Monthly Archives: October 2019

26, October 2019

Another Bible translator murdered in his home as Southern Cameroons war rages on ⁰

A second Bible translator has been killed by suspected Fulani extremists in the civil war-ridden Anglophone region in southern Cameroon this week, a ministry source has confirmed. Bible translator Benjamin Tem was murdered in his home in the Wum region Sunday night, reports Efi Tembon, a Cameroonian activist who heads a ministry called Oasis Network for Community Transformation.

According to Tembon, who met the victim while working on a translation project in 2013, Tem served as a Scripture engagement facilitator for the Aghem Bible Translation Project, which completed a New Testament translation in the Aghem language in 2016.

Tem, 48, was also a promoter of Bible listening groups in the Wum area. He was buried on Monday and leaves behind five children.

No one has claimed responsibility Tem’s murder. However, Tembon told The Christian Post that locals have blamed Fulani radicals, saying they have been encouraged by government actors to carry out attacks against separatist-supporting farming communities in southern Cameroon.

Fulani herders in Africa have long butted heads with farmers over land rights to graze cattle.

“He was attacked last night by people suspected to be pro-government Fulani herdsmen,” Tembon told friends on Facebook. “They butchered him and cut his throat.”

Tem’s death comes two months after fellow translator Angus Fung, who also served in the Aghem Bible Translation Project in Wum, was killed in a similar fashion in his home.

According to Tembon, Fulani attackers have killed at least two dozen people and burned several houses in the Wum area alone.

“I think our authorities have actually been working with the Fulanis,” said Tembon, who regularly travels to world capitals to urge the international community to push for an end to the bloodshed and human rights abuses in Cameroon.

“There is a war of independence going on in the area and so the local population supports independence for southern Cameroon. And these attacks toward the local population is not just by Fulanis, the military is also attacking and burning homes. So the military is working hand-in-hand with the Fulanis. They have actually armed some Fulanis to help them fight the local population.”

Tembon accused the government of trying to “inject a religious aspect to the conflict.”

“[T]hey know that the Fulanis are Muslim and the local population tends to be Christians,” he said. “And so trying to create a conflict will create chaos in the area.”

According to the Joshua Project, the Aghem community in Wum is 75 percent Christian.

Since Tem’s death, residents have fled the area, much like other local populations that have come under attack. Tembon assured that “attacks are taking place far and wide” in Southern Cameroon.

“All the areas where attacks have been carried out have been deserted,” Tembon stressed. “Now the Fulanis will graze and try to take advantage of the chaos and take over the land.”

According to the United Nations, at least 700,000 people have been internally displaced in Cameroon amid the violence over the past two years.

Many in the Aghem area have either fled their villages into other bigger towns or fled out of Cameroon into Nigeria.

“In Wum, the military has killed more than the Fulanis,” Tembon said. “They have killed hundreds of people.”

In August, Fung, a 60-year-old Bible translator, was hacked to death by suspected Fulani radicals in Wum, where he and his wife were attacked in their home at night. While Fung was killed, his wife, Eveline, had her hand chopped off.

According to Tembon, Mrs. Fung left the hospital earlier this month.

“We are trying to get her to another hospital for just a checkup,” he said. “We also got some contributions, which I’m trying to send to her so she can move. We’re going to move her to a safe location after she goes for a checkup in this other hospital.”

In the spring, Tembon reported that Pastor Elijah Koh, a graduate of Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary in Ndu, was killed during a military invasion in the Mfumte area.

The Anglophone conflict, also known as the Ambazonia War, began in 2016 when separatists demanded autonomy because they felt underrepresented by the majority-French-speaking central government. In 2017, Anglophone territories in the Northwest and Southwest declared their independence. Since then, fighting has spread across the Anglophone regions.

Church leaders in Cameroon have called for the release of Catholic humanitarian leader Paul Njokikang who was arrested on Sunday and reportedly sent to a torture camp near Bamenda.

