Will Sudan’s Bashir Finally Go on Trial for Genocide at the ICC?

15, February 2020

Will Sudan’s Bashir Finally Go on Trial for Genocide at the ICC? 0

Sudan’s transitional government appears prepared to hand former President Omar al-Bashir over to the International Criminal Court to be tried for war crimes and genocide allegedly committed during his regime’s long, scorched-earth campaign in the country’s Darfur region. The decision is reportedly part of a potential peace agreement with rebel groups still operating in Darfur. It could be an unexpected boon for the beleaguered ICC, but only if the military members of the transitional government in Khartoum don’t renege on the deal.

The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when rebels there launched an insurgency against Bashir’s oppressive regime. Bashir relied heavily on pro-government, Arab militias known as the Janjaweed to quash the rebels. The Janjaweed were accused of mass killings of civilians and other atrocities, including rape and torture. In 2009, the ICC indicted Bashir for his alleged role; he faces five counts of crimes against humanity, two counts of war crimes and three counts of genocide.

The transitional government that took power last year, after Bashir was deposed by the military amid Sudan’s popular uprising, has prioritized ending the internal conflicts that had flared up under his regime. During negotiations this week with Darfuri rebels in Juba, South Sudan, Mohammed Hassan al-Taishi, a member of the transitional authority that is made up of military and civilian leaders, announced that it is prepared to hand over everyone indicted by the ICC for committing atrocities in Darfur. In addition to Bashir, who is currently serving two years in a reform facility after being convicted on corruption charges in December, that includes former Defense Minister Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein and a former senior security chief, Ahmed Haroun, who are both currently under arrest in Khartoum.

“We can only achieve justice if we heal the wounds with justice itself,” al-Taishi said. “We cannot escape from confronting that.” He said the government and rebels will also establish a special domestic court for crimes committed in Darfur.

The transitional government’s decision is also significant for the ICC. Bashir flouted his ICC indictment for years, including an infamous 2015 trip to an African Union meeting in Johannesburg. As an ICC signatory, South Africa was compelled to hand him over to the court, but instead, officials there allowed him to leave the country. Bashir’s defiance, along with a series of other setbacks for the ICC that WPR documented last year, contributed to a sense of irrelevancy in The Hague. A long overdue trial of Bashir offers ICC prosecutors an opportunity to deliver international justice and restore the court’s reputation.

If Bashir makes it to The Hague, that is. There is little consensus on anything within the transitional government, fueling concern that its military members could go against their civilian counterparts and quash the arrangement. “Not only do both camps have radically different visions for the future of Sudan, they are sharply divided among themselves,” Richard Downie explained in a briefing in November. Sudan’s top military general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, tried to allay those concerns when he assured a human rights group this week he would “cooperate fully” with the ICC as it attempts to bring Bashir to trial.

Source: World Politics Review

Amidst Boycott, Violence in Cameroon Election, AU, Catholic Church, others call for Political Breakthrough

15, February 2020

Amidst Boycott, Violence in Cameroon Election, AU, Catholic Church, others call for Political Breakthrough 0

Following the February 09 Municipal and Legislative elections, an avalanche of calls for political breakthrough in Cameroon have been downloaded from several national and international bodies including the African Union (AU), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Roman Catholic Church as well as a host of other rights focused institutions.

According to the AU observer mission dispatched to monitor the Cameroon elections, there was massive boycott as many Cameroonians have lost faith in the entire process. Moreover, the boycott launched by the main opposition party, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) also worked to the disfavor of the elections. This further compounded by the ongoing conflict in the Anglophone regions which thwarted the process. It was a similar message from the Catholic Church which said something more than just elections can bring stability in Cameroon. According to the President of the Cameroon National Episcopal Council, Mgr Abraham Kome, the turnout was very low. He cited a case in President Biya’s home town of Sangmelima wherein in a polling station of 310 voters, only 85 bothered to take part in the process.

The armed conflict in Anglophone Cameroon also featured in the report of Transparency International (TI) as well as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and a general loss of confidence by citizens in the electoral process in Cameroon. This explains why even in urban metropolis void of any real armed conflict like Bertoua, capital of the East region, the abstention rate, according to the Catholic Church was 70% and in neighbouring Batouri, it was 89%. However, the government has challenged the reports arguing, through Cameroon’s Minister of Interior, Paul Atanga Nji that the reports do not reflect the reality on the ground. The Minister upheld that there was a huge turnout by Cameroonians. “The population in the North West and South West regions turned out massively to exercise their civic duty in all administrative units,” Atanga Nji said.

Amidst the situation

Amidst the current insecurity, violent conflict, voter apathy, elections boycott, disenfranchisement in Cameroon are three basic school of thoughts with each holding firm to an unshakable position characteristic of an extremist confluence. Proponents of the school of thoughts hold firm to their position and belief it is the best remedy for a country challenged at all fronts. In the opinion of the Director of the Central African Network of Human Rights Defenders known by its French acronym as REDHAC, Cameroon is challenged at all fronts and the ruling elites need to make some concessions. “The country is very sick at all levels,” Maximilienne Ngo Mbe said.

