Monthly Archives: April 2017

La Republique: Government spokesman lied about decentralization

13, April 2017

La Republique: Government spokesman lied about decentralization 0

The Minister of Communication and governments spokesman, Issa Tchiroma Bakary says the 2015 deadline set aside for the effective transfer of competence and resources to councils has been met successfully. In a statement to the press, Tchiroma revealed that 97% of the competences listed in the law applicable to councils were honored as planned. However, Cameroon Concord News understands nothing seems to be happening deep within the councils.

The Minister said, “The process of decentralization has not been static in the last 20 years. Much effort has been made so far, I would even say that most of the path has already been covered and this process will continue and be accelerated. It is not only a constitutional prescription but also a permanent and irreversible willingness of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya. It is an essential component of his political project for the people of Cameroon of which it embodies sovereignty.”

Tchiroma blatantly refused to take questions from journalists who wondered aloud that the decentralization process has been plain fiction and the so-called success of the decentralization process as painted by the Minister was absurd.

By Sama Ernest

UN flays Biya regime over arrest of Consortium leaders and internet shutdown

13, April 2017

UN flays Biya regime over arrest of Consortium leaders and internet shutdown 5

The Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations has revealed that the world body wants a rapid resolution of the socio-political crisis that has shaken the Anglophone regions of Cameroon for nearly six months. This is the message François Louncény Fall gave to officials of La Republique du Cameroun.

During his visit to Yaoundé on the 12th of April 2017, François Louncény Fall, also Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa, met with the Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh,  Justice Minister Laurent Esso, Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella and Martin Mbarga Nguelé, Delegate General for National Security.

The UN Secretary General’s Special Representative said  the UN has welcomed the measures announced by the Minister for Justice but added that the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres is hoping for a rapid implementation of these promises.

The UN Special envoy further pointed out that an appeasement policy should be initiated with Southern Cameroonians and should involve the release of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium arrested in connection with the crisis. Louncény Fall was at the Kondengui Prison where he met Barrister Agbor Balla and the radio host, Mancho Bibixy, who are among the 27 people who face the death penalty.

François Louncény Fall condemned the decision to shut down the internet and the arrest of the leaders of the Consortium. The cutting off of the internet is a measure taken by the Francophone government on the 17th of January and which has already cost the Cameroonian economy more than 2 billion FCFA.

By Rita Akana

Manyu Bridge Collapse: Major set back for South West CPDM elites

12, April 2017

Manyu Bridge Collapse: Major set back for South West CPDM elites 1

South West CPDM elites have suffered another major setback as the only bridge linking the Kingdom of Ossing in Eyumojock Sub constituency in Manyu headed by General Tataw James  via Akak village to Nguti Sub Division has collapsed.  The Intersubdivisional highway bridge in Akak village loaded with regular timber trucks dropped more than 60 feet into the Akak river, sending at least an overloaded timber vehicle and its two Francophone passengers into the water.

“This is a catastrophe of historic proportions for both the Manyu and the South West CPDM elites,” Enoh Njock, an operations manager for the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium said about three hours after the collapse. The old and outdated German bridge has not been repaired for ages. The bridge, which was built after the 1884 Berlin Conference, collapsed in three sections. One section of the bridge lay flat in the river, with the part of overloaded timber truck parked on the rolling pavement.

The truck driver and his companion were seen floundering in the river, calling for help. Cameroon Concord News reporter had just crossed the bridge and was heading to Ossing when it collapsed behind him.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Eyong Johnson in Nguti

Joseph Antoine Bell and the Anglophone Crisis: The AGBAW-EBAI Debate

12, April 2017

Joseph Antoine Bell and the Anglophone Crisis: The AGBAW-EBAI Debate 9

Joseph Antoine BELL, the former Francophone footballer maintains that Southern Cameroonians are not marginalized in Cameroon. He recently opined that people from the North West and South West are not under-represented in everything that is done in Cameroon.

