UNITED NATIONS,
May 24 – A week ago, Inner
City Press asked UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres'
holdover spokesman Stephane
Dujarric about Cameroon
administering in areas to
which it cut off the Internet
for 94 days a General
Certificate of Education test,
specifically citing UNESCO.
Dujarric said he would look
into it. Having received no
answer even as Guterres'
Deputy and Chief of Staff
appeared at Cameroon's
(boycotted) national day, on
May 23 Inner City Press asked
again about this, and Amnesty
International's press
conference on 10 year
sentences to students (whose
jokes included the GCEs) being
shut down. Dujarric said he
had an answer from UNESCO -
that he never provided to
Inner City Press, and
apparently would never have,
if not asked again. Now here
it is: "Your question on the
Cameroon tests: Regarding a
previous query on a test being
administered in the Anglophone
regions of Cameroon despite
the regions being affected by
school closures and a internet
blackout, while this is not an
issue covered by UNOCA, but
rather UNESCO, UNOCA has
informed that there have been
reports of abstentions from
the examinations in the North
West and South-West regions of
the country. We are not aware
of any reports of these tests
being taken at gunpoint.
Nonetheless it is of concern
that these examinations
[General Certificate of
Education] were held, despite
school closures and the
internet blackout for over
three months, which disrupted
normal activities. However
that is an issue for the
relevant national authorities
to respond to. UNOCA, in close
cooperation with the Acting
Resident Coordinator, is
monitoring the situation in
the North West and South West
regions of Cameroon and will
continue to liaise with the
authorities to promote a
peaceful resolution to the
grievances of the Anglophone
population."
While the UN
Security Council visited
Cameroon during the 94 day
Internet cut off and said
nothing publicly about it (but
see below), Inner City Press
has obtained and has
exclusively published
on Patreon and now Scribd,
here Cameroon's "Urgent
and Confidential" letter to
the UN Security Council, about
weapons. On May 23, Inner City
Press went to the New York
event for Cameroon's
"National" Day, which was
boycotted in the Anglophone
regions of the country. In New
York, however, UN Deputy
Secretary General Amina J.
Mohammad and Antonio Guterres'
Chef de Cabinet Maria Luiza
Ribeiro Viotti attended, along
with French Permanent
Representative to the UN
Francois Delattre, Burundi's
Albert Shingiro and others.
Video here.
Periscope
inside was not possible due,
ironically, to a lack of
Internet. There were toasts in
French for Chantalle Biya and
for the UN officials; on the
way out UN staffers told Inner
City Press it was sure to
criticize them. What matters,
as always, is what happens
going forward. Italy is a
member of the Security Council
this year, and on the morning
of May 18 including in light
of Italian President
Mattarella's meetings this
year with Cameroon's 34 year
president Paul Biya, Inner
City Press asked Italy's
Mission to the UN: "your
Mission was part of the
Security Council's trip
including to Cameroon earlier
this year, during the
country's 94-day Internet shut
off to millions of people in
the Northwest and Southwest
(or Anglophone) regions. The
IMF, for what it's worth, told
Inner City Press the
government's Internet cut off
is among other things a
financial risk in 2017. Could
you comment on your Mission's
aware of the issue, during the
Security Council visit to
Cameroon and since, and on
whether you believe the
Secretary General and DPA, as
a matter of prevention of
conflict, may have a greater
role to play in this
long-standing, UN-related
conflict or dispute?" Eight
hours later, the Italian
Mission's spokesperson
Giovanni Davoli replied on
Cameroon that "the situation
you are mentioning was not in
the agenda of the UNSC visit."
To his credit, Swedish
diplomat Carl Skau tells Inner
City Press, "I can confirm
that the issue was raised by
the delegation in meetings."
Now Italy's spokesman insists,
"I confirm: it was not in the
agenda of the visit. Whether
it was raised, it is another
matter on which I have no
elements." Meanwhile, party in
interest France has yet
to respond, while
Emmanuel Macron is in Mali.
We'll have more on this. On
May 17, Inner City Press asked
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' spokesman Stephane
Dujuarric what if anything
Guterres is doing about
Cameroon. From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: there are
people saying that António
Guterres' strategy of being
Secretary-General is to sort
of downplay the peacemaking
powers of it and engage in
quiet diplomacy. And I
guess the reason I'm asking
you is just objectively
speaking, compared to the
previous administration, there
are many fewer readouts,
there's less… there's less
being said. Maybe it's
to the good. But, does
he believe that… that this
approach is bearing fruit, and
if so, what fruit can you
point to?
