Headline News

1, November 2017

Resolution of the 4th SCACUF Conclave held from the 27th – 31st of October, 2017 ⁰

Mindful of UN General Assembly Resolution 1608 (XV) of 21st April 1961 endorsing the independence of the Trust Territory of the British Southern Cameroons with effect from October 1 1961;

Mindful of the inalienable right of the people of Southern Cameroons under international law to selfdetermination and independence;

Mindful of the 56 long years of peaceful and non-violent struggle of our people for decolonization from the brutal colonial occupation and oppression of the adjacent French speaking state of La Republique du Cameroun (LRC);

Recalling that colonialism is outdated and contrary to international law, including the law of the United Nations;

Deeply saddened and traumatized by the genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by LRC against the people of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia;

Mindful of the restoration of the Independence of the Southern Cameroons on October 1st, 2017 as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia;

Now therefore, we, members of the Governing Council and Delegates of Southern Cameroons Ambazonia United Front (SCACUF) meeting in conclave from the 28^th – 31st of October 2017, make the following resolutions:

Applaud the superlative courage and determination demonstrated by the people of the Federal

Republic of Ambazonia in asserting their right to self-determination and independence;

Encourage each and every Ambazonian to remain resolute in defending their independence and

freedom;

Remind the international community once again of the genocide and crimes against humanity

perpetrated by La Republique du Cameroun on the 22nd of September 2017, the 1st of October 2017 and thereafter, against our peaceful people;

Reiterate our appeal to the International Court of Justice to investigate and put on trial Mr. Biya and other members of his regime most criminally responsible for perpetrating genocide and crimes against humanity in the former United Nations Trust Territory of British Southern Cameroons (now known as Ambazonia);

Express our deeply-felt condolences to the families of our fallen heroes, assure them that the blood of our fallen heroes shall not go in vain;

Assure the victims of the massive and widespread atrocities committed by La Republique du Cameroun in our territory, of the continued and unflinching support of the government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia;

Demand from the government of La Republique du Cameroun the immediate release of Mancho Bibixy and all Ambazonians abducted and illegally detained and the disclosure of the graves of those disappeared and arbitrarily executed or tortured to death in detention;

Call on La Republique du Cameroun to withdraw with immediate effect its army of occupation and dismantle forthwith its colonial administration in the Ambazonia;

Call on Mr. Biya and his colonial government to stop interfering in the internal affairs of the good people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia;

Reiterate our call to all traditional rulers to revert to their traditional leadership role; (maintaining social cohesion across Ambazonia);

Call on traditional rulers to perform traditional rites to purify the land following its profanation by La Republique du Cameroun through its massive and widespread killing of our people, shedding their innocent blood;

State categorically that the allegations against some members of the Governing Council were investigated and analysed in depth, and determined to be unfounded; and hereby advises those individuals and groups continuing to propagate the false and slanderous allegations to desist from doing so. As such no resignation was accepted by Conclave;

Announce the formation of an Interim Government, today 31st October 2017, led by Sisiku Julius AyukTabe as Interim President;

Call on the President to constitute a cabinet comprising of the Vice President and seven (7) Government Department, namely, Defence and Homeland Security; Finance and Economy; Education; Health and Social Services; Foreign Affairs; Home Affairs; and Communication & I Technology;

Establish a Restoration Council comprising of the eleven (11) members of the current Governing Council plus 4 individuals, one per region: Africa, America, Asia/Middle East, and Europe;

Establish an Ethics Commission consisting of seven (7) members;
Urge the Interim Government of Ambazonia to intensify the mobilization of Ambazonians in the Homeland to continue with the Resistance until final victory;

Call on Ambazonians to continue to volunteer their skills and expertise for the protection and reconstruction of our new nation;

Extend warm and fraternal appreciations to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the good people of the Federated States of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue, Taraba, and Adamawa and for hosting tens of thousands of refugees from Ambazonia fleeing persecution and repression by the Republique du Cameroun colonial oppressor;

Urge the Interim Government to intensify its diplomatic intercourse with friendly nations in the world as well as with International and Regional Organizations;

Express the will of the people of Ambazonian that the Interim Government is the sole legitimate voice and representative of the people of Ambazonia;

Call on Ambazonians, individually and collectively, to continue to fully support their Government;

Invite Diaspora country leaders, in future to come under their respective zonal Diplomatic Envoys, to hold themselves ready to perform such duties as may from time to time be assigned to them by the Interim Government;

Improve significantly on the information and communication flow between internal and external organs, and the masses;

Give SCBC the autonomy to be self-sustaining and to be run by an independent board;
End the function of SCAPAC as a the central treasury of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and henceforth to create one national treasury in Ambazonia and regional and country treasuries in the Diaspora;

Invite citizens of Ambazonian to review the Draft Interim Constitution of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to be circulated for public study and comments.

