French Cameroun is putting Ambazonia leaders on trial

28, November 2018

French Cameroun is putting Ambazonia leaders on trial 0

The leaders of Africa’s newest nation, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia extradited from Nigeria earlier in 2018 will face trial next month on terrorism charges, according to one of their lawyers. The ten members of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government including President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe were reportedly charged by judges in the Yaounde Military Tribunal in French Cameroun.

“Ten charges have been brought against them, including terrorism, advocating terrorism, secession, civil war and revolution,” lawyer Christopher Ndong told Reuters after the charges were read out at the Yaounde’s military tribunal on Tuesday. The trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 6, Ndong added.

For more than two years, Southern Cameroonians have engaged the government in a tough battle that has resulted in the killing of some 4,000 Cameroonians, including over 1,300 soldiers.

Following a demonstration by teachers and lawyers in 2016, the two English-speaking regions have become ungovernable. The government’s military actions have caused some 200,000 Southern Cameroonians to flee to Nigeria while millions are hiding in the bushes to avoid the government’s indiscriminate killings.

Many children are today seeking refuge in those bushes and many babies have been delivered in the process. The numbers of teenage mothers have increased and this spells another serious problem in the future. The government has not taken any efforts to convince the people for them to return to their homes.

On the contrary, soldiers have been torching many homes and killing any young Southern Cameroonians found in the territory in the hope that they could eliminate any threat Southern Cameroonians pose to the government.

Schools have been closed now for two years in the region and many of the students have simply been co-opted into the armed groups that have emerged. As the government turns down any appeals for inclusive dialogue, so too does the situation deteriorate. Even after solutions to the conflict would have been sought, security issues will linger for a long time. Many young men, who have lost hope in life, will continue to use their weapons as a means of eking out a living.

By Sama Ernest and Kingsley Betek


Mild Fatigue vs Serious illness: Gabon’s Bongo to recuperate and meet presidency officials in Morocco

28, November 2018

Mild Fatigue vs Serious illness: Gabon’s Bongo to recuperate and meet presidency officials in Morocco 0

Gabon’s President Ali Bongo is expected to leave Saudi Arabia, where he was hospitalised last month after suffering a stroke, for Morocco on Wednesday, according to his wife.

Bongo has not been seen in public since being admitted to hospital during a conference on Oct. 24. Gabon’s top court ruled earlier this month that the vice president would chair the cabinet in Bongo’s absence.

In a post on her Facebook page, Sylvia Bongo wrote that her husband’s health had improved significantly and that he would travel to Rabat on Wednesday.

“To pursue his recuperation, the president, in concertation with his close family, has decided to accept the proposal of his brother, His Majesty the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI,” she said.

Bongo has asked advisers from the presidency to join him in Rabat to consult on affairs of state, his wife added.

The Bongo family has ruled the oil-producing country for nearly half a century. Bongo has been president since succeeding his father, Omar, who died in 2009.

His re-election in 2016 was marred by claims of fraud and violent protest.

Africa News


Brexit deal to make Scotland ‘poorer’

28, November 2018

Brexit deal to make Scotland ‘poorer’ 0

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has denounced as “unacceptable” the UK government’s draft Brexit deal, warning that divorce from the European Union will make Scotland “poorer.”

During a news conference in Edinburgh on Tuesday, the Scottish leader outlined her government’s opposition to the Brexit deal negotiated by British Prime Minister Theresa May and said no Scottish government could possibly accept a deal which left the country poorer.

Referring to a new report from the Scottish government, Sturgeon warned that the draft deal to leave the 28-member bloc could result in “loss equivalent to £1,610 per person in Scotland compared to EU membership by 2030.”

Investment in Scotland could be 7.7 percent lower by that date compared to if the UK stayed in the EU, according to the report.

“The analysis shows why the deal agreed by the Prime Minister is unacceptable to the Scottish Government and damaging to the people of Scotland,” Sturgeon said.

“No government of Scotland with the interests of this and future generations at heart could possibly accept it,” she added.

