UNITED NATIONS,
June 2 – While there was talk
of UN reform when Antonio
Guterres was elected or
selected as the Secretary
General to replace Ban
Ki-moon, now in another
example Guterres is proposing
to "freeze" new (and some old
but withdrawn) entries onto
the UN Children and Armed
Conflict list of shame. This
itself is shameful, a caving
to the Saudi-led Coalition
that continues airstrikes
leading to famine and cholera
in Yemen. Nor should it be
considered the "preventive
diplomacy" that Guterres
continues to speak about,
while ignoring such tests as
Cameroon, see below. While
most sell-outs of reform are
taking place with too little
push back in the UN (Inner
City Press which asks about
it, including of Guterres himself,
continues to be restricted
to minders to even enter the
UN's 2d floor), in this case
we'll await Guterres' response
to the letter he's gotten from
41 groups: Amnesty
International, War Child
International, Norwegian
Refugee Council, Johns Hopkins
University, Terre des hommes,
Nonviolent Peaceforce, Human
Rights Watch, Physicians for
Human Rights, International
Rescue Committee, Defense for
Children
International/Palestine
Section, Save the Children,
Global Centre for the
Responsibility to Protect,
Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers
Initiative, Child Soldiers
International, CRIN, Center
for Civilians in Conflict,
ChildFund Alliance and
InterAction. On
Cameroon, after Inner City
Press repeatedly asked
Guterres and his spokesman
about 34-year President Paul
Biya's Internet cut-off and
abuses, the UN's answer was
that its Central Africa envoy
Francois Lonseny Fall would be
visiting in May. It turns out
it will be in (early) June,
and it will be about Boko
Haram. And, representative of
the UN system as a whole, the
UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child when it met about
Cameroon's report on May 30
did not ask a single recorded
question about the Anglophone
areas, the Internet cut-off or
the GCE scam. It seems it is
today's UN that is a scam.
Marie-Therese Abena Ondoa,
Minister for the Promotion of
the Woman and the Family of
Cameroon, sung the praises of
the 34-year Paul Biya
government. The UN's
Rapporteur on Cameroon, the
former Minister of Health from
Togo, Suzanne Aho Assouma,
joined in the praise, as if
like France's Ambassador to
the UN told Inner City Press
the Internet cut off was never
heard of. Call it
FrancAfrique, reaching all the
way into today's UN
Headquarters. Also on May 30
Inner City Press asked
Guterres spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask you, on Cameroon, you'd
said that in May Mr. Francois
Loncény Fall would be going to
the country. I don't
know if that's true. I
know that he's going in early
June. And I just wanted
to make sure that you were
referring to this meeting of
regional security that seems
to be almost entirely about
Boko Haram and [Central
African Republic]. Is
there anything… can you say
what his agenda is there and
if he's going to raise the
Anglophone issue?
Spokesman: I will check.
Eight
hours later, typically,
nothing. Cameroon's UN
Ambassador Tommo Monthe, who
told Inner City Press that
Paul Biya stands ready to cut
the Internet again, and
partied with UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres'
Deputy SG and chief of staff
while singing songs for
Chantal Biya, is already at
the meeting Fall will attend.
Tommo Monthe is quoted, "We
need to exchange views on all
these insecurity situations
before we bring it back to the
UN during its forthcoming
general assembly session." On
May 29 Fall issued this canned
quote: "We will continue to
support efforts of the
subregion in its determination
to prevent, to combat and to
bring an end to the
uncontrolled flow of arms in
Central Africa. This would
strengthen confidence among
states and reassure the
population, the main victims
of this phenomenon, which is
also a hindrance to the
sustainable development of
Central Africa." This is the
focus on Lonseny Fall's
much-hyped visit to Yaounde,
while Guterres' Deputy SG and
chief of staff party with Paul
Biya's representative amid songs for Chantal Biya and
French champagne. We'll have
more on this. Well over 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. After Dujarric on
May 25 had no answer on this,
on May 26 Inner City Press
asked his deputy, Farhan Haq,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: Do you have
anything on Cameroon and
Amnesty, the closing down of
the Amnesty press conference
about 10-year jail sentences
for students that I asked
Stéphane about two days ago?
Deputy Spokesman: What
we can say is simply that we
hope that the freedom of
expression and freedom of
assembly will be respected in
Cameroon. Have a good
weekend, everyone.
That's it?
On May 24 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. From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: today in
Yaoundé, Cameroon, Amnesty
International had scheduled a
press conference about three
teenager students sentenced to
ten-year prison sentences for
joking in text messages about
Boko Haram. So, I wanted
to know, they… basically, this
was closed down. The press
conference was
disallowed. Many human
rights groups have said it's
an outrage. And I noticed
yesterday evening, the Deputy
Secretary-General and the Chef
de Cabinet were both at the
National Day of Cameroon on
73rd Street in New York.
So, I wanted to know, what
does the UN think of… of this
country that just recently
celebrated its National Day
with these two officials
shutting out Amnesty
International, sentencing
students to ten-year prison
sentences…
Spokesman: I'll look
into the case. I have
not…
Inner City Press: Did
you ever look into the testing
thing? I'd asked you
about administering a test…
Spokesman: Yes, I think…
we were given some guidance by
UNESCO...
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.
***
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