US President Donald Trump has pushed back against concerns about a number of critical positions that still remain unfilled in his administration, saying he is “the only one that matters.”

“Let me tell you, the one that matters is me, I’m the only one that matters because when it comes to it that’s what the policy is going to be,” Trump said on Fox News when asked about vacancies at the State Department.

“We don’t need all the people that they want,” he continued. “Don’t forget, I’m a business person and I tell my people, well you don’t need to fill slots, don’t fill them.”

A number of top positions remain vacant at the State Department, among other agencies, including officials overseeing Southeast Asia and arms control.

In June, the administration proposed $37.6 billion budget for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development, a drop of about 30 percent.

Foreign policy experts decried the move, warning that it could drastically affect US foreign policy in volatile regions of the world.

“It’s called cost-saving,” Trump said. “I want my vision, but my vision is my vision anyway. It’s called cost-saving. There’s nothing wrong with cost-saving.”

Despite the unfilled positions and reports of tensions with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Trump suggested that the top diplomat was giving his best effort on matters of foreign policy.

“Rex is in there working hard,” the president said. “He’s doing his best.”

Trump is way behind his four predecessors in the number of appointments confirmed by the Senate at this stage of his presidency, according to The Washington Post.

The president blamed Senate Democrats for this, while acknowledging that he has nominated fewer people.

“We have almost about half the number of people coming through as Obama had,” Trump said.

Source: Presstv

The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has told Democratic Republic of Congo it must hold its delayed elections in 2018. Ms Haley warned that US support for the country was at stake if this was not adhered to:

“Elections must be held in 2018, (otherwise) the DRC should not count on the support of the United States and the international community,” the AFP news agency reports her as saying.

She made the comments after meeting Corneille Nangaa, head of the National Electoral Commission. Elections were originally scheduled for November 2016 – but the NEC cancelled the polls citing logistical and financial difficulties.

It said that among other security concerns the continuing unrest in the central Kasai region was making it difficult to register voters. The commision said two weeks ago that the earliest date it could organise the poll was April 2019.

Opposition protests have been held across the country against the perceived extension of President Joseph Kabila’s rule. Mr Kabila was to set to step down in December 2016 but in a deal brokered by the Catholic church it was agreed he would leave office at the end of 2017.

Ms Haley – who arrived in the country on Wednesday – also met the religious leaders who mediated the 2016 deal. She urged them to “get involved” in ending the deadlock. The ambassador also visited a displaced people’s camp at Kitchanga in the eastern region of the country.

She is scheduled to leave the country later on Friday. It is the first trip to Africa for Ms Haley, who is the most senior Trump administration official to visit the continent. She has also visited South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Culled from the BBC

US President Donald Trump has hit back at critical senators in Congress within his own Republican Party, painting them as outliers.

Trump made the comments on Wednesday hours after meeting Republican senators on Capitol Hill, which he described as a “love fest” between him and allied lawmakers.

A day after Republican senators Bob Corker and Jeff Flake condemned Trump for “debasing” the nation and having a “flagrant disregard” for truth and decency, the combative president hit back.

Attempting to prevent a wider backlash from his political party, Trump said that Corker and Flake had decided to leave politics because they could not be reelected to the Senate.

“The reason Flake and Corker dropped out of the Senate race is very simple, they had zero chance of being elected. Now act so hurt & wounded!” Trump tweeted.

“The meeting with Republican Senators yesterday, outside of Flake and Corker, was a love fest with standing ovations and great ideas for USA!” he continued.

Flake had told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday that he doesn’t see a place for himself in the current Republican Party under Trump’s leadership.

“Jeff Flake, with an 18% approval rating in Arizona, said ‘a lot of my colleagues have spoken out.’ Really, they just gave me a standing O!” Trump shot back.

“The meeting with Republican Senators yesterday, outside of Flake and Corker, was a love fest with standing ovations and great ideas for USA!” Trump continued, this time adding senator Bob Corker to his attack list.

Corker, who represents the state of Tennessee and chairs the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the president.

The ongoing public dispute between Trump and Corker escalated Tuesday after Trump attacked Corker for his skepticism over a $1.5 trillion tax cut and the senator responding by slamming the president as an “utterly untruthful” leader who “debases” his country.

Earlier this month, Corker condemned Trump for undermining Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, saying the president’s public statements on foreign policy “castrate” his top diplomat and creates “binary” scenarios for the US on the world stage.

