Tunisian president dissolves top judicial watchdog alleging bias

6, February 2022

Tunisian president dissolves top judicial watchdog alleging bias 0

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Sunday dissolved a top independent judicial watchdog accusing it of bias, the latest controversial move since he sacked the government last year.

Saied has broadened his grip on power since July 25, when he sacked the government and froze parliament before moving to rule by decree in Tunisia — the cradle of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that ousted a series of autocratic leaders.

Many Tunisians welcomed his moves against a political system described as corrupt and ineffective, in the only democracy to have emerged from the revolts.

But political figures and rights groups have warned of a slide towards authoritarianism, and world leaders have expressed deep concern.

In a move expected to spark further unease, Saied early Sunday announced he was dissolving the Supreme Judicial Council (CSM) during a meeting with government ministers.

The council “is a thing of the past”, he said according to video footage released by the Tunisian presidency.

He accused the CSM, an independent constitutional body set up in 2016 to guarantee the good functioning and independence of the judiciary, of serving political interests.

“In this council, positions and appointments are sold and made according to affiliations,” said the head of state.

“You cannot imagine the money that certain judges have been able to receive, billions and billions,” he added.

Observers say the government is seeking to clamp down on the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, which has controlled parliament and the various governments since the 2011 revolution toppled veteran leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

‘Red line’

The president accused the CSM of corruption and of delaying politically sensitive investigations into the 2013 assassinations of left-wing opposition figures Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi.

The Islamic State group claimed both killings, while Ennahdha, which has denounced Saied’s power grab as a “coup”, has been accused by many of blocking the investigations.

“Unfortunately, in this country, some judges in the courts have manipulated the Chokri Belaid case,” said Saied in the video.

Belaid was shot three times outside his home in February 2013, and Brahmi was killed in similar circumstances in July the same year.

The “July 25 movement” — composed of Saied supporters — on Saturday called on the president to dissolve the CSM in order to “purge” the judiciary of “corrupt magistrates”.

Saied has called on supporters to “protest freely” later Sunday, when a demonstration is also due to be held to mark the ninth anniversary of Belaid’s murder.

Protesters are expected to rally outside the Tunis headquarters of the CSM.

Saied — who has also already called for a July referendum on constitutional reforms — said on Sunday he was working “on a provisional decree” to reorganise the judicial watchdog.

“One of the key rights of Tunisians is to know the truth,” he said in a statement.

Tunisians, he said, are entitled “to have a just judicial system whose conduct is overseen by judges who only implement the law”.

The CSM had been already targeted last month by Saied, when he stripped its members of social and financial benefits, including fuel subsidies, transport and living allowances.

Created in 2016, the watchdog has 45 members, two thirds of whom are judges elected by parliament, who in turn chose the remaining third.

Raoudha Karafi, honorary president of the Tunisian association of judges, has been among critics of Saied’s power grab.

She has criticised Saied in recent press remarks of seeking to undermine the independence of the judiciary, saying: “Justice is a red line.”

Source: AFP

Salah or Mané? African Cup final revolves around 2 Liverpool stars

6, February 2022

Salah or Mané? African Cup final revolves around 2 Liverpool stars 0

Egypt or Senegal? Or maybe a more absorbing question for world soccer fans: Mohamed Salah or Liverpool teammate Sadio Mané?

Sunday’s African Cup of Nations final in Cameroon will center on two of the continent’s biggest stars, now global stars, when Salah’s Egypt tries to reclaim its lost glory against Mané’s Senegal, which is seeking a first title and the right to finally call itself the best in Africa.

The two forwards will be on opposing sides at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde and while their teams are playing for bigger rewards, there will be significant focus on who wins the personal battle between the club mates.

One of them is set for unrestrained joy and his first major title with his country. One is set for more misery. Salah lost in the final with Egypt in 2017, and Mané was inconsolable after Senegal lost in the final in 2019.

Mané partly predicted the matchup in a video he posted on social media at the start of the African Cup. He was cheekily addressing Liverpool teammates Salah and Naby Keita of Guinea when he said he knew he was going to face one of them in the final, he just didn’t know which.

“Unfortunately I can’t play against two teams in the final so I have to play against one,” Mané said. “Which of you?”

Turned out to be Egypt after the North Africans took the hard road to the final, beating Ivory Coast on penalties in the round of 16, Morocco in extra time in the quarterfinals and host Cameroon in another shootout in the semifinals.

That game against Cameroon saw Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz given a red card for his angry protests against some of the referee’s decisions and he will be banned from the touchline for the final.

