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5, February 2017

West Cameroon Crisis and Biya’s continuous torture: The AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE ⁴

Since 2016, the editorial desk of the Cameroon Concord News Group has regularly expressed concern at the ill-treatment of Anglophone detainees in Francophone jails. Now it appears that over 300 persons arrested in connection with the recent Southern Cameroons uprising are still being held without being formally charged with any offence.

It is reported that many of those detained have since died, either as a result of torture or ill-treatment and lack of adequate medical care. The Francophone dominated government of Mr. Paul Biya has the duty to bring to justice the soldiers and police officers who killed innocent civilians in Kumba, Buea, Bamenda and Kumbo. This will never happen.

The trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium will never be done within the rules laid down by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 5 states: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 9 states: No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

In this edition of the The Agbaw-Ebai Debate, we are asking our readers what the interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium should do to ensure that all those responsible for the military courts in French Cameroun adhere strictly to the principles laid down by the United Nations.

A-Declare Southern Cameroons an independent republic

B-Launch an armed resistance

C-Continue with the strikes and the civil disobedience campaign

D-Plot the demise of Senator Musonge, Minister Atanga Nji and Mayor Ekema Patrick

5, February 2017

AFCON 2017: Captain Moukanjo appeals for calm in Southern Cameroons ²

The captain of the indomitable Lions, Benjamin Moukanjo has called for dialogue and a peaceful settlement of the Anglophone problem. The skipper and his team mates will be staging the final of the African Cup of Nations 2017 in Gabon today and he took the opportunity to call on all Cameroonians to rally behind him and the team.

During the pre match press conference, Captain Benjamin Moukandjo sent a message to the Biya administration and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium appealing to both sides to go back to the negotiating table.

“It is true that at the moment our country is experiencing some disturbances, but we, as footballers, try to give pleasure to people and I think that throughout this campaign, our people have enjoyed it. Strongly, we wish that these tensions subside, that everything returns to normal.”

The meeting between Cameroon and Egypt is a repeat of the finals of the 1986 and 2008 editions. The Lions will try to take their revenge on the Pharaohs who have always beaten them at this stage of the competition.

By Rita Akana

5, February 2017

Romania: Government retracts controversial decree after days of protests ⁰

The Romanian government has announced the withdrawal of a controversial decree which decriminalized minor corruption offenses following five days of mass nation-wide protests.

“We’ll hold an extraordinary meeting on Sunday to repeal the decree, withdraw, cancel it … you understand, and find a legal way to make sure it does not take effect,” said Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu during a televised speech on Saturday.

The announcement came after five consecutive days of protests since Tuesday after the cabinet approved the decree that decriminalizes a range of graft and other offenses in which the amounts involved are lower than $48,000.

“I do not want to divide Romania,” said Grindeanu. “Romania in this moment seems broken in two,” he added.

Earlier on Saturday, the Romanian government hinted that legislation will be removed. “We can possibly talk about repealing the decree, if the prime minister agrees,” said the head of the ruling Social Democratic party, Liviu Dragnea.

People wave the Romanian flag as they protest in front of the government headquarters against the government’s contentious corruption decree in Bucharest, Romania on February 4, 2017.

“This [happens] because we have nothing to hide,” said the head of the country’s ALDE political party, Călin Tăriceanu.

The decree would have benefited dozens of political figures from all parties, and has been described as the biggest rollback on reforms since Romania became part of the EU in 2007.

On Thursday, a Romanian cabinet minister resigned amid mounting protests against a decision by the government to decriminalize certain graft offences.

The European Union on Wednesday also warned Romania over backtracking on reforms with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker issuing a an official statement.

Presstv

5, February 2017

Veteran CRTV Journalist endorses the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, Says there are no anointed ones ⁰

Former political commentator with the Cameroon radio and television, Lawrence EyongEchaw has broken the silence he maintained ever since the Anglophone uprising started in 2016. Larry Eyong who also moonlighted as the Shadow Minister of Communication for the Social Democratic Front posted on his Face Book page an endorsement of the leadership of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. In this soul-searching write-up, Larry argues that there are no anointed ones and that some people need to get over themselves:

For nearly a quarter century, the restoration of the independence of Southern Cameroons has been spearheaded by, a desultory consternation of mutually antagonistic, and self –serving organizations, with larger-than-life leaders, who are more concerned with undercutting one another, than creating the synergy for the realization of the goal of liberating the people.

