Headline News

6, May 2018

Southern Cameroons villages have been transformed into battle fields ⁰

The critical situation of the English regions of Cameroon is worse than ever. The violence has brought the country into a civil war in the South Western region as reported by Lilian Neg, Africa Correspondent for NewsVoice. Other sources tell NewsVoice young men flee the anglophone regions since the army capture and abduct them. If they do not flee they will ”disappear”.

The declaration of war made by President Paul Biya on November 30th 2017 to the people considered as enemies of the Republic has not been a means of peace and stability, instead the battle between Cameroonian armed forces and the various separatists groups is building up.

Villages have been transformed into battle fields where exchanges of weapons are frequent. Population are forced to leave their homes for unknown destinations. Some villages have been totally destroyed by flames, torched by the army.

Kwakwa village in Cameroon - Photo by local resident — Parts of Kwakwa village in Cameroon destroyed by the army – Photo by local resident

People are running to the bushes in fear of being killed. Villagers are captured and heavily sanctioned while others are simply murdered. Huge number of refugees is one consequence, some 40,000 are registered in neighbouring Nigeria. Other sources report lower estimates but the figures continues to increase daily. Casualties are recorded on both sides and among unarmed civilians.

AfricaNews.com: "Governor of the restive region, Bernard Okalia Bilai told the Anadolu news agency that the separatist elements had mounted road blocks in parts of the region, when the army went to clear them, the hostilities ensued." - Photo: Africanews.com

Separatists groups have been formed fighting a civil war

Recently, the vehicle of the South West region Governor Okalia Bilai was attacked by unidentified men on his way to Lebialem for the installation of the newly appointed subdivisional officer of the area.

In less than one year separatists groups have been created in various locations across the two English regions. The groups act unpredictable and they are a real preoccupation for the Cameroonian army.

Kidnappings

These various separatists movements are kidnapping government authorities. It has been the case of the social affair delegate of the North West region who was kidnapped and has not yet been released.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe - Pressphoto — Sisiku Ayuk Tabe – Pressphoto

They said, they are putting pressure on the Government to liberate their leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe who was captured in january 2018 in Nera Hotel Nigeria alongside with 47 members of the newly created Nation Declare on 1st October 2017.

In spite of what is demanded by the human rights organizations and some majors institutions as well as other countries, efforts are merely regarded as radicalized opinions across these regions.

Cameroon needs to define itself as a diverse Nation

People want the government to call for a sincere dialogue.

What are the needed mechanisms to assure that things will not go back to a perpetuous conflict?
Who could implement a workable procedure?
What players will take part at the dialogue table?

It will not be an understatement to say Cameroon needs to build a new and solid foundation. Cameroon needs to define itself as a Nation. Cameroon needs to appropriate its cultural specificities and diversities. It is important to seek for an institutional everlasting solution to end the crisis once and for all.

Culled from News Voice

6, May 2018

Southern Cameroons Villagers Trapped As Military Battles ‘Ambazonia’ Fighters ⁰

At least 50,000 villagers settled in the farming localities of Ikata, Bafia and Munyenge in Muyuka Sub-division, Fako Division of the Southwest Region have put themselves out of sight in cocoa farms, following a renewed military onslaught against separatists.

The campaign which gained public notice since Saturday, April 28, and remains on course triggered the settlers to escape into the farms for fear of the unknown. Such massive escape comes as the military has since been engaged in cross fire with gunmen suspected to be fighters of the illusionary State of Ambazonia.

Midnight Escapes

Around midnight on Saturday, April 28, news of an impending Ambazonia showdown with the security forces induced the first moves. Families left their homes in the dark and headed for the bushes. The escapees comprised pregnant women, elderly, children and the sick.

At dawn, the villages were empty with human activity nonexistent. Every family had taken cover in the forest. On Sunday April 29, a military contingent which visited the Munyenge zone is said to have returned towards the Muyuka direction. News of these developments caused hundreds of people to start returning home. Life was fast returning to normal in the evening hours of Sunday.