The Scottish leader also said the “special deal” being put in place to prevent the return to a hard border in Ireland would leave Scotland at a “serious competitive disadvantage” to Northern Ireland, and that, “In short, it will make us poorer.”

Sturgeon added that the Scottish government would support a second Brexit referendum with the option of remaining in the EU when the time is “right for the people of Scotland.”

Scots supporting independence from Britain failed to emerge victorious from a referendum in 2014 in which some 55 percent of the voters voted for the region to remain in the UK. However, they launched a fresh call for secession after a Brexit referendum in June 2016 in which Britons voted 52 to 48 to leave the EU.

The pro-independence camp in Scotland defies London’s assertion that the region, which is one of the UK’s four nations, should abide by the results of the Brexit referendum. They insist that some 62 of the voters in Scotland voted for continued EU membership.

May ‘governing by threat’ on Brexit deal

Meanwhile, Sturgeon criticized the British premier and said May is “governing by threat,” as she has been seeking to impose the Brexit deal on Scotland.

“The Prime Minister has made it clear at every turn that she is not interested in compromise; in fact she seems to have given up any attempt at governing by consensus and is now governing by threat,” the Scottish leader said.

Sturgeon stressed that the draft agreement was “a bad deal,” which Westminster was “seeking to impose on the people of Scotland regardless of the damage it will cause.”

The First Minister said, “It will not end uncertainty. It will extend it. We are being asked to accept a blindfold Brexit with all the difficult decisions kicked down the road.”

The draft agreement was signed with the EU on Sunday and will need to be approved by UK lawmakers next month.

May faces a daunting task of gaining the approval of the parliament for her Brexit deal as many from both the opposition and her own Conservative Party have vowed to reject it on December 12, when the House convenes to vote on the agreement.

The Brexit deal, comprised of two separate agreements on departure and future relations, has sparked widespread concerns in Britain.

The pro-EU camp believes the deal will deprive the UK of normal privileges of membership while offering almost nothing in return. The anti-EU camp says it will make Britain a colony of the EU and London would have no right to challenge the EU’s decisions, including those affecting its province of Northern Ireland, for many years to come.

There is a high chance that Britain would be forced to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, without an agreement if the parliament rejects May’s Brexit deal.

Source: Presstv


Statement on worsening situation in Cameroon two years on – Mo Ibrahim Foundation

28, November 2018

Statement on worsening situation in Cameroon two years on – Mo Ibrahim Foundation 0

For the past two years, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has continued to monitor and follow the governance challenges being faced by the Government of Cameroon. This renewed focus was due to the November 2016 peaceful strike of lawyers, teachers and other professionals that escalated into violence, drawing out ethnic and religious tensions, and impacting on the stability and peace that the country had enjoyed for some decades.

Today, the confrontation between Cameroon’s Government and separatists continues to escalate resulting in casualties of civilians and state security officers. The scenes we see today of this continuing confrontation bear no resemblance to the peaceful strike that began two years ago.

A peaceful Cameroon is vital not only for the region but for the wider continent. Often described as ‘Africa in miniature’, Cameroon reflects the cultural, ethnic and geographic diversity of the continent. This young nation also follows the wider trends of Africa’s growing youth demographic, with 15-34-year olds constituting over 77% of the population in the country.

The 2018 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, published a few weeks ago, highlights the ongoing Governance challenges in Cameroon and captures worrisome deteriorating trends. The Overall Governance measure continue to show decline particularly in the last five years. This decline is manifested notably in the category of Safety & Rule of Law as measured mainly by the unsatisfactory performance relating to the Absence of Government Involvement in Armed Conflict, Absence of Government Violence against Civilians, National Security, Absence of Domestic Armed Conflict or Risk of Conflict and the Reliability of Police Services.

Performance in the category of Participation & Human Rights has shown no noted improvement and has been negatively impacted by the recent Presidential elections where voter turnout in Anglophone regions was reportedly very low.

The Foundation continues to be gravely concerned over this ongoing crisis in Cameroon and urges all parties to come together to promote ethnic and religious understanding and engage in meaningful dialogue to find a nonviolent solution. We encourage the country’s leadership to connect more with its young population and intensify efforts to increase safety and bring peace and opportunity to all its citizens.

