Federal Republic of Ambazonia: Leader, top aides back in French Cameroun court
The Nera 10 substantive Appeal matter comes up this Thursday June 18th, 2020 in the court hall of the Appeal court of the Centre Region
Breaking News
Saudi faces perilous hajj call as virus spikes
Saudi Arabia is expected to scale back or call off this year’s hajj pilgrimage for the first time in its modern history, observers say, a perilous decision as coronavirus cases spike.
Muslim nations are pressing Riyadh to give its much-delayed decision on whether the annual ritual will go ahead as scheduled in late July.
But as the kingdom negotiates a call fraught with political and economic risks in a tinderbox region, time is running out to organise logistics for one of the world’s largest mass gatherings.
A full-scale hajj, which last year drew about 2.5 million pilgrims, appears increasingly unlikely after authorities advised Muslims in late March to defer preparations due to the fast-spreading disease.
“It’s a toss-up between holding a nominal hajj and scrapping it entirely,” a South Asian official in contact with Saudi hajj authorities told AFP.
A Saudi official told AFP: “The decision will soon be made and announced.”
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, withdrew from the pilgrimage this month after pressing Riyadh for