Cameroon government army soldiers and members of the National Gendarmerie and other security agencies raided the office of the Cameroon Concord News Group in Buea seizing computers. No reason has so far been given concerning the military operation, but we of the Concord Group believe it is related with our coverage of the Southern Cameroons crisis.

The backbone of any free society is an unbiased, professional, and responsible media. Attacks on the media and press in Cameroon carrying out their daily duties are sadly now a regular occurrence. The regime in Yaoundé is aping the world’s worst with astonishing efficiency and regularity. The evidence of recent months indicates that these attacks are now reaching epidemic proportions.  These must be discontinued.

Last night’s, forcible entry by French Cameroun gendarmes into the Cameroon Concord News Group regional office in Buea is unacceptable and reprehensible. These persistent attacks on our property, staff, the Anglophone press and media in Cameroon are sad, regrettable and a backward step. The prudent course of action for the Cameroon government is to desist from these campaigns of attacks and intimidation. Paul Atanga Nji must know that for Cameroon to enjoy any modicum of respectability on the international stage, freedom of the press and media must be respected within its territory.

These acts of vandalism and intimidation by Cameroon government thugs disguised as law enforcement officers is the third of such intimidation tactics on our property and staff within six months. Yaoundé must be aware that resentment over its treatment of the English media and press fuels the secession struggle in the Southern Cameroons. The excuse for invading our premises in Buea is weak, false, and unacceptable.

Samuel Wazizi and Kingsley Njoka belong to a long line of media and press victims, many of whom will never be reported in the news. The regime in Yaoundé evaluation of the resolve of the media and press in the Southern Cameroons is exceedingly inaccurate.

Cameroon Concord News Group demands the authorities in Cameroon make public any offenses committed by its media personnel or desist from these constant harassments and intimidation. We cannot and would never ignore our responsibility to the Cameroonian public and the world. Our duty as a media organization is to report the news and stimulate debate and no amount of intimidation would deviate us from our duty.

No civilized society can thrive without a free press and media and Cameroon Concord News Group is here to stay.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman and Editor-in-chief

On the 14th of October 2020, an airplane carrying onboard over 100 asylum seekers from the United States landed in the Douala International Airport in Cameroon into the waiting hands of the Cameroonian authorities stationed at the airport. Their fate is now a mystery.

Leaving one’s home country as a migrant to settle in and start living in another country has always been a challenging venture. It becomes not only challenging but difficult, daunting, and risky when you must flee from your country without prior notice due to persecution or war. Danger or menace to one’s life or that of your family members is a major reason for fleeing these days. One, therefore, flees from danger from their home country to become a refugee by seeking asylum.

The word ‘Asylum’ is a Latin form of the Greek word ‘asylon’ which in English means ‘freedom from…’ It is true that in International Law, states are not bound by any obligation to grant asylum to a refugee. However, nations are bound by the principle of non- refoulement as defined in article 33 of the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees which prohibits the expulsion or return of refugees to areas they have fled from.

The case in hand is, therefore, a flagrant violation of the above-named convention. The United States should know better. It is rewarding that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Germany, and many EU nations, still hold close to their hearts the protection of human rights and freedoms especially those of refugees and asylum seekers.

It has been before now, common knowledge that the United States, Britain, and France as allies, are among the best in the world when it comes to the protection of human rights and freedoms as well as the protection of refugees and asylum seekers. This writer is confident that if this were in the United Kingdom, the outcome would have been different at least not until all due processes followed and with strict respect for the rule of law.

With the recent deportation of vulnerable asylum seekers by the United States government to Cameroon, the United States has moved one step away from this prestigious circle of rights defenders. It is no news anywhere in the world that what is going on in the former British Southern Cameroons in particular, and Cameroon in general does not only constitute human rights abuses but genocide in gestation.

This writer has reason to believe that by this singular act, the US has shown the world that it partners the dictatorial regime in Yaoundé. What other reason can be given to justify sending asylum seekers back to a country they have fled from in the middle of a war?

It is equally worth noting that this group of mostly Former British Southern Cameroons asylum seekers was deliberately transferred months ago by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the T. Don Hutto Residential Centre in Taylor, Texas. A detention facility that has been noted and stands out for its several allegations of human rights abuses and other degrading treatments of refugees and asylum seekers.

Based on recent figures from the UN High Commissioner for refugees, there has been a 56% increase in the number of people seeking political asylum from the Cameroons. And that number has increased since November 2016 due to the ongoing war in Former British Southern Cameroons.