A victim whose identity we are withholding for professional reasons told The Post that, as they crossed to find out the whereabouts a of a neighbour, news came that, another cross fire between the separatists and the military was forthcoming. Fear ripped through the villages and the few families which had returned home escaped back into the forest.

Churches Paralysed

The escape into the bushes dealt a severe blow to church services across the affected villages. Mainstream and Pentecostal churches known to enjoy a huge following within this axis were empty on Sunday. A victim told The Post that even Pastors were spotted running into hiding as the atmosphere of gloom deflated hope from every being around the villages concerned.

Medics Order Patience Out Of Health Centres

In the escape frenzy, medical personal of both private and public health centres found within the affected villages are reported to have ordered patience to leave their respective facilities. The order came as the doctors and nurses were set to escape into the forest. Some patients are said to have developed strength on the spur of a moment to escape from the health centres. Such was the case in Bafia Muyuka, The Post was told.

Houses Burnt

At the moment, reports of houses razed to ashes have emerged in the localities of Munyenge and Bafia Muyuka. In Bafia for instance, even the Palace of Chief Peter Mbua is said to be in ruins. At Munyenge, a health centre is feared to be among the brunt houses. No group has claimed responsibility for such acts.

Battle of Munyenge

The fiercest of clashes is said to have taken place in Munyenge. The separatists and military are reported to have engaged in a prolong gun fire exchange. The Post could not independently confirm reports of causalities on both sides of the fight. Security forces are reported to have made in routes into a supposed camp which the separatist fighters are said to be operating from in Munyenge.

Road Blocks

The Post gathered that after Saturday’s military visit, fresh clashes in Munyenge prompted the return of the security forces. Before the forces could drive to the localities, gunmen reportedly felled huge trees on the road and used stones to equally block the road.

Life In The Bush

In the last few days, families remain clustered in groups across the vast cocoa plantations that supports livelihood in these villages. Some families escaped with food items such as rice and other household items. They are known to be mostly spending the night around cocoa ovens for the fear of rains. Some families have migrated into Meme Division. During the day, farmers go about their normal activities in the farm. In the evening, the villagers share ideas over palm wine before falling asleep.

Pork, Goat Meat On Sale

Despite the horror of crossing swamps and rivers, groups of young men are said to be making fast cash through the sale of pepper soup pork and goat meat. The guys are said to be feasting on the domestic animals which villagers left behind in the course of escape.

After preparing the meat, victims said, the vendors move from one corner of the forest to another to sell the meat. Water Shortage At the moment, thousands of those who sought refuge in farms towards the mountain are feared to be in dire need of potable water. This part of the villages is rocky without any trace of streams like the portions sharing boundary with Meme Division. Fears are rife that such families could be exposed to water born diseases from rain water.

Bike Riders In Brisk Business

While some families are known to have trekked towards Malende and boarded vehicles into safety, it is known to have come at a cost. A family The Post interviewed said they paid FCFA 3000 each to get to a junction at Malende- Muyuka leading to Muyuka. Bikers have since flooded the escape axis reaping thousands in the process as they transport the villagers.

Context Of Clashes

Analysts hold that the separatists might have shift fighting ground from Meme with a target to infiltrate Fako Division. For one thing, forest tracks are known to exist between the villages of Bafia, Ikata and Munyenge towards Buea. The same source holds for a road passing through Munyenge to Kumba. Thus the military battle is said to be important to safeguard the disruption of public peace towards the Regional Headquarters of Buea.

Strength Of Villages

The affected villages constitute one of the best cocoa producing basins in Cameroon. It is known to enjoy a beer consumption rate of FCFA 60 million per week during the peak of the cocoa season. These communities host cosmopolitan populations. The same localities hosts dozens of public and private schools from nursery to High Schools which have gone comatose since the crisis began. A gang almost took the localities hostage in 2017, but the military intervened and brought order. The leader of the gang was arrested and ferried to Yaounde. The same villages emptied into the streets in the early days of the Anglophone Crisis.

Culled from The Post

6, May 2018

Spain: Catalan separatists again back fugitive leader for president ⁰

Separatists in Spain’s Catalonia region say they will re-nominate self-professed, fugitive leader Carles Puigdemont to head their regional government, a move that would be unacceptable to Madrid.

