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Pope, UN chief press for solution to the Ambazonia crisis as deadly fighting rages on
Pope Francis and UN Secretary General António Guterres have renewed pressure on the Cameroon government to find lasting solutions to the Anglophone problem in the western African nation.
According to a top government official who asked not to be named, Francis and the UN boss recently asked Cameroon’s “President for Life,” Paul Biya, to declare a ceasefire and to open a space for peaceful discussions.
The official told Crux that he took part in a meeting convened by the country’s Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, on May 7 to discuss the issue.
“In the days ahead, we will be going to the field to examine the possibilities of a ceasefire,” the official said.
“I think it is going to be relatively easy because the separatists have been reduced to an embattled core,” he said.
Separatists in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions for nearly four years now have been fighting for what they call “the restoration of the statehood of the Southern Cameroons.” It’s the part of Cameroon colonized by Britain, but which, at independence, voted in a plebiscite to reunite with the part of the country colonized by France.
The two entities then formed a Federal Republic of two theoretically co-equal parts. That federation was scrapped in a controversial 1972 referendum and replaced with a united republic. Ever since, the minority English-speakers have always felt marginalized.
Pent-up frustrations burst to the open in 2017, when teachers and lawyers’ strikes over perceived attempts by the Francophone-dominated administration to wipe out the Common Law educational systems practiced in Anglophone Cameroon.
The military responded with lethal force. Rising anger crystallized into political demands, with the growth of separatists asking that Anglophones should carve out a separate state called Ambazonia.
The fighting, now in its fourth year, has left a minimum of 3000 people dead and over a million forced from their homes.
Resolving the Anglophone problem and restoring peace to the troubled country has become a major concern in the Francis Papacy.
On September 29, just one day before what authorities in Cameroon said was a ‘Major National Dialogue’ to resolve the Anglophone problem, Pope Francis asked worshippers at St. Peters’ Square to pray for a successful dialogue.
The Supreme Pontiff expressed his closeness to “the sufferings and the hopes of the beloved Cameroonian people,” and expressed the wish that the dialogue “might be fruitful and lead to peaceful, just and lasting solutions, to everyone’s benefit”.
During his traditional Easter Urbi et Orbi address last year, Francis again raised the issue of the Cameroon conflict when he prayed for conflict zones all over the world, calling on citizens of the world to be “builders of bridges, not walls” and to end “the roar of arms,” in conflict zones and the rest of the world.
Specifically citing Mali, Nigeria, Niger as well as Cameroon, the pope complained that Africa was “rife with social tensions, conflicts and at times violent forms of extremism that leave in their wake insecurity, destruction and death.”
In February and March 2019, the Vatican offered to broker dialogue in the conflict. In February, the Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, British Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, met with Cameroon’s External Relations Minister, LeJeunne Mbella Mbella, and said he was prepared to mediate on behalf of the Holy See.
On March 18, 2019, Monseigneur Julio Murat, the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, brought a special message from Francis to Biya which bore on the Anglophone crisis.
“The Supreme Pontiff assures His Excellency the President of the Republic about his prayers for Cameroon, and expresses his desire for a just and peaceful solution to the crisis in the north west and south west of the country,” Murat said shortly after the meeting.
He said the Catholic Church was willing to “contribute to the promotion of the common good and to peace in Cameroon.”
Many observers believe the Church could make a contribution. According to the International Crisis Group, the Cathoic Church that represents nearly a third of Cameroon’s 24 million people is uniquely placed to arbitrate.
“The Catholic Church could help break this dangerous stalemate. Present in all ten of Cameroon’s regions, the Church is one of the country’s strongest institutions. Almost a third of Cameroonians are Catholic, and the Church operates a dense network of schools and hospitals. Cameroonians take its views seriously,” the group stated in a 2017 report.
“Other than the Catholic clergy, there are few prospective peacemakers. If no one fills that role, the separatist sentiment already voiced by many Anglophones will continue to grow, fueling further violence and exacerbating the ongoing insurgency in the Anglophone regions.”
Catholic clerics already have been involved in the search for solutions.
In November last year, the government entrusted Catholic prelates with leading two “peace caravans” to inform people of the English-speaking regions of the resolutions of an Oct. 29-Nov. 4 “Major National Dialogue,” aimed at ending the secessionist rebellion.
The two prelates came back with reassuring messages that there could be a return to peace, but those signs of hope have been dashed by continued fighting.
