Headline News

10, March 2018

Yaounde releases women arrested over protesting Anglophone crisis ⁰

The government of Cameroon has released women that were arrested on Friday for protesting killings in the Anglophone regions of the country.

The women marching in the capital Yaounde, were led by the national coordinator of Cameroon People Party (CPP), Edith Kahbang Walla, also known as Kah Walla.

Kah Walla said the protest march was their way of commemorating Women’s Day which the women of Cameroon can’t celebrate while their children are being killed in the Anglophone crisis.

They say the meeting would address three key questions: the end of the Anglophone crisis, the restoration of respect for human rights, national unity and democracy, provision of basic services like electricity, water, schools and roads and facilitating non-violent political transition.

Kah Walla also refuted recent media reports that she had been replaced at the helm of the opposition party.

Minority Anglophone population in the country in 2017 started a series of peaceful protests against perceived marginalization by Cameroon’s Francophone-dominated elite. Their actions were almost always met with a government crackdown.

Reported state repression – including ordering thousands of villagers in the Anglophone southwest to leave their homes – has driven support for a once-fringe secessionist movement, stoking a lethal cycle of violence.

The secessionists declared an independent state called Ambazonia Republic on Oct. 1, 2017. Since then, violent scenes that have resulted in loss of lives for both the secessionists and government forces have played out in the Northwest region, whose capital is Bamenda.

Culled from Africa News

9, March 2018

Civil society groups uncertain about Biya regime’s capacity to resolve the Ambazonia crisis ⁰

The reconstitution of the Cameroonian government on March 2, many not be enough to calm tensions in some English-speaking regions of the country.

In Bamenda, the northwestern part of the country, for example, some residents have protested against the retention and appointment of certain English-speaking personalities.

Civil society groups say this realignment is not a solution to the crisis. ‘‘This subject is of no importance to me because I realized that the most important and urgent thing to do was not a reshuffle, nor a change of ministers. It is very important to see how this situation can be resolved by all means “, a member of the Anti-corruption and human rights council , Mambo Gabi told Africanews.

For Dr. Nick NGWANYAM, a Director of the Research Institute more is needed.

‘‘It’s as if we wanted 100% to solve a problem but we’re still in the 10% range. So there is 90% left, not only for English-speaking problems but also those affecting other citizens’‘.

Director at the Research Institute, Dr Nick Ngwanyam said the solution begins with solving social problems, particularly the education system.

‘‘Since 1960, the educational system in Cameroon has been wrong.It is not good at all . Education is supposed to enable young people to have problem-solving skills. But in our universities and educational system, we teach children just the theory. Some people don’t even know how to write their names, let alone make a bamboo chair. If you ask me, I will say that a new government will be on its way where more people with the bad spirit will be taken out and the right spirit will come on board. People who will add value to their system, those who will prevent us from eating Chinese rice, those who know how to help young people create jobs, things like that’‘, said Dr. Ngwanyam.

Dr. Ngwanyam is advocating for the establishment of a new leadership and a return to the negotiating table for an amicable solution to the unrest.

Culled from Africa News

9, March 2018

UN says 2 million children face starvation in Congo-Kinshasa ⁰

More than two million children suffer from severe malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They are at risk of dying if they do not get the needed assistance. That is what the United Nations has warned.

In Geneva, Jens Laerke, a UN spokesman, said during a briefing on Friday that the UN’s humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock would meet donors next week in the violence-torn country.

“We have a great responsibility in the DRC… now is the time to stay the course,” he said.

Some 300,000 children of the two million children at risk of starvation are in Kasai, one of the country’s most troubled regions, said Bettina Luescher of the UN’s World Food Programme.

Internally displaced Congolese children sleep in a boat on the shore line of Lake Albert on March 5, 2018 in Tchomia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Photo by AFP)

The United Nations said earlier this year it would seek more than $1.5 billion to respond to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, warning the country was at a “breaking point.”

