Monthly Archives: September 2020

25, September 2020

French Cameroun: Kamto says protest to continue until Biya resigns ⁰

Cameroon’s opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, has been confined at home for planning Tuesday’s anti-government protests.

A video showing police vehicles outside the leader’s house has been shared online. The leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) told Voice of America that he was neither beaten nor detained, but feared that he would be arrested if he stepped out of his guarded house.

Mr Kamto called for protests to demand an end to the Anglophone crisis and a reform of the electoral code. Demonstrators were dispersed by police in major towns and the opposition says one person was killed and several injured.

Mr Kamto on Wednesday tweeted wishes of a speedy recovery to those injured and termed Tuesday’s protests as “a resounding success”. He said the protests were a powerful force and that they will continue until President Paul Biya resigns.

Source: BBC

25, September 2020

East Cameroon Military atrocities: A ten-year prison sentence is not only weak, it is insignificant ⁰

A video showing soldiers executing two women at close range, kneeling and blindfolded, along with a girl and a baby two years ago had caused massive outcry in Cameroon. But there is even more outcry now.

At the time, the government denied any involvement before recanting and arresting seven soldiers.

Four of them have now received a 10-year prison sentence for the killing. Another, sentenced to two years. The last two acquitted. Human rights groups are disgusted.

Maximilienne Ngo Mbe is the Director of the Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa.

“A ten-year prison sentence is not only weak, it is insignificant. It is not only insignificant, but it is insignificant because those who get ten years are not, in fact, those who ordered the murders.” the human rights campaigner explains.

The defence counsel however in fact wants to appeal the verdict. Me Sylvestre Mben is a lawyer for the incriminated soldiers. He says “we should not forget a legal provision in our procedural code which states that the allegations of one co-accused against another can only be valid if they are confronted by other evidence. It is for this reason that we believe that there was, at the very least, some doubt.”

The video was one of several to emerge in recent years of alleged atrocities by Cameroonian forces during operations against Islamist Boko Haram militants in the northern part of the country and against Anglophone separatists in the west.

The trial started in January and was conducted behind closed doors.

Source: Africa News

24, September 2020

French Cameroun protesters call for end to bloodshed in Southern Cameroons ⁰

Police on Tuesday used tear gas and water cannon to break up a protest by hundreds of people in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala calling for an end to bloodshed in the country’s anglophone regions.

Several parties, including that of opposition leader Maurice Kamto, had called for “peaceful marches” against President Paul Biya, 87, who has ruled the central African country with an iron fist for nearly 40 years.

The marchers called for a ceasefire and negotiations to end a long-running conflict between anglophone separatists and security forces that has claimed more than 3,000 lives.

The protesters also sought a reform to the electoral system.

They converged at a major intersection in a working-class district of Douala, shouting slogans such as “Enough Is Enough” and “Paul Biya Must Go” before police dispersed them, making some arrests.

The police and soldiers had taken up positions in several cities the night before.

On August 24, Kamto, head of the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) and runner-up to Biya in a 2018 election, labelled his government a “kleptocracy”.

He accused Biya of “ruling through disdain and terror” and urged a “giant campaign calling for the pure and simple departure of Mr Paul Biya from power”.

Biya on September 7 called regional elections for December 6 — prompting the call for Tuesday’s marches.

Meanwhile in Paris, about 50 Kamto supporters who demonstrated Tuesday outside the Cameroonian embassy were met with tear gas after clashing with France’s CRS riot police, an AFP journalist saw.

Protesters waved Cameroonian flags and held posters reading “Chase away the Tyrant” and called for the end of “Francafrique”, the term for France’s post-colonial meddling in Africa.

Some threw chairs from a nearby restaurant at police, and traffic was blocked as officers repeatedly dispersed the crowd.

Source: Africa

24, September 2020

Indomitable Lions: Another former defender M’Bom dies ⁰

Former Cameroon defender Ephrem M’Bom died on Sunday (20 September 2020) in Douala after a long illness. He was 66.