Guterres is pushing for a ceasefire amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war,” Gutterez said.
“That is why … I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world,” he said.
This isn’t the first time the head of the global Catholic church and the UN chief have teamed up. Francis and Guterres met in the Vatican in December 2019, recording a joint video message appeal for an end to armed conflicts. Guterres hailed the pope for carrying a “clear moral voice.” “You are a messenger for hope and humanity – for reducing human suffering and promoting human dignity,” he said.
Biya may be especially receptive to a papal initiative, given that he’s a former seminarian with the Spiritan fathers. When Pope Benedict XVI visited Cameroon in 2009, Biya went out of his way to express fondness for the pope, even having billboards erected in the capital city in the run-up to the papal visit with a Photoshopped image of him and Benedict XVI together, despite the fact that, at that stage, the two men had never met.
Later Biya would also meet Pope Francis in the Vatican in March 2017.
However, despite efforts by the international community to obtain a ceasefire in Cameroon, the country’s two English-speaking regions are still witnessing extreme violence, with most of it orchestrated by the government.
Over the last month since the Coronavirus showed up on the country’s shores, the government has been slaughtering its citizens, especially in the North West region where Ambazonian fighters are protecting their positions.
The government does not seem to comply with the terms and conditions of a ceasefire negotiated by the United Nations.
Over the last four years, the Yaounde government has diminished the population of the two English-speaking regions by spraying bullets all over the place, in total disregard for calls by the international community for a negotiated settlement.
In many cities across the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon, government officials have been chased away and many of them are facing death sentences for conspiring with the enemy to kill innocent women and children.
Even the people’s representatives such as senators, parliamentarians and other elected officers live in fear as armed gunmen could always spring surprises.
This was what actually happened on Sunday, May 10, 2020, in Mamfe, a border town in the Southwest region where the town’s mayor, Presley Ojong, was brought down by gunmen executing an order from their commanders.
Reported by Crux and Cameroon Concord News Group
Federal Republic of Ambazonia: Vice President Yerima praises his one year in office
Dear Comrades, Fellow Ambazonians,
Happy mother’s day to all mothers for without you there is no Southern Cameroons, (Ambazonia)
I come tonight to address you on the one year anniversary of my appointment as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. I know that the dark cloud of the malicious and unprovoked violence by the lawless and murderous troops of La Rebublique Camerounis now our daily concern. Over the last few weeks in Bafut and many times over the last three years, thousands of our people have been massacred by these state sponsored thugs from La Republique du Cameroun.Though we may be shaken by the scale, ruthlessness, unending nature of this violence, tonight I want Southern Cameroonians to know that we shall prevail.
By the time the people of Ambazonia entrusted me with the responsibility of VP this time last year, there were concerns and challenges in many areas of our revolution. Our task was to work diligently to gain your confidence. My responsibility has been to restore assurance and direction in our struggle. I have approached my tasks with humility and gratitude whilst very mindful of the trials ahead. To all our leaders serving life sentences in Yaoundé and all our prisoners of conscience in La Republique du Cameroun, our thoughts and prayers are with you. To all our fallen heroes, may The Almighty God grant you eternal rest. To all our refugees, IDPs and our people in the forests, I come to tell you that although the days and nights are dark and dreary, freedom shall come to pass.
Over the last twelve months, we worked meticulously to develop a framework of collaboration between the IG-CARE, the Consortium and AGovC across Ambazonia. This partnership has made significant gains in diplomacy, humanitarian activities and self-defence operations. Tonight, I intend to set a vision for the next twelve months. This vision is bold, ambitious and attainable. And to achieve this, we have transformed these visions into projects with short, middle and long term goals. Every Ambazonian of good faith is encouraged to participate in the realisation of these projects.As a government, our focus is on six critical sectors: Education, Defence, Diplomacy, Humanitarian, Finance and Communication.
Education;
Our children are the future of the country we are fighting for. The continuous abuse, rape and massacre of civilian population by the marauding lawless army of La Republique du Cameroun breeds insecurity in our communities. With this insecurity, we have had to look for alternative methods of schooling our children.My appreciation goes to those who have continued to provide education to our children both online and in community schools in the liberated areas of Ambazonia. Over the next twelve months;
- We are expanding access and support to such community schools.
- With SCBC TV back on the ground, we have started and would intensify the education of our children by making available free educational resources daily.
