Politics

30, January 2017

Southern Cameroons Ghost Town defining the end of the CPDM era ⁵

Southern Cameroonians are demonstrating that civil disobedience works. Today, the interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have announced as much, by citing more recent and local successes, including those of Buea that left only the 20 CPDM taxis belonging to Mayor Ekema on the empty streets.

The hugely successful campaign against rapes, arrests and extra judicial killings currently going on in Anglophone Cameroon were put to the eyes of the international community and the ghost town operation shall be stage again tomorrow Tuesday the 31^st of January. What all of this proves is that civil disobedience works.

There seems to be this Francophone CPDM narrative that the closure of schools is harming Southern Cameroons children. However, Southern Cameroonians have come to the conclusion that this last and hopefully a protracted battle will be beneficial to all when it comes to an end. People power has been effective on this struggle.

Earlier, the National Executive Committee of the SDF endorsed the demands of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and outlined some proposals which may come forward if the African Union and the United Nations agree to get the Yaoundé regime and the Consortium to dialogue. How that will work remains to be seen. But, to borrow a phrase from a well-known Francophone politician, and apply it to the Anglophone Crisis, “Cameroon will never be the same again.”

The ghost town in the provinces of West Cameroon was very effective. Schools remain closed and Southern Cameroonians are now focused to fire the first salvo towards an independent state by a massive boycott of 11th February celebrations. The Consortium has revealed that a special form of ghost town and boycott will be carried out on the 11^th of February to destroy once and for all, the fake union between Southern Cameroons and La Republique and restore our lost statehood.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

30, January 2017

SDF NEC meeting takes a tough stance against Biya and the ruling CPDM ³

Members of the National Executive Committee, NEC of the Social Democratic Front Party, SDF have empowered their National Chairman NI John FRU NDI to handle the current crisis in the two English Speaking regions which seems to be going out of proportion.

In a meeting held last Saturday and Sunday January 28-29, 2017 NEC members unanimously noted that the Biya regime has done nothing to calm the situation but has instead aggravated with rampant arrests.

The SDF also called on the immediate liberation of all Anglophones arrested during and after the strike action.

Complete Resolutions:

Enjoins the Biya regime to immediately and unconditionally release all those abducted or kidnapped and who are presently held in prisons of Yaoundé or at least send them back to their respective places of origin where purported offenses were committed for trial by the competent court in these regions in order to guarantee a free fair and credible trial
Reiterates our call on the government to bring to book all the perpetrators of human rights abuses by the forces of law and order and the administration most of which is abundantly documented
Enjoin Mr biya to immediately bring to an end the De facto state of emergency and militarization of the 2 English speaking regions.
Calls on stake holders and all those adversely affected to take this issue of collective punishment which constitutes human rights abuse through selective internet deprivation to the appropriate international courts for the government indemnify all affected subscribers by internationally acceptable amounts
Invites the Council of Peace and Security of the UN and the AU to enjoin Biya regime to immediately stop the exaction perpetrated on its own citizens.
Reiterates that all successful Nations exercise devolution of powers most of which through federalism which is not a threat to national unity but a viable factor of unity in diversity and equitable development
That those apologists and sycophants of the current status quo who are opposed to any constitutional reforms are the minority beneficiaries from the regime of the current situation
Reiterate our support to the teachers and lawyers in their struggle for a better Cameroon
Affirms that the Biya regime is responsible for the present crisis putting our national unity in jeopardy.
Warns that if Biya regime remains intransigent and does not respond to the demands heretofore formulated, the SDF will take its responsibilities.

They equally reiterated to Cameroonians that the convening of a Constitutional Conference to redefine the Cameroonians Sate is the only way out of the present imbroglio.

It hereby empowers the National Chairman to seek ways and means in collaboration with Religious and Political leaders as well as Opinion Leaders to get our Country out of the present Impasse.

Culled from Cameroun Info.Net

28, January 2017

President Rouhani of Iran says today is not the age of building walls between countries ¹

“Today is not the time of wall-raising between nations. Have they forgotten that the Berlin Wall collapsed years ago?” President Rouhani said in an apparent reference to US government officials, who have been planning to build a wall on the Mexican border.

“[Even] if there is a wall between nations, it has to be removed,” the Iranian chief executive said. He was speaking during the 17th World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations Convention in the capital, Tehran, on Saturday. Figures from some 40 countries have gathered for the conference.

