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Southern Cameroonians are winning the battle for Ambazonia

29, July 2019

Southern Cameroonians are winning the battle for Ambazonia 0

After more than three years of a war that has left half of Southern Cameroons’s population displaced, villages reduced to rubble, and over 3000 killed, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia appears to be a reality.  The war is far from over and any victory may prove pyrrhic given the devastation wrought. Even so, it now seems La Republique du Cameroun and Southern Cameroons are going their separate ways. French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya has outlasted nearly all Western leaders of his generation and even beyond but there are signs the Southern Cameroons war will still be fought even after him.

How are Southern Cameroonians surviving? Some pro Yaoundé commentators grew optimistic about the impending collapse of the Ambazonian revolution immediately after the arrest of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides in Abuja, Nigeria. The Biya regime had a massive advantage from the very inception of the Southern Cameroons struggle due to the fact that La Republique du Cameroun had no internal and external opponents to put serious pressure on Biya and his consortium of crime syndicates. Today, the regime’s anti Bamileke stance and the arrest of Prof Maurice Kamto and several other divisions are all signaling that collapse now seem possible.

To be sure, Biya’s survival after the last counterfeit presidential elections was no accident: There were clear domestic and external causes. The regime used cynical and brutal tactics to maintain key backing at home, while on the international front, it had steadfast allies such as the French and the European Union and reluctant and incompetent enemies led by the Francophone diaspora.

Recently, France’s closest allies are walking away from it as it is believed that Paris is supporting the Yaoundé government in its resolve to kill the people of Southern Cameroons. Many EU countries are insisting on Yaoundé calling for an inclusive dialogue that will help normalize things.

But Yaoundé has been indifferent to those calls. Many EU countries have already allied with the United States and Canada on how the Southern Cameroons crisis could be addressed. America’s determination and its ability to mobilize other countries, including some of Cameroons neighbors like Equatorial Guinea, have rattled the regime and its supporters.

Southern Cameroons institutions put in place by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is helping Ambazonians withstand the pressures of the French Cameroun war. Notably, the Ambazonia Restoration Forces have remained loyal to the Interim Government. And even the Yaounde sponsored coup by Sako Ikome and Chris Anu against the Ambazonia leader did not get the desired impact.

Without heavy equipment, the Southern Cameroons fighters have inflicted huge casualties and caused some defections deep within the Cameroon government army and the size of the French Cameroun military is shrinking day-by-day.

After the April 6th coup, Biya packed security positions and elite units with tribal loyalists, many of them are members of “essingan” a Beti -Ewondo traditionally sect that persuades top ranking military officers and senior cabinet ministers that Biya was their best route to security and privilege. With age telling on him and poor health, the Southern Cameroons crisis has exposed Biya emptiness and it is abundantly clear the Amba resistance has caused a crack within the essingan sect.

Cameroon army soldiers have also been burning homes and destroying food crops, believing that such tactics will cause the Southern Cameroons population to yield and betray the fighters. This strategy has been in effect for more than two years, but the Southern Cameroons population is very determined. Most southern Cameroonians are for independence and will not settle for anything less.

The Yaoundé government is really frustrated. Its international allies are walking away and this is creating brand new problems even in the North where Boko Haram remains a lethal threat. The withdrawal of American military support in the North has exposed Cameroon’s army soldiers to more attacks from Boko Haram and prompted a new deployment.

As soon as the Ambazonia unrest broke out three years ago, Biya falsely characterized Southern Cameroons as terrorists, rebels and government posters appeared warning of sectarian divisions. Eventually, this did not work. Government officials seem to be seeing the writing on the wall. The government is out of money and the West’s decision to turn the heat on the collapsing Yaoundé government seems to spell the end for a regime that has thrived on corruption and tribalism.

As the oil refinery has gone, the government does not have money to buy and corrupt more people. Some of its fervent supporters are already jumping ship. Many senior government officials are already sending their families abroad as they know that America’s determination to bring change to Cameroon can never be underestimated.

The “river of money” in the Ambazonia Southern Zone has gone dry. CDC, PAMOL and SONARA are all facing problems and these are corporations that have stood the Biya Francophone government in good stead over the last fifty years.