- Our team of learning professionals is in the process of producing first-rate educational materials that would be made available to all in Ambazonia and the refugee camps at no cost.
Defence;
The superior strength of the military power of La Republique du Cameroun is obvious.But after three years of fierce determination, our brave restoration forces are making us proud.We must now evaluate our strengths and challenges over the last three years. Our splendid restoration forces have registered successes in certain parts of our territory but have faced trials in many.Their bravery is absolute and admirable but we need to equip them to protect our communities with the right kind of firepower to match that of our oppressor. One of the biggest challenges we face is the presence of unscrupulous vigilante groups sponsored by La Republique du Cameroun’scriminal office-bearers. Our main goal must be to free our communities from these thugs, rapists and murderers. Over the next twelve months our goal is to;
- Recruit, train and support our brave restoration forces
- Provide hardware and logistic support to restoration forces
- Collaborate with other self-defence groups in Ambazonia to drive out militias sponsored by La Republique du Cameroun politicians
- Recommend stipends/reward scheme to our restoration forces
- Potentially capture and hold territory.
Diplomacy;
The struggle for our independence will not be achieved through the barrel of the gun alone. We must continue to focus on diplomatic breakthroughs with friendly and sympathetic governments and international actors across the globe. Last year, we refused to engage in a La Republique du Cameroun stunt in Switzerland and our decision was later vindicated.We call upon France, the chief sponsor of this murderous regime to take concrete steps to end the genocide that is being committed on our people. The people of La Republique du Cameroun must understand that we intend to live peacefully as neighbours after our independence but our freedom is non-negotiable.
During my first twelve months, we worked diligently with some members of the Switzerland parliament to get Paul Biya indicted for war crimes and declare him persona non grata to Geneva. Last year, we worked actively to rewrite a bill in the US Congress, house resolution 358, to condemn La Republique du Cameroun for its human rights violations in our country. I am happy to announce the resumption of work at the US Senate on Monday May, 4, 2020. There is a bill pending in the US senate on the war La Republique du Cameroun is waging against our people. Ambazonian Advocacy groups are continuing a 50 states mobilization strategy, for senators to support the bill. So, we are calling on all Ambazonians in the United States who have not yet been active in this campaign for Senate resolution 292 to please contact us, so we can connect them to the people in their communities facilitating this campaign.This bill, if passed will set the stage for far more consequential actions by the US government against the genocidal regime of La Republique du Cameroun. We have on-going strategic engagements with political parties and civil society movements in a number of countries. Over the next twelve months, we are putting a plan to:
- Lobby and secure a State/International recognition in 5 targeted countries
- Establish Consular post in any friendly country
- Intensify international awareness of the plight of Ambazonians.
Humanitarian;
During the last three years, the state sponsored terrorists passing for the military of La Republique du Cameroun have burned down more than 320 of our villages. The enormity of the humanitarian crisis as a result of the war in our nation is particularly alarming. Over the last twelve months, we made significant progress with the delivery of medications and other essentials to our prisoners of conscience, refugees and IDPs. On behalf of the people of Ambazonia, we want to say special thanks to HSS, Mama Amba Initiative, MAWUH Global, SCEW, SCAWOL, Save the Community, and others for their humanitarian works in our struggle.As IG-CARE, our progress in this essential department has been challenging but encouraging. I’m happy to announce that due to some of the work from our humanitarian heroes, ten of our refugees will be graduating soon as fashion designers. With more than 1,000,000 IDPs, 100,000 refugees, over the next twelve months, we intend to;
- Aggressively engage the international donor communities for increase humanitarian support
- Setup an independent Ambazonia humanitarian platform to focus specifically on refugees and IDPs
- Train our refuges in minor technical skills like sewing, hairdressing and farming
- Provide tents and mosquito nets
- Provide more food to IDPs and Refugees
- Provide counselling and counsellors in affected areas
Finance;
Despite the many challenges we faced last year, two significant successes from the Department of Economy and Finance was the creation of the Bank of Ambazonia and the launching of the Amba Freedom Bonds Project. As a semi-autonomous institution managed by a governor and a board with representation from all counties, the BOA has transparently raised and distributed funds for projects across Ambazonia. Its growth has maintained an upwards and impressive trajectory since creation. My gratitude goes to the Governor and the board of the BOA for their ingenuity and dynamism. Thanks to those who have invested in Amba Freedom Bonds thus far, we have dramatically increased our support to our restoration forces and other vital projects. All our projects need funding and I implore all Ambazonians to invest in the Amba Freedom Bonds project. Over the next twelve months, the experts within the funding environment have recommended and put together asustainable plan for our revolution. The plan includes but not limited to;
