5, February 2019

Francophone Crisis: Biya regime makes more “friends” in Israel with Holocaust comment ⁰

The Israeli Embassy in Cameroon has said it is outraged at comments made by Cameroon’s Deputy Justice Minister Jean de Dieu Momo in which he appeared to justify the Holocaust, in which some six million Jewish people were killed in Nazi Germany.

Asked on state television why he thought opposition leader Maurice Kamto had refused to accept defeat following the 7 October presidential election, Mr Momo used long established anti-Semitic stereotypes:

“In Germany, there was a race of very rich people. They had enormous economic power. And they were so arrogant that the German people felt a little nervous. Then one day, a certain Hitler came to power and put these populations in gas chambers.”

Mr Kamto, the leader of the MRC, comes from the Bamelike ethnic group who have a reputation for being successful businessmen. Mr Momo, who is also an ethnic Bamelike, said it would be wrong for the group to seek political power alongside their economic influence, and suggested that trying to do so could be dangerous for the entire community.

“Educated people like Kamto should know where he is leading his people. When you are a leader, you lead your people away from danger, not towards it,” Mr Momo said.

The Israeli Embassy in Cameroon said in a statement that “the government official has justified the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany”. It went on to suggest the comments would have an impact on the two countries’ relationship

These anti-Semitic comments, coming barely one week after Cameroon and the world participated in the commemoration of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Holocaust constitutes a big disappointment for bilateral relations between Cameroon and Israel.”

The embassy has called for “an immediate apology,” from Cameroon’s government. The government spokesman has not been available for comment.

BBC

5, February 2019

Cameroon troops ordered to hit “hard” on kidnappers in Adamawa region ⁰

Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said Monday government forces have been given the order to hit “hard” on kidnappers in its mountainous Adamawa region.

“The state has the will and the means to put things in order. The Head of State appreciates what we have done so far to neutralize most of those dangerous criminals. All the forces of law and order and the administrative and judicial authorities have to be very hard. They have to crack down on these criminals.” Nji told reporters upon arrival in the region’s capital Ngaoundere.

Nji said, he was sent by President Paul Biya to the region to distribute gifts to the affected population and hold working sessions with security and administrative authorities.

“For the past 16 months, the local people have been victims of all sorts of atrocities. President Paul Biya has given firm instructions that this criminal enterprise must be put to an end,” he said.

About 300 cases of kidnapping have been reported in the region over the last three years, according to local authorities, and at least 2 billion fcfa (about 3.6 million U.S. dollars) is estimated to have been paid as ransom and 5,000 cows stolen.

Last week, President Paul Biya deployed 130 “special forces” to the region to “restore peace and order.” Highway robbers had previously operated in the rugged and sparsely-populated region, but were forced to escape after Cameroon elite force, Rapid Intervention Battalion, intervened.

Xinhua

4, February 2019

Mimi Mefo shortlisted for 2019 Press Freedom award ⁰

Mimi Mefo has been shortlisted for an award for her fearless mode of reportage in Cameroon’s media landscape considered as repressive and self censoring.

The Index on Censorship released a list of 16 individuals and organizations fighting for free expression in the 2019 edition of its Freedom of Expression awards program.

Mefo was the sole African listed under the journalism category of the awards – whose main description was: “for courageous, high-impact and determined journalism that exposes censorship and threats to free expression.”

Others in the same category included Bihus.info – a group of independent Ukrainian journalists, the Center for Investigative Reporting of Serbia, CINS; and Mehman Huseynox, an Azerbaijani journalist and human rights defender.

What Index on Censorship wrote about Mimi Mefo

Mimi Mefo is one of less than a handful journalists working without fear or favour in Cameroon’s climate of repression and self-censorship.

An award-winning broadcast journalist and the first-ever woman editor-in-chief of private media house Equinoxe TV and Radio, Mefo was arrested in November 2018 after she published reports that the military was behind the death of an American missionary in the country.

Mefo reports on the escalating violence in the country’s western regions, a conflict that has become known as the “Anglophone Crisis” and is a leading voice in exposing the harassment of other Cameroonian journalists, calling publicly for the release of those jailed.

Other shortlisted African nominees

Other award categories that had Africans included Media Rights Activists and Institute for Media and Society (Campaigning category – for activists and campaigners who have had a marked impact in fighting censorship and promoting freedom of expression.)

The Arts category – for artists and arts producers whose work challenges repression and injustice and celebrates artistic free expression – also had Egyptian performing and digital arts company, ElMadina.

About the Index on Censorship group

Index on Censorship is a nonprofit that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. We publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech.

We believe that everyone should be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution – no matter what their views.

Index’s aim is to raise awareness about threats to free expression and the value of free speech as the first step to tackling censorship. Index relies entirely on the support of donors and readers to do our work.

Africa News

4, February 2019

UK: May vows to ‘battle’ for Britain, N Ireland in Brexit negotiations ⁰

British Prime Minister Theresa May vows to “battle” in negotiations aimed at divorcing from the EU.

The premier made the comment in an op-ed for Telegraph published Saturday, days after her version of the Brexit dead gained support among in the British parliament.

“When I return to Brussels I will be battling for Britain and Northern Ireland, I will be armed with a fresh mandate, new ideas and a renewed determination to agree a pragmatic solution that delivers the Brexit the British people voted for,” May wrote.

She further hailed the MPs for finally backing her up in dealings with Brussels.

PressTV-Officials warn of putrefying rubbish after no-deal Brexit

“Significantly, the amendment that MPs voted in favor of carried support from across the Conservative Party,” she added. “My colleagues — who had found themselves in different division lobbies in recent months — stood together, united in support of a single proposition.”