With each school of thought blaming the other for the current situation, it becomes a huge challenge finding a middle belt wherein all can come in. At the level of the government, the insecurity, violence especially in the Anglophone regions is caused by “enemies of peace.” They argue that before the uprising the country was enjoying “peace,” a “peace” which the retired Archbishop of Douala, Cameroon’s biggest town, Cardinal Christian Tumi described as “negative peace” because of the social inequality the ruling elites have subjected a greater part of the population and especially the minority Anglophones.

In the opinion of politicians including President Biya’s runner-up at the October 2018 election, Professor Maurice Kamto of the CRM party, they orchestrated a boycott because one part of the country (Anglophone regions) is in war and elections cannot be free and fair. They also argue that the electoral code which has been a subject of controversy in previous elections must be revised to provide equal opportunity to all, not just ruling party candidates.

On the part of the separatists, the elections are “foreign” to their land as there is no treaty in international law or at the level of the United Nations binding the Former British Territory (Anglophone Cameroon) and the Republic of Cameroun (French). According to them, the marriage between the two Cameroons in 1961 was an annexation scheme which they want to break. They hold firm to their position and argue that only a negotiated settlement would stop their arms struggle. In a recent outing on his Facebook page, Dr Ayaba Cho Lucas, one of the main leaders of the armed Anglophone nationalism advocating for a separate state called Ambazonia has urged his counterparts to arm what he called ground zero until the central government negotiates. Rather, the government has been slow to negotiate or address the underlying causes but has also upheld the extremist vision of peace by non-peaceful means. In his traditional end of year speech on December 31, 2019, President Paul Biya called on separatists to lay down arms or be crushed by the Cameroon defense forces. All these positions have ensured that there is violence, bloodshed and voter apathy not just in the Anglophone regions but the entire country before, during and possible after if sustainable peace is not attained.

Before, During, After Elections

Cameroonians went to the polls in the context of growing insecurity and conflict which has affected at least six out of its ten regions. The East is heavily militarized because of the incursions of rebels of the Central Africa Republic (CAR), while the North is embedded in the Boko Haram conflict, which after experiencing a lull, has, in recent times, taking a more ferocious mood with regular attacks and killings. The Adamawa region only enjoyed a respite of peace in recent times thanks to the dispatching of hundreds of elite Gendarmes to counteract the activities of kidnappers.

However, the greatest challenge has come from the two Anglophone regions in the West where separatists have been fighting against state security forces for three years. The state’s authority in those areas has been reduced to some rare urban metropolis with the few administrators still present under heavy military companion. In the October 2018 presidential election, the turnout in some of these areas was as low as 5% and in other cases entire population had fled because of the violence.

In its analysis of the situation, HRW said there was violence before, during the elections and possible after the election as it fears for the safety of those elected. This violence was orchestrated by both separatist fighters and government soldiers. The rights organization estimated that separatists kidnapped about 100 persons, mostly aspiring MPs and Municipal Councils, mainly from the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF). At least three offices of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the elections management body were burnt down in Misaje on January 07, and Babessi on January 16 in the North West region. In the same region, a local Post Office in Bafut which was housing electoral materials was also burned down. In the South West region, ELECAM’s offices in Tombel were set ablaze on February 02. Homes belonging to government officials and some opposition party candidates were also destroyed.

Rather than protecting the population, HRW argued that government forces also worsened the situation by committing acts of human rights violation. Between January 17 and 20, security forces entered Bali, a locality in the North West region destroying over 50 homes and killing several individuals. All these according to the group accounted for the massive boycott in the elections especially as separatists who controlled most of these areas had called for massive boycott coupled with similar boycotts from some opposition parties including the Kamto’s CRM and the Cameroon Peoples’ Party (CPP) of Kah Walla among others.

The war has crippled the country’s economy as the two Anglophone regions are harbingers of much of the country’s wealth including crude oil, cocoa, coffee, banana, tea, and other cash crops. The largest agro-industrial complex, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) which is the second largest employer after the state is at the brink of collapsing because of the war. This has pushed the government into a borrowing spree to finance most projects while some are merely abandoned because of lack of funds.

Even though regime faithful paint a favourable socio-political climate, the recent elections have proving that Cameroon needs a total overhaul of its electoral law, constitution and strong laws that would give more powers to the local tax payers. However, such a revision would still leave one part of the population, the English speakers disenfranchised as the conditions on the ground for them goes beyond the electoral code, but the transformation of the conflict into gains. Moving forward with elections in the present context has further strengthened the argument of separatists and instead put the lives of civilians.

Force has not solved the equation after three years and not even the country’s elite forces have been able to outsmart civilians sometimes holding just rifles. While addressing the American Parliament in November 2019 on the situation in Cameroon, the Deputy Secretary of State in charge of African Affairs said President Paul Biya has been “ill-advised” to use military options which cannot produce any substantial results. “You can’t wipe out a thought militarily,” Tibor Nagy said. He went further to state that the inability of the Cameroon government to enter into genuine negotiations with separatists further radicalizes many more to consider that only an armed struggle would answer the equation. In the inability to confab with separatists for the past three years, only unbearable pressure by the international community can cause the government to make this bold step and save what is still left. The growing dissatisfaction among the majority Francophones as expressed in the low turnout in the election is an indication that Cameroon in general is at the brink of a total collapse and possible repercussions going far beyond its border. Such a breakdown would for example fasten the position of Boko Haram extremists in the North and other armed movements.

