Monthly Archives: February 2019

Southern Cameroons kidnap: 170 students freed

19, February 2019

Southern Cameroons kidnap: 170 students freed 0

Cameroonian students and school staff who were kidnapped on Saturday have been freed, the Bishop of Kumbo has told the BBC. A total of 176 people, mostly students, were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen at Saint Augustin’s College in Kumbo, in the North West region of Cameroon.

They were released on Sunday after negotiations. It is the largest school kidnapping in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions since separatist unrest began in 2017.

Human Rights Watch has accused rebel groups of being behind the kidnapping but they have not yet commented. They have said previous abductions were staged by the government to damage their reputation.

The gunmen entered the campus of Saint Augustine’s College Nso on Saturday morning and seized 170 students, two security guards, a teacher and three of his children, the Diocesan Director of Communications said in a statement.

Rev Elvis Nsaikila added that the authorities of the boarding school had requested parents and guardians to take their children back home as soon as possible as “the school has closed down”. The Bishop of Kumbo, Georges Nkuo, confirmed to BBC Afrique that the church officials had negotiated the release of the hostages on the condition that the school would shut.

“If the army had intervened, there would have been deaths,” he said. Saturday’s school attack was not the first in the restive Anglophone North West region.

A similar incident took place in November last year in the regional headquarter, Bamenda, where more than 80 people, including the principal, a teacher, a driver and 79 students, were kidnapped from the Presbyterian Secondary School Nkwen.

The abduction of the school children and staff marked an escalation of the two-year long crisis that has gripped the two English-speaking North West and South West regions.

Militias who want to create an independent state called Ambazonia, began to emerge in 2017 after security forces responded violently to protests calling for English to be used in classrooms and courtrooms in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. The country is dominated by its French-speaking majority.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank estimates that around 10 armed separatist groups exist, gaining control of a “significant proportion of rural areas and main roads” in the North-West and South-West regions.

BBC

19, February 2019

Ireland: Paul Uzo- How hopeful is the New Irish Independent candidate of Swords? 0

Native and New Irish will all be joining a bandwagon soonest for fear of missing out, and it seems the population of Swords are no different! The Paul Uzo Campaign played on this with their amusing Campaign Flyer that was made public today, the 19th of February 2019.

Independent candidates have a great reputation among Irish voters and they will certainly make an impact in Swords. Paul Uzo is the New Irish running in Swords and has promised to go above and beyond any set objectives in serving the people of Swords.

The upcoming council elections will provide the people of Swords the needed opportunity to find a way to get local leaders like Paul Uzo to deliver for the community.

The people of Swords love honesty and by extrapolation, councilors with integrity!! Paul Uzo embodies all of that and is telling them exactly what they’re signing up for if they chose to give him their Number 1 Vote.

The people of Swords in Ireland love to be a part of something useful! This explains why Paul Uzo Campaign was built on 6 simple facts:

1-There is mounting concern about the increase of antisocial activity of Youth Gangs in the county.

The people of Swords can rely on Paul to work tirelessly to bridge the Gap between disaffected youth and the community.

2-You are concerned about the rise in burglaries in Swords

Paul Uzo will encourage Community Policing and cooperation with the Gardai

3-What about Jobs?

Some New Irish and Native Irish who have been out of jobs for a period of time feel less confident to go back to work.

Paul will work with our Local Enterprise Office (LEO) and other local bodies to create local employment opportunities and special assistance to the unemployed in seeking out and applying for employment.

4-You need more sporting facilities

Paul will champion the demand for the creation of new sporting facilities in the county for all sporting codes

5-Cohesion

Swords are badly in need of a strong voice in social cohesion. As a great team player Paul Uzo will work on your behalf. Paul will build a stronger bridge to strengthen the relationship between the local council and the general public irrespective of ethnicity by encouraging meaningful engagement with the local community, resident association to include all citizens and immigrants.

6-Show compassion with children with special needs

Paul Uzo will work together with other stake holders to foster more awareness and encourage local bodies and school boards to provide more special needs assistants to ensure those that actually need it are provided and assisted with an education to achieve their full potential.

PAUL UZO NEW IRISH&COMMUNITY ACTIVIST (INDEPENDENT)

Living with his wife and children in Swords, County Dublin for over 14 years, Paul Uzo has always been very active within his local community and with community organisations throughout North County Dublin, serving on many committees.

