Politics

19, February 2019

UK: Corbyn says ‘disappointed’ to see lawmakers quit Labour with Brexit looming ⁰

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says he is “disappointed” to see lawmakers quit his party at a time that the country needs to stay united as it gets prepared to leave the European Union (EU).

Seven members of Britain’s main opposition party resigned on Monday, citing Labour’s refusal to effectively confront Tory Prime Minister Theresa May’s push to break the country away from the European Union and its failure to address what they called concerns about anti-Semitism.

“I am disappointed that these MPs have felt unable to continue to work together for the Labour policies that inspired millions at the last election and saw us increase our vote by the largest share since 1945,” he wrote on twitter, referring to the party’s performance during last year’s snap General Election.

In June 2018, May felt confident that she could increase her party’s parliamentary majority in an early vote and ultimately minimize the risks of strong opposition against her Brexit deal with the EU.

But her plans missed the mark by a huge margin as Labour, under Corbyn’s leadership, won a considerable number of new seats and took away the Conservative Party’s majority, forcing May to forge an embarrassing alliance with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to stay in power.

May’s unfortunate gamble came back to haunt her in early January, when a vast majority of MPs, including some Tory and DUP lawmakers, voted down her controversial draft Brexit deal with the EU.

“Labour won people over on a program for the many not the few – redistributing wealth and power, taking vital resources into public ownership, investing in every region and nation, and tackling climate change,” Corbyn reminded the resigned members of his party.

“The Tories are bungling Brexit while Labour has set out a unifying and credible alternative plan. When millions face the misery of Universal Credit, rising crime, homelessness and poverty, now more than ever is the time to bring people together to build a better future for us all,” he added.

Seven members of Britain’s opposition Labour party leave its ranks, citing, what they call, the party’s weak approach towards Brexit and its “failure” to root out “anti-Semitism.”

MPs Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker, and Mike Gapes announced their decision to split on Monday.

This was the biggest split from Labour since1981, when four senior members quit the party. “This has been a very difficult, painful but necessary decision,” Berger said at a press conference in London. Umunna has been promoting calls for a second referendum after one in 2016, which saw 52 percent of voters back leaving the EU.

Leslie claimed that evidence of Labour’s “betrayal” on Brexit was clear to see. MP John Healy warned that move only benefited May and took attention of her handling of Brexit. He told the quitting MPs that their decision weakened efforts to stop a no-deal Brexit, as May has often threatened to do.

Presstv

15, February 2019

French Cameroun: Kamto Rebellion Charge Deepens Crisis ⁰

Cameroon’s main opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, has been charged in a military court with rebellion and other offences, his lawyers have said. The former government minister was arrested in Douala on 28 January after his MRC party organised protests contesting last October’s election result. France says it is “worried” by the charges.

Kamto faces charges including “hostility against the homeland, incitement to insurrection, offense against the president of the republic, destruction of public buildings and goods.” If found guilty, he could face the death penalty, his lawyers said Wednesday.

The opposition leader, who says he was cheated out of the presidency in elections last year, was transferred to a prison in the capital Yaounde during the night by a military court.

Twenty-eight members of his Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) are also on trial for the same charges.

Meanwhile, 100 other supporters were due to appear before the Yaounde military court Wednesday to find out if they too will face a similar fate.

The fact that a military court is the one bringing the charges against Kamto has rattled critics.

Military justice

“How is it that someone who has never carried a weapon against the government, someone who has never called for armed struggle is judged by a military court?” asks François Ndengwe, Chairman of the African Advisory Board.

“Professor Kamto being judged in a military court is an outrage to the people of good will not only in Cameroon but all over the world,” he told RFI.

For Ndengwe, the charges against Kamto illustrate the challenges facing Africa’s justice system, often in the hands of autocratic governments.

“It is impossible to have a fair judgment in Africa,” he comments, blaming this failure on the “interference” of the International Criminal Court in African matters, most recently in the trial of the Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo.

“Africans complained about the ICC trying Laurent Gbagbo but they shouldn’t complain. Africans are not able to judge themselves according to the minimum standards of justice and equity, and this is regrettable,” he said.

