Headline News

Australia slams Cameroon human rights as athletes told ‘go home’

17, May 2018

Australia slams Cameroon human rights as athletes told ‘go home’ 0

Australia has joined the US, Britain and dozens of other nations in criticising Cameroon’s human rights record, as up to a dozen of the West African country’s Commonwealth Games athletes have not returned home.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton warned athletes overstaying their Games’ visas will be found and deported, although some have reportedly received bridging visas after claiming asylum.

Allegations of torture, arbitrary detention and attacks on civilians by security forces, suppression of freedom of speech and the media, and continued criminalisation of LGBTIQ+ people were raised against Cameroon at the United Nations.

The Cameroon team at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. About 11 members of Cameroon's team are still in Australia (may not be pictured here).

The West African country created from merging French and British colonies is wracked by civil conflict between the Francophone majority and Anglophone minority, as well as incursions by terrorist group Boko Haram.

Over 160,000 people have been displaced by violence in Cameroon since 2016, according to UN estimates.

“Australia notes with concern the recent outbreak of violence between Cameroon security forces and protesting minority groups in the county’s southwest and northwest,” Australian diplomat Alexander Chapman told the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of human rights in Cameroon in Geneva.

“Australia recommends Cameroon lift unnecessary restrictions on freedom of assembly, investigate the alleged use of force in demonstrations, and ensure arrested protestors receive fair trials.”

Australia, which this year began its three-year term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, echoed the United States in its statement to the UN hearing.

“We remain concerned by credible allegations of humans rights violations and abuses by security forces,” US diplomat Huda Ibrahim said.

“We recommend to the government the following, one acknowledge and investigate credible allegations of human rights violations and abuses and hold those to account.”

Other videos show troops burning villages and severely wounding people.

English-speaking southern Cameroonians have been demanding a separate state of Ambozonia based on colonial borders, claiming they are heavily discriminated against and marginalised by the French-speaking majority.

“There is peace in this region, it is not the entire region or the entire country that’s been involved in an uprising saying they want a republic,” Cameroon’s Foreign Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella told the UN review.

“It is a community that has taken the entire country hostage and raised awareness of the international community, sometimes wrongly, to what they call repressions in the Anglophone region.”

Mr Mbella Mbella told the UN its military had engaged in torture without government authorisation.

“One hundred and eight officials were brought to the courts for acts of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment committed in the exercise of their functions and they were convicted,” he said, adding armed forces were being educated on complying with international treaty obligations to prevent crimes against humanity.

Soldiers carry the coffins of the four soldiers killed in the violence that erupted in the northwest and southwest Regions of Cameroon in 2017.

Soldiers carry the coffins of the four soldiers killed in the violence that erupted in the northwest and southwest Regions of Cameroon in 2017.

In the West African country’s far north, the military has for years been fighting terrorist group Boko Haram as well as the separatists.

“These elements have cut off heads, arms and feet. These are images we can see on the internet. These are atrocious images. No state can tolerate this state of affairs,” Mr Mbello Mbello said.

Earlier this week, British Minister of State for Africa Harriett Baldwin told parliament she visited Cameroon and the prime minister in February to express her concerns.

“It is a serious situation. There is violence from all sides in Cameroon and we are extremely concerned about the situation,” she said.

“We are encouraging not only the government there but all Cameroonians to participate in a process of inclusive dialogue. It is an election year and the election must take place without people resorting to violence.”

At least eight – possibly up to 11 – Cameroonians have not returned home from the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April and are expected to seek protection after their visas expired on Wednesday.

“It’s really helpful to see countries like Australia criticising the human rights situation in countries such as Cameroon,” said Sarah Dale, principal lawyer at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) in Sydney, which has been in contact with a number of the games athletes and officials.

“These are the exact kinds of reports that we use to demonstrate a person’s well-founded fear of persecution.”

“I was excited when I heard that Australia is interested,” said Gana Tetu, a southern Cameroon community leader in Canberra.