Source: Mareeg.com


Who Should Be Cameroon Concord News Person Of The Year 2018?

27, November 2018

Who Should Be Cameroon Concord News Person Of The Year 2018? 0

Voting on Cameroon Concord News Man of the Year 2018 is now officially open. Since 1999, Cameroon Concord News Group has provided our readers the opportunity of chosen a “Man of the Year.” It is simply a choice of a person who has had the most influence over the news in the last 12 months.

Samuel Eto’o, Bishop Emeritus Francis Teke Lisinge and former Nigerian Head of State, Goodluck Jonathan have all won the award. In 2017, the Cameroon Concord News Person of the Year award was accorded to the Southern Cameroons and all its citizens individually and collectively. The collective nature of this choice was justified.

Fifty-six years ago, the Southern Cameroons a United Nations Trust territory under British administration, was betrayed and sold off to France through its vassal state of French Cameroun. Great Britain and France were among the key actors on whom humanity relied to create the United Nations on the 26 of June 1945 in San Francisco. This underscored a firm determination of the civilized world “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small’. In consequence therefore, the United Nations Organization went operational on 24 October 1945 with among other goals to fulfill a critical determination to meet its charter obligation under article 76 (b) “to promote the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the trust territories, and their progressive development towards self-government or independence as may be appropriate to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned, and as may be provided by the terms of each trusteeship agreement”.

Pursuant to this multilateral treaty obligation, the United Nations oversaw the grant of independence to French Cameroun on 1 January 1960 although; it remains a vassal state of France. When the time came for the realization of the UN multilateral treaty obligation towards the Southern Cameroons on 1 October 1961, Great Britain handed the articles of sovereignty over the territory to French vassal state of French Cameroun and France’s proxy army of occupation in the night of 30 September 1961.  Ever since, the genocidal onslaught and ferocious intensity with which it is executed qualifies the Southern Cameroons as a cancer on the conscience of the international community.  The genocide that was carefully weaved into the slave deal apart, the racism that underpinned the callousness of the impunity with which Southern Cameroons was sacrificed to satisfy or fulfill the imperial economic interests of Britain and France, more than anything establishes that these superpowers perceived the United Nations as an institution they may rely on to legitimize imperial domination over supposed independent African nations.  The selling off the Southern Cameroons into slavery at its threshold to independence explains this eloquently.

This is further explained by the complicit silence or inaction of the UN to the consequences in terms of Southern Cameroonian lives lost, legal and cultural identity destroyed, economy raped and culture of terror, and international criminality imposed on the Southern Cameroons on the watch of the UN and its ancillary institutions.  Judging from the timid and complicit statements of the France-Afrique neocolonial UN Secretary-General Representative for Central Africa, François Louncény Fall of Guinea an avowed paid agent of French Cameroun aimed at whitewashing the genocide of Southern Cameroons by attempting to make victims out of French Cameroun criminal genocide executioners, it is safe under these circumstances to conclude that  the infiltration of the international system over the years rather than dissuade, encouraged impunity and

Despite these obstacles and the seemingly insurmountable odds against the Southern Cameroons, after fifty-six years of excruciating life under genocide, terror, economic terrorism, and all forms of international criminality imaginable, the people rose as one on the 22 September 2017, and ultimately on 1 October 2017 to reclaim their freedom and independence.  Many of 2017’s biggest headlines were a reflection of the year that preceded it.

In 2018, a warning from the Cameroon Intelligence Report to the leadership of the Ambazonian Interim Government that Nigeria was planning to betray them was not taken seriously but it however escalated into a major crisis. Another major news item of 2018 is the emergence of Barrister Agbor Balla into the Cameroon political story and an election in French Cameroun that placed President Biya and Prof. Maurice Kamto at daggers-drawn positions. Outside the two Cameroons, France’s Emmanuel Macron was in Nigeria, Ali Bongo of Gabon suffered a massive stroke and the political factions in Kenya reconciled.

