In the mediation debate in the UN Security Council on August 29, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who has banned Inner City Press from the UN since July 3 as it asked about his inaction on Cameroon said, “Since the beginning of my tenure, one of my key priorities has been a surge in diplomacy for peace… My special envoys and representatives pursue consultations, good offices, and formal talks, often alongside envoys and mediators from regional organizations or Member States.”

But simply as one pertinent example, what have Guterres and his envoy Francois Lounceny Fall accomplished amid the carnage in Southern Cameroons. Nothing – or worse. Fall equated secessionists with extremists, thereby providing UN ground cover for their targeting and killing. Guterres as Inner City Press has been informed by sources on the 38th floor and in the Department of Political Affairs decided to remain silent on the killing of Anglophones in order to curry favor with Cameroon’s Ambassador Tommo Monthe, chair of the UN Budget Committee in which Guterres wanted to push through proposal like his “Global Service Delivery Mechanism” which failed. This is the surge in diplomacy?

And, angry at Inner City Press’ coverage, rather than try to get mediation – a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Jose Ramos-Horta, has reached out to that effect – Guterres instead had Inner City Press roughed up right after it spoke with Tommo Monthe on July 3, and banned since, with the prospect of not banned from covering the General Assembly high level week for the first time in 11 years. What surge in diplomacy? It is censorship.

Culled from Inner Press

South Africa’s government has summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jessye Lapenn over US President Donald Trump’s tweet on Pretoria’s land policy.

On his Twitter on Wednesday, Trump said he had asked his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate South Africa’s “land and farm seizures and expropriations and large scale killing of farmers.”

Shortly after Trump’s comment, South Africa responded in a tweet that it “totally rejects this narrow perception, which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past.”

The South African government added that the country would “speed up the pace of land reform in a careful and inclusive manner that does not divide” the nation.

Early this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) was moving ahead with plans to alter the constitution in order to allow the expropriation of land without compensation, as white South Africans still owned most of the country’s land nearly a quarter of a century after the collapse of the apartheid system in South Africa.

Ramaphosa is trying to accelerate land reform plans before the 2019 general elections in order to “undo a grave historical injustice” against the black people during colonialism and the apartheid era that ended in 1994.

White community in South Africa constitute eight percent of the population possessing 72 percent of farms, while only four percent of the lands are owned by black people making up 80 percent of the population.

According to the AgriSA, an association of agricultural groups across South Africa, 47 farmers have been killed in South Africa since 2017.

The number of attacks on farmers has undergone an increase from 478 in 2016-17 to 561 this year, but the government’s involvement in the killings remains unclear.

Source: Presstv

The conflict in Southern Cameroons, which started as a simple peaceful demonstration by lawyers and teachers seeking better working conditions, will surely not be disappearing from the national and internal scenes anytime, soon.

Those who thought the South West and North West regions were “two cubes of sugar” which could easily melt in a huge ocean of water, are today still wondering why the expected results have not yet been achieved.

The “two cubes of sugar” seem to have been wrapped up in plastic paper before they were thrown into the ocean. Plastic is not bio-degradable. This implies the cubes of sugar will stay intact for a long time. There was a clear misunderstanding of things on the part of the government. It is, however, becoming clear that the minority can bring about change in a society.

Southern Cameroonians, who constitute only 20% of the country’s population, are teaching the majority that real freedom never gets delivered to the oppressed on a platter of gold. Real freedom is seized and Southern Cameroonians are ready to grab theirs and run away with it.

But the freedom is coming at a high cost. Many Cameroonians have been sent to an early grave and many are in hospitals battling for the lives as a result of the conflict; a conflict that could have been avoided if the Yaoundé government had opted for sincere and inclusive dialogue.

The country is today awash with bad news and dangerous weapons. The killings are going on unabated. Army soldiers are still engaged in fierce fighting with Southern Cameroonians fighters who hold that only independence from the Yaoundé government will bring peace to the two English-speaking regions.

The government, which is a more organized structure, has unfortunately played into the hands of the Southern Cameroonians fighters by resorting to senseless killing of civilians. This has helped to diminish its stance in the eyes of the population.

The freedom fighters, for their part, are also doing their best to defend themselves. Of course, the killing and maiming of army soldiers is not something anybody should hail, but the military’s killing of anything and anybody that comes into its crosshairs sounds more like wickedness and desperation.

The population would have been a good ally in this fight against an enemy that is lurking in the jungle. But the government’s strategy has made it impossible for the civilian population to collaborate with a government many Southern Cameroonians consider as an “army of death”.

The situation is really sticky. The government’s arrogance has made it hard for any reasonable person to sympathize with it. Even the French-speaking majority which initially was inimical to the idea of a rebellion in the English-speaking parts of the country is now turning against the government for mismanaging a simple protest by lawyers and teachers.

Today, Francophones see their politicians as a bunch of people who have ganged up against the people. The refusal by government officials that the Southern Cameroons crisis should not be discussed at the National Assembly or Senate has angered many Francophones and many of them are now speaking out against the government.

The conflict will not be petering out anytime soon. With the passage of every blessed day, things are only getting worse. Southern Cameroonian fighters are already acquiring sophisticated weapons and this has made the killing of army soldiers look like a walk in the park.

Today, it is widely held that killing a soldier is normal. There is a price on the head of every soldier. Anybody who kills a soldier is immediately awarded CFAF 200,000 and this has transformed many Southern Cameroonians into hunters of soldiers. The message is clear. Thou shall not be a soldier. Or, if you are one, then you must stay away from Southern Cameroons.

An end to this conflict is not in sight. There are still many more scenes and they will be playing out in a manner that will be far from being pleasant. Today, Buea has witnessed some heavy shooting and residents of the city are confused and do not know who is behind the shooting.

