Headline News

19, March 2020

Southern Cameroons deepening aid crisis: “They don’t want external eyes there to see what is happening” ⁰

Humanitarian organisations are struggling to keep pace with the increasing needs of civilians as conflict between the government and pro-independence groups escalates in Cameroon’s anglophone regions.

Limited access to those driven from their homes, low levels of donor funding, and what aid workers have described as government “obstruction” means the majority of the 1.3 million people affected by the violence cannot be reached.

Since November 2019, there has been a surge in violence in the Northwest and Southwest regions – referred to collectively by pro-independence fighters as the Southern Cameroons or the Republic of Ambazonia.

Growing humanitarian needs

Nearly 900,000 people have been made homeless, and an additional 60,000 have fled into neighbouring Nigeria. The four-year conflict, triggered by the perceived marginalisation of the region from majority French-speaking Cameroon, has left at least 3,000 dead.

Needs include food, shelter, and psychosocial support as the government forces and pro-independence fighters routinely torch homes and, increasingly, entire villages, forcing people into the bush.

Bali community members wait for shelter kits

Residents of Bali waited for shelter kits from the UN after their homes were torched.

Over 600,000 children have been unable to regularly attend school following an education boycott ordered by the separatists to protest the creeping use of French in class and attacks on schools, teachers, and students to enforce the ban. As a result, just 19 percent of primary and secondary schools remain open in the conflict region.

The UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, estimates that only 34 percent of health facilities are operating, causing a dip in life-saving immunisation and nutrition services.

Despite the humanitarian needs, the UN and its local partners were able to reach only 40 percent of affected civilians in 2019, Mobido Traore, head of the UN’s aid coordination body, OCHA, told The New Humanitarian.

Deepening insecurity

The insecurity, particularly in the Northwest – the centre of much of the violence – has had a significant impact on humanitarian operations.

In January, seven aid workers from two local NGOs – COMINSUD and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation – were kidnapped by pro-independence fighters. Although all staff were later released, the abductions resulted in several organisations restricting their area of operations.

Government security forces have also failed to respect humanitarian space. On 21 February, soldiers entered the St. Mary Soledad Hospital campus, a health facility supported by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières in the town of Bamenda, and shot and killed a civilian driver in his vehicle.

Stray bullets also hit an ambulance call centre, endangering the lives of patients and hospital staff, MSF said in a statement provided to TNH.

Aid agencies have increasingly relied on community and religious leaders to draw displaced civilians from their hiding places in the bush and to assemble them in “safe zones”, such as religious centres and former schools, where they can receive assistance.

But the military has raided “safe zones” and killed and arrested the displaced, and those who assisted in organising the aid distributions, according to internal incident reports by local aid NGOs seen by TNH, press statements, and interviews with several eyewitnesses and victims.

Government clamp down

The government has also clamped down more systematically on humanitarian access, imposing increasingly restrictive tracking and vetting procedures, aid workers say.

In June, it established Humanitarian Coordinating Centres in Bamenda and Buea – the capitals of the Northwest and Southwest regions – to assess incoming aid, provide guidance on distribution, and ensure traceability, government officials told local news media at the time.

All local and international aid organisations – including the UN – are required to apply to the coordinating centres for permission to carry out needs assessments and aid deliveries. Food and non-food aid must be hand inspected at the centres before delivery to beneficiaries.

“The process for vetting humanitarian assistance in Bamenda and Buea has been in place just to place more burden on humanitarian actors,” Traore said.

Local aid workers who asked to remain anonymous over safety concerns described the time-consuming procedures as a “crackdown on humanitarian organisations”.

Last week, the government moved the vetting process from the coordinating centres to the governor’s office in Bamenda.

It’s a step that not only politicises aid work, but will result in a “significant delay in aid reaching beneficiaries,” Traore said.

The governor’s office did not respond to requests from TNH to comment on the most recent developments.

Aid agencies accused of ‘collusion’

Government officials have also renewed their accusations that human rights and aid groups are colluding with the pro-independence groups, supplying them with weapons, and spreading false information that implicate the security forces in atrocities.

“Many NGOs have clearly revealed themselves as enemies of our country.”

In a televised press conference, the head of Cameroon’s Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT), Paul Atanga Nji, charged Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the think tank International Crisis Group, and OCHA – among other organisations – of working to “destabilise state institutions”.