Paradoxically, the upstarts leading the rival liberation movements, operate in the same monolithic political culture that they condemn in the leader of “La Republique du Cameroun”, with each leaders, perpetuating himself as, “Leader of the People of the Southern Cameroons’, like Kim Il Sung, in North Korea, and Moi Tse Tung in China.

Like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, each believes that because he make so much sacrifice for the liberation struggle, he has carte blanche to run roughshod against the participatory democratic principles that we cherish and want to restore in the Southern Cameroons.

Early in the life of the movement in the Diaspora-which has become the spear of the nation- there was an existentialist debate, about whether to support fugitives of “La Republique du Cameroun” who were seeking asylum in the United States, or to allow these fugitives to swim or drown by their own devices.

Ironically, the decision to extend our support to the fugitives, created the financial wherewithal to support some of our leaders who were languishing in the dungeons of “La Republique du Cameroun’. But, in a classic case of, killing the goose that laid the golden egg, some of these leaders, out of egotism and the need to enhance their credibility in the eyes of the world, decided to substitute themselves for the immigration authorities of Western countries, by wanting to personally vet those who claimed to be fugitives of the struggle.

Fortunately, the laws of these countries afford the opportunity, for a case by case, evaluation of the factual basis of each émigré’s claim, resulting in the acceptance of a huge number of émigrés, who are now the backbone sustaining the struggle in the Diaspora, to the extent that the regime is suspending social media, and sending marksmen to the West, to physically eliminate some émigrés and scare others.

Yet, the self-proclaimed leaders of the Southern Cameroons Independence movement must remember that, but for the ingenuity of these compatriots who have settled in the West, and are able to make financial contributions to the struggle, they would not have audiences to deliver speeches and extol their exploits in the struggle.

The regime in Yaounde had become comfortable with the consternation of rabble-rousers who were rivaling each other, in claiming legitimacy in leading the liberation movement. This would generally enhance their negotiating position and increase their bribe offer with the Yaounde regime.

But when a new organization was borne with leadership that had the bona fides to leverage the momentum that had been created by the “coffin revolution” back home, the factional leaders of the Southern Cameroons resorted to a scorched earth policy of distraction, disorientation, division and doubt that was intended to result in desperation and despair in the people of the Southern Cameroons in the Diaspora.

Fortunately, Southern Cameroonians are able to see through these smokescreens and maintain their eyes on the prize. Outrageous and unfounded accusations have been levied against people who had a pioneering role in advocating for multi-party democracy in Cameroon, and spending time in the Kondengui maximum security prison, for being agents of the Yaoundé government.

The reality is that, some Southern Cameroonian leaders, who have developed a bunker –mentality are scared of new leadership with the wisdom and connections to take the struggle to greater heights. These Machiavellian machinations have already failed as the bulk of Southern Cameroonians have vowed to support the new leader, ready to put his ingenuity at the service of the people of the Southern Cameroons.

By Larry Eyong

4, February 2017

Leading German News Magazine portrays Donald Trump as a terrorist ⁰

A leading German weekly magazine has published a striking cartoon of US President Donald Trump on its cover, portraying him as a terrorist, who beheaded the Statue of Liberty while shouting “America First.”

On the cover of its Friday edition, Der Spiegel depicted the cartoon figure of Trump with a bloodied knife in one hand and the bleeding head of Lady Liberty in the other.

Edel Rodriguez, who designed the cover, told The Washington Post that the Statue of Liberty represents the United States’ history of welcoming refugees.

Rodriguez, a Cuban refugee, who went to America as a political refugee in 1980, condemned Trump’s order to ban entry of refugees to the US, seeing it as “a beheading of democracy, a beheading of a sacred symbol.”

He argued that beheading is associated with the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group and “there’s a comparison” between ISIL and Trump. “Both sides are extremists, so I’m just making a comparison between them.”