Egypt raised the possibility of the final being put back a day to Monday to help them recover because they played their semifinal on Thursday, while Senegal had an extra day to prepare after beating Burkina Faso 3-1 on Wednesday. The Confederation of African Football hasn’t agreed to that request and the final goes ahead as scheduled.

It’s turned out to be an ideal climax for the African Cup and its attempts to attract more attention than usual. They will be watching in Merseyside, said Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.

“They (Salah and Mané) are superstars there so the pressure they had on their shoulders was massive, and how they deal with it, I’m really proud of them,” Klopp said. “We will watch it, definitely.”

Both players lived up to their big reputations at the African Cup.

Mané scored Senegal’s first goal of the tournament and was on target again in the round of 16 and the semifinals, when he inspired the win over Burkina Faso by setting up one goal and scoring another.

Likewise, Salah delivered the goal for Egypt’s first win in Cameroon, buried the decisive penalty in the shootout against Ivory Coast in the last 16 and scored again in the quarterfinals against Morocco.

One of them will also end up being part of a landmark moment for their country at the African Cup.

Egypt is the record seven-time African champion but having won three straight titles in 2006, ’08 and ’10 in the pre-Salah era, it failed to qualify at all for the next three tournaments when Salah was on the team. Egypt nearly returned to its pedestal in 2017, when it lost to Cameroon in the final.

Egypt now has arguably the best player in the world in Salah, its captain. He said the team must “keep our feet on the ground.”

“But … we are having a very good tournament,” Salah added.

For years, Senegal has had to carry the label of being the best team never to win an African Cup. Senegal made the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2002, an achievement that many believed would be the start of a run of success in Africa. Two decades later, it still has no African Cup titles.

Senegal’s story could finally change on Sunday.

“I think you can see on my face how happy I am,” Mané said after making the final.

Source:  AP soccer

Africa Cup of Nations: Remarkable comeback gives Indomitable Lions third place

6, February 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Remarkable comeback gives Indomitable Lions third place 0

Cameroon have finished 3rd in the Africa cup of Nations after coming from 3 goals down before winning 5-3 in the penalty shootout.

Burkina Faso surprisingly beat the host nation 2-nil in the 1st half and Djibril Ouattara scored the 3rd before the hour mark. But, Cameroon responded in a superb fashion as Stephane Bahoken pulled one back in the 71st minute. Then, Vincent Aboubakar netted twice in a span of 3 minutes to tie the match at 3-all in the regulation time and the match went to penalties without any extra time.

The 5-time winner then converted all 5 of their spot-kick to finish 3rd. The final of the tournament will be held on Sunday and Egypt will face Senegal to extend their 7-time winner record while Senegal are bidding to claim their 1st continental title.

Money and Stupidity: Biya regime says France will provide $262 million to support budget

5, February 2022

Money and Stupidity: Biya regime says France will provide $262 million to support budget 0

Cameroon said France had signed a deal valued at 150 billion CFA francs ($262 million) to support its budget.

The French Development Agency loan will finance projects up to 2024, Alamine Ousmane Mey, Cameroon’s minister of economy, planning and regional development, said in Yaounde. He didn’t describe the type of projects to be funded.

The loan represents France’s contribution to a three-year arrangement between the Central African nation and the International Monetary Fund. Last year, the IMF approved about $690 million of support for Cameroon to help its economy recover from the pandemic.

Source:  Bloomberg L.P.

Malians storm capital in anti-French mass protest to celebrate envoy expulsion

5, February 2022

Malians storm capital in anti-French mass protest to celebrate envoy expulsion 0

Thousands of anti-French protesters have flocked to the streets in the Malian capital of Bamako to celebrate the expulsion of the former colonizer’s envoy from the African country.

Some 3,000 protesters attended the rally in central Bamako on Friday, waving Mali’s national flags and burning cardboard cut-outs of French President Emmanuel Macron in celebration of the French ambassador’s dismissal.

Mali expelled the French envoy last week over what the country’s transitional government described as “hostile and outrageous” comments by the former colonial power.

Paris pushed economic and other sanctions against the African country after the expulsion, and the European Union also sanctioned on Friday several Malian officials, including the country’s prime minister.

Adama Ben Diarra, a vocal Malian activist and one of those sanctioned by the EU, was one of the organizers of the Friday’s protest. He told the cheering crowd that it was an honor to be on the bloc’s sanctions list.

Diarra said the expulsion of France’s ambassador was an important step and that the next step must be the departure of over 5,100 foreign troops deployed in Mali under the pretext of fighting terrorism and Takfiri outfits linked to Daesh and al-Qaeda.

Relations between Mali and its former colonizer have turned sour after the junta, which seized power following a military coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020, ditched previously-planned elections in February and proposed to stay in power until 2025.

