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By Matthew Russell Lee, Video, 1st Person, this

UNITED NATIONS, April 24 -- With France's Emmanuel Macron in Washington portraying himself as the mascot of multilateralism and even human rights, his government's record of covering for the killings of Cameroon's Paul Biya and in Gabon and Togo are not as much covered. But a pillar of FrancAfrique, Bollore, has been detained for corruption; in Cameroon Biya's 36 year rule is beginning to unravel. Meanwhile, here is the attendance list for the state dinner in DC: The Honorable Jerome Adams, Surgeon General, and Mrs. Lacey Adams

His Excellency Gérard Araud, Ambassador of France to the United States of America and Mr. Pascal Blondeau

Mr. Bernard Arnault and Mrs. Hélène Arnault

Her Excellency Nicole Belloubet, Keeper of the Seals and Minister of Justice

Mr. Phillippe Besson

His Excellency Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister of National Education

The Honorable John Bolton and Mrs. Gretchen Bolton

Mr. Thierry Breton

His Excellency Christian Cambon, Senator for Val-de-Marne, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Senate

Ms. Laurence des Cars

The Honorable William Cassidy, United States Senator from Louisiana, and Dr. Laura Cassidy

Mr. Timothy Cook and The Honorable Lisa Jackson

Mr. Pierre-Olivier Costa

Ms. Sarah Coulson and Dr. Douglas Bradburn

Mr. Christian Dargnat

His Excellency Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs

Ms. Meghan Duggan

The Honorable John Bel Edwards, Governor of Louisiana and Mrs. Donna Edwards

Ms. Laurence Engel

His Excellency Philippe Étienne, Diplomatic Advisor, G7 and G20 Sherpa of the President of the Republic

Ms. Barbara Frugier, International Communication Advisor to the Presidency of the Republic

The Honorable Joseph Hagin

Mr. David Hamilton and Mrs. Catharine Hamilton

Mrs. Marillyn Hewson and Mr. James Hewson

The Honorable Fiona Hill and Mr. Kenneth Keen

The Honorable Stuart Holliday, former Ambassador for the United States, and Mrs. Gwen Holliday

The Honorable John F. Kelly and Mrs. Karen Kelly

The Honorable John Kennedy, United States Senator from Louisiana, and Mrs. Rebecca Kennedy

The Honorable Henry Kissinger and Mrs. Nancy Kissinger

Mr. Henry Kravis and Mrs. Marie-Josée Kravis

The Honorable Lawrence Kudlow and Mrs. Judith Kudlow

The Honorable Jared Kushner and The Honorable Ivanka Trump

Ms. Christine Lagarde

The Honorable Ronald Lauder, former Ambassador for the United States, and Mrs. Jo Carole Lauder

His Excellency Aurélien Lechevallier, Deputy Diplomatic Advisor, G7 and G20 Sherpa of the President of the Republic

The Honorable Paul LePage, Governor of Maine and Ms. Lauren LePage

The Honorable Christopher Liddell and Mrs. Renee Liddell

His Excellency Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy and Finance

The Honorable James Mattis, Secretary of Defense

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy and Mrs. Judy McCarthy

The Honorable Jamie McCourt, American Ambassador

Mrs. Ronna McDaniel and Mr. Patrick McDaniel

The Honorable Stephen Miller

Mr. Emmanuel Miquel

The Honorable Aaron Wess Mitchell and Mrs. Elizabeth Mitchell

The Honorable Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury and Ms. Louise Linton

Dr. Mary Morton and Mr. Keith Forman

Mr. Rupert Murdoch and Mrs. Jerry Murdoch

The Honorable Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security and Mr. Chad Wolf

Her Excellency Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces

The Vice President of the United States and Mrs. Karen Pence

Mr. Emanuel Perrotin

Mr. Thomas Pesquet

The Most Revered Christophe Pierre, Titular Archbishop of Guneia, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States

Mr. Hervé Pierre Braillard

The Honorable Michael Pompeo and Mrs. Susan Pompeo

The Honorable Dina Powell and The Honorable David McCormick

General Benoît Puga

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Mrs. Jane Roberts

Admiral Bernard Rogel

The Honorable John F. W. Rogers and Ms. Deborah Lehr

Mrs. Virginia Rometty and Mr. Anthony Mark Rometty

The Honorable, Wilbur L. Ross, Junior, The Secretary of Commerce and Mrs. Hilary Ross

The Honorable Edward Royce, United States Representative from California and Mrs. Maria Royce

Mr. David Rubenstein and Ms. Gabrielle Rubenstein

The Honorable, Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and Mrs. Janna Ryan

The Honorable Sarah Sanders and Mr. Bryan Sanders

Her Excellency Marielle de Sarnez, National Assembly Member for Paris, President of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee

Mr. Guy Savoy

Mr. Stephen Schwarzman and Mrs. Christine Schwarzman

The Honorable Thomas Shannon, Jr.