Rumor has it that the months of September and October will be the worst in the history of this conflict that has already resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 Cameroonians. With the presidential election approaching, it is clear that the government will want to assert its authority over the two regions and this will meet with stiff resistance from Southern Cameroonian fighters who will surely use ghost towns to paralyze the cities and make mincemeat of the election.

The presidential election is spreading fear among the civilian population. Southern Cameroonians are simply not taking part in what they consider a foreign election. At best, they consider the election a sham. Armed groups in the regions have already put out their message regarding this election. If you vote, yours will be the kingdom of death. Many Southern Cameroonians are aware of this and their apathy toward the election is easy to notice.

Mamfe is still boiling. Batibo is still in the spotlight. The killing of soldiers in that part of the country is still very attractive, as long the government continues to enforce its policy of suppression and total submission. The first Ambazonian high school has been set up in Batibo, a small city of less than 5,000 people.

Videos of the school are online and have been visited by many Internet users. Many observers hold that Batibo will soon be a victim of a catastrophic attack by the government which is still trying to prove that it has total control over the country. It is obvious that more blood will soon be flowing and it will be the ordinary civilian who will pay the price.

The Southern Cameroons crisis will continue to snowball as each side seeks to prove that it is making substantial territorial gains. While the government may have greater firepower, it is clear that it has lost its authority in many parts of Southern Cameroons.

While other regions of the country are witnessing some political movement as political party officials take to campaigning to unseat the incumbent, Paul Biya, the two English-speaking regions seem to be indifferent to what is happening in other parts of the country.

Political leaders seem to consider the English-speaking regions as very dangerous for them, although all of them need the votes from those regions, conscious of the fact that the ruling party does not stand a chance there. But the fear of the unknown is scaring all of them.

Even government officials from the English-speaking regions are not keen on going to their constituencies to campaign. They are aware of their fate. They have been warned and there is a huge price on their heads. The pressure is unbearable for many local administrative officials. Many chiefs are quietly abdicating. Many are seeking refuge either in Nigeria or East Cameroon. They are simply in exile. Senior government officials, for their part, are keeping a very low profile and many have already been kidnapped and taken to Southern Cameroonian “green jails”.

Yesterday, the North West region was in the spotlight for the wrong reason. A contingent of army soldiers was ambushed in Zua in the North West region and some 20 army soldiers are believed to have met their unfortunate fate in this small town. Those who carried out this act of brutality are already expecting payment from their masters who have not yet been identified by the government.

They are also aware that government reprisals will soon come and many of them have already packed and left. That appears to be the new rule. Once an army soldier is killed, the entire village or city has to move into the jungle which is now considered a “five star hotel” and it is believed to be safer than the city itself, as army soldiers are wont to killing anybody who crosses their path after a clash.

All of this drama is playing out while the country’s president, Paul Biya, and his health minister, Mama Fouda, are in Switzerland seeking better health care for themselves, although they have been arguing that their government has built many hospitals in the country. But Cameroonians cannot be fooled. They consider those hospitals as consultation clinics which do not have the proper equipment.

Cameroonians are used to such bad news. They are used to their leaders sending their children abroad for better education while they stay at home to deal with the poor infrastructure that the government has developed. Quality of education has been on the decline for years and the government does not seem to be bothered.

The roads, for their part, leave much to be desired. Bad news has become the staple of many Cameroonians. If it is not a ghastly road accident, it is a serious case of corruption where a government official has absconded with state money. And there are unfortunately many government officials who have made pilfering their favorite sport.

Cameroon has successfully placed itself among the most corrupt countries in the world. Under Peter Mafany Musonge, the country’s Prime Minister in the 1990s, Cameroon topped the charts twice and ever since, many government officials have been trying to outdo each other. The country’s future is really bleak and the prognoses are not good.

But there is more bad news on the horizon. The current gloomy prognoses have very little to do with the ruling party’s favorite sport – corruption. It is more about their natural candidate’s health and the country’s declining economic situation. The news is not good for the ruling party and there is panic among party stalwarts.

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, also known as the “monarch” is fighting for his health in a Swiss hospital. At almost 86, Mr. Biya is no longer strong enough to put up a good fight against a failing heart and a heady prostrate that has been a nightmare to the ailing monarch.

According to a Cameroon Intelligence Report source in Switzerland that is very close to the ailing monarch’s entourage, the prognosis are gloomy and this is sowing confusion among those surrounding the monarch. Mr. Biya who has been sick for many years, now believes that the stressful Southern Cameroons crisis is finally taking its toll.

Last week, the very first test results clearly indicated that the “monarch” had a health crisis on his hands. A Cameroon Intelligence Report source in Switzerland has hinted that the situation is concerning and from every indication; the monarch has not got much time left. More tests were ordered this week and things are not improving. Time is not on Mr. Biya’s side and his age is more of a concern to his Swiss doctors who now think they have a crisis on their hands.

A source close to Mr. Biya’s entourage has intimated that Mr. Biya’s trip to Switzerland was prompted by the fact that his health condition was already spiraling out of control. The monarch’s heart was already sounding like the engine of an old car and this was a major concern to his collaborators who count on him for them to keep their positions and to continue robbing the country blind.

There is pandemonium within Mr. Biya’s circle. Many of his collaborators fear that he might not be able to take the heat that comes with a strenuous exercise like an election campaign. The people around him are concerned and are working round the clock to ensure nothing filters out of the bad situation that is playing out in Switzerland. The location of his hospital has been kept secret for some time in the belief that angry Cameroonians will not show up to disrupt the monarch’s recovery.

But the anger that inhabits Cameroonians has driven them to locate the hospital where Mr. Biya is battling for his life. Any news about the monarch travels very fast. His poor economic and political performance has made him the most hated person in the country.

