9, June 2017

There are reasons why Musonge loves Biya ⁰

The Chairman of the so-called National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, Senator Mafany Musonge was recently seen at the Palais des Congrès participating in the Senate’s plenary session. Prior to the beginning of the session, Mafany Musonge had numerous exchanges with many of his senator colleagues including Marcel Niat Njifenji, the president of the Upper House.

The former prime minister and head of government took part in the opening of the second parliamentary session of the legislative year 2017 after his appointment as president of the CPDM commission on bilingualism and multiculturalism on Wednesday the 15^th of March 2017. Any right thinking Anglophone trained in the US or UK should have stepped down from his duties as a senator.

To be sure, on March 21, 2017, he was replaced at the head of the CPDM parliamentary group in the Senate by Chief Barrister Tabe Tando who was elected with him from the South West constituency. Musonge’s deputy, Gabriel Dima, was then presented to the House as the man who has taken over from Musonge in the Upper House of Parliament.

Article 22 (1) of the Rules of the Senate stipulates that the exercise of the Senator’s mandate is incompatible with the functions of a member of the Government, member of the Constitutional Council, member of the Economic and Social Council, Mayor, Government Delegate to an urban Council and to any non-elective public office. This provision is supplemented by Article 162 of the Electoral Code.

Former Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge (to use his three names) loves the Francophone political system that encourages malpractices such as “Depute-Maire” in order words MP and Mayor at the same time. Musonge is the current Grand Chancellor of National Orders, President of the South West CPDM Group, South West CPDM Senator, Board member of numerous state-owned corporations, member of the ruling CPDM Central Committee- just to name a few

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon Concord News Group

9, June 2017

Southern Cameroon nationalism spreading as Spain’s Catalonia declares date for independence vote ⁰

Catalonia will hold a referendum on splitting from Spain on Oct. 1-a similar date earlier chosen by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. The head of the region confirmed the news on Friday, setting the stage for months of confrontation with the central government which says such a vote is illegal and must not take place.

Previous secessionist challenges in Catalonia – a populous wealthy region whose capital is Barcelona and which has its own language – were blocked by Spain’s conservative government and the Constitutional Court. “The question will be: ‘Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic’,” Carles Puigdemont, president of the government of Catalonia, said.

He said attempts to agree a date and the wording of the question with the Madrid government – which is vehemently opposed to allowing Catalonia to split from Spain – failed and left him with no other choice than moving unilaterally. “We have always made very diverse offers and all of them have been rejected without any exception,” Puigdemont said.

Pro-independence campaigners staged a symbolic ballot, organized by volunteers rather than government officials to get around court restrictions, in 2014, months after Scots voted to stay in the United Kingdom.

Some 2 million people voted in favor of secession in that non-binding ballot, though turnaround was relatively low. It is not clear how far the legal wrangling may go this time as the Catalan regional government has said it would throw all its weight behind the vote.

Under Article 155 of Spain’s constitution, Madrid has the power to intervene directly in the running of Catalonia’s regional government, forcing it to drop the vote.

This could involve sending in the police or suspending the regional government’s authority to rule. This is widely seen as a last resort move, however, and many analysts believe the clash will instead culminate in regional elections in Catalonia.

(Source: Reuters)

9, June 2017

Francophone medics announce TOTAL SHUTDOWN as doctors strike enter third phase ⁰

The Cameroon Medical Doctors Trade Union (Symec) has again announced a general strike action in all public hospitals from June 12, 2017. Symec says the strike is part of the third phase of their action, despite the numerous stonewalls erected by the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government.

Cameroon doctors have made public four major demands which include the establishment of basic health insurance with universal coverage; Wage increases for physicians in the public sector, suspension of non-salary physician assignments, and an increase in the retirement age of physicians between the ages of 55 and 65.

The Francophone Minister of Public Health, tried to break the actions of the doctors by assigning in the remote areas, the leaders of the union, whose calls to strike are very closely monitored by the vicious regime in Yaoundé.

By Sonne Peter

Cameroon Concord News

9, June 2017

UK Votes: Theresa May under pressure ⁰

Britain wakes up Friday morning more divided and uncertain about its future than anyone thought possible. A general election that was supposed to settle political and constitutional questions thrown up by Britain’s exit from the European Union failed — answering none, raising more and leaving no party with a majority in parliament.