“I was 9 years old when I came here, so I remember it well, and I remember the feelings and how little kids feel when they are leaving their country,” Rodriguez told the Post. “I remember all that, and so it bothers me a lot that little children are being kept from coming to this country.”

When asked why he pictured Trump with missing facial features, Rodriguez said, “That’s the way I see him. I see him as someone that’s very angry, and it’s pretty much his mouth that’s moving all the time, so that’s how I tend to show him in some of my work.”

Trump signed an executive order last week—after only a week in office— to bar all persons from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia from entering the United States for 90 days and suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days until the president determines they have been sufficiently changed.

This is not the first time that the president was pictured beheading the statue. Back in December 2015, after Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” The New York Daily News pictured him beheading the Statue.

The New Yorker reveals its cover photo for February 13 and 20 on February 3, 2017.

The New Yorker magazine also revealed on Friday a new cover illustration—called “Liberty’s Flameout”— showing the Statue’s flame has been extinguished.

“It used to be that the Statue of Liberty, and her shining torch, was the vision that welcomed new immigrants. And, at the same time, it was the symbol of American values,” said John Tomac, who designed the cover.

“Now it seems that we are turning off the light,” he told the magazine, which announced on Friday that it was canceling its annual party for the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.

Presstv

4, February 2017

Anglophone Crisis: Consortium getting tough on La Republique du Cameroun ³

The interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have dismissed reports over state radio and television calling off the strike. The leaders say, the government succeeded in getting signatures of some insignificant members of one of the teachers’ trade unions and claimed that the Consortium had agreed to stop the strikes and the civil disobedience campaign. The leaders have announced a ghost town operation for Monday and maintained that all schools should remain closed.

Inside sources deep within the Consortium hinted our Buea undercover reporter that it is the people’s revolution and only the detained leaders have legitimate authority to call off the strikes. The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium is pushing for a highly publicized sit-in civil disobedience on the 11^th of February. Approximately eight teachers met with CPDM agents from Yaoundé and traded their signatures for blood money.

The Consortium maintains that the Francophone government has been ineffective and biased because it is tied to Anglophone political elites who are not the genuine representatives of Southern Cameroonians. The leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, who began the sit-in action in 2016, said that since no progress has been made schools will not resume until a proper agreement is reach between the Francophone political elites and the people of Southern Cameroons.

The interim leaders noted that they were pleased with the South West reaction against the Buea Musonge meeting that attempted to invoke the North West/South West Divide tactics. Southern Cameroonians have held rallies in major cities in the West to generate support for the struggle and the West Cameroon cause, attracting thousands to the resistance.

Biya is reportedly feeling the pressure and is now taking the issue a lot more seriously. During a ceremony held in honour of the 4 senior army officials who died when their helicopter crashed in the Far North region, the 83 year-old leader appealed for unity.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

4, February 2017

Moderator Samuel Fonki calls for the release of all Anglophone detainees ⁰

The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC, Rt. Rev. Samuel Fonki Forba has said that the Government should release all Anglophone leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and proceed with dialogue for the possible resumption of schools in the two English speaking regions of the country.

Rt. Rev Samuel Fonki was speaking at a Press Conference held in Bamenda, North West region after the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees Meeting of the PCC. The Moderator and 13 other Executives signed a two-page press release proposing that some sought of amnesty be given to all those who were arrested and detained in the wake of the crisis that continues to rock Southern Cameroons.

“We want those arrested because of their political ideologies and those detained because of crimes committed within the period to be tried in the regions where they were arrested so that their rights to be cared for by family members and friends would be guaranteed.”

The PCC Moderator and his Executives also called on the State to end all arbitrary arrest and detention of persons from the two English Speaking regions. They also suggested that the Government should comply with the decisions arrived at with Teachers during the Bamenda meeting of January to enable the resumption of classes.

On the issue of suspension of the strike and contrary to what was reportedly on Cameroon Tribune, the Moderator said, “I never initiated a strike action in the first place and I would not be the one to call it off. I am simply appealing on stakeholders to do so. If Government schools are unable to resume classes, I don’t see how PCC schools can do so in isolation.”

