Monthly Archives: October 2020

Boko Haram: Multinational Force seeks support of Cameroonian military

4, October 2020

Boko Haram: Multinational Force seeks support of Cameroonian military 0

The Multinational Joint Task Force has approached the Cameroonian military structures for support in its ongoing fight against Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.

This was contained in a statement by the Chief of Military Public Information for MNJTF, Col. Muhammad Dole, on Saturday.

The statement disclosed that the Force Commander, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Yusuf, made the call when he paid a courtesy call on the Governor of the Far North Region, Midjiyawa Bakari, while on a 3-day operational visit to Cameroonian formations and units in Maroua on Saturday.

Yusuf appreciated the political support and goodwill extended to Sector 1 of MNJTF, adding that the support had facilitated the smooth execution of non-kinetic operations, leading to the surrender of several insurgents.

He stated that winning public support was a strategy for successful counter-insurgency operations in the region.

The Force Commander, therefore, urged both the national and MNJTF forces Commanders to sustain regular operational visits for better understanding and mutual benefits.

The statement partly read, “It is pertinent to note that the operations of Sector 1 MNJTF (Cameroon) are closely linked with the operations other formations of the Cameroonian Defence Forces. These include Operation EMERGENCE by the 4th Joint Military Region and the 4th Gendarmerie Region as well as Operation ALPHA by the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) all located in Maroua.”

Earlier, Bakari commended the MNJTF for stabilising and restoring relative peace to the Lake Chad Basin.

Bakari appreciated the sacrifices of all the soldiers from the MNJTF troops and assured that the ongoing military operations would ultimately bring peace and security for sustainable development in the region.

Source: Punch Nigeria

US: President Trump improving but doctors were ‘very concerned’

4, October 2020

US: President Trump improving but doctors were ‘very concerned’ 0

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Saturday Donald Trump’s health, including a fall in his blood oxygen level, had left the president’s doctors “very concerned” but that he had improved and there was never a risk he would have to hand over power.

Meadows’ comments to Fox News capped a day of back-and-forth in which conflicting reports about the president’s health created an opaque understanding of the leader’s actual fitness.

“He’s made unbelievable improvements from yesterday morning, when I know a number of us, the doctor and I, were very concerned,” Meadows said.

Earlier in the day a source familiar with the president’s health — later named in US media as none other than Meadows — had given a contradictory assessment stating that “the president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning.”

The statement also seemed at odds with an assessment by White House doctors that the president was “doing very well.”

Meadows seemed to clarify late Saturday that comments pertaining to concerningly poor health had applied to the day prior.

“Yesterday morning, we were real concerned… he had a fever and his blood oxygen level had dropped rapidly,” Meadows told Fox.

However, “there was never a consideration and never even a risk of a transition of power,” Meadows said.

Late Saturday, White House doctor Sean Conley said Trump was “not yet out of the woods,” but that the medical team was “cautiously optimistic.”

Meadows echoed a similar sentiment stating that he was “very, very optimistic, based on the current results.”

The president posted a video to Twitter late Saturday appearing relaxed in an open-collar shirt and blue suit jacket, telling viewers he would be “back soon” — but acknowledging that the crucial coming days would be “the real test.”

Source: AFP

Football updates from the African continent

3, October 2020

Football updates from the African continent 0

South African coach Pitso Mosimane has been congratulated by President Cyril Ramaphosa after joining African and Egyptian giants Al Ahly from Mamelodi Sundowns.

“It is a recognition of the talent and capability within our continent,” said the head of state as he reacted to Mosimane becoming the first sub-Saharan African to coach the Cairo club.

“Pitso will be missed as a force in South African football, but his appointment strengthens the bonds of friendship between our two countries.”

Mosimane replaced Swiss Rene Weiler, who led Ahly to the Egyptian Premier League title this season but could not agree terms for a renewal of his contract.

Here, AFP Sport rounds up football news from the continent:

Egypt

Mosimane debuts Sunday as coach of record eight-time African champions Ahly in a domestic league match that is more significant to rivals Al Mokawloon Al Arab.