In October 2017, Catalonia’s pro-independence leaders held a referendum that had been banned by Spain’s central government and declared illegal by the country’s Constitutional Court. Organizers said 90 percent of voters backed secession. Before and during the referendum, Spanish police attempted to prevent the voting and arrested a number of secessionist leaders.

Amid that crackdown, Puigdemont — who unsuccessfully declared independence for Catalonia from Spain late that same month — and four of his ministers fled to Belgium, where authorities refused to extradite the fugitive leaders despite a European arrest warrant. Puigdemont then traveled to Denmark and then Germany. A second warrant has been issued by Madrid to have them extradited. Berlin is considering that request.

Meeting in Berlin on Saturday, pro-independence Catalan politicians vowed to attempt once again to get their former leader reinstalled as president of the Spanish region by May 14 and said they had no intention of holding fresh elections.

“We want to vote on the investiture of @KRLS (Puigdemont), a legitimate president, the one who emerges from the polls with the mandate… before May 14,” Eduard Pujol, a spokesman for the secessionist Junts per Catalunya Party in the regional parliament, said in a tweet.

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont (background) attends a meeting of Catalan political leaders in Berlin, Germany, May 5, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

The announcement came as Catalan separatists were expected to propose a new candidate who would have been acceptable to the government in Madrid.

Pujol added that the secessionists remained loyal to Puigdemont despite previous failed efforts to install him as president.

Catalan lawmakers have until May 22 to form a government; and if they fail to do so, a new election must be held.

This will be the fifth attempt to install a new regional president since the Spanish government imposed direct rule on resource-rich Catalonia. Madrid has already said it will contest a newly-passed legislation that allows members to vote for an absent leader.

Madrid wants Puigdemont, along with the four other former officials, on charges of sedition and rebellion.

A court has normally 60 days to rule on extradition based on the new European arrest warrant.

Catalonia, one of Spain’s wealthiest and most productive regions, is now theoretically under the direct control of the Spanish national government in Madrid. Pro-independence parties won a slim majority after a December 2017 election called by the Spanish government. However, they have since been locked in drawn-out negotiations on forming a government.

5, May 2018

Boko Haram bombers hit Maiduguri, houses set on fire in Cameroon ⁰

At least four Boko Haram suicide bombers struck a village near Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno on Thursday night.

The bomb attacks on Mairanti village occurred at about 10 p.m. on Thursday, according to local television station Channels TV.

Authorities said no one else except the bombers was hurt, but advised residents to be vigilant. In neighboring Cameroon, at least twenty huts were set on fire and a man was killed on Thursday night.

The attacks occurred in the locality of Tcherive in the Mayo-Sava department in Cameroon’s far north.

Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands of people in Nigeria and Cameroon as well as hundreds in Chad and Niger since 2009.

The militants have said western education and western way of life are evil. They are trying to create a caliphate along the Lake Chad Basin where true Islam would be practiced.

Source: Today news Africa

5, May 2018

Earthquake in South Africa mine leaves 7 dead ⁰

An earthquake that hit a South African gold mine claimed a total of seven lives, its owner said Saturday, after rescue operations were completed at the site outside Johannesburg.

The epicenter of the 2.2-magnitude quake was close to where the miners were working on Thursday, and 13 employees were trapped about three kilometers (two miles) below the surface.

“The last three employees who were recovered (had) passed away from their injuries, bringing the total number of fatalities as a result of the seismic event to seven,” mining company Sibanye-Stillwater said in a statement.

It added that rescue teams had worked for two and a half days in “extremely challenging conditions” to save colleagues while there were further underground tremors.

Operations at the Masakhane mine in Driefontein have been suspended and an investigation launched.

Six mineworkers remain in hospital.

In February, nearly 1,000 miners were trapped underground for 30 hours following a power cut caused by a storm in another mine owned by Sibanye-Stillwater.

A few days later, two miners were killed after ground collapsed at a mine also belonging to the group.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said it was “angry and concerned at the rate at which mining incidents are happening at Sibanye-Stillwater.”