France has had more than 50 military interventions in Africa since 1960, when many of their former colonies gained nominal independence.

Anti-French sentiment is on the rise in West Africa as the security situation deteriorates despite the presence of French troops in the troubled region. France recently deployed more troops in the Sahel despite opposition to its presence there.

Mali has become increasingly engulfed in violence since a Tuareg uprising in 2012 was hijacked by extremist militants, who perpetrated ethnic killings and attacks on government forces and civilians.

In 2013, France intervened in Mali to purportedly curb militants who had captured the desert north, before deploying troops across the Sahel. While it has sent more troops and the UN has also its own peacekeeper troops in the African country, violence has continued to intensify and spread in the region.

Nearly 7,000 people died due to the fighting in Mali in 2020, according to the Armed Conflict and Location Event Data Project, while the UN declared late last year that more than two million people had been forced to flee their homes because of the conflict, a number that has quadrupled since 2019.

More than 14 million people in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Source: Presstv

Queen Elizabeth II attends party on Jubilee eve

5, February 2022

Queen Elizabeth II attends party on Jubilee eve 0

Queen Elizabeth II made a rare public appearance on Saturday, chatting and cutting cake at a party, a day before she enters her 70th year as monarch.

The 95-year-old Queen has rarely appeared in public and has cancelled major engagements since spending a night in hospital for tests last October.

Wearing a blue dress and pearls, the Queen talked to people from local community and volunteer groups at a morning reception at her Sandringham residence in Norfolk in eastern England.

She is about to mark a major milestone in her reign, as Sunday will be the 70th anniversary of the day her father, King George VI, died, and she became queen aged 25.

The nation will take part in Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer including a four-day weekend.

On Saturday, the Queen cut a cake with the Jubilee emblem iced on top and received a posy of flowers at the reception in Sandringham’s Ballroom, which included a band playing the song “Congratulations”.

The guests included Angela Wood, a woman who helped create the recipe for coronation chicken, first served at a banquet in 1953.

Wood told the BBC in January that she helped fine-tune the recipe for the bright yellow dish of chicken, boned and coated in a curry cream sauce, while a 19-year-old student at a Cordon Bleu cookery school.

The Queen was also photographed out walking out at Sandringham. She has used a stick in public appearances since October, but royal officials said it was not linked to any specific health condition.

The Queen traditionally spends her Accession Day at Sandringham, where her father died of cancer while she was on a visit to Kenya.

She is set to become the first UK monarch to reign for 70 years.

Source: AFP

UK hit by news of record high inflation

5, February 2022

UK hit by news of record high inflation 0

Come April, many Britons will have to choose between heating and eating. Everything from bus fares to mortgages are going to cost more. Interest rates have gone up twice in seven weeks and 3 more hikes are on the horizon, as the central bank tries to tackle the situation. Meanwhile members of parliament are livid, saying the government is incompetent.

This week millions learned that their gas and electricity bills are going to jump 54 percent. The government says there’s nothing it can do, with energy prices going up worldwide.

Also causing inflation to rise is supply chain issues, higher import taxes and wages increasing. Brexit, the pandemic and a global energy crisis a perfect storm for Britain now in the grips of its worst economic slump in 300 years. But who will pick up the bill?

On the first of April costs of living will go up around 3000 pounds a household. On the same day British politicians will get a 2,000-pound pay rise. So it’s clear, those on the top of the pile have their bills covered and it will be those already on the breadline that will pick up the bill.

Source: Presstv

The British Southern Cameroonians who don’t enjoy football

5, February 2022

The British Southern Cameroonians who don’t enjoy football 0

The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) buzz that has gripped Cameroon, which not even a stampede and eight people dying could damper, has yet to reach some parts of the country even as the tournament reaches its crescendo. In certain areas of the central African nation, watching football is a luxury.

While most of Cameroon and the rest of the continent have been enjoying the football fiesta, fear and militarisation have gripped the English-speaking parts of the country. The government pulled out all the stops to ensure no embarrassment when those fighting for secession threatened to use the Afcon to amplify their voice and cause.

At the heart of this is the so-called Anglophone crisis that began in 2017 with a strike against the marginalisation of those in the English-speaking parts of the largely Francophone country. This culminated in a strong push for secession of the Northwest and Southwest regions.

The ugly side of the beautiful game

Ardent football fan Tata Tilion comes from Buea, the capital of the Southwest Region. With Cameroon hosting the continental showpiece for the first time in 50 years, he had been looking forward to enjoying the extravaganza. But when it came, insecurity had got the better of his hometown and made football a menace to his existence.