His new club have already clinched a 42nd title and are 15 points above fierce rivals Zamalek with four matches to play but Swiss coach Rene Weiler left after contract talks with the club broke down.

Mokawloon are desperate for a win as they trail Pyramids by five points in the race to finish third and qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup, the African equivalent of the Europa League.

South Africa

Ajax Amsterdam have severed links with Ajax Cape Town, selling their 51 percent stake in the national second-tier league club from Cape Town.

The four-time European champions worked with their Cape Town namesakes for 21 years, offering coaching assistance and taking talented locals to the Netherlands.

But the plan gradually misfired with a Ajax Amsterdam statement saying “the South African market has not produced enough talent and the club has shifted its focus to other markets”.

Ethiopia

Wubetu Abate has replaced Abraham Mebratu as coach of Ethiopia, who have competed at the Africa Cup of Nations only once in the past 38 years.

Mebratu did pull off a surprise home win over the Ivory Coast in a 2021 qualifier, but achieved little else of note for a country ranked 41st in Africa and 146th in the world.

“It is a dream come true for me to manage my country,” said Abate as he prepared for two Cup of Nations qualifiers against Niger next month.

Nigeria

Hoffenheim defender and former Germany U20 captain Kevin Akpoguma has opted to play for Nigeria — the birthplace of his father — at senior level.

The 25-year-old can switch international allegiance because he has not played for the German senior team.

Germany-born Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr says Akpoguma could be considered for home and away Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone during November.

DR Congo

Five-time CAF Champions League winners TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo have hired a Cameroonian midfielder and a Guinean forward for the 2021 African campaign.

Cameroonian Cedric Martial Zemba Ikong, 21, has moved to southern Congolese city Lubumbashi from Apejes Mfou, an academy team based in Yaounde.

Guinean Moustapha Kouyate, 26, joins 11-time CAF title winners Mazembe from Muscat Club in Oman and is seen as a successor to Jackson Muleka, who moved to Standard Liege recently.

Morocco

Star Moroccan forward Ayoub el Kaabi has joined Wydad Casablanca from Chinese club Hebei Fortune to bolster the already powerful squad of the Moroccan title hopefuls.

He sprang to prominence in the 2018 African Nations Championship, scoring nine goals as hosts Morocco won a competition restricted to footballers playing in their country of birth.

Second-place Wydad trail fierce Casablanca rivals Raja by one point with three rounds remaining in the Moroccan championship.

Guinea

Conakry-based Horoya are the only non-north African side to reach the semi-finals of the two 2020 CAF club competitions and much of the credit belongs to businessman Antonio Souare.

He has poured millions of dollars into the club that has not lifted a continental trophy since winning the now defunct African Cup Winners Cup 42 years ago.

Souare is bankrolling thea new stadium and an academy outside the Guinean capital for the club who meet Pyramids of Egypt this month in a Confederation Cup semi-final.

Source:  AFP

Rwanda: Three genocide suspects arrested in Belgium

3, October 2020

Rwanda: Three genocide suspects arrested in Belgium 0

Three men suspected of involvement in the 1994 Rwanda genocide have been arrested and charged in Belgium with serious abuse of human rights, the prosecutor’s office said Saturday.

The office gave no details about the three but said their identities had been established with the help of witness testimony collected in Rwanda by a Belgian investigation.

“Two were arrested Tuesday in Brussels and the third Wednesday in Hainault (province),” said Eric Van Duyse, spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office.

“All three have been charged with serious human rights abuses,” the spokesman said, confirming a report in the weekly publication Vif/L’Express.

One of the men has been put under electronic surveillance while the two others are in detention, he said.

Whether the men face trial will be “decided in the end by the dossier compiled by the investigating magistrate and the prosecutor’s office,” Van Duyse said.

The 1994 genocide claimed 800,000 lives, mostly Tutsis but also moderate Hutus.

Belgium has held five trials since 2001 of Rwandans implicated in the killings, with four that year — including two nuns — sentenced to terms of up to 20 years for handing over Tutsis in their shelter to Hutu militants.

