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Former Ivory Coast political leader Blé Goudé says sentenced in absentia to 20 years jail

31, December 2019

Former Ivory Coast political leader Blé Goudé says sentenced in absentia to 20 years jail 0

Former Ivory Coast political leader Charles Blé Goudé said Monday he had been sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison by an Ivorian court over murder, rape and torture charges. 

Blé Goudé was cleared of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Hague this year, along with his former boss, Ivory Coast ex-president Laurent Gbagbo.

But following his acquittal, an Ivorian court brought a fresh trial against him over the 2010-2011 bloodshed which followed a disputed vote in the West African nation. 

The former aide to Gbagbo, who has remained in the Netherlands following his ICC trial pending a possible appeal by the prosecution, told AFP the Ivorian court had convicted him on Monday.

He said he was “surprised by the verdict”, adding that he had been sentenced to 20 years in prison, 10 years deprivation of his civil rights, and a fine of 200 million CFA francs ($340,000) to be paid to the victims.

The court has issued an arrest warrant for him, he added. 

About 3,000 people died in the turmoil that swept Abidjan — once one of Africa’s most cosmopolitan cities — in the aftermath of the November 2010 presidential polls when Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to bitter rival Alassane Ouattara, who remains in power.

Leonard Lebry, the prosecutor general at the Court of Appeal in Abidjan has previously said the case against Blé Goudé — once dubbed the “general of the streets” for his ability to mobilise Gbagbo supporters during the conflict — was “wider” than the ICC prosecution and covered different events. 

“The court will try him (Blé Goudé)” for allegations of “torture, murder, rape”, Lebry said last month.

Gbagbo, the first former head of state to stand trial at the ICC, and Blé Goudé were tried over responsibility for murder, attempted murder, rape, persecution and “other inhumane acts” during five months of violence, both pleading not guilty.

They were released by the ICC to live in Belgium in February under conditions including that he would return to court for any prosecution appeal against his acquittal.

Blé Goudé is living in the Netherlands under similar conditions.

Last month the Ivorian court rejected an appeal over the January 2018 sentencing of Gbagbo and three aides for the “robbery” of the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao) during the post-election crisis. 

The opposition has claimed Ouattara is attempting to prevent Gbagbo returning to the country ahead of 2020 elections expected to be a crucial test for Ivory Coast, which has long been west Africa’s top economic performer and is the world’s leading cocoa producer.

The court conviction comes in the same month that an arrest warrant was issued for former rebel leader and would-be Ivory Coast presidential candidate Guillaume Soro, who aborted his planned return to the country at the last minute.

(AFP)

Ex-Nissan boss flees Japan to Lebanon

31, December 2019

Ex-Nissan boss flees Japan to Lebanon 0

Ousted Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn has escaped Japan, where he is facing charges of financial misconduct, and arrived in Lebanon, slamming the Japanese justice system as “rigged.”

“I am now in Lebanon and will no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied,” the 65-year-old Ghosn, who is of Lebanese origin, said in a brief statement on Tuesday.

“I have not fled justice — I have escaped injustice and political persecution. I can now finally communicate freely with the media, and look forward to starting next week,” he added.

It was unclear how Ghosn, who was out on bail, was able to escape Japan, where he had been under strict surveillance.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK cited an unidentified Lebanese security official as saying that a person resembling Ghosn had entered Beirut international airport under a different name after flying in aboard a private jet.

NHK also reported that Japanese immigration authorities had no record of Ghosn departing the country.

Ghosn, who holds French, Brazilian, and Lebanese citizenship, fell from grace in Japan after his arrest last year, but he still retains more popularity in Lebanon.

One of Ghosn’s lawyers said on Tuesday that his client’s three passports were held by his lawyers as required by the terms of his bail and he could not have used any of them to escape Japan.

Junichiro Hironaka, speaking to reporters in comments broadcast live by NHK, slammed Ghosn’s escape as “inexcusable.”

Ghosn was arrested at a Tokyo airport shortly after his private jet landed there in November 2018. He faces four charges, including enriching himself through payments to dealerships in the Middle East. He denies the charges.

