Politics

18, July 2022

Battle for Ukraine: President Zelensky sacks top prosecutor, security head ⁰

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday sacked his chief prosecutor and the head of the country’s security agency in the largest government shakeup since the start of Russia’s invasion nearly five months ago.

Zelensky said he was firing Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and security chief Ivan Bakanov amid a high number of cases of suspected treason by Ukrainian law enforcement officials.

“Today, I made the decision of relieving of their duties the prosecutor general and the head of Ukraine’s security service,” Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation.

Zelensky said over 650 cases of suspected treason and aiding and abetting Russia by Ukrainian security officials are currently being investigated, including 60 cases of officials who have remained in territories occupied by Russia and are working against Ukraine.

“Such a great number of crimes against the foundations of national security and the connections established between Ukrainian law enforcement officials and Russian special services pose very serious questions to the relevant leaders,” Zelensky said. “Each such question will be answered.”

Source: France 24

16, July 2022

Biden in Saudi Arabia: ‘Washington needs a reset with the Kingdom’ ⁰

Saudi officials indicated Saturday they were keen to move on from the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, one day after US President Joe Biden raised it in his talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Tensions between the two men had been high ahead of their first meeting, especially after Biden’s administration last year released an assessment by the intelligence community that Prince Mohammed “approved” the operation that led to Khashoggi’s killing and dismemberment in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.

In remarks Friday night, Biden called Khashoggi’s death “outrageous” and said he had warned Prince Mohammed against further attacks on dissidents, without specifying what actions he might take.

The Al-Arabiya channel quoted a Saudi official saying the pair “addressed the issue of Jamal Khashoggi quickly” and that Prince Mohammed “confirmed that what happened is regrettable and we have taken all legal measures to prevent” a recurrence.

Prince Mohammed also pointed out that “such an incident occurs anywhere in the world”, highlighting “a number of mistakes” made by Washington such as torturing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Al-Arabiya reported.

In an interview with CNN, Adel al-Jubeir, minister of state for foreign affairs, cast doubt on the intelligence community’s determination that Prince Mohammed ordered the 2018 operation, something Prince Mohammed has denied.

“We know what the intelligence community’s assessment was with regard to Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction,” Jubeir shot back in an exchange with Wolf Blitzer shared widely on Saudi social media.

Accusations that the Iraqi dictator had such weapons trigged the 2003 Iraq War. None were found.

‘Double standards’

Jubeir also made clear the kingdom believed the Khashoggi affair had been sufficiently dealt with, even though Khashoggi’s remains have never been found.

A Saudi court in 2020 jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years over the killing. Their names were never released, and Khashoggi’s fiancee branded the ruling a “farce”.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia investigated this crime. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia held those responsible for it accountable, and they are paying the price of the crime they committed as we speak,” Jubeir said.

“We investigated, we punished and we put in place procedures to ensure this doesn’t happen again. This is what countries do in situations like this.”

Despite lingering discord over the Khashoggi affair, the meeting between Prince Mohammed and Biden “went well with a frank exchange of opinions,” Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst, told AFP.

Prince Mohammed “responded to Biden, pointing out US double standards of making a huge noise about Khashoggi (a Saudi) while trying their best to downplay the assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh even though she is a US citizen,” Shihabi said, referring to the Palestinian-American journalist shot dead in May while covering an Israeli army raid in the West Bank.

“But beyond that frank exchange the meeting was very cordial and important to put the bad blood created by Biden’s statement behind them,” he said.

White House: Biden will not return from Gulf summit with agreement on oil production increase

Source: AFP

15, July 2022

Israel and Palestine: Biden states support for two-state solution ⁰

US President Joe Biden said that US commitment to a two-state solution “has not changed”, but that the “ground is not ripe” to restart talks between Israel and Palestine. The American president was speaking during a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank on Friday.

US President Joe Biden pledged on Friday to keep up efforts to support a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict even though the goal of a two-state solution appeared far off.

Speaking alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, Biden said the United States would not give up on the goal of a just settlement to the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Even if the ground is not right at this moment to restart negotiations, the United States and my administration will not give up on trying to bring the Palestinians, Israelis and both sides closer together.”

“There must be a political horizon that the Palestinian people can actually see or at least feel. We cannot allow the hopelessness to steal away the future,” Biden said

The comments were likely to disappoint the Palestinians, who are looking to the U.S. to press Israel into restarting peace talks. The last substantive talks collapsed over a decade ago.

