Headline News

3, February 2017

Biya to award Medal of Honor to fallen soldiers ⁰

President Biya will for the first time since the outbreak of the war against the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram, be present at a ceremony of tributes to military officers engaged in the defense of the national borders, specifically those deceased in the helicopter crash on January 22nd in the Far North region.

Cameroon Intelligence Report has been informed that the 83 year-old is under pressure from the French to begin a transition program that will get the nation out of its current stalemate and confused identity. According to the official program, Biya will get to the military headquarters at 11 am on Friday the 3^rd of February 2017.

The Chief Executive will hand over the attributes and honorary attributions, posthumously to the four soldiers who died in the helicopter crash. The final journey of the four senior Cameroon officers began yesterday with an interfaith ceremony where the participants prayed for the souls of the departed.

The remains of Brigadier General Jacob Kodji, Colonel Alphonse Kameni, Lieutenants Brice Nchinda and Basil Sulukna, will be transferred to their burial sites after the ceremony.

Culled from CIR

2, February 2017

Gunmen kill five on Cameroon-Nigeria border ⁰

Unidentified gunmen have killed five people, including three nationals from Nigeria and one from Cameroon, after raiding a United Nations (UN) team on the border between the two countries, the UN has announced. The deadly raid occurred in the Hosere Jongbi area near Kontcha in northern Cameroon on Tuesday, according to a Wednesday evening statement by the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).

“An unknown armed group attacked the UN team and killed five persons and injured several others,” read the statement, which also identified the victims as “one UN independent contractor, three Nigerian nationals and one Cameroonian national.” The UN’s special representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, censured the armed assault.

The statement, which did not mention the nationality of the UN contractor killed in the attack, further explained that the team was working to demarcate the nearly 2,000-kilometer land border dividing Nigeria and Cameroon. The area has reportedly been a source of tension between the two countries in the past. The Nigeria-based Takfiri terrorist group of Boko Haram, whose terror campaign has ruined wide areas of northeast Nigeria since 2009, also remains active in the far-north region of Cameroon.

Presstv

2, February 2017

Goods worth millions of FCFA destroyed in Buea shopping mall fire ⁰

Inhabitants of Buea Sub Division in the South West Region are still wondering what could have caused the fire outbreak Monday night which ravaged some shops in a mall at Mile 17. Some pro government reports have suggested that the owners were being punished for operating during Ghost Town. Cameroun Info.Net reported that the content of over half a dozen of Council shops at Mile 17,the main entrance into the town of Buea went into flames Monday night January 30,2017 and police are yet to establish the cause of the fire.

While the people of Buea say it must have been carried out by some disgruntled Cameroonians for the non respect of the civil disobedience campaign organized by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, others say it may have been a diabolic harsh ploy by Council authorities to have reasons for sealing shops and victimized opponents of the regime.

Most of the shops destroyed by fire were trading on Monday when others remained closed. According to shop owners they were afraid of threats from Mayor Patrick Ekema Esunge who had been parading in town sealing shops that were respecting the Ghost Town Operation. Meanwhile one of the taxis bought by the Mayor to counter the Ghost Town has been set ablaze by an unknown man. The passenger alighted from the taxi and set the back sit on fire before running away.

Cameroun Info.net

2, February 2017

Consortium announces plans to stifle 11th of February Youth Day celebrations ⁰

The interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have in a statement announced that steps aimed at intensifying the strike actions and the civil disobedience campaign throughout Southern Cameroons. Mark Bareta and Tapang Ivo observed in the press release that the coming week is going to be the most important in the Southern Cameroons struggle.

The leaders also reminded Southern Cameroonians to start sending text messages and making phone calls to love ones back home informing them of the new changes on the resistance plan of action. The modifications made public by the interim leaders include the following:

1- Monday the 6^th of February 2017: Ghost Town Operations observed in West Cameroon

2-Friday the 10^th of February 2017: Ghost Town Operations continue throughout West Cameroon

3-Saturday the 11^th of February 2017: Massive Ghost Town Operation including a total and complete boycott of the so-called 11 of February Youth Day Celebrations.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium is asking Southern Cameroonians to keep their faith in the struggle and not be distracted by the failed politics and policies of some pro Paul Biya political elites. Schools will remained closed and dialogue will only begin with La Republique du Cameroun if all Anglophone detainees are released and justice for those killed by troops in Buea, Bamenda, Kumba and Kumbo.

