A group of Southern Cameroonians
resident in Maryland, U.S.A. has been working with the Prime Minister’s Office
of the Republic of Cameroon to prove that the Yaounde government is still
popular among Cameroonians living abroad. The objective of this scheme is help
change America’s perspective of the situation in Cameroon.
As Southern Cameroonians
demonstrate across North America to prove that the Yaoundé government is
dictatorial and has been rejected by its citizens, the Prime Minister’s Office
in Yaoundé has quietly contacted some dubious Southern Cameroonians in Maryland
for them to organize rallies and demonstrations that will enable American
Congressmen to change their perspective of what is happening in Cameroon.
Demonstrations were supposed to
have been organized in Washington D.C. and Boston where even homeless Americans
had to be lured into the demonstrations with food and promises of money.
T-shirts for the event had been produced and handed to supporters of the ailing
and aging government in Yaoundé in an event that was unfortunately not captured
on camera as the elected photographer, Joe Mombang, turned out to be
ineffective. Indeed, Mr. Momband of Maryland is simply not tech-savvy and could
not produce pictures that had to be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office for
payment.
The team of unpatriotic Southern
Cameroonians was in Cameroon during the festive period to get payment for their
job, a job that was poorly done, but did not have the pictures to demonstrate
their malicious actions against Southern Cameroonians who have been challenging
the Yaoundé government for more than three years, charging it with
marginalization and corruption.
The anger and frustration of the
team leader, whose name has been withheld, boiled over while they were having
lunch in a restaurant Yaoundé in which the Cameroon
Concord News Group West and Central African Bureau Chief, Kingsley Betek, was also eating lunch.
He could overhear the desperate government supporters arguing at the top of
their voices, with the team leader regretting that if he had properly captured
the event on camera, he would have been sure of netting more than CFAF 10
million at the end of the day.
Mr. Mombang was tongue-lashed for
his ineptitude by the team leader who sounded so desperate and who was trying
to think up news of scamming the Yaoundé government that is also very desperate
to clean up its image around the world, especially in the United States where
the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, has been
mounting enormous pressure on the crumbling Yaoundé government.
The Trump White House is
breathing down the neck of the Yaoundé government and it is starving the
disintegrating government of some vital resources that have helped keep the
regime a float for a long time.
The Trump Administration has been castigating
the Yaoundé government for flagrant human rights abuses in the two
English-speaking regions of the country and, recently, it has disconnected the
cash-strapped Yaoundé government from AGOA, an economic arrangement that has
helped Cameroonian businesses to have access to the lucrative American market
for years.
This decision has cut the
government off vital economic opportunities that have been bringing in millions
of dollars to the country’s treasury. The decision, which became effective in
January 2019, has already begun biting and senior government officials have
already started complaining, with some secretly calling on the Yaoundé
government to negotiate with the Trump Administration which has been calling
for an inclusive dialogue that will help bring about peace in Cameroon.
The U.S. Department of State is
already mulling targeted sanctions against some senior Cameroon government
officials such as Joseph Beti Assomo, Jacques Fame Ndongo, Laurent Esso, Issa
Tchiroma and Paul Atanga Nji who are considered by Americans as those
responsible for the escalation of violence and human rights violations in the
two English-speaking regions of the country.
The Southern Cameroons crisis,
which started in 2016, has already resulted in the deaths of more than 5,000
Cameroonians, including some 2,000 soldiers, most of whom are from the center
and south regions which are the regions still supporting a moribund, corrupt
and inefficient government led by Paul Biya.
Besides the human cost of the
conflict, the country’s economy has also taken a blow to the liver, with
state-owned corporations in the two English-speaking regions of the country
going under. CDC, PAMOL and SONARA have also been victims of the conflict and
the Yaoundé government is currently and frantically looking for resources to
rebuild these state-owned corporations that have been significant and useful
revenue streams to a government that is not emotionally attached to its people.
