News

Coronavirus pushes French Cameroun to cancel 2020 Labour and National Day celebrations

23, April 2020

Coronavirus pushes French Cameroun to cancel 2020 Labour and National Day celebrations 0

Labour Day and National Unity Day, scheduled for 1 and 20 May respectively, have been cancelled in French Cameroun, the presidency announced Wednesday evening. 

The ruling CPDM gang is using the Coronavirus pandemic as a reason for cancelling the 2020 editions of Labour Day and the so-called National Unity Day that has seen French Cameroun marginalized Southern Cameroonians for 58 years.

“Because of the need to respect the measures of social distancing prescribed by the government of the Republic, President Paul Biya has decided to cancel the public celebrations of the 2020 Labor Day and National Day,” wrote Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Minister-Secretary General at the French Cameroun Presidency of the Republic.

These explanations do not seem to convince all French speaking Cameroonians, some of whom continue to spread the rumour of the death of their head of state despite his recent appearance at an audience with the French ambassador to Cameroon.

By Chi Prudence Asong

UN chief warns that coronavirus poses a risk to human rights

23, April 2020

UN chief warns that coronavirus poses a risk to human rights 0

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic is “a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis.”

The U.N. chief said in a video message that there is discrimination in the delivery of public services to tackle COVID-19 and there are “structural inequalities that impede access to them.”

Guterres said the pandemic has also seen “disproportionate effects on certain communities, the rise of hate speech, the targeting of vulnerable groups, and the risks of heavy-handed security responses undermining the health response.”

He warned that with “rising ethno-nationalism, populism, authoritarianism and a push back against human rights in some countries, the crisis can provide a pretext to adopt repressive measures for purposes unrelated to the pandemic.”

In February, Guterres issued a call to action to countries, businesses and people to help renew and revive human rights across the globe, laying out a seven-point plan amid concerns about climate change, conflict and repression.

“As I said then, human rights cannot be an afterthought in times of crisis — and we now face the biggest international crisis in generations,” he said.

The secretary-general said he was releasing a report Thursday on how human rights must guide the response to the virus and recovery from the pandemic. Neither he nor the report name any countries or parties responsible for human rights violations.

Guterres said governments must be “transparent, responsive and accountable,” and stressed that press freedom, civil society organizations, the private sector and “civic space” are essential.

The report said governments also need to take action to mitigate the worst impacts of COVID-19 on jobs, livelihoods, access to basic services and family life.

Guterres said any emergency measures — including states of emergency — must be “legal, proportionate, necessary and non-discriminatory, have a specific focus and duration, and take the least intrusive approach possible to protect public health.”

“Emergency powers may be needed but broad executive powers, swiftly granted with minimal oversight, carry risks,” the report warned. “Heavy-handed security responses undermine the health response and can exacerbate existing threats to peace and security or create new ones.”

The report said the best response is proportionate to the immediate threat and protects human rights.

“The message is clear: People — and their rights — must be front and center,” Guterres said.

Source: AP

Iran Guards chief vows ‘decisive response’ after Trump threat

23, April 2020

Iran Guards chief vows ‘decisive response’ after Trump threat 0

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chief on Thursday warned the US of a “decisive response” after President Donald Trump said he ordered the US Navy to destroy Iranian boats that harass American ships in the Gulf.

Iran and the United States have appeared to be on the brink of an all-out confrontation twice in the past year.

Decades-old acrimony between the two sides worsened in 2018 when Trump unilaterally withdrew from a deal that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Tensions escalated further in January when a US air strike killed Qasem Soleimani, the top Iranian general who headed the Guards’ foreign arm, the Quds Force.

“We declare to the Americans that we are absolutely determined and serious… and that all action will be met with a decisive response that will be efficient and quick,” Major General Hossein Salami said.

“We have also ordered our naval units to target (US boats and forces) if they try to endanger the safety of our ships or boats of war.”

The latest confrontation between the arch-foes came after the United States accused Iran of harassing its ships in the Gulf last week.

Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday as the Guards said they had launched the Islamic republic’s first military satellite.

The US president said he had “instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea”.