Mr. John Shuster

Ms. Annette Simmons and Mr. Gerald Fronterhouse

Mr. Frederick Smith and Mrs. Diane Smith

The Honorable, John J. Sullivan, Deputy Secretary of State and Ms. Graciela Rodriguez

Mrs. Julie Sweet and Mr. Chad Sweet

Mr. Hugo Verges

Dr. Benedict Wolf and Mrs. Ursula Wolf." The deference of the UN system's and many of its member states to Cameroon's corrupt 36-year president Paul Biya, and their complicity in his recent crackdown, continues, as does that of France. While the World Bank is praising a program with Cameroon about endangered wood - ironic after the findings of the last CITES conference - the Biya government is destroying historic places like Boa Bakundu, reportedly burning alive another grandmother, this time Frida Ndumu. Yes on February 23 French Ambassador to Cameroon Gilles Thibault met for two hours with Paul Biya with a glowing read-out afterward, including: "Cooperation between Cameroon and France rooted during United Nations Mandatory and Trusteeship periods has been growing from strength to strength. Reason why the French diplomat after the fraternal discussions with President Paul Biya told reporters, 'There are many topics which are interesting to Cameroon and France. We discussed about the situation in France and also in Cameroon, and of course, about issues of common interest: Development, security, about the fight against terrorism and 2018 which is an electoral year for Cameroon.'" Re-election of a 36 year "president" who has spent many of those years in Geneva. This is FrancAfrique. Meanwhile after illegal refoulement to Yaounde from Nigeria, and ongoing crackdowns, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' humanitarian deputy official Ursula Mueller has offered "congratulations" to Biya's foreign minister Mbella Mbella. Photo and UNanswered Press question here. Now on February 26 after four day Mueller has issued a funding plea for Biya's Cameroon, with a perfunctory reference to the western regions at the end: "Concluding a four-day visit to Cameroon, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ursula Mueller, called on the international community and the Government to step up support to humanitarian actions in the country. During the visit, she met with the Minister of External Relations and the Governor of the Far North.... Ms. Mueller’s visit was also an opportunity to discuss other crises that Cameroon is facing, with an increased influx of refugees from the Central African Republic and sociopolitical tensions in the north-west and south-west regions." Yeah. This comes after Inner City Press asked Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric if Mueller would stop in the Anglophone zones, and since not, why not? He replied that the overall humanitarian situation would be discussed. So on February 23, Inner City Press asked Dujarric again, video here, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: I had asked you before Ursula Mueller's trip, whether the… the situation in the anglophone zones of Cameroon would come up, and I just want to say I saw… I guess she tweeted a picture of herself with the Foreign Minister of Cameroon yesterday, saying… congratulating the Cameroon Government, entirely positive.  And I just wanted to know… you seemed… you seemed to indicate that the overall humanitarian situation would arise.  Given even… even on the issue of refugees, given that there were 47 people sent back seemingly illegally, refouled from Nigeria, is this… is she unaware of that in giving these congratulations? Spokesman:  Her mission focused on the Lake Chad Basin, on the situation in the Lake Chad Basin which, as you know, has led to mass… to a humanitarian situation that's impacted at least 10 million people.  She discussed a wide range of humanitarian concerns with the government of Cameroon, including the Boko Haram crisis in the far north, the situation of refugees from the CAR [Central African Republic] in the east, and the growing food insecurity across the country, as well as the situation in the Anglophone regions."  Really? With congratulations, echoes of the golden statue that Guterres took in October? Meanwhile in Nigeria people are being prosecuted for sheltering refugees from Cameroon, and Guterres and the UN are silent. We'll have more on this. A new report details Biya's long stays outside of the country in Geneva, while his military kills Anglophones and the country declines. Biya has spent four and a half years in Geneva, at a cost of $65 million in hotel fees and $117 million for chartered private plane, sometimes left "on stand-by" for weeks at a time. The report goes one level down: "One of Biya’s closest confidants, Joseph Fouda, a military officer and special advisor, has accompanied him on at least 86 trips, amounting to more than three years of travel since 1993. He prefers a room on a top floor of the Intercontinental. Another close confidant, Martin Belinga Eboutou, 78, has spent nearly three years travelling with the president starting in 1987, when he was Cameroon’s ambassador to Morocco. The president attempted to buy a brand new private jet in 2004, but his staff reportedly cut corners on the deal, buying a defective plane covered by a fresh coat of paint that nearly crashed on its first flight. Since then, the president has chartered at least several private aircraft, including a luxury jet formerly owned by the government of Kazakhstan." Still UN Secretary General, himself a murky first class flyer, smilingly took Biya's golden statue and has done nothing; his advisers Khassim Diagne and the outgoing head of Political Affairs have assured him of Biya's bona fides or the wisdom of doing... nothing. The UN has failed. The UN refugee agency UNHCR in Abuja early on January 30 told Inner City Press that it has as yet no comment on the blatant forced repatriation or refoulement to Cameroon of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and 46 others while it seeks "explanations through official channels." (Later UNHCR issued a short statement.) On January 31, Inner City Press again asked UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here and below. When Inner City Press on February 8 put the refoulement question to Francois Delattre, the UN Ambassador of France which has supported Paul Biya's 36-year rule, Delattre replied that "We always have views but no comment from me at this stage." Video here. That is irresponsible - or another sign of France's responsibility for what is happening in the region. We'll have more on this - and now on Germany. Angela Merkel's "personal representative for Africa" Gunter Nooke showed up in Yaounde on February 15 trying as he does elsewhere to drum up business. With him was Ambassador Hans Dieter Stell; there was according to CRTV "the exchange of gifts symbolic of Cameroon's legendary hospitality." Another golden statue like UNSG Guterres took? At UN headquarters, as Inner City Press alone asked, Germany's Ambassador procured a publicly funded post for his wife by merely emailing Guterres' chief of staff. Inner City Press asked Dujarric and his deputy Haq - no real answer - while the only other question asked about it was how the information about the job had leaked. The media asking that is given full access to the UN by the UN Department of Public Information of British Alison Smale, a major Germanophile who continues to have Inner City Press restricted, its long time work space given to a no-show no-question Egyptian state media. We'll have more on this.

