According to the Myanmar Police Force, two Cameroon nationals staying at Chan Myae guest house in Maha Bandoola Street, Kyauktada Township, Yangon were arrested with counterfeit US currency and equipment used in counterfeiting currencies in their possession.

On March 21, a joint team of police personnel from Bahan Myoma Police Station, Yangon Region, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Western District Police Officer office, Special Branch (SB) of Police and Tourist Security Police investigated a news tip-off they received about possession of counterfeit foreign exchange. They found two Cameroon nationals, Mr. Guillaume Nekndo Tchoungang (33) and Mr. Charles Abe Etounit (46), who were then interrogated.

The joint team found 3,471 notes of US currency believed to be counterfeit from Room No. 716 where Mr. Tchoungang was staying and equipment and accessories totaling 20 numbers used in making counterfeit notes from Room No. 715 where Mr. Etounit was staying.

The police charged the men under sections 489 (a), (b), (c), and (d) of the Penal Code.

Mizzima.com

Twenty students from the University of Buea’s football team in western Cameroon who were kidnapped Wednesday were released Thursday night after “severe beatings”, according to university authorities.

“There are 20 of them. They were set free just after 8:00 p.m. this Thursday evening, but they are in an unstable health situation. Some of the students have sustained injuries, some are psychologically unstable and need support,” Nicolas Asongu, coach of the team told reporters, adding that some have been hospitalized.

Initial reports indicated that about 15 students were abducted while training in Buea, capital of the Southwest region, which along with the Northwest region is home to most of Cameroon’s English-speakers.

It is not clear who is responsible for the kidnappings, as the two regions have seen a series of kidnapping cases amid tensions.

On Tuesday, a football coach was kidnapped in Bamenda, the largest Anglophone city of Cameroon, and later released.

Meanwhile, a former senior government official who was kidnapped early Wednesday in Bamenda is still in captivity.

Fighting is escalating in the two Anglophone regions of the West African nation where separatists want the two regions to secede from largely French-speaking Cameroon and create a new nation called “Ambazonia”.

Xinhuanet

The UK expressed its deep concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in North-West & South-West Cameroon, due to high levels of violence, and called on Cameroon to engage fully with OHCHR.

Thank you Mr Vice-President

I am delivering this statement on behalf of 38 countries.

Technical assistance from the international community can support partner nations to ensure the protection and realization of human rights across a range of contexts. In Cameroon, we encourage the Government to accept offers of assistance from regional and international partners to prevent further erosion of the human rights of those living in the North-West and South-West of Cameroon, resulting from the conflict between armed separatists and the Government of Cameroon.

We are deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, marked by human rights abuses and violations and high levels of violence including a recent attack on a hospital. There are concerning reports of armed separatists committing kidnaps for ransom, killing non-collaborators, burning schools and committing acts of sexual violence. There are concerning reports of security forces burning villages, shooting unarmed civilians and committing acts of sexual violence.

We call on all actors to end this cycle of violence. The humanitarian impact is worsening, and has led to over 1,000, mostly civilian, deaths, since September 2016. It has displaced 437,000 people from their homes and forced over 32,000 to seek refuge in neighboring countries. We call on all sides to ensure safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to the affected population.

Taking note of Cameroon’s previous positive engagement with the UN, regional and multilateral organizations, and as a member of the Human Rights Council, we urge Cameroon to work alongside the international community, including with regional partners, to ensure prompt and thorough investigation of all violations and abuses. We stand ready to offer assistance in this regard.

Moreover, an inclusive political dialogue to address the root causes of the crisis is essentiale. As a first step, the Government of Cameroon could build confidence towards dialogue and reconciliation by ensuring the timely, fair trial or release of political detainees, and initiating a meaningful dialogue with the participation of all sectors of society, in particular women, the youth and representatives of religious communities.

Mr Vice-President,

We encourage the Government of Cameroon to accept coordinated offers of international technical assistance and cooperation. This includes the offer of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct an urgent assessment mission to the North-West and South-West regions, and engaging with any future regional led initiatives to find a path towards peace and reconciliation.

We remain committed to dialogue and look forward to bilateral, regional and international cooperation in this regard.

