Cardinal Christian Tumi has called on the ruling CPDM government to listen to all shades of opinion in the ongoing Anglophone crisis.  The 86 year old former Archbishop of Douala now retired made the declaration as guest on Radio France International on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.   The renowned Prelate believes that everyone has something to say.

Reacting to the crisis that has rocked the Anglophone regions of the country over the last two months and the shutting down of internet services including the arrest of several Southern Cameroons leaders , the Cardinal said he was trying to understand both sides of the divide.

“I am trying to understand what is happening because I spent nearly thirty years of my life as priest and bishop in French-speaking Cameroon and I am from Anglophone Cameroon. I try to understand both sides. It is now young people, who have not yet become aware of reunification and have started to protest about working conditions, the conditions for living together, and they want us to go back to where we were at the beginning of reunification. That is federalism. The central power no longer wants this. So this is where we are and there is tension.”

The Roman Catholic Cardinal told RFI that the appointment of Francophone judges who do not have a mastery of the English language and who render their judgment in French is an indication that Common Law is not applied in Cameroon. The man of God pointed out that in his native constituency of Bui, the prefect, the sub-prefect and the first deputy are all Francophones, in a region that 99% of the population speak only English. The Retired Cardinal also noted that there are Francophone university lecturers who teach in the Anglo-Saxon Universities of Buea and Bamenda without having mastery of English. “There is need to reform the education system.’

Cardinal Tumi said the decision to outlaw the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was ill advised. “Too bad. I am against any ban. Everyone has something to say, listen to them. There is no one who loves this country more than others. Even if others prefer federalism, let’s talk about it, to see what is best for everyone. When we repress, it is not a solution. We must try to convince them including those that have gone to the extreme to demand complete separation. There will always be extremists. But the majority of Anglophones want us to go back to where we were, that is, to federalism. They do not want separation, not at all.”

The Cardinal dismissed claims made by the Minister of Communication Issa Tchiroma Bakary observing that federalism is not division of a country. “The current system is showing its faults, with regard to corruption everywhere and we are seeing examples in the world where federated states are progressing well. There has to be dialogue because Anglophones are also Cameroonians. With violence, nothing is built, nothing at all.”

By Rita Akana with files from CIN

The two interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC, have rejected the National Commission to promote Bilingualism created by presidential decree saying it is an attempt to rubbish the integrity and legitimacy of “ongoing winning West Cameroon Struggle”

The interim leaders, Tapang Ivo Tanku and Mark Bara said, “By every logical implication, the decree is of bad faith. It is a lame walk to promote equality in the use of English and French languages and showcase the numerous cultures he seeks to present to his commission.”

According to a release of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium which has gone viral on social media, the problem of an Anglophone has never been language but marginalization in areas like ENAM, ENS, EMIA, ENSET, CUSS and recently CENAJES in Bamenda where only two Anglophones were admitted in 132 candidates.

To the leaders, creating another Commission will just add to numerous others which have never worked, they cited CONAC which according to them has been a wasted body because even those who have embezzled are promoted the next day. They also said until the banned Consortium leaders are released ghost town will continue till February 23, 2017.

Cameroun Info.Net

The Cameroon military has made public the final assessment of the helicopter crash in the Far North region late on Sunday.  Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that all four occupants – one brigadier-general, one colonel and two lieutenants – were killed in the accident that occurred at Madide, a village about 9 km from Bogo, Diamaré, Far North region.

A statement from the government confirmed our earlier report that it was a technical breakdown that caused the crash. The hypothesis of a Boko Haram attack has also been ruled out by the Yaounde regime. The officers were returning from a mission to supervise their troops on the ground, who are engaged against the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram at the time of the crash.

The bodies of the four victims, namely Brigadier General Jacob Kodji, Commander of the 4th Inter-Armed Military Region, Colonel Kameni Alphonse, Commander of the 4th Gendarmerie Region, Lieutenant Chinda Brice, Helicopter Pilot and Lieutenant Ngrassou Souloukna Basile, a copilot engineer, have all been placed at the morgue of the military hospital in Maroua and will be transported to base 101 in Yaoundé.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

The civil disobedience campaign launched by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has entered its fourth day today Tuesday the 24^th 2017. Southern Cameroonians are observing the ghost town in all localities in the Northwest and South West regions, where Internet services have been disconnected by La Republique du Cameroun since last Tuesday.

Our cream of reporters all over Southern Cameroons from Akwaya right down to Kumbo and from Isangele to Wum in Menchum say schools remained closed and no one is visible either in the streets or in the offices.  Commercial activity remained strongly paralyzed same as yesterday.

The interim leaders of the “Consortium” are expected to address Southern Cameroonians soonest and to extend the ghost town operation to other sectors that will hit the Francophone regime in Yaounde. Day-by-day, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government is losing its grip on Southern Cameroons territory. We have been reliably informed that the Francophones intend to begin trial of Anglophone leaders today in Yaounde.

On Monday, the so-called government had invited teachers, parents, students and pupils to resume classes. The Francophone authorities reassured the population that their security would be guaranteed. Some pro Biya political elites and traditional leaders were involved to convince parents to accompany their children to school. On public radio, journalists announced the resumption of classes in several schools, particularly in bilingual and francophone schools. However, it is evidently clear that West Cameroonians have gotten enough from the Francophone political elites.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

The Francophone government has claimed that Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine who also moonlights as President of the People’s Action Party (PAP) did not honor a summon from a judge who asked him to report to the Secretariat of Defense on 20th of January 2017.

The Supreme Court judge was arrested on Saturday January 21st at his home in Yaoundé and ferried by six armed men to the SED where he is still detained. The Francophone regime in Yaounde say Lord Justice Ayah is a chartered member of the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), an organization now banned by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization.