Spokesman: I think the
Secretary-General is a
believer in the need for
discreet contacts to be had in
order to resolve crisis.
And I think it's something I…
well, I think we've all
observed since he's come into
office. And I think it's
an important tool and not the
only tool, but it's an
important tool in the tools
available to the world's top
diplomat.
Inner City Press: I want
to ask this very specifically
because I've asked you this a
couple of times. I keep
hearing from people at various
high floors that, in fact, the
UN is concerned about Cameroon
and not just the Internet, but
what seems to be a case of
preventive diplomacy.
So, I wanted to ask you, is
there anything actually being
done? Am I missing some
secret work that the UN…?
Spokesman: I think if…
well, if it's secret, it's
secret. Mr. [Francois
Lonceny] Fall has been
following and is the point
person for the UN on this
issue.
Fall is
failing. Or, Fall is the fall
guy for Guterres. Now there is
the use of what residents call
another weapon: the
devaluation and even
destruction of the GCE
education system, by
purporting to administer the
test after a period where no
instruction or learning took
place. UNESCO has said
nothing, just as the UN stayed
quiet during the Internet cut
off. On May 15, Inner City
Press asked the UN's holdover
spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: In hearing
UNESCO [United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization], I've
been meaning to ask you
this. There's a
controversy in Cameroon where
a school… a test is being
administered today in the
areas that didn't have
internet for 94 days and the
schools were closed. And
a lot of people are saying the
test… it's basically to
destroy the Anglophone
education system, and people
are taking a test at
gunpoint. And many
people there said UNESCO said
nothing. I don't know
whose role it is. Is it
[Francois] Loncény Fall?
Is there anyone in the UN
system that's looking at
what's taking place there…?
Spokesman: I'll take a
look that report. Okay.
Thank you.
We'll see.
Some in UN headquarters
approach Inner City Press
where they can, since the UN
Department of Public
Information still restricts
the Press, and say there's
concern "upstairs" about
events in Cameroon. But
despite the claimed focus on
preventative diplomacy, where
is there UN action on this?
Despite the restrictions,
Inner City Press will be
pushing forward with the
story. Watch this site and this one, where it
is reported that France
blocked any European Union
action on Cameroon and Paul
Biya's 94-day cut off of the
Internet in the Anglophone
regions, in part to keep its
hand in to compete
economically with China in
"its" FrancAfrique. When the
EU's Federica Mogherini came
to the UN Security Council
stakeout on May 9 for
questions, no Press questions
on Cameroon were allowed,
similar to Antonio Guterres'
spokesman disallowing
the question three times at
the recent joint African Union
stakeout. Nor was the Cameroon
question Inner City Press submitted
to Guterres' paid-entrance,
not livestreamed London
Q&A posed. We'll have more
on this.
This comes amid
reports that armaments
Cameroon got ostensibly to
fight Boko Haram have been
spotted in the Anglophone
regions. On May 2 when Inner
City Press told the UN's
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
that it had a question on
Cameroon, he walked off the
podium, as he has done before.
He and the UN Department of
Public Information, whose
Cameroon mis-information is
profiled below, worked
together to evict and still
restrict Inner City
Press.
Dujarric
repeatedly refused to tell
Inner City Press the name of
the acting Resident
Coordinator in Cameroon after
failed Najat Rochdi was
promoted and said to ask
UNICEF, Inner City Press did.
Inner City Press submitted
these questions to two UNICEF
spokespeople on April 20:
"Please state who are UNICEF
is the acting Resident
Coordinator in Cameroon and
what if anything they have
said and done about the 92 day
Internet cut off in two
regions, including to schools,
and on the current doctors
strikes. What is UNICEF's
position on the 92 Internet
cut off in Cameroon, as
impacts children and
otherwise?" UNICEF's Najwa
Mekki, Officer in Charge of
the Media Section, replied
"received, we'll get back to
you as soon as we can." Five
days later, nothing - not even
the name of who's the head of
UNICEF in Cameroon, despite a
second question to Dujarric
(who has declared Press
criticism of the UN's
performance to be harassment,
and threw Inner City Press out
of the Press Briefing Room and
has it still restricted after
14 months).
Troublingly, UN official
Francois Lonseny Fall has not
only overly-praised the Biya
government, but also admonished
that the Internet not be used
to "incite hatred or violence"
- precisely the pretext Biya
used to cut it off. Today's UN
is disgusting - we'll have
more on this.
