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27, April 2018

Mancho Bibixy blames courts for fueling Anglophone crisis ⁰

Mancho Bibixy has averred that the courts were complicit in the raging political and security crisis facing the Central African nation.

Mancho and six others were earlier this week convicted of terrorism and other charges including secession and hostility against the state. Their trial, which lasted months, was held by a military court in the capital Yaounde. Sentencing is reserved till May 8th, 2018.

Cameroon media said he was acquitted of some other charges as rebellion, civil war, destruction of property, killing and non-possession of an ID. Another accused was however acquitted and discharged. Even though his lawyers have said they will appeal the ruling, the outspoken Mancho delivered a message to the trial judge during his last appearance stressing that the court had taken the line of fuelling the Anglophone crisis.

“You have an opportunity to begin solving the Anglophone crisis or add more fuel to the fire. History will be the final judge,” he is quoted to have said. The terrorism charge largely stems from their actions supposedly “threatening Cameroon’s sovereignty.”

He first appeared in a coffin at a protest in Bamenda (capital of the Northwest region) in November 2016. His action it is said was to convey the message that minority English-speaking Cameroonians “seemed to have died before their real death” and therefore they had nothing to fear but to speak against the injustices.

The other accused persons include: Tsi Conrad, The Emile Agwe, Tangwa Maloin Tangwa, Azelecha Martin, Guingah Valentine, Junior Awahro Thomas. They were all ordered to pay 579m CFA francs ($1m; £770,000) in damages.

Local media reports that he and his co-accused are currently being held at Yaoundé‘s Kondengui Central Prison awaiting sentencing.

Source: Africa News

26, April 2018

UN finds five mass graves in Congo amid ethnic violence ⁰

United Nations investigators have discovered five probable mass grave sites in eastern Congo’s Ituri province where an outbreak of ethnic violence has killed at least 263 people, a UN peacekeeping mission said.

The report from the mission provides the most comprehensive portrait to date of the human cost of months of violence between Lendu pastoralists and Hema herders since December that has caused one of Africa’s most serious refugee crises.

Violence across eastern Congo’s borderlands with Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi has spiked since President Joseph Kabila refused to step aside at the end of his mandate in 2016, eroding state authority and emboldening armed groups.

The mostly Lendu-led attacks have forced more than 60,000 people to flee across Lake Albert into Uganda, and the UN refugee agency expects 200,000 refugees to reach Uganda this year. Tens of thousands of others have fled to other towns inside Congo.

The investigators did not provide details about the suspected mass graves, but said that about 120 towns and villages were pillaged and destroyed between December and mid-March.

According to Hema refugees Reuters interviewed last month in Uganda, Lendu groups typically attack Hema villages shortly after dusk with guns, machetes, axes and bows and arrows.

The precise motives for the attacks are difficult to pin down but tensions between the two communities have long been stoked by disagreements over cattle grazing rights, crops, gold mining and political representation.

Open warfare between the two communities from 1999-2007 is estimated to have killed some 50,000 people in one of the bloodiest chapters of a civil war in eastern Congo that left millions dead from conflict, hunger and disease.

Aid agencies say the crisis is a “mega-disaster” and are trying to raise over $2 billion to respond but Congo’s government has accused them of exaggerating the situation and boycotted a recent donor conference.

(Source: Reuters)

26, April 2018

Malta’s National Football Coach Gets Fired After Applying For Position With Cameroon ⁰

Malta’s national football team coach, Tom Saintfiet, has been given the sack after he reportedly replied to a call for a position within the Cameroonian Football Federation.

The Malta Football Association has released a statement relating to his departure.

“Following a thorough analysis of the situation, a decision has been taken to relieve Mr Saintfiet of his duties as National Team Coach. To this end, the Malta Football Association communicates that the employment contract of Tom Saintfiet has been terminated with immediate effect,” the Association said.

Saying they sought “reassurances” from Mr Saintfelt about reports that he had not applied for the post of coach of another national team, they ended the meeting with his termination.

The 45-year-old Belgian has denied these reports, saying he never applied for a job in Cameroon, and saying that even the Cameroonian Football Federation themselves admit that many coaches do not know that someone applied in their name.

