28, November 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Religious leaders reflect on the cost of the conflict and how to resolve it ⁰

“We the Religious Leaders of Cameroon acknowledge our neutrality and impartiality while reserving our rights to point out what is right or wrong in any conflict situation, decided to make the following declarations,” they said.

Cameroon’s 27 million people have two official languages—English and French—but the people in the two linguistic groups are divided, adding to the nation’s woes and for the concerns of its church leaders. They also face another affliction—violent extremist groups such as Boko Haram.

The conference agreed that the Cameroon government should consider the possibility of “a mediated end” to the crisis in the English-speaking western provinces of the country, as the only option to end this senseless armed conflict.

They declared their readiness as religious leaders of Cameroon to use their institutions and means to “objectively, faithfully, fearfully and lovingly assist, if not play a front role to bring about a just and peaceful end to the armed conflict ravaging Anglophone Cameroon and other major national crises.”

By Haggai Fung Achuo

28, November 2020

French Cameroun: Three people killed, one abducted in Boko Haram attack ⁰

At least three people were killed and another abducted in a Boko Haram militant raid on the mainly Christian village of Gabass, Koza department, Far North Cameroon.

The heavily-armed militants struck the community as the villagers slept, in the early hours of 26 November.

Guidi village in Kolofata, Far North Cameroon, one of two villages attacked by Boko Haram in the early hours of 26 November

At the time of writing, security forces are conducting a search for the abducted villager and the perpetrators.

In a separate attack the same night on Guidi village in Kolofata, also in the Far North, Boko Haram militants set fire to five homes.

In October, authorities in Far North Cameroon had to close more than 60 schools along the northern border with Nigeria to protect children and teaching staff from repeated Boko Haram attacks, mainly by women and children used as suicide bombers.

Most of Cameroon’s Muslims, comprising around 20% of the population, live in the Far North region of this predominantly Christian country. In the Far North, rural Christian communities are frequently subjected to Boko Haram violence. Eyewitness accounts of attacks describe heavily armed militants encircling Christian villages, shouting throughout the night as they kill, loot and burn. Boko Haram has stated its aim is to establish an Islamic caliphate extending from its base in north-east Nigeria.

By Ewang Miriam Metchane

28, November 2020

Severe revenge for scientist’s assassination put on Iran’s agenda ⁰

The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that “a severe revenge and punishment” has been put on Iran’s agenda in response to the assassination of a high-profile nuclear scientist with the Defense Ministry.

Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks in a message released on Friday after the targeted killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (known by its acronym as SPND), in Absard city of Damavand County, Tehran Province.

Salami hailed Fakhrizadeh as a leading scientist in the country’s strategic industries and a prominent professor at Imam Hussein University of Tehran, and strongly condemned his assassination in a “terrorist crime designed and directed by the fake, terrorist and infanticide Zionist regime.”

“Undoubtedly, the valuable efforts and endeavors of this honorable martyr in the field of the defense industry and other strategic areas of the country, as well as the field of countering the coronavirus will remain in the historical memory of this land” while inspiring students at universities and IRGC’s scientific and technology centers to make achievements in the future.

“The blind-hearted enemies of the Iranian nation, especially those who designed, perpetrated and supported this crime, should know that such crimes will not undermine the Iranians’ will and determination to continue this glorious and powerful path, and that a severe revenge and punishment is put on the agenda.”

Source: Presstv

28, November 2020

WWF Admits “Sorrow” Over Human Rights Abuses in Southern Cameroons ⁰

One of the world’s largest charities knew for years that it was funding alleged human rights abusers but repeatedly failed to address the issue, a lengthy, long-delayed report revealed on Tuesday.

A News investigation first exposed in March 2019 how WWF, the beloved nonprofit with the cuddly panda logo, financed and equipped park rangers accused of beating, torturing, sexually assaulting, and murdering scores of people. In response, WWF immediately commissioned an “independent review” led by Navi Pillay, a former United Nations commissioner for human rights.

