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28, August 2019

China denies US warship entry to port for visit ⁰

China has reportedly denied a US navy warship entry to its port city of Qingdao, in the second such move this month, which comes amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.

A US military official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity on Tuesday that a US destroyer was supposed to visit Qingdao on Sunday but China denied a request for the visit.

Asked why the US request was denied, the official said the question should be directed to Beijing.

China has yet to comment on the report.

In a similar move this month, China denied two US Navy ships entry to Hong Kong.

The US official said American warships had occasionally made visits to China, most recently in 2017.

The last US warship to have visited Qingdao was the destroyer Benfold, which docked at a Chinese port in 2016.

China has long been engaged in a dispute with Washington in the East and South China Seas, over which it claims sovereignty. The US usually dispatches its warships and warplanes to the waters as part of patrols it describes as “freedom of navigation” and without seeking an authorization from Beijing.

PressTV-US 'maliciously hyping up' South China Sea issue

The two sides are also locked in a trade war, which started when the administration of US President Donald Trump imposed unusually high tariffs on imported goods from China after he took office.

Trump claimed on Monday that there were hopes for a deal with Beijing to de-escalate the dispute.

He said that Chinese officials had requested to return back to the negotiation table in a telephone conversation with “our top people.” China, however, denied the claim.

Source: Presstv

27, August 2019

Biya regime hiring criminals to assassinate Ambazonia leaders in Kondengui ⁰

Cameroon Intelligence Report has gotten evidence that the Biya regime is planning to eliminate the Ambazonia leader Sisiku President Ayuk Tabe and his top aides currently being held at the Kondengui High Security prison in Yaounde. The French Cameroun regime noted for a widespread campaign of assassination plots across Africa and Europe reportedly recruited the services of some Francophone medical doctors assigned to Kondengui by the Ministry of Public Health to kill the Southern Cameroons leaders.

As part of the French Cameroun diabolic harsh ploy to stifle the Ambazonia revolution, our senior chief intelligence officer in Yaoundé also revealed for the first time that he believes Yaoundé has successfully silenced General Ivo Yenwo, General Elokobi Daniel Njock and General Ekongwesse who all hail from Southern Cameroons.

The Ambazonia leader “cheated” death when the late French Cameroun minister Martin Belinga Eboutou failed to handover the money paid by the Biya regime to the Nigerian Secret Service boss for the Abuja-Nera mission.

The late Minister Martin Belinga Eboutou and Minister Paul Motaze were allegedly responsible for masterminding two major operations that claimed the lives of Captain Guerandi in Burkina Faso and Bishop Balla of the Bafia Diocese.

The families of both men had long suspected that Biya was responsible for the murders. French Cameroun lately hired gangsters in the Kondengui prison to carry out the recent killing of Southern Cameroons detainees during the riots as a way of hiding the Cameroon government’s involvement in the crime.

Yaoundé has used its diplomatic missions and criminal networks to engage in terror and assassinations home and abroad so as to retain a degree of plausible deniability for its actions. Several Bassa military officials who were raised up in the Southern Zone of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia have been contracted to carry out the killings of Southern Cameroons leaders.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Sama Ernest