Many Cameroonians have seen their dreams washed away by Mr. Biya’s mismanagement and corruption. Millions of Cameroonians are unemployed in their own country and their parents are dying of preventable and curable diseases. Millions have fled the dehumanizing poverty that the ruling party has manufactured. The financial burden of Mr. Biya’s incompetence has fallen on the country’s Diaspora which is hell-bent on making the monarch pay for the destruction he has wreaked on the country.

Mr. Biya is currently hospitalized at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève where millions of dollars are being paid for his failing health. The Cameroonian tax-payer is footing the bill. Mr. Biya’s entourage is 50-man strong and all the staff accompanying him are lodged in world-class hotels. This is costing the country’s treasury an arm and a leg. That is why activists have set up camp opposite the hospital to ensure that the Swiss population is aware of the financial disaster he has hatched in his country.

Mr. Biya and his government burn through money like wild fire. Reserves left by the country’s first president were exhausted in less than two years. Much of that money cannot be accounted for. The news about his hospitalization travelled very fast, reaching many Cameroonians who are so disappointed with a man whom they thought held out a lot of hope for them. Social media is awash with pictures and videos of the hospital in which he is hospitalized.

Mr. Biya’s poor and declining health is on many lips at the Unity Palace where many fear he might not make it this time around. His party members, especially those of the Central Committee, are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that if the inevitable happens, they will be able to have a candidate who will unite the party and win the upcoming presidential election.

Mr. Biya’s dismal economic and political performance is leaving him and his collaborators in a permanent state of confusion, especially as the presidential election is in the offing. They have nothing new to deliver to the electorate. Their lies have caught up with them. The pressure is on and opposition parties are making hay while the sun shines.

Added to this is the pressure from the international community about the deteriorating situation in Southern Cameroons. The pressure has exacerbated things, and with state coffers drying up very fast, the monarch is losing sleep. The Southern Cameroons crisis has been very disruptive. The pressure is on. Evaporating financial resources imply the government cannot prosecute its war in Southern Cameroons convincingly and its foreign allies are no more forthcoming financially.

The unnecessary war in Southern Cameroons is taking up a huge part of the state’s budget and with no end in sight; the government is in for rough times. Southern Cameroonian fighters are as heady as ragweed. They keep on resurfacing on turf the government erroneously thinks it is its own. The road ahead is long, rough and bumpy. The signs are not good both for Mr. Biya’s health and the economy. The country is really going through a rough patch.

Cameroon is mired in a conflict that will not go away anytime soon if the government and Southern Cameroonian fighters do not head to the negotiating table. Despite the shocking number of deaths, there is still room for dialogue. The international community must push both sides to the negotiating table if the senseless killings have to stop. If the world does not intervene, it will surely witness Rwanda play out in Cameroon.

By Kingsley Betek

Scott Morrison was installed as Australia’s seventh prime minister in 11 years Friday after a stunning Liberal party revolt instigated by hardline conservatives unseated moderate Malcolm Turnbull.

Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, an ex-police officer and right-winger, was the driving force behind the move to oust Turnbull after a party backlash against his more liberal policies.

But after a torrid week of political intrigue in Canberra it was Morrison, a Turnbull ally who served as treasurer, who won a party vote 45-40.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, another Turnbull backer, was also in the running but was eliminated in the first round of voting.

“My course from here is to provide absolute loyalty to Scott Morrison,” Dutton, who Turnbull accused of bullying and intimidation in the move to knife him, said in brief comments afterwards.

Turnbull, who has pledged to quit parliament after his near three-year reign came to an end, survived one attempt to oust him on Tuesday, but ministers then began defecting, throwing the government into crisis.

His departure from politics will spark a by-election for his Sydney seat, threatening the government’s wafer-thin one-seat parliamentary majority.

Thwarted ambitions 

Dutton, who favors slashing migrant numbers and even pulling Australia out of the Paris climate agreement, was the sole candidate to be prime minister until Thursday when Morrison and Bishop entered the fray to try to halt his power grab.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott, an arch conservative widely seen as the instigator of the move to get rid of Turnbull, said it was now important to “save the government” with national elections due by the middle of next year.

Turnbull must now pay a visit to the Governor-General to officially inform him of events and once there will recommend Morrison to form a new government.

Morrison, an evangelical Christian and former immigration minister, who took credit for “stop the boats” — a harsh policy to halt asylum-seekers from entering Australia — is further to the right than Turnbull but not as hardline as some in the party.

The unrest is the latest chapter in a turbulent decade for Australian politics, which has frequently descended into maneuvering and backstabbing that has alienated voters.

No leader has managed to serve out a full term since former Prime Minister John Howard lost the 2007 election, in a remarkable revolving door at Canberra’s parliament house.

Dutton needed to prove he had majority backing before launching his tilt at the leadership, or 43 signatures from within the party’s parliamentary group — a requirement for him to force a second crack at the top job.

Defense Industry Minister Christopher Pyne, another Turnbull ally, blasted disruptive elements inside his party for bringing on the challenge.

“I think some people should have considered the greater good of the people of Australia, and the government, rather than their own self-interest and ambition,” he said.

Complicating matters, Dutton was referred to the solicitor-general over his eligibility to sit in parliament due to family financial interests in childcare centers that receive government subsidies — a possible breach of constitutional rules.

The nation’s top lawyer Friday cleared him to continue in parliament.

One minister was so disillusioned with the push to oust Turnbull that he took to Twitter to apologize to the Australian people.

“Australia. We owe you an apology. I’m sorry. You deserve better than many of the things our Federal Parliament has served up to you for the past 10 years,” wrote Nationals MP Darren Chester, whose party is in coalition with the Liberals.

(Source: AFP)

Is Donald Trump right about modern journalism? (Certainly for all the wrong reasons)

They cause war? Absolutely.