The DRC is suffering from growing insecurity. New conflicts are erupting as President Joseph Kabila struggles to maintain his grip on power after his constitutional term in office expired in December 2016.

Armed groups are active in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, which border Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

Violence has also erupted in the central region of Kasai. There a tribal chieftain known as the Kamwina Nsapu, who rebelled against Kabila’s regime, was murdered in September 2016. Another conflict is flaring up in the country’s Ituri province between the Hema and Lendu communities.

Source: Presstv

9, March 2018

On This Day In 2002: FIFA Bans Cameroon’s Sleeveless Shirts ⁰

On a holiday last year, whilst I lay back on a sun lounger with a cold pint of Greek lager on the beautiful island of Kefalonia, from behind my sunglasses I spied an elderly (ish) man taking up residence on the opposite side of the swimming pool.

Nothing odd about that as the hotel I was staying in was clearly a popular place in the resort of Skala, particularly with British tourists.

However, it was what the chap, who I estimated to be around mid-60s, was wearing that made him stand out from the crowd.

He was sitting in none other than the infamous Cameroon sleeveless shirt that FIFA banned!

I had completely forgotten about it and while it may well still be popular attire on the streets of Yaoundé or Douala, it isn’t quite what I expected from yer da on his jollies in Greece.

I resisted the temptation to quiz the man on his allegiance to the Les Lions Indomptables (The Indomitable Lions) as he could well have been a knowledgeable man with a keen interest in African football, but something told me he was not.

It then got me thinking as to how old that shirt was (it was fading from the dark green I remembered and looked somewhat faded from the very probable explanation that it had accompanied the man in sunny climbs for years on end) and just why Cameroon were not able to wear it.

A quick scan of press cuttings revealed it is now 16 years old and at the time of the banning almost every single English media outlet rolled out the time old cliché – you can always expect something different from Cameroon – a stereotype thrust upon them since their incredible arrival on the world stage of football at the 1990 World Cup.

Some 12 years later it appears that was still following them around. In fact, more than a decade after Nery Pumpido’s feckless performance in the Argentina goal allowed François Omam-Biyik to score a memorable goal against the defending world champions, not to mention the wonderful sight of Claudio Caniggia’s boot flying up into the air following a magnificent lunge by Benjamin Massing (RIP), Cameroon were still subjected to this type of quote from FIFA’s Keith Cooper:

“You can always expect something different from Cameroon, not only in terms of their shirts.”

Well quite Keith.

Puma’s sleeveless shirts were in fact not a new design when FIFA took the decision to outlaw them a few months before the 2002 World Cup, and had in fact been worn successfully by Cameroon throughout that year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The new basketball style shirt proved to be a lucky omen as Cameroon beat Senegal on penalties to claim their fourth crown in front of 50,000 fans in the Malian capital Bamako.

Puma were forced to hastily redesign a kit with sleeves for the World Cup as Cameroon failed to progress from Group E, where despite getting four points, were beaten to the knockout stage by Germany and Mick McCarthy’s Ireland side.

The shirt then became the sleeveless one with two random black thin bits of fabric attached to replicate sleeves.

But FIFA know best and Keith Cooper – the man charged with banning the Cameroon shirt was promptly fired by that great man of football Sepp Blatter, some three months later.

Here is to an unforgettable shirt and may many a pensioner adorn it for years to come!

Source: The Sportsman

9, March 2018

US troops in Cameroon to receive ‘danger pay’ ⁰

U.S. forces deployed to Niger, Mali and Cameroon will now receive “imminent danger pay,” which will be awarded retroactively to some troops who operated in those countries, according to a Defense Department memorandum.

The decision to grant danger pay comes five months after an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger that killed four U.S. soldiers.

For troops, it means up to $225 more each month in pay, according to the memo dated March 5.

There are about 800 military personnel deployed to Niger, which hosts the largest number of U.S. forces in western Africa. Cameroon has about 49 military personnel deployed there and Mali has about 16, according to data released in late 2017 by the Defense Department.