“There are agents who do it without informing the coaches. I had applied for the Cameroon job in 2012, 2014 and 2015, but this year I am very happy to be in Malta with my family and have a long-term commitment. I have no reason to apply anywhere else, and I never sent any application,” he told Maltatoday.

He’s since removed a public Facebook post where he had denied applying for the position. Mr Saintfiet was appointed to Malta’s national football team last October. He watched over an embarrassing 3 – 0 defeat against Estonia in his first match, and has only coached the team through two consequent matches, both of which were goalless losses for the Maltese side.

He has coached teams in many countries, including Malawi and Bangladesh. Since his departure, the Malta National Football Team’s Wikipedia page has been tampered with, and now displays famed Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger as the coach of the Maltese team.

Source: LovinMalta.com

26, April 2018

Catholic church should intervene in Southern Cameroons crisis ⁰

The Roman Catholic church should mediate in the crisis in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, where separatists and security forces are embroiled in a dangerous conflict, a thinktank urged Thursday.

“The Catholic Church could help break this dangerous stalemate,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report.

“Other than the Catholic clergy, there are few prospective peacemakers,” it said. “If no-one fills that role, the separatist sentiment already voiced by many anglophones will continue to grow, fuelling further violence and exacerbating the ongoing insurgency in the anglophone regions, with elections in late 2018 a flashpoint.”

The crisis began in 2016, when activists in Cameroon’s anglophone minority stepped up a campaign for greater autonomy.

Their demands were rejected by President Paul Biya, prompting radicals to make a full-blown declaration of independence last October.

Since then, 31 members of the security forces have been killed by separatists, according to an AFP toll based on official figures. The number of armed separatists or civilians killed by police and troops is unknown.

At the same time, humanitarian needs in the anglophone regions have grown. According to UN estimates, tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting.

The ICG said the church could help by stating “its impartiality” on the big question facing anglophone regions — federalism versus decentralisation.

“A clergy able to project a position of neutrality could work with other trusted actors to mediate between anglophone leaders and the state and stem a dangerous and growing crisis,” it said.

The church is one of Cameroon’s strongest institutions, as it is present in all of the country’s 10 regions and nearly a third of the population is Catholic, the report said.

It cautioned though that the church also had to overcome its own divisions between French- and English-speaking clergy.

Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest Regions are home to most of the country’s anglophones — a minority of about 20 percent in the predominantly French-speaking country of 23.4 million.

Within the minority, a perception of injustice has grown that anglophones suffer discrimination in the economy, education and the judicial system at the hands of the francophone majority.

The anglophone presence is a legacy of the colonial period in Africa.

France and Britain divided up the former German colony under League of Nations mandates after World War I.

A year after the French-ruled territory became independent in 1961, the southern part of British Cameroons was integrated into a federal system.

Federalism was then scrapped 11 years later for a “united republic” — a centralised system that 85-year-old Biya, in power for more than 35 years, has said will not be changed.

The ICG warned last October that “murderous repression” by the authorities would only feed secessionism — a warning that the government lashed as an attempt to destabilise the country.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

26, April 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Chief Mukete faced with a tough choice ⁰

The paramount chief of the Bafaw in the South West region of Cameroon, Fon Victor Mukete, is facing headwinds at the Senate and in his native region of the southwest following a video released on Youtube wherein he was showering praises on the country’s president, Paul Biya, for appointing him as the senator for Meme Division.

The 100-year-old Mukete is clearly staring down the barrel of dismissal, as the new Social Democratic Front (SDF) senators have indicated that Chief Mukete like many Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) senators are in breach of senate rules.

According to a Cameroon Concord News source close to the senate, the seven SDF senators have sworn to right many violations that have taken place during the just ended senatorial term. Our source, who has spoken to SDF senators, has reported that the proceedings will start today, April 26, 2018 with the intention of giving the senile Mukete and his fellow party members 48 hours to choose whether to be in the senate or continue to serve their country wherever they also hold public office.

If after 48 hours, those caught up in this breach of senate rule do not decide on what to do, a senate committee will also grant them ten days and at the expiry of the 10 days, those involved in this breach will automatically be considered as having resigned from the senate.