M’Bom was a member of The Indomitable Lions squad that played in the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations in Libya, and later in the same year he was part of the Cameroon squad that made its FIFA world Cup debut in Spain.

He spent his entire career at home, most notably with the legendary Canon Yaounde, winning five Cameroonian League titles (1979, 1980, 1982, 1985 and 1986) and three Cameroon Cups (1978, 1983 and 1986).

M’Bom also won three CAF trophies with Canon Yaoundé, namely the African Cup of Champion Clubs (now CAF Champions League) twice in 1978 and 1980, plus the defunct African Cup of Cups’ Winners in 1979.

M’Bom also had spells with Rail and Leopard in Douala and Dragon Yaoundé, before retiring in 1990. He held various positions in Cameroonian sports afterwards until his death.

Source: Boxscorenews

24, September 2020

Yaoundé starts candidacy submission for maiden regional elections ⁰

Cameroonian authorities announced Tuesday the start of the candidacy submission for the country’s pioneer regional elections scheduled for Dec. 6.

The country’s national electoral body Elections Cameroon (Elecam) is expected to publish the lists of political parties and candidates vying for the elections after the submission.

“The organisational and logistical aspect is ready. The elections would be a historic moment and a turning point in our democracy,” Essousse Erik, director general of Elecam, told reporters in the capital city Yaounde.

According to Cameroonian constitutional law, the regional council is the deliberative assembly for the affairs of the region. The regional elections, contained in the constitution for many years, have however never been organized.

The regional elections are deemed by local observers to be a measure to accelerate decentralization and to help end a separatist crisis in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions, the Northwest and the Southwest.

Cameroon’s two main opposition parties, Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) and Social Democratic Front (SDF) have said they will boycott the elections, citing “biased” electoral code and insecurity in the Anglophone regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

24, September 2020

Human Rights Watch urges Biya regime to stop using COVID-19 and anti-terror law as pretext to quell dissent ⁰

Cameroon authorities banned demonstrations after the opposition party Cameroon Renaissance Movement (Mouvement pour la renaissance du Cameroun, MRC) encouraged people to take to the streets over the government’s decision to call regional elections, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

On September 11, 2020, the governors of the Littoral and Centre regions banned public meetings and demonstrations indefinitely. Three days later, Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji, in a letter to the two governors and the governor of the West region, warned that law enforcement forces would break up unauthorized demonstrations. He said that the governors should arrest anyone organizing or leading demonstrations, claiming that protests would endanger lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. On September 15, the communication minister warned political parties that protests could be considered “insurrection” and that illegal demonstrations across the country would be punished under the anti-terror law.

“These steps are a thinly veiled attempt by the Cameroonian government to use the Covid-19 pandemic and the draconian anti-terror law as a pretext to quell the right to assemble,” said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Cameroon’s authorities should protect and facilitate the right to assemble, not seek to curb it.”

These measures came after President Paul Biya announced on September 7 that Cameroon’s first regional elections would be in December. On September 8, Maurice Kamto, the MRC leader, called for peaceful protests on September 22 against holding the elections. Seven other opposition parties and civil society organizations have joined Kamto’s call for peaceful demonstrations. Opposition parties have multiple concerns that they cannot be conducted freely and fairly without reforming the electoral code and addressing the lack of security in the Anglophone regions.

Human Rights Watch conducted phone interviews between mid-August and early September with 15 leaders and members of opposition parties, as well as 5 representatives from civil society and human rights groups.

The Cameroonian government started lifting Covid-19 restrictions in May, allowing bars, restaurants, and nightclubs to reopen. In June, it allowed schools and other training centers to reopen, as well as churches and mosques. The efforts to target the opposition-led demonstrations over Covid-19 appear to be arbitrary, Human Rights Watch said. On September 16, the MRC issued a note providing guidance to all members and supporters who are planning to participate on September 22 on how to ensure peaceful demonstrations and curb the spread of Covid-19 by wearing a face mask.

