21, December 2018

Spanish PM, pro-secession leader agree to find solution to Catalonia crisis ⁰

Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the regional leader of Catalonia agreed Thursday to find a solution to the political crisis that has been festering since a failed secession attempt by the region last year.

The agreement was reached in a meeting in Barcelona between Catalan regional President Quim Torra and PM Sánchez, whose Socialist administration has taken a more conciliatory approach to the independence issue than its conservative predecessor.

Following the meeting, their governments issued a joint statement calling for a “commitment for effective dialogue that leads to a political proposal that has the backing of large part of Catalan society.” The statement, which The Associated Press has seen, was read out by the spokeswoman of the Catalan government, Elsa Artadi, after the meeting.

Artadi says that members of the two governments have agreed to meet again in January. The PM plans to hold a Cabinet meeting of his government on Friday in Barcelona, which radical separatist groups are expected to protest.

Sanchez, who also seeks to secure support for his minority government in the northeastern region, will gather his ministers in Barcelona in an attempt to help resolve a political conflict over Catalonia’s independence drive.

National police will be deployed in Barcelona to guard the cabinet meeting amid fears that extreme elements of the independence movement could stoke violence.

Jailed Catalan independence leaders however have called on protesters to demonstrate peacefully. Nine Catalan separatists, who have been jailed and await trial for rebellion, call for a “peaceful protest” during an upcoming cabinet meeting.

A lawyer representing former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and five other Catalan politicians who have been charged in Spain for violent rebellion has appealed to the UN’s Human Rights Committee to help defend their democratic rights.

Nico Krisch denounced a “grave interference in the democratic order” linked to the charges against Puigdemont, who lives in exile in Belgium, as well as Oriol Junqueras, Raul Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull. The five are being held in pre-trial detention in Spain.

The Catalan politicians have been charged and suspended from office by Spain’s Supreme Court for their roles in organizing an independence referendum in Catalonia 14 months ago. The Spanish and Catalan governments have been at odds since the Catalan Parliament issued an illegal and ineffective declaration of independence last year.

In October 2017, Catalonia unilaterally declared independence, prompting Madrid to take control of the region – which has 7.5 million people and accounts for about a fifth of Spain’s economy – and arrested secessionist leaders.

Source: Presstv

20, December 2018

IG’s Assertion on Biya’s Provocative Decree “Releasing” 289 Ambazonians ⁰

The Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia expresses total disappointment in regards to the deceitful and unjust decree issued on Thursday, 13th December 2018, by French Cameroun President, Paul Biya. The decree ordered the discontinuance of some pending cases at their military tribunal in relation to 289 Southern Cameroonians/Ambazonians unjustly abducted since the beginning of the ongoing conflict in Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia.

The Interim Government considers the decree as a sign of confusion within the Yaoundé regime, and a big provocation to the peaceful people of Ambazonia, considering that there are more than 3,000 citizens from Ambazonia in different detention centers and prisons across French Cameroun and within the occupied territory of Ambazonia. Some of these victims have already been convicted and imprisoned on trumped-up charges.

The Interim Government has observed that the obnoxious decree talked of releasing some people who committed misdemeanors (minor offences), whereas the Yaoundé regime is not holding any Ambazonian for charges less than treason and acts of terrorism with death penalties hanging over their heads. Moreover, after reviewing the lists of purported detainees released by French Cameroun, the following irregularities were observed:

Names of deceased Ambazonians who died in prison as a result of the inhumane treatment meted on them by French Cameroun were on the list.

41 – Wolen Vitalis

43 – Wirsiy Frederic

According to family sources, some detainees who were supposedly released precisely from the Bafoussam Central Prison were never abducted or jailed.
Achankeng Fidelis
Ninju Felix
A sizeable number of the supposed detainees released are citizens from French Cameroun not Ambazonians and definitely had no connection with the ongoing conflict.
At the Yaoundé Central Prison (Kondengui), of the 82 detainees enlisted for release, only 63 were actually released.

The Interim Government hereby concludes that the decree is a covert, conceived manipulative plan, aimed at deceiving the international community that the brutal dictator Mr. Paul Biya is taking measures to end the war he declared on the people of Ambazonia over a year ago. His soldiers still continue to kill unarmed Ambazonia civilians indiscriminately and burn down entire villages.

Hon. Chris Anu

20, December 2018

CEMAC countries to harmonize trade laws ⁰

The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) has finalized plans to harmonize laws governing trade in the sub-region, Fatima Haram Acyl, vice-president of CEMAC said on Tuesday.