Source: The Organisation for World Peace

‘Gold pits have become tombs’ in French Cameroun as mining leaves a tragic legacy

15, February 2020

‘Gold pits have become tombs’ in French Cameroun as mining leaves a tragic legacy 0

It was the last day of the summer holidays when, on his way to meet friends in his hometown of Batouri, eastern Cameroon, 12-year-old Saustem Brandon Samba slipped on reddish mud and fell into what at first looked like a large puddle.

The puddle turned out to be an abandoned gold mine, with a steep drop, 18 metres deep. Samba tried to get out, his arms and legs scrambling frantically in search of something to grip on to as muddy water choked him.

His father, Sah, still carries a photo of his son’s lifeless body after it was recovered from the mining pit in September 2017.

Between 2017 and 2019, at least 115 children and adults drowned or were buried alive by landfalls in the mostly abandoned pits in the East and Adamawa regions of Cameroon,according to Forests and Rural Development (Foder), a local watchdog that is alone in tracking the accidents and deaths.

“The whole area was not at all secure,” says Sah, whose fury is clear as he describes how gold mining pits in the region – which locals call “tombs” – have been left open and abandoned by Chinese companies, among others.

Samba’s tragic death was not exceptional. The recorded body count, say campaigners, is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of forgotten victims of the ruthless modern-day hunt for one of the world’s most sought-after metals – gold.

Cameroon has one of the richest subsoils in Africa.

Since 2008, gold prices have risen and informal mining has spread widely across the continent. In recent years, more than 400 mining sites have been dug open by dozens of mining companies in Cameroon, predominantly from China, but also from South Korea, Greece, South Africa and elsewhere, according to Foder. Some British companies advertise online that they conduct gold exploration programmes in the country.

A field worker from local watchdog Foder points out the depth of an abandoned gold mine in eastern Cameroon
 A field worker from local watchdog Foder points out the depth of an abandoned gold mine in eastern Cameroon.

Cameroonian law obliges anyone exploiting a mining site to close and restore it before departing. In practice, however, once miners finish digging up gold from pits of up to 100 metres deep, they simply move on to the next project. Few – if any – mining holes are properly restored.

The scale of this is vast, says Eric Etoga, a Cameroonian activist who has been researching the extractive industries for years for Global Youth Dynamic, a local NGO. According to a study he produced in June 2019 for the Publish What You Pay campaign group, mining companies had left 248 open mining holes in in one area of east Cameroon alone. “We need sanctions – without them, people continue to do whatever they want,” said Etoga.

Cameroon’s ministry of mines did not reply to repeated requests for comment.

The Cameroonian branch of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global body that promotes itself as setting the “global standard to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources”, also failed to address the deaths in the mines, simply forwarding government reassurances that the numbers of mortalities in abandoned pits have significantly decreased over the past two years.

The ministry of mines added that there are fewer deaths following its implementation of information campaigns. “The risky zones have been marked and picture-diagrams have been erected to inform locals of the dangers,” wrote Aristide Mimbang of Cameroon’s mining ministry, in an email forwarded by EITI Cameroon.

Walking among abandoned mining holes in parts of eastern Cameroon, nothing appears further from the truth. Not a single signpost or diagram was seen in the seven sites visited by the Guardian, as unaccompanied young children walked barefoot or wearing flip-flops in the dangerous areas. Women with babies tied on their backs were seen descending into the mines with no protection or safety precautions.

On paper, some British companies extracting gold in Cameroon praise the benefits of the business for local populations, claiming that it helps villagers to survive financially. On the ground, some of the youths working in gold mines confirm that the industry enables them to earn money, which they would otherwise have been unable to do in an underdeveloped region that lacks basic services, including a steady electricity supply.

Yet, when it comes to the open mining pits, corporate reassurances that the holes will be filled up and restored ring hollow. The landscape of eastern Cameroon, which in the past used to provide fertile farming ground for the local population, nowadays resembles the surface of the moon, with giant holes puncturing the once green landscape. As the midday sun heated the pits, the brown, polluted waters inside reek of chemical waste, attracting clouds of buzzing mosquitoes that spread malaria, dengue fever and other killer diseases.

A woman with a baby stares into an abandoned gold mine
 A woman with a baby stares into an abandoned gold mine. Photograph: 

China is Cameroon’s biggest foreign investor and trading partner, operating a wide range of infrastructure projects, from constructing roads to building football stadiums. In January 2019, one of China’s top diplomats, Yang Jiechi, visited the Central African nation.