Other opposition-led meetings and demonstrations have been banned in Cameroon in the last 18 months. In April 2019, the authorities banned a week of demonstrations planned by the MRC across the country. Local authorities recently prohibited two private meetings planned by the party in Maroua, Far North region, on August 9, and in Nkongsamba, West region, on August 15, citing concerns around Covid-19 and general public order.

The Nkongsamba meeting was to be a private meeting at the party headquarters and should not have been subject to a public order ban. In Maroua, where the meeting was to be held in a hotel, the local authorities prohibited the meeting ostensibly on health grounds, although party leaders said they were taking preventive measures to avoid the spread of the Covid-19, including respecting the limit of 50 participants, as required by law. Party leaders told Human Rights Watch that authorities have allowed similar meetings in both cities by the governing Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement.

On September 19, the headquarters of the opposition party Cameroon People’s Party (CPP) in Yaoundé was surrounded by over 30 policemen and gendarmes. “The Yaoundé District Officer claimed that the CPP was holding a public meeting without declaration, but we informed him that we were holding our regular weekly meeting whose participation is limited to our members,” Edith Kahbang Walla, known as “Kah Walla,” CPP president said in a statement published the same day. “This is an umpteenth violation of the law and attempt to intimidate us.” After a standoff of about one hour, CPP members were allowed to leave.

Human Rights Watch has previously documented that Cameroon’s government has used the pandemic as a pretext to settle scores and punish the opposition. In May, the authorities arrested several volunteers from the Survival Initiative, Kamto’s fundraising initiative to respond to the health emergency, as they handed out protective masks and sanitizing gel in Yaoundé, the capital. They were charged with rebellion, then released on May 15.

MRC spokesperson Biboun Nissack told Human Rights Watch that the government’s recent ban on demonstrations “threatens to force our party underground.”

Cameroon’s constitution guarantees freedom of assembly. Cameroonian law requires organizers to notify local authorities seven days before a demonstration. While freedom of assembly is not absolute, and restrictions including those aimed at protecting public health are permissible, any such measures must not only have a legal basis but be strictly necessary and proportionate to achieve the objective and not discriminate against particular groups.

Broad, blanket bans such as that invoked by the Cameroon government, in particular in response to political organizing by opposition parties, do not meet these criteria. On March 16, United Nations human rights experts warned that “Emergency declarations based on the Covid-19 outbreak should not function as a cover for repressive action under the guise of protecting health, and should not be used simply to quash dissent.”

The anti-terror law, promulgated in December 2014 as Cameroon struggled to address the escalating threat posed by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram, has been widely criticized, including by Cameroonian and international rights groups and opposition parties, for its overbroad definition of terrorism, the provision of the death penalty, and for being used to silence the opposition, civil society, and the media.

This recent crackdown on freedom of assembly also follows a well-documented pattern of politically motivated arrests and prosecutions of opposition party members and activists, including MRC vice president, Mamadou Mota.

“When government authorities threaten to treat exercise of the right to peaceful protest as an act of insurrection, they are attacking the fundamentals of a society based on human rights and the rule of law,” Mudge said. “Basic freedoms and rights – guaranteed not only under Cameroon’s international obligations, but also in its constitution – are at risk, and if this crackdown leads to wider protests, the excessive use of force and ill-treatment could dramatically escalate.”

Source: Todaynewsafrica

24, September 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Political Infighting Could Obstruct a Nascent Peace Process ⁰

In July, jailed separatist leaders in Cameroon fighting for the creation of an independent state held their first formal talks with the government about ending the violence plaguing the country’s two Anglophone regions. While the origins of the conflict are in colonial-era divisions of territory, its proximate cause was protests in 2016 against the marginalization of Cameroon’s Anglophone minority, which makes up roughly 20 percent of the population in the majority French-speaking country. In the years since, the conflict has killed several thousand people and displaced nearly a million more.

The recent talks with the government were led by the most prominent separatist leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, who leads a self-declared English-speaking state that the separatists call Ambazonia, and has been imprisoned since 2018. They follow on earlier attempts at negotiations last year, facilitated by the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, which failed to gain traction due to a lack of trust on both sides.