“The situation in southern Cameroon is horrific, there’s a lot of killing going on, everyday people are dying. Southern Cameroonians just want to restore their state.”

Mr Tetu said southern Cameroons refused to take part in the Commonwealth Games in protest at French Cameroonian athletes being eligible, saying only those from the former British colony should be allowed.

He opposes any French-speaking Cameroonian athletes or officials being given protection visas.

“If they’re granted those protection visas, then I’m pretty sure southern Cameroons in Australia will go on the street and protest,” he said.

The federal government’s Smartraveller website warns anyone travelling to Cameroon to “exercise a high degree of caution” and in the far north “we advise against all travel there due to the very high risk”.

About two dozen games athletes and officials including from Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana and Sierra Leone are still thought to be in Australia.

Home Affairs in a statement said it “will not be commenting on individual cases” and it has “stood up a dedicated operation to ensure those that should depart Australia do so.”

 

Source: www.sbs.com.au


Southern Cameroons crisis raised in U.K. parliament

17, May 2018

Southern Cameroons crisis raised in U.K. parliament 0

Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis has been raised in the House of Commons – the United Kingdom’s lower house of Parliament with a request from the government as to what it is doing over the situation.

The issue was raised by MP Jessica Morden (Labour Party member for Newport East) who wanted answers over the security crisis and the resultant refugee crisis in the Central African country.

Her question directed to the British Minister for Africa, Harriet Baldwin also demanded ‘a meaningful process to address the issue and to end the violence.’

In response, Baldwin reiterated the U.K. stance that there was the need for cessation of violence by parties and more than anything for the process of inclusive dialogue given that key polls are slated for later this year. Below are her full remarks:

“I am delighted Mr. Speaker that she has managed to get this important issue on the Order Paper and for discussion here in the House of Commons because it is a serious situation, there violence from all sides in Cameroon, we are extremely concerned about the situation.

“And we are encouraging the government but all Cameroonians to participate in the process of inclusive dialogue. It’s an election year and this must take place without resorting to violence.”

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its opposite is the upper house, known as the House of Lords. Both chambers meet in the Palace of Westminster.

Officially, the full name of the house is the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.

Baldwin, MP for West Worchestershire who doubles as a Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on a trip to Cameroon called for dialogue. She visited capital of the southwest region of Buea and met with a number of stakeholders.

“Important visit to Buea in South West Anglophone region hearing from local people about the impact of the ongoing dispute and the urgent need for dialogue,” she said in a tweet accompanied by a photo of a meeting of leaders in Buea.

 

Source: Africa News


One and Indivisible Cameroon sliding towards partition

17, May 2018

One and Indivisible Cameroon sliding towards partition 0

No political commentator knows when President Biya is going to stop his senseless war against the people of Southern Cameroons. From Cameroon government intelligence sources, we understand that the Ambazonia Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces are in complete control of the rural areas. The French Cameroun government is determined to re-assert its sovereign authority over all Ambazonian territory, as well as the ambiguous political situation in Southern Cameroons, where the Interim Government has effectively banned all activities of the ruling CPDM party.

Over the past several months, a growing number of senior political analysts have concluded that President Biya is losing Cameroon’s brutal war. Seemingly from a position of strength some few years ago, Biya could appoint and dismiss any Anglophone political elite and he had consolidated control over West Cameroon. But things are changing so rapidly on Ground Zero and the French Cameroun army appears to have been abandoned by its main Yaoundé sponsors, all of whom are now preparing for life after Biya. As our chief correspondent in Buea recently put it, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia looks as though is here to stay.

That may be so. But the temptation to over-interpret the latest events on the battlefield has bedeviled policymakers since the Southern Cameroons uprising began. The military challenge to Biya’s rule has taken a new dimension even though some significant amounts of Ambazonian territory remain in Yaounde’s hands. If Biya is losing the war, he’s doing so at the cost of dismembering the country. Events in the Federal Republic of Nigeria points to a chaotic outcome after the presidential elections in 2019 and this will have a spillover effect on the war in Southern Cameroons.   A number of factors including major diplomatic push by the Interim Government’s pragmatic approach suggest that Cameroon’s de facto partition is a more likely outcome. What might this look like? And is separation something the French Cameroonians should accept or oppose?