Yet, in eastern Cameroon, the visit prompted protests, as miners picketed outside a Chinese-run gold mining project in the village of Ngoura, blocking access.
In December 2017, in the nearby village of Ngoe Ngoe, nine people were killed during a land fall in a deep mine left open by the Chinese company Lu and Lang. The pit had been abandoned by workers less than a month earlier.
Chinese and other foreign companies are not the only ones responsible. In 2017, Narma Ndoyama, a farmer, lost his 28-year-old son after he was buried alive in a mine landslide in the Longa Mali village, eastern Cameroon.

“Now his wife is alone trying to provide for five children,” says Ndoyama, adding that the average of 1,500 west African CFA francs (£1.91) he makes each day from farming leaves him unable to help much.

Ndoyama alleges that the mine in which his son died belonged to Société Camerounaise d’Exploitation Minière (SCEM), a company owned by Ali Bachir, a prominent member of Cameroon’s national assembly from the ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement.

The party is led by Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, who, aged 87, is currently Africa’s second longest-ruling autocrat (after Equatorial Guinea’s president Teodoro Obiang).

Ndoyama said that he had tried to press SCEM officials to launch an inquiry into his son’s death in the hope of getting some desperately needed compensation for the family, but received no response. “The gendarmerie came to do an investigation, but there was no follow up,” he says. “The state lets people just die in the holes.”

In a telephone interview, Ali Bachir confirmed that he owns SCEM and that the company is still operating, but denied that his company is involved in digging mining pits.

“There’s not even a single hole that we’ve left open,” he said.

“We do research,” he added. “It’s the Chinese who left the holes open … It’s they who are exploiting gold in Betare Oya.”

Yet official ministry of mines documents obtained by the Guardian show that SCEM has conducted gold exploitation in several sites in eastern Cameroon – all without proper authorisation. According to the documents, two branches of SCEM were operating in the Betare Oya region in 2016, using five excavators, and declaring a total of 230 grams of gold a month.

An abandoned gold mine in eastern Cameroon
 An abandoned gold mine in eastern Cameroon.

In April 2018, Cameroon’s ministry of mines issued a notice to force companies including SCEM and Lu and Lang to shut down their operations, in some cases because of the safety hazards posed by deserted open holes. SCEM was found to have been operating without any formal authorisation or licensing, the mining minister said at the time.

A total of 1,776 Cameroonians signed a petition, initiated by Foder, that called on the government to force mining companies to abide by the law and close the open pits.

“Honourable ministers, how many more deaths do you want in order to put an end to this?,” the petitioners asked. “These irresponsible mining companies… are pillaging us and they are killing us.

“These poisonous lakes, these gold pits have become tombs.”

As the presence of mining companies destroys farm land, pollutes water sources and poisons the local fish, instead of digging the ground for crops the locals are now digging for gold in order to survive. Processing such gold poses serious health hazards.

Mercury is an essential tool in some types of gold extraction because of its ability to bind gold particles together. Yet it is also a poison – whether its fumes are inhaled, its particles are eaten through contaminated fish or water, or simply if someone touches it with their bare hands.

Besides lung damage it can lead to memory loss, irritability, depression, kidney failure, tremors, numbness and discoloured, peeling or scaly skin. Extreme mercury poisoning can cause paralysis, coma, or insanity. In a 2018 study measuring blood mercury levels in miners in eastern Cameroon, almost one in 10 (9.1%) of the miners had blood that was chronically intoxicated with mercury.

Yet Marie Louise, a mother of five in her 40s living in Longa Mali, is handling mercury freely as she stands ankle-deep in a pool of opaque mustard coloured water just metres from her front door. Her children stand in the water with her, watching her form a tiny, ladybird-sized blob to sell for $2 (£1.53) for a local dealer. Silvery globules spread into the water as the children splash and rub their eyes, while Marie Louise massages the remaining mercury with her hands.

The Cameroonian mining code forbids the use of mercury for this purpose due to its toxic health effects. Gold mining companies operating here are quick to cite this. Yet, on the ground, the use of mercury is freely observed at many gold mining sites, often just a few hundred metres away from local policemen who are seen slumbering in the shade of mango trees.

A woman digs for gold where locals once dug for crops.
 A woman digs for gold where locals once dug for crops Photograph

Mining companies also say they use pictures to illustrate the dangers of mercury use as a deterrent.

“I know the dangers,” Marie Louise admitted. ”But it’s money. Without this, how will we live?,” she ssays, adding that the children also sometimes use mercury to help with gold processing.

“When we see that the belly is empty, we have to do it in order to eat,” she adds, gesturing to her children.

For Cameroon’s young generation, the gold mining industry is not only claiming lives in accidents in unsecured pits, but also results in many students dropping out of school. One headmaster of a school in Betare Oya told the Guardian that each year, almost half of the students drop out to work in gold mines as soon as the dry season begins in December. The pattern is the same throughout the gold mining areas of eastern Cameroon.

On the ground, the locals say they see few changes.

In Batouri, the abandoned mining pit in which Saustem Brandon Samba drowned remains open, in the same state as when the 12-year-old fell into it, his father said.

“It’s not even secure,” his father Sah says. “Nothing has been done.

“And there are more than 100 others like it nearby.”

