7, March 2017

4 policemen killed in ‘terrorist’ attack in western Niger ⁰

An attack on a police post west of Niger has left at least four officers dead. A security source said Monday that the attack, which took place a day earlier, struck Wanzarbe, a town located in the western region of Tillaberi.

“The provisional toll is four police officers killed in a clear terrorist attack on Sunday night,” said the source, adding that the assault targeted a police station. The government of Niger on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Tillaberi and other areas near the country’s border with Mali and Burkina Faso.

Tillaberi and neighboring Tahoua region have witnessed several deadly attacks by militants from MUJAO, a terror outfit mainly operating in West Africa region. Most of those attacks have targeted army posts and refugee camps, including a late February assault in Ouallam, Tillaberi, which killed 16 soldiers and wounded 18 others.

Last October, a daring attack on a refugee camp in Tahoua also left 22 soldiers dead. Officials say at least 43 people were killed in militant attacks in Tillaberi and Tahoua between October 2016 and February this year. Niger is a northern neighbor to Nigeria, where the Boko Haram Takfiri terror group launched bloody militancy against the government seven years ago.

More than 20,000 people have been killed in the insurgency, which has also spread to neighboring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameron.

Presstv

7, March 2017

US: Democrats respond to Trump’s ‘ridiculous’ wiretapping claims ⁰

US Democratic lawmakers have denounced as “ridiculous” President Donald Trump’s claims that his predecessor, Barack Obama, wiretapped his telephones during the 2016 presidential campaign. On Monday, senators of the Democratic Party vehemently criticized the new president over the baseless claims he had made two days earlier, describing Trump’s accusations as an attempt to distract officials and the public from renewed scrutiny of his senior aides and allies’ alleged ties to Russia and the interference of Moscow in the last year election.

Senator Bernie Sanders slammed Trump’s claims in a tweet, saying, “President Trump cannot continue to lie, lie, lie,” adding that, “It diminishes the office of the president and our standing in the world.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that the president was trying to create a distraction and referred to Trump as a “deflector-in-chief.” “That’s just ridiculous for President Trump to say that President Obama would ever order any wiretap of an American citizen, any president,” Pelosi said. “It’s the tool of an authoritarian to have them always be talking about what you want to be talking about.”

US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference at the National Press Club on February 27, 2017 in Washington,DC. (Photo by AFP)

In an interview with NBC News, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said Obama had “flatly denied that he has done this,” adding that the claims by Trump showed that “the president’s in trouble.” “It’s beneath the dignity of the presidency. It is something that really hurts people’s view of government,” Schumer noted. “If he falsely spread this kind of misinformation, that is so wrong.”

US Senate Minority Leader Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) takes questions during a news briefing on January 10, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

Chris Coons, the Democratic Senator from Delaware, called the allegations made by Trump “remarkable,” saying that, “I think another attempt by President Trump to change the subject.” Coons (pictured below) noted that he does not think any president should ever “directly order an intercept or wiretap of an American citizen.”

The Democratic Senator raised the possibilities that either Trump “inappropriately released classified information and was himself the subject of a court-ordered wiretap” or there was “inappropriate actions by the previous administration.” “It ought to be worked out in a full, fair, prompt and thorough investigation, whether by the Senate Intelligence Committee, if they can get to the bottom of this, or by a special prosecutor,” Coons noted.

The comments are made as Obama’s intelligence chief, James Clapper, has rejected the claims and a spokesman for Obama dismissed the accusation as “simply false.” FBI Director James Comey has reportedly asked the Justice Department to publicly reject Trump’s claim because it falsely insinuates that the agency broke the law.

According to officials, the move has potential risks for the president, particularly if the House and Senate intelligence committees unearth damaging information about Trump, his aides or his associates.

The new unsubstantiated claims by Trump and the continued political wrangling over ties with Russia will likely heighten the seemingly-unending tensions and controversies that have thrown the new administration into disarray and chaos.

Presstv

7, March 2017

Revealed: Cameroon invested more than 200 billion FCFA in the purchase of arms ⁰

The National Institute for Peace in Stockholm (SIPRI) has published a report that Cameroon invested more than 200 billion CFA francs in the purchase of arms in 2016. The release also indicated that Cameroon ranks 6^th of the 10 African countries that have bought the most heavy weapons in Africa between 2012 and 2016.