From a position of relative strength, dominating a compliant parliament which had accepted Brexit, Theresa May is now struggling to cling on to her job, unsure whether she will even be able to form a minority government. After a night of political drama which saw Labour’s vote share surge by 10 points, halving the 2010 deficit, three things now seem certain: May is mortally wounded; Jeremy Corbyn is safe as Labour party leader for as long as he wants; and Britain is in for a prolonged period of political instability which may only be solved by a second general election.

If Brussels had come round to the prospect of an unyielding two-year Brexit negotiation under May — grating in its parochialism maybe, but at least grown up — they now face the nightmare prospect of a new partner across the table or a weakened May beholden to her backbenchers and a small retinue of Northern Irish MPs.

A hung parliament — in which no single party commands a majority — is certain. Her future as prime minister hangs by a thread. She could be gone by the end of the day. A second general election could be called within months — taking place as early as August. Brexit is also now up in the air — as even David Davis admitted.

The Brexit Secretary told Sky News at 2.30am that the election was, in part, about getting a mandate for “the sort of Brexit we want.” It was also designed to give the government more time to complete the process by ensuring that the incoming administration would have a clear five years before having to call an election.

He suggested the U.K. government may have lost a mandate to exit customs union and single market. “[Our manifesto] said we wanted to leave the customs union and the single market, but get access to them. That’s what it was about, that’s what we put in front of the British people, we’ll see by tomorrow whether they’ve accepted that or not,” he said.

Nigel Farage was quick to warn that he would re-enter the political fray if Brexit was softened. “We may well be looking down the barrel of a second referendum.” The Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland — potential king-makers if the Tories are to remain in power — will look to soften Brexit around the edges, particularly in order to ensure there is no threat to the soft border with the Republic of Ireland, so crucial for the region’s economic security.

Boris Johnson is the most obvious Tory winner from the fallout. When a steady but uninspiring leader has been found wanting, they may turn to a tried and tested winner with the charisma to take on Corbyn. Boris Johnson was already “sharpening the knives for Theresa May,” Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson said.

Source: Politico

9, June 2017

Philemon Yang meets Chadian Minister of Infrastructure ⁰

Philemon Yang, the so-called Prime Minister and Head of Government has met with the Chadian Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Civil Aviation. Yang held talks with the visiting Mr. Adoum Younousmi on the 8^th of June 2017 in the Star Building in Yaoundé.

Cameroon Concord News gathered the Chadian Minister was a special envoy of President Idriss Debby Itno. As usual, the Chadian member of government handed over a sealed message for onward transmission to President Paul Biya from Idriss Debby.

Speaking on state radio and television after the audience, Minister Adoum Younousmi said his discussions with Philemon Yang focused on the creation of a railway line between Cameroon and Chad. The railway investment project will add up to the existing road network to strengthen integration between both countries.

Source: CRTV

8, June 2017

Iran releases information on, photos of terrorists in Tehran attack ⁰

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry has released the names of and other information about the five Takfiri Daesh terrorists who carried out twin attacks in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Wednesday. The Intelligence Ministry on Thursday released a statement detailing information on the five terrorists and “affiliated nuclei,” whose full identities it said had been determined after intelligence work by the Ministry.

The statement only released the first names of the terrorists and said that their last names were being withheld due to “certain social and security considerations.”

On Wednesday, gunmen stormed Iran’s Parliament (Majlis) and the Mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, in two coordinated attacks. At least 17 people lost their lives and nearly 50 others were wounded in the assaults, which involved shootings and blasts. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attacks. According to the Intelligence Ministry’s Thursday statement, the individuals involved in carrying out the attacks were five elements with a history of past terrorist activities and linked to Wahhabi and Takfiri groups.

They were identified as Seriyas, Fereydoun, Qayyoum, Abu Jahad, and Ramin. The statement said that the five had left Iran after being recruited by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group and had participated in the group’s atrocities in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqah.

It said they had entered Iran in July-August 2016 under the command of “Abu Ayesheh” — a high-ranking commander with the Daesh terrorist group — and planned to carry out terror attacks in religious cities in Iran, but “had fled the country following the full obliteration of the network and blows [dealt] to the case’s main elements, including the killing of Abu Ayesheh.”

