Headline News

28, June 2019

Geneva: Tension as Biya men beat up journalist ⁰

A Consortium of Swiss lawyers have said in a statement that President Paul Biya’s body guards who travelled with the French Cameroun dictator to Switzerland recently do not benefit any diplomatic immunity, hence will face charges for assaulting a journalist.

The lawyers observed that “A president and his entourage can only enjoy diplomatic immunity when on official state visit”. Biya’s guards reportedly used excessive force during an incident at the Inter Continental Hotel in Geneva.

We understand France’s closest allies such as Switzerland are walking away from the regime in Yaounde as it is believed that Paris is supporting the Yaoundé government in its resolve to kill the people of Southern Cameroons. Many EU countries are insisting on Yaoundé calling for an inclusive dialogue that will help normalize things in Cameroon.

But Yaoundé has been indifferent to those calls. Many EU countries have already allied with the United States and Canada on how the Southern Cameroons crisis could be addressed. America’s determination and its ability to mobilize other countries, including some of Cameroons neighbors like Equatorial Guinea, have rattled the regime and its supporters.

Over the last two days, regime supporters, including the Speaker of the House and the Senate President have been shouting from rooftops that there is a global conspiracy to destabilize Cameroon. They blame this on Southern Cameroonians and government forces seem to have been irritated by the enormous pressure coming from Brussels and Washington D.C.

The last few days have witnessed massive killings in many villages in Southern Cameroons. In Ossing and Ndekwai in the Southwest region, government troops slaughtered more than ten innocent civilians in a situation many observers say was unnecessary. In Esu and Jakiri in the Northwest region, army soldiers beheaded unarmed civilians. The killings have intensified over the last couple of days as the regime suspects that international pressure may increase in the days ahead.

Army soldiers have also been burning homes and destroying food crops, believing that such tactics will cause the population to yield and betray the fighters. This strategy has been in effect for more than two years, but the Southern Cameroons population is very determined. Most southern Cameroonians are for independence and will not settle for anything less.

The Yaoundé government is really frustrated. Its international allies are walking away and this is creating brand new problems even in the North where Boko Haram remains a lethal threat. The withdrawal of American military support in the North has exposed Cameroon’s army soldiers to more attacks from Boko Haram.

A Cameroon Concord News Production

28, June 2019

Battle For Ambazonia: Switzerland’s Journey of Many Dangers ⁰

Switzerland has agreed to mediate talks between Cameroonian authorities and separatists in a bid to end escalating violence in the country’s Anglophone regions, the Swiss government said on Thursday.

A secessionist movement turned violent in 2017 after the government cracked down on peaceful protests by teachers and lawyers in the English-speaking northwest and southwest, which complain of being marginalised by the Francophone majority.

Cameroon, an oil, cocoa and timber-producing nation, has since experienced near-daily clashes between mostly French-speaking government forces and armed separatist groups.

“The aim of the meeting was to prepare the future peace negotiations.”

The FDFA declined to elaborate on which parties it had met and on the timeline for future talks.

The Cameroonian government was not immediately available for comment.

Ivo Tapang, spokesman for 13 armed groups called the Contender Forces of Ambazonia, told Reuters they would not speak to the government unless a cessation of hostilities was observed. “When the time is ripe for talks, we will invite Cameroon and not the other way round,” he said.

President Paul Biya is reported to be on holiday in Switzerland this week.

The United Nations estimates that about 1,800 people have been killed and more than 530,000 displaced within the West African country since 2017, with 1.3 million in need in the region.

Source: Reuters

28, June 2019

Ambazonia: Restoration Forces Attacking ‘Poison’ Aid Convoys ⁰

Humanitarian aid workers in Cameroon say they are scared after several consignments of aid meant for people in the country’s troubled English-speaking regions were attacked and burned by suspected separatists.

The rebels are suspicious of the aid convoys’ military escorts and say they will never accept any assistance brought in by the military. The government of Cameroon insists the military is only escorting the convoys to protect aid workers.

However, clashes between the mostly French-speaking government forces and armed separatists have occurred regularly since 2017, when a secessionist movement turned violent. The government cracked down on protests by English-speaking educators and attorneys in the northwest and southwest, where residents have complained about receiving second-class treatment from Cameroon’s French-speaking majority.

1,800 deaths

The United Nations says at least 1,800 people have been killed and more than half a million displaced in the two years since fighting began.

In a social media video, one of at least seven such videos that have circulated online in the past week, fighters armed with guns and machetes can be seen setting fire to shipments of food, bedding and medicine. Cameroonian rebels claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In one video, the attackers say they will never allow what they call “poisoned” humanitarian aid from Cameroon’s President Paul Biya.