While Cameroon’s military spending has been on an upward trend since 1988, the report further pointed out the war against the Nigerian Islamic, Boko Haram sect was the main cause of the exponential increase in military spending. The exactions of these Islamist fighters in the Far North region of Cameroon have already claimed the lives of more than 1500 people including women and children.

Cameroon’s military spending reached up to 209 billion CFA francs in 2015, against 199 billion CFA francs in 2013. However, the country still remains a small importer of heavy weapons, compared to Algeria, which head the list of the largest African importer over the period 2012-2016. The purchase of heavy weapons in Africa during the period 2012-2016 reportedly decreased by 6.6%. Worldwide, the top 5 exporters of military hardware are dominated by the United States, followed by Russia, China, France and Germany.

CIR

7, March 2017

Philemon Yang Bamenda mission meets a Southern Cameroons stonewall ⁰

Prime Minister Philemon Yang has been told that schools can only resume if the Biya Francophone government releases all Anglophone detainees, demilitarized Southern Cameroons and reinstate internet services. The Biya emissary who started a tour of the Bamenda Province of Southern Cameroons in the Mezam constituency had insisted that parents should send their children to school.

Hon. Wilfred Fusi Naamukong was the prophetic voice of the people in the forum that held at the Bamenda Congress Hall. The MP dismissed claims by the Head of Government that the Yaoundé regime was engaged in broader dialogue with the Anglophone communities.

Yang Philemon angered participants at the meeting when he opined that the government ordered the massive arrest of Southern Cameroonians and militarized the territory because of the hostile attitude of some locals. The meeting at the congress hall grouped elites, parliamentarians, traditional rulers, head teachers, principals, and parents but failed to come out with any concrete solution to the Anglophone crisis.

Philemon Yang will be visiting other administrative units of the Bamenda province such as Boyo, Momo, Menchum, Ngo-Ketundjia, Donga Mantung and Bui.

CIN

6, March 2017

Social Media and the Anglophone Crisis ⁰

The Anglophone crisis that has put Cameroon in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons clearly underscores how social media, a key development tool, can become a force for unity and mobilization on the one hand and a tool to manipulate and expose violence and injustice on the other. This crisis which,occurred amid political and economic exclusion of Southern Cameroonians, has scarred the country’s social and political landscape forever. It calls for the establishment of a new status quo as the status quo ante is no longer tolerated by Cameroon’s English-speaking minority. The effectiveness of social media in mobilizing Anglophone Cameroonians across the world cannot be overemphasized. Across the world, social media have been considered as “technologies of freedom” that have given the voiceless an opportunity to express their views and have access to the public sphere. In Cameroon, while the government has always viewed social media as tools that should drive development, the ordinary citizens have always seen them a little differently though they agree on their role as agents of development. The emergence of social media technologies raised a lot of enthusiasm about citizen political participation in the public sphere in the digital era and this was based on the popularity of these technologies and the fact that they would provide relative autonomy from state and commercial control and influence when it comes to the dissemination of information.

Social mediaare considered to be extremely effective means to record, store and distribute information and the crisis in West Cameroon has proven that beyond a doubt. Most of the information about government atrocities was brought to the world in real time, thanks to this technologies of freedom. The ferocious brutality that has been the government stock in trade throughout this crisis and the violence perpetrated by protesters was captured and released to the world, thanks to social media.The beauty of social media stems from the two-way flow of information while at the same time they are independent of spatial constraints. Considered exceptional tools for individuals and groups to promote their causes to public officials and interested members of the public, social media have demonstrated during the Anglophone crisis that they are effective in exposing violence from both sides of the conflict that is tearing Cameroon apart. The government’s response to the publication of incriminating videos, some purported to be fake, highlights the role social media can play to bring the people’s plight into the spotlight.