It remains really strange and inexplicable how with all the statistics and evidence available on the ongoing crisis in Cameroon, and despite letters from some congressmen and women asking for the process to be delayed for more evidence, the Texas officials succeeded in deporting helpless asylum seekers to Cameroon, a country where the abuse of human rights has become a norm and a daily occurrence. 

This process of deportation has smeared the dreadful image of the United States’ already injured human rights image. The country has missed an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that it does not side with the regime Yaoundé regime.

Nelson Agbor is an International Human Rights Law Scholar. He holds a Master of Laws (LLM), from Hertfordshire Law School, UK. He is currently a Doctoral Research Student, International Human Rights Law at Plymouth University, UK.

The Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations today announced the launch of its newly formed strategic committee of trusted advisors. This Advisory Board includes well renowned leaders whose focus will be to shape and guide the strategy of the Coalition, working closely with the Steering Committee.

 The new Board includes Former Liberian President H.E Amos Sawyer, Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Ambassador Herman J. Cohen; Former Resident Representative for Sierra Leone & Liberia of the African Development Bank Dr. Margaret Kilo; Former U.S. Ambassador to Liberia and Uganda Ambassador Deborah Malac; Senior Associate and Regional Director National Democratic Institute Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh; and Founders of Pave The Way Foundation Gary and Meredith Krupp.

 “We are very honored to have such a distinguished team join us in actively seeking an end to the escalating armed conflict in the Southern Cameroons that addresses the root causes of the conflict” said Dr. Denis Foretia, Co-Chair of the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations. “We will continue to do all we can to stop the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the country.”

For the last 100 years, food has been used as both a weapon of war and in some cases the driving force behind it. Hunger, in particular, has been at the heart of many of the revolutions of the past. Just over a decade ago the Arab Spring was launched because of the rising price of food. It is therefore understood by many that food, and fear of hunger, can overthrow regimes, shift political power, and even change the course of a nation. But how does food insecurity and the potential unrest it drives impact America? The west African nation of Cameroon is a perfect example of how food insecurity can undermine a stable regime and change the balance of power in an entire region critical to US foreign policy objectives.

Led by 87-year-old President Biya since 1981, Cameroon is seen in Africa as a stalwart of stability in an unstable neighborhood. But all is not rosy in Cameroon today. As has happened across the world, rising food costs and resulting food scarcity often drive human conflict. In fact, conflict in Cameroon threatens the entire sub-region because of food insecurity. With an ongoing insurgency in the Anglophone regions, Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa in the Far North, and non-state rebel intrusions from Central African Republic, Cameroon faces significant deficits in its ability to protect and feed its population. As the largest donor across all sectors in the sub-region – health, military assistance, and food – the United States logically would be expected to lead any response efforts to an unfolding breakdown of the humanitarian situation. It is important that Americans understand how interconnected stability in Cameroon is to the sub-region and ultimately to U.S. taxpayers.

Surrounded by conflict-laden countries, Cameroon hosts over 430,000 refugees. The bulk of assistance is from the United States through the United Nations World Food Program, which provides millions of U.S. dollars of shelter and food to these refugees. In addition, Cameroon is a key trading hub to exporters around the globe. Cameroon plays a role as the regional “food highway”. Many of Cameroon’s neighbors are dependent on its open borders, open ports, and open roads for their trade. Its landlocked neighbors receive much needed food and fuel imports through Cameroon’s main port, Douala.

Cameroon security challenges inside its borders threaten the stability of the government. The first is an ongoing insurgency in the nation’s two Anglophone regions since 2018. This struggle has internally displaced over 679,000 of the three million people living there and those left, over one million people, are believed to be in a severe food crisis. In the insurgency in Northwest and Southwest Regions, Anglophone separatists attack some of the most critical industries in Cameroon, killing workers and burning cocoa, coffee, banana, and plantain fields. By targeting the agricultural productivity of the country, separatists effectively choke off production in these regions. This eliminates large swaths of employment and creates severe food shortages driving food insecurity, and hunger further fueling the conflict.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Far North region has faced ongoing conflict from extremist groups Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa since 2014. Raids by the terrorists are common on Lake Chad and along the Nigerian border. These raids target cattle, food, fuel, and kidnaps-for-ransom. The violence has internally displaced over 297,000 Cameroonians and combined with severe weather has caused severe food shortages in that region. The country also hosts over 114,300 Nigerian refugees, victims of conflict forced across the border fleeing violence. Cameroon’s response is a military strategy that had been successful through 2018. However, on the heels of Cameroon’s 2018 presidential elections, Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa increasingly targeted Cameroonian security forces and pushed further into the country. The conflict activity has also reached Cameroon’s border with Central African Republic where incursions by non-state rebel groups target already vulnerable UN refugee camps which host over 274,000 refugees. As Cameroon searches for the force balance that allows it to address security challenges, insecurity reigns in the troubled areas in the Lake Chad basin, along the eastern border with CAR, and in the Anglophone Regions.