Chief Mukete, a senator from Meme Division in the South West region, is the Board chairman of the country’s telecommunications company, CAMTEL. According to the country’s senate rules, senators are not supposed to hold other government functions, but for many years, these rules have not been applied and many ruling party senators like Chief Mukete have gotten away with what is supposed to be punishable under senate rules.

Things are about to change and according to our source; Mr. Biya has clearly supported the SDF decision to fight such a breach. Mr. Biya has urged those involved to make the right decision and has clearly stated that he will not be defending or supporting them.

Meanwhile, in the southwest region, Chief Mukete is under fire for overstaying his welcome in the political arena. Many South-westerners hold that at 100 years, Chief Mukete is supposed to have quit politics, especially as Southern Cameroonians are locked in a battle they believe could result in their obtaining an independent country known as Ambazonia.

It should be recalled that a few weeks ago, Chief Mukete had indicated that the best solution to the Southern Cameroonian crisis would be the establishment of a federal system; a statement that shocked his ruling party and sent down ripples down Mr. Biya’s spine.

Chief Mukete like many Southern Cameroonian politicians in Yaounde are silently sympathizing with the English-speaking minority, but having been part of the system for decades and militated in a party considered by many as a crime syndicate, they cannot publicly express their political view for fear of being arrested and taken to the country’s maximum security prison in Yaoundé.

Chief Mukete’s dismissal from the senate will be a huge blow to the party and to Chief Mukete himself. If he decides to stay in the senate, he will be losing his position as board chairman at CAMTEL; a company he has used to feather his nest and place members of his family in high positions.

After so many years in the corridors of power, Chief Mukete is facing his toughest challenge yet. He is expected to make a decision on this matter in a few days and with the president clearly indicating that he is on the side of SDF senators, Chief Mukete and his follow party members are set to lose some of their privileges.

Meanwhile, fighting in the two English-speaking regions of the country has intensified. Government forces have over the last three months been engaged in gross human rights abuses which are causing many in the international community to question the government’s commitment to the inclusive dialogue it has been talking about.

For almost two years, Southern Cameroons has been reduced to an abattoir with government troops killing innocent citizens as if they are not nationals of Cameroon. In many parts of Southern Cameroons, young men, many of whom are innocent and have nothing to do with the ugly fighting that is playing out over there, have been arrested and taken to unknown destinations. Many have been buried alive, while others have been used by the country’s sex-starved and alcohol-inflamed soldiers as shooting targets. The rule of law that is supposed to be upheld by the government is gradually becoming the rule of weapons where those with weapons dictate the rule and the country’s government is doing its best to encourage this form of lawlessness that is breeding hatred and feeding the circle of violence that is claiming many lives in Southern Cameroons.

A crisis that started as simple protests by lawyers, teachers and students in Buea and Bamenda has been allowed to metamorphose into a full blown armed conflict due to the government’s firm belief in tough and violent means to address issues. The government’s decision to slaughter hundreds of Southern Cameroonians on October 1, 2017, has turned out to be an unfortunate error of judgment. Many people around the world who have been watching Cameroon descend into chaos thought the country’s government would actually embrace peace. Many have been waiting for the government to lay the ground work for the much-touted inclusive dialogue that the country’s president, Paul Biya, has been talking about.

But time, a key factor in life, has revealed that Mr. Biya, who had declared at the United Nations in 2017 that “we all are hankering after peace”, has, all through, been paying lip-service to the notion of inclusive and sincere dialogue. Mr. Biya and his government see governance as a do or die affair and any dialogue that might minimize their power will never be their cup of tea. They have opted for self-destruction. They seem to be admiring the killings in their own country. Cameroon’s leaders are unfortunately encouraging a bloodbath in their own country.

To them, the atrocities being committed by government troops are simply war games worthy of their admiration. They seem to be deflecting public opinion from the fact that Southern Cameroonians, who have been victims of the government’s marginalization, simply want to be heard. They want years of injustice and disrespect to be addressed. But wont to violence and dictatorial ways of doing business, the government is unrelentingly pursuing its legendary policy of violence which has transformed an entire region into a massive killing field.