The key to peace

Meanwhile, Abbas said “the key to peace” in the region “begins with ending the Israeli occupation of our land.”

He added: “I am willing to extend an open hand to Israeli leaders so that we can bring peace to the region.”

But as Biden said US commitment to a two-state solution “has not changed”, Abbas said there was a narrowing window for a resolution of this nature.

“The opportunity for a two-state solution on the 1967 borders may be available today, and it may not remain for a long time,” Abbas said after meeting with US President.

Abbas said “the key to peace” in the region “begins with ending the Israeli occupation of our land”.

The Palestinian President also asked for US support to holding accountable the killers of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed during an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on May 11.

Biden said the US would insist on “full” accountability over the killing of the Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter.

Source: AFP

15, July 2022

Chris Anu and Sako to blame for the demise of the Field Marshal ⁰

Cameroon Concord News Group is against the five year old Biya military actions in Southern Cameroons. The war in Southern Cameroons has claimed the lives of thousands of English speaking Cameroonians. But the blame for this month’s bloodshed in Lebialem County that resulted in the martyr of the great leader of the Red Dragons lies solely at the feet of Chris Anu and Sako Ikome.

This is not an attempt to divert attention from the war crimes committed by the Francophone dominated military in Southern Cameroons. But this is a serious matter involving two so-called frontline Ambazonia leaders and reveals how Chris Anu and Sako Ikome quickly saw an opportunity in the Southern Cameroons resistance movement.

Amba fighters are at their weakest point in the last five years. The front line leaders in the US are tired! Cho Ayaba and his ADF gang are in short supply of their tricks of informing Southern Cameroonians through social media that they could ‘do something’ while the Interim Government can not.

Chris Anu and Sako took over control of the renowned Field Marshal and exploited his bravery for their own selfish reasons and then threw him under the bus! The much respected Ambazonia commander and fighter with the support of Mr. Chris Anu and Sako Ikome transformed himself into a cult master so to speak expecting top Lebialem traditional leaders to bow in homage-at some point in time, he even installed himself as the supreme leader of Lebialem.

Chris Anu recruited the Field Marshal to his inner circle and spread lies and propaganda on social media, deliberately inciting distrust for the legitimate Ambazonia Interim Government headed by Vice President Dabney Yerima. And even when the Field Marshal could no longer fight for Ambazonia, Chris Anu and Sako concocted war images and dished them out to the Ambazonia diaspora informing them that the Field Marshal was doing wonders and was on their pay roll and it allowed them to continue to collect money from the Southern Cameroons diaspora. Chris Anu and Sako remain dangerous for the people of Southern Cameroons and many like the Great Field Marshal failed to listen to our Cameroon Concord News warning that we cannot continue to be a conduit for their work.

Chris Anu is not fighting for Ambazonia; he and his former political acolyte Sako Ikome are encouraging war crimes to boost their political standing. Chris Anu and Sako are out of harm’s way. They leave their foot soldiers, often young and desperate men with no employment prospects in Ground Zero, to launch attacks against the Francophone dominated army guaranteeing a military response.

We of Cameroon Concord News and the Cameroon Intelligence Report have come under very vicious attack for reporting the facts and because the reporting out of Ground Zero is not honest. Pro Chris Anu and Sako comedians in Ground Zero tightly control all what is on social media and Southern Cameroons media houses have the choice of reporting the news the way Chris Anu or Cho Ayaba tells them to!

Cameroon Concord News thinks Southern Cameroonians are forced to choose among the corrupt, ineffectual ADF Cho Ayaba gang, the fanatical, genocidal Chris Anu Youtube group or the legitimate Ambazonia Interim Government of Vice President Dabney Yerima. Of course, this is largely an academic debate. There is only one real ‘choice’ – the Ambazonia Interim Government under the stewardship of Vice President Dabney Yerima. But there is another, more pressing issue than the depressing state of the Southern Cameroons revolution: the refusal to recognise the reality that Southern Cameroonians who can make things happen and threaten Yaoundé are all behind Yerima.

Five years have passed since President Biya declared war against the people of Southern Cameroons. Unfortunately many in French Cameroun, including President Biya, still deny the obvious truth that things will no longer be the same in Southern Cameroons.