In response, Iran on Thursday summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran that represents US interests in the Islamic republic, state media said.

Salami said last week’s maritime incident was the result of “unprofessional and dangerous behaviour by the Americans in the Persian Gulf”.

The Guards commander also indicated that US actions in the sensitive waterway had been affected by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

“In last week’s incident, there was operational turmoil and disorder among US naval units at sea,” said Salami.

This, he added, was an indication that the “command and control of their military units may have been weakened by… the coronavirus disease”.

Iran and the United States are among the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

– ‘Cruel’ US sanctions –

Tehran called Thursday for Washington to be held accountable for the sanctions that have hampered its efforts to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

The Iranian health ministry said 90 new deaths in the past 24 hours took the country’s overall coronavirus death toll to 5,481.

“Today, the coronavirus has spread not only in Iran but in almost all countries, and it requires serious effort and collective action to deal with it,” said Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.

“In addition to fighting the virus, Iran faces illegal and inhuman American sanctions, doubling the pressure on the Iranian people,” he said, quoted by his ministry.

“It is the right of the Iranian people to have access to their financial resources to fight the disease and to counter its economic consequences,” said Araghchi.

“The United States’ cruel and unilateral sanctions against Iran constitute a clear violation of Security Council Resolution 2231, and the United States must therefore be held accountable by the international community.”

Medicines and medical equipment are technically exempt from the US sanctions but purchases are frequently blocked by the unwillingness of banks to process purchases for fear of incurring heavy US penalties.

Iran’s coronavirus outbreak first emerged in the Shiite holy city of Qom on February 19.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour announced 1,030 new cases of coronavirus infection on Thursday, taking the country’s total to 87,026.

Source:  AFP

Nigeria: Southern Cameroons refugees in Benue State want Biya prosecuted for genocide

23, April 2020

Nigeria: Southern Cameroons refugees in Benue State want Biya prosecuted for genocide 0

Southern Cameroonian refugees currently on asylum in Benue have appealed to the Nigerian government to use her position to intervene for a cease fire in the prolonged crisis that has claimed thousands of lives and forced hundreds of thousands to take refuge in neighbouring countries.

The refugees equally called on the International Criminal Court in the Hague to arrest the Cameroonian President, Mr. Paul Biya over alleged crimes and genocide against Ambazonians.

Leader of the refugees’ community in Nigeria, Chief Agba Christopher Ipa, made the call during an interview with newsmen, Sunday at the Ikyogen refugees camp in Kwande local government area of Benue state.

He said when they had crisis in their country, the President of Cameroon declared war on civilians, forcing them to run down to Nigeria with some of them finding themselves in Benue state.

“We are crying and thanking the Nigerian government for the concern they have for us the Cameroonian refugees.

“We want the Nigerian government to help us see how they can solve our problem so that there will be a ceasefire in our country for us to go back,” Chief Agba Christopher pleaded.

On his part, the chairman of Kwande local government area, hosting the refugees, Mr. Tertsua Yarkwan said the Ambazonian crisis has gone beyond the Cameroonian situation and called on the African Union to mediate in the crisis.

The council chairman explained that the Cameroonian refugees would be given equal status to integrate them into the Nigerian society if the crisis in their country persists as the local government was financially constrained in feeding and providing basic needs for the refugees.

He implored the African Union to do something about the humanitarian situation in Cameroon.

“I implore not only the Nigerian government but also the African Union to do something. You know, we are in the ECOWAS area in West Africa. The Cameroonians are coming from Central Africa. So that goes beyond ECOWAS to intervene.

“I plead with the leadership of African Union to be more proactive on this issue and not to see it as a local Cameroonian problem.

“Nigeria is already having the effect of this crisis. Besides being in Kwande, the refugees are in Cross River, they are also in Taraba state.”

Source: Blueprint, Nigeria

3 French Cameroun soldiers helped by members of Atanga Nji Militia tried to hide the Ngarbuh Massacre by setting fires

22, April 2020

3 French Cameroun soldiers helped by members of Atanga Nji Militia tried to hide the Ngarbuh Massacre by setting fires 0

Cameroon has admitted that three members of its armed forces were involved in the February killing of 13 civilians, including 10 children, in the country’s anglophone area.