With these corporations facing tough challenges, it is clear that Biya is in real trouble. The government is at its wit’s end. The challenges are only mounting.  Before long, civil servants and the military will not be receiving their salaries. The military, in particular, has stood solidly behind the government during its bad days. Will it still stand with the government now that its coffers are empty? The stress is obvious and for cause. The military might just as well jump ship.

There is genuine Southern Cameroons ideological support for President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe who has often insisted that no Southern Cameroonian citizen is bigger than the revolution. The sacrifice that the people of Southern Cameroons have made has rubbished claims by Yaoundé that the resistance is an externally orchestrated plot.

Another key Biya Francophone ploy was a campaign of intimidation. Southern Cameroonians have destroyed the Biya regime’s wall of fear something that is still a kind of wishful thinking in French Cameroun. Many Southern Cameroonians have bravely risked their lives and many more are joining the armed struggle.

French Cameroun’s attempts to divide, delegitimize, and criminalize the Ambazonia Interim Government has failed and the Ambazonia population is no longer willing to stomach unjustified violence from the Francophone army. The French Cameroun’s concocted Atanga Nji Amba Boys portraying the Ambazonia Restoration Forces as violent, criminals, sectarian has also failed woefully.

The Biya regime is struggling to make its false narrative on the Southern Cameroons situation real. Peaceful demonstrations have been specifically targeted, and thousands of Southern Cameroonians have been detained, facing torture, sexual assault, and humiliation. Over 400 have disappeared in the Kondengui and New Bell prisons, as many as 50,000 have either fled abroad precisely into neighboring Nigeria and became radicalized.

With Paul Biya still in power in French Cameroun and without an inclusive dialogue as advocated by the international community, both Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun will continue to be caught in a turbulence of epic proportions and the stress will continue.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

French Cameroun’s Kondengui Prison is now being emptied by Biya regime’s mass murder campaign

29, July 2019

French Cameroun’s Kondengui Prison is now being emptied by Biya regime’s mass murder campaign 0

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime is doubling down on executions of Southern Cameroons detainees in the Kondengui High Security prison in Yaoundé following a massive riot staged by the Ambazonians in the facility. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands French Cameroun military judges are presently accelerating the pace they issue life and death sentences.

A senior Francophone army officer who spoke to our Yaounde city reporter on the condition that his full names should not be disclosed out of fear for his family safety hinted that Yaounde was instituting a campaign to clear the decks of Southern Cameroons detainees in Douala New Bell prison, Baffoussam and in Kondengui. He revealed that Southern Cameroons prisoners of war are being transferred from jails in Buea and Bamenda to join death-row detainees in Yaounde and Douala.

We gathered from other prison administrators that at least one section of the Kondengui prison that harbored Ambazonian detainees is almost entirely empty. Some of the former detainees en route to Douala and Yaounde from Bamenda escaped that fate only after relatives paid hundreds of thousands of FCFA to secure their freedom.

A Roman Catholic priest in Buea described overhearing conversations between Buea prisons guards relating to the transfer of Southern Cameroons detainees to be killed. Human Rights groups say the rate of death sentences on Southern Cameroonians has sped up over the past three years as the attitudes of Francophone court officials hardened.

There is no room for leniency as almost every Southern Cameroons detainee will now face the death penalty. Many Ambazonian prisoners have died of malnutrition, medical neglect or physical abuse. The so-called Prime Minister Dion Ngute government did not respond to requests for comment for this report. The Francophone dominated Biya government has never acknowledged the execution of prisoners or released figures of Southern Cameroons detainees.  No independent figures are available even from the Ambazonian Interim Government now led by Vice President Dabney Yerima.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

At 10th Anniversary Mass: Bishop Nkea says Father Agbaw-Ebai loves the Church with his whole heart and he’s is not just a Catholic priest but he is a true son of the Church

28, July 2019

At 10th Anniversary Mass: Bishop Nkea says Father Agbaw-Ebai loves the Church with his whole heart and he’s is not just a Catholic priest but he is a true son of the Church 0