Paul has a professional background in Retail having studied Financial and Legal Services with Whitehall College and International Sales with Dublin Business School.

Paul has worked in a professional capacity as a Department Manager with the major fast fashion retailer PENNEYS (Primark) for over 12 years. In mid 2018, Paul made the decision to diversify his skill set by changing career and working with those affected by homelessness and in need of emergency accommodation.

        Just some of the organisations Paul Uzo has worked with;

        *Fingal Public Participation Network

          Fingal Public Participation Network (FPPN)-Fingal’s framework for public engagement

        *Royal Friends Club Ireland

          Royal Friends Club is a community based philanthropic society

        *The African Chaplaincy of the Archdiocese of Dublin

           Working closely with communities throughout the Diocese of Dublin

         *Anambra Irish Professional Association (AIPA)

            Professional think-tank highlighting opportunities between Ireland and Anambra State

          *Christmas Day Dinner, RDS Dublin

             Providing over 3,500 meals on Christmas day for the poor and homeless of Dublin City

Paul is an active member of his Residents Association and with his Community Centre in River Valley Swords. He is also involved with the Tidy Towns and Cleaner Communities initiatives.

Paul has been invited on a number of occasions to speak with parents and communities concerned with the rise in anti-social incidents between rival groups of young people in the Fingal area. Identifying probable causes and developing realistic solutions.

Paul Uzo’s dedication, drive and commitment not to mention his professional and personal experience places him at the higher end of suitability to serve the people of Swords and Fingal.

Looking forward to representing the community of Fingal in a more influential and official capacity in 2019.

Email: info@pauluzo.ie      www.PaulUzo.ie

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in Swords, Ireland

UK: Corbyn says ‘disappointed’ to see lawmakers quit Labour with Brexit looming

19, February 2019

UK: Corbyn says ‘disappointed’ to see lawmakers quit Labour with Brexit looming 0

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says he is “disappointed” to see lawmakers quit his party at a time that the country needs to stay united as it gets prepared to leave the European Union (EU).

Seven members of Britain’s main opposition party resigned on Monday, citing Labour’s refusal to effectively confront Tory Prime Minister Theresa May’s push to break the country away from the European Union and its failure to address what they called concerns about anti-Semitism.

“I am disappointed that these MPs have felt unable to continue to work together for the Labour policies that inspired millions at the last election and saw us increase our vote by the largest share since 1945,” he wrote on twitter, referring to the party’s performance during last year’s snap General Election.

In June 2018, May felt confident that she could increase her party’s parliamentary majority in an early vote and ultimately minimize the risks of strong opposition against her Brexit deal with the EU.

But her plans missed the mark by a huge margin as Labour, under Corbyn’s leadership, won a considerable number of new seats and took away the Conservative Party’s majority, forcing May to forge an embarrassing alliance with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to stay in power.

May’s unfortunate gamble came back to haunt her in early January, when a vast majority of MPs, including some Tory and DUP lawmakers, voted down her controversial draft Brexit deal with the EU.

“Labour won people over on a program for the many not the few – redistributing wealth and power, taking vital resources into public ownership, investing in every region and nation, and tackling climate change,” Corbyn reminded the resigned members of his party.

“The Tories are bungling Brexit while Labour has set out a unifying and credible alternative plan. When millions face the misery of Universal Credit, rising crime, homelessness and poverty, now more than ever is the time to bring people together to build a better future for us all,” he added.

Seven members of Britain’s opposition Labour party leave its ranks, citing, what they call, the party’s weak approach towards Brexit and its “failure” to root out “anti-Semitism.”

MPs Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker, and Mike Gapes announced their decision to split on Monday.

This was the biggest split from Labour since1981, when four senior members quit the party. “This has been a very difficult, painful but necessary decision,” Berger said at a press conference in London. Umunna has been promoting calls for a second referendum after one in 2016, which saw 52 percent of voters back leaving the EU.

Leslie claimed that evidence of Labour’s “betrayal” on Brexit was clear to see. MP John Healy warned that move only benefited May and took attention of her handling of Brexit. He told the quitting MPs that their decision weakened efforts to stop a no-deal Brexit, as May has often threatened to do.

