8, July 2020

Football: Cameroon midfielder Boya claims he snubbed Rangers move ⁰

Cameroon midfielder Frank Boya has revealed he turned down the chance to sign for Rangers this summer to move to Antwerp instead.

The 24-year-old signed for the Belgian side earlier this month after his contract expired at Royal Mouscron, who he joined after playing for German side Munich 1860.

And Boya claimed he turned down the chance to sign for Steven Gerrard’s Gers because he wanted to stay in the Belgian League.

He said: “The proof that I did well at Mouscron was the amount of offers I received from big clubs.

“I had no shortage of offers and Rangers and Werder Bremen were the most keen for me to join them.

“So leaving Belgium could have been a solution, but I wanted my future to be settled quickly and none of the teams interested have as much ambitions as at Antwerp.

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard was aware of the midfielder’s availability

“As soon as I moved here, I knew it was the right decision.

“The staff here integrated me from my first day and my new teammates have been a huge help.

“I always believed I would make it because football is an environment where everything is possible.

“You just have to give yourself the means to get there.”

Source: The Sun

8, July 2020

ICC opens new representative office in Cameroon ⁰

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has established a new presence in Cameroon, building on the organisation’s regional focus in Africa.

On 23 June, ICC’s World Council approved the opening of a new regional office (known as a national committee) in Cameroon. ICC Cameroon, which is located in Douala, works in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Artisans of Cameroon. The new office is led by Perrial Jean Nyodog, as Chair, and Ebenezer Njanga, as Secretary General. Mr Nyodog is also the CEO of Tradex, which trades in oil and oil by-products, while Mr Njanga is also the CEO of the Free Market Foundation of Central Africa.

John W.H. Denton AO said: “We’re pleased to welcome ICC Cameroon to our growing community of regional offices around the world. As Cameroon is a critical economy in Central Africa, ICC Cameroon will equip local businesses – both large and small – with the expertise required to address emerging challenges and forge long-term solutions for the future.”

The opening of ICC Cameroon is the latest step in ICC’s regional expansion in Africa. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Denton convened a landmark Sub-Saharan Africa action group that brought together participants from close to 20 African countries to discuss a wide variety of regional issues, including operationalising the African Continental Free Trade Area. This past week, ICC joined the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and other partner organisations to launch a major survey to understand the unique challenges faced by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in least-developed countries (LDCs), such as Burkina Faso.

ICC Cameroon will add to the success of these regional initiatives, by strengthening dialogue with regional, continental and international business communities. Local commissions and working groups are being created by ICC Cameroon in the following areas: arbitration and law; banking and finance; e-Commerce and digital economy; energy and environment; intellectual property; international trade; marketing and communication; and transport and logistics.

Mr Njanga, ICC Cameroon’s Secretary General, said that his team is well positioned to strengthen commercial relations between Central African businesses and ICC’s global network of over 45 million companies. “ICC Cameroon is looking forward to working with the ICC Global Headquarters in Paris and with ICC offices and members around the world to bring the perspective of Cameroonian businesses to ICC’s policies and standards for global trade,” said Mr Njanga. “This partnership will strengthen ties between Cameroon and the international business community, which will lead to improved development opportunities for all.”

Mr Njanga also noted the timeliness of the announcement as the world continues to respond to the economic and social consequences of COVID-19. “ICC Cameroon’s action plan includes activities that will allow companies to efficiently tackle challenges and issues that negatively impact international trade – and more urgently – give support to Cameroon and the business community in our ongoing response against COVID-19.”

With the addition of Cameroon, ICC now operates national offices in 90 countries worldwide. ICC Cameroon becomes the latest national committee since ICC Vietnam, which opened in November 2019.

Culled from International Chamber of Commerce

8, July 2020

Biya has achieved what Russia’s Vladimir Putin hopes to achieve ⁰

Paul Biya may not feature prominently in discussions about how Irish politics might be made more representative, more engaging, and less unattractive to myriad intelligent, socially aware, and committed citizens discouraged by the unchanging, numbing predictability of it all.

The personal and family costs risked by participation can be dissuading too.