Since 1900, approximately two dozen conflicts ended by either de facto or de jure partition. These range from the loss of sovereign control over small territorial enclaves (e.g., Cyprus in 1964 or Somaliland in 1991) to declarations of sovereignty with full international recognition (e.g., Eritrea and Croatia in 1991, South Sudan in 2011). More recently, several Nigerian politicians have proposed a similar approach in Cameroon. This reflects deep skepticism on whether Biya will be able to reunify his so-called one and indivisible Cameroon and a recognition of the degree of divide that’s already taken place. A quick glance at the situation in Manyu, Lebialem, Belo, Bamenda, Muyenge, Kumba, Ndian, Batibo reveals a complex patchwork corresponding to discrete blocs held by the French Cameroun government, the Ambazonia Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces and armed gangs operating from Nigeria. Biya’s control over some areas in Southern Cameroons is limited to economic loyalty. For example, the French Cameroun government has continued to pay salaries to civil servants, even in areas outside its control. But over time, the Interim Government will make these constituencies become increasingly autonomous: Every Southern Cameroons County flies the Ambazonian flag, operates its own security and takes orders from the Interim Government.  Administrative, judicial institutions and educational curricula are still being developed by the exiled government in the USA.

Cardinal Christian Tumi pointed out that the path to Cameroon’s demise was shaped by French intervention in the politics of the country.  In the Northern Zone, the Anglophone Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji and his partners have created armed groups and though small, the North West area is now buzzing with French Cameroun-funded killer squads.  The precise objectives of this Minister Atanga Nji operation in the North West remain unclear.

In the South West, self-defense forces loyal to the Interim Government are exercising their influence over the Cameroon army and attacks against government forces are rampant. To be sure, Biya regime forces are extremely vulnerable and the area remains self-governing and resistant to Yaoundé authority.

It is important to stress that separation is an outcome almost every Southern Cameroonian wants including those in the Diaspora. However, the international community continues to insist on Cameroon’s unity and territorial integrity.  After two years of war, the vast majority of Ambazonians are comfortable with inclusive dialogue precisely on the grounds that it would be a step towards separation.

Deep within the French Cameroun army, the fight is no longer over Southern Cameroons as a whole, but about making as much money as possible preparing for a new government after the CPDM.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai


Trump says some illegal immigrants are ‘animals

17, May 2018

Trump says some illegal immigrants are ‘animals 0

US President Donald Trump says some of the undocumented immigrants who have crossed the border into America are “animals” and need to be deported.

“We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — we’re stopping a lot of them,” Trump told a round-table discussion about California’s sanctuary laws on Wednesday.

“You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people, these are animals, and we’re taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that’s never happened before,” he said.

Trump made the remarks when asked about his administration’s plans to keep out undesirable immigrants, including members of international criminal gangs like MS-13.

The Republican president, who has shown little tolerance for illegal immigration since taking office in January last year, used the meeting with state and local officials to criticize America’s immigration laws, calling them “the dumbest laws on immigration in the world.”

The Trump administration is taking legal action to invalidate sanctuary laws, which limit communication between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers.

Officials partaking in the meeting complained to the president that state laws were making it more difficult for their communities to find and deport criminals.

Trump blamed Republicans for passing “bad laws.” He also took a jab at Mexico, which is bordered to the north by the United States, for “doing nothing” to stop illegal immigration.

Trump’s remarks and his criticism of California prompted a fiery response from the state’s Democratic governor, Jerry Brown.

“Trump is lying on immigration, lying about crime and lying about the laws of California,” Brown said in a statement. “Flying in a dozen Republican politicians to flatter him and praise his reckless policies changes nothing. We, the citizens of the fifth-largest economy in the world, are not impressed.”