By Sonne Peter

2, February 2017

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Trial of Consortium Leaders postponed ⁰

The trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium which was slated for the 1^st of February 2017 has been moved to February the 13^th by the Yaoundé military court. Barrister Nkongho Agbor Balla and Dr Fontem Neba including Mancho BBC were all handed eight counts charges by the Kangaroo court in Yaoundé.

The charges included hostility against the homeland, secession, civil war, revolution, armed band, propagation of false news, attacks on public agents of the state and collective resistance. The Biya regime has secretly agreed to dish out the death penalty under the Terrorism Act of 23 December 2014.

Article 2 of that law reads as follows: “The death penalty shall be punishable by any person who, in complicity or co-action, commits any act or threat that may cause death, endanger the physical integrity, Causing bodily injury or damage to property, damage to the environment “.

On the ground the strike continues despite the fact that the Internet remains cut. The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has embarked on a diplomatic push in the West and the body has also noted that schools will remain closed until all Anglophone demands are met.

By Sama Ernest

2, February 2017

Cameroun releases BBC reporter ¹

BBC news reporter, Randy Joe Sa’a was a target at the military tribunal in Yaoundé on February the 1st 2017. The BBC correspondent and a cream of journalists were interviewing lawyers outside the military tribunal building following the postponement of the trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium when troops loyal to the regime identified the BBC microphone and ordered Randy to leave saying that only the state radio and television had authorization to cover the proceedings.

Randy Joe was arrested on the spot. Our informant hinted that Barristers Ben Muna, Tchoungang, Eta Besong jointly called for his release. Information filtered that his equipment were confiscated by the security agents. At the time of filing this report Randy had been released on bail.

By Rita Akana

1, February 2017

African Union: Leaders adopt strategy on ICC pullout ²

African leaders have renewed their determination to pull out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) collectively, accusing the international body of discriminating against Africans. The African leaders adopted a strategy for their collective withdrawal at the 28th African Union (AU) summit, which wrapped up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday.

A draft of the strategy, which was recited at a closed-door AU session and was later published by AP, recommends that African states build up and strengthen their own independent judicial systems. The non-binding recommendation also calls on African nations to expand the jurisdiction of the African court of justice and human rights to resolve disputes on the continent “in order to reduce the deference to the ICC.”

This is the latest expression of impatience by African leaders with the court, which some say has focused too narrowly on African leaders. Desire Assogbavi, the head of Oxfam International’s AU liaison office, confirmed the adoption of the strategy. However, analysts say African countries are divided on whether to leave the court or try to change some of its policies.

Burundi, Gambia, and South Africa have already said they no longer recognize the court’s jurisdiction and announced their intention to quit. But several other African countries, including Nigeria, Senegal and the Republic of the Congo have spoken up in support of the ICC in recent months. One of the main African supporters of the ICC is former United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan. Since the ICC was launched on July 1, 2002, it has indicted 39 people, all of whom have been African.

Presstv

1, February 2017

Anglophone Crisis: Barrister Nico Halle will not seek another mandate as head of the Bar Association of Cameroon ¹

There is too much uncertainty about the future of the Bar Association of Cameroon caused by the current Southern Cameroons strike action. We gathered that among the difficult situations facing the Cameroon Bar is the renewal of the mandate of the management team that ended on January 31st, 2017.

Barrister Ntumfor Nico Halle was elected as President of the General Assembly of the Bar Association of Cameroon on the 31^st of January 2015 and Barrister Patrick Kleiss Kouanou held the position of Vice President. Cameroon Concord News has been reliably informed that no election is being considered even though the mandate of the management team has come to an end. The Southern Cameroons crisis has reportedly erected a stone wall against the convening of a bar council general assembly.

The Ntumfor Nico Halle has been quoted as saying that “it is impossible to convene a General Assembly of the Order. We must wait for the situation to calm down to organize the work. The Bar of Cameroon is united. You cannot sit down while the other parties have problems. The courts do not operate in these two regions. So it’s impossible to do anything for the Order.”

Asked if the crisis continues beyond February, the much respected Ntumfor Nico Halle pointed out that he will have to evoke “a case of force majeure, and the lawyers will have to decide on the way forward.” A journalist with a sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report hinted at the time of filing this report that Barrister Halle Nico will not seek a second term as president of the general assembly.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

1, February 2017

Cracks in the Biya regime as Southern Cameroons protest continues ²

Growing frustration accentuated by internal rivalry and personality conflicts has left Biya and his cabinet in shambles following the successful on-going civil disobedience campaign in British Southern Cameroons. With age telling on the chief executive and his health now being discussed by hard-liners of the regime, the shutting down of internet services and the arrest of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium provoked a backlash and has divided even members of the political bureau of the ruling CPDM party.

