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The Will of God for Southern Cameroons at this point is a referendum

18, November 2018

The Will of God for Southern Cameroons at this point is a referendum 0

Dear Cardinal TUMI,
I am writing this letter to you, hoping that the people of Southern Cameroons will be patient and for once give you and your team a benefit of doubt as you attempt to listen to the different views and opinions as you find Solution to the Southern Cameroon problem during the upcoming Meeting you have convened.

As a moral Authority in Cameroon for so many years, I do not doubt your sense of truth and Justice. I say so because I believe that, on the one hand, God wants to manifest himself to the government of Cameroun as a God of Truth and Justice. On the other hand, he is revealing himself to the People of Southern Cameroon as a God of Mercy. Truth, Justice, and Mercy are all part of the attributes of God, and he chooses how to dispense them to individuals and nations without compromising His integrity.

The people of Southern Cameroon voted in a Plebiscite to join La Republic du Cameroon in a Federal system of Government in 1961. Whether this was a right step or a mistake is not the issue here. It is a historical fact. There were terms binding the two States together in that Federation. Over the years, because of the selfishness and wickedness of one party, it was considered that the other, because she was small in size could be manipulated, marginalized and systematically assimilated into the larger part. That is why, from a Federal Republic in 1961, we mysteriously find ourselves in La Republic, the name of the bigger Party at the time of the Union.

Sir, a lot has happened in Cameroon within the last two years that are facts that are in the public for anyone to read and see for themselves. My concern is to remind you that where we are now, the government of Cameroon has lost its credibility in the sight of the people of Southern Cameroon. The inability of the government to initially dialogue with the Consortium, the torture, the arbitrary arrests, the targeted killings and the War declared on the Southern Cameroonians are a testimony to the hatred of the regime against a part of the Country she wants to make the World believe she governs. Unfortunately, this has only helped to open the eyes of the people to a point where they are all willing to die than to cowardly submit to such slavery. To add insult to injury, the regime while still pursuing its master plan of wiping out protesting Southern Cameroonians, went ahead to organize elections in this parts of the Country where they have practically chased into the bushes or out of the Country the majority of the masses. Using the plight of Southern Cameroonians to their advantage, a miserable 5% (from their own statistics) for most part made up of Soldiers and government officials gave the government Party a crushing majority in S.W. and N.W. Regions. What a shame. What moral and Political injustice. Let me also recall that the government, using the plight of the suffering displaced Southern Cameroonians, made fund raising with a target of 12 billions which was supposed to go to those who lost properties and the displaced. Now that campaigns are over and the military is well equipped to continue the burning of Villages and killing of innocent civilians, I can assure you the project has been realized.

In the face of all of these, what message do we have again as Servants of God to the people of Southern Cameroon? What message does a Pastor have for a Slave under the yoke and burden imposed on him by the Slave driver, if not to stand with him and seek his liberation. Or should we ask him to remain under the yoke of slavery and die so that God will receive his Soul. Any true man of God with a conscience in Cameroon at this moment should know that our real assignment at this moment, is to stand with the oppressed in their quest for Justice. This should be done not only by Prayer, but by proclamation as well. We should speak the truth.Nobody should be fooled, the way to true Peace in Southern Cameroon is by going back to the roots. There is injustice, craftiness, pride, and deceit buried in the root of the Union. A system and a pattern of evil by the government geared towards Suppressing and Marginalizing the Anglophones for fear that they should not grow and become a bigger threat in the future. This has manifested in different ways, at different times, in different places all over Cameroon, until lately the time of full occupation was rife. Otherwise, what can even remotely explain the fact that even English Common Law Courts were already taken over by French Civil Law Judges, and English Schools were taken over by French teachers who do not understand English. Why is it that our Bilingualism only understands the French Language and only considers the Francophones?

Some people will want us believe that we were one nation in German Cameroon before the French and English came and divided us. This is a week argument and a hypocritical attempt to escape from reality by the party that always seeks to marginalize. In German Cameroon we were more than 250 ethnic groups brought together by the colonial power, in most of the cases against our will, to serve her own interest. We were only one in the sense that we are all created by God, whether Black or White, Jew or Gentile. God requires all men to repent and be united with Christ so that we can be one family here on Earth. Nevertheless, from the scattering of the Human race at the Tower of Babel, God permitted diversity. Every Nation (people) have a right to self-determination. The government is there to facilitate and protect this right. The government exist because of the people and not vice versa. That is why the quest for independence made sense. Now, when independence was granted for those who were colonized, lines were drawn, not by God but by the Colonial Powers. God created the Earth and He still keeps the title deed (Psalm 24:1). However, it is not God that drew the lines over Nations to demarcate them and set boundaries between one nation and the other as it presently stands. This was done by man. God just stood as a witness. The name Cameroon was given by man, and when it was given so many parts of the present Cameroon were not included. Also, when the Germans were in charge, the map was different from what it is today. So, the Union between Southern Cameroon and La Republic is a Historical fact, but not a Gospel Truth. The map of any nation on earth is not static but dynamic, depending on what God decides to do with that nation. That is why there are so many nations and Kingdoms that no longer exist today on Earth. God can decide to use His Sovereign Power as the Owner of the Earth to separate two people who do now agree to walk together (Amos 3:3).