Meanwhile when Inner City
Press asked UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
about Monthe's comments, the
UN had no response, wouldn't
even after weeks tell Inner
City Press who is in charge of
the UN in Cameroon, following
Guterres' promotion of Najat
Rochdi who said nothing about
the Internet and blocke on
Twitter Inner City Press which
is pursuing the issue. This is
today's UN - and today's
Cameroon. Watch this platform.
Earlier at
the April 21 noon briefing,
Inner City Press asked the
UN's holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric about it. UN transcript
here. Inner City Press:
On Cameroon the… after 94
days, the internet was turned
on in the regions but the
Government has said if there
is any further use of the
Internet for they say is hate
speech, other people say it’s
in opposition to the
Government, so I wanted to
know what is the UN’s comment
on how, going forward, the
right to Internet in those
areas? You also asked me
to ask UNICEF who the resident
acting, resident coordinator
is and I have and they
confirmed receipt but have not
stated it. So I’m
wondering shouldn’t there be
an online site saying who is
in charge of the UN system?
Spokesman: I’m sure they
will get back to you.
You can check with UNDP
(United Nations Development
Program) as well, but I just
don’t have the name in front
of me.
Inner City Press: My
other question, there are many
people who were arrested
during these 94 days who are
still in jail in Yaoundé, and
I’m wondering who in the UN
system is going to follow-up
on ensuring that…
Spokesman: I would refer
you back to Mr. [François]
Louncény Fall and he said he
would be back in Cameroon
This
is UNacceptable and shows why
the UN's shameful silence,
from Resident Coordinator
Najat Rochdi to the UN 38th
floor which promoted her and
won't answer simple questions
from Inner City Press but
prefers to keep it restricted
to minders, may portend badly,
and empower or embolden Biya
to do it again. So too with
the UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights:
Prince Zeid and his spokesman
Rupert Colville never answered
the Press on the topic,
choosing late in the process
to send Ahowanou Agbessi and
his deputy, quietly - so as
not to upset Paul Biya? We'll
have more on this.
The UN's shameful
role in Cameroon and
censorship should not be
forgotten. UN Resident
Coordinator to Cameroon Najat
Rochdi never raised the
issues, and on Twitter blocked
Inner City Press which did
raise it. Then UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' spokesman Stephane
Dujarric called Inner City
Press' criticism of the UN's
performance "harassment,"
and banned
Inner City Press from
asking Guterres about the
issue at a rare Guterres
question and answer stakeout
on April 19. Still the
question was asked and asked
again. Now more questions must
be asked. On April 19 when UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres had a rare Q&A
session, with the African
Union's Moussa Faki Mahamat,
Inner City Press went early,
with a UN minder, to stand in
the front and ask about
Cameroon. But Guterres'
holdover spokesman Stephane
Dujarric had pre-arranged
questions, several not on
Africa at all. Inner City
Press waited and then three
times audibly asked, "Cameroon
Internet cut?" Video
here. Guterres looked,
twice, but did not answer. His
Deputy has been asked in
writing about it. She has
headed, for what it's worth,
to the IMF and World Bank
meetings in Washington, with
Guterres to follow on April
20. Meanwhile on April 19 at
the UN noon briefing, their
holdover spokesman Dujarric
dissembled. From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: My next
question has to do with
Cameroon. In Cameroon,
there’s a doctors’ strike,
which has left many, many
people without any health-care
at all. So I wanted to
know if the UN has any
response and also, again, back
to this question, where does
it stand in choosing a new
Resident Coordinator, who
might address these type of
issues?
Spokesman: Replacement
for Resident Coordinators is
an ongoing process. When
one is… has been chosen and
agreed to by the Government,
we’ll announce it, as we do
with every country. In
the meantime, the country team
is headed by, I believe, the
UNICEF representative.
Inner City Press: I
know, and I’ve never… I’ve
gone to their website, and it
doesn’t list who the person
is. So you say reach
them, but it’s not as easy as
you seem to say. I
wanted to know whether you
think that between the
internet still being turned
off and this doctor strike and
the President having been in
power for 35 years and being
out of the country, does the
UN see this as as these issues
as somewhat related, as sort
of a prevention of conflict
issue given…
Spokesman: I think the…
the… as Mr. [François]
Louncény Fall said, he would
encourage both the Government
and the other communities to
engage in a constructive
manner.
The Ban
Ki-moon era of the UN,
culminating in two separate
corruption indictments in the
US District Court for the
South District of NY, seems to
be continuing, along with the
restrictions imposed on Inner
City Press for covering the
corruption cases and their
links to the UN Department of
Public Information and
Dujarric's office and friends.
Most recently, on Cameroon,
the UN's Dujarric
characterized Press criticism
of its officials' cover ups to
be "harassment"
after the Department of Public
Information evicted
and continues
to restrictInner
City Press, petition
here,
update here.