Source: Presstv

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has still not answered questions relating to the hundreds of people killed in Southern Cameroons by the President Biya Francophone regime. On October 19 UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres told him he had not heard anything about the genocide currently going on in Southern Cameroons from Inner City Press. Guterres will be in Yaounde on October 27 — but it’s a mere stop over on an Air France flight from the Central African Republic to Paris, with two hours in Yaounde, from 7 to 9 pm.

Intelligence sources say the 84 year old French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya, in part as a proof of life, may go to the airport. So on October 24 Inner City Press asked Guterres’ deputy spokesman Farhan Haq about this and an imprisoned activist. Inner City Press: some were saying that the Secretary-General, on 27 October, will be in Cameroon for two hours in the evening on an Air France flight that goes from Bangui to Yaoundé and then to Paris and that the President, Paul Biya, might meet him at the airport. And I wanted to know if you could confirm that and also if the UN has done anything regarding the case of Nasako Besingi, who is a high-profile environmental and Anglophone activist who’s been jailed since 25 September, and various groups have now spoken out, and I’m wondering, has the UN done anything to… to have this entirely nonviolent activist released?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, that’s several questions.  On the last of those, we have been raising our concerns about all detained activists, and we’ll continue to do so.  Regarding the Secretary-General’s travel plans, there’s no other trip to announce at this point.  If we have any further announcements down the line, we’ll let you know.  But for now, he will be in the Central African Republic through 27 October.  And… was there anything else?

Inner City Press: It seems… the Government of Cameroon seems to understand that he’s flying on a flight that goes from Bangui to Yaoundé, but betw… and between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., he’ll be in the airport in Yaoundé, and the President, Paul Biya, may meet with him there.  That’s why I’m asking you.

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, whenever the Secretary-General is flying, there are sometimes different stopovers, but there’s nothing to announce at present.  If we have anything, we’ll let you know at that point.”   The Resident Coordinator in Cameroon Allegra Baiocchi is bragging about marching for UN Day in Yaoundé. But in Douala the government had banned an opposition march, and detained two journalists. Today’s UN has much more in common with those making the arrests than those seeking the truth.

Source: Inner City Press

Barrister  Akere Muna announced on Tuesday his resignation as President of the International Conference on Anti-Corruption (IACC).  The resignation came after the 65-year-old lawyer declared on October 9 his intention to run as a candidate for Cameroon’s presidential election in 2018.

The former Vice President of Transparency International was quoted as saying he wants to “avoid any conflict of interest or confusion that may arise from his political commitment”. Prior to the Tuesday resignation, Akere Muna had also stepped down as Chairman of Ecobank Cameroon.

According to a statement released on Tuesday the 17^th of October for this purpose, Akere Muna’s resignation came after an annual meeting of the IACC held in Berlin on the 15^th of October 2017. During the meeting Delia Ferreira of Argentina and Reuben Lifuka of Zambia, were respectively elected President and Vice-President.

The International Anti-Corruption Conference is the first global gathering of Heads of State, civil society and the private sector to tackle the challenges posed by corruption. Created in 1983, the IACC is generally held every two years in a region of the world, and welcomes between 800 to 2000 participants from over 135 countries around the world.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon Concord News

The chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces has met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

Major General Mohammad Baqeri met with President Assad on Thursday, congratulating him on the country’s recent achievements in its fight against terrorism and expressing hope that the phenomenon will soon be eliminated from the country.

Assad, for his part, expressed his gratitude to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as well as the Iranian government and nation for their support for Syria in its campaign against terrorism.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Major General Baqeri left Tehran for Damascus on Tuesday to meet with Syrian officials to discuss ways to boost defensive and military cooperation between Iran and Syria, among other issues.

He has met with his Syrian counterpart, General Ali Abdullah Ayoub, and is planned to sit down with Defense Minister Major General Fahd Jassem al-Freij as well.

Back in May, the top military brass of Iran and Syria held a meeting in Tehran and vowed to boost cooperation between their respective governments.

Iran has been providing military advisory support to Syria in their campaign against terrorism at the request of the government in Damascus.

Baqeri also paid a visit to Turkey in August. He met with the country’s top authorities, including President Erdogan, his Turkish counterpart, General Hulusi Akar, and Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli.

Culled from Presstv

US Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, has accused President Donald Trump of failing to lead the nation and instead sending matters to Congress.

In a tweet on Saturday, Sen. Schumer cited Trump’s handling of the Iran nuclear deal, health care and hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico as examples of his failures in recent weeks. Trump on Friday announced he would not continue to certify the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The US president kicked a decision over to Congress on whether to re-impose sanctions that were lifted as part of the nuclear accord.