Division and mistrust? Can that be denied?

The one thing all must understand about Donald Trump is that everything he does is based on how it affects him personally. At his rallies he still talks about the enormous crowd sizes and the love that jumps right out to him all the time. All the people he has attacked personally said or did something that offended him. Not America. Not the Constitution. Not the security of the US but him personally and directly. We see the latest with Trump going off on Amarosa Manigault by using misogynistic and racist language because her new book exposes the dirty inside of the Trump White House.

His relations with world leaders seems to be one-on-one, mano-a-mano, tête-à-tête, but usually one sided. He thinks he has a personal relationship with many world leaders that he can just pick up the telephone and call, regardless of time of day, or night, and expect a friendly ‘Good day to you, Mr. President.’ Most leaders are smart enough to amuse him but he’s just showing himself to the world to be the buffoon we all know he is here in the US.

His relations with world leaders, with the American people, and who knows, maybe space aliens his new space cadets will find, all focus on him directly. This is where the media comes in. Like voyeurs inching down a highway to see a crash, the media loves blood and gore, scandal, catching politicians in lies, and messed up military operations. ‘If it bleeds, it leads.’ This is a journalistic mantra that President Trump cannot understand. Thinking that he is the best of everything, has the best mind, all the solutions, why do the press attack him so much when he falters, which of course, in his mind, he never does? In part, President Trump is a gold mine for them. How many careers are being launched today just in covering Trump? How does the son of a former NY governor, or the heir of the Vanderbilt dynasty, or a McCarthyite ‘liberal’ lawyer get to have so much air time if it wasn’t for the Donald presenting himself to them as they salivate over every tweet that comes out of the White House?

President Trump calls the media ‘fake news’ because they report on him, the president, and not in a good light. And some, like CNN and MSNBC, are so fixated on him and his failings that it’s 24/7 Russia, Russia, Russia, and every tweet and insult gets reported. This, to him, is ‘fake’ news. However, another characteristic of fake news is not reporting the news, mis-reporting it, and misinforming or misleading people about what’s really happening.

For weeks on end, Israel has been killing innocent protesters in their March of Return. Killing journalists, medics, children, amputees, people running away, people empty handed. Not a word from CNN, especially in the initial slaughter. That is fake news.

American Indians and supporters were hosed with freezing water in freezing weather, shot at, dogs let loose on them, as they were protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. Barely a word. Fake news.

Child poverty in America grew at alarming rates under Obama. No mention of it.

The alleged hacks of the DNC is a given to the main stream. But no main stream media would interview William Binney, Ray McGovern or Julian Assange, all with pertinent knowledge that would refute the narrative. That is fake news.

President Trump is right about calling the media fake news, but for all the wrong reasons. To him, it’s fake because he’s their target. But it is fake because it manipulates public opinion, not just against him, but to further narratives that their corporate sponsors demand.

Culled from Presstv

For many members of the country’s ruling party, the Cameroon Peoples’ Democratic Movement (CPDM), the spotlight should be on the upcoming elections, but that is not what is happening for now. The Southern Cameroons crisis has continued to monopolize the spotlight and this is hurting the ruling party which is already working hard to rig the upcoming presidential election.

However, the party’s rigging machinery seems to be facing some challenges, as other parties and their supporters are working hard to counter any sinister plans the ruling party may have. After more than two decades of election rigging in Cameroon, the ruling party is out of tricks. The people are sadder today, but wiser and this could be seen in the population’s total apathy towards the election. The government’s dismal economic and political performance has hurt many Cameroonians and this is coming back to haunt it, especially as Southern Cameroonians are still seeking to walk away from a fake union that Ahidjo and Foncha had hastily put together shortly after independence.

From every indication, Southern Cameroons does not seem to be part of the election planning programme. The country’s election body is at its wit’s end, as the fighting in the two English-speaking regions of the country rages on. Southern Cameroonian fighters have already warned Southern Cameroonians not to participate in an election they consider as a foreign election. The penalty for participation in the presidential election, they say, will be severe and any culprits may not have the time to regret their decision. This explains why there is no enthusiasm about the election in Southern Cameroons. Even the famous Yaounde-manufactured Southern Cameroonian elite is confused. Many members of this elite have been warned never to return home and many chiefs have been exiled, with many of them now living in Yaounde.

In many parts of the country, the leading opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF) is making inroads, even in the Center, South and East province that used to be the ruling party’s stronghold. Years of false promises are gradually revealing the true picture of the ruling party. Many people around the country now hold that the CPDM is a real crime syndicate whose cardinal objective is to rob the nation blind.

The ruling party is today, the most hated party in the country. Corruption has been its hallmark for the last 30 years. It has really never won any election, but given that it is in control of national institutions such as the military, the constitutional council and the treasury, it has always found creative ways to stay in power despite its dismal economic record.

Though the ruling party considers itself as a democratic movement, its actions on the ground are anything but democratic. The chairperson of the party is the only authority who can decide on the fate of any party member. He chooses those who have to represent the party at all levels. The party’s secretary general is simply a pawn in the hands of the party chairman who is no other than the country’s president, Paul Biya, popularly known as the “monarch”, who has been in power for 36 years with nothing to show for his long stay in power.

The party is currently confused. No party convention has been held for more than a decade, and though Mr. Biya is considered as the party’s natural candidate, many party members are concerned about the party’s choice for this year’s election. Many argue in private that the party is starring down the barrel of defeat, as Mr. Biya has been the worst disaster that has ever happened to the country.

A member of the party’s central committee has hinted Cameroon Concord News Group that the party is gradually falling apart just as Mr. Biya himself who is gradually yielding to a failing heart and a distended prostrate. The party needs to carry out some fundamental changes. The country itself needs an extreme makeover and a sea change in economic policies will enable the crumbling economy to once more find its feet.

“Our party which many erroneously think it is a great party is coming apart. The internal succession battles are ripping the party apart. With Mr. Biya’s health going south, it is clear that his days are numbered. He has been the one holding the party together and now that many party members suspect his health is failing him, they think that someone else should replace him so that the party can have a fair chance at the upcoming presidential election. Mr. Biya seems to wield a lot of power both within the party and the country, but honestly, he is not the person running the show. The country is in very unsafe hands and those who have warmed their way into Mr. Biya’s heart are clearly mismanaging things,” the desperate CPDM Central Committee Member said.

He added that “what our country is going through today in the two English-speaking regions of the country clearly offer us a manual on how best to mismanage a problem. We have already lost more than 2,000 young men and women, including our uniformed officers who should have not been sent to the English-speaking regions in the first place. We of the ruling party must learn how to listen to our people if we have to endear ourselves to the population.”

He also added that “I will never say this in public, but I think the arrogance that has become the hallmark of my party is due to the fact that we have always rigged elections. If the people actually had to decide on who has to win elections, I think my fellow party members will learn how to be humble. Arrogance and greed are suffocating our country and the ruling party. Some people think the country belongs to them and anybody who holds a contrary view is immediately branded a terrorist. That is not how to run a country and a party. We have only succeeded to transform Cameroonians into our enemies and this gives the opposition parties a clear advantage.”

Cameroon, he underscored, was headed in the wrong direction. “We cannot continue to slaughter each other and the president is behaving as if nothing is happening. He has lost total control of how to address this huge fire that he ignited when he declared war on Southern Cameroonians. From every indication, it is clear that the government has not got a plan to put an end to this crisis. The soldiers are all trembling and the fighters on the ground have succeeded to intimidate everybody. Many of my colleagues who are either senators or parliamentarians are all scared of going to their constituencies. They know what awaits them out there. They have been working with the corrupt government to rob the people of their happiness and the time of reckoning has come. None of them can really stand up to the people’s scrutiny.”

“We all are scared. The country is gradually imploding and if we are not careful, we may go the way of many of our neighbors. I am not from Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia, but the pain and suffering the crisis in that region is spinning into the French-speaking part of the country is a great concern even to the president. With huge crowds moving into East Cameroon, it is clear that the Amba boys or whatever they are called could use that opportunity to set up shop in many of our big cities. This is no good news for many of us who really want a peaceful resolution of this problem.

“The fear is more unbearable when we see those videos of people being shot and killed at point blank in the country’s northern region. What will northerners be thinking of the country’s military which is predominantly Beti? The international community has clearly lost faith in us. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International are working hard to expose our government’s brutality and lack of respect for human life. I am indeed at a loss for words. The evil I see in our country leaves me awake all night. We cannot continue to pretend as if we are not human beings. If we cannot deal with the situation, then we should let the United Nations to come in and put an end to the needless killings that are giving our country a very bad name,” he regretted.

While Cameroon is falling apart, the country’s president is in Geneva, Switzerland, in search of proper medical attention for his failing heart and prostrate. The 85-year-old monarch, who has presided over his country’s destiny for almost 36 years, has been dealing with a failing health for more than ten years and his country of choice when it comes to treatment is Switzerland, where it is alleged that he has a horde of young girls who attend to him when he is there.

The very first results from the test carried out on Mr. Biya clearly indicate that the “monarch” has very little time to live. A source close to his entourage in Switzerland has hinted that the monarch has not got much time left, adding that the trip to Switzerland was prompted by the fact that his health condition was already becoming an issue to his close collaborators. Many of his collaborators fear that he might not be able to take the heat that comes with a strenuous exercise like an election campaign.

“The president is suffering. His health is a serious issue to his collaborators and many fear that he might not make it to the end of the year. He is suffering from shortness of breath and he can barely stand and walk. His wife and children are all in fear, as the 85-year-old has been spotting a sorrowful and lonely figure. There is bad news on the horizon. The fear is that if the president disappears from the scene, there could be some chaos in the country. For now, there is a lot of confusion and many of his collaborators have already begun jockeying for recognition as the next-of-kin even when the constitution is clear about what will happen in the event of a vacancy,” our source said.

It should be recalled that the Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport was blocked on the day Mr. Biya was leaving the country for more than five hours just for him and his huge entourage to travel abroad where they are supposed to spend millions of the tax-payer’s money at the Intercontinental hotel which is Mr. Biya’s hotel of choice. A source close to the hotel has hinted that once Mr. Biya and his bunch of kleptokrats are planning a trip to Switzerland, an ATM is set up for them, given their lavish lifestyle and huge appetite for exotic food and goods.

According to a Cameroon Concord News Group source at the Unity Palace, Mr. Biya has a Ghanaian doctor in Geneva who helps to screen all the girls who attend to Mr. Biya when he is in Switzerland. Our source, which elected anonymity, said that Mr. Biya has a special preference for Ghanaian girls and this has been facilitated by the Switzerland-based Ghanaian doctor whose address and phone number have been withheld for security reasons.

Mr. Biya has been using his country’s treasury for more than three decades as his personal piggy bank to pay for his lavish trips abroad. According to a recent report published on Mr. Biya’s trips abroad, it is alleged that he has spent more USD 64 million ever since he came to power. Costs related to his wife’s expenses are yet to be determined, but it is alleged that Mrs. Biya’s flaming red hair is costing the country a pretty penny. For dresses and shoes, they are costing the tax-payer an arm and a leg.

While Mr. Biya is away in Switzerland basking in other people’s wealth and development, his country is gradually falling apart. The killings in Southern Cameroons are on the rise. Cameroon, a country once touted as an oasis of peace, has finally been caught up in the throes of a huge political and economic crises that are ripping the country apart.