Trump has promised to build a wall on the border with Mexico to stop migrant flow into the US. He has also warned so-called “sanctuary cities” to either do away with lax immigration laws or have their federal funding cut.

 

Source: Presstv


Southern Cameroons War:  The Focolare Movement is leaving Lebialem County

16, May 2018

Southern Cameroons War:  The Focolare Movement is leaving Lebialem County 0

The foundation on which Lebialem is built has collapsed, and the possibility of rebuilding maybe smaller than a mere discussions.  A decision to shut-down Mary Health African of Hospital Fontem – Lebialem was reached yesterday.

The selfless people – the Focolare Movement, whose only mission is “Love and Unity” and who indisputably own the recognition, and from whom no one can take away that “Honor” for building the Lebialem from scratch to its current image, are leaving.

After a lengthy meeting lasting many hours of evaluating the current circumstances of a war on citizens; they searched through pages, and their-52-year history in the area; “life and death,’ then, a tearfully decision – leave.

One of their many challenges laminated at the meeting, many of the medications come in from outside the country, especially Europe, but now they are limited to, not merely the inability to bring in medication from Europe, but also dealing with ruthless uneducated warring soldiers, who do not understand the work of the gentle people.

In really war times, Hospitals – a place where the dying, the wounded and the sick come, are guarded and protected from any attack, but just over two weeks ago, an employee a member of their 80-persons strong-staff was seized,  tortured to death. The hospital called for a day of mourning from all other hospitals across Cameroon. No report here on the response; but the torture and killing of this employee, criss-cross the floor of discussion.

Today, the hospital lies flat, eight patients in total, in a 120 beds inpatient hospital, doctors and nurses take cover on a minute by minute base; and they are words of uncontrollable weeping, and wailing yesterday when this news of the Focolare’s departure broke.

Neither the War-President-in-Chief, nor anyone in that country knows what it takes to bring-in one of the members of the Focolare, or one of the doctors, or one of the nurses, from around the world to settle in that area.  And no one has the slightest ideas of the extensive medical service these people provide to the entire area, off course, this is why no one cares about whoever dies.

Source: LECDA Yahoo Group


War in Southern Cameroons: Joseph Beti Assomo’s investigation will go nowhere

16, May 2018

War in Southern Cameroons: Joseph Beti Assomo’s investigation will go nowhere 0

The Francophone Minister for Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo was forced to inform local and international public opinion of the creation of a commission of inquiry into the brutal killing of a Southern Cameroonian which French Cameroun army soldiers claimed was a leader of an armed group in the Northern Zone.  The Francophone dominated Cameroon army admitted its troops had meted out inhumane treatment to a suspected separatist arrested in the North West region of the country.

According to Mr. Joseph Beti Assomo, gendarmes deployed to the Northern Zone to fight the so called separatists had “mistreated and tied up” an alleged separatist leader during his arrest on Saturday. A viral social media video showed French Cameroun forces having tied the suspects’ hands behind him. The suspect who was lying on his belly in muddy conditions is kicked and his head is stamped upon by some of the gendarmes and a Francophone police officer.

Out of shame and embarrassment, the operations manager of the French Cameroun war machinery, Joseph Beti Assomo opined that the gendarmes were “clearly out of the norms and legal techniques in such circumstances.” The Biya Francophone regime announced to the world that an investigation has been opened to identify (and) where appropriate sanction the perpetrators of these acts contrary to respect for human rights.

Joseph Beti Assomo told a lie that the Southern Cameroonian was nicknamed “general” and was a separatist leader who was arrested on Saturday.  Assomo further pointed out that the innocent Southern Cameroonian was actively sought for several weeks for his involvement in acts of violence against the population and (in) the killing of the personnel of defense and security forces.

If you have been following the war in Southern Cameroons, you will know Mr. Joseph Beti Assomo who said that French Cameroun soldiers would implement President Biya’s war decision without batting an eyelid.  He is now seeking a longer timeframe to submit a fake report to the international community on the numerous atrocities committed by French Cameroun army soldiers in Southern Cameroons. But for social media, there won’t be any French Cameroun investigation. What genius set that investigation?