Cameroun Info.Net

4, February 2017

US judge blocks Trump’s travel ban ²

A US federal judge in Seattle, Washington, has ordered a temporary, nationwide halt to President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban that blocks the entry of citizens from seven predominately Muslim countries. The ruling on Friday by US District Judge James Robart was broader than similar ones before it, and represents the most severe legal blow to Trump’s action, although his administration could still have the policy put back into effect with an appeal.

The ruling prompted government authorities to immediately communicate with airlines and begin taking steps that would allow those previously affected to travel. Trump signed an executive order on January 27 that imposed a temporary travel ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. The move also suspended admission of all refugees for 120 days.

Robart’s decision came after Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit to invalidate key provisions of Trump’s executive order.

A file photo of US District Judge James Robart

The judge questioned the Trump administration’s use of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the US as a justification for the travel ban. He said no attacks had been carried out on American soil by individuals from the seven countries affected by the ban.

For Trump’s order to be constitutional, Robart said, it had to be “based in fact, as opposed to fiction.” The judge’s ruling was welcomed by groups protesting the immigration order.

Presstv

4, February 2017

80% of Cameroonian men die 5 years after they retire ¹

Experts have revealed that 80% of Cameroonian men die 5 years after they retire from active service. The study also pointed out that they die because of poor preparation of their retirement. To put an end to these so-called early deaths, a program of the Retired and Pre-Retirement Support Center (CARE 4) has been launched in Yaounde

In the ceremony that held at Hotel La Falaise under the direct supervision of the Minister of Labor and Social Insurance, Gregoire Owona, the Coordinator of the scheme, Benjamin Kisso observed that, “The ambition of this program is to return the “old” to the center of society, or at least to the center of their families. CARE 4 is a structure created to answer this problem.”

The special representative of Minister Grégoire Owona, noted that it was a commendable initiative that will help improve people’s lives on a day-to-day basis.” The Secretary General in the Ministry of Labor added that “Cameroon hosted from the 27^th to 29^th of July 2016 the very first international forum on retirement in the area of the Inter-African Conference. This means that retirement is at the heart of our concerns. “

CARE 4 is a structure that allows retirees to take charge. It has programs such as CARE 4 health, CARE 4 training, CARE 4 house. “We are now proposing 6 new accompanying programs,” said Benjamin Kisso.

By Fru James

3, February 2017

Open Letter to so-called South West Elites ²

Dear Elites,

It was with great displeasure that I watched pictures of the meeting that was called and chaired by former Prime Minister, Peter Mafany Musonge, in the Southwest regional capital of Buea. I acknowledge that as a region we have to work together and be vigilant so as to preserve whatever little assets we have. However, yesterday’s meeting was baseless and it clearly demonstrated that those who claim to represent us are out of touch with reality. The current situation in West Cameroon has nothing to do with the famous southwest-northwest divide that you, the so-called southwest elites, have been promoting for years for your own parochial and personal interest.

The people of West Cameroon have been victims of marginalization for many decades and they are expressing their disappointment with a system that has reduced them to sorry spectators of events in a country that is supposed to be theirs. I hold that instead of seeking to fan the embers of division – which is your favorite sport – it will be smart of you to carry the people’s complaints to the appropriate quarters for a speedy resolution. The people of the southwest region are not on the same wavelength with you the so-called elites. You have been living an alternative reality that is at variance with what the people have been experiencing. While you have access to the state treasury which has given you and your children a beautiful and privileged life, the overwhelming majority of South-westerners have been languishing in abject poverty which has robbed them of their dignity and happiness. If you think you represent these people, you should be listening to them with a view to understanding the challenges blighting their lives. On the contrary, you seem to have lodged yourselves in an imaginary ivory tower wherein you require these same people to come and bow to you just like angels do to God. The people are sick and tired of this unpalatable drama which clearly belongs to another epoch and they want to put an end to a political and an economic dispensation that has turned out to be an earthly paradise for a few.