Some 15 University of Buea students have been kidnapped by gunmen armed by the Minister of Territorial Administration. The group of thugs has been armed by the government to discredit Southern Cameroonian fighters who have been protecting the civilian population which is being decimated by government troops.

The kidnappers, most of whom are desperate for money and are from poor families, have been hired by the government’s territorial administration minister to do as much as they can to discredit the Southern Cameroons rebellion that aims at bringing total independence to the indigenous people of Southern Cameroons.

A source close to the group has hinted that the gunmen are being used by the government to give Southern Cameroonian fighters a very bad name. He added that the U.S. Undersecretary of State for African Affairs’ visit to Cameroon has left the government with a black eye as Americans are urging Mr. Biya to quit office so as to bring back peace to the troubled country.

The kidnappers, according to the source, say by committing such acts, the government will be able to prove to Americans and some of its allies that it is dealing with terrorists who are intent on destroying the country.

The source however said that some of the kidnappers are prepared to come clean, but are scared of the government, especially Atanga Nji who may retaliate.

The Cameroon Concord News Group Chairperson, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, promises to provide details on the situation, especially as Kingsley Betek is already on the ground to have firsthand information on the atrocities being committed by government agents in the southwest region of Cameroon. Stay tuned for Kingsley Betek’s detailed report as promised by the Group Chairman.

As the crisis in Southern Cameroons intensifies, the American administration and its allies are working behind the scenes to bring the Yaounde government to order.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, who is on an official visit to the continent has been sending a very clear message to the Biya regime, urging it to embrace dialogue or face the consequences.

Before arriving Cameroon, Mr. Nagy had said the Trump administration clearly felt that the Southern Cameroons crisis that has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons was an incident that required global attention.

Mr. Nagy who had visited other African countries is currently in Cameroon and will be meeting with the country’s president, Paul Biya, to whom he will be delivering a warning from President Trump. The Trump administration is threatening to impose asset freezes and travel bans on Cameroon government officials if they do not halt the reckless killing of innocent Southern Cameroonians.

A source close to the Yaounde government has indicated that there is panic in Yaounde and that Mr. Biya has called on his collaborators to change their language vis-à-vis Southern Cameroonians.

The source, which elected anonymity, says the American position is being taken seriously as it has the backing of Canada and the United Kingdom which have been seeking to help bring about peace in Cameroon.

With Mr. Nagy in Yaounde, the language has begun changing. The first to set the tone is the country’s defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, a staunch supporter of war and a huge beneficiary of the chaos playing out in Southern Cameroons.

Mr. Assomo, on Monday, 18 March 2019, urged army soldiers to stop terrorizing civilians, a clear indication that the message from America and its allies has gone through.

Mr. Assomo who is in Buea to install some military officials; all of whom are from his region, advised soldiers to collaborate with the population to normalize things in the troubled region.

Those installed are:

• Col. Eyenga Severin, as Commander of the 21st Motorized Infantry Brigade (BRIM)…
• Major Eyengue Amougou Allain Wilfred, as Commander of the 21st Motorised Infantry Batallion (BIM)
• Colonel Ateba Leonard Josue, as Regional Delegate of Ex-Service Men.

The newly installed official also warned soldiers in the two English-speaking regions to guard against terrorizing the population.

The Cameroon Concord News Group’s editor, Kingsley Betek, who is currently in Yaounde, will be providing a detailed report on Mr. Nagy’s visit to Cameroon. Stay tuned for any updates from your trusted online news platform.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon’s Minister of Communication Rene Sadi on Monday called on the European Union to “have a good understanding” of the political and security situation in the country in a bid to make “informed” declarations and decisions.

“The government calls for a good understanding of the situation by all and our cooperation with the European Union (EU), in view of wise and multifaceted support for a return to peace in the interest of Cameroon,” Sadi said in a statement released late Monday.

His reaction came after EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini condemned the “deteriorating” political and security situation in Cameroon. Mogherini said earlier that the imprisonment of the opposition leader and the violence in the two English-speaking regions showed “growing political malaise” in the country.

