The government of Cameroon has agreed to reopen its border with the Central African Republic for humanitarian reasons.

This measure, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is to enable the resumption of the exportation of high consumption basic products from Cameroon to the war-torn country.

The decision to stop the exportation of basic products from Cameroon to its neighbours, the Central African Republic and Congo (Brazzaville), was taken by Cameroon’s Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atanga, because of the Ukrainian war and its consequences on certain products of high consumption in Africa.

According to Cameroonian authorities, the measures were taken with a view to protecting the Cameroonian people from the consequences of the Ukrainian war which has provoked “enormous inflationist shocks in Africa”.

The Central African Republic, had on its part, attributed the measure to pressure from France and the European Union with a view to asphyxiating the Bangui regime, which is supported by Russian mercenaries.

“Instead of opting for a diplomatic solution to the situation by contacting the Cameroonian authorities for negotiations, the Touadera regime in Bangui resorted to accusations that Cameroon closed its frontier to satisfy European demands,” a political analyst in Bangui who opted for anonymity said.

However, sensing the catastrophic consequences linked to the border closure, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) resorted to humanitarian diplomacy and took the initiative to contact and discuss with the Cameroonian authorities on the possibility of reopening the border.

Discussions between the two sides led to the current temporary suspension of the decision to close the border between the Central African Republic and Cameroon.

Source: HumAngle

After Cameroonians advocated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for five years since the Anglophone Crisis broke out in Cameroon in 2017, the Department of Homeland Security finally designated 18 months of protected status for Cameroonian nationals in the U.S. on April 15. TPS will protect qualifying Cameroonians from deportation and give them the ability to receive work permits. Advocates say they are grateful for the designation, but more can be done to grant relief to a community whose home country is in the midst of war and a humanitarian crisis.

“This is the bare minimum,” said Sylvie Bello, the founder and CEO of the Cameroon American Council.

Advocates are still pushing for Cameroonians to qualify for the Special Student Relief Program, which allows international students studying on a school visa to apply for permission to reduce their course load and to work over 20 hours in on-campus positions, or apply for a card to work off-campus. They are also asking for a refugee resettlement program and Humanitarian Parole. The resettlement program would assist Cameroonian refugees in guaranteeing long-term or permanent residence status in the U.S. The solution would ensure they are protected against deportation and creates a pathway to citizenship. Humanitarian Parole would also create a pathway for Cameroonians to leave their perilous conditions and immigrate to the U.S., and would bar them from deportation for two years.

Humanitarian Parole would make a difference for Evans Meh, a member of the Cameroon American Council, who says his mother’s “dying wish” is to reconnect with her oldest daughter, who is still in Cameroon, for a final passage of maternal rites. His mother, a U.S. citizen in hospice care, cannot travel to Cameroon due to her ailing health. Humanitarian parole would allow expedited visa access into the country for relatives of U.S. citizens.

“My U.S. citizen mother deserves to reunite with her daughter, who lives in the war zone of Northwest Region of Cameroon,” Meh said.

According to Bello, the delay in granting TPS is rooted in a racist and anti-Black immigration system. Bello points out that none of the countries currently granted Humanitarian Parole are in Africa.

“The government does not think that African countries also need humanitarian programs,” Bello said. “We want that for Cameroon. I have at least two members of my community who would benefit from a special humanitarian program.”

Despite the ongoing conflicts in Cameroon, ICE deported more than 90 Cameroonians on two deportation flights in October and November 2020. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), at least several dozen of those deported were denied asylum. In a follow-up report by HRW, they found that Cameroonian authorities subjected dozens of the same asylum-seekers to serious human rights violations. In 2020, 38.4% of Cameroonian asylum claims were denied.

“This life-saving victory was secured by countless hours of work and the extraordinary leadership of Black immigrants,” said Lisa Parisio, CLINIC’s director of advocacy. “While we celebrate, we also pray for and think about the Cameroonians who were deported to danger when TPS should have been in place. Slow-walked TPS designations are deadly and fly in the face of congressional intent and the values of safe haven that underpin the law. Equitable policy and practice require that TPS be used broadly, boldly, and immediately to respond to humanitarian crises for all countries in need.”

