at
about 3PM,
Wednesday
November 21,
2018.
Biya's
soldiers were
shooting out of
their
vehicles. Ondari
been ordained
on Sunday
March 26, 2017
in Kisii,
Kenya together
with two
others by
Bishop Joseph
Mairura Okemwa
and appointed
to Mamfe --
shot dead 11
days after the
burial of
Charles
Trumann Wesco,
an American
missionary from
Indiana. In that similar
case, Biya's
government
locked up Mimi
Mefo for
reporting who
killed Wesco (and,
only after
repeated
written
questions from
Inner City
Press and more UN
noon briefing
pantomine like
questions from
the friend of UK
USG Alison Smale who
said
smirking,
The Anglophones
were doing
some shooting,
Guterres issued
a wan call fr
an investigation
which he
typically
never followed
up on. Previously
the
military shot
and killed a
Ghanaian
Missionary,
Isaac Attoh of
the Destiny
Impact
Ministry on
Saturday July
14, 2018 in
Batibo in
North West
Region. So
when will the
UN Security
Council act.
Guterres is
still trying
to cover it
up. See November
20 video here. After
refusing Inner
City Press'
Cameroon
question and
driving off in his
/ your
Mercedes,
Guterres left
town, without
the UN saying
to where or who's
paying. Sounds
like Biya.
Even
banned from Guterres'
UN for 140
days and counting
for quoting Guterres'
own staff on WHY he
sold out - for
favors in the
UN Budget
Committee --
we continue to
transmit the
UN's statements of
concern,
here from
UNHCR whose
staffer Nadine
Njoya called
for "harsher
repression" of
Anglophones by
Paul Biya and
whose
Deputy Volker
Turk refused
to answer on
that, and appeared
not to know
there ARE any
refugees from
Cameroon
in Nigeria:
"The number of
Cameroonian
refugees
fleeing
violence and
seeking refuge
in Nigeria
crossed the
30,000 mark
this week.
Refugees
fleeing the
South-West and
North-West
Regions of
Cameroon have
been arriving
since
September
2017. Almost
600 arrived in
refugee
settlements in
the last two
weeks.
Four out of
every five of
those
registered so
far are women
and children,
driven out
after last
year’s
protests
turned
violent. They
are being
sheltered in
Nigeria’s
states of Akwa
Ibom, Cross
River, Benue
and Taraba,
most of them
being hosted
within local
communities.
Most of the
latest
arrivals come
from the
Akwaya and
Eyumojock
sub-divisions
in Cameroon.
People are
telling us
they were
ordered to
leave their
houses due to
increasing
violence in
their home
areas.
As official
border entry
points remain
closed, UNHCR
and its
partners are
present at the
border areas
inside
Nigeria,
around the
most used
informal
access points,
to assess the
situation and
the needs of
new arrivals.
UNHCR is
facilitating
the voluntary
relocation of
refugees from
the border
points to the
settlements of
Adagom (Cross
River) and
Anyake
(Benue), which
provide better
security and
shelter as
well as access
to essential
services such
as food,
health or
education.
We are working
with the
Nigerian
Government,
through its
National
Commission for
Refugees
(NCFRMI), and
State
Emergency
Management
Agency (SEMA).
This crisis
erupted last
year after
protests
turned
violent, amid
calls for
secession. So
far this year,
some 400
civilians have
been killed in
escalating
attacks
between
separatist
groups and
government
forces,
according to
rights groups.
Currently,
more than
9,000
Cameroonian
refugees have
been moved to
new
settlements,
where they
receive food
as well as
essential
items such as
mattresses,
mosquito nets,
stoves and
cooking
utensils, as
well as
equipment to
build
shelters. With
bricks,
timber, nails
or corrugated
iron sheets,
they can start
to rebuild a
place to call
home.
These
settlements
allow better
access to
critical
assistance.
Our partners
on the ground
distribute
dignity kits
for women and
girls. These
kits include,
among other
items,
buckets, soap
and towels.
In some
instances,
cash
assistance is
provided to
enable
refugees in
the
settlements to
buy food
directly from
the markets in
host
communities,
as those
settlements
are meant to
facilitate the
integration of
those forced
to flee and
those
welcoming
them.
Despite all
our efforts
and those of
our partners,
the needs of
the refugees
are far from
being met.
Another 21,000
refugees are
currently
living with
host
communities,
in over 50
localities
spread across
an area of
some 116,000
square
kilometres.
The rainy
season and
harsh road
conditions to
remote areas
makes the
assistance to
the refugees
outside of the
newly-developed
settlement
very
difficult,
with acute
needs for
food, shelter,
water and
sanitation.
Education is
also one of
such essential
needs, with 48
per cent of
the registered
refugees being
of school age
yet out of
school, for
more than two
years for many
of them.
Inside
Cameroon,
access to
areas affected
in North West
and South West
is very
limited.
Humanitarian
agencies are
discussing
with the
government the
need for
improved
access to the
displaced
population. It
is estimated
that some
436,000 people
may be
internally
displaced.
Together with
OCHA, which
coordinates
the UN
response in
the country,
we have
started
deploying
personnel in
Buea to help
meet the needs
of the
displaced
people." Some
of this is
dubious - Deputy
Turk of UNHCR,
when Inner
City Press
asked, did not
even seem to
know there ARE
Cameroonian
refugees in
Nigeria, see
below.
Similarly
the stories
told to date
about the 90
students now
released do
not add up.
The government
railed about
79 released, at a
video of 11
student
circulated.
The parents
were not allowed into the
school, nor
told which of
their children
were
kidnapped and
which not. Now
90 have been
released, with
the quiet
announcement
that 11 had
been kidnappe
earlier,
on October
31. So they
were the ones in
the video,
not the 79?
The media
which have not
covered, or
mis-covered, Biya's
abuses will
move on, like the
UN, declaring
this a
victory. We'll
have more on
this. On
November 4
Biya's forces arrested
more people
for protesting
the fraudulent
results, in
Bafoussam in the West
region of
Cameroon
denouncing
what they call
an “electoral
hold up” by
Biya. This
follows
arrests in
Douala and
Yaounde,
on all of which
Antonio
"Traveling
Man" Guterres
has been
characteristically
silent. Nor
have Guterres'
spokesmen being answering
Inner City
Press'
questions on
Cameroon
including this
on
November 6:
"November 6-1:
On Cameroon,
first please
immediately
now five days
after ASG
Ursula
Mueller's Nov
1 presentation
(at the Norway
Mission) about
Cameroon
provide a copy
or summary of
her remarks.
Second, what
is the SG's
knowledge of,
comment and
action on, the
reporting
kidnapping of
students in
Anglophone
Cameroon, with
the kidnappers
caught saying
'tu
perds ton
temps'?"
Dujarric's
Deputy
emailed banned
Inner City
Press:
"Regarding
your first
question, we
have just
issued the
following
statement:
The
Secretary-General
condemns the
reported
kidnapping on
5 November of
students and
staff from a
secondary
school in
Bamenda,
North-West
region of
Cameroon. He
calls for
their
immediate
release and
return to
their homes
and families.
There can be
no
justification
for these
crimes against
civilians,
particularly
minors.
The
Secretary-General
reiterates the
need for a
peaceful
solution to
the crisis in
the North-West
and South-West
regions of
Cameroon
through an
inclusive
dialogue
process. The
United Nations
stands ready
to assist in
this regard.
Stéphane
Dujarric,
Spokesman for
the
Secretary-General
New York, 6
November 2018"
So what
about that French?
No answer.
Now the issue
will be pushed
behind, with
the release of
90 and not the
state 79 students.
Nor
did the UN
inform Inner
City Press,
despite its
questions,
that Guterres'
Ursula
Mueller, who
previously visited
Cameroon
without going
to the Anglophone
areas (Inner
City Press asked her why, before being
roughed up and
banned),
had given a
November 1
briefing a
Norway's
mission to the
UN on 50th
Street, leaked
invitation here.
We will ask the UN
about this,
even amid
Guterres'
ongoing censorship
of Press. Should
we
expect a UN
statement on
students kisnapped or
taken hostage?
Who would
draft it? Watch
this site. On
November 2
Inner City
Press asked
the deputy of
the UN refugee
agency UNHCR
Volker Turk
about the
refoulement of
AyukTabe and
46 others from
Nigeria, the
Cameroonian refugees
and the UNHCR
staffer who
previously
called online
for harsher
repression by
Biya. Video here.
Troublingly,
Volker first
responded
about only the
Far North of Cameroon,
then implied
that displaced
Anglophones
all remain inside
Cameroon and
not in
deplorable
conditions
across the
border in
Nigeria, from
which some
were illegally
returned.
He did not
answer the
question about
UNHCR's own
staffer, whom
will therefore
name: Nadine
Njoya. How is
this
acceptable? The
UN of Antonio
Guterres remains
silent,
including the
the face of
multiple
questions
from the Press
(which Guterres
has banned) as
journalists
and peaceful
protesters,
bystanders
and
perceived
opponents are
arrested. On
the morning of
October 29
Inner City
Press in
writing asked
Guterres'
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric,
"October 29-3:
On Cameroon,
what is the
SG's comment
and action on
the
government's
arrests of
peaceful
protesters in
Douala,
Yaounde and
elsewhere over
the weekend?"
Now on October
30, no answer
at all, while
Dujarric is tweeting
his photos
from a ferry to
the Upper East
Side and blocking
the Press. On November 2
when, after
questioning UNHCR's
Turk Inner
City Press
asked Dujarric
if Guterres has
congratulated
Biya, Dujarric
said "I don't
know" and
biked away.
Video here,
looped
6-second Vine
here.