After October 1, 2017, a date many Southern Cameroonians consider as their independence day, the country has been pushed into an unprecedented spiral of violence. Government troops seem to be on a killing spree that is drawing a lot of admiration among government officials of Beti extraction. Mr. Joseph Beti Assomo, the country’s defense minister, is alleged to have boasted that by the time the conflict ends, there will be no Southern Cameroonians in the English-speaking regions. This testifies to the many claims of a government-sponsored genocide that are on social media.

Given such an attitude and the way many English-speaking Cameroonians have been rushed to an early grave by army soldiers, Southern Cameroonians hold that it behooves them to protect themselves as the government has decided to mow them down like unwanted ragweed. The government’s approach is creating more animosity and radicalizing even the most moderate, as Southern Cameroonians see their brothers being shot point blank by soldiers who are supposed to protect them.

Today, the radicalization has given birth to many armed groups in the two English-speaking regions of the country. The government too has stepped up its killing spree to prove that it is in control of the territory. Over the last four months, many innocent civilians have met their death as the government pursues its policy of collective punishment. Many civilians have seen their homes burnt down by government forces which have opted for a “scorch-earth” policy that is hurting many vulnerable people who have nothing to do with the conflict.

Schools and courts have remained closed in many parts of Southern Cameroons, though ghost town operations organized by angry English-speaking Cameroonians with the objective of bringing the government to the negotiating table are gradually fizzling out. The sticking point has been the government’s refusal to discuss the form of the state and this is causing the conflict to drag on and, in the process, it is taking forms that are too complicated even for the government to handle. The daily killings are resulting in moderate English-speaking Cameroonians seeing secession as the ultimate answer.

Today, the extrajudicial killings have become a daily affair and ordinary citizens are also killing and maiming soldiers in retaliation for the killing of many civilians. The arrest of secessionist leaders in Nigeria on January 5, 2018, and their illegal extradition to Yaoundé in late January have not helped matters. These leaders have been held incommunicado for almost two months and this is a concern to rights groups which hold that they deserve a fair trial and access to lawyers.

The abuses are ongoing and getting serious by the day. The international community is concerned about the government’s refusal to call for genuine and inclusive dialogue. And its approach to the resolution of this conflict has been criticized by the International Crisis Group (ICG), a rights group that has representatives on the ground who are collecting information and evidence of abuses. Though the ICG has been critical of the government, it still holds that dialogue is the ultimate answer to a crisis that is jeopardizing the country’s development prospects.

Southern Cameroonians are sick and tired of the referendum that was negotiated by John Ngu Foncha and his self-centered followers who were simply blinded by their own parochial interests. Southern Cameroonians have clearly demonstrated their disgust and frustration with a union that has robbed them of their dignity and happiness. They claim the government has been very indifferent to their plight. Years of marginalization have sent more than three million Southern Cameroonians abroad where they are today making the government to feel their ire. The Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is hell-bent on destabilizing the country if the government does not introduce meaningful reforms, especially those that border on federalism as a system of governance that has spread wealth and prosperity in other parts of the world.

The Southern Cameroons crisis is clearly an outcome of the pent-up anger and frustration that have been ignored by the country’s government. Southern Cameroonians have a genuine problem. Their marginalization is not a myth. It is a reality that has been noticed by the international community and even the government can no longer deny it. The scars of marginalization are all over the place. The country’s English-speaking minority has been frustrated for decades and the current armed conflict only speaks to the pain Southern Cameroonians have endured for years.

Most of these fighters are simply calling for the world to listen to them. They want a righting of the wrongs of the past. The lawyers who started the demonstrations never talked about secession or independence. But the government’s high-handedness and its determination to play the ostrich have pushed the country to the brink of a bloody civil war. Southern Cameroonians have, over time, migrated from redress to federalism and as government officials like Fame Ndongo, Issa Tchiroma and Laurent Esso insist that there is no Anglophone problem in Cameroon, many Southern Cameroonians have simply felt that it is time to look at other options – those which will extricate them from the burden of over-centralization.

By Ebot Etchi and Rita Akana in Yaoundé with contributions from Soter Agboaw-Ebai

26, April 2018

France won’t leave Iran nuclear deal, Macron tells US Congress ⁰

French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will not leave the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), amid US efforts to persuade European parties to the agreement to withdraw from it.

Speaking at the US Congress Wednesday on the final day of a three-day state visit, Macron said the JCPOA was not addressing what he called “all concerns” but stressed that the deal could not be ditched.

