On Togo, ICP Asks UN of
Gnassingbe Calling
Protesters Terrorists, Spox Cites Chambas
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video here
UNITED NATIONS,
November 15 – After major
protests in Togo were cracked
down on with authorities
shooting and killed two or
seven protesters, Inner City
Press on August 21 and 22
asked UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres' Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, with no UN
comment whatsoever. Video
here; UN August 22
transcript here,
and below. On November 15, Inner
City Press asked Dujarric's
deputy Farhan Haq, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: in Togo,
there have been these
protests. People have
been killed, and now… now the
opposition yesterday held a
press conference and said that
the President has called the
protesters terrorists and has
said that the army can easily
put this down. So
they've said this is kind of a
declaration of war on them,
and I know that Mr. [Mohamed
ibn] Chambas had gone there,
was working on this
issue. In terms of
conflict prevention, what does
he think about the President's
comments that protesters in
the street are terrorists? And
what's the UN, I guess, doing
on this issue? Deputy
Spokesman: "Well,
regarding that, we reiterate
our calls to Togolese
stakeholders to engage in
dialogue in order to arrive at
a speedy, consensual and
negotiated resolution of the
ongoing crisis, to refrain
from violence and to ensure
respect for human rights and
the rule of law. And we
do stand ready to support the
Togolese in finding a peaceful
solution to the crisis.
And, as you know, Mr. Chambas
is involved in that effort."
On October 27, after Guterres
and his envoy Chambas have
done nothing but try to
paper-over or cover up the
crisis as in Cameroon,
Guterres' former agency UNHCR
has said, "UNHCR, the UN
Refugee Agency, is working
with the authorities in Ghana
to support over 500 recently
arrived Togolese
asylum-seekers, fleeing the
recent political unrest in
their country. So far,
513 asylum-seekers have been
registered by the Ghanaian
authorities, after arriving in
remote northwestern parts of
Ghana, including Chereponi,
Zabzugu and Bunkprugu-Yunyou.
The majority of them are being
hosted by local families and
some in community centers. A
joint UNHCR/Ghana Refugee
Board mission is currently on
its way to those remote areas
to assess the situation.
Togolese seeking safety,
including women and children,
told UNHCR staff that they had
fled on foot, walking from
their homes in Togo’s Mango
region, bordering Ghana. They
said they were fleeing human
rights abuses after the recent
political protests." Wasn't
Guterres supposed to be all
about prevention of conflict?
He did nothing, now refugee
flows, just as in Cameroon. Or
will he make a pro-regime stop
over in Lome too, as today
in Yaounde? On October 24, it
was the US State Department
that spoke: "The United States
is deeply concerned about
rising levels of violence and
restrictions on freedom of
expression and assembly in
Togo related to protests over
proposed constitutional
reforms. We are
particularly troubled by
reports of excessive use of
force by security forces and
reports that
Government-sponsored
vigilantes are using force and
the threat of force to disrupt
protests and intimidate
civilians. The United States
is also concerned with the
Government of Togo’s decision
to restrict demonstrations
during the workweek and to
arrest a prominent imam in the
city of Sokode. We call on the
Government of Togo to uphold
its citizens’ human rights,
notably their freedom of
expression, peaceful assembly,
and internet freedom and to
ensure that all those arrested
during demonstrations are
afforded the right to due
process. The United States
deplores the violence that has
claimed the lives of
protesters and security forces
alike. We urge all
parties to renounce
violence. We encourage
the Government and opposition
to engage in dialogue without
preconditions, which is the
only solution to the current
impasse." On October 11, Inner
City Press asked Dujarric
again, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask you about Togo. I'd
asked you before. You
said Mr. [Mohammed Ibn]
Chambas went. And now
the Government has announced
it's banning all weekday
protests, which there have
been a lot of protests.
And it seems like… I wanted to
know what… what success has
the UN had in this Chambas
visit and good offices?
And does it have any comment
on… on this restriction on the
right to assemble?
Spokesman: We feel that
people, as a matter of
principle, have a right to
demonstrate peacefully, and
that right should be upheld in
whatever country. The
discussions… I think Mr.
Chambas’s office is continuing
to look at the matter, and,
obviously, the rising tension
is an issue of concern for us.
Inner
City Press: And
I th… again, I… I'm sorry to
ask you this again, but I keep
getting questions from people
in Cameroon, when Mr.
[François Louncény] Fall or
his team or just for more
details, given what's going on
there, is there… do you have
anything more… the working
group? Spokesman: I have
nothing more to share with
you. Inner City Press: Are
they… I mean, have you asked
them and they don't want to
say or… Spokesman: "No,
I just… if I had something to
share with you, I would try to
offload it." After UN envoy
Chambas reportedly gave his
blessing to Gnassingbe
staying in power until 2030,
Inner City Press on September
11 asked Dujarric about this
statement to a wire service,
and whatever its accuracy,
whether this is Antonio
Guterres' position. Dujarric
emphasized it was a call to
Reuters (his partners in Press
censorship, here
and here),
then said he was trying to
check the quote and wouldn't
say anything about Guterres
position until he had. Then
amid attempted follow up
questions, Dujarric walked of
the podium. On September 15,
Inner City Press asked again,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: there's a
couple of things that I'd
asked you that I didn't hear
you get back on. One was
Togo, where you said you were
going to check the quotes of
Mr. [Mohamed Ibn] Chambas,
whether he, in fact, gave his
blessing. Now, that
there's a big pro… actually,
the parliamentary thing that
you referred to, the
opposition has said that it's
much less than what was
promised. The protests
are getting larger. Did
Mr. Chambas say the things
that Reuters quoted him as
saying? Spokesman: My
understanding is that he said
what he was quoted as saying.