Mine accidents are common in South Africa. In 2016, 73 people died in mines around the country, according to the Chamber of Mines.

(Source: AFP)

5, May 2018

Beijing blasts Macron accusations of Chinese ‘hegemony’ ⁰

China has denounced as “groundless accusations” French President Emmanuel Macron’s warning against what he called the dominance of the East Asian country in the Indo-Pacific region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying hit back at the French president’s comment and said Macron’s concerns were baseless as China has been seeking a peaceful rise to a global power status.

The French president said during his visit to Sydney on Thursday that France, India and Australia shared a responsibility to protect the region from “hegemony,” making an implicit reference to China’s growing might.

“What’s important is to preserve rules-based development in the region … and to preserve necessary balances in the region,” Macron said. “It’s important with this new context not to have any hegemony.”

“In the eyes of the world, which country could be said actually to be exercising hegemony in the world nowadays? Who has also long exercised military or economic hegemony of every kind in the region?” Hua asked.

“Before making such comments or groundless accusations, you should clarify these facts,” the spokeswoman told reporters during a regular press briefing, in a thinly veiled reference to the United States.

The Chinese state-run Global Times also blasted Macron and accused him of staging an “opportunistic show in (the) Indo-Pacific.”

“As France is in decline, opportunism is rising within its diplomacy,” the newspaper said.

France has a number of island territories in the Pacific Ocean.

The country maintains a strong security presence throughout the resource-rich region, with 4,500 permanent military personnel stationed in its Indian Ocean bases and 2,800 in the Pacific.

Australia, a Frances’s close ally, has also become increasingly alarmed at Beijing’s power and influence in the Pacific, which it claims could potentially upset the strategic balance in the region.

India and the US have recently engaged in talks to boost operational cooperation, including bilateral maritime security and open market trade, in the Indo-Pacific region.

Sailors work next to F-18 Hornet fighter jets on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on February 14, 2018, as the carrier strike group takes part in a routine deployment mission in the South China Sea. (Photo by AFP)

India has begun holding trilateral naval exercises with the US and Japan that military experts say could eventually include Australia as well.

The US has already announced plans seeking to confront China’s influential moves in the strategic region by enhancing its military presence there.

The United States has criticized China’s construction of islands and military facilities in the South China Sea, saying they could be used to restrict free nautical movement.

China says there is no issue with freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and opposes efforts to use it as an “excuse” to infringe on its sovereignty and security interests.

Source: Presstv

5, May 2018

Southern Cameroons in Crisis: Barrister Tambe Tiku speaks of the academic Lilliput running the Buea Council ⁰

Following a Fako High Court ruling, restraining the University of Buea, UB, from revoking the Degrees awarded Buea Mayor, Patrick Ekema Esunge, the Southwest Regional Secretary of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, Christopher Tambe Tiku, (seen here with our senior political man Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai) has asserted to The Post newspaper that the Court erred. According to Tambe Tiku, the Court, presided over by Justice Kenneth Ako Tanyi, was misled, because, Ekema did not seek equity with clean hands. Tambe Tiku asserts that Ekema is playing for time, by seeking the court to protect him, due to the case against him for fraudulently gaining admission into UB. “How do you skip the GCE Advanced Level to go to the University,” Tambe quipped?

He (Ekema) has nothing in front of the court. He says he genuinely earned the 1st and 2nd Degrees; you cannot look at the qualification without looking at the entry requirement.” Tambe Tiku says the court erred because: “You cannot say that the University be put on notice and you go further to grant the prayers of the applicant in the ex parte motion,” Tambe Tiku holds, regarding the ruling in suit No. HCF/015/WOS/18/1M/18 of April 16, 2018. He further states that Ekema used the court to deceive the public that injustice was meted on him. Ekema’s Lawyer, had, in the ex parte motion, prayed the court for: “An Order of Interim Injunction, restraining the Respondents [UB and the State of Cameroon] jointly and severally, their servants, agents and workmen from making any public statement and or holding any meetings touching on purported revocation of, and or any interference with, the Academic Degrees awarded the Applicant by the University of Buea pending the hearing and determination of the Suit now pending between the parties before this Honourable Court.” “And for such further order or orders that this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper to make in the circumstances.” Tambe Tiku, in the following interview, explains his arguments.

