On
Cameroon Life Sentences Now UN
Guterres Takes Note and Hopes
Detention Is Humane
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR PFT NYP
UNITED NATIONS
GATE, August 22 –After
Cameroon
imposed life
sentences and
massive fines
on Ayuk
Tabe and nine
others, for
days UN
Secretary
General
Antonio
Guterres
refused to
answer the
written questions
and request
for comment
from Inner
City Press
which Guterres
has banned
from the UN
for 415 days.
Now on
August 22 his
spokesman after
receiving or
arranging a
question about
"Anglophiles" replied
that Guterres
"takes note"
of the
sentences -
and hopes that
the detention
is humane.
This is
disgusting,
coming as
it does after
Guterres took
a golden
statue from
Paul Biya and
favors from
him while
Cameroon was chair
of the UN
Budget
Committee.
After
Biya who has
ruled Cameroon
for 37
years on
January 28 had
his opponent
Maurice Kamto
arrested,
Inner City
Press again asked UN
Secretary
General Antonio
Guterres and
his spokesmen for
their comment
and action, if
any. This came
after Guterres
had Inner City
Press roughed
up on 3
July 2018
after it
interviewed Biya's
Ambassador
about the two
men's Budget
Committee
deals and banned
from the UN
since -
Guterres even tried
to get Inner
City Press
banned from
the Park East
Synagogue,
here, which
was denied /
dodged by his
French spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, who put
up then took
down a podcast
in which he
brags about
his "mutually
assured
destruction"
relationship
with
journalists, here.
On
August 19 with
Guterres missing
for a 17th day in a
row, in public
schedule
simply
blank, illegally detained
Anglophone opposition
leaders return
to the Yaounde
Military
Tribunal. Their
case was adjourned
the last time
out after the
lawyers of the
detained
staged a walk
out to protest
against
attempts by
the panel of
judges to
charge their
clients
despite the
fact that
appeals are
pending are
pending at
higher
jurisdictions.
The health of
some of the
detainees
deteriorates
as one of them
collapsed in
court during
the last
hearing. Does
Guterres care? He and
his spokesmen
and
Communicator Melissa
Fleming refuse
day after day
to refuse
Press
questions
about
Cameroon. On
August 19,
both Guterres
and Fleming
refused to
answer Inner
City Press'
written
questions
about Ayuk
Tabe, Tassang
Wilfried, Nfor
Ngala Nfor et
al, thereby
emboldening
the Biya's
kangaroo
court.
Then
overnight on
August 20 came
news that
Ayuk Tabe and
the others
have been
given LIFE
SENTENCES and
an enormous
fine, by
Biya's
military judge
Judge
Lieutenant
Colonel MISSE
NJONE Jacques
B.
Early on the
morning of
August 20,
Inner City
Press e-mailed
questions
to Guterres,
Dujarric,
Melissa
Fleming, Amina
J. Mohammed
and others
including:
"August 20-1:
On Cameroon,
after you
refused
yesterday to
answer in any
way banned
Inner City
Press'
question about
Paul Biya's
military
"trial" of
Ayuk Tabe and
others, what
now is the
SG's comment
and action if
any on the
LIFE SENTENCES
now handed
out?"
At the UN noon
briefing
Inner City
Press was
banned from
by Guterres
for the 413th
day in a row,
there was not
a single
questions
about anything
in Africa.
And Dujarric
made no
answer,
nor provided
any answer -
even by six
pm.
Then on August
22 in response
to a question
about "Anglophiles,"
Dujarric said
that Guterres
"takes note" of
the life
sentences to
"Mister Tabe"
and nine
others - and that he
hopes the
detention is
humane. This
is disgusting. We'll
have more on
this.
More
here.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
Past (and
future?) UN Office: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now: Box 20047,
Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2019 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
|
,