Christian Eselekwe Tanyi, who is with the Martin Luther Jr. King Memorial Foundation-Cameroon, one of the aid groups whose shipments were destroyed, said, “More and more, we see humanitarian actors being attacked or being threatened, or misrepresented as either working against the state or working with the state. They work to relieve the suffering of the population. They do not side with any party to the conflict. They respect at all times the principles of neutrality and impartiality.”

Nfor Peter Shey of Cameroon Rights Watch said the attacks on aid workers increased after April 14, when the government sent 55 truckloads of assistance with a military escort and troops to distribute it.

“When you look at the atrocities that are being meted out to the population in these areas, the military is the prime suspect,” Shey said. “The burning of the houses, they say, is the handiwork of the military. Many people in these areas believe the government is not doing enough to call for dialogue, which people think can be a headway to solving this problem.”

Paul Atanga Nji, Cameroon’s territorial administration minister, said the military would continue to protect aid convoys and the population.

“The president of the republic instructed us to intensify the distribution of humanitarian aid, to put in place mechanisms so that the locally affected populations can put in place strategies to be self-reliant,” Nji said.

But it’s not only Cameroon’s military that is being attacked. Last week, the government said rebels killed four policemen and wounded six others who were transporting aid to the southwestern town of Eyumojock.

Huge losses

Aid workers could not confirm the number of recent attacks or quantity of items destroyed but said the losses were huge and would only bring more suffering to the English-speaking population.

Teacher Valentine Muluh in Yaounde said his 76-year old father in the northwest town of Kom relies on medical aid to treat his diabetes. The recent attacks on aid convoys have prevented his father from getting treatment, he said.

“We are actually very worried because his diabetes is at an acute stage,” Muluh said. “We have not been able to get his treatment for two weeks, and the nurses say his situation is getting very preoccupying.”

Cameroon authorities have accused international aid groups of exaggerating the conflict in the English-speaking regions. The government said there were 152,000 internally displaced persons in the regions and that two-thirds were receiving aid.

Source: VOA

27, June 2019

Ambazonia: The IG, VP Yerima and where do Chiefs and Fons stand on the Revolution? ⁰

One of the remarkable aspects of the latest crisis in Southern Cameroons is the Ambazonia national unity displayed ever since the removal of Dr Ikome Sako as acting president of the Interim Government. The fighting in Southern Cameroons has forced many traditional rulers to flee!

However, many around the globe have been seeking to know the position of the Southern Cameroons House of Chiefs. A prominent chief who hails from the Manyu County was quoted recently as saying that Biya and his military leaders should understand the chiefs have never consider aligning themselves with the reckless killing of Anglophone Cameroonians by Cameroon government army soldiers.

Without any strong public condemnation from the Southern Cameroons traditional authorities of the genocide in Ambaland, many of the royals have called the war in Southern Cameroons a tactless act of aggression and have kept a deliberate kind of silence indicating their support for the resistance.

But in these expressions of nation-wide solidarity with the detained Ambazonia leaders including President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, there is one question that has not really been discussed: Where do Chiefs and Fons stand on the Revolution? And also the task ahead for Vice President Dabney Yerima

From the very beginning, some Fons and Chiefs were quick to show loyalty to the Yaounde regime, rather than to the suffering people of Southern Cameroons. But three years into the crisis nearly all North West Fons and South West Chiefs are now of the opinion that the 86 year old French Cameroun President Biya has done a bad job handling the crisis.

The Ambazonia Interim Government has not employed any winning strategy when it comes to its relations with the North West Fons and South West Chiefs. The Interim Government’s success with the local chiefs can be seen from a mere reading of the state of affairs in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

When President Sisiku Ayuk called on Ambazonia Restoration Forces to hand over all French Cameroun soldiers arrested in Southern Cameroons to the chiefs and fons, critics accused the Ambazonia leader of weakening the Ambazonia Self Defense Forces. This was definitely not true, as the Ayuk Tabe declaration that was made during a visit to the US gave the Southern Cameroons traditional authorities the Interim Government’s unshakeable commitment when it comes to internal feuds.

It is, in some ways, worrying that the Fons and the Chiefs have not been the Interim Government’s strongest ally during this war period in Southern Cameroons.

President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his Vice, Comrade Dabney Yerima have both been steadfast in their support for the Southern Cameroons House of Chiefs, and the two leaders have rhetorically said: “The Southern Cameroons House of Chiefs remains a vital institution in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”

We need to remember that Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe has been widely described as Southern Cameroons’s first strong president since the first All Anglophone Conference in Buea. This is because previous Ambazonia leaders lacked popular support and were elected as a result of a political settlement. Having a leader who enjoys popular backing among the people of Southern Cameroons both in Ground Zero and in the Diaspora has been an Ambazonian demand since AAC1.