Inner City Press:
Okay. So is it the
Secretary-General's view that
it's legitimate for a family,
whose father and son have now
been in power for 50 years, to
remain in power through
2030? Is that the 2030…
Spokesman: "I don't
think that's… the
Secretary-General's view is
that people should be able to
choose their leaders." Inner
City Press on the morning of
August 30 asked Dujarric and
his two top deputies: "In
Togo, 15 supporters of the
opposition Pan African
National party (PAN), who were
arrested during a protest
against President Faure
Gnassingbe 10 days ago,
appeared in court yesterday
and were given sentences
ranging from five to nine
months; the party’s Secretary
General, Dr Kossi Sama, was
sentenced to 18 months in
prison including 9 months
without parole. What is the
UN's comment? And separately,
what are the dates and
itinerary of envoy Chambas'
visit to Togo?" Hours later,
nothing - nothing at all. On
September 6, after Duajrric
had refused to answer 18 of
Inner City Press' 21
questions, Inner City Press
asked, UN Transcript here:
Inner City Press: in Togo,
when you left, there had been
the shooting of protesters by
the Government and you or
Farhan said that Mr. [Mohamed
ibn] Chambas was going.
So, now that there's a protest
there today, and quite a bit
of crackdown, slowing down and
turning off of the Internet,
can you say if Mr. Chambas has
gone and what the UN has done?
Spokesman: "Right.
I'll get… I don't have an
update on his travels." Then
on September 8, Inner City
Press asked Dujarric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: On
Togo. There's been the
use of tear gas, people stayed
out all over night. It's
being widely described as a
kind of possible either
endgame for the Administration
there or… has he reached out
to the people that… the actual
opponents in the street?
Or what's he doing while he's
there? Spokesman: he
continues to be there talking
to all the Togolese
stakeholders, as we said,
civil society, diplomatic
corps, the presidents [?], and
his message is the same to
all, which is a call for calm,
encouraging dialogue to
resolve outstanding issues and
advocate for the acceleration
of the country's reform
agenda." On August 23, after
the French Mission to the UN's
deputy ambassador Anne Gueguen
said "we condemn all
violence," Inner City Press
twice asked her if France
condemns, or is in any way
concerned by, Togo shooting
and killing protesters. Video
here.
She declined to answer; the
transcript the French Mission
put out omitted not only Inner
City Press' Togo questions but
even Gueguen's answer on
Yemen. We'll have more on
this. From the UN's August 22
transcript: Inner City Press:
yesterday, I'd asked you about
this crackdown in Togo, and I
wanted to know whether… you
said, you know, you were
looking for something or the
UN was monitoring.
Spokesman: No, I…Inner
City Press: How many people do
you think were killed in it?
And are there any… there've
been… some people have called
for people to flee to Ghana
and other nearby questions.
Spokesman: I don't, I
wish I had something for you,
but I don't have anything on
Togo for you today.
Nor by the
end of the day, nothing. UN
August 21 transcript here:
Inner City Press: Togo, as you
may have seen, there’ve been
major protests against the now
50-year rule of the same
family, and several protesters
were killed. The
Government says two, the
opposition says seven.
I’m wondering, you know, you
have an office on West
Africa. What is the UN…
are they following this?
Do they intend to…
Spokesman: We are
following it. I don’t
have any language on Togo
right now, but we’ll see what
we can get.
Five
hours later, nothing. This is
a trend, and not only in
Cameroon. When UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres
earlier this summer did a photo op
(Periscope here) and
meeting with Gabon's Ali
Bongo, who along with his
father Omar have consecutively
ruled Gabon since 1967, it
began a full 15 minutes late.
Not because Bongo was picking
up another dubious
award on the sidelines
of the sometimes dubious Ocean
Conference (see
here), but because
Guterres had another, unlisted
visitor. It was, Inner City
Press saw, Saudi Arabia's
ambassador to the UN,
presumably about the standoff
with Qatar. Guterres' holdover
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
has repeatedly said Guterres
is not involved. We'll have
more on this. On Bongo, he
stayed upstairs for 45 minutes
and then left with the media
he'd brought in, in a caravan
of vehicles with a police
escort. Periscope viewers told
Inner City Press Gabonese were
protesting Bongo, who they
call a killer, in front of the
Peninsula Hotel. Now Jean Ping
is calling for UN action,
saying pointedly that he
"cancelled plans to visit the
United Nations and meet with
U.N. Secretary General Antonio
Guterres. 'I don’t need to be
just received. But I have the
impression that (anything
beyond that) is a long way off
because of the system.'"
Reuters neglects
to note that Ping was not only
a chair of the African Union,
but a President of the UN
General Assembly. Then again,
Reuters is barely reporting on
the UN bribery
trial of one of Ping's
successors as PGA, John Ashe.
We'll have more on this. Ali
Bongo, fresh off this award(s)
in New York, unilaterally
suspended the media Echos du
Nord, here.
The UN itself evicted (audio)
and still
restricts Inner City
Press, and when Inner City
Press asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
who did it, about Gabon
including as relates to the
closed door briefing of
Francois Fall of UNOCA set up
in Gabon, Dujarric's response
was about the sports team the
New York Mets. This is today's
UN.
Watch this site.
Guterres' holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric declined
to offer any explanation
of the differences. As noted,
under Ban Ki-moon he had Inner
City Press thrown
out of the UN Press
Briefing Room and UN, where it
is still
restricted even as the
Ng Lap Seng / John Ashe UN
bribery case it was covering
is coming
to trial. Is the UN
reforming? Watch this site.
***
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