Presstv

Boko Haram: 35,000 flee Nigeria for Cameroon

19, February 2019

Boko Haram: 35,000 flee Nigeria for Cameroon 0

No fewer than 35,000 Nigerians have  fled to Cameroon to become refugees in recent weeks following  the escalation of  the Boko Haram insurgency  in  the North-East, Médecins Sans Frontières  has  claimed.

MSF,  also  called Doctors Without Borders,  in a  statement  said the latest migration followed an increase in violence around  Rann in Borno State. According to the statement, many  of the Nigerian refugees in the  Cameroonian village  of  Goura urgently  need  food, shelter and water.

The MSF said it had launched an emergency response to take care of the refugees. The statement quoted MSF’s deputy programme manager for emergencies Dr Silas Moussa as saying, “They (refugees)  left on foot very early in the morning — women, children and elderly people.

“When they fled, they had to leave elderly and sick relatives behind. They brought along what possessions they could, but in Goura they have nothing to drink and nowhere to sleep. They have been left to fend for themselves.”

The statement added, “The refugees have been staying in a large, informal camp in Goura since late January. Most are sleeping in the open, even though it is sandstorm season and the temperature drops sharply at night.

“The uncertainty surrounding whether these refugees will be resettled or returned to Nigeria prevents humanitarian assistance from being as complete and effective as it should be.”

The Punch

Defending the critical symbols of Ambazonia quest for freedom

19, February 2019

Defending the critical symbols of Ambazonia quest for freedom 0

Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report have consistently stated that the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is the greatest achievement in this revolution. The journey that led to the formation of the Interim Government may have been rocky. Rocky as it was, what matters is not the rocky journey but the Interim Government that was established to oversee and crystalize the realisation of Ambazonia’s 57-year-old dream of an independent sovereign Federal Republic.

The formation of the Interim Government rallied, reassured and refocused the struggle of oppressed people of Ambazonia for independence. With this appropriate leadership under His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe in place, the people of Ambazonia arose on September 22, 2017 in its overwhelming majority to express an irrevocable determination to proclaim its independence on October 1, 2017.  History has recorded that His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe oversaw the realisation of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia 57 years old dream. For this reason, he is a strong symbol of the liberation and independence of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia. Because he is a symbol of liberation, independence and freedom, the people of Ambazonia are determined to fight to the last man to free him from the captivity of French Cameroun.

The mission to fight and liberate the President, members of the Interim Government and thousands of Ambazonian’s in captivity began with the historic mission to Nigeria by Hon Chris Anu. From the Nigerian capital, he dared the opponents of Ambazonia and put them on notice that nothing will dampen the resolve of a determined people to fight till the last person standing to free the leaders of Ambazonia and the totality of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.  That mandate and the mission must continue until the liberation of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is attained.

It is a matter of profound regret that some power mongers who contested the leadership of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the Interim Government and have evinced every possible determination to derail and sabotage the IG and the liberation struggle, are up in arms organising all forms of dubious platforms to sabotage the IG and the peoples’ liberation agenda. Cameroon Concord News Group calls on the sovereign people of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia to stand on their way.

Ambazonians have resolutely sacrificed, toiled for these 57 years to liberate and re-establish their capital in Buea, with its mythical glory in freedom and democratic governance.  History has recorded that it was during the mass movement to Buea to raise the flag of sovereignty and freedom on October 1, 2017, that French Cameroun unleashed bombs on armless Ambazonia civilians with helicopter gunships killing hundreds and maiming thousands.

Cameroon Concord News Group considers it a matter of grave concern for Cho Ayaba to trivialize the sacrifices, the blood, the aspirations and will of the sovereign people of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia by daring to propagate the idea of the relocation of the capital of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia from Buea to another location in Ambazonia. If this were realised (God forbids!), it will tantamount to delivering this symbol of Ambazonian sovereignty and liberation to the enemy on a platter of 30 silvers.  The only person who would not shy away from contemplating this treachery was Iscariot. Since there was only one known Iscariot, Southern Cameroons/ Ambazonia should not tolerate the floating of this provocative idea by Iscariot’s surrogates lest it corrupts the gullible.