- Continue to build on the strengths of the Bank of Ambazonia
- Aggressively engaging independent investors and donors
- Building a funding mechanism between and within counties based on monthly commitments
Communication
The importance of communication cannot be overemphasized. An effective communication strategy is as potent as the bullets on ground zero. We are fighting a ruthless enemy and international conspirators, and this will require an aggressive communication strategy to counter the negative narrative against our fight to complete the decolonization of Southern Cameroons. We must not allow others to tell and twist our story. We will not accept France or La Republique du Cameroun to tell us who we are or what we must be. We speak for ourselves and make our choices. Human rights organisations report one out of every hundred incidents of coldblooded massacre of our people. We must reject such cheapening of the lives of our people.We must define our own narrative and our internal communication remains a priority. SCBC TV which has been a pillar of this revolution was off air for a significant part of this last twelve months. This absence impacted negatively on our duty to educate our people on the facts of our revolution. We are all pleased that we have this station back on air doing its revolutionary duties. We have put in place a plan to:
- Force the Ambazonian Revolution and conflict into the mainstream media like CNN, and BBC
- Carry out an aggressive and proactive public relations campaigns
Fellow Ambazonians, ours is one of the fastest growing displacement disasters in Africa due to the unruliness and indiscriminate murder of our people by the La Republique du Cameroun army. In the middle of a war, the United Nations in collaboration with our oppressors announced last week a phoney reconstruction program for our country. We believe this is another ill-advised and unworkable proposal to end this bloodshed. We call on the United Nations Security Council to pass an immediate resolution mandating a UN Independent Fact-finding Mission to investigate the alleged crimes committedby La Republique du Cameroun military and administrators in our territory. The La Republiquedu Camerounregime cannot be trusted to investigate itself as it demonstrated in its dishonourable report on the Ngarbuh massacre. We believe that a UN mandated Independent Fact-finding Mission will have the immediate effect of quelling violence, saving lives, and halting the burning of our villages by raiding La Republique du Cameroun army.
Fellow comrades, we face a lawless and brutal enemy that is being sustained by the biggest institutions and richest countries in the world. This neo-colonial regime has widened its national debt with astronomical borrowing and reckless military spending over the last three years. They have borrowed and continue to do so to exterminate our people. The way to stop this massacre is within our reach. We need to make a choice now; a choice to fight for our survival or we perish.
To all those now in Ambazonia, the refugee camps and all our IDPs, we have stood up for freedom and the cost is dear. But I have no doubt that if we muster our efforts collectively as a people, victory will be ours against all odds.We should not be discouraged and disheartened. Do we want freedom? If the answer is yes, then go out with confidence and persuade your friends and family members that a liberation war is worth it.No one can say for sure how much more suffering we will be subjected to by this murderous regime. But we must continue forward and keep our eyes on the prize. Freedom! We definitely shall not accept a return to the status quo, nor accept anything less than total independence.
In my first address to you twelve months ago, I called for the unconditional release of our President, SisikuAyukTabe and his leadership team abducted in Nigeria on the 5th of January 2018 and detained unlawfully in Yaoundé. I’ll make that call again today for the immediate and unconditional release of all Ambazonian prisoners of conscience detained by the La Republique du Cameroun regime.
We stand at the crossroads of history. All Ambazonians living at this moment have an incredible historical burden. In our hands lies the possibility for our people to break free once and for all, from oppression to a new dawn of freedom and independence.
Yet our freedom as a people has never been so close. If we confront this challenge of our time, I have no doubt we shall prevail.
Thank you and God bless you.
God Bless Ambazonia
This time,it shall Be Independence or Resistance Forever
Countries set to lift lockdown measures as world’s Covid-19 cases surpass 4 million
The number of coronavirus cases worldwide topped four million as some of the hardest-hit countries readied Sunday to lift lockdown restrictions, despite concerns about a second wave of infections.
Governments around the world are trying to stop the spread of the disease while scrambling for ways to relieve pressure on their economies, which are facing a historic downturn with millions pushed into unemployment.
But with the death toll already past 277,000, nations are keen to avoid second waves of infections that could overwhelm their healthcare systems, with a new cluster of cases in South Korea raising fears about the virus hitting back rapidly.
