Monthly Archives: January 2018

2, January 2018

Biya regime can get $100M from UN for underfunded or ‘forgotten’ emergencies ⁰

Cameroon is among nine countries that can avail of at least $100 million in funding from the United Nations in 2018 for underfunded or “forgotten” emergencies. The funds will come from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), a voluntary fund pool that supports critical relief operations in crises around the world.

During a pledging conference in New York on Dec. 8, UN Secretary General António Guterres said the CERF would allocate $100 million each for nine countries with “underfunded emergencies.” Aside from Cameroon, the other countries are the Philippines, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Eritrea, Haiti and Pakistan.

Under the grant program, the CERF invites partners to identify projects that could qualify under CERF’s guidelines for underfunded emergencies.

The CERF defines “underfunded emergencies” as crises that cannot be funded sufficiently by governments and appear to have been “forgotten.” While local nongovernment organizations cannot directly receive funds from the CERF, they are encouraged to get involved in the process because they often serve as implementing partners.

The CERF is replenished every year and Guterres said the UN General Assembly passed a resolution in 2016 increasing CERF’s annual funding target from $450 million to $1 billion due to increasing humanitarian needs globally. Protracted crises from long-running conflicts and the impact of natural disasters are likely to continue in 2018, he said, while the impact of climate change was likely to grow and intensify.

In 2017, CERF reached a record high income of $504 million through additional commitments made by donors, according to the United Nations. The fund allocated almost $130 million to help prevent famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. The fund also supported relief responses such as those for Palestine refugees in Gaza, for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and those affected by hurricanes “Irma” and “Maria” in the Caribbean. Created in 2005, the CERF is managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Report by the Globalnation. Inquirer

2, January 2018

Pope says refugees’ hopes must not be dashed ⁰

Pope Francis has used his traditional New Year’s Day address to highlight the plight of refugees seekers, describing them as the world’s “weakest and most needy.”

In a Monday speech before an estimated 40,000 people who had converged at St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, the Pope also said he had chosen the plight of migrants and refugees as the theme for the Church’s World Day of Peace, celebrated annually on January 1.

“For this peace, to which everyone has a right, many of them (the refugees) are willing to risk their lives in a journey, which is often long and dangerous; they are willing to face strain and suffering,” the pontiff said.

“It is important that there is a commitment from everyone, from civil institutions, and those in education, welfare and church organizations, to ensure a peaceful future for refugees, migrants, everyone,” he said. “Please, let us not extinguish the hope in their hearts, let us not suffocate their hopes for peace!”

In November last year, the pope had released a message in which he said the politicians who incited fear of migrants were sowing violence and racism. He acknowledged, however, that the intake of refugees could complicate existing problems in a country, while appealing for practical solutions for welcoming newcomers.

Pope’s remarks about the plight of refugees come as some have questioned his response to the exodus of widely-persecuted minority Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh. In a trip to Myanmar last November, the pontiff refused to refer to the minority Muslims by their community name, the Rohingya, because of concerns not to unsettle the Myanmarese government.

More than 620,000 Rohingya have fled state-sponsored violence in Myanmar to Bangladesh. 40,000 have also escaped from Southern Cameroons into Nigeria.

In Myanmar, the Pope made no explicit mention of the brutality, amid reports that he had been warned by advisers against mentioning the word “Rohingya” out of fear that it would turn the country’s military and government against minority Christians in Myanmar as well.

Over the past months, Myanmarese government troops and Buddhist mobs have been raping, killing, and arbitrarily arresting the Rohingya. They have also been carrying out mass arson attacks to destroy houses in predominantly-Rohingya villages in the west of the country.

2, January 2018

French Cameroun 2019: CAF Appoints Inspection Team ⁰

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, have set aside a new date to inspect Cameroon’s state of readiness regarding the 2019 African Cup of Nations. The football governing body has appointed an inspection team that will visit Cameroon for 12 days from January 11 to 23 to assess the country’s progress as it prepares to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. The delegation will inspect facilities such as stadiums and hotels in host cities towards the successful organisation of the 32nd edition of the biennial tournament scheduled for June and July 2019.