The lack of danger pay emerged earlier this week during a congressional hearing on U.S. Africa Command’s mission. Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, who leads AFRICOM, told lawmakers Tuesday that his troops were not getting the extra pay because his command was awaiting a decision from the Pentagon on their request for the stipend.

The additional money also will be paid retroactively, going back to June 2017, the memorandum states. It was unclear Thursday why troops in Niger and Mali, countries where terrorist groups have active insurgencies, were not getting the extra pay already.

Separate from danger pay, servicemembers involved in a hostile fire incident will receive hostile fire pay for the month in which the incident occurred, said Maj. Carla Gleason, a Defense Department spokesman. “The Army posthumously authorized hostile fire pay for the four soldiers killed in October 2017,” she said in a statement.

Hostile fire pay or imminent danger pay owed a servicemember at his or her death will be included in the final settlement paid to survivors, the military said. “This would apply to payments of the survivors of the four soldiers killed in Niger,” Gleason said.

Killed in the October ambush in Niger were Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson and Sgt. La David T. Johnson. AFRICOM recently completed an investigation into the ambush, which is now being reviewed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Culled from www.stripes.com

9, March 2018

Russia slams ex-spy poisoning claims as ‘propaganda’ ⁰

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismisses as “propaganda” accusations that Moscow was behind a nerve agent attack on a former double agent residing in Britain.

British media and politicians have said the attack on Sergei Skripal, who came to Britain in a spy swap in 2010, bears the hallmarks of a Russian operation.

“They’re leveling accusations against us for everything that goes wrong — according to our Western partners — on this very planet,” Lavrov said on Friday during a visit to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “This is propaganda fair and square and it is trying to raise tension,” he added.

While Britain has not formally blamed Russia for the attack, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it “echoes” the 2006 poisoning in London of former Russian spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko.

London blamed Moscow for that attack. Some 21 people were injured in the incident, which took place in the sleepy southwestern English city of Salisbury where Skripal was found on Sunday, slumped on a bench with his daughter Yulia.

“If action needs to be taken, then the government will do that,” British Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged.

National counter-terrorism police have taken over the investigation, which they are treating as attempted murder.

Skripal was a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who was jailed for betraying agents to Britain’s MI6 secret service.

In 2010, he was pardoned and then flown to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap involving Russia and the United States.

(Source: AFP)

9, March 2018

Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta calls opposition leader Raila Odinga “his brother” ⁰

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta called opposition leader Raila Odinga “his brother” on Friday and promised “we will begin a process of bringing our people together” after last year’s contentious elections.

Odinga told national television “it is time to resolve our differences,” as the two politicians made their first public appearance together since the Oct. 26 repeat presidential election last year.

Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term in November after an extended election season which saw the Supreme Court nullify an August presidential poll, ordering a re-run in October, which Odinga boycotted.

Months of campaigning and sporadic clashes between government and opposition supporters affected growth in Kenya, one of East Africa’s biggest economies.

In January, Odinga took a symbolic presidential oath in a Nairobi park in a direct challenge to Kenyatta.

The two men have defied calls from Kenyan civil society, religious leaders and Western diplomats to hold talks to overcome deep divisions opened up by the disputed elections.

Culled from Africa News

9, March 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: North West Governor imposes total ban on motorbikes ⁰

Governor of Cameroon’s North West region has issued an order suspending the total circulation of motorbikes within certain subdivisions of the region.

The regional order dated March 8 was made considering: the exigencies of security, the preservation of peace and maintenance of law and order.

The main sections of the order read: “As from the date of signature of this present order, the circulation of motorbikes is hereby suspended till further notice within the following Subdivisions – Batibo Subdivision and Widikum Subdivision of Momo Division as well as Balikumbat Subdivision of Ngoketunjia Division.

