9, April 2018

Limbe to host COURAGE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS 2018 ⁰

Press Release

Limbe, Monday, April 9, 2018: After its maiden edition in 2016 and following a break in 2017 due to
uncertainties from the ongoing Anglophone Crisis, the COURAGE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS is back. The
awards will be presented in a ceremony in Limbe on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2018.

Journalists, news organizations and journalism enthusiasts among the general public are requested to
nominate articles that fulfill the following criteria:

– Articles, blogs, broadcast and podcast clips published between May 4, 2017 and April 25, 2018;
– Articles, blogs, broadcast and podcast clips that demonstrate courage in newsgathering, courage
in the tone of narration and courage in the decision to have them published;
– Articles and blogs published in a newspaper or online, radio or TV broadcasts or podcasts:
– Entries that meet journalism standards;
– If none of the entries fulfill these conditions, awards may not be presented.

The following shall constitute the Panel of Judges:
– Alice Esambe Tatah: former CRTV journalist of Morning Safari fame;
– Hilary Kebila Fokum: Publisher/Editor of The Messenger and Yaounde Messenger;
– Gideon Taka: Emeritus Radio Cameroon/CRTV Editor and Station Manager and Journalism
Trainer;
– Victor Epie’Ngome: Emeritus Radio Cameroon/CRTV Editor-in-Chief, Director of Civil Initiatives
for Development with Integrity (CIDI) and Journalism Trainer

The Judges shall be assisted by Franklin Sone Bayen, Publisher of MEDIApeople and Journalism Trainer,
as Administration Secretary.
Entries may be nominated in the following ways:
– ONLINE ENTRIES: email the link(s) with name of author(s) and news organization
– NEWSPAPER: scan the entire article(s) and email with name of author(s), issue reference (date
and serial no.);
– RADIO/TV: email uploaded clip or link or post CD/DVD to the Jury as follows:
– South West: Victor Epie’Ngome (677524478/654741961)
– North West: Gideon Taka (694126830/650072258)
– Yaounde: Alice Esambe Tatah (673026370)
Hilary Kebila Fokum (677339858/696847781)
Franklin Sone Bayen (677897167/693693881)

– All entries must be received latest April 25, 2018 at midnight local time.
Entries for the COURAGE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS may be emailed to:
courageinjournalismawards@gmail.com
The COURAGE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS is organized jointly by MEDIApeople, CiDi and CReAM.

9, April 2018

Abduction of Retired Justice Mbeng Martin: Why Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho is WRONG ⁰

Cat-calls have greeted Dr. Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho’s published reaction on the abduction of Retired Justice Mbeng Martin in Ewelle village in the Manyu County and we in Western Europe believe and fervently too that he got it all wrong. Barrister Agbor Balla’s arrogant write-up sparked outrage and even some pro Yaoundé supporters were aghast at his bid to blame the suppression of freedom of speech on the Ambazonian freedom fighters.

The retired judge has always been apolitical and has never ever expressed an opinion on the Cameroon political story including the Southern Cameroons revolution. Consequently, there is more to his abduction than Mr. Agbor Felix claims to know. As Barrister Felix Nkongho tries to come back into the Southern Cameroons lime light, the action taken by Ambazonians that forced a TV channel in Kenya to cancel an interview they had with him reveals Southern Cameroonians and Barrister Agbor Balla are no longer an item.

Agbor Balla claimed that by abducting Justice Mbeng, the perpetrators were “Suppressing freedom of speech, association and attacking others with different views do not represent the values we ought to build.” The man of law added that “We must not be bullied into silence through the barrel of a gun by armed groups.” It is evidently clear that Barrister Agbor Nkongho is seeking for notice and merely speaking for himself. Correspondingly, he is close to two years behind West Cameroon leadership. To be sure, his ill-advised reaction has instead endangered the life of Justice Mbeng Martin.

The press release on Justice Mbeng Martin shows how out of touch Barrister Agbor Balla is with the mood of the Southern Cameroons nation. Far from wanting to score political concessions, the overwhelming majority of Southern Cameroonians want separation from French Cameroun and for the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to get on with making a success of the divorce process.

