5, August 2019

Ambazonia Vice President Says Kidnappings Have No Place in S. Cameroons ⁰

Southern Cameroons Vice President Dabney Yerima has cautioned armed grounds in Ground Zero that kidnappings have no place in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The VP was reacting following the kidnapping of a 16 year old girl (seen here) around Brasseries deport in Bamenda.

Speaking to Cameroon Concord News late on Sunday from Thuringen in Germany, Vice President Yerima said, kidnappings have no place in our Ambazonia, and promised that the Interim Government was going to establish channels to take care of those committing crimes and asking for ransom.

He also revealed that the Ambazonia Interim Government has been doing a lot in addressing the issue of kidnappings, but conceded that many involved in the crime are young men working for French Cameroun Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji who have the support and cover from the French Cameroun Rapid Intervention Battalion(BIR).

Recently in Southern Cameroons, many Ambazonian families complained of their loved ones being kidnapped and blamed it on the Ambazonia Restoration Forces. Several Southern Cameroons families have been forced to pay huge amounts of money to enable their family members gain their freedom.

A senior Southern Cameroons political commentator hinted that corruption in the Interim Government under the disgraced Dr Samuel Ikome and Chris Anu created a situation whereby armed groups eventually took control of some local governments and are changing policy to better suit their needs.

By Asu Isong in London

5, August 2019

Days of Rage leader arrested in Nigeria ⁰

The Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the February 2019 presidential election in Nigeria, Omowole Sowore, has reportedly been arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

According to SaharaReporters, Sowore’s online outfit, he was picked up at his apartment in the early hours of Saturday, with an eyewitness confirming that his phone was forcefully taken from him.

Local media report his arrest by the DSS could be as a result of his plans to mobilised people in Lagos and many parts of the country for a revolution protest tagged ‘Days of Rage’ to demand a better Nigeria

Sowere and some other Nigerian activists are staging a ‘RevolutionNow’ protest planned for August 5.

Nigeria police has warned Nigerians to stay away from the planned demonstration saying it would amount to a felony and terrorism.

Hiw party, the African Action Congress (AAC) had declared 5th August for the commencement of revolution protest tagged ‘Days of Rage’ across the country to demand a better Nigeria.

Omoyele Sowore, disclosed recently in Abuja at the end of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that the protest would be sustained until the country is put on the right path of honour where justice prevails.

However, Mohammedu Buhari’s administration and the security forces said they are working heavily to address the multi-faceted crisis in the country, thereby calling on citizens to be patient for the efforts to yield the desired result.

Source: Africa News

4, August 2019

Cardinal Tumi backs federal union to end Ambazonia Crisis ⁰

As a separatist uprising in Cameroon enters it fourth year, Cardinal Christian Tumi is calling for a federal system to end the crisis and keep the country unified.

About 80 percent of Cameroon is French-speaking. However, the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon are majority English-speaking, a legacy of the colonial history of the country: Cameroon was originally German, but after World War I the defeated country transferred it to the Allies, and it was divided between France and Britain.

In October 2016, strikes by lawyers and teachers over perceived attempts by the Francophone administration to assimilate the legal and educational systems practiced in the two English-speaking regions turned violent, and morphed into rising demands by Anglophone Cameroonians for independence. The government has been accused of razing entire villages and extrajudicial killings in their hunt for separatists, who are calling on the English-speaking areas to form a new country, called ‘Ambazonia.’ Tumi, the emeritus Archbishop of Douala, said the re-introduction of a federal form of government can keep the country united.

“At reunification, I was 32 years old. I opted for federalism, and it’s in my blood,” Tumi told Crux.

In 1960, the northern part of Cameroon administered by France gained its independence. The southern part administered by Britain as part of Nigeria was in 1961 subject to a plebiscite in which they were offered independence by reuniting with their francophone Cameroonian “brothers” or by remaining part of Nigeria.

The results showed an overwhelming desire by English-speaking Cameroonians to reunite with the French-speaking part of Cameroon.

The “marriage” was guaranteed by a Federal Constitution that was meant to preserve and protect the minority Anglophones and their colonial heritage. But in 1972 then-President Ahmadou Ahidjo organized a referendum that dissolved the federation in favor of a united republic, thereby removing the protections Anglophones enjoyed.