In view of the facts above, and taking into consideration the devastation brought upon the people of Southern Cameroon by the Government of La Republic du Cameroon, recognizing also that the will of God in this matter is for Truth and Justice to be established(reconciliation can only come after), it is my humble opinion that the next step for the Southern Cameroonians is a Referendum. This Referendum will determine whether or not Southern Cameroonians still want to continue with the Union with La Republic. Another reason why a Referendum is the solution is because the government claims that those who are advocating for Secession are a negligible minority. The Referendum then will check the veracity of that claim. Therefore, if we are to revisit the root of the problem of Cameroon as recommended by many, we must realize and recognize that the root of our problem is a Union which has not worked. It has resulted into a situation where one party, having all the Political, Judicial, Economic and Military might, with all its numerical Strength is about to wipe out the other from the face of the Earth in which only God has the title deed. If there will be any All Anglophone Conference at all (and I think we should give it a chance), the wisdom of God demands that the people of Southern Cameroon be given a chance in a REFERENDUM to determine their future. Anything short of that will be tantamount to trying to treat a serious wound lightly.

By hook or by crook, there is a people who exist here on Earth and who see and identify themselves as English Speaking Cameroonians from the Southwestern and Northwestern Region of Cameroon (They have recently identified themselves as Ambazonians; which is also their right), the former British Colony of Southern Cameroon. These people, whose language, education, training, and values have been impacted by the British, are in a way different from those of the other part of the Country called Cameroon, who were impacted by the French. This is the difference between the Anglophone and the Francophone in Cameroon, but this is not what is bad or bringing problem. I will like our Francophone brothers to take note of this. What is bringing problem is the fact that over the years, since the two parties came together, there has been a systematic plan orchestrated by the Government and Sponsored by the French Colonial Masters, to marginalize and consequently assimilate the Anglophones thereby eliminating all that he represents in the Country. The proof is vivid in all sector of life in the Country. This is the Gospel Truth about Cameroon, and the almighty God will not allow this injustice. I love my French brothers and Sisters on the other side. I do not preach hatred and division. But I have a duty to speak the truth. I also thank God for their passion in standing to defend the truth in condemning what they see as fraud in the present Elections of October 7, 2018. This means they too have the same instinct against injustice. I only hope that they will understand and see reasons with Southern Cameroonians when they stand up to say enough is enough.

To conclude this epistle, dear Cardinal, I will like to remind you and your Team who have offered to serve as facilitators and Moderators of this event that History and above all God, stands as your Judge. The government of Cameroon, who has only accepted this Conference reluctantly because of pressure and lack of no better alternative, will try to influence it by infiltrating with its agents to have the last say. That will be counterproductive and will lead to even more bloodshed than we are experiencing now. The People of Southern Cameroon are between Federation and Separation, and only a Referendum held in Southern Cameroon for Southern Cameroonians can be a Just bargain.

May God help the people of Southern Cameroon.

Rev. T. H. Mbu-Arrey


Khashoggi Affair: US to make final conclusions in days, Trump says

18, November 2018

Khashoggi Affair: US to make final conclusions in days, Trump says 0

The United States will make final conclusions by early next week over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump said Saturday, following reports that the CIA had held Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly changed its official narrative of the October 2 murder, first denying any knowledge of Khashoggi’s whereabouts and later saying he was killed when an argument degenerated into a fistfight.

Earlier this week, a Saudi prosecutor exonerated the crown prince of involvement in the brutal murder.

Speaking to reporters in Malibu, California after surveying damage from wildfires, Trump said “we’ll be having a very full report over the next two days, probably Monday or Tuesday.”

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert earlier said reports indicating the United States had already made final conclusions in the case were “inaccurate.” “There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr Khashoggi,” she added.

The State Department will continue to seek facts and work with other countries to hold those involved in the killing accountable, Nauert said, “while maintaining the important strategic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.”

“In the meantime, we will continue to consult Congress, and work with other nations to hold accountable those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.” She noted that Washington had already taken “decisive measures” against individuals, including visa and sanctions actions.

The remarks appeared to contradict reports that the Central Intelligence Agency had determined Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, a vocal critic.

‘Truly spectacular ally’

The killing and the international uproar it triggered has frayed ties between Washington and longtime ally Riyadh, which has sought to end discussion of the murder and rejected calls for an international investigation.

But ahead of a briefing by his secretary of state and CIA director, Trump demured when asked about possible retaliation against Riyadh.

“They have been a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development,” Trump told reporters.

“And I also take that — you know, I’m president — I have to take a lot of things into consideration.”