Obsessing over the issue of who leads Southern Cameroons has been a disaster for the Ambazonia struggle: it has held back Southern Cameroons progress for generations and cost the Ambazonia people dearly. We are still far away from Buea – and we are not going anywhere. We have been blessed with men like Professor Carlson Anyangwe that could provide bountiful opportunities. Instead of focusing our limited resources on supporting Ground Zero fighters, our leaders have spent years fighting among themselves. The end of Field Marshal is an indication that Southern Cameroons has long past time for all Ambazonians to stop wasting energy on who leads and try to focus on the Federal Republic of Ambazonia agenda. Only then will we get to Buea.

By Chi Prudence Asong

14, July 2022

Road to civil war: French President Macron to visit Cameroon ⁰

President Emmanuel Macron is expected in Yaoundé on July 26, 2022 and it is reportedly going to be his first trip to Africa after his re-election to the Elysée Palace last April.

The French foreign ministry is yet to confirm the information that was made public by the Paris-based Jeune Afrique but Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the intelligence services of both countries are already discussing the visit.

President Macron is expected to renew French commitment for a peaceful transition of power in Cameroon and a political solution to the crisis in Southern Cameroons.

Macron will not be the first French presiding president to actually set foot into that dangerous and corrupt country. But this bold and spontaneous diplomatic move will draw praise and criticism. Most importantly, it stands to re-echo French position on Biya’s continued stay in power and attempts at getting his son Franck Biya to succeed him.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

14, July 2022

Macron wants a ‘rethink’ of French military strategy in Africa amid Mali withdrawal ⁰

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on his ministers and army chiefs to work on the country’s military postures in Africa, amid the complete withdrawal of thousands of its troops from Mali.

Macron made the statement while addressing French troops ahead of the July 14 Bastille Day parade in the capital, Paris, on Thursday, saying he wanted a “rethink of all our (military) postures on the African continent.”

His remarks come as French officials are heading to Niger to purportedly redefine the country’s strategy to allegedly fight armed groups in the Sahel region.

France’s new foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu are due to arrive in Niger on Friday to seal a regional redeployment.

“Beyond Mali, the democratic decline in West Africa is extremely worrying with successive putsches in Mali twice, in Guinea in September 2021, in Burkina Faso in January of this year,” Colonna told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. “France will nevertheless continue despite these events, this withdrawal from Mali, to help West African armies fight against terrorist groups,” he said.

Niger will now become the hub for French troops, with some 1,000 soldiers based in the capital, Niamey, with fighter jets, drones, and helicopters.

Some 300-400 soldiers would be dispatched for special operations with Nigerien troops in the border regions with Burkina and Mali, French officials told reporters in a briefing.

Another 700-1,000 would be based in Chad, with an undisclosed number of special forces operating elsewhere in the region.

The officials said that at this stage, there had been no formal request for further military assistance, amid concerns about whether French and European troops will also support countries in the coastal Gulf of Guinea nations, such as Benin, Togo, and the Ivory Coast, where there is an increase in militant attacks.

Some European countries had shown an interest in continuing regional operations post Mali, the officials said.

Lecornu will travel to the Ivory Coast, which also hosts French troops, on Saturday, while Macron is likely to travel to Benin at the end of July, Colonna said.

Back in February, France declared that it would withdraw thousands of its troops from Mali due to a breakdown in relations with the country, a decade after launching a war without the initial approval of the United Nations or the French parliament.

The decision applies to the 2,400 French troops in Mali, where France first deployed forces to in 2013, and a European force of several hundred soldiers that was created in 2020.

France has been a former colonizer in Africa, which, after many years of outright colonization, still controls countries spread over more than 12 territories and treats their people as second-class citizens. It has had more than 50 military interventions in Africa since 1960, when many of its former colonies gained nominal independence.

France currently has 5,100 troops in the arid and volatile Sahel region. Under a new plan, they will be reduced to 2,500-3,000.

Although France remains the only Western country with a significant military presence in the Sahel, its relationship with its former African colonies has grown increasingly tense in recent months, with an evident increase in anti-French sentiment.

Sources

13, July 2022

Road to civil war: An alliance between Franck Biya and Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh may be in the works ⁰

As all of Yaoundé is on tenterhooks over Paul Biya’s health, the president’s entourage is speculating about possible scenarios. One that is emerging is a joint ticket between the president’s general secretary and his son, Franck Biya, reports Africa Intelligence.

Recently, an obscure organization known as the National Network of Youths for Peace and Stability in Cameroon have being flying banners of Franck Emmanuel Biya in Yaoundé depicting him as the potential successor to his father President Paul Biya.

In one of its large banners deployed on Saturday, July 9, 2022 in front of the Grand Mosque near the Police Academy in Yaoundé and ignored by state authority, the so-called youth movement wrote that “God, destiny and the country present Franck Emmanuel Biya to continue the work of his glorious predecessors. Together, let us take up the challenge of a more prosperous Cameroon”.

The leader of the group Alhadji Aboubakar Garba, an unknown political figure has been quoted as saying that the banner heralds Franck Biya’s campaign for the presidential elections of 2025.

By Rita Akana

10, July 2022

Dion Ngute’s Replacement: Discussions are still underway! ⁰

Discussions about who will be replacing Dion Ngute as the country’s Prime Minister are still going on. The current Prime has fallen out of favour with the ailing president and the ruling party wants to cut out the ineffective Prime Minister from the Star Building and his removal is being considered because of his inability to end the conflict in the two English-speaking regions and his participation in the killing of the former mayor of Ekondo-Titi, Kenneth Nanji.

Sources at the country’s Presidency have informed the Cameroon Intelligence Report that there are two candidates whose profiles fit the ruling party’s mold. The sources added that one of the candidates works at the World Bank in Washington DC while the other one is a South-westerner at the African Development Bank Group who has massive leverage in the unfortunate events which have been playing out in the country’s two English-speaking regions.

The sources added that the AfDB candidate had been received by the Cameroon Ambassador in Abidjan sometime last week and might be concluding arrangements if certain conditions are met. The sources said that the two candidates might help broker a deal which might help the country recover from its self-inflicted wounds.

Though both candidates hold that an American or Canadian-style federalism might help stem the bloodshed, the government is still insisting on its decentralization policy which has not produced any meaningful results over the last twenty-five years. This is the sticking point, and this could be responsible for the delay in the appointment of a new cabinet.

“We are all waiting for a new government. Things are at a standstill, and we need fresh blood that can breathe new life into our political and economic systems. I have been informed that the candidate in Abidjan is insisting on major changes so that real peace can return to Cameroon. Things are not working. We need someone who is really respected and has the credibility and trust of the people,” the frustrated CPDM official said.

“Our country is going down the drain and we need someone who can make Cameroonians see the government in a different light. The economy is not working and the killings in the two English-speaking regions have escalated. We cannot be indifferent to this ugly situation. The country’s authorities are really tired, and they too want an end to this unfortunate situation which could have been averted through dialogue,” the source said.

“We really want the Diaspora to be represented in the government. There should be a Ministry in Charge of the Diaspora, and this should be given to someone who knows the issues facing our people who are living out of the country. I know there is the issue of dual nationality which has been pending for long but since the President is now sending delegations to talk to members of the Diaspora in Europe and North America, I think the attitude will soon be different. I even thought this would be discussed during the ongoing parliamentary session. We need to move very fast if we really love our country,” the Yaoundé-based politician stressed.

“There is tension within the ruling CPDM as news that the Unity Palace is moving closer to announcing a new government and a new Prime Minister from outside the usual circles. Though many oppose the appointment of an independent person, they truly do not have a choice. The president wants someone with the credibility needed to talk to the separatists and all those who have been in government are tainted. Even the French and certain international organizations hold that the fighting can only be stopped through dialogue and only someone who is not a real politician can put an end to the fighting,” the source said.

“The leading candidate who is in Abidjan is considered as a very strict person who believes in transparency and dialogue. It is even alleged within the government that the secret service has also spoken with him, and a report has been made and submitted to the President. The man is known for his courage to express his mind and is very patriotic. It is being said that he was a civil servant before leaving the country and it is believed that he can deliver the goods. We really need a straightforward person in Cameroon. Our country is falling apart, and we cannot be looking the other way while things crumble,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Cameroon Concord News Group will soon publish the findings of an investigation it commissioned many months ago following the death of Kenneth Nanji, the former Mayor of Ekondo-Titit, who was killed with others as they were heading to Ekondo-Titi to lay the groundwork for the Prime Minister’s visit to Ndian Division.

Evidence gathered points to Prime Minister Dion Ngute being the brain behind the Bekora killings when he found out that Mr. Nanji was using the violence in Ndian Division to enrich himself at his expense. The D.O. and CPDM sub-section president who also died were simply collateral damage as the real target was Mr. Nanji who used to be the Prime Minister’s henchman but became dishonest and was not aware that those he planned the school killings with had actually thrown him under the bus.

He was fleecing the Prime Minister out of his money and was not delivering the exact amount of money the Prime Minister was handing to him for him to deliver to General TWO KOBO who had promised Mr. Ngute that he and his boys would not be creating chaos in Ndian Division.

Mr. Nanji was the mastermind of the killing of students and a teacher in Ekondo-Titi and the G.H.S Ekondo Titi killings were designed to force the Prime Minister to continue providing millions to him for him to deliver to Two Kobo and to get his fair share. The Prime Minister had entered into an agreement with Two Kobo who had agreed to keep a low profile in that area of the country. Details of this saga will soon be published in a special editorial.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with reports from Rita Akana

7, July 2022

UK Politics: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign ⁰

Boris Johnson is expected to resign his position as Conservative party leader today but stay on as Prime Minister until the fall, British media sources report. He is slated to make a statement in the early afternoon on Thursday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken to Queen Elizabeth as a courtesy ahead of an impending announcement about his resignation plan, ITV Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana said on Thursday.

Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer called it “good news for the country” that Johnson was going to quit.

“But it should have happened long ago. He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale.”

“We don’t need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government,” Starmer said. “We need a fresh start for Britain.”

Weighing in from the Conservative party, Deputy Chairman Justin Tomlinson said “I was Team Boris, as the GE (general election) showed he was our star player who connected across traditional political divides. Yes there were ups and downs, but he turbo-charged social mobility and opportunity.

“His resignation was inevitable. As a Party we must quickly unite and focus on what matters. These are serious times on many fronts.”

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon also weighed in via Twitter, questioning his continued presence as Prime Minister for the next three months. “There will be a widespread sense of relief that the chaos of the last few days (indeed months) will come to an end, though notion of Boris Johnson staying on as PM until autumn seems far from ideal, and surely not sustainable?”

Source: France 24

7, July 2022

UN Security Council to vote on extending Syria cross-border aid ⁰

The United Nations Security Council votes Thursday on extending its authorization of aid transfers across Syria’s border without approval from Damascus, with Russia seeking a six-month prolongation while Western nations want a full year.

The UN resolution permitting aid deliveries across the Syrian-Turkish border at Bab al-Hawa has been in effect since 2014, but is set to expire on Sunday.

Norway and Ireland, two non-permanent members of the 15-country Security Council, have drafted a resolution that would extend the authorization until July 10, 2023.

Nearly 10,000 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid passed through Bab al-Hawa last year, bound for the rebel-held Idlib region in northwestern Syria. It is the only crossing through which aid can be brought into Idlib without navigating areas controlled by Syrian government forces.

The resolution, which was obtained by AFP, calls on “all parties to ensure full, safe and unhindered access by all modalities, including cross-line, for deliveries of humanitarian assistance to all parts of Syria.”

Russia, a veto-holding Security Council member and ally of Damascus, has hinted in recent months that it would oppose an extension, having already forced a reduction in the number of allowed border crossings on the grounds that it violates Syria’s sovereignty.

According to diplomats, Russia ultimately put its own draft resolution on the table, which includes an extension of six months.

In an attempt to persuade Moscow, Norway and Ireland have inserted several amendments touching on the transparency of humanitarian shipments, possible contributions to Syria’s reconstruction, and on the need to develop aid deliveries via government-controlled territory.

Russia has long called for the West to participate in Syria’s reconstruction, but some council members, most vocally France, have refused until political reforms have been enacted.

However, during a Security Council meeting in June, a majority of countries — including the United States — offered support for financing so-called “early recovery projects” in Syria.

In this vein, the resolution by Norway and Ireland calls for “further international initiatives to broaden the humanitarian activities in Syria, including water, sanitation, health, education, and shelter early recovery projects.”

By Wednesday evening, few diplomats dared to predict whether the additions would be enough to convince Russia to agree to a full-year extension.

But some told AFP that a last-minute compromise was possible, by making the six-month extension renewable for an additional six months practically by default.

Source: AFP