Being the symbol of freedom and sovereignty, the courageous self-defence freedom forces of Ambazonia are right to embark on the mission to liberate Buea, the capital of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia for this generation and generations unborn. As a state symbol of freedom and sovereignty, Buea will never ever lose its significance nor lose its symbolic relevance. It is a historical truth even to the jaundiced eye, that Buea is the internationally recognized capital of the Southern Cameroons. Only an agent of the enemy will dispute or seek to distort this fact. It is regrettable that the insane idea of relocating the capital from Buea is being fostered now to distract the attention of the people of Ambazonia from the county by county grassroots contributions to the Ambazonia self-defence war effort.

This genocidal war of choice declared by the arch terrorist Paul Biya of French Cameroun has displaced, killed, and maimed millions of Ambazonians within and out of its national territory. A key test of loyalty to Ambazonia is the individual and collective contributions to Ambazonia’s ground zero war efforts; the county by county contributions support, medical and sustenance support to the Ambazonian refugees, the Ambazonia Interim Government and symbols of the Ambazonia sovereignty. The treasury and communication channel of the Interim Government, the ABC television network are attributes of sovereign governance and must be strongly supported through the generous contributions of the Ambazonia diaspora.

Cameroon Concord News Group questions the patriotism and motivations of individuals or groups that have refused to make financial contributions for Ground Zero self-defence operations, Ambazonia refugees, the treasury of Ambazonia, key diplomatic efforts and the ABC television network to facilitate communication between the IG and the people as well as the international community. It is regrettable that some of these individuals are persistently campaigning to sabotage the IG and the people’s quest for freedom.

Milan Atam the SCCOOP leader, has not contributed to any of the liberation struggle in any of the above key areas.  He has publicly stated that his aim is to take power by any means possible and subvert the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. On occasion, he has boasted how he more than anyone in this struggle holds the key to the diplomatic community. Persons who may be bamboozled by this boastful self-glorification, are ignorant of the fact that there may be highly regarded and well connected Ambazonians in this struggle who may be working around the cloak to scale diplomatic barriers to get the much-needed attention and action in this case.  True achievers have no reason to rely on self-seeking  boasting or seek to tantalize the gullible with claims to influence in high places  and wealth to justify their claims to power through deceit rather than seeking power on the basis of their proven record of support to our refugees, the legal fund for the defence of the President and the self-defence war of liberation and Ground Zero operations to attain the objectives.

Cho Ayaba used demagogy and rhetoric to dazzle and confound gullible Ambazonians. He falsely raised the hopes that he alone possessed the military prowess to confront the enemy, liberate Ambazonians and protect the people.  A majority of Ambazonians, including the President His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the Interim Government under him, fell for that costly deceit despite the persistent warnings by Cameroon Concord News Group. On September 22, 2017 and October 1, 2017, the civilian population of Ambazonia that spontaneously mobilized in their millions to proclaim their sovereignty were attacked and hundreds were slaughtered in cold blood by the enemy and thousands abducted and carried into captivity. It is surprising that power ambitions of this individual is supported by some so-called activists and individual despite the calamitous slaughter on October 1, 2017 and his propensity to direct his guns against Ambazonia self-defence forces as opposed to the enemy.

He has caused his surrogates and activists to display sophisticated weapons sourced from social media and elsewhere as weapons distributed to his fighting forces in Ground Zero without evidence of a single battle against French Cameroun terrorist army. Like one crooked Nsoh Foncham before, some gullible activists have been quick to point to these pictures on social media as the wining AK 47 armoury.  These publicity stunts are aimed at raising money for self on the backs of the suffering masses.  A well-documented record of killing GZ fighters by Cho Ayaba’s forces do not match professed liberation claims propagated by him and his activists.