On April 18 when the US
Mission convened a rare UN
Security Council meeting about
human rights, Inner City Press
asked UK Ambassador Matthew
Rycroft if the UK views the
cut off of the Internet to
millions of people in Cameroon
as a human rights issues. Video here. Rycroft
said he had nothing to add to
what he'd previously told
Inner City Press: that the
situation in the Anglophone
areas is not a threat to peace
and security (although the UN
keeps it under review). So
what would be required, to
make the UK and UNSC take note
of it? And what about France,
whose Francois Delattre also
spoke in front of the Council,
but didn't mention Cameroon?
We'll have more on this- watch
this platform.
On April 17,
Inner City Press asked UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric about threats against
clergy in Cameroon, the
Internet cut and of any
attempt by Guterres to reach
Paul Biya, who has been
president of Cameroon for
decades. UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: on Cameroon
and Louncény Fall, I found his
full quote where he said that
he trusts that the internet
will be gradually or
progressively introduced to
the rest of the country.
I guess I, many people that
were left wondering, is it
acceptable to only have it be
in institutions? What’s
the expectation of the UN in
terms of the timing? And also,
since then, the Catholic
clergy have received these,
these threats of massive
fines. They’ve
distributed on Easter to their
congregants, basically for
taking part in a nonviolent
protest of the treatment of
Anglophones, they face
closure.
Spokesman: I would refer
you to what Mr Louncény Fall
said. I echoed what he
said. Obviously, we
would like to see a return of
the internet as soon as
possible, and that’s the
discussions he’s been having
with the Government.
Inner City Press: Did he
attempt to talk to Paul
Biya? This is a… because
as you… as you may know, Jeune
Afrique and other publications
have said that António
Guterres sought to Paul, to
speak to Paul Biya and was
unable to, and I’m just
wondering [inaudible]…
Spokesman: I’m not
aware, I’m not aware of the
level of, whether or not Mr.
Louncény Fall attempted to
speak to Paul Biya. He
spoke to the highest
authorities he was able to
speak to. You’re free to
contact his office for more
details.
Inner City Press: I’m
asking you about the 38th
floor. Did anyone on the
38th floor, whether
Secretary-General or Deputy
Secretary-General… [inaudible]
Spokesman: I’m not going
to get into details of people
attempting to call one person
or another.
In
early April the Office of the
Spokesperson run by Dujarric
told Inner City Press, we've
heard you questions, if we
have anything to add we'll let
you know. Video
here. Even that was a
lie: UN envoy Lonseny Fall
went again to the country,
with this
purporting to be his
statement, and read-out here.
But what has it come to?
Consider this court
prosecution of clergy,
to try to put an end to
legitimate protest. The UN so
far has issued a weak, late
statement then tried to move
on, calling any criticism
harassment and continuing to
hinder coverage of the UN's
deeds and misdeeds. We'll have
more on this.
On April
13, Inner City Press asked UN
Spokesman Dujarric, video
here, UN transcript here: Inner
City Press: can you confirm
that the Secretary-General
sought to speak with Paul Biya
while he was on an extended
stay in Geneva, as has been
reported?
Spokesman: No, I have no
confirmation of a call having
taken place.
Inner
City
Press:
I mean, I'm not asking
[inaudible]…
Spokesman: I have no
information.
Inner
City
Press:
Okay. And I wanted to
know, people there saying,
even in the wake of the visit
of Louncény Fall, that, for
example, a Supreme Court
Justice, Paul Ayah remains,
was only today, you know,
remanded to remain in
prison. So they're not
seeing much changes. And
I'm wondering, is this
something that… that Mr.
Louncény Fall looked into
while he was there, the
continued detention of
barristers and those who have
advocated for fair treatment
of [inaudible]?
Spokesman: What I just
said is, in fact, that, in his
contacts with the Government,
Mr Louncény Fall advocated for
the release of a number of
Anglophone leaders and
others. So I think
that's clear that's one of the
things he was advocating for.
Inner
City
Press:
And, finally, I wanted to ask
you about the Resident
Coordinator position.
Given that the previous
Resident Coordinator didn't
raise any of the issues that
you've just mentioned while
she was there, is there any
progress on naming a new one…
Spokesman: I don't know
that, and I don't know if you
know that, but okay.
Anyway, next… what's your
question?
Inner
City
Press:
The people that are there say
it, and she also blocked the
press…
Spokesman: I think she
blocks you, but…
Question: Yeah, she
does.
Spokesman: …that's her
right.