Ever since, relations between Anglophones and the Francophone-dominated government have been tense. The 2016 demonstrations broke out after there were demands to use French in the common law courts and English-modeled schools used in the Anglophone regions.

The ensuing fighting between the separatists and government forces has led to the deaths of at least 2,000 people, and the displacement of a further 500,000.

Tumi said a return to a federal system will be the foundation for a more sustainable peace and stability in Cameroon. “We are a people called to live with all our differences. In federalism, these differences are respected,” he told Crux.

“I don’t have the number of states I want,” Tumi said, alluding to several different federal proposals being presented by different parties.

“We can begin as we were at reunification -with two states; but with time, experience would instruct us on whether we need more. History is before us. Other countries like the USA did not start with the 50 states they have today. Neighboring Nigeria did not start with the number of states they have today,” the cardinal explained.

Tumi is working with other religious leaders from other Christian denominations and the Muslim world to organize what he has called an “Anglophone General Conference.”

“The conference isn’t an end in itself,” the cardinal said. “What we want is to inform Cameroonians on what is happening in the English-speaking regions of the country.”

Tumi said many people, including President Paul Biya, “have no clue” about what is happening in the conflict zone.

“And since Anglophones are complaining, we want to give them a voice through a broad-based consultation so that they can tell us what they want and what they are proposing as a solution,” he said.

He added the conference will come up with a questionnaire that will enable Anglophones clearly to identify the problems they face and propose a solution.

“For instance, we will ask them: Between federalism and the unitary state, what form of government, in your opinion, could likely help us come out of this crisis?” Tumi said.

The cardinal said the organizers will then try to meet with Biya to transmit the resolutions of the conference, and to implore the president to organize a national dialogue on the Anglophone crisis.

Although a date has not yet been fixed, organizers say it will likely take place in October.

However, in a rare act of unity, both the government and the separatists have expressed skepticism about the proposed conference.

Separatist’s leaders say Tumi’s conference and its perceived “federalist stance” can only serve to foster government interest.

“The government of the Republic of Cameroon has proven over and over that it cannot be trusted. The only negotiation we can tolerate with that government is to lay down the terms of our separation,” said separatist leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

Government Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary accused Tumi of working to foster the separatist agenda.

“Federalism is the anti-chamber of secession,” Tchiroma said.

But the cardinal said he can’t understand why people want to discredit a conference, “whose sole purpose is to find a solution to a crisis that is killing many people.”

“Our sole objective is that peace should return without which we would not be able to do our missionary work,” he said.

Source: Crux

4, August 2019

Another shooting in US leaves 10 dead, 16 injured ⁰

A gunman has shot and killed nine people and wounded 16 others at an arts and entertainment district in downtown Dayton, Ohio.

The shooting happened early Sunday morning, authorities said, noting the suspect was killed by police.

Just after 3 am, police asked residents to avoid the area known as the Oregon District, which is home to a number of nightclubs, art galleries and restaurants.

Later, it tweeted that “the shooter is deceased. There are 9 others also deceased.”

The shooting comes just 12 hours after another one in El Paso, Texas, where a gunman fatally shot 20 people and injured 26 others at a Walmart store.

The gunman armed with a powerful assault-style rifle opened fire at the Cielo Vista Walmart store in the majority-Hispanic border city.

The 21-year-old from Allen, a suburb of Dallas, then surrendered to police outside the store and was taken into custody, Texas authorities said.

He was identified as Patrick Crusius, who, according to US media, is white and linked to a “manifesto” posted online that described an attack in response to a “Hispanic invasion.”

4, August 2019

US: Is Boeing too big to fail? ⁰

The grounding of the 737 MAX for more than four months after two deadly accidents has tarnished Boeing’s reputation, but it still has the confidence of US policymakers.

This is despite the fact that one of the MAX flight systems, the MCAS, has been cited in both accidents.

Is this an indication that the American aerospace giant is too big to fail?

President Donald Trump, whose mantra is “America first,” certainly criticized Boeing early in his administration over the presidential plane, Air Force One, but he has been largely silent about the recent woes.

The wave of negative press about the flaws that caused the deaths of 346 people did not prompt legislators to summon Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg before Congress to inflict on him the kind of humiliation Wall Street bankers were subject to following the global financial crisis.