Njokikang addressed the United Nations Security Council in April, where he detailed the horrifying humanitarian conditions amid Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis and human rights abuses carried out by the government and separatist fighters.

“Father Paul represents a moderate Anglophone voice in an increasingly polarized conflict. The international community must demand his unconditional release,” United Kingdom Parliament member David Alton said in a statement, according to Crux.

“There can be no constructive dialogue while the Biya regime undermines the work of impartial charities. The U.K. should use its influence at the U.N. and in the Commonwealth to press the Cameroon authorities to hold genuine and inclusive negotiations.”

Late last month, Muslim separatist activist Abdul Karim was arrested after he met with the Swiss Embassy. He has been charged with terrorism, financing terrorism, and secession.

However, Karim’s lawyers have filed a habeas corpus request to the Yaoundé High Court on grounds his arrest was unlawful, according to Human Rights Watch.

As for Tembon, he has not returned to his native Cameroon since he testified before U.S. Congress in 2018 about the human rights abuses being committed by the Biya government.

Source: Christian Post

26, October 2019

French FM expresses support for peace efforts in Southern Cameroons ⁰

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday expressed support for ongoing peace efforts in Cameroon’s troubled English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest.

“This visit is coming at a time when peace and reconciliation are gaining ground in Cameroon. We also wish to accompany Cameroon in its efforts that have been going on for some time now following the major national dialogue, so that Cameroon can regain its serenity,” he said after meeting with Cameroon’s President Paul Biya here.

Le Drian is on a two-day work visit to Cameroon during which he is expected to strengthen diplomatic ties between the two countries.

“I came to express the readiness of France to add fresh impetus to strengthen the historical ties between Cameroon and France, to find new dynamics to the ties,” the French minister said.

Cameroon is facing a prolonged separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions, where separatists want to create an independent nation.

The conflict that started in 2017 has displaced over 530,000 people in the country, according to the United Nations.

The national dialogue convened by Biya recommended that greater autonomy should be given to the Anglophone regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

25, October 2019

Portugal’s first black women lawmakers take office ⁰

Members of Portugal’s new parliament took up office on Friday, among them the country’s first black women lawmakers who campaigned on promises to fight racism and inequality.

The three women, who all trace their origins to Guinea-Bissau, an impoverished former Portuguese colony in west Africa, won office in the October 6 general election when Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s Socialists were re-elected but without an absolute majority.

A total of 89 women were elected — an unprecedented number in the 230-seat parliament — following a new gender parity law requiring that 40 percent of elected lawmakers are female.

Portugal has a significant minority population from its former African colonies in Angola, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea Bissau, and Cape Verde as well as Brazil.

Campaigners complain of discrimination in areas ranging from education to housing, employment to the justice system and of a shortage of black faces in business, the media and politics, although progress has been made in recent years.

After taking office in 2015, Costa, who is of Indian descent, nominated Portugal’s first black cabinet minister, appointing Francisca Van Dunem, who was born in Angola, as justice minister.

She is keeping the post in Costa’s new cabinet which will be sworn in on Saturday.

The best known of the newcomers is Joacine Katar Moreira, 37, an anti-racism activist who moved to Portugal from Guinea-Bissau when she was just eight and headed a list of upstart eco-socialist party LIVRE, or “FREE”, winning the new formation’s first and only seat in parliament.

The others are Romualda Fernandes, a 65-year-old lawyer and migration expert who won a seat representing the Socialists and Beatriz Gomes Dias, 48, the president of anti-racism association Djass, who ran with the far-left Left Bloc party.

Djass has proposed a memorial honouring the millions of African slaves which Portuguese ships transported to the Americas. The project has become a lightning rod for debate about the country’s colonial past.

Up until now the only black person to serve as a member of parliament since Portugal returned to democracy in 1974 was a man — Helder Amaral who represented the conservative CDS party between 2002 and 2019.

Moreira, who became a Portuguese national in 2003, vowed during her victory speech to become the voice of “anti-racism” and “leftwing radical feminism” in parliament.