Inner
City
Press:
In what capacity does she
block it?
Spokesman: Well, I think
anyone who has seen your
tweets, I think, sometimes
they do cross the line, I
think, into harassment, and
people block you from time to
time.
Inner City Press:
Interesting.
Spokesman: Indeed.
How
trustworthy is today's UN if
they stonewall then withhold
information, while continuing
to block - a la Najat Rochdi -
and restrict the Press which
asks about Cameroon and denial
of the right to information?
On April 12 when there was a
press conference at the UN
about the death penalty, Inner
City Press asked the panelist
from Amnesty International
about the Paul Biya
government's threat of the
death penalty against
Anglophone advocates,
including the UN's own former
legal adviser Felix
Agbar-Balla. The AI speaker
said Inner City Press knew
more about Cameroon, but that
AI is concerned. We hope so -
about the outrageous ongoing
Internet cut as well. Watch
this site.
On April 5, Inner
City Press asked the UN
Spokesperson's Office,
Associate Spokesperson Eri
Kaneko, what if anything the
UN has done about the Internet
cut. Video
here. From the UN's transcript:
Inner City Press:
there are issues in
Cameroon. There are a
number of issues of the
Anglophone areas, but there's
one in particular, which is
now an 80-day cut-off of the
internet to two regions of the
country. So, in the
answers that have been
provided about what [Francois]
Loncény Fall has done, there's
no reference to this pretty
open-and-shut issue. Is
there some way you can either
ask DPA [Department of
Political Affairs] or his
office, like, what's being
done on this? Does the
UN… has the UN in any way
conveyed to the Government of
Cameroon that whatever the
other issues are that turning
off the internet to whole
regions of the country is not
a good idea?
Associate Spokesperson:
We heard your question, and if
we have anything to add
further, we'll let you
know.
Further?
Nothing has been done.
The day
before on April 4, Agnes
Marcaillou, Director of the
United Nations Mine Action
Service, mentioned work in
Cameroon so Inner City Press
asked about it and the
Internet cut. Video
here. She replied that
"we all read Inner City Press"
and for that reason know about
the Internet cut, but her
answer was about Boko Haram.
We'll have more on this.
On March 31,
Inner City Press put a
question about the outrage of
Cameroon saying it will accede
to the UN "electronic
communications" treaty while
denying such communications to
millions of people to UN
Spokesman Farhan Haq, video
here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press:
Given that the internet has
been turned off to millions of
people for 76 days, I noticed
that the Government says that
it’s going to be depositing a
ratification of something
called a UN convention on the
use of electronic
communications in
international contracts.
And I wanted to know, will the
Secretariat… do they have any
role in… in… in reviewing the
sort of legitimacy of
ratifications or… or… what
would you say about a country
that’s turned off the internet
to its own population
depositing a ratification to
an electronic communications
convention at that time?
Deputy Spokesman: Those
are separate issues.
Regarding treaties, all
treaties are looked at to see
whether the instruments…
whether the treaties are
properly filed as they’re
being deposited.
How could
this one be "properly filed"?
But the UN's strategy has been
to use Cristina "The Evicter"
Gallach to restrict Inner City
Press' access to cover the UN
on such issues, even now that
she has ostensibly
left. We'll have more on
this. On the afternoon of
Friday, March 31 the UN sent
Inner City Press this, stating
that its UNOCA envoy Francois
Lonseny Fall intends to visit
Cameroon in early April, and
other responses which we
immediately publish in full:
"Your questions on Cameroon:
The United Nations Secretariat
continues to follow closely
the situation in the Republic
of Cameroon through the United
Nations Regional Office for
Central Africa (UNOCA). The
Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) has been
monitoring the court
proceedings and allegations of
human rights violations. We
are concerned about the trial
of civilians by a military
court. The High Commissioner
for Human Rights has raised
these concerns with the
Government of Cameroon in a
letter dated 24 February
2017. In our various
contacts, we have called on
the authorities to address the
situation in a measured and
peaceful manner, while abiding
by their international human
rights commitments. SRSG Fall
has visited Cameroon several
times to address these issues
and plans to visit Cameroon in
early April, subject to
confirmation of meetings, to
engage with the Government and
reiterate the availability of
the United Nations to support
national efforts to promote an
inclusive dialogue in order to
address the root causes of the
crisis, while respecting the
territorial integrity and
unity of the Republic of
Cameroon. With regard to
the two specific cases cited,
we have confirmed that Robert
Fon was indeed released on
bail on 27 March. We
understand that Mr. Felix
Agbor Nkongho, as his two
co-accused (Fontem Afoteka
Neba and Mancho Bibixy), is
facing trial for various
alleged offences in connection
with the situation in the
Anglophone regions. Their
lawyers requested they be
freed on bail. The court is
reportedly set to examine the
request when the case is taken
up again on 7 April.
