Headline News

26, March 2018

Paul Biya: Cameroon’s ‘absentee president’ ⁰

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has been in power for 35 years. But while his longevity in office is a talking point at home, the time he spends out of the country has stirred international comment – as Paul Melly, an associate fellow of Chatham House, explains.

Criticised by some for a supposedly “hands-off” style of rule, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya recently held a cabinet meeting for the first time in more than two years.

Presidential elections are scheduled for October and Cameroonians are waiting to hear if the 85-year-old will seek a further term. But no such announcement was made at the meeting.

Mr Biya has been in power since 1982, making him one of Africa’s longest serving leaders. Under his rule, Cameroon has survived an economic crisis and moved from being a one-party state to multi-party politics.

But it has also been marked by endemic corruption and reversal of democratic gains, leading to the abolition of term limits in 2008, which allowed the octogenarian to run for re-election in 2011.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) accompanies President of Cameroon Paul Biya (R) to view an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony inside the Great Hall of the People on March 22, 2018 in Beijing, China. — Image captionPresident Biya has been in China this week

Today’s Africa is changing. The era of decades-old presidencies is slipping away. Satellite TV and the internet tell a growing urban audience about democratic changes of power in other sub-Saharan countries.

Some 60% of Cameroonians are under 25 and so were not even born when President Biya first came to power. There is massive demand for jobs and viable livelihoods.

The opposition Social Democratic Front has now recognised these generational realities. Earlier this year, the party’s leader, John Fru Ndi, 76, stepped aside to make way for a new presidential candidate, 49-year-old businessman and former pilot Joshua Osih.

Swiss hotel

This is the challenge that confronts Mr Biya as he decides whether to stand for a further term that could take him into a fourth decade in power in a country hungry for change.

His repeated absences from the country have riled critics.

His foreign travels have been the subject of an online spat between the state-owned Cameroon Tribune newspaper and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which calculated the amount of time the president spent abroad using reports from the daily newspaper.

The OCCRP estimates that the president spent nearly 60 days out of the country last year on private visits.

It also alleges that he spent a third of the year abroad in 2006 and 2009. The Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva is said to be his favourite destination.

The state-owned Cameroon Tribune called their investigation “a clear electoral propaganda”.

President Paul Biya (L) and his wife Chantal Biya in Yaounde — Image captionCameroon football players bow before President Biya and his wife Chantal to mimic an obsequious greeting

Back home, President Biya adopts a low-key style, staying out of the limelight and sometimes retreating to his home village.

He entrusts the day-to-day running of the government to the Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, who holds monthly gatherings of a “cabinet council”.

The prime minister is accorded wide latitude to manage the work of his ministerial team, while the head of state meets senior figures in private at the presidential palace in the capital, Yaoundé.

Culled from the BBC

25, March 2018

German police arrest ex-Catalan leader on Danish border ⁰

Catalonia’s former President Carles Puigdemont has been detained by German police as he was crossing the border with Denmark by car.

The arrest on Sunday came just two days after Spain’s Supreme Court vowed to prosecute 13 key separatists, including Puigdemont and his nominated successor Jordi Turull, over their role in the region’s failed breakaway bid.

Puigdemont “was arrested today at 11:19 am by Schleswig-Holstein’s highway patrol force,” a German police spokesman said, adding that the detention was based on a European warrant.

“He is now in police custody”, added the spokesman.

Separately confirming his arrest in Germany, Puigdemont’s party spokeswoman Anna Grabalosa said, “It happened as he crossed the Danish-German border. He was treated well and all his lawyers are there. That is all I can say.”

Puigdemont was picked up by German police as he was traveling back to Belgium, his lawyer Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas said on Twitter.

He “was heading to Belgium to present himself, as always, at the disposal of Belgian courts,” added Alonso-Cuevillas.

On Friday, Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena issued an international arrest warrant for Puigdemont, accusing Catalonia’s former president of organizing the vote on secession in October last year.

