Politics

3, March 2022

Macron officially declares his candidacy in 2022 French presidential election ⁰

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday announced he would run for a second term in the April French presidential election, seeking a mandate to steer the euro zone’s second-largest economy through the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Macron announced his bid for the 2022 presidential election with a “letter to the French” which began with the recent challenges the country has faced during his first five-year term.

“Over the past five years, we have faced many trials together. Terrorism, the pandemic, war in Europe: rarely has France been faced with such an accumulation of crises,” the letter, which was published in several newspapers, began.

“We have not succeeded in everything,” Macron continued. “There are choices that, with the experience I have acquired, I would no doubt make differently. But the transformations undertaken during this mandate have enabled many of us to live better, and France to gain in independence. And the crises we have been experiencing for the past two years show that this is the path that must be followed.”

The letter then stated his intent to run for a second term. “I am asking for your confidence for a new mandate as president of the Republic. I am a candidate to…respond to the challenges of the century. I am a candidate to defend our values…I am a candidate to continue to prepare the future of our children and our grandchildren.”

The French president, who has been at the centre of diplomacy over Ukraine, left his official declaration to the last minute with the deadline set by the authorities at 6 pm (1700 GMT) on Friday.

While there was always little suspense about the 44-year-old’s intentions, his candidacy announcement was repeatedly delayed because of the crisis in eastern Europe that has seen Macron take a prominent role in diplomatic talks.

Nearly a month before the April 10 first round of the presidential election Macron has yet to engage in any official campaigning and scrapped a rally planned in Marseille this weekend due to the Ukraine crisis.

Rivals ‘boxing on their own’

Ahead of Friday’s deadline for candidates to stand, polls widely show him as the front runner, with the war turning the attention to foreign policy rather than the domestic issues favoured by his opponents.

“In a crisis, citizens always get behind the flag and line up behind the head of state,” said Antoine Bristielle, a public opinion expert at the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, a Paris think tank.

“The other candidates are inaudible. In every media, all anyone is talking about is the invasion,” he told AFP.

One ruling party MP told AFP this week the Ukraine crisis meant that Macron’s rivals were “boxing on their own”, while several polls have shown his personal ratings rising.

The former investment banker admitted in a national address on Wednesday night that the crisis had “hit our democratic life and the election campaign” but promised “an important democratic debate for the country” would take place.

The latest IFOP poll for Paris Match, LCI and Sud Radio on Thursday showed Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen leading in the first round and qualifying for the run-off with Macron getting 28 percent and Le Pen securing 17 percent.

The figures for the April 24 runoff showed Macron securing 56.7 percent of the vote against Le Pen.

Source: REUTERS

2, March 2022

After 40 years as Head of State, what’s life in a post-Paul Biya era? ⁰

On 13 February, Paul Biya celebrated his 40th anniversary as head of state, but what would happen if, in six months or a year’s time, he was no longer able to govern? Who would replace him? Would a clan war break out? Would the army get involved? What about the opposition? We invite you to dive into the possible scenarios following an inevitable succession.

Here they were, once again, all gathered under the marble and gilding of Mvomeka’a, the head of state’s private residence. Chantal Biya dominated the august assembly with her flamboyant height. The first lady’s long red dress was an unmistakable eye-catcher.

Paul Biya, the former seminarian, chose a more sober-looking suit. Dressed in a white shirt, dark tie and jacket, the president later opted for a more casual outfit. His older children stood beside him. Less used to these formal occasions, his grandchildren ran around the large reception room, bickering with each other and leering enviously at the sugar and cream cake.

What if it was the last time?

The atmosphere was festive. A few hand-picked guests were waiting in another room. Paul and Chantal Biya were smiling. The photographer captured the moment and then checked the photo to make sure it wasn’t blurry. A few hours later, millions of Cameroonians looked at the photograph on their phones or computers and either commented on it among themselves or on social media, happy to be immersed – for a moment – in the intimacy of power. Some compared the image to that of the previous year, while others went back even further, examining the effects of time on the protagonists’ faces. A cruel but inevitable tradition.