“We signed it, both the United States and France.”

“We should not abandon it without having something substantial and more substantial instead. That’s why France will not leave the JCPOA, because we signed it,” he said.

He also vowed that Iran will “never” be allowed to develop atomic weapons.

“Our objective is clear. Iran shall never possess any nuclear weapons. Not now. Not in five years. Not in 10 years. Never,” Macron said.

Trump has often vowed to pull the United States out of the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Back in January, Trump said it was the last time he was extending the sanctions relief for Iran as part of the nuclear agreement, giving the European signatories a May 12 deadline to fix what he claimed to be the “flaws” in the agreement or he would refuse to waive those bans.

Iran has repeatedly warned that any failure to respect the multinational agreement would have grave consequences, stressing that there is no alternative to the nuclear accord.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron (C) greets members of Congress after addressing a joint meeting of Congress inside the House chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

‘Trade war’

Elsewhere in his remarks, the French president also warned against a trade “war” between allies and asked for a free and fair global trade.

“We need a free and fair trade, for sure,” Macron said. “A commercial war opposing allies is not consistent with our mission, with our history, with our current commitments for global security.”

Macron’s remarks came as US trade sanctions on European steel and aluminum will enter into force in coming weeks unless Trump agrees to sign a waiver.

Paris climate agreement

On climate, Macron told US lawmakers there was “no Planet B,” acknowledging a disagreement with Trump, who pulled his country from the landmark Paris accord on climate change.

“Let us face it. There is no Planet B,” Macron said.

“We have disagreements between the United States and France. It may happen, like in all families,” he said but added that such differences would be short-term. “We’re just citizens of the same planet,” Macron said.

He said he was confident the United States “would come back and join the Paris agreement.”

Trump said last year that his country would withdraw from the accord, which aims to reduce damaging emissions and was signed by almost 200 countries.

Culled from Presstv

26, April 2018

Cameroon media houses operating in climate of fear and self-censorship ⁰

Cameroon is not an ideal place for journalists to thrive in the line of duty due to laws that constantly threaten their freedom and independence, a recent report by a media rights group has said.

The 2018 Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders said Cameroonian authorities have imposed a climate of fear and self-censorship on media practitioners.

The index showed that the central African country had made a slight progress from 2017 moving from 130th spot to 129th this year. That notwithstanding, journalists face huge hurdles some of which led to exorbitant fines and in some cases jail terms.

What RSF said about Cameroon: Constant threat to media outlets

The communication minister said in September 2017 that press freedom was guaranteed in Cameroon “as long as it is consonant with the defense of institutions.” The authorities have imposed a climate of fear and self-censorship.

At the same time, the government has withheld final legal certification from many radio stations in order to keep them under permanent threat of closure.

Another commonly implemented practice is bringing defamation prosecutions against journalists without notifying them. This often leads to exorbitant fines or lengthy prison terms without the ability defend oneself in court.

The 2014 terrorism law that provides for trial by military court has been used to keep a Radio France Internationale correspondent in detention for nearly two and a half years.

Other journalists were arrested during the crackdown on protests in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, where the Internet was disconnected for several months from January 2017 onwards.

African outlook for 2018 RSF Index

Africa failed to make the top twenty of the annual ranking with the continent’s freest nation being Ghana at 23rd spot of the 180 country ranking. The country beat Namibia who until now were the best.

Namibia came in 26th, South Africa came in 28th followed in 29th spot by Cape Verde. Burkina Faso completed the top 5 spot for Africa at 43rd spot.

Unfortunately, the continent also made a strong showing at the tail of the list. Eritrea had the worst media freedom placing 179th only behind North Korea. Africa had three other countries in the last 10. Equatorial Guinea at 171st.

Djibouti and Sudan at the 173rd and 174th spots respectively. Other worst performing African nations included Burundi, Egypt, Libya and Somalia at the 159th, 161st, 162nd and 168th slots respectively.

Culled from Africa News

25, April 2018

419: Cameroon men arrested as alleged ‘Black Money’ gang members in Thailand ⁰

Police have arrested two Cameroon men for having swindled a man from Oman out of Bt4 million worth of Omani banknotes. Pol Maj-General Maitree Chimcherd, commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), told a press conference on Wednesday that Pierre Alain Gandjui and Jean Robert Kongne were arrested on Tuesday.

