8, January 2017
Ghost town and school closures to go ahead on Monday as talks end without agreement 0
The ghost town operation and the industrial action by the Consortium of Southern Cameroons teachers and lawyers will go ahead after last ditch talks with the Professor Ghogomu Paul Minglo so-called Ad hoc Committee end without agreement.
Consortium leaders have called on Southern Cameroonians to massively observe a ghost town for tomorrow Monday the 9th of January 2017. The leaders have also promised to extend the strike action indefinitely if their demands are not met by the Francophone government. Schools around the Southern Cameroons nation will be closed tomorrow.
Cameroon Concord News gathered that both sides have agreed that talks will continue and further contacts will take place with a view to arranging more talks next week. Speaking after yesterday’s discussions, the Anglophone leaders said that large differences remain and progress has been slow, “almost static I would say” hinted Barrister Agbor Balla.
He added that the shutting of schools is the Consortium’s decision. The Gogomu Paul Committee earlier issued a circular to school principals dealing with the implications of the ghost town operation scheduled by the Consortium calling on schools to reopen on Monday the 9th.
The Anglophone leaders described the move as very provocative and reiterated that the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime no longer has legitimate authority in Southern Cameroons. Roman Catholic Education Secretaries including those of the Baptist and Presbyterian churches have all described it as a normal approach if teachers withdraw from core duties until the Anglophone issues are resolve. Wilfred Tassang noted that the action is going ahead because there is no offer on the table from the Yaounde regime.
By Rita Akana in Bamenda
8, January 2017
Biya orders release of all Southern Cameroons detainees 4
Biya has secretly requested the release of all Southern Cameroon detainees in order to facilitate the work of the so-called Ad Hoc Committee. The dictator has reportedly given standing orders to the judges at the military tribunal to free the protesters latest tomorrow Monday. CIR has learnt from reliable sources that the process will begin late today in Yaounde . Anglophone teachers and lawyers whose strike is at the origin of the troubles that rocked the Anglophone part of Cameroon had laid down conditions for dialogue with the Francophone regime in Yaounde.
Among these conditions is the release of all protesters arrested during the riots of 9 December 2016 in Bamenda and 15 December 2016 in Kumba. Of the 54 people (including 3 minors) arrested, Cameroon government spokesman and minister of communication, Issa Tchiroma observed that 13 had been released.
After a Francophone led investigations, the Yaounde military tribunal decided to keep 41 suspects in Yaoundé in preventive detention. In order to save the school year in the South West and North-West Regions, and to allow a resumption of negotiations with the Anglophone leaders, the Francophone Government has decided to release the protesters arrested and transferred to Yaoundé.
Our senior political analyst opined that the Anglophone leaders have reached a point of no return and will not make any concession to the Biya administration as the figures put forward by Minister Issa Tchiroma were not complete because there were other children like some students from the University of Buea who are missing. However, since the minister’s statement, there have been meetings that have resulted in disagreements.
At the time of filing this report, the Consortium confirmed that the ghost town operation including the closure of all schools in Southern Cameroons will go on as announced tomorrow the 9th of January.
Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report