The 160-page review, which has now been published online, corroborates problems exposed by News in Southern Cameroons, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report claimed the panel was prevented by the Covid-19 pandemic from traveling to locations where the abuses reportedly took place.

The review found that WWF had failed again and again to follow “its own commitments to respect human rights” — commitments that are not just required by law but essential to “the conservation of nature.”

In a statement issued in response to the review, WWF expressed “deep and unreserved sorrow for those who have suffered,” and said that abuses by park rangers “horrify us and go against all the values for which we stand.” The charity acknowledged its shortcomings and welcomed the recommendations, saying “we can and will do more.”

Pillay’s review declined to address whether high-level executives, who News found were aware of “accelerating” violence at at least one wildlife park as early as January 2018, were responsible for the charity’s missteps.

Overall, WWF paid too little attention to credible abuse allegations, failed to construct a system for victims to make complaints, and painted an overly rosy picture of its anti-poaching war in public communications, the report found. “Unfortunately, WWF’s commitments to implement its social policies have not been adequately and consistently followed through,” the report’s authors wrote.

WWF has supported efforts to fight wildlife crime for decades. Although local governments officially employ and pay park rangers who patrol national parks and protected wildlife reserves, in a number of countries across Africa and Asia WWF has provided crucial funding to make their jobs possible. The charity has framed its crusade against poaching in the hardened terms of war.

In a multi-part series, News found that WWF’s war on poaching came with civilian casualties: impoverished villagers living near the parks. At the , WWF responded that many of ’s assertions did “not match our understanding of events” — yet the charity swiftly overhauled many of its human rights policies after publication.

In the US, the series spurred a bipartisan investigation and proposed legislation that would prohibit the government from awarding money to international conservation groups that fund or support human rights violations. It also prompted a freeze of funds by the Interior Department, a review by the Government Accountability Office, and separate government probes in the UK and Germany.

28, November 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: More deaths have been scheduled ⁰

As the Yaoundé government presses on with its diabolic plan to perpetuate dictatorship, corruption and marginalization, Southern Cameroonian fighters are also gradually putting in place a mechanism to ensure that Southern Cameroons gains its independence.

Anything short of independence might not bring peace to the two English-speaking regions of the country, except the international community gets involved in a negotiated settlement that will be satisfactory to all the factions involved in the fighting.

True to its provocative approach to life, the country’s ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) also known as the crime syndicate, has launched its regional election campaign in Bamenda and Buea in the belief that the regime’s corrupt surrogates will win the election, after all, only municipal councilors are expected to vote and many of them are members of the crime syndicate that has ruled the country for 38 years.

But the campaign launch in Buea has been overshadowed by the killing of three army soldiers in Ekondo-titi in the Southwest region where the country’s Prime Minister hails.

The fighters had duly informed the Cameroon Concord News Group that the death penalty that had been decreed three years ago by the then interim government was still standing.

Any Southern Cameroonian who is enabling the Yaoundé regime has a death penalty on him and the Yaoundé regime enablers such as Peter Mafany Musonge, Nalova Lyonga, Paul Atanga Nji, Yang Philemon, George Tabetando, and all CPDM mayors and senators from the two English-speaking regions of the country are all staring down the barrel of death as they are in the cross hairs of the brave Southern Cameroonian fighters who are giving the government and its soldiers a run for their money.

While CPDM criminals are currently celebrating the launch of their campaign in Buea, they know that beyond Buea, they are not safe. The fighters have vowed to reduce each one of them into a mass of flesh if they make the mistake of taking their campaign of corruption and indiscipline beyond Buea.

For some time now, there seems to be a lull in the nasty fighting that has sent some six thousand Cameroonians to an early grave.

While the population is still struggling with the impact of the carnage orchestrated by the Yaounde regime, the crime syndicate’s key actors have shown up in Bamenda and Buea to campaign in an election that has been duly proscribed by the Southern Cameroons Interim Government.