So, what is at stake for Cameroon’s neighbors and why should Americans care?  Equatorial Guinea’s second and fourth largest imports in 2017 were from Cameroon. Without regulated trade and cross border staples fluidity from Cameroon, the majority of Equatorial Guineans would face severe levels of food insecurity. Cameroon is the Central African Republic’s main trading partner. It accounts for 58 percent of all of its exports and 41 percent of imports in 2018 alone. Because CAR is landlocked, nearly all exports and imports are over land through Cameroon. Any impact to the CAR-Cameroon border could destroy CAR’s economy. Many of Cameroon’s neighbors are already in dire straits. Almost half of the CAR’s population is food insecure. In Chad, 43 percent of children under five are stunted. And in Equatorial Guinea, where data are hard to obtain, over 26 percent of children under five are stunted. The United States is the number one responder to food security shortfalls in the sub-region. Through the USAID Food for Peace, Cameroon received over 70 million USD, CAR over 118 million USD, and Chad over 187 million USD. Disruption to food flows through Cameroon to these countries caused by a complete breakdown of political stability would have catastrophic effects to these countries and require an immediate response by western governments and non-governmental organizations. 

Between the security challenges stretching Cameroon’s armed forces, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s stability is precarious—and therefore, so too is the entire West and Central African region’s food security. As we know from history, food insecurity and instability can enter a dangerous feedback loop. Conflicts, and their consequences, never stay confined within a nation’s borders. What Americans should understand is that an unstable Cameroon doesn’t just hurt Cameroon, as tragic as that is alone. Cameroon is the doorway into Central Africa. Knock down that door, and the hunger crisis that awaits the world would be large in scope and terrible in outcome. As the largest foreign assistance provider in the sub-region, the United States would be on the hook to lead response efforts, footing the bulk of any bill.

Culled from agri-pulse.com

Interim Government of Ambazonia on the statement issued by the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda 69^th General Assembly.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia welcomes the recent statement of the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda at the end of its 69^th General Assembly in Buea, Southern Cameroons.  The statement issued on 25 September 2020 expressed considerable concerns about the ongoing genocide in our country.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia appreciates the call of the Catholic Bishops for a;

• Ceasefire in the war in the Southern Cameroons as requested by the UN Secretary General on 23 March 2020 and reiterated by Pope Francis on 29 March 2020.
• Release of all Southern Cameroons Prisoners of Conscience detained in various prisons and detention facilities as a result of the ongoing war.
• Continuation of negotiations between the government of La Republic du Cameroun and the leadership of the Southern Cameroons currently detained unlawfully in Yaoundé.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia notes that the Conference called for a complete school resumption in the Southern Cameroons.  We believe that the rights to life and education are fundamental and our position on school resumption has not changed. As a government, we have publicly observed that only parents can determine if the conditions are conducive for Southern Cameroons children to return to school. The Southern Cameroons Interim Government wants children to study in a calm and peaceful environment and therefore advises parents that where it is unsafe to resume, they should let their children study at home. The Interim Government will continue to support community schools all over Ambazonia.

We call on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution mandating a UN International Fact-Finding Mission to investigate the alleged abuses during the Ambazonia–French Cameroun Conflict. A UN mandated International Fact-Finding Mission has the authority to challenge the culture of impunity that the Cameroun regime currently operates within, and such accountability is a prerequisite for achieving a just peace. We believe that a UN-mandated international Fact-Finding Mission will have the immediate effect of quelling violence, saving lives, and halting the destruction of our peoples’ lives and livelihood.

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

When South Africa assumed the chairpersonship of the AU in February 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to prioritising a long-standing objective of silencing the guns on the continent within this year. But while we were celebrating the signing of the Sudan peace agreement in Juba on October 3, Southern Cameroonians were engaged in acts of resistance. The people have been forced to defend themselves from the Biya regime due to being ongoing subjects of the most brutal murders, detentions, sexual violations and physical and psychological torture.