On 13 February 2022, Biya, who has been president since November 1982, turned 89. What would happen if this were the last time he celebrated his birthday in power? What would happen if the Etoudi palace were to change tenants before the 2025 presidential elections? Who would be able to replace him?

In Yaoundé, these questions remain taboo, even though they are still on most people’s minds. The Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM, in power) is undergoing some changes, the various clans are clashing and dirty tricks abound. We are getting closer and closer to the fateful hour when the head of state will relinquish his dictatorial powers. So what will happen when he does?….

Culled from The Africa Report

1, March 2022

Iran’s leader says Ukraine is ‘victim’ of US policy ⁰

Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday said US policies are to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling for an end to the war that broke out last week.

“The root cause of the Ukraine crisis is the US and the West’s policies,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech marking a Muslim religious anniversary.

“The United States regime is a crisis-creating and crisis-living one. It feeds on crisis.

“In my opinion, today Ukraine is also the victim of such policy. Today, the Ukraine situation is related to this US policy. The US has dragged Ukraine to this point,” he added.

He accused Washington of meddling in the “internal affairs of the country, setting up demonstrations against the governments, creating velvet revolutions, creating colour coup d’etats”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine last Thursday.

Ukraine says more than 350 civilians have been killed since, and that Moscow is amassing more troops for a possible assault on the capital city Kyiv.

Iran’s supreme leader said Tehran wants the “war to end”, and called for civilians’ lives and infrastructure to be spared during the conflict.

“We are against war and destruction, anywhere in the world,” Khamenei said, adding that “we are against killing people, the destruction of people’s infrastructure”.

The invasion has pushed tensions between Russia and the West to their highest point in decades.

The US, European allies and NATO members have imposed severe sanctions on Moscow and are supplying Ukraine with weapons and defence equipment.

Khamenei said that lessons should be drawn from the war, mainly that “Western powers’ support of puppet regimes and governments is a mirage, it is not real”.

Relations between the US and Iran have been severed since April 1980, a year after the fall of the pro-Western shah.

This was followed by the occupation of the American embassy in Tehran, and the seizing of hostages in a crisis that lasted for more than a year.

The two arch-rivals are currently engaged in indirect negotiations in Vienna to restore a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, from which Washington unilaterally withdrew in 2018.

Iran’s leader, who has the final say in major state policies, called the US a “mafia regime”.

“Political mafia, economic mafia, arms-producing mafia; different types of mafias that control and lead the policies of the country and actually control the country,” he said.

Source: AFP

25, February 2022

Putin ready to send delegation for talks with Ukraine ⁰

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is ready to dispatch a high-level delegation for talks with Ukraine in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, the Kremlin says, as the Russian military campaign in Ukraine enters its second day.

On Friday, Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was ready to “send a delegation at the level of representatives of Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, and Presidential Administration to Minsk for negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation.”

Minsk hosted previous peace negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis.

Peskov’s statement came as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called for direct talks with Putin in a video message earlier on Friday.

China’s Foreign Ministry also said that Putin had told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during a phone call on Friday that his country was willing to “conduct high-level negotiations” with Ukraine. The ministry also cited the Russian leader as saying that the United States and NATO had long turned a blind eye to Russia’s legitimate security concerns, repeatedly failed to honor their commitments, and continued to expand military deployments in Eastern Europe, near Russian borders, challenging Russia’s key red line.

Xi reiterated his country’s support for a solution to the crisis through dialog, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website. Xi also urged all parties to respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries and form a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security mechanism through talks.

Source: Presstv

25, February 2022

The Longest Serving African Leaders in 2022 ⁰

The new decade has brought about a series of seismic changes in the African political system. There has been an increase of the number of coups across the continent that has seen long standing head of states lose power. Despite this, there still remains a number of African leaders who have continued to consolidate their power through constitutional changes and have constructed legal dictatorships.