27, August 2019

Boston pays Homage to Pa Willy George Etchu Tabi (1948-2019) ⁰

Dear friends,
Last weekend was memorable not just because one of my heroes was sent to rest, but the nature to which my best and childhood friend ( Stanley Tabi), demonstrated his utmost respect, humility, dedication, and character since the passing of his Dad(Pa Tabi). Family members, friends , and well-wishers swung through the streets of Boston to celebrate the life of Pa Tabi . To his memory, I wrote this tribute :
**My Tribute to Pa Willy George Tabi-Etchu**
Pa Tabi, today we mourn you as we pay tribute to you. On a personal level, he called me “ALILI,” He was always willing to help and offer advice where necessary. Pa Tabi always considered me one of his sons because of the close nature in which we interacted amongst ourselves. Our families shared a common desire to be there for each other at any time in every way. I remember the last ‘heart-on-heart’ conversation I had with him a few years ago here in Boston. He told me his biggest concern was his health. I said, “Pa do not worry that much, it will be okay.” He replied, “I hope so too.”
I still wake up every morning, hoping this is a dream, and it hurts knowing you are gone forever. It hurts because, within a year, I have lost two close members in our family. Sesseku, Engineer- John Njang Ayuk and our English Literature Tutor – Mr. Tabi Willy George. The coincidence is that they both passed just four days after I visited them in hospice. The difficult part for me to bear is that, before his passing, I seem to be the last person he could slowly call by name or recognize. As if it was not touching enough, Pa Tabi died on my birthday. Indeed, we all have a final destination, and Pa Tabi happened to get to his destination a little sooner. In this light, the old cliché resurfaces; what exactly is life?
As a family, we are at the acceptance stage, and as we mourn Pa Tabi’s passing, my heart goes all out, especially to the wife and children. However, what we, as a family must remember is this, he is in a better place, and although we have lost an inspirational member of the family, God works in mysterious ways. Togetherness is absolutely needed, and through that, we should revere the priceless moments we all enjoyed with Pa Tabi. His perseverance, integrity, and people-loving nature are just a few qualities that continue to inspire us. Pa Tabi, even as you take your final rest in Besongabang, I will not hesitate to state that a gap has been left; you left a dear friend, student, and Son in whom your teachings endeared you into his heart.
Nevertheless, be assured I am in safe hands. Your call for me not to forget our family values still lingers in my mind. While we mourn today, we also take comfort in the fact that your mission on earth has been fulfilled. We thank the Lord for your life and bid you farewell until we meet again.
Rest in peace, Pa Tabi; we will definitely miss you…
Eyong Ebot –
Moh Kukouri

27, August 2019

The Untold Truths about Ndian and it’s Crude oil contributions of $618 Billion to Cameroon since 1972 ⁰

The truth could be interpreted as any of the following :-

That, God did not put all these resources under our feet, waters soil and in our forests ,waters in Ndian for us to be extremely poor, under developed and hapless in spite of her contributions of $618 billion NOT FCFA but USD dollars.
That, crude oil exploration started in 1972 in the Ekondo oil fields, when crude oil was selling at $21.6 per barrel, and it changed the political complexion of the Federal Republic of Cameroon as West Cameroon was effectively swallowed because of crude oil.
That, since 1972, Ndian has been producing an average of 58.000 barrels per day to 161,000 barrels per day, but Ndian still have the snapshot of 5th century Africa, with Mundemba it’s headquarters having all the trappings of a makeshift refuge camp with no basic modern public infrastructure in spite of her contributions of $613billion from crude oil sales since 1972 till date
That, Palm Oil plantations developed and transformed Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, Vietnam into emerging economies and economic tigers, but Palm plantations has made Ndian even poorest amongst the poorest. Pamol occupies a land mass bigger than Monaco, Onitsha and Bayelsa state, Nigeria and our coastlines.
That, cocoa developed Western Nigeria, Ghana.,Ivory Coast, Brazil, Switzerland , but cocoa has not made any improvements in our lives and communities. The tallest buildings in Ibadan, Nigeria and Accra Ghana respectively are named cocoa House.
That, Crude oil has developed and is developing USA, Nigeria, Angola EQ Guinea, Middle East, Benelux, Latin America, but has left Ndian poorest of the poor with Idabato, Isangele, Bamusso, Kombo Abedimo and Etindi still looking like a region and people with no government in spite of our contributions of $613
Billion over the years.
The truth might also mean any of the following too:-
What the government does not want to hear. Or what you could be killed for saying in public. ( That, we are capable of managing our own affairs and our resources peacefully)
A guarded secret. ( About Ndian crude oil and her contribution of $613billion over the years.
A lie told repeatedly or a white lie ( that , there is any nation on earth that her unity or geo-political map cannot be negotiated, when “One” 1 itself and even fractions are divisible
What everybody knows but nobody want to say it. ( Ndian and the Oroko has everything but owns and control nothing) Until we are able to have firm political control over our factors of production, our land, our resources ,we shall continue to sit at the banks of Rivers Ndian, Mana ,Mundimba, Bulu gazing at the Rumpi singing songs of lamentations.