Some supporters of the One and Indivisible Cameroun philosophy were heard murmuring privately that the decision to disconnect internet services and the arrest of Anglophone senior judges was a deliberate attempt by some Beti Ewondo political elites to rob the regime of knowledgeable and legitimate Anglophone support for President Biya. Conversely, politicians from the Northern regions have been having a field day secretly celebrating the end of the Biya hegemony.

The confusion within the Biya governing council it should be recalled was provoked by the arrogance displayed by Ministers Jacques Fame Ndongo, Laurent Esso and a certain Paul Ghogomu Minglo of the Ad Hoc Committee. Confusing signals emerged when the 83 year old Biya ostensibly with the backing of some moderates scurried Garga Haman Adji to Bamenda and claimed he (Garga) was the legitimate emissary from Etoudi.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sources in the nation’s capital hinted that a majority of CPDM bigwigs are blaming the current Southern Cameroon situation on the secret Head of State now running the country-Minister Martin Belinga Eboutou. Tension is mounting in Yaoundé as more Southern Cameroonians are detained and some from the North West region reportedly being killed and buried in mass graves in Soa.

Ghost town operations are continuing and schools remained closed in West Cameroon. Francophone troops have continued to arrest, detain and torture Southern Cameroonians in Bamenda, Buea and Ekondo Titi. Southern Cameroonians arrested in Kumba, Nguti, Muyuka, Limbe, Tiko and Buea were being locked up in prison cells in Douala. They were rounded up by soldiers from La Republique in various localities, some before the civil disobedience campaign even started.

In the wake of massive demonstrations in various capital cities in the West, and more international condemnation of the excessive use of force on Anglophone Cameroonians, the trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has been postponed. Many Southern Cameroonians have been arrested in Yaoundé, while more were picked up in other towns in the Center and South regions.

We got intelligence that many of the Southern Cameroons detainees including Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine of the Supreme Court of Cameroun were in bad health and attempts to communicate with family members have been strictly prohibited. Government sources are now reporting that Southern Cameroonians have refused to be cowed and preferred to be killed rather than denounced the struggle. Barrister Agbor Nkongho Felix, the Chairman of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was cited by a police source to be a lion-hearted man who spared no opportunity during interrogation to hit hard on the “thievery of the Francophone political elites.”

The interim leaders of the Consortium indicated recently that the international community has been informed about the brutalization but no official statement has been made by the British parliament and the United Nation Security Council.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with intelligence cables from Yaounde, Bamenda,Douala and Buea

1, February 2017

UK: Parliament begins debate on Brexit bill ⁰

UK lawmakers have gathered in Parliament to debate whether the British government can trigger Britain’s formal exit from the European Union. A bill authorizing UK Prime Minister Theresa May to invoke Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty starts its route through Parliament on Tuesday and is expected to pass overwhelmingly.

Although most lawmakers campaigned before the referendum to stay in the EU, most, including the leader of the opposition Labour Party, say they will vote to uphold the referendum’s result. Opening the debate, David Davis, secretary of state for exiting the EU, told parliamentarians they could not block the Brexit process.

The decision to leave the block is “a point of return already passed,” he said. “At the core of this bill lies a very simple question — do we trust the people or not?” Members of Parliament have been given until Wednesday to discuss the proposed legislation that would allow May to trigger the Brexit process.

The British government was forced to bring legislation to Parliament after the UK Supreme Court ruled it could not trigger Article 50 without approval from the Parliament. In a landmark referendum held on June 23, nearly 52 percent of British voters, amounting to more than 17 million citizens, opted to leave the EU, a decision that sent shock waves throughout the world.

Those in favor of a British withdrawal from the EU argued that outside the bloc, London would be better positioned to conduct its own trade negotiations, better able to control immigration and free from what they believe to be excessive EU regulations and bureaucracy.

Those in favor of remaining in the bloc believed that leaving it would risk the UK’s prosperity, diminish its influence over world affairs, and result in trade barriers between the UK and the EU. Retaining access to the single market has been one of the major worries for UK businesses ever since the referendum.

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