After Cameroon Spun UN, It Belatedly Drops Some Prosecutions, UN Claims It Helped, False

By Matthew Russell Lee, interviews I, II, video

UNITED NATIONS, August 30 – From Cameroon, officials of Paul Biya's more than 30 year government August 8 met with the UN's Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed to spin Biya's abuse of Anglophone Southern Cameroons, including cutting off the Internet for 94 days during which the UN stayed largely silent. Now as the Biya government bans or purports to ban an Anglophone television station, it belatedly stops its entirely unjustified proceedings against Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla and Fontem Aforteka’a Neba. As noted, others are still languishing in prison. 

Later on August 30, Secretary General Antonio Guterres or really his spokesman Stephane "The Evicter" Dujarric issued a statements, while refusing to answer actual Press questions about Cameroon: "The Secretary-General welcomes the release in Cameroon of a number of leaders from the South West and North West regions and the dropping of all charges against them following a 30 August order by President Paul Biya. The Secretary-General hopes that this positive step will lead to a further lowering of tensions and strengthened political dialogue. The Secretary-General encourages the Cameroonian authorities to pursue their efforts to address the grievances of the Anglophone community and promote measures of national reconciliation in order to find a durable solution to the crisis. The Secretary-General reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to continue to support such efforts."  On August 29 before noon, Inner City Press asked the top three spokespeople of Mohammed and of Secretary General Antonio Guterres the following: "Following the Deputy Secretary General's meeting with the Cameroon delegation, now the government has in Anglophone Bamenda 'permanently sealed off the affected areas, stopping shop owners being able to reach their businesses' in an attempt to stop non-violent protest. On that and increased deployment of troops in the Anglophone areas a/k/a Southern Cameroon, what is the UN's comment? What follow up has there been?" Hours there, no answer at all from the UN, not even the requested confirmation of receipt. DSG Mohammed left the Security Council with her chief of staff and a UN Security officer who was shown, at the Ng Lap Seng trial, as having accompanied John Ashe on a visit to Ng. We'll have more on this. The UN has quietly disclosed child sexual abuse -- rape -- charges involved the Cameroonian "peacekeeping" contingent in the Central African Republic. Inner City Press first tweeted the UN disclosure, here. What will Amina Mohammed, and Secretary General Antonio Guterres, do about this? On August 25, Inner City Press asked their holdover spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: on Cameroon.  I know the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, after meeting with the delegation of the Biya Government, said she didn't want to use a sledgehammer, but she was going to continue to work on it. And the UK's understanding is that it's somehow on the radar. Given that journalists are now being arrested for just reporting on the Anglophone issue and there were people filmed in an underground prison, three of whom are now near death, what exactly has the UN done on the southern Cameroon issue since this visit to Amina Mohammed… Spokesman:  "The contacts are continuing, and, obviously, our, our principled stand on making sure that people are free to report stands." Later on August 25 Amina Mohammed left the UN, with a polite hello to Inner City Press; but no answers and Inner City Press remains restricted in its movements in the UN, its workspace given to a no-show Egyptian state media. Inner City Press might have asked their holdover spokesman Stephane Dujarric, before the August 23 noon briefing - but Dujarric has refused to even confirm receipt of, much less answer on, UN corruption including this. The UN evicts and still restricts, and doesn't answer its mail. In Cameroon the post Internet cut GCE exam results are in, and they are both unprecedentedly bad, and fraudulent: "The Cameroon General Certificate of Education board, GCEB, has recorded one of the worst results since its creation. According to this year’s ordinary level results, out of 80,212 who registered, only 46, 532 sat for the exams, only 11,770 passed with a percentage pass of 25.29 contrary to last year where 110702 who registered 102, 857 sat for the session and 63,951 passed with a percentage of 62.17. For the Advanced level, the results released earlier on Friday August 11, is extremely low with success rate of 35.52 and 22.36 for both the