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28, February 2017

SDF protesters to March in Bepanda despite government ban ⁰

The Littoral Regional Chairman of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, Hon. Jean Micheal Nitcheu has announced that contrary to a decision by the Prefect of the Douala 5^th District banning the party’s peaceful march in support of federalism and national unity, the rally will go on as planned. The Sub Prefect of Bepanda issued a prefectural order against the holding of the SDF event on March the 4^th 2017. Divisional Officer Tchakui Noundie Jean Marie noted that the SDF pro Anglophone march may bring about disturbance to public order within the locality.

The Francophone administrator’s decision came after the SDF party had deposited in his services and within the deadlines prescribed by law a Declaration of Public Demonstration which specified inter alia the different articulations, namely a major meeting under the theme “Federalism and Unitary State” followed by a Peaceful march.

The SDF regional boss in a press release observed that public demonstrations of political parties are governed by the 1990 Law on Civil Liberties that prescribed the principle of declaration and not of authorization. Hon. Jean Michel Nintcheu sounded a note of caution to the DO and advised him to guide against the extreme partiality and retrograde actions of the Yaounde regime, which, despite the entire existing legal arsenal, is always trying to maintain the hideous and apartheid system of double standards in method of selecting the political parties authorized to organize a public demonstration.

In view of the above, the SDF Littoral leadership stated that the DO’s decision was null and void and reaffirmed the party’s determination to mobilize and organize the Bepanda protest march.

By Sama Ernest

28, February 2017

Anglophone Crisis: South West governor shies away from UN delegation ⁰

A delegation from the UN office in Yaoundé has completed a fact finding mission in Southern Cameroons. Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that the UN officials were not received by the Governor of the South West region, Bernard Okalia Bilai.

The Republic of Benin diplomat who headed the Southern Cameroons mission from the UN office of Human Rights and Democracy had a one-and-one meeting for about 45 minutes with the Francophone governor of the North West region, Adolphe Lélé Lafrique, but was unable to meet the governor of the South Western region Bernard Okalia Bilai who reportedly shied away.

During their trip to the Bamenda province of West Cameroon, they held talks with representatives of the civil society, relatives of those arrested or detained during the demonstrations, as well as with officials of the National Human Rights Commission.

The mission of the UN Yaoundé office team allowed the international institution to imbibe certain realities on the ground vis-a-vis the crisis in Southern Cameroons which continues to obstruct the normal functioning of the courts and schools in the English speaking regions. Both the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, based in Geneva, Switzerland and the African Union have called for a resolution of the Anglophone crisis.

Cameroon Intelligence Report

27, February 2017

SDF: Teche Nyamusa leads attack on Fru Ndi, slams his 4 state federation stance ²

An outspoken militant of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, Teche Nyamusa Felix has said that Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi will be an X factor after the elective convention in April 2017 in Bamenda. We understand Teche Nyamusa has been trying to create some political space for himself within the SDF and has eventually announced his intention to run for the 2018 Presidential election.

Recently, he revealed to a cream of reporters in the Bamenda province of Southern Cameroons that he was very confident in his charisma and ability to unseat the founding Chairman of the SDF party during the convention. Teche Nyamusa pointed out that he had already obtained the necessary documentation as required by the internal rules and regulations guiding elections into the National Executive Committee, NEC.

Painted by many Fru Ndi acolytes as youthful and inexperienced, Teche Nyamusa also noted that he had already deposited his file at the office of his ward chairman for onward transmission to the National Executive Committee. He hinted that for the SDF to smile again and have a break through after 27 years, power must change hands. He recounted how the party had already witnessed a sharp decline and dwindling returns in the National Assembly with tremendous reduction of seats and Councils.

He launched a scathing attack on Chairman Fru Ndi and observed that the national Chairman has ran out of innovative ideas and was simply recycling what he had some 20 years ago which are ineffective. He rubbished Fru Ndi’s idea of a four states federation.

By Sama Ernest with files from Eden Newspaper

27, February 2017

Anglophone Crisis: Hon. Norbert Mbile says his anti North West declarations were manipulated ²

In a move seen by many as running away from the Mafany Musonge minority following, Hon. Norbert Mbile has expressed surprised at heavy criticism on his person following statements he reportedly made against the people of the Bamenda province of Southern Cameroons at the famous South West Elites Forum meeting which held in Buea on February 2, 2017 .

Mbile recently revealed that people misunderstood him when he observed that North Westerners were more resilient, hardworking and outnumbered the South Westerners. The Supreme Leader of the Batanga kingdom in Ndian Division, in the Buea province of West Cameroon said he was instead praising the people of North West for their bravery and not insulting them. He noted that after the Buea controversial meeting he received a series of insulting messages.

Hon. Mbile said he had argued that the South Westerners, in line with the 1996 Constitution were advocating for a ten states Federation whereby each region will have a form of autonomy but that the position of the North West region for a two state Federation might be difficult to obtain because the Biya Francophone regime will find it difficult to share resources 50-50 with the Southern Cameroons.