Additional relief could help reunite families separated by the conflict. Bello plans to continue advocating for this relief.

“We are putting a warning to [Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro] Mayorkas when it comes to Cameroon,” Bello said. “We will not tolerate the anti-Blackness and the anti-Africanness within immigration.”

Source: Prism report

Cameroon Concord News Group senior political man says the Biya Beti Ewondo gang; owing to French government unswerving support continues to carry out its unspeakable crimes with no end in sight against the English speaking people of Cameroon.

Speaking today in Dublin the Right Hon. Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai urged the US and the European Union to make a stand to put an end to Yaounde’s atrocities in Southern Cameroons.

Soter Agbaw-Ebai who also moonlights as editor-in-chief of the Concord Group said Southern Cameroonians should not allow the blood-thirsty Biya regime which kills women and children to stage the so-called national day celebration in the Ambazonian homeland.

“Enjoying French government unwavering support for decades, the Francophone military’s unspeakable crimes will continue with no end in sight – unless the USA with its European allies make a stand” Mr. Agbaw-Ebai noted.

‘Supplying weapons to Southern Cameroonians is morally legitimate under the present conditions’ he furthered.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai quoted the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin who said recently on the Ukrainian situation that “There is a right to armed defense in the case of aggression.”

By Chi Prudence Asong in Dublin

In response to the cold-blooded killing of civilians in Menchum by troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé, the Ambazonia Interim Government (IG) has called for a unified command against French Cameroun.

In his comments late on Monday, Dabney Yerima, the Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, urged a very speedy formation of the command to lead self defense actions against La Republique du Cameroun.

Yerima’s call came three days after General Nka of the Cameroon government military led soldiers to Wum the chief town in the Menchum County and brutally murdered several innocent civilians.

Vice President Dabney Yerima said the Southern Cameroons struggle after the nasty Sako Ikome past is going through a new stage which demands the adoption of incisive and strategic decisions.

Yerima said the unified command will be tasked with directing the armed resistance against the apartheid Biya French Cameroun regime.

The Southern Cameroons exiled leader said Ambazonians need to get their act together in the face of Yaounde’s unbridled aggression, advocating unity between different Southern Cameroons groups.

By Isong Asu

The Ambazonia Secretary of the Economy Tabenyang Brado has criticized some Southern Cameroons so-called front line leaders in Maryland USA for flirting with French Cameroun political elites in Washington and in Yaoundé, saying such moves will never help those Amba leaders.

Comrade Tabenyang Brado was speaking in a meeting with a group of Manyu stake holders in Europe on Saturday, saying, “Southern Cameroons history has proven that nothing good can come from French Cameroun political elites in Yaoundé.”

“Ambazonians believe that not only the nature of La Republique’s aggression and occupation of Southern Cameroons is destabilizing, but its continued support for the Atanga Nji Boys shows that disorder is in the very nature of the Biya French Cameroun regime,” Tabenyang said.

“The well-known interaction between some Southern Cameroons figures and the Biya French Cameroun regime is similar to taking refuge in a Francophone DO’s residence during Calez Calez,” the Ambazonia cabinet member said.

Tabenyang Brado reminded those Southern Cameroons figures that Ambassador Henry Fossung, had warned several Ambazonian personalities against helping La Republique du Cameroun, telling them that if Yaoundé had a good opportunity, they  would humiliate them as well, which they did to Chief Inoni Ephraim, Fonjindam and the late Mbah Ndam.

“Flirting with La Republique will lead to exactly the same fate,” Tabenyang pointed out.

Secretary Tabenyang’s remarks were made in reference to statements by Chris Anu in which the former Communications Secretary hinted that he gave the disgraced Sako Ikome some political deals and contacts. 

By Chi Prudence Asong