The Washington Post, which broke the story, said the CIA found that 15 Saudi agents flew on government aircraft to Istanbul and assassinated Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate.

Khashoggi, a Post columnist, had gone to the consulate to obtain documents necessary to marry his Turkish fiancee.

European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini meanwhile reiterated calls for a “thorough, credible and transparent” probe into Khashoggi’s killing.

“The need remains to shed full clarity on the circumstances surrounding this horrendous crime as well as to ensure accountability for all those responsible for it,” she said in a statement.

Reiterating the EU’s categorical opposition to the death penalty, Mogherini said “we will continue to stress that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia must put in place measures to ensure that something like this can never happen again.”

“In due course, the EU and its member states will consider how they can act together towards appropriate measures against those responsible, in support of the rules based international system,” she added.

In the latest version of the events presented by the Saudi prosecutor on Thursday, a 15-member squad was formed to bring Khashoggi back from Istanbul “by means of persuasion” — but instead ended up killing the journalist and dismembering his body in a “rogue” operation.

(AFP)


Central African Republic: Former militia leader arrives at ICC for trial

18, November 2018

Central African Republic: Former militia leader arrives at ICC for trial 0

A former militia leader from the Central African Republic (CAR), nicknamed “Colonel Rambo,” has arrived at the International Criminal Court (ICC) headquarters in The Hague to stand trial.

Alfred Yekatom, 43, was transferred to the ICC detention center in the Dutch city on Saturday and will later stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The suspect arrived in the detention center,” said ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah.

The former army officer, who became a lawmaker elected to parliament in 2016, is accused of ordering some 3,000 anti-Balaka Christian forces under his command — which included child soldiers — to carry out deadly attacks against Seleka Muslims between December 2013 and August 2014 in the capital, Bangui, and other locations.

​In this January 4, 2014 file photo, people displaced by violence are seen walking amid makeshift shelters in a section of a sprawling camp abutting Mpoko Airport, in Bangui, the Central African Republic. (By AP)

 

“Now, he must answer in court for his actions,” the court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said in a statement.

Bensouda thanked those who came forth to launch and build the case against Yekatom, saying “justice would not be possible” without them. He acknowledged the sufferings of the victims and their families, saying the court would hold the former militia commander responsible.

“We cannot undo the suffering that has been inflicted on victims, but we remain committed to doing our part… to advance justice and accountability in the Central African Republic,” Bensouda said.

This photo, taken on January 22, 2014, shows Rwandan African Union peacekeepers confronting a suspected anti-Balaka Christian man who was found with a rifle and a grenade following looting in the Muslim market of the PK13 district of Bangui, the Central African Republic. (By AP)

 

Drissa Traore, a vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights said the move “confirms the authorities’ commitment to cooperate with the ICC when they are unable to pursue those most responsible for war crimes.”

The Central African Republic plunged into violent chaos in March 2003, when General Francois Bozize overthrew former President Ange-Felix Patasse in a coup.

Sectarian violence has been a main feature of that chaos.

The government of President Faustin-Archange Touadera, which gained power in March 2016, has managed to contain the violence and restore peace in the former French colony.

Source: Presstv


Beware of the vultures of the Ambazonian War of liberation

18, November 2018

Beware of the vultures of the Ambazonian War of liberation 0

Cameroon Concord News Group deeply regrets the assassination of General Amigo. He was a great hero of the Ambazonian liberation war.   Boyo County of the Northern Zone of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia has lost a great son and soldier but Ambazonia has lost a war hero. The death of this liberation hero must inspire Ambazonians of all walks of life to fight on until the last person standing.  General Amigo like all mortals was never going to live forever. In effect all mortals are bound to submit to the biblical injunction, which commands that from dust we were raised, to dust we must return.  But the cause General Amigo lived and died for will endure forever.

The demise of the Roman empire, the Ottoman empire, the Yugoslav Republic and other human oppressive contraptions that enslaved millions for years was achieved on the weight of the pressures and sacrifices of freedom seeking peoples. These are lessons we must point to, to fight on, in honour of General Amigo, thousands who have lost their lives, and our individual and collective survival.  Let the enemy not rejoice for the cowardly assassination of General Amigo and thousands of Ambazonian civilians and freedom seekers. From the dusts of their lonely graves, their spirits shall rise to inspire our generation and generations unborn to cement the irreversible gains of Ambazonia independence and freedom.  These heroes died defending the sovereign will of an overwhelming majority of Ambazonians who under the Leadership of His Excellency, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe on October 1 2016, proclaimed the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia from every nook and corner of our Ambazonia fatherland, chanting and pledging that “Ambazonia has risen to fall no more”. Cameroon Concord News Group for this reason joins millions of Ambazonia to eternalize the memory of this great warrior General Amigo and thousands of others who have lost their lives in the defense of the Ambazonia fatherland.