Southern Cameroon, a self-governing territory since 1954, was expecting to be granted full independence during the 1960s wave of decolonisation, like their neighbours Le Republique du Cameroun (LRC), which became independent on January 1, 1960, and Nigeria, which became independent on October 1, 1960. Despite having been accorded a distinct international status by virtue of UN General Assembly Res 1608 (XV) of April 21, 1961, it was forced to choose between amalgamating with one of the two countries.

As an independent sovereign state, LRC passed many laws in its Parliament, and Law No 24/61, promulgated by its President Ahmadou Ahidjo on September 1, 1961, laid the basis for the annexure of Southern Cameroonian territory and the establishment of the Federal Republic of Cameroon on October 1, 1961. Despite the forced integration, there had been a general commitment to convivial relations within the Cameroons since independence; the decades of abuse of English-speaking Cameroonians have however reached intolerable levels. October 1 has accordingly become a symbol of annual remembrance.

Protests by Ambazonians, the preferred name used by many Southern Cameroonians, including school boycotts due to the marginalisation of English practises in schools, escalated in 2016, and have now reached the levels of armed resistance. As of September 2019, it was estimated that over 2 000 people have lost their lives and more than 100 towns and villages in the anglophone regions had been targeted with arson attacks by state forces, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

The UN, the AU, the Economic Commission for West African States are all conscious of the savagery being inflicted upon the people of Southern Cameroon, as clippings of rape, amputation of breast and limbs, killings, scorching of villages and crops and the vilest forms of torture, circulate widely. These include footage of a 2-month-old deceased child who was reportedly shot in the back of the head by Cameroonian military officials; people having been tied up, set alight, and burnt to death; and the burning of genitalia during interrogation. It is known that hundreds of detainees are held incommunicado, many of whom are tortured, in a detention facility in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital. A sense of urgency to substantively intervene however, seems to be absent.

South Africa appears to be complicit in the inertia. It has shied away from having the matter addressed at the UN Security Council and is seemingly doing little to ensure that the AU intervenes. Southern Cameroonians, who actively contributed to the fight against apartheid through international solidarity, feel abandoned. They feel that the continent’s former liberation movements have all abdicated their functions as liberation movements and have forgotten their roots.

South Africa, given its strategic position on the continent and internationally, can play an important role in stopping the endless human rights atrocities in Southern Cameroon. The separatists are willing to negotiate, but on territory that they trust. South Africa is that territory. Our government should reach out to the separatist leaders, reach out to the state, and urgently facilitate a process that can end the genocide and restore peace. Silence will be a shameful scar on the conscience of humanity.

Source: iOl.CO.ZA

Today marks the third anniversary of the restoration of our independence. We started with peaceful demonstrations of hope in 2016 but have become the prey of a hostile regime in Yaoundé. We observe today therefore in challenging times not, as a victory but a celebration of fortitude and truth.  I come to you today at the end of a week that has observed the marauding forces of La Republique du Cameroun slaughter four innocent young men in Bamenda. Last week, a mother and her two sons were executed in Lysoka, Buea. Unfortunately, such barbarisms are now daily occurrences for our people in the Southern Cameroons.

When the United Nations was founded in 1945, nearly a third of the world’s population lived in territories that were forcefully governed by colonial powers. The international trusteeship system was established by the UN Charter affirming the principle of self-determination. Seventy-five years after this affirmation, the people of Southern Cameroons are still languishing in despair in their country under a brutal neo-colonial regime. Seventy-five years after the affirmation of the principle of self-determination by the UN Charter, the people of Southern Cameroons are slaughtered for proclaiming their right of self-determination.

The independence vote by the people of the Southern Cameroons was endorsed by UNGA Resolution 1608 (XV) of 21 April 1961. At the time of the adoption of this Resolution, UN membership stood at 100 states.  Sixty-four states voted in favour of independence for the Southern Cameroons. The geographical spread of these states covers all the continents of the world. The 64 states included three of the Big Five in the UN Security Council, namely, the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Russia.

Since we restored independence on 1 October 2017, we have lost 10,000 of our fellow citizens, we now have over 1 million internally displaced persons, 421 of our villages have been burned down by the French Cameroun military, 100,000 of our people are living as refugees in Nigeria. Our leader, Sisiku AyukTabe, and his leadership were abducted in Nigeria and now unlawfully detained in La Republique du Cameroun.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia has submitted over 100 cases to the UN special procedures. These special mechanisms include the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women; the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons; the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

In the coming weeks, we shall begin to see a steady flow of reports on these cases by the various Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups. Already, two reports cover the murder by Biya’s troops of several civilians perpetrated in Belo, Bamenda, Buea, and Ekona between February and October 2018. Another report dated 7 July 2020 on the Wazizi case and the Kingsley Njoka case is out. As is the practice and procedure, these reports are addressed to the Yaoundé regime with a request for its response.