Cameroon Concord News Group strongly advises citizens of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to support ground zero self-defence war efforts.  Support for the Interim Government, contributions to the treasury and ABC television network as well as contributing for the wellbeing of Ambazonia refugees and internally displaced, the legal defence fund for the President His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, members of the Interim Government in captivity and hundreds of thousands of Ambazonia citizens illegally held captive in French Cameroun’s concentration camps are a litmus test for patriotism and recognition.   Failing this, citizens of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia should beware of cunny individuals who are in this struggle to enrich themselves or for self-aggrandisement. Lest we forget, French Cameroun has the mineral and natural resources of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia which it steals to use to corrupt everywhere, including some Ambazonians but the overwhelming majority of Ambazonians have but the love for the Ambazonia fatherland and the personal sacrifices and contributions they are making to recover their territory and their dignity.   With more determination and support, Ambazonia will cease to be French Cameroun’s Alibaba treasured paradise. It will be liberated soon through the contributions and support of its determined citizens.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-in-Chief

Yaounde says information claiming death of army general is “fake”

18, February 2019

Yaounde says information claiming death of army general is “fake” 0

Cameroon army Thursday dismissed as “fake” claims from armed separatists that they have killed an army general in an ambush in Southwest, one of the two troubled English-speaking regions of the country.

“Information relating to the death of General Bouba is circulating at this moment. While finding this joke of very bad taste, I beg you to consider this information as fake,” Colonel Didier Badjeck, spokesman of the Cameroon army said in a statement.

Separatists claimed that the army general was killed when they ambushed his convoy on Feb. 8 but the government “has been hiding the information.”

The armed separatist forces want the two regions, North West and South West to secede from the majority French-speaking nation and form a new nation called “Ambazonia.” Clashes started in November 2017 and about 430,000 people have been displaced internally according to United Nations.

Xinhuanet

Bui County: Catholic school shut after kidnap drama

18, February 2019

Bui County: Catholic school shut after kidnap drama 0

The Roman Catholic Church has shut down one of its biggest boarding schools in Kumbo in the restive Northwest Cameroon after unidentified gunmen briefly kidnapped students and employees.

The gunmen stormed the campus of Saint Augustine’s College, Nso on Saturday and seized 170 students, two security guards, a teacher and three of his children, Fr Elvis Nsaikila, the Diocesan Director of Communications, said.

“The abductees were released in the afternoon of Sunday and conveyed back to the college campus in the evening,” Fr Nsaikila said, without disclosing who was behind the kidnap and whether the school paid any ransoms to the abductors.

However, the Sun newspaper reported that “only petrol money” was given to the kidnappers.

Parents and guardians

Fr Nsaikila said authorities of the boarding school had requested parents and guardians to take their children back home as soon as possible as “the school has closed down”.

The Kumbo school attack, just two days after a 10-day lockdown imposed on the region by separatist activists, was not the first in the restive English Northwest region. A similar incident took place in November last year in the regional headquarter, Bamenda, where more than 80 people, including the principal, a teacher, a driver and 79 students, were kidnapped from the Presbyterian Secondary School, Nkwen by suspected secessionists.

Saturday’s abduction marked an escalation of the over two-year long crisis that has gripped the two English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions.

Internally displaced

The crisis in the anglophone Cameroon started as an industrial strike by lawyers and teachers in 2016, but snowballed into an internal armed conflict in 2017 when separatists joined in and symbolically declared the independence of the state of Ambazonia. No country has recognised the self-declared state.

Though the majority of teachers’ unions called off their strike in February 2017, separatist activists have continued to pressure the local population to keep their children out of school, promising “to deal with” those seen in the institutions.

According to the latest Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), over 444,000 people have fled their homes and were currently internally displaced in the regions due to the violence.

In addition to the internally displaced, over 32,600 others have fled across the border and were registered as refugees in neighbouring Nigeria with many of them exposed to varied dangers, including risk of food insecurity, the report adds.

The East African

18, February 2019

Southern Cameroons: Kidnapping at Catholic school in Kumbo 0

There is more bad news from Cameroon and again from the town of Kumbo where Independent Catholic News reported deaths through violent action by security forces.

A kidnapping occurred at 5am local time on Saturday 16 February at St Augustine’s Secondary College, a Catholic school. Secessionist rebels supporting setting up a new state ‘Ambazonia’ entered the school and kidnapped at least 145 pupils, the majority girls, who were subsequently released.

Early reports suggested a figure nearer 200 including members of staff but this has not been corroborated. The number is lower than it would have been in the daytime during the working week.

Kumbo is the second largest centre in the North West Region, having its own bishop. It is 110 km from Bamenda where a Presbyterian school suffered a kidnapping and whose auxiliary bishop Michael Bibi was twice kidnapped while travelling on church business.

This is in the context of legitimate grievances by English speakers against the government led by French speakers seeking to impose their language on the educational and legal systems.