The contemptuous indifference and deafening silence of the hard-working and intelligent people of the southwest region should clearly inform you that the resolutions of your hastily organized meeting do not cut any ice with them. They don’t reflect their thoughts and they will never identify with such a comedy of helplessness. They need new and innovative ideas that can create wealth and opportunities for them and their children. They need leaders with sterling qualities; leaders who understand their pain; leaders who are capable of skillfully articulating their ideas in the corridors of power; indeed leaders who will make their problems and the development of their region key priorities. You don’t seem to understand this and that is why the people are walking away from you.

The people of the Southwest region are an educated people. Many are soundly schooled. Isn’t it preposterous to always think that they can be easily manipulated by you for your selfish interest? Why would you always give the impression that these people cannot figure out things for themselves. Why do you think North-westerners are always to blame any time south-westerners want to express their frustrations? Have you ever sought to have alternative ideas when you sit in those your meetings? Claiming that North-westerners are the prime suspects in this matter sounds like all of us, regardless of our sound education, are good for nothing. If you stop laying claim to the monopoly of wisdom, you will be able to find sound and sustainable solutions to some of the issues facing our region.

One of the many things shocking many south-westerners is your indifference to the arrests of some of our children during the peaceful strikes that took place in the University of Buea. Today, you want the university to resume while many of those kids are still in jail for peacefully asking for dialogue with the vice chancellor of the university. In which world are you living in? That our daughters get raped and all what is important to you is your political career? I guess you have seen the videos which clearly portray how our children were made to sleep and roll in raw sewage. Some were even made to drink this dirty water. You have never condemned this irresponsible behavior and no commission of inquiry has been set up to investigate such an important case of power abuse. These are the issues you should be dealing with and not seeking to deceive the people into thinking that they are being manipulated by external forces. If you show your people respect, they will reciprocate, but when you treat them with disdain and contempt, they will seek to find alternatives that can address their problems.

If the southwest has to seek its own way, then there must be unity and clear objectives. You cannot only talk about unity when it suits you. There are many cases that could have enabled us display our unity of purpose, but when such moments come, you sink into indifference and behave as if nothing is happening. What have you folks done so far to secure the release of Ayah Paul, a Supreme Court judge and an eminent son of the south-west region, who was arrested in a manner that was far from being fair and democratic? We can only work together if you stop thinking of manipulating others and giving the impression that your personal interests are above the interest of the region. You should be using your positions – if they are even respected by the government – to solve real problems instead of chasing shadows. Your people have rejected you. You must acknowledge that and then seek ways to rebuild that relationship. This is not a tough job. It can be done if only you change your mindset. We all want our kids to go back to school, but not in circumstances that will perpetuate their status as second-class citizens.

Our people are suffering. They are unemployed. They need jobs so as to put food on the table. They want to raise their children in dignity. You folks have never really been there for them. You have fallen short of their glory. Even when there are opportunities in the southwest, you prefer to let other people take those opportunities. What happened to SONARA? While being a national asset, this oil refinery has not really served the south-westerner and this is one issue that is bothering our people. If Cameroon is one and indivisible, how come we do not have a fair share of the benefits SONARA is spinning? Most of the jobs are given to people from other regions, especially to Francophones while our people watch helplessly from a distance. Are North-westerners to blame for all of this? Are North-westerners to blame for Ndian Division, where our oil deposits are located, not having tarred roads? Is securing jobs for our people not what a so-called elite should be doing? I think you people are fighting the wrong fight. You have to be strategic when fighting. Our people need lucrative opportunities like those offered by SONARA. That should be one area you should be focusing on.

I look forward to a change in mentality so that we can work together as a strong and united people. Consider this letter as wake up call. You have been sleeping on your brains for too long. We don’t have to wash our dirty linen in public, but if you fail to create the right forum for us to talk and understand each other, then we will have to bring that dirty linen to the public. Your effort to divide the people by pitting south-westerners against north-westerners will not work this time around. It’s time to change strategy. The people are sadder but wiser now.

Sincerely,

Joachim Arrey.

About the Author: The author of this letter has served as a translator, technical writer, journalist and editor for several international organizations and corporations across the globe. He studied communication at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and technical writing in George Brown College in Toronto, Canada. He is also a trained translator and holds a Ph.D.