The independence referendum, called by Puigdemont despite objections from Madrid, triggered an unprecedented political standoff between Catalonia and Spain. Puigdemont used the yes vote as a base to make a declaration of independence on October 27, prompting Madrid to dismantle his government and the regional chamber, where he made the declaration.

Following the referendum vote, Puigdemont fled to Belgium to avoid prosecution on charges of sedition and rebellion. A number of his ministers, along with senior regional authorities, have been jailed or freed on bail over similar charges.

The new Catalan parliament was formed after snap elections in December in which pro-independence parties, like that of Puigdemont’s, retained their majority.

While separatist parties won Catalonia’s regional elections, they have been unable to form a government for the region as numerous leaders are in exile abroad or in jail.

Puigdemont to appear in court on Monday

Later on Sunday, Spanish court officials said Puigdemont would appear before a judge on Monday after he was detained by German police on a European arrest warrant issued by Spain.

“The sole purpose of this appearance is to verify the identity of the person arrested. The regional tribunal of Schleswig-Holstein in the town of Schleswig will then have to decide if Mr. Puigdemont has to be taken into custody” in view of handing him over to Spain, the court was quoted by AFP as saying.

Source: Presstv

25, March 2018

Chad soldier, 20 Boko Haram militants killed in clashes ⁰

A Chadian soldier and 20 militants from the Nigeria-based Takfiri group Boko Haram have been killed in a clash in the volatile Lake Chad region.

A Chadian military officer said Saturday that the incident took place on Friday on an islet named Tchoukou Hadje, adding that five soldiers were injured.

“Twenty Boko Haram members were killed and a large amount of weapons was recovered,” the officer said. “The Chadian army lost one member.”

Two Chadian soldiers including a captain were killed in an ambush in the area a month ago in the first attack by the Nigerian militant group on Chadian soil since May last year in which nine soldiers died.

Chad is a member of a multinational task force combating Boko Haram across its border with Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. The force has been created with the aim of preventing a spillover of the militancy to those countries from Nigeria.

Boko Haram has been largely pushed out of its main strongholds in northern Nigeria, according to the country’s military and government. The group, however, is still active in its Sambisa Forest enclave in Borno and launches sporadic attacks on civilians and security forces from there.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in more than eight years of insurgency by Boko Haram in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. The group pledged allegiance to the Takfiri Daesh group in 2015.

The United Nations has warned that areas affected by Boko Haram face a humanitarian crisis.

Source: Presstv

25, March 2018

Thousands rally in Brussels to protest racism, discrimination ⁰

Around four thousand people have rallied in the Belgian capital to denounce racism and discrimination and demand equality for all.

The Saturday rally was organized by social groups and left-wing parties in Brussels where participants marched five kilometers (three miles) through the city.

They held up signs reading, “United against racism” and “together against discrimination.”

“I am here today to demonstrate against racism in Belgium and in the world, against the Federal Government that takes racist measures against refugees,” said one protester.

People take part in a national protest against racism, hatred, discrimination, inequality and aggression in Brussels, March 24, 2018. The banner reads, “Fear is the path towards the dark side, fear leads to anger, anger leads hatred, hatred leads to suffering.” (Photo by AFP)

Meanwhile, 16 anti-racism and migrant support organizations hailing from the country’s Brussels, Flanders, and Wallonia regions issued a joint statement, commemorating the “victims of hatred and terror in Brussels and elsewhere.”

The government has tightened migration laws since Daesh’s bombings of the Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station in Brussels two years ago, which left 32 people dead and hundreds more wounded.

In their statement on Saturday, the protesters said they will not allow “terrorists” to create division within the Belgian society.

Europe has been the scene of rallies especially since 2015, when the continent was hit by an influx of refugees, mostly fleeing violence in the Middle East.

