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

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

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

Ever since the Southern Cameroons crisis started in November 2016, seven Anglophone journalists have been arrested. Six are still in detention and one was miraculously released on bail.  Many news men and women have reportedly abandoned the profession and escaped from the territory. Others are in hiding and no longer feeling secure to carry out their duties. The government has also shut down internet services in the Anglophone regions of the country.

Those arrested and still in detention include, Atia Tilarious, Amos Fofung, Thomas Awah, Tim Finian, Mofor Ndong, Achomba Hans. Only BBC’s Randy Joe Sa’a is out on bail. The National Communication Council, NCC has systematically shut down all Anglophone media houses covering the crisis.

The Biya Francophone regime has crackdown on pro Southern Cameroons media establishments preventing journalists from reporting the numerous rapes and extra judicial killings going on in West Cameroon.  Security forces loyal to the Yaoundé government have tortured many reporters and columnists and detaining some under inhuman conditions.

The regime has also placed the families of the detained journalists under Secret Service surveillance making life difficult for their respective children and wives who are currently being avoided by close friends and relatives for fear of being a target. The so-called Cameroon Minister of Communication and government spokesman, Issa Tchiroma has maintained a kind of deliberate silence on the attack on press freedom.

THE MARK BARETA, TASSANG WILFRED, AND TAPANG IVO TANKU’S SITUATION OF THE CONSORTIUM

Dear compatriots, thank you all for your trust and confidence in the type of leadership which we are trying to provide for REAL CHANGE in Cameroon. We understand that your hearts are worried, and you are scared about the future of our commitment to bring about determining change in our nation. Let me vehemently state the following facts:

1- Tassang Wilfred is not under any chains and he has not been arrested. I speak from very fine information and from very reliable sources confirming that he and his family are now safe and healthy.

2- There is a reconciliation meeting which has been going on between Mr. Tassang Wilfred, Mark Bareta, and Tapang Ivo Tanku in order to stabilize the confusion which detractors have been trying to bring within their realms of operations.

3- Nobody has resigned from the Consortium and the Consortium is well and its constituted leadership be they interim and others are working out strategies to strengthen the vision of the Consortium to enable the possible pressure on government to release Dr. Fontem Neba, Dr. Barrister Agbor Balla Felix NKONGHO, Chief Justice Aya Paul ABINE, Mancho BBC, Godden Zama, and all those who were arbitrary arrested during this crisis period in Cameroon.

Moreover, I visited Dr. Agbor Balla Felix NKONGHO, BBC Mancho, and the others yesterday, and they are in very high spirit.

So, rest assured, from what I know, the Consortium is going on well. Just hold the hands of someone and say, WE SHALL OVERCOME!!

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless our nation.

Harmony Bobga Mbuton, president of Cameroon’s North West Lawyers Association, returned to The Stream on Al Jazeera this week, just over two months since the show originally explored the protests among his country’s English-speaking communities, who claim French-speaking President Paul Biya’s government is treating them as second-class citizens.

The Stream host Femi Oke says that, since that show, “The government of Cameroon has pulled the plug on the internet and banned public gatherings in the regions fraught with tensions. What started as strikes for bilingualism in the Northwest and Southwest territories have revealed very deep political divides that spread beyond language, culture and geography.”

On The Stream in December, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the Minister of Communications, promised negotiations but Mbuton says these broke down quickly. “In fact, I was part of the negotiations that ensued and took place in Yaounde on 27-28 December 2016. The government had constructed the questions that had to be dealt with in the negotiation to suit their own purpose. We walked out of the dialogue and the next thing we heard was that they started arresting us, which is what forced me to flee from Cameroon, through Nigeria to here [Washington DC] now.”

Mbuton’s wife and children are still in Cameroon, where he says, “The situation is bad,” comparing it to “what happened in Rwanda when the genocide began.” He claims that people are being arrested and taken away, with their families unable to find out where. “It is tipping into the point where the population is saying that even with their empty hands and sticks, they are ready to start providing resistance to protect themselves.”

The media and internet blackout makes it difficult to verify claims like this; as Mbuton says, the internet ban has meant “that the government has operated behind the curtains because there is no easy access to information within the territory anymore.” Mbuton says people are using smartphones to send images and information out to the world by traveling to the French-speaking parts of Cameroon where there is still internet, “but it’s not flowing as it was.“

Since the protests began nearly four months ago, Biya has signed a decree establishing a national commission to promote bilingualism and has addressed protesters several times in major speeches. At least several hundred protesters have been arrested. Some are being tried for terrorism for allegedly calling for secession of the Anglophone regions. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

Mbuton says the strike is ongoing and international protests are increasing. Even Cameroon’s recent victory at the African Cup of Nations was not enough to unite the country. “The provocative move to go and show off the African Cup that was won by Cameroon was welcomed by ghost towns,” says Mbuton. “People abandoned the streets. Only the entourage from Yaounde was parading the streets – in military vehicles.