Nissan’s Ghosn arrested in Japan for alleged financial misconduct

Nissan dismissed him as chairman for misconduct.

Ghosn’s lawyers have asked the court to dismiss all charges, accusing prosecutors of colluding with government officials and Nissan executives to dismiss him to block any takeover by the Japanese automaker’s biggest shareholder Renault.

He was released in March on a nine-million-dollar bail, and was placed under surveillance.

Source: Presstv

Andrew Nkea Fuanya: The Family, Community and Traditional Value Archbishop

31, December 2019

Andrew Nkea Fuanya: The Family, Community and Traditional Value Archbishop 0

Pope Francis has promoted an African bishop known for his emphasis on family, community, and traditional values. In an announcement released on Monday, the Holy See Press Office confirmed that the pope has named Bishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya as the new Archbishop of Bamenda in Cameroon.

Bishop Fuanya, 54, has served as the Bishop of Mamfe, also in Cameroon, since 2014. He came to international attention during the 2018 meeting of the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith, and vocational discernment.

In contrast to the situation in many European countries, Fuanya said during the synod, the Church in Cameroon and in many parts of Africa is growing – including among young peoples.

“My churches are all bursting, and I don’t have space to keep the young people,” Fuanya during a Vatican press conference in October last year. “And my shortest Mass would be about two and a half hours.”

A 2018 study by Pew Research found that church attendance and prayer frequency was highest in sub-Saharan Africa and lowest in Western Europe. Four out of five Christians in Cameroon said that they pray every day.

Bishop Fuanya was born in 1965 and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Buéa, Cameroon, in 1992, at the age of 26. In 2013, he was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Mamfe, becoming the diocesan bishop the following year.

Bishop Fuanya’s new see, Bamenda, was erected as a diocese in 1970 and elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese by St. John Paul II in 1982. In recent years, the archdiocese has shown clear signs of growth and evalgelization. While the population of the archdiocese remained stable at 1.4 million people between 2015 and 2018, the percentage of Catholics rose from 29% to 42% during the same period.

During the Synod on young people, Fuanya credited the Church’s growth in Cameroon to the alignment between Church teaching and the values of wider society, and the strength of the family as a cultural institution.

“People ask me, ‘Why are your churches full?’” Fuanya said in 2018. “Coming from Africa, the family is a very, very strong institution.”

“We come from a culture in which tradition normally is handed from one generation to the other.”

Bishop Fuanya has also spoken about the need for the Church to teach unambiguously on issues of morals and sexuality, remarking during the 2018 synod that he would not accept any usage of so-called LGBT terminology in Church documents because “99.9 percent” of the young people in his diocese would “stand at my door and say, ‘What’s this?’”

“Our traditional values still equate to the values of the Church, and so we hand over the tradition to our young people undiluted and uncontaminated,” he continued, noting that a strong sense of community in the Church is something “very important that Europe can learn from Africa.”

In Africa, the newly-named Archbishop said, “there’s still a lot of things we do as community. That is the difference..”

“What we are trying to do in these small Christian communities is to fight the in-creeping of individualism,” he said.

Source: National Catholic Register

Resignations and Appointments: Bishop Andrew Nkea is metropolitan Archbishop of Bamenda

30, December 2019

Resignations and Appointments: Bishop Andrew Nkea is metropolitan Archbishop of Bamenda 0

The Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bamenda, His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua tendered his resignation letter to His Holiness Pope Francis. The Prelate handed over his resignation letter to Pope Francis in prelude to his 75th anniversary

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Bamenda, Cameroon, presented by Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua.

The Pope has appointed Bishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Mamfe as metropolitan archbishop of Bamenda.

By Ewang Miriam Metchane

Biya regime says no talks with Ambazonian leaders until after February polls

30, December 2019

Biya regime says no talks with Ambazonian leaders until after February polls 0

The Cameroonian government does not intend to participate in talks with the Ambazonians until local elections have been held.

A delegation from the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) was to go to Cameroon at the end of November to meet the government, but the government canceled the meeting without re-scheduling.