But we know its response to these cases. And we know beforehand its response to scores of other cases still to come. It is incapable of saying anything else other than making barefaced denials. It is so morally bankrupt that it is unable to take responsibility for the genocide it is perpetrating and hoping that by some miracle it will escape accountability. Barefaced denials are its shameless familiar line. In the numerous cases against it in the Human Rights Committee going back to the 1980s, it has sung this familiar song and in each case, it has lost.

Fellow Ambazonians, going forward, lawyers local and international working for the Interim Government  will be instructed to institute proceedings against the Yaoundé regime and its military for each case of murder, rape, torture of any civilian as well as for any case of pillage, theft, arson, destruction, and looting. It is our responsibility to protect our people and land and we must not shrink from it.

In the history of mankind, only a few generations have been tasked with the role of fashioning freedom and independence for their nations. This is an arduous responsibility which I hope and pray that as a generation, we do not shrink from. Despite the challenges of the last three years, the energy and devotion which we bring to this revolution going forward is key to the victory we seek.

Our people in the bushes and the refugee camps struggling to break the bonds of misery and fear must know that love and truth can never be suppressed forever. Despite the setbacks of the last few months and the challenges of these last three years, I urge you to keep the faith. We are a stricken people in a world that has abandoned us. But we must not entertain thoughts of defeat nor contemplate a return to the status quo.

Fellow Ambazonians, it is our duty in this generation to fight and if necessary die for our freedom and independence. By our courage, determination, and poise, our independence and freedom are permanent. France and her puppet regime in Yaoundé must know that our right to self-determination is non-negotiable. The Never-Again-Generation of Ambazonians is unwilling to continue under servitude and oppression.

Even as the enemy believes that she will exterminate us, I implore you all not to lament for I see hope in our struggle. We shall pay any price; bear any burden to assure our liberty. This, we pledge as a people. United there is nothing we cannot do.  Our temporal challenges and losses are sadly within the context of our chosen goal of independence. Let history be the final judge of our actions. As a people, let us go forth to defend our land knowing that if it is to be, it is up to us.

To all our women, especially the Takumbengs, we salute your courage. Your peaceful March of 22 September 2017 set us all off on this challenging but worthwhile journey.

To all the free and independent nations of the world, our best hope is your conscience. We call on you to show compassion and humanness. Ours is not a drive for power, but a just fight for independence and freedom. It is a colossal blunder for the world to continue to overlook the genocide in our country. In French Cameroun today, we see failure, backwardness, and unprecedented evil. In French Cameroun today, we see a failed state on borrowed time.

There is a legitimate question about our attitude towards the people of French Cameroun. The people of Ambazonia make a huge distinction between the French Cameroun imperialistic regime and the people of the country. Our disagreement is with the imperialism of their government backed by France and buttressed by the silence of the world’s nations. The people of La Republique du Cameroun must understand that despotism and neo-colonialism produce economic and social backwardness because it impedes the human impulse to create. Despotism and neo-colonialism find peace and unity offensive. We don’t intend therefore to exchange one wickedness with another.

To the murderous regime in Yaoundé, no matter how long you unleash your wickedness and barbarism upon us, we shall overcome and our independence and freedom are everlasting. The people of Ambazonia shall oppose aggression and subjugation until the end. There will be no peace in La Republique du Cameroun until she pulls her military out of Ambazonia.

With regards to ending the war between our two nations, let it be known that civility is not a sign of weakness and as a nation, Ambazonia shall never negotiate out of fear but we shall never fear to negotiate.

Fellow Ambazonians, in your hands, rest the success or failure of our cause. Plenty is at our disposal but we must start using our talents and opportunities persistently and wisely. As a nation, we are half-awake.  Be reassured that as your leaders in detention are standing tall and marching forth to the foot of the mountain despite anything that is thrown at them, I call upon you today to keep your eyes fixed on the prize-FREEDOM.

It is our responsibility to protect our freedom and independence. Our nation is asking for action from all of us to lead to achieving this commanding goal of independence. Let us be ready and willing to submit our lives for the action of attaining our freedom. If we all pull together, the enemy will be defeated and Buea will be a reality soon.

Happy Independence Day 2020

Long Live Ambazonia,

God Bless You All.

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

Cameroon’s opposition leader, Professor Maurice Kamto, has been in the spotlight for two years now because of his determination to change the country’s political landscape by all means.