A fighter who spoke to the Cameroon Concord News Group’s London correspondent on condition of anonymity said that all the factions were quietly working together, adding that they were gradually putting their differences behind them; an action that is enabling them to put in place a tough mechanism that will enable them to monitor all those who will be voting in a proscribed election.

The fighter added that there was a silver lining emerging on the dark cloud of division that has given army soldiers the feeling that they are winning the war.

He advised that the slaughtering of three army soldiers on Thursday in Ekondo-titi was just a clear statement of intent, adding that more killings of Yaounde government officials were in the offing.

He stressed that the Yaoundé government had used all its resources to divide Southern Cameroonians but its efforts were not yielding the fruits the government was looking forward to.

He added that though the country’s territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, was using rogues and criminals who do pose as Southern Cameroonian fighters, their actions had not reduced the population’s faith in the real fighters whose objective is to bring about the total independence of Southern Cameroons.

The fighter, who has been traveling in and out of Cameroon, said that it would be hard for the government to win the war because the country’s borders were porous and most of the army soldiers were corrupt.

“We move sophisticated weapons into Cameroon with relative easy. We have struck fear in the minds of the officials and soldiers and most of them are looking forward to the day this nightmare will be over,” he said.

“Thanks to our comrades in Manyu Division who have sound knowledge of the Manyu jungle, we have been able to take arms to our fellow brothers in the Northwest region. Our comrades in Ekondo-titi are active and they are ready to enforce the death penalty. The killing of those three soldiers is only a statement of intent and more things have been scheduled,” he stressed.

He used the occasion to call on the Southern Cameroons Diaspora to continue supporting the struggle, adding that the divisions within the Diaspora only help the corrupt regime in Yaoundé.

“Our people in America, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Africa must stop fighting each other. On the ground, we don’t really care about who is leading the interim. We just need the support and we are happy that despite the differences of opinion, the Diaspora is still providing much-needed assistance. We are really very grateful and we are using this opportunity to call for unity,” he said.

“If the Diaspora keeps on wrangling, then our independence will be jeopardized. We can achieve our goal and the government is aware of our determination. We have resisted for four years and this is a huge surprise to the government. We will be springing a few surprises in the days ahead and the world will be hearing from us very soon. There is no yielding. Forward ever, backward never. The Yaoundé government can never be trusted. It speaks from both sides of its mouth and this makes it hard to work with it,” he said.

“We would also like to use this opportunity to underscore that the death penalty still stands and anybody who violates the laws of our land will feel the wrath of our laws,” he stressed.

“I am also using this opportunity to reassure the people of Southern Cameroons that we are fighting to bring peace, prosperity and independence to our land. The population should continue to support us. It must not yield to the pressure being mounted on it by the corrupt regime in Yaounde,” he said.

“Some of the atrocities being attributed to our fighters are clearly false. Some rogue elements are taking advantage of the situation to intimidate our people with the objective lining their pockets. We are working diligently to eliminate such rogues and we urge the population to promptly inform us of any situation if it suspects any boys in any neighbourhood. I would like to conclude that the government is also making the situation murkier by releasing its fake agents in our towns. These criminals are committing horrendous crimes just to give our struggle a very bad name. We are aware of this and we are working hard to counter this propaganda,” he concluded.

The days ahead are really bleak for a population that has already gone through a lot. Instead of seeking real solutions, the government is still pushing ahead with its devilish agenda that will only breed death and destruction.

The international community must step in if the bloodshed in Southern Cameroons must stop. The Yaoundé government has no plan and intention to bring about peace in the country. It only has one tool in its huge toolbox – brutality- that has not delivered any real results in four years.

There is no hope and with more blood scheduled to flow over the next days, the ordinary civilian is sure to pay a huge price. The world must stop being a spectator in this gruesome fight that has already sent many to an early grave.