Amid the barrage of deaths, some European countries have cited signs of progress that they said justified cautious steps towards a sense of normality.
Officials in France on Saturday said the day’s death toll of 80 was the lowest since early April, while nursing home fatalities also fell sharply as the nation prepared to relax curbs on public movement imposed eight weeks ago.
The easing, to begin Monday, has brought mixed reactions.
“I’ve been scared to death” about the reopening, said Maya Flandin, a bookshop manager from Lyon. “It’s a big responsibility to have to protect my staff and my customers.”
French health officials have warned that “the epidemic remains active and is evolving”, and that social distancing must be kept up even as restrictions are eased.
In Spain, about half the population will be allowed out on Monday for limited socialisation, and restaurants will be able to offer some outdoor service as the country begins a phased transition set to last through June.
Fears lingered, however, of a resurgence, and authorities excluded Madrid and Barcelona — two COVID-19 hotspots — from the first phase.
Belgium is also easing some restrictions on Monday, and in some parts of Germany, bars and restaurants reopened on Saturday with further easing set for Monday.
Overall, the situation in Europe was still far from normal.
Britain is reportedly planning to announce on Sunday that all overseas visitors will face a mandatory two-week quarantine, and the European Union warned against opening borders to travellers from outside the bloc.
Across Europe, commemorations marking 75 years since Nazi Germany’s surrender were cancelled or scaled down.
And Poland’s election on Sunday will be one for the history books as polling stations remain closed and turnout will clock in at zero due to a political crisis set off by the pandemic — the presidential ballot is formally neither postponed nor cancelled because the government and opposition were unable to agree on a constitutional and safe solution.
‘Phenomenal’ recovery?
South Korea’s capital Seoul shut all bars and clubs on Saturday after a burst of cases were tracked to one of the city’s busiest nightlife districts.
Even as the country eased virus restrictions, officials warned against carelessness after the new cluster of infections, highlighting the challenge of containing the spread of the deadly disease while pursuing an economic revival.
Global economic figures are pointing to the most acute downturn in nearly a century with businesses forced to shut and supply lines badly disrupted, and pressure is growing on leaders around the world to find a way out.
In the United States, the country with the world’s highest death toll, President Donald Trump faced sharp criticism from his predecessor Barack Obama, who said on a leaked tape that Trump’s handling of the crisis was an “absolute chaotic disaster”.
Facing re-election in November, Trump has insisted that next year would be “phenomenal” for the US economy, urging reopening in a country where the virus continues to claim well over 1,000 lives daily.
The United States lost an unprecedented 20.5 million jobs in April, driving the unemployment rate to 14.7 percent — the highest level since the Great Depression.
‘Life costs money’
Health experts have cautioned that while the growth of cases may be slowing in some European and Asian countries, other nations — many of them impoverished — are only in the first phases of their outbreaks.
In Iran, the Middle East’s virus epicentre, many were taking advantage of loosened restrictions despite worries about a spike in infections.
“Life costs money,” said Hamed, a 22-year-old out on the streets of the capital Tehran without a mask. “People have to go to work since this virus has been with us for about three months now.”
And in neighbouring Pakistan, the world’s fifth most-populous country, the government ended the lockdown on Saturday and locals streamed into markets and shops, despite still-high infection rates.
Tehmina Sattar, shopping with her sister and sons in Rawalpindi, said: “We are happy with this decision, but at the same time I have a fear in my heart that if this disease spreads it could be devastating.”
(AFP)
Southern Cameroons Crisis: The violence continues, with Mamfe mayor killed by gunmen
Despite efforts by the international community to obtain a ceasefire in Cameroon, the country’s two English-speaking regions are still witnessing extreme violence, with most of it orchestrated by the government.
Over the last month since the Coronavirus showed up on the country’s shores, the government has been slaughtering its citizens, especially in the North West region where Ambazonian fighters are protecting their positions.
The government does not seem to comply with the terms and conditions of a ceasefire negotiated by the United Nations.
Over the last four years, the Yaounde government has diminished the population of the two English-speaking regions by spraying bullets all over the place, in total disregard for calls by the international community for a negotiated settlement.
In many cities across the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon, government officials have been chased away and many of them are facing death sentences for conspiring with the enemy to kill innocent women and children.