The country has been in the grip of a corrupt dictatorship for decades and bringing about change in such a political system will require massive efforts and determination.

Key among the tools that the country’s political opposition is using are peaceful public demonstrations which are acceptable in genuine democracies and Cameroon has been flaunting itself as an advanced democracy though political dissent is not tolerated.

On September 22, the political opposition led by Professor Kamto called on its supporters in the country to come out en masse to demonstrate against a regime noted for its corruption and intolerance.

The turnout was impressive, despite the violent response from the government.

From every indication, East Cameroonians are gradually plucking up courage to challenge a political system that has brought more poverty and corruption to a country and its population.

Cameroon is in deep waters and for close to four decades, it has been ruled by a crime syndicate that has made corruption its hallmark and it is not repentant about that.

Over the last 30 years, the country’s economy has been suffering and this unfortunate situation has been made worse by the government’s refusal to see political dialogue as a way out of the quagmire.

Cameroon is going through tough times. The people are sick and tired of the dictatorship and economic hardship brought onto them by a government that is not willing to mend its ways.

The impressive results posted by the country’s opposition on September 22 are a testament to the fact that if more Cameroonians join the effort, the outdated political system could be changed.

However, if the demonstrations must result in anything meaningful, the demonstrations must be on a daily basis. Cameroonians must take a leaf out of the political book published by Sudanese and Algerians if they want to make any meaningful impact.

The odds are in the opposition’s favor. The government is cash-strapped and it is fighting many wars at the same time.

Its refusal to walk away from its old ways has left it in a permanent state of conflict. In the north, Boko Haram is making life very hard for everybody. The religious sect is killing both civilians and soldiers and the helpless population does not know where to turn to as the government itself is totally helpless.

But the government’s most uncomfortable nightmare is in the two English-speaking regions of the country where Southern Cameroonian separatists are hell-bent on achieving independence by force.

For four good years, the crime syndicate which passes off as a government has been pouring billions of dollars into the country’s two English-speaking regions but not for development purposes.

It has been battling an insurgency that might split the country if care is not taken. The fighting has already hit the country’s economy like a ton of bricks, leaving many young Cameroonians unemployed.

It has also generated many internally displaced persons and refugees. This situation is a real nightmare to the government that actually feels threatened.

Cameroonians must look at how other countries have achieved their political goals. Demonstrations to overthrow a deep-rooted dictatorship cannot be a one-off.

The hungry and desperate people of Cameroon must take to the streets every day until the dictator throws in his towel.

The people must understand that the government will not be going down without a fight and it will use all the means available to it to stay in power.

The people must not relent. They must understand that you cannot make omelet without breaking eggs.

Other countries have seen their dreams come true through their determined effort. Cameroonians can also chase this government away through collective action.

What is certain is that the government cannot kill or imprison everybody. This is a government that does not believe in genuine dialogue.

 If it has to change its way, then it must be compelled, one way or the other, to come to the negotiating table for true and genuine discussions. The ball is in the court of Cameroonians and the opposition leaders. Nobody will solve these problems for Cameroonians. The brave people of Cameroon must learn how to take on a government whose cardinal objective is to exploit its own people.

The country’s English-speaking minority has already set a beautiful example. East Cameroonians must learn from the English-speaking minority if they want their dream to come true.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom and Irene Nanyongo in Canada

Cameroonian authorities have to investigate the excessive use of force during peaceful protests in Yaounde and other cities in Cameroon on 22 September 2020. They must immediately release all protesters who were arrested solely for expressing their opinion and investigate attacks against journalists ill-treated and arrested for collecting information on the protest. The protests were organised by the Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) to demand the departure of the President of the Republic.

“It is unacceptable that the security forces used lethal force against peaceful protesters, arrested and humiliated people only because they were exercising their right to protest. The authorities must investigate these human rights violations and explain why one of the protesters died and others were injured and illtreated. The authorities must ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice”, said Fatou Jagne Senghore, Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 West Africa.

“One person was reportedly killed, at least ten wounded and 60 arrested including five media professionals. Some of them were victims of ill-treatments”

The Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) called for a series of peaceful protests across the country to demand the departure of the President of the Republic. On 21 September 2020, Communication Minister and Government spokesman Rene Emmanuel Sadi announced during a press conference the ban on the demonstration, describing it as calls for popular uprising and overthrow of institutions by leaders of a political party, such decision undermines the right to free expression and peaceful protest.

