Monthly Archives: January 2017

12, January 2017

Southern Cameroons Freedom Fighters from Wum: The need for their release ⁰

On Feb. 8th, 2016, hundreds of youths in Wum in Menchum Division NWR, took to the streets protesting the brutal killing of a young Commercial Bike Rider by a soldier. The said soldier {a francophone} had stabbed the young at about 2am following an argument over a woman. That happened in a liquor bar in central town. The soldier promptly fled. Infuriated, youths seized the slain man’s body from the Wum mortuary and paraded it on the streets for hours and finally dumped it at the military barracks. Things degenerated and soldiers opened fire in the ensuing confrontation. Many were wounded.

In the days and weeks that followed, soldiers and police from Bamenda cracked down on the population taking away scores of young people and the 3rd Class Chief of Waindo in Wum. At least four others were dragged from their sick beds at the Wum General Hospital – against the advice of the doctor in charge. They were all whisked off to Bamenda and demanded in prison custody. Also note that the arrests were typical of the abuses unleashed on UB students last month – breaking into homes, seizing of suspects, smeared in dust and mud; they were beaten and parading half-naked at the Wum Grand Stand and in scorching sun.

Then one night, without warning they were plucked from their prison cells and shipped off to Yaoundé (including a lone pregnant girl prisoner) a relative to the dead Ben Skin Rider. Although the pregnant girl was subsequently released after about three months, nothing has been heard of the rest of the Anglophone Detainees from Wum.

Theirs was clearly a daring resistance to what they described as excesses of French speaking soldiers who frequently acted with impunity, tormenting women, man and bike riders. Their pent up anger exploded and they razed a building at the military barracks and vandalized some military trucks – just like last November’s riots in Bamenda where irate youths burnt down a police station. Southern Cameroonians have resisted the regime and obtained the freedom of several youths arrested in Bamenda and taken to Yaounde. The Consortium has done well to achieve this. Is it too much to ask that this same protest action be directed towards the freedom of the Wum Detainees languishing for one long year now in French speaking Yaounde?

The only difference between the Wum Youths and their Bamenda compatriots is the dates of their respective protests or resistance activities. But their motives were definitely the same. The Wum Youths should be honoured for standing up to the brutality of the regime even at a time when the current nationalist momentum was absent. Justice that is good for the Bamenda youths is also good for the Wum and Kumba youths still being held in Kondengui – far away from their home. At best they should simply be freed.

At worst, they should be brought back to their region where (if they must), undergo trial in Bamenda or Wum where the military court can also seat . This way, they will be near their relatives who would easily support their welfare behind bars. So shall we abandon the Wum Youths? Kai!! May our consciences deprive us of good sleep if we do. Dear Consortium Members, did you hear my plea? Did the Hon. Wirba not tell us this is a DUTY?

Randy Joe Sa’ah

12, January 2017

African Cardinal: If we allow Communion for adulterers, what about our polygamists? ⁰

A leading African cardinal has suggested that if Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia actually allows Westerners in irregular situations to receive Holy Communion, it would make the Catholic Church in Africa, which has fought long and hard against the irregular situation of polygamy, lose credibility among its people. “If Westerners in irregular situations can receive Communion, are we to tell our polygamists & other ‘misfits’ that they too are allowed?” Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, the archbishop of Durban, South Africa, posted on his Twitter account January 5.

3/3 If Westerners in irregular situations can receive Communion, are we to tell our polygamists & other “misfits” that they too are allowed? Cardinal Napier was responding to a Dec. 30, 2016 article by Fr. Raymond de Souza in which the Canadian Catholic priest and editor-in-chief of Convivium Magazine took a hard look at the “acrimony and division” in the Catholic Church caused by the ambiguity in the pope’s April Exhortation on marriage and the family.

Fr. de Souza argued in his article “Debating ‘Amoris Laetitia’: A Look Ahead” that if the Exhortation actually allows civilly divorced and remarried Catholics to “receive absolution and Communion without a required intention to change their situation” then a “great unraveling would begin” regarding the Church’s teaching on marriage.

“Marriage is the key issue,” de Souza wrote, adding that the Exhortation lends itself to allowing Catholics to question if it is “possible to be in a conjugal relationship with someone other than a validly married spouse that would be pleasing in the eyes of God?” Commenting on this, Cardinal Napier noted the implications of the Church weakening its teaching on marriage in reference to the significant problem of polygamy in traditional African cultures. “Was the faith taught by the missionaries, e.g. that polygamy is morally wrong — because Scripture teaches one-man-one-wife for life — completely wrong?” he tweeted.