So are the increasingly toxic, anti-democratic, character assassinations on consequence-free social media. Biya, at 88, is the world’s longest-serving state leader. He has been president of Cameroon since 1982, and served as prime minister from 1975 to 1982. He consolidated his power in 1984 during an attempted coup when he eliminated most of his rivals.

Biya has achieved what Russia’s Vladimir Putin hopes to achieve — authority for life. Just last week, Putin saw 77.9% of voters endorse ending presidential term limits allowing him the possibility of power until 2036.

China’s president, Xi Jinping, did not feel the need to even ask when, two years ago, the term limits of the Chinese presidency were abolished. When conversations about what might happen if US president Donald Trump loses in November but refuses to quit office began, they seemed liberals’ paranoia but maybe no longer.

Should he be re-elected, it seems at least possible he may try to imitate Putin and Xi . To even suggest that may seem bizarre but then most of what he does is bizarre.

We may not, hopefully, have a Biya, Putin, Xi, or Trump hiding in the long grass but we do have a cohort all too comfortable with life-long careers as politicians.

Culled from Irish Examiner

8, July 2020

Biya Regime Refuses to Hand Over Body of Journalist ⁰

Cameroonian rights and press groups are alleging a military cover-up in the death of journalist Samuel Wazizi, after the military on Monday refused to hand over his body to the family. Cameroon’s military in June admitted Wazizi had died at a military hospital in August last year after months of silence on his whereabouts or condition. Supporters of Wazizi, who was arrested for allegedly collaborating with anglophone rebels, have accused the military of torturing him to death — a charge they deny.

Spokesman for Cameroon’s military Serge Cyrille Atongfack says they will not hand over the body of journalist Samuel Wazizi to his family any time soon.

Atongfack says no family member or lawyer can have access to Wazizi’s body now because it has been sealed. He says the body was sealed to allow investigators to determine the cause of death, as ordered by Cameroon’s President Paul Biya. Before Biya ordered the investigation, says Atongfack, Wazizi’s family had 10 months to remove the journalist’s body from the mortuary but they refused.

Wazizi family member and spokesman Tah Javis rejects Atongfack’s claim, which conflicts with the public record.

He notes the family had been seeking the journalist’s whereabouts since his arrest and disappearance last August, when they filed a complaint, but authorities did not respond.

The military — under public pressure — in June finally admitted that Wazizi had died at a military hospital just days after his arrest.

Javis says the family immediately went to court.

“The family filed a case in court for the court to actually grant that Wazizi’s body be handed over to the family or be brought to Buea,” he said. “The person who actually kept the corpse in the mortuary was the government. And, till now, the government has not contacted the family officially.”

French Ambassador to Cameroon Christophe Guilhou said President Biya in a June 5 meeting promised an investigation to determine the cause of Wazizi’s death.

Family members, their lawyers, and colleagues accuse the military of torturing and killing Waizizi — a charge the military denies.

President of the National Trade Union of Cameroon journalists Denis Kwebo says the military’s months of silence and refusal to hand over the body is clearly a cover-up.

He says the government confiscated the body of Samuel Wazizi to hide evidence of torture the journalist underwent before the military killed him. Journalists are reiterating that a national, independent commission should be set up, says Kwebo, to investigate what killed Samuel Wazizi.

Wazizi was a presenter for Chillen Media Television based in the southwestern town of Buea.

Cameroon’s military arrested Wazizi in Buea for allegedly supporting anglophone rebels who want independence from the French-speaking majority.

Cameroon’s four-year separatist conflict in its western regions has displaced more than half a million and left over 3,000 people dead.

Rights groups have accused both sides of committing atrocities in the conflict, including abductions and murders of civilians.

Source: VOA

8, July 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: The long road ahead! ⁰

Despite the press release issued by the country’s communication minister, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, Cameroonians are still hopeful that meaningful talks will soon take place after the first informal meeting between government representatives and Southern Cameroonian leaders in Yaounde.

After four years of bloodshed and a stressful existence, Cameroonians on both sides of the Mongo are now scanning the horizon for lasting peace. Last week’s meeting was, indeed, a silver lining on a huge dark cloud that has been hanging over the country for four years.