“The more I research it, the more I realise that people are taking advantage from people’s ignorance,” says Etoga.

“If it had been a population that had been sufficiently educated, who had a good level of knowledge, it wouldn’t be happening. But there, many people don’t know anything – especially if they spend their time in the mines instead of going to school.

“Some say that gold has brought us so much money, so many millions.

“But if you weigh it against all that we have lost, you will see that we’ve gained nothing. Nothing at all.”

Culled from The Guardian.com

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Why the emergency meeting?

14, February 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Why the emergency meeting? 0

A few days ago, Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, convened an emergency meeting of his cabinet and for days, it seemed like nothing would filter out. As usual, it does not take long for some people to start spilling the beans, and this is what is happening.

Even members of the president’s inner circle are frustrated. They want change, but the president seems to be unable to engineer the change they are looking forward to. The president seems to be stuck to the past, as he is always rehashing policies that have outlived their usefulness and politicians who lack the vision and courage to embrace new and innovative ways. 

The Southern Cameroons crisis that has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons was at the top of the agenda. The African Union, like the United Nations, has finally decided to break its silence, and this has ruffled the Yaounde government.

Last week’s elections did not meet African Union standards and they were held against the backdrop of military violence, with some 8,000 Southern Cameroonians escaping to Nigeria, according to the United Nations. The mass movement was prompted by government violence and lack of security in the two English-speaking regions.

According to the African Union, last week’s twin elections which took place on 9 February were held in a context marked by political and security tension. They were also marked by the absence of a consensus among the political actors. This, the African Union believes, affected the inclusive character of the elections and the mobilization of voters.

The African Union has therefore called upon the government of Cameroon and political actors to pursue efforts that will help to ease the tension.

The African Union also recommended that the government should take necessary measures that will ensure citizen participation and inclusion in all decisions in order to ensure that peace and security return to the country.

The continental body urged the government to establish a dialogue framework that will bring together all political actors, adding that such measures would restore confidence and foster peace in the country.

With the bad news from the African Union and the United Nations, the country’s president felt that his credibility as a leader had been called into question. He had to act, though he is not known for taking swift actions, especially against members of the crime syndicate he runs.

He had been informed by his collaborators that the elections had taken place normally, but with the United Nations and the African Union challenging the drama that government officials and the ruling party (CPDM) had staged; Mr. Biya felt it was time to bring in his closest collaborators for an honest discussion.

He used the occasion to advise his collaborators to tone down their rhetoric, adding that though Cameroon was a sovereign country, the impressions and opinions of the international community still mattered.

Meanwhile, the fighting in the two English-speaking regions has continued with government forces going on a home-burning spree in many parts of the Northwest region.

On Thursday, February 13, 2020, soldiers loyal to Mr. Biya burnt a lady to death in Ntigi, a neighborhood in Bambili in the Northwest region, leaving many innocent civilians worried about their lives and future.

The burning of homes in the Northwest region is a daily affair. In a bid to render Southern Cameroonians desperate, the Yaounde government has been burning their homes and farms.  The government seems to be engaged in a scorch earth policy as a means of turning the population against Southern Cameroonian fighters who have given government forces a run for their money over the last three years.

In the Southwest region, many cities seem to be enjoying some peace, although from time to time, there are outbursts of tension in cities like Buea, Mamfe, Mutengene and Kumba. The situation in the region is very uncertain and can only be compared to Mount Etna whose eruptions have become normal.

Though this unsettling calm is prevailing in major cities in the Southwest region, the small towns are still taking a beating from the reckless military. In Ossing, a town some 6 miles from Mamfe, sex-starved and alcohol-inflamed soldiers killed two innocent civilians on Wednesday.

The trigger-happy soldiers are used to heading to small towns to conduct unnecessary raids as a means to enrich themselves and they do sometimes meet some resistance. Their modus operandi is known. They fire in the air to scare off any Southern Cameroonian fighters who might be around during the time of their ill-intentioned raids.

Many civilians have been victims of these irresponsible actions and the Yaounde government that seems to have given the military a carte blanche has never investigated any reckless killing of civilians.

Since the beginning of the crisis, over 5,000 civilians have been killed while sources in the country’s defense ministry put military deaths at slightly over 2,500 soldiers, excluding police officers and prison guards.

The conflict has resulted in the internal displacement of more than a million Southern Cameroonians while more than half a million Southern Cameroonians are in Nigeria as refugees where they are living rough.

The country’s economy has also been hurt by the conflict that might not be addressed anytime soon due to the government’s arrogance and intransigence. Many state-owned corporations such as the CDC and PAMOL have gone under while SONARA, the country’s lone refinery located in Southern Cameroon, is tittering on the brink of collapse following a massive fire a few months ago.

Southern Cameroonian fighters had vowed to bring the country’s economy to its knees, and they seem to be as good as their word. The country’s economy has taken a nosedive, with the government losing many of its income streams.

For more than 40 years, the Yaounde government has been running these state-owned corporations located in Southern Cameroons as its Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) and the collapse of those corporations has left the government with a bloodshot eye.