By Enowtaku Ebanghatabi Christelle and Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

27, November 2020

Amba Virus: Scottish leader calls for 2nd independence referendum early next year ⁰

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for a second independence referendum to be held as soon as next year, in a major challenge to the United Kingdom (UK), which is is still struggling with difficulties of Brexit.

Sturgeon said she anticipates that a vote will take place “in the earlier part” of the next Scottish parliament, which begins next year.

“The referendum for a whole variety of reasons should be in the earlier part of the next parliament,” she said.

Her Scottish National Party (SNP), which has formed the government since 2007, is expected to perform strongly in elections to the Scottish parliament in May.

This would give her government a mandate to hold another referendum on independence.

Scots voted 55-45 percent against independence in a 2014 referendum.

His government has said there should not be another independence referendum in the near future.

If Sturgeon wins the election in May, Johnson will have to make a decision whether to refuse a referendum and thus allow Scottish discontent to simmer or allow a referendum which could break apart the union.

The UK and Northern Ireland includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Britain voted 52-48 to leave the European Union in a 2016 referendum. Scots voted 62% to 38% in favor of remaining in the EU.

The issue of Scotland’s independence was then thrust back into the limelight. Sturgeon said the day after the vote that the situation was a “democratic outrage” and that another independence vote was “highly likely.”

Recent polls show support for the independence of Scotland has been rising lately.

An Ipsos Mori poll indicated last month that 58% of Scots would vote to quit the UK, if a referendum were held this year.

Source: Presstv

27, November 2020

3 soldiers killed in Ambazonia firing: Ndian SDO ⁰

Three Cameroun government army soldiers were killed on Thursday by Ambazonia Restoration Forces in Prime Minister Dion Ngute’s constituency.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sources revealed that the Cameroon government soldiers were on a patrol in Ekondo Titi where they reported came under attack.

In a statement addressed to the Minister for Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo, the Senior Divisional Officer for Ndian said “A patrol of soldiers of the 21st Marine Rifle Battalion was ambushed by separatists on Thursday morning. The separatists opened fire. Three of our soldiers were killed,” Nwafua Lawrence Forwang concluded.

This new Ambazonia Restoration strike in the ranks of the French Cameroun army comes a week after that of November 19 during which two gendarmes and a civilian were killed in Kissem in Bui County in the Northern Zone.

The Biya Francophone military authorities have regularly announced the strengthening of security in Southern Cameroons in the wake of attacks on schools.

Biya’s kinsman Joseph Beti Assomo recently chaired a meeting with military leaders during which he prescribed the strengthening of French Cameroun security apparatus in Ambazonia. But the situation seems to be deteriorating.

As a reminder, Southern Cameroons have been shaken since late October 2016 by corporatist demands from teachers and lawyers. In October 2017, these demands led to an armed conflict between the Francophone dominated army and Southern Cameroons Self Defense groups.

According to the UN, the conflict has already resulted in more than 3,000 deaths and at least 700,000 internally displaced persons with children paying the highest price. According to UNICEF, more than 800,000 children have been deprived of education as a result of the conflict in Southern Cameroons.

By Fon Lawrence

27, November 2020

Maradona buried in Buenos Aires as world mourns flawed football legend ⁰

Argentina’s Diego Maradona, one of the world’s greatest football players, was buried on Thursday amid a global outpouring of grief from the streets of his hometown Buenos Aires to Naples, Italy.

The death of Maradona at the age of 60 on Wednesday, following a heart attack, has sparked both mourning and celebrations of a true sporting star, who was a genius on the football field but lived a life marred by struggles with addiction.

In a day of high emotion, the World Cup winner was taken by hearse late on Thursday to the Bella Vista cemetery on the outskirts of Buenos Aires – where his parents are also interred – for a small private ceremony of his family and close friends.

Thousands of Argentines lined the roads as the procession passed on the hour-long journey from the presidential palace in central Buenos Aires, where Maradona had lain in state during the day.