12 The truth might also mean telling your brother in the morning that, his mouth is smelling or your spouse that he is snoring.

That. Ndian seriously need to form a political party that, would defend and fight for their interests and resources.
We need to have a “Rumpi Freedom Party,” “Ndongore Peoples Party”, Basusu Freedom Party, or Ingeke Freedom Party, that would win all elections in Ndian and represent the people and not foreign interests. Ndian has been over raped, ripped, cowed , abused and our people living in constant fear and in eternal bondage.
There is a saying in Ngolo that,
Fear kills only the person who wears it. And that. “Any child afraid of witchcraft or scared of death can never inherit the throne of his parents .”
The Truth about Ndian Crude oil.
Source: US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Summary and Breakdown of crude oil production from. 1972 -2018.

Years of Production :1972-1980
( 8 years)
1.2. Average Annual Production per day=58,000barrels
1.3. Average Annual Price in USD:$59/bbl
1.4.Amount of Crude Oil Produced: 58,000 bbl X 365 days X 8 years=162,400.000 barrels in 8 years
1.5. Amount from Crude Oil Sales =
162,400,000barrels X $59/bbl= $9.581,600,000 (Nine billion, Five Hundred and Eighty One Million, Six Hundred thousand Dollars.)

2.Years of Production :1981-1990
( 10 years)
2.1. Total Production for 10 years:
5,595,450,000 barrels
2.3. Average Price in USD=$147.5/bbl
2.4.Amount from Sales of Crude =
5,595,450,000 barrels X $147.5/bbl=
$825.328,875,000.(Eight Hundred and twenty five billion, Three Hundred and Twenty Eight Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy five thousand dollars)

Years of Production :1991-2000
( 10 years)
3.1. Total Production for 10years=
4,292,400, 000 barrels
3.2. Average Price in USD:$117.7/bbl
3.4.Amount from Sales of Crude Oil =
4,292,400, 000 barrels X $$117.7/bbl=
$505,215,480,000(Five Hundred and Five Billion, Two Hundred and Fifteen Million, Four Hundred and Eighty Thousand Dollars).

4.Years of Production :2001-2010
( 10years)
4.1. Total Production=: 2,755,750.000 barrels
4.2. Average Price in USD=$75.4/bbl
4.3.Amount from Sales of Crude Oil =
2,755,750,000 barrels X $75.4/bbl=
$20,778,355.000 (Twenty Billion, Seven Hundred and Seventy Eight Million, There Hundred and Fifty Five thousand dollars)

Years of Production :2011-2018
( 8 years)
5.1.Total Production=: 2,186,350,000 barrels
5.2. Average Price in USD=$71.8/bbl
5.3.Amount from Sales of Crude Oil =
2,186,350,000 barrels X $71.8/bbl=
$15,697,993.000(Fifteen Billion., Six Hundred and Ninety Seven Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety Three Thousand dollars). US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Atabong Albert Motale

27, August 2019

DR Congo unveils new government after months-long delay ⁰

Nearly eight months after former opposition chief Felix Tshisekedi was elected president, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has unveiled a coalition government dominated by supporters of his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.

“The government is finally here. The president has signed the decree and we will begin work soon,” Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga told reporters.

In gestation for seven months, the new government will see most of the 66 portfolios handed to Kabila’s Common Front for Congo (FCC), with Tshisekedi’s Direction For Change alliance accounting for most of the rest.

Tshisekedi, 56, has vowed to enact sweeping reform and root out corruption but has been hampered by the need to share power with the legislature, which is dominated by FCC MPs.

Forging the coalition government took time as both sides had to “remove everything that could be an obstacle to the functioning of the government,” Ilunga said.

The new team will get down to work as soon as its members are approved by the National Assembly, he added. The parliament has been convened in special session until September 7 to approve the government.

“I believe this has been worth waiting for,” Ilunga said.

“Here we have a government that manifests the vision of the head of state, in the direction of change. So change starts now. Let’s get to work!”

Female foreign minister

Ilunga said 17 percent of government positions were now occupied by women.

“This percentage is still low but it is balanced by the importance of the portfolios attributed to women,” he argued.