Concerning reports of the
closure by the Government of a
TV station in Western region
of Cameroon, we are continuing
our efforts to verify the
allegation."
As
reported on March 30 by Inner
City Press, Cameroon says it
is poised to ratify the UN's
Convention on the Use of
Electronic Communications in
International Contracts,
adopted on November 23, 2005
in New York. How could the UN
accept and deposit such a
ratification? Cameroonian
Minister of Trade, Lucile
Magloire Mbarga Atangana cited
the United Nations Commission
on International Trade Law or
UNCITRAL, one of the entities
routinely meeting in UN
conference rooms with little
notice by the UN-facilitated
media. This must change. When
Cameroon forced refugees back
into Nigeria, the UN rightly
complained. Why not, then, of
Cameroon's now more than
70-day Internet cut-off in its
Anglophone areas, leading to
the creation of an "Internet
refugee camp" in Bonako?
Meanwhile French firms
continue pursuing money under
Paul Biya, including Sofema
selling a patrol boat to
Biya's navy, and Tessi
ironically moving in the
"digitization" market in
Francophone Cameroon. The UN
on March 28 answered others of
Inner City Press' questions,
but not the one about former
UN legal adviser Felix Agbor
Balla. The UN is being asked
today again about Agbor Balla,
and about the arrested lawyer
Robert
Fon, former
President of Northwest Common
Law Lawyers’ Association,
arrested and transferred to
Yaounde. On March 29 Inner
City Press asked the UN:
"Because UNanswered, asking
again: In Cameroon, former UN
legal adviser (in UNAMA and
elsewhere) Felix Agbor Balla
now, according to a UK-based
barristers' organization,
faces a military trial with
the death penalty on the table
for speaking out about
conditions in the country's
Anglophone areas, where the
Internet has been cut for 71
days and counting.
Particularly given
Agbor-Balla's former position
as a UN legal expert, what is
not only the UN's comment, but
what is the UN doing to
attempt to ensure he receives
due process? Also, what about
the arrest of human rights
lawyer Robert Fon and his
transfer to Yaounde?" But
while the UN responded to
other questions from Inner
City Press, nothing on this
one. Nothing.
With former UN
legal adviser Felix
Agbor-Balla in Cameroon facing
a military trial with the
death penalty on the table, a
UK-based legal group has
written to Cameroonian
president Paul Biya (here)
while his former employer the
UN has done... nothing.
Inner City Press will be
asking the UN yet
again, while also
seeking action and responses
from others. With the UN's
response to weeks of questions
about repression and Internet
cut off in Cameroon from Inner
City Press being two ambiguous
statements about the work of
its Francois Lonseny Fall, on
the morning of March 27 Inner
City Press asked the UN's
three top spokespeople: "In
Cameroon, on which you've said
the UN's Lonseny Fall is
working, now the government
has acted against TV station
CRTV reporting on unrest in
Western Cameroon. What is your
comment, and what is Lonseny
Fall or anyone else in the UN
system doing about it? As
asked before, what is the
status of naming the next
Resident Coordinator, and
confirm if Najat Rochdi has
begun at Deputy SRSG post in
CAR." At the day's UN
noon briefing, sans
UN-restricted Inner City
Press, spokesperson Farhan Haq
faced only two questions.
Afterward his Office sent
Inner City Press this, which
we publish in full: "Regarding
the question you asked about
Cameroon, the United Nations
Regional Office for Central
Africa (UNOCA), and the UN
Country Team in Cameroon
continue to follow events in
the country. Concerning
reports of the closure by the
Government of a TV station in
Western region of Cameroon,
our colleagues are looking
into the allegations. We
remain concerned about reports
of pressure being placed on
press organs in Cameroon that
are working on the situation
in the Anglophone Regions,
including reports of arrests
and even alleged disappearance
of journalists."
Cameroon
Anglophone human rights
defenders set for show trials
on March 23 ran into a new
trick: the government trying
to join the cases of 25 more
defendants with theirs. From
collective punishment to
collective trials. The ruling
on that will now be on April
7. Tellingly, Voice of
America's story
didn't even mention the
Internet cut-off for more than
60 days in Anglophone
Cameroon, not that defendant
Felix Agbor Balla was a UN
legal adviser, for whom
today's UN does nothing. VOA
and the UN: birds
of a feather.