Excerpts:

The Post: How would you react to the Fako High Court ruling in the case pitting Ekema vs the University of Buea and the State of Cameroon?

Tambe Tiku: I am scandalised by the genre of the ruling granted by Justice Kenneth Ako Tanyi. He erred in several instances. Firstly, in his ruling he granted all the prayers of the applicant without giving the University and the Sate of Cameroon the opportunity to be heard.

The Post: What then is an “ex parte” motion, or a motion ex parte?

Tambe Tiku: An application is made to the court ex parte when one party is present and the other has not been informed that the court case is taking place. This can only be done in cases of emergency where there is no time to contact the other side or in cases where it is feared that the other side would do something such as leave the country or destroy evidence if they know about the court case. Additionally, an ex parte motion can be allowed by the Judge where the applicant is about to suffer prejudice if the court does not act. From the foregoing, it is important to emphasise the concept of urgency. In the case pitting Ekema Patrick Esunge vs the University of Buea and the State of Cameroon as respondents, one fails to understand how the Judge arrived or construed the concept of urgency before granting such a ruling.

The Post: You said the Judge failed in several instances. After explaining the instance of urgency, what other instances do you mean?

Tambe Tiku: In the first place, the applicant (Ekema) was never served with any decision from the Senate of the University of Buea. The Judge failed in ruling on a newspaper publication whose content had nothing with the official stand of the University of Buea. No official in the University or Senate gave his view on the purported article which the court ruled on. The court again erred in assuming jurisdiction in a matter which is purely administrative in character. The proper thing to do was to decline jurisdiction and advise the applicant to file an action at the Administrative Court. It is also disturbing to note that, nowhere in the applicant’s founding papers or exhibits, is he admitting that he has an Advanced Level pass which is the crux of the matter. It is sad to know that the Judge did not bother to take that into consideration. The applicant misled the court and the public into thinking that injustice has been done against him. It is a ruse to mislead the public into thinking that he passed the GCE Advanced Level GCE examination. The case before the court is one of declaratory order in which the applicant is praying the court in recognising his Bachelors and Masters Degree, respectively. It is again interesting to note that the applicant is not alleging that he fulfilled the entry requirement to gain a place in the University of Buea. The High Court has no jurisdiction over the University pertaining to matters of an administrative character.

The Post: Why do you think he didn’t seize but the Administrative Court?

Tambe Tiku: The applicant is avoiding the Administrative Court because of the overwhelming evidence the University has against him. All these judicial irregularities masterminded by the applicant are intended to obstruct justice, especially with the criminal investigation hanging over his head.

The Post:But he is alleging that he was not served when the University setup a commission to establish if he had GCE Advanced Level…?

Tambe Tiku: Again, that is not true. He approached the court in bad faith knowing fully well that he was served twice in his office personally. The University has the evidence. It is common knowledge that he was being investigated by the University and the judicial police about his certificates. It was his duty to report to the University accompanied by his GCE Advanced Level to allay all doubts surrounding his certificates. That he did not do because he had nothing to show or prove. Even with the papers before the court, he has still failed to disclose to the court how he got to the University. He is merely floating and buying time. It beats one’s imagination why the applicant would sue the State of Cameroon after having earned fictitiously salaries as Category 8 (which is salary earned only by staff with Advanced Level.

The Post: Is it a crime to sue the State?

You cannot bring an ex parte motion against the State.

The Post: The High Court, in its ruling, has ordered the University to stop any action towards withdrawing the Degrees which it awarded the applicant. Should the University not respect the High Court ruling?