“Many NGOs have clearly revealed themselves as enemies of our country,” Nji said. They have “become laboratories of fake reports with the sole objective to tarnish the image of the country’s defence and security forces.”

The government was particularly incensed by the reports of a massacre in the village of Ngarbuh on 14 February, in which the security forces and allied militia were accused of killing at least 21 civilians. The UN demanded an impartial inquiry into the incident.

Rights groups and aid organisations have all denied Nji’s accusations.

“The statement is just a new chapter of the government smear campaign against [Human Rights Watch], other human rights organisations, human rights activists, and journalists,” Lewis Mudge, Central Africa Director for HRW, told TNH.

“The government is trying to jeopardise our work and tarnish our image,” Traore said. “They don’t want external eyes there to see what is happening.”

Funding woes

A persistent lack of funding has also hamstrung the humanitarian response. Donors have provided just over 40 percent of Cameroon’s aid appeal, but in the Northwest and Southwest regions, the figure is far lower – just 18 percent of the budget has been financed.

As a consequence, the UN has only “limited capacity to respond timely to increasing needs,” said Traore.

A high staff turnover also means the UN has struggled to build trust with communities and representatives of both sides of the conflict, noted an OCHA official, who asked to remain anonymous.

Another UN staff member was more critical. “This situation is unique because [this UN operation] is not very functional”, the person said, referring to the UN’s inability to provide assistance to the majority of those in need. “The UN’s reputation is plummeting. There is a failure to deliver.”

As the conflict widens in 2020, the UN predicts its funding needs will rise. Local and international aid groups are working to build capacity, especially in the troubled Northwest region, but it is an uphill struggle, they say.

“It is not a good situation,” one local aid worker told TNH. “It is not looking good for us.”

Culled from The New Humanitarian

19, March 2020

Coronavirus: where do we stand in the race for a vaccine? ⁰

As the world races to find a vaccine or a cure for the coronavirus, antimalarial drugs, HIV medications, flu vaccines and arthritis treatments are all being tested. FRANCE 24 takes a look at the latest medical efforts to combat the pandemic.

Teams of scientists across the world are working around the clock to either develop a new drug or repurpose an existing medication to halt the spread of the virus.

Viruses are tiny parasitic bits of genetic material that replicate inside another organism. Vaccines for viruses such as measles are typically made from a weakened form of the virus. But this process can take years.

Scientists are now fast-tracking results and sidestepping normal scientific steps, such as animal testing, to find drugs that will treat and kill the virus that causes COVID-19.

How close are we to a vaccine?

China:

The first country to experience the virus and also the first to start searching for vaccines and cures, China is understandably leading the field in the hunt for a vaccine. On December 31 last year, China alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) to several cases of unusual pneumonia in Wuhan, a port city of 11 million people in Hubei province. The virus was at that point unknown.

To create an original vaccine, the Chinese company Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology is working with a US biotech company called Inovio Pharmaceuticals. They are in the process of developing a “DNA vaccine” called INO-4800.

This vaccine is already in preclinical trial. It involves directly injecting genetic material into a person to trigger a stronger immune response, so they are better equipped to stop an infection.

Japan:

On January 16, Japan became the first country to confirm a coronavirus case outside China.

Fujifilm may be best known for its photographic products, but the Japanese company also makes a drug called Favipiravir (capitalized). This was initially intended to treat new strains of the flu. However, it appears to be proving effective in treating coronavirus patients, particularly those with lighter symptoms.

Europe:

Germany’s BioNTech has been one of the major players in European vaccine developments. It announced on Monday that it is developing an experimental vaccine, working with Fosun Pharma in China. On Tuesday, it confirmed a collaboration with America’s largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, to develop the drug outside of China. They hope to be in a position to start testing the new vaccine early next month.

Reuters reported on Sunday that the German government was trying to stop the US administration from persuading CureVac, another German drugmaker working on an experimental vaccine for the coronavirus, to move its research to the United States. This prompted German politicians to insist that no country should have a monopoly on any future vaccine.

Earlier, the Welt am Sonntag German newspaper reported that US President Donald Trump had offered funds to lure CureVac to the United States, and the German government was making counter-offers to tempt it to stay.

Responding to the report, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, wrote on Twitter: “The Welt story was wrong.”