Cameroonians now know that without peace, economic development is a near impossibility. Even government officials who have been playing tough for a long time are now softening their stance and this is music to the ears of the international community that has been pushing for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

The Southern Cameroons crisis that started as a protest by teachers and lawyers rapidly morphed into a civil war that has hit the country’s economy where it hurts the most and consumed more than 5,000 lives. The economy is currently on its knees and the government has lost many income streams that were used for development purposes.

Current peace efforts are being promoted by the country’s Prime Minister, Dion Ngute, a native of the Southwest region where the scars of war are visible, and the economic impact will linger for a long time. Most state corporations that were in the region are simply out of business and thousands of south westerners are out of work, making it hard for their children to go back to school. Life is tough and the people are bleeding internally.

However, there is hope on the horizon, although the Yaounde government is divided over how to proceed. Mr. Rene Sadi’s press release is a clear indication of the divisions within the government. While moderates like the Prime Minister want to go the full distance, hardliners like the Secretary-General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, are still frozen in their positions, holding that Southern Cameroonians in jail are all terrorists and should be treated as such. A huge mistake that will haunt the country for a very long time.

Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh’s camp does not seem to know that the dynamics have changed, and that Cameroon will never be the same again. If the arms must be silenced, then the mentalities of the leaders must also keep pace with the changing times.

Southern Cameroonians will never be caged in silence. They may be frustrated, but they will never be intimidated, as they know that the government is a bully and must be challenged and confronted if things must evolve. Southern Cameroonians know how to kick against the pricks and their resistance of the government’s military onslaught for four years speaks volumes of their bravery and determination to bring about change in Cameroon.

However, with the international community breathing down the government’s throat, the reactionaries in the government are bound to change their position. The economy is ailing, and the coffers are empty. The government’s focus is now on paying the salaries of the civil servants as its liquidity issues continue to grow.

The government is currently having problems buying cars for Members of Parliament and it has clearly advised the Members of Parliament that the resources available are just for the payment of salaries. This is causing some pain among the Members of Parliament, most of whom are members of the ruling party who do not have a choice.

Regarding future peace talks, the road ahead is still long as government officials are still looking at the conditions put forward by the Southern Cameroonian leaders as preconditions for any frank and fruitful talks to take place. Southern Cameroonian leaders have clearly indicated that the government must call for a ceasefire which would require the military to return to its barracks, making it possible for Southern Cameroonians to go about their business without fear of military violence and aggression.

The country’s military is not professional and disciplined. Some of its rogue elements are still exploiting the population and they have turned the crisis into a money-making operation. On Monday, army soldiers in Mamfe invaded homes in Banya, a popular neighborhood in Mamfe, arresting any and everybody.

They usually pretend to check for national identity cards and in the process, they ask the poor civilians to give them money. They are not even ashamed to bother women and children who know nothing about the fighting that will not likely stop if these army soldiers do not change their ways. Their harassment of the population is revolting the fighters on the ground and this has resulted in attacks on military targets.

On July 1, 2020, Lieutenant Colonel Anaba was shot by unknown gunmen in Besongabang, a town some 3 km from Mamfe, where there is a military barracks while he was celebrating his promotion. Lieutenant Colonel Anaba is currently in Douala where he is fighting for life in a military hospital. For such attacks to stop, the military must learn how to win hearts and minds instead of fanning the embers of conflict by harassing the local population.

Southern Cameroonian leaders also called for the unconditional release of all those who have been detained and imprisoned as a result of the crisis, as well as a declaration of a general amnesty for all Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora, making it possible for them to visit their homeland without any embarrassment from the Yaoundé authorities. They also called on the Yaoundé government to participate in a genuine, open and inclusive dialogue without preconditions, with a timetable and venue, in the presence of an independent and impartial mediator acceptable to both parties.

These conditions are still very challenging to a government that has misused its mouth by tagging all Southern Cameroonians as terrorists. It is always hard to walk backwards, but in this case, it will be more challenging for the government, as its hawks had said a lot of things that would be hard for them to take back.