According to our sources, Yaoundé does not intend to participate in talks with the Ambazonians until the implementation of the measures emerging from the Great National Dialogue in October (in particular the special status for the region’s English speakers) and until local elections – slated for February – are held.

Two opposing camps at the presidential palace

Even after these deadlines, the holding of talks remains uncertain.

The separatists themselves are divided.

And, at the presidential palace, two camps clash.

On the one hand, the supporters of a hard line, rather opposed to dialogue and represented by Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, the director of the civil cabinet, and by Joseph Dion Ngute, the Prime Minister.

On the other, a more open-minded group, embodied by Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the secretary general of the presidency.

Abroad, mediation also has its supporters and its detractors: the United States is very favourable, while France is more opposed to it.

By Besong Eunice Nchong

Bishop Andrew Nkea to be announced as the new Archbishop of Bamenda

30, December 2019

Bishop Andrew Nkea to be announced as the new Archbishop of Bamenda 0

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Andrew Nkea of the Mamfe Diocese as Archbishop of Bamenda. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands an announcement will be made soon inside the Bamenda Cathedral.

The Bishop of Mamfe will take over the role from Retired Archbishop Cornelius Esua.

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Ossing loses its regent

30, December 2019

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Ossing loses its regent 0

Ossing is once more bereaved. Its regent chief, Mr. Mathias Ako, a retired civil servant, has been murdered by some men of the underworld. His body was dumped between Kembong and Mfuni and pictures of what was done to his body are too graphic to be posted online.

This unfortunate situation is playing out just a few months after the city lost its chief, General James Tataw Tabe-Orock, a man who ensured that soldiers did not come into the city when the Southern Cameroons crisis began.

This is a big blow to the city and many hands are on deck to bring those responsible for this heinous crime to book.  Eyewitness reports have indicated that the hit-men are natives of Kembong, a town some 4km from Ossing, while the masterminds of the crime are natives of Ossing.

Two scenarios have emerged, all pointing to personal grudges against the regent chief who was just deputizing for the late chief Tataw. The people of Ossing are still investigating and are enabling government authorities to do their job.

It should be underscored that the regent chief was not interested in assuming that role, but the people of Ossing had brought pressure to bear on him and being a development-oriented person, he yielded; a decision that has cost him his life.

Since the matter is still under investigation, the names of the suspects have been withheld to let the authorities do their job in all neutrality and since the current socio-political situation is unsettling and chaotic, witnesses are unwilling to speak up.  

Various citizens of Ossing have said they saw the hit-men taking away the regent chief and he never returned to his native Ossing. They added that that was not the first time they were kidnapping him. On other occasions, the hit men had been brought to the city because it was alleged that the regent chief had some money on him.

The criminals, who are using the current socio-political situation in the country, had once accused the city’s regent chief of collaborating with government officials, an allegation that has been proven to be unfounded.

Some outsiders have been floating the idea that a chieftaincy dispute could be at the center of the murder, a point that is being verified. It should however be pointed out that Ossing has stood out as an example of democracy in the entire Southwest region where there has never been a chieftaincy dispute.

Ossing is the place where Manyu Division’s major languages converge. That is why it is generally referred to as a bilingual village because both major languages native to Ossing. The city is constituted of two ethnic groups, the Bayangs and Ejaghams who have come out with a governing model that has spared them the scourge of war that has devastated the city’s neighbors.

Ossing has a rotatory governing system that allows power to move from one ethnic group to the other in a very seamless manner. Late General Tataw was made chief by his Ejagham folks and after his death, the Bayangs are now choosing their chief in all serenity. The regent chief could not have qualified to be the chief and killing him on such grounds makes no sense to the people of Ossing.

It should also be pointed out that the military is not to blame for the regent chief’s death and any insinuation that the government might have targeted the regent chief is being rejected by the people of Ossing who hold that they know some of the hit-men.

The investigations are ongoing, and the police are hot on the trails of those who took away the life of a man who simply wanted to hold his community together.

The people of Ossing are peace-loving people and they have worked very hard to live in peace with their neighbors, especially as many of their relatives come from neighboring villages and towns. However, it is hard to vouch for all the citizens of a city, as everybody grows up to have their own character and approach to life.