Last December, former senior Rwandan official Fabien Neretse was found guilty of genocide and sentenced to 25 years prison.

Source: AFP

Persian Gulf Countries: Thousands of African workers kept in appalling conditions

3, October 2020

Persian Gulf Countries: Thousands of African workers kept in appalling conditions 0

Hoping to escape the war, death and destitution rampant in their home countries, thousands of African workers embark every year on a grueling journey to the affluent Persian Gulf countries looking for employment.

The more fortunate ones will end up doing backbreaking manual labor earning a pittance, barely enough to make ends meet.

Should they be unlucky, a fate worse than death awaits them, as the thousands of Ethiopian workers stranded in Saudi Arabia in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic can attest.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, has absolutely no excuse for its treatment of the Ethiopians, nor the terrible conditions they are forced to live under.

Far from the inquisitive public eye, the Saudis have been keeping thousands of African workers in squalid places under deplorable conditions. Given the Saudis’ mistreatment of African labor, Black Lives seem to be that last issue to matter in the Saudi kingdom.

We are humans

Every year thousands of African workers go on a grueling journey to the rich Persian Gulf countries in the hope of escaping war, death, and destitution. With luck on their side, they might end up in finding hard manual labour with meager wages just to continue their hand-to-mouth existence.

Inhumane living conditions

A shocking expose was published by The Sunday Telegraph in August. It disclosed that thousands of African workers were locked in detention centers across the country under inhumane, unsanitary conditions. With their smuggled mobile phones, some of the migrants gave the newspaper a snapshot of life – or to be blunt, death – in these hellish centers.

According to Adam Coogle of Human Rights Watch, “Photos emerging from detention centers in southern Saudi Arabia show that authorities there are subjecting Horn of Africa migrants to squalid, crowded, and dehumanizing conditions with no regard for their safety or dignity.”

“Lots of people gone to Saudi Arabia know just how dreadful the treatment of émigrés and refugees and actual workers are and this thing about the Ethiopians is just consistent with all the terrible things they do to third-country nationals.”  William Spring, Peace Campaigner and Political Commentator

Source: Presstv

Ambazonia Interim Government urges Yaoundé to hand over henchmen in Mamfe Mayor case

3, October 2020

Ambazonia Interim Government urges Yaoundé to hand over henchmen in Mamfe Mayor case 0

The Ambazonia Interim Government has not turned a blind eye to the grisly assassination of the Mayor of Mamfe, Ashu Prisley Ojong.

Vice President Dabney Yerima has renewed the call for La Republique du Cameroun to hand its henchmen involved in the crime over to Ambazonia Restoration Forces in the Manyu County.

Commenting on the incident on Friday, the exiled Southern Cameroons leader recalled the circumstances around the mayor’s murder and brutal slaying by a French Cameroun CPDM hit team at the SATOM Bridge in Egbekaw.

Ashu Prisley Ojong was heading to his native Eshobi unaware that someone in Yaoundé had dispatched a death squad to take away his life.

The details of his murder emerged and his body was recovered and later laid to rest in Mamfe the chief town in the Manyu County.

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime claimed the murder was an “Ambazonian” operation, but the entire Manyu population and the Southern Cameroons Interim Government have directly linked the Manyu CPDM barons to the killing.

Vice President Yerima told the Southern Cameroons war cabinet that French Cameroun administrative officials have been harboring the criminals.

By Chi Prudence Asong

President Trump, Biden: Covid 19 most serious threat

2, October 2020

President Trump, Biden: Covid 19 most serious threat 0

President Donald Trump’s positive coronavirus test has undermined his repeated claims that the US is “rounding the turn” in its handling of the pandemic, with just one month to go before the November 3 election.

Trump announced on Friday that he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive for Covid-19, and were going to quarantine at the White House.

Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus.

His physician has said the president is “well” and will continue to perform his duties “without disruption”.

However, even if the president remains asymptomatic, he will likely have to halt in-person campaigning for an unspecified amount of time while he quarantines at the White House.