Mbile who also moonlights as a chartered member of the National Anti Corruption Commission, CONAC said he sees North Westerners as his brothers and that the two English speaking regions are one and indivisible like the one and indivisible Cameroon. The MP failed to condemn the rapes, extra judicial killings and arbitrary arrests currently going on in Southern Cameroons but was quick to call for the resumption of classes in Anglophone schools.

Hon Mbile said the strike in the two English regions has exposed the gross marginalization going on in the country especially the problems faced in the bi-jural and bi-cultural aspects of operation in the country. He however said all strikes have an end and the best thing to do is call off the strike and send children to school which according to him will pave way for positive and inclusive dialogue with the government.

Eyong Johnson with files from Cameroun Info.Net

27, February 2017

Southern Cameroons Uprising: 7 journalists in police drag net ¹

Ever since the Southern Cameroons crisis started in November 2016, seven Anglophone journalists have been arrested. Six are still in detention and one was miraculously released on bail. Many news men and women have reportedly abandoned the profession and escaped from the territory. Others are in hiding and no longer feeling secure to carry out their duties. The government has also shut down internet services in the Anglophone regions of the country.

Those arrested and still in detention include, Atia Tilarious, Amos Fofung, Thomas Awah, Tim Finian, Mofor Ndong, Achomba Hans. Only BBC’s Randy Joe Sa’a is out on bail. The National Communication Council, NCC has systematically shut down all Anglophone media houses covering the crisis.

The Biya Francophone regime has crackdown on pro Southern Cameroons media establishments preventing journalists from reporting the numerous rapes and extra judicial killings going on in West Cameroon. Security forces loyal to the Yaoundé government have tortured many reporters and columnists and detaining some under inhuman conditions.

The regime has also placed the families of the detained journalists under Secret Service surveillance making life difficult for their respective children and wives who are currently being avoided by close friends and relatives for fear of being a target. The so-called Cameroon Minister of Communication and government spokesman, Issa Tchiroma has maintained a kind of deliberate silence on the attack on press freedom.

27, February 2017

Consortium is alive and active: Reports ⁰

THE MARK BARETA, TASSANG WILFRED, AND TAPANG IVO TANKU’S SITUATION OF THE CONSORTIUM

Dear compatriots, thank you all for your trust and confidence in the type of leadership which we are trying to provide for REAL CHANGE in Cameroon. We understand that your hearts are worried, and you are scared about the future of our commitment to bring about determining change in our nation. Let me vehemently state the following facts:

1- Tassang Wilfred is not under any chains and he has not been arrested. I speak from very fine information and from very reliable sources confirming that he and his family are now safe and healthy.

2- There is a reconciliation meeting which has been going on between Mr. Tassang Wilfred, Mark Bareta, and Tapang Ivo Tanku in order to stabilize the confusion which detractors have been trying to bring within their realms of operations.

3- Nobody has resigned from the Consortium and the Consortium is well and its constituted leadership be they interim and others are working out strategies to strengthen the vision of the Consortium to enable the possible pressure on government to release Dr. Fontem Neba, Dr. Barrister Agbor Balla Felix NKONGHO, Chief Justice Aya Paul ABINE, Mancho BBC, Godden Zama, and all those who were arbitrary arrested during this crisis period in Cameroon.

Moreover, I visited Dr. Agbor Balla Felix NKONGHO, BBC Mancho, and the others yesterday, and they are in very high spirit.

So, rest assured, from what I know, the Consortium is going on well. Just hold the hands of someone and say, WE SHALL OVERCOME!!

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless our nation.

26, February 2017

Anglophone Crisis: Harmony Bobga on The Stream on Al Jazeera ⁰

Harmony Bobga Mbuton, president of Cameroon’s North West Lawyers Association, returned to The Stream on Al Jazeera this week, just over two months since the show originally explored the protests among his country’s English-speaking communities, who claim French-speaking President Paul Biya’s government is treating them as second-class citizens.

The Stream host Femi Oke says that, since that show, “The government of Cameroon has pulled the plug on the internet and banned public gatherings in the regions fraught with tensions. What started as strikes for bilingualism in the Northwest and Southwest territories have revealed very deep political divides that spread beyond language, culture and geography.”

On The Stream in December, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the Minister of Communications, promised negotiations but Mbuton says these broke down quickly. “In fact, I was part of the negotiations that ensued and took place in Yaounde on 27-28 December 2016. The government had constructed the questions that had to be dealt with in the negotiation to suit their own purpose. We walked out of the dialogue and the next thing we heard was that they started arresting us, which is what forced me to flee from Cameroon, through Nigeria to here [Washington DC] now.”

Mbuton’s wife and children are still in Cameroon, where he says, “The situation is bad,” comparing it to “what happened in Rwanda when the genocide began.” He claims that people are being arrested and taken away, with their families unable to find out where. “It is tipping into the point where the population is saying that even with their empty hands and sticks, they are ready to start providing resistance to protect themselves.”