Thousands of people have signed an online petition demanding that she not be allowed to take up her seat because at her victory celebration, several people were seen waving flags from Guinea-Bissau instead of Portugal.

“This has always been a war for people like me,” Moreira tweeted in response to the petition.

Source: AFP

25, October 2019

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Biya calls for freeze on Douala port contract over Bollore court case ⁰

Cameroon’s president has ordered its main Douala port to suspend contract talks with Swiss firm Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) until the conclusion of a court case brought by France’s Bollore, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

TIL was chosen to renovate and manage the Atlantic port in September after Bollore, which had managed the hub since 2015, was eliminated earlier in the bidding process as it sought to renew its contract. It is contesting the decision in the Cameroonian courts.

The Oct. 23 letter from the secretary-general of the presidency asks the director-general of Douala port “to suspend works to finalize the terms of the (TIL) contract … until the final conclusion of the case.”

A photo of the letter, which is marked “Confidential Very Urgent,” has been shared widely on social media. A source at the port confirmed its authenticity. Cameroon’s government spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

The request coincides with an official three-day visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Cameroon to support the resolution of its long-running conflict with Anglophone separatists.

France, the former colonial power, has had a frosty relationship with Cameroon over the last year over concerns about how President Paul Biya has handled the crisis, which has cost close to 2,000 lives over the past two years.

However, French diplomats said recent discussions about granting special status to Anglophone regions and the release of hundreds of political prisoners paved the way for Le Drian’s visit.

French officials had said the trip would also focus on development of Cameroon’s Kribi port, which is operated by Bollore, French firm CMA CGM and China Harbour Engineering.

Douala, located on the Atlantic coast, is the hub for Cameroon’s exports of cocoa, oil and timber.

In September, the port said TIL had been provisionally designated the winning bidder of the contract and would take control of the port on Jan. 1, 2020. TIL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Reuters

25, October 2019

Ambazonia: Interim Government says path of dialogue with Yaoundé getting impassable ⁰

Southern Cameroon’s second-in-command Comrade Dabney Yerima has reminded the international community that time is running out for any genuine dialogue and negotiation with French Cameroun under President Biya.

The Ambazonia Vice President made the comments during a meeting with major Southern Cameroons donors in Holland on Thursday and observed that the path to diplomacy is getting narrower and more impassable every day.

In the 3-hour meeting, the exiled Ambazonia leader referred to the so-called Swiss Peace Initiative and said the Southern Cameroons Interim Government always welcomes any idea and initiative that can contribute to the peaceful resolution of the crisis between the two Cameroons but furthered that nothing concrete has been put on the table by the failed regime in French Cameroun.

However, Dabney Yerima added that such initiatives coming from the Swiss are acceptable only if they are balanced and realistic and serve Ambazonia’s interests and quest for independence.

Dabney Yerima made a passionate appeal to the international community calling on the US and Europe to sever ties with Yaoundé and fulfill their commitments to the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. “If Southern Cameroon’s demands are not met, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia will continue to resist French Cameroun occupational forces.”

By Chi Prudence Asong

25, October 2019

US: Tens of thousands evacuated as wildfires rage in California ⁰

Some 50,000 people were ordered to flee their homes north of Los Angeles on Thursday as a fast-moving wildfire driven by high winds erupted and raged out of control in the US state of California.

The so-called Tick Fire near Santa Clarita, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Los Angeles, broke out in the early afternoon and quickly consumed 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares), fire officials said.

The blaze burned several homes and structures and forced the closure of a major highway and a number of roads, as some 500 firefighters backed by air tankers and helicopters battled the flames.

There were no immediate reports of injury.

“We are urging everybody to evacuate at this time,” a spokesman for the fire department said.

The fire erupted as much of the state was under a red flag warning because of gusty winds, high temperatures and low humidity which make for perfect conditions for wildfires.

In northern California wine country, some 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate after a brush fire erupted late Wednesday, quickly growing from a blaze of a few hundred acres into a 16,000-acre inferno, California fire officials said.