Sessekou Isong Ashu

London, UK

9, April 2018

Ambazonia: Interim Government slams Biya’s Southern Cameroons crackdown ⁰

French Cameroun is becoming more and more evil in its crackdown on Southern Cameroonians seeking independence for the South West and North West regions. A well-placed source within the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia indicated that the Acting President Dr. Samuel Sako is also wary of what evil the Biya regime and its acolytes in French diplomatic missions in Yaoundé and Abuja are capable of in their relentless crusade to crush the Ambazonians desire for independence.

Some forty thousand Southern Cameroonians have fled to neighboring Nigeria after the Francophone dominated army launched a crackdown to stop a declaration of independence for the Anglophone regions by the Ambazonia government of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe Julius. The Ambazonian leader, who is currently being held at the National Gendarmerie headquarters in Yaoundé, is expected to be charged by the Francophone regime.

The international communities including the main Nigerian opposition party, the PDP have condemned the Buhari administration for accepting French Cameroun’s extradition request against Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and 46 members of his government.

Approximately one thousand Southern Cameroonians including hundreds of French Cameroun soldiers have been killed ever since the 85 year-old dictator, President Biya declared war against the English speaking population. The Acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia has appealed to all Southern Cameroonians to face the struggle with a mixture of determination and confidence.

The Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia has also accused the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime of committing grave rights abuses and genocide in its way of treating Southern Cameroonians.

The Communication Secretary of the Ambazonia government, Hon. Chris Anu was quoted recently as saying “I am hopeful that justice will prevail but the abuses of human rights by French Cameroun authorities are unprecedented — they get worse and worse day by day,” said the Ambazonian minister.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

9, April 2018

London struggling to fight unprecedented crime spike ⁰

Officials in the UK capital London are struggling to control an unprecedented surge in crimes as murder rate is predicted to surpass the highest numbers in the early 2000s.

Concerns peaked in February and March, when London surpassed New York City in terms of homicides for the first time in history.

London has never recorded more murders in a year than America’s most populous city, which recorded 290 homicides in 2017, the lowest number in decades, compared to London’s 130.

This year, however, it has been a different story as 37 people were killed in London in February and March this year compared to the 35 murders that happened in the Big Apple.

Both cities are similar in terms of population and size but one noticeable difference between them is that London banned in 1997.

Police and community workers have attributed the spike to battles over control of the illegal drug trade and a “postcode war” between street gangs, among other things.

Part of the blame has also been put on Mayor Sadiq Khan, who oversees London’s Metropolitan Police. The Labour mayor, however, says it is the Tory government’s budget policies that have weakened the police and affected the city’s overall safety.

“Since I first became mayor, I have been saying to the government that it’s not sustainable to make the level of cuts they have been making to London,” Khan said recently.

The huge cuts, that according to Labour leader Jeremy COrbyn have seen over 20,000 officers removed from the streets, is not the only gripe critics have with Conservative government’s policy.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s administration has also cut funding to local councils, forcing them to shutter youth clubs, libraries and programs for young people in order to save money.

May herself has been held responsible by some critics for the policies that she undertook when serving as Home Secretary. During her tenure, May put curbs to police stop-and-search powers and made it more difficult for security forces to detect potential crime.

Source: Presstv

8, April 2018

Ambazonia “Battalion Commander” Killed In Battle of Belo ⁰

How Gilbert Ngwani, 26, saved a captured classmate but died in battle hours after

A “battalion commander” of the Ambazonia fighters who acquitted a captured suspect, perished in gun battle with government defence and security forces less than 24 hours later. Gilbert Ngwani, 26, was found dead with bullet wounds, Thursday, April 7 on the streets of Belo, Boyo Division in the North West Region. He was laid to rest in his family compound on Friday, April 8.

The man Ngwani acquitted narrated the following testimony to me, which I recorded after thorough scrutiny to authenticate his story. From his outlook, he could be easily mistaken for someone of another ethnic origin with peculiar features, which was the claim of the Ambazonia fighters who abducted him. His identity is withheld to safeguard his security.

“I travelled to my village Belo last Thursday (March 29) for the funeral of a cousin who died in the village. On Wednesday, April 4, as the gun battles between government forces and the Amba Boys raged on and off, I was making a phone call at the Square when two young men on a motorbike pulled up near me. They were both either below 20 or just above 20. They were very young. I’m myself in my 20s, but they looked younger than me. They asked who I was speaking to on the phone and said I look like some of their enemies.