The assassination of General Amigo, and that of many of our fighting self-defense forces, raises questions about the increasing but unchecked degree of infiltration and treachery largely responsible for these painful losses. It is one thing if our heroes died in combat, and another when they are ambushed and slaughtered betrayed by infiltrators, some controlled or manipulated by forces purporting to be fighting for the liberation of our homeland.

It is imperative that after every ambush and assassination such as that of General Amigo, and those of our self-defense forces in Nkambe, parts of Momo, Ngokentunjia and other locations in Ambazonia, we must make a strategic, tactical and forensic analysis of how the attacks occurred and remedy the situation.   Cameroon Concord News Group is conducting a critical examination of the very troubling trend of treachery, infiltration and greed and hereby shares these provisional findings:

  • Some of the attacks although carried out by French Cameroun terrorist forces, have been preceded by targeted ultimatums given by forces alleged to be under the control and command of Cho Ayaba and by extension the AARC alliance. The AARC amorphous group was created in Washington DC barely two weeks after the abduction of His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the Ambazonia interim Government in Nigeria. The amorphous group was created purposefully to sabotage and hijack the Ambazonia cause for the selfish pecuniary interests of its members.
  • The attacks in Momo and Boyo counties were preceded by ultimatums to self-defense forces and the IG by Cho Ayaba forces or forces allied to him and shortly after French Cameroun forces ambushed and assassinated our self-defense forces, suggesting a potential high degree of coordination.
  • A concomitant threat of attack of the Ambazonia self-defense forces by the Ayaba ADF and allied forces and French Cameroun terrorist forces can be said be co-incidental, in one occasion but coincidence must be ruled out when that occurred more than once. Indeed, it has become a recurrent trend.
  • Nsoh Nkem Foncha, a renegade who was sanctioned and sacked by the Interim Government for embezzling funds meant for Ground Zero operations confessed in a social media video recording that he and his acolytes were on mission to destabilize the IG and GZ operations.
  • After the Nkambe genocide in which Ambazonians not in combat were slaughtered in cold blood, a social media Activist and Spokesman for the Cho Ayaba’s ADF went on a social media frenzy celebrating and rebuking the slaughtered Ambazonia victims of the genocide claiming that they died because they failed to join Ayaba’s ADF and to follow his orders.  Cho Ayaba tacitly endorsed this message because he did not rebuke his spokesman, did not express regret for the genocide, did not condemn French Cameroun’s terrorists for the genocide and indeed through multiple fake Facebook profiles, by himself or his surrogates, he blamed the Interim Government for the slaughter of our people.
  • In attempts to showcase the power and control of Cho Ayaba, and his ability to forcefully take over command of all GZ operations, social media activists under his control such as one Carpo Daniel, and others have consistently exposed GZ forces to enemy surveillance. In one occasion, Cho Ayaba himself invited a French television network to conduct a tour of his field operations zones, potentially exposing the territory of Ambazonia and potential war zones to French intelligence.
  • Cho Ayaba’s Dadi misadventure caused this liberation war the early loss of a key tactical and strategic logistical defense base at the borders with Nigeria. What he hoped to achieve by that misadventure was to lure Ambazonians to get more money.
  • The exposure of GZ forces through social media video postings comports a degree of coordinated sophistication. It is inconceivable that forces who are short on logistics and weapons can produce and post these videos on social media.  The purpose is to hoodwink a gullible diaspora to contribute money to Ayaba and his cohorts as opposed to Local Government by Local Government or County by County defense policy advocated by the IG.
  • Cho Ayaba is opposed to County by County and Local Government by Local Government because it deprives him of the only source of subsistence he has lived on since he migrated to Europe. He is accountable to himself and himself alone.
  • The London supposed oil deal scandal for which Cho Ayaba has refused to apologise, portrays Ayaba, a supposed Commander-in-Chief as a Scammer in Chief and unfit to be a credible leader of Ambazonia. He is greedy, self-seeking, gullible and even pathetically inept and delusional.    He has never ever expressed remorse or sympathy for any fallen hero, even those who fell in combat fighting for units under his command.  He has never ever taken measures to assist some of them who were abducted from Nigeria and illegally taken to French Cameroun. It is instead the IG which is doing all in its power to secure their release.
  • The recent betrayal, ambush and assassination of General Amigo is the latest act which has exposed Cho Ayaba, his ADF and acolytes as the Trojan horses by which French Cameroun military intelligence is infiltrating the Ambazonia liberation struggle and committing the genocide which is on the rise.
  • The fact that the Cho Ayaba allied forces have not publicly condemned and dissociated themselves from the assassination of General Amigo, is a tacit confirmation that the assassination was a realisation of their ultimatum. Revealing is the sudden silence of the ADF spokesman, social activists and acolytes who at various degrees threatened General Amigo and even tacitly urged his demise.   This silence indeed underscores their satisfaction for a mission realized.
  • Unfortunately for them, their satisfaction must be short-lived, because their rhetoric, actions and threats and the assassinations have linked them unmistakably to the French Cameroun terrorists forces they have been pretending to be fighting against on behalf of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. They have finally been exposed as the conduits, infiltrators, Trojan horses, while French Cameroun terrorist forces are the executioners.
  • In the face of this reality, Cameroon Concord News Group calls on Ambazonians worldwide to intensify their support for the IG, Local Government by Local Government and County by County defense strategy.
  • The Local Government by Local Government, County by County liberation policy devised by the Interim Government deprives the vultures of the Ambazonia liberation struggle of the money they have been extorting by fraud from Ambazonia diaspora.
  • The military strategy conceived by these vultures of the Ambazonia liberation war, provides ample opportunities for French Cameroun agents to infiltrate the forces and exterminate our people.  Our fighting forces know the fighters in their local government areas or counties.  They will readily identify and neutralize infiltrators.
  • Cameroon Concord News Group does not discount the possibility of forces deployed from parts of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to conduct military operations in some parts when the self-defense needs of the people require. In this circumstance, these forces will be members of the Ambazonia mobile specialized mobile units, special forces and commandos. These special operation forces must remain largely unknown to the enemy and must possess multiple intelligence and operational capacities.
  • The method of operation of the enemy through forces disguised as civilians to ambush and assassinate Ambazonia civilians and self-defense forces shows elements of adoptability to the Ambazonia war environment with the support of vultures of the revolution or local CPDM party traitors. These categories of traitors must be checked and controlled. They must know that providing intelligence to the enemy makes them targets for attacks.
  • The Cho Ayaba ADF forces have been exposed to the social media limiting their capacity to be deployed to areas outside their respective local government areas as special mobile forces, special operations forces and commandos. By their very exposure, they have lost the capacity and characteristic to be effective.  The constant media outings of his commanders expose them as undisciplined and lacking in military intelligence strategy.
  • Cameroon Concord News Group is aware of the recent call by His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe for unity. Cameroon Concord News Group recalls the Acting President Dr Sako had made similar calls. He even initiated a unity conference in Washington DC which Cho Ayaba and members of AARC sabotaged.
  • The preliminary result of the enquiry which Cameroon Concord News Group is conducting has been made public now due to the urgency of the need to alert the GZ forces, the IG and Ambazonians to the need to take urgent steps to close the loopholes in the revolution that have been exploited by opportunistic vultures of the liberation struggle for self-gain and in the ultimate interests of the enemy.
  • Cameroon Concord News Group gives its qualified support to the unity call by the President but strongly call on Ambazonians to be extremely vigilant and cautions of the activities of vultures of the revolutionary war which have inflicted so much harm and are hampering the efficacious prosecution of the war. They must be made to understand that the enemy is French Cameroun and not the IG or the Ambazonia Ground Zero self-defense forces. The first line of control by the people of Ambazonia is to deny them the contributions they are seeking and contribute to Ground Zero operations directly through your local government or county and to your IG.  Your IG needs contributions for the defense of the President His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, members of the Interim Government as well as forty-nine other Ambazonians who were abducted from Nigeria and taken to French Cameroon. The IG needs resources for Ambazonia refugees in Nigeria and for other strategic diplomatic, strategic defense operations.  The vultures of the revolution have never done anything for Ambazonia refugees, abductees, or possess delicate diplomatic skills.  They do not have the ability and maturity to counter the enemy in multiple fronts through the resourceful coordination of the Ambazonia highly skilled and professional Ambazonians and members of the international community away from the self-seeking social frenzy antics of the vultures of the revolution.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman and Editor-in-Chief