Cameroon’s 86 year-old President Paul Biya, in power for 36 years, was declared re-elected recently. His main opponent Maurice Kamto has been arrested and charged with rebellion.

Philip Egan, bishop of Bamenda’s twinned diocese Portsmouth, has urged his flock to write to the Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin urging the British government to bring pressure on Cameroon to reduce local tensions.

Source: Independent Catholic News

18, February 2019

France: Yellow Vests protesters march through Paris 0

Yellow Vests demonstrators took to the streets of Paris on Sunday to continue their months-long protest.

One of the leading figures of the Yellow Vests, Ingrid Levavasseur, was described as a “traitor” and booed by several demonstrators.

The protests are taking place for the 14th week in a row, despite the French government suspending tax hikes and announcing increases to the minimum wage.

Presstv

French court rules on priest’s attempt to block child abuse film

18, February 2019

French court rules on priest’s attempt to block child abuse film 0

A French court on Monday will decide whether to block the release of a film by acclaimed director François Ozon based on real-life victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, just two days after it picked up a prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

Ozon, 51, worked for years in secret on “By the Grace of God”, which won plaudits and the runner-up Silver Bear Grand Jury prize at the Berlinale on Saturday. It is the most-high profile dramatisation of the systematic cover-up of widespread sexual molestation by clergy since the Oscar-winning “Spotlight”, set in Boston and released in 2015.

But even before the Berlin premiere, a priest accused of molesting more than 80 boys, Bernard Preynat, had gone to court to demand that the film not be shown in France until after his trial, which is due to start later this year.

A lay voluntary worker for the Lyon diocese, Regine Maire, has also issued a legal challenge to have her name removed from the picture, which is set for release in French cinemas on February 20. The court’s ruling comes as Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, and five others including Maire await a verdict on charges of covering up the abuse.

Ozon — best known for “Swimming Pool” and “8 femmes” — told AFP he had hoped the tortuous series of cases would have finished by now, but the film should be shown for “the public good”.

‘Breaking the silence’

“When you try to break the silence, there is always resistance,” he said. “I don’t think this is happening by accident, because it is a film which is trying to break an omerta, and which deals with the silence.” The scandal first broke in 2015 when a former scout, François Devaux, went public with allegations that Preynat had abused him as a child 25 years earlier.

Preynat was suspended by the church later that year and it eventually emerged that the cardinal had confronted him about “the rumours” in 2010 but the priest claimed he had changed.

Four years later Barbarin went to the Vatican about him without contacting the police. The film traces those events but sticks close to their emotional impact on three victims-turned-activists, who begin to confront their trauma publicly with the generally strong support of their families.

Ozon said he had consulted several members of the survivors’ group, La Parole Libérée (Freed Speech), Devaux set up, which has gathered the testimony of 85 people who claim to have been abused by Preynat in Lyon.

But the director said he tried to be “as even-handed and objective as possible. It is not a film of goodies and baddies, it is much more complex than that for the affected families and the institution itself, and I tried to show that”.

“By the Grace of God” centres on Devaux and Alexandre Dussot-Hezez, “a fervent Catholic who discovers at the age of 40 that a priest who abused him is still alive and has access to children” through the church.

Devaux told AFP that Ozon’s approach to the victims’ painful experiences had been “very humane and very passionate” given the fact that for them and their families, they had been like “time bombs” waiting to go off.

Church stance on paedophilia ‘changing’

Ozon said he wanted to show the “negative repercussions (victims can suffer) and the distressing boomerang effects on their partners, children, families and friends”.

Asked about Preynat’s bid for an injunction, Ozon insisted there were no major factual revelations in the film for anyone who has been following the case.

“We are facing some pressure regarding the release of the film but everything in it is already well-known in France,” he told reporters in Berlin.

“Most of the people attacking us haven’t seen the film yet,” Ozon added. The filmmaker hopes his intimate portrait of the victims’ fight for justice will spark greater understanding of a difficult subject that mainstream cinema has rarely confronted.

Ozon said the reaction from several French bishops and senior clergy who have seen the film had been positive, adding that he hoped it would provoke debate beyond France. “The church seems to be changing its stance on the scourge of paedophilia and the silence hanging over it,” he said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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