“It is true people often tell me I look like people from a certain part of Cameroon, not from any of the Anglophone regions. I told them I was a Bikom from Belo here and said I was speaking to relatives about the funeral of our cousin but they said I was lying. They said they believe I was making a call to security people to locate where they were. They asked me to come with them. They made me mount the bike, one riding; the other sitting behind me. I realized I was truly in trouble when I saw knives protruding from both pockets of the rider and the man behind with a short gun.

They took me without a blindfold to their “camp” which was just an open space. When we alighted off the bike and approached the other men I recognized one of them. Too frightened, I tried not to show familiarity, as well as he too did not acknowledge me. From the body language I could tell he was their commander. He gave instructions; the boys obeyed, gave him military-style salutes and called him military titles that showed respect.

“They questioned me further about my origins. I repeatedly told them I was from Belo. To my great relief, my childhood friend, Gilbert Ngwani, told his boys that he knows me and confirmed that I was a child of Belo. Gilbert was my classmate in GBHS Belo. After obtaining the A Level, he has been in the village doing odd jobs and riding motorbikes.

“The Boys also conducted a mystical test to prove my innocence. They waved a cutlass in front of me. I did not understand why but when I returned home and narrated my story, I was told it was meant to verify whether I was a danger to their cause. They told me, ‘We are out to clean the house and silence betrayers of our cause before engaging other phases of the struggle’. Thereafter, they took me on the bike again and dropped off at the Square and warned me that if I revealed their location to anyone, they would come for me again.

“The sad side of the story is that Gilbert was killed in battle on Wednesday, April 4. His body was found with bullet wounds. Knowing he was secured with the Odey Chi cult, many in Belo are guessing he might have defaulted on one of their rules. Some say he touched blood which is prohibited. Others say he might have mistakenly kept coins in his pocket. Life is nothing. That is someone I saw only hours before and especially, I feel sorry that my old friend that I hadn’t seen in a long time should die like that only hours after he saved my own life. Sometimes, I feel I might have been killed were he not there to testify that I was a child of Belo.

Gilbert Ngwani was buried in his father’s compound early on Friday, April 6. Village boys collected his corpse at night. His father wanted him to be buried without a coffin, fearful that soldiers could come and arrest those at the burial if they wasted time. But his friends took the courage and hastily made a coffin to bury Gilbert. ”

By Franklin Sone Bayen

8, April 2018

Nolly Nigeria: Brides abandon wedding reception to write final exams ⁰

Two Nigerian brides abandoned their respective wedding receptions in order to sit their final exams, a move that delighted their head of department, local news portals have reported.

The incident happened on Saturday at Makurdi in the Benue State University where the two identified only as Dorcas and Deborah, entered the exams hall with their gowns much to the surprise and delight of their colleagues.

They managed to get married and to complete their final paper “Com 402: Media Law and Ethics.” Speaking to the media about the incident, course lecturer Dr. Benjamin Ogbu described it as a double joy for the students and all involved.

“The timetable for the exam was earlier fixed before their weddings were fixed and interestingly, both were on April 7, 2018. Since the exam couldn’t be shifted, the two brides left their various reception venues for the examination hall to sit for the exams in their wedding gowns.

“I was with the deputy vice- chancellor (academic) when both women stormed the examination hall. It was a moment of joy for all of us as students and lecturers.

“We were happy that our students got married and they (students) were happy too that they got married and also took their last exams same day. It was a double joy for them.”

Source: Africa News

8, April 2018

Yaounde to host three pan-African institutions ⁰

The African Union (AU) and Cameroon have signed agreements for Cameroon to host three pan-African institutions.

The three institutions to be hosted in Yaounde include the Pan African University (PAU) Institute for Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences; the African Monetary Fund (AMF); and the AU Sport Council, according to an AU statement on Saturday.

Sarah Anyang Agbor, AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST), and Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations, signed the agreements on Friday in Cameroon.

It has taken over ten years of discussion to adopt the decision establishing the three AU institutions and over five years of negotiations to approve the host agreements, said the statement.

The signing of the agreements is significant as it took place barely a few days after the signing of relevant instruments for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), said the AU Commissioner.

Cameroon said the agreements demonstrate its firm and unwavering commitment to the Africa integration, by hosting in its territory, the seats of three complementary institutions of the pan-African organization.

Culled from Xinhuanet

8, April 2018

French and English Cameroon’s bloody internal war ⁰

On Tuesday, April 3, 2018, the Francophone dominated Cameroonian military attacked and burned several homes in Mungo Ndor, a small village located about 40km away from Nguti in Koupé-Manengouba. Ms. Egbe Maria Ndonge, well known as Mami Maria was burned to death in her house, while she was asleep.