17, November 2018

Yaounde: Journalist charged for denouncing Cameroon army abuses in S.Cameroons 0

A Cameroon journalist has been charged with justifying terrorism, his lawyer told AFP on Friday, one of at least six reporters detained since a disputed presidential election on October 7.

Michel Biem Tong, who works for the internet site Hurinews.com was arrested on October 23 by army security forces, lawyer Essomba Tchoungui said.

He was charged on Thursday with “justifying terrorism, false declarations and insulting the head of state,” he added.

A support group noted that Tong was arrested following “a series of articles that denounced abuses by the Cameroon army in anglophone zones” of the country where separatists have clashed repeatedly with government forces.

He is to be brought before a military tribunal in Yaounde on December 5, the group added. Since Cameroon President Paul Biya, 85, won reelection with 71% of the vote according to poll officials, at least six journalists have been detained in the country.

In 2017, radicals gained the upper hand in the separatist anglophone movement and declared an independent state, the Republic of Ambazonia, which is not recognised internationally.

Since then, more than 200 members of the security forces and more than 500 civilians have died in clashes, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Source: AFP


Southern Cameroons: Religious sisters released one day after kidnapping

17, November 2018

Southern Cameroons: Religious sisters released one day after kidnapping 0

Three Franciscan sisters and 13 novices travelling from Bamenda to Shisong in Northwest Cameroon have been released, after they were captured by separatist fighters in the small village of Bamessing yesterday.