The government had previously denied any role in the killings in the region, where English-speaking separatists have been fighting government forces since 2017.

The February 14 massacre in the village of Ntumbo in Cameroon’s Northwest Region left 23 people dead, including 15 children, according to the United Nations, which called it “a shocking episode in the ongoing crisis that has afflicted the country’s North-West and South-West regions for the past three years”.

It said nine of the children were under age five and that two of the victims were pregnant women.

In a statement read over state radio on Tuesday, Cameroonian President Paul Biya’s office said three soldiers and a vigilante group stormed a separatist base, killing five people, before “discovering that three women and 10 children were killed” in the firefight.

“Overcome with panic, the three soldiers helped by some members of the self-defence group tried to hide the incident by setting fires,” the statement said, according to AFP news agency.

The army initially claimed that the deaths were an accident after fuel supplies exploded into flames during a gun battle with separatists, while the president established a commission of inquiry to investigate the killings.

In February, one of the country’s two main opposition parties, the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC), issued a statement that said: “The dictatorial regime [and] the supreme head of the security and defence forces are chiefly responsible for these crimes.”

Conflict between Cameroon’s army and English-speaking fighters seeking to form a breakaway state called Ambazonia began after the government cracked down violently on peaceful protesters complaining of being marginalised by the French-speaking majority.

Rights groups have accused both sides of atrocities in the conflict, which has left more than 3,000 dead, closed schools and clinics, and forced 700,000 people to flee their homes.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

In role reversal, Egypt sends virus aid to US

22, April 2020

In role reversal, Egypt sends virus aid to US 0

Egypt on Tuesday flew a plane of medical supplies to the United States to assist in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a role reversal for a top US aid recipient.

Egypt’s general-turned-president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has been eager to cement relations with President Donald Trump, and his country has already shipped medical goods with fanfare to China and Italy.

A video statement from Sisi’s office showed crates in wrapping that read in English and Arabic, “From the Egyptian people to the American people,” being loaded into a military cargo plane.

Dutch Ruppersberger, who leads a group in the US House of Representatives that promotes relations with Egypt, said the plane landed at Andrews Air Force base outside Washington.

The plane brought 200,000 masks, 48,000 shoe covers and 20,000 surgical caps among other supplies, said Ruppersberger, a Democrat who heads the bipartisan group.

“This is why international diplomacy and maintaining relationships with allies like Egypt are essential not in times of crisis, but every day,” he wrote on Twitter.

The US ambassador in Cairo, Jonathan Cohen, also voiced appreciation for the “generous” shipment.

Egypt has reported 250 deaths from COVID-19 and some 3,300 cases, according to the World Health Organization.

It is far below the nearly 45,000 deaths recorded in the United States, which has been scrambling to provide supplies and tests.

Still, some questioned whether Egypt, where one-third of the population lives on about $1.50 or less a day, was in a position to offer relief.

“Egyptians who are happy and proud that Egypt sent medical supplies to Italy, UK and the US are probably the ones who can afford to pay 10 EGP for a mask,” tweeted a prominent blogger who goes by The Big Pharaoh. Ten Egyptian pounds is more than half a dollar.

Egypt last month revoked the press credentials of a journalist from The Guardian who wrote that the country’s COVID-19 infections were higher than reported.

Trump has voiced enthusiastic support for Sisi, who toppled Egypt’s elected Islamist president in 2013 and has backed strong relations with Israel.

The United States gave Egypt more than $1.2 billion in the 2018 fiscal year, largely in military aid that goes back to US contractors.

Source:  AFP

Biya regime admits soldiers took part in February killing of civilians

22, April 2020

Biya regime admits soldiers took part in February killing of civilians 0

Cameroon admitted on Tuesday that militants acting with three soldiers killed 13 civilians including 10 children in an anglophone region in the west of the country in February.

The government had previously denied any role in the massacre in the region, where English-speaking separatists have been fighting government forces for the past two years.

According to the United Nations, the death toll in the massacre on the night of February 13 left 23 civilians dead including 15 children in the village of Ntumbo.

It said nine of the children were under age five and that two of the victims were pregnant women.

In a statement read over state radio on Tuesday, the president’s office said three soldiers and a vigilante group stormed a separatist base, killing five, before “discovering that three women and 10 children were killed” in the firefight.

“Overcome with panic, the three soldiers helped by some members of the self-defence group tried to hide the incident by setting fires,” the statement said.

The army initially claimed that the deaths were an accident after fuel supplies exploded into flames during a gun battle with separatists.

Rights groups have accused both sides of atrocities in the conflict, which has left more than 3,000 dead, closed schools and clinics and forced 700,000 people to flee their homes.

(AFP)

Militants massacre 52 villagers in Mozambique

22, April 2020

Militants massacre 52 villagers in Mozambique 0

Militants have killed 52 villagers in northern Mozambique who refused to be recruited to their ranks.

The massacre took place on April 7 in the village of Xitaxi in the Muidumbe district of Cabo Delgado Province, home to multi-billion-dollar gas projects led by foreign companies such as Total.

“The young men were about to be recruited but they resisted, which provoked the ire of the bandits, who killed the 52 indiscriminately,” police spokesman Orlando Modumane said on Tuesday.

Modumane said most of the victims had been either shot dead or beheaded, adding that a manhunt had been launched for the attackers.

Militants have in recent weeks stepped up attacks in the gas-rich province, targeting towns, villages, or government buildings.

For more than two years, the militants have mainly targeted isolated villages, killing more than 900 people, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).

The unrest has forced hundreds of thousands of locals to flee the troubled province.

Cabo Delgado, expected to become the center of a natural gas industry after several promising discoveries, has seen a string of assaults on security forces and civilians.

In 2017, the government announced plans to build a commercial port in Cabo Delgado.

Attacks have prompted security concerns for investors in Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries.

NGOs say the government must do more to protect the mostly poor civilians in the area.

Source: Presstv

French Cameroun monarch makes personal contribution to fight against COVID-19

21, April 2020

French Cameroun monarch makes personal contribution to fight against COVID-19 0

Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Monday donated “special gifts” to fight the coronavirus, as the central African country exceeded 1,000 confirmed cases over the weekend with 42 deaths.

The country’s Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said in a statement the gifts evaluated to the tune of 2 billion CFA francs (about 3.32 millions dollars) will be available to the 360 sub-divisions of the country to reinforce government’s measures aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

The gifts include soap, face masks, buckets, hand washing cans, rapid screening test kits and respiratory devices for hospitals.

Nji stressed that it was the president’s “personal” donation that came after he created a national solidarity fund in early April to fight the novel coronavirus.

Source: Xinhuanet

Nigeria directs agencies to stop Ambazonian refugees from entering Benue State

21, April 2020

Nigeria directs agencies to stop Ambazonian refugees from entering Benue State 0

The Federal Government has directed security agencies to stop Cameroonian refugees fleeing Southern Cameroons  from gaining entrance into Nigeria through Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State to check the spread of Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic,  in the country. State Deputy Governor, and chairman of the State Action Committee on COVID-19, Benson Abounu, announced this, yesterday, in Makurdi, while inaugurating members of the 11 task forces constituted by the state government to enforce restriction of movement at the major interstate boundaries of the state.

 According g to the Deputy Governor, “the directive that came from the presidency is that we must stop every refugee coming from Cameroon from entering Benue state to help us check the spread of Coronavirus in our state and country. That order did not stop us from allowing Nigerians into their own country but certainly not citizens of other countries who might expose our people to the pandemic.” He explained that the task force members on inter-state boundaries were not on a mission to stop interstate movements but to ensure that travelers were checked and their temperatures taken to determine their health status.

 “Where the health status of any traveler is suspicious, such a person must be asked to step aside for observation and necessary checks and test for the virus. The task force must ensure that the destination of every traveler is availed them to know those coming into the state for all necessary action to ensure that no one brings the virus into the state. The essence is to ensure that our people are protected.” The Deputy Governor who expressed displeasure at the attitude of beer parlor operators in the state who he said flagrantly disobey the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on the state by the government promised to lead a team round such drinking spots to enforce the order.

Source: Vanguard

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