But they must bend over backwards if they must have the support of development finance institutions which are still very reluctant to give Cameroon loans and grants because of the fighting in the two English-speaking regions of the country where some of the country’s most important projects like the ring road are located.

The ball is in the government’s court. Southern Cameroonians are ready. They have put their faith in their president, Julius Ayuk Tabe and his team, and they are prepared to talk with a view to bringing about peace in Cameroon. The government must come up with its own team, but with many cracks on the government’s wall, it will be hard for the talks to hold anytime soon. The Yaounde government must clean up its mess. It must place the country’s interest above any individual’s interest if it wants Cameroon to return to its former status as an oasis of peace in a desert of chaos. The world is watching, and it is running out of patience as more people get killed every day in Southern Cameroons.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Global Headquarters

Cameroon Concord News Group London

7, July 2020

HIV patient ‘first in remission’ without transplant ⁰

A HIV-positive man in remission may be the first patient effectively cured of the illness without needing a bone marrow transplant, researchers said Tuesday in a potential breakthrough.

HIV affects tens of millions of people globally and while the disease is no longer the automatic death sentence it once was, patients need to take medication for life.

In recent years two men — known as the “Berlin” and “London” patients — appear to have been cured of the disease after undergoing high-risk stem cell bone marrow transplants to treat cancer.

Now an international team of researchers believe they may have a third patient who no longer shows sign of infection after undergoing a different medicine regimen.

The patient, a 34-year-old Brazilian who has not been named, was diagnosed with HIV in 2012.

As part of the study, he was given several potent antiviral drugs, including maraviroc and dolutegravir, to see if they could help him rid the virus from his body.

He has now gone more than 57 weeks with no HIV treatment and he continues to test negative for HIV antibodies.

Ricardo Diaz, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Sao Paulo, said the patient could be considered to be free of the disease.

“The significance for me is that we had a patient that was on treatment and he is now controlling the virus without treatment,” he told AFP.

“We’re not able to detect the virus and he’s losing the specific response to the virus — if you don’t have antibodies then you don’t have antigens.”

– ‘Provocative’ findings –

Diaz’s findings were released as part of the first-ever all-virtual International AIDS Conference, held online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The United Nations said Monday that 1.7 million people contracted HIV last year and there are now more than 40 million people living with it.

Diaz said his team’s treatment method, which needs further research, was a more ethical avenue for gravely ill HIV sufferers than the bone-marrow transplant route.

“They come with a high mortality rate, there have been a series of patients who have either died from the procedures or it didn’t work,” he said.

Sharon Lewin, co-Chair of the International AIDS Society Initiative Towards an HIV Cure and director of the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, said Diaz’s findings were “very interesting”.

She struck a note of caution however, due to the study’s limitations.

She noted that the Brazil patients’ antibody test had gotten weaker over time — suggesting a diminishing immune response.

“This is very unusual to see in someone off antivirals,” she said.

“The Berlin and London Patients may be the only exceptions. This very provocative data needs more in-depth analysis.”

Source: AFP

7, July 2020

Rejecting peace talks an act of aggression against Southern Cameroonians ⁰

The leadership of the Ambazonia Interim Government has censured French Cameroun government’s statement by Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi as an act of continues aggression against the people of Southern Cameroons. The Biya Francophone government said via its Minister of Information that it is not in any talks with President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides’ as widely reported last week.

Vice President Dabney Yerima speaking exclusively to Cameroon Concord News London Bureau Chief, Isong Asu called for a solid and united front against the criminal regime in Yaoundé. Comrade Yerima highlighted the serious dangers posed by unnecessary division and unhealthy rivalry among front line leaders to the Ambazonian cause.

“We should have been approaching Buea by now because the Ambazonia people are capable of confronting the French Cameroun army! So I am calling on Southern Cameroonians particularly those in the diaspora to quickly move to stop French Cameroun’s continuous aggression against Southern Cameroonians by investing in the Amba Bonds Project” he added.

The story about the Yaoundé meeting came from credible sources and Cameroon Concord News Group chief correspondent was among the people in the know. However, the Group’s editorial team simply kept things under wraps, waiting for the right moment to fill the population in.