Even the people’s representatives such as senators, parliamentarians and other elected officers live in fear as armed gunmen could always spring surprises.
This was what actually happened on Sunday, May 10, 2020, in Mamfe, a border town in the Southwest region where the town’s mayor, Presley Ojong, was brought down by gunmen executing an order from their commanders.
Mayor Ojong
The 34-year-old mayor took office a few weeks ago after participating in an election that was banned in Southern Cameroons and boycotted by all major opposition parties due to massive fraud and corruption by the ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) led by the absentee and alcohol-inflammed president, Paul Biya.
The CPDM is outlawed in Southern Cameroons because it is considered a crime syndicate and a terrorist organization that has no place in the 21st Century.
The conflict, that has pitted the country’s English-speaking minority, has already claimed more than 6,000 lives, with more than 2,000 soldiers losing their lives in the two regions.
The fighting for the total liberation of Southern Cameroons has plunged the country’s economy into the doldrums, with thousands losing their jobs as many corporations are obliged to fold up.
Many state-owned corporations such as PAMOL, CDC and SONARA are currently facing difficulties. Things will certainly continue to look south as the government rejects calls for a negotiated settlement.
PAMOL has been shut down and it will take huge amounts of money to bring it back to working condition. The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), for its part, is really struggling. The country’s second largest employer is clearly staring down the barrel of bankruptcy.
Most of its workers have fled their duty stations just to avoid threats by Ambazonian fighters who frown upon those they consider as enablers.
Anybody working for the Yaounde government is considered an enabler and is automatically handed a death sentence.
SONARA, for its part, is witnessing diminishing operations as a huge portion of the refinery was brought down by a huge fire whose origin is still unknown and questionable.
Economic experts hold that SONARA’s cessation of activities will lead to a drastic decline in government revenue and, over the long term, the country’s GDP will decline by at least 5 percentage points.
The violence in the two English-speaking regions of the country has struck fear in many people. Even senior government officials such as Peter Mafany Musonge, a one-time prime minister; George Tabetando, the chief of Bachou Ntai; and many traditional rulers who stand with the Yaounde corrupt government have been duly advised by the armed groups to continue enjoying their exile in Yaounde.
Many of these officials have death sentences hanging over their heads like swords of Damocles. They have prizes on their heads and this makes them attractive to the Ambazonian fighters who really want to earn the money.
Though the focus is now on the Coronavirus, the international community should not forget about the Southern Cameroons crisis that has created over a million refugees and internally displaced persons who are living rough wherever they are.
The Biya government does not believe in peace and this is making it hard for the violence to end.
Both sides are still committing atrocities and today’s killing of a young mayor only serves as a reminder that the region remains unsafe and tense despite the ceasefire called for by the international community.
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Southern Cameroons: Vice President Yerima to deliver State of the Nation address tonight on SCBC
Ambazonia Vice President, Dabney Yerima will be delivering his first anniversary speech later today at 8pm Amba on SCBC TV. It was 12 months ago when President Ayuk Tabe appointed the veteran Southern Cameroons freedom and independence campaigner as his assistant with the responsibility of steadying a sinking revolutionary boat.
In the speech, Vice President Yerima will set his vision for the Federal Republic of Ambzonia for the next twelve months. Mr. Dabney Yerima will focus on six critical sectors: Education, Defense, Diplomacy, Humanitarian, Finance and Communication.
He will say “Over the last twelve months, we worked meticulously to develop a framework of collaboration between the IG, the Consortium and AGovC across Ambazonia”. On education, the Ambazonian freedom fighter will say “Our children are the future of the country we are fighting for” and “My appreciation goes to those who have continued to provide education to our children both online and in community schools in the liberated areas of Ambazonia.”
Comrade Dabney will highlight challenges and some landmarks of his first twelve months. He is also expected to announce the creation of a semi-autonomous Bank of Ambazonia and the launching of the Ambabonds project. He will be calling on Ambazonians to invest in the future of their country by investing in both projects. He will say “despite the many challenges we faced last year, two significant successes from the Department of Economy and Finance was the creation of the Bank of Ambazonia and the launching of the Ambabonds Project” and go on to say “All our projects need funding and I implore all Ambazonians to invest in the Ambabonds project”
On the diplomatic front, the freedom fighter will highlight his administration’s role in the passing US Senate house resolution 358 last year and their involvement with the Switzerland parliament to get Paul Biya of Cameroon indicted for war crimes. On defense, he is expected to announce the trial of a stipends/reward scheme in certain counties for restoration forces.