The hostage-takers were positively identified by an ecclesiastical source as the “Amba boys” – separatist fighters using hit-and-run tactics to engage the armed forces of the Republic of Cameroon in a guerilla warfare for the separation of English-speaking Cameroon from French-speaking Cameroon and the independence of the new nation they have named ‘Ambazonia.’

This nearly three-year conflict has led to several hundred deaths on both the militia and government forces sides, 300,000 refugees in Nigeria and more than 80,000 internally displaced persons in Cameroon.

The separatist fighters are known to dig up trenches on the main road leading from Bamenda, the capital city of the Northwest Region, to many other villages and towns surrounding it, mainly in a bid to prevent military transport and soldiers from reaching their hideouts.

The kidnappers held the religious sisters and their novices hostage in a remote bush overnight, as negotiations took place between an official of the Diocese of Kumbo and the hostage takers.

A source at the Diocese of Kumbo confirmed that the Amba boys had taken the sisters hostage because of what they perceived to be the support of the Church for a peace conference convened by Christian Cardinal Tumi.

The sisters and the novices were released unharmed on the afternoon of November 16. They were handed over to representatives of the Diocese of Kumbo. The conditions of their release were not clear.

Source: Catholic News Agency


Trump administration cutting counterterror forces in Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger

17, November 2018

Trump administration cutting counterterror forces in Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger 0

The Pentagon says it is reducing its counterterrorism forces in Africa and is studying whether to make similar moves elsewhere in the world.

The stated reason for a planned 10 percent cut in the counterterrorism forces of U.S. Africa Command is to shift the military’s attention toward security threats from Russia and China. That is in line with a revamped defense strategy announced in January by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

The Africa reductions will amount to roughly 700 troops and their associated military support.

 The Pentagon said the reductions will not touch U.S. forces in Somalia, Djibouti or Libya. The cuts will be mainly in West Africa, where U.S. forces operate in relatively small numbers in Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger and others. Last October four U.S. soldiers were killed in Niger.
Source: AP



French Cameroun Politics: Ambazonian leaders denied bail

17, November 2018

French Cameroun Politics: Ambazonian leaders denied bail 0

A court in Cameroon Thursday rejected an application for bail for some detained Anglophone separatist leaders who were seized in Nigeria and extradited to Yaoundé in January.

The Yaoundé Appeal Court confirmed an earlier verdict by the High Court rejecting a plea by defence lawyers that secessionist leader Julius Ayuk Tabe and his fellow defendants be granted bail.

Mr Fru John Nsoh, who led the defence team, said he was not surprised by the outcome of the brief hearing and promised they would petition the Supreme Court within 48 hours.

“The Appeal Court has confirmed the verdict that was issued by the High Court, meaning they have rejected our application. I was not surprised though, and we are going to file at the Supreme Court,” Mr Nsoh said.

Their loved ones

Some family members and friends of the detainees came to the hearing with hope that their loved ones would be set free.

“It has not been easy for the family. We are in tears everyday…,” a sister of one of the detainees stated, before bursting into tears.

Mr Tabe, the president of a self-declared breakaway state of Ambazonia, and 46 other members of the secessionist movement, were held incommunicado in Yaoundé for 10 months before being granted access to lawyers recently, Mr Nsoh said.

Prior to their extradition, Mr Tabe and the co-accused had been “held in secret” at a hotel in Abuja, according to Amnesty International.

Public appearance

The human rights advocacy group said the activists were at risk of “unfair trial before a military court and the deeply disturbing possibility of torture” in Cameroon.

Thursday’s hearing was their second public appearance since they were extradited.

The suspects symbolically proclaimed the independence of the hypothetical of Ambazonia on October 1 last year.

Their subsequent deportation marked an escalation in the crisis that has rocked the two English speaking regions for nearly two years now.

Source: The East African



UK: May’s gov’t will not budge as House of Lords debate Ambazonia crisis

16, November 2018

UK: May’s gov’t will not budge as House of Lords debate Ambazonia crisis 0

As violence in the former British colony, Cameroon, escalates, the UK government has again rejected calls to give diplomatic support to the English-speaking community.

After a House of Lords debate, initiated by Lord Boateng, representatives of Britain’s Cameroonian community expressed disappointment that the UK will not rally international pressure against the Francophone Cameroonian regime.

Despite a recent Amnesty report describing the Cameroon regime’s campaign of “arbitrary arrests, torture, unlawful killings and destruction of property” in the Anglophone region of the West African nation, the UK will go no further than urging all sides to seek dialogue. British Cameroonians told ICN they had been hoping Britain would give practical support to the Catholic bishops’ conference later this month.

Since the violence began two years ago, almost half a million Anglophone Cameroonians have fled their homes, following attacks by government soldiers. The UNHCR reports that 26,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Nigeria. According to Amnesty, 450 to 500 civilians and 185 members of the security services have been killed in the conflict. Meanwhile, UNICEF believes that 58 schools have been destroyed.