US:

The first human trials of a potential vaccine called mRNA-1273 have already begun in the United States. Their vaccine has been made by biotechnology company Moderna Therapeutics.

Four patients received injections of the vaccine at the Kaiser Permanente research facility in Seattle, Washington, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The early-stage study of mRNA-1273 is being carried out by the US National Institutes of Health.

Instead of creating the mRNA-1273 vaccine from the coronavirus, scientists have copied a short segment of genetic code from the virus.

To test this new drug as fast as possible, they have sidestepped normal procedures such as initially testing on animals. The initial trial is expected to involve 45 healthy adult volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55 years over approximately six weeks. It could take 12 months before any concrete results are produced.

How close are we to a cure?

China:

By the end of January, China was already exploring how existing drugs might be repurposed to kill the virus.

One of the first drugs China explored with some success was an antimalarial drug called chloroquine phosphate. Speaking at a press conference on February 18, Sun Yanrong, deputy head of the China National Centre for Biotechnology Development at the ministry of science and technology, said this drug has already been under clinical trial in more than 10 hospitals in Beijing as well as in Guangdong Province and in Hunan Province.

According to Sun, patients treated with chloroquine saw a greater drop in fever, an improvement in their lung scans and required a shorter time to recover compared to parallel groups.

Among other drugs currently being tested in China is a Swiss-made anti-inflammation drug called Tocilizumab that suppresses overreactions by the immune system.

Another interesting advance has been made with a US antiviral drug called remdesivir, which has had impressive results in tests with more than 200 extremely ill patients.

Remdesivir was developed by Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola patients. It had good results in laboratories and with animals but was less successful with tests out in the field. Nevertheless, global health authorities deem it the most promising of possible treatments for people with severe cases of the virus.

Europe:

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has announced it is ready to offer millions of doses of an antimalarial drug to French authorities after “promising” initial trials.

Sanofi said it could potentially treat 300,000 COVID-19 patients with the antimalarial drug Plaquenil, a spokesperson for the laboratory told AFP, adding that the group was ready to work with French health authorities “to confirm these results”.

Sanofi and its partner Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc have also started a clinical trial of their rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara as a treatment for the virus, the companies said on Monday.

Testing for patients with mid-to-severe stages of the virus will begin immediately, and the companies anticipate the trial will test up to 400 patients.

United States:

The United States may have had a slow start, but it has now sprinted ahead in the race for a vaccine.

A key development in the battle against the virus has emerged from the Quantitative Biosciences Institute Coronavirus Research Group, based out of the University of California. This team of hundreds of scientists has identified more than 50 drugs already in circulation that may effectively treat people infected with the virus.

The group has taken a different approach from many of their peers. Rather than find drugs that attack the virus itself, they are exploring drugs that will protect the proteins in our own cells that the coronavirus depends on to thrive and reproduce. With this type of treatment, our own systems will fight the virus.

Such a project would typically take a minimum of two years to achieve the results that this working group, which includes 22 laboratories across the US, has managed in a few weeks.

Another major development is the use of the HIV combination treatment lopinavir-ritonavari. This is currently being used in trials in America and other countries across the world, including India.

However, amid all the scientific developments, there are also unfounded rumours. In a statement published on Monday, Johnson & Johnson said there is “no evidence” that its HIV drug Prezista had any effect against the coronavirus in response to unsubstantiated reports that the drug might be a cure.

The company said it was aware that some HIV treatments are being considered as options to treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

Johnson & Johnson did say, however, that it was “partnering with multiple organizations to support the development of research programs and fast-track solutions for COVID-19”.

Culled from France 24

19, March 2020

Youth warned against ‘fever dream’ of coronavirus invicibility ⁰

Before shutdowns swept the globe and many were urged — or mandated — to stay indoors to stymie coronavirus’s spread, Divya Sonti sensed the worst was yet to come.

A specialist in public health communications, the 31-year-old encouraged her millennial peers to steer clear of bars and parties — but says “friends would think I was overreacting.”

Her age group is considered low-risk if they contract coronavirus — but today authorities warn younger generations are likely carriers of asymptomatic cases, and could easily infect older or immunocompromised people.

Deborah Birx, the White House taskforce coronavirus administrator, said “the millennial generation” could include many more virus carriers than previously thought.