The arrests were made a day after the Omani victim filed a complaint with the CSD on Monday that he had been a victim of a “Black Money” gang that stole 50,000 Omani rials from him.

The victim, who police did not name, said he was cheated in late January but only decided to file a complaint with police on Monday. The victim said the gang had an Omani man as an accomplice.

He said the Omani businessman contacted him and said that he wanted to sell him 5 kilograms of gold for Bt4 million. But, when they met, the Omani businessman changed his mind and said he wanted to sell 15 kg of gold for Bt12 million.

The victim said the Cameroon men, who were present, told him that they could use special ink and paper to make copies of the rial banknotes.

The con artists took a 200-rial note from him and placed it on a piece of white paper that had been cut to the same size as the bank note. They were wrapped together in foil and then put into some black ink. After 10 minutes, the con artists unwrapped the foil to show that the white paper had become a rial banknote.

The victim then agreed to give 50,000 rials to the con artists to use the same process. The Cameroon men appeared to wrap the bank notes in foil and wrap white paper in another bundle and put them into the black ink tank.

The victim was told to wait overnight, and the conmen would return to add more ink. The victim said the Cameroon men disappeared and he could not contact anyone. It turned out that the conmen managed to switch real money with a bundle of white paper.

Maitree said the CSD investigated and found that the gang had four members but two other members had fled the country. He said records showed that the gang members had entered Thailand several times and there could be more victims.

Source:Thai Visa News

25, April 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: There is still room for dialogue ⁰

It should be recalled that dialogue is medication that soothes even the most violent mind. It sows peace and guarantees security for many generations. It is an effective political tool that has kept internal strife at bay in many countries such as Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Norway. If Canada, in particular, is today a huge attraction, it is because the country’s political leaders have embraced this philosophy and they sincerely think that the people’s wellbeing should be at the center of every political action and policy discourse. Cameroon stands to gain if it takes a long and an objective look at how the Canadian system functions.

It is a bilingual system that has stood the test of time. The country’s efforts are geared toward sustaining its bilingual and bi-jural system. While some issues linger, the federal and provincial governments are permanently locked in talks on how to keep the union going. This is how to deal with cultural differences and this is, without a doubt, the way forward for a country like Cameroon that currently has a huge crisis on its hands, as Southern Cameroonians pick up arms to rid themselves of a Francophone majority that has been indifferent to the injustice and centralization that have made life a living hell for many Cameroonians.

But the government has proven that it is not going to let its game plan be changed by external actors. In January 2017, it promptly arrested Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor-Balla, Dr. Fontem Neba and Mancho Bibixy and sent them to Yaoundé where they were kept in jail for more than seven months. Out of jail, Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor-Balla felt the population was still on the federalist train that had been stalled for more than seven months. He did not notice that the passengers on the train had all jumped onto the secessionist train while he was in jail. The arrest and detention of Southern Cameroonian leaders did not only change the trajectory of the struggle, it also changed the rhetoric and this has transformed the country into a fireball whose explosion might turn the entire sub-region into an inferno.

Today, as the country slides into one of the continent’s genocides, Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor-Balla has decided to use his knowledge of legal justice and politics to address human rights issues across the country. He has used many of such occasions to call for dialogue and the granting of amnesty to all those who have been arrested within the framework of the Southern Cameroons crisis. But the government is not listening to him. He seems to be walking a lonely path. His appears to be a voice in the wilderness, as many Southern Cameroonians are still on board the secessionist train.

This government’s decision to walk away from any inclusive dialogue initiative spells doom for a country that is already in the throes of a severe economic crisis. For some time now, the government has decided not to make any statements regarding the violent conflict in Southern Cameroons. This has been interpreted by many as a refusal by the country’s leaders to embrace dialogue that could spare the country lots of lives and money. Instead of providing real solutions to the issues that have been stalking Southern Cameroonians like stubborn shadows, the government is, as usual, proposing some Band-Aid solutions.