The Catholic bishops’ conference has described the regime’s actions as, “inhuman, blind, monstrous violence.”

Last month, Cameroon held an election that was judged neither free nor fair by international standards. President Paul Biya, age 85, has been in power since 1982. Of the October election, Archbishop Samuel Kleda, the president of the bishops’ conference, said: “One has the impression election results are decided before voting takes place.”

Meanwhile, Biya’s main opponent has been arrested, and joins 47 other political leaders who are being held without charge.

On Wednesday evening, Lord Boateng, a former high commissioner to South Africa, told the House of Lords that the blame for the current conflict lay with Cameroon’s 1961 independence referendum. The British and French colonial powers gave the country’s English-speaking minority a choice between joining Nigeria or being absorbed by the French-speaking majority in Cameroon, rather than creating a separate Anglophone country. Since then, Boateng said, any constitutional protections for Anglophones, who make up 20% of the West African nation’s population, have been eroded.

Lord Alton told the House it was unsurprising that English speakers had objected two years ago when Francophone judges were imposed on Anglophone courts, dispensing laws they did not understand, and Francophone teachers took the place of English speakers in the Anglophone region’s schools. While condemning the violence of militant extremists, Alton said that government soldiers had responded to peaceful protests with disproportionate force.

“The International Crisis Group reports that a government helicopter hovered outside a church, shooting anglophone worshippers as they emerged from Mass,” he said.

Lord Alton urged the UK to reject the path of moral equivalence whereby it considers that both sides in the Cameroon conflict are as bad as each other. “We should not underestimate the influence that we have, but it speaks volumes that we left it to the American ambassador to express his disapproval of the Cameroonian Government’s brutal response to peaceful protests.”

Lord Judd urged the UK not to simply issue the usual calls for a cessation of violence and a negotiated settlement. He asked British ministers to give practical help to make inclusive and meaningful peace talks possible, which required diplomatic pressure to be put on the Cameroonian authorities. During the debate, several speakers noted that the UK should be working with France, its former colonial partner in Cameroon, to push the Francophone regime to seek a federal solution that would guarantee the rights of the Anglophone minority.

Lord Alton questioned how serious Britain was when it claimed to care about the democratic values and human rights desired by English speakers, led by the Catholic church. “There is nothing admirable about being even-handed in the face of the suffering of the anglophone community,” he said. “The United Kingdom should support the anglophone community’s peaceful civil society leaders in seeking genuine and inclusive talks. We need a targeted strategy for atrocity prevention and a commitment to bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations wherever they occur.”

Source: Independent Catholic News


Presbyterian Hostages Freed in S.Cameroons, But Ambazonia Conflict Carries On

16, November 2018

Presbyterian Hostages Freed in S.Cameroons, But Ambazonia Conflict Carries On 0

Kidnappers released this week the last of more than 80 hostages taken from a Presbyterian school in Cameroon amid an escalating crisis in the Central African country’s English-speaking regions.

Just over a week after being captured at gunpoint, the principal, dorm warden, and two remaining students were freed Monday, while the rest of the victims, students ages 11–17, were let go last week, Reuters reported.

The Presbyterian-run boarding school in the region’s capital, Bamenda, has been forced to shut down since the captors threatened further attacks.

The incident represents the latest of at least four school abductions over the past two months, and about a dozen over the past year, as unrest over disparities between Cameroon’s English-speaking North-West and South-West regions and the nation’s French-speaking majority turns increasingly violent. Another 11 boys had been taken from the same school the week before.

And the kidnappings, as heart-wrenching as they are, represent just a small portion of the violence that has left the Anglophone region on the brink of civil war.

An estimated 400 civilians have died in the dispute, including an American missionary caught in the crossfire last month, just weeks after moving to Cameroon. More than a quarter-million people have fled their homes and villages, and many who remain are desperate for security and resources.

Cameroon’s churches, whose cry for peace has intensified over the past few months, have suffered in the separatist conflict, with four church buildings taken over by military forces and at least 50 Christian-run primary schools, secondary schools, and hospitals affected, according to Gustav Ebai, information and communication secretary for the Council of Protestant Churches of Cameroon.

“We have failed God,” he said in an interview with CT. “There is no evil like the evil I have seen in my country.”

The instability in North-West and South-West dampened celebrations for the coastal nation’s 61st annual Presbyterian Church Day, held last Sunday.

“Given what the Anglophone community is passing through at this moment, we cannot really celebrate; feasting and enjoying ourselves while many of God’s children are being killed, living in pains, frustrated and others living as internal and external refugees,” stated Fonki Samuel Forba, moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC).

He advised congregations in the PCC—the largest local English-speaking denomination, with over a million members—to keep observances low-key and to use the occasion to raise awareness about those impacted by the recent violence.