The Ambazonian Communications Secretary, Chris Anu, the 85 year old President Paul Biya, Prof Maurice Kamto and Barrister Agbor Balla have indeed had the most influence over the news in the last 12 months. It is now our duty as Cameroon Concord News People to decide who should be the person of the year.

Voting can be done using the comment link or via email

cameroonconcordnews@gmail.com

By Seseskou Asu Isong


Ambazonians don’t be distracted: It’s all about the money for Cho Ayaba and General Ivo

27, November 2018

Ambazonians don’t be distracted: It’s all about the money for Cho Ayaba and General Ivo 0

Which were you thinking about today? a) Anything but Cho Ayaba and General Ivo? b) All the actions of the Ambazonian Interim Government? c) None of the above?  It’s the most important question in the Southern Cameroons revolution right now.

The Southern Cameroons political conversation is at a troubling and unusual tipping point. The exiled Interim Government wants to sell only its positive plans and the other obscure groups wants to talk only about the Interim Government’s negative record. Instead of rallying behind a government that has many experienced actors and actresses and that has the support of the Ambazonian people, the disgraced Cho Ayaba and the consistently inconsistent General Ivo are both thinking that right now the struggle is about which Interim Government negative plan is most debated.

Recently, every French Cameroun military atrocity has been blamed on the Interim Government by these inconsequential actors.  As the Southern Cameroons war intensifies, it is evidently clear that the wins will be decided by what the leaders choose to do in the media.

This can play out in one of two ways. If Ambazonians decide to ignore the other opportunistic so-called leaders such as Cho Ayaba and General Ivo, we’ll be talking about anything but division and much of the discussions will be dominated by a combination of diplomatic push and resistance tactics. After the massacre in Nkambe and Bali, we of the Cameroon Concord News Group think that where we stand right now, that feels increasingly likely.

There’s another possibility; the small groups earlier created by Akwanga and Ayaba on Ground Zero that are now committing horrible crimes could remain the centre of the discussion. The leaderships of these funny groups keep posting videos of themselves on social media with the aim of fabricating a contest between the Southern Cameroons Interim Government and their unpopular one-man-show style of resistance. Though there is plenty at stake there. In fact, this tactical struggle for the agenda of social media coverage of the Ambazonian revolution has really affected the resistance greatly and caused the lives of hundreds of innocent Southern Cameroons civilians.

Doubt, lack of confidence, disillusion, political apathy and cynicism is hampering the smooth running of the Ambazonian Interim Government. Interest in Southern Cameroons political philosophy and ideology, is very low now amongst our people in Europe, South Africa and the USA including Canada. There is far greater involvement by those on Ground Zero than Ambazonians in the Diaspora.

The more complex truth is that the Southern Cameroons Diaspora political elite are materialistic and transactional about the politics of liberation – but this isn’t the same thing as being cynical or selfish.

Of course, if the people of Southern Cameroons really want to win this war of liberation, it requires for all Ambazonians to rally behind the Interim Government now to reproduce the discipline that was put in place by Interim President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and to see through the politics of distractions, to what matters: progress in resistance and protection to our wounded and refugees in Nigeria and those living in the bushes. But for Cho Ayaba, Akwanga and Ivo, its simply about the money.

To this I put my name

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai


Ex-Trump aide Manafort ‘lied to FBI’ in Russia probe, broke plea deal

27, November 2018

Ex-Trump aide Manafort ‘lied to FBI’ in Russia probe, broke plea deal 0

Special counsel Robert Mueller is accusing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of lying to federal investigators in the Russia probe in breach of his plea agreement. The extraordinary allegation could expose Manafort to a lengthier prison sentence   and potentially more criminal charges.

The torpedoing of Manafort’s plea deal, disclosed in a court filing Monday, also results in special counsel Robert Mueller’s team losing a cooperating witness from the top of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign who was present for several key episodes under investigation. That includes a Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer he was told had derogatory information on Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The move signals a return to the acrimonious relationship Manafort has had with the special counsel’s office since his indictment last year. Before his plea agreement, Manafort aggressively challenged the special counsel’s legitimacy in court, went through a bitter trial and landed himself in jail after prosecutors discovered he had attempted to tamper with witnesses in his case.