On 22 September, activists responding to the call of the MRC, stormed the streets in different cities of Cameroon to peacefully protest. But the security forces used tear gas and a water cannon to disperse the protesters. According to media reports, one person was reportedly killed, at least ten were wounded and 60 people arrested, including five media professionals. Some of the protesters were ill- treated, and security forces reportedly ordered those arrested to sit on the ground and forced them to sing a chant to glorify the President of Republic.

No one should lose their life, or fear torture or ill-treatment because of exercising their right to protest. The police should have facilitated this peaceful protest, but instead, they used force to disperse the protesters. ARTICLE 19 has reviewed three videos of the protests and all appeared to be peaceful. When attending a protest, the police should be guided by the presumption of peacefulness, rather than assuming there will be violence and resort to using force.

“Five media professionals were arrested. Although Rodrigue Ngassi identified himself to Security forces as Media cameraman, they arrested him and twisted his arm.”

ARTICLE 19 urges the authorities to ensure the protection and safety of journalists, to tolerate media reports on dissident opinions, especially during protests and to unconditionally release all those arrested only for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association.

The police arrested five media professionals: Tah Jarvis, Tebong Christian Lindovi Ndjio, Rodrigue Ngassi Polycarpe Essomba. The Equinoxe tv channel has in their news broadcast condemned how the security forces treated Rodrigue Ngassi. He identified himself as a cameraman to the security forces, but they arrested him, and twisted his arm and put a foot on his neck. Rodrigue Ngassi was later released and urged the Cameroonian police to respect journalist doing their job.

Polycarpe Essomba, a Radio France International reporter was beaten, while he was covering the demonstration. The police hit him with a truncheon and took him to a police station, released him after two hours. Lindovi Ndjio, Journalist of “Nouvelle Expression”, Tah Jarvis and Tebong Christian respectively Journalist and Cameraman of “ My Media prime” were finally released on the evening of 23 September 2020 in the second day of their arrest.             

“The arrest of the journalists, who were just doing their work, is a violation of media freedom. The role of the media is to report and inform the public about anything relevant to them. The authorities shouldn’t intimidate journalists and restrict the right to access to information.”

“Journalism is not a crime. It is not enough to release the arrested journalists. Any charges should be dropped. The Government must shed light on the ill-treatments and the motivation of their arrests against these journalists. Cameroon must end the cycle of impunity for attacks against journalists and brutal repression of protesters” urged Fatou Jagne Senghore.

It is very risky to work as a journalist in Cameroon, and the protection of the media continues to deteriorate. Following attacks on the press, ARTICLE 19 has interviewed the data journalist Paul Joël Kamtchang, Executive Secretary of ADISI Cameroon, who stated: “The protection of journalists in the exercise of their profession is deplorable in Cameroon.  The authorities seem to believe they are above the law; they think they can muzzle journalist on duty.”

We call on the African Commission Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to information to urge the government of Cameroon to respect their obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and guarantee media freedom.

“We are asking the African Commission Special Rapporteur to monitor the situation and urge the government to investigate these violations and make sure that Cameroon will not continue to prevent, hinder or restrict unduly the right to protest and to attack media.”

The right to protest enables citizens to participate actively in the socio-political life of their country. Cameroon’s 1996 Law on the revision of the Constitution guarantees the freedoms of expression, assembly and association, press freedom and the right to protest. Also, the Constitution prohibits the use of the torture, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

ARTICLE 19 has underlined in its principles of the right to protest that States should not prevent, hinder or restrict the right to protest except to the extent allowed by international human rights law and standards.

By banning and using excessive force to disperse a peaceful protest, Cameroon has violated its international obligations. For example, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 9 of African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) guarantee that everyone should be able to express their opinions without interference. The  Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa underline that protest is a right, for which organisers don’t need prior authorisation.

By using excessive force, the authorities failed to ensure the safety of the public and to safeguard the human rights of all persons during the protest as stated in the African Commission Guidelines for the Policing of Assemblies by Law Enforcement Officials in Africa. Moreover, the excessive use of force doesn’t comply with the requirements of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa.  

At the UN Human Rights Council, during its last UPR review in 2018, Cameroon received recommendations to ensure that any restrictions on freedom of assembly and demonstration should be in line with international obligations. Unfortunately, the country only noted these, and in practice, Cameroon continues to restrict the freedom to protest. For example, in January 2019 when the authorities banned “marches blanches” following the announcement of the Presidential election results which were contested by the MRC. The security forces used excessive force to disperse the protesters with tear gas and bullets and arrested several demonstrators including the prominent opposition leader Maurice Kamto.  