The foreign ministry was handed to Marie Tumba Nzeza, a member of Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS).

She becomes only the second female foreign minister in the country’s history. The first was Ekila Liyonda, who briefly served in the 1980s under former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who had renamed the country Zaire.

Women have also been named in charge of the employment ministry and ministry for gender affairs.

The new government also includes a female vice prime minister from Kabila’s party, Elysee Munembe, who takes the planning portfolio, Ilunga said. There are five vice prime ministers in all.

Democratic Republic of the Congo’s newly inaugurated President Felix Tshisekedi (R) walks off the podium with outgoing President Joseph Kabila after he was officially handed over the instruments of power during his inauguration ceremony at the Presidency in Kinshasa on January 24, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

The defense ministry went to Aime Ngoy Mukena, a close Kabila supporter and the finance portfolio to another Kabila-era veteran, Jose Sele Yalaghuli.

The interior ministry was attributed to Gilbert Kankonde, a pro-Tshisekedi figure from UDPS ranks, who will face the thorny task of dealing with future protests.

Ilunga declared that three-quarters of members were serving in government for the first time, which he regarded as the “most important innovation.”

Tshisekedi emerged victorious in elections on December 30 that marked the DRC’s first peaceful transition of power since the mineral-rich nation gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

Poverty, instability

But the unstable country’s politics remain overshadowed by Kabila, who despite stepping down voluntarily wields extensive clout after 18 years in power.

He came to office in January 2001, less than two weeks after the assassination of his father, Laurent Kabila, while the armies of at least six regional nations waged war on Congolese soil.

Swathes of the eastern provinces are still unstable, a haven for rebel militias regularly accused of atrocities against civilians.

Moreover, an Ebola epidemic has claimed almost 2,000 lives in one year in the troubled provinces of North and South Kivu, presenting a grueling challenge for the incoming health minister, Eteni Longondo.

Despite cobalt, copper, diamonds and other natural treasure, the DRC ranks just 176th out of 189 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index. Poverty is widespread, and inequality is glaring.

Another hot potato has landed in the lap of the minister in charge of primary education, Willy Bakonga.

He has to implement a plan to make state schools free from September 2 — a scheme announced by the outgoing minister only on Saturday and at a cost of some $2.6 billion (2.3 billion euros), roughly half the government’s entire budget.

(Source: AFP)

27, August 2019

What is the British Council doing in Africa? ⁰

From the southern tip of the black continent to West Africa and the Horn of Africa, the British Council is actively promoting British interests through ostensibly “cultural” and “educational” programmes.

But why does the British Council have such a strong interest in the African continent and how does it go about using “soft” power to realise both avowed and disavowed British foreign policy objectives in the black continent?

Cultural outreach, or cultural penetration (depending on the reader’s perspective), constitutes a core British Council activity. It is the Council’s bread and butter work.

But whereas the British Council frames its cultural outreach programmes as part of a broader narrative centred on local “empowerment”, the reality is that the Council seeks to identify and manipulate emerging cultural trends with a view to creating political and economic spaces for British interests.

Take East Africa as an example, where the British Council has been exceptionally active since the dawn of the twenty first century.

A recent British Council document entitled “Scoping the Creative Economy in East Africa” gives much insight into the thinking of the Council’s leadership, and by extension, the leadership of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Describing the “creative economy” in a primarily sub-national context, the document essentially calls for interventions at local or community levels in order to effect the greatest change.

The document identifies Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda where the “creative economy” offers the greatest potential. Conveniently, these are also the countries which Britain has aggressively targeted as part of post-Brexit trade deals.

On a trip to the African continent in August 2018, the former Prime Minister, Theresa May, announced that Britain had secured its first post-Brexit trade deal in Africa.

Writing in the Guardian on September 04, 2018, the British-Ghanian writer and broadcaster, Afua Hirsch, heaped scorn on May’s sweeping statements and assumptions in relation to the African continent.

Hirsch wrote: “If Britain wants to be a friend to Africa, it needs to stop looking to the continent to boost its self-esteem – “the shared history and cultural ties” of which May talks allude to Britain’s imperial domination – and its coffers”.