On the domestic front, the charges against Kamto risk aggravating the country’s post-electoral crisis.

Restricting democratic space

They are a “clear sign of a new step in the restriction of public liberties that the government of Cameroon has crossed,” explains Hans de Marie, a senior researcher at the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Nairobi.

“The charges could increase tribal and ethnic tension in the country, as well as social tension,” he told RFI. Implicit in de Marie’s remarks is the fear of a potential civil war.

“The anger and bitterness from opposition members and civil society groups is more and more expressing itself along ethnic lines between the Beti tribe of [president] Paul Biya and the Bamyleke tribe of Maurice Kamto,” he comments.

Cameroon is already grappling with unrest in its troubled western Anglophone region after residents there were repressed.

“We know from past experience that it is the restriction of liberties that has triggered the Anglophone crisis,” states de Marie.

Kamto has called for an end to the two-year conflict. The opposition leader and his supporters demonstrated in several cities and towns on the 26 January urging an end to the crisis and for a recount of October’s election result in which he came second.

Bogus charges

It was shortly after this demonstration that Kamto was arrested in the economic capital Douala and how we got to today’s charges.

For human rights lawyer Agbor Nkongho, the charges are all too familiar. “The charges are bogus. These are the same charges that they [the government] brought against me. It’s a way to fight against dissent, repress people, and to perpetuate Mr Biya’s reign as they have been doing for the last 36 years,” he told RFI.

RFI was unable to reach the Cameroonian government for a response, but their position is that Kamto is a an “outlaw” after he defied warnings and declared himself the winner of last October’s election results.

French foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said Wednesday the government was “worried” by the charges against Kamto and urged Paul Biya to allow the opposition to “express itself freely.”

Risk of conflict

That may not be enough. “We find it very low compared to the gravity of the situation,” says de Marie.

“None of the key partners of Cameroon has clearly condemned the arrest and detention of Kamto or asked firmly the Cameroonian government to release him,” he said.

Rights groups though have condemned the attitude of the Cameroonian government, with Amnesty International saying the arrest of Kamto and his staff signalled an escalating crackdown on the opposition.

“For the sake of peace if not democracy, the international community must act,” argues Hans de Marie. The risk of conflict in a country already affected by Boko Haram attacks and grappling with unrest in the Anglophone regions stands to be high, he concludes.

RFI

15, February 2019

Francophone Crisis: Biya regime charges 150 over protests ⁰

More than 150 people have been charged with “hostility to the homeland” and “insurrection” for their role in anti-government protests in Cameroon, the vice-president of the country’s main opposition party said.

The president of the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) opposition party, Maurice Kamto, was among those charged on Wednesday in a crackdown criticised by human rights campaigners.

He and around 150 other people were arrested in late January and have been held for nearly three weeks by police in the capital Yaounde.

They have gone before a judge in groups, starting with Kamto overnight Tuesday to Wednesday. He was charged with “rebellion, insurrection” and “hostility to the country”.

Around twenty of those detained have been released on bail, MRC’s vice-president Emmanuel Simh told AFP.

“Hostility to the country” is punishable by the death penalty in theory, but the penalty has not been carried out in Cameroon for more than 30 years.

Maurice Kamto says he was cheated out of the presidency in last October’s elections, when Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, 86, was re-elected for a seventh term.

Around 200 people were arrested in subsequent protests, the MRC said. Amnesty International said the wave of detentions “signals an escalating crackdown on opposition leaders, human rights defenders and activists.”

AFP

15, February 2019

Yaounde: Biya Turns 86; Critics Say It’s Time for Change ⁰

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya Wednesday celebrated his 86th birthday with supporters organizing lavish parties and opponents calling on him to resign.

Biya is the oldest president in sub-Saharan Africa and one of the longest-serving, but critics say his long rule has put the country in a bad position.

Supporters of Biya wished him a happy birthday Wednesday at a party attended by thousands in the capital, Yaounde.

Fadimatou Iyawa Ousmanou, president of Cameroon’s National Youth Council, said they bussed in Biya’s young supporters from all over the country to show respect and gratitude.