general and technical fields respectively. Out of the 33037 candidates who sat for the exams, only 11670 passed. The results witnessed a drastic drop compared to 2016 were the percentage passed was 66.52. Many have blamed the poor results on the anglophone crisis which paralyzed learning activities for many schools in English speaking Cameroon." And from the UN, after the spin trip, nothing. On August 9 as Inner City Press asked UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft about Southern Cameroons, Reuters cut off the question and Rycroft walked away. His acting spokesperson said the question would be answered after checking with the High Commission. While Inner City Press persisted and asked Rycroft again on August 10 - he said the issue is on the UN's radar, where it should be - the question to / of the High Commission remained, as now does the issues of Southern Cameroonians' protest of the Biya spin-tour right on London. High Commissioner Brian Olley has  reportedly, but not confirmed, that he raised human rights issues to Paul Biya. Meanwhile London Stock Exchange traded "Victoria Oil & Gas Plc is engaged in gas exploration, production and distribution in Cameroon." On August 14, the lead spokesman for Rycroft, now away for two weeks, returned and replied, "I understand the Ambassador answered your question on Cameroon last week," while referring to "major international outlets" which it seems never asked Rycroft or him about Cameroons and its Anglophone regions, or incoming High Commissioner Rowan James Laxton. We'll have more on this. On August 10, only by waiting in the UN lobby from which was was UNable on August 8 to pursue the story as non-censored UN correspondents could, Inner City Press asked Mohammed, who said it is not her approach to use a sledgehammer, here.  But even the next day, August 11, Paul Biya's government reportedly detained and disappeared a Southern Cameroonian coming in from Japan, Oliver Ntungfor. And there are others detained underground in secret prisons in Yaounde, while the streets of Bamenda are mud due to Biya's under-development, as he send only soldiers. (The UN Committee against Torture says it will considering Cameroon - but not until its November 6 - December 6 session.) There are even ghoulish calls for Biya to use chemical weapons. Amina Mohammed and Secretary General Antonio Guterres are the recipients of a number of related communications like the one below, and this. On the afternoon of August 8, Inner City Press asked the Biya delegation if for example their imprisonment of ex-UN legal adviser Felix Agbor Balla was addressed. No, they said. It was not that kind of meeting. Video here.They ascended to the second floor, where Inner City Press unlike other no-show UN correspondents was not allow to follow them. This was explained to a UN official later on August 8, and we will have more on that, particularly given that the UN declined to even say who beyond Mohammed met with Biya's spinners. On August 9 Inner City Press' question on Cameroon to UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft was cut off by Reuters' correspondent,here. Inner City Press asked Rycroft again on August 10, video here, UK transcript here: Inner City Press: Amina Mohammed also on Tuesday met with this delegation from Cameroon. I just wanted to get your thoughts on whether the UN should be doing more, could be doing more? Have you seen a read out?

Amb Rycroft: Obviously I wasn’t in the meeting myself but I was very glad to hear that the delegation were here and they had a meeting with Amina Mohammed. I think that demonstrates that the UN is keeping it on their radar as they should and I support that.

  The day before on Cameroon, Inner City Press responded to the UK request for the cut-off question with: "Since Amb Rycroft has previously said that the UK monitors the situation in Cameroon's Anglophone areas, where the Internet was cut off for 94 days this year and many leaders still arrested facing the death penalty, what does the UK think of the Yaounde delegation that came to the UN yesterday? They said that the continued detention of ex-UN legal adviser Felix Agbor Balla did not come up. Should the UN do more? What is the UK's position on this situation in the Anglophone regions sometimes called Southern Cameroons?" Hours later, from the now re-staffed UK Mission, this: I’m currently double checking with our High Commission in Cameroon overnight and will get back to you tomorrow." Watch this site. At the noon briefing on August 9, Inner City Press asked asked UN Spokesman Dujarric, about why Agbor Balla wasn't raised, if the Biya government's torture documented by Amnesty International came up, and if anyone from UN Human Rights was there (seems not).