According to FECAFOOT’s Dieudenno Happi, he said the country is on the right track and will be ready to host the tournament. “The CAF has informed us that the inspection visit should take place on January 11-23,” he said in an interview with Actu Cameroun. “Based on the current level of progress, what we understand is that even if this visit was taking place this week, I think Cameroon would be ready. “Besides, it’s not a secret, I can deliver it to you too, I told Ahmad Ahmad at the CAN organizing meeting in Cairo. “I told him that Cameroon would be ready to receive the visit of this mission of the CAF in November 2017. “It’s good because I knew that the work was progressing normally, that logically, there should be no problem. And the decision to come rather in the first quarter of 2018 is a decision of the CAF and is welcome.“

Source: Leadership.Ng

1, January 2018

US: Priest from Cameroon bonds with parish while studying for doctorate ⁰

Over in Nigeria, which borders Cameroon, Bigard Memorial Seminary claims the distinction of being the world’s largest Catholic seminary, with more than 1,000 students, Agbaw-Ebai said.

How does one explain this phenomenon?

“The church in Africa is young,” Agbaw-Ebai said. “It’s really a vibrant church.” While the Catholic Church has existed for hundreds of years in Europe – where the seminaries have pitifully low numbers – Christianity is still relatively young in much of Africa, he explained.

“We pray for vocations,” he said. And that prayer is very active, he pointed out. A faith community, he said, must “nurture” vocations to encourage more people to consider entering religious life as priests, religious brothers or sisters. “Sometimes the call is there, but somebody needs to ignite the flame,” he said.

Finding his way to the priesthood

Agbaw-Ebai said he was initially attracted to the priesthood by two things that might seem mundane: the white cassock worn by priests – and fried eggs.

“I was always struck by the white cassock,” he said. As for the eggs, he recalled playing at the mission near his home and smelling the aroma of fried eggs.

“I love fried eggs,” he said. So he figured that if he became a priest, he would often be dining on fried eggs.

This all happened, of course, when he was very young. As he grew older, he considered becoming a literature teacher or a physician.

“I love drama, especially Shakespeare,” he said. “But the desire for the priesthood was stronger.”

Agbaw-Ebai began his seminary training at age 17. He was ordained 10 years later.

After his ordination, he worked as the private secretary to the bishop of his diocese. Then he served as chancellor and financial administrator of the diocese. After serving as administrator of Holy Trinity Parish in Ekok, the bishop asked him to pursue the advanced degrees for which he is now studying.

“I am sure they got tired of me and whisked me over to Boston,” he said with a laugh.

Initially, he said, the bishop wanted him to study canon law. Agbaw-Ebai, however, preferred to study the various cultures within the church.

“Not that I do not love canon law,” he said. He pointed out that the Catholic Church is “made up of people from every tribe, tongue and people and nation.”

“Very early on, I developed a profound love for ecclesiology,” he said. “My bishop then argued that I could do canon law and specialize on the ecclesiological foundations of canon law. Finally, he let go and allowed me to settle fully for ecclesiology.”

Should Agbaw-Ebai encounter people who raise serious arguments against the existence of God or the authenticity of the Catholic faith, he will be well-equipped to defend the church’s positions.

He is studying the atheistic philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche.

“It has always come as a surprise why a Catholic priest should be in love with Nietzsche,” he noted.

While studying the works of Joseph Ratzinger, who led the church as Pope Benedict XVI, it became clear to Agbaw-Ebai that Ratzinger, recognized as an eminent theologian long before his election to the papacy, respected Nietzsche’s thinking even though he obviously does not share the philosopher’s rejection of God.

“Today, more than ever before, we cannot take the existence of God for granted, especially in large sectors of the elite Western world. It is therefore necessary to study the inner coherence, content and logic of the thinking of not only Nietzsche, but Sartre, Voltaire, Camus, et cetera, for faith in God, if reason is to be true to its own inner methodology, cannot be irrational. The God of faith is different from positivistic divinities,” he explained.