The country’s English-speaking minority has engaged the government in a fierce battle for its independence. An issue that started as a protest by teachers and lawyers has quickly developed into a bloody battle that has already resulted in the death of over 2,000 Cameroonians. For most of the dead soldiers, the government is still selling lies to their families that they have simply deserted the military.

The government had clearly miscalculated lots of things ever since the conflict with the country’s English-speaking regions started. It had thought using the military brutality it used in the 1950s and 1960s to quell a rebellion in the country’s French-speaking part of the country shortly after independence, would intimidate Southern Cameroonians into silence. It has, so far, burned down more than a hundred villages in Southern Cameroons, leaving thousands homeless and internally displaced, while hundreds of thousands have fled to Nigeria as refugees.

But this tactic is not working and it is not dampening the determination of the fierce Southern Cameroonian fighters. The strategy has fallen flat on its face. The English-speaking minority is united for a purpose. All attempts by the government and its agents to divide the people have failed woefully. Even money and food have not produced the miracle the government was expecting.

The government that is mostly made up of old and sick people is totally frozen in time. It has failed to figure out that changing times require different strategies. For the government, it only understands one language – an iron fist. But it is hard for old and sick people to deliver any real punches that will destabilize a well-oiled rebellion that is coordinated from abroad. An old person cannot have the right muscles to fight a war that will surely last for years.

The government has failed to understand that the dynamics are totally different. With the advent of social media, its atrocities will be clearly exposed. Southern Cameroonian fighters and the Diaspora are making the most of these technologies of freedom to fragilize a government that has lost its credibility.

But it is the financial role of the Diaspora that is hurting the government’s determination. The Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is large and rich. The Diaspora’s huge war chest is causing the government real nightmares. With some 4 million Southern Cameroonians living abroad, it will be hard for the government to easily wrap up this issue.

The huge fund-raising efforts out there are delivering incredible amounts of money. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, London – England, Washington, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta have become money manufacturing sites for Southern Cameroonians who have vowed to destabilize Cameroon. The government stands a better chance negotiating than fighting enemies it is not seeing. The Southern Cameroons rebellion is an idea and not a person.

The very first victims of the raging conflict are the innocent civilians, but the Chiefs, Fons and so-called elites have also been made to lose their voices and influence. They have been declared non-grata in their constituencies, as they have been considered as government agents by the people of Southern Cameroons. The wave of kidnappings and drive-by shootings have clearly informed the government-created elite to shut up or else the fighters will come after them and their families.

Southern Cameroonians want to walk away from the fake union. They are sick and tired of being second-class citizens in a union they freely joined. After 56 years of marginalization, they think it is time to walk away. They have had enough and since the government had criminalized any discussion on federalism, they think a clear break from East Cameroon will bring them more peace and prosperity.

Cameroon is in for bad times. There is bad news on the offing. With the monarch fighting for his life, it is clear that the country’s future is bleak. If the world keeps on watching from a distance, then it will be considered as an accomplice when things spiral out of control. Cameroon is a ticking time bomb. The world still has some time to defuse this bomb that might bring down the entire sub-region. The division within the country itself is a course for concern. The world has to wake up from its slumber to smell the disaster that is in the making in Cameroon.

By Kingsley Betek 

The White House has announced a meeting between United States president Donald Trump and his Kenyan counterpart later this month, specifically on August 27.

In an official statement, the White House said the meeting between Uhuru Kenyatta and Donald Trump will look to discuss “ways to broaden the strategic partnership based on our shared democratic values and mutual interests.”

The duo will also be expected to hold talks in the area of trade, investment and security cooperation. Kenya and Ethiopia are seen as crucial to U.S. counterinsurgency combat in the East Africa region.

Whiles describing Kenya as a “vital partner” of the U.S., the statement stressed that “the meeting between the two leaders will reaffirm the longstanding relationship between the United States and Kenya as a cornerstone of peace and stability in Africa and the broader Indo-Pacific region.”

The Indo-Pacific region as alluded to comprises countries in Asia, but the East African coast is on the region’s far western edge according to the Australian Lowy Institute.

Kenyatta who won a final term in office after disputed elections in 2017 will become the third African president to visit the White House. The first north African leader was Egypt’s Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi before Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari took his turn earlier this year.

White House statement on Kenyatta-Kenyatta meeting

President Donald J. Trump will welcome President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya to the White House on August 27, 2018.

Kenya is a vital partner of the United States, and President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to broaden the strategic partnership based on our shared democratic values and mutual interests.

The meeting between the two leaders will reaffirm the longstanding relationship between the United States and Kenya as a cornerstone of peace and stability in Africa and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

President Trump and President Kenyatta will explore ways to bolster trade and investment between the two countries, while strengthening security cooperation.

Source: Africa News

The Southern Cameroons crisis that has given the country a bad name is gradually getting into a critical phase. The country’s minister of territorial administration is not displaying the maturity leadership imposes on people. He is still talking tough and this is hurting any chances for peace.

If talking tough could address many issues, the Southern Cameroons crisis that has given the country a very bad name, could have been addressed. As the situation deteriorates, it will be wise for both parties to keep it low. Tough language has never really resolved any issue, but people like Atanga Nji are yet to understand that. Words are like bullets. Once they are out of the mouth, they cannot be recalled and they have the potential to ruin any efforts at bringing back peace to a people.

Atanga Nji displayed this primitive tendency a few days ago while receiving some Fako chiefs who had been released by Southern Cameroonian fighters after protracted negotiations. For Atanga Nji, the country’s territorial administration minister, who received the chiefs in Yaounde, he used the occasion to provoke Southern Cameroonian fighters.

He promised tracking down all the fighters who are in the jungle, adding that they and their progeny would be made to pay for their crimes if they did not come out of the jungle that has been serving as a five-star hotel to them and a green jail to all those arrested.