“During the period, motorbikes shall not be allowed to circulate both during the day and at night.” It added that the measure shall not apply to administrative motorbikes, those engaged in security operations by the forces of law and order and those in duly authorized to use them.

It cautioned that persons who violated the rule shall be prosecuted under available laws and subsequently charged relevant authorities with strict implementation of the measure.

The incidence of separatist elements using motorbikes to stage guerilla-style attacks on security forces is believed to be behind the order. But for some people, it is a case of their livelihood being taken away, especially for young people who shuttle people around for a living.

The North West has been under a curfew for the last few months since separatists elements increased the intensity of their attacks of security forces. The neighbouring South West region is under a similar curfew also aimed at containing separatists.

At the end of World War One, Germany’s colony of Kamerun was carved up between allied French and British victors, laying down the basis for a language split that still persists.

English speakers make up less than a fifth of the population of Cameroon, concentrated in former British territory near the Nigerian border that was joined to the French-speaking Republic of Cameroon the year after its independence in 1960. French speakers have dominated the country’s politics since.

The crisis which has attracted considerable international attention has become the gravest challenge yet to President Paul Biya, who is set to seek a renewal of his 35-years in power in an election slated for later this year.

Culled from Africa News

9, March 2018

Congo-Brazzaville: Former Vice President Bemba loses bribery appeal as judges order new sentence ⁰

War crimes judges at The Hague on Thursday rejected an appeal by former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba against a bribery conviction, calling instead for a new jail term to be imposed.

Bemba, 55, was sentenced last year by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to a year in prison and fined 300,000 euros for interfering with witnesses in his war crimes and crimes against humanity trial at the court.

The sentence came on top of an 18-year prison term he is serving for crimes committed in neighbouring Central African Republic by a militia he commanded.

Sending the case back to trial judges, the appeals chamber said Thursday that the trial chamber wrongly assessed the gravity of the offenses.

Convictions also were largely upheld against four members of Bemba’s legal team.

Bemba’s lawyer Kilolo was given two-and-a-half years and a 30,000 euro fine, while legal case manager Mangenda, got two years. Both sentences were originally suspended.

The appeals judges also upheld sentences against defence witness Narcisse Arido, who got 11 months; and Congolese lawmaker Fidele Babala, who was sentenced to six months. Although they appealed their convictions, neither spent any time in jail as they had already been behind bars awaiting trial.

In an unusual move, ICC judges were Thursday ruling in three appeals cases, including one brought by Congolese warlord Germain Katanga, who has been ordered to pay his victims $1 million in damages.

Bemba, once a wealthy businessman, is also separately appealing his war crimes conviction and 18-year jail term, but no date for the appeals judgement has been set yet.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP)

9, March 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Human rights abuses are ongoing ⁰

The Southern Cameroons crisis that started in late 2016 has put Cameroon in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, especially regarding human rights abuses. Over the last fifteen months, the country’s English-speaking regions have witnessed huge human rights abuses that have caught the attention of human rights groups and the United Nations.

Besides physical abuse, others human rights have been abused by the government and its forces which have been using legal and illegal means to suppress the people living in the two restive English-speaking regions of the country.

In 2016 when the conflict was still in its infancy, instead of seeking peaceful ways to address the demands of the protesting English-speaking minority, the Yaounde government instead opted for an iron-fist approach which has caused a protest that started as a socio-professional issue to metamorphose into a full blown civil war wherein hundreds of lives – military and civilian – have been lost.

In 2016, striking lawyers were beaten and tortured by police officers in public, while Buea University students who were simply calling for a peaceful discussion with university authorities over fees increases were made to drink raw sewage. Even those who escaped to their hostels were pursued by the police. Many girls were raped and many young men and women were taken to the police station and ever since, nothing has been heard about them. The government is yet to account for all the students who had been arrested during the student strike and the vice chancellor who was responsible for the strike, Professor NalovaLyonga Pauline Egbe, has been rewarded with a ministerial position.