He said he expects to complete his academic work in 2019. He will then return to Cameroon. He hopes to teach in his native country, he said. He anticipates his students will include future priests.

Celebrating Holy Mass, during which, according to Catholic teaching, the bread and wine become the very body and blood of Jesus Christ, is awe-inspiring and humbling, he said.

“To think that I take the place of Christ,” he said. Administering the sacrament of absolution is also a privilege, he said. “I speak in the name of Christ,” he said. “Your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more.” After one has confessed his or her sins and received absolution, “the person is a new creation,” Agbaw-Ebai said.

Building relationships here

He has come to love the parishioners in Georgetown and Rowley, he said. “There are a lot of people who love Jesus and make sacrifices,” he said. “They have a great love for the church.”

He is impressed by the generosity of St. Mary’s parishioners, he said. They have organized many fundraising efforts for people in need, he noted.

Agbaw-Ebai said he would like to see the Catholic Church in the United States “open itself up to the gifts of other churches.”

To quite an extent, that’s already happening. Agbaw-Ebai is just one of many African priests who are serving or have served the Archdiocese of Boston. The North Shore has sizable numbers of immigrants from Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya and other African countries, he noted.

The person who had the greatest influence on Agbaw-Ebai’s spiritual journey is his mother. “My Christian faith is thanks in large measure to my mother, who continues to be the woman of my life,” he said.

Culled from Eagle-Tribune by Oke Akombi Ayukepi Akap

1, January 2018

Ambazonia: Biya Vows to ‘Deal’ with the Interim Government ⁰

Cameroon President Paul Biya says he will destroy all terrorists whom he says are fighting to separate his country or using it as a hiding place for armed attacks on neighboring states. In a message, Biya reiterated he was open for dialogue with the disgruntled English speaking minority in the bilingual country but that his military would deal with armed separatists fighting for the independence of the English speaking regions.

FILE – A still image taken from a video shot on Oct. 1, 2017, shows protesters waving Ambazonian flags in front of a road block in the English-speaking city of Bamenda, Cameroon.

President Paul Biya says it is his duty to ensure public order, social peace, the unity of the nation and Cameroon’s integrity, and so he has issued instructions that all those who have taken up arms, who perpetrate or encourage violence should be fought relentlessly and held accountable for their crimes before the courts of law.

“It is my firm belief that fast-tracking our decentralization process will enhance the development of our Regions,” he said. “To that end, I have ordered the implementation of the necessary measures to speedily give effect to this major reform. We will contribute towards consolidating the rule of law and open a new page in our democratic process.”

Many Cameroonians had expected Biya to be lenient towards armed insurgents and invite them to the negotiation table.

FILE – Soldiers patrol in Bafut, in the northwest English-speaking region of Cameroon, Nov. 15, 2017.

Biya said he requested the government engage in constructive dialogue with English speakers to seek solutions to their demands. But he added that he will destroy all those who have taken arms against the state, which he reiterated will remain one and indivisible.

He however pledged to make Cameroon a decentralized unitary state by implementing decentralization as spelled out in the country’s constitution.

Rene Emmanuel Sadi, Cameroon’s minister of territorial administration and decentralization, says the decentralization Biya spoke about encounters many challenges.

“We started implementing this process effectively since 2010, but of course we can ascertain the fact that the there are still some difficulties, there are still some problems,” he said. “The councils complain that the resources put at their disposal do not allow them to respond to the needs of the populations and to the implementation of their projects.”

FILE – In this photo taken Feb. 19, 2015, Cameroon soldiers check a truck on the border between Cameroon and Nigeria as they combat regional Islamic extremists force’s including Boko Haram.

Until a few years ago, Cameroon was referred to as a peace haven because it had never experienced major challenges. But the Boko Haram insurgency on its northern border with Nigeria that started four years ago has killed more than 25,000 people, and displaced millions of people in Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger according to the United Nations.