Culled from Sierra Leone Telegraph

As Cameroonians began to fall sick from the novel coronavirus, President Paul Biya made a plea for public solidarity to help the government support a healthcare system already collapsing under the weight of multiple security crises affecting the country.

Dozens of people and companies immediately poured money into a fund hastily created by the president. This fund should have augmented the millions of dollars in a separate Health Solidarity Fund, an emergency reserve established by the government in 1993, into which healthcare facilities pay 10 percent of their revenues each month. These revenues largely come from patient fees, raising the cost of health care, already unaffordable for many.

However, the government has managed both these funds in secrecy, obstructing the public’s ability to track public resources.

It is not clear if and how the government has spent these funds, nor the $226 million from the International Monetary Fund it received to support its Covid-19 response, among other international assistance. As the virus swept across the country, medical staff and others told us in June that their hospitals had received no extra financial assistance, hampering their ability to treat patients or provide healthcare workers with adequate  protective equipment.

Only after enormous public pressure, citing the “urgency of transparency,” did the government publish, on July 29, some basic information in a two-page statement about how it spent about 22 billion FCA ($40 million), which it said was its  total expenditure to respond  to Covid-19 in the preceding five months.

Funding from the ADB and the IMF

The information provided is too general to allow for meaningful public oversight – saying only that, for example, 1.75 billion FCA ($3 million)  went toward “rehabilitating, renovating, and extending” isolation areas in three hospitals in Yaoundé, the capital. The statement similarly provides a generic list of equipment to account for another 3.92 billion CFA (nearly $8 million) attributed to “procurement of medical equipment distributed to facilities.”

And what little is included may not be entirely accurate. Observers who visited the three Yaoundé hospitals and spoke to staff there two weeks after the Health Ministry published the statement were unable to identify any new construction work  to prepare for Covid-19 patients, although two had set up tents outside as testing sites. A sign at the General Hospital of Yaoundé dated July 16 announced that the hospital would no longer accept Covid-19 patients.

Watchdog groups such as the Association for the integrated development and Interactive solidarity (ADISI), with its digital platform Data Cameroon, have also pointed out that the $40 million does not account for all the funds the government received to support its Covid-19 response. The Health Ministry statement included a list of about 65 individuals and companies who donated around 1 billion FCA ($1.8 million) to the president’s solidarity fund. But it hasn’t made public any information specific to the fund’s revenues and disbursements, which appear not to be governed by any legislation. And the total sum the Ministry says it spent is far smaller than the amount it received in international assistance for more than 43 Covid-19 projects, including $100 million from the African Development Bank.

The International Aid Transparency Initiative tracks funds for these projects, but does not include comprehensive details on expenditures. Nor does the tracker account for the $226 million in emergency assistance the government received from the IMF in June.

More than 20,000 cases and 416 deaths

In a letter requesting the loan, the finance minister cited the importance of the funds “to cover urgent needs to upgrade the health system.” The letter committed to publishing all procurement documents related to Covid-19 expenditures, including the names of the real owners of companies awarded contracts, but we were unable to find any such contracts.

In his letter, the minister also promised to publish the results of an independent audit by the end of 2020 fiscal year, which passed on June 30 without any news that an audit is even in progress.

Tracking this money is about more than the government reciprocating public solidarity with accountable governance; it is key to ensuring funds crucial for fighting a pandemic are fully and fairly distributed across the country. Cameroon reported more cases and deaths than most countries in Central Africa – nearly 20,000 cases and 415 deaths as of September 10, according to the World Health Organization. Yet many hospitals remain woefully unprepared six months into the pandemic.

We spoke to a doctor who works in a hospital in the North-West region, which has been hard- hit by violence since late 2016 and whose medical facilities have been repeatedly attacked by both government forces and armed separatists. He said that the 10 health facilities in his district received a combined 10 million FCA (around $17,000) in early August. Prior to that, his hospital, had only received 12 masks, 20 boxes of gloves, and four full body gowns for almost 50 employees, he said.

The money enabled his hospital to buy personal protective equipment for some staff, medicine, and two oxygen machines, he said, but it didn’t come close to meeting the needs of the hospital needs, which still lacks sufficient protective equipment for most staff, as well as adequate access to electricity and an ambulance. And the money arrived tragically late: a nurse at a nearby hospital died from Covid-19 in June.

Cameroonians have demonstrated their solidarity. It’s well past time for the government to do the same and publish a full accounting of the Covid-19-related spending, including from the Health Solidarity Fund.

Culled from Human Rights Watch