Trump threatened to terminate the international accord if Congress and American allies failed to amend the agreement. The day before, Trump said he was cutting off subsidies to health insurance companies for low-income patients in the most dramatic action to weaken the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

“If the Democrats were smart, what they’d do is come and negotiate something where people could really get the kind of health care that they deserve,” Trump told reporters.

The White House is simply “asking the legislative branch to do its job,” Marc Short, Trump’s director of legislative affairs, told POLITICO. “We have great confidence in their ability to get things done.”

Analysts say Trump’s actions are meant to erase Obama’s achievements on domestic and foreign policy fronts.

“It’s not just a strategy,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “What Obama did is illegal and unconstitutional and these are areas that Congress should solve.”

“The president is returning power to the Congress — they should be happy,” he added.

Trump on Thursday also gave notice to Puerto Rico, warning that government assistance could not continue “forever.” He said it was up to Congress to decide how much federal money to appropriate to the island for its recovery.

By putting Congress in charge, experts say, Trump is taking a high-stakes gamble given the inability of the legislative branch to accomplish much in recent years.

Source: Presstv

Democratic Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii has said US President Donald Trump’s policy of brinkmanship against North Korea could lead the United States toward an accidental war, as tensions rise between Washington and Pyongyang.

Schatz urged Americans in a series of tweets on Sunday night to heed Republican Senator Bob Corker’s comment that Trump could lead the United States toward “World War III.”   “There’s a tendency to wonder about the politics of Corker’s interview. Ignore that, and listen to his warnings about an accidental war,” Schatz stated.

The senator went on to point out why the people should be concerned about the possibility of a war between the US and North Korea. “War on Korean Peninsula could shut down trade to and from Asia for months or years,” Schatz said. “War on the Korean Peninsula would cause millions of lives to be lost,” he added.  “There are nearly 200,000 Americans living in South Korea and Japan.”

Schatz’s tweets came after Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview with The New York Times on Sunday that Trump’s measures could put the US “on the path to World War III.”

A former US Senate foreign policy adviser says there’s a “real worry of a war between the United States and North Korea.” The senator complained that the president treats the country like “a reality show” and acts “like he’s doing ‘The Apprentice’ or something.”

Trump meanwhile continues his aggressive rhetoric against the North Korean leadership. On Saturday, he claimed that a diplomatic approach over the past 25 years “hasn’t worked” and that Pyongyang has made “fools of US negotiators.”

“Sorry, but only one thing will work!” Trump said in his tweet. In a speech to the UN General Assembly last month, Trump warned  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that the United States, if threatened, would “totally destroy” his country of 26 million people.

In response, Kim said Trump will “pay dearly” for threatening to destroy North Korea. He added that Trump is “a rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire,” who is “unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country.” Kim described the US president as “mentally deranged” and warning he would “pay dearly” for threatening to destroy his country.

A North Korean parliamentary committee has called recent remarks by US President Donald Trump at the UN a declaration of war against Pyongyang. North Korea has conducted several nuclear tests and missile test-launches in response to US threats against the country.

The North Korean leader ordered the production of more rocket warheads and engines in September, shortly after the United States suggested that its threats of military action and sanctions were having an impact on Pyongyang’s behavior.

Source: Presstv

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi King Salman have held talks behind closed doors in the Russian capital of Moscow, reportedly discussing bilateral and regional issues.

The talks were held on Thursday with the participation of other Russian and Saudi officials. “We have held detailed talks behind closed doors to talk about bilateral relations and the situation in the region,” Putin said after the meeting. “That was a very meaningful, substantive and confidential conversation.”

The Russian president also said he was confident the visit by Salman would give a fresh impetus to the development of bilateral ties with Riyadh. Putin also accepted an invitation by the Saudi king to Saudi Arabia.

Salman and his delegation arrived in the Russian capital for a four-day visit on Wednesday.  The Saudis have reportedly signed more than 15 cooperation agreements — with multi-billion-dollar energy and military contracts — with the Russian side. Moscow has also agreed to sell its advanced S-400 missile defense system to Riyadh.

Putin and Salman also discussed the conflict in Syria, where they support opposing sides. The Saudis have been backing the wide range of militants fighting the elected Syrian government, while Russia backs the legitimate Damascus government.

Saudi Arabia has officially been calling for an ouster of Assad, while Russia says the future of Syria and the political future of Assad should only be determined by the Syrian people.

Nevertheless, Salman claimed that Riyadh favors a political solution to the conflict in Syria, according to a report by TASS.

“A political solution must be achieved that would guarantee security, stability, unity and territorial integrity of Syria,” he was quoted as saying. The two leaders also discussed the oil market and how to stabilize prices.