Part of the reason those talks fizzled was the Cameroonian government’s insistence that the ongoing crisis is an issue of terrorism, to be addressed militarily. In 2019, President Paul Biya announced a “Grand National Dialogue” that didn’t even include any separatists and didn’t address key issues, such as whether to revert to a federal form of government that existed prior to 1972.

Subsequently, in January, the government announced a new “Special Status” for the Anglophone regions, which created more regional legislative bodies, among other measures. But this new status did little to change the reality on the ground, and the following months saw widespread violence. Essentially, the Cameroonian government made clear that it was not interested in the separatists’ offers to engage in dialogue and would instead continue with its militaristic approach.

This is why the recent talks between imprisoned separatists and Biya’s government are so noteworthy. The government was represented by officials from the presidency and the office of Prime Minister Joseph Ngute. The separatists were represented by several imprisoned leaders, including Sisiku. Negotiators held two meetings outside the Kondengui Central Prison in Yaounde, the capital, where Sisiku and other political prisoners are being held.

The agenda for the talks centered on what separatists refer to as four action items that would create an enabling environment for further negotiations toward a lasting solution to the conflict. The action items include the demilitarization of the Anglophone regions, with the Cameroonian military being confined to barracks; an amnesty to allow separatists living overseas to return; the release of political prisoners; and a cease-fire that will last until the two sides convene for talks mediated by a third party. The most contentious of these is the release of prisoners, as Sisiku has insisted on a comprehensive release of political prisoners, not an arrangement where the government releases a select group of detainees. Sisiku has also said that if a release occurs in phases, he must be among the last to be released. During the talks, the two sides reached an understanding of the action items.

The talks were initially held in secret, and Sisiku only confirmed them after the second round had concluded. The news was welcomed by multiple separatist leaders and was applauded by civil society groups in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions, which have long been advocating for a cease-fire. The government, however, did not comment for several days, and even then, its statement downplayed the talks, saying information that government representatives had met with “secessionists awaiting trial is not consistent with reality.”

If hard-liners in the Cameroonian government successfully sabotage the peace process, the costs would be horrific.

To many, this seemed as though the government was denying that the talks had taken place. But in reality, the statement was an indication that not all members of the Cameroonian government are sincere about ending the conflict. In fact, the government is divided into two camps: those advocating for overtures toward separatist leaders, and those seeking to obstruct any negotiated settlement. The first camp consists of Prime Minister Ngute, whose office has spearheaded the talks along with the intelligence chief, Maxime Eko-Eko, who has met with separatist leaders. Gregoire Owona, the minister of labor, and Achille Bassilekin, who is the minister of small and medium sized enterprises, are also in favor of the talks.

On the other side, one of the chief opponents of the talks is Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the powerful secretary-general of the presidency. Other hard-liners in the government include Jacques Fame Ndongo, the minister of higher education, and Paul Atanga Nji, the minister of territorial administration. Notably, the divide does not break down along linguistic lines, as there are Anglophones and Francophones in both camps. Since the talks in July, the latter group appears to have seen success, as there have been no follow-up conversations with the separatists.

Clearly, certain prominent members of Cameroon’s Cabinet are not committed to reaching a lasting political solution to the war that has ravaged the country for nearly four years, with economic and humanitarian implications far beyond its two Anglophone regions. This internal division within the government has only been compounded by tensions about who might succeed the 87-year-old Biya, with both Ngoh Ngoh and Ngute angling for the position. While tensions over succession in Cameroon are not new, in the current environment, they could stymie a real chance to end a needless war.

There are also divisions on the separatist side, with the movement split between two main factions—one led by Sisiku and the other led by Samuel Sako, a former pastor based in the United States, in Maryland. Sisiku is the most influential, with the overwhelming majority of fighters seeing him as the leader of the movement. Even some separatist leaders who do not necessarily support Sisiku’s leadership have indicated that they support his initiative to negotiate with the government.