Countries across Europe have seen a significant rise in xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments, mostly toward Muslims. Amnesty International has sounded the alarm about right-wing parties in Europe advocating anti-immigration and anti-Islam policies.

Last year alone, extremists in Germany which is home to some three to four million Turks launched 950 attacks against Muslims, including many arson attacks targeting mosques.

Source: Presstv

24, March 2018

Cameroonian journalists face ban on political reporting ⁰

Journalists in the central African country of Cameroon are in a quandary about how to fight a government ban on political reporting in the run-up to the March 25 senatorial elections.

Some, like private media outlets Galaxy FM and Magic FM, are defying the edict.

“We won’t accept limiting freedom of speech when Cameroon wants to be fully democratic,” Galaxy FM presenter Jean Jacques Ola Bebe told Deutsche Welle (DW) earlier this month. Despite the ban, Magic FM recently featured a member of Social Democratic Front, the chief opposition party, as a studio guest taking calls from listeners.

According to reports, however; these are the exceptions.

Many media professionals agonize over how to fulfill their watchdog role without triggering the wrath of the powerful National Communication Council (NCC), the media regulatory body. The government’s track record provides reason to worry.

The NCC has banned newspapers, levied exorbitant fines against media critical of the government and put journalists in jail.

Last year, the NCC suspended the licenses of at least 40 media outlets for violating the country’s terrorism laws. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) documented the abuses in a report, “Journalists are NOT Terrorists: In Cameroon, anti-terror legislation is used to silence critics and suppress dissent.”

Reporter Ahmed Abbas is a prime example. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “complicity in acts of terrorism” and “failure to denounce acts of terrorism.” He won the prestigious CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2017 and was released in December after 879 days in prison.

The NCC itself is suspect. Journalists argue that President Peter Biya created the council to punish media outlets that oppose his government and portray him unfavorably. Biya has been in power since 1982 and is Africa’s longest reigning leader, according to Deutsche Welle.

Freedom House designates Cameroon’s media “not free.” Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index ranks Cameroon 130 out of 180 countries. A Freedom House report noted, “Some independent outlets continue to operate, sometimes in defiance of government sanctions, but frequently self-censor in order to avoid reprisals.”

To gain insight into how Cameroon’s press corps is handling the recent ban, IJNet turned to Comfort Mussa, an award-winning journalist and founder of the Sisterspeak237 blog that “advocates for our rights, shares news, opinions and analysis of women’s obstacles and victories, setbacks and head starts.” Mussa also writes a weekly column Comfort Zone for The Sun newspaper.

IJNet: How are private media outlets in Cameroon reacting to the government ban on political debates? Are many defying the order?

Mussa: Reactions have been varied. The regulations on “political programs” have given rise to a new debate among journalists in Cameroon about what a clear definition of “political program” really is. A report or debate about the state of roads or public health policies can be tagged as political. However, many journalists interpret [the government ban] to mean political debates headed into the 2018 elections.

How do you see media outlets responding?

Most political programs on local radio and TV stations continue to air, albeit with a lot of caution on the part of the journalists. “Cameroon Calling,” a flagship program that often features political debates on the [government-controlled] radio station, CRTV, did not air last Sunday.

There is a certain degree of self-censorship from many journalists, especially those from private stations. It is worth noting that over 100 of the private radio stations in Cameroon operate under “administrative tolerance” without formal licenses.

How has the ban affected your reporting?

Whether on Comfort Zone or Sisterspeak237, I am constantly aware of the environment in which I operate and this makes me cautious and more diligent about how I report and the topics I choose to write about. In the different networks that I am part of, we have been brainstorming about ways in which journalists can get around this. However, so far, it is still business as usual.

Comfort Mussa added this: “There is a shift in the questions that journalists are discussing these days, concerning the future of journalism in Cameroon. I am proud of the conversations that journalists are having now and how they are exploring different formats and innovative ways of practicing journalism.”