A disturbing factor that has made the Fons and Chiefs more hostile to the Southern Cameroons struggle in the past few months is undoubtedly the rise of criminal gangs created and sponsored by Minister Paul Atanga Nji and the ADF of Cho Ayaba.

While some of the royals naturally sided with the sovereignty of the state doctrine preached by French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya and are supporting the need for Ambazonia Restoration Forces to hand over their weapons, there is a general perception in Ground Zero that the Amba Fighters have played a key role in protecting the people of Southern Cameroons.

President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the exiled Ambazonia Interim Government have been two important voices in the struggle. Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and Vice President Yerima currently enjoy high ratings in Ground Zero and are managing to create a viable bloc to push on with the resistance.

Vice President Dabney Yerima now needs to bring the Ambazonia Interim Government back to Ground Zero as there is no more doubt that Comrade Yerima has won the battle for public opinion during the last three weeks. Whether he will be able to keep the momentum going in favour of the IG and the people in Ground Zero will be determined by his ability to secure viable funding for the war.

In fact, Yerima now needs to bring the IG back to Southern Cameroons. In other words, he needs to deliver a viable armed status – one that would satisfy the Restoration Forces. Attacks on President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe by former Interim Government members such as Ikome Sako, Chris Anu and Barrister Fru John Nsoh reflect a growing resentment from those who joined the struggle simply for the cash.

The clouds seem to have settled after a stormy three weeks in the USA. One of the factors that have aided the shameful exit of Sako and Chris Anu is the leaked audio of the so-called Sako’s IG. There is still a myriad of other political, social, religious and economic factors at play in Southern Cameroons. But Vice President Yerima should take the PEOPLE’s IG Back To Ground Zero.

By Besong Esther Agbor

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

27, June 2019

Bundes: Merkel suffers new trembling spell on eve of G20 ⁰

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday suffered another episode of uncontrolled trembling, a week after a similar incident that sparked questions about her health.

The latest lapse came hours before Merkel was due to board a plane for the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

The German leader began to tremble as she stood next to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was giving a speech at a ceremony to formally appoint a new justice minister.

The shaking went on for two minutes, according to a DPA photographer who was present at the event.

Merkel folded her arms visibly in a bid to stop the trembling.

She only finally brought it under control once she was able to take a few steps.

She was offered a glass of water but turned it down.

Her previous bout of shaking last Tuesday had been blamed on dehydration on a hot summer’s day.

Despite the latest incident, a German government spokesman said Merkel would not be cancelling any appointments on Thursday and Friday.

“The chancellor is well,” he said, adding that she will be flying as planned to Osaka for the G20 summit.

Merkel, frequently called the European Union’s most influential leader and the most powerful woman in the world, turns 65 next month.

She has said she will leave politics at the end of her term, in 2021.

There were brief concerns about her health in 2014 when she was taken ill during a television interview. The broadcast was briefly interrupted when she experienced a drop in blood pressure.

Her spokesman Steffen Seibert explained at the time the leader did not feel well for a moment, then ate and drank something and continued the interview.

AFP

27, June 2019

FIFA opens formal investigation against Cameroon ⁰

Global football governing body FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Cameroon over their behaviour in Sunday’s Women’s World Cup last-16 match against England.

On two occasions during the contest in Valenciennes, which England won 3-0, Cameroon remonstrated with the officials at length and looked as if they may not play on after VARdecisions went against them.

What are the charges?

‘‘We can confirm that proceedings have now been opened by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee against the Cameroonian Football Association for alleged breaches related to article 52 (team misconduct) and article 57 (offensive behaviour and fair play) of the FIFADisciplinary Code,’‘ a FIFA spokesperson said on Wednesday.

“As proceedings are now ongoing, please understand that no further comment can be made at this stage. Further updates will be provided in due course.”

The two moments of fierce protest from Cameroon where it appeared play might not be able to continue came just before half-time, when the decision to rule out Ellen White’s finish for offside was overturned via VAR to make it 2-0, and just after the break, once again involving an offside call, as Ajara Nchout’s strike was disallowed following a review.

The ill-tempered game at the Stade du Hainaut also saw yellow cards issued to Cameroon’s Yvonne Leuko after catching Nikita Parris in the face with an elbow, and Alexandra Takounda for a poor challenge on Steph Houghton.

There was also an incident in which England’s Toni Duggan had her arm spat on by Augustine Ejangue.