 By Dr. Joachim Arrey

North Korea’s Kim calls for ‘offensive’ security measures as nuclear deadline approaches

30, December 2019

North Korea’s Kim calls for ‘offensive’ security measures as nuclear deadline approaches 0

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has convened a key meeting of top ruling party officials, state media said Sunday, ahead of a year-end deadline for Washington to shift its stance on stalled nuclear talks.

The plenary session, which opened on Saturday, follows widespread speculation that Pyongyang is preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile — as a threatened “Christmas gift” for Washington.

Kim presided over the meeting which discussed a new “transparent, anti-imperialist independent stand”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The ruling Workers’ Party of Korea will also “discuss important matters arising… in the building of the state and national defence”, KCNA added.

Talks on denuclearising the Korean peninsula have been largely deadlocked since the second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump collapsed in Hanoi at the start of this year.

The opening of the plenary comes a week after Kim held a meeting of top defence officials and discussed boosting military capabilities, and ahead of the leader’s New Year speech on January 1, a key political set-piece in the isolated country.

Pyongyang has carried out a series of static tests at its Sohae rocket facility this month, after a number of weapons launches in recent weeks — some of them described as ballistic missiles by Japan and others.

North Korea is under heavy US and United Nations sanctions over its nuclear programme, but it has been frustrated at the lack of relief after it declared a moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.

Russia and China — North Korea’s main ally — have proposed easing sanctions in a bid to de-escalate tensions.

‘Imminent’ threat 

The ongoing meeting could have Pyongyang announce “major policy shift” from its previous approach with the US, said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the South’s state-run Korea Institute for National Unification.

Earlier this month, North Korean media published pictures of Kim riding a white horse on a sacred mountain, imagery that experts said was heavy with symbolism and may indicate a policy announcement.

“We’ll find out what the surprise is and we’ll deal with it very successfully,” Trump said.

“Everybody’s got surprises for me, but let’s see what happens. I handle them as they come along.”

But Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton — a longtime hawk on North Korea — has sharply criticised the president’s handling of the issue, and claimed that Pyongyang poses an “imminent” threat.

The US president has invested a huge amount of political capital in his attempt to persuade Kim to end North Korea’s isolation and give up its nuclear weapons.

There has been little progress, however, after three face-to-face meetings and numerous letter exchanges.

(AFP)

US bombs pro-Iran militant group in Iraq, Syria in retaliation for rocket attack

30, December 2019

US bombs pro-Iran militant group in Iraq, Syria in retaliation for rocket attack 0

The US has carried out air strikes against a pro-Iran militant group in Iraq, killing 19 fighters, two days after a rocket attack that killed an American civilian contractor.

The Pentagon said on Sunday it targeted weapons caches or command and control facilities linked to Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) in Western Iraq, as well as Eastern Syria, in response to a barrage of 30 or more rockets fired on Friday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “we will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy”.

Four US service members and Iraqi security forces were also wounded in Friday’s attack at the K1 Iraqi military base in Kirkuk, an oil-rich region north of Baghdad.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday the air strikes were successful, and he did not rule out further action to “deter further bad behavior from militia groups or from Iran”.

Esper also said that he and Pompeo had travelled to Florida, where President Donald Trump has been spending the Christmas holidays, to brief him on the latest Middle East events.

“KH has a strong linkage with Iran’s Quds Force and has repeatedly received lethal aid and other support from Iran that it has used to attack” coalition forces, the Pentagon said earlier, referring to the external arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Nineteen fighters were killed by the US strikes in western Iraq, while several were wounded, according to an official from the Tehran-backed Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force.

A few hours later, four rockets exploded near a base housing US troops close to Iraq’s capital without wounding anyone, an Iraqi security official told AFP.

The military spokesman for Iraq’s outgoing prime minister Abel Abdel Mahdi decried “a violation of Iraqi sovereignty”.

Another powerful pro-Iran faction, Assaib Ahl al-Haq—whose leaders were recently hit with US sanctions—called for Americans to withdraw from Iraq.

“The American military presence has become a burden for the Iraqi state and a source of threat against our forces,” it said in a statement.