“Teams lodging in Buea aren’t comfortable. They train with so much fear. Imagine having just military people watching training sessions,” says Buea resident Obasse Romeo.

Limbé in the Southwest Region hosted Group F – Mali, Tunisia, The Gambia and Mauritania – and two last-16 matches. But for Tilion and many like him, going to the stadium to enjoy the tournament didn’t cross their minds because of the prevailing atmosphere.

Stray bullets

The situation is worse on Mondays. This is the day when separatist fighters impose a sit-at-home strike. “The town is dreadful … [Only] courageous people are on the streets because anything can happen,” says Tilion.

As a taxi driver, he is forced to leave his home on Mondays. “The issue is you don’t know who is monitoring or if the separatist fighters have spotted you.”

In this area, secessionists fighting President Paul Biya’s French-majority government to form a breakaway state called Ambazonia are everywhere and do not wear identifiable attire. They infiltrate gatherings and public places to gain information. Improvised explosive devices that are suspected to have come from them have killed many people, particularly those they said had disobeyed their orders or sympathised with the government.

Inside the stampede at Olembé Stadium

This is why Tilion has been watching the tournament on television rather than risk his life to the detriment of his wife, three children and other relatives. Stray bullets killed three people on the opening day for Group F during shootings by both state forces and secessionist fighters.

Since the crisis started, more than 3 500 people have died during spates of violence and about 700 000 forced to flee the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon, according to UN reports.

The death of team spirit

Football fan Tiku Musu Kasa has no problem with the government deploying gun-wielding soldiers. “The advantage we have now is witnessing it [the Afcon] and being able to recount to the next generation. If you are watching it on television or following it on radio, you will not be able to give a vivid testimony of the experience in years to come.”

Kasa appreciates the role football has played to bring unity to the country. “After the abortive coup d’état of 1984, a lot of hatred continued in Cameroon, and there was an opportunity for another coup.

“But with the brilliant performance of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, defeating 1986 World Cup holders Argentina in the presence of the god of football at the time, Diego Armando Maradona, and other victories in the same tournament, it made people move with peace plants all over. Peace automatically returned to the country.”

During that period, people watched football freely all over the country. Sociocultural and economic activities boomed. Kasa remembers how Ekata Farmers FC of Bafia pulled in the crowds when they visited Kumba to play.

“When Cameroon had to play, people used to wear their jerseys, flags. Some dressed like footballers with boots and walked the streets. If you were a fan of a particular player, you wore that player’s jersey.”

Today, “people are afraid that if they wear team colours, fighters and people with secessionist ideas will consider them blacklegs”, Kasa says referring to the derogatory term used against people who act against trade unions by working when others are on strike. He continued that secessionists also “kill, beat them or burn their houses”.

Match day with the military

It is match day in Limbé on Sunday 23 January. In neighbouring Buea, with six hours to go before Burkina Faso’s clash with Gabon in the last 16. There are no vuvuzelas, excitement, flags or Afcon colours. The streets are heavily militarised, and soldiers line the roads and watch over suspicious joints and byways. Some use incomplete buildings and flyovers as watchtowers.

Here, unlike in the other host cities, sirens and escort drivers are not in use, perhaps for fear of attracting fighters. The driver of the Confederation of African Football-branded bus taking reporters to the stadium makes two stops to pick up journalists, much to the dismay of the military escorts who see it as risky.

Limbé is relatively calm, a little more congested with fans waving as we pass. Traffic police officers clear the way as we descend to Ngueme, where the stadium is located.

Down right, another contingent of soldiers lines both sides of the road. Checkpoints, too. Security is tight at the entrance with others along the stadium’s perimeter. Unlike in Buea, there are fans walking, some running, some gesturing at us to help them catch up with the game.

Before kick off, Gabonese fan Manitou, who refers to himself only by his first name, says he was afraid to come to Limbé. “On my way here, I saw military people with firearms. They told me that the area had security issues. That’s why I decided to lodge in Douala. But personally, I think it’s good. It prevents those coming with bad intentions. Our government provided 10 buses to transport us and we were escorted by these soldiers. That’s needed for us to feel secure.”

Somehow, attendance at the 20 000-seater stadium is impressive. Ruling party politicians and pro-regime administrators desperately mobilised crowds to show up at the stadium to cheer. Spectators say they received free tickets and vaccination passes – even those who aren’t inoculated.

Abductions and torture

When the Afcon ends on 6 February and all the dignitaries are gone, a good number of soldiers will be taken off the streets. Problems will remain. Football will still be a tough sport to follow.