After the match England boss Phil Neville said “it didn’t feel like football” and spoke of feeling “completely and utterly ashamed of the behaviour” of Cameroon.

Neville’s counterpart Alain Djeumfa said there had been a “miscarriage of justice” and that “the referee made a lot of mistakes”.

AFP

27, June 2019

Cameroon’s battle against drug abuse and trafficking ⁰

After a prison sentence for crimes he committed while stoned, Eric Ndem, a drug user in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala, said he wanted to end such a way of life.

Ndem, 38, a homeless person, is among many drug users in Douala, which is believed to be a center of illegal narcotics activities.

According to estimates by Cameroon’s national anti-drug committee (CNLD) in 2018, 21 percent of the country’s population have already tried hard drugs.

In many ways, the Cameroonian government is coming to Ndem’s rescue by putting in place various programs and structures to check the abuse of illicit drugs.

Owona Noah, an addictionologist and public health expert, works in a government-sponsored drug prevention center named “La vie” (meaning “life” in French) in the capital Yaounde.

His job is to change the behavior of drug addicts and help them reintegrate into the society as “responsible people.”

“We receive a patient who is suffering from a psychological or psychiatric problem (because of drug consumption)… But once the patient goes back to his community, home, or job side, he is likely to start facing the same stressful situations that caused the psychological trauma again,” Owona said.

“That’s where we intervene to facilitate the socio-professional integration of the patient so that he can participate again in the development of his community,” he added.

According to Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health, such centers have been created in all the 10 regions of the country since 2015.

“In five or 10 years if things continue to evolve in the right way, we will have very few mental disorder patients caused by drugs in the community,” Owona said.

According to him, about 60 patients have visited his center in April and May, and “a good number” of drug addicts have already stopped abusing drugs after consultation.

As part of the measures to battle against drug abuse and trafficking, the Cameroonian government has also established a health care control brigade in the Ministry of Public Health.

“We conduct sensitization campaigns against drug abuse not only in colleges but also universities. We work in collaboration with forces of law and order,” said Joseph Ekoum, who heads the brigade in the Littoral region with Douala as its regional capital.

“We also act as what we called health police. This means that we have control posts at the various entries of the city frontiers. We have two control posts, at the airport and seaport. These are two places where the illicit products can easily enter,” he added.

Ekoum is proud that such tactics and collaboration with government forces has produced “outstanding” results.

From 2010 to 2014, this collaboration has led to the seizure of 320 kg of cocaine and 30 kg of heroine, according to figures from the Ministry of Public Health. Recent statistics are unavailable.

The local civil society is also working closely with the government to enhance anti-drug sensitization campaign among the youth, primary victim of narcotics, according to CNLD’s finding.

Dadjio Emilienne teaches philosophy in a high school in Yaounde. At the same time, she is a member of a local non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mission is to educate young Cameroonians about the harmful effects of drugs.

“As we now know that drug abuse is causing havoc in school milieu, we think it is important to meet young people and tell them about the consequences of consuming drugs,” Dadjio said.

During the field campaigns, Dadjio urged young people to never start the drug, “because it is a road of no return.”

Source: Xinhuanet

27, June 2019

Cameroon request to replace striker with possible heart defect rejected ⁰

Holders Cameroon have had their request to replace forward Joel Tagueu, ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations because of a possible heart defect, rejected by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

However, coach Clarence Seedorf said they would look to appeal the decision, which CAF have not revealed themselves.

“We are not satisfied with the decision. We need to go for it again, we hope there will be a change of position,” he told reporters.

“We did everything we had to do, we made our request 24 hours before the match and we still remain hopeful. It is only fair for CAF to allow us replace the player.”

Tagueu was withdrawn after a medical examination revealed a possible life-threatening heart defect.

The 25-year-old, who plays for Portuguese club Maritimo, had an “anomaly in his coronary artery detected by team doctor William Ngatchou, which risks his life if he were to play,” the Cameroon Football Federation said on Monday.

“On the advice of the doctor, the coach has decided not to risk the player, who is leaving the tournament.”

The doctor first detected the issue when Cameroon held a pre-tournament training camp in Qatar and subsequent examinations confirmed his suspicion.

Africa Cup of Nations regulations state that a player can be replaced up to 24 hours before the first game of the team concerned.

“A player on the final list cannot be replaced unless seriously injured at the latest 24 hours at least before the beginning of the first match of his team,” it says.

Cameroon got the defence of their title underway on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau in Ismailia.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

27, June 2019

Protests mar Biya’s visit to Geneva ⁰

Some 40 protestors entered a five-star Geneva hotel this week where Cameroon’s president was staying and scuffled with his security staff in the lobby, according to police and Swiss media reports.