FILE – Refugees sit at the door of their home at the Minawao Refugee Camp in northern Cameroon.

The spillover of the carnage in the Central African Republic (CAR) is also felt on the central African state’s border with CAR with repeated cases of kidnappings for ransom and attacks by armed men.

Adolph Deben Tchoffo, governor of Cameroon’s English speaking north west region, says he supports Paul Biya’s determination to eliminate the armed separatists so that schools can reopen and businesses pick up in the English speaking areas of Cameroon more than one year after they were hampered by the crisis.

“We are begging for peace and we are leaving no stone on turned to maintain long lasting security, securing the population, asking the population to mobilize themselves to support government to make sure the economic activity, the social activity in the region comes back to normalcy,” he said.

Biya said Cameroonians desire greater participation in managing their affairs, especially at the local level and as such he will make sure the constitution is respected fully.

Cameroon will hold local council, parliamentary and presidential elections in 2018. Many hope the polls will be transparent. Biya has been president for 35 years, winning in elections opposition political parties say are always rigged to favor him.

Source: VOA

1, January 2018

5,247 killed in Boko Haram militancy in Nigeria’s Adamawa since 2013 ⁰

At least 5,247 Muslims have been killed in the Boko Haram insurgency across the northeastern Adamawa state of Nigeria over the past four years, a group says.

The Adamawa State chapter of Muslim Council, which comprises several Islamic organizations, said in a report on Sunday that more than 5,100 Muslims were also injured across seven local government areas of the state since 2013.

The affected local governments are Madagali, Michika, Maiha, Mubi North, Mubi South, Hong and Gombi. The report said Madagali Local Government Area had the highest number of dead victims with 2,500 people while Hong had the least with 68.

The report, which was presented to the Adamawa governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Bindow also said over 12,700 properties, including houses, mosques, livestock and farm produce worth $220 million had been destroyed in the state.

The report also called for more support for victims and reconstruction of places of worship and schools. In addition, it recommends increasing security and financial support to local defense groups assisting the military in the fight against the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group.

Adamawa is one of the three states most affected by Boko Haram. The others are Borno and Yobe states.

Onlookers stand as an ambulance carries dead bodies recovered from the scene of three bomb blasts that left 13 people dead in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, October 23, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Boko Haram has led an insurgency in Nigeria and neighboring countries that has left around 20,000 people dead. Hundreds of thousands have also been displaced in the violence.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for numerous deadly terror attacks in Nigeria during the past eight years. The attacks have so far claimed the lives of at least 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.7 million others.

The United Nations has warned that areas affected by Boko Haram face a humanitarian crisis.

1, January 2018

Congo-Kinshasa: UN chief urges President Kabila to step down ⁰

UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila to abide by an agreement to leave power, after at least eight people died in protests against his rule.

Kabila, in power since 2001, signed a deal with opposition groups a year ago agreeing to step down once his current term ends and new elections are held.

But violence has swelled in the giant, troubled African nation after the date of the new vote was pushed back to December 2018, prompting fears that Kabila may seek to extend his reign.

“The secretary-general urges all Congolese political actors to remain fully committed to the 31 December 2016 political agreement, which remains the only viable path to the holding of elections, the peaceful transfer of power and the consolidation of stability in the DRC,” Guterres’ office said in a statement late Sunday.

Eight people were killed on Sunday and dozens arrested as Congolese security forces cracked down on protesters who defied a government ban to demonstrate in Kinshasa and other cities.

A Catholic faithful wipes her eyes after police fired tear gas to disperse a demonstration to call for the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to step down, on December 31, 2017 in Kinshasa. (Photo by AFP)

Troops fired tear gas into churches and bullets in the air to break up gatherings at Catholic masses, in one case arresting 12 altar boys leading a protest in the capital.

“The secretary-general calls on the government and national security forces to exercise restraint and to uphold the rights of the Congolese people to the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly,” Guterres’ statement said.