“Boeing is one of the engines of the US economy, it’s way too big and too important for the United States,” said Michel Merluzeau, an expert at Air Insight Research.

– Political ties –

If American politicians were to attack the manufacturer, they would be shooting themselves in the foot, Merluzeau said, because “there are many jobs involved, a very, very numerous supply chain and it cannot be replaced with Facebook or Google that don’t produce anything tangible.”

Founded 103 years ago, Boeing employs more than 150,000 people around the world, the vast majority in the United States.

In addition to direct jobs, its subcontractors — like General Electric (GE), United Technologies and Spirit Aerosystems — are large US industrial employers.

The location of Boeing plants resembles a political campaign map, with facilities in Republican strongholds like Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, and Democratic areas like California and Washington, as well as states that helped Trump win the election: Pennsylvania and Arizona.

And Muilenburg has shown political savvy in his picks for the company’s board of directors, naming Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, and Caroline Kennedy, ally of former president Barack Obama and daughter of former president John F. Kennedy.

– Air Force One –

Boeing is a dominant player not just in civilian aircraft but in the defense and space industries, and is a major supplier to the Pentagon.

The company produced the famous B-17 and B-29 bombers of World War II and the B-52 used the Vietnam War. Today it produces a variety of aircraft including the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, Apache attack helicopters, the B-1 bomber and combat drones.

It also is part of SpaceX, which will manage travel to the International Space Station.

And Boeing manufactures the presidential plane, the iconic Air Force One.

But Boeing also “can be used as a strategic tool,” said Arthur Wheaton, a professor at Cornell University in New York.

Chinese purchases of Boeing aircraft are part of trade negotiations with Beijing, according to a source, since that can be a fast way to reduce the US trade deficit.

US civilian aircraft exports fell 12 percent to $20.4 billion in May, due to the MAX crisis, which affected the GDP, according to government data.

AFP

4, August 2019

US: Nearly one in 10 kids sexually abused, research suggests ⁰

Federal prosecutors raided the home of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein earlier this month, after charging him with sex trafficking. There, they say they discovered lewd photographs of girls as young as 14. Epstein is a convicted felon who was sentenced in 2008 for sex crimes involving a minor.

The spike in interest around Epstein’s allegations could create an opportunity for discussing just how prevalent child sexual abuse is. Estimates vary, but not widely – somewhere between 8% and 12% of children in the US have experienced sexual abuse.

Part of the difficulty of reaching a reliable estimate is that various surveys define child sexual abuse differently. In 2013, Catherine Townsend sifted through dozens of studies for Darkness to Light, a US not-for-profit that aims to prevent child sexual abuse. Townsend used several criteria for inclusion such as:

· Child sexual abuse includes any sexual act between an adult and a young child, regardless of whether force or coercion is used.

· Child sexual abuse includes both contact and non-contact sexual acts.

· Child sexual abuse includes forced or coerced sexual acts between two children when there is an age or power differential. This can include unwanted or forcible peer abuse.

The overview of all the research looked at six different surveys published between 2000 and 2011 and found that the rate was significantly different between genders: about one in seven girls and one in 25 boys are sexually abused before they turn 18.

Overall, the research suggests that around one in 10 children are sexually abused.

Source: The Guardian

3, August 2019

Getting married in the City of Coventry makes a special day even more significant ⁰

Music floated from the Chapel, as the final preparations were made for a busy day of a historic wedding celebration that had His Lordship Bishop Emmanuel Bibi as chief celebrant. All the planning such as finding the venue, sending out invitations, checking out Winnie Couture franchise opportunities to find the dress of your dreams and choosing bridesmaids all paid off as the big day finally arrived!

It was that of ex-military officer Albert Angafor who recently graduated from the University of Coventry and his wife Viola Fechu. Viola wore a beautifully embroidered dress while Albert had a suit that shined brightly in the summer sun.

Speaking to Cameroon Concord News Group, Viola revealed that she didn’t want a big bouquet and instead opted for a simple option. Albert and Viola milled around the crowd before the wedding started and chatted to those who made the journey to celebrate their commitment to each other.