HOMILY AT THE MASS OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF REV. FR. MAURICE AGBAW-EBAI

BOSTON, USA, 28TH JULY, 2019

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today is a very important day in the life of Rev. Fr. Maurice Agbaw Ebai, Priest of the Diocese of Mamfe, Cameroon and Pastor of St. Anne’s Parish in the Archdiocese of Boston, United States of America. On this day, we have all joined to render thanks to Almighty God, who ten years ago, called Fr. Maurice to make a complete and irreversible donation of his entire life to the service of and to pour out his life as a libation for the redemption of souls. On this day, ten years ago, Fr. Maurice died with Christ on his altar of sacrifice, and after his ordination, he could say with St. Paul, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Jesus Christ his Son, and to the Church that is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. On this day, ten years ago, Fr. Maurice prostrated himself before God and the Entire Church gathered in prayer, to empty himself of himself

My dear people of God, gathered here with Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai to celebrate his tenth anniversary, I welcome you all to this great day in the life of this priest and I want to apologize  that I could not stay in America long enough to be present at this occasion which I had agreed to preside over and preach. But since urgent duties recalled me home to the Diocese of Mamfe and the Church in Cameroon, I decided to ask Fr. Dieudonne Akawung, the Diocesan Finance Administrator to come to Boston and to preach this homily on my behalf which I had written to preach myself. I know that Fr. Dieudonne will deliver the homily well on my behalf, but the only difference is that he will be delivering the homily without a miter on his head. Some people in Mamfe had asked me if I was going all the way to the United States to celebrate only a tenth anniversary, the what would I do if it were a silver Jubilee? My answer to them was a quotation from the Psalmist who said “One day in his house is better than a thousand elsewhere” and again, the same Psalmist who said in another instance that “a thousand years for God is like a day just come and gone”(Ps.90:4). To be a priest even for one day only, brings a lot of glory and honour to name of Jesus Christ who is the Supreme High Priest of the New Covenant. If after nine years of seminary formation, a priest had the chance to celebrate only one Mass and died, he would have fulfilled the reason for his ordination, because his first Mass and  the Mass of his  golden Jubilee in the priesthood is one continuous sacrifice, during which he re-enacts in an un-bloody way, the bloody sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ on the Cross for the salvation of the world. Therefore, this celebration is not about Fr. Maurice, it is about glory and honour to the Name of Jesus Christ whom he has been so blessed to serve with devotion and loyalty all these ten years.

However, while we give honour and glory to God, we must remember the quote from St. Augustine who said “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not”. It is in this light I wish to join you all and say to Fr. Maurice, a big Congratulations on your tenth anniversary. Within these ten years, God has used your hands to dispense his blessings to thousands of people, God has used your mouth and your voice to bring his Good News and consolation to thousands of Christ’s Faithful. Within these ten years, God has used you to bring absolution and forgive the sins of thousands of people everywhere in the confessionals. Within these ten years, many have been born through you in the waters of baptism, and above all everyday, you have stood in the place of Christ to celebrate the Eucharist and raise the cup of salvation on behalf of the people of God entrusted to your care. Fr. Maurice and many of us will now understand better what St. Augustine meant when he said “without us, God will not”. Thank you Father Maurice for making yourself an instrument in the hands of God for all these years so that God’s graces may come down from heaven and rest on his people on earth. Through you, heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with God. For this, we can only say “Glory be to God on high, and congratulations to you, man of goodwill.”

In the Letter to the Hebrews, it is stated that every high priest has been taken out of mankind, and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins… No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God as Aaron was (Heb. 5:1-4).

The priesthood thus is a gift and at the same time, it is a mystery. It is a gift in the sense that it is freely given by God. That is why Christ says in John 15:16 that you did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last.

It is a mystery because it is something that can never be understood. How can a human being command God to come into bread? How can human being touch water and it becomes holy? How can a human being throw a bit of water on your head and original sin is taken away? How can a human being wave his hands in the air and impart the blessing of God? How can a human being say “I absolve you” and sin is taken away? This remains a mystery, more or less like the Trinity, the most ancient of all mysteries. Even the priest who carries the priesthood in him does not fully understand it. He simply exercises this ministry in faith, knowing that the Lord who called him and whom he is serving, will not let him down.

The priest is a man of God and he  never acts in his name but in the name of the one who sent him. That is why every time the priest carries out   liturgical function, he does so in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He never does this in his own personal name.