In the latest filing, Mueller’s team said Manafort “committed federal crimes” by lying about “a variety of subject matters” even after he agreed to truthfully cooperate with the investigation. Prosecutors said they will detail the “nature of the defendant’s crimes and lies” in writing at a later date to the judge.

Through his attorneys, Manafort denied lying, saying he “believes he provided truthful information” during a series of sessions with Mueller’s investigators. He also disagreed that he breached his plea agreement. Still, both sides now agree they can’t resolve the conflict, and U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson should set a date to sentence him.

Manafort, who remains jailed, had been meeting with the special counsel’s office since he pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He cut that deal to head off a second trial after being convicted last summer of eight felony counts related to millions of dollars he hid from the IRS in offshore accounts.

Both cases stemmed from his Ukrainian political work and undisclosed lobbying work he admitted to carrying out in the U.S. in violation of federal law.

As part of his plea agreement, Manafort pledged to “cooperate fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly” with the government “in any and all matters” prosecutors deemed necessary. That included his work on the Trump campaign as well as his Ukrainian political work, which remains under investigation by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Prosecutors there are looking into the conduct of longtime Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta, former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig and former Republican congressman and lobbyist Vin Weber to determine whether they violated federal law by failing to register as foreign agents with the Justice Department. None of the men has been charged with any crimes.

As part of his plea deal, Manafort also forfeited many of his rights as well as his ability to withdraw the plea if he broke any of the terms. In return, prosecutors agreed to not bring additional charges against him and to ask a judge for a reduction of his sentence if he provided “substantial assistance.”

But with prosecutors saying he breached the agreement, Manafort now faces serious repercussions such as the possibility of prosecution on additional charges including the 10 felony counts prosecutors dropped when he made the deal.

Manafort already faces up to five years in prison on the two charges in his plea agreement. In his separate Virginia case, Manafort’s potential sentencing under federal guidelines has not yet been calculated, but prosecutors have previously said he could face as much as 10 years in prison on those charges.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in that case in February. His co-defendant Rick Gates, who spent a longer time on the campaign and worked on the Trump inaugural committee, has not had a sentencing date set yet. He continues to cooperate with Mueller.

(AP)


Ambazonia: Yaounde endorses “indiscriminate killings” IG studying plans for operations in La Republique

27, November 2018

Ambazonia: Yaounde endorses “indiscriminate killings” IG studying plans for operations in La Republique 0

French Cameroun soldiers deployed to Southern Cameroons have been told to resort to the policy of indiscriminate killings. Yaoundé says the killings carried out by the Cameroon government forces in Nkambe and Bali has dealt a fatal blow to the Ambazonian Restoration Forces.

Cameroon government military spokesman, Colonel Badjeck hinted recently that with the approval of the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji who also moonlights as Secretary of the National Security Council, the army has been authorized to carry out “massive killings” and that the leadership of the exiled Ambazonian Interim Government will also be targeted by hit men sponsored by the Biya regime.

Commenting on the issue, the Ambazonian Secretary for Homeland Security observed that many of the commanders of some Southern Cameroons resistance groups not under the supervision of the Interim Government are extremely lacking in personality and military experience which is helping the French Cameroun military in its onslaught.

Bishop John Egyawan, a former US war veteran revealed that his department has men and women with solid personal achievements in the US and European armies and serious consultation is currently going on for the implementation of a new self defense strategy which will be centered on county-by-county.

The Southern Cameroons Homeland Security Chief also pointed out that some of the fighters not loyal to the Interim Government have transformed themselves into criminal gangs and are presently terrorizing the Ambazonian people which are counterproductive to the revolution. “All of these organizations – from senior commanders here in Europe and the US to the low-ranking soldiers – not under the Interim Government are indirectly helping the fighting spirit of the enemy,” John Egyawan said.

