By Matthew Russell Lee, UN Audio
UNITED NATIONS, December 1 – A week after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres accepted a golden statue from Cameroon's 35-year president Paul Biya in Biya's palace in Yaounde, there were threats of prosecution against people who refuse to celebrate Biya's 35 years in power. Photo of letter here. So is this was Guterres celebrates, under the Guterres Doctrine? What is the relation to the illegal lumber exports signed off on by Guterres' Deputy, Amina J. Mohammed in the #RosewoodRacket? This involves "smuggling from Cameroon." See EIA video, here, and review of speech, here. There were threats to Inner City Press' accreditation at the UN, here. Now upon Paul Biya's return from the African Union - EU summit in Abidjan he has "declared war" on what he calls secessionist terrorists in Ambazonia or Southern Cameroons. This echoes what the UN's Francois Fall said, on Alison Smale's UN Radio no less, that secessionists are extremists and even Federalism is not on the table. The UN has thrown gasoline on this conflict, far from engaging in the preventative diplomacy that Antonio Guterres, when running for his post, said he was about. In the UN, he and his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed have kept up Press restrictions and censorship. In Bamenda, local journalist Elvis McCarty (some say Elvis Macarty) was reportedly roughed up by Paul Biya's security forces, the tools of his journalistic trade confiscated and/or broken, with him being accused of being a secessionist - or, as the UN's Francois Fall has put it, an "extremist." And while Guterres and his envoy Failing Fall purport to urge dialogue in CameroUN on "the Anglophone issue," when the issue was raised in Parliament in Yaounde, there was a walk-out. some dialogue. Meanwhile the Swiss government has responded in a November 17 letter obtained and published by Inner City Press to issues raised by Southern Cameroonians there. On November 21, Inner City Press asked Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, video here, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: I wanted to ask a question about Cameroon. In the south-west region, a video emerged basically of authorities ordering people out of their cars and to walk on their knees, very much to humiliate them, etc. And so, people… one, they've wondered, like, what's the status of the UN's call for dialogue since they don't see this as dialogue? And, number two, they've seen that the Swiss ambassador has said publicly that he visited the area and is very concerned. So, the question, I guess, I had is whether François Fall, in his various visits… has he actually gone to those regions of the country? Does he have an intention to go? Has he requested to go but been rebuffed? How can it be that the ambassador of a country based in Yaoundé has more… has greater access than the UN… UNOCA [United Nations Office in Central Africa] representative? Spokesman: "Well, Mr. Fall works out his itinerary with the authorities as he can. Whenever we have further travel for him… by him to announce, we will." Well. Meanwhile another part of the UN system -- independent experts whom the UN Secretariat emphasizes are NOT the UN -- has belatedly spoken out where Guterres, Amina "Rosewood" Mohammed and Francois Fall have not. But then Fall essentially undercut the experts, focusing on attacks on security forces and... territorial integrity. Here's from Failing Fall's UNOCA: "The United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) continues to closely monitor the situation in the North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon... Mr. François Louncény Fall seizes this opportunity to recall the commitment of the United Nations to the territorial integrity and unity of Cameroon." On November 17, Inner City Press asked Antonio Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric, Tweeted video here, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: this François [Louncény] Fall statement. And the reason I'm asking is that, as you may know five experts of Geneva-based special rapporteurs, including on freedom of expression, defense of human right defenders and others, issued a statement. The statement is largely focused on abuses by the Government of Anglophones, censorship, turning off social media. They have a[n artificially low] death figure. They talk about torture. I know that they're not part of the UN system. They do give briefings in this room. They are appointed by the Human Rights Council. What's the relationship between human rights experts saying the Government is killing Anglophones and François Fall saying territory is important and gendarmes have been killed? It seems like they're two opposing statements. Spokesman: A, I don't think they're in contradiction of each other, and everybody has a different role within the wide and varied UN system. The special rapporteurs, as you do note, are independent from the Secretariat and the Secretary-General, appointed by the Human Rights Council. They are an extremely important part of the UN's human rights mechanism and, as a matter of principle, countries should cooperate with these human rights experts. I'm not privy to their research or how they get their information. As I said, they're independent. We have over the past months, expressed our concern at the violence. We've expressed our concern at the lack of Internet access. The basic message that Mr. Fall and that the Secretary-General have reiterated is the fact that the situation in these two regions will best be addressed by an inclusive and genuine political dialogue. Inner City Press: I want to ask one follow-up. And I asked you before, but I think you'll see the need to actually answer it now. Mr. François Fall, in an interview played on UN Radio, said that secessionists are extremists and that federalism, which used to be the status of this area, is off the table. Number one, that's why people don't see him as a credible mediator, but more importantly, the equation of nonviolent secessionists with extremists is exactly the logic that the Government uses to kill people from helicopter gunships, so that's why I'm asking you. It seems like some of the problems that the human rights experts are criticizing are, in fact… I don't want to say caused by Mr. Fall's statement, but in some way resonant with the logic of… of saying that anyone that says we should be independent is an extremist and should be shot at from a helicopter. Spokesman: "I don't agree with your logic, and I don't think in any way, shape, or form Mr. Fall should be blamed for what is going on in the country." So why did Failing Fall equate secessionists with extremists? And how can he remain Guterres' envoy to Cameroon? Where is the golden statue? Here is the Experts' full text: "GENEVA (17 November 2017) - The Government of Cameroon must engage representatives of the Anglophone population in a meaningful political dialogue and halt renewed violence in the south-west and north-west, where the country’s English-speaking minority are reportedly suffering worsening human rights violations, a group of UN experts has warned. “We urge the Government to adopt all necessary measures consistent with Cameroon’s human rights obligations to end the cycle of violence,” the experts said in a joint statement. Up to 17 people have reportedly been killed, and dozens wounded and arrested in demonstrations in the country’s Anglophone regions since 1 October. The experts are disturbed by reports of a series of measures taken by the national authorities, including curfews, a ban on public meetings, and other restrictions aimed at preventing peaceful protests. Excessive use of force by the security services, injuries, mass arrests, arbitrary detentions, torture and other ill-treatment have also been reported. Freedom of expression has been reportedly limited by the blocking of internet connections and of access to social media platforms such as Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook, which a UN expert has previously condemned. “These restrictions must stop immediately, and the Government must ensure a thorough, impartial and independent investigation into all allegations of human rights violations perpetrated during and after the events of 1 October. The Government must take effective measures to prosecute and sanction all those responsible for such violations.” The appeal for action comes nearly a year after UN experts publicly urged the Government to halt violence against the English-speaking minority, following reports that Anglophone protesters in Buea and Bamenda had suffered undue force. The experts also denounced any use of violence against members of the security forces, after reports that several were killed last week. Since December 2016, the experts have repeatedly raised concerns directly with the Government of Cameroon and continue to monitor and seek clarification of the alleged human rights violations in the north-west and south-west of the country. Ms. Annalisa Ciampi, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Mr. Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Mr. José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Chair-Rappourteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Mr. David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Ms. Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Mr. Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues." What next? When will the UN's Failing Fall go see the Anglophone areas for himself, or be replaced? As Inner City Press asked the UN about on November 16, more than 46,000 people have so far petitioned Guterres to investigate and act on Mohammed's actions with respect (or disrespect) to natural resources in rosewood in Nigeria and Cameroon. But as on Cameroon, Guterres refuses so far to act. Meanwhile in the South West Region, there is a curfew and demand to register and give "weapons" to the government.
