Headline News

UN Security Council inspectors in Yaounde

3, March 2017

UN Security Council inspectors in Yaounde 0

UN Security Council inspectors are currently visiting countries in the Lake Chad Basin combating the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram since 2013. The delegation comprising 15 members arrived Cameroon on Thursday for a working visit. A statement signed by Minister Adoum Gargoum, in charge of relations with the Islamic world said that the UN mission to Cameroon has gotten the high approval of President Paul Biya. The delegation is conducting a field mission for the first time in the Lake Chad Basin.

Cameroon Concord News understands the mission will continue in all the countries of the Lake Chad Basin and ends on March 7th. The countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission including Benin set up the Joint Multinational Force to confront Boko Haram. With approximately 10,000 troops, the Joint Multinational Force has contributed greatly to militarily weakening Boko Haram, which paid allegiance to the Organization of the Islamic State and is now called, Province of the Islamic State in Africa.

By Sama Ernest

 

Revealed: Consortium to lodge a complaint with the International Criminal Court

2, March 2017

Revealed: Consortium to lodge a complaint with the International Criminal Court 2

The former deputy prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda responsible for the 1994 genocide has announced that crimes against humanity have been committed in Southern Cameroons. Speaking of the Anglophone crisis that began in November 2016 in Cameroon, renowned Barrister Bernard Acho Muna during a press conference on March 1 2017 revealed that a complaint will be lodged with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“According to the Geneva Convention of 1949, we speak of genocide when you want to change the way of life of a people with a culture of their own. Anglophones are a national group, wanting to enjoy their justice system as Francophones also enjoy their judicial system. In trying to force these people to adopt a culture that is not their own, it is genocide. When you break the doors of students in the university residential area, you roll them in mud, it is also genocide. When you shut down internet, this is an element of genocide.” The much respected Muna said.

On the subject of the complaint to be submitted to the ICC, Bernard Acho Muna said that, “I have been in contact with some lawyers in London to assist in the process and the legal proceedings have been mandated by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium currently led by Barrister  Agbor Felix Nkongho.”

By Sama Ernest

3 deadly fire accidents recorded in East Cameroun

2, March 2017

3 deadly fire accidents recorded in East Cameroun 0

Three separate fire incidents in 24 hours have caused untold suffering to victims in East Cameroun. In Djeleng 5, a locality in Bafoussam, four persons were killed in fire outbreak which occurred Tuesday night around 11 PM. Security sources say a lady called Beatrice who works in a local financial institution and her three kids perished in the inferno leaving the entire population in total pandemonium. Neighbors recounted how they heard loud noises from the apartment of the victims but were helpless as the wild flames became unbearable to control even with the intervention of the Baffoussam fire fighters.

In a similar development, this time around in New Bell Douala 2 municipality, a family was rendered homeless following a fire outbreak that shattered the area on Tuesday afternoon at about 1pm. The fire reportedly ravaged a small house constructed with planks and according to the owner, the sum of 300 thousands FCFA was consumed by the flames. Other valuable items also vanished in the inferno. Locals suspect a short circuit may have cause the accident. Late on Wednesday March 1, 2017 another fire incident reduced to ground level a house in Bepanda entrée Lycee in Douala 5 municipality.

Cameroun Info.Net

US: Trump shifts rhetoric on immigration policy

2, March 2017

US: Trump shifts rhetoric on immigration policy 0

US President Donald Trump has offered a more moderate tone on immigration policy, telling lawmakers in Congress that he was open to immigration reform. Addressing the country during his first speech to Congress on Tuesday, Trump shifted from the harsh rhetoric that he had expressed over illegal immigration during his election campaign and first month in the White House.

The president’s wide-ranging speech was long on promises but short on specifics on how to achieve the pledges he made in his election campaign. Trump was seeking to regain the confidence of Americans that are rattled by his leadership thus far.

On immigration, the new president took a more measured tone, appealing to Republicans and Democrats to work together on immigration reform. Trump also said immigration to the US should be based on a merit system, rather than relying on lower-skilled immigrants.

“I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: to improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen our nation’s security, and to restore respect for our laws”, Trump said in a conciliatory tone.

However, the US president reiterated his pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico. “We want all Americans to succeed — but that can’t happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders. For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great wall along our southern border,” he said.