About 500 responders battled the fire fed by wind gusts topping 70 miles per hour (113 kilometers per hour).

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for the community of Geyserville and nearby vineyards after the fire started in a mountainous area and quickly spread, crossing a highway and moving toward homes, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

“If you’re in Geyserville, leave now,” the sheriff’s office advised, citing an extraordinary threat to life and property.

Winds out of the north were driving the fire as firefighters struggled to save homes.

By early evening, the fire was five percent contained and several structures had burned, fire officials said.

The blaze — 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of San Francisco — came amid official warnings that much of northern California and parts of the south were under imminent threat of fires into Friday because of blustery, dry weather and high temperatures.

Another brush fire in San Bernardino County, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, also prompted evacuation orders as it quickly burned 75 acres.

Hurried departures

Power was cut to some 180,000 customers in the northern part of the state Thursday and similar preemptive shutoffs affected thousands of customers further south due to conditions that are ripe for wildfires.

Power companies warned that additional power cuts could be ordered to reduce the risk of accidental fires.

The strong winds in the north were expected to subside Friday but are forecast to pick up again on Sunday, the National Weather Service warned.

Many residents of Geyserville said they barely had time to gather their belongings as the monster fire quickly approached the town, with embers igniting fires throughout the region.

“We thought we were a couple of miles from the fire,” Dwight Monson, 68, told the Los Angeles Times. “But guess what — the winds.”

He said by the time his family got in their cars and escaped to the valley below, the flames were on the edge of their ranch.

PG&E, the state’s biggest utility, said in a statement that it had informed regulators that a jumper on a transmission tower near where officials said the fire had started was broken.

The company — which has been held responsible for numerous wildfires in the state — said that even though power to nearly 28,000 customers in Sonoma County, including Geyserville, had been shut down on Wednesday, some of the high-voltage transmission lines were still operating when the fire broke out.

“We relied on the protocol and we still, at this point, do not know what exactly happened,” PG&E CEO and president Bill Johnson told a news conference.

This week’s fires have erupted as the state is still recovering from deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that killed more than 100 people.

The fires have been fueled by years of drought and dry vegetation.

“This is an emotional time for many people,” Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick told a news conference Thursday. “It’s only been two years since the fires that devastated our community. For many this will be a very stressful and anxious time.”

(Source: AFP)

25, October 2019

UK: Prime Minister Johnson calls for general election on December 12 ⁰

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Thursday for a general election on Dec. 12 to break Britain’s Brexit impasse, a goal the leader has sought but so far failed to push through parliament.

Johnson said in a letter to opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn he would hand parliament more time to approve his Brexit deal but that lawmakers must back a December election, Johnson’s third attempt to try to force a snap poll.

Just a week before Britain was due to leave the European Union, the bloc looked set to grant Johnson a Brexit delay, something he has repeatedly said he does not want but was forced to request by the country’s divided parliament.

An election is seen by his team as the only way of breaking the deadlock over Brexit after parliament voted in favour of his deal, but then, just minutes later, rejected his preferred timetable which would have met his Oct. 31 deadline.

But he has twice failed before to win the votes in parliament for an election, where he needs the support of two-thirds of its 650 lawmakers. The main opposition Labour Party has repeatedly said it will only back an election when it is sure that he cannot lead Britain out of the EU without a deal.

“We will make available all possible time between now and 6 November for the WAB (Withdrawal Agreement Bill) to be discussed and voted through … this means we could get Brexit done before the election on 12 December,” Johnson wrote in a letter to Corbyn, posted on Twitter.

“But if parliament refuses to take this chance and fails to ratify by the end of 6 November, as I fear it will, then the issue will have to be resolved by a new parliament.”

More than three years after voting 52%-48% to be the first sovereign country to leave the European project, the future of Brexit is as unclear as ever with Britain still debating when, how or even whether it should go ahead.