Earlier, there were clashes between police and fans and a febrile atmosphere more akin to a rowdy football game than a wake, with fans clambering up the palace gates to get as close as possible to their hero.

In Italy, crowds tied hundreds of blue and white scarfs to the railings outside his former club Napoli, while in France, sports paper L’Equipe’s front page blared out: “God is dead”.

In Argentina, three days of national mourning were called for the player who led the country to a 1986 World Cup win and is revered with cult-like status. Tens of thousands took to the streets, not all wearing masks, despite fears over the COVID-19 pandemic. Some left flowers and messages at his childhood home.

“Maradona for me is the greatest thing that happened to me in life. I love him as much as my father and it’s like my old man died,” Cristian Montelli, 22, a supporter of the star’s former club Boca Juniors said with tears in his eyes after he had filed past the coffin.

“If I die young, hopefully upstairs I can play ball and watch a Boca game with him,” added Montelli, who had a tattoo of Maradona’s face on his leg.

Mile-long lines

During the day, Maradona’s body lay in state in a closed casket at the Casa Rosada presidential palace on the central Plaza de Mayo. It was covered with the blue and white national flag and an Argentina football jersey with the number 10 that had been part of his nickname “D10S” – a play on “dios”, the Spanish word for God.

Starting at dawn on Thursday, thousands of fans had formed a snaking line estimated at over a mile (1.6 km) long through the streets of Buenos Aires near the plaza, after a night of mourning and reminiscing.

Fans who got inside the palace – many missed out – threw football shirts, flowers and other items towards the casket.

“He was someone who touched the sky with his hands but never took his feet off the ground,” President Alberto Fernandez said. He visited the casket on Thursday.

As authorities started to close down access to the central square on Thursday afternoon, scuffles broke out, with police using rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse the unruly crowds.

The tensions eased after Maradona’s body was transferred to the cemetery, surrounded by a huge procession of police and others on motorbikes and cars.

In Naples, meanwhile, fans laid out flowers, children’s pictures, candles and even a bottle of wine in a rapidly expanding, makeshift shrine.

“Diego belongs to the people”

Major athletes and world leaders, including Argentina-born Pope Francis, have paid their own tributes.

“Diego belongs to the people, Diego belongs to Argentina, Diego belongs to the country,” said Dario Lozano, waiting in line to view the casket.

Beloved in his homeland after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 and adored in Italy for taking Napoli to two Serie A titles, Maradona was a uniquely gifted player who rose from the tough streets of Buenos Aires to reach the pinnacle of his sport.

The 1986 World Cup included a quarter-final game against England where Maradona scored two of the tournament’s best-known goals ever – an illicit “Hand of God” goal and one that followed an incredible swerving, dribble.

Maradona also battled various health problems over the years as a result of his addictions. Earlier this month, he was hospitalised for symptoms including anemia and dehydration and underwent emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma – a blood clot in the brain.

On Thursday, Maradona’s lawyer, Matías Morla, said he would ask for a full investigation into the circumstances of the death, and criticised what he said was a slow response by emergency services.

In Italy, Massimo Vignati, owner of a Maradona museum in Naples, said the player had become almost like family.

“My mother was the Neapolitan mother of Maradona. He was our twelfth brother,” he told Reuters, surrounded my memorabilia of the player. “We must remember him with his smile as always. He made his last dribble and left us suddenly.”

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

27, November 2020

US: Trump says he will leave White House if Electoral College votes for Biden ⁰

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, the closest he has come to conceding the Nov. 3 election, even as he reiterated his unfounded claims of massive voter fraud.

Speaking to reporters on the Thanksgiving holiday, Republican Trump said if Democrat Biden – who is due to be sworn in on Jan. 20 – is certified the election winner by the Electoral College, he will depart the White House.

But Trump said it would be hard for him to concede under the current circumstances and declined to say whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration. The electors are scheduled to meet on Dec. 14.