Direct all Ambazonians to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and defend themselves, their very survival as a people facing an existential, their property, and the territorial integrity of their nation;

Condemn the continuing extortion from our citizens by La Republique du Cameroun, such as the inordinate 100% increase in the rental of market stalls, imposed on marketeers by the agent of the Yaounde colonial government to Bamenda Urban Council, and forcing them to sign unconscionable tenancy agreements;

Reiterate that it is unsafe for our children to resume schooling at this point in time and advise parents to keep their children safe at home given the militarization of our towns and especially the schools, cases of the illegal abduction and detention of students and teachers, reported

incidents of rape of students, cases of burning down of schools and property of Ambazonians, perpetrated by the military and police forces of La Republique du Cameroun;

Institute across the entire territory of Ambazonia the observance of ghost towns on Mondays and other days as may be designated by the Interim Government, as well as civil disobedience, and non-payment of taxes;

Strongly condemn terrorist acts in our territory perpetuated by LRC, such as bomb explosions, arson, abductions for ransom, terrorization of our citizens and other acts of terrorism across the Ambazonian territory;

Dissolve both the Governing Council and SCACUF consequent upon the setting up of the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Sesekou Julius Ayuk Tabe

1, November 2017

Eight dead, several injured in New York terror attack ⁰

At least eight people have been killed and several others injured after a vehicle plowed into a pedestrian and cycle path in New York City, US police and local residents say, with reports of gunfire heard in the area.

The incident took place in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday, when a pick-up truck drove the wrong way down the bike path alongside the West Side Highway at full speed and struck several cyclists near the World Trade Center memorial.

Witnesses said bodies were lying motionless on the cycle path outside Stuyvesant High School, one of the city’s public schools, and that they had heard about nine or 10 shots.

Denouncing the deadly incident as a “cowardly act of terror,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the attack was “aimed at innocent civilians, aimed at people going about their lives, who had no idea what was about to hit them.”

Shortly after the incident, US President Donald Trump wrote on his twitter page that, “In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person,” adding that, “Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE USA!”Trump also stressed that America must not let Daesh (ISIL) terrorists return to or enter the US after they are beaten overseas.

“We must not allow ISIL to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!” he noted.

Later, the president posted another tweet, saying he had ordered the Department of Homeland Security to “step up” vetting measures for immigrants. At a news conference, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the suspect appeared to have acted alone, noting that, “There’s no evidence to suggest a wider plot or a wider scheme. These are the actions of one individual meant to cause pain and harm and probably death.”

Initial investigations by the police indicated that the suspect of the Tuesday attack was a 29-year-old Uzbek citizen, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, who came to the US in 2010 and lived in Florida.

Multiple bikes are crushed along a bike path in lower Manhattan in New York on October 31, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

The New York Police Department (NYPD) said the suspect was shot in the leg when officers arrived on the scene and was later arrested.

“The vehicle struck multiple people on the path. There are several fatalities and numerous people injured,” the NYPD said in a statement. “The vehicle continued south striking another vehicle. The suspect exited the vehicle displaying imitation firearms and was shot by officers. The suspect is in custody.”

Police investigate a vehicle allegedly used in a ramming incident on the West Side Highway in Manhattan, New York, US, October 31. (Photo by Reuters)

Two US government sources said the Tuesday incident was being treated as a “terrorist attack,” and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had joined the NYPD in investigating the deadly incident.

Reacting to the deadly incident on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was appalled by the attack and that London stood with New York. “Together we will defeat the evil of terrorism,” she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed solidarity with victims of the attack, saying, “Our fight for freedom unites us more than ever.”

Police called on the public to avoid the area as a major emergency services operation got under way.

The latest incident came five months after a speeding vehicle hit pedestrians on a sidewalk in New York City’s Times Square on May 18, killing at least one person and injuring 22 others.