Paul Ayah Abine was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2014. Before this appointment, persistent information declared him as the leader of the SCNC.  After being a Member of Parliament under the banner of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate from the Manyu constituency in the South West region in 2002, he resigned from the party in 2011. He created PAP and was a candidate for the last presidential election.

Within the CPDM, Paul Ayah is noted for his strong positions, usually rowing against the guidelines of the party’s hierarchy. In 2008 he opposed the constitutional revision that allowed President Paul Biya to run indefinitely in the presidential elections. In June 2006, he was one of the MPs who asked for an investigation into corruption against a cabinet minister, the late Augustin Frederic Kodock, who was then in charge of the Department of Agriculture.

By Sama Ernest

Day 1 of the three-day ghost town campaign in Southern Cameroons has recorded a 100 per cent success, thanks to the disconnection of internet and other social media which greatly angered West Cameroonians.  The interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society have reportedly lauded the response to the civil disobedience calls.  A highly placed Francophone government official was heard murmuring privately at the Prime Minister’s office earlier today that the CPDM government did not expect the civil disobedience action of this week to be that successful.

Cameroon Intelligence Report senior political commentator emphasized that the protest action is succeeding because of the Southern Cameroon youth’s determination and use of the social media.  Thirty-seven thousand West Cameroonians listened to a live broadcast by Mark Bara and Ivo Tapang on Face Book. The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society has managed to attract a large response among even Francophone citizens in Daoula and Yaounde who are now clamoring for President Biya to step down for real dialogue to begin. Today’s success has motivated even militants of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate to participate in further steps against the tyrannical regime that has ruined the country.

Last week, the so-called Minister of Secondary Education issued a statement for schools to resume in British Southern Cameroons. The call was ignored as all academic institutions in Southern Cameroons remain closed. The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has said that the civil disobedience campaign will hold tomorrow Tuesday the 24^th of January 2017.  All measures taken by the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government to stifle the Anglophone revolution have been counter-productive. The shutting down of internet services and electricity supply has completely destroyed economic activities in Southern Cameroons with soldiers begging for food and water from the civilian population. The state daily newspaper, Cameroon Tribune attempted with a montage of photos to deceive international public opinion that schools have started in West Cameroon.

Francophone security officers have detained hundreds of Southern Cameroons activists including Barrister Agbor Nkongho Felix and Dr. Neba Fontem of the Consortium. The Yaounde regime has also arrested Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine of the Supreme Court of Cameroon in order to prevent Southern Cameroonians from publicly protesting against La Republique du Cameroun. Amnesty International and the African Human Rights Commission have both released a call for urgent action regarding the rapes, extra judicial killings and incommunicado detention of Southern Cameroons leaders.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium is the most active West Cameroon group since its members began their public campaign against the government’s oppressive policies in several Anglophone towns last year. Wilfred Tassang has also lauded the response to the ghost town calls and observed that a “continuation of the policy will bring about even better results.”

The situation in the country would have been much better if the government would have listened to the voice of reason and allowed its policies and attitudes to be reviewed, instead of underestimating and ridiculing any Southern Cameroons leader. The government’s future and the unity of Cameroon are now put to the test. It will have to base its options on the broad rejection of the people of Southern Cameroons of its devastating policies.

By Rita Akana

The National Union of Cameroon Journalists has condemned The decision of the National Council For Media Communication On The Anglophone Problem. In an outing on January 21, 2017 Denis Nkwebo, the Unions National President enjoined all Journalists in Cameroon to disregard the decision by Peter Essoka who is the regulators President.

Denis Nkwebo writes “On 20 January 2017, the President of the National Communication Council (NCC), Peter Essoka, read a statement on CRTV, warning the media about how they deal with current events in Regions of the North-West and South-West.”

Among other things, the communiqué prohibits the media from addressing issues related to federalism and secession. The outing of the president of the NCC intervenes after several measures of restriction of the freedoms, in particular the suspension of the Internet in the Northwest and the Southwest.

The National Union of Journalists of Cameroon, (SNJC) calls on all media and Journalists to disregard the injunctions of Mr. Essoka Peter, once again condemning the cynicism of the NCC, to consider the injunctions as null and void and of no effect.

The SNJC invites the Cameroon media and Journalists to give a fair and equitable echo to all the opinions expressed by Cameroonian citizens on the issues of federalism and secession. The SNJC notes that the NCC and its President are no longer hiding to defend and implement the censorship imposed by the regime that subsidizes them.

The SNJC reserves the right to retaliate against Peter Essoka, the NCC and the government they serve.

SNJC asks the Fédipresse and the other media promoters to clarify their positions on the professional existence and legitimacy of the NCC.

Done at Douala on 21 January 2017 Denis Nkwebo President of the SNJC.

Cameroun Info.Net

Brigadier General Jacob Kodji, Commander of the 4th inter-armed military region and Colonel Kameni, Commander of the 4th gendarmerie region, died Sunday in an helicopter crash in the Far North region.

General Jacob Kodji who graduated from the Yaounde military academy in 1983, was promoted on August the 13th, 2015 by the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces, the 83 year old Paul Biya. He was later on installed by the then Minister for Defense, Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o as the head of the 4th Joint Military Region (4th RMIA) on the 17^th of August 2015, in Maroua.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the late General Jacob Kodji was already acting as the commander of the 4th military region in Maroua, before being confirmed in his appointment as Brigadier General on 13 August, cumulatively with his duties as commander of Operation Emergence.

General Jacob Kodji was a native of Mogodé in Mayo-Tsanaga, a border town with the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Elected among a multitude of colonels in the Region, he was the youngest of all the Cameroon army Generals.

Culled from CIR