Guterres has gone
for four
days on the
UN's and
public's dime
to his real
home in
Lisbon, for a
speech
with little to
do with the
UN and a
dubious award.
We'll
have more on this. Among
the
journalists outrageously
locked up by
Biya:
ElvisMcCarthy, Thomas
Awah Junior,
Tsi Conrad and
Mancho Bibixy;
quickly added
to by the detentions
of Michel
Biem Tong and Mathias
Mouenda Ngamo.
Then again,
Guterres and
Dujarric (and
others) worked
to have Inner
City Press
which asks
them about
Cameroon and
corruption
roughed up,
twice, and now
banned from
the UN for 118
days from
noon briefing
in which, for
days, no one
let it ask
anything about
anything
in Africa,
much less
Cameroon. The
UN of Guterres
and Dujarric
is corrupt.
We'll have
more on this - and
this: here
are just some
of Inner City
Press
questions to Guterres'
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric,
which USG
Alison Smale
promised UNSR
David A. Kaye
would be
answered - but
not a single one
has: "October
22-1: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
comment and
action on...
the
surrounding of
Kah Walla's
house by
police, the
slowing / shut
off of
Facebook and
WhatsApp, etc?
What is his
comment on
Obiang of
Equatorial
Guinea having
congratulated
Biya on
re-election 2
days before
the results?
October 23-1:
On Cameroon,
does the SG
agree that
there were
“irregularities
in the
re-election”
of Paul Biya?
Again, what is
his comment on
the
government's
false claim
that
Transparency
International
observed the
election? Does
he think the
reported
turn-out and
results in the
Anglophone
regions are
credible?
Where IS
Francois Fall?
When is the
last time he
was in
Cameroon?
October
24-1: On
Cameroon,
beyond the
unanswered
questions
below, what is
the SG's
comment and
action on the
arrest of
journalist
Michele Biem
Tong? In terms
of corruption
and the
credibility of
the Oct 7
election, what
is the SG's
comment and
action on
“Cameroon’s
government has
issued a
public tender
for the
construction
of a new
residence for
the president
of the
Constitutional
Council, the
same legal
body that just
two days ago
announced the
re-election of
long-time
President Paul
Biya”?
No answers,
just a
reiterate that
Guterres has
put Inner City
Press on a
permanently
banned list that the
UN will not
disclose,
under Global
Censor
Alison Smale.
We'll
have more on
this.
Major
countries'
business with
Biya
continues, not
only from Biya's
long time
supporter
France but
also the
UK's New Age
natural gas
deal of
which Minister
Liam Fox
bragged. UK
Minister for
Africa
Harriett
Baldwin was
asked about
her congratulations
to Biya and doubled
down, calling
it a "new"
government.
After 36
years, what's
new about it?
Now another
journalist has
been arrested, according to
multiple
credible
souces:
Mathias Mouene
Ngamo. And from
the UN, where
banned Inner
City Press asks
SG Antonio
Guterres'
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, no
answer, despite the
promises of
USG Alison
Smale. This
while Inner
City Press appeal
of the FCO's
withholding of
Cameroon
information
remains
pending with
the Information
Commissioner's
Office and
another
request, on
collusion in
censorship, pends. At
11 am on
October 22
Inner City Press
asked the UN,
in writing
because banned
by SG
Antonio
Guterres for 110 day
and
counting,
"October 22-1:
On Cameroon,
what is the
SG's comment
and action on
the claim of
Paul Biya to
have won over
70% of the
vote with an
unobserved 16%
turn out in
the NW and SW
regions, the
surrounding of
Kah Walla's
house by
police, the
slowing / shut
off of
Facebook and
WhatsApp, etc?
What is his
comment on
Obiang of
Equatorial
Guinea having
congratulated
Biya on
re-election 2
days before
the results?" And
nearly two
hours later,
this from
Guterres'
deputy
spokesman:
"Regarding
question 22-1,
we are saying
the following: The
Secretary-General
takes note of
today’s
official
announcement
of final
results by the
Constitutional
Council.
All electoral
disputes
should be
handled
through
established
legal
channels. He
also
reiterates his
encouragement
to all
stakeholders
to prioritize
dialogue as
the surest
path to social
cohesion and
national
unity."
Really. We'll
have
more on this.
Now
the US State Department
has chimed in,
at least
noting - while
still not
providing FOIA
documents -
irregularities:
"The United
States
congratulates
the people of
Cameroon for
largely
peaceful
elections on
October 7. We
urge all
parties –
including the
government –
to respect the
rule of law,
resolve
peacefully any
disputes
through
established
legal
channels, and
avoid hate
speech.
While we
welcome the
Cameroonian
Election
Commission’s
demonstrable
improvement
over the 2011
elections,
there were a
number of
irregularities
prior to,
during, and
after the
October 7
election.
These
irregularities
may not have
affected the
outcome but
created an
impression
that the
election was
not credible
or genuinely
free and fair.
We commend the
African Union
Election
Observation
Mission for
its
preliminary
statement,
notably that
“the current
framework
needs to be
strengthened
in order to
safeguard the
democratic
principles of
separation of
powers,
fairness, and
independence
and
impartiality.”
With the
conclusion of
the
presidential
election, the
United States
strongly
encourages
both sides
involved in
the conflict
affecting the
Northwest and
Southwest
Regions of
Cameroon to
focus on
resolving
differences
through
peaceful
dialogue and
to allow
unhindered
access to
humanitarian
aid workers."
With
Cameroon's
36-year ruler Paul imposed
a curfew on
the Anglophone
regions a week
before his
planned re-election
on October 7,
UN Secretary
General Antonio
Guterres' genocide
adviser Adama
Dieng in an
interview with
BBC said "things
seem to be
under
control." Here
from
2:40, and
see below.
Now after a canned
statement to
all sides by
Guterres, who
has banned
Inner City
Press from any
entry
into his UN,
on Guterres' banned
list with "political
activists,"
the
charades of an
election in which Biya's
spokesman declared victory
even before
the polling. On
October 21,
opposition figure
Kah Walla's
house was surrounded by
police,
journalists detained -
and from
Guterres' UN,
nothing. Walla
said, "Update
18H44-Am still
under house
arrest totally
illegal.
Fifteen
policemen
outside say
they don't
know what time
it ends. They
'got
orders'
to stay in
front of my
house all day
& "Wait
for orders" to
leave. My poor
country!"
Biya's fellow
long time
ruler Teodoro
Obiang Nguema
has already
congratulated
Biay for
re-election,
days before
the results
were to be
announced on
October 22:
""Sincere and
effusive
congratulations
for your
re-election...
The people of
the Republic
of Equatorial
Guinea and his
Government
join me in
expressing to
your
Excellency our
sincere and
heartfelt
congratulations
on your
re-election as
President of
the Republic
of Cameroon in
the past
presidential
election,"
Obiang's
congratulations
read. One imagine
Antonio
Guterres
getting his
congratulations
ready,
the subtext
being thanks
for help as
chair of the
UN Budget
Committee, for
covering of
which Inner
City Press ws
roughed up on
July 3 and
banned for 108
days since. Opposition
candidate
Maurice Kamto
argued that
the poll
should be
canceled in
seven out of
10 regions of
the country,
because his
team observed
"massive
irregularities",
"disregard of
electoral
laws", and in
particular
"insecurity
and fraud in
troubled
Anglophone
regions"
during the
vote. "After
examining the
nine
complaints of
Maurice Kamto,
the Council
declares that
the petition
lacks
evidence, is
unfounded and
therefore
rejected,"
Clement
Atangana,
president of
the
Constitutional
Council, said
- Biya's man.
Biya's
forces have
shut down a press
conference by
Maurice Kamto. And
now it is concluded
that Guterres'
"colleagues"
statement this
week about
hate speech in
Cameroon was
in fact again on
behalf of 36
year rule Biya,
and directed only
at the
opposition.
From Yaounde:
"Yesterday’s
hearing was
filled with
Elecam and
government’s
reaction to
post electoral
complains from
Maurice
Kamto’s legal
team. Taking
the floor,
Gregoire
Owona,
Cameroon’s
Minister of
Labor and
Social
Security,
accused
Maurice Kamto
of being an
ungrateful
tribalist.
Owona wondered
why the CRM
Presidential
candidate
brought up the
issue of
Bamileke and
Beti to the
court. To him,
by using such
examples,
Maurice Kamto
is trying to
promote hate
among peaceful
Cameroonians."
So those whose
press
conferences
are shut down
by Biya are
then accused
of hate speech
by the UN of
Guterres, who
had Inner City
Press roughed
up and banned
for 107 days
and counting.
We'll have
more on this.
In
the first of
two days of
hearings on
objections,
Justice
Clement
Atangana,
president of
the
Constitutional
Council, pronouned that
"Only
the President
of the
Republic who
appoints
members of the
Council has
the
jurisdiction
to sack or
question the
neutrality of
the Council
members,"
Atangana said,
"so the
petition is
inadmissible."
So only
incumbent
candidate Biya
controls this
review.
The
public be
damnded: Rigobert
Aminou
Gabanmidanha,
a voter,
demanded
complete
cancellation
of the vote,
citing
"irregularities,
disregard of
electoral code
and rigging"
observed
during the
poll. Atangana
said the
Council rules
only on
petitions
filed by
candidates,
political
parties which
took part in
the election
or any person
serving as a
representative
of the
administration
for the
election. "You
were not a
candidate. You
were not a
representative
of the
administration
for the
election.
Therefore, you
have no
quality to
petition the
Council,"
Atangana said,
dismissing the
petition as
"null and
void". Reuters
edited
by Edward
McAllister purported
to cover the
hearing
without
mentioning
these
outrageous
rulings and
reasoning.
Call it a
colonial
cover up, like
Guterres' UN.
The
final nail
is expected to
be declared by
the Council by
Oct. 22.
Inner City
Press sent
questions
to Guterres'
spokesman day
after day; on
October 16
lead spokesman
Stephane Dujarric
at his "noon"
briefing read
out a
statement and
his deputy Farhan
Haq e-mailed
it to Inner
City Press
after 2 pm,
here: "Our
colleagues of
the UN Country
Team in
Cameroon are
expressing
their concern
about hate
speech focused
on ethnicity
following the
October 7th
presidential
polls The UN
received
reports of
individuals
from opposing
communities
threatening to
attack members
of other
communities,
their
properties in
Yaoundé,
businesses in
Douala and
other parts of
the country,
while others
have been
inciting
hatred and
violence along
ethnic lines,
using
derogatory
language.
The United
Nations
reiterates
that all
stakeholders
must exercise
restraint and
ensure a
peaceful
process as
Cameroonians
await the
final
elections on
October 22nd.
The UN
condemns all
threats of
violence or
acts of
intimidation
and urges all
actors to
prevent risks
to the
electoral
processes.
The United
Nations
continues to
follow the
situation in
Cameroon and
expresses
concern about
increasing
violence in
the North-West
and South-West
regions." Compare to
this,
from Maurice
Kamto:
"information
of the
electoral
results from
the National
Vote Counting
Commission of
the recent
presidential
election is
currently
circulating in
the social
media.
According to
this
information,
candidate Paul
BIYA has won
with an
overwhelming
victory. In
reaction to
this falsified
victory, CRM
and its
coalition of
political
parties and
other
organisations
built in
support of the
candidacy of
Maurice KAMTO
have
categorically
rejected these
falsified
results. These
fake figures
are
originating
from
fabricated
result shits
of some fake
observers who
claimed to be
of
Transparency
International,
but were later
on unmasked,
as they were
trying to
convince the
national and
international
public to
accept.
The coalition
in this
election
continues to
insist on the
victory of
Maurice KAMTO
in relation to
the original
result shits
of the polls
at the end of
the day of
October 7,
2018.
In addition,
the coalition
rejects all
forms of
violence the
regime is
struggling to
attribute on
the coalition.
It wishes to
inform the
national and
international
public of the
regime's acts
in
orchestrating
provocation to
trigger
post-election
violence and
at the same
time blaming
it on the
coalition.
For example: 1)
The
questioning
and hearing of
some of our
militants in
various
localities of
the country by
the security
forces;
2) The
intimidation
of our
militants and
sympathizers
by people who
seem to belong
to a militia
in the
neighbourhoods;
3) The
incitement of
ethnic hatred
between
communities by
the use of
tribalistic
and ethnic
slurs;
4) The spread
of hate speech
in the public
and certain
private media;
5) The
arbitrary
arrest and
detention of
Mr. Thierry
OKALA EBODE,
Deputy
National
Treasurer of
the CRM, whose
only fault is
to have
denounced a
fraud that
involved the
usurpation of
his identity
by another
voter; the
latter haven
been assisted
by the
president of
the polling
station is
until now
surprising
protected;
6) The
expulsion,
manu militari,
from polling
stations of
representatives
of CRM in most
of the three
Northern
regions -
Adamaoua,
North and Far
North , as
well as in the
East and South
Regions, and
certain
divisions in
the Centre,
West and South
West Regions;
7) Permanent
harassment of
coalition
members by the
security
forces.
The coalition
urges the
people to
remain
vigilant and
not to allow
their victory
to be stolen.
The Coalition
for the
candidacy of
Maurice KAMTO." On
October 11 this US
State Department
statement,
attributable
to Spokesperson
Heather
Nauert: "The
United States
reiterates its
neutrality
with respect
to
Cameroonians’
right to
choose their
leader and
calls for calm
and the
careful,
non-partisan
conclusion of
the remaining
phases of the
vote
tabulation
process.
We appeal to
all
Cameroonians
to exercise
patience and
avoid hate
speech. We
encourage
Elections
Cameroon
(ELECAM) and
the
Constitutional
Council to
release
results
polling site
by polling
site to
enhance
transparency
and citizens'
confidence in
the
outcome.
Any disputes
should be
resolved
peacefully and
through
established
legal
channels.
The United
States remains
a committed
partner on
electoral,
political,
economic, and
human rights
reforms in
Cameroon." Biya has
a
new contract
to lobby the
US and
"multilateral"
organizations
like the
UN, where
Guterres offered to
help Biya's
government and
has banned
Inner City
Press from entering
the UN in any
capacity at
all. Guterres'
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric has
not answered
"October 9-1:
On Cameroon,
describe the
UN's support
to ELECAM and
its
communications,
which have
included the
statement the
voting went of
“without a
hitch” amid
burning of
homes by the
government." More
than a day
later, no
answer from
Guterres'
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric who
on October 11 cut off
a question as
to why and on
what basis Guterres
banned Inner
City Press
from entering
the UN in any
capacity.
Meanwhile he
has not
answered this:
"October 11-1:
On Cameroon,
what is the
SG's comment
and actin on
that at a
hearing at the
Yaounde
Appeals Court
today for the
fifth time,
Sissiku Ayuk
Tabe and his
fellow
defendants --
refouled from
Nigeria while
the DSG was
there -- were
not present in
court, despite
a court order
saying they
should be
there. “We
have fears
that if they
cannot be
brought even
at the level
of the court
of appeal,
then there is
something
wrong,” Mr
Ndong said The
next hearing
comes up on 1
November and
the lawyer
said if the
defendants are
not physically
present, then
the government
"should
present
certificates
of life to
show that they
are alive”.
Also, what is
the SG's
comment on
Cameroon being
set to be
elected to the
UN Human
Rights Council
tomorrow on a
“clean”
slate?" We'll
have more
on this. Now
as Biya's state
television has
lied
that
Transparency
International
observed and
approved
the electoral
process, the
UN is silent
and refuses to
explain
whether its
support of
ELECAM's
communications
included or
encouraged
this.
Meanwhile,
Biya's
government
has signed a
new public
relations and
lobbying
contract, with Glover
Park Group for
more than $600,000. The
one-year
contract went
into effect
Sept. 1.
Either party
upon receipt
of 30 days'
notice may
terminate the
contract. If
the
termination
occurs before
Feb. 28,
Cameroon's
embassy will
pay the WPP
Group unit all
monthly fees
and expenses
through Feb.
28.
The
FARA filing
says, "Registrant
will provide
government
affairs and
communications
services and
support to the
Embassy of the
Republic of
Cameroon and
related
agencies with
regard to its
relations with
the United
States and
relevant
multilateral
institutions" -
more UN
lobbying. On
October 8,
Inner City
Press asked
Guterres'
spokesman in
writing (since
it remains
banned from
noon "press"
briefing, 97 days and
counting), "On
the Cameroon
election,
given the low
turn out and
state violence
in the
Anglophone
areas what is
the SG's
comment and
action?" See
below. From
the UK's
Minister Harriett Baldwin,
this: "UK
concerned by
reports of
violence &
casualties on
polling day in
Anglophone
regions of
#Cameroon
& by how
difficult it
was for
citizens to
vote there. UK
calls on all
parties to
follow proper
procedures for
tallying
results,
exercise
restraint
& avoid
pre-empting
the outcome."
Call them
crocodile tears,
as the UK
never called a
UN
Security
Council
meeting on Biya's
slaughter in
the area, and
its FCO has
yet to provide
documents in
response to
Inner City
Press' Freedom
of Information
request
about the UK
Mission's role
in
British UN
official
Alison Smale's
ghoulish
no due process
ban for life
of Inner City
Press from the
UN. See bus
stop studio
interview of
October 8, here. Inside the UN, from which
Inner City
Press was banned
for the 97th
day, tor
the second
time in a
week, the retired -
from UK Reuters
- correspondent,
good friend of
Guterres'
Global
Censor Alison
Smale, who
famously said
"the
Anglophones
have been
doing some
shooting"
asked a
softball
question in response
to which this was
read out and
then emailed to
Inner City
Press, which
publishes it
in full: "Regarding
the Cameroon
election, we
are saying the
following: The
UN is not
mandated to
observe the
ongoing
electoral
process.
Therefore, the
Organization
is not in a
position to
assess the
conduct of the
election. The
UN in Cameroon
played a
technical
advisory role
in the
electoral
process,
supporting
Cameroon’s
electoral
management
body (ELECAM)
in the areas
of capacity
building,
strategic
communication,
civic and
voter
education.
The UN has
advocated for
and promoted
the
participation
of women and
youth,
internally
displaced
persons and
people with
disabilities.
It has worked
with the
National
Communication
Council (NCC),
the media and
political
parties to
prevent hate
speech and
promote the
peaceful
coverage of
the election. We
are concerned
about reports
of
displacements,
threats and
violence that
may have
impacted
participation
in some parts
of the
North-West and
South-West
regions. We
condemn all
forms of
incitement or
acts of
violence and
intimidation
by any group
and reiterates
the
Secretary-General’s
call for an
inclusive
dialogue
process to
address
grievances and
prevent the
further
escalation of
violence. We
also encourage
the Government
of Cameroon to
grant
unfettered
access to
human rights
and
humanitarian
actors to all
areas affected
by violence."
So the UN is
supporting
ELECAM in communcations
such as this,
from ELECAM's
Essosse
Erik, "With
the exception
of certain
polling
stations which
functioned
following a
security plan
in the
Northwest and
Southwest
regions given
the prevailing
situation,
voting
operations as
a whole were
conducted
hitch-free
within the
country and in
the diaspoara.