“It is unclear exactly what that means for a president of the United States, especially for this one who has spent months not wanting to wear a face mask, not wanting to take physical distancing seriously,”

“The White House published a schedule for tomorrow, with various events that he will presumably not be fulfilling. It does beg the question: will he seat a campaign virtually, as his rival Joe Biden has been doing a lot?” Smith added. “Presumably, if Trump is feeling well enough, he would be able to do that.”

Whatever form Trump’s campaign takes in the coming days and weeks, his diagnosis has seriously undermined his attempts to downplay the pandemic and refocus the race on other issues.

In the past, Trump has wrongfully predicted that the coronavirus “is going to disappear”, and even questioned scientists who contradicted his assertions in public.

‘This could be a really significant blow’

Trump has also largely ignored his own government’s public health guidelines, refusing to wear a mask or observe social distancing.

At the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, earlier this week, Trump even mocked his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, for the size of his mask.

“Every time you see him, he’s got a mask,” Trump said of his opponent. “He could be speaking 200 feet away… And he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”

With a number of polls showing that a majority of Americans disapprove Trump’s handling of the pandemic — which has claimed at least 207,000 lives in the United States — his diagnosis will likely only compound this opinion.

“This was a day many people feared, many people saw coming, many people thought may well happen, because he was continuing to hold campaign rallies, a couple of them indoors. He was defying often his own public health guidelines on the coronavirus,” Smith said.

Trump’s positive test result certainly complicates his ability to effectively campaign against Biden, who is currently leading in the polls.

“We’ve seen Trump really thrives off the energy of crowds, of holding big events. It gives him a sense of momentum,” Smith said. “This could be a really significant blow to a presidential campaign that is already struggling with Joe Biden well ahead in the polls.”

It is also unclear how Trump’s positive test will affect arrangements for the second presidential debate, which is scheduled for October 15 in Miami, Florida.

Source: France 24

Ambazonia Independence Day Celebration: The Vice President’s Speech

1, October 2020

Ambazonia Independence Day Celebration: The Vice President’s Speech 0

Today marks the third anniversary of the restoration of our independence. We started with peaceful demonstrations of hope in 2016 but have become the prey of a hostile regime in Yaoundé. We observe today therefore in challenging times not, as a victory but a celebration of fortitude and truth.  I come to you today at the end of a week that has observed the marauding forces of La Republique du Cameroun slaughter four innocent young men in Bamenda. Last week, a mother and her two sons were executed in Lysoka, Buea. Unfortunately, such barbarisms are now daily occurrences for our people in the Southern Cameroons.

When the United Nations was founded in 1945, nearly a third of the world’s population lived in territories that were forcefully governed by colonial powers. The international trusteeship system was established by the UN Charter affirming the principle of self-determination. Seventy-five years after this affirmation, the people of Southern Cameroons are still languishing in despair in their country under a brutal neo-colonial regime. Seventy-five years after the affirmation of the principle of self-determination by the UN Charter, the people of Southern Cameroons are slaughtered for proclaiming their right of self-determination.

The independence vote by the people of the Southern Cameroons was endorsed by UNGA Resolution 1608 (XV) of 21 April 1961. At the time of the adoption of this Resolution, UN membership stood at 100 states.  Sixty-four states voted in favour of independence for the Southern Cameroons. The geographical spread of these states covers all the continents of the world. The 64 states included three of the Big Five in the UN Security Council, namely, the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Russia.

Since we restored independence on 1 October 2017, we have lost 10,000 of our fellow citizens, we now have over 1 million internally displaced persons, 421 of our villages have been burned down by the French Cameroun military, 100,000 of our people are living as refugees in Nigeria. Our leader, Sisiku AyukTabe, and his leadership were abducted in Nigeria and now unlawfully detained in La Republique du Cameroun.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia has submitted over 100 cases to the UN special procedures. These special mechanisms include the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women; the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons; the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

In the coming weeks, we shall begin to see a steady flow of reports on these cases by the various Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups. Already, two reports cover the murder by Biya’s troops of several civilians perpetrated in Belo, Bamenda, Buea, and Ekona between February and October 2018. Another report dated 7 July 2020 on the Wazizi case and the Kingsley Njoka case is out. As is the practice and procedure, these reports are addressed to the Yaoundé regime with a request for its response.