More than 100 PCC pastors are believed to have fled the two regions as conditions worsen; in Bamenda, some residents fear that even traveling or attending typical gatherings could put them at risk of attacks. Ebai told CT that in many villages, the pastors were the last to leave.

PCC leaders have helped coordinate counseling for displaced families who have moved in with friends or fellow church members in safer regions. Millions are in need of humanitarian aid as a result of the conflict. Those who are left in the Anglophone region tend to be the poorest and neediest—the ones without means to flee elsewhere.

“… [M]uch emphasis should be laid on raising Mission Work Fund to enable the Church continue to attend to our displaced pastors and brethren affected by the armed conflict that has brought sorrow and suffering upon many,” Forba stated. “As we keep on praying and trusting that soon the Lord would turn our mourning to rejoicing and the flourishing of life in absolute peace and justice, remain inspired.”

The escalating violence in the Anglophone regions coincided with a tense election held last month, which re-elected 85-year-old President Paul Biya for his seventh term in office; he has ruled since 1982.

Though Cameroon’s two languages and corresponding cultural differences date back to British and French colonial rule, the conflict has emerged more recently as English speakers in North-West and South-West began to protest against discrimination from the French majority in the national government about two years ago.

The Anglophones—who represent 3 million people and approximately a fifth of the nation’s population—defended their place in local schools and courts in particular. Their protests eventually spurred an intense separatist movement when Biya responded by sending an elite military unit to the area.

Because the education system has become a major point of contention between the two sides, the armed separatists have burned or taken over more than 100 schools in western Cameroon in the past year.

Many Cameroonians suspect an unfair election and worry that there will not be a peaceful resolution for the English-speaking regions under Biya, since the affected areas are also a political stronghold for his opposition.

“Before, during, and after the presidential elections that just ended in Cameroon, Christians, and many believers of other faiths, prayed for this country. They prayed like they never did before,” wrote Buma Kor Dickson, a Christian publisher based in Yaoundé.

“The fact is that Cameroonians on both sides prayed for change, but the answer is still to come. God is not done with Cameroon, yet!”

At Presbyterian Church Bastos, in the capital city of Yaoundé, Emmanuel Basam urged Christians to continue praying for peace, calling to mind the Presbyterian schools and hospitals threatened by attacks to the west.

For over a year, Basam has addressed the Anglophone-Francophone conflict in his preaching, including sermons on loving your enemies, seeking unity, and praying for God to heal the land.

The national Protestant council adopted Deuteronomy 19:10 as a theme verse earlier this year: “Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed” (NIV). Now, they have focused their prayers on restoration, based on 2 Corinthians 13:11: “Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you” (NIV).

Ebai has urged churches to use the global coverage and attention around the recent kidnappings as an opportunity to double-down on their message, condemning the current violence and calling for peaceful discussion.

“We need to communicate it at all levels, at every church, every sermon, every Sunday,” he said. “If you are praying without action, how do you expect God to use you?”

Seeing the conflict as a humanitarian crisis, Christian denominational leaders have taken the initiative to promote dialogue between the government and the secessionists, Christian leaders told CT. Many of their own have fled the region for safer cities, or even left the country for neighboring Nigeria, as the threat of violence grew more severe.

Ebai, whose family is from South-West, has taken in 15 relatives and visits family in the region at least once a month. Four of his cousins, including two in the military, have died in the fighting.

Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and Catholic clergy in the majority-Christian nation have partnered with Muslim leaders to offer to work as mediators, but officials feared political motives behind their efforts, Catholic newspaper La Croix reported.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International condemned the indiscriminate killings, attacks, and abductions suffered by ordinary people living in North-West and South-West.

American missionary Charles Wesco numbers among the civilian victims. The Baptist pastor and father of eight was killed on October 30, less than two weeks after his family moved from Indiana to outside Bamenda.

“We deplore the death of the missionary,” Edward Njini, pastor of Nkwen Baptist Church in Bamenda, told Religion News Service. “It is unfortunate they fired the guns and he was killed. I don’t think he was a target.”

Wesco and a fellow missionary were driving into town when their vehicle was shot; both the separatists and the government forces blame the other side for the killing.

Family members and fellow missionaries honored Wesco at a memorial service in South Bend, Indiana on Monday. They “have been praying diligently for the man that took Charles’ life,” said Randy King, a pastor who served for 30 years in Cameroon.

“But I pray as a missionary to Cameroon that I … might one day have the opportunity to meet Charles’ killer to express our forgiveness to him and in love, seek to lead him to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior that he might also receive God’s forgiveness for what he did.”

Catholic media report that a Catholic seminarian, Gerard Anjiangwe, was also killed last month, and a priest in the South-West town of Bomaka was shot in July.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Far North region continues to suffer under the threat of Boko Haram terrorists. Christianity Today recently reported its November cover story from neighboring Nigeria on the relentless attacks the church there has faced from Boko Haram and militant Fulani herdsmen.

Culled from Christianity Today International(US)


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