Here are the 10 longest serving African leaders in 2022:

10. Alassane Ouattara

Alassane Ouattara has been the president of Ivory Coast since 2010. Prior to his presidency, he was the Prime Minister of Ivory Coast and worked as an economist for the IMF and the Central Bank of West African States. He recently won a 5-year term in 2020 in what can be considered a constitutional coup.

Ouattara assumed his position after a bloody power struggle with then incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo, after a stalemate in the 2010 elections. With the aid of France and the US, Ouattara’s military forces arrested Gbagbo and he became de facto leader

Ouattara has continued his repressive streak as his government is known for corruption, cronyism, and human right abuses. The state of Ivory Coast is nuanced. Economic growth has been around 7% since he took over. The government has invested heavily in telecommuting, electricity and roads but poverty, education and healthcare remain a huge challenge.

9. Faure Gnassingbe

Faure Gnassingbe has been the President of Togo since 2005. After the sudden death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, he was installed by the military has head of state which resulted in international and domestic backlash. After resigning and winning the hotly contested elections of 2005, he has become a mainstay. Gnassingbe won his fourth term in 2020 after removing presidential term limits amidst of allegations of rigging the elections.

Like his father, Gnassingbe rules the country with an iron fist. He ordered the arrest of his half brother and former defence minister on suspicion of planning a coup attempt in 2009. The constitutional changes he proposed in 2017 to allow him to continue to stand for election were heavily protested by opposition leaders and the people of Togo. The resistance was harshly squashed as the military used live bullets, teargas and internet blackouts.

8. Paul Kagame

Paul Kagame is the current president of Rwanda and has been since 2000. He has won three terms. He rose to power after defeating the Rwandan National Army to end the genocidal war that broke out in Rwanda in 1994 as the leader of the RPF rebel forces.

In his current 22-year long reign, Kagame has been lauded for his efforts that have stabilized the economy and promoted economic growth, but he is also known for his tyrannical streak. It said that Kagame has defence agency networks dedicated to assassinating, imprisoning, and exiling his critics.

Rwanda has somewhat benefitted from leadership as he has been able to procure vast amounts of foreign aid that has helped the country greatly. Government reports claim to have lifted 1 million people out of poverty between 2008 and 2012 and that the country’s economy has grown by a steady 8% in the same time frame.

7. Ismali Omar Gulleh

Ismali Omar Gulleh has ruled over Djibouti since 1999. He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, after being in his cabinet as head of national security and chief of staff for more than 20 years.

Known by many as a dictator, Guelleh has been in power for 22 years and 5 terms. In the latest election, held in 2021, He beat his only opponent, Zakaria Farah, by winning over 97% of the votes. The lead up to the alleged rigged elections was marked by street protests by the people of the country as they have grown tired of Guelleh’s suppressive reign.

Guelleh’s regime has been characterized by inequality, corruption, poverty, unemployment, restriction of free press, rampant malnutrition, and poor healthcare systems. The country is not poor by any means, but Guelleh has turned it into a commercial state-city controlled by one man.

6. Isaias Afwerki

Isaias Afwerki has held the office of the President of Eritrea since the country gained its independence in 1991. As a revolutionary, he led the Eritrean Liberation Front to victory, ending the country’s 30-year long war for independence. He continues to lead both the country and the only legitimate party in the country.

Afwerki’s reign has been marked by the lack of elections, constitution, parliament or independent judiciary. The president is an authoritarian who uses his considerable power to eliminate rivals and free press. He has gone as far as aiding Islamist extremist groups in Somalia in order to destabilize neighbouring Ethiopia.

Eritrea remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Poverty rates are exacerbated by war and drought. The country is plagued by homelessness, disease and a lack of water, educational and healthcare systems.

5. King Mswati III

King Mswati III is the last absolute monarch in Africa and has reigned over Swaziland since 1986. The king assumed power as he turned 18 after receiving an education at Sherbone School in England. He routinely appoints his own cabinet, parliament and fills key governmental positions with allies and CEO’s.

The king has ruled with a ruthlessness and his methods have become more violent. The monarch’s security forces are known for extra judicial killings, unfounded arrests, detentions, and torture. This was evident in the 2021 pro-democracy protests that took over the country. Security forces enacted a dusk to dawn curfew, shut off the internet and murdered 50 people.

The king uses Swaziland’s resources as his own personal line of credit. He is listed as one of the richest monarchs and leads an extravagant lifestyle. Meanwhile, Swaziland’s unemployment rate stands at more than 46% and 65% of the people live on less than $1.25 a day.

4. Youweri Museveni

Youweri Museveni is Uganda’s 9th President and has ruled over the country since 1986. He led the rebel forces that toppled former Ugandan Presidents Milton Obote and Idi Amin and recently won his sixth term in 2021.

Like so many of his authoritarian counterparts, Museveni has scrapped term limits, rigged elections, and suppressed opponents. Museveni’s regime is a display of wide-reaching corruption and an intolerance for minority groups.

Uganda is primarily plagued by rising youth employment, lack of electricity and limited infrastructure as the country lacks sufficient road and railway systems.

3. Dennis Sassou Nguesso

Dennis Nguesso has been Congo’s head of state for more than 37 years. He served his first term as president from 1979 to 1990 but was stripped of executive power and subsequently lost the 1991 presidential elections. He returned to power in 2002 after leading his rebel forces during the Congo civil war in which they ousted President Lissouba. In 2021, he won his fifth term which will see him stay in power until 2026.

Nguesso rules like a true totalitarian. Political opponents have either been jailed, exiled or are dead. Elections are routinely rigged, and dissidence is violently quelled. The population of Congo doesn’t enjoy any civic freedoms. Nguesso is well known for decades of gross corruption

Although, Congo is an oil rich country and generates huge revenues, it remains one the poorest countries. Nguesso and his allies use state resources for personal enrichment. Half the population live below the poverty line, the economy’s stagnant, civil servants go mouths without wages and hospitals rarely have the capacity to treat people.

2. Paul Biya

Paul Biya has been the president of Cameroon since 1982. He has been in office for 40 years after the resignation of President Ahmadou Ahidjo. He has won seven terms, the latest in 2018.

Biya’s presidency become more repressive with each passing year and intensified after an attempted coup in 1984. Since then, elections are often fraudulent, political opponents disappear and free speech is restricted. His French-backed regime has often targeted the Anglophone people of Cameroon resulting in a deadly crisis.

Due to widespread corruption, Cameroon is in a dire state. 40% of Cameroonians live below the poverty line. Another 6.2 million are in need of humanitarian aid. The economy is on the brink of collapse and the national currency has been devalued.

1.Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Teodoro Obiang is the longest serving African leader. He took office of the President of Equatorial Guinea in 1979 after orchestrating a military coup against his uncle, Franciso Macias Nguema. Since then, Equatorial Guinea is has one party system and the constitution of the country grants Obiang virtually all the power.

Like previous African strongmen, Obiang’s regime is characterized by unlawful kidnappings, murders, and torture of anyone who dares to criticize it. The only media outlets allowed to operate in the country are those owned by his allies. Local activists often face intimidations, harassment, and reprisals.

Equatorial Guinea is one of the leading oil producing countries in Africa and has one the highest adult literacy rates. Despite this, wealth inequality is rife due to corruption. About three quarters of the population live below the poverty line and are without access to healthcare, infrastructure or drinking water.

Source: The African Exponent

21, February 2022

Biden agrees ‘in principle’ to Macron-brokered Ukraine summit with Putin ⁰

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle to a summit over Ukraine, the French leader said on Monday, offering a possible path out of one of the most dangerous European crises in decades.

The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement he had pitched to both leaders a summit on “security and strategic stability in Europe”. The White House said in a statement that Biden had accepted the meeting “in principle” but only “if an invasion hasn’t happened”.

“We are always ready for diplomacy,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. “We are also ready to impose swift and severe consequences should Russia instead choose war.”

Messages seeking comment from the Kremlin and from the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were not immediately returned early on Monday.

Many details about the proposed summit – which was announced after a volley of phone calls between Macron, Biden, Putin, Zelensky and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – are not clear.

Macron’s office and the White House said the substance of the summit would be worked out by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during their meeting planned for February 24. What role Ukraine would play in the summit, if any, was also uncertain.

A Biden administration official said in an email that the summit was “completely notional” as the timing and format had yet to be determined.

Source: AFP

18, February 2022

Franck Biya to run for president ⁰

The ruling CPDM is planning to hold an extraordinary congress of the party that will nominate Franck Biya, the eldest son of the 89-year-old dictator as a presidential candidate, Cameroon Intelligence Report has learnt from a well-placed source in the nation’s capital Yaoundé.

Cameroon, the so-called giant in the Sub Saharan region littered with French backed dictators is one of Africa’s most repressive, corrupt states and little is known about how the Biya Francophone regime makes day-to-day decisions. The country has never held any free and fair vote, and Biya’s next-of-kin will almost certainly face no real opponents in the next presidential election.

The country has no free media, honours President Biya’s acolytes with lucrative political positions and is yet to make any major arrest ever since it was revealed coronavirus funds were siphoned by top government officials including the Prime Minister and Head of Government Joseph Dion Ngute.

Paul Biya who is the country’s president and commander-in-chief since 1982 hardly chairs cabinet meetings but has been Cameroon’s decision-maker for the last 40 years.

His pastimes –holidaying in rural areas in the South of France, long stays at the InterContinental Hotel in Geneva and encouraging internal divisions deep within his ruling party including returning to Cameroon to fill his pocket with tax payer’s money — have made him a curiosity across the globe.

At 89, his followers mainly from his Beti-Ewondo tribal extractions say he is still the right man for the nation’s powerful job.

Franck Biya is currently nothing in Cameroon government’s political chain of command but underneath that nothingness is a young man with a broad influence over the politics and economy that key Biya family allies think is now eligible to run for president.

It is expected that both the political bureau and the congress of the ruling CPDM party will unanimously support the candidacy of Franck Biya for the post of President of Cameroon in the next presidential election.

Recently, he has been boosting his national profile with bereavement visits to his dad’s loyalists in the North and West regions of the country.

Franck Biya’s exposure on media only began to grow after the Biya family invested on the television channel Groupe L’Anecdote headed by Amougou Belinga.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

17, February 2022

France to pull troops from Mali after 10 years of failure ⁰

France has announced that it will withdraw thousands of troops from Mali due to a breakdown in relations with the country, a decade after launching a war without the initial approval of the United Nations or even the French parliament.

A statement signed by France and its African and European allies said on Thursday that “multiple obstructions” meant the conditions were no longer in place to operate in Mali.

The decision applies to both the 2,400 French troops in Mali, where France first deployed in 2013, and a European force of several hundred soldiers that was created in 2020.

Relations between Paris and Bamako have deteriorated since the ruling military took power in August 2020.

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed at a news conference that France’s bases in Gossi, Menaka and Gao in Mali would be closed within the next four to six months.

“We cannot remain militarily engaged alongside de facto authorities whose strategy and hidden aims we do not share,” Macron said. The withdrawal would be carried out in an “orderly” manner, he said.

Macron also “completely” rejected the idea that France had failed its mission in the country.

Mali’s armed forces spokesperson Souleymane Dembele shrugged off France’s announcement, saying European troops had failed to curb militancy.

“I think that there has been no military solution, because terrorism has engulfed the entire territory of Mali,” he said.

Tensions have been mounting after Mali expelled its French envoy over what the country described as “hostile and outrageous” comments by the former colonial power.

Mali’s prime minister earlier this month blasted France for attempting to divide his country during a foreign military mission against terrorist groups.

Choguel Kokalla Maiga, head of the government that came to power in June 2021, said the French intervention “later turned into a de facto partition of the country.”

The Mali deployment has been fraught with problems for France. Of the country’s 53 soldiers killed in West Africa, 48 of them died in Mali.

The announcement comes at a critical time for Macron, just days before he is expected to make a long-awaited declaration that he will stand for a second term in April elections.

Macron’s priority will now be to ensure that the withdrawal does not invite comparisons with the chaotic US departure from Afghanistan last year.

A French mission began in Mali in 2013 to allegedly counter militants that Paris claims are linked to the al-Qaeda and Daesh terrorist groups. France, a former colonizer of Africa, also deployed thousands of soldiers to presumably prevent separatist forces from reaching Mali’s capital, Bamako.

The war caused several thousand deaths and more than a million people to flee their homes. There have been two military coups in little over a year, amid growing demonstrations against France’s military presence.

France has been one of the world’s colonizing countries that after many years of slavery still controls countries spread over more than 12 territories and treats their people as second-class citizens.

It has had more than 50 military interventions in Africa since 1960, when many of its former colonies gained nominal independence. Mali remains among the poorest countries in the world, but that’s not due to a lack of resources.

France currently has 5,100 troops in the arid and volatile Sahel region. Under a new plan, they will be reduced to 2,500-3,000 troops. Analysts say it is premature to call it the end of the war, but that France is entering into a new phase of the war.

France is also worried about the alleged deployment of Russian contractors in the country.

Although France remains the only Western country with a significant military presence in the Sahel, its relationship with its former African colonies has grown increasingly tense in recent months. This has led to an evident increase in anti-French sentiment.

Source: Presstv

16, February 2022

Who decides if President Biya is unfit to serve? Amougou Belinga ⁰

In Cameroon, the head of state is not required to pass mental health exams or psychological and psychiatric evaluations even after staying in power for 40 years. No Cameroonian psychologists and members of both the National Assembly and the so-called House of Senate have called for such mental health exams mindful of the fact that President Biya is now 89 years old.

The idea of requiring President Paul Biya to undergo mental health exams is considered a treasonable act. Consequently, there is no panel of physicians who would routinely evaluate the most powerful politician in Cameroon and decide whether his judgment such as the declaration of war against the people of Southern Cameroons was clouded by a mental disability.

This week, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the television channel Vision 4, Amougou Belinga fired Dieudonne Essomba, a senior political analyst who opined that President Paul Biya was no longer fit for office.

The French Cameroun political commentator had been invited to sing the normal CPDM praises on Biya who turned 89. However, the outspoken Dieudonne Essomba instead told the world via Club d’elites that Biya is now unable to lead Cameroon. Essomba furthered “At 89 years old, one cannot manage a country. Biya who is 89 years old is at 25% of his capacity.”

In a statement published by the Groupe L’Anecdote accompanied by Essomba’s picture, Vision 4 said Dieudonne Essomba’s contract had been terminated.

“We would like to advise the public that Dr. Dieudonne Essomba, who was a consultant, in the capacity of guest speaker in Club d’elites, is no longer a member of staff with immediate effect. Vision 4 disassociates itself completely with any statements, be they political or of any other nature, that he has made in the past or may make to the press in the future.”

Vision 4 also removed the video of the Club d’elites program from its face book and YouTube pages.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

11, February 2022

Biya appoints Ewumbue-Monono Churchill as ambassador to Djibouti ⁰

President Paul Biya has again appointed Dr Ewumbue-Monono Churchill as Ambassador of Cameroon to Djibouti.

Biya stated that “Mr. Ewumbue-Monono Churchill is, from the date of signing this decree, appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cameroon in the Republic of Djibouti, with residence in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.”

Born on February 16, 1961 Ewumbue-Monono Churchill is currently Cameroon’s ambassador to Ethiopia and will continue to reside in Addis Ababa.

Ewumbue-Monono Churchill is a long standing Cameroon diplomat who hails from the South West region. He was a technical adviser in the civil cabinet at the presidency of the Republic and a graduate of the Ecole Supérieure Internationale de Journalisme (Esijy) and the Institut des Relations Internationales du Cameroun (IRIC).

By Rita Akana