Based on the positive results social media have delivered in other parts of the world, especially in the Arab world where many dictatorshave been kicked out of power, the use of social media in Cameroon for participatory communication in the public sphere is viewed as a significant path to the advancement of deliberative and participatory democracy in Cameroon, especially at a time when human rights are suffering. Over the last two decades, the country’s global media sector has been decisively changed due to the globalization of electronic media and what were once highly regulated industries, often dominated by public service or governmental broadcasters, have been open to individual citizens to use to obtain access to the public sphere and influence government actions and policies. While the government of Cameroon may still be dragging its feet regarding the holding of genuine dialogue with Consortium leaders, the popular demonstrations that have taken place abroad and the population’s compliance with decisions taken by various Anglophone organizations are testimonies to the effectiveness of social media as tools for mobilization and political communication. Often seen as redemptive features of new media are the availability of large stores of information for citizens to tap without the prior intervention of media gatekeepers or other mediators; interactivity which enables citizens to find out things for themselves rather than passively receiving or ignoring what is given and the creation of virtual forums which make it possible for exchanges between citizens and officials. Today, social media dominate in the new media era and this has made information about government actions just a click away; a possibility that is widely exploited by Southern Cameroonians to challenge government authority and highlight its weaknesses.

In Cameroon, just like in other parts of the world, social media such as Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter are delivering information and documents to the population in a very fast way. Unlike print communication, social media have given the ordinary Cameroonian greater access to information and significant possibilities to participate in the political discourse which, in the past was a luxury to the poor. Falling Internet charges are enabling many Cameroonians to engage in online communication which has altered the substance, form, and style of communication in ways that have never been seen before, creating new-style electronic formats such as Internet discussion groups and chat rooms. These platforms have also creatednew public spaces and provided unprecedented opportunities for political discourse in the country; a tool the Anglophone minority, especially its Diaspora, is making the most of.

The coming of the social media age is not only serving as a catalyst that is instigating a populist political movement in Cameroon where citizens have greater access to the political world than before, it is going a long way in educating huge segments of the population which were once cut off from the political reality of their country. Social media are serving as stimulants to political interest and activism among Cameroonians, a situation that is very disturbing to the country’s government. In Cameroon today, ordinary citizens are able to establish meaningful and effective roles for themselves in the political arena that has been primarily the domain of the elite and this is causing the government of Cameroon to lose sleep and its decision to cut off an entire region from the World Wide Web is a clear demonstration of the government’s inability to win the war of propaganda that has been playing out on the Internet.

With social media, there is more political information disseminated today through a vast diversity of sources than at any time in the country’s history. Political news is available for general audiences through network newscasts and real time news broadcasts. The wide range of available formats also permits information to be targeted at specific audience segments, including those who traditionally have been under-represented in the political world. Social media are allowingCameroonians to receive information that is relevant to them personally and to make contact with others who have similar social and political orientations. As opposed to the “sound-bite” journalism that characterizes much mainstream political media in the country, newer forums have more time and space for the presentation of contextual and historical material as well as extended discussions of issues than the government would have loved.

One of the primary characteristics of the social media age is the interactivity that communications technologies facilitate among citizens, public officials, and media personnel. Rather than merely being the passive recipients of political information, it is now possible for Camerooniansto make their political presence and opinions known. They are today playing more visible roles in political events and this is undermining the government’s influence. For example, record numbers of Cameroonians are joining political organizations other than parties, especially those associated with particular issues. The Anglophone problem has clearly proven this and the citizens’involvement has been aided by media publicity and interactive communication forums which allow them to express their opinions, ask for and obtain information quickly, and receive instructions on how to take action. This explains, in part, why Southern Cameroonians have been successful in mobilizing their citizens across the world over the last three months to leave the government with a sticky situation on its hands.

While social media offer novel opportunities for democratic politics in Cameroon, it is presenting testing times to a regime that is wont to manipulating its people and checking the free flow of information. Social media have created significant communication forums that have the ability to spark citizen interest, increase awareness and knowledge of public affairs, and prompt political participation and dissent. Today, a significant number of Cameroonians seek out political information online and participate in discussions in electronic spaces which grant them the opportunity to develop and express their own opinions. The content and presentational style of news in the traditional media, especially government-owned media in Cameroon, is turning the public off traditional media, with more people migrating to the social media world where information is delivered in real time.