She failed to explain though what she means by the “alternative arrangements” that she would seek to the backstop provision on the Northern Ireland border.

According to Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, “This is not a new concept… The EU is committed to trying to agree alternative arrangements to replace the backstop. We want a comprehensive future relationship in place by the end of 2020 so the backstop is never used. We want to get on with that work once the withdrawal agreement is ratified. Yet there are no credible alternative arrangements, put forward by anyone, that achieve the shared goal of the UK and EU to avoid a hard border.”

Presstv

4, February 2019

Serie A: Nicolas Nkoulou sees first red card in Torino’s stalemate ⁰

The Cameroon international was given the marching order for the fourth time in his career at Stadio Paolo Mazza

Nicolas Nkoulou was shown his first Serie A red card in Torino’s 0-0 stalemate with SPAL on Sunday.

On the back of a three-game winless run, the Bull bounced back to winning ways against Inter Milan last week but their effort to commence to a run was frustrated by Leonardo Semplici’s side.

Nkoulou’s sending off with 25 minutes to play did not help their cause either.

Goal.com

4, February 2019

French Cameroun: Three die in head-on collision ⁰

Three people, including two members of the same family, were killed and several others injured in a head-on collision Sunday morning in Mbankomo, a locality on the outskirts of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

Emmanuel Watat, a highway patrol official said that the victims were on their way to bury a relative when the collision happened.

“A certain Dr. Massing Bias Louis Raoul who was in the vehicle survived but his wife, a relative, and his driver died on the spot. Other people were injured and have been rushed to a nearby hospital,” Watat said.

According to the official, their vehicle was hit head-on by another car on the highway.

Cameroon has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in Africa, mainly due to violation of traffic rules, poor vehicle conditions and shoddy highways, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Xinhua

4, February 2019

Nigeria: Vice President Osinbajo survives helicopter crash ⁰

Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday survived a helicopter crash while on an official trip to the country’s central state of Kogi, a presidential spokesman has confirmed.

The six-seater helicopter, conveying Osinbajo and some of his aides, crash-landed in Kabba area of Kogi, presidential spokesman Laolu Akande said in a statement.

It was badly damaged but all the passengers and crew members were unhurt, the presidential aide said.

The exact cause of the accident will be determined by experts in due course, he said, confirming that an investigation has been launched into the helicopter crash.

The vice president himself confirmed through twitter that he and his aides on board are “safe and sound”, adding the crew “managed the situation well.”

Another presidency official told Xinhua there’s no indication of sabotage or anything extraordinary so far.

According to local broadcaster Channels Television, the propeller of the helicopter broke off close to a field in the town, causing the chopper to crash-land.

Nigeria will hold general elections on Feb. 16 to elect the president and national assembly members, and on March 2 to elect state governors and state houses of assembly members.

Xinhua

4, February 2019

New bridge to be built linking Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea ⁰

Officials of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea said Saturday that they have agreed on plans to construct a bridge to link both countries.

“It is an integrating project that establishes the possibility of movement between the two countries. Once this project is realized, we will have another possibility of traveling by land through Cameroon and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea,” Paul Tasong, Cameroonian ministerial delegate from the Ministry of Economy Planning and Regional Development, told reporters.

At the end of the day, the agreement was reached during a meeting in Cameroon’s commercial capital Douala between delegations led by Tasong and Baltasar Engonga Edjo, Equatorial Guinean minister in charge of regional integration.

According to the agreement, the bridge will be constructed over the Ntem River, on the corridor linking Kribi, Campo in Cameroon and Bata in Equatorial Guinea. A memorandum of understanding will be signed between both countries on March 15, officials said.

The Economic Community of Central African States will oversee the construction work that is expected to begin this year.

Xinhua

3, February 2019

Protest held to back jailed Catalan independence politicians in Barcelona ⁰

A demonstration in support of the Catalan leaders who were jailed after the failed independence bid in October 2017 was held in Barcelona on Friday.

A woman holds a placard reading “Freedom for political prisoners” in Barcelona during a demonstration in support of jailed Catalan pro-independence leaders. (AFP)

Activists and supporters gathered in the center of the Catalan capital, just eleven days before the trial against the Catalan separatists is set to begin.

Volunteers carried Catalonia flags and banners, while a number of them were seen climbing a ladder up to the balcony of the European Union Commission offices, where they hanged a banner reading ‘Self-determination is a right, not a crime’.

President of the Catalan National Assembly Elizenda Paluzie said: “A group of members of the Catalan national assembly, have entered the headquarters of the representation of the European Union here in Catalonia, and have delivered a letter to Jean-Claude Junker and Ferran Tarradellas, who is the head of the representation of the European Union here in Barcelona, in which we denounce all the violations of fundamental rights that have occurred since the first fragrant violation, namely the police violence during the referendum on the first of October.”

Spain’s prosecutor is seeking prison terms of up to 25 years for 12 Catalan politicians on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds, after the failed attempt at breaking away from Spain in 2017.

Presstv

3, February 2019

Central African Republic: Peace talks hit a snag ⁰

Peace talks being held in Khartoum, Sudan, hit a snag Thursday when a coalition of 14 armed groups suspended their participation, citing the government’s refusal to consider a general amnesty and a unity government.

The groups have set a 48-hour deadline for the government to acquiesce to their terms, and have threatened to leave if that doesn’t happen. However, mediators expressed optimism that some kind of deal could be reached.

Back on Central African soil, 18 people were killed last Friday when gunmen opened fire at a funeral. In a briefing in late 2017 for WPR, Richard Moncrieff wrote about the difficulties U.N. peacekeepers have had in bringing the violence under control.

Source: World Politics Review