It was
peaceful." Will Guterres
echo this? Essosse
Erik added, "Rendez-vous
latest 22
October 2018
for the
proclamation
of the final
result." For now
the award
for most colonial media
coverage for
now goes to
Reuters, whose
Edward
McAllister blames
the victims
of Biya's
crackdown for "draining
the life"
out of the areas
Biya's
army has
burned. This
is the same
Reuters whose
Stephen
J. Adler
was happy with
Guterres
banning Inner
City Press
from his
"Press
Freedom" event
in the UN in
late September,
after
his UN
bureau
chief
urged Guterres
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric to oust
Inner City
Press from
the UN then
got his leaked
complaint
removed
from Google
Search by (mis)
using the US
Digital Millennium
Copyright Act.
McAllister,
who as Reuters
West and
Central Africa
correspondent
has fewer than
2000 Twitter
followers
despite being
on the
platform since
2012 bemoans as
he features a
photo of a
beach the loss for
international
tourists of
the fight
back. Biya could
not have taken a
more blame the
victim
line, nor even
Guterres'
Global
Communicator
and Censor
Alison Smale,
whose
propaganda "UN
News Centre" has issued a story
about Cameroon
which
emphasizes
Boko Haram and not Biya's
killings in
the Anglophone
zones. Her DPI's
most
recent or
relevant
Cameroon
stories are
about Bakassi
- and all the
way back to
Kofi Annan -
who as we've
noted, never
had roughed up
much less banned
for 95+ days
the media
criticized
him. Guterres
and Biya: birds
of a feather.
And Issa
Chiroma Bakary
and Smale...
Meanwhile
Biya's
spokesman Issa
Chiroma Bakary
has
been filmed
saying
that "President
Biya has
already won an
overwhelming
victory" --
before the
October 7
voting has even
began. Video
from Garoua
here.
What will the
distracted,
many say
bought off UN
of Guterres say or
do?
Bakary's
also ghoulish
statement follows
the one of
October 4 from
the Deputy
Spokesman of
Guterres (who
remained
silent for at
least a year
on the slaughter
of Anglophones,
and according
to the government
offered
to help
them not be
criticized
in
"Anglo-Saxon"
press, one of
which
he's banned) --
"Statement
attributable
to the
Spokesman for
the
Secretary-General
on the
presidential
election in
Cameroon
As Cameroon
prepares for
presidential
elections on 7
October, the
Secretary-General
encourages all
Cameroonians
to exercise
their
democratic
right and
calls for a
peaceful,
credible and
inclusive
process.
The
Secretary-General
calls on all
stakeholders
to exercise
restraint
before, during
and after the
election. He
also urges all
candidates to
address any
complaints
related to the
electoral
process
through
established
legal and
constitutional
channels.
The
Secretary-General
condemns all
threats of
violence or
acts of
intimidation
by any group
and reiterates
that all
grievances
should be
addressed
through an
inclusive
dialogue. The
United Nations
stands ready
to provide
support in
this regard. Farhan
Haq, Deputy
Spokesman for
the
Secretary-General, New
York, 4
October 2018." We'll
have more on this. How
can the
UN view Biya's
repeat
candidates as
under control
when as reported
"Candidates
for the office
of President
of the Republic...
have to show
proof of
having resided
in Cameroon
for an
uninterrupted
period of at
least 12
(twelve)
months." How
many of these
months was
Biya in
Geneva?
Meanwhile he returned to
give a gift to
Japan's
outgoing
Ambassador to
Yaounde Kunio
Okamura: "a
special gift
to the
Japanese
Diplomat – as
a symbol of
the
hospitality of
the
Cameroonian
people, and
the win-win
relationship
existing
between
Yaounde and
Tokyo. H.E.
Kunio Okamura
will be
remembered for
fast-tracking
the road
projects along
the
Yaounde-Brazzaville
corridor and
that linking
Cameroon to
Chad." On
Guterres'
Dieng, given
that what
control exists
is the
product of
state violence by
36 year ruler
Paul Biya,
Inner City Press
banned from
the UN after
asking
Guterres about
his silence
immediately
published a story
with Guterres
adviser Dieng's
troubling
"under
control"
quote. And now
BBC has edited or
disappeared Dieng's "under
control" line
out from his
response in a
longer piece
for Africa
Today. Audio
answer here
from Minute 7.
Why is BBC
burying its
own news to
make the
UN of Guterres
and Dieng look
better?
Perhaps relatedly,
with
Inner City Press'
physical ouster from
the UN and
banning since
having
been covered by the UK
Independent,
Fox,
the Columbia
Jounralism
Review,
then CNN and Politico,
BuzzFeed then
The Hill, and
the New York Post (two-pager), among
others, why
has not a word about
it been on
BBC, which
previously had
Inner City
Press on, for example
here,
as a guest?
Too close to
the UN? We've
asked their
correspondent
on the
sidewalk in front of
the UN, to which we
are for not
confined to
ask our
questions. We'll
have more on
this. Dieng's
belated and
some say
cynical call
for an independent
investigation
of what he
characterizes
as "violence on
both sides"
with an
emphasis on
what he calls
"separatists" is a
continuation of a pro-Biya
line adopted
by Guterres
since he took
office, or
since Cameroon
took the chair
of the UN Budget
Committee. The
BBC
did not ask Dieng
about this,
nor about the
UK's
role
including that
of Ministers
Harriett
Baldwin and
Alistair
Burt and Minister
Liam
Fox
bragged about
UK-based New
Age's natural
gas contract
with UK-based
New Age.
Guterres has
had Inner City
Press roughed
up and banned
from the UN as
it asked him about
this, including
photo-journalism
on him and
Dieng, here,
now
prevented since 3
July 2018.
Continuing
its reporting
from the
sidewalk in
front of the
UN as it will
until
these policies
and the ban
are reversed,
Inner City
Press
questioned
Dieng who insisted
that
"separatists
must not
be encouraged." Video
here.
Guterres
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric on
September 28
insisted
the ban is not
about Inner
City Press'
reporting or questions
on Cameroon, Guterres'
conflicts of
interest and corruption,
but "behavior"
- while claiming
to be answered
Inner City
Press'
questions
(largely false
so far) and
that the ban
is not for life,
while
providing no
road map to
end it and
resume
UNcensored
reporting.
Video here.
On
October
1 in lieu of
being able to
attend the
less than 20
minute
noon briefing,
Inner City
Press asked:
"October 1-1:
On Cameroon,
beyond the
unanswered
questions
below, what is
the SG's
comment and
action on the
curfew imposed
in Anglophone
areas in the
run-up to the
October 7
elections?
Again, what if
any is the
UN's role in
those
elections?" Later
in the day
this arrived
from UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
and we publish
it in full:
"Your question
on Cameroon: We
remain
concerned
about the
situation in
the Anglophone
regions of
Cameroon and
the impact
that the
violence is
having on the
civilian
population. We
urge all
parties to
fully respect
international
humanitarian
and human
rights law,
guarantee the
protection of
civilians and
facilitate
unimpeded
humanitarian
access to the
North-West and
South-West
regions. The
United Nations
remains
available to
work with the
Cameroonian
authorities in
their efforts
to find a
peaceful
resolution of
the crisis."
So no role in
the elections?
And what about
the many other
specific
questions?
As the
Cameroon
government of
36 year
President
Paul
Biya
slaughters
civilians in
the Anglophone
regions as well as in
the North, it
re-engaged
Washington
lobbying firm
Squire Patton
Boggs and Mercury
Public Affairs, documents
show. The
UN belatedly
acknowledged
to Inner City
Press,
which UN Secretary
General
Antonio
Guterres had
roughed
up on July
3 right after
it spoke to
Cameroon's
Ambassador Tommo
Monthe and on
August 17 declared
banned for
life from
entering the
UN that
Guterres met
with a
Cameroon
delegation on
July 11. And
they
discussed,
disturbingly,
strategies to
reduce
negative
coverage of
Biya's
killings, see
below.
Guterres' team
is now
refusing to
answer basic
questions from
Inner City Press, such
as on September
27, a day on
which the briefing
Inner City
Press was
banned from
put only one
question to spokesman
Stephane Dujarric,
Inner City Press submitted
more in
writing
including
"September
27-1: On
Cameroon,
beyond the
unanswered
questions
below, what is
the SG's
comment and
action on the
multiple
reports of
seven young
men just
assassinated
by the
government in
Buea?" The
question has not
been answered,
despite
Dujarric receiving
only one
other
questions.
Inner City Press has
also asked: "September
24-1: On
Cameroon, many
in the country
are expressing
concern and
some asking
Inner City
Press about UN
vehicles
recently
photographed
arriving in
the port of
Doula. Please
immediately
state UN's
knowledge and
explanation of
these
vehicles.
Also,
including
because
Cameroon was
not mentioned
in SG's AU
read-out,
please inform
Inner City
Press if and
when the
situation in
North-West or
South-West
Cameroon comes
up in any of
the SG's
meeting this
week." Two
days later, no
answer - Guterres'
silence and
censorship
continues. The next day
Inner City
Press asked
this, also
UNanswered a
day later:
"September
25-1: On
Cameroon,
beyond the
UNanswered
questions
below, please
state the UN's
role(s) in the
October 7
elections, and
the SG's
comment and
action on
doubts about
voting and
counting in
the North-West
and South-West
(Anglophone)
regions."
Instead
Guterres is
doubling down
on censoring,
rebuffing even
one of his own
Special
Representatives
who urged him
to stop
banning Inner
City Press -
instead, even
from an UNGA
event on slavery
and banks to
which Inner
City Press'
RSVP had been
accepted by a
Mission and
UNU, Guterres
banned Inner
City Press and
his Deputy Amina
J. Mohammed,
when her
office was
called and
written to,
did nothing.
Now an event
on "UN
human rights"
- an oxymoron
- looms,
with no
response from
elsewhere
in Guterres'
network of
censorship. This is
corruption.
