The United States last year slid down the rankings of a global corruption index as America’s system of checks and balances faced growing threats on Donald Trump’s watch, Transparency International said Tuesday.

The US lost four points to score 71 out of 100 on the watchdog’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index, sending the country tumbling out of the top 20 for the first time since 2011.

“The low score comes at a time when the US is experiencing threats to its system of checks and balances as well as an erosion of ethical norms at the highest levels of power,” TI said in its annual report.

The second year of Trump’s presidency was a turbulent one, ranging from damaging revelations in an investigation probing links between Trump’s 2016 campaign team and Russia, to his controversial backing for a Supreme Court nominee accused of sexual assault.

The US leader, who frequently rails against the media for writing “fake news”, was also dogged by accusations of nepotism and conflicts of interest. Last month, Trump agreed to close his personal charity after the New York attorney general said it had acted “as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests”.

Transparency International’s closely-watched index ranks 180 nations according to their perceived level of public sector corruption, where a score of zero means very corrupt and 100 signifies very clean.

“The Trump presidency has illuminated the cracks in the US system for ensuring a government that is accountable to the public interest,” TI’s Zoe Reiter, acting representative to the US, told AFP.

“But President Trump is a symptom rather than a cause; the issues were there before he took office. For example, the Office of Government Ethics simply doesn’t have the teeth to control for conflicts of interest at the highest levels,” she said.

– Rise of autocrats –

As in previous years, New Zealand and Nordic countries were among the best in class with Denmark narrowly beating New Zealand to the top spot at 88 and 87 points respectively.

Strife-torn Somalia was once again the worst performer, below Yemen, South Sudan and Syria which all scored in the low teens.

The Berlin-based watchdog also singled out Turkey and Hungary for falling down the rankings, blaming “the deterioration of rule of law and democratic institutions, as well as a rapidly shrinking space for civil society and independent media”.

“With many democratic institutions under threat across the globe ?- often by leaders with authoritarian or populist tendencies -? we need to do more to strengthen checks and balances and protect citizens’ rights,” TI’s managing director Patricia Moreira said.

As part of its recommendations, the group urged governments to stand up for a free press and support civil society organisations that encourage public oversight over government spending.

The index is compiled based on data from 12 international organisations including the World Bank, African Development Bank and the World Economic Forum.

AFP

A senior Southern Cameroonian fighter has informed the Cameroon Concord News Group that the Betis must be slaughtered and chased out of Cameroon because of the atrocities they are committing in Southern Cameroons and in other non-Beti regions of the country.

The fighter, who contacted Cameroon Concord News Group’s global headquarters in the United Kingdom said that the Ministers of Defense and Higher Education had ordered a genocide in the two English-speaking regions of the country to ensure that Southern Cameroonians never think of rising up against the government in the future.

The fighter, who elected anonymity, said the atrocities in Southern Cameroons had been stepped up since Saturday following the Cameroon embassy invasions in Paris, Berlin, London and Brussels, and the demonstrations that took place in many cities across the country.

“We have been reliably informed by our sources in the defense ministry in Yaounde that the Yaounde government has carefully designed a plan to kill as many Southern Cameroonians as possible to ensure that they never raise their fingers against the regime again,” the Southern Cameroonian fighter who was calling from the northwest regional headquarters of Bamenda said.

“We have our sources. Not all the senior military officers are in favor of this war. Those who are encouraging the slaughtering of Southern Cameroonians are military officials of Beti descent who erroneously think that the country belongs to them. They have carefully designed a genocide, but they must understand that we will not surrender. They will have to kill everybody for them to take over the two English-speaking regions,” he pointed out.

“We know there are cracks within the military which the government is simply ignoring. With Francophones gradually stirring up problems in East Cameroon, it is clear that the government will soon be dispersing its military resources and this will give us a greater chance of striking the enemy where it hurts the most,” he added.

“The government should be prepared to fight a war on many fronts. The Brigade Anti Sardinard (B.A.S) which is causing the government to lose sleep is finally looking at how to establish relations with us. We are also exploring ways of supporting them so that they can achieve their goal,” he warned.

“We are moving into a higher gear in the coming weeks. The government has stepped up its attacks on our people. We must also start hitting the Betis so that they can understand a few things. Nobody will be spared. Markets, churches, mosque, bars, night clubs, and any places where there are huge crowds will be our targets. We are prepared to use suicide bombers to create as much damage as possible in East Cameroon. We want to make a clear statement for the international community to figure out why it must step in,” he said.