The British Council is also highly active in West Africa where, in recent years, it has aggressively promoted the English language. This strategy is set out in detail in a 2013 British Council document entitled: “The English language in Francophone West Africa”.

The aggressive promotion of the English language in fragile nation-states, beset by ethnic and cultural divisions, comes at a high political cost.

Take Cameroon for example, where a rebellion in the country’s western Anglophone regions has resulted in the deaths of nearly 2,000 people since October 2017.

Last week a Cameroonian military court sentenced 10 Anglophone separatist leaders to life imprisonment on wide-ranging national security charges, including terrorism and secession.

Source: Presstv

27, August 2019

Yaounde: Trial of soldiers for killing women and children must lead to justice for victims ⁰

The Cameroonian authorities must leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of justice for two women and two children who were brutally murdered by the military, Amnesty International said today. Seven soldiers allegedly caught on video carrying out the killings are set to go on trial tomorrow.

When the video went viral in early July 2018, Cameroonian authorities initially dismissed it as “fake news”. But Amnesty International revealed credible evidence that the Cameroon military was responsible, and the authorities later announced that the seven soldiers depicted in the video had been arrested and would be prosecuted. The seven are due to appear on 27 August before a military court in the capital Yaoundé on charges of joint participation in murder, breach of regulations and conspiracy.

“This horrifying video shone a spotlight on the way civilians in Cameroon’s Far North have been ensnared in atrocities amid the fight against Boko Haram. Security forces who are supposed to be protecting people have instead carried out arbitrary detentions and extrajudicial executions,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Deputy Regional Director.

“The Cameroonian authorities must draw a line and ensure no army personnel responsible for atrocities will escape from prosecutions. Tomorrow’s trial is a first step towards justice and reparations for victims and their loved ones. Authorities must also ensure that all those reasonably suspected of crimes against civilians are brought to justice in fair trials before civilian courts.”

Amnesty International experts analyzed the video of soldiers shooting dead two women and their two children as soon as it went viral in July 2018. Relying on multiple strands of evidence – including expert analysis of the uniforms and weapons used, and linguistic and other contextual clues in speech that gave away the identities and ranks of the soldiers – within days the organization was able to begin to build a case to counter the official narrative. The evidence strongly suggested that Cameroonian soldiers were the ones extrajudicially executing civilians in the video.

Subsequent research by Amnesty International bore this out, and a community of open source investigators collaborating on the case pin-pointed the exact location near the town of Zelevet, and narrowed down the date to late March or early April 2015. The case was immortalized by the September 2018 BBC Africa Eye documentary “Anatomy of a Killing”.

While playing an important role in defending people threatened by Boko Haram, the Cameroonian security forces’ response has too often been heavy-handed and rife with human rights violations. Amnesty International is calling on authorities to bring all those suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in fair trials, before ordinary civilian courts and without recourse to death penalty.

Source: Amnesty International

27, August 2019

Italy: Torino president furious as Cameroon defender N’Koulou tries to force Roma move ⁰

The Cameroon defender requested his omission from the team’s opening league match against Sassuolo on Sunday. Torino president Urbano Cairo is furious about Nicolas N’Koulou’s situation at the club and has demanded the defender apologise to his teammates.

N’Koulou, who has been heavily linked with a move to league rivals Roma this summer, missed the Bull’s 2-1 win over Sassuolo on Sunday. The 29-year-old was reported to have requested his omission from Walter Mazarri’s team as he hopes to clear his future before the September 2 transfer deadline.

Even though Roma’s interest in N’Koulou continues to grow, Cairo said the Cameroon international – who has two years left on his contract – will not leave Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino this summer.

The former Monaco and Marseille centre-back moved to Italy in 2017 from Lyon and has established himself in the heart of Torino’s defence but his recent performances have been questioned.

“N’Koulou? He has a performance like the one against Wolverhampton, which wasn’t exceptional – you saw him on the third goal, and then he tells the manager he’s not mentally prepared after being called up,” Cairo told Tuttomercatoweb, per Roma Press.

“He should’ve told us a day sooner so we could play someone else.