Asked about the way forward for the armed resistance, the Ambazonian Homeland Security Chief noted that his department has recommended Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces carry operations deep inside French Cameroun, asserting that the offensives would yield many benefits despite the risks associated with them.

Bishop John Egyawan added that Southern Cameroonians should keep the financial donations coming in as Acting President Ikome Sako has called for a proper positioning of Restoration forces units in the Northern Zone with the aim of subjugating the enemy.

Meanwhile, Cameroon Intelligence Report has been reliably informed that the French Cameroun army is moving hundreds of combat forces and military equipment to the Lebialem County via Dschang in the Western Region of Francophone Cameroon. The recent activity of the Red Dragons of Lebialem in a way that surprised the enemy and destroyed its equipment has greatly damaged the French Cameroun military fighting morale.

By Rita Akana and Sama Ernest with additional reporting from Soter Agbaw-Ebai


Why the attacks on the Ambazonian Interim Gov’t MUST Stop

26, November 2018

Why the attacks on the Ambazonian Interim Gov’t MUST Stop 0

1. Ambazonia is not yet a democracy.
2. Ambazonia Government does not yet have the mechanism or ability to enforce any law.
3. The Ambazonia Government can not run as a pure democracy because her current situation does not support all the elements of democracy which includes free and fair Elections.
4. The Ambazonia Government is not yet capable of providing the basics to her citizens: security, public health, water, electricity and jobs.
5. The Ambazonia Government has no guarantee source of revenue to run it’s programs.
6. The Ambazonia Government is an interim Government.
7. The leaders of Ambazonia are on exile or in jail with the inability to freely travel and do what they want to do for their country.
8 The Ambazonia Government does not have any diplomatic allies yet who can protect or assist her.
9. The Ambazonia Government is a transitional one going through a process.
10. The Ambazonia Government has no economy or Intelligence system to depend on.
11. The Ambazonia Government is run by volunteers. Its very challenging to expect from volunteers what you can expect from employees.
12. Not every Ambazonian can serve as a volunteer because of many reasons: some could be fear of consequences to them or their families, they have jobs that gives them no extra time to sacrifice, some can not handle the extra workload with their work and family demands

If so what type of Government is Ambazonia?

The Answer is simple:

The Ambazonia Government is a Revolutionary Government.

What are some of the characteristics of a Revolutionary Government.

Decision can not be made by pure democracy. Not everyone will have the ability to participate. Even if everyone does participate in decision making, they do not have the power or mechanism to enforce what they agree.

THE ONLY TYPE OF GOVERNMENT THAT WILL SUIT AMBAZONIA IS DEMOCRATIC DICTATORSHIP

This type of Government is the only one that is suitable and good for a revolution if it has to succeed. It means few people will be chosen to make decisions that everyone can follow until it becomes a Nation that can provide the basics necessities to it’s citizens.


Ambazonia: Red Dragons ambush French Cameroun military convoy, kill at least 28

26, November 2018

Ambazonia: Red Dragons ambush French Cameroun military convoy, kill at least 28 0

The Red Dragons defending the Lebialem County in Southern Cameroons have ambushed a French Cameroun military convoy, reportedly killing at least 28 soldiers.  Cameroon Intelligence Report sources in Dschang confirmed the ambush on an army convoy in Beluah involving 9 military trucks but gave no details.

A member of the Ambazonian Interim Government said the convoy had been on its way to the Lebialem County to wage a war of revenge against locals and Southern Cameroons Restoration Fighters when it came under attack. We gathered that a French Cameroun commander was killed in the attack.

A source at the Dschang Divisional Hospital said 28 bodies had been brought in from Beluah. The Ambazonian Interim Government has not claimed responsibility for the ambush. However, we understand the Red Dragons have stepped up their attacks and have been staging assaults in the past weeks on an almost daily basis against French Cameroun security forces.

The Bishop of the Mamfe Diocese, His Lordship Bishop Andrew Nkea has ordered the closure of 12 parishes due to the rising attacks on clergies and the chaotic situation in the territory. President Biya and his administration have come under heavy criticism over their handling of the crisis in Southern Cameroons.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Sama Ernest


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