“The preliminary phases of our strategy have been very successful. We have succeeded to move huge crowds of people to Yaounde and Douala and this has triggered inflation and a housing crisis. Even Francophones who thought the issue was an Anglophone issue has begun feeling the pinch. Food prices have escalated and housing prices are gradually producing a bunch of homeless people in Yaounde and Douala. These people are hungry and desperate and they have begun asking questions. It is clear that before long they will be looking for ways to commit crimes and to fight the government. When people are hungry, they will fight back,” he stressed.

“It is in the interest of civilians to avoid places like markets in cities like Yaounde and Douala and other crowded locations, as our explosives will not discriminate. We think we should advise ordinary Cameroonians. Those who have ears should listen carefully. If we don’t resort to other means, the government and the international community will never take us seriously,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s embassies in Berlin, Paris and London have been closed following the demonstrations which took place on Saturday. The country’s Diaspora is hell-bent on inflicting maximum damage on a government that is noted for corruption and inefficiency. Cameroon is bursting at the seams and it is obvious there is more trouble in the offing for the beleaguered government.

The Southern Cameroons crisis that has been going on now for two years is finally spreading to the entire country. Since its commencement in 2016, the Yaounde government has been struggling to contain it to the two English-speaking regions of the country. Its initial attempt to pit Anglophones against Francophones fell flat on its face as Anglophones quickly checked any acts of violence against ordinary Francophones who have peacefully co-habited with their Anglophones compatriots for decades.

But with the killings spiraling out of control, the situation could deteriorate very fast. As government troops insist on obtaining a military solution, they are hitting more soft targets than the fighters who are lurking in the bushes. Recent killings in the two regions have reignited tensions, as Southern Cameroonian fighters are vowing to revenge. Early on Saturday, it was reported that soldiers and administrative officers who are easy targets for the fighters had been spotted leaving the towns where the killing have taken place for fear that they could be attacked by Southern Cameroonian fighters.

It has also been reported that Southern Cameroonian fighters in Muyenge, a village on the foot of Mount Cameroon, have decided to join forces with those in Mpondo Balong and Muyuka to give army soldiers a run for their money. It is obvious that more lives will be lost and, from every indication, the southern Cameroons crisis still has many more scenes which will be playing out in a manner that will be far from being pleasant.

In the Northwest like in the southwest, the fighting is still going on, and many more lives have been lost today, January 28, 2019, especially in the towns surrounding Bambili. Over the last two weeks, government forces have been shooting down anything that crosses their path. Nurses, teachers and civil servants have all been targeted by the trigger-happy soldiers who want to let their masters in Yaounde know that they are doing a good job.  Nobody in the region is safe, even children are being targeted by soldiers and many of them are quick to brand even 3-year-old children as terrorists. The military’s killing of a baby last week in Kumbo has left many people wondering about the government’s real objective.

According to an audio clip sent to the Cameroon Concord News Group chairman, a new armed group has been born in the Muyenge-Muyuka-Kumba area. The Southern Cameroons Liberation Organization (SCLO) has clearly indicated that it would use some of the worst methods to make its presence known in the region. Its objective is to fight for the total liberation of Southern Cameroons and it holds that all is fair in love and war.

Also speaking over the phone with the Cameroon Concord New Group Chairman in the United Kingdom on Saturday, January 26, the military commander of the SCLO said his group would use the most gruesome methods to send Yaounde army soldiers packing from the region.

“We are in the business of war to kill and we will stop at nothing to prove that Southern Cameroons belongs to us. Our method of choice will be the beheading of soldiers and traitors and these shows will be captured on video. The world should therefore be prepared to watch the newest show in town. Our brothers have been slaughtered by soldiers like animals. We are prepared to bring death and pain to them and their families. We have nothing to lose. We have been robbed of our happiness, our oil and our land. Our fate is worse than death. Dying will therefore be a better condition for many of us. Our fighters, who are God’s fighters, will be carrying bombs and other destructive explosives to cause maximum damage. We now have the potential to develop dangerous explosives and there are volunteers willing to take death and destruction to East Cameroon so that those who have been indifferent to our plight can also have a taste of what we have been going through for two years,” he said.

The 31-year-old SCLO commander who elected anonymity, urged the Southern Cameroons Diaspora to stay united. He said “unity will take us closer to our goal and we will be able to defeat the enemy who has beaten our dust many times. The enemy may be well equipped, but its equipment alone will not give it the victory it needs. We are prepared to put our lives on the line and we hope that our brothers in the Diaspora will keep on encouraging us by providing bullets and guns. We need those dangerous weapons to teach Biya and his people that we are not scared. They might have killed some of our people, but we will never surrender. Their strategy will fail. They thought they could strike fear into us, but they are mistaken.”