“This election was a fraud,” Trump insisted, while offering no concrete evidence of such voting irregularities.

Biden and Trump both stayed close to home to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday as the coronavirus pandemic raged across the country.

Biden spent the holiday in the small seaside town of Rehoboth, Delaware, where he and his wife Jill have a vacation home. The Bidens are hosting daughter Ashley Biden and her husband Dr. Howard Krein for the holiday meal.

The former vice president, appearing with his wife in a video message posted to his Twitter account on Thanksgiving, said his family typically holds a large gathering on the island of Nantucket off Massachusetts, but would remain in Delaware this year “with just a small group around our dinner table” because of the pandemic.

In the presidential-style address to a nation that has lost more than 260,000 lives to the coronavirus, the Democratic president-elect said Americans were making a “shared sacrifice for the whole country” and a “statement of common purpose” by staying at home with their immediate families.

“I know this isn’t the way many of us hoped we’d spend our holiday. We know that a small act of staying home is a gift to our fellow Americans,” said Biden. “I know better days are coming.”

Republican President Trump often likes to celebrate holidays at his Mar-a-Largo resort in Florida. But on Thursday he remained in the Washington area, spending part of the morning at his Trump National Golf Club in Virginia where he played a round of golf.

It was a far cry from last year when he made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where he served turkey to U.S. troops before sitting down to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them.

This time, Trump spoke by video link from the White House to members of the military.

Source: REUTERS

27, November 2020

Yaoundé: HIV/AIDS Patients Shirk Hospitals for Fear of COVID-19 ⁰

Cameroon’s Ministry of Health says tens of thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS are refusing to enter hospitals for fear of catching the coronavirus.  Health workers say if those patients do not get the antiretroviral drugs the need, they put themselves at risk.  Ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1, Cameroon’s medics are urging HIV-positive patients to take their medicine.

At Yaoundé’s Baptist Hospital Etugebe, about 30 people with AIDS listen to speakers and health workers talk about HIV.

19-year-old Nyako Cinthia Njiti, who for five years has been living with AIDS, said it has been nine months since they last held a meeting.

“We always have monthly meetings, we sit together, share ideas, encourage others, people share their success stories. And due to the fact that people cannot meet, it disturbs children from coming together and having the fun they always have. And also, when they come for drugs, we always have counseling sessions with them. They play with toys. Those things are not more happening,” said Njiti.

More disturbingly, Cameroon’s health ministry reports that of the 300,000 HIV-positive people in the country who need antiretrovirals, about 60 percent refuse to visit hospitals because of COVID-19.

Sintieh Ngek is with the Cameroon Baptist Convention health services. He said failure to take anti-retroviral drugs can weaken the immune systems of people with AIDS.

“When the immune system is that weak, every disease that comes to the body is going to infect the body, so you have frequent diarrheas, weight loss, diseases like cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis. These are very common opportunistic infections,” said Ngek.

Gilbert Tene of the Cameroon Medical Council said to fill the gap, medics are going to AIDS patients in their homes and giving them a one-month supply of anti-retrovirals.

“We need those patients at the hospitals to keep on counseling, to provide them with drugs and provide them with any other support. That is why we have come up with what is called differentiated service delivery which has made us to go out to the community to assist those who cannot come to the hospital,” said Tene.

Health worker Awa Fany said some hospitals in Cameroon are running short on funds for AIDS patients because of the pandemic.

“Funding has become limited. Funders are now paying more attention to COVID-19 and so we are asking ourselves how can we ensure that we distribute resources in an even manner such that we still care for children who are HIV positive while taking care of those who are COVID-19 positive,” said Fany.

Even before the pandemic, Cameroon health officials struggled to get AIDS patients to hospitals for treatment.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Health says in 2019, 75% of AIDS-infected children died in their first five years.

The government blames parents who fail to follow up on treatment for their children while many parents cannot afford transport fees to get them to city hospitals.

Source: VOA