However, infighting within Biya’s Cabinet and jostling over who will succeed him may prevent the process from advancing. If hard-liners in the Cameroonian government successfully sabotage the peace process, the costs would be horrific: Residents of the Anglophone regions would continue to suffer from violence and human rights violations, as a country that was once known as a beacon of stability in a troubled region will continue to destabilize.

Events in recent weeks have shown that the government is continuing a hard-line approach. In response to the killing of a police officer in the Northwest region, the military banned motorbikes in the provincial capital of Bamenda and launched a military operation to sweep the city. Moreover, on Sept. 17, an appellate court in Yaounde upheld Sisiku’s life sentence on charges of terrorism and secession.

As the Cameroon authorities’ violent response to the peaceful protests that emerged in 2016 showed, the government is capable of starting a war by ignoring legitimate grievances. However, that same government now has the ability to seek an end to it. The only question is whether the hard-liners who have historically had the most influence in the Cabinet will prevent meaningful talks with separatists from advancing.

Culled from World Politics Review

24, September 2020

French Cameroun Protest: Police and gendarmes used tear gas and water cannon ⁰

Police and gendarmes in Cameroon used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters calling for an end to President Paul Biya’s near 40-year rule in the commercial hub of Douala on Tuesday, Reuters witnesses said.

The protest was called by Biya’s rival Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement party, who hopes to spark a popular revolt, the likes of which have been seen in other African nations such as Mali and Burkina Faso.

Security forces have in recent days packed the streets of Cameroon’s largest cities, including the capital Yaounde, in anticipation of the planned demonstrations, raising concerns among residents of a return to the kind of violent crackdowns that have met protests in recent years.

Hundreds of people gathered in the busy Ndokoti commercial district of Douala on Tuesday morning chanting “Biya must go!”. Police, camped out in trucks at major intersections, chased some of the protesters across the neighbourhood and into their houses, the witnesses said.

Long a bastion of calm in a turbulent region, Cameroon has descended into chaos in recent years as Biya fights Islamist insurgents in its far north and separatist rebels in the west.

Biya is also under pressure from young political activists in urban centres who want change, and say the 87-year-old has stolen elections and is the mastermind of a series of deadly backlashes against those who oppose him. The Cameroon government denies those charges.

Biya won a 2018 election that his closest rival Kamto said was fraudulent. Kamto was jailed for nine months in 2019 on insurrection charges following a protest. He was later pardoned, but his arrest galvanised the opposition and has led to sporadic protests ever since.

Source: Reuters

24, September 2020

French Cameroun Protest: One killed, Kamto’s home was in a state of siege ⁰

One protester was killed in Cameroon as police and gendarmes put down protests against the veteran President Paul Biya, the country’s main opposition party said on Tuesday, while accusing security forces of laying siege to their leader’s home.

Police and gendarmes fired tear gas and water cannon to break up protests in the commercial hub of Douala, calling for an end to Biya’s near 40-year rule, Reuters witnesses said.

The rally was called by 87-year-old Biya’s closest rival, Maurice Kamto, of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement party, who hopes to spark a popular revolt as seen in other African nations such as Mali and Burkina Faso.

Kamto’s home was “in a state of siege”, surrounded by tanks and heavily armed gendarmes, said Joseph Ateba, a senior member of Kamto’s party, the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC).

Ateba said hundreds of people had been arrested across the country, including the MRC’s treasurer Alain Fogue and Kamto’s spokesman Olivier Bibou Nissack.

“He is accused of rebellion and hostility to the homeland, among other things,” said Jeanne Édith Bibou, Nissack’s wife.

The police referred requests for comment to the Interior Ministry, which could not be immediately reached.

Security forces had packed the streets of Cameroon’s largest cities, including the capital Yaounde, in recent days in anticipation of the demonstrations, raising concern among residents of a return to the kind of violent crackdowns on protests in recent years.

Hundreds of people gathered in the Ndokoti commercial district of Douala chanting “Biya must go!”. Police, camped out in trucks at major intersections, chased some of the protesters across the neighbourhood and into their houses, witnesses said.

Long a bastion of calm in a turbulent region, Cameroon has descended into chaos in recent years as Biya fights Islamist insurgents in its far north and separatist rebels in the west.