Geneva police were called to the luxury Intercontinental Hotel shortly after noon (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday, after around 40 protesters had “penetrated into the lobby”, spokesman Jean-Philippe Brandt said.
“They were demonstrating against the current government in Cameroon,” he said, adding that it had taken about 30 minutes to “re-establish the peace”.
According to the Tribune de Geneve daily, the demonstrators were Cameroonian opposition figures living in exile who had come to protest the country’s long-time president Paul Biya who was a guest at the hotel.

It said the 86-year-old, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982, had been staying at the hotel since Sunday.
The paper reported that there had been a “fight” between the demonstrators and the president’s security personnel, but Brandt said he could not confirm that information.
When contacted, the hotel refused to confirm Biya’s presence in the establishment or that the unauthorised demonstration that had taken place there.

Biya’s office did tweet on Sunday that the president and his wife had left the country “for a short private stay in Europe.”
The Cameroonian embassy in Bern meanwhile voiced concern in a statement over what it said was a planned “violent” demonstration in Geneva next Saturday by Cameroonian nationals living in various European countries “to protest against the presence of the Head of State, His Excellence Paul Biya, in Switzerland.”

“The embassy calls on the Cameroonian community in Switzerland and in neighbouring countries to turn their back on such demonstrations, which for some time have been an expression of hatred, violence and tribalism, which are all contrary to patriotism and love of Cameroon.”

Source: AFP

26, June 2019

Ambazonians were busy with the war and turned a blind eye to corruption under Sako and Chris Anu ⁰

Mama Mukake of Small Soppo Buea was incredulous. “You call Sako Ikome and Chris Anu leaders?” She asked. “I call them mafia pastors.”

For the 72 -year-old Ambazonian resident in the Fako County, the former Acting President Samuel Ikome and the disgraced former Secretary of Communications, Chris Anu have for 18 months headed a corrupt Southern Cameroons Interim Government that benefited only a few in the United States of America.

“Sako and Chris Anu have enjoyed the best time in their lives with Ambazonia money, they have travelled all over the US paid for by Southern Cameroonians. They don’t care about people in Ground Zero.”

Mama Mukake is far from alone. According to a recent finding by the Cameroon Concord News Group, 99 percent of Southern Cameroonians are no longer interested in the activities of Dr Ikome Sako and Chris Anu including the members of the so called Restoration Council.

The leaked audio and the political and financial malpractice of Mr Sako and Chris Anu and their diabolic harsh ploy to neutralize President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe have severely eroded public’s trust in the Southern Cameroons Interim Government.

Ikome Sako and his gang neglected the Ambazonian people in Ground Zero and this is why trust plummeted making matters intractable for the newly appointed Vice President Dabney Yerima. The leaked audio two weeks ago following the so-called impeachment of the Ambazonian leader, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe has only confirmed this view for many Southern Cameroonians. Sako and Chris Anu’s latest moves are widely viewed as a means to further consolidate power in the hands of corrupt leaders who are only interested in Ambazonia financial donations.

Created in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Southern Cameroons Interim Government was intended to serve as a transitional governing body for the English speaking people of Cameroon until the establishment of a fully fledged Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Three years later, Southern Cameroonians are much closer to obtaining that state and Sako and Chris Anu have pushed the Ambazonia Interim Government to morph into a fake bureaucratic giant many now feel is more concerned with maintaining its relevance than advocating for the independence of Southern Cameroons.

Interim President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe appointed the first ever Ambazonian cabinet based on merit and commitment. But political corruption manifested itself under Sako’s leadership. This was followed by the creation of positions out of thin air and the appointment of officials based on loyalty or nepotism rather than merit.

The French Cameroun army enters, arrest, issue curfews, and so on in Southern Cameroons in a way that demonstrates the Ambazonia Interim Government doesn’t even have total control of the area that is called the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. But Sako and Chris are busy sharing audios of Southern Cameroonians addressing them as “His Excellency and Communications Secretary”.

After the appointment of Vice President Dabney Yerima and the spate of violence in Southern Cameroons, Sako and Chris Anu are under pressure to stay relevant. But the truth is both Sako and Chris Anu have no relevance in the Southern Cameroons struggle.

The continued military actions in Southern Cameroons and the imprisonment of hundreds of Southern Cameroonians by French Cameroun authorities have undermined the credibility and effectiveness of the Ambazonian Interim Government. This is the context in which Vice President Yerima is governing and it is a difficult situation.

Southern Cameroonians were busy with the war and turned a blind eye to corruption under Sako and Chris Anu. Now is the time for Southern Cameroonians to move forward with Vice President Dabney Yerima.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai and Besong Esther Agbor