Cameroon is heading to the bottom of the abyss and only a well-crafted government policy can stop this spectacular collapse that has been orchestrated by Mr. Biya and his government.

The future is bleak. Things are falling apart. The Yaounde government is desperate. It has been sending delegations to development finance institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank for financial assistance, but the outcome of those discussions has been anything but favorable.

Global investors do not trust the regime that has proven that it is not good at managing resources. Private investors prefer to head somewhere else. The Yaounde government has even been defaulting on its sovereign debts on many occasions and this does not speak well of it.

All these issues were given some attention during the emergency meeting wherein the president painted a very bleak image of things. He might have declared on February 10, 2020, that his government had created 500,000 jobs, but he knew that he was simply inventing things.

The country’s unemployment rate is in double digits and this is a huge concern to the government. With the Francophone majority already jumping into the fray, it is clear that the government is losing sleep.

Francophones who had been intimidated into silence are today speaking out, especially about the killings in the Northwest and Southwest regions, as well as the hardship that is triggering premature aging and death in the country.

The government is aware that if it does not act fast to allay fears and alleviate the poverty that is spreading very fast like wildfire, a popular uprising might show up and this will send the country into a downward political spiral.

The world is watching in total disbelief as Mr. Biya and his inefficient government drag a once-upon-a-time wealthy country to the bottom of a dark abyss. Cameroon is spiraling out of control and if something is not done; its chaos might cross its borders.

All the world is hoping for is the prevalence of wisdom, especially as the president celebrates his 87th birthday. Some analysts hold that somewhere, he might have an attack of conscience and will start taking the right decisions that might save a country that is on life support.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom and Rita Akana in Yaounde

China virus death toll nears 1,400, six health workers among victims

14, February 2020

China virus death toll nears 1,400, six health workers among victims 0

The death toll from China’s virus epidemic neared 1,400 on Friday, with six medical workers among the victims, underscoring the country’s struggle to contain a deepening health crisis.

Nearly 64,000 people are now recorded as having fallen ill from the virus in China, with officials revealing that 1,716 health workers had been infected as of Tuesday.

The scale of the epidemic swelled this week after authorities in central Hubei Province, the epicenter of the contagion, changed their criteria for counting cases, adding thousands of new patients to their tally.

The health emergency in China has caused fears of further global contagion, with more than two-dozen countries reporting hundreds of cases among them. Three people have died outside mainland China.

The majority of cases of infections among health workers was in Hubei’s capital, Wuhan, where many have lacked proper masks and gear to protect themselves in hospitals dealing with a deluge of patients.

Battling the epidemic is a “big test for the country’s governance system and governance ability,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping, who chaired a political meeting on government reforms, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The outbreak has exposed “shortcomings,” Xi acknowledged, adding that China needed to reform its public health and epidemic prevention and control systems.

New count

Authorities in Hubei on Thursday started counting patients who were “clinically diagnosed” via lung imaging, in addition to those who undergo lab tests.

The revision added nearly 15,000 patients to Hubei’s count in a single day, with officials explaining that past cases were included. The first cases emerged in December last year in Wuhan.

On Friday, Hubei’s health commission said another 116 people had died and more than 4,800 new cases were reported. Of those cases, more than 3,000 were “clinically diagnosed.”

The WHO said the numbers included cases going back weeks.

The sharp one-day increase “does not represent a significant change in the trajectory of the outbreak,” said Michael Ryan, head of the WHO’s health emergencies program.

The move will ensure patients get treated as early as possible, instead of having to wait for laboratory tests, health officials said.

“There have been some backlogs in testing and this is also going to help in ensuring that people get adequate care,” Ryan said.

The National Health Commission said the new criteria would only apply to Hubei.

The commission reported five other deaths and 217 new cases elsewhere in China, as the number of new patients outside Hubei fell for a 10th straight day.

It also disclosed a statistical error, saying it removed 108 previous deaths in Hubei that had been double-counted. The nationwide toll still rose to 1,380.

Authorities have placed some 56 million people in Hubei under quarantine since late last month, in an unprecedented effort to stop the new coronavirus from spreading.

Some cities in Hubei tightened restrictions this week, sealing off neighborhoods in what they liken to “war-time” measures.

Several countries have banned arrivals from China, while major airlines have halted flights to and from the country.

(Source: AFP)

Football: Djemba Djemba recalls Marc-Vivien Foe’s last words before pitch collapse

14, February 2020

Football: Djemba Djemba recalls Marc-Vivien Foe’s last words before pitch collapse 0

The football world was thrown into mourning when the Cameroon legend died after collapsing during a Confederations Cup game in Lyon

Former Cameroon international Eric Djemba Djemba has revealed the last words of Marc-Vivien before he collapsed in their Fifa Confederations Cup semi-final game against Colombia.

In June 2003, Djemba Djemba was playing alongside Foe in the middle of the park for the Indomitable Lions when the former Manchester City and Lyon midfielder fell without contact from any player.

Efforts to revive Foe following the collapse proved futile as he was confirmed dead on arrival at the stadium’s medical centre, with an autopsy confirming hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as the cause of his death.