Residents of the village confirmed that local churches have been burned. 6 civilians were shot and there are reports of several killings of civilians in the village. Intentionally killing civilians and destroying civilian property constitute war crimes and this should be thoroughly investigated.

The village has been besieged by the army, villagers are not allowed to move in or out, with hundreds hiding in the forest for safety.

The African Union and the UN are both maintaining a kind of deliberate silence on the Southern Cameroons crisis. Human rights groups have called on the Biya regime to allow journalists have access to these regions.

Culled from Today News Africa

8, April 2018

Iran: Foreign Minister to head big delegation to Africa, Latin America ⁰

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday will begin a four-leg tour of African and Latin American countries to discuss the strengthening of relations.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said the top diplomat will head a ranking political and economic delegation on the tour, which will take him to Senegal, Namibia, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Also accompanying him are representatives of dozens of Iranian companies as well as entrepreneurs from commercial, economic, and science-based spheres of activity, who hail from public and private sectors.

The minister will be holding meetings with political, economic, and parliamentary officials from the four countries. He will also be delivering addresses at joint economic and commercial gatherings as well as some think tanks.

Zarif last toured Africa last October, visiting South Africa, Uganda, and Niger.

He went on a six-leg Latin America tour a year earlier, traveling to Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Venezuela.

The Islamic Revolution in 1979 resulted in a fundamental overhaul of Iranian foreign policy, changing its focus from the West to the developing world.

The former government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promoted the notion of an Iranian “South-South” strategy, aiming to expand relations with Africa and Latin America. In 2006, Ahmadinejad famously attended the African Union summit in Gambia as a guest of honor.

Source: Presstv

8, April 2018

Millions of French commuters face wave of railway strikes ⁰

Millions of French commuters and holidaymakers faced another wave of crippling transport stoppages on Sunday, as rail workers protested at President Emmanuel Macron’s economic reform plans and some unions warned they could step up strike action.

Train staff last week kicked off three months of nationwide rolling strikes in a dispute over the government’s planned overhaul of state-run rail firm SNCF, in the biggest challenge yet to Macron’s attempts to modernize the French economy.

Just over a third of workers needed to make the train network run smoothly were expected to walk out on Sunday, a dip in participation compared to the last 48 hours of walkouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, the SNCF said.

But some labor unions have already signaled a hardening stance as negotiations with ministers over the reforms hit a wall. Officials at the Communist-rooted CGT said on Friday that strikes could drag on well beyond June if nothing shifted.

Laurent Brun, head of the CGT’s railway section, added that workers were ready for a “marathon” if needed.

Unions have so far called strikes for two days out of every five until the end of June, to fight a shake-up of monopoly SNCF before it is opened to competition in line with European Union rules.

That includes ending job-for-life guarantees and early retirement for rail workers, which the government argues will help transform the heavily-indebted company into a profitable public service.

Workers have hit back with complaints that the SNCF was being dismantled to pave the way for a privatization.

The showdown between Macron and the rail unions is one of the toughest tests yet of the former investment banker’s presidency.

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) arrives to visit an apprentice training center in Tours, France, March 14, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

The 40-year-old came to power last May on a promise to shake up Europe’s second-biggest economy, in a bid to modernize some of France’s creaking institutions, and spur jobs growth. Macron has so far liberalized labor regulations for instance.

But locking horns with the rail sector has backfired on previous French governments — paralyzing train strikes in 1995 forced prime minister Alain Juppe to pull planned reforms — and unions are seeking to show they still have clout.

Some insisted they did not want a drawn-out conflict but called on Macron’s government to compromise.

“The ball is in the government’s court,” Laurent Berger, head of the CFDT union, told Europe 1 radio on Saturday. The CFDT is also joining stoppages called for Sunday and Monday.

The government has so far said it will stand firm on the main points of the reform.

“The status quo is not viable,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said in an interview published in Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday. “It’s urgent, we need to advance, and everyone should know we are determined to see this through to the end.”

Though nowhere near as potent, the various protests come as France prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the student-led riots of May 1968, which gridlocked the country and led to the adoption of more progressive social policies.

Disruptions on Sunday were set to hit local trains as well as regional high-speed trains and some international journeys.

(Source: Reuters)