“Today’s world is not a world where one can create distances between the nations and peoples of different territories. Today is a day of neighborhood. We have become neighbors in cultural, scientific, and civilizational terms, and also, the world of communications and communications technology have shrunk distances,” President Rouhani said. “No one can fight globalization today.”

“Iran has, in recent years, shown and said it loud and clear to the whole world that it is a country of peace and friendship,” he said. “We favor and take pride in peace, reconciliation, brotherhood, and peaceful coexistence.” He said that the scourge of terrorism was doing irreversible damage to both humanity and the relics of ancient civilization. Iran provided assistance to Iraq and Syria, Rouhani said, to help them eradicate terrorism.

Presstv

27, January 2017

New Gambian president returns home ⁰

The Gambia’s newly-elected President Adama Barrow has returned to the nation after his predecessor finally agreed to cede power under international pressure and went into exile. On Thursday, Barrow arrived in Banjul from Senegal, where he had sought refuge in mid-January after his predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, refused to concede defeat in the presidential election and stand down.

Barrow won in the national election late last year, but Jammah’s clinging to power threw The Gambia’s political scene into turmoil. Upon arrival, the new head of state was welcomed by military officials and senior members of his coalition government.

Barrow’s supporters had gathered along the capital’s streets to welcome the president home. “We also hope that if he (Barrow) comes as a president, there will be some changes,” said a supporter. Barrow was inaugurated as president in neighboring Senegal on January 19.

Over two decades of Jammeh’s rule came to an end last week after he fled to Equatorial Guinea as thousands of soldiers from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were deployed to the country to force him out of office.

A United Nations official announced earlier in the day that Barrow had asked the 7,000-strong ECOWAS military contingent to remain in the country for six months. Barrow requested the forces sent by ECOWAS to remain in Gambia for six months, said Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the United Nations’ most senior official in West Africa. In the meantime, the ECOWAS contingent in Gambia is carrying out a sweep operation to neutralize possible security threats against the new head of state.

Presstv

25, January 2017

Germany: Ex-European Parliament head to run against Merkel ⁰

Germany’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) has nominated Martin Schulz as its candidate to compete against conservative Angela Merkel for the post of chancellor in this year’s federal election. SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel announced on Tuesday at a press conference at the party headquarters in Berlin that the SPD committee had unanimously made the decision.

“Martin Schulz will be the SPD chancellor candidate for the 2017 federal elections. That is our unanimous party committee decision,” said Gabriel. Gabriel said Schulz “will also be the party chairman,” adding that the SPD is expected to confirm both his candidacy as well as his party leadership at a meeting on Sunday.

Following the announcement, Schulz said “it is an extraordinary honor that I, with pride and also with a natural humbleness, accept it and I will try and make the best out of it for our country.” Schulz also slammed Merkel austerity policies, which he said “have no doubt contributed to the deep crises in the EU since 2008, to the isolation of a dominant German government.”

Schulz, 61, a former president of the European Parliament, will run against Chancellor Merkel, 62, from the rival Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who will be running for a fourth term in the federal election slated for September 24.

The SPD and the CDU are the two main parties in the German parliament, known as the Bundestag.The SPD’s decision comes as opinion polls indicate Schulz is far more popular than Gabriel; however, other surveys suggest he still faces an extremely tough race against Merkel.

Presstv

22, January 2017

Gambia: Yahya Jammeh relinquish the mantle of leadership under increasing international pressure ⁰

The Gambia’s former leader, Yahya Jammeh, has left the country after finally conceding defeat in an election under increasing international pressure. Jammeh lost the presidential election in December last year to Adama Barrow but said he would not relinquish power, claiming that there had been irregularities in the vote and pushing the country to the edge of war.

West African nations, which had been peacefully trying to convince him to leave, gradually turned to the idea of removing him militarily and put a regional force on standby as the official end of Jammeh’s mandate approached. On Saturday, some two days after the expiration of his mandate, Jammeh finally announced a decision “to relinquish the mantle of leadership” and, now with his exit from The Gambia, the way was paved for President Adama Barrow to return home from neighboring Senegal, where he was inaugurated on Thursday.

Jammeh, who had taken power in a 1994 coup, demanded from the negotiators that he be given amnesty and safe passage out of The Gambia and that his political party be recognized. But no deal on amnesty was finalized with the negotiators and Jammeh was forced to go into exile.