“We know the French are supporting the enemy. We are therefore determined to ruin French business interest in Cameroon. The French are backing the wrong horse and we are prepared to kill that horse. The French have just lost Congo and it is clear that they will soon lose Southern Cameroons and La Republique as they continue to support a dying horse,” he pointed out.

The Southern Cameroons crisis that started as a joke some two years ago has finally become a millstone around the government’s neck. For many decades, Southern Cameroonians have been complaining about marginalization with a view to seeking a peaceful resolution of the issues facing them. But the Yaounde government has been ignoring them, holding that the country’s minority could be easily brought under control.

The conflict which has been confined for two years to the two English-speaking regions of the country and which has resulted in the death of some 5,000 Cameroonians, including more than 2,000 soldiers, is gradually rippling out into East Cameroon. The economic and political frustrations generated by the ailing and crumbling Yaounde government have finally pitted the French-speaking majority against the government.

If the international community thinks the Yaounde government can address this issue without outside support, then it is mistaken. Most of those in the Yaounde government are graduates of a school of thought that holds that the people must be oppressed and that dialogue is a governance tool for the weak.

However, after having succeeded in other regions of the country, they have clearly found out that Southern Cameroonians are a different breed and they are prepared to fight to the last person. They might have defeated the Bassas and Bamilekes in the 1960s because there was no social media and the fighters were limited financially. They have also succeeded to kill thousands of northerners because they do not have a huge Diaspora and a critical mass of educated people, but in Southern Cameroons the odds are against the government.

The Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is not relenting. It believes the issues must be addressed now or never. The Diaspora is rich and there is a huge pool of hard core fighters on the ground. Social media is also playing in favour of Southern Cameroonians as they are using it to expose government atrocities and this is eroding whatever little credibility the government has. The ball is in the government’s court and the Betis must understand that they have transformed themselves into targets as they continue to blindly support a government that is killing other Cameroonians.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom with contributions from Kingsley Betek in Paris

The United Nations (UN) has urged Myanmar to implement the recommendations of a panel on the Rohingya crisis that was led by a former UN head, the late Kofi Annan, including ensuring freedom of movement and access to education for children from the persecuted Muslim minority.

Speaking at a forum in the Myanmarese capital, Naypyidaw, on Monday, the head of the UN’s Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, gave a bleak assessment of the outlook for Rohingya children in Myanmar and the larger number of them who have fled with their families to neighboring Bangladesh.

Fore said the refugees, who have fled state-sponsored violence in Myanmar, faced risks and those still in Myanmar lacked access to proper education.

She said the Rohingya children were living “a precarious and an almost hopeless existence” in camps in neighboring Bangladesh. Myanmar, she said, was yet to create the right conditions for the return of the refugees from Bangladesh.

“We urge that the necessary steps are taken to enable their safe, voluntary, and dignified return back to their homes, where their rights are respected and they can once again live peaceably with their neighbors,” said Fore, adding, “Taking these steps will also go a long way towards creating the right conditions for the return of refugees from Bangladesh.”

In August last year, UNICEF said thousands of Rohingya Muslim children lacked proper education both in Myanmar and in the border camps in Bangladesh, warning that the Myanmarese kids could become “a lost generation.”

The Annan commission was created in 2016 to find long-term solutions to the deep-seated ethnic and religious divisions in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, where most of the minority Rohingya Muslims were concentrated before state-sponsored violence began against them in November 2016. Annan died in August last year.

The commission’s recommendations included points urging the government to “immediately expand primary education to the communities in… Rakhine…, and intensify efforts to ensure that teachers assigned to Muslim villages resume their work, including by providing adequate security when necessary.” It also called on authorities to “ensure that all children in the state have access to education in Myanmar language” and that the tertiary education access is expanded.

But the implementation of the recommendations has been impeded, not just because most of the minority Muslim children are out of the country but also because their home villages — and schools — have been razed by the Myanmarese government to make room for Buddhists who have been shuttled by the government to repopulate the area and change its demography.

The violence against the Rohingya — carried out by military soldiers and Buddhist mobs — intensified in August 2017. Thousands of Muslims were killed, and more than 700,000 others survived only by fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh.

In October 2018, Bangladeshi and Myanmarese government officials announced that they had struck a “very concrete” repatriation deal for the return of the Rohingya Muslims. The refugees, and rights activists, however, fear that violence awaits them back home.

The UN has appointed a special envoy for Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, who said on Friday that for the repatriation to happen, “the perpetrators [of the crimes against the Rohingya] must be held to account.”

Source: Presstv