“We are going to harmonize so we make sure that somebody that is trading in Chad, in Cameroon, Central Africa Republic or anywhere in CEMAC actually operates under the same law,” Acyl told reporters as trade ministers and economic experts from the CEMAC sub-region met in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala to adopt a legislation on competition and consumers protection.

She said the intention was to intensify integration in the sub-region that already has a single market and free trade zone.

“The CEMAC is one market. We have the same people, the same currency and free movement of people. So this exercise is very critical,” Acyl said.

The new legislation will attract more foreign investors and erase unhealthy competition and consumer exploitation that has retarded trade development in the sub-region for a long time, according to Acyl.

CEMAC is made up of Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea. With a total population of about 37 million, it was established to promote cooperation and exchange among its members.

Source: Xinhuanet

20, December 2018

Biya regime seeks to split Ambazonians, President Sisiki Ayuk Tabe senior adviser says ⁰

A senior aide to President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe says the French Cameroun regime is attempting to create division in the Ambazonian revolutionary structure both at home and abroad using ego/power-seeking profiteers, opportunists, activists and clueless self-seekers. In a telephone conversation with our London Bureau Chief, Chi Prudence Asong from an undisclosed location in Nigeria, the Sisiku Ayuk Tabe senior adviser whose name we are withholding also pointed out that the sovereign people of Ambazonia should be more vigilant during these difficult times.

“Disunity is slowly but surely bringing its ugly head deep within structures that are the very foundation of the Southern Cameroons resistance and this may push Ambazonians back to that nasty past known as North West/South West Divide” he opined and added that the Biya Francophone regime intends to split Southern Cameroonians along tribal fault lines and the activities of some so-called front line leaders are helping the Yaoundé government to put together a sectarian puzzle among Southern Cameroons institutions such as the Ambazonia Self-Defense Council, the Ambazonia Restoration Forces and the Interim Government.

He also reminded Southern Cameroonians of the immortal words of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe that “No individual is bigger than the revolution” and described the French Cameroun regime under the 85 year old Biya as a threat to Ambazonia’s sovereignty and blamed the French Cameroun army for continuously violating Southern Cameroons rights.

Elsewhere, Acting President Ikome Sako has urged the UN Security Council to recognize Southern Cameroons as an independent state and to ensure the safe return of Southern Cameroons refugees to their homeland from French Cameroun and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Ambazonian Acting President reiterated that the Ambazonia Self-Defence and Restoration Forces Council (ASC/RF), the command and control system prosecuting the war against La Republique du Cameroun, does not go out of its way to target civilians. Dr Sako also dismissed allegations that ASC/RF is at daggers-drawn positions with the Southern Cameroons Interim Government.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

20, December 2018

US: Nearly 700 Catholic clergy in state of Illinois accused of sexual abuse ⁰

Almost 700 clergymen in the US state of Illinois have been accused of sexually abusing children, a far greater number than the Catholic Church had previously disclosed, dealing a new blow to the credibility of the church.

The state’s six Catholic dioceses had publicly identified 185 priests accused of sexually abusing children and had not released the names of at least 500 others, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Wednesday.

In a scathing statement, the attorney general’s office criticized the Church’s handling of the abuse allegations, saying in some cases the archdioceses did not investigate the allegations at all or did not notify law enforcement or child welfare agencies.

“The preliminary stages of this investigation have already demonstrated that the Catholic Church cannot police itself,” Madigan said.

The Illinois investigation was opened following the release of a probe by the attorney general of Pennsylvania that found over 300 Catholic priests in that state had sexually abused at least 1,000 children over a 70-year period, crimes that were systematically covered up by bishops.

The US Justice Department has opened an investigation into child sex abuse by hundreds of Catholic priests in the state of Pennsylvania. In October, the US Justice Department opened an investigation for the first time into clergy abuse.

In a letter released by the Vatican in August, Pope Francis condemned the US Catholic Church’s failure to bring to justice perpetrators of abuse. The Roman Catholic Church has been hit by numerous scandals in the past few years, involving allegations of covering up the sexual abuse of children by priests to protect pedophiles and the reputation of the Church.

Approximately 6,900 US Roman Catholic priests were accused of sexual abuse with at least 16,900 young victims between 1950 and 2011, according to data from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Similar patterns of abuse have since emerged at dioceses around the globe, undermining the Church’s moral authority and depleting its finances as it paid out billions of dollars in settlements.

Cases of Catholic priests raping and molesting children, and of bishops covering up for them, have erupted on nearly every continent in recent years. Some theologians have argued that the church’s policy on celibacy fosters sexual dysfunction and abusive behavior among priests.