While social media is far from being the cause of recent uprisings in Cameroon, it has become an undeniable fact that social sites are dramatically changing the way protests and revolutions in Cameroon are taking place. Participants and planners have been using social sites like Twitter and Whatsapp to spread the word about upcoming protests, making it easier to gain supporters. Posts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites have been allowing protesters to form a cohesive voice and to enjoy a feeling of unity. Real time posts on social media have also been offering a raw look at what is happening and eliminating the editing and polishing that can dull mainstream news reports. The global reach and immediate updates available via social media have radically changed the face of the protests in Cameroon and this is highlighting the power of social sharing. Despite the government’s disconnection of the Internet, the power of social media has not declined and their use has grown exponentially among the country’s Diaspora. For many activists, Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook have become tools to help keep the spotlight on the revolution which is being run out of the country and to remember those who have lost their lives since the uprising, or those who have since been imprisoned by the authorities.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey

About the Author: The author of this piece is a keen observer of Cameroon’s political and economic landscape. He has published extensively on the country’s political and economic development, especially in the early 90s when the wind of change was blowing across the African continent. He has served as a translator, technical writer, journalist and editor for several international organizations and corporations across the globe. He studied communication at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and technical writing in George Brown College in Toronto, Canada. He is also a trained translator and holds a Ph.D.

6, March 2017

FECAFOOT plunged into crisis again!! Abdouraman off to Swiss ⁰

The battle for the control of the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT has taken a dramatic U turn immediately after the Lions won the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. Abdouraman Hamadou, Chairman of Etoile filante de Garoua has reportedly pulled the match against Tombi A Roko Sidiki, president of the Cameroon Football Federation to extra time.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), which is the supreme judicial authority in the world of sport, made public a verdict last week which has prompted the petitioner, Abdouraman to attack the Swiss Federal Court. Information has filtered that the Chairman of Etoile filante de Garoua will be leaving Cameroon today Monday, March 6, 2017 for Switzerland.

The TAS decision has created panic deep within the leadership of the Cameroonian Football Association as a reaction is expected soon from the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA). Tombi A Roko Sidiki and his “protector” Sports Minister Pierre Ismaël Bidoung Kpwatt were received at their request by Issa Hayatou, the president of African Football Confederation (CAF). Issa Hayatou and his CPDM gang have been reflecting on what action to take after the judgment from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Tas decided on Monday, February 27, 2017 to declare inadmissible and dismiss the Abdouraman appeal and did not modify the verdict of the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration of the National Olympic and Sports Committee of Cameroon which invalidated on November 12, 2015, the last electoral process that led Tombi A Roko to the head of Fécafoot.

By Sonne Peter with files from CIN

6, March 2017

Biya Francophone regime unable to contain the Anglophone Crisis ²

La Republique du Cameroun recently approved the trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium at military tribunals in Yaounde. The Consortium including many international organizations have blasted the measure including the rapes, extra judicial killings, the militarization of Southern Cameroons and the shutdown of internet services as being tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law.

With many Southern Cameroonian groups still responding to the civil disobedience campaign orchestrated by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and the complete and total boycott of all academic institutions, we of this publication believe that arrest and trial of the leaders of the Consortium is an indication that the Biya Francophone regime is in “a dire situation” and is unable to “retain” the security and stability in West Cameroon.

What is the difference if you are sentenced to life imprisonment by a military court or a civilian court? What matters here is the fact that the Francophone regime with its 84 year-old leader is desperate, that after only five months of the Anglophone revolution it finds itself forced to take those measures that are repressive and are defined by others as being against the spirit of the civil law.

The Southern Cameroons revolution is indeed the people’s revolution and has continued unabated and it has been peaceful and consistent in its demands. This is why the regime shut down internet services and cracked down on the Anglophone media because it does not want the media to reflect on what is going on in West Cameroon.

The Yaoundé Francophone government is now using Anglophone counterrevolutionary forces and the 2017 GCE situation to make the world to believe that they have defeated the revolution in Southern Cameroons. Only pro Biya regime journalists and human rights organizations are allowed to enter Southern Cameroons in an attempt to keep the news of the revolution away from the mainstream media.