On their way to the Stade de Gerland, Djemba Djemba said the 28-year-old talked about death on the team bus on that fateful day and complained of fatigue during the match that ended 1-0 in favour of Cameroon.

“I will never forget what he said to us on the bus before we played,” the ex-Manchester United midfielder told SunSport.

“He said, ‘if someone needs to die today, we will die. We don’t need to lose that game because I promised to my wife and children we need to go to that final. I need to win the Confederations Cup.’

“I was the last person that talked to him. He said to me just before, ‘Eric, I am tired.’

“So I said to him, when the ball goes out, we’ll tell the coach, and he will substitute him.

“But he didn’t have one minute. The ball was in the air and he jumped up with Mario Yepes, who I played with at Nantes.

“I saw Foe fall down and then I saw Mario shouting, ‘Hey, hey, hey’. We walked over to him and we knew he was dead straight away.”

Djemba Djemba, 38, who is currently plying his trade in Swiss fifth division, admitted the tragic incident nearly made him quit football.

“I didn’t want to play again. Everyone was afraid to play the game. We won 1-0, and we needed to play the final,” he added.

“But we said we don’t want to play. We couldn’t sleep that night, everyone was crying. How could you go to play football and die?”

The sudden demise of Foe made Cameroon reluctant to play in the Confederations Cup final but efforts from ex-Fifa president Sepp Blatter, and Foe’s widow Marie-Louise, charged them to play the encounter which they lost 1-0 to France.

“He spoke to us and said he understood it was difficult, but added Fifa didn’t know what to do because we had got to the final,” he continued.

“Then Marc’s wife came to the hotel, and she said to us we need to play for him, for her and her children.

“So we went to play and we lost the game 1-0. Thierry Henry scored. But we weren’t in the right frame of mind.”

In paying tribute to the Indomitable Lions legend, France and Cameroon players held the Confederations Cup together while Foe was named the third-best player in the competition and was posthumously honoured.

Source: Goal.com

Biya regime vows to organise perfect CHAN, AFCON

14, February 2020

Biya regime vows to organise perfect CHAN, AFCON 0

Cameroon is putting in place measures to ensure a perfect organisation of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN), Cameroon’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education Narcisse Mouelle Kombi said on Thursday.

“All the stakeholders and all the parties are strongly mobilised to make sure that we have a perfect organisation of CHAN in April and AFCON next year,” Kombi told reporters at the end of an evaluation meeting with Cameroon’s Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute.

“We are going to make some readjustments and be up to the level of the expectations of CAF (Confederation of African Football) in the few days. Telecommunications, water supply and production of tickets, all those aspects are going to be taken care of in a few days. We are doing small repairs and maintenance,” the minister added.

Ngute stressed during the meeting that all measures should be taken to ensure good security, hygiene and sanitation and lodging before and during the competitions.

CHAN is scheduled to be hosted by Cameroon from April 4 to 25.

The country is also expected to host AFCON in 2021 after losing hosting right in 2019 over “inadequate infrastructure and pressing insecurity concerns”, according to the CAF.

In January, a vising CAF delegation said there was “remarkable progress of work in the different construction sites” for the competitions.

Source: Xinhuanet

Atrocity Alert: Twin poll in Cameroon lead to a surge in violence

14, February 2020

Atrocity Alert: Twin poll in Cameroon lead to a surge in violence 0

The conflict between government forces and armed separatists in Cameroon’s Anglophone north-west and south-west regions has intensified since December. Over the past weeks clashes between the two sides, as well as increased attacks on villages, has led to dozens of killings, abductions and increased civilian displacement. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that as of 31 January at least 679,393 people have been internally displaced in the north-west and south-west regions, while 51,000 have fled to neighboring Nigeria.

The latest violence took place in the run-up to parliamentary and municipal elections that were held on Sunday, 9 February. To ensure the elections went ahead in the disputed Anglophone regions, the government announced numerous security measures and significantly expanded its military presence. However, the security forces have been accused of burning several Anglophone villages and of indiscriminately shooting civilians. According to Fabien Offner, Lake Chad Researcher at Amnesty International, “in recent weeks, brutal military operations have been conducted while crimes committed by armed separatists continue unabated. Civilians are finding themselves trapped in a spiral of violence.”

Since December armed separatists have also attempted to sabotage the election process, including by abducting candidates. The separatist Ambazonia Interim Government declared Sunday’s elections illegal and announced a six-day lockdown between 7 and 12 February. Separatists reportedly issued threats against any civilians who did not observe the lockdown or attempted to vote.

Following a national political dialogue last October, President Paul Biya granted “special status” to the two Anglophone regions. However, separatist groups refused to participate in the government-led dialogue and power is still concentrated in the Francophone administration in Yaoundé. Sunday’s municipal elections were the first to be held in seven years and were supposed to be a step towards greater regional autonomy.

