A Southern Cameroons lawyer was reportedly beaten by two Francophone gendarmes in the Biyem Assi neighborhood in Yaounde. Barrister Amungwa was unconscious and seen lying on the Gendarmerie hilux that transported him to unknown destination.

Southern Cameroons Communications Secretary, Milton Taka who confirmed the news to our London desk observed that nowhere is safe for Amabzonians anymore in La Republique du Cameroun.

Cameroon Concord News understands Barrister Amungwa is the head of the Communication team for the detained Southern Cameroons leaders. He organises all the press conferences and print media publications pertaining to the trial of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides.

By Sama Ernest

Two former aides to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have signed on to represent Cameroon’s government in Washington despite recent allegations of serious human rights abuses by the government. David Polyansky, Cruz’s former chief of staff; Catherine Frazier, another former Cruz aide; and Jimmy Soni, a former Huffington Post managing editor who later worked for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, will advise Cameroon’s government on public relations. They’ll promote a “positive and favorable image” of Cameroon’s government through digital ads and “by placing targeted op eds in conservative-oriented outlets in order to foster a robust and growing partnership narrative into the future,” according to a contract filed with the Justice Department.

Cameroon has found itself saddled with a less-than-positive-and-favorable image in recent months. The Trump administration has stopped providing as much military aid to Cameroon’s government because of what Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of United States Africa Command, described in congressional testimony in February as the “alleged atrocities” it had committed. Mausi Segun, Human Rights Watch’s executive director for Africa, wrote last month that Cameroon’s government had responded to separatist threats by “burning hundreds of homes, killing civilians, and detaining and torturing alleged separatists in a gendarme-run prison in the capital, Yaoundé.”

 There’s a long history, of course, of Washington lobbyists and public relations hands representing governments accused of committing atrocities, dating back to Paul Manafort’s work for Ferdinand Marcos, the infamous Filipino dictator. Polyansky, Frazier and Soni are representing Cameroon through Clout Public Affairs, a division of Axiom Strategies, a consulting firm run by Jeff Roe, who managed Cruz’s presidential campaign. Cameroon also retains Squire Patton Boggs to lobby on its behalf.

 Asked about the Cameroonian government’s human rights record, Clout defended its work. “Clout is pleased to be working with Cameroon to highlight the strong and developing relationship between our two countries,” the firm said in a statement. The firm noted that Cameroon had “been a longtime partner to U.S. military operations in Africa, and serves as a key ally in the United States’ effort to combat the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, which has for far too long victimized and ravaged innocent civilians in the region.” The contract is worth $55,000 a month.

Source: Politico.com

Article I:
I am an Ambazonian, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.[
Article II:
I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
Article III:
I will not commit war crimes. I will treat any captive humanely. I will keep to the UN Conventions of Geneva.
Article IV:
If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
Article V:
If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.
Article VI:
When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
Article VII:
I will never forget that I am an Ambazonian, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.
OATH OF THE AMBAZONIAN SOLDIER

I, (name), do solemnly swear to bravely defend People of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia; and that I will obey the orders of the democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
So help me God.”
LONG LIVE The Federal Republic of AMBAZONIA!

By Christoph Messner

They were forced to walk like “ducks in the mud” Traumatized and shocked by the ill-treatment

Detention of Maurice Kamto and some of his supporters reaches sixth month anniversary on Sunday

Authorities in Cameroon should promptly and independently investigate the severe beatings and ill-treatment that 59 opposition supporters -including six women- were allegedly subjected to during their questioning at the State Secretariat for Defense (SED), Amnesty International said today.

Before releasing them, security forces beat them with sticks and forced them into humiliating positions. Amnesty International also calls for the immediate release of their leader Maurice Kamto and more than 100 other supporters arbitrarily detained six months to the day solely for peaceful participation in protests.

“Like many other unofficial detention centres across Cameroon, the SED has a reputation for torturing detainees. These repressive and brutal tactics to silence dissent must end,” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry, Amnesty International West and Central Africa Director.

“Judicial authorities must investigate the allegations that these 59 opposition members have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and take concrete measures to bring perpetrators to justice.”

The 59 opposition members were arrested on 1 June during a planned peaceful protest in the capital Yaoundé. Brought to the SED for questioning about the protest, they were tortured and arbitrarily detained by security forces, who also warned them against participating in another protest scheduled a week later.

Amnesty International interviewed several opposition members now released who were victims of torture or other ill-treatment. They detailed techniques including beatings and hard physical exercises, including against women.

A woman who was released on 3 June told the organization:

“When we arrived, gendarmes asked us to do physical exercises, knees and hips bent, arms out for balance…. They passed by and kicked my head and buttocks… Then ordered us to roll around the ground while continuing to kick with their shoes… we were moved up and down the stairs in the duck position. I was then asked to do push-ups with the men until I could not continue. So, I was again beaten with a belt.”

Another ex-detainee described the beating with wooden sticks, cables and batons:

“… We were taken to the SED where gendarmes were waiting for us. Each of them was armed with a wooden stick, a cable and a baton with which we were beaten in the ears and our bodies. They then forced us to walk like a duck in the mud. 53 men and six women were together, some crying, traumatized and shocked. After our release, I spent more than a week at the hospital as I had fractures, bruises and trauma.”

While some of his supporters were released, Maurice Kamto, arrested on 28 January 2019, is still behind bars six months later.

An 11 July 2019 military court decision said it has jurisdiction to judge them and confirmed charges of rebellion, hostility against the homeland, incitement to insurrection, offence against the president of the republic, and destruction of public buildings and goods against Maurice Kamto and 107 other people. The same decision dropped all charges against 61 other supporters and ordered their release. Under international law, military courts should not have jurisdiction over civilians.

In January, nearly 300 MRC supporters were arbitrarily arrested along with Kamto. Mass arrests also took place on 1 and 8 June. In Douala, where more than 200 protesters were arbitrarily arrested, 30 of them are currently in administrative custody waiting to appear before an ordinary court.

“By confirming these opposition members are to be tried before a military court, the Cameroonian authorities are failing to respect international law. Kamto and his supporters risk an unfair trial and the deeply disturbing possibility of facing the death penalty,” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry.

“Maurice Kamto and all his supporters should have never been arrested in the first place. Authorities should immediately release them and drop all charges against them.”

Culled from Amnesty International