“These declarations show a bit of interest our European Union partners have in Cameroon which we welcome, nevertheless, they show lack of analysis of the reality and veracity of the facts,” Sadi said, adding that opposition leader Maurice Kamto and his militants of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) party were awaiting trial for charges including “insurrection, hostility against the state, rebellion and destruction of public property.”

“Concerning the Northwest and Southwest, the situation in the two regions is under control and the prospects for a return to normal are becoming more favorable every day,” Sadi said. Cameroon is facing growing insecurity in its two anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest, where separatists want to create a new nation called “Ambazonia.”

Kamto was arrested alongside 117 militants of the CRM party in late January after they organized protests to denounce what they called an “electoral hold-up” and the “useless war in Anglophone regions.”

Source: Xinhuanet

Despite somewhat slipping from global headlines in recent weeks, Cameroon has nonetheless maintained its death spiral. The root cause of the crisis can be unequivocally placed at the doorstep of the Presidency, or the Geneva Intercontinental Hotel, where President Paul Biya spends much of his time. As we have previously written on this site, President Biya is Africa’s oldest head of state, having been in power since 1982, and recently secured a seventh term in office despite credible allegations of vote rigging, electoral fraud, targeted threats of violence against opponents, and an ongoing, bloody uprising in the country’s Anglophone regions.

Biya’s main challenger in the October 2018 election, Maurice Kamto, has been subsequently charged by a military court with rebellion, insurrection and “hostility to the homeland,” after his political party staged peaceful protests in several of Cameroon’s major cities. To be sure, Kamto’s ordeal is only the latest example in a long succession of targeted harassment, intimidation and persecution of the country’s dissidents and opposition political figures. Akere Muna, for instance — another 2018 presidential challenger who ultimately joined Kamto’s coalition — has been repeatedly targeted by local authorities, as has Kah Walla, a former presidential candidate, leading women’s rights activist, and president of the Cameroon People’s Party.

Next week, as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy visits Cameroon, Maurice Kamto and countless other political prisoners will likely remain behind bars and the country’s activist community still living in fear. Importantly, however, political leaders in the U.S. have begun to speak up, while certain sectors of the U.S. government have also taken actions to hold Cameroonian leaders accountable, or at least put the government on notice that human rights violations will not be allowed to continue without consequence.

Last month, for example, U.S. officials committed to “terminate” over $17 million in security assistance to the Biya regime, as well as the withdrawal of an offer for Cameroon to be a candidate for the State Partnership Program, which links 81 nations around the world with the U.S. armed forces “in a mutually beneficial relationship.” This move, indeed, was long overdue given the ongoing, absolutely horrific abuses being perpetrated in the country — most notably in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, which has resulted in tens of thousands of refugees and, according to recent public opinion polling, a dramatic decline in citizens’ faith in their leaders and state institutions.

U.S. Congressional leaders are also speaking out, including Representative Eliot Engel, the powerful chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who this week wrote a letter of concern focused specifically on Cameroon to Secretary Nagy, in light of his upcoming trip. This is no small feat. In the letter, Congressman Engel requested that Secretary Nagy — who has previously served in Cameroon — to “raise the fact that the Government of Cameroon has clearly violated the rights of Mr. Kamto and other political prisoners to assemble freely and express and disseminate their opinions, which are encapsulated in the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), which Cameroon ratified three decades ago.”

Certainly, the issue at hand is not about “western moralizing” or “American finger wagging” as it is often perceived or otherwise presented by Cameroon state media (and other repressive governments on the African continent). These rightful voices of concern are simply pointing out the fact that leaders in Cameroon, among others, often fail to live up to the language enshrined in their own constitutions, conventions, norms and regional standards. The ACHPR, for example, and the African Charter on Democracy, Governance and Elections exist for a reason. And they should be duly respected.

Instead of engaging in a comprehensive, much-needed dialogue with the political opposition, civil society, and Cameroon’s beleaguered business community, which is also suffering as a result of the crackdown, President Biya and the ruling cabal have doubled down, contracting highly paid lobbyists in Washington to whitewash their crimes while engaging in a scorched earth policy back home. Increased repression, and the climate of fear that is purposefully cultivated as a result, may keep President Biya and his enablers in power for the time being. The only viable path, however, towards achieving progress, development and ultimate peace will surely have to be based on respecting democratic principles and meeting the so far unmet aspirations of its people who are yearning for a better life — many of whom continue to quite literally put their lives on the line to secure a better, more prosperous country for future generations.