In order to resolve the ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon, the international community – particularly the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States – should ensure that President Biya organizes genuine peace negotiations that include representatives of all Anglophone groups. Meanwhile, government forces and armed separatists must immediately end all extrajudicial killings of unarmed civilians and ensure that the human rights of all Cameroonians are equally protected, regardless of language, cultural identity or political affiliation.

Source: Reliefweb

The misery and plight of English-speaking Cameroonians

14, February 2020

The misery and plight of English-speaking Cameroonians 0

Last year, the U.S. announced that it was severing trade ties with Cameroon over allegations of human rights abuses in the West African country.

It was the first time the six-decade-long relationship between the two countries had been threatened. But the Americans were explicit in communicating their concerns.

The US said it was unhappy with reports of torture and extrajudicial killings of citizens by the country’s military as reasons for removing Cameroon from the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).

What the US was referring to was the seemingly uncontrollable sporadic spates of violence that have plagued Cameroon’s northwestern and southwestern regions for decades.

These parts of Cameroon are populated by English speakers although the majority of Cameroonians are Francophone.

Anglophone Cameroon has for years struggled for better representation in government and civil service. The struggle has taken turns in various degrees between simple protests to separatist insurgency.

Since the 1970s Anglophone Cameroon has asked for various kinds of autonomy from language to outright independence.

President Paul Biya, Cameroon’s 86-year-old leader who has had his job since 1982, is a southerner whose predispositions on the matter are quite well-known.

The unrest is thus about Cameroon’s failure to form a national identity, or quite simply, a no-nonsense hammering of English speakers into line.

But in fairness, that is just half of the story. After World War I, Cameroon, then a German colony along with other territories in central Africa, were shared among the British and the French.

When French-controlled Cameroon gained independence in 1960, British-controlled Cameroon united with the other half after a referendum in 1961.

Referenda of such nature were a common arbitration tactic by Western colonizers to decide the matter of nationhood for newly-independent states in Africa.

But while those in the northernmost parts of British Cameroon wanted to join Nigeria, Cameroon’s modern-day border-neighbour, those in the south of British Cameroon voted overwhelmingly to join French-Cameroon.

But a federal arrangement of government meant that English-speakers had some control over some immediate aspects of their identity, including but not limited to language.

After another referendum in 1972 that pitched federal governance against unitarian governance, the majority of Cameroonians chose the latter, setting the stage for the nature of the problem these days.

The northwestern city of Bamenda has in recent years been the battleground of forces of the state against armed separatists.

In 2018, videos and photos of government forces torturing and burning building in Bamenda made their way to the internet. The BBC reported that the Cameroonian government had tried to prevent the world from knowing about the brutalities.

In the last few years alone, over half a million people have had to flee their homes for safety even as the UN also reports that thousands, mostly English-speaking civilians have died too.

Currently, there is no promise of a lasting solution and President Biya has not stated intentions of stepping down even after his current term expires in 2025.

Culled from Face2FaceAfrica

More Southern Cameroons refugees flee to Nigeria, bringing total arrivals close to 60,000 mark, Buhari won’t talk!!

13, February 2020

More Southern Cameroons refugees flee to Nigeria, bringing total arrivals close to 60,000 mark, Buhari won’t talk!! 0

Almost 8,000 Cameroonian refugees have fled to Nigeria’s eastern and southern states of Taraba and Cross Rivers over the past fortnight, bringing the total Cameroonian refugee population in the country to nearly 60,000 people.

UNHCR, the UN refugee Agency, expects further arrivals as refugees inform that more people are still in remote border areas and could be on their way trying to reach Nigeria.

This latest influx took place just before Cameroon’s general elections last weekend as people fled ongoing violence between security forces and armed groups. The exodus comes on top of increased internal displacement witnessed in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions in the last quarter of 2019.

Refugees reported fleeing violence and some even arrived across the border with gunshot wounds. According to new arrivals, most come from areas near the border and have trekked across savannah and forests to reach Nigeria.

Local communities and governments are the first responders to this latest influx, providing food, shelter and household items that are desperately needed for those who have left everything behind.

Refugees who just arrived are currently being sheltered in public schools and health facilities or with local families. The 51,000 registered refugees that arrived prior to this latest influx are being hosted across some 87 local communities in the states of Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Cross River and Taraba. In addition, there are four settlements where UNHCR and humanitarian partners are providing protection, food, livelihood, shelter and healthcare.

“UNHCR is working closely with the Nigerian authorities to ensure that refugees are able to access shelter and basic services. Together we are supporting both refugees and their hosts given pressing humanitarian needs and to ensure there is no strain on local communities given their modest resources,” said UNHCR’s Deputy Representative in Nigeria, Roger Hollo.

“Refugees also need support to become self-reliant. With access to education, health services and labour markets, they can take care of their families and give back to the local communities hosting them.”

Food, shelter and health assistance remain urgent needs for new arrivals. Schools are also unable to accommodate all newly arrived refugee children, with some classrooms hosting more than 200 children at a time.

According to UN estimates, more than 679,000 people are currently internally displaced in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions, in addition to the almost 60,000 that have crossed the border, seeking asylum in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, UNHCR leads the international response to protect those forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution.

Source:UNHCR Ireland

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