“I said at the beginning of the transfer window that I will keep everyone, so he will also remain. Maybe he has other ideas, but he has a contract for another two years.

“N’Koulou must apologise to the club and to his teammates. Will he stay? For me, yes, I want to keep everyone.

“And as I said, he has a contract for another two years. I even met with his agent at Forte dei Marmi: we were talking all afternoon and even talked about adding a buyout clause.

“Is this a low blow from Petrachi? No, I don’t know this, but Roma aren’t even able to contact our players: there is a written agreement, if they do, they have to pay a penalty of €900,000.”

Source: Goal.com

27, August 2019

Three die after ferry heading to Cameroon sinks ⁰

At least three people died after a ferry belonging to Cameroon’s shipping company Achouka sank off Cameroon’s Atlantic coast Sunday evening, according to local authorities.

About 200 passengers were on board the ferry, which left neighboring Nigeria and was heading to Tiko wharf in Cameroon’s Southwest region, a Cameroon navy official who preferred not to be named said.

More than 100 people were rescued from the ferry by the navy and about 90 others are still missing, according to officials. Search and rescue efforts continued late Sunday.

It is still unclear what caused the ferry to sink but preliminary investigations showed it encountered rough weather.

Source: Xinhuanet

27, August 2019

Thousands Flee Violence in Southern Cameroons ⁰

Tens of thousands of people have deserted Cameroon’s conflict prone English-speaking regions after a bloody weekend. Fighting between the military and separatists left at least 40 people dead, and a prominent Catholic bishop was abducted. The renewed fighting comes after a military tribunal ordered separatist leaders imprisoned for life. The new violence has dashed hopes that schools would re-open this week, after being closed for three years.

Six hundred people wait at Amour Mezam, a bus terminal in Cameroon’s northwestern town of Bamenda, seeking rides to French-speaking towns. Like other bus companies in this area, the agency here has been overwhelmed with thousands of travelers leaving the English-speaking area over the past week.

Eunice Tanlaka, a 32-year-old, says bus station officials have promised she and her two children will be able to get on the next bus for Yaounde, the capital.

“I have been tired the whole day, the children have been tired, the fatigue is just too much,” said Tanlaka. “Talk less of the transport fare that has been increased. It has not been easy on us, seriously.”

Tanlaka said she is leaving Bamenda because separatist groups ordered businesses closed for at least two weeks, and attacked people who defied their instructions.

23-year-old Elizabeth Mbunwe says she left the English-speaking town of Ndop when a military attack against separatist fighters killed six civilians, including a baby.

“How can you be fighting for someone and then you kill them? The military says they are for the people but then again turn to kill them,” said Mbunwe. “So, it is a whole confusing situation and we do not know who to walk to for help.”

At least eight people, including the Catholic bishop of the Kumbo diocese, George Nkuo, were kidnapped. The bishop was released when priests and hundreds of Catholics started marching to the bush areas where the separatists hide, demanding his freedom. The military says it is hunting for the other kidnapping victims.

Deben Tchoffo, governor of the English-speaking northwest region, says he has deployed troops to protect the population. He urged people not to flee and to assist the government in assuring their own security.

“Within our system of popular defense, I call on everybody, the population, traditional rulers, the administrative authorities, to revamp and remobilize the vigilante groups in the cities, the villages and the remote areas of the region,” said Tchoffo. “We also need the contribution of the population to ease the task of the security forces”

A senior Cameroon military official, who did not wish to be named, warns in a report that visiting the mostly deserted northwestern town of Kumbo he will need military protection.

The recent attacks began after a Yaoundé military tribunal said it had found separatist leader Julius Ayuk Tabe and his nine supporters guilty of secession, terrorism and hostility against the state. The tribunal handed down life prison sentences.

Separatists on social media ordered everyone in Cameroon’s English-speaking western regions to stay home to protest the sentences. They vow that schools will not open in the region until their leader is freed.

Violence erupted in the English-speaking regions in 2016 when teachers and lawyers protested alleged discrimination at the hands of the French-speaking majority.

The government responded with a crackdown that sparked an armed movement for an independent English-speaking state.

Source: VOA