There are two things I would like  you people to understand today about priests on this day on the tenth anniversary celebration of Fr. Maurice .

The first is that Priests called by God are human and sinners like all other people. That is why St. Paul Says in 2Cor. 4:7; that we are only earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. Priests fall down in different ways from time to time. The twelve Apostles called on Holy Thursday to be priests were men, with faults and failings. Fr. Columba, an Irish Priest said in one of his homilies  that The first Pope, St. Peter was rash and bad tempered. He also denied Christ in His hour of need. St. Mathew was a swindler who co-operated with his country’s enemies. And poor St. Thomas wasn’t too sure about what he believed or where he stood. If God only relied on the virtuous and the perfect, he would have very few (or no) priests. I for one standing here would not even come any where near the altar.

In this regard, I want to say that most often Christians see the man in the priest and not the priest in the man. Many people only look at the man in the priest, and some people may not even believe in the miraculous work of God through the priest. But when we look at the priest in the man, we transcend his own petty weaknesses and see the grace of God at work in us through the instrumentality of human beings. It is in this connection that the church teaches us about the principle of ex opereoperato to mean that the efficacy of the sacrament does not depend on the worthiness of the priest. He is a simple instrument that has to struggle for his own salvation in fear and trembling.

The second thing I want you to understand about priests is that their life is not their own. They have offered it to the church and they do everything according to the mind of the Church. They must conform therefore not to the standards set by men but to the standards set by God and the Church. These standards come out in the way they minister to their people. Before you think of the one wrong of a priest, remember the thousand good things he does for his flock daily. Satan exists in the community to ruin it. The priest is a good and struggling man. His goodness is and should not only be seen when de dies. Always be ready to appreciate what a priest does for you, never take it for granted.

From the day Fr. Maurice Agbaw-Ebai was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Mamfe, he has done his work to the best of his ability, and like his Bishop, I want to use this chance to thank him for the priest that he has been. The real seminary for the priest is the Ministry, and thus we rise and fall in our attempt to give our all to God. The one thing I know for certain about this priest, all his human weaknesses notwithstanding, is that he loves the church with his whole heart. He is not just a Catholic priest but he is a true son of the Church and he is ready to defend the doctrine of the Church with such passion that could be seen only in the likes of St. Irenaeus, St. Athanasius and his mentor in the faith, Pope Benedict XVI. I encourage him on this day that his faith may never fail, so that he may always remain a source of strength to his brothers and sisters in Christ. I invite all of you in this Church today to pray in a very special way for our celebrant, that he may remain faithful to Christ, loyal to the Church, fervent in prayer and constant in love for the Christians he serves in the Archdiocese of Boston.

I wish each and everyone of you a very happy celebration, and once again to Fr. Maurice, Happy tenth Anniversary and God bless you all.

+Andrew NKEA,

Bishop of Mamfe.

France: Yellow Vests march for 37th week amid media silence

28, July 2019

France: Yellow Vests march for 37th week amid media silence 0

For the 37th consecutive Saturday the anti-government Yellow Vests marched nationwide. They continue to be the only social movement in recent memory which has not gone on Christmas or now summer vacation.

The Yellow Vests’ determination to finally win some concessions and major democratic changes has caused them to endure 8 months of brutal repression, mass arrests, thousands of prison sentences, 900 serious injuries at the hands of cops and bans on protesting in urban centers and rural roundabouts.

After 8 months no one can say what is the popularity rating of the Yellow Vests, because the nation’s polling agencies have completely censored the subject. Four months ago was the last public poll, which gave the Yellow Vests a 50% approval rating.

The demonstrations in Paris continue to only be openly covered by Iranian and Russian media. For all of 2019 French media has been too scared to openly do their job at the Yellow Vest demonstrations, even when they are accompanied by bodyguards. Yellow Vests say their media coverage is one sided, and over the past two months shockingly non-existent.

Despite the government repression, the police violence, the lack of media objectivity and the lack of proper polls, nothing indicates that the Yellow Vests are going to stop marching. While August is expected to be relatively quiet, most analysts say that the Yellow Vests will be leading massive anti-government marches this fall.