But the abuses reached their zenith in January 2017 when Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor-Balla and Dr. Fontem Neba were arrested as negotiations between the government and Anglophone leaders stalled. This resulted in the disconnection of the Internet across the English-speaking region and the deployment of troops and special forces in the two regions. The abuses and the government’s use of military violence to check the demonstrations caused things to spiral out of control.

Schools and courts were closed, and ghost town operations were organized by angry English-speaking Cameroonians with the objective of bringing the government to the negotiating table for the form of the state to be discussed. But the government refusal to discuss the form of the state has caused the conflict to drag on and this has resulted in moderate English-speaking Cameroonians to move from federalism to secession. And this is causing the conflict to take a turn for the worse.

Today, the extrajudicial killings are a daily affair and ordinary citizens are also killing and maiming soldiers in retaliation for the killing of many civilians. The arrest of secessionists leaders in Nigeria on January 5, 2018, and their illegal extradition to Yaounde in late January have not helped matters. These leaders have been held incommunicado for almost two months and this is a concern to rights groups which hold that they deserve a fair trial and access to lawyers.

The abuses are ongoing and getting serious by the day. The international community is concerned about the Cameroon government’s refusal to call for genuine and inclusive dialogue. And its approach to the resolution of this conflict has been criticized by the International Crisis Group. In its report that was released after the English-speaking regions declared their independence last October, the rights group decried government action.

“On 1 October, tens of thousands of people began a peaceful march (holding a plant symbolising peace and chanting “no violence”) to proclaim the independence of Ambazonia (the name given by secessionists to their hypothetical state). In Bamenda, Buea and across dozens of towns and communities, people marched and hoisted Ambazonian flags at intersections and atop the residences of traditional chiefs as well as onto a police station and a gendarmerie post. Independence was symbolically proclaimed in chiefs’ compounds,” the report said.

It added that “Defence and security forces responded with disproportionate force, leading to at least 40 deaths and over 100 injured protesters between 28 September and 2 October. This death toll is the result of live ammunition and excessive use of tear gas, including in homes and against the faithful as they left church. Defence and security forces arrested hundreds of people without warrant, including in their homes. They made use of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment. Sexual abuse, destruction of property and looting of homes by soldiers and police, as well as shooting from helicopters at protesters in Kumba, Bamenda and near Buea were reported by a dozen residents, local politicians, senior officials, the press, human rights organisations and the Catholic bishops of the two regions.”

It pointed out that “The villages of secessionist leaders such as Ewele, Akwaya, Eyumodjock and Ekona were targeted by the defence and security forces, forcing thousands of young men to flee to the bush for fear of being killed or arrested and tortured. According to the witness statements of locals, a policeman and a soldier deployed in the zone, “soldiers are murdering some people in their homes and shooting at the feet of others”. On his Facebook page, the former Supreme Court judge, Ayah Paul Abine, claims to have escaped assassination at his home in Akwaya, which was also reportedly looted by soldiers. Violence, arrests and looting by military and police continued throughout the following week, notably in the department of Manyu. Suspected of secessionism, Deputy Mayor of Ndu was reportedly killed at home by the military on 2 October.”

The constant abuse of human rights in the English-speaking regions has also not escaped the attention of the United Nations. The global body’s human rights chief has called on the government to help de-escalate tensions in the restive regions of the country. The United Nations human rights chief has stressed that it is in the interest of the Cameroonian government to de-escalate tensions arising from the Anglophone crisis.

In an oral update by ZeidRa’ad Al Hussein to the 37th session of the Human Rights Council on March 7, 2018; he added that his office had yet to be granted access to monitor rights violations in the two English-speaking regions.

His address also addressed the arrest of Anglophone leaders in Nigeria and their subsequent deportation to Cameroon, where they are yet to be put before court. The U.N. has criticized the move, saying it violated international principles.

The Anglophone regions remain under curfew imposed by their respective governors. The curfews have been imposed supposedly to allow security forces to contain attacks by armed separatists on members of the security forces.