“You can see more than two thousand and five hundred Cameroonian young people that came to celebrate that birthday, and we came here to tell the head of state we are willing to work with him. We are encouraging him for what he is doing for the Cameroonian young people and also to promote our patriotic and civil behavior so that we can help in the building of a peaceful Cameroon,” Ousmanou said.

Young supporters, many bussed in from other parts of the country, mark President Paul Biya's birthday, at Yaounde Conference Center, in Yaounde, Cameroon, Feb 13, 2019. — Young supporters, many bussed in from other parts of the country, mark President Paul Biya’s birthday, at Yaounde Conference Center, in Yaounde, Cameroon, Feb 13, 2019.

While supporters wished Biya divine guidance and a long life, he did not attend the celebration at the Yaounde Conference Center. He organized a private, and reportedly lavish, party at his home village of Mvomeka in southern Cameroon.

While Biya’s supporters celebrated, the opposition Renaissance Movement Party held a protest march in Yaounde calling on Biya to resign and for their leader, Maurice Kamto, to be freed.

Kamto, who claims Biya stole the October 7 presidential election, is under arrest and facing charges including rebellion for protesting the election results.

Thirsty for change

Kamto supporter Clement Metuge said he has known only one leader – Biya – since he was born. He condemned the large birthday celebrations for the president.

“We have constraints economically in Cameroon to deal with Boko Haram, our resources are not even enough for us to manage. All of us are sensitive about the fact that it is not just about his willingness to be in power, it is also about the performance, his age and everything. There is need for change and Cameroonians are thirsty for that change,” Metuge said.

In 2008, Biya revised the constitution to remove presidential term limits. Critics called the move authoritarian and have long accused his government of rigging elections — allegations that officials deny.

Youths sit during celebrations marking President Paul Biya's birthday, at Yaounde Conference Center, in Yaounde, Cameroon, Feb 13, 2019. — Youths sit during celebrations marking President Paul Biya’s birthday, at Yaounde Conference Center, in Yaounde, Cameroon, Feb 13, 2019.

University of Yaounde political analyst Christophe Tiennteu said Biya has ruled with an iron fist for too long. Cameroon, he said, is plunging into an indescribable chaos with incoherent governance and democratic practice. Faced with these challenges, he said, and while craving for change and an end to domination by one man, people are distancing themselves from moves by Biya and his followers that go against Cameroon’s interests.

If something were to happen to the 86-year-old president, said Tiennteu, Cameroon could face a very difficult transition.

While the constitution stipulates new elections if the office of president becomes vacant, Biya is not known to have prepared a successor.

VOA

14, February 2019

France says Biya regime must respect Kamto’s legal right to free speech ⁰

France has officially reacted to the arrest of Cameroon opposition chief Maurice Kamto and hundreds of his supporters.

The French Foreign Ministry said it was following developments in Cameroon and called on the government to respect the rights of people to freely express their opinions.

“We are concerned at this legal development and are continuing to follow the situation of Mr. Kamto and that of approximately 200 of his supporters who are being held in detention. The Cameroonian opposition, of which Mr. Kamto is a leading figure, must be able to freely express its opinions, in accordance with the law,” a response to Q&A daily press briefing read.

Kamto was on Wednesday charged with rebellion by a military tribunal, his lawyers confirmed to Reuters news agency. One of his lawyers said the charges were political and nothing of a judicial nature.

Another of his lawyers, Emmanuel Simh, told Reuters the charges he faces include: “hostility against the homeland, incitement to insurrection, offence against the president of the republic, destruction of public buildings and goods.”

Twenty-two members of his Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) are also on trial for the same charges, lawyers said.

Kamto was arrested in late January after he led a protest of supporters against the October 2018 presidential polls he claims was rigged. He came a distant second to President Paul Biya.

The police at the time said the gathering was not sanctioned hence his arrest. As to why he was not arraigned before a civil court, Cameroon has in the past few years charged politicians, journalists and suspected separatists to military court over charges relating to subversion and terrorism.