She also said COVID-19 — which has infected at least 210,000 people, leaving more than 8,800 people dead worldwide — could hit younger people harder than believed, noting reports from France and Italy of serious cases even among 20 and 30-somethings.

“We need them to be healthy,” Birx said. “I’m not only calling on you to heed what’s in the guidance, but to really ensure that each and every one of you are protecting each other.”

– ‘Invincible’ –

Donald Trump also has pointed to young people, saying “we don’t want them gathering. And I see they do gather, including on beaches and including in restaurants.”

“Young people — they don’t realize, they’re feeling invincible,” said the 73-year-old president of the United States, which so far has reported more than 9,300 cases with 150 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University count.

“Millennial” is often used as a blanket term for all young people, though the Pew Research Center defines it as those born between 1981 and 1996.

Those approximately 24 and younger are considered members of Generation Z — the group most likely to be flying south for spring break beach trips.

The Miami Beach mayor, Dan Gelber, warned of “devastating consequences” over the virus and ordered bars and gyms to close this week, telling springbreakers: “You’ve got to think about the person next to you and even the person you don’t know.”

Shelly Hill, a 21-year-old university student, told AFP she cut short her Miami trip as airlines axe flights.

“I’m not really scared of corona, but I feel like it’s causing a lot of problems… a lot of stuff is getting shut down,” the Atlanta resident said.

But “people need to be safe and quarantine, because it is spreading really fast.”

– ‘Stupid and privileged’ –

A streak of individualism runs through contemporary society, standing out most prominently among youth, according to Jean Twenge, a psychology professor and author of “Generation Me.”

Individualism has led to more equality and less prejudice, she said — along with a flippant attitude towards rules and less trust in institutions, including science.

“All of us have to realize that we’re going to have to shift our thinking,” she told AFP.

“It just might be particularly challenging for a generation that has not ever experienced a culture that needs to be more collectivistic for some really good reasons.”

Celebrities, like 18-year-old Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande, 26, have urged people to heed COVID-19 warnings.

“The ‘We will be fine because we’re young’ mindset is putting people who aren’t young and/or healthy in a lot of danger,” Grande posted recently. “You sound stupid and privileged and you need to care more about others.”

“Like now.”

– ‘Fever dream’ –

Nate Christensen has been laying low at home in New York — which closed schools and banned gatherings — for a week with his partner.

The nursing student, 30, compared attitudes towards coronavirus to those of climate change: “I think people have a hard time taking something seriously that’s not right in their backyard.”

As America’s most populated city began closing up shop over the weekend, Christensen said he “saw a lot of millennials on social media self-isolating — but many also still going to the gym, going on dates.”

“Ultimately I don’t blame people for wanting to continue living a normal life,” he said, criticizing the city’s mayor and New York’s state governor “for not acting sooner to shutter public life.”

He said his generation’s strength has been savvy use of social media to spread coronavirus risk awareness — though he said some people on his feeds, especially Trump supporters, are still touting an “invincible approach.”

“Anyone that has seen what is happening in Italy but still thinks this country will deal with the virus like any flu season is certainly living in an ‘American exceptionalism’ fever dream,” Christensen said.

“The virus is about to show just how not great this country truly is.”

Source: AFP

18, March 2020

Burkina Faso’s first COVID-19 death claims top lawmaker ⁰

Burkina Faso has joined the list of African countries to have recorded corona-virus related death. Authorities announced the first COVID-19 death on Wednesday.

The country’s confirmed cases as at today Wednesday (March 18) are 26 with over 230 contacts being monitored. Other African countries that have reported fatalities include Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Sudan.

The authorities say the patient was a diabetic woman aged 62 years. Some reports on social media say it is a top lawmaker, Ms Rose Marie Compaore, who was the first-vice president of the parliament.

This is a very contagious illness that is potentially fatal and that for now has no treatment aside from prevention.

“This tragic event calls us all to recognise the scale and seriousness of the problem which confronts us all,” said Martial Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso’s COVID-19 response coordinator.

“This is a very contagious illness that is potentially fatal and that for now has no treatment aside from prevention,” he stressed.

The West African country says the cases are concentrated in the capital Ouagadougou with Bobo-Dioulasso, the country’s second largest city, recording its first case recently.

Source: Africa News

18, March 2020

Jazz legend Manu Dibango recovering from coronavirus ⁰

86 year old mega star Manu Dibango the author of “Soul Makossa” has tested positive for the Coronavirus. However, according to his manager, the artist is recovering and is not in any danger.