Culled from Presstv

Over the course of the past year, Cameroon has been experiencing internal turmoil and instability related to grievances pitting an Anglophone minority against a majority Francophone establishment. The Anglophone grievances, initially driven primarily by professionals – lawyers, school teachers, bureaucrats – have increasingly taken hold in a population that’s experienced a three-month Internet shut-down, several general strikes, school boycotts, escalating violence and the imprisonment of journalists and activists over the last 12 months.

During national holiday celebrations this past weekend, protesters were shot dead on the streets of several towns in Anglophone regions by Cameroonian security forces, and excessive violence has been widely reported. Amnesty International estimates that at least 17 protesters were killed. (Death toll now stands at a hundred) Cameroon has been led by the same long-standing president for over 30 years, Paul Biya, who has called for calm and “peaceful dialogue“, but hasn’t yet yielded an inch on the demand for reforms. Meanwhile, some Anglophone Cameroonians have a leader, a flag and a national anthem – and are demanding to secede from Cameroon, to form their own country of Ambazonia.

Deep Historical Roots

On October 1, Cameroonians celebrate Unification Day to mark not only the anniversary of when British Cameroon became independent from the British in 1961, but also their unification with French Cameroon to form a two-state federation, the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Over the years, the two-state solution gave way to a single state, the United Republic of Cameroon, in which the balance of power was centered around the Francophone majority. Over the years, the marginalization of Anglophone Cameroonians has become increasingly entrenched. Whether it be the lack of recognition for English education, services or applicable legal system, over the years the corrosive effects of this marginalization have been slowly eating away at the status quo. The central government operates only in French, and, in the last 35 years of Paul Biya’s rule, there has been no movement signaling interest in protecting, upholding – let alone promoting – minority interests in his country.

From Demands for Reform to Cries for Independence

Lawyers protest in Cameroon – via Africanews

Last year, protesters started taking to the streets to demand greater autonomy and recognition of the English language in institutions, systems and services. The central government responded by cracking down on activists and shutting down the Internet. While gradual progress has been made, with new government initiatives to be more inclusive of Anglophones, the International Crisis Group notes that this progress is seen as “too little too late.” As the crisis continues to fester, a secessionist trend within the broader reform movement has been gaining strength. Their vocal demands have prompted an even stronger crack down – further arrests, military deployment in the region – from the central government, leading up to last weekend’s deadly violence. In this violent political climate, secessionists have been emboldened and gaining in popularity, though the exact extent of popular support for full independence from the rest of Cameroon, under the banner of Ambazonia, is difficult to gauge. A rally for Ambazonia even took place in front of the UN during the General Assembly in September, with similar events in Cameroon where tensions escalated between protesters and security forces.

Local blogger Reuben Abati summarizes the current situation:

“On Sunday, October 1, 2017, Sisiku AyukTabe, Chairman of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council, formally declared the independence of Southern Cameroons or the Federal Republic of Ambazonia: “We, the people of Southern Cameroons are slaves to no one”, he said, “Not now, not ever again! Today we reaffirm autonomy over our heritage and over our territory…It is time to tell Yaounde that enough is enough!” The response from Yaounde has been characteristic. Weeks before the protests and the declaration of independence in Southern Cameroons, soldiers were sent to the region to shoot in the air, prevent rallies, and intimidate the people.” 

Flag of Ambazonia – By Washiucho [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

A Path Forward

While Anglophone Cameroon has legitimate grievances that need to be addressed by the government, a resolution that would include secession or independence for Ambazonia is highly unlikely. Few nations in modern history have accessed fully independent status as a nation, and this only after hard-fought battles that were dearly paid for. The international community long ago established – in law and in practice – that it is preferable for borders to remain stable (The African Union’s own constitution spells out the defense of members’ territorial integrity.) The youngest nation in the world, South Sudan, and its sister nation, Sudan, have never really stopped fighting since South Sudan became independent in 2011. The United Nations – or other regional organizations such as the AU or ECOWAS – are therefore likely to continue to encourage dialogue between the government and representatives from Anglophone Cameroon, without “siding” with secessionist demands.

So far, the international community and media have shown little interest in the situation in Cameroon, though one clear option available would be to begin brokering a dialogue. The table has yet to be even set for any discussions to occur, and the international community has an opportunity to make a difference by creating the conditions for negotiations to begin in earnest. With this approach, the central government can avoid the worst – a full blow rebellion – and Anglophone Cameroonians have an opportunity to have their grievances addressed. A political, negotiated solution is still within reach – for now.

Culled from UN Dispatch