Culled from Presstv

1, November 2017

Calabar: 3,000 Southern Cameroonians awaiting UN refugee registration ⁰

Thousands of people have fled Cameroon’s violence-hit anglophone regions into neighbouring Nigeria in recent weeks, the UN said Tuesday, adding it was preparing to help 40,000 refugees from the unrest.

The UN refugee agency and Nigerian authorities have so far registered some 2,000 Cameroonians who have fled into southeastern Nigeria since October 1, while another 3,000 were awaiting registration.

31, October 2017

UN says US likely to comply with Paris accord ⁰

The head of the UN environment program said Tuesday the United States is likely to live up to the Paris climate deal despite President Donald Trump’s planned pullout, because “all the big American companies” are working toward greener operations.

UN officials are increasingly citing the role of companies in the fight against climate change.

“There is one question that I get more often than any other question wherever I go on the planet and it is a very simple one. It is: ‘What about Donald Trump?'” Solheim told a panel in Geneva by videoconference from Nairobi.

“In all likelihood, the United States of America will live up to its Paris commitment, not because of the White House, but because of the private sector,” he said. “All the big American companies are dedicated to go in the green direction.”

Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Program, speaks during an interview with AFP in Seoul on August 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

But UNEP said countries and industries still need to do more to meet targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions that experts say contribute to global warming. The report criticizes coal-fired electricity plants being built in emerging economies, and insists that investment in renewable energies will pay for itself — and even make money — over the long term.

The Paris accord aims to cap global temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 Fahrenheit) by the year 2100 compared to average world temperatures at the start of the industrial era — and even hopes to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees C.

UNEP says trends suggest that even if current national commitments are met, a temperature increase of 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century is “very likely — meaning that governments need to deliver much stronger pledges when they are revised in 2020.”

“Should the United States follow through with its stated intention to leave the Paris agreement in 2020, the picture could become even bleaker,” UNEP said.

Lead author John Christensen of UN Environment noted some US states like California were “acting independently of what the White House decides.” He said Trump’s bid to peel back constraints on the coal industry won’t mark a major shift because “it simply doesn’t pay off.”

He also said the US targets in the Paris accord, as agreed by the Obama administration, were “not that ambitious in the first place.”

But Christensen told the Geneva panel that the Trump administration’s impact on efforts could affect “negotiation dynamics” with other countries and embolden “what I call ‘noise-makers:’ they are the ones that are opposed to the basic idea” of fighting climate change.

Bob Ward, an expert on climate change policy at the London School of Economics, agreed that the coal industry is “unlikely to be revived in the United States because it is being displaced by cleaner and cheaper sources of energy.”

“Many countries now recognize that the transition to a low-carbon economy will generate sustainable growth and development, with lower poverty and higher living standards,” he said. “High-carbon economies look increasingly uncompetitive.”

A new round of UN climate talks known as COP 23 starts in Bonn, Germany, on Monday, when countries will take stock of their achievements and prepare more ambitious national goals.

On the positive, UNEP highlighted “rapidly expanding mitigation action” and says carbon-dioxide emissions have remained stable since 2014, thanks partly to renewable energy use in China and India. It cautioned that other greenhouse gases like methane continue to rise, however.

UNEP has trumpeted solar and wind energy, efficient appliances and cars, and efforts to preserve forests. Solheim cited tests this week on the world’s first solar-powered railroad in Australia and the launch of a hydrogen-run subway system in northern China.

“We are at the watershed moment: We have stopped the rise in CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions — there is every reason to believe we can bring them down,” Solheim said. “The train is on the right track, but our duty is to speed it up.”

(Source: AP)

31, October 2017

Hollywood shaken by sex scandal involving Kevin Spacey ⁰

Sexual allegations against renowned Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey have shaken the US movie industry, which was already struggling to cover up a similar expose against powerful producer Harvey Weinstein.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said Monday that it would not “honor” Spacey by giving him the 2017 International Emmy Founders Award next month.

The move came after Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making sexual advances on him more than 30 years ago.

Rapp, who was 14 at the time of the assault, said Spacey, then 26 years old, physically carried him into his bed and attempted to initiate sex with the teenaged actor.

The A-list actor claimed in response that he did not recall the incident at all and felt sorry for the effects of what would have been “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”

The actor also tried to avert media attention by revealing that he has been a homosexual throughout all these years.