For some three years now,
children in rural areas of the English-speaking regions have not been going to
school due to government-orchestrated violence that is playing out in that part
of the country. Today, government soldiers have transformed themselves into
kidnappers and they are wreaking havoc on the helpless population.
Last week, some five government
army soldiers kidnapped a man in Buea, a city located on the foot of Mount
Cameroon, and asked the relatives of the victim to pay in CFAF 2 million before
he could be released. Security forces followed the trail of the money transfer
and arrested the soldiers who have operating in this way for months. Cameroon’s
army soldiers have become more of a problem to the population they are supposed
to protect.
In many parts of Southern
Cameroons, armed groups, including those formed by the country’s Territorial
Administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, are running wild, and intimidating
the local population that has been left homeless due to extreme government
actions aimed at overcoming tough Southern Cameroonian fighters who have given
government forces a run for their money.
Some 250 villages have been burnt
down by government troops in the two English-speaking regions. Kwakwa, Kembong,
Ossing and others are yet to recover from the massive inferno government troops
created in these towns. Many mentally ill and old people were burnt alive in
their homes, as government troop went on a rampage in a bid to turn the local
population against armed fighters who mostly operate from the jungles.
The killings are still going on
and instead of addressing the main issues; the Yaoundé government has adopted
an approach wherein it has been papering over the cracks. Its cosmetic
solutions have not addressed any issues and more violence is in the menu, as
parliamentary and municipal elections are in the offing.
Southern Cameroonian fighters
have vowed to disrupt the elections and the Yaoundé government, which is wont
to violence, has already dispatched some 1,000 special forces to the two
English-speaking regions of the country where they are expected to rape women
and kill children.
Despite this show of muscles by
the government, Southern Cameroonian fighters are still winning some critical
battles, especially as some government troops are defecting and carrying with
them arms and secrets to the armed groups.
The world should be bracing for
more bloodshed and the greatest victims will surely be women, children and the
old who, in many cases, do not have where to turn to. The days ahead do not
hold any promise for the ordinary Southern Cameroonian and the fear of the
unknown is gradually driving many innocent citizens out of their towns and
cities before the real violent battles start.
13, January 2020
Southern Cameroons Crisis: Maryland Squad Signs Pact With The Devil 0
by soter • Cameroon, Headline News, News
A group of Southern Cameroonians resident in Maryland, U.S.A. has been working with the Prime Minister’s Office of the Republic of Cameroon to prove that the Yaounde government is still popular among Cameroonians living abroad. The objective of this scheme is help change America’s perspective of the situation in Cameroon.
As Southern Cameroonians demonstrate across North America to prove that the Yaoundé government is dictatorial and has been rejected by its citizens, the Prime Minister’s Office in Yaoundé has quietly contacted some dubious Southern Cameroonians in Maryland for them to organize rallies and demonstrations that will enable American Congressmen to change their perspective of what is happening in Cameroon.
Demonstrations were supposed to have been organized in Washington D.C. and Boston where even homeless Americans had to be lured into the demonstrations with food and promises of money. T-shirts for the event had been produced and handed to supporters of the ailing and aging government in Yaoundé in an event that was unfortunately not captured on camera as the elected photographer, Joe Mombang, turned out to be ineffective. Indeed, Mr. Momband of Maryland is simply not tech-savvy and could not produce pictures that had to be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office for payment.
The team of unpatriotic Southern Cameroonians was in Cameroon during the festive period to get payment for their job, a job that was poorly done, but did not have the pictures to demonstrate their malicious actions against Southern Cameroonians who have been challenging the Yaoundé government for more than three years, charging it with marginalization and corruption.
The anger and frustration of the team leader, whose name has been withheld, boiled over while they were having lunch in a restaurant Yaoundé in which the Cameroon Concord News Group West and Central African Bureau Chief, Kingsley Betek, was also eating lunch. He could overhear the desperate government supporters arguing at the top of their voices, with the team leader regretting that if he had properly captured the event on camera, he would have been sure of netting more than CFAF 10 million at the end of the day.