In France, where the Cameroonian superstar lives, the Coronavirus epidemic has already caused the death of 175 people.

French public health officials also did announce that the European nation now has 7730 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

By Chi Prudence Asong

18, March 2020

Race for the White House: Biden strengthens lead over Sanders on virus-hit primary night ⁰

Joe Biden swept to victory in Florida, Illinois and Arizona on Tuesday, increasingly pulling away with a Democratic presidential primary upended by the coronavirus and building pressure on Bernie Sanders to abandon his campaign.

The former vice president’s third big night in as many weeks came amid tremendous uncertainty as the Democratic contest collides with efforts to slow the spread of the virus that has shut down large swaths of American life. Polls were shuttered in Ohio, and although balloting went ahead as scheduled in the three other states, election workers and voters reported problems.

Still, Biden’s quest for his party’s nomination now seems well within reach. His trio of wins doubled his delegate haul over Sanders, giving the former vice president a nearly insurmountable lead. Top Democratic leaders and donors have also increasingly lined up behind Biden as the best option to square off against President Donald Trump in November.

Using a livestream to address supporters from his home state of Delaware, Biden seemed ready to move past the primary. He paid tribute to the Vermont senator for advancing key issues like affordable health care and combating climate change.

“Sen. Sanders and his supporters have brought a remarkable passion and tenacity to all of these issues. Together they have shifted the fundamental conversation in this country,” Biden said. “So let me say, especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Sen. Sanders, I hear you. I know what’s at stake. I know what we have to do.”

Impact of coronavirus

With the exception of North Dakota and the Northern Mariana Islands, Sanders hasn’t scored a victory since Super Tuesday on March 3. He made no immediate move on Tuesday to contact Biden, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the candidates. During remarks early in the night, Sanders said little about the future of the race and instead focused on the coronavirus outbreak.

Trump, meanwhile, formally clinched the Republican presidential nomination after facing minimal opposition.

But much of the action was on the Democratic side, where higher vote totals in some key states suggested enthusiasm that even the coronavirus couldn’t contain. Turnout in Florida’s Democratic primary surpassed the 1.7 million who cast ballots four years ago.

Sanders’ path to the nomination is quickly narrowing, and some Democrats are now calling on him to drop out in the name of party unity. Top advisers have said he’s considering whether the political landscape could look different as the virus continues to reshape life across the country.

Still, the race increasingly favors Biden. He maintained strength on Tuesday with African Americans and older voters who have been the hallmark of his campaign. He also appeared to chip away at Sanders’ previous advantage with Hispanics that helped him win Nevada and California early in the race.

In Florida, Latinos made up roughly 20% of Democratic primary voters, and they largely sided with Biden. The former vice president received the support of 62% of Puerto Rican voters and 57% of Cubans, according to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of primary voters.

The public health and economic havoc wreaked by the coronavirus will nonetheless influence how the presidential contest unfolds. Rallies and other big events have been canceled. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez urged states with upcoming primaries to expand vote-by-mail and absentee balloting, as well as polling station hours — trying to ensure the primary isn’t further hampered going forward.

“The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy, and we must do everything we can to protect and expand that right instead of bringing our democratic process to a halt,” Perez said in a statement.

But the damage may have already happened.

Nowhere for Sanders to gain ground

Four states — Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky and Maryland — have joined Ohio in moving to push back their upcoming primaries, and others may yet do so. That has left the Democratic primary calendar empty until March 29, when Puerto Rico is scheduled to go to the polls. But island leaders are working to reschedule balloting there, too.

That means there is nowhere for Sanders to gain ground on Biden anytime soon, even if he could find a way to mount a sudden surge.

At least one of Sanders’ top advisers chided party officials for going forward with voting on Tuesday.

“The Democratic Party rightly berates the GOP for ignoring scientists’ warnings about climate change,” David Sirota tweeted. “The same Dem Party just ignored scientists’ warnings & pushed to continue in-person elections during a lethal pandemic, rather than delaying until there is vote by mail.”

There were problems across the country on Tuesday. In Illinois, for instance, there was a push to relocate about 50 Chicago-area polling places after locations canceled at the last minute.

Jim Allen, a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, said the board asked Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week to cancel in-person voting, but the governor refused. Pritzker countered that state law doesn’t give him the authority to make the sweeping changes that elections officials wanted.

“Let me tell you this: It is exactly in times like these when the constitutional boundaries of our democracy should be respected above all else. And if people want to criticize me for that, well, go ahead,” the governor said.

There weren’t problems, everywhere, though. Mel Dockens, a 49-year-old small-business owner, voted in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale and said it was a tough choice. But he went for Biden because he thought Sanders’ progressive views might turn off some Democratic voters.

“It’s all about electability,” Dockens said. “It’s not that I don’t trust Bernie Sanders, but I trust (Biden) a little more.”

(AP)

18, March 2020

80 year old Cavaye Djibril re-elected National Assembly Speaker as French Cameroun MPs return ⁰

With 139 of the 167 MPs currently sitting in the National Assembly, the ruling CPDM crime syndicate saw its candidates for the two most important posts in the National Assembly’s bureau reelected unopposed.

The ailing Cavaye Yeguie Djibril who by some strange happenstance was the only candidate for the post of President, was re-elected for the umpteenth time by his party’s hierarchy, with 147 votes out of 165 cast. Having spent 47 years as a member of parliament and 28 years as speaker, the sick man of the Far North region will therefore continue his lease at the helm of the House of the French Cameroun People.

Correspondingly, the post of first vice-president, only had the outgoing Hilarion Etong again of the ruling CPDM. He too was reelected with 147 votes out of 166.

The election of the other officers of the National Assembly, including the other five Vice-Presidents, four Quaestors and twelve Secretaries were done by acclamation.

By Rita Akana in Yaounde

18, March 2020

Maurice Kamto says “Cameroon can achieve peace. But first, it needs a ceasefire” ⁰

On March 18 last year, the United States assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Tibor Nagy, met Cameroonian President Paul Biya in Yaoundé, the country’s capital. The meeting took place after nearly three years of mounting concerns about the violent descent into chaos in Cameroon’s northwest and southwest regions. The central government and separatists from our English-speaking minority have been engaged in a brutal conflict deriving from the latter’s valid grievances about marginalisation and the ongoing, deliberate efforts to dilute their English cultural heritage in the predominantly French culture of Cameroon.

Several months earlier, in December 2018, before a congressional committee hearing in the US House of Representatives, Nagy raised the issue of Cameroon as among the world’s most dire conflicts, stating: “I fear that [the crisis] could get much, much worse.” He was, indeed, correct. And Nagy’s grim prediction paralleled that of countless Cameroonian activists, journalists and pro-democracy leaders, including my own colleagues, who have consistently raised the alarms — often putting their lives and livelihoods at risk for doing so, and incurring the wrath of Cameroonian authorities.

The United Nations conservatively estimates that the ongoing conflict has killed more than 3 000 people and displaced nearly 700 000 more in the Anglophone regions, a staggering number that comprises about 20% of our country’s population. Most recently, on February 14, about two dozen villagers, including 14 children and a pregnant woman, were massacred in the village of Ngarbuh in the northwest region by suspected members of the Cameroonian army. This state of affairs has led to massive instability inside Cameroon, as well as the surrounding region, including in our neighbour Nigeria, where tens of thousands of civilians — mainly women and young children — have sought fleeting security.

One year after the meeting between Nagy and Biya, nothing has changed for the better. In fact, it has merely metastasised, largely due to government incompetence, ongoing acts of state violence and unthinkable brutality, and a hardened resolve among Cameroon’s Anglophone separatists, who now view violent retaliation as the last and seemingly only option to achieve their demands.

A feasible plan to resolve Cameroon’s worsening conflict (which represents only one of the many symptoms of the long-ruling, long-abusive Biya dictatorship) is long overdue. Last month, I visited Washington DC to raise my concerns and to present an alternative vision to secure a democratic and stable Cameroon. For my efforts, I was greeted with death threats and intimidation, which prompted US legislators to demand my safe return. These hazards, of course, are not surprising in light of my nine-month prison ordeal in 2019, as well as what appears to be an attempt on my life this past weekend while touring Garoua, a town in the north. I will not be deterred, and I will not be silent.

Here is my plan to move Cameroon forward, from ongoing violence to a just peace. First and foremost, as an act of good faith, the Cameroonian government must immediately release all political prisoners who have been incarcerated, ostensibly because of the Anglophone conflict, as well as the post-electoral crisis triggered by the sham presidential election of October 2018, which extended Biya’s almost four-decade rule. The prisoners released must include, for example, Ayuk Tabe, a well-known voice from the Anglophone separatist community, and Mamadou Yakuba, the first vice-president of my political party, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement.

Second, the violence on both sides must end today. To accomplish this feat, the Cameroonian government, and Biya specifically, must agree to at least a temporary ceasefire with separatist forces in the Anglophone regions, including the removal of all major military installations. Our people have suffered enough calamity, and further violence will only entrench the now nearly insurmountable animosities on both sides of the divide.

Third, the separatists and the central government must agree to a basic framework for inclusive dialogue. A key element of this roadmap will be to have honest discussions about the form and make-up of a new Cameroonian state. For me, federalism holds the key for a more sustainable and peaceful future. The proposed dialogue, presided over by an impartial international mediator, will work towards the definitive settlement of the now full-blown civil war that is tearing apart the Anglophone regions. Further delays toward this end are wholly irresponsible.

Fourth, the government must assist Anglophone citizens to return to their homes and communities by pledging to rebuild infrastructure destroyed during the war, including countless private residences, hospitals and schools. Indeed, most schools in the two Anglophone regions have already been empty for three years, effectively robbing our country of its future and a generation of knowledge and needed skills.

Lastly, Biya’s government — in co-ordination with civil society and the pro-democracy opposition — must undertake long-overdue political reforms; in other words, we must address the root causes of Cameroon’s cascading crises. There must be a consensual reform of the electoral system, certainly before the planning of any new elections, to avoid the post-election conflicts that have festered for the past 17 months. Relatedly, there must be a consensual drafting of a uniquely Cameroonian charter that guarantees the respect of basic freedoms and human rights, which have been trampled on for too long.

These interrelated initiatives will build the mutual respect that is required, and thus far lacking, to forge a viable path forward for Cameroon. If undertaken in good faith, by both sides of the conflict, we, as patriotic Cameroonians can earnestly begin to stitch together our frayed social fabric. It is not beyond repair, but the time to act is now. Only then can we, as concerned citizens, begin to trust in our leaders, heal divisions, and to put faith in our future as a nation.

Maurice Kamto is the president of the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement and a former political prisoner in Cameroon

18, March 2020

Air France delivers coronavirus infected passengers to Cameroon ⁰

An Air France flight that landed on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, was at the center of heated debates at the Douala International Airport because of its contaminated human contents.

The flight has raised fear in the Central African country by many notches, as Cameroonians fear that their fellow Cameroonians and some Frenchmen returning to the country were bearers of the dangerous Coronavirus that has disrupted economic activity across the globe and killed thousands, especially in China where the virus started.

More than half of the passengers tested at the airport were positive, creating a situation that many think could bring the country to a standstill.

Upon hearing about the unfortunate situation in Douala, the low-energy and bankrupt government in Yaounde simply ordered that the plane should take its infected contents back to Paris, but the crew argued that Roissy Charles de Gaulle was on lockdown and that it would impossible to take the infected human cargo to France.

Even the Frenchmen who came on that flight said they could not return to France, as the insidious virus was prowling all over France in search of victims.

The situation required the intervention of the Littoral governor who promptly arrived at the airport to take care of business. The passengers and crew on the Air France flight have been quarantined at a local hotel in Douala

The world has not yet seen such a high number of infected people on one flight. Cameroon is always setting examples, even in bad situations.

144 passengers on the plane should not have even made the trip to Douala as they were already showing symptoms of the deadly Coronavirus disease even before boarding the plane in Paris.

There was total confusion at the Douala International Airport as the 144 infected passengers were told to fly back to Paris where they picked up the unwanted virus.

It is suspected that all 144 passengers on board the flight were escaping the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe.

A Douala airport official who elected anonymity told Cameroon Concord News Group that Air France had finally delivered death to Cameroonians, adding that more Cameroonians would soon be heading to an early grave due to the unpardonable mistake that had been made by bringing such unwanted cargo to the country.

To restore calm to the airport, the Littoral governor informed the passengers that due to many Coronavirus cases on board the plane, they would be kept in a holding centre for thorough assessment and surveillance.

But Cameroonians are already losing sleep because they know how things work in their country.

The country’s monitoring systems leave much to be desired and given the level of corruption in the country, some of those passengers might bribe their way out of their quarantine centers.

“There is total panic in the country and city. These Air France passengers have spoiled my day. I have been seeing crowds of infected people on TV, I never knew my country will be receiving some of them right here in Cameroon,” the Cameroon Concord News Group source said.

“There is a lot of pressure across the country and news about these latest arrivals has only made things worse. Many people are contemplating escaping to their villages as the virus gains grounds in the cities,” he said.

He added that the government must act promptly and should ensure that even Cameroonians living abroad should not come home at least over the next three months.

“COVID-19 is nobody’s friends. It is a no respecter of people. If it could deliver a deadly punch to China and Italy, then it can rush us to an early grave with relative ease.”

“We do not have the health infrastructure and our leaders think in slow motion. If we are not careful, this virus will wreak havoc on the country,” he concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom

17, March 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak: UEFA postpone Euro 2020 by a year ⁰

UEFA has postponed this year’s European Championship until 2021, a source close to European football’s governing body told AFP on Tuesday, as the continent battles with the coronavirus pandemic.

The source’s confirmation of the decision came after the Norwegian FA tweeted that the new plan is for the tournament to take place from June 11 to July 11 next year, turning Euro 2020 into Euro 2021.

The decision was made as UEFA held crisis talks with its national associations as well as clubs and players bodies via videoconference on Tuesday. The decision was ratified at a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in the afternoon.

The move comes with most of Europe’s domestic leagues having ground to a halt over the last week as football confronts its biggest issue in modern times.

The UEFA Champions League and Europa League competitions for clubs have also been suspended, with both still in the last-16 stage, but postponing the European Championship for national sides means they, along with national leagues, will have the chance to be completed, assuming travel restrictions are lifted in time.

Europe has become the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with France on Tuesday having joined Italy and Spain in applying strict lockdown measures and European leaders also planning to ban all non-essential travel into the continent.

More than 2,100 people have died in Italy, which was supposed to host the opening game of Euro 2020 in Rome. The head of the Italian football federation, Gabriele Gravina, had already led calls for the Euros to be postponed.

Euro 2020 was due to be held in 12 different cities across the continent, from as far apart as Dublin and Bilbao, to Saint Petersburg and Baku.

The semi-finals and final were due to be played in London and there would considerable knock-on effects to postponing the competition — the women’s European Championship is scheduled to run from July 7 to August 1 next year in England, with the final at Wembley.

UEFA have also planned to stage an Under-21 Euros in Hungary and Slovenia in June next year.

Twenty of the 24 teams set to take part in the Euro have already qualified, but play-offs to determine the final four participants, due to be played later this month, will have to take place at a later date.

– Collision course with FIFA? –

Moving the Euro by a year also puts UEFA on a collision course with football’s world governing body FIFA, whose president Gianni Infantino has planned to stage the inaugural edition of his highly lucrative Club World Cup in June and July next year in China. Some of Europe’s top club sides are expected to be involved.

“FIFA will keep in regular contact with all relevant stakeholders during this difficult period and look to find in due course solutions in a spirit of cooperation, taking into account the interests of football at all levels,” Infantino wrote in an open letter on Monday.

“Health first and sporting solidarity should be the key principles guiding decision-making at this important moment in time and I am sure that the whole football community will live up to the great values of our sport.”

– ‘Final Four’ proposal –

As for its flagship club competitions, UEFA may come to a decision to try to complete the Champions League and Europa League by curtailing the competitions, meaning ties up to the semi-finals could be decided in one-off matches.

Reports on Tuesday also indicated both tournaments could conclude with a ‘Final Four’ meeting in the scheduled host cities — Istanbul for the Champions League and Gdansk in Poland for the Europa League, meaning the two-legged semi-finals would be removed.

Financially, UEFA will undoubtedly prefer postponements to outright cancellations, or playing matches behind closed doors, even if it is impossible at this stage to know when club football can resume.

The last European Championship, held in France in 2016, generated total revenue of close to two billion euros ($2.2 billion) for UEFA.

“The financial stakes are enormous,” according to one senior figure in the international game. “We know that FIFA has significant reserves but we don’t know about UEFA or the different leagues.”

Source: AFP