Shootings, killings, burnings, brutality and kidnappings have seen many amateur clubs withdraw from regional competitions. The few enduring ones play fewer games, with matches held in towns that offer better security, such as Kumba, Buea, Limbé and Bamenda. The peripheries are no-go zones.

Former footballer Obasse Romeo remembers the day that unknown gunmen attacked Mount Cameroon FC players at training. Players subsequently withdrew for their safety.

Amba Boys, as separatist fighters are commonly referred to, send death threats and disrupt games. They abducted Buea University’s football team from the campus training ground and tortured them. Unknown gunmen shot and killed Kombe Israel, the owner of Bau Manibok FC, in Kumba in June 2021.

The dark side of sport’s power

In the country’s Northwest Region, second and first-tier clubs have had their share of trouble too.

Emmanuel Ndoumbe Bosso, the former coach of Yong Sports Academy (Yosa), was kidnapped while driving to the club’s training ground. Augustine Choupo, the coach of 2020 Cameroon league one champions PWD Bamenda, was also kidnapped. The clubs didn’t say if ransoms were paid to secure their releases, and Bosso left after the incident. 

When the clubs host league games, gun-wielding officers serve as stewards. This is after armed groups attacked visiting Dragon de Yaoundé as they made their way to a match venue in Bamenda. Heavily armed security forces accompany visiting teams to and from the field, and sometimes out of town. When a game ends, the visiting team is quickly taken away, sometimes before they have even changed out of their match jerseys.

Club repercussions

Yosa press officer Wanchia Cynthia says the instability in the region has affected their club. “Initially, we had Francophone players ready to play for the team. But since 2021, it hasn’t been the case, reason being the insecurity. Those players are afraid of kidnappers and stray bullets. Yogo Sorel is the only Francophone who played for the team last year.”

This isn’t an issue for the team though, says Wanchia, because it has made room for players from the two English-speaking regions.

The Bamenda Olympic Stadium project remains unfinished. Constructors are said to blame the slow progress on insecurity in the area.

Kasa says the crisis isn’t helping in any way. He wants peace to return so “young people will express their talents and football will grow again”.

Culled from New Frame

Push to free Anglophone journalists jailed in Cameroon intensifies

5, February 2022

Push to free Anglophone journalists jailed in Cameroon intensifies 0

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday, February 3, joined 26 other civil society organizations in calling on President Paul Biya to release all those arbitrarily detained in Cameroon for acts of free expression, including at least four journalists.

The open letter, published during the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, notes that the continent’s premier football tournament masks the reality that over 100 people have been detained, most for more than a year, and some for over five years, for simply “peacefully exercising their human rights.”

Journalists Thomas Awah Junior, Mancho Bibixy, Tsi Conrad, and Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka are detained on anti-state charges in Yaounde’s overcrowded Kondengui Central Prison, as documented in CPJ’s annual census of jailed journalists around the world.

The organizations also urged Biya to reform the laws currently used to criminalize protest and public assembly, including the country’s controversial anti-terror law that is used to silence critics and suppress dissent, as documented in a 2017 special report by CPJ.

France-Afrique: EU sanctions five members of Mali’s government, including the prime minister

4, February 2022

France-Afrique: EU sanctions five members of Mali’s government, including the prime minister 0

The European Union on Friday imposed targeted sanctions on five members of Mali’s ruling junta, including Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga.

In a statement from EU member states the targets are accused of “actions that obstruct and undermine the successful completion of Mali’s political transition.”

In August 2020, Mali’s military ousted an elected government. The military regime has vowed a return to civilian rule but has been accused of dragging its feet.

In recent weeks tensions between Mali and former colonial power France have increased, and on Monday the junta ordered the French ambassador to leave.

France has some 4,000 troops deployed across West Africa’s Sahel region, half in Mali, and the crisis has called into question the future of its campaign against Islamist extremist militants.

“The five designated people are subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU territories, and an asset freeze,” the statement said.

Aside from 63-year-old Maiga, the prime minister in the so-called transitional regime, four more top officials were targeted.

Also on the list is 42-year-old Malick Doaw, president of the National Transition Council and “one of the instigators and leaders of the August 18, 2020 coup”.

Colonel major Ismail Wague, 46-year-old minister for reconciliation, had announced the coup and is thus deemed to “threaten the peace, security and stability of Mali.”

Adama Ben Diarra, known as “Ben le Cerveau” or Ben the Brain, is a member of the transitional government accused of obstructing the holding of free elections.

And Ibrahim Ikassa Maiga, 50, is accused of playing a key role in the m5-REP movement that was involved in the overthrow of elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

All five figures are already subject to sanctions imposed by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.

Source: AFP

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