Legal obstacles

All military judges and army and gendarmerie commanders are from President Paul Biya’s Beti Ewondo tribe whose main goal is to keep Biya and his tribal setting in power and plunder Southern Cameroons wealth.  The Yaoundé government will not allocate any resources required to pursue this investigation as they have done in the past with the Lake Nyos Gas disaster, the Nsam Fire Disaster, the Mbanga-Pongo Plane Crash and the Eseka train disaster including the murder of Bishop Balla.

Biya and members of his Francophone CPDM crime syndicate are struggling to give the impression that there is indeed a responsible government in Yaoundé. Mr. Beti Assomo has never been in a position to comment on the genocide going in Southern Cameroons. But with Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary anticipating the end of the Biya regime, Assomo is now in the spot light.

The investigation was made public to take the political heat off the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo Government in reaction to shocking revelations made recently by the United Nations. The Biya regime with help from the French have kept the UN silent for too long. As part of the transaction, UN Secretary General received a golden statue from President Biya worth millions of US dollars.

We also know that the French embassy in Abuja, Nigeria is bankrolling the arrest of Southern Cameroonians in the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the Buhari regime.  Southern Cameroons has since become a “commercial success” for the French as they now have control of the CDC-the biggest Agro-Industrial Plant in West Africa and the oil and gas fields in the Bakassi Peninsula. This feeds the narrative that Southern Cameroonians are strangers in their ancestral land. The Joseph Beti Assomo investigation will go nowhere.

By Sessekou Asu Isong, London


Kamer Feeling: Boxer who went missing brazenly post images of himself in Melbourne

16, May 2018

Kamer Feeling: Boxer who went missing brazenly post images of himself in Melbourne 0

A Commonwealth Games athlete who went missing during the Gold Coast event this year brazenly posted images of himself while in Melbourne to social media last month.

Cameroonian boxer Fotsala Simplice is one of more than 19 athletes and team staff who went missing from the Games last month and are now seeking asylum in Australia, according to refugee advocates.

Despite threats of detention from Federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton should the athletes not comply with their visa conditions, Simplice openly shared images of him smiling and posing while in Melbourne.

Cameroonian boxer Fotsala Simplice has brazenly posted social media images of him in Melbourne after disappearing from this year's Commonwealth Games. Picture: Facebook.

Cameroonian boxer Fotsala Simplice has brazenly posted social media images of him in Melbourne after disappearing from this year’s Commonwealth Games. Picture: Facebook.

Simplice is one of at least 19 other athletes who went missing from the Games and are now seeking asylum in Australia. Picture: Facebook.

Simplice is one of at least 19 other athletes who went missing from the Games and are now seeking asylum in Australia. Picture: Facebook.

Initially, it was believed 11 athletes had not returned home, including four other boxers and three wrestlers from Cameroon, two athletes from Uganda and a Rwandan Paralympic powerlifting coach.

This week however, Sydney’s Refugee Advice and Casework Service principal solicitor Sarah Dale said the organisation has helped more than 19 people lodge applications for protection, before their federally approved games visas expired on Tuesday.

“The numbers we have seen have been greater than that (19) and it’s our expectation that there are significantly more people in the community that have sought asylum here in Australia,” she told ABC radio on Wednesday.

Cameroon athletes from left to right, top to bottom: Fokou Arsene, Fotsala Simplice, Matam Matam Olivier Heracles, Ndiang Christelle, Fouodji Arcangeline Sonkbou, Ndzie Tsoye Christian, Yombo Ulrich, Minkoumba Petit David. (Supplied)

Cameroon athletes from left to right, top to bottom: Fokou Arsene, Fotsala Simplice, Matam Matam Olivier Heracles, Ndiang Christelle, Fouodji Arcangeline Sonkbou, Ndzie Tsoye Christian, Yombo Ulrich, Minkoumba Petit David. (Supplied)

“It’s a significant number… It’s certainly more than what’s being reported.”