Source: Presstv

Treatment of Ambazonians: Gendarmes attack Southern Cameroons lawyer in Yaounde

28, July 2019

Treatment of Ambazonians: Gendarmes attack Southern Cameroons lawyer in Yaounde 0

A Southern Cameroons lawyer was reportedly beaten by two Francophone gendarmes in the Biyem Assi neighborhood in Yaounde. Barrister Amungwa was unconscious and seen lying on the Gendarmerie hilux that transported him to unknown destination.

Southern Cameroons Communications Secretary, Milton Taka who confirmed the news to our London desk observed that nowhere is safe for Amabzonians anymore in La Republique du Cameroun.

Cameroon Concord News understands Barrister Amungwa is the head of the Communication team for the detained Southern Cameroons leaders. He organises all the press conferences and print media publications pertaining to the trial of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides.

By Sama Ernest

Ambazonian Rev. Sister elected Mother General of the distinguished Tertiary Sisters of St Francis

28, July 2019

Ambazonian Rev. Sister elected Mother General of the distinguished Tertiary Sisters of St Francis 0

An Ambazonian nun Rev Sr Theodosia BAKI from Shisong Kumbo has been elected at the recent General Chapter elections of 26 July 2019 to head the distinguished Tertiary Sisters of St Francis of Brixen. As Mother General of this Religious Congregation of Reverend sisters spread throughout on the 5 continents of the world Mother Theodosia BAKI reports directly to the Vatican.

The Catholic congregation of the Tertiary Sisters of St Francis of Assisi of Brixen was founded by the Venerable Sister Maria HEUBER on September 12, 1700. They comprise three provinces covering their apostolate in the world … The Brixen, Bolivia and Cameroon provinces. The Cameroon Province (now to be called Ambazonia Province) with mother house in Shisong was opened by five young Rev. Sisters from Brixen Italy led by Rev Sister Maria Camilla on 8th April 1935. This province which now has more than 100 indigenous sisters has convents and institutions in Ambazonia, La Republique du Cameroun, Chad, Nigeria, Central African Republic and Morocco.

The Tertiary Sisters of St Francis serve their respective communities and the church in the domains of Teaching, Health, Pastoral and Social Services, Orphanages, Office Management and Catering.

At the said election another Ambazonian the Rev Sister Alphonsa KIVEN was also elected Councilor. Two other Ambazonia Reverend Sisters are known to this reporter to have held this office of Superior General, Rev Sister Anna and Rev Sister Alphonsa KIVEN.

Cameroon: Why the panic in Etoudi?

27, July 2019

Cameroon: Why the panic in Etoudi? 0

Cameroon’s Unity Palace, the palace that hosts the country’s president, is in total confusion. The country’s president, Paul Biya, is having serious issues with his health and this is a huge concern to the president’s collaborators as they are compelled to keep everything under wraps.

Ever since Mr. Biya was repatriated from Switzerland a month ago because of the activities of the Brigade Anti Sardinard (BAS), things have not been well with the man who has presided over the country’s destiny for close to four decades.

His health is a constant concern to his closest collaborators. His failing heart and swollen prostrate are headed in the wrong direction and it is becoming hard for Mr. Biya to seek better health care abroad.

As a result of this unfortunate situation, the Yaoundé dictator on June 20, 2019, dispatched his Secretary-General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, to France for him to negotiate with the French on whether the government would provide maximum security and guarantees that he would be protected during his time in France where he is expected to have quality health care.

The Cameroon Concord News Group’s correspondent in Paris has gathered that the French are not very happy with the situation and they understand that Biya is bad business for them. They are not prepared to risk the lives of their police officers and their economy just because of an ineffective dictator whose hallmark is corruption.

They understand that there will be huge demonstrations to be organized by the African Diaspora in France that has developed the bad habit of chasing African dictators from Europe.

Mr. Biya, also known as the “monarch”, is not very happy with the manner in which the Swiss handled his case and this anger is complicating his health situation. He has become a very bitter person and most of his guests have said that he is mad at Switzerland for the humiliation he was subjected to.

In a moment of utter frustration, Mr. Biya burst out, telling a well-wisher that he never expected that the Swiss government would turn against him after all he had done for Switzerland.