But we know its response to these cases. And we know beforehand its response to scores of other cases still to come. It is incapable of saying anything else other than making barefaced denials. It is so morally bankrupt that it is unable to take responsibility for the genocide it is perpetrating and hoping that by some miracle it will escape accountability. Barefaced denials are its shameless familiar line. In the numerous cases against it in the Human Rights Committee going back to the 1980s, it has sung this familiar song and in each case, it has lost.

Fellow Ambazonians, going forward, lawyers local and international working for the Interim Government  will be instructed to institute proceedings against the Yaoundé regime and its military for each case of murder, rape, torture of any civilian as well as for any case of pillage, theft, arson, destruction, and looting. It is our responsibility to protect our people and land and we must not shrink from it.

In the history of mankind, only a few generations have been tasked with the role of fashioning freedom and independence for their nations. This is an arduous responsibility which I hope and pray that as a generation, we do not shrink from. Despite the challenges of the last three years, the energy and devotion which we bring to this revolution going forward is key to the victory we seek.

Our people in the bushes and the refugee camps struggling to break the bonds of misery and fear must know that love and truth can never be suppressed forever. Despite the setbacks of the last few months and the challenges of these last three years, I urge you to keep the faith. We are a stricken people in a world that has abandoned us. But we must not entertain thoughts of defeat nor contemplate a return to the status quo.

Fellow Ambazonians, it is our duty in this generation to fight and if necessary die for our freedom and independence. By our courage, determination, and poise, our independence and freedom are permanent. France and her puppet regime in Yaoundé must know that our right to self-determination is non-negotiable. The Never-Again-Generation of Ambazonians is unwilling to continue under servitude and oppression.

Even as the enemy believes that she will exterminate us, I implore you all not to lament for I see hope in our struggle. We shall pay any price; bear any burden to assure our liberty. This, we pledge as a people. United there is nothing we cannot do.  Our temporal challenges and losses are sadly within the context of our chosen goal of independence. Let history be the final judge of our actions. As a people, let us go forth to defend our land knowing that if it is to be, it is up to us.

To all our women, especially the Takumbengs, we salute your courage. Your peaceful March of 22 September 2017 set us all off on this challenging but worthwhile journey.

To all the free and independent nations of the world, our best hope is your conscience. We call on you to show compassion and humanness. Ours is not a drive for power, but a just fight for independence and freedom. It is a colossal blunder for the world to continue to overlook the genocide in our country. In French Cameroun today, we see failure, backwardness, and unprecedented evil. In French Cameroun today, we see a failed state on borrowed time.

There is a legitimate question about our attitude towards the people of French Cameroun. The people of Ambazonia make a huge distinction between the French Cameroun imperialistic regime and the people of the country. Our disagreement is with the imperialism of their government backed by France and buttressed by the silence of the world’s nations. The people of La Republique du Cameroun must understand that despotism and neo-colonialism produce economic and social backwardness because it impedes the human impulse to create. Despotism and neo-colonialism find peace and unity offensive. We don’t intend therefore to exchange one wickedness with another.

To the murderous regime in Yaoundé, no matter how long you unleash your wickedness and barbarism upon us, we shall overcome and our independence and freedom are everlasting. The people of Ambazonia shall oppose aggression and subjugation until the end. There will be no peace in La Republique du Cameroun until she pulls her military out of Ambazonia.

With regards to ending the war between our two nations, let it be known that civility is not a sign of weakness and as a nation, Ambazonia shall never negotiate out of fear but we shall never fear to negotiate.

Fellow Ambazonians, in your hands, rest the success or failure of our cause. Plenty is at our disposal but we must start using our talents and opportunities persistently and wisely. As a nation, we are half-awake.  Be reassured that as your leaders in detention are standing tall and marching forth to the foot of the mountain despite anything that is thrown at them, I call upon you today to keep your eyes fixed on the prize-FREEDOM.