The competitors are seeking asylum for various reasons and are from several different African countries, Ms Dale confirmed.

The federal government has already said “some” of those who went missing have already seen granted bridging visas to allow them to stay.

The applicants will need to demonstrate they fear persecution, whether it be on religious, race, nationality, social group or political affiliation grounds.

More than 19 Cameroon athletes and team members are believed to be seeking refuge. (AAP)

More than 19 Cameroon athletes and team members are believed to be seeking refuge. (AAP)

The Australian Border Force said in a statement that any “visa overstayers” who do not cooperate with authorities to negotiate new visa conditions risk facing “enforcement measures”.

“Some individuals have already applied for other visas, while others will seek to engage Australia’s protection obligations. Those cases will be rigorously assessed in line with standard processes,” a statement said.

“For those who attempt to remain in the community without engaging with authorities, they should be aware that anyone in Australia without a valid visa will be subject to enforcement measures aimed at locating, detaining and removing them from Australia.

“The ABF has stood up a dedicated operation to ensure those that should depart Australia do so. Those who are removed may also face a three year re-entry ban from Australia and may owe a debt to the Australian Government for the cost of their removal.”

Cameroon at Commonwealth Games. (AAP)

Cameroon at Commonwealth Games. (AAP)

Before the expiration of the visas the athletes held to be able to perform in the Commonwealth Games, Mr Dutton also confirmed they would need to leave Australia or risk a detention term.

“If they don’t want to be held in detention or locked up at the local watch house, they’d better jump on a plane before the 15th and comply with their visa’s conditions,” he told Macquarie Radio.

Ms Dale also hosed down suggestions the claimants planned to come to Australia as part of a games team and then stay.

“I would not suggest that there was a group of people that had decided ‘let’s compete in the Commonwealth Games to get to Australia’,” Ms Dale said.

“I think that’s too far of a stretch.”

Culled from www.9news.com



Kenya’s president approves controversial cyber-crimes law

16, May 2018

Kenya’s president approves controversial cyber-crimes law 0

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has approved a controversial law against the online publications of inappropriate content, a move which critics say would enable the leadership in the Horn of Africa country to further tighten their grip on journalists and opposition activists.

Kenyatta signed the sweeping cyber-crimes act on Wednesday, ignoring calls from rights campaigners not to endorse the law which also criminalizes the publication of “false, misleading or fictitious data”, a clause they say is specifically meant to curb free speech.

The law bans hacking, computer fraud, forgery of data, cyber espionage, publishing child pornography or sending pornographic content via any electronic means, punishing violators with a fine of $50,000 (42,000 euro) or jail terms up to two years, or both.

Critics say the law contains clauses that could make it more difficult for journalists and activists to criticize the government. Rights advocates and journalists have censured the bill, saying it could easily target journalists and others expressing their opinions online.

“Kenyan legislators have passed a wide-ranging bill that will criminalize free speech, with journalists and bloggers likely to be among the first victims if it is signed into law,” said the Committee for Protection of Journalists last week as it urged Kenyatta not to sign the bill.

Kenyatta’s approval of the bill comes following a bloody election season in Kenya in which he beat opposition leader Raila Odinga after two rounds of votes that were marred by widespread allegations of fraud. His government ordered three main television networks to close in January after they ran a live coverage of a mock inauguration ceremony by Odinga, who saw himself as the legitimate winner of the elections. The closures sparked criticisms from governments in Europe.

Eight prominent journalists also left their jobs in March over claims of increased meddling by government and a loss of media freedom in Kenya.

 

Source: Presstv


Bundes: Merkel joins European allies in reaffirming support for Iran nuclear deal

16, May 2018

Bundes: Merkel joins European allies in reaffirming support for Iran nuclear deal 0

Germany has joined its European allies in reaffirming support for the Iran nuclear deal in defiance of the US that pulled out of the landmark agreement last week.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pushed back against Washington’s rejection of the Iran nuclear deal, and reasserted a defense of the agreement in remarks to lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

She also said that Iran was complying with its commitments under the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“This agreement is everything other than ideal, but Iran is, according to all the knowledge of the international nuclear authorities, sticking to the commitments of the agreement,” Merkel said.