DR Congo, rich with mineral wealth but plagued by violence, has not had a peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Kabila succeeded his assassinated father Laurent Kabila in 2001 and refused to step down at the end of his second and final term in December 2016.

Elections had been due to take place by the end of this year under a church-mediated deal but were further delayed, and the poll is now scheduled for December 23, 2018.

(Source: AFP)

1, January 2018

French president vows to push for reforms at home, in Europe this year ⁰

French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to push for political and economic reforms both at home and in Europe this year.

Delivering his first New Year’s address as leader from the Élysée Palace in Paris on Sunday, Macron referred to some of his achievements in his first seven months in office and said he will pursue his reform agenda with the “same intensity” in 2018.

“These profound transformations… will continue with the same strength, the same rhythm and the same intensity in 2018,” said the 40-year-old president, promising to “continue to do that for which you elected me.”

Macron announced a “grand social project” in 2018 that would cover the health sector and housing for the homeless among other areas.

He also vowed to continue to work with Germany to reform the European Union (EU) and said “Europe is good for France.”

France’s youngest -ever president also pledged to welcome refugees and immigrants, though he said his country could not do so “without rules.

France took in around 220,000 refugees in 2015 and 2016.

The president plans to toughen the country’s immigration policy in a bill to be debated this year.

Mayors across France say they are overwhelmed by the influx and called the situation “a social emergency.”

According to the French interior minister, Gerard Collomb, the reforms on refugee policy would speed up asylum procedures and improve living conditions for them.

He said previously that the reforms would include a resettlement scheme that would see 20,000 housing units be built by 2018.

Source: Presstv

1, January 2018

Jordan rejects coup reports after king relieves siblings from army posts ⁰

Jordan’s royal palace has denied rumors of a coup plot that surfaced after King Abdullah last week relieved his siblings from top army posts in a major shakeup.

The palace further said in a statement that it would take legal measures against those who propagated “lies and false claims” in social media and online websites aimed at driving a wedge between the royal family and ordinary Jordanians.

“These fabricated news circulated recently are aimed at undermining Jordan and its institutions,” the palace said.

On December 26, the monarch said that his brothers Prince Ali and Prince Faisal and his cousin Prince Talal would be retired to make a way for a reorganization of the armed forces’ hierarchy and structure.

Prince Faisal was head of the royal air force and deputy chief of staff, while Prince Ali had been in charge of the royal guards responsible for the king’s protection for years.

Talal Bin Mohammad, a Sandhurst graduate who was an officer in the elite special forces, was also relieved from his duties. They were all given honorary promotions.

An army source said the king’s decision was prompted by a desire to set an example that the Hashemite ruling family was not above the law ahead of an anticipated move to dismiss scores of top army generals.

The restructuring plan aimed to reorganize the 120,000-strong army by cutting costs and creating a more lean and effective force better equipped to modern warfare against terrorist groups, the king who himself is an elite special forces commander said.

But reports recently said the three princes were arranging for a coup in cooperation with the UAE and Saudi leadership. Amman categorically denied the claims.

Source: Presstv

1, January 2018

Far North region: Female suicide bomber kills one, wounds 28 ⁰

A female suicide bomber blew herself up in a cafe in Cameroon’s far north region Sunday, killing at least one person and wounding 28 others, witnesses told AFP.

Witnesses said the woman entered the cafe at around 7:00 am (0600 GMT) before detonating her explosive vest in Bia, a village close to the border with Nigeria. The area has seen frequent attacks by the Boko Haram jihadist group in recent years. Those hurt in the blast were taken to a nearby hospital, witnesses said.

Since 2014, when Cameroon began its fight against Boko Haram, the group has killed at least 2,000 civilians and military personnel and kidnapped a thousand more in the country’s far north, according to the International Crisis Group.

Since the group emerged eight years ago, it has launched attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad — the nations bordering Lake Chad — and caused the deaths of at least 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.6 million.