The Eucharistic celebration held at St Mary and Benedict Church Coventry with hundreds of family members and friends from all the nooks and crannies of the UK including US, Mainland Europe and Cameroon. Both Albert and Viola are originally from Mile One, Up station in Bamenda, in Southern Cameroons.

By Honorine Akenji in Coventry

3, August 2019

Messi banned for 3 months ⁰

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has been banned from playing for his national team for 3 months and fined 50,000 dollars after heavily criticizing CONMEBOL during the 2019 Copa America.

Messi had accused the South American football governing body of “corruption” for 2 incidents during the June-July Copa America, which was hosted by bitter rivals Brazil.

Argentina were denied 2 penalty claims in their 2-0 semi-final defeat to the hosts. Then, the 32-year-old striker was sent off, during the third-place play-off match against Chile in Brazil.

The statement by CONMEBOL didn’t specify why Messi was being punished, but said it was related to its disciplinary regulations.

The ban means Messi will miss Argentina’s upcoming friendlies against Chile, Mexico and Germany in September and October. However, he will be with his team in the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, which will begin in March next year.

3, August 2019

French Cameroun: Boko Haram militants kill four villagers in Far North region ⁰

At least four bodies of villagers slashed to death by terror group Boko Haram were recovered early Friday in Guederou, a village in Cameroon’s Far North region, Cameroon’s army said on Friday.

The villagers were going about their daily activities when the militants struck, killing them and injuring some others on Thursday night, according to the army.

“Following the rapid intervention from the Cameroon army, two Boko Haram terrorists were neutralized and several others injured,” the army said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the group also attacked Kalagari, another locality in Far North region and chopped off the ears of “several” women, according to local authorities.

Boko Haram has killed about 2,000 people in Cameroon since 2014, according to local media quoting international NGOs.

Source: Xinhuanet

3, August 2019

Biya’s Southern Cameroons war pushing Ambazonians into abject poverty ⁰

Cameroon government army soldiers and anti Ambazonia armed groups supported by French Cameroun Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji targeting Southern Cameroons civilian population in both the Northern and Southern Zones have further deepened the suffering of the Ambazonia population as the Interim Government under Comrade Dabney Yerima struggles to press ahead with fund raising activities to support the Restoration Forces.

During the past three years, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime has destroyed hundreds of Southern Cameroons settlements and financial institutions on lame and ridiculous reasons that they were linked to separatists. Correspondingly living conditions in Southern Cameroons have become steadily worse.

Ever since the onset of the Ambazonia resistance, French Cameroun soldiers including heavily armed men sponsored by Minister Paul Atanga Nji (A Southern Cameroonian by birth), have committed huge number of atrocities killing women and children and restricting Southern Cameroons agrarian population from farming.

Yaoundé has also been staging attacks on medical facilities located in Southern Cameroons and hundreds of small businesses have been forced to shut down. This is while French Cameroun appointed governors and civil administrators continue to deceive national and international public opinion that the Biya regime is in control and merely confronting separatist fighters.

Withstanding close to three years of a genocidal campaign, Southern Cameroonians, aided by its diaspora in Europe, the Republic of South Africa and North America have managed to greatly contain the Francophone terrorists passing for Cameroon government army soldiers.

The French Cameroun government onslaught in Southern Cameroons presently being staged by the gendarmerie, elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion(Bir), the French Cameroun army and the Francophone dominated police force have greatly exacerbated suffering among the traumatized Ambazonia populace following the war that has killed nearly 4000 people and displaced half a million.

The Ambazonia leader President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides detained at the Kondengui High Security Prison in Yaounde have urged the international community to hold the Biya Francophone regime accountable for the crimes in Southern Cameroons. The leader and his cabinet recently indulged in a hunger strike action to attract international attention to the plight of the Southern Cameroons people.

Vice President Dabney Yerima is expected to announce a major change in policy in the Southern Cameroons revolution this coming week. According to the United Nations, some 40,000 Southern Cameroonians are now refugees in Nigeria and the figure is expected to rise. 95 percent of Southern Cameroonians now subsist beneath the poverty line. Independent pharmacies that provided medicines, blood derivatives and dialysis supplies have all disappeared and above all, Southern Cameroons HIV patients are dying in their numbers.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai