Monthly Archives: January 2017

Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda hosting anti Anglophone meeting

4, January 2017

Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda hosting anti Anglophone meeting 0

We have gotten intelligence that there is a meeting presently going on in the University of Bamenda grouping all heads of government establishments, directors and top management called by the Vice Chancellor of the university under the instructions of the most anti Anglophone cabinet minister ever, Fame Ndongo.

The so called minister for Higher Education has reportedly given standing orders to the Anglophone heads that they should diverse a method to call off the strike and students should resume classes. (This story is developing and was culled from a sister publication Cameroon Intelligence Report)

New UN Secretary General says he is not a miracle maker

4, January 2017

New UN Secretary General says he is not a miracle maker 0

The new United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that he is not a “miracle maker” and that the global body faces “very challenging times.”  Guterres made the remark on Tuesday before starting his first official day of work at the UN headquarters in New York after succeeding Ban Ki-moon as secretary general on January 1.

“I think it is useful to say there are no miracles…I am sure I am not a miracle maker,” he said. He went on to underscore the large number of complex crises around the world the United Nations must deal with, adding that the world body should have no “illusions” over the “challenging times” it faces.

“We see everywhere in the world conflicts that multiply and are interlinked and have triggered this new phenomenon of global terrorism,” he added. Guterres stressed that despite easing the sufferings of some people, “we still fail in the prevention of conflicts and conflict resolution.”

He went on to add that there is a large amount of resistance around the world and a large amount of skepticism over the UN’s role. “We need to be able to recognize our shortcomings, our failures…get rid of the straightjacket of bureaucracy,” he added. “The only way we can achieve our goals is to really work together as a team and serve the values enshrined in the Charter and that unite humanity.”

Guterres was elected for the post by the UN General Assembly for a five-year term on October 13 last year. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. In his first message as the UN chief, Guterres called on all people across the globe to put “peace” above all else. “Let us resolve to put peace first,” he said.

Presstv

Southern Cameroons Uprising: Presbyterian Church raises a finger

4, January 2017

Southern Cameroons Uprising: Presbyterian Church raises a finger 1

Presbyterian Church in Cameroon

Dear Presbyterians,

Dear brothers and Sisters in the Lord.

Pastoral Letter: Our God is a God of History

We bring you fraternal greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Lords. We join you to thank God for the blessings and graces of 2016, the year of our Lord. The year 2016 was a challenging one for us as a church and as a nation amidst collective and personal successes on the field of evangelization and our drive towards transformation on the one hand; And on the other hand, we all were affected by the Esseka train accident and towards the end of the year, there were upheavals in the major towns of the Northwest and Southwest Regions of our country – mainly the English-speaking part of our country. In all these challenges, the God whom we serve showed himself as our refuge, stronghold and comfort in times of trouble. When such calamities happen, we should not lose faith because Jesus Christ himself warns us that, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Increasingly, we cannot trust the systems of this world for peace, that is why Christ said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

We look forward to the year 2017 with great expectations for what we want to achieve as a church. We are also looking up to our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ as a people and as a faith community. Yet our anxieties and uncertainties on some of the things happening around us continue to be of great concern. We hear news of civil strife, we are not certain how the school year will commence, and we do not know how a breakthrough will come in a deadlock pitting the government of Cameroon and the Teachers’ Trade Union and the Common-Law Lawyers. We are not sure whether many Cameroonians may be able to afford food, medicines and basic utilities. This is the reason why as a church we must pray and lend ourselves to the service of God and our nation, to pray for peace but also to take our responsibilities in peace building.

Let me share our thoughts on the common issue plaguing our country today. We are referring to what has been called the marginalization of Anglophone. In the last few months our country has witnessed upheavals in some towns and cities in the English-speaking parts of Cameroon creating a situation of mutual suspicion between the leaders of Teachers’ Trade Unions and the government of Cameroon, each side portraying their own version that further deepen wounds and heighten the elements of suspicion and mistrust. This kind of situation may lead our leaders into the temptation of the insistence of an uneasy co-existence, secession, federalism and the much talked about decentralization. One thing is clear; the God we serve is the God of our history. None of us can explain how they came to be born in Cameroon; none of us know why God permitted the Germans to be defeated during the 1st World War. None of us know why God permitted the French and the English mandate to dominate Cameroon after the Versailles treaty. None of us know why God permitted a small section of our country to be called Southern Cameroons. Only God knows why the things that are, came into being.

Therefore, in times like this, we should repent from relying on our human wisdom on issues that have a bearing in God’s genuine plan for Cameroonians and for mankind as a whole. One thing which is clear is that God remains the Lord of our history and calls us to repentance so that our country can experience the reason why He made us Cameroonians. Those who insist on the uneasy coexistence should be able to answer how can there be co-existence without mutuality and trust? Those who call for federalism must also be reminded that even in the new fragments of the federation, there would be minority problems. Those who call for secession must be reminded historically that there cannot be any secession without bloodshed like the cases of Yugoslavia, South Sudan, and Eritrea to mention a few. Those who call for decentralization must answer why for all this while the so-called devolution of competences to local councils have dragged on or why should institutions in one council pay their taxes to another council area. So, you see, the problem of Cameroon has been one of peace without justice and Justice without truth. This is the time for truth.

Our today just like our tomorrow remains in God’s hands. We cannot craft out a future outside of God’s plan for our lives, we cannot build tomorrow by our own might and neither can we redeem our history by our own strength. So the question is what is God’s plan for Cameroon at this juncture? In times like this when our history challenges us and our people cry out for justice, no weapon or might can stop the restlessness of a people who cry out to God in distress seeking rescue. Rather, we all must come together like a family to pray together and seek God’s face so that our country should not degenerate into despair. So we call on all Cameroonians to turn to God – Cameroon, keep God at the center of your politics, keep God at the center of your thinking, keep God at the center of your actions and it will surprise you what the Lord God Almighty will do for you.

The cultural heritage of English speaking Cameroon and its bearing on their professional and socio-economic life is a fact of history that no amount of political gymnastics can erase or hide. Nonetheless, we also recognize the strength of our unity and no parochial political interests should be allowed to destroy a people with a long geographical, political and cultural ancestry. We should seek God’s favor as we look forward to 2017, we should attempt great things for God and we must be determined to cultivate peace so that the children of God can rise up and claim their inheritance in true brotherly love.

Some people are confused on our stance on this issue. But as you all know, the church is not the Moderator, the PCC is her Christians and the specialized committees that have been formed to govern the church. We can only say what the respective bodies of the church ask us to say. Therefore, do not confuse the prophetic expressions of some pastors on the field. It represents their individual emotions and understandings of the things that are happening; some of those expressions genuine or not genuine do not represent the official opinions of the church. The role of the Presbyterian Education Teachers Trade Union (PEATTU) is independent, as a trade union they reserve the right to join other trade unions to militate on issues affecting their sector.

The Synod of Unfailing Love meeting in Bamenda from the 20th – 21st of November 2016 addressed a message to the Head of State of the Republic of Cameroon, amongst other things calling for urgent dialogue between the government of Cameroon, Teachers’ Trade Unions and Common Law Lawyers. After the sad incident of violence that happened in Bamenda on the 8th of December 2016 will reiterate emphatically our stance as a church.

We recognize the efforts of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cameroon in creating ad hoc committees to see into the issues tabled by Teachers Trade Union and Common Law Lawyers. While this is a starting point, may all the preliminary objections be cleared comprehensively in order for these committees to function fully? Those who are called to these committees must show a high sense of patriotism, truth and humaneness. We call for dialogue, peace and understanding so that we can identify the points of weaknesses, the areas of our common strength and how we can rekindle a spirit of trust, a spirit of tolerance and a spirit of love.

We condemn acts of violence perpetuated by forces of law and order and some civil authorities. Such acts should be investigated and those officers brought to book. In the same light, anyone who is in detention should be proven guilty of violence before detention; otherwise it is unlawful to keep people behind bars for an indeterminate period of time.

All proposals for reconciliation should have both short and long term considerations. The government of Cameroon, the Teachers’ Trade Unions and Common Law Lawyers should do everything possible to see into the commencement of schools and private practice of the Common-Law Lawyers. We volunteer our services and our facilities as a church that will lead to genuine reconciliation and long lasting peace; hoping that this will contribute to the healing of our Land.

Our times are not in our hands but in God’s hands for He is the Lord of our history, He is the author of our lives, He is the beginning and the end, the pioneer and perfecta of our faith. We call on Cameroon and Cameroonians to pray fervently and to call upon God to direct our minds to be our Light as we grapple with the dark edges of our political history.

Finally, we anticipate that 2017 shall be hopeful and more rewarding. We look forward to ensure sustainability of our Mission fields and business operations, we anticipate commitment of our staff especially those in the health and educational departments so that they as co-creators in God’s vineyard will be able to touch lives in a positive way and further the kingdom of God here on earth. We trust that the spiritual lives of our Christians will experience a surge in 2017 and that we would be able to win more souls for Christ Jesus. We enjoin Christians to remain peaceful and hopeful in the expression of their faith so that together we may be able to do great things for God in 2017.

May God in His infinite mercy redeem our land and accompany each and every one of us safely on to the shores of 2017.

Yours for the Sake of the Faith

Rt. Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba

Moderator, PCC

Multiple secret visits to Bamenda by Francophone officials

4, January 2017

Multiple secret visits to Bamenda by Francophone officials 0

The National Executive Secretary of Cameroon Teachers Trade Union, CATTU, Wilfred Tassang has revealed that the government of Cameroon is presently in a desperate attempt to forcefully get schools to resume come Monday Jan 9. Wilfred Tassang opined that “Huge sums of money were dulled out to traditional rulers this Christmas through governors to first class rulers, SDOs to second class and DOs to third class rulers to pressure the teachers.”  Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the money is part of the 24 billion FCFA paid by the Minister of Finance to CPDM business tycoon Baba Danpullo.

Cameroun Info.Net reported earlier today that Mr. Wilfred Tassang has sounded a note of caution to all traditional rulers against receiving such money to sell their consciences.  “Whilst we caution any of our fathers who have taken this money of wickedness not to further desecrate the throne and their authority by taking the wrong side in this struggle, we appeal to all stakeholders not get give up at this point in time, when victory is so close.”

He added that “Those who are for us are more than those who are against us. That’s the only reason to be advanced for the fact the President’s speech leaked more than 3hrs to presentation. We have friends in very high places.” Wilfred Tassang observed that if the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government fails to force-start schools on the 9th, Yaoundé will also be forced to face the reality.

There have been multiple secret visits to Bamenda ever since the New Year by very highly placed CPDM government officials indicating yet another sign of desperation.  Contrary to a position held by Justice Ayah Paul which called on the Anglophone leaders to give Biya a chance, it is evidently clear that the Biya regime up to now has not announced any measures taken to solve either the problems raised by lawyers or teachers. The Great Wilfred Tassang has appeal to all the teachers not to allow the strike to collapse. “If it does, we shall be greatly spited and the regime will not be under pressure to address these grievances.”

Mr Tassang has also warned union leaders against taking of bribes that will undermine the strike, in his words “For union leaders and others at the forefront of this struggle, beware! It has been revealed in the spirit realms, the release of a huge amount of VOODOO money meant to maim the brain and cause heavy carnage. We hereby call on all to fear God and resist the enemy that he may flee from us.”

The Executive Secretary of Cameroon Teachers trade Union however, reminded parents and the Anglophone student community that teachers and lawyers are not fighting for personal gains but to make Anglophone Cameroon children to be proud of belonging to a nation which they can call their own.