Johnson won the top job in July by staking his career on getting Brexit done by Oct. 31, though he is almost certain to fail to do that after parliament defeated his proposed legislative timetable on Tuesday.

Several of his aides think he can weather any criticism for failing to meet the deadline at an election by arguing that he was thwarted by lawmakers, doubling down on his pre-election narrative pitting the “people versus the parliament”.

At a meeting of his political cabinet of top ministers, there was disagreement over whether the government should try for an early election, fearing that going to the polls before Brexit was settled might damage the governing Conservatives.

But, with another Brexit delay in the offing, local media reported there was eventual agreement that a new election was the only way forward to try to re-set the parliament, which voted down Johnson’s predecessor’s deal three times.

Labour has long said it cannot back an election until a so-called no deal Brexit is off the table. But if the EU grants an extension until the end of January, that would appear to remove the threat of Johnson taking Britain out of the bloc without an agreement.

Leave with Johnson’s deal

Earlier, a senior Downing Street source said Britain would ultimately leave the EU with Johnson’s deal despite the likely additional delay, with the EU considering offering London a three-month flexible Brexit extension.

“This ends with us leaving with the PM’s deal,” the Downing Street source said on condition of anonymity. “We will leave with a deal, with the PM’s deal.”

The timing of any election was also going to be determined largely by the EU and its decision on the length of any extension: Berlin supports a three-month delay, while Paris is pushing for a shorter one.

While both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron appear to be fatigued by Brexit, they fear a no-deal exit that would almost certainly hurt global growth, roil financial markets and create a potentially deeper EU crisis.

To offer Britain a long extension would take the pressure off British lawmakers to approve Johnson’s deal and open up possibilities such as a referendum on it. A short extension might focus minds in the British parliament.

Brexit was initially supposed to have taken place on March 29 but Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May was forced to delay twice – first to April 12 and then to Oct. 31 – as parliament defeated her Brexit deal by margins of between 58 and 230 votes earlier this year.

Johnson was forced by parliament on Saturday to send a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk requesting a delay until Jan. 31. He did so reluctantly, sending an unsigned photocopied note, but the correspondence was accepted.

“Our policy remains that we should not delay,” Johnson told parliament on Tuesday after parliament defeated his extremely tight legislative timetable for ratifying the deal he clinched in Brussels a week ago.

(REUTERS)

24, October 2019

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Is Reconciliation Possible? ⁰

An unsettling calm is quietly prevailing in Cameroon after the much-totted Major National Dialogue called by Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, who has been in power for 37 years. Though the Major National Dialogue fell short of the expectations of many groups, especially the country’s Diaspora and Southern Cameroons separatists who have been locking horns with the Yaounde government for more than three years, many around the world thought that with a huge dose of objectivity and rare honesty on the government’s part, Cameroon, a country once considered as an oasis of peace in a desert of chaos, could make giant strides forward towards peace.

Cameroon, the Central African sub-region’s engine of growth, had been caught in a downward political and economic spiral following demonstrations and protests by the country’s English-speaking minority in October 2016 which met with a tough response from the Yaounde government that is wont to military violence and averse to negotiation or dialogue.

Since then, the two-English-speaking regions have become ungovernable. The country’s military has killed some 3,000 civilians and erased some 200 villages from the country’s map by torching homes and destroying property. Separatists, for their part, have also taken a page out of the government’s book of violence and since 2016 when the conflict erupted, more than a thousand soldiers have been sent to an early grave, with many killed in the most horrible manner.

Some of the armed groups have resorted to beheading soldiers and dismembering those they accuse of betraying the cause. However, observers have been arguing that some of the gruesome acts captured on video are the handiwork of armed groups created by the country’s Territorial Administration Minister, Paul Atanga Nji, to commit some of those atrocious crimes with the objective of giving the rebellion a very bad name.

The violence playing out in the two English-speaking regions has resulted in the internal displacement of more than half a million people, while a similar number is currently living in neighboring countries such as Nigeria, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Many Southern Cameroonians have escaped to unknown destinations and millions are targeting countries such as Canada, the United States and Great Britain where they can find a sanctuary after decades of marginalization and persecution by the Francophone government.

