To live is the struggle

I want you to know my Ambazonian brothers and sisters that the things that have happened to us, leading to the life sentence slammed on us by the Yaoundé military court at 5:38am on Tuesday 20th August 2019, are helping the progress of the struggle for the restoration of the independence of our nation. As a result, warders of the Kondengui Principal Prison Yaoundé (KPPY) and all the others here know that we are in prison because we are servants of the struggle. And our being in prison has given most of our brothers and sisters increased determination in the struggle and more confidence in the Lord, so that they grow bolder all the time to discuss the message of the struggle fearlessly.

Of course some of our people speak the message of the struggle because they are jealous and quarrelsome, but others from genuine goodwill. These do so from love, because they know that God has given us the work of defending the struggle. The others do not proclaim the struggle sincerely, but from a spirit of selfish ambition; they think that they will make more trouble for me and my nine brothers while we are in prison.

It does not matter! We are happy about it-so long as the struggle is preached in every way possible, whether from wrong or right motives. And we will continue to be happy, because we know that by means of your prayers and the help which comes from the spirit of God, we shall be set free. Our deep desire and hope is that we shall never fail in our duty, but that at all times and especially just now, we shall be full of courage, so that with our whole beings, we shall bring honour to the struggle, whether we live or die.

For what is life? To us it is the struggle. Death, then, will bring more. But if by continuing to live we can do more worthwhile work, then we are not sure which we should choose. We are pulled in two directions. We want very much to leave this life and be with God, which is a far better thing; but for the sake of the struggle, it is much more important that we remain alive.

We are sure of this and so we know that we will stay. We will stay on with you all, to add to your progress and joy in the struggle, so that when we are with you again, you will have even more reason to be proud of us in your life.

Now the important thing is that your way of life should be as the struggle requires, so that, whether or not we are able to come and see you, we will hear that you are all standing firm with one common purpose and that with only one desire, you are fighting together for the struggle of the restoration of the independence of Ambazonia.

Don’t be afraid of our enemies; always be courageous and this will prove to them that they will lose and that we will win, because it is God who gives us the victory. For we have been given the privilege of serving for the struggle, not only by believing in it, but also by suffering for it. Now you can take part with us in the battle. It is the same battle you saw us fighting in the past, and as you hear, the one we are still fighting.

Amen.

Adapted from Philippians1:12-30

By Sisiku AyukTabe

23^rd August2019.

From the Kondengui Principal Prison,

Where he and 9 other Ambazonian leaders have just been imprisoned for life

Two soldiers, belonging to Cameroon’s 42nd Motorised Infantry Battalion were killed on Monday night when an army post was attacked by Boko Haram terrorists in the Far North region.

Security sources hinted that the attack happened in the locality of Zeleved, in Mayo-Tsanaga Division.

Local authorities, while confirming the incident, said the terrorists destroyed the army post and left with arms and munitions used by the soldiers.

One of the soldiers seriously injured in the attack has been rushed to the hospital, authorities said.

The army is in pursuit of the assailants, according to security sources. The terrorists made away with four firearms, including two collectives and two M21 rifles, plus loaded magazine boxes.

More than 2,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram launched attacks in the Far North since 2014, according to security reports.

A company in Cameroon is illegally clearing land to start a giant oil-palm plantation encroaching on a key biodiversity zone in the Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest tropical forest, according to Greenpeace. The company has rejected the allegations.

Cameroon Vert, known as Camvert, this year began developing a 60,000ha palm-oil plantation in a forest previously earmarked for logging in the South Region of the country. Once completed, the project will be among the biggest palm-oil operations in central Africa and yield about 180,000 tonnes of the edible oil annually.

Part of the forest borders the Campo Ma’an National Park, home to threatened animals including giant pangolins, forest elephants, chimpanzees, lowland gorillas and leopards.

The forest was declassified and designated for commercial agriculture in November even though the environmental impact assessment hadn’t been completed, according to Greenpeace. In April, the ministry of domain and state property authorised the company to start clearing 2,500ha.

The ministry didn’t immediately respond to queries.

The project violates both Cameroonian law and international standards and threatens the livelihood of indigenous communities, Greenpeace said in a report to be published on Monday.

The ministry’s authorisation is illegal in the absence of a presidential decree ceding the land to Camvert or a special presidential derogation, the environmental group said, describing the company’s 206-page environmental and social impact assessment as “a travesty of due diligence”.

Camvert rejected the allegations, saying the project “was created in full respect of national and international laws and after serious consultations with government administrations, environmental organisations and the local population”, according to project manager officer Mamoudou Bobbo.

The forest has outlived its usefulness for the logging industry as it has been damaged, Bobbo said in an interview in the capital, Yaounde. “Oil palm trees are trees like any other and cannot affect the climate negatively as claimed by Greenpeace,” he said.

Source: Bloomberg

Human rights groups in Cameroon have condemned the de facto house arrest of opposition leader Maurice Kamto, who has spent a week at his residence surrounded by riot police.  Authorities say Kamto’s Cameroon Renaissance Movement party is being investigated for attempts to destabilize the country after last week’s anti-government protests.

Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior central African researcher for Human Rights Watch says several hundred people have been arrested in Cameroon since September 22 protests. Opposition leader Maurice Kamto called for demonstrations demanding the cancellation of upcoming regional elections and to protest Paul Biya’s leadership of the country.

Allegrozzi says by cracking down on protesters, Cameroon disrespects fundamental rights.

“This follows a well-documented pattern of politically motivated arrests and prosecutions and also threats to crush opposition parties and silence dissent,” Allegrozzi said. “It is a step backwards for Cameroon and authorities should immediately end the crackdown and release all those who have been unjustly imprisoned since the demonstration of September 22nd.”

Allegrozzi said several hundred civilians were arrested and some have been released. She said it was unjust for anti-riot police to surround the Yaounde residence of Maurice Kamto after the September 22 protests.

Christopher Ndong, secretary general of Kamto’s Cameroon Renaissance Movement Party says 600 civilians were arrested in the coastal city of Douala, the capital Yaounde, the western towns of Bafoussam and Mbouda and the northern town of Garoua. He says the arrests and the presence of anti-riot police at Kamto’s residence will not stop the CRM from asking Biya to peacefully hand over power.

“I want to reiterate that Professor Maurice Kamto is in good health but for the fact that his rights of movement have been restricted and this act is illegal,” Ndong said. “That march{protest} was peaceful but for the security forces that beat, killed, imprisoned and are now torturing more than 600 of our militants{supporters}. We decry that dehumanizing situation, creating terror and in fact refusing people to express their democratic rights.”

The police have not issued a statement regarding their presence at Kamto’s home. VOA contacted the communication unit of the Cameroon police but received no comment.

The government’s communication minister, Rene Emanuel Sadi, says Kamto’s CRM party is being investigated for attempts to destabilize state institutions and mount insurrection. Sadi says many supporters and CRM party executive members have been arrested and are helping the police in investigations.

“Its leader and its cronies have once against singled themselves out in an engrained and systematic logic of provocation, defiance of state authority and confrontation of public authorities,” said Sadi. “It should be recalled that this political party (CRM) had already in the same way disturbed public order in the aftermath of the presidential election of October 2018”

Sadi did not say how many people have been arrested, but noted that some of Kamto’s associates are wanted by police.

On September 22, the CRM said Cameroon’s police violently suppressed opposition party demonstrations throughout the country, beating protesters and arresting journalists.

In January, 2019, police detained Kamto and 200 of his supporters who insisted Biya stole the 2018 presidential election, which Kamto claims he won.

Amid international criticism, Biya pardoned Kamto last November and had him released.

Source: VOA

Aichi Prefectural Police have arrested a male Cameroonian national who is suspected of swindling a man in Nagoya by posing as a woman online, reports TBS News (Sept. 25).

Last month, Niba Manfred Che, 33, allegedly collected 80,000 U.S. dollars from the victim, 64, for the fraudulent sale of what he claimed were chemicals that could “turn black paper to currency.”

The Minami Police Station, which seized stacks of black paper, smartphones and a computer during the investigation, did not reveal whether the suspect admits to the allegations.

In July, Che got to know the victim via a social-networking site in which the suspect posed as an American woman, police said.

During their exchanges the suspect suggested marriage. “My family’s fortune is valued at 1 billion yen,” he falsely wrote. “But a handling charge is necessary [for me to receive it].”

For the latter claim, the suspect is also believed to have received an additional 7 million yen from the suspect. Police are continuing the investigation.

Source: Tokyo Reporter

Cameroon has launched a campaign to encourage parents to send their children to schools that were closed in rebel conflict areas and for fleeing teachers to return.  Cameroon authorities want the schools to reopen by October 5 and say the areas are secure but some parents and teachers question the safety of returning to the schools.  Cameroon’s military liberated more than a hundred schools from rebel occupation in weekend fighting that left at least nine rebels and several troops dead.  

Cameroon’s Ministry of National Education says it has dispatched hundreds of its staff members to English-speaking regions to campaign for schools to reopen on October 5. Bernard Mbuwel, a pedagogic inspector is one of them. He says the future of 400,000 children is at risk should schools remain closed.

 “When education is attacked, you have a generation that is failing, there is no succession,” he said. “You have increase in cycle of crisis because conflicts cannot be resolved when the children are not educated. We find children evolving while those that are conflict stricken cannot evolve. The children will not be competitive in the job market because they are not educated.”

 Laboratory technician Philomena Ayeah, 41, fled fighting in the English-speaking northwestern town of Batibo to the capital Yaounde in July. She says she wants her younger siblings to have education without which their future remains bleak in a highly competitive world.

 “I am very glad for the children to go back to school,” she said. “They should go and learn. They have forgotten so many things. For now they are in the house. They only eat. It is not easy. They play. They have forgotten so many things.”

 Cameroon’s  military reports that within the past four days, troops chased separatist fighters from at least a hundred schools in the English-speaking Northwest region. The Catholic church in the area said the corpses of two soldiers were seen in the northwestern village of Kikaikelaki. 

Deben Tchoffo, the region’s governor did not confirm troops were killed but says at least 9 separatist fighters lost their lives and 12 others were arrested in Kumbo, Ndop, Santa, Bafut and Wum.

 “It was not an easy process, but they [military] are doing their best to secure the region and it is hoped that come 5th of October we must have improved on the security of this region to allow schools to resume,” he said. “We have asked the population to organize themselves in vigilante groups to create security around the schools.”

 Tchoffo said the attacks on schools used by fighters as hideouts is carried out at the same time as the campaign to reopen the schools.

 Separatists’ spokesperson Capo Daniel admits that some fighters were attacked. Capo says the separatists now want privately owned schools to reopen in the country’s Anglophone regions after 4-years of closure. He says fighters have been asked to keep government schools closed. 

“In terms of the Cameroon government schools, we have complete non tolerance which is a complete ban of all schools that are sponsored or functioning under the Cameroon Ministry of National Education,” he said. “In areas that we control we have opened up community schools and the teachers who are providing education are doing so on a voluntary basis.

The government of Cameroon this week said the military will escort teachers and students who want to return to schools in various towns and villages.

Teacher Shuri Quinta, 26, who escaped from Kumbo to Yaounde after she was attacked in June for encouraging schools to reopen says their security is not assured.

“Continuous kidnapping and beating of staff [teachers] and students of this region is an indication of inadequate security. I so much long for schools to reopen but in a secured atmosphere. It therefore falls on both sides of the ongoing conflict to guarantee this security and to institute confidence building measures otherwise we are going to be heading for an illiterate society and its associated ills,” she said.

The United Nations says Cameroon’s four-year separatist conflict has left over 3,000 people dead and half a million displaced.  The crisis started in 2016 when teachers and lawyers took to the streets to complain about the overbearing influence of the French language in the bilingual country. The military responded with a crackdown and separatists took up weapons claiming that they were defending civilians. They asked for a school shutdown and vowed to make the English-speaking regions ungovernable.

Source: VOA