Mr. Atanga Nji who is not a respected minister in Cameroon, failed to understand that if it was easy to arrest the fighters in the thick equatorial jungle of the Southwest region, that would have been done a long time ago. His constant use of unfriendly language has unfortunately led to the killing of many uniformed officers.

Over the last few days, not less than 8 uniformed officers have been killed in Southern Cameroons and this has resulted in renewed violence, with the ordinary civilian suffering for something he knows nothing about.

Mr. Atanga Nji and his Yaounde masters should figure out that there will never be a total military solution to this issue. Southern Cameroonians are determined to stay the course, and only genuine and sincere dialogue will stop tempers from flaring.

The fighters on the ground are people who hold that they have nothing to lose. They have already lost everything. Their dignity is gone. Their future has been ruined. And some have lost their families to this unnecessary war.

However, it is also important to mention that arresting chiefs and Fons, does not give the revolution a good name. South West chiefs just like their North West counterparts are not against the revolution. They cannot openly state their disagreement with what the government is doing.

It is therefore absurd to kidnap them. They are Southern Cameroonians to the core. However, they must always do their job. They are public servants and they must pay allegiance to the government that pays them.

For the government, it has a lot to gain. A restoration of peace across the country will enable it to have total control of its territory and resources. The existence of armed groups robs it of its revenue sources.

The Southern Cameroons crisis has hit the Yaounde government like a ton of bricks. The country’s economy is suffering. Its Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) seem to be out of service. State corporations located in Southern Cameroons are already feeling the heat.

Pamol, a palm oil production corporation located in Lobe, a small town in Ndian Division, has finally shut its doors as the fighting between Southern Cameroonian fighters and army soldiers takes a turn for the worse. This revenue stream has stopped flowing and Yaounde is really ill-at-ease.

Pamol’s closure is bad news for the government. More than three thousand Pamol workers are today unemployed and living in permanent fear, as the fighting between the warring factions rages on.

Schools and courts in the region have been closed for almost two years and it is increasingly obvious that the Yaoundé government has lost control of certain parts of the two English-speaking regions.

But it is not only Pamol’s closure that is causing the government nightmares. The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), one of the country’s major employers, is also going through a rough patch.

Some of its factories have closed shop, while the fighters have deliberately set some of its infrastructure ablaze as part of their economic sabotage campaign. Malende, a small town located some 6 km from Muyuka, has witnessed huge unemployment rates. The corporation’s rubber factory was set ablaze sometime last month by some unidentified men and this has hit CDC like a ton of bricks.

In other plantations, many workers have simply deserted. The fighting is disrupting economic activities in those plantations and many workers hold that it is better to quit than be caught up between the devil and the deep blue sea.

The fighting, coupled with the derisory salaries the corporation pays to its workers, has made CDC unattractive and this is gradually eroding the government’s tax base.

Similarly, government revenue has taken a nosedive, as the national oil refinery located in the Southwest region is also facing some major challenges. While falling global oil prices are spreading pain and suffering among oil exporters, the declining oil output and constant attempts by Southern Cameroonian fighters to bring down the country’s lone oil refinery are leaving the government in a huge messy economic quandary.

The crisis is a true nightmare to this once-upon-a-time oasis of peace. It is, indeed, a millstone around the government’s neck. Things might soon spiral out of control as the fighters threaten to attack SONARA at the slightest opportunity. They argue that they have never gained from the oil and that it will be better for everybody to suffer the consequences of the government’s recklessness.

These planned acts of sabotage do not augur well for a government that is already on its knees. It is already having a tough time paying civil servants and this is causing fear among the civil servants, especially the military, many of whom want to desert and seek a better life for their families abroad.

The government has a bigger crisis on its hands. It had not properly analyzed its decision before implementing it. It is gradually recognizing that declaring war on its own people is a big mistake, as the impact of the war is spreading into East Cameroon. With a large influx of internally displaced people into East Cameroon, housing and food have become very expensive in those cities receiving the internally displaced.

Douala and Yaounde have been home to most of this internally displaced people and these two cities lack the proper infrastructure to handle such situations. And the situation is declining very fast.

Declining oil revenues and falling production of some of the country’s major employers like CDC and Pamol implies that the government is heading for a financial squeeze. This is exactly what is causing frustration within the government. Many development projects have been suspended due to lack of resources.

Cameroon is indeed at the crossroads. With elections around the corner and the fighting in the English-speaking regions raging on, it is clear that a disaster is lurking somewhere and before long the country could be transformed into an inferno.

The frustration in East Cameroon is also mounting, as many people fall into abject poverty. It is becoming increasingly clear that Mr. Biya is not the man to lead the country to the land of promise. His time is up and there is a consensus around the world that he has overstayed his welcome.

It is time for him to bow out if he does not want the country to sink into a bitter civil war; the type that has destroyed many African countries ruled by dictators. The scourge of war seems to be advancing towards Cameroon and many people around the world are worried that if the Sword of Damocles descends on Cameroon, the entire sub-region might be pushed into unprecedented chaos.

Tempers are already flaring in the country. For 36 years, Mr. Biya has only favored people from his own region. Though the center and south regions constitute less than 10% of the country’s population, they make up 80% of the country’s government; a situation that is hurting many Cameroonians from other regions of the country.

It is therefore in the government’s interest to change its language. Speaking the language of peace is not a sign of weakness. Atanga Nji must understand that he will never win this war. If he thinks that he will be going to Washington, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, London, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and other cities around the world to kidnap Southern Cameroonians living there, then he has not yet figured out the full extent of the government’s previous mistakes.

The Southern Cameroonian Diaspora has a huge war chest and it is ready and willing to make the Yaounde government pay for its mistakes. Southern Cameroonians have dollar millionaires who are capable of keeping the government in this pretty military mess for many decades.