Now
Biya's government
is raising the
specter of
Anglophones,
or as the
UN of
Guterres seems
to say,
secessionists,
in the capital
Yaounde. A
crackdown is
foretold in the
neighborhoods
of Obili,
Biyem-Assi,
Etoug-ebe. Photo
here. And the
UN says
nothing,
refusing to
answer even
the simplest
of questions
from Inner
City Press
which Guterres
had roughed up
and banned
from the UN
for 80 days
now, on
September 21
to be
prevented from
questioning
Geoffrey
Onyeama the foreign
minister of
Nigeria
which
engaged in the
illegal
refoulement
Guterres
supposedly
cared about,
for 47
including Ayuk
Tabe. For now,
here
were Inner
City Press'
questions, and his
answers, last
UNGA High
Level week
before
Guterres got
even worse than he
was then. On
September 19
in a briefing
Inner City
Press was
prohibited
from
attending,
Guterres'
special
adviser on the
prevention of
genocide Adama
Dieng said, as
to Cameroon,
that nothing
must be done
to encourage
secession - a
position that
while
Guterres' goes
beyond what is
supposed to be
Dieng's focus,
preventing the
killing of
people based
on ethnicity
or, here,
language. As
luck would
have it, Inner
City Press
while
conducting its
daily sidewalk
interviews at
the UN
Delegates'
Entrance gate
on September
20 asked Dieng
why he'd done
beyond his
mandate. He
said that he
wants to visit
the country. Video
here.
Then, still in
the morning,
Inner City
Press asked
Guterres'
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, who
USG Alison
Smale said
would be
answering
writting
questions,
this:
"September
20-3: On
Cameroon,
please confirm
that the SG's
adviser Dieng
is seeking to
visit the
country and
explain both
how it is
within his
mandate to
speak, as he
did yesterday
in the
briefing like
today's by the
SG I am banned
from, in
opposition to
any
encouragement
of secession
and how the SG
thinks this
position is a
legitimate one
for the UN and
separately how
it could play
a role if it
has already
said what the
outcome should
be." Six hours
later, nothing
at all.
Guterres' UN
is corrupt.
Now in North-West
Region travel
restrictions
have been
imposed - in
fact, one
can't leave
without saying
exactly where
one is going.
Photo
here. It was
impossible
for Inner City
Press to get
any comment from the UN of Guterres,
since he
has banned Inner City
Press
from the building
for 77 days
now, and his
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric has not
been answering
any written
questions, including
about sexual
abuse by a
Cameroon Army
"peacekeeper"
in the Central
African
Republic, here.
A
campaign to gain the release
of imprisoned and
increasingly
sick
journalist
Thomas Awah is
being ignored
by the authorities.
In
Ekona in South-West Region Cameroon's
government has
engaged
in what's
become their
trademark
abuse, the
killing at
point blank
range of
civilians, in
this case
Bezeng Jonas
and his sons,
one of whom was
attending
University of
Buea. Where
are the
"positive
steps" the UK
Mission's
Karen Pierce asserted
this week to
Inner City
Press across
the street
from the UN,
from which
British USG
Alison Smale
has banned
Inner City Press
for 66 days
with assists?
Things have reportedly
reached the
point that in
Lebialem
Division in
the South West
region officials
have de
facto
separated the
country by
instituting an
‘Access Card’
from locals
fleeing
insecurity in
the division. One
needs to pay
FCFA 20, 000
for the 'Laissez
passer'
to cross
over." After
Guterres did
nothing, in order
to try to get
Cameroon's
support as
chair of UN Budget
Committee, and
after
again refusing
Inner City Press'
questions on August 31, video here,
is now in China which
is arming
Biya. Now with
Guterres' spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
cutting off
question and
saying
Guterres' ban
of Inner City
Press is
"settled" and
that it
cannot enter
to cover the
General
Assembly high
level
week where
last year
Guterres
greeted Paul Biya,
Guterres is
headed to China
September 1-4.
And here's
from China
state media:
"In March,
Cameroonian
President Paul
Biya was the
first African
leader to
visit China
this year. It
was the sixth
trip to China
by the
president. Fruitful
deals from
FOCAC Beijing
summit can
significantly
revamp the
country's
economy,"
Mpoche said.
"That is why,
I think the
Belt and Road
Initiative is
laudable."
According to
the Cartel of
Cameroon
Entrepreneurs,
known in its
French acronym
as GICAM,
close to 100
Cameroonian
businessmen
will visit
China on the
sidelines of
the Beijing
summit,
scheduled for
early
September. The
businessmen
traveling to
China intend
to seize the
opportunity
and sign deals
with Chinese
private
companies to
"boost our
cooperation
and create
more jobs for
the youths
back home,"
said Magloire,
the rapporteur
at Cameroon's
Ministry of
Economy and
Finance."
The
article makes
no mention of
Southern
Cameroons and
Biya's
killings -
nor,
apparently,
will Guterres.
We'll
have more on
this.Here are
questions Guterres
and his
spokesman,
contrary to
the promise of
evicter
Alison Smale,
has left
UNanswered:
"August 27-6:
August 22-3:
On Cameroon,
your belated
July 11 read
out does not
answer the
questions
Inner City
Press has
asked. Before
asking more,
there are now
broken out by
letter for
ease of
reference and
for belated
answer today,
as well as
this:
was DSG
Mohammed
present at the
July 11
meeting? And
what is the
SG's response
to what was
said about him
in the
demonstration
by Anglophone
Cameroonians
in Washington
yesterday? How
does he
respond to
their charges
of corruption?
a) Cameroon
has hired
Mercury Public
Affairs for
$100,000 a
month, even as
the UN is
paying money
to the
government. Is
UN money being
used for the
mass killing
cover up
campaign? Are
there any
safeguards in
place?
b) please
disclose any
and all other
meeings the SG
has had this
year arranged
by paid
lobbyists.
[responded to
Aug 22, but
see (d) below:
c) what is the
SG's comment
on the recent
announcement
of seven
arrests for
summary
executions,
and the newer
video of
Cameroon Army
executions
that has
emerged?
d)
Specifically,
how are these
videos being
incorporated
into the
supposed
vetting of
Cameroon's
contributions
to UN
Peacekeeping
missions?
e) please
provide a list
and read-out
of each of the
Secretary
General's
meetings and
communications
with Cameroon
Ambassador
Tommo Monthe
during
Monthe's time
as chair of
the Fifth
(Budget)
Committee.
[semi-answered
Aug 22 f) In
light of
statements at
the August 8
noon briefing
please state
whether envoy
Fall even
requested to
meet with
President Paul
Biya or
whether the UN
believes that
Biya is once
again out of
the country,
in Geneva. Has
the UN ever
met with Biya
in Geneva? ]
g) I reiterate
August 7-1 and
8-1 and 9-1,
on this: was
the SG or
anyone else in
the UN aware
that this Biya
delegation's
lobbying trip
was stage
managed by the
DC-based
lobbying firm
Patton Boggs?
Why was this
meeting not
disclosed at
the time? Why
is there no
photo, even
just UN Photo,
of it? Where
did it take
place? Who
attended, on
each side?
h)Has the
Secretariat
communicated
since with the
Biya
government?
Has it ever
communicated
with the
opposition?"
On
August 26, in
Nigeria those
Anglophones
displaced by
Biya's
killings,
covered up
and support by
Antonio "Mr.
Refugees"
Guterres
simply so he
could try to
get Cameroon
Ambassador
Tommo
Monthe's
support for
his power grab
reform proposals,
are called
"invaders."
But still when
they are
interviewed some
truth
emerges: "one
of the
refugee,
Polycarp Ande
who fled from
Furawa
Sub-division
into Fikyu
village
alleged that
Cameroonian
soldiers led
the ethnic
cleansing of
their people.
According to
him, hunger,
elusive health
care, lack of
shelter and
idleness were
major
challenges,
which he noted
has in turn
had ripple
effect on
their host
community, who
are
predominantly
low scale
farmers. He
explained that
the villagers
and churches
has been
feeding them,
and expressed
worry over
their
increasing
numbers amidst
meager
resources.
“Some of our
brothers who
went back to
see how the
situation was
in our
villages keep
running back
as the
onslaught is
still going
on. ” As at
last Saturday,
over 15 of our
people came
into
Kpambo-piri in
Ussa and more
people keep
coming into
Nigeria every
week. “Our
children are
the most
affected
because they
can’t go to
school and we
want the
government of
Nigeria and
the world to
come to our
aid." Inner City
Press is
inquiring with
legislators
in the area
and others -
watch this
site.
On
August 22, in
response to detailed
questions
about what Guterres
knew -
including
about Cameroon
which received the
public's funds
through the UN
paying Patton
Boggs
and now
Mercury Public
Affairs, see
below - his
spokesman Stephane
Dujarric sent Inner
City Press,
whom he has
played his
role in banning
for life, this
which we publish in
full: "On
Cameroon: On
new video
released on
alleged human
rights abuses
in Cameroon:
We are aware
of the new
video released
on social
media
concerning
alleged human
rights
violations in
the country
and remain
deeply
concerned over
the continued
violence. We
are encouraged
that the
Government has
pledged to
carry out a
thorough
investigation
into these
incidents and
to publish the
results. We
continue to
ask the
Government to
grant
unimpeded
access to the
UN human
rights bodies.
We further
reiterate the
need to lift
all
restrictions
on
humanitarian
access to the
North-West and
South-West
regions.