While the UN first stonewalled
then issued misleading
statements about Cameroon,
where the Internet has been
cut off by the government in
the Northwest and Southwest
(Anglophone) regions for more
than 60 days and counting,
Inner City Press March 21,
Inner City Press asked the
UN's deputy spokesman Farhan
Haq about the summons against
Akere Muna, the lawyer for a
former UN legal adviser,
Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla.
UN's March 21 Transcript
here and below. On March
22, Inner City Press asked the
UN about the underlying
detention of Agbor-Balla. Video
here; UN
transcript here:
Inner City
Press: I wanted to ask
you a Cameroon question.
I'd asked you yesterday about
this lawyer that's been
summoned in, and there's
growing outrage about
that. But, actually,
he's the lawyer for a person
that used to be a UN legal
adviser in UNAMA [United
Nations Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan] named Felix Agbor
Balla. He's a lawyer
that worked for the UN and now
has been detained for
months. Several US
Congresspeople have, in fact,
raised the issue. And
I'm just wondering, one,
particularly in the case of a
former UN staff locked up
seemingly without any type of
due process, locked up only
for advocacy, is there any UN
role in these cases in
actually looking into this
individual case of a… of a
former UN legal adviser now
under detention in Yaoundé?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
we would certainly expect that
due process is followed.
We want to make sure that…
especially that human rights
defenders are not being
prosecuted unfairly and those
would be key concerns.
Agbor-Balla's continued
detention has triggered
protest from, as it happens,
the US state of Indiana, where
Congress members of both
parties have spoken out:
Democrat André Carson and
Republican Jackie Walorski.
But the UN, after two weeks of
Press questions, offered only
a statement by its Francois
Lonseny Fall, largely covering
up for the government of Paul
Biya, in power for 32 years.
What good is the UN? The
question is becoming louder:
watch this site.
Back
on March 17, lead UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric had returned
with an answer: "in response
to the situation in the
Anglophone regions of
Cameroon, the UN Special
Representative of the
Secretary-General and Head of
the UN Regional Office for
Central Africa (UNOCA), Mr.
François Louncény Fall,
carried out a number of visits
to the country to discuss with
the concerned parties the
situation on the ground.
His office has also carried
out a number of working-level
visits. Mr. Fall will
continue efforts to engage
with all relevant parties and
to monitor the situation in
close cooperation with the
Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR).We firmly
believe that the grievances
expressed by the Anglophone
regions can only be addressed
through an inclusive
dialogue. In that
regard, we note that, on 15
March, the President of
Cameroon appointed the
president and 13
representatives to the
National Commission for the
promotion of Bilingualism and
Multiculturalism, the body
tasked to engage in dialogue
with the Anglophone community
of Cameroon."
But "all
relevant parties" does not
appear to include France,
whose UN Ambassador Francois
Delattre told Inner City Press
earlier on March 17 he was
unaware of the issue.
In front
of the UN Security Council on
March 17 Inner City Press
asked France's Ambassador to
the UN Francois Delattre about
his counterpart in Yaounde,
Gilles Thibault, earlier this
month congratulating
32-year President Paul Biya
for how he's dealing with the
areas. Delattre replied that
he was unaware but would look
into it. Video
here.
Back on
March 14 Inner City Press
asked the US State Department:
"Back on November 28, 2016,
the Department issued a
statement of 'concern[] over
recent Cameroonian government
actions to restrict free
expression.' Since then, the
government has cut off the
Internet in the two regions,
also known as the Anglophone
areas, has arrested
journalists and most schools
remain closed. Is the US State
Department concerned about
these developments and if so,
what if anything has it done
about them?"
On March
15, a US State Department
official answered Inner City
Press: "We have discussed this
issue with the Government of
Cameroon both before and after
our statement of
concern. We don’t go
into the details of our
diplomatic conversations, but
we engage regularly with the
government on this and other
issues as part of our normal
bilateral relations." We hope
to have more on this.
On March
9, Inner City Press asked both
the International Monetary
Fund and the UN Security
Council's president about the
crisis in Cameroon's
Anglophone areas and heard
that while the IMF
acknowledges the financial
risk, the Security Council
does not see it as a threat to
international peace and
security. But the UN's
Resident Coordinator Najat
Rochdi has said nothing about
the crisis, and blocks
on Twitter the Press
which asks about it. Is the UN
system failing, in its new
Secretary General's promise of
increased preventative
diplomacy?
When the
IMF's spokesperson Gerry Rice
took questions on March 9,
Inner City Press asked about
Cameroon, specifically the
crackdown in the northwest and
southwest of the country.