According to our intelligence officers, the Consortium has helped the regime by reducing its very efficient ghost town operation to just one day a week. However, the Francophone regime has not been able to contain the popular Anglophone uprising, which began in 2016, despite all its repressive measures.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

6, March 2017

Death threats sent to GCE Board Registrar ¹

The Registrar of the Cameroon General Certificate of Education Board, CGCE , Dr Humphrey Ekema Monono has revealed that he receives death threats everyday from anonymous persons who send messages threatening to kill him if he goes ahead to organize the 2017 session of the GCE.

The Registrar made the declaration in Buea as the Board held an extra ordinary Council session to take a decision on the prevailing situation in Southern Cameroons. Cameroun Info.Net reported that the board has recorded the lowest registration ever for the 2017 GCE session. Humphrey Monono also revealed that though the board is independent, it is under the tutelage of the Ministry of Secondary Education. He pointed out that he is expected to take instructions from his hierarchy, hence cannot unilaterally suspend the writing of the exams.

During the meeting which took place at the head quarters of the board, members of the council gave the Registrar authorization to extend the registration deadline to March 20; 2017 to get many more candidates into the 2017 session. Mr. Monono hinted that some 70,000 students have registered as of February but some sources say it is below 40,000.

Members also called on parents, students and other education stakeholders to effectively take their children back to school on Tuesday March 7, 2017. They equally called on Education Secretaries of both Lay private and Confessional schools to disseminate the information, calling back students to their various schools by the said date.

Cameroun Info.Net

6, March 2017

Southern Cameroons GCE: Former Minister Peter Abety confirms the Consortium is winning ¹

The Chairman of the Cameroon General Certificate of Education Board, Prof Peter Alange ABETY has expressed worries over the quality of certificates to be awarded to students if something is not done and done in a hurry to bring to an end the current crisis that has rocked Southern Cameroons. Peter Abety, a former Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic and a pro CPDM comedian who would not agree that an Anglophone problem exist in Cameroon was addressing stakeholders in the education sector in Buea during the extra ordinary Council Session of the GCE Board last Friday March 3, 2017.

The GCE Board Chairman said if activities in schools continue to be paralyzed with no effective classes, then the Board will not set questions that cover the entire syllable on the calendar hence what the students will learn cannot be used to proof that they had a full school year. Prof. Peter Alange ABETY said certificates will in this case be less credible especially on the international scene mindful of the fact that students have been home for several months.

Abety seen here with the late Guardian Newspaper reporter, Sylvanus Ezieh used the Buea forum to urge parents to send their children to school. In an attempt to shift the blame from the Biya Francophone government, the GCE Board chairman said that Lay private and Confessional schools have the key to an effective back to school, if they jointly sign a letter inviting parents to do so. Religious leaders and representative of the Catholic, Protestant and Islamic academic establishments all observed that their doors were wide open for students to come back to school.

Present during the conclave were representatives from NWR and SWR Teachers and Parents Association, Directors from the Ministry of Secondary Education, a Representative from the Presidency, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Finance, trade Union leaders among others. It is vital to include in this report that Peter Abaty was a prominent CPDM figure when corruption reign within the admission process into the Higher Teachers Training College, Ecole Normale.

By Rita Akana with files from CIN

5, March 2017

Biya’s henchman dies aged 81 ⁰

One of the Roving Ambassadors at the Presidency of the Republic, Joseph-Charles Doumba has died in Yaoundé, at the age of 81. Joseph-Charles Doumba served in both the Ahidjo and the Biya regimes. Doumba, the Francophone political baron, a political analyst and CPDM Party strategist, died of complications from Cancer, diabetes and a stroke on Sunday the 5^th of March 2017.

Doumba was a cabinet minister and also the Secretary General of the ruling CPDM party and was well-known on the lecture circuit on Prof Edzoa Titus’s resignation and appeared to be President Biya’s most trusted ally. He began his career as a civil administrator and moved into politics.

Originally from the East region precisely in Bertoua, Joseph-Charles Doumba was born and reared in Yabassi, the capital of Nkam Division in the Littoral region.

Cameroon Intelligence Report