The allegations led video streaming platform Netflix to cancel famous political show House of Cards, which featured Spacey in the leading role.

Media Rights Capital and Netflix, who produce House of Cards, said in a joint statement that they were “deeply troubled” by the news.

“In response to last night’s revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time,” the statement said.

Spacey’s fall from grace came days the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hollywood’s de facto governing body, voted overwhelmingly to expel disgraced American film producer Harvey Weinstein amid mounting accusations of sexual harassment, assault and rape by at least 30 actresses.

The ouster was unprecedented since the academy was founded 90 years ago, turning one of the biggest Oscar players in history into a Hollywood pariah.

Weinstein’s films have received more than 81 Oscars, according to The Weinstein Company, which he co-founded with his brother Bob Weinstein in 1979 after selling Miramax.

The 65-year-old movie mogul, who was born in New York City to a Jewish family, has denied the rape allegations, while acknowledging that his behavior “caused a lot of pain.”

Source: Presstv

31, October 2017

Yaounde Military Tribunal sentences opposition leader to 25 years ⁰

A military court in Cameroon has sentenced an opposition party leader to 25 years in prison following trial that has been branded as unfair by Amnesty International.

Aboubakar Siddiki, President of the main opposition party in northern Cameroon, ‘Mouvement patriotique du salut camerounais’, has been convicted of charges including hostility against the homeland, revolution and contempt of the President.

However, Amnesty International has said Aboubakar Siddiki who was arrested in August 2014 together with Abdoulaye Harissou, has been convicted despite “no credible evidence being presented to the court”. They were accused of being involved in a conspiracy to destabilise the country.

“Aboubakar Siddiki is the latest victim of the Cameroonian authorities’ strangling of opposition voices. Alongside Abdoulaye Harissou he has already spent more than three years in detention, suffered torture and now he must face a future behind bars on the basis of a politically motivated and deeply flawed trial,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, Amnesty International’s Lake Chad Researcher.

In the same trial, Abdoulaye Harissou, was also sentenced to three years prison for non-denunciation. A report by Amnesty International claims that the two were held incommunicado for over 40 days in an illegal facility run by the General Directorate of External Relations and subjected to torture following their arrest in 2014.

Initially charged with complicity in murder, illegal possession of arms, hostility against the homeland, revolution, non-denunciation and contempt of the President, their trial began on 22 January 2016. On 9 October 2017, all charges except ‘non-denunciation’ were dropped against Harissou, but those against Siddiki were maintained.

The court also dropped all charges against three journalists – Baba Wame, Felix Ebole Bola and Rodrigue Tongue –who were charged in 2014 with ‘non-denunciation’ of information and sources in relation to the same affair.

Amnesty International has called on the Cameroonian authorities to release and drop all charges against Aboubakar Siddiki and Abdoulaye Harissou while advising the Central African country to refrain from ever using military courts to prosecute civilians.

The government denies the charges are political. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested in a crackdown in recent months on protests in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions. Residents there say they suffer social and economic marginalisation in the predominantly Francophone country. The protests have become a lightning rod for opposition to President Paul Biya’s 35-year rule.

Source: Malawi 24

31, October 2017

Kenyan President Kenyatta wins 98 percent of vote in repeat election ⁰

Incumbent Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been declared the winner of the east African country’s election re-run, amid fears of further violence in flashpoint opposition strongholds.

Kenya’s electoral commission announced on Monday that Kenyatta had garnered 98.2 percent of the vote in the October 26 repeat presidential election, in which the voter turnout was almost 39 percent of the 19.6 million registered voters.

Wafula Chebukati, chairman of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), said the incumbent president had received 7,483,895 votes from a total of 7,616,217 cast ballots.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who had boycotted the Thursday protest-hit election, collected 73,228 votes, less than one percent of the ballots cast.

Odinga accused the IEBC of not implementing reforms to prevent widespread procedural irregularities and mismanagement that had culminated in the annulment of the initial vote in August. The opposition leader won 44.7 percent of the vote after Kenyatta in the previous round that saw a turnout of nearly 80 percent.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga stands on a car as he addresses supporters in Nairobi slum of Kawangware on October 29, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

In his victory speech on Monday, Kenyatta once again that his triumph in the original August 8 election was legitimate and that dialogue over political peace and stability in the future would have to wait if the opposition was going to file lawsuits again.