APO Group

The recent arrest of a former official in Cameroon for alleged corruption has sparked a debate over whether the government is actually trying to stamp out corruption, or is cracking down on anyone it sees as a challenger to longtime President Paul Biya.

Former defense minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o was arrested along with his wife and three of his close collaborators.

Political analyst Eugene Mbida says Mebe Ngo’o had occupied several strategic positions, including the director of Biya’s cabinet, police chief, minister of transport and defense minister — who was instrumental in arresting people considered as opponents of Biya. Mebe Ngo’o was widely viewed by Cameroonians as the emblematic future president, according to Mbida.

At least two dozen former government officials have been arrested and imprisoned in Cameroon over the past 10 years, including a former prime minister, several ex-ministers, and heads of state-owned corporations.

The charges against Mebe Ngo’o have not been made public, though corruption is said to be the cause of his arrest. The other officials were arrested on embezzlement charges, but they say they are political prisoners who are suffering for raising their voices against Biya’s 37-year stay in power.

‘Prisoners of conscience’

Former Health Minister Urbain Olanguena Awono, in his book titled Mensonges d’Etat (Lies of the State), says he and other detainees are “prisoners of conscience.”

Jacques Mfeugue of the Yaounde-based Center for the Promotion of Good Governance says the only way for citizens to know if officials are stealing from the public purse is if officials are forced to declare their assets before taking office.

In addition, he says, Cameroon should upgrade the audit bench of the Supreme Court to an autonomous court that investigates financial crimes.

The government denies that Biya persecutes those who oppose him and insists that it fights only corruption. It says the country has lost about $1.5 billion in stolen funds over the past decade, and that the anti-corruption body recovered about $260 million last year.

VOA

A senior member of Cameroon’s Parliament on Tuesday called on the international community and the government to be more “objective” in resolving the conflict in the two English-speaking provinces of the West African country.

The remarks by Enoh Tanjong, the eldest member of Cameroon’s National Assembly, is believed to be made to show the stance of the Parliament for the first time since the armed conflict started in 2017.

“Solidarity and objectiveness of the international community and the government are fundamental in resolving the conflict,” he said while denouncing “in the strongest terms” the violence perpetrated by “gunmen” in the troubled regions.

“The international community particularly has to be more objective in assessing the political tensions in Cameroon,” Tanjong said as the new parliamentary session opened.

According to the United Nations, more than 430,000 people were internally displaced in the clashes between the government forces and the armed separatists seeking to create an independent nation in the English-speaking Northwest Region and Southwest Region.

“For once the dean (eldest member of parliament) has decided to mention the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions. I hope this is the beginning of many things to happen. We need peace to become a reality in Cameroon. This session might be very decisive,” another member of the National Assembly, Joseph Mbah Ndam, told Xinhua.

The parliamentary session, which will last through April 12, is widely expected to come up with a blueprint to end the conflict. It will also elect a new executive bureau for the National Assembly and the Senate, the upper house.

Xinhuanet

Cameroon’s Minister of Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo on Monday held a meeting with senior military and police officers to evaluate security measures in the country in the wake of “growing violence”.

“The security situation in the country now is marked by violence sparked by secessionists and criminal gangs in the Northwest and Southwest regions. This has led to suffering,” Assomo said at the start of the meeting in the capital, Yaounde.

“Fortunately this is being fought by defense and security forces with courage, determination and professionalism in strict respect of laws,” he said, while expressing his regret over the dissemination of “fake news” about the conflict in the regions, which is detrimental to the army’s image.

“In any case, defense and security forces, will not fall into the traps of fake news. They (forces) will sanction any undisciplined soldiers going against military rules.” Assomo said. The meeting is expected to establish a blueprint that will ensure a return to normalcy “in violent parts of the country”, officials of the army told reporters.

Cameroon is facing growing insecurity in its two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest where separatists want to create a new nation called “Ambazonia”. Government forces are also engaged in battles with kidnappers in the mountainous region of Adamawa and Boko Haram terror group in the Far North region of the country.

Xinhuanet