Iranian security forces are seen outside the Iranian Parliament in the capital, Tehran, on June 7, 2017, during an attack on the complex. (Photo by AFP)

Wahhabi terrorist groups are closely associated with Saudi Arabia, where government-sanctioned clerics preach the strongly intolerant pseudo-ideology of Wahhabism.

Earlier on Thursday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said that it was still soon to judge whether Saudi Arabia had had a role in the attacks in Tehran.

He did say however that in the current month and in recent days, “we witnessed heavy pressure from terrorists, to the extent that we have been identifying and arresting two-member and three-member teams or single individuals every week.”

Earlier in May, the Saudi defense minister, Mohammed bin Salman, had threatened in opaque remarks to move “the battle” to Iran. While Iranian people have been mourning the victims of the terrorist attacks, there has also been a strengthened sense of unity among them.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the terror attacks in Tehran could not undermine the Iranian nation’s resolve in the face of threats. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also condemned the attacks as “cowardly,” stressing that the country would crush enemy plots through unity and solidarity.

The attacks also drew strong international condemnation, with many heads of states extending condolences to the Iranian nation and government. Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) blamed the sponsors of the Takfiri Daesh for the attacks and pledged to retaliate.

The IRGC said the fact that the terrorist attacks had been carried out by Daesh just days after US President Donald Trump met with “the rulers of a regional reactionary regime,” which has been supporting Takfiri terrorists — a thinly-veiled reference to Saudi Arabia — indicated that “they have a hand in the bestial attacks.”

Source: Presstv

8, June 2017

Vaterschaft: Germany sees rise in fake father scams with immigrants ⁰

German officials say growing numbers of pregnant immigrant women are paying German men to pose as fathers so that they can qualify for residency. German broadcaster RBB found up to 700 cases in Berlin alone. “There are many unreported cases,” said Ole Schröder, a top interior ministry official.

There has been a rise in asylum requests from pregnant women from Vietnam, Africa and Eastern Europe. A new law is being drafted to tackle the fake paternity racket, RBB reports. Some pregnant immigrant women are reported to have paid fake fathers and solicitors as much as €5,000 (£4,356; $5,628) to get paternity registered. Once that is done, the baby automatically becomes a German citizen and the mother has the right to stay.

However, in 2013 a German Constitutional Court ruling said that even in suspicious cases it might not be worth contesting paternity, because the child could end up stateless and left in legal limbo. It is generally easier for refugees fleeing conflict to get residency in Germany than for economic migrants who have escaped poverty in Africa, Asia or Eastern Europe.

Germany has moved to tighten asylum rules since the 2015 influx of more than 800,000 migrants, most of them refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Immigration is a major issue ahead of parliamentary elections in September. The influx hit some local authorities especially hard, as they struggled to house and integrate the newcomers.

However, there was a sharp drop in the numbers claiming asylum in 2016, after barriers were erected on the Balkan migration route. Polls suggest that the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD), opposed to mass immigration, has gained support and is on course to enter the federal parliament (Bundestag) for the first time.

Mr Schröder, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), said “we have a lot of evidence from the immigration authorities – fake fathers are making money out of this… in other words, this involves a considerable amount of criminality”. In one case reported by RBB, a far-right sympathiser, convicted for sporting neo-Nazi symbols, claimed to be the father of a Vietnamese child.

Martin Steltner, a state prosecutor in Berlin, told ARD television there were signs of widespread abuse involving paternity, for example one man claiming to be the father of 10 children. The fake fathers rarely pay any child support, as many are living off social welfare, ARD reports.

Source: BBC

8, June 2017

UK: Uncertainty looms as British voters prepare for historic vote ⁰

Millions of British people are preparing to cast their votes in Thursday’s general election, which has defied all initial projections and seems to be much closer than many, including Prime Minister Theresa May, had predicted.

In a time when Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) is a certainty and a round of tough negotiations with the bloc is around the corner, the ruling Conservatives are set to go head to head with a Labour Party that has slowly but steadily become a worthy opponent under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

The Vote

In mid-April, May called for a general election and overstepped earlier pledges of not doing so before 2020. Back then, the move was largely viewed as part of a cheap opportunistic strategy to win a more decisive majority in Parliament given Labour’s state of disarray.