Africa News

13, February 2019

Cameroon is one of the better examples of the struggle between geopolitics and human rights concerns ⁰

Allow Russia to do as they please in Africa or partner with African leaders with a history of war crimes and a tendency toward genocidal behavior? That is the conundrum American military and diplomatic leaders face. Cameroon, specifically, is one of the better examples of the struggle between geopolitics and human rights concerns.

Recently, General Thomas Waldhauser, the head of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), gave a briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee focused on the military’s concerns in the African nation. With regard to the U.S. military’s relationship with Cameroon and the political leadership of the country, General Waldhauser said, “We were very emphatic with President Biya that the behavior of his troops, the lack of transparency, could have a significant impact on our ability to work with them.” He added that “they have been a good partner with us, counterterrorism-wise.”

Nonetheless, General Waldhauser made clear that AFRICOM is concerned about numerous reports of war crimes and atrocities committed in the African nation. Both General Waldhauser and Ambassador Peter Henry Barlerin have confronted Cameroonian President Paul Biya about these allegations. Compounding their concerns, the Trump administration has decided to cut military aid to Cameroon.

But developments in the African continent might mean that the U.S. doesn’t have many choices of partners and that it must make do with what is available. During the same briefing, General Waldhauser emphasized the threat stemming from Russia’s involvement in sub-Saharan Africa.

“By employing oligarch-funded, quasi-mercenary military advisors, particularly in countries where leaders seek unchallenged autocratic rule, Russian interests gain access to natural resources on favorable terms,” said General Waldhauser. “Some African leaders readily embrace this type of support and use it to consolidate their power and authority. This is occurring in the Central African Republic, where elected leaders mortgage mineral rights—for a fraction of their worth—to secure Russian weapons.”

Russia has been active in other African countries as well. Take for example Sudan. There, Russian private military companies (PMC) are helping the Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir to maintain power in the midst of popular upheaval.

Ambassador Barlerin said, “We are not going to stop security cooperation with Cameroon. We have our differences, Cameroon is a sovereign country and the United States is a sovereign country. Relations between Cameroon and the United States are excellent and longstanding and we aim to continue that relationship.”

American troops in Cameroon are mostly concerned with training their Cameroonian partners in basic soldiering and counterterrorism skills.

Thenewsrep.com

13, February 2019

Nigeria’s President Isn’t a Democrat. He’s a Liar. ⁰

As Nigerians gear up to choose their president on Feb. 16, there is good reason to fear a return to military-style dictatorship. Following incumbent Muhammadu Buhari’s extraconstitutional suspension in January of Nigeria’s chief judge, who heads the Supreme Court that has final say in election disputes, the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, requested U.S. and EU intervention for the “survival of Nigeria’s democracy.”

This is more than idle rhetoric. Buhari, an ex-general who led a short-lived military junta in the 1980s, was elected president in 2015 by Nigerians who (like this writer) accepted his claims to be a “reformed democrat.” However, his four years in office have highlighted the difference between accepting the principle of elective government and being a true democrat. In Nigeria, like elsewhere in today’s world, the biggest threat to democracy comes not from generals instigating coups but from authoritarians-at-heart winning elections, only to use their democratic mandate to rule anti-democratically.

Half of Nigeria’s 59-year post-colonial history has been spent under various military dictatorships, but this year marks the 20th anniversary of the return to democratic rule. While the country has seen its fair share of ups and downs during this period, some tangible progress has been made in the spheres of freedom of expression, judicial independence, rule of law, and general civil liberties—and certainly in comparison with the military era.

In the past four years, however, Buhari’s government has serially ignored court orders, harassed and arrested journalists and activists, deployed security services to intimidate political opponents, and unforgivably sanctioned the killings of hundreds of unarmed civilians on multiple occasions with the impunity of a power-drunk dictatorship. Yes, security services have been known to overreact even in advanced democracies, and civilians sometimes get hurt in the process. But what distinguishes governments committed to upholding fundamental human rights—such as the right to not be killed while demonstrating peacefully—are the post-incident actions they undertake to ensure such tragedies never repeat themselves. No such luck with the Buhari government.