Inner City Press asked, "On
Cameroon, after the mission
led by Corinne Delechat, what
is the status of talks for a
program, and since the IMF
cited “civil unrest in the
neighboring Central African
Republic,” please state the
IMF's awareness of civil
unrest and arrests in
Northwest and Southwest
Cameroon, also known as the
Anglophone areas, and their
impact." Rice read out the
question and then said, among
other things, that the risk
factors for 2017 include a
continuation of the "social
and political events" in the
"so-called Anglophone" areas
of Cameroon. Interim
video here. On IMF
site, here,
from 34:56. IMF
transcript below.
But a few
hours later when Inner City
Press asked the month's UN
Security Council president
Matthew Rycroft of the UK, who
had just been in Cameroon,
about the crisis, he said it
is not a threat to
international peace and
security. From the UK
transcript:
Inner City Press:
In Cameroon there’s an issue
that has been existing since
November in Anglophone areas
which have no internet for 52
days, there’s been teachers
arrested, no schools. So I’m
wondering as one Council
member said, it did somehow
come up in meetings, but was
the issue raised at all, and
what response was given by the
government to this ongoing cut
off of internet and abuse in
this area?
Amb Rycroft: It came up
informally in our contacts
with members of the Government
of Cameron but as far as I
recall it did not come up in
any formal meeting, and I
think that makes sense because
we were going there to look at
the threat to international
peace and security, and Boko
Haram, and related issues, but
in private, informal
discussions with ministers in
the Government of Cameroon it
came up and they gave us the
benefit of their perspective
on the issue.
Inner City Press: Is there any
Security Council role that can
be played in trying to
preventively deal with this
issue?
Amb Rycroft: I don’t think
it’s an issue on our agenda
per se, we keep our eye on our
radar across the world, but we
have to make a judgement about
whether something is a threat
to international peace and
security, and at the moment, I
think our judgement would be
that issue is an issue that is
confined within Cameroon
without international aspects.
But the UN
Resident Coordinator does
nothing about it, says
nothing, blocks the Press.
We
raise
the question:
how are UN
Resident
Coordinators
selected?
Inner City
Press reported
on Ban
Ki-moon's son
in law
Siddharth
Chatterjee
getting
multiple
promotion
under Ban,
including
being named UN
Resident
Coordinator in
Kenya by Ban
himself.
(Inner City
Press was evicted
by Ban's UN,
and remains
restricted
under Ban's
successor).
But shouldn't
Anglophone
Cameroonians
have some
input into the
UN's next
Resident
Coordinator in
their country?
This is a
project for
the Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
@FUNCA_info.
Watch these
sites and
feeds.
"There is a
question of Cameroon, from
Matthew Lee, "After the
Mission what is the status of
talks for a program; and since
the IMF cited civil unrest in
the neighboring Central
African Republic, please state
the IMF's awareness of civil
unrest and arrests in
Northwest and Southwest
Cameroon? And also known as
the Anglophone areas, and
their impact?"
So, the background here is, I
think important the context.
So, the Fund's engagement here
in the CEMAC Region, CEMAC is
the six Central African
Economic nations that comprise
the Central African Economic
and monetary community. They
met in Yaoundé on December
23rd. The Managing Director
was there. And in that
meeting, heads of state
discussed the economic
situation, the severe shocks
that have hit that CEMAC
region in recent years,
including the sharp decline in
oil prices, and decided to act
collectively and in a
concerted manner. And the
heads of state requested the
assistance of the IMF to
design economic reforms needed
to reestablish macroeconomic
stability in each country and
in the region as a whole.
So, again, context: I can tell
you that the funders already
sent missions to Gabon,
Republic of Congo. And a
reminder to you, that we
already have programs with
Central African Republic and
Chad. Okay?
Now, we also have sent a
mission to Cameroon, which is
the question. And we did issue
a press statement, which the
question referred to, just on
Tuesday. That was the Corrine
Delechat reference.
So, the specific question, to
turn to that. We are indeed
aware of the events in the
so-called Anglophone regions
of Cameroon. The macroeconomic
impact of any event that could
affect production and/or
consumption, is typically felt
with a certain lag. So, these
events started in November
last year, and thus are likely
to have not had a significant
impact on production in 2016.
For 2017, the risks to our
growth outlook include a
combination of external and
domestic factors, including
continuation of the
sociopolitical events in the
northwest and southwest
regions of Cameroon. And as
our press release the other
day indicated, our view is
that the medium-term outlook
for the Cameroonian economy
remains positive, subject to
the implementation of
appropriate policies."
We'll have more
on this. Watch this site.
***
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