Since January 2018, more than 30 members of the security forces – the military, police and gendarmes – have so far been killed in guerilla style attacks, especially at checkpoints, with the latest taking place in Kumba on March 8. The separatists have also reported having kidnapped two government officials and efforts to locate the two officers have been futile.

Despite growing insecurity in the two regions, the government still maintains that there is security in the regions. It has however recently created a fifth military region in the capital of the North West region, Bamenda. The move has been seen as a means to face off with the separatists.

The separatists have since October 2017 attempted to breakaway from the Francophone region and this has resulted in bloodshed and tensions which are affected the country’s ailing economy.Despite international calls for dialogue to end the crisis which is also creating a humanitarian situation with people fleeing into Nigeria, the government has relentlessly been pursuing its policy of repression and attrition which is not producing any meaningful results.

Mr. ZeidRa’ad Al Hussein has expressed concerns about the deteriorating situation in Cameroon, regretting that the Yaounde government has not given its office access to the region in order to investigate the numerous abuses that have been brought to its attention.

“In Cameroon, what appears to be long-standing structural discrimination in the Anglophone region of the country has led to continuing clashes between security forces and separatist groups,” he said, adding that “The arrest, in Nigeria, of 47 Anglophone community leaders, and their extradition to Cameroon has reportedly led to renewed violence in the south-west and north-west regions of the country.”

“Allegations of summary executions of civilians by members of the security forces have been reported, and are generating widespread resentment. I regret that my Office has not been given access to verify these allegations,” he pointed out, stressing that “Acknowledging the complex challenges facing the authorities – including renewed displacement from the Central African Republic and the increase in Boko Haram attacks in the north – I urge the Government to make every effort to de-escalate the conflict in the Anglophone regions, and to allow unimpeded access to human rights monitors so that accurate information on the situation can inform constructive engagement on the way forward.”

The curfew in Cameroon’s North West region has been extended by another week by the governor. A March 4, 2018, press release said the extension was to contain growing threats from secessionist activities.The governor “has renewed the regional order restricting the movement of persons and property as from the 3rd of March 2018 from 09 PM to 05 AM within the North West Region for a period of one week renewable,” the release said.

The North Wes Governor, Adolphe LeleLafrique, also appealed to the population “to better collaborate with the law enforcement agencies to ‘put an end to the detrimental activities of secessionist activists and a few misguided individuals who are taking our peace loving and hospitable region hostage.”

Under the measure, movement of vehicles, persons and goods shall be strictly forbidden between 9 pm and 5 am. All public places like restaurants snack bars and night clubs shall remain closed.All transport terminals shall remain closed and night travel buses shall be expected to leave town before the curfew sets in. Circulation of motorbikes is completely suspended.

The orders, however, do not apply to administrative authorities, forces of law and order, persons and vehicles in possession of special authorisations to circulate, and ambulances.

The adjoining South West region also imposed a month-long curfew over similar security concerns. The two regions are at the heart of the Anglophone crisis, where separatists are seeking to breakaway from French-majority Cameroon.

The tensions and abuse tolerated by the government have made many soldiers to be trigger-happy. On Thursday, a motor-cyclists was killed in Kumba, southwest region, just because he did not stop when the country’s flag was being brought down.

In Ndian Division in the southwest region, army soldiers are on a rampage and they have burned down many homes, leaving many residents homeless. This has been the government strategy ever since it deployed troops in the two English-speaking regions. Villages such as Kwakwa and Kembong have seen more than half of their homes burnt to the ground as a reprisal for any uniformed officers killed in the towns. The government that is supposed to protect civilians has finally turned against its own people and this has resulted in gross violation of human rights.

From the look of things, this conflict still has many more scenes. If the international community does not step in, Cameroon, a country once touted as an island of peace in a desert of chaos, will surely go the way of its fragile neighborS.

By Pelagie Ebot in Kumba