Following the recent army killing of unarmed protesters in October 2018, rather than express remorse, Nigeria’s army brass falsely claimed that demonstrators had attacked soldiers who simply did what President Donald Trump told U.S. soldiers to do in the same situation: start shooting. Such callous impunity can only thrive in an army confident that its commander in chief will indulge such excesses. Buhari is, by any reasonable standard, personally responsible for the killings of unarmed civilians going unpunished under his watch.

In addition to all this, opposition figures such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo are warning that Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party is readying to rig the Feb. 16 elections, an allegation lent credence by the irregularities and violence involved in a recent gubernatorial poll that the APC was determined to win at all costs. In perhaps the Freudian slip of the year, commenting on the gubernatorial election, ruling party chairman Adams Oshiomhole said: “I think that for democracy to flourish, only people who can accept the pain of rigging—sorry, defeat—should participate in an election.”

The international community is thus right to raise concerns about whether the upcoming election will be free and fair. On Feb. 16, Nigerians will be choosing not only their president but also their national assembly. Taking into consideration Buhari’s dismissive behavior towards the judiciary, a potentially rigged clean sweep of the executive and legislative arms of government by himself and his party could usher in an era of dangerously centralized power imperiling Nigeria’s modest democratic gains since the end of military rule in 1999. As of today, there are no credible polls indicating who might win the presidential election, and it is probably a toss-up.

The fact that Buhari still retains significant support among Nigerians despite his anti-democratic behavior requires explanation. One major reason is that Nigeria’s top political actors are all so morally compromised that an appeal by any of them to higher principles can always be persuasively dismissed by their opponents as hypocritical nonsense.

For instance, Atiku, Buhari’s main rival who accuses him of weakening democracy, has faced numerous allegations of corruption since serving as Nigeria’s vice president from 1999 to 2007. Additionally, the government that Atiku was a prominent member of itself oversaw massive election rigging and deployed widespread violence to stay in power. Meanwhile, Obasanjo, who is now accusing Buhari of wanting to rig the February election, was president at the time and once exhorted his party members to treat an upcoming election as a “do-or-die affair.”

Walter Onnoghen, the chief judge whom Buhari suspended, is claiming unconvincingly that it was due to “forgetfulness” that he did not disclose several sizable foreign currency accounts in his asset declaration. Moreover, prior to his suspension, he used his position to obstruct investigations into the matter. Corruption runs deep in the highest echelons of Nigeria’s judiciary. Many regular citizens thus feel scant sympathy for judges being muscled by the executive. They’re seen as part and parcel of the country’s corrupt elite, certainly no friends of the ordinary man.

Nigerian politics suffers from a moral vacancy, an acute shortage of credible political actors who could plausibly champion democratic values and set standards that others feel compelled to live up to. Ignoble actors evoking noble values they rarely uphold do not make for effective democratic role models. Hence many Buhari supporters remain unmoved by opposition claims that he is a danger to Nigeria’s democracy. To them, his rivals are hardly better democrats. Moreover, many Nigerians still see Buhari as, if not incorruptible, definitely far less corrupt than rivals like Atiku.

It also needs to be said that some Nigerian voters support Buhari precisely because of his strong-arm tactics. In a society where the corrupt always seem to have the upper hand and always seem able to defy institutional attempts to bring them to book, it is understandable that the instinct for some basic societal justice can easily translate into an impatience with institutions that appear stacked with people unable or unwilling to deliver basic justice.

This creates the opportunity for populist authoritarianism to hold significant appeal. Buhari’s justification of his suspension of the chief judge appealed directly to this societal hunger for justice. Pointing to Onnoghen’s attempts to frustrate investigations into his false asset declaration, he argued: “If justice cannot be done and clearly seen to be done, society itself is at risk of the most unimaginable chaos.” Nigeria’s political reality is stubbornly defiant of any simple good versus evil narrative.