The media and internet blackout makes it difficult to verify claims like this; as Mbuton says, the internet ban has meant “that the government has operated behind the curtains because there is no easy access to information within the territory anymore.” Mbuton says people are using smartphones to send images and information out to the world by traveling to the French-speaking parts of Cameroon where there is still internet, “but it’s not flowing as it was.“

Since the protests began nearly four months ago, Biya has signed a decree establishing a national commission to promote bilingualism and has addressed protesters several times in major speeches. At least several hundred protesters have been arrested. Some are being tried for terrorism for allegedly calling for secession of the Anglophone regions. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

Mbuton says the strike is ongoing and international protests are increasing. Even Cameroon’s recent victory at the African Cup of Nations was not enough to unite the country. “The provocative move to go and show off the African Cup that was won by Cameroon was welcomed by ghost towns,” says Mbuton. “People abandoned the streets. Only the entourage from Yaounde was parading the streets – in military vehicles.

26, February 2017

Consortium announces massive ghost town campaign on Monday ²

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society has announced a civil disobedience campaign for Monday the 27^th of February 2017 as political tensions mount in the La Republique du Cameroun over the Biya’s regime failure in resolving the Southern Cameroons crisis.

The interim leaders of the Consortium: Tampa Ivo and Mark Bara have appealed to Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora to mobilize their people back home and to forge ahead with the struggle. Ever since the Biya Francophone regime detained the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, there have been many diabolic plots to stifle the Consortium and put an end to the Anglophone uprising. On Saturday in connection with the boycott policy and ghost operation, Southern Cameroonians snubbed the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope. Cat calls greeted some of the Francophone officials who traveled to Buea for the event.

The Consortium statement added that some slight modifications have been made in the resistance and ghost town operations. For three months now, scores of Southern Cameroonians have been killed and hundreds arrested by troops loyal to the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime. In December last year, many Southern Cameroonians were killed in Buea, Kumba, Kumbo, Bamenda and Njakiri when the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society showed strong opposition to the so-called Ad Hoc Committee created by the government.

Opposition politicians in French Cameroun have recently called for President Biya to release all those arrested in West Cameroon and urged authorities to probe the rapes and killings going on in the Anglophone regions of the country. Biya has so far not declared his intention to run in the presidential vote set for 2018 as his ruling CPDM party has been politically volatile in recent times in the Anglophone regions. The country is now experiencing a revolution that could unseat the president.

By Sama Ernest

26, February 2017

Omam Biyik appointed Head Coach of the Central African Republic ⁰

Cameroonian football legend Francois Omam Biyick, has been appointed Head Coach of the Central African Republic football team known as the Oubangui Foxes on a two year contract.

The 50-year-old former Indomitable Lions striker has replaced Blaise Kopogo at the head of the RCA national team, where he will be assisted by his compatriot Jean Baptiste Bissek.

The Cameroonian technician will lead the Oubangui boys who are currently 108th in the FIFA standings and has been given the onerous task of qualifying for the African Cup of Nations 2019 (AFCON), which shall be played in Cameroon.

By Sonne Peter

25, February 2017

Mount Cameroon Race of Hope: There are reasons why the regime has brought in Lady Sarah Liengu Etonge ²

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government is attempting to use all available means to stifle the Southern Cameroons uprising and any actor who can achieve that is highly solicited. This time around the baton has been handed over to Lady Sarah Liengu Etonge-the forgotten hero.

The 2017 edition of the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope has coincided with the Anglophone crisis that has rocked the nation. Correspondingly, the regime in Yaoundé is now using retired Queen of the Mountain, Sarah Liengu Etonge as bait to capture the minds of Southern Cameroonians who regularly attend or watch the race over the years. The seven times champion has come out of her retirement and announced her participation but added that “It is for Peace and Unity.”

Lady Sarah Etonge is yet to condemn the rapes, extra judicial killings and massive arrest going on in Southern Cameroons but is only quick to speak of peace and unity. The woman whose statue was poorly erected by ruling CPDM gang in 2006 and was immediately brought down by youths of the Buea city council is now seen as a unifying figure. The million dollar question is: Can she go beyond lips and participation to bring back peace and Unity when underneath the race lies litany of problems plaguing the two English speaking regions with massive arrest, shootings, killings and imprisonment?

Observers hold that no matter the popularity of the Queen of the Mountain and the efforts made by the CPDM crime syndicate to call for peace and activities in schools to return to normalcy, things will continue to grow from bad to worse if a better approach to the crisis is not adopted and the highhandedness of the government on the population withdrawn. Furthermore, if those arrested are not freed, if massive arrests are not stopped, if intimidation, phone checks are not abolished above all, a resumption of dialogue chaired by Mr. Paul Biya, Southern Cameroons as part of the La Republique du Cameroun will be history.

Cameroun Info.Net