According to a well-placed source in Yaoundé, the Francophone government made a dramatic u turn after its military announced it had taken control of the main road leading to Kumbo in the Bui County.

Dabney Yerima however pointed out that the Ambazonia Security Council had ordered Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces to withdraw from the area. The Vice President reiterated the Interim Government’s unified stance against all French Cameroun plot and stressed that all conspiracies against the Southern Cameroons revolution and quest for independence would be thwarted.

Ever since the war started four years ago, thousands of Southern Cameroonians have become “roving Jews” of Africa, with many travelling to distant lands just to seek peace and stability.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in London

7, July 2020

Barcelona president: ‘We have obligation to re-sign Messi’ ⁰

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu responded to a storm of speculation by saying on Tuesday that the club had “an obligation to re-sign” Lionel Messi, calling him “the best player in history”.

“Normally we do not explain the discussions with players but it is evident that we have the obligation to re-sign him”, Bartomeu told Catalan radio station Rac1. “He is the best player in history. He has many years of football left.”

Bartomeu also said Barca coach Quique Setien would keep his job despite a run of unconvincing form since La Liga’s restart that has seen the reigning champions lose top spot to Real Madrid.

The president said he was happy with the direction of the club and maintained he had been right to replace Ernesto Valverde in January.

Bartomeu also said Barcelona are trying to have the second leg of the Champions League second leg against Napoli played at the Camp Nou instead of at a neutral venue.

Last week, another radio station, Cadena Ser, reported that Messi had broken off negotiations on extending his contract, which runs until 2021, and was thinking of leaving Barcelona.

The report said Messi was frustrated with the club’s failure to build a winning squad and was tired of leaks from the club which paint him in a bad light. He was also reportedly upset at reports that the players had got Valverde fired.

But Bartomeu said: “I see a relaxed Leo… He has said many times that he wants to finish (his career) at Barca.”

– ‘ Win one and then the other’ –

Bartomeu, who must stand down in 2021, insisted that he sees Messi “retiring at Barca under another president because he will sign for another spell.”

Bartomeu said he spoke to his captain on Saturday.

“I talk to the players very often. Not only with Leo, but also with the group, especially with the captains. Besides, lately we have a lot of topics to talk about,” said Bartomeu.

Before beating Villarreal 4-1 on Sunday, Barcelona had drawn three of their previous four matches and slipped four points behind Real in the title race, putting Setien under pressure.

“Setien will continue, of course,” said Bartomeu. “I am quite happy with the development we are showing in the games despite the draws.

“I do not regret the change of Valverde. The team needed a boost. Setien knows our DNA, the model and he has brought fresh air and new ideas and is working hard,” said Bartomeu before adding that “coaches, evidently, need results.”

“If La Liga, which will be difficult, is not won then comes the Champions League in August. We have to try to win one and then the other,” said Bartomeu.

He said that Barca are trying to ensure home advantage for the second leg of the Champions League tie against Napoli. The clubs drew the first leg 1-1 in Naples on February 25 before the season was interrupted.

“We are fighting for the second leg of the round of 16 to be played at the Camp Nou. UEFA, if the situation is normal, knows that we would play here,” Bartomeu said

In Spain, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, one of the main outbreaks has been in an inland area of Catalonia, where regional authorities on Saturday announced the isolation of some 200,000 inhabitants in an area around the city of Lerida, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) west of Barcelona.

Source: AFP

7, July 2020

La Liga: Barca wake from slumber to give glimmer of hope to Setien ⁰

“Barcelona haven’t thrown in the towel”, read the front page of Mundo Deportivo after a night that offered hope to the team and a lifeline for their coach Quique Setien.

Setien has been in charge for only three months of competitive football but looked likely to be out in the cold by next season, following Tuesday’s draw away at Atletico Madrid.

Three draws in four games, deteriorating performances and unrest in the dressing room were all stacking up against Barca’s new coach but the loudest alarm bell of all was rung by his captain.

Frustrated with the lack of direction at the club, Lionel Messi halted talks about extending his contract beyond 2021 and his current plan is now to leave, said Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

Messi’s principal grievance is not with Setien but Barcelona’s board who, under president Josep Maria Bartomeu, have overseen a string of political blunders off the pitch and a period of decline on it.