It has recently organized cosmetic senatorial elections in the country and many municipal councilors from the South West region were airlifted to other parts of the country for them to cast their votes. This is costly and proof that security, a sine qua non for sustainable development, is not available in that part of the country. Even the senators appointed by the government are people who have been rejected by the population. Another proof that the government is not willing to smoke the pipe of peace.

The government is unfortunately skirting around the issues. Instead of being realistic and taking the bull by the horn, it has decided to let the country bleed to death. Cameroon is suffering. Its leaders are failing the people. Their inefficiency and arrogance are killing Cameroonians. Instead of thinking that time will solve the problem; the country’s leaders must take the bull by the horn. The government’s old tactics will not yield the desired fruits. The problems are real and the solutions must be real and sustainable.

Despite the blood that has been shed, there is still room for dialogue. Dialogue is, undoubtedly, the road to that paradise all Cameroonians want. Southern Cameroonians simply need a new dispensation that will breed efficiency, confidence and peace. The unitary system has only succeeded to spread pain and suffering among the population. Even the much promised decentralization that has been put on hold for twenty-two years holds out no hope for a country wherein the laws are never very clear. It is time the government noticed that a return to the status quo ante is not possible.

Nobody will come out of this mess victorious. Times have changed and Southern Cameroonians have understood that they must get something out of this war that has been imposed on them. With support from the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora, the pool of willing fighters in the region is giving the government a run for its money. But the beauty is not in who kills the other. The noble thing will be who lays the groundwork for that dialogue that will pull Cameroon from the mess it has pushed itself into. It takes courage and wisdom to reach such a decision. It could sometimes be hard due to arrogance. But why are some people called leaders? They should be leaders because they have what others don’t have. The courage, humility and wisdom that can bring peace and prosperity to a people. Those are things that make great leaders. Cameroonian leaders should therefore be seeking these qualities so that their country can become a beacon of peace in the region.

It should be recalled that the victor in all of this will be a strong, united and federal Cameroon. Dialogue is an idea whose time has come. Let Cameroonians embrace it as other people in other parts of the world have; an action that has made their countries great and attractive. With dialogue, Cameroonians can conveniently retire their differences and live in a better Cameroon. It should also be recalled that no conflict has ended without sincere dialogue. Even the second world war that consumed many lives only ended with a series of conferences and meetings. Yalta and Potsdam are popular today because those where the locations for the peace talks that helped to put an end to the destructive Second World War that left Europe a poorer continent. It is time for the government of Cameroon to learn. If it looks into the mirror of history, it will find out that history is replete with stories of dialogue as a way out of conflicts. It stands to gain if it learns from the mistakes of other people. There is always room for inclusive and sincere dialogue. Let history be the teacher!

By Kingsley Betek and Ebot Etchi

Cameroon Concord News Group

Yaounde

25, April 2018

Egypt’s Mo Salah: The new giant ⁰

As his fairytale season continues in the English Premier League and the Champions League, talk of Liverpool’s Mo Salah contending for the top prize in European football continues to gain currency. The latest to agree that Salah is getting inching towards Ballon d’Or recognition is Ghana’s skipper, Asamoah Gyan.

Gyan, Ghana’s top scorer in the national team shirt, described Salah as a ‘strong candidate’ for the top award currently held by Portugal and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Gyan’s comment was in response to a tweet by top Ghanaian journalist Juliet Bawuah, who had tweeted “Can we start talking about Ballon d’Or? #Salah on a roll this year.”

Her tweet came after Salah’s second goal against his former side AS Roma in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League game at Anfield. Liverpool hit five goals before Roma pulled two back late in the game. Senegalese skipper Sadio Mane also scored from a Salah assist.

With Gyan’s ‘strong candidate’ tweet response, Juliet quoted his tweet and added ‘Gyan is impressed.’ The Ghanaian skipper also stressed later that Salah will most definitely be part of the top 3 contenders for the Ballon d’Or when next it is awarded.

Gyan also agreed with another tweet that if Salah is able to inspire the national side to excel at the World Cup later this year in Russia, then he surely did deserve the accolade. The last time an African player won the award was back in the nineties when George Weah, then with AC Milan, won the award.

In the past few years, it has been a straight fight between Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Argentine forward Lionel Messi. They have won it for most of the last decade.

Source: Africa News