In the final analysis, however, Buhari’s authoritarian actions cannot be described as anything other than detrimental to Nigeria’s democracy. The judiciary, as flawed as it is, has played a stabilizing role in post-election disputes, which in a country as volatile as Nigeria always have the potential to descend into violent confrontation. In a society as ethnically and religiously divided as Nigeria’s, democracy is as fragile as an egg; if not handled carefully, it could drop and shatter into a thousand pieces impossible to glue back together. That’s why it’s critical for the country’s judiciary to get reformed and strengthened by rooting out corruption within its ranks rather than suffering diminishment by Buhari. In practical terms, this would require corrupt judges to be weeded out by their peers, rather than by the politicians they are meant to hold accountable.

Irrespective of who wins the Feb. 16 election, the next few years must be spent ensuring that cornerstone values—such as rule of law, equality before the law, accountable government, free and fair elections, the right to nonviolent protest, and a free press—become sacred nonnegotiables in Nigerian public life, the democratic equivalent of the Ten Commandments. These are the dogmas of democracy, and only those who uphold them are truly worthy of calling themselves democrats.

Culled from Foreign Policy.Com

12, February 2019

Open Letter to President Paul Biya of Cameroon ⁰

Dear President Paul Biya,

For almost three years, I have been thinking of writing a very private mail to you, but given the administrative challenges and stories of you never replying to letters, especially those that contain ideas that are not music to your ears, I have opted to talk to you through an open letter.

For more than three decades, you have been telling Cameroonians that you are aware that they are suffering and that you would do anything in your power to improve upon their economic and financial circumstances, but for more than three decades, not much has changed and Cameroonians earnestly think that they are already living in hell.

Across the country, there are complaints of economic hardship. Our parents have worked and retired on derisory incomes. Their retirement benefits are just too small for many of them to survive for a long time.

Besides the amount of money they receive for their pension, there is also the issue of getting the money when they need it the most. It has become normal in Cameroon for people to retire and go without their retirement income for years. I can vividly recall that when you came to power in October 1982, you promised that the issues at the Ministry of Finance would be promptly addressed. I was in high school at the time and for more than 36 years after you made that promise, things at the Ministry of Finance have changed, but for the worse, making it hard for some of our compatriots to live a decent life after retirement.

During your 36 years in power, I have already worked for almost three decades. I have worked in the private sector and I have also worked as a civil servants in Cameroon’s public service. I have worked at the international level and I am today winding down as I have less than a decade to work. If I were still in Cameroon, I would be heading out of the civil service in Cameroon for retirement while you will still be in power. The issues you promised to address have endured and for 36 years, you have conducted state affairs in a manner that leaves much to be desired. The story is that you have no regard for the people you government and these are the people who were very happy to see you accede your country’s highest office.

Well, Cameroonians are used to tolerating a lot and they have learned to put up with the corruption and inefficiency that have become your regime’s hallmark. But over the last five years, your complacency has hit new highs with millions of young Cameroonians looking outward for opportunities. It is rare today for young Cameroonians to hold that they have a place in the country you rule. Cameroon is no longer a good place for the poor and millions of our young men and women are heading abroad for greener pastures. The brain drain in Cameroon calls for significant economic reforms. A country can only develop if its resources are used internally and if the people have faith in the system.

Looking at those who surround you, it is clear that your regime prioritizes the old over the young. Your collaborators have been in the corridors of power for decades and this has resulted in them developing a do-nothing attitude. Your ministers are people who have, on many occasion, been indicated by the public of corruption and their ages make it hard for them to deliver the goods Cameroonians have been looking forward to for more than three decades. I know if I were in Cameroon, you would still be considering me as a young person, though I am in my mid-fifties. This is not fair to our young men and women who are a lot smarter than people of your generation. As most economies become digital, it is but normal for our young men to be given a greater say in the management of state affairs.

But this is not where it hurts the most. It is the political and military chaos that have put our country in the spotlight that are compelling me to send you this letter. For almost three years, the former West Cameroon has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. A peaceful strike by teachers and lawyers in 2016 has finally morphed into a civil war that might tear the country apart if you continue to pursue you military actions in the region.