With presidential elections to come next year, Messi’s hesitation may be aimed at undermining this regime to accelerate change, but Setien was undoubtedly caught in the crossfire.

Amid the chaos at Barcelona, he has increasingly looked like a bystander, “a passenger” according to Antoine Griezmann’s father, demonstrated all too literally by his lack of influence in team talks.

Messi ignored him and his number two Eder Sarabia during one water break and the contrast was unfortunate against Atletico, whose players huddled round, hanging on the every word of their coach Diego Simeone.

And yet the 4-1 victory over Villarreal on Sunday gave a glimpse of what this Barca could look like under Setien and what presumably the board were hoping for when they appointed him in January.

Free-flowing, dynamic, confident, it was the team’s best performance under Setien and perhaps their most complete all season.

Some complaints were answered too as Griezmann started, played well, scored a sensational chip and combined instinctively with Luis Suarez and Messi.

The passing was quicker and the chances more regular, a welcome improvement after a series of plodding displays in which possession too often came at the expense of end product.

And Setien was bold, dropping Messi back into a more central attacking position behind Griezmann and Suarez, who was then taken off after an hour with the result still not yet secure.

It was a morale-boosting win that will surely come too late for Barca’s title bid given Madrid’s four-point lead and a friendly looking run-in.

But it might renew some faith in Setien, from Bartomeu, who visited his house for discussions last week, and from Messi, whose approval is the one that really counts.

Removing Setien this summer would be another admission of failure for Barca, who would have to pay compensation they cannot afford and find a replacement for a job that might prove difficult to promote.

This is a squad that needs renovating at a time when funds are no longer readily available while the prospect of presidential change next year would offer a new coach little long-term security.

Xavi Hernandez is waiting in the wings, with his new Al-Saad contract reportedly containing a break clause that allows him to join his former club at any time.

Setien, for another season at least, would be the easier option then but a failing team will not help Bartomeu and it will not bring comfort to Messi either.

At 33, every year for him is precious.

Barcelona have four games left and then the Champions League next month, with the chance to resuscitate one of their most disappointing seasons in recent memory. Setien’s future depends on it.

Source: AFP

6, July 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Can the Government come down its high horse? ⁰

The news that Southern Cameroonian leaders met with officials of the Yaounde government in the presence of certain ambassadors brought a lot of happiness to many across the world and this news has been on many lips, especially among Cameroonians, who have been hankering for peace for close to four years.

Over the last four years, Cameroon has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The Southern Cameroons crisis has left the Yaounde government with a bloodshot eye and it has hit the country’s economy like a of ton bricks. Almost all state corporations in Southern Cameroons have been put out of business due to the violent fighting and thousands of families have been left jobless and desperate.

Many Cameroonians from the two English-speaking regions of the country have become the “roving Jews” of Africa, with many travelling to distant lands just to seek peace and stability. Cameroon, a country that was once the pride of the continent has simply joined the ranks of third world countries that cannot weave together the different tribes and linguistic blocs that make up the country into a harmonious, peaceful and prosperous society.

Cameroonians need peace and last week’s announcement that the government had decided to talk with those it had tagged as terrorists in the presence of third neutral parties was a welcome relief to the international community that has been pushing for a peaceful resolution of a conflict that has the potential to destabilize the entire sub-region.

As many stakeholders of the Southern Cameroons crisis prepare for real future talks in a neutral location to be agreed upon by all the parties, the Yaounde government came out with a press release whose objective was clearly to pour cold water on the enthusiasm that has been building up following the announcement that peace may soon return to Cameroon; a country many people around the world love and admire.

The government’s inconsistency about the situation in Southern Cameroons only makes it hard for its citizens to have faith in it. The story about the meeting came from credible sources and the Cameroon Concord News Group had been duly advised of the meeting by a source close to the government. The Group’s editorial team had simply kept things under wraps, waiting for the right moment to fill the population in.

The French and the Americans want peace to return to Cameroon and the Americans used last week’s informal talks to raise the possibility that a return to a federal system could address most of the issues that had triggered the carnage that had taken place in the country over the last four years.