On SRSG Fall’s
visit to
Cameroon and
upcoming
elections:
With regard to
SRSG Fall’s
recent visit
to Yaoundé
from 4 to 9
August, as
mentioned
earlier, he
met with the
Prime
Minister, the
Minister of
External
Relations, the
Minister for
Territorial
Administration,
the President
of the
National
Commission for
the Promotion
of
Multiculturalism
and
Bilingualism,
and the
Director-General
of Cameroon’s
electoral
management
body, ELECAM,
as well as the
Chief of Staff
of the
Presidency of
the Republic
of Cameroon,
among others.
In his
meetings with
the
authorities,
he discussed
the situation
in the country
in the lead-up
to the 7
October
presidential
election, as
well as
humanitarian
assistance to
those in
urgent need.
Meanwhile, the
UN continues
capacity-building
activities, as
well as voter
education
targeting the
media and
civil society
in close
cooperation
with ELECAM
ahead of the
elections, and
will continue
to closely
monitor the
situation." The UN's
no due process
"investigation"
of Inner City
Press
with the
outcome
pre-determined
puts
the first
response into context, as
does the government
memo describing
Guterres that
the UN won't
respond
to. And UN "capacity
building"
for Biya's
latest ghoulish
"election"? We
aim to
have more on
this. Watch
this site.
Guterres'
Global Communicator
Alison Smale's
August 17 letter
banning Inner
City Press, on
which she took
45 days to try
to phrase
censorship in
terms of
"professionalism,"
states that
Inner City
Press'
questioning
broadcasts on
Periscope,
for then 45
days at the
gate outside
the UN, are
derogatory
and even
somehow dangerous.
Dangerous
to the
cover up of Biya's
killings,
perhaps, and
those who play a role
in it.
Relatedly,
Google's
YouTube de-monetized
Inner City
Press' video
of
questioning
Guterres' Deputy
Spokesman
Farhan Haq
about
Cameroon's
lobbying contracts,
saying the video
was not
appropriate
for all advertisers.
While that YouTube
phrasing, even
if accurate,
would not
justify a ban
on Inner City
Press, it is
significant
that after
Inner City
Press submitted to
YouTube an
appeal -- something
Guterres'
Kafkaesque UN
does not allow
for
journalists --
the demonetization
has been
reversed: "Hi
Inner City
Press, Great
news! After
manually
reviewing your
video, we’ve
determined
that it is
suitable for
all
advertisers:
"Cameroon
Leak Showed UN
Guterres
Offered Biya
Help In
Combating Bad
Press He
Banned No
Answers"
Thanks, The
YouTube team."
So the
coverage that
UK national Alison
Smale
unilaterally
asserts is so
derogatory and
dangerous as
to be
part of her
Orwellian
justification
of a lifetime
ban of Inner City
Press is found
by a party not
named, as
Smale is, in
the video to
be "suitable
for all
adversers."
You can see it
here.
-- it already
has 2000
views, more
that the entire
audience of some of
those "professional"
correspondents
to whom Guterres
and Smale give
UN offices and
full access.
Alison Smale,
and Guterres,
are censors
pure and
simple,
particularly
on
Guterres'
shameful role in
Cameroon. In a
single sentence,
Guterres
stayed quiet on
and helped
cover up Paul Biya's killings
of Anglophones in Cameroon
because Guterres
wanted the
bureaucratic
support of
Cameroon's
Ambassador
Tommo Monthe,
the chair of
the UN Budget
Committee, for
his proposal
some of which
didn't even get
enacted.
Shameful, as is
the lifetime ban. We'll
have
more, much
more, on this. The
Cameroon government's
write up of the
meeting obtained by
Inner City
Press,
on which
the UN
has repeatedly
refused to
respond, quotes
Guterres that
the
("Anglo-Saxon")
media is
unfair to Paul
Biya's
Cameroun and
that he,
Guterres, will
help them in
the
"propaganda
campaign."
Guterres said
he "will
contact
reasonable
people" and
"counter the
daily press
briefs." Now as
Guterres marks
"World
Humanitarian
Day" in the UN
General
Assembly lobby
he had Inner City
Press pushed
out of on June
22 during an
event in which he
gave a
speech
bragging about
fasting in Mali,
with Inner
City Press
banned from
entering his UN
of the
45th day in
a row. Promoting
his
event,
Guterres'
envoy Ursula
Mueller -
who when she visited
Cameroon in
February 2018
didn't even bother
going
to the
Anglophone areas,
while praising
Biya - tweeted
the Civilians
are #NotATarget
hashtag.
But what has
Team Guterres
done, in
Cameroon, desperate
as Guterres
was to get and
keep the
bureaucratic
support of
Budget
Committee chair
Tommo Monthe, Cameroon's
long serving
ambassador to
the UN? We'll
have more on
this - from
the gate and
bus stop outside the
UN, thanks
to Antonio
"Golden
Statue"
Guterres. Watch
this site.
Guterres'
spokesman
Farhan Haq
three times
refused to
answer Inner
City Press e-mailed
question
whether
Guterres was
aware his
meeting was
stage managed
by lobbyists
at Patton
Boggs, and
what was
discussed. Then on
August 15, in
response to detailed
questions
about what Guterres
knew -
including
about Cameroon
which received the
public's funds
through the UN
paying Patton
Boggs
and now
Mercury Public
Affairs, see
below - Haq
simply
reiterated the
UN's
discredited
readout: "On
Cameroon,
we’ve already
provided a
readout of the
11 July
meeting: We
can confirm
that, on 11
July, a
high-level
Cameroonian
delegation was
dispatched to
UNHQ to brief
the
Secretary-General
on the efforts
carried out by
the Government
to address the
crisis in the
North-West and
South-West
regions. This
followed the
Secretary-General’s
call to
President Biya
of 11 June.
During the
meeting as
well as during
the call with
President
Biya, the
Secretary-General
stressed the
importance of
finding a
peaceful
resolution to
the crisis
through an
inclusive
dialogue and
reiterated the
UN call for
access to the
affected
regions."
That's not what
the
Cameroonians
say about the
meeting --
they quote
Guterres that
the
("Anglo-Saxon")
media is
unfair to Paul
Biya's
Cameroun and
that he,
Guterres, will
help them in
the
"propaganda
campaign."
Guterres said
he "will
contact
reasonable
people" and
"counter the
daily press
briefs." So Guterres'
spokesmen have
four times declined
to address or
deny this.
Now documents
show that on 1
August 2018,
after this
meeting with
Guterres,
Cameroon's
government
through a
company called
TopCom SA
based in Yaounde
has contracted for
$100,000 a
month a US P.R.
firm, Mercury
Public Affairs
based at 200
Varrick Street
in Manhattan,
to get it
better publicity and
lobby. (Mercury
is embroiled
in the Manafort
case regarding
Ukraine.) Are
these the
"reasonable
people"
Guterres told
Cameroon's
other
lobbyists he
would contact?
Here is the
Inner City Press
question,
including for
a read out of
the trip of
Guterres envoy Francois
Fall, who equated
secessionists
with
extremists, to
which Haq
responded
with the old,
discredited
read-out: "On
Cameroon -
again, and
this really
must be
answered -
Inner City
Press has
obtained a
government
memo
concerning SG
Guterres'
meeting with
them, managed
by their
lobbyist
Squire Patton
Boggs, on July
11. This is
a(nother)
formal request
for the UN's
read-out of
that meeting,
including but
not limited to
any references
to the media,
“Anglo-Saxon”
or otherwise,
and any
assistance the
SG may have
offered
Cameroon
including
specifically
in countering
perceptions.
Now Cameroon
has hired
Mercury Public
Affairs for
$100,000 a
month, even as
the UN is
paying money
to the
government. Is
UN money being
used for the
mass killing
cover up
campaign? Are
there any
safeguards in
place?
Separately,
please
disclose any
and all other
meeings the SG
has had this
year arranged
by paid
lobbyists.
Also, beyond
the many other
UNanswered
questions,
what is the
SG's comment
on the recent
announcement
of seven
arrests for
summary
executions,
and the newer
video of
Cameroon Army
executions
that has
emerged?
Specifically,
how are these
videos being
incorporated
into the
supposed
vetting of
Cameroon's
contributions
to UN
Peacekeeping
missions?
Again, please
provide a list
and read-out
of each of the
Secretary
General's
meetings and
communications
with Cameroon
Ambassador
Tommo Monthe
during
Monthe's time
as chair of
the Fifth
(Budget)
Committee. In
light of
statements at
the August 8
noon briefing
please state
whether envoy
Fall even
requested to
meet with
President Paul
Biya or
whether the UN
believes that
Biya is once
again out of
the country,
in Geneva. Has
the UN ever
met with Biya
in Geneva?
Also, I
reiterate
August 7-1 and
8-1 and 9-1,
on this: was
the SG or
anyone else in
the UN aware
that this Biya
delegation's
lobbying trip
was stage
managed by the
DC-based
lobbying firm
Patton Boggs?
Why was this
meeting not
disclosed at
the time? Why
is there no
photo, even
just UN Photo,
of it? Where
did it take
place? Who
attended, on
each side? Has
the
Secretariat
communicated
since with the
Biya
government?
Has it ever
communicated
with the
opposition?"
We're still
waiting - even
as
Guterres and
his Global
Communicator
(and Censor)
Alison Smale prepare a
report on
Inner City Press'
ability to
access the UN
like
countless
state media
including from
Cameroon, all
without once
speaking to Inner City
Press. We'll
have more on
this.
Inner
City Press obtained
the Cameroon
government's
internal memo
about the
lobbying,
including of
Guterres and
what he said.
Guterres said
that the
("Anglo-Saxon")
media is
unfair to Paul
Biya's
Cameroun and
that he,
Guterres,
will help them in the
"propaganda
campaign."
Guterres said
he "will
contact
reasonable
people" and "counter
the daily
press briefs."