Among NCC rules published for covering the upcoming elections:

Suspension of all political programs throughout the period of electoral campaigns
Prohibition of candidates from taking part in programs other than those authorized within the framework of the campaign
Need for media organs to plan equal coverage of all political parties taking part in the election
Need for media reports to favor social cohesion, peace, national unity and integration, democracy and human rights
Need for media content to reflect the present administrative and political disposition and not favor conflict of any kind

A final note: The NCC president promised to distribute an election guide and warned that any media that go against the established principles would be punished.

Source: IJnet.org

24, March 2018

Quotable Quotes in the Southern Cameroons Struggle for Independence ⁰

Our traditional rulers have been turned into auxiliaries of an alien enemy administration and informants of the brutal colonial secret police in the land which our ancestors passed over to us and posterity. These are the crimes our Ambazonia self defense groups have taken up arms to free all of us from. If they arrest enemy collaborators or request banned enemy economic operators to pay back some of our own money which they stole or facilitated the theft through their conscious collaboration or facilitation that, cannot be characterized as ransom.

Our self-defense forces need to acquire weapons to prosecute the liberation war of self-defense. They need to feed themselves. They need to acquire intelligence from the enemy camp. They need to secure our borders and our communities. They live the daily realities of the brutal acts of genocide and must take self-survival tactics to fight this war which is escalating every day.

Extract from a Cameroon Concord News editorial by Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

24, March 2018

USA: Cameroonians to wave goodbye to their football king ⁰

Hundreds of Cameroon football fans in the USA will pay tribute to former football star, Ntoko Roland during a testimonial game to be hosted in Dallas. The Cameroonian football hero, a one-time Best Foreign Player of the Year in Slovenia, retired from the beautiful game long ago but will now be honoured on his 50^th birthday at the Anderson Bonner Soccer Park (Field 1) in Dallas.

Cameroon Concord News sources in the US say football fans are expected to defy the cold weather to attend the star-studded game which will include the veterans of Atlanta. Ntoko Roland will play for both sides to mark the end of a glorious career that took him to Germany, Slovenia and Indonesia.

Bundes as he is popularly known was quoted as saying that “There’s a time to start and a time to finish, it was a fulfilling ride from day one.” Ntoko Roland is undoubtedly the most recognised, successful and talented footballer the South West region of Cameroon has ever seen on the field.

Eyong Eyong Ebot (Moh-Kukouri) who also moonlights as President Emeritus of the Veterans of Atlanta told Cameroon Concord Sports that it will not be difficult to honour Ntoko Roland by travelling down to Dallas “because he is an icon of the Cameroonian game and we must honour him.” The Ntoko Roland jubilee will hold from the 30th of March to the 1^st of April in Dallas, USA.

He started his soccer career with ElectSport of Limbe and won the famous BEAUFORT CUP and player of the tournament when he was 18. He later led ELECTSPORT Limbe into the prestigious First Division league. He played for PWD KUMBA and later UNION DOUALA

In Slovenia, he played for Novo Mesto, PUBLIKUM Celje and OLYMPIJA LUBIANA from where he had a taste of the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. He joined the German side, Darmstadt in 1996 and partnered the controversial Ghanaian football legend, NII LAMPTEY. He was recruited by a second division side Greuther Furth in 1997. Ntoko Roland Njume also had a spell in INDONESIA.

He held the captaincy of PWD Kumba and won the football gold medal during the All African games in Egypt 1991 with the junior Lions of Cameroon. Ntoko gained a place with the senior Indomitable Lions and played alongside Cameroon football greats like the Late Massing Benjamin, Nfede Louis Paul, kunde Emmanuel, Tataw Eta Stephen, Ebwelle Beltin, Onana Jules, Ndip Akem Victor, Bell Joseph Antoine and Omam Biyik.