The country has continued its onward march to the bottom of the abyss, as the violence escalates. The country’s economy has taken deadly blows to the liver following the destruction of the economy of the two English-speaking regions of the country and there are no indications that it will soon come off the life support equipment it has been hooked up to. Major state corporations such as the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), the National Oil Refinery (SONARA) and PAMOL, all located in the country’s Southwest region, have been put out of business due to the conflict and this has cut the government off some of its major revenue streams.

The devastating impact of the conflict has been worrisome to the international community which, for long, has been calling for an inclusive dialogue. With Mr. Biya’s announcement of the dialogue, many around the world thought that the penny had finally dropped and that all the issues plaguing the country would be discussed during the week-long Major National Dialogue, which some analysts say was hastily convened by the government to subvert the Swiss Initiative that has been welcomed by Southern Cameroonians and the armed factions.

But true to its nature and logic, the Yaounde government ensured that only those items it had included on the agenda could be discussed to the displeasure and chagrin of many Cameroonians living abroad. The international community was taken aback, but it welcomed the initiative, arguing that it was a first step towards the search for a peaceful and sustainable solution to the conflict that has put Cameroon in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

The government did not only design the event’s agenda, it also chose the participants. It is generally held that you make peace with your enemies, but the Yaounde government decided to make peace with its friends. Only those who could play by its script were given an opportunity to share their perspectives.

Though a few opposition faces were brought in, government agents kept a close eye on them and their effort to change the event’s agenda met with stiff resistance from government representatives who had received firm instructions from the presidency not to yield to any pressure, if ever there was any. The government even invented its own Amba boys – a name for the ferocious Southern Cameroonian fighters who have given government troops a run for their money – to come and demonstrate in front of the cameras and international community that they had renounced violence and were seeking the country’s clemency and rehabilitation.

But the “comedians” who passed off as Amba Boys turned out to be prisoners and a few impostors. The impostors have melted into the crowd while the prisoners are back in their jails reflecting on their fate. For the impostors, they know they are not supposed to cross the Mungo – the boundary between East and West Cameroon – as their lives will never be the same again.

Many of such “comedians” have already been beheaded, including one who was received by the Northwest region’s governor. He had claimed that he was a fighter and wanted to walk away from the fighting following the government’s launching of its demobilization programme. He also promised to talk his former colleagues into abandoning their weapons. Unfortunately, he never had the time to convince even a single fighter, as he was dismembered the following day and his body dumped in a public place.

The Major National Dialogue that had inspired a lot of hope is turning out to be a hullabaloo, a scheme designed by the government to hoodwink the international community into believing that it was finally prioritizing peace over military violence. Some recommendations had been submitted to the country’s long-serving president, but many Cameroonians, especially Southern Cameroonians, are not expecting much from a government that is both judge and jury in a devastating conflict. The Biya regime has a way of solving its problems. It simply sits out the issues, hoping that time will settle the matter.

Some agents of the government have been working hard to sell the “Special Status” that has been recommended for Southern Cameroons, but this will not cut ice with the English-speaking minority that has complained about marginalization for decades. The separatists are still in action and they hold that they still have a huge stomach for a fight. Their war chest might have diminished over the last year, but their determination to roll back the Yaounde government from their land seems to be paying off.

On October 1, 2019, the separatists celebrated their independence in many parts of Southern Cameroons, and it was clear that the Yaounde government had run out of gasoline. There were no soldiers or gendarmes to stop Southern Cameroonians from celebrating their independence. Today, it is normal to see some government officials who had caused the conflict to escalate go on bended knees to call for peace. Some who thought it would be easy to silence Southern Cameroonians have now become apostles of peace and are crisscrossing the country to preach peace according to the corrupt ruling party.