“It is therefore imperative for all of us to do everything to expel them by all legitimate means.”

‘Caught in the middle’

US-Iran tensions have soared since Washington pulled out of a landmark nuclear agreement with Tehran last year and imposed crippling sanctions.

Baghdad—which is close to both countries —risks being caught in the middle. 

In Iraq’s neighbour Syria, Shiite powerhouse Iran backs the government of President Bashar al-Assad in an eight-year civil war.

Friday’s attack on the K1 base in Kirkuk involved a direct hit on an ammunition depot caused secondary explosions, and four more rockets were found in their tubes in a truck at the launch point, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Federal security forces, Shiite militia units and IS sleeper cells all have a presence in Kirkuk province, which is claimed by both Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region and federal authorities.

Friday’s attack and the US retaliation come as Iraq is gripped by its biggest anti-government street protests since the US-led invasion of 2003 that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

Protesters, many of whom grew up in the post-Saddam era, have vented their anger at a government they consider inept, corrupt and beholden to Iran.

Protest-related violence has claimed about 460 lives, most of them demonstrators, and left some 25,000 people wounded, but rallies and sit-ins have continued.

Since October 28, at least 11 attacks have targeted Iraqi military bases where US soldiers or diplomats are deployed, including five rockets that hit Al-Asad air base on December 3, just four days after US Vice President Mike Pence visited troops there.

A US source has said pro-Iran factions in Iraq are now considered a more significant threat to American soldiers than IS, whose sweeping offensive in 2014 saw Washington deploy thousands of troops to the country.

(AFP)

Australia: Sydney fireworks to go ahead despite massive protest petition

30, December 2019

Australia: Sydney fireworks to go ahead despite massive protest petition 0

A petition to cancel Sydney’s famous New Year’s Eve fireworks and use the money to fight bush fires ringing the city has topped 260,000 signatures, but officials say the show will go on.

Sydney is spending Aus$6.5 million ($4.5 million) on this year’s fireworks display — funds that the Change.org petition argues would be better spent on supporting volunteer firefighters and farmers suffering through a brutal drought.

The massive fireworks display on Sydney Harbour “may traumatize some people,” the petition says, “as there is enough smoke in the air.”

Toxic smoke haze from bush fires raging across Australia has blanketed Sydney and other major cities for weeks.

Australian firefighters spend Christmas Day battling blazes

Entire towns have been left in ruins by devastating blazes in worst-hit New South Wales (NSW) state, where eight people have died and an area the size of Belgium burnt to cinders.

“2019 has been a catastrophic year in Australia for Floods and Fires,” the petition states. “All states should say NO to FIREWORKS.”

A City of Sydney spokesman said while they “appreciate the concerns” of the people opposed to holding the fireworks during a bush fire crisis, cancelling the celebration would have “little practical benefit for affected communities.”

“We began preparations and planning for the NYE celebrations 15 months ago. This means most of the budget, largely used for crowd safety and cleaning measures, has already been spent,” the spokesman said in a statement.

“Cancelling the event would seriously hurt Sydney businesses. It would also ruin plans for tens of thousands of people from across the country and overseas who have booked flights, hotels and restaurants for New Year’s Eve,” the statement added.

Sydney’s council added that it has donated Aus$620,000 to support the bush fire and drought response and would also promote a Red Cross disaster relief fund during the televised fireworks broadcast.

A volunteer from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service works to extinguish spot fires following back burning operations in Mount Hay, in Australia’s Blue Mountains, December 28, 2019. (Photo by Reuters)

A heatwave is due to sweep across parts of NSW in the coming days, with deteriorating bushfire conditions expected to hit Tuesday.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said he did not expect any impact on the fireworks, but he was prepared to cancel them last-minute if he deemed it to be too risky.

“The pyrotechnics organisations and local authorities are used to working with us around exemptions in the summer period, whether it is Christmas, New Year or some other event,” he said. “They know the arrangements, the procedures, and we will work through to make sure that risk is appropriately addressed and, where necessary, we won’t allow them to go ahead.”

The display, watched by an estimated one billion people globally, is worth Aus$130 million annually to the NSW economy.

(Source: AFP)

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