Mr. Mombang was tongue-lashed for his ineptitude by the team leader who sounded so desperate and who was trying to think up news of scamming the Yaoundé government that is also very desperate to clean up its image around the world, especially in the United States where the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, has been mounting enormous pressure on the crumbling Yaoundé government.
The Trump White House is breathing down the neck of the Yaoundé government and it is starving the disintegrating government of some vital resources that have helped keep the regime a float for a long time.
The Trump Administration has been castigating the Yaoundé government for flagrant human rights abuses in the two English-speaking regions of the country and, recently, it has disconnected the cash-strapped Yaoundé government from AGOA, an economic arrangement that has helped Cameroonian businesses to have access to the lucrative American market for years.
This decision has cut the government off vital economic opportunities that have been bringing in millions of dollars to the country’s treasury. The decision, which became effective in January 2019, has already begun biting and senior government officials have already started complaining, with some secretly calling on the Yaoundé government to negotiate with the Trump Administration which has been calling for an inclusive dialogue that will help bring about peace in Cameroon.
The U.S. Department of State is already mulling targeted sanctions against some senior Cameroon government officials such as Joseph Beti Assomo, Jacques Fame Ndongo, Laurent Esso, Issa Tchiroma and Paul Atanga Nji who are considered by Americans as those responsible for the escalation of violence and human rights violations in the two English-speaking regions of the country.
The Southern Cameroons crisis, which started in 2016, has already resulted in the deaths of more than 5,000 Cameroonians, including some 2,000 soldiers, most of whom are from the center and south regions which are the regions still supporting a moribund, corrupt and inefficient government led by Paul Biya.
Besides the human cost of the conflict, the country’s economy has also taken a blow to the liver, with state-owned corporations in the two English-speaking regions of the country going under. CDC, PAMOL and SONARA have also been victims of the conflict and the Yaoundé government is currently and frantically looking for resources to rebuild these state-owned corporations that have been significant and useful revenue streams to a government that is not emotionally attached to its people.
For some three years now, children in rural areas of the English-speaking regions have not been going to school due to government-orchestrated violence that is playing out in that part of the country. Today, government soldiers have transformed themselves into kidnappers and they are wreaking havoc on the helpless population.
Last week, some five government army soldiers kidnapped a man in Buea, a city located on the foot of Mount Cameroon, and asked the relatives of the victim to pay in CFAF 2 million before he could be released. Security forces followed the trail of the money transfer and arrested the soldiers who have operating in this way for months. Cameroon’s army soldiers have become more of a problem to the population they are supposed to protect.
In many parts of Southern Cameroons, armed groups, including those formed by the country’s Territorial Administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, are running wild, and intimidating the local population that has been left homeless due to extreme government actions aimed at overcoming tough Southern Cameroonian fighters who have given government forces a run for their money.
Some 250 villages have been burnt down by government troops in the two English-speaking regions. Kwakwa, Kembong, Ossing and others are yet to recover from the massive inferno government troops created in these towns. Many mentally ill and old people were burnt alive in their homes, as government troop went on a rampage in a bid to turn the local population against armed fighters who mostly operate from the jungles.
The killings are still going on and instead of addressing the main issues; the Yaoundé government has adopted an approach wherein it has been papering over the cracks. Its cosmetic solutions have not addressed any issues and more violence is in the menu, as parliamentary and municipal elections are in the offing.
Southern Cameroonian fighters have vowed to disrupt the elections and the Yaoundé government, which is wont to violence, has already dispatched some 1,000 special forces to the two English-speaking regions of the country where they are expected to rape women and kill children.
Despite this show of muscles by the government, Southern Cameroonian fighters are still winning some critical battles, especially as some government troops are defecting and carrying with them arms and secrets to the armed groups.
The world should be bracing for more bloodshed and the greatest victims will surely be women, children and the old who, in many cases, do not have where to turn to. The days ahead do not hold any promise for the ordinary Southern Cameroonian and the fear of the unknown is gradually driving many innocent citizens out of their towns and cities before the real violent battles start.
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom