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By Matthew Russell Lee, Video

UNITED NATIONS GATE, July 5 – After the UN Security Council held belated "Arria formula" session about Cameroon on May 13, an informal one with no outcome on which even co-sponsors Germany and the UK refused to answer Press questions, hypocrisy and cover up of the UN's failure remain evident. Video by banned Inner City Press here.

  Tunisia is an incoming member of the Security Council. Troublingly, they are already trying to making money with Cameroon: "It is in the perspective of boosting the economic and trade cooperation relations between Tunisia and Cameroon, that a Tunisian Multi-sector Business Delegation led by the CEPEX in collaboration with the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Center (CCIC) and under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia in Yaoundé travelled to the Cameroonian economic metropolis, Douala, from July to 3, 2019.  The delegation includes about fifteen exporting companies operating in the sectors of building materials and sanitary articles, pharmaceuticals, electricity, services (consulting and training, projects in the oil and gas sector) and agri-food products (olive oil, pasta, canned food …).  As such, a Tunisia-Cameroon Business Forum was organized in the presence of the President of the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Mining Industry and Crafts (CCIMA), the chairman of the Cameroonian employers’ organization (ECAM) and Tunisia’s ambassador in Yaoundé.  In addition to the inaugural ceremony during which Cameroonian and Tunisian officials presented the business climate and opportunities for economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries, the forum’s program included targeted B2B meetings with the main Cameroonian operators followed by companies.  It should be noted that the first day of the forum has drained a hundred Cameroonian operators and coverage of major local media through the presence of twenty journalists....Trade between Tunisia and Cameroon recorded a steady growth with a surplus balance in favor of Tunisia of 65 million dinars in 2018 against 3 million for imports. Margarine, cement and plaster capture half of our exports to Cameroon." Talk about buttering them up... We'll have more on this.

  Ireland is a wanna-be member of the Security Council, and it is already bowing cravenly before Paul Biya's goverment looking for a vote, like Guterres. "A special envoy of the government of Ireland was on June 24 at the Ministry of External Relations to present the candidacy of his country.  The Minister Delegate to the Minister of External Relations in charge of Cooperation with the Commonwealth, Felix Mbayu on June 24, 2019 received in audience the special envoy of the government of Ireland, Ambassador Kenneth Thompson during which both personalities discussed on deepening cooperation ties and he presented Ireland's interest in becoming a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Ambassador Kenneth Thompson was accompanied to the audience by the Ambassador, Head of European Union Delegation to Cameroon, Hans-Peter Schadeck. Speaking to reporters after the audience, Thompson said the reason he was in Cameroon and at the Ministry of External Relations was because Ireland is looking for a sit as a non-permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations for the years 2021 and 2022. "But this campaign that we are running for the Security Council is important for us also as a way of getting Ireland better known in the world. It is true in Cameroon and in Francophone Africa, Ireland is not well known but we are working to improve these relations. We are very anxious that we are being seen as good partners of countries like Cameroon in the United Nations. " he stated. The special envoy noted that he listened to the very effective statement by the Minister Delegate on the problems that Cameroon is facing and on Cameroon's perspective towards the United Nations. "Cameroon of course has always been a strong defender of the multilateral system like Ireland and we will expect that if we are elected to the Security Council, we will be listening very carefully to the concerns of the government of Cameroon during that time and we will do everything that we can to make sure the that views of all the member States of the United Nations are reflected in any debate. We will always maintain an open dialogue," Thompson stated. While appreciating the model adopted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) towards the promotion of certain values, trying to find human solutions to issues, taking into account differences in the society and upholding the values of peace, the special envoy equally stated that bilateral relations between both countries will be considerably improved."  Shameful.

And on this: early on the morning of May 6 Inner City Press submitted written questions, this one to the UN Mission of Belgium which has done nothing at all about Guterres' now 312 days of banning Inner City Press: "Press Q re Cameroon, any UNSC meeting, Belgian Mission's position on that and continued banning of Inner City Press from entering UN - To: peter.verbrugghe [at] diplobel.fed.be, isabelle.bardijn [at] diplobel.fed.be, newyorkUN [at] diplobel.fed.be: this is a Press request to the Belgian Mission as a member of the UN Security Council to be informed this morning of your Mission's knowledge of any upcoming UNSC meeting about Cameroon of any kind, including Any Other Business informal consultations, whether May 13 or any other date. Inner City Press wrote to you about this in July 2018, below.     Also, what is your country's position on the situation there and what will / would it seek to accomplish at any UNSC meeting (and if there is no meeting, why not). Relatedly, please explain how it is legitimate for the UN to bar entry to Inner City Press after ousting it while it covered the 3 July 2018 Fifth (Budget) Committee then chaired by Cameroon, and asked about this situation and other under-performance by the UN. Inner City Press' most recent application for re-accreditation to enter and cover the UNSC stakeout, submitted on 15 April 2019, was denied without explanation on April 17. ("Greetings Matthew LEE from ICP     INNER CITY PRESS,  Your media accreditation request, with reference no: M66561081, has been declined.") What has your Mission does, or what will it do, about this?" 25 full days later, after UN noon briefings promoting Guterres' and Dujarric's current European junket, and still no

The May 13 meeting ended without any outcome, after Paul Biya's longtime Ambassador Tommo Monthe lashed out at social media as UNSG Antonio Guterres does. Monthe told Inner City Press, as it asked about Biya cutting the Internet in the Anglophone zones, that Inner City Press could get thrown out of the UN. And it was, by Guterres, now 366 days and counting.

 (Inner City Press went and began interested at the Ambazonia / Southern Cameroons demonstration in the 47th Street park, in the rain, video here.)

  More here.

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