The practice of polygamy in Africa continues to be widespread. Famous polygamists include the King of Swaziland who currently has 15 wives and Jacob Zuma, fourth president of South Africa, with 6 wives and 20 children. Because marriage in God’s plan involves one man and one woman, the Catholic Church condemns this practice, forbidding practicing polygamists on account of their obstinate and public sin from receiving Holy Communion. To combat the problem, the latest document on the Church in Africa, Africae Munus: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in Africa, calls for a “change of behavior – for example, sexual abstinence, rejection of sexual promiscuity, fidelity within marriage” and a new “sex education based on an anthropology anchored in the natural law and enlightened by the word of God and the Church’s teaching.” Cardinal Napier’s tweet all but denounces what would become a vast problem in his country if the “discernment” process proposed by Amoris for allowing couples in irregular situations to approach the sacraments comes into vogue.

Such a discernment process has already been championed by several leading prelates, following Amoris’ lead, who have given their own justifications for giving Holy Communion to people in “difficult” situations. These include Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Germany, who suggested admission to Communion by both partners of mixed marriages, Cardinals Walter Kasper and Kevin Farrell with their call to admit “remarried” divorced Catholics to the sacrament, as well as Cardinal Christoph Schönborn with his interpretation of Amoris allowing for “discernment” along with “graduality of admission” to the sacraments for couples in irregular situations.

Napier’s tweet indicates that he recognizes the problem that “individual discernment” could have in his own cultural context, namely, people who live in polygamous relationships could now claim to have “discerned” in their own “conscience” that it is valid for them to receive Holy Communion. If polygamists were to be admitted to Holy Communion in certain circumstances, decades of work of Catholic missionaries would be undone and swept away along with the Catholic understanding that marriage is a union between one man and one woman that can only be dissolved by death.

During the recent Synods on the Family, Napier was not on the side of theologians supporting the “Kasper proposal” that would allow Communion for Catholics living in objective adulterous relationships. In a video interview with Catholic News Service from that time, Napier rejected outright Cardinal Kasper’s Communion proposal, warning that it would mean opening the door to Communion for polygamists as well. He was so concerned about the bewilderingly wide acceptance of Kasper’s proposal among leading Catholic prelates at the Synod that he went as far as endorsing Edward Pentin’s explosive book The Rigging of a Vatican Synod?, as LifeSiteNews reported.

With Napier having defended Pope Francis against the four Cardinals and their dubia, while at the same time extensively quoting Amoris Laetitia in his tweets over the past months, faithful Catholics are left puzzled as to what game the Cardinal is playing. Last month after being challenged by another Twitter user, Napier, in a series of responses, suggested that Catholics who “analyses [sic] negatively” the Pope, do so “without checking what [the] Pope actually said.” He also suggested that by not responding to the dubia, Pope Francis was following the example of Christ who sometimes refused to answer questions from interlocutors.

Culled from LifeSiteNews

12, January 2017

Obama warns about the dangers of extreme inequality and racism ⁰

Outgoing US President Barack Obama has used his farewell speech to warn that the country’s growing economic inequality and racial tensions pose a major threat to American democracy. Obama issued the warning as he said goodbye to the nation on Tuesday at the McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, the same place where he gave his presidential victory speech in 2008.

His farewell speech came following one of the most divisive presidential elections in US history and a deep sense that the poisonous political environment has set Americans against each other. Obama called on Americans to work together to protect democracy in their country and make it work. “Democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted,” he said.

The outgoing president also warned about the dangers of extreme inequality and racism.“Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic principles,” he stated. “While the top one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families, in inner cities and rural counties, have been left behind.” “The laid-off factory worker; the waitress and health care worker who struggle to pay the bills – convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful – a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics,” he warned.

Speaking about the threat of growing racial tensions in the US, Obama said: “After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. For race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.” Further in his farewell speech, Obama spoke about the achievements during his eight-year presidency, including reforms in the US healthcare system as well as the landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

Obama also said his administration will do all it can to ensure the smoothest possible transition of power to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he repeatedly claimed that the presidential election is being rigged and that he will not accept the result of the election if he loses, challenging a centerpiece of US democracy.

Presstv

12, January 2017

Trust in Biya is gone, so too is confidence in his appointees ¹

Etoudi is propagating the idea that the various designated mediators sent to Southern Cameroons have failed and that there is an urgent need for the presence of the 83 year old Cameroonian dictator-the man widely believed to have plunged the nation into its present state of confused identity. The pro Yaounde politicians are insinuating that Paul Biya’s presence could be an effective solution for things to return to normal in the South West and North West regions. It is not true. What is true is that Biya has lost his chance among the greats.

The failure of dialogue and negotiations cannot be blamed on the Anglophone leaders but on Biya’s pattern of governance. Biya is not only tactless but very reckless and too full of himself. The Anglophone crisis has eventually exposed him. We of this publication can now say loudly and clearly that Biya is a political disaster that has been around for the last 34 years. While the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has been consistently consistent with their demands and actions, Biya and his entire CPDM crime syndicate have been caught committing the same errors or falling into spectacular new ones.

To be sure, even primary school pupils of British Southern Cameroons including those of La Republique du Cameroun have come to the conclusion that there is just no one to challenge the Consortium. So, tribalism has made Paul Biya to end as a prominent and successful failure. Schools in the South West and North West have not resumed as articulated by a certain Ghogomu Mingo and the anti Anglophone Minister of Higher Education, Jacques Fame Ndongo. Minister Atanga Njie is hiding!! So too are all CPDM political actors from the defunct South West and North West regions. Justice Ayah Paul is seeking for notice. However, it is evident; schools will only open their doors if the Anglophone problem is resolved.

Given the current situation, no glimmer of hope is envisaged for a return to normal in the coming days if Biya does not step aside or personally engage the new generation of Anglophone leaders. Reviewing of government strategy will change nothing. British Southern Cameroonians have had enough of this Francophone bad faith and marginalization. The Prime Minister and Head of Government could not do anything, cabinet ministers, Senators, MPs and Mayors either. Jean Kueté, the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the ruling CPDM party was almost lynched in Bamenda after an unsuccessful attempt to hold a political meeting.

A frustrated Biya has come to understand that his 34 years as head of state has been because of the goodwill of the Cameroonian people not the army or the gendarmerie. The regime is now aware that the North West/ South West Divide tactics is a thing of the past. Yaoundé is also well informed that the cast of the men called to lead the talks were unpopular citizens in their respective constituencies. The pronouncements that came out of some cabinet ministers namely, Laurent Esso, Fame Ndongo, Atanga Njie and Issa Tchiroma Bakary made the situation moved from bad to worse.

The Yaoundé regime underestimated the Consortium and described them using a battery of adjectives. But our teachers, lawyers, Okada men, business community, Anglophone Roman Catholic Bishops including some right thinking CPDM political elites are now reading from the same script. To God be the Glory. To Biya’s greatest surprise, the Consortium has become so powerful to the extent that if the Anglophone leaders decide to request the release of Chief Inoni and Fonjindam-they will get it done in one second!! We of this group are appealing to the Consortium not to forget the Wum detainees. It was in Wum in Menchum Division where it all started. This is strength you get when you involve the common man in any political struggle. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group are proud to surrender our loyalty to The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.

Contrary to what many are thinking today that the only one able to solve the Anglophone Problem in Cameroon is the President of the Republic. We believe that Biya will only be among the Francophone representatives in the presence of the United Nations and African Union envoys to map out the way forward for the two territories. Trust in Biya is gone, so too is confidence in his appointees. Only a neutral third body can mediate between us and them.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

11, January 2017

Biya meets with Chinese ambassador ⁰

Paul Biya’s media men and women have revealed that the President of China, Xi JINPING has expressed his country’s determination to reinforce ties with Cameroon in 2017. The presidential website reported that the message was disclosed to the 83 year old dictator through the Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon, Wei Wenshua, on Wednesday 11 January 2017, at the Unity Palace.

The Chinese are not interested in human rights, so Ambassador Wei Wenshua extended New Year wishes to the Right Royal President and lauded Cameroon’s “remarkable progress” in 2016. The Chinese Diplomat said the complexities of current international trends are strong indicators for Cameroon and China to strengthen a sustainable bilateral relation. He announced the imminent arrival of the Chinese Minister of Culture in Cameroon, accompanied by a group of Chinese artists; who will perform at the Yaoundé Congress Centre.

In 2015, China was Cameroon’s first trade partner, while the latter was the second largest beneficiary of Chinese aid in Africa; FCFA 1,430 billion.

11, January 2017

Consortium, Roman Catholic Bishops hold “conclave” on the Southern Cameroons crisis ¹

The 2017 annual Episcopal Conference of the Bishops of Cameroon that started on Sunday January 8 in the Pastoral Centre of the Diocese of Mamfe has held a private session grouping the Roman Catholic Bishops and the leaders of The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.

Present were all the Bishops of Cameroon and top on the agenda was discussions on the Papal encyclical Amoris Lettitia which deals with the new marriage law of the Catholic Church. After the official opening ceremony on Monday attended by the Mayor of Mamfe, John Ayuk Takunchong and the administration of Manyu Division, the Bishops and other invited Roman Catholic couples from various dioceses where schooled on the documents by experts for two days.

According to the program, the Bishops were to go into a conclave as from today the 11th. This conclave drew the attention of all Cameroonians specially the members of the Consortium who were invited by the Bishops. The highly expected closed door meeting lasted for over 4 hours with no official declaration made public.

Cameroon Intelligence Report staff man revealed that the Anglophone leaders left the conclave visibly satisfied. The President, Barrister Agbor Balla, the Secretary Dr Niba Fontem and the Right Hon. Wilfred Tassang refused to make any meaningful comments to the press. The nation is waiting for the final declaration of the Bishops Conference that will provide an insight and stands of the Bishops of Cameroon on the ongoing crisis in southern Cameroon. The annual Cameroon Bishops forum ends on the 14th of January.

By Bruno Difand Tarh in Mamfe for CIR

11, January 2017

Breaking: The Consortium is meeting with the Roman Catholic Bishops in Mamfe ⁰

The members of the Consortium are presently holding talks with the Roman Catholic Bishops in Mamfe, the chief town in Manyu Division. We understand the meeting is now on a coffee break.

11, January 2017

Nigeria: Oil and gas workers on strike over payment ⁰

Nigerian oil and gas workers have staged a walkout, claiming that they have not received payment. The industrial action on Tuesday affected at least 12 flow, compressor and pumping stations in the southern state of Delta. Workers said a closure of facilities was also possible in the coming hours.

All facilities affected were operated by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The strike could seriously affect Nigeria’s already battered oil production. The sector has been suffering from back-to-back attacks by militants of the Delta region.

Reports said the continued strike could also hit supplies to the Utorogu natural gas plant, one of the biggest in Nigeria. That could mean power shortages for domestic use. Worker representatives said they had informed NPDC officials of the action last week. They said they would not go back to work until their demands are met.

Nigeria, one of the leading oil producers in Africa, has lost nearly a third of its oil production over the past years, mainly due to militant attacks in Delta region. The militants want a fair share of oil income for the impoverished region, something the government has resisted in light of the slump in the global oil prices in the past few years. Abuja has managed to reach ceasefires with militants, but sporadic attacks have continued.

Nigeria has also been battling militants of the Takfiri group Boko Haram in its northern regions, further draining its oil-driven finances. Rampant corruption in the military and state institutions has seriously hampered government efforts for shoring up the economy.

Presstv

11, January 2017

War on terror: Cameroon loses 3 servicemen ⁰

Three Cameroonian soldiers have been killed in an operation that resulted in the destruction of Boko Haram training camps in Goshe. The three young soldiers left the military academy in 2014 and were sent to the front in Goshe against the Nigerian Islamic sect Boko Haram.

The three soldiers are: GODWE Fulbert, a second-class soldier of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) mortally wounded by an improvised explosive device during a search of a suspicious house on the 2^nd of January 2017, Abessolo Biloa Aimé Prosper and Ngondi Boris Parfait, also from the Rapid Intervention Battalion who fell under enemy bullets.

The Cameroon government spokesman, Issa Tchiroma revealed that the army has destroyed several factories used by Boko Haram to manufacture explosives. Cameroon military sources say the operation will continue under the banner of the Joint Multinational Force.

By Sama Ernest

11, January 2017

Francophone SDO shuts down private radio station in Bamenda ⁰

The Francophone Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam in the North West Region, Songa Pierre accompanied by his close collaborators sealed the doors of a Bamenda based popular radio station, Hot Cocoa FM 94.0. The seal which took place around 4: 30PM on Tuesday the 10^th of January 2017 indicated that the decision is a temporal suspension of the radio from going on air due to what they described as unethical practice in the morning program called the ‘Biggest Breakfast Show’ BBS anchored by Kiven Brenda and Mbaku Jude.

According to the regional order brandished on the seal letter, the interactive program has been helping to fuel the existing crisis in Bamenda. The Presenters revealed that they received several calls from anonymous callers after last Fridays edition threatening that the station will be closed down. The program did not go on air on Monday and Tuesday. At the time of closure the Pidgin News presented by Peter Tebid Chai was going on. Technicians and Journalists were asked to move out before the seal.

The Station Manager Gideon Taka, who recently took over from Omar Songwe, has reported the matter to the President of the National Communication Council, Peter Essoka. However journalists of Hot Cocoa Radio who also work for Horizon Television which shares the same building with the Radio have been going in and out of the premises since Horizon television was not sealed.

Cameroun Info.Net