Regional leaders did escort him into a plane, however, seeing him off into exile in Equatorial Guinea. His family and aides were to depart on a separate plane. The fate of his party was not immediately clear. During Jammeh’s reign, his government was accused of harsh treatment of opponents.

Presstv

22, January 2017

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law to be White House adviser ⁰

US President Donald Trump’s hiring of his son-in-law Jared Kushner will not violate any anti-nepotism laws and can go forward, says an official with the US Justice Department (DOJ). “In choosing his personal staff, the president enjoys an unusual degree of freedom, which Congress found suitable to the demands of his office,” said deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), Daniel Koffsky, as reported by CNN. He made the statement amid concerns that hiring Ivanka Trump’s husband could violate federal anti-nepotism laws or make the situation harder for Palestinians, given the close ties Kushner maintains with the Israeli ruling Likud party.

“A President wanting a relative’s advice on governmental matters therefore has a choice: to seek that advice on an unofficial, ad hoc basis without conferring the status and imposing the responsibilities that accompany formal White House positions; or to appoint his relative to the White House under title 3 and subject him to substantial restrictions against conflicts of interest,” Koffsky stated. “We believe that the president’s special hiring authority in 3 U.S.C. § 105(a) permits him to make appointments to the White House Office that the anti-nepotism statute might otherwise forbid.”

Since his victory on November 8, Trump has insisted that Kushner should be present during daily presidential briefings, despite not having security clearances necessary. The presence of Ksuhner and his wife at a meeting of Trump with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe drew criticism from political experts as they both lack the security clearance needed to attend a meeting with a world official.

His appointment could potentially violate the 1967 anti-nepotism law, which bans federal authorities from giving government positions to civilian relatives in agencies under their control. Kushner was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family in New Jersey and studied as an honors student in a private yeshiva high school in 1999. According to Tampa-based investigative journalist Wayne Madsen, Ivanka’s husband “has very close links with the Likud party of Israel.”

Presstv

19, January 2017

Gambia: Adama Barrow sworn in as new President ⁰

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously approved a resolution endorsing efforts by some West African countries to ensure the respect of “the will of the people” in The Gambia. The 15-member body on Thursday approved a Senegal-drafted resolution expressing “full support” to Gambia’s new President Adama Barrow and calling on ex-leader Yahya Jammeh to step down. The resolution calls on the council to give “its full support” to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure that Barrow’s election victory on December 1 is respected by “political means first.” Senegal presented the draft resolution to the council on Wednesday, requesting UN approval for ECOWAS to take “all necessary measures” to force Jammeh to cede power to Barrow.

The harsh language of the resolution was dropped during negotiations late Wednesday because some UNSC members objected to backing military action, according to diplomats. The vote came shortly after Barrow was sworn in as Gambia’s new president. Barrow, 51, was sworn in inside Gambia’s embassy in neighboring Senegal, where he had been remaining after Jammeh refused to endorse the results of the presidential election. “This is a victory of the Gambian nation. Our flag will now fly high among those of the most democratic nations of the world,” Barrow said, waving to crowds in Senegal’s capital Dakar.

Jammeh, who lost the votes by a slim margin to Barrow, first accepted the defeat but then changed his mind and said there were irregularities in a recount. Following the UN vote, Senegalese troops moved across the border into The Gambia. “They entered this afternoon,” army spokesman Colonel Abdoul Ndiaye told AFP. Troops from Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria began building up along Gambia’s border with Senegal hours before Jammeh’s mandate was to expire by January 19.

During the swearing-in ceremony, Barrow called on members of Gambia’s small-size military to pledge loyalty to him as the commander in chief. “I command the chief of defense staff and officers of high command to demonstrate their loyalty to me as commander in chief without any delay,” Barrow said. “I command all members of the armed forces to remain in their barracks, those found wanting or in possession of firearms without my order will be considered rebels,” he added. Gambia’s army chief Ousman Badjie had said earlier on Thursday that his troops would not get involved in the country’s deepening “political dispute.” He also said that troops would not prevent foreign forces from entering The Gambia.

Presstv

19, January 2017

Kah Walla says Consortium leaders to be charged with treason, secession, terrorism ⁰

The only prominent female politician in Cameroon, Kah Walla has met with the detained leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. Kah Walla issued a statement after the meeting which was sent to our London news desk some few hours ago. Below is the press release from Madam Kah Wall:

Very happy to report that we have seen Barrister Nkongho Felix Balla and Dr. Fontem Neba today. They are both well and in strong spirits. They report being literally kidnapped from the South West region on Tuesday 17 January and brought to Yaoundé by car, via Douala in the very early hours of Wednesday morning. They are being held at the SED (Sécretariat d’Etat à la Défense). Since their arrival there they have been treated humanely.

The charges brought against them are of extreme gravity including secession, treason, inciting rebellion and acts of terrorism. These charges require that we as Cameroonians mobilize and act swiftly, non-violently, but with mass determination, to ensure their IMMEDIATE RELEASE. If we do not mobilize quickly, efficiently and effectively, these leaders will pay a very heavy price.

Dr. Fontem Neba and Barrister Nkongho Balla have been part of the leadership of a movement that will forever change the perspective of how we determine the future of Cameroon. We must not let them pay the price of decades in prison or even their lives for these unfounded charges. The Deputy Secretary General of the Cameroon People’s Party and myself as President of the CPP joined a delegation of lawyers from the South West who had traveled to meet with Balla and Fontem.

We discussed the importance of mobilization with them. We are asking all political and civil society organizations and all citizens to follow the lead of the lawyers as they mobilize for the IMMEDIATE RELEASE of Dr. Fontem and Barrister Balla. We must not cede to the fear that the government is trying to instill in us. It is time to STAND UP! Stand Up for Nkongho Balla and Fontem Neba, Stand Up for all those who have sacrificed their lives in this movement. Stand Up for Bobga and Tassang, stand up for the many who stood in the streets of Buea, Bamenda, Kumba and throughout the SW and NW.

It is in the eye of the storm, that the strength of the people will be known. STAND UP, STAND UP, STAND UP! We must act without violence and with utmost determination to obtain freedom for these leaders! As we receive information on precise non-violent action to be taken, we will relay here.

Note: As we left the SED, we were informed that Mancho BBC had been brought there in the night. We were unable to see him, but will provide more information on his situation as we receive it.

18, January 2017

Southern Cameroons : Time to elect your new own Government is NOW! ⁰

DEAR AMBAZONIANS,

The ghost town strikes are a wonderful and effective way of resistance against an illegitimate occupation army which may not be much longer loyal to such a senile, untrustworthy embezzler like Mr. Biya. Even France will drop him soon for his incompetent and illegal actions. Nevertheless while the human rights violations and arrests of Ambazonian leaders are increasing still, the Ambazonian population should be aware, that no little scattered, lousy “army” of corrupt dictators has any chance against 8 million determined Ambazonians, and that Ambazonia can open its constituent assembly or government all the same right now, because it does not need any OK from foreign nations for that. And as soon as the occupation forces try to close any ministry of the (interim) Ambazonia Government, it can re-open that ministry immediately at just another location! Be tactical and confuse your enemy!

Also the UN has granted Ambazonia independence since 1984 and the UN Convention for the LAW of the SEA grants Ambazonia full property of its oil and gas as well up to 200 miles from the shore, so Ambazonia can actually forbid Sonara and La Kleptocratique du Craboon the stealing of the oil. As soon as Ambazonia promises Exxon and British Petrol some higher share (without being pulled over the table!), the USA and UK and Nigeria and even may be Spain will support Ambazonia by allowing an own Ambazonia Army to defend from the French. And together with a new Constitution of Ambazonia, which guarantees that the revenues of the oil (taxes) and agricultural exports will flow back to the Ambazonian People, Ambazonia will become unbeatable and the admired pearl of Africa. And on top of that, the new Ambazonia Government can organize a referendum soon after, in which the many tribes can vote on a new name for the nation, which is not a colonizer’s name anymore, but a native languages name. How about “Baland”, the land of the many Ba Peoples, Ba-kossi, Banso, Bali, Bafaw, Balundu, Ba-ngwa, Ba-kweri, Bayangi, Bafut …. ?

Yet for now, the Ambazonian diaspora can get expertise from the UN and Norway on how to regain control over its resources and territory and transform oil into wealth, as well as from all BRIC countries on how to open the Ambazonia National Bank and issue a new currency by attracting its futures to foreign investors, and to force France / Switzerland this way to send Biya into permanent exile retirement and bring him before International Court for his human rights violations and embezzlements. Don’t hesitate, just do it! Overcome intertribal ditchfights before your common enemy and start teamworking! Elect your new own Government NOW!

By Christoph Messner