Source: Presstv

20, December 2018

Chinese football imposes salary cap in new spending crackdown ⁰

Chinese football on Thursday imposed a salary cap of 10 million yuan ($1.45 million) a year for domestic players and vowed to kick teams out for so-called “yin-yang contracts”.

The swingeing measures are part of a ramped-up effort by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to clamp down on big spending and get teams to toe a tougher financial line.

There will also be a limit on bonuses and other financial inducements for domestic players, according state sports channel CCTV5, reporting on an end-of-season CFA conference in Shanghai.

Foreign players are not affected by the salary cap, which will be in place for the new Chinese Super League (CSL) season when it starts in the spring.

Among a raft of other measures, teams must submit contracts for their players and coaches by the end of the year as part of a crackdown on “yin-yang contracts”.

Such contracts — one for the tax man and another with the real value of the agreement — are thought to be widespread in football and showbusiness in China.

If the CFA uncovers any tax-avoidance schemes, the offending player or coach face a ban of between one and three years. Their clubs can be deducted points or even kicked out the league.

Two years ago, Brazilian attacking midfielder Oscar joined CSL side Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea for an Asian-record 60 million euros and Argentine forward Carlos Tevez signed for rivals Shanghai Shenhua, both earning some of the highest wages in world football.

Their high-profile arrivals, along with dozens of other foreign stars such as Brazilians Hulk and Paulinho, triggered fears that Chinese clubs were distorting the international transfer market with overinflated wages and fees.

But the CFA has since moved to stop the splurge and force teams to focus on youth development instead, and there is unlikely to be serious money spent when the winter transfer window opens on January 1.

“The association will draw on the experience of advanced overseas leagues to design comprehensive measures to control high wages, high bonuses, high transfer fees and other issues,” Li Yuyi, CFA vice chairman, said earlier this week, according to Xinhua news agency.

Li added: “If there’s only investment but no clear idea of what the long-term returns are, Chinese football is not sustainable.

“Companies (who own teams) need to understand why invest, what are the rewards and what it contributes to society.”

AFP

20, December 2018

British MPs Reaffirm Right of Ambazonians to Assert Sovereignty, Call for Peacekeepers ⁰

British Members of Parliament (MPs) called Wednesday for the deployment of Peacekeepers to arrest the bloodletting in Ambazonia and reaffirm the right of Ambazonians to assert sovereignty over their Homeland.

During over an hour of debate in the British House of Lords, MPs cited Article 4(b) of the African Union Constitutive Act on the sanctity of borders inherited from colonization to debunk the claim of a “one, and indivisible Cameroon” evoked by the Biya regime to justify the annexation of Ambazonia.

MPs challenged the UK Government to go beyond expressing concern and mouthing platitudes. They urged them to call for the deployment of African Union or United Nations Peacekeepers to help arrest the armed violence that has, so far, killed thousands, internally displaced half a million people and left 3.3 million others in need of humanitarian assistance.

MPs blamed London for lack of sensitivity in prioritizing a 1.5 billion pound oil and gas deals in Ambazonia without regard for the impact such a deal could have on further human rights violations.

Members of the House of Lords also questioned the wisdom of the UN decision in 1961 to deny Ambazonia the right to independence as a stand-alone country. They challenged the legality of the 11th February 1961 plebiscite and the failure over the decades to heed many warnings from Ambazonians about the collapse of the two-state federation and their exclusion from political decision-making.

In response to questions, the UK Government assumed the role of lawyers for the Biya regime, denying accusations that the Biya regime is perpetrating ethnic cleansing; suggesting that violations have been on both sides; and arguing that London can continue to do business-as-usual despite the genocidal violence.

Ntumfoyn Boh Herbert (Yindo Toh)

19, December 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis forces 430,000 people to flee ⁰

The number of people displaced as a result of the crisis in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions has spiked to more than 430,000 during the last months. Many people are hiding in the bush with no support, warns the Norwegian Refugee Council.

“We are deeply worried by the ongoing conflict and the increasing displacement figures. Parties to the conflict must ensure that civilians in the area are protected and are able to safely access life-saving assistance,” said David Manan, Country Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Cameroon.

The number of people displaced from their homes in Cameroon’s Anglophone Southwest and Northwest regions and in neighbouring Littoral and West regions has reached 437.000, according to the latest UN estimates.

NRC is assisting people displaced by this crisis. However, many people are left without any support, as insecurity is hindering organisations from accessing many areas. People are without proper shelter and sanitation facilities, clean water, food and access to medical care.