He said he had more than USD 700 million in Swiss banks and the Swiss are now making it hard for him to have access to that money.

Even his wife, Chantal Biya, noted for her flaming red hair, is now displaying signs of frustration and stress. Normally friendly and smiley, Mrs. Biya who has come under enormous criticism for her flamboyant lifestyle, has now become erratic and is suffering from mood swings.

Speaking to the Cameroon Concord News Group’s Chairman, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, a collaborator of the first lady said that “Rudeness and discourteousness now constitute her new attitude ever since she and her husband were thrown out of Switzerland.” The pressure is on and it is real.

The pressure on Mr. Biya to go is mounting and this has been complicated by the country’s economy that has taken a nosedive. The Southern Cameroons crisis that started as a demonstration has now developed into a full blown war, with more than 5,000 Cameroonians sent to an early grave.

The country’s economy has taken a blow to the liver, as Southern Cameroonian fighters have succeeded to cripple the country’s struggling economy.  Major corporations in Southern Cameroons have all gone under. CDC and PAMOL are out of business because of the political crisis that is tearing the country apart.

SONARA, the country’s lone refinery, for its part, went up in flames and this has robbed the government of a significant source of revenue. The struggling government has since been going all over the world looking for resources to rebuild the bedeviled refinery.

But noted for its corruption and inefficiency, the Biya government is being toasted from pillar to post by investors and donors. Investors and donors do not want to put their money in a black hole.  

Cameroon is noted for defaulting on its debts and has recently been ranked fourth on the list of the most corrupt countries in Africa and this is no good news for the beleaguered government.

As Mr. Biya’s health keeps sliding down the slope, his ministers are taking advantage of the situation to feather their personal nests. In three decades, Mr. Biya and his collaborators have reduced their resource-rich nation to a heavily indebted poor country under stress (HIPCUS).

It will take almost a century for Cameroon to be pulled out of the economic doldrums, that is, when the monarch would have been dead and gone.  

Cameroonians must understand that the end is near. Mr. Biya’s days are numbered. They must understand that theirs will be the kingdom of hard work and sacrifice if they really want to rebuild their country and economy.

Biya has ruined everything and the only thing that is of interest to him now is his own physical survival. He knows he is not eternal and the fear of death has enveloped his mind. When the death of Retired General Tataw James Tabe-Orock was announced to him a few days ago, he burst into tears.

But many observers said he was not really mourning the death of a man he trusted, but was simply scared that his time would be coming sooner rather than later.

By Kingsley Betek in Yaounde

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Money and Southern Cameroons Crisis: Former aides to US Senator Cruz working for Biya

27, July 2019

Money and Southern Cameroons Crisis: Former aides to US Senator Cruz working for Biya 0

Two former aides to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have signed on to represent Cameroon’s government in Washington despite recent allegations of serious human rights abuses by the government. David Polyansky, Cruz’s former chief of staff; Catherine Frazier, another former Cruz aide; and Jimmy Soni, a former Huffington Post managing editor who later worked for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, will advise Cameroon’s government on public relations. They’ll promote a “positive and favorable image” of Cameroon’s government through digital ads and “by placing targeted op eds in conservative-oriented outlets in order to foster a robust and growing partnership narrative into the future,” according to a contract filed with the Justice Department.

Cameroon has found itself saddled with a less-than-positive-and-favorable image in recent months. The Trump administration has stopped providing as much military aid to Cameroon’s government because of what Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of United States Africa Command, described in congressional testimony in February as the “alleged atrocities” it had committed. Mausi Segun, Human Rights Watch’s executive director for Africa, wrote last month that Cameroon’s government had responded to separatist threats by “burning hundreds of homes, killing civilians, and detaining and torturing alleged separatists in a gendarme-run prison in the capital, Yaoundé.”

 There’s a long history, of course, of Washington lobbyists and public relations hands representing governments accused of committing atrocities, dating back to Paul Manafort’s work for Ferdinand Marcos, the infamous Filipino dictator. Polyansky, Frazier and Soni are representing Cameroon through Clout Public Affairs, a division of Axiom Strategies, a consulting firm run by Jeff Roe, who managed Cruz’s presidential campaign. Cameroon also retains Squire Patton Boggs to lobby on its behalf.