However, Corbyn was able to turn the tide and reduce a 20-point gap with the Tories to well within the margin of error.

British Prime Minister Theresa May (Photo by AFP)

The vote owes its significance largely to Brexit. A historic EU referendum in June last year showed that some 52 percent of people in England were in favor of cutting the UK’s decades-long membership in the bloc

Both Corbyn and May, who was then Home Secretary, opposed the divorce but failed to sway voters.

Today, May is leading the country out of the EU and wants a stronger negotiating position after the vote while Corbyn leads a formidable opposition and, much to May’s annoyance, seeks a more active Brexit involvement for the Parliament.

The Campaign

May was off to a bad start by announcing that she would not be participating in any live debates with Corbyn or other party leaders, insisting that direct interaction with voters is more beneficial.

The decision prompted backlash among Tory and other voters alike, who wanted to see if May can handle the popular Labour leader.

The decision helped Corbyn, who took part in a much-anticipated BBC debate and bagged an easy win in a night that May had sent Home Secretary Amber Rudd to represent her.

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (Photo by AFP)

Besides Corbyn, leaders of other parties have also deemed May’s decision as a sign of weakness and fear. The string of bad luck continued for May and her party as she was forced to reverse many of the unpopular pledges the Tories had made in their election manifesto, “Forward Together.”

Corbyn, on the other hand, scored big with voters by making popular pledges in his “For the Many not the Few” in terms of both domestic and foreign policy. The issue of security was a key debate point in the wake of the recent wave of terror attacks that rocked the UK.

The Outcome

This is arguably one of the most unpredictable UK elections in a long time. It has seen many traditional Tory and Labour supporters jump ship, with former Labour leader Toby Blair openly campaigning against his own party and in favor of the Liberal Democrats.

The fierce campaign has also drawn a clear line between the wealthy and the average class, with the former leaning towards May and her team.

Meanwhile, a surge in young voter registrations has tipped the scale in favor of Corbyn, who has attracted the most supporters in the 18-24 age bracket. The June 8 vote is certainly a milestone that sets the UK’s economic and political paths for the years coming.

Source: Presstv

8, June 2017

Eto’o angers Southern Cameroonians ⁰

French Cameroon football legend and 2017 UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Samuel Eto’o has reportedly angered Southern Cameroonians following comments he made recently on state radio and television. The 36 year football controversial footballer and former captain of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun visited the top managers of the Cameroon Radio Television at Mballa II on Tuesday the 6th June 2017.

The footballer who failed to raise a finger against the rapes, arrests and extra judicial killings going on in West Cameroon appreciated the new management at CRTV, describing it as dynamic and professional and echoed President Biya’s provocative message for a one and indivisible Cameroon. Cat calls reportedly greeted Eto’o’s speech and some of the operation managers of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have cautioned the footballer to stay clear of Southern Cameroon issues.

After helping to oust his fellow French speaking compatriot from the presidency of the African Football Confederation, Eto’o revealed his willingness to work with Issa Hayatou and the other new executives of the Cameroon National Football Academy, ANAFOOT if his services were solicited. He was received by the general manager and his vice, Charles Ndongo and Emanuel Wongibe respectively.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon Concord News

7, June 2017

Southern Cameroon Crisis: Military Tribunal rejects bail for detainees ⁰

The Yaoundé Military Tribunal has rejected the appeal by defense counsel of the Southern Cameroonians incarcerated at the Kondengui prison. The Francophone presiding judge Mbezoa Abega citing article 246 of the Penal Code said the crimes allegedly committed by the 27 detainees were so heavy that a provisional release cannot be accepted. The case was adjourned to June 29, 2017.

A mammoth Anglophone crowd that stormed the court premise were disappointed with the court’s decision, Barrister Claude Assira said, “We were very hopeful because formerly the legal department agreed with us that what we asked for will be obtained but we were very surprised that the court rejected it. We are very disappointed. We asked for a simple bail but they read it otherwise and gave the decision.”

After the court’s decision, one detainee Julius Ndasi collapsed and was ferried to the hospital. Mancho Bibixy who is on hunger strike appeared in court in a ramshackle way, dressed in short trouser, bare feet and unbuttoned sky-blue shirt.

Source: Cameroon info.net