“The needs we are witnessing in the Southwest and Northwest regions are alarming and there are too few agencies on the ground to provide the necessary aid due to limited funding. We call for more donors to prioritise this crisis to allow more agencies to respond so that we can stem the rising tide of suffering and displacement,” said Manan.

“Displaced families who receive our assistance have told us that they share it or give it to their relatives who did not yet receive any assistance and desperately need help. Many people are hiding in the bush with no support, fearing for their lives,” added Manan.

“This is the first time I am being helped since I fled,” said Annoh, who received essential household items,including materials to build a shelter. “I will share what I have received with my husband who is hiding in the bush. He has nothing but the clothes he was wearing when he fled,” she added.

NRC is distributing household items, shelter and hygiene kits in Northwest and Southwest regions with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

Reported by NRC:

The Norwegian Refugee Council(NRC) is a humanitarian organisation working in more than 30 countries globally. It has been present in Cameroon since 2017.

19, December 2018

Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow ⁰

US President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to proceed with negotiations to construct a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to a new document obtained by CNN. The letter, dated October 28, 2015 and signed by Trump, outlined the intent to build Trump condominiums,a hotel and commercial property in the heart of Moscow, the network reported on Tuesday.

Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani told CNN on Sunday that the document was never signed by Trump. “It was a real estate project. There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it,” Giuliani told the network’s Dana Bash.

The document is also signed by Andrey Rozov, owner of I.C. Expert Investment Co., the Russian company that would have been responsible for developing the project, the report said. While running for president in 2016, Trump repeatedly told the public that he had”nothing to do with Russia.” He never said that his company explored the business deal with Russia.

The project, which was ultimately canceled, would have given Trump’s company a $4 million upfront fee, a percentage of the sales and oversight over marketing and design. The hotel spa would have also borne the name of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign believe the project could have been lucrative to the president.

US President Donald Trump has renewed his call to end a federal investigation into alleged Russian collusion with his 2016 presidential election campaign.

While the potential Trump Tower deal was on the table, then-candidate Trump was speaking about changing US policy toward Russia and cultivating a relationship with President Vladimir Putin.

Giuliani suggested on Sunday that Trump had conversation with his then-corporate attorney, Michael Cohen, about the project toward the end of the election campaign.

“According to the answer that he gave, it would have covered all the way up to November of — covered all the way up to November 2016,” Giuliani told ABC News.

Source: Presstv

19, December 2018

Southern Cameroons Genocide: IMF announces more money to Biya’s regime ⁰

On December 17 the International Monetary Fund announced more money to Paul Biya’s government, while not answering Inner City Press question about Biya losing the African Cup of Nations on which the IMF relied. The December 17 announcement: “The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the third review of the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement for Cameroon. The completion of the review enables the disbursement of SDR 55.2 million (about US$76.3 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR317.4 million (about US$438.9 million).

In completing the third review, the Executive Board also approved the authorities’ request for a waiver for the non-observance of the performance criterion on the ceiling on net BEAC financing and the modification of two performance criteria pertaining to the ceiling on net borrowing of the central government from the central bank, excluding IMF financing, and the continuous performance criterion on new non-concessional external debt contracted or guaranteed by the government.

Cameroon’s three-year arrangement for SDR 483 million (about US$667,8 million, or 175 percent of Cameroon’s quota), was approved on June 26, 2017. It aims at supporting the country’s efforts to restore external and fiscal sustainability and lay the foundations for sustainable, inclusive and private sector-led growth.

Following the Executive Board discussion, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, made the following statement:

“Cameroon’s performance under its ECF-supported program is broadly satisfactory. Most end-June 2018 targets have been met and structural reforms have advanced, with completion of key delayed financial sector reforms.

“The authorities remain committed to the concerted regional effort to rebuild CEMAC’s fiscal and external buffers. To that end, addressing revenue shortfalls and containing investment spending will be key to reaching the 2018 deficit target. Steadfast implementation of the 2019 budget, including measures to mobilize non-oil revenue by gradually removing exemptions and further spending rationalization will be essential to mitigate the risks from the challenging security situation, increasing commodity price volatility and other shocks to growth.

“Public external debt has increased rapidly in 2018, mainly owing to faster-than-envisaged disbursements of foreign project loans. Strictly limiting new non-concessional borrowing and addressing the stock of contracted but undisbursed loans are essential to maintain debt sustainability. Gradual adjustments in administered prices would help reduce subsidies and restore the financial viability of key public utility companies, while lowering risks from contingent liabilities.

“Financial sector reforms should continue to advance, including effective resolution of ailing banks and reduction of overdue loans. Other structural reforms should focus on tackling governance issues and improving the business environment to support private investment and enhance competitiveness.

Source: Inner Press