The United Kingdom's silence about the plight of Anglophone residents of the former British Southern Cameroons persists even in the face of a Freedom of Information Act request from Inner City Press.

More than five months ago on 15 August 2017 Inner City Press asked the UK government for records concerning Cameroon. After repeatedly extending the time to response, now the UK has denied access to all responsive records, letter here, saying that "the release of information relating to the UK’s discussion on UN business could harm our relations and other member states of the United Nations (UN)."

Here on Patreon is the full denial letter, from which Inner City Press is preparing an appeal, on Yemen as well - it has 40 working days.

This is shameful - the UK is also exiting transparency.

On February 6 in front of the UN Security Council, Inner City Press asked the United Kingdom's Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Allen for the UK's comment on Nigeria's forced repatriation of 47 to Cameroon. From the UK transcript: Inner City Press: Nigeria did a forced repatriation of 47 Cameroonian leaders. The UNHCR said it was illegal. The US has commented on it. Does the UK have any view? Amb Allen: I’m afraid I wasn’t aware of that before. I’ll have to get back to you on the details." Video here. At day's end, a UK Mission spokesperson sent Inner City Press a short comment, here.

As Inner City Press pursues these questions at the UN, again it remains restricted to minders by the head of the UN Department of Public Information Alison Smale, who it is noted is British - and functionally a censor. A retaliator, too? As noted, Smale has not explained why Inner City Press' long time work space is assigned to no-show, no-question Egyptian state media Akhbar al Youm.

On Cameroon and Yemen, UK Denies Inner City Press FOIA Request After 170 Days, Preparing to Appeal, 40 Work... by Matthew Russell Lee on Scribd

Meanwhile the French government, which claims at the UN and elsewhere that human rights is in its DNA, has ignored the refoulement, limited its condemnation instead, via Foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes Von der Muhll, on "new killings of law enforcement officials that took place on 1 February in Cameroon."

In Yaounde, France's Ambassador Gilles Thibault is focusing, like Reuters' ostensibly charitable arm, on the cultivation of pepper, see here. This is colonialism.Are these the relations that the UK claims would be hurt by complying with FOIA? Watch this site.

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