Bell said in French that “Quand on dit que les Anglophones sont marginalisés il faudrait qu’on nous dise en quoi” When we say that Anglophones are marginalized, we should be told in what way.

 In this April edition of the AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE, we are asking our readers to react to what the legendary footballer made of the Southern Cameroon crisis.

 

“Nobody in the world will believe that Barrister Agbor Balla and Dr. Fontem are terrorists”

12, April 2017

“Nobody in the world will believe that Barrister Agbor Balla and Dr. Fontem are terrorists” 1

The renowned Barrister Alice Nkom has appealed to the Biya regime to release the detained leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium including all Southern Cameroonians being held at the Kondengui High security prison in Yaoundé and elsewhere in Francophone Cameroun.  The human rights lawyer told STV news channel that the accusations of terrorism against the arrested Anglophone leaders were cynical.

Nkom said the Anglophone crisis is causing the nation great pain and erecting a stone wall between families and relations in the French and English speaking regions of the country. She argued that nobody in the world will believe Barrister Agbor Felix Nkongho and Dr Fontem Neba are terrorists. For her, the arrests of Southern Cameroonians are not helping to foster the business climate that President Paul Biya spoke during his recent visit to Italy. She pointed out that no right thinking investor can take Cameroon seriously and swore that Cameroon as a nation will pay dearly for the mess going on in Southern Cameroons.

Alice Nkom also said the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Laurent Esso acted unwisely and has failed woefully in his handling of the Southern Cameroons situation. For this experienced lawyer, the measures taken by the government to resolve the crisis in the Anglophone regions have been revolutionary and controversial.

“When you cut off communications to someone first you are violating a fundamental right. This is forbidden by the conventions you have signed. And secondly, it is an act of pure secession. And it is you Francophone who come to say that the others are secessionists?

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

La Republique: National Assembly ends session amid confusing declarations by House Speaker

12, April 2017

La Republique: National Assembly ends session amid confusing declarations by House Speaker 0

The March session of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament in La Republique du Cameroun have officially ended. The closing ritual at the Lower House took place on Tuesday the 11th of April 2017 in Yaoundé amid confusing declarations from National Assembly Speaker, Cavaye Djibril.

Speaking during the closing ceremony at the National Assembly, the Speaker of the House, Cavaye Yegieu Djibril appealed to the Biya government to be proactive in handling the socio- political issues in the country. Hon. Cavaye stressed on the need to avoid situations that can push the country into an endless cycle of professional demands that cannot be handled.  The Speaker then made a u-turn at the tail-end of his speech and saluted what he described as the different measures taken by President Biya to improve on the working conditions of Cameroonians.

A beaming Cavaye emphasized the need for dialogue and a climate of peace to be maintained hoping the situations in the North West and South West Regions returns to normal. Present during the closing ceremony were Members of the Supreme Court, the Diplomatic Corps, Members of Government led by the Prime Minister Philemon Yang and the Senate President Marcel Niat Njifenji.

It is vital to include in this report that the March session did not deliberate on the current Southern Cameroons crisis which has culminated to numerous rapes, extra judicial killings and massive arrests including many abductions in West Cameroon.

By Rita Akana

Germany: Explosion in front of Borussia Dortmund team bus leaves one injured

11, April 2017

Germany: Explosion in front of Borussia Dortmund team bus leaves one injured 0

At least one person has sustained injuries after a bomb explosion targeted the bus carrying members of the German football team Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund tweeted a collection of posts, saying, “There was an incident on departure of our bus. One person was injured. More information will follow.

“Bomb explosion at the team bus. Players in safety. No danger in the stadium. More information will follow. “Borussia Dortmund and police confirm there was an explosion involving the team bus with one injury (Bartra).” The German-language tabloid Bild reported that the incident occurred on Wittbräuckerstraße just 10 kilometers from Westfalenstadion, which is the home of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.