Trump built a base of support behind his presidential campaign by vowing to fight illegal immigration. Building a wall on the US-Mexico border to stop the influx of refugees and undocumented migrants coming from Central and Latin America was a hallmark of Trump’s presidential campaign. During his campaign, Trump also characterized Mexican migrants living in the US as murderers and rapists and pledged to build a wall that he said Mexico would pay for.

Since his inauguration, Trump has faced nearly non-stop protests and rallies condemning his divisive rhetoric and controversial immigration policy. Trump’s first month in office was dominated by a battle over his temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries and harsh personal criticism of federal judges who blocked his immigration order.

Presstv

Southern Cameroons: HYSACAM signs a 5 year deal with the Bamenda Urban Council

2, March 2017

Southern Cameroons: HYSACAM signs a 5 year deal with the Bamenda Urban Council 0

The Health and Sanitation Company of Cameroon (HYSACAM) has signed a five-year contract with the Bamenda Urban Council in Southern Cameroons. The company has successful managed urban waste chain: collection, transport, treatment, recycling and recovery for the past 46 years. The French establishment deployed its team and heavy equipments in the Bamenda province of Southern Cameroons on February 22, 2017.  We understand the city of Bamenda is the 10th chief city that has contracted HYSACAM for the professional collection of household garbage in Cameroon.

There are 15 Cameroonian towns and cities served by HYSACAM. They include Yaoundé, Douala, Bafoussam, Ngaoundéré, Garoua, Maroua, Bertoua, Buea, Limbe, Kribi, Edéa, Ebolowa, Sangmélima, Meyomessala and Bamenda.

The CEO Michel Ngapanoun was quoted as saying that “We had to industrialize the urban waste collection and treatment methods and we created almost 4,000 jobs. So in 40 years, there has been an expansion. Little by little, together we have woven the canvas of cleanliness irrigating in the cities of Cameroon.”

Report by CIR

Douala: Blood trafficking ring dismantled

1, March 2017

Douala: Blood trafficking ring dismantled 1

Cameroon Radio and Television has reported that a network of traffickers of human blood has just been dismantled in Douala, the economic capital.

These traffickers, the CRTV report revealed, were secretly taking blood from a hospital in Kotto, a district in Douala. The blood was then labeled and levied at 6500 FCFA and resold in hospitals in the Littoral region. Members of the network included medical staff.

According to our information, donors underwent no examination before the blood was collected for the patients.

By Rita Akana

Southern Cameroons Uprising: Huge drop in number of GCE exam entries

1, March 2017

Southern Cameroons Uprising: Huge drop in number of GCE exam entries 1

The General Certificate of Education has reportedly recorded a low registration this year as compared to previous years. Local media reports in Southern Cameroons say some 70,000 candidates have successfully gone through registration formalities. The figure is far below the 182,000 that registered last year.

Commenting on Tuesday February 28, 2017, the GCE Board Registrar Dr Humphrey Ekema Monono shied away from the worrying registration statistics in both the Bamenda and Buea provinces of Southern Cameroons but hinted that the Board was working daily for the smooth holding of the 2017 Session.

The chartered member of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate also observed that it was too early to know the exact number of candidates who have registered in West Cameroon but insisted on making public the figures next week.

The well-fed Registrar said the Board hopes to have some 100,000 after the Tuesday deadline. Dr Humphrey Ekema also revealed that vetting of questions for the 2019 session has started in Buea. However, it is still not clear whether the examinations will take place in the months previewed; May and June respectively.

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime has insisted that examinations this year must hold despite calls from protesters for boycott. A pro La Republique online news portal, Cameroun Info.Net recently hinted of the possibility of extension of the school year citing one Mr. Paul Goghomu serving at the Prime Minister’s office.  However schools have remained closed in Southern Cameroons and for those that are opened, classes are not effective.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from CIN

CPDMization of Cameroon’s political parties: Bello Bouba gets another mandate

1, March 2017

CPDMization of Cameroon’s political parties: Bello Bouba gets another mandate 0

The National Chairman of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (NUDP) Bello Bouba Maigari has won a vote of confidence from members of his party. He was re-elected at the 6th ordinary congress of the party that held in Yaounde on 25th February 2017. Bello Bouba Maigari has been National Chairman of the party since 1992 and has been given the mandate to serve the NUDP for the next five years.