The government had underestimated the will of the people of Southern Cameroons to right the wrongs of the past. For many of them, their fate is worse than death and they have very little time to be around this planet. They want to establish their own country and even ensure that future generations do not deal with such time-consuming and energy-sapping challenges.

The fighters are, of course, receiving huge support from the Diaspora that has transformed this issue into an opportunity for its strength and influence to be felt. With some 4 million Southern Cameroonians out of the country, it is likely that more money will be flowing to Cameroon to feed the war that has rushed many young men and soldiers to an early grave.

The government had never thought that the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora could be this influential. It had also underestimated the anger of those living abroad. Southern Cameroonians started living the country as far back as 1965 when the country’s first president, Amadou Ahidjo, displayed his huge appetite for dictatorship. For many Southern Cameroonians, it was better to live abroad a free man than to live at home in invisible chains.

Today, that Diaspora has reduced the Yaounde government to a symbol of mockery. The Diaspora is financing the war in the country and it is willing to bring down the entire country. Gradually, the Francophone Diaspora is also joining in. Francophones now know that if the current system is not brought down, their own children will be caught up in a pretty mess, as Southern Cameroonians already have a foot out of the fake union that was put together by Ahidjo, Foncha and Muna who are all dead and gone.

If the government wants to address this issue, then it has to change its language. The current language is not delivering the desired results. It must also understand that it must make lots of concessions if it wants peace to return to the country. There are many lessons for the government to learn. This situation should leave it a sadder, but a wiser government.

It must never underestimate the power and will of the Diaspora. The Diaspora will continue to destabilize the country if the government does not seek genuine reconciliation through inclusive dialogue. The ball is in the government’s court.  The Diaspora holds the trump card. Its vast resources and influence over the fighters make it a partner in any negotiations. The government has to meet the Diaspora halfway if it is thinking of peace.

Any Dialogue will not take place in Cameroon. The Diaspora holds that the government is not worthy of its confidence. Washington or Ottawa have therefore been chosen as the place for any talks. The Canadian government, in particular, will be willing to mediate.

Canada is noted for its peace-keeping and peace-building initiatives across the globe. It is therefore the right peace-broker in this situation. It has lots of lessons for Cameroon as it has once dealt with a similar situation. The government must come out of its current position. Grand-standing and posturing will not make things better. Humility and recognition of its mistakes will calm down tempers.

By Kingsley Betek in Yaounde

US President Donald Trump has claimed that talks with Iran are imminent and could happen “pretty soon,” a day after he expressed willingness to meet with the Islamic Republic’s leaders without “preconditions.”

“I have a feeling they’ll be talking to us pretty soon,” Trump said at a rally in Florida on Tuesday. “And maybe not, and that’s OK, too.”

The US president also used the occasion to once again denounce as “horrible, one-sided” the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – from which he withdrew in May.

Trump announced on Monday that he was willing to meet with Iranians “any time they want to.”

Shortly after that, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on CNBC to set some conditions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi responded to Trump’s offer by noting that it was in contradiction his actions of imposing sanctions and pressuring other countries into avoiding business with Tehran.

“Sanctions and pressures are the exact opposite of dialogue which requires mutual respect and commitment to international treaties,” he said. “How can he prove to the Iranian nation that the comments he made last night showed his true intention for negotiation and were not expressed for populist gains?”

Back in May, Pompeo had set 12 conditions for talks with Iran, which were dismissed by Tehran.

Trump’s latest stance towards Tehran runs counter to his recent threats against the nation as well as pulling Washington out of the Iran nuclear deal despite having the support of almost all US allies.

The withdrawal entails the re-imposition of not only sanctions on Iran but also the so-called secondary sanctions on third countries.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has denounced the US withdrawal from the 2015 international nuclear deal, saying the ball is now in Europe’s court to make up for Washington’s absence and work to keep the landmark agreement alive.

Source: Presstv

The United States of America has called out Congolese president Joseph Kabila for failing to publicly state that he will not run for re-election in a planned December election, warning him that “the time for posturing is over.”

Kabila said in a speech a week ago that a presidential election in December would go ahead, but he declined to say whether he would defy term limits to stand for re-election. Some of his allies have in recent weeks advanced a legal argument they say would justify his candidacy.

“He is not eligible under Congolese law to seek a third term. The United States regrets that President Kabila did not use his July 19th address to parliament to resolve the uncertainty regarding his intentions,” U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen told the United Nations Security Council.

International pressure on Kabila, who succeeded his assassinated father in 2001, to leave office has grown since a November 2016 election was postponed. That sparked violent protests in which security forces have killed dozens of people.

DR Congo’s allies express concern

The United States and European Union have sanctioned several close Kabila allies accused of overseeing the crackdowns and obstructing the electoral process, moves Kabila denounced.

The U.N. Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council last week jointly “called upon all political parties, their supporters, and other political actors to remain committed to the 31 December 2016 Agreement, which is the only viable path out of the current political situation.”

Under an accord struck on Dec. 31 between Kabila’s representatives and opposition leaders, Kabila is barred from trying to change the constitution to seek a third term.

“President Kabila has committed repeatedly to respect the constitution and implement the December 2016 agreement. We’re a mere five months away from election day. The time for posturing is over,” Cohen said.

France and the United States questioned Congolese plans to use untested electronic voting machines and pushed authorities to state what assistance they need from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country, known as MONUSCO, to organize the polls.

“MONUSCO cannot afford to wait until the last moment to put a plan into action,” Cohen said.

Kabila put off a planned visit earlier this month by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and refused to see U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who diplomats said had also separately planned to visit Kinshasa.

U.N. Security Council envoys are planning to visit Congo in October, diplomats said.

REUTERS