 Asked about the Cameroonian government’s human rights record, Clout defended its work. “Clout is pleased to be working with Cameroon to highlight the strong and developing relationship between our two countries,” the firm said in a statement. The firm noted that Cameroon had “been a longtime partner to U.S. military operations in Africa, and serves as a key ally in the United States’ effort to combat the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, which has for far too long victimized and ravaged innocent civilians in the region.” The contract is worth $55,000 a month.

Source: Politico.com

UK: Boris Johnson’s Critical Next Three months Diary

27, July 2019

UK: Boris Johnson’s Critical Next Three months Diary 0

Boris Johnson has finally realized his dream of residing at No. 10 Downing Street. As a child he aspired to be “world king”; now he has at least the opportunity to save the embattled kingdom in his own country.

Johnson’s ascent to the premiership coincides with arguably the most challenging political time for the UK since the Second World War.

With just over three months to go before Britain exits the European Union (EU), Johnson has to reach a speedy deal with the Europeans or risk the country crashing out of the union without a formal agreement.

To compound his problems, Johnson has to contend with a tense situation in the Persian Gulf largely brought about by foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt’s decision to inflame tensions with Iran.

With the clock ticking fast to the end of October, here are the key dates for Britain’s new prime minister in the weeks and months ahead:

August 01: Brecon and Radnorshire by-election. This is a key test for Johnson and his inner circle. With a working parliamentary majority of only 2 seats, the Tories can ill-afford to lose this seat in Wales. Johnson’s headache is exacerbated by the fact that the Tories’ rivals, notably the Greens and the Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru, have agreed to withdraw from the race and back the Liberal Democrats, who are currently at the top of the polls.

August 24: G7 Meeting. The G7 leaders are set to meet in Biarritz in south-west France. This is a test for Johnson to properly balance his relationship with US President Donald Trump and European leaders. If he distances himself from key European leaders, notably Emmanuel Macron of France and Germany’s Angela Merkel, then the public and the markets will interpret it as a further sign of an imminent no-deal Brexit.

September 03: End of parliamentary recess. The House of Commons reconvenes after the summer break. Johnson is likely to face a hostile parliamentary environment if by this point he has failed to reach an accommodation with the EU leaders on an orderly Brexit.

September 29: Conservative party conference. Johnson is like to view the conference as a big opportunity to energise his support base in the Tory machine and to prepare them psychologically for the next general election, which some analysts think could come as early as next spring.

October 17-18: European Union summit. This is likely to be the last time Britain is formally invited to participate in high-level EU business. In view of Johnson’s bombastic personality, he is likely to use this occasion to set out a grand vision for his country’s future outside the EU.

October 31: Brexit deadline. Johnson has pledged to leave the EU by this point, even without a deal. A no-deal Brexit, which looks increasingly likely, will prove the litmus test of the Johnson premiership. If Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal, then Johnson will face massive challenges, including a possible general election in the spring of 2020 and a Scottish independence referendum in 2021.

Culled from Presstv

Stricken with cancer and at war with Ambazonia; Biya is planning to settle in France

27, July 2019

Stricken with cancer and at war with Ambazonia; Biya is planning to settle in France 0

President Paul Biya of French Cameroun, stricken with cancer and at war with the people of Southern Cameroons has dispatched his Secretary Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh to France to locate a placid corner from where he could continue receiving treatment.

The 86-year-old dictator has been having sleepless nights ever since the Swiss government ordered him to leave the country. Biya was reportedly planning to have a surgery and some rest at his Intercontinental Hotel before a massive demo staged by French speaking Cameroonians compelled the Swiss government to force him out of the country.

People close to him, and his neighbors, think he is living his last days on earth.  For the first time yesterday Friday the 26th of July 2019, he personally came out of the Unity Palace and shared a conversation with security guards in which he wondered aloud why the Swiss had to treat him with contempt after all what he has done for the European nation.

Essentially, Biya will be leaving Yaounde to France for good as the days of running the country from abroad are now over. In fact, Paul Biya has been ruling by remote control for years.  Biya had hardly spent 2 months in Yaounde in a year where his prime minister and his cabinet sit.

Stay with Cameroon Concord News Group for a detail report on the Biya situation later today

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

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