“My victory today is just part of a process that is likely to once again be subjected to a constitutional test through our courts … I will submit to this constitutional path regardless of the outcome,” Kenyatta said.

“Those who are going to ask me: ‘Are you going to engage in dialogue?’ … Let them (the opposition) first and foremost exhaust all their constitutional options,” he noted.

The incumbent president also reiterated that his victory was a “revalidation” of the people’s will after a vote that had already been branded by Odinga’s supporters as a farce.

Prior to the announcement of the election results, Kenyan police stepped up security in flashpoint areas in the country’s west, including the capital Nairobi’s slum of Mathare and the coastal city of Mombasa.

Shortly after the announcement, demonstrators began burning tires in the western city of Kisumu as well as in Nairobi’s Kibera slum, according to reports.

Local residents set up a roadblock after the announcement of the result of the re-election in Mathare, Nairobi, on October 30, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

At least nine people have been killed by gunshot wounds and beatings by police in the post-election violence since Thursday, taking the death toll since the first presidential election in August to 49.

The turmoil over the election has been polarizing the nation and hampering growth in East Africa’s most vibrant economy. Kenya is also considered a major regional trade hub and a key security ally for Western countries.

The European Union has called on Kenyan security forces to provide protection to all citizens and avoid the excessive use of force. A decade ago, some 1,200 Kenyans were killed in violence after another disputed poll.

Source: Presstv

31, October 2017

Yaounde: Another government likely soon, Biya to replace Philemon Yang ⁰

It has been reported that members of Government have lost sleep, since the return of President Biya from Geneva. The cause of their insomnia is the imminence of a cabinet reshuffle which some sources say Mr. Paul Biya would have carefully studied during his recent stay abroad.

The much anticipated shakeup was expected some few days after the presidential couple arrived Yaoundé. But more than a week after his return to the headquarters of institutions, doubt is already crystallizing in people’s minds. The wait has been prolonged with a trip to Chad amid rising adrenaline.

Biya continues to be the only master of time and there are under-the-table talks that his 31^st government since he came to power in 1982 will surely take into account the current socio-political context in Southern Cameroons.

A well-placed source hinted that it will not be surprising to see adjustments made to meet some of the demands of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. Many within the power circles believe that it is likely Philemon Yang will be removed as the Prime Minister.

By Sonne Peter, CCN

31, October 2017

Obasanjo-Biya Comment: Nigerian High Commissioner holds talks with Senate Speaker ⁰

Nigerian High Commissioner to Cameroon, Lawan Abba Gashagar has met the so-called Speaker of the Senate, Marcel Niat Njifenji over comments made by former Nigerian Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo on the Southern Cameroons crisis. Niat Njifenji and Ambassador Lawan Abba reportedly held a meeting on Friday, October 27, 2017.

Lawan Abba Gashagar, recalled that Cameroon hosted thousands of Nigerian refugees and that to date, the two countries are thinking about the strategy to set up a process to accompany them to their country of origin in the best conditions.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that regarding the situation in Ambazonia, Lawan Abba Gashagar said that his country encourages a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the problem. “There is no question of supporting any situation likely to create problems for our neighbors, just as we do not want our neighbors to support a situation that will be a problem to us,” he added. Many Southern Cameroonians have taken refuge in Nigeria as a result of the rapes, extra judicial killings and massive arrests including genocide currently going on in Southern Cameroons.

In an interview on October 25, 2017 in the panafrican newspaper Jeune Afrique, Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian Head of State made public his opinion on the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. OBJ said that federalism is a good system of governance, because “thanks to federalism, each party can express itself on the future of the country and move at its own pace without disturbing others.” He also made a passionate call for President Biya to leave power.

By Rita Akana, CCN

30, October 2017

Enerray to develop 30MW PV project in Cameroon ⁰

Enerray, though the company EB Solaire, is developing a 30MW PV project in Cameroon, with Enerray set to serve as EPC provider for the plant.

The first permitting steps for the solar plant have already been completed and carried out, with authorities already validating the 70-hectare site where the project will be developed. The installation will be developed in Northern Cameroon, close to the Garoua International Airport.

Once completed, the 30MW project will be connected to the electrical grid, with the installation responsible for providing energy to portions of the country without any access to electricity, along with regions that are prone to blackouts.

Source: PV-Tech