He was voted best foreign player in Slovenia in 1995 and was a member of the Indomitable Lions squad during the Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa 1996. His school mates remember him as the guy who rushed the afternoon session of the GCE exams to meet his pals in a football pitch.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

24, March 2018

Thousands to take part in Washington’s ‘March for Our Lives’ rally ⁰

Hundreds of thousands of protesters are getting ready for a massive anti-gun rally in Washington, as calls grow for tighter gun control measures following a wave of mass shootings in the United States.

The “March for Our Lives” event, set to take place on Saturday, has been organized by survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida.

Fourteen students and three educators were slain and 15 other people were wounded in the February 14 shooting rampage, the most deadly school shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, sparking renewed debate about gun control in the US.

“No special interest group, no political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country,” rally organizers said in a statement.

A woman collects school children posters and slogans designed on the eve of the “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington on March 23, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

“It’s an issue of life and death,” Alex Wind, a student who survived the Florida massacre, told CNN. “Everyone has their own idea of how this needs to change, but I think we all agree that this needs to change. The mass shooting epidemic we have in this country is terrible.”

The event is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of students to DC and local marches nationwide to call for gun control and school safety measures in response to mass school shootings.

Event organizers said that similar demonstrations were being held across the country and abroad, with up to 800 events scheduled worldwide. Many celebrities have donated funds to the organization which was established in the wake of the Florida mass shooting.

The 19-year-old shooter, identified as Nikolas Cruz, fired some 100 shots by his AR-15 rifle. Prosecutors in Florida are seeking the death penalty for Cruz, though lawyers representing the shooter have said he will plead guilty if the death penalty is not pursued.

Earlier this month, the Florida state legislature passed new laws raising the minimum age for purchasing an assault-style weapon to 21.

President Donald Trump proposed last month to arm teachers to deter school shootings, a controversial idea that has drawn little support from educators, including the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers lobby.

Trump was endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in his 2016 presidential election campaign. The president and his fellow Republicans in Congress strongly support Americans’ constitutional right to own guns.

Source: Presstv

24, March 2018

War in Lebialem County: Yaounde would neither confirm nor deny ⁰

A government official was killed and a district administrator wounded on Thursday in an ambush blamed on anglophone separatists in western Cameroon, a human rights activist said. The attack hit a convoy carrying a government official responsible for land ownership issues in part of the Southwest, who was killed.

The area’s prefect survived the attack but was injured, the activist said. The report was confirmed by sources in the security services, but the government in Yaounde would neither confirm nor deny it.

Unrest blamed on armed separatists has increased in recent weeks in the Northwest and the Southwest, two English-speaking territories that became part of the mainly French-speaking country after independence in 1960.

The attack took place ahead of elections to the Senate which are to be held on Sunday, with authorities banning certain types of vehicle on roads in the Southwest and urging people to “remain calm and vigilant”.

Senate elections do not take place by universal suffrage in Cameroon. Municipal councillors across the country vote for 70 members of the upper house, while appointees to the 30 remaining seats are named by President Paul Biya.

On Tuesday, a Tunisian was killed in the Southwest during an operation aimed at freeing four hostages – two Tunisians and two Cameroonians – who were kidnapped by an armed group on March 15, state television reported.

Source: News24

23, March 2018

Beijing: China’s top legislator meets Biya ⁰

China’s top legislator Li Zhanshu met with Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Friday.

Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), said Chinese President Xi Jinping held fruitful talks with Biya on Thursday and they made top-level designs for the development of bilateral relations in the future.

Li said China’s NPC is willing to have more friendly exchanges with Cameroon’s parliament and he called on the two sides to implement the consensus reached by the heads of state.

Li expressed his hope that both sides would support each other on political issues, create a better cooperative environment, and have more people-to-people exchanges.

Biya congratulates Li Zhanshu on his election as chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC.

Biya spoke highly of China’s foreign policy and appreciated China’s long-term support for Cameroon, calling for more legislative exchanges between the two countries.

Source:Xinhuanet