The vote of confidence was given by members during the congress that brought together party members from the ten Regions of the Country. The meeting that took place at the Congress Hall in Yaounde was attended by representatives from friendly political parties including the CPDM, SDF, UPC, FSNC, UPF, MP, MDP.

Apart from the election, party members also evaluated the activities of the NUDP during  the last five years. They also drafted a road-map for the forth coming Municipal, Legislative and Presidential Elections to be organized in 2018.

Chairman, Bello Bouba Maigari during the event, called on government to improve the electoral system in the country. He suggested that the biometric system be extended to the polling stations; that government institute a single ballot paper system and that the voting age be brought down to 18 years.

He also said that the present appointed Government Delegates be replaced by elected Mayors. Discussing the current security, socio-political and economic situation of the country, Bello Bouba Maigari lauded President Biya’s engagement in fighting Boko Haram on the one hand.

He encouraged government to resort to dialogue in dealing with the Anglophone Crisis on the other hand. He hailed the creation of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism urging President Biya to appoint its members as soon as possible to uphold Cameroon’s unity in diversity.

CRTV

Francophone political party leaders call on Biya to reject federalism

1, March 2017

Francophone political party leaders call on Biya to reject federalism 2

Several Francophone opposition political parties that attended the 6th Ordinary Congress of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) on February the 25th, 2017 in Yaoundé have rejected the idea of federalism currently being championed by some Southern Cameroonians including the leadership of the Social Democratic Front, SDF. The parties currently in the government under an obscure organization known as the Presidential Majority made a mockery of the Anglophone problem and echoed their opposition to federalism.

 The Secretary General of the Union des Populations du Cameroon (UPC), Basile Louka, opined that there was need for Cameroon to remain united, democratic, decentralized through dialogue. For his part, Henri Hogbe Nlend, Chairman of the General Council of the same party and a former cabinet minister of the Biya regime painted federalism as divisive. He observed that: “We have not fought for Cameroon to be united and to come now and be fighting for it to be disunited.” Both UPC leaders had in the 1990s condemned the modus operandi of the unitary state, when the party’s Secretary General Augustine Federick Kodock singlehandedly dismissed six parliamentarians from the National Assembly and from the party.

The position of the Progressive Movement was also identical to that of the UPC. According to its coordinator, Jean Jacques Ekindi, “the unitary form of government remains the only tool capable of saving Cameroon.” Another speaker was the leader of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC), Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who also moonlights as Minister of Communication and government spokesman. He failed to state the position of his party but urged “the President of the Republic not to shrink from any difficulty in his search for solutions to the problems threatening Cameroon. The UNDP leader, Maigari Bello Bouba in his speech also pointed out that federalism was not the solution to the problem.

By Rita Akana

Anglophone Crisis: North American Lawyers calls for immediate and unconditional release of Barrister Agbor Balla

1, March 2017

Anglophone Crisis: North American Lawyers calls for immediate and unconditional release of Barrister Agbor Balla 0

The Professional Association of North American Lawyers has called on the Biya Francophone dominated regime to respect its obligations under international human rights law and release with immediate effect the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. The North American group known as the Law Society of Upper Canada made public a press release dated February 24 in which the body observed that the North American lawyers were “very concerned” by the arrest of Barrister Agbor Nkongho Felix.

The release also stated that “lawyers, like other citizens, must enjoy freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular they have the right to take part in public discussion on the law, administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join local, national or international organization, or to constitute and to attend their meetings”.

While the so-called Francophone trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium detained since January 17 will enter its second hearing on March 23, the Law Society of Upper Canada says Yaoundé should “immediately and unconditionally release Felix Agbor Balla; guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Felix Agbor Balla; ensure that all proceedings against Felix Agbor Balla are carried out in full respect of his right to a fair trial in accordance with international law; put an end to all acts of harassment against Felix Agbor Balla and all other human rights lawyers and advocates in Cameroon; and to ensure respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms in all circumstances in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments “.

Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla and Dr. Fontem Neba were arrested in the Buea province of Southern Cameroons and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium declared illegal by the Francophone regime. Both West Cameroonian leaders are tried for acts of terrorism, hostility against La Republique du Cameroun, secession, revolution, insurrection, outrage to the President of the Republic, constituted bodies and civil servants, group rebellion, civil war and propagation of false news and crimes.

By Chi Prudence Asong

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