ICP
Asks UN If
Guterres
Doctrine
Is
Quelling Secessionists for Old Rulers, Restricting
Press
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video here
UNITED NATIONS,
November 3 – What does today's
UN under Antonio Guterres
stand for? Denouncing
secessionists as extremists,
propping up 30-plus year
presidents, and threatening
and restricting the Press that
asks about it? When this
question was put to Guterres'
spokesman Staphane Dujarric on
November 3, video here,
Dujarric claimed he had provided
an answer to it on November 2
(he hadn't) then quickly left
the podium of the UN Press
Briefing Room, from which he
previously evicted Inner City
Press. This is today's UN.
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, what the UN's long
time West Africa envoy Mohamed
Ibn Chambas is, in fact,
doing. Video
here; UN August 22
transcript here,
and below. Now, after giving
his and Guterres' blessing to
the bid by Togo's ruling Gnassingbe
family
to remain in power past 2030,
Chambas has resurfaced in
Nigeria, opposing the
aspirations of many in Biafra.
It is at odds with Guterres'
claims about conflict
prevention and good faith
efforts to address root
causes. Mis-identified as
"Chambers," Chambas has now
been quoted
that "The Special
Representative of the
Secretary-General of UN for
West Africa and the Sahel,
Mohamed Ibn Chambers, spoke
when he led a special
delegation of the world body
to the leadership of apex Igbo
socio-cultural organization,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu.
Guterres said that UN was
gratified by the mature role
of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in quelling
the recent agitations by some
secessionist groups, and
encouraged them to continue to
adopt dialogue and
constructive engagement in the
resolution of issues. He said
that Nigeria, like many other
countries, is still battling
with weak structures which
require constant dialogue and
deepening of democracy in
overcoming the challenges. 'We
indeed came to commend
Ohanaeze Ndigbo for the
leadership they have
demonstrated. A few months ago
we were all getting a bit
worried with events and
developments in South-east of
Nigeria but thanks to their
leadership and their
initiatives they were able to
bring together the chiefs and
the political leaders and
governors and respected
persons of South -east and
through this intervention we
now see that calm is restored
and all are working to advance
the one Nigeria agenda. The
Secretary-General believes in
this one Nigeria project
because he had always said
that a united peaceful Nigeria
is not only for the people of
Nigeria, but indeed for the
people of West Africa and for
all of Africa." That's the
plan: prop up dynasties like
in Togo, portray secessions as
extremists thereby justifying
government crackdowns and
killing as a form of
counter-terrorism. It was
Chambas, when Inner City Press
asking him about Anglophones
in Southern Cameroons, who
said to focus on the "big
ticket" item: Boko Haram. This
mirrors the position of
Guterres and another of his
long time envoys Francois Fall
who covers Central Africa and
has said that in Cameroon
secessionists are "extremists."
It is also noteworthy that
Cameroon's Ambassador to the
UN has said he will work with
Guterres' 38th floor to stop
Inner City Press' access (Guterres'
Department of Public
Information under Alison Smale
has threatened Inner City
Press' accreditation and
continues to confine it to
minder unlike no-show state
media) - and has bragged about
Guterres' Deputy Secretary
General Amina J. Mohammed
assuring that the UN will
oppose even Federalism in
Cameroon in light of the
Biafra issue in her native
Nigeria. It is impossible to
know what her and the 38th
floor team's thinking is: she
has not had a press
availability in quite a while,
Guterres is heading to his
native Lisbon, and Smale's
Kafka-esque accreditation
threat after refusing to
respond to detailed Press
freedom petitions for weeks
combine for a trifecta of
UNtransparency. We'll have
more on this.
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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