Biya is also under pressure from political activists in urban centres who want change, say he has stolen elections and is the mastermind of a series of deadly backlashes against those who oppose him.

The government denies those charges.

Biya won a 2018 election that Kamto said was fraudulent.

Kamto was jailed for nine months in 2019 on insurrection charges following a protest. He was later pardoned, but his arrest galvanised the opposition and has led to sporadic protests ever since.

Source: Reuters

23, September 2020

EU set to propose plan on asylum seekers, but Austria warns against quotas ⁰

Five years after Europe’s migrant crisis, Brussels will propose on Wednesday that member states share the responsibility for asylum seekers under a “compulsory solidarity mechanism”. But it could spark outrage from countries such as Austria, whose Chancellor Sebastian Kurz warned against any attempts to force EU countries to take in migrants.

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum will be unveiled by European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas.

Johansson wants the 27 member states to commit to sharing the burden of handling asylum claims from migrants arriving on the bloc’s shores. “It’s obvious to everybody that ad hoc solidarity or voluntary solidarity is not enough. That has been proven for many years now,” she said. “It has to be mandatory.”

The plan will make showing solidarity with all EU countries on the front lines – often Greece, Italy or Malta – compulsory when they are “under pressure” from arrivals.

It may mean aid will no longer be limited to EU countries to where asylum seekers are relocated, but will be directed to other nations to return refused asylum seekers back to their country of origin.

Outcry expected

It is hoped that this measure will pacify EU countries like those of the Visegrad group – Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia – who have persistently failed to welcome asylum seekers.

Still, it may prove tough to pass. Speaking to AFP in an exclusive interview, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has already warned the EU against forcing states to take in asylum seekers. “We find that the distribution in Europe (of asylum seekers) has failed and many states reject this. It won’t work like this,” the 34-year-old conservative leader said.

Austria and other smaller countries – some of them, such as Hungary, criticised by Brussels over their anti-immigration stance and on rule-of-law issues – have spoken out in the past against any mandatory asylum-seeker distribution.

European migration policy was again in the headlines earlier this month following a devastating fire at an overcrowded camp for migrants and asylum seekers on the Greek island of Lesbos which left thousands homeless.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the new proposals would include plans to strengthen border security and return failed asylum seekers, which Kurz and allies are in favour of, while also including “a new strong solidarity mechanism.”

Seeking alliances

Kurz said he welcomed that the European Commission was addressing the topic of asylum and migration.

“We can only solve this topic all together… Better protection of the (EU’s) outer borders, a joined fight against smugglers, but also joined aid where it is needed (in countries where refugees come from), that is the path that is needed,” he said.

Kurz, pushing to make his mark in European politics, has also sought allies on other topics, such as when he worked with the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark – as the so-called “Frugal Four” – to oppose direct EU aid to coronavirus-hit countries as proposed by Germany and France.

“The European Union is more than just Germany and France… As a small or medium-sized state of course one has to always look for alliances, and in an EU with 27 member states one can only assert ideas if there are others that support them,” he told AFP in an office in the chancellery.

Coronavirus ‘challenge’

Kurz became the world’s youngest chancellor when his conservative People’s Party (OeVP) formed a coalition government with the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) in 2017.

The coalition fell apart in 2019 after a corruption scandal engulfed the far-right FPOe leader, leading to fresh elections in which Kurz’s party again gathered the most votes.

Kurz then formed a new coalition with the Greens and has governed the Alpine country of nearly nine million people since January.

Kurz said fighting the coronavirus pandemic was “a very big challenge”.

“I am still relatively young, but I have been part of the Austrian government for many years and I thought I had already been through a lot politically… The corona crisis now exceeds all previous experiences of course,” he said.

The country has so far been spared the brunt of the crisis, reporting almost 40,000 cases with 771 deaths to date, but infections have surged again in recent weeks.

This has led to the government to extend mandatory mask wearing and re-instate some of the other restrictions imposed earlier this year to stem the spread of the virus.

Source: France 24 and AFP