Southern Cameroonian leaders were simply invited to this meeting and they had to honor the invitation. The international community has hailed the parties for the talks, as they offered them an opportunity to take the first important step towards narrowing their differences. Mr. Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the Secretary-General at the Presidency of the Republic led the government’s delegation and sources close to the Yaounde government have clearly indicated that the country’s Prime Minister, Dion Ngute, has been pushing for a moderate approach to the conflict.

The source added that Mr. Dion Ngute had been in total support of the informal talks that would pave the way for a greater forum that would enable both parties to share their perspectives on the issue that could tear the country apart. In the view of those who attended the informal talks, the government simply wanted to test the waters and the Nera 10 and under the able leadership of the people of Ambazonia, President, Julius Ayuk Tabe, rose to the challenge with courage and flexibility.

Mr. Ayuk Tabe knew that no firm decision could be taken in a circumstance where all Southern Cameroonians were not represented. He also understood that there were more stakeholders whose opinion must be given due consideration if the fighting in Southern Cameroons had to be ended. That explained why he and his team insisted that for genuine, frank and fruitful negotiations to take place, certain conditions must be met.

They therefore used the occasion to call for a ceasefire which would require the military to return to its barracks, making it possible for Southern Cameroonians to go about their business without fear of military violence and aggression.

The leaders also called for the unconditional release of all those who had been detained and imprisoned as a result of the crisis, as well as a declaration of general amnesty for all Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora, making it possible for them to visit their homeland without any embarrassment from the Yaoundé authorities.

They also called on the Yaoundé government to participate in a genuine, open and inclusive dialogue without preconditions, with a timetable and venue, in the presence of an independent and impartial mediator acceptable to both parties.

Last week’s meeting was a response to a call by the United Nations Secretary-General for a ceasefire and these measures had been designed to build confidence with a view to creating an enabling environment for frank and fruitful discussions that would enable the country to return to the path of peace.

But can the government meet the demands of the leaders? Mr. Ayuk Tabe and his team cannot decide for all Southern Cameroonians, so the government has to create the right environment for other factions to fully participate in any future talks and such talks can only take place out of Cameroon, as many Southern Cameroonians living out of the country cannot return to Cameroon at this time, especially as many have been informed that their names are on the government’s black list.

Besides, can the government come down its high horse to understand that making peace with your enemies or adversaries implies bending over backwards? From the look of things, the government is letting its ego to stand in the way of peace. The country’s authorities it must understand that the country’s progress and development depend entirely on the return of peace to that beautiful land. Peace will always be a pre-condition for development in any country in the world.

Currently, there is enormous pressure from the international community for a peaceful negotiation and the government has to demonstrate that it wants peace to return, especially as its reconstruction program of the two English-speaking regions of the country depends on development finance institutions which are still reluctant to pour money into a region of the country wherein killing is still a sport.

For many years, the government has held that taking a strong approach to the chaos in the two English-speaking regions would project it as a government that is consistent and tough. But such an approach clearly belongs to the past and it can only generate more conflict. Being tough is an attitude that will only stand in the way of talks and make it hard for the country to return to the path of growth.

Cameroon needs to reclaim its leadership role as the economic engine of the Central African Sub-region, and this requires it to clean up the mess that has given it a very bad name. Holding on to old ways will surely not help things and admitting that there are talks going on through unofficial channels does not take anything away from the government. On the contrary, the admission will only make the government to better respected and encouraged by an international community that is already tired of the government’s intransigence.

If the Yaounde government really wants peace, then it must come down its high horse. It must understand that its tough stance has eroded its credibility and in the eyes of the international community, it is not playing its role. There is strength and admiration in accepting to talk with those you disagree with, especially if such talks can help to silence the guns that have already killed thousands of your citizens.

Monday’s press release by the Minister of Communication, Rene Sadi, was absolutely not necessary. If anything, it did only underscore that it is hard to work with the Yaounde government that has lost its credibility around the world. Cameroon needs to regain its past glory and this requires the government to be open to its citizens and be willing to address those issues that have put its economic and social development on hold for four years.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey in Canada