Tambe Tiku: That is another fatal error. The Senate is the highest authority as far as academic affairs of the University are concerned. The Senate had already thrashed the issue by virtue of the report of the commission that was put in place by the Vice Chancellor of UB. At that point, the University had already finished with its job. The Minister of Higher Education who is the supervisory authority over universities in Cameroon is the only authority to endorse the proposal of the Senate of UB. Hence the ruling of Justice Kenneth Ako Tanyi was ill-conceived and of no consequence. There is nothing to stop the Minister to revoke or not to revoke. This is true, regarding the fact that the Minister is not party to the suit before the honourable court. Once the University took the decision to propose to the Minister to revoke the degrees awarded Ekema, it became functus officio.

Source: The Postline Newspaper

5, May 2018

Air France-KLM boss resigns over labor dispute ⁰

Air France-KLM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jean-Marc Janaillac has offered to resign after employees rejected a pay raise.

The 65-year-old CEO announced his resignation on Friday making good on an earlier promise to step down if he failed to end the weeks-long strikes.

Staff and management at the flagship carrier have been locked in a wage dispute since February.

“I accept the consequences,” said Janaillac after 55.44 percent of Air France workers voted against a seven percent over a four-year pay raise.

Janaillac described the workers’ decision as a “huge waste” of resources after revealing last month that the industrial action cost Air France 25 million euros per day.

The decision came as workers began a fresh round of intermittent strikes Friday, prompting the cancellation of a quarter of flights on average.

“Air France was on the road to success. I regret that that dynamic was not understood (by workers),” he said.

Unions argued the raise was too little after years of restructuring during which pay was frozen, and demanded a 5.1-percent raise this year instead.

The move coincided with Air France-KLM’s release of first-quarter earnings, which showed a net loss of 269 million euros ($322 million), weighed down by three days of strikes which cost about 25 million euros per day according to the company.

The industrial action by Air France personnel comes amid persisting rolling strikes by rail workers at state-owned SNCF railways, as well as protests by students, public servants, energy workers, and garbage collectors.

Source: Presstv

4, May 2018

Trump says will be interviewed in Russia probe if ‘treated fairly’ ⁰

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he is willing to be interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia meddling probe, but only if he gets fair treatment.

“I would love to speak, but I have to find that we’re going to be treated fairly,” Trump told reporters.

“I would love to speak because we’ve done nothing wrong,” he said.

Trump said Mueller’s team of veteran investigators were Democrats, suggesting he could not get a fair shake in the probe into whether his election campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, and whether he had illegally tried to obstruct the Mueller investigation.

“The problem we have is that you have 13 people that are all Democrats and they’re real Democrats. They’re angry Democrats. And that’s not a fair situation,” Trump said as he left the White House for a trip to Texas.

“I have to find that we’re going to be treated fairly. Because everybody sees it now and it’s a pure witch hunt.”

“There was no collusion with the Russians, there was nothing, there was no obstruction,” he added.

Trump also brushed off revelations by his newly recruited attorney, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, that he was aware of and approved reimbursements to his personal lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Cohen made the payment just before the 2016 election to prevent her from going public with claims of an affair with Trump.

After repeatedly denying knowledge of the payment, Trump tweeted on Thursday following the revelations by Giuliani that Cohen had undertaken the payout separately from the campaign “to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair.”

Trump referred to the payments story as “that kind of crap” and said Giuliani was still getting up to speed on his legal position.

“Rudy’s great, but Rudy had just started and he wasn’t totally familiar with everything,” Trump said.

(Source: AFP)

4, May 2018

Kenya: Torrential rains cause deadly floods, 112 dead, hundreds displaced ⁰

Flooding across Kenya triggered by weeks of torrential rain has left 112 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of others, the Red Cross said Friday.

Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Abbas Gullet made an appeal for $5 million (four million euros) to help those affected in 32 counties.

Since early March, “112 people have lost their lives countrywide,” he told a press conference.

“About 48,177 households have been displaced so far and this translates to 260,200 people that are displaced,” he said.

Gullet said over 21,000 acres (8,500 hectares) of crops had been destroyed and some 20,000 animals washed away, while more than a hundred schools had been affected, many of which remain closed.

The disaster comes after three failed rainy seasons inflicted a crippling drought that sent food prices soaring and left more than three million people requiring food aid.

(Source: AFP)