The exiled leader will sound a defiant note to the international community and a hopeful position to Southern Cameroonians with “all Ambazonians living at this moment have an incredible historical burden. In our hands lies the possibility for our people to break free once and for all, from oppression to a new dawn of freedom and independence.”
Cameroon Concord News Group believes Yerima’s vision for the next 12 months is bold but achievable and we implore all Ambazonians to follow his outing tonight and join Vice President Dabney to realize the Amabzonian dream.
Isong Asu
London Bureau Chief
French Cameroun official hails Chinese medical donations
A French Cameroun governor on Thursday thanked the Chinese government for providing medical supplies and hailed the cooperation between China and Cameroon in fighting against COVID-19 pandemic.
Bernard Okalia Bilai, Francophone governor of the Southwest region made the remarks in the region’s chief town Buea while receiving a consignment of supplies.
“This is exactly what we need. We are grateful for China’s help (as) we are in the fight against COVID-19”, Bilai told reporters and stressed that the supplies will be put into good use.
The medical supplies included an ambulance, two imaging machines, two portable ultra sound machines, hospital beds, mattresses, and surgical kits.
“These are going to take us many hundreds of miles forward. I think it is a really much needed donation,” Director of Buea Regional Hospital, Martin Mokake told reporters.
These supplies are to ease the humanitarian crisis in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions, where COVID-19 cases were also detected.
Source: Xinhuanet with additional editing from Camcordnews
Cameroon Continues to Suffer Staggering Mother, Child Birth Mortality Rate
Coinciding with Friday’s observance of the African Day for the Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality, Cameroon disclosed that tens of thousands of newborn babies continue to die at birth and thousands of women continue to lose their lives while giving birth each year in the central African of 25 million. Health officials say the situation is worse on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria, where most mothers do not go to hospitals.
Martina Lukong Baye, Cameroonian Coordinator of the National Multisector Program to Combat Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality, says it is unfortunate that the number of mothers and babies dying in Cameroon has remained high due to many women neglecting prenatal care and some delivering at home using untrained traditional birth attendants.
“We are counting about 4,000 women dying every year from causes linked to pregnancy or delivery. It is pathetic. It is about 22,000 newborn babies that we lose every year. It is really, really unacceptable.” Baye said.
Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health, however, reports that the number of pregnant women who die has dropped from 8,000 in 2015 to 4,000 in last year, and babies who are dying each year has decreased from 30,000 in 2015 to 22,000 last year.
Baye says Cameroon could do more to reduce most of the deaths by paying more attention to reasons why the women and babies die.
“The first direct cause of women dying in Cameroon is bleeding. We do not have enough blood available in our health facilities to give these women. The other cause too, now, that is quite prominent now is hypertension in pregnancy. The other cause now would be infection after delivery and, of course, home deliveries,” Baye said.
According to a 2018 Cameroon government-sponsored demographic and health survey, 33% of Cameroonian deliveries are carried out at home or with African traditional birth attendants, without trained health staff members.
The situation is critical on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria, where Boko Haram has chased medical staff away and torched hospitals, and the border with the Central African Republic that has been an epicenter of CAR rebel atrocities.
Malachie Manaouda, Cameroon’s health minister, says the government has taken measures to improve health care delivery at hospitals as an urgent measure to reduce the deaths.
He says the universal health coverage plan Cameroon is developing prioritizes mother and child care. He says President Paul Biya is personally supervising the plan as an indication of a strong political will to stop women from dying while giving birth, and babies from dying before, during or shortly after birth.
Manaouda said Cameroon has, within the past three years, equipped maternities and trained and recruited about a thousand midwives and pediatricians to attend to the needs of mothers and babies. He also said the government two years ago instructed all hospitals on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria and Cameroon’s border with CAR to offer free prenatal care.
The African Day for the Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality, observed since 2009, offers an opportunity for African countries, members of the African Union, to intensify actions aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality, examine challenges faced, and press for greater political commitment among African countries to stop mothers and babies from dying.
Source: VOA
Federal Republic of Ambazonia: deadly mix of war and coronavirus
Prominent Cameroonian human rights activist Beatrice Titanji leapt for joy when a major secessionist group declared a ceasefire on 29 March to protect people from the “fury” of coronavirus in the central African state’s English-speaking heartlands, but her hopes have since been dashed as fighting continues to rage.
