13, January 2018
US ambassador to Panama resigns, says he cannot serve Trump 0
US Ambassador to Panama John Feeley has resigned, saying he no longer felt able to work for President Donald Trump.
Feeley, a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, had informed the US State Department about his departure on December 27, US officials said.
His resignation was not a response to Trump’s alleged use of the word “shithole” to describe Haiti and African countries at a meeting on Thursday, reports said.
Feeley, among the State Department’s most senior officers and a Latin America specialists, said his decision was clearly prompted by differences with the Trump administration.
“As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies,” Feeley said, according to an excerpt of a resignation letter.
“My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come.”
A State Department spokeswoman confirmed Feeley’s departure, saying he will retire on March 9 of this year.
Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein said the ambassador was leaving for “personal reasons” and was not related to Trump’s alleged use of the vulgar term.
“Everyone has a line that they will not cross,” Goldstein told reporters at the State Department. “If the ambassador feels that he can no longer serve … then he has made the right decision for himself and we respect that.”
Much of Feeley’s long career was spent working on Latin American issues. Some of Trump’s policies have been widely regarded within the region as hostile to Central and South America.
The Trump administration has taken a tougher stance on immigration from Latin America, most notably with moves to expel hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador.
During the meeting at the White House on Thursday, Trump reportedly asked why “people from shithole countries come to” the United States.
His contemptuous comments, which were about immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti and African countries, have provoked sever criticism in the US and abroad.
The administration has been rocked by a series of high-profile exits — including Sean Spicer as press secretary, James Comey as FBI director, Anthony Scaramucci as communications director and Steve Bannon as chief strategist— since Trump took office.
Source: Presstv
14, January 2018
Ambazonia crisis is threatening to spin out of control 0
The fallout from Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis is spiraling, leading to a refugee emergency, escalating tensions with neighboring nations, and threatening to put a dent in global cocoa production.
In recent weeks, more than 15,000 people have fled the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions to neighboring Nigeria, as the government intensifies its crackdown on a pro-independence movement. Dozens of people have also been killed by security forces, with Cameroonian troops even crossing into Nigeria in pursuit of the rebels in December. Suspected separatists have also killed more than 10 gendarmes (armed police).
The Anglophone regions of Cameroon erupted in protest in 2016, with people calling for more autonomy from the majority French-speaking government. While the origin of the crisis is based on the imposition of the French language in English courts and schools, it also has roots in economic marginalization and the allocation of resources. The government responded by shutting the internet and arresting protestors until detention facilities were overwhelmed. When separatists declared an independent state called Ambazonia in October, that prompted a military clampdown, violent attacks, and the flight of refugees from the area.
Last week, separatist activists including the leader of the movement Sisiku Ayuk Tabe were taken into custody while meeting in Nigeria. The arrest drew criticism from advocates, who worried that they risked torture and unfair trials if extradited to Cameroon. “Authorities in Nigeria should immediately disclose the activists’ whereabouts, allow them access to a lawyer, and unless they have sufficient evidence to charge them with a recognizable crime, release them immediately,” Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said.
The simmering tensions represent the most direct threat to president Paul Biya’s 35-year rule over the Central African nation. At 84 years of age, Biya is one of the longest-serving African leaders still in power and is expected to run in the October elections this year. As the world’s fifth largest cocoa producer, the violence also portends a problem for the nation’s cocoa output. Thousands of farmers have fled the government clampdown according to Reuters, with many saying buyers are afraid to come. One agent said the cocoa was “rotting in the bush.”
As more people cross into Nigeria, the UN refugee agency said it was working to get more refugees away from border areas, create temporary camps, and help them gain access to economic opportunities. Antonio Jose Canhandula, the agency’s representative in Nigeria, said more and more refugees kept coming. “They are still coming, and they are coming daily,” he said. “It is a crisis.”
Source: Quartz Media