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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT NYP

UNITED NATIONS Gate, February 5 – In Cameroon Biya's Minister Delegate of Justice Momo Jean de Dieu has on camera warned that Biya's opponents "might end up like 'arrogant' Jews whom Hitler put in gas chambers" - his words, video here. Now while the UN says it hasn't even taken the time to look at the video that Inner City Press sent, this from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: "I am proud to announce the appointment of Elan S. Carr as the United States Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism.  Special Envoy Carr is a former criminal prosecutor, and currently serves as a military officer.  He has also served as an anti-terrorism expert, and a Jewish community leader who has played a prominent role in defending the safety of the Jewish people at home and abroad.  Promoting human rights and religious freedom, including by combating anti-Semitism everywhere it exists is a U.S. foreign policy priority that furthers our national interests of stability and democracy.  We will not stand by in the face of oppression. We will work to stamp out prejudice and condemn hatred in all of its forms." Start with Cameroon, as Guterres refuses to? Inner City Press in writing asked Guterres, his deputy Amina J. Mohammed, his USG Alison Smale and lead spokesman Stephane Dujarric, "a formal question for immediate answer and confirmation of receipt   Cameroon Biya's Minister Delegate of Justice Momo Jean de Dieu has on camera warned that Biya's opponents "might end up like 'arrogant' Jews whom Hitler put in gas chambers" - his words, video here.      What is the SG's comment and action on this?" 26 hours later and counting, nothing. In fact at the February 5 noon briefing Dujarric said he was unaware of the comments, hadn't seen them despite Inner City Press twice emailing the video to him. This is the disgusting state of the UN under Guterres, who hours after skipping a human rights meeting about Venezuela in the UN Security Council intoned, "the efforts of the UN system in countering hate speech and to devise a global plan of action to deepen this essential work. We had, just last Saturday in Park East Synagogue, a very moving testimony from Rabbi Schneier proposing that we should gather Ministers of Education all over the world to make sure that in schools these questions are clearly introduced in the curricula and that students will never be able to deny these facts. Because indeed, countering hate speech is essential to preventing hate crimes." He is not countering. In fact, he tried to have the Press which covers his hypocrisy removed from the Park East Synagogue. Now, tellingly, with Guterres and his team refusing to respond in any way to the Holocaust statements of the minister of justice of Paul Biya, with whom Guterres bragged at a briefing Inner City Press was banned from he has spoken with at least six times, Biya's defense is in state media of China, which Guterres supports.  Absurdly, they claim the minister's rant, speaking on Cameroon state television, was "strictly personal," and seem to respond only has a matter of diplomatic relations with another state. Rene Sadi, Cameroonian minister of Communication and government spokesman said "The government of Cameroon strongly deplores the irrelevant comments of (Jean de Dieu Momo) and completely dissociates itself," said Sadi in the statement, adding that the minister's comments were "strictly personal."   During an interview on state media on Sunday, Cameroon's Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Justice Jean de Dieu Momo compared Cameroon's opposition party, Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) to the Jews "who were crushed by Hitler because of arrogance." "It (Cameroonian government) wishes to recall that Cameroon and the state of Israel maintain excellent and historic relations," Sadi said.  Really? Even banned, Inner City Press exclusively reported that inside the UN in a closed door meeting with staff Guterres said that human rights questions to governments are impolite and arrogant. Video here. Maybe that's why the most his Resident Coordinator in Cameroon Allegra Baiocchi can muster, as Biya's slaughters Anglophones after Guterres' envoy Francois Lounceny Fall equated secessionist with extremists is to re-tweet a group that didn't consider Cameroon a top 90 problem in its 2018 World Report, on the proposition that If you say, 'Killing civilians is acceptable, because we’re fighting terrorists,' Then you’d probably make a pretty good terrorist. Was that passive aggressive pseudo-trolling of Paul Biya? To this has the UN been reduced by Guterres. And this, on supposed reform: after the power grab of the Resident Coordinator system from UN Development Programm to Amina J. Mohammed, now coming to Cameroon as UNDP's new "Resident Representative" is a PhD student at Science Po Bordeau, Jean-Luc Stalon. Can you see, FrancAfrique? This is how Guterres' UN works, or doesn't.  On Cameroon here is what Inner City Press has asked in writing to Guterres, his deputy Amina J. Mohammed (in Nigeria), USG Alison Smale, spokesman Farhan Haq and Stephane Dujarric and others: "While your Administration and Office of the Spokesperson have refused to answer a single written question from Inner City Press for fourteen work days, in contravention of conventions USG Smale made to UN Special Rapporteur David Kaye and Spokesman Dujarric made on camera, two formal questions for immediate answer and confirmation of receipt  1) in Cameroon it is reported that opposition figure Maurice Kamto as been arrested, after the 100+ arrests and shootings Inner City Press asked you about earlier today. Please explain how it is legitimate to ban from enter into the UN the media that has been asking about these and other questions, with no hearing or appeal.  On deadline." For sixteen hours, no answer, no acknowledgment of receipt, nothing.  More here.

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