Today, the military under the instruction of the defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomou, has engaged in a scorch earth policy that will cost the government – I mean the one after you – tons of money to rebuild some of the infrastructure that your soldiers are destroying in West Cameroon. Hospitals, schools, prisons, private homes and other facilities are being burnt down by your soldiers in the hope that the people will yield. I wish you and your military could understand that you never win a war. You seek to win peace and that should be your approach and objective at your age. You have nothing to prove and no power, no money and no wealth should excite you at 87.
Your military has sent innocent Cameroonian civilians into exile. Thousands of women and children are living rough in Nigeria. Thousands are hiding in the bushes for fear of being killed by soldiers who are supposed to be protecting them. Children are being born in these jungles and many do not have access to clean drinking water. Does this not bother you as a father and grandfather?

Thousands of English-speaking Cameroonian children are currently not going to school and this does not seem to bother you and your government. I thought at your age, your cardinal objective should be to ensure that after you, Cameroon continues to exist as a single geo-political entity that will make its people proud and happy to be living in such a lovely and rich country.

Thousands of English-speaking Cameroonians are today internally displaced. Many have been shot and killed by your soldiers for no just reason. Many women and men of your age have been roasted to death just because they were incapable of running away when your army showed up at their doors. I thought old age should be that moment when people should enjoy some serenity and peace. But your soldiers have proven that they have no regard for the old. Where have we kept that respect and love for the old that make Africa the envy of the world?

But in the English-speaking regions of today, your soldiers have made old age a crime for which its punishment is burning while alive. Why have you unleashed such a violent reign of terror on your own people? Why have you allowed a small difference of opinion to morph into such a violent war where killing has become a sport in Cameroon; a sport in which your soldiers are excelling? What have Cameroonians done to deserve such treatment? I am a witness of history and I can say, without fear of contradiction that your fellow countrymen considered you in 1982 as the best thing to have happened to their country.

Today, they all are looking back in anger. Parents are weeping for the loss of their children. Children are weeping for the loss of their parents. Entire villages and towns are mourning because of the crimes your soldiers have committed against the people. How do you think it will be possible for this people to live with you in the same country after all the pain and suffering you have inflicted on them?

As a child growing up, I was made to understand that with age, I should instead be thinking of making peace and ensuring that those who will live after me do not go through what I have gone through. For close to three years, I have watched you very closely. I have listened to your speeches with rapt attention and I have been reflecting on whether age really brings wisdom to everybody.

I would like to use this medium to advise that you have not conducted yourself as that person who is supposed to make our country an oasis of peace. Your actions over the last three years have clearly shown that you want to take the country down with you. You should have proven that you are a man of peace by listen to calls from the international community for a peaceful and inclusive dialogue.

While you may be right that Cameroon cannot be allowed to be fragmented on linguistic lines, I would be prompt at pointing out that if you had listened to the voices of frustration right from the beginning, we would have spared our country the agony that might last for centuries. If you do not listen to a people, you might never understand their frustrations. If you do not listen to them, you might never convince them that the path they are walking is not the most appropriate for them and their kids. Instead of unleashing a reign of terror on them, I think you should have used your high office to ensure all the children of Cameroon live in peace and harmony by listening to each and every one of them and providing strict guidance on how to make things better for every Cameroonian.

Today, Cameroon is imploding. There is no way English-speaking Cameroonians will ever feel comfortable in a country that sees them as second-class citizens and intimidates them into silence. While we all are hankering after peace as you said in New York in 2017, I would like to point out that negotiated peace is the type of peace that can last a lifetime. Imposed peace never lasts. It will collapse like a pack of cards even before it gets implemented.

A lot might have gone wrong, but there is still time for us, as citizens of the same country, to take a look at what has gone wrong in our country with the objective of making amends. We should be looking back, but not in anger as anger is a bad master. We should be looking back with a view to fixing what is broken and to addressing those things that have caused a lot of frustration in our country.

Mr. President, walking the path of peace is not a weakness. Despite the long time he spent in jail, Nelson Mandela decided to walk the path of peace so as to give future generations a greater chance at life. He did not call for war because a lot of injustice had been committed against him. He understood that nobody has ever won a war. It takes a lot of wisdom, a lot of selflessness and a lot of determination to understand that it is peace that should be our goal and not war. It is not too late for you to reverse your declaration of war against the English-speaking population of the country.