Some are calling for a federal system as a middle ground that will calm minds and bring about peace in the country. But after more than three years of fighting and killing, will it be possible to reunite the country and reconcile? From every indication, the anger runs very deep and the separatists have gained a lot of ground that they might never want to yield.

The international community has recognized them and even the Americans and European Union now recognize them as forces that must be at the negotiating table if peace must be a reality in Cameroon. Last week, the United States ambassador in Cameroon said the world was still looking forward to the inclusive dialogue the international community has been calling for, a message that has been reiterated by the European Union. This really rattled the Yaounde government which finally forced its communication minister, Rene Sadi, to hold a press conference on the matter.

The U.S message simply implies that the Major National Dialogue has not been recognized abroad and will surely not deliver the goods. If the Yaounde government is looking forward to genuine reconciliation, it must walk away from its old ways. The Southern Cameroons crisis has shaken the country to its core and the country’s unity has been put through its paces. If proper actions are not taken to bring about genuine reconciliation in Cameroon, the country might continue to drift into more chaos that could linger for a long time, making reconciliation impossible.

By Joachim Arrey

About the Author: The author of this message has served as a translator, technical writer, journalist and editor for several international organizations and corporations across the globe. He studied communication at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and technical writing in George Brown College in Toronto, Canada. He is also a trained translator and holds a Ph.D.

24, October 2019

UK: Boris Johnson frustrated over choosing Brexit vs. election ⁰

UK PM Boris Johnson has grown frustrated over whether to hold a snap election or try instead to push his Brexit-enabling withdrawal agreement bill through the House of Commons again.

Although MPs approved Boris Johnson’s bill during a second reading this week, they rejected his accelerated timetable, saying they needed more time to review the lengthy document.

Moreover, during the debate, Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, pointed out more problems with the legally-binding bill, including withdrawing workers’ rights and environmental standards, saying Mr. Johnson had delayed his own withdrawal bill.

MPs also passed the Letwin amendment, which left the premiere with no option but to send a request for an extension to the EU. (Mr. Johnson also sent a follow-up letter to the EU explaining why the body should reject the extension)

Frustrated, the PM decided to “pause” the legislation following his defeat in parliament.

Mr. Johnson is now waiting on the EU’s decision on whether to grant an extension. But the request is widely expected to be approved, much to the prime minister’s dismay.

Downing Street, in the meantime, is preparing for follow up scenarios, though with a divided cabinet. Half of the prime minister’s cabinet is calling for a pre-Christmas election, while the other half is expressing approval to go ahead with the Brexit deal if the EU grants an extension.

The prime minister has been warned of the likelihood that voters who approved the second reading of his bill may withdraw their support later in the process.

Many are saying, however, that Mr. Johnson’s best moment to win an election is now, as a majority of Conservative MPs fill parliament.

If it secures a two-thirds majority – which appears likely, with Labour preparing to back it – election day would be held five weeks after parliament is dissolved, just in time for Christmas.

The frustration is all Boris Johnson’s as he waits for the EU’s decision on an extension, which essentially will decide the prime minister’s fate on the future of the UK.

Reported by Presstv

24, October 2019

President Putin writes off $20 billion of African debt ⁰

Close to 50 African leaders were expected to be in Russia’s Black Sea city of Sochi for the first ever Russia – Africa forum, the Kremlin announced weeks back.

The forum expected to run between October 23 – 24 event is part of Moscow’s ambitious push for influence and business in Africa.

The Russians have by this move joined a field that includes the United States, China, Japan and to a large extent the United Kingdom and France.

Here’s a rundown of the events happening at the historic summit.

Russia writes off African debt
Russia, Egypt economic cooperation
Free trade deal is good for Africa
Putin congratulates Ethiopia PM
List of African leaders at summit

Russia writes off African debt

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said up to twenty billion dollars of African debt has been written off, as part of an intiative to ease the debt burden of countries on the continent.

‘‘The total sum of debt written off currently amounts to 20 billion dollars. Along with several other countries, joint programmes to put debts towards financing national economic growth have been launched,’‘ Putin said.