On the
morning of August
13, Inner City
Press emailed
these questions to Guterres'
spokesmen and
his Deputy and
his "Global
Communicator"
Smale and
others, with
no answer by
the afternoon
of August 14:
" On
Cameroon,
Inner City
Press has
obtained a
goverment memo
concerning SG
Guterres'
meeting with
them, managed
by their
lobbyist
Squire Patton
Boggs, on July
11. This is
a(nother)
formal request
for the UN's
read-out of
that meeting,
including but
not limited to
any references
to the media,
“Anglo-Saxon”
or otherwise,
and any
assistance the
SG may have
offered
Cameroon
including
specifically
in countering
perceptions.
Separately,
plese disclose
any and all
other meeings
the SG has had
this year
arranged by
paid
lobbyists.
Also, beyond
the many other
UNanswered
questions,
what is the
SG's comment
on the recent
announcement
of seven
arrests for
summary
executions,
and the newer
video of
Cameroon Army
executions
that has
emerged?
Specifically,
how are these
videos being
incorporated
into the
supposed
vetting of
Cameroon's
contributions
to UN
Peacekeeping
missions?
Again, please
provide a list
and read-out
of each of the
Secretary
General's
meetings and
communications
with Cameroon
Ambassador
Tommo Monthe
during
Monthe's time
as chair of
the Fifth
(Budget)
Committee. In
light of
statements at
the August 8
noon briefing
please state
whether envoy
Fall even
requested to
meet with
President Paul
Biya or
whether the UN
believes that
Biya is once
again out of
the country,
in Geneva. Has
the UN ever
met with Biya
in Geneva?
Also, I
reiterate
August 7-1 and
8-1 and 9-1,
on this: was
the SG or
anyone else in
the UN aware
that this Biya
delegation's
lobbying trip
was stage
managed by the
DC-based
lobbying firm
Patton Boggs?
Why was this
meeting not
disclosed at
the time? Why
is there no
photo, even
just UN Photo,
of it? Where
did it take
place? Who
attended, on
each side? Has
the
Secretariat
communicated
since with the
Biya
government?
Has it ever
communicated
with the
opposition?"
Guterres
has kept Inner
City Press
banned from
the UN and its
daily press
briefings for
40 days, with
the prospect
of a longer or
permanent ban
by his
conflicted
Communicator
Alison Smale
(see yesterday's
Fox story here;
Smale refused
comment.)
Here's from
the Cameroon
government's
memo: "THE
DION
NGUTE/GHOGOMU
PAUL MISSION
REPORT
High Level
Mission to the
USA
(11 – 20 July
2018)
Delegation
Members:
H.E Dr DION
NGUTE Joseph,
Minister in
charge of
Missions at
the
Presidency,
H.E GHOGOMU
Paul MINGO,
Director of
the Prime
Minister’s
Cabinet,
H.E MBAYU
Felix,
Minister
Delegate to
MINREX, in
charge of the
Commonwealth,
Mr. CHINMOUN
Oumarou,
Director of
American and
Caribbean
Affairs at the
MINREX, and
Mme EYEMA
ELINGE Susan
epse EWUSI,
Research
Officer at the
Presidency....
NEW YORK
Meeting with:
H.E Antonio
Gutteres,
Secretary
General of the
UNO
The Delegation
was helped in
the
organization
of audiences
by the
Cameroon
Permanent
Representative
to the United
Nations, H.E
TOMMO MONTHE.
At each
audience, we
presented the
historical
background of
the
socio-political
crisis in the
North West and
South West
Regions of
Cameroon. We
also briefed
our hosts on
the current
situation in
the two
Regions, and
explained the
measures taken
by the
Government to
address the
crisis.
We insisted
that it was an
internal
crisis for
which the
Government had
mobilized all
necessary
security,
political,
social and
humanitarian
means for its
management. We
presented the
Government
Emergency
Humanitarian
Plan and
stated our
Government’s
expectations
from the UNO
and the
members of the
Security
Council.
For the SG/UN:
Cameroon is a
very important
and strategic
Country,
We have a very
wise and
intelligent
leader,
There is a
pattern of
inevitable
problems when
there is a
linguistic
minority,
The strategy
of radical
groups has
always been to
provoke, then
show the world
what the army
is doing,
The global
media is
Anglo-Saxon
dominated, so
that there is
a campaign to
show that the
English-speaking
minority is
being
maltreated,
We are losing
the
international
propaganda
campaign, but
he is
willing to
help. He will
contact
reasonable
people,
Cameroon
should however
counter the
daily press
briefs" --
And Guterres
has Inner City
Press banned
from the UN's
daily noon press
briefing, and
refuses to
answer written
questions
about these
meetings.
Meanwhile,
Guterres for
a year sought
to ingratiate
himself to Biya's
Ambassador
Tommo Monthe,
UN
Budget
Committee
chair whose
bureaucratic help
Guterres
wanted for example
for his
ill-gated
Global Service
Delivery
Mechanism
plan to
move UN
jobs from Geneva to
Budapest,
from New York
to Mexico
City, and from
Entebbe, Uganda
to Kenya. We'll
have more,
much more, on
this.
On
August 10,
with Inner
City Press
banned from
entering the
UN for the
38th day by UN
Secretary
General Antonio
Guterres, the
Dutch
Mission to
the UN
and HRW
started
bragging about
a UN
Security Council
Presidential
Statement
which they
said embodied
deep concern. At first
banned
Inner City
Press, thanks
to Guterres
who took Biya's
golden statue
in
October 2017,
couldn't even
see the Statement:
it was not on
the Security
Council's
website
now run
by the (Dutch)
husband of
the chief of
staff of the UN
Department of
Political
Affairs'
Rosemary DiCarlo,
and was not
emailed out to
those not
(allowed) in
the UN. But by
mid afternoon
it came out: and it was
just a single
line, about
the "worrying
increase in violence
in the
north-west and
south-west
regions of
Cameroon." Why did
Human Rights
Watch make so
much of this,
after earlier
this year
telling
Inner City
Press - before
Antonio
"Golden
Statue" Guterres
banned it from
the UN - that
HRW omitted
Cameroon
from its 2018
World Report because it
didn't view it
as a top-90 problem? That's
here.
As Guterres
and his Alison
Smale and their stooges
try to keep
Inner City Press
out even
longer, we'll
have more on
this. After
twice asking
the Spokespeople
for UN
Secretary
General
Antonio
Guterres (from
the bus stop
outside the
UN Delegates'
Entrance since
Guterres
has banned
Inner City
Press since
July 3), UN Deputy
Spokesman
Farhan Haq on
August 8
belatedly told
Inner City
Press, "On
your first
question, we
can confirm
that, on 11
July, a
high-level
Cameroonian
delegation was
dispatched to
UNHQ to brief
the
Secretary-General
on the efforts
carried out by
the Government
to address the
crisis in the
North-West and
South-West
regions. The
Secretary-General
stressed the
importance of
finding a
peaceful
resolution to
the crisis
through an
inclusive
dialogue and
reiterated the
UN’s readiness
to support
such efforts,
including the
provision of
humanitarian
assistance to
the affected
regions." But
Inner City
Press'
question was,
"On Cameroon
beyond the
questions you
have left
unanswered
from August 3
and August
6-1, please
state if
anyone in the
UN Secretariat
met with a
Cameroonian
government
delegation in
the US from
July 11 (whcn
they met UK
Ambassador
Pierce) to
July 20 and if
the UN was
aware that
this Biya
delegation's
lobbying trip
was stage
managed by the
DC-based
lobbying firm
Patton Boggs."
No answer on
this, nor on
August 10,
when Guterres'
Deputy Spokesman Haq
answered a past
question from
August 6,
on using and
paying for
Biya's troops:
"Regarding
your earlier
Cameroon
question,
here’s what we
have for you: "August
6-1: On
Cameroon,
important and
not answered -
please
immediately
confirm and
explain: “A
295-strong
Cameroonian
contingent
including four
doctors, will
be deployed in
the
intervening
weeks to the
Central
African
Republic
(CAR).They
will be part
of the United
Nations
Multidimensional
Integrated
Mission for
the
Stabilization
of CAR
(MINUSCA),
ministry of
Defense
sources in
Cameroon
disclosed on
Thursday.”
Given not only
this
military's
torching of
villages in
the Anglophone
areas but
summary
executions,
why is the UN
accepting this
deployment at
this time? How
much of the
money goes to
/ stays with
the Biya
government?
What vetting
has been done?
Does the UN
know the
identity of
the Cameroon
soldiers
recently shown
killing women
and children?
What assurance
does the UN
have these
soldiers will
not “serve”
the UN in
CAR?"
The 295-strong
Cameroonian
contingent
referred into
in the article
is not a new
deployment. It
is in fact a
rotation of
two
Cameroonian
Formed Police
Units (FPUs)
already
deployed in
MINUSCA.
In this
specific case,
the two
Cameroonian
FPUs will
finish their
tour of duty
by
mid-September,
will
substitute
them. As per
established
procedures,
all FPU
personnel
undergo
extensive
pre-deployment
training to
ensure they
understand the
rules,
regulations
and, standards
and values
expected of
personnel
deployed to UN
operations,
including
respect for
human rights.
With regard to
the vetting
process, the
Policy on
Human Rights
Screening of
United Nations
Personnel
places primary
responsibility
on Member
States to
ensure that
the personnel
they appoint
for deployment
have not been
involved in
violations.
All countries
contributing
uniformed
personnel to
UN
peacekeeping
operations
have primary
responsibility
for screening
individuals
and for
ensuring that
personnel they
nominate for
service have
not been
involved, by
act or
omission, in
violations of
international
humanitarian
law or human
rights law,
and have not
been
repatriated on
disciplinary
grounds from a
UN operation.