US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the JCPOA, which was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Britain, France, Russia and China — plus Germany in 2015.

Trump also said he would reinstate US sanctions on Iran lifted by the accord and impose “the highest level” of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

The deal lifted sanctions in 2016 in return for Tehran limiting its nuclear program.

Iran has reiterated it would remain in the JCPOA for now, pending negotiations with the other signatories in the coming weeks before making a final decision on its future role in the agreement.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany in Brussels on Tuesday.

Following the meeting, Mogherini told reporters that European top diplomats had agreed to follow through the Iran nuclear deal despite Trump’s decision to withdraw.

To this end, the EU will launch intensive discussion at all levels with Iran in next few weeks, she said, adding that the discussion would focus on, among others, how to maintain economic relations and effective banking transactions with Iran in the context of renewed US sanctions.

“We are determined to ensure that the JCPOA stays in place. We know it’s a difficult task but we are determined to do that,” Mogherini said, adding, “We’ve started to work to put in place measures that help ensuring that this happens.”

She noted that similar willingness has been expressed by the European and Iranian sides.

Before visiting Europe, Zarif first traveled to China and later Russia, the two other signatory nations that have supported the JCPOA, on the first leg of his diplomatic mission.

Meanwhile, in their first meeting since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, EU leaders are expected to meet to explore options on Wednesday for keeping the Iran nuclear deal alive and protecting their reviving economic cooperation with Tehran.

“I would like our debate to reconfirm without any doubt that as long as Iran respects the provisions of the deal, the EU will also respect it,” the chairman of the gathering, Donald Tusk, said before the meeting in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also host Merkel on Friday to discuss, among other issues, the Iran deal.

 

Source: Presstv


Biya regime to probe brutality meted out to “separatist leader”

16, May 2018

Biya regime to probe brutality meted out to “separatist leader” 0

The Cameroon army has admitted that some of its officials had meted out inhumane treatment to a suspected separatist arrested in the NorthWest region of the country.

According to the Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo, speaking on state radio, gendarmes deployed to the restive region to fight separatists had “mistreated and tied up” an alleged separatist leader during his arrest Saturday.

A viral social media video showed officials having tied the suspects hands behind him. The suspect who was lying on his belly in muddy conditions is kicked and his head is stamped upon by some of the gendarmes and a police.

The gendarmes (paramilitary officials) are “clearly out of the norms and legal techniques in such circumstances,” the minister acknowledged, his condemnation followed a very strong online protest to the video.

It is the first time the army has acknowledged abuses committed by security forces deployed in the two English-speaking regions riled by separatist violence since October 2017.

“An investigation has been opened to identify (and) where appropriate sanction the perpetrators of these acts contrary to respect for human rights,” said the minister.

Nicknamed “general”, the abused person is an alleged separatist leader who was arrested on Saturday, said Beti Assomo. The said general according to authorities “was actively sought for several weeks for his involvement in acts of violence against the population and (in) the killing of the personnel of defense and security forces”.

Security forces have been repeatedly accused by NGOs and witnesses of abuses and burning houses. “We only burn houses where we discover weapons,” the army defended its actions in late April.

The central African regions English speaking regions have been mired in a security crisis that has been tagged the “Anglophone crisis”. In the two regions, northwest and south-west, fighting has become almost daily between the Cameroonian security forces and armed men.

The armed groups say they are fighting to establish an independent Ambazonia Republic. According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), “at least 120” civilians and “at least 43” members of the security forces have been killed since late 2016. The separatist record is unknown.

160,000 people have fled their homes as a result of the violence, according to the UN, and 34,000 have fled to Nigeria, according to the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (Sema).

 

Source: Africa News


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