Putin also sought to push back against the narrative that his country’s main export to Africa are arms, arguing instead that it is food.

‘‘Russia is one of the top ten largest suppliers of food to the African market. We export more agricultural products to the markets of third countries than weapons. Weapons amount to around 15 billion dollars while I think agricultural supplies make up about 25 billion dollars.’‘

Focus on Russia, Egypt economic cooperation

The Russian and Egyptian leaders reiterated their commitment to develop ongoing projects in the North African country.

The projects include the construction of the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant and Russian Industrial Zone in Egypt.

“I am talking about investments of 190 million dollars in the development of infrastructure and attracting up to 7 billion dollars,’‘ Putin said, emphasising his country’s commitment to investing in Africa.

“Regarding the Russian industrial zone, we are very interested in finding solutions to all the unresolved issues surrounding this project so that Russian companies and businesses can come, get registered and start operating in this zone,’‘ Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.

In May last year, the two leaders signed a 50-year agreement to build a Russian industrial zone east of Port Said as part of the new Suez Canal Economic Zone.

Ramaphosa hails Africa Free Trade deal

South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa told Russia that the recently ratified continental free trade agreement ‘presents an opportunity for African countries to participate with Russia in a meaningful way’.

The president who was meeting Russia’s Putin on the sidelines of the summit said his country remained committed to the strategic relationship between the two countries.

‘‘Last year, our trade turnover increased by 28.5 percent, reaching 1 billion dollars, but, of course, this is not enough,’‘ Putin told Ramaphosa.

‘‘This is not only insufficient given the broad range of relations between Russia and the continent of Africa. The figures are too small. We can do much more and I hope our contacts today will give good momentum to this development.”

Putin congratulates Ethiopia PM

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday congratulated Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed upon the Nobel Peace Prize won earlier this month.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate you once again on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It is a worthy tribute to your great achievements in regulating the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict and the efforts of your country in normalising the overall situation in eastern Africa,’‘ Putin said in a meeting held by the two countries’ delegations.

‘‘Our trade turnover volume is too small and is not adequate for Russia or Ethiopia. It goes without saying that we should and I hope we will make it greater than it is today.’‘

Abiy thanked Russia for helping Ethiopia resist colonisation and said his country is keen on strengthening cooperation with Russia.

List of African leaders at Russia Africa Summit

Over a twenty African presidents, vice presidents, Prime Ministers, Ministers and other government representatives are currently in Sochi as the forum starts. Amongst them are:

Alpha Conde, Guinea
Filipe Nyusi, Mozambique
Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria
Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa
Peter Mutharika, Malawi
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Mali
Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial Guinea
Roch Marc Kabore, Burkina Faso
Yoweri Museveni, Uganda
Paul Kagame, Rwanda
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Ghana
Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leone
Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe
Andry Rajoelina, Madagascar
Adama Barrow, The Gambia
Mohamed Cheik El Ghouzani, Mauritania
Mohamed Abdulahi Farmaajo, Somalia
Idris Deby Itno, Chad
Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan
Abdelkader Bensaleh, Algeria
Denis Sassou Nguesso, Republic of Congo
Hage Geingob, Namibia
Fayez Serraj, Libya
Ismail Omar Guelleh, Djibouti
Joao Manuel Lourenco, Angola
Faustin Archange Touadera, Central African Republic
Felix Tshisekedi, Democratic Republic of Congo
Faure Gnassingbe, Togo
Jewel Howard Taylor, Liberia vice-president
Julien Nkoghe, Gabon Prime Minister
Kassim Majaliwa, Tanzania Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia Prime Minister
Osman Saleh, Eritrea Foreign Affairs Minister

For Moscow, the prize is greater political influence on a continent with 54 United Nations member states, sprawling mineral wealth, and potentially lucrative markets for Russian-manufactured weapons.

The world’s largest wheat exporter, Russia is also looking to ramp up its supplies of grain and fertilizer to meet demand that is rising in step with Africa’s booming population

Source: Africa News