At the time of filing this report, information filtered out that Prime Minister Philemon Yang was en route to Bamenda in a bid to keep his job. The Teachers Trade Unionists say they have not been summoned to any meeting. It was reported that the anti Anglophone Higher Education Minister, Jacques Fame Ndongo was in Kumba to lure teachers back into the classrooms.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

5 Cameroonians killed in Azerbaijan

3, January 2017

5 Cameroonians killed in Azerbaijan 0

An Azerbaijan news portal has reported that five Cameroonians lost their lives on the 28th of December in the country. The Azerbaijani information website, Az made the revelation on New Year’s Day stating that 5 Cameroonians including three footballers and two students were killed in Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani online publication did not provide any details but merely observed that the police department had opened an investigation. However, according to information provided by credible Cameroonian diplomatic sources at the embassy in Moscow and quoted by Koaci.com, the Cameroonians would have died from suffocation after a gas leaked at their accommodation center.

By Chi Prudence Asong

 

Anglophone teachers are being targeted, trade union leaders make public new guidelines

3, January 2017

Anglophone teachers are being targeted, trade union leaders make public new guidelines 0

The Southern Cameroons trade union leaders have come up with the following. A Joint release will soon be published.

1.) No one for no reason should demonstrate or match during this period. Public demonstrations are cancelled in North West and South West Regions.

2) All Parents, teachers and students are advised not to listen to any publication on social media which is not from the Union leaders of teachers and lawyers.

3) All parents, teachers and students are advised NOT to send their children to school come the 9th of January. Teachers should stay home and watch over their children.

 4) The union leaders are more determined now than before to fight for the demands they had made. A press release to this will soon come. Remember that we are teachers and must be logical in our thinking.

Israeli police question Prime Minister Netanyahu

3, January 2017

Israeli police question Prime Minister Netanyahu 0

Israeli investigators have questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem al-Quds over allegations of corruption. A police vehicle with three officers was seen arriving at Netanyahu’s residence on Monday evening. The investigators spent more than three hours quizzing him before leaving the residence at around 23:00 local time.

The investigators later issued a statement, saying Netanyahu was “questioned under caution on suspicion that he accepted (improper) benefits,” terminology that indicated Netanyahu was a criminal suspect in the case. Earlier in the day, screens had been mounted at the entrance to the property in central Jerusalem al-Quds to block view.

Following the completion of the questioning, attorney general Avichai Mandelblit said that Netanyahu had been accused of ethics breaches. Mandelblit had said earlier that he authorized a full-fledged criminal investigation after his office gathered sufficient evidence.

A string of probes and corruption allegations

Reports emerged over the weekend that the World Jewish Congress’ president and Netanyahu’s long-time ally, Ronald Lauder, had given the Israeli prime minister and his son expensive gifts.

An Israeli police car is seen at the entrance to the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem al-Quds as members of the media wait for the arrival of police investigators on January 2, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Netanyahu is already under another investigation over suspicions that he accepted one million euros (about 1.1 million dollars) from accused French fraudster Arnaud Mimran for campaign funds during the 2009 Israeli elections.

There are also calls for Netanyahu to be investigated for his role in a billion-dollar deal to purchase three submarines from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems GmbH.

Netanyahu’s personal lawyer and one of his closest confidants, David Shimron, reportedly represented the German company behind the submarine contract.

The Israeli prime minister is separately also subjected to accusations that he and his wife, Sara, misappropriated public funds to pay for private expenses, ranging from laundry to ice cream.

Presstv

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Biya’s one and indivisible ideology is not new

3, January 2017

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Biya’s one and indivisible ideology is not new 0

President Biya is not the first leader to claim that his country will remain “one and indivisible”

1) Josef Wissariono Stalin vowed that the Soviet Union will remain one and indivisible ad infinitum, however the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 resulted in the creation of 15 independent states

2) Josip Broz Tito promised that Yugoslavia will remain “one and indivisible” forever. Today we know that he was only dreaming.

3) Umar al Bashir swore that Sudan was “one and indivisible”. Today we know that he was simply playing to the gallery.

4) Mengistu Haile Mariam pledged that Ethiopia will remain “one and indivisible”. Today Eritea is an independent state.

5) Edvard Benes swore that Czechoslovakia will remain “one and indivisible”. Today there are Czech Republic and Slovakia as independent countries

6) General Suharto vowed that Indonesia will remain “one and indivisible”. However East Timor is an independent state

The truth of the matter is that a country can never remain “one and indivisible” with the help of a military. The Soviet Union was the second most powerful nation on planet earth but she disintegrated into 15 independent States because of the evil called marginalization

The powerful Soviet Union could not prevent the dissolution of USSR. This should serve as a warning to the ruling elite because the guarantee for a “one and indivisible” Cameroon is the dismantling of the systematic marginalization by one camp on the other. Engage in sincere and constructive dialogue, those who advocate war should please look at Aleppo and ask if that’s what you want for your children. There’s no joy in deaths and hatred

Akéré Muna says the Anglophone problem has two sides- One legal and the other political

3, January 2017

Akéré Muna says the Anglophone problem has two sides- One legal and the other political 1

Barrister Akere Muna  has revealed that Anglophone territories have undergone an annexation by Francophone Cameroon. Akéré Muna, made the revelation in a televised conversation with Spectrum Télévision (STV) on December 29, 2016.  The former President of the Bar Association argued that the current Northwest and Southwest Regions were independent before the October Reunification in 1961.

Akéré Muna contested the statements of those who declare the contrary and pointed out that Southern Cameroons existed as an independent country.  “People had different agendas. I think that for some, it was necessary to mask an annexation and for the others, it was two States. And this desire on the side of Southern Cameroon was so clear that they demanded there be independence before the Reunification. So West Cameroon celebrated its independence at the Centenary Stadium in Victoria before the Reunification. “

Muna also brandished documents referring to the independence of West Cameroon and asserted that he attended the proclamation of the independence of that entity. The former president of Transparency International also observed that during the Foumban negotiations in 1961, “Southern Cameroons did not suspect that there was another game going on “. He added that prior to Nigeria’s independence; Southern Cameroons was managed as an integral part of Nigeria with headquarters at Enugu. But his father, Solomon Tandeng Muna had demanded and obtained that Southern Cameroons be detached from Nigeria before its independence to avoid future negotiations with both Cameroon and Nigeria.

Akéré Muna noted that the Anglophone problem has two sides- One legal and the other political. “On the legal side, we can do a lot of things that have been done, which have completely truncated the truth. But I think that the solution to the problem of our country does not lie in the past. The actions we are undertaking today will determine the future.”

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Military Commissioned officers promoted

2, January 2017

Military Commissioned officers promoted 0

Francophone tradition was respected on the 1st January 2017, as some service men and women nationwide received recognition for their services to the state. The epaulets and medal award were organized nationwide. In the North, Adamawa, East and South West Regions the ceremonies were highlighted by military parade and the usual congratulatory songs accompanied by bouquet of flowers from family members and love ones.

Officers from the Navy, Army, Gendarmerie, and the Air force commissioned and non-commissioned received their epaulets and medals in respective ceremonies chaired by the administrative authorities of the regions. In Garoua the ceremony was organized at the independent square, under the Chairmanship of Governor Abate Edi Jean. Some 20 Military officers were promoted to new ranks.

In the Adamawa Region 52 military personnel were promoted to the grade of Warrant Officers, Staff Sergeants and Corporals in a colourful ceremony presided over by the Governor Kildadi Taguiéké Boucar. In the East region, 57 men and women in uniform were also upgraded. Governor Gregoire Mvogo who chaired the ceremony also handed Agro pastoral equipment including wheelbarrows, cutlasses, water cans to some 9 military officers who retired from active service.

The Special Amphibious Battalion in Tiko in the South West region stole the show. It was the Divisional Officer for Tiko, Patrick Ngwashi who handed the distinctions, praising the battalion for their acts of bravery demonstrated over the years in the defense of the nation. Epaulets were received by some 30 lucky recipients.

CRTV

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