The paper identified the injured victim as 26-year-old Spaniard Marc Bartra, who is on his way to hospital. The explosion took place as the German team was to play against Monaco-based football club Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club Monaco in a Champions League quarter-final at the stadium tonight. Dortmund officials have confirmed that a decision on whether the game will go ahead will be made within next hours.

Presstv

3 Southern Cameroon journalists in Kondengui prison

11, April 2017

3 Southern Cameroon journalists in Kondengui prison 0

Three Southern Cameroon journalists have been arrested and detained at the Kondengui Central prison in Yaounde. They are Atia Tialrious, senior political commentator of The Sun Newspaper, Amos Fufong, reporter for The Guardian Post and Mofor Ndong, editor of Voice of  the Voiceless. Cameroon Concord News gathered they were all picked up by plain cloth police officers from La Republique du Cameroun last Friday.

A journalist with a sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report hinted at the time of fling this report that the three Southern Cameroon journalists were in Amos’s house at the time of their arrest.  Atia Tilarious and Amos Fufong had previously been in La Republique’s drag net on 9 February in Buea. They were arrested after being suspected of distributing pro-SCNC leaflets before being released after corporatist pressures.

By Rita Akana

Man who described the internet as a terrorist organization has inaugurated a cyber space inside the National Assembly

11, April 2017

Man who described the internet as a terrorist organization has inaugurated a cyber space inside the National Assembly 0

The Speaker of the National Assembly of La Republique du Cameroun, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril who observed some months ago that the internet was a terrorist organization has inaugurated a cyber space centre inside a VIP room at the National Assembly building. The inauguration ceremony took place yesterday the 10th April 2017.

The cyber space centre is equipped with computers all connected to the internet, printers and scanners. The cost of rehabilitating the new center is estimated at about 150 million FCFA. During the occasion, the Secretary General of the National Assembly, Victor Yene Ossomba on behalf of the personnel, pledged to make good use of the new acquisitions.

The state radio and television reported that the centre is timely as it will serve in ameliorating documentation, research and inter-parliamentary exchanges.

By Ebong Kingsley N.

Nigeria: Militant raid claims six lives in Lagos

11, April 2017

Nigeria: Militant raid claims six lives in Lagos 0

Militants in Nigeria have killed six people, including an army captain, four policemen and a civilian, in the country’s most populous city of Lagos. Nigerian police said the fatalities occurred early on Sunday when the gunmen raided a community in Ikorodu area of Lagos and kidnapped residents after looting their homes and shops.

“Around 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, the police received a distress call that a group of militants and kidnappers had entered Owutu-Ishawo in Ikorodu through the thick swampy forest surrounding the area,” said Lagos police spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole.

“They were reported to have kidnapped some residents. In response, the police and the army immediately mobilized personnel to the area where the kidnapped victims were rescued,” he added. The spokesman noted that Nigeria’s police had launched a search operation in the surrounding area to find the attackers. Hard economic conditions in Nigeria and high inflation rate have severely impacted the lives of people in the African country.

In a separate incident in Nigeria, two female bombers detonated their explosives near a university campus in the country’s northeastern state of Borno early on Monday, but the explosion left no casualties. A spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said the bombers had blown up their suicide vests close to the perimeter fence of the University of Maiduguri at around 04:00 a.m. (0300 GMT).

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The Monday bombing attack, the second such incident in Maiduguri in less than a week, came two days after two other female bombers detonated their explosives at a mosque in Jiddari Polo district in Maiduguri, injuring four people.

Maiduguri, the capital and the largest city of Borno State, has been the epicenter of Boko Haram’s seven-year militancy aimed at toppling the central government in Nigeria. Borno has taken the brunt of Boko Haram’s acts of terror, which started in 2009. The group has recently regained momentum after it was nearly obliterated months ago by a joint military force made up of Nigerian government forces and troops from neighboring countries.

Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq. The United Nations has warned that areas affected by Boko Haram faced a humanitarian crisis. Boko Haram terrorists have so far killed more than 20,000 people and forced over 2.7 million others from their homes.

Presstv

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