“It’s a scary situation. Thousands are trapped in the bushes,” Dr Titanji told the BBC.
“How do we tell them about Covid-19?” she added.
The Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SCDF) unilaterally declared the ceasefire, following an appeal by UN chief António Guterres for conflict to end across the world.
“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war,” he said.
“It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives,” Mr Guterres added.
However, none of Cameroon’s other secessionist groups, estimated to number at least 15, have heeded the appeal.
The Ambazonia Governing Council, which is one of the biggest groups, said a unilateral ceasefire would open the way for government troops to march unopposed into territory under its control.
Hunger and illness
Cameroon’s government, led by the French-speaking President Paul Biya, has not declared a truce either and, to the dismay of aid workers, has banned humanitarian flights, along with commercial flights, in its efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
“If we don’t have the means to reach out to people and give them food and medication, many of them are going to suffer. They will die of hunger and illnesses,” said Dr Titanji, an academic who leads the Women’s Guild for Empowerment and Development, a non-governmental organisation involved in peace initiatives in Cameroon.
Both English and French are official languages in Cameroon following a complicated colonial history but in practice, the Francophone majority dominates, leading the Anglophone minority to complain of discrimination.
About 3,000 people have already died since protests over the increasing use of French in courts and schools in the English-speaking heartlands of the North-West and South-West regions morphed into violence in 2017.
Nearly a million people have also been displaced by the conflict – many of them fled into bushes, where they built huts and villages as they started life afresh after their once-peaceful cites and towns turned into battle zones.
Cameroon – still divided along colonial lines:
- Colonised by Germany in 1884
- British and French troops force Germans to leave in 1916
- Cameroon is split three years later – 80% goes to the French and 20% to the British
- French-run Cameroon becomes independent in 1960
- Following a referendum, the (British) Southern Cameroons join Cameroon, while Northern Cameroons join English-speaking Nigeria
The UN children’s agency, Unicef, estimates that about 255, or 34%, of the 7,421 health facilities in the North-West and South-West are either non-functional or only partially functional because of the conflict.
Some of the facilities have been attacked and burnt down, forcing medics to flee.
This has increased fears about treating people in the event of a major outbreak of Covid-19.
However, few of them have been in the North-West and South-West, either because of little testing or because conflict has heavily restricted movement, effectively putting many urban and rural areas on lockdown long before the outbreak of coronavirus.
Like most civilians, soldiers are now seen wearing mass-produced protective masks, and using hand sanitizer, as they patrol cities and towns in the North-West and South-West.
However, there is little indication that the armed militias have taken any protective measures against coronavirus, or that they are medically equipped to deal with infections in their forest hideouts – where they sometimes hold abducted government officials.
About 300 government troops carried out a six-day operation against the separatists late last month. The military said it had killed 15 fighters, and destroyed two of their military camps outside the town of Bafut in the North-West.
The security forces are still searching for three government officials, including a court registrar, after they were seized by separatists in Boyo, another town in the North-West, late last month.
Lamenting the continuing conflict, Dr Titanji said: “It’s a great challenge getting aid to the suffering masses. We don’t need war at this time, with Covid-19 raging and killing people.”
Culled from The BBC
SONARA Scandal: Former GM Metouck, ex Board Chair Ebong Ngolle escaping the prison?
Charles Metouck, the former General Manager of the Cameroon Refining Company (SONARA), who is in Yaounde-Kondengui prison, is reportedly dying of a stress related illness. For the past few days, he has been receiving treatment at the Yaoundé General Hospital.
Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that on the 28th of April 2020, his lawyer, Barrister Job and a prison guard informed a panel of judges at the Special Criminal Court in charge of the second case that pits the former boss of the oil company against the state of Cameroon that he was mentally not stable.
On that day, the hearing lasted only a handful of seconds as the so-called Maradona of South West politics Hon. John Ebong Ngolle, the former Chairman of the SONARA board of directors was also not in court on lame and ridiculous reason that he was also unstable and does not have all his mental capacities to stand trial.
After a first sentence of 15 years imprisonment, Charles Metouck is now facing a new trial for the alleged embezzlement of 60 billion FCFA. The allegations are contained in a report by the Contrôle Supérieur de l’Etat (CONSUPE) on the period 2007-2010, during his time as head of SONARA.
By Rita Akana in Yaounde