Great men are not just those who have lasted long in power. Great men are people with noble minds. While you are still alive and you have some authority – although those around you are manipulating things – I would urge you to embrace the inclusive dialogue that many have exhorted you to embrace. No killings or burning of homes will make thing better. Talk to the people of the North West and Southwest regions directly. Talk to them from your heart. Let them know that mistakes have been made. Sue for peace. Suing for peace is not a sign of weakness. Only people with noble minds have the courage to choose peace over war. You can do it. You still have the time to achieve something that will make Cameroon great again.

I look forward to a prompt reaction from you and your government.

Sincerely,

Joachim Arrey, Ph.D.
Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
arreyjoachim@hotmail.com

11, February 2019

Italy Deputy PM says Meeting with Yellow Vests protesters in France ‘legitimate’ ⁰

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio has defended his controversial meeting with Yellow Vests protesters, which prompted Paris to recall the French ambassador from Rome and sparked a crisis in bilateral ties.

Di Maio, of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, said Sunday it was “legitimate” for him to meet a group of French protesters who were about to stand in May’s European Parliament elections.

Speaking to reporters in Milan, he mocked French President Emmanuel Macron for treating the meeting as a crime of offending the royalty, and said, “I’m sorry that Macron lived this as a bit lese-majeste.”

Relations between France and Italy sank to a new low last week when Paris recalled its ambassador, citing meddling in domestic affairs after Di Maio met with senior figures of the Yellow Vests movement in France.

The French Foreign Ministry on Thursday asked the envoy to return for consultations, and called the meeting a “provocation.” It said the meeting had come after “repeated accusations, unfounded attacks, and outlandish claims” by Rome.

PressTV-France recalls Italy envoy after Yellow Vest meeting

The remarks, which it called “unprecedented” since the end of World War II, featured De Maio’s fellow deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, calling Macron a “terrible president” in a Facebook video last month, and likewise publicly supporting the protesters.

“The opportunity will come on May 26 (the election day) when finally, the French people will be able to take back control of their future, destiny, (and) pride, which are poorly represented by a character like Macron,” Salvini said in the video.

Di Maio even said his meeting with the activists was aimed at preparing a common front for elections in May, while boasting on Twitter that “the wind of change has crossed the Alps.”

The Yellow Vests demonstrations, which have daunted Paris with their size, have been denouncing high living costs and alleged lack of government care for rural areas.

PressTV-France: Yellow Vests protester demand change

The protesters on Saturday marched through the streets of Paris and other cities on the 13th consecutive weekend of rallies against political elite and the economic policies of Macron.

Despite the French government suspending the tax hikes and announcing increases to the minimum wage, protests have continued.

Presstv

10, February 2019

Biyanization: Algeria’s Bouteflika to seek fifth presidential term ⁰

Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is to seek a fifth term in April elections, state media announced Sunday, despite health issues that have kept him largely out of the public eye for years.

The 81-year-old head of state, in power since 1999, declared his widely expected candidacy in a message to the nation that Algeria’s official APS news agency said it would release later the same day.

The president said he would set up an “inclusive national conference” to address “political, economic, and social” issues and “propose an enrichment of the constitution,” APS reported.

Bouteflika, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, had remained quiet about whether he would be a candidate in the lead-up to the April 18 poll.

The country’s ruling coalition — which includes the president’s National Liberation Front — lent its backing to Bouteflika earlier this month.

Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia has said Bouteflika’s health was not “an obstacle” to performing presidential duties.

Retired General Ali Ghediri, 64, was the first to announce his candidacy after the presidency set the election date.

The Movement for the Society of Peace Party will also take part, backing its candidate Abderrazak Makri. It has said Bouteflika would be unable to handle the demands of another term in office because of ill health.

The country’s oldest opposition party, the Front of Socialist Forces, announced on January 25 that it would not field a candidate and called for an “active, intensive, and peaceful boycott.”

(Source: AFP)