Contributing
countries have
to provide a
certification
to that effect
when they
nominate
personnel for
deployment.
The Policy
thus sets
forth
procedures to
strengthen the
ability of the
United Nations
to ensure that
its personnel
meet the
highest
standards of
efficiency,
competence and
integrity, and
to promote and
encourage
respect for
human rights,
in accordance
with the
United Nations
Charter. These
procedures
have notably
led to
strengthen
pre-deployment
screening and
certification
by
contributing
countries.
On your
question
regarding
payment,
countries
contributing
uniformed
personnel to
peacekeeping
operations are
reimbursed by
the UN at a
standard rate,
approved by
the General
Assembly, of
US$1,428 per
person per
month."
After
Guterres remained disturbingly
quiet
about Biya's
killing for a
full year, when Cameroon
was the chair
of the Budget
Committee
whose support
Guterres
wanted for his
proposal like
moving jobs
from Geneva to
Budapest,
New York to
Mexico City,
Entebbe to
Kenya? We'll
have more on
this. This
also means that the
July 11
meeting with Cameroonian
ministers
bragged about
by this
month's UN
Security
Council
president,
Karen Pierce of
the UK, was
actually in
connection
with a
lobbying trip
stage
managed by
Patton Boggs.
Inner City Press has
asked the
UK Mission,
see below,
and also on
the morning of
August 7
asked
Secretary
General Antonio
Guterres'
deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq
before "his"
noon
briefing Inner
City Press
was banned
from for the
35th day in a
row. Guterres'
Haq never
answered
(though perhaps
relatedly
envoy Francois
Fall is
supposedly
going to
Cameroon). Now
Inner City
Press has
reviewed
Patton Boggs
long history
with Paul
Biya, as he
has become
more and more
brutal. It
began in 2004
with a letter
from Patton
Boggs' Joseph
Brand (still
involved in
2018) to Biya's
Pierre Moukoko
Mbonjo
for Peter
Mafany
Musonge, here.
We'll
have more on
this. UNanswered
as of August8
by Guterres'
team: "August
7-1: On
Cameroon
beyond the
questions you
have left
unanswered
from August 3
and August
6-1, please
state if
anyone in the
UN Secretariat
met with a
Cameroonian
government
delegation in
the US from
July 11 (whcn
they met UK
Ambassador
Pierce) to
July 20 and if
the UN was
aware that
this Biya
delegation's
lobbying trip
was stage
managed by the
DC-based
lobbying firm
Patton Boggs."
Neither Haq
nor the others
in Guterres'
team whom
Inner City Press
asked - Deputy SG
Amina J. Mohammed,
Eihab
Omaish, Alison
Smale and her
officer in
charge (of
censorship)
Hua Jiang
answered that
specific
question.
Instead Haq at the
briefing said
he trying
to "get
language"
about Guterres'
envoy Francois
Lounseny
Fall, who
equated secessionists
with extremists,
may go to the
country this
week. What,
some ask, for
Patton Boggs?
Inner City Press
asked the UK
Mission's two
spokespeople
Matthew Moody
and
Amy.Quantrill: "Good
morning. This
is a formal
Press request
for an answer
I have sought
from the UK
Mission to the
UN since
August 1. On
July 31
Ambassador
Pierce stated
on Twitter
that she (and
presumably
others at the
UK mission)
had met on
July 11 with
Cameroonian
ministers.
On August 1,
for the
Program of
Work press
conference I
was and am
banned from by
USG Alison
Smale and SG
Antonio
Guterres,
after being
roughed up by
UN Security
while covering
an event and a
meeting on
June 22 and
July 3, I
asked both of
you:
"Did she mean
government
ministers or
religious
ministers? If
the former,
who were they?
Which
departments?
And what was
it mean to say
“we were
watching the
situation
closely.” Does
this mean the
UK or the
Council? Is
there a role,
does the UK
think, for UN
envoy Francois
Lonseny Fall?
Or should
another
mediator be
assigned?"
I have
yet to receive
an answer,
including
after tweeting
substantial
the same
question to
Amb Allen
yesterday. Nor
did I receive
any response
to my August 3
question to
you,
explicitly
your UK's
capacity of
President of
the UNSC,
about Yemen
and a Saudi
letter.
This time I am
addressing
this to
Stephen Hickey
as well.
(Hello).
I am
requesting an
immediate
answer to
these Cameroon
questions:
Name the
ministers Amb
Pierce met
with on July
11.
State whether
Amb Pierce or
anyone else at
the UK mission
was aware this
this Biya
administration
"tour" July
11-20 was
stage managed
by DC-based
lobbying firm
Patton Boggs
(reflected on
documents
Inner City
Press has this
morning
published),
including US
ex-Amb Frank
Wisner.
State
whether any
non-Cameroonians
were present
at the July 11
meeting and if
so, who they
were.
state whether
Amb Pierce has
had any
meetings with
Cameroonian
opposition or
Federalists or
separatists,
and if not,
why not.
Also,
as I asked on
August 1 in
advance of
these week's
UNSC meeting I
remained
banned from,
Last month
Sweden said at
the beginning
of the month
that it would
be seeking
agreed Press
Elements from
every
consultation.
Will the UK be
seeking Press
Elements from
this Western
Sahara
consultation?
And if not,
why not?
On
deadline.
Thanks you in
advance.
-Matthew."
Nothing.
The
documents show
the agreement
is to run to
mid 2019,
long after
Biya's next
"election" in
October (also
made a
mockery of by
French
President
Emmanuel Macron
inviting Biya
to an event in
Paris as head
of state in November).
The
"confidential"
letter
agreement is
addressed by
Patton Boggs' Robert S.
Kapla to
Biya's Prime
Minister
Philemon Yang,
to be signed
by Ghogomu
Paul Mingo and
cites
Prof. Nkot.
It
says Joseph
Brand and "Ambassador
Frank
Wisner"
will work on
the Biya fileAfter
the abuses by
Cameroon's
security
forces have
been ignored
by the UN, as
Inner City
Press has
repeatedly
asked about
them until being
banned from
the UN on July 3
and since, new
leaked videos show
summary executions
and manhandling
of prisoners. On
July 14 and 25
Inner
City Press
raised the
issue, and
that of the
UN's censorship
to
the French
Mission to
the UN, and also
directly to
Deputy
Ambassador
Anne Gueguen.
Nothing,
from France
and from the
Security
Council as a
whole, not
even an "Any
Other
Business" briefing,
with none as
yet foreseen
under August's
Security
Council
president the
UK, whose
Liam Fox
bragged of UK
New Age's
gas deal with
Biya; Inner
City Press
asked UK
Ambassador
Karen Pierce about
it here,
before Guterres'
Security's
ouster and
ongoing ban on
which the UK
has done
nothing. July 20
video here.
After
that, Pierce said on
Twitter
- while ignoring
Inner City Press'
question as her
mission has in
recent days,
also on
Yemen - that she
had met with
Cameroon
ministers on
July 11. Inner
City Press
asked the UK
Mission in writing
on August
1 to
explain: "Amb
Pierce
disclosed in
yesterday's
Twitter
Q&A that
she “spoke to
a delegation
of Cameroon
ministers at
the UN on 11
July.” Did she
mean
government
ministers or
religious
ministers? If
the former,
who were they?
Which
departments?
And what was
it mean to say
“we were
watching the
situation
closely.” Does
this mean the
UK or the
Council? Is
there a role,
does the UK
think, for UN
envoy Francois
Lonseny Fall?
Or should
another
mediator be
assigned?"
Nothing, still
no answer as of
noon on August 6 from
the UK
Mission.
(Inner
City Press'
later on
August 6
online question
to returned-toTwitter
Deputy
Ambassador Jonathan
Allen on this
has yet to be
replied to.) Instead,
Pierce said
the initiative
is with
Biya
and his
government.
Now it
emerges that
Paul Biya sent a
delegation of
five from
July 11 to 20,
to DC and New
York to
meet members
of the UN Security
Council. This
while UNSG
Antonio
Guterres had banned
from the UN
Inner City
Press, which has ask
him for more
than a year
about the slaughter
in Cameroon and
his inaction,
as he needed the support of
the Cameroonian
chair of the
UN Budget Committee.
New filing on
Guterres and conflict
of interest, here.
We'll
have more on
this -
and this: ghoulishly
in Cameroon,
where there
is supposed to
be an election
in October,
French
Ambassador
Gilles
Thibault, of
whom Inner City
Press has
asked French
Permanent
Representative
Francois
Delattre
before being
banned from
the UN since
July 3,
has invited
Paul Biya to an Emmanual
Macron "Peace" event, as
Cameroonian
head of
state.. in
November. We'll
have more on
this. On
August
1 in a
briefing Inner
City Press was
banned from
Pierce said
the initiative is
with the
President and
government of
Cameron - that
is, 36 year
ruler Paul
Biya. On
August
2 Inner
City Press emailed
Guterres'
spokesmen and
team
including Alison
Smale and
officer in
charge Hua Jiang, "On
Cameroon and
refugees from
Cameroon in
Nigeria, what
is the
comment,
response and
action if any
of the
Secretargy
General to the
deaths of
eight
Cameroonian
refugees in
Ikom, Cross
River who died
of fumes from
a generator in
their room?
What has the
SG done about
the conflict
and crisis in
the Anglophone
areas of
Cameroon since
his visit to
Younde in
October 2017?
What has he
done in the
last 12 days?"
Haq did not
email any
response back
before heading
out to lunch.
On his
way back
in, Inner City
Press
reiterated the
question and he just
walked
by, as did Hua Jiang,
schooled in
this with
UNMIS in Sudan
it seems, part
of the censorship,
minutes later.
Video here.
This is
today's UN.
***
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