It is our responsibility to protect our freedom and independence. Our nation is asking for action from all of us to lead to achieving this commanding goal of independence. Let us be ready and willing to submit our lives for the action of attaining our freedom. If we all pull together, the enemy will be defeated and Buea will be a reality soon.

Happy Independence Day 2020

Long Live Ambazonia,

God Bless You All.

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Happy Independence Day!

1, October 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Happy Independence Day! 0

It is that time of the year again and Southern Cameroonians are celebrating. Southern Cameroonians are a special breed. They have set so many precedents that are still a marvel to many people around the world.

Cameroon’s English-speaking minority has not only challenged the brutal regime in Yaoundé by taking up arms to fight a so-called “professional” military without support from any other country, it has also been celebrating its independence without a country.

Across the globe, citizens of a country celebrate their independence when a country exists, but Southern Cameroonians are not waiting for the French Cameroon army of occupation to pack and leave before they celebrate.  They are doing it in flesh and in spirit across the globe.

Despite the repression unleashed by the French-supported Yaoundé government, Southern Cameroonians are determined to obtain their independence. The cohabitation with their Francophone counterparts has not been a beautiful marriage and for four years, they have been seeking a divorce that is hard to obtain.

The country’s English-speaking minority complained of marginalization four years ago, and instead of paying heed to the anger and frustration, the crime syndicate that rules Cameroon unleashed unprecedented violence on innocent people, forcing many to pick up arms to defend themselves.

The government thought the fighting would end after a few days, but to its dismay, Southern Cameroonian fighters who had only hunting rifles have put up a good show.

They have kidnapped army soldiers, killed and beheaded thousands of them and humiliated Cameroon’s “professional” army by winning many battles.

This has infuriated the so-called government in Yaounde and since the crime syndicate does not negotiate, it has continued to count on its tricks and military violence, hoping that it will one day put an end to the conflict that has become more complicated with the passage of time.

Though the country’s economy has collapsed and millions have been displaced, the corrupt Yaounde regime is still depending on its old ways to sustain the status quo.

The government does not seem to have learned any lessons. It is stuck in its old ways and this is understandable.

Those ruling the country clearly belong to the past and due to their ages; they are being referred to by the population as “living ancestors”.

The only language these living ancestors understand is violence. The word negotiation does not exist in their vocabulary.

But there are many things they have to know before they quit this world. Cameroon will never be the same again due to their mismanagement of the country.

The government’s institutional and systemic marginalization of the English-speaking minority has created a nasty situation that will linger long after their death.

Southern Cameroonians no longer feel at home in a union in which they are considered as second-class citizens.

They want to walk away from this abusive relationship and the majority of Southern Cameroonians holds that only a total and unconditional divorce will give them the happiness they deserve.

While the government still prioritizes brutality, it does not know that its military violence is gradually granting Southern Cameroons its independence.

The killings and burning of homes will not serve a purpose. The people have made up their minds and they are being propped by a rich and vast Diaspora which is willing and ready to give the Yaounde government a running for its cash.

The fighting in the country’s two English-speaking regions has been going on for four years and some five thousand Southern Cameroonians have been killed by the Yaounde military and their thugs. But this is not deterring the fighters on the ground. The boys are determined and they are hellbent on delivering the goods.

The Diaspora is making good on its promise. It had promised to create a nightmare for the government and for four years, it has been as good as its word.

The arms and money have been flowing into Southern Cameroons and many army soldiers have beaten the dust.

Bombs have been going off and this ugly situation has kept those in Yaoundé up all night, with many government officials regretting why they had not prioritized genuine dialogue right from the beginning.

Key elements of the government like the country’s territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji and the defense minister, Beti Assomo, have all aged prematurely. Southern Cameroonians have succeeded to run down their health and the erectile dysfunction that is stalking them has transformed them into bitter ministers.

Southern Cameroonians have not sent them to their graves, but theirs is the kingdom of insomnia and many of they will only be having sex with their eyes. The Southern Cameroonian crisis that is playing out in the country’s two English-speaking regions has finally made its way into the homes of the country’s ministers, with sources close to some of these officials saying that there is tension in many homes.

Despite the killings and pressure from the Yaoundé government, Southern Cameroonians are not bowing anytime soon. They have developed a Spartan mentality and they are not yielding despite the loss of life.

While they mourn the death of their fellow Southern Cameroonians, they do so with the understanding that their memories will be kept alive and that they will be those heroes who will be celebrated once the army of occupation packs and leave their territory. Happy Independence Day!

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom and Irene Nanyongo in Canada

US presidential debate commission to adopt new rules in wake of ‘disgraceful’ first round

1, October 2020

US presidential debate commission to adopt new rules in wake of ‘disgraceful’ first round 0

The presidential debate commission says it will soon adopt changes to its format to avoid a repeat of the disjointed first meeting between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.

The commission said Wednesday the debate “made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”

One possibility being discussed is to give the moderator the ability to cut off the microphone of one of the debate participants while his opponent is talking, according to a person familiar with the deliberations who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The next presidential debate is a town hall format scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami.

Moderator Chris Wallace struggled to gain control of the 90-minute debate in Cleveland because of frequent interruptions, primarily by Trump.

Wallace, of Fox News, pleaded for a more orderly debate, at one point looking at Trump and saying, “the country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions. I’m appealing to you, sir, to do that.”

“Ask him, too,” Trump said.

“Well, frankly, you’ve been doing more interrupting than he has,” Wallace said.

 Biden on Wednesday called the debate “a national embarrassment.” But despite some suggestions that the final two presidential encounters be canceled, both campaigns said they expected their candidate to attend.

ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, who moderated one of the three debates between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016, said Wallace was put in nearly an impossible situation. Faced with the same behavior, she said she might have called a full stop to the debate for a moment to recalibrate.

She never had the option, technically, to cut off the microphone of a candidate four years ago, she said. It also wasn’t in the rules that were agreed to in advance by the candidates and commission.

“To say, ‘he’s not going to follow the rules so we aren’t, either?’ It’s an unprecedented situation,” Raddatz said. “That was so out of control.”

Twitter was ablaze with criticism for Wallace early in the debate for losing control of the proceedings. That was illustrated by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, who tweeted “what is Chris Wallace doing? He has no control over the debate. He asks a question and let’s Trump continue yelling. This is a disgrace.”

By the time he was on “Morning Joe” the next morning, Scarborough had cooled off. He called on the debate commission to act.

“While it was extraordinarily frustrating, I think all of us need to walk a mile in his shoes before saying the morning after, ‘he could have done this, he could have done that,’” Scarborough said.

Some of the president’s supporters felt that Wallace was too hard on their candidate. Trump himself suggested he was also debating Wallace, “but that’s no surprise.”

Wallace even got some criticism from opinion personalities on his own network. “Trump is debating the moderator and Biden,” prime-time host Laura Ingraham tweeted during the debate.

Another Fox colleague, Geraldo Rivera, expressed more sympathy.

“The guy signed up to moderate a debate and he ended up trying to referee a knife fight,” he said.

Wallace, host of “Fox News Sunday,” was not immediately made available for comment by Fox.

Wallace is the only presidential debate moderator this cycle with prior experience, after receiving praise for handling the final Clinton-Trump debate in 2016. The other two moderators are Steve Scully of C-SPAN and Kristen Welker of NBC News.

Scully moderates the Miami debate, which will be a town hall format where citizens get to ask questions. That format may make interruptions more difficult.

“Having prepared for these, the town hall is a completely different event in the debate Olympics,” tweeted David Plouffe, an adviser to former President Barack Obama. “If Trump brings the same nastiness to Florida, it will be doubly painful to watch but it will be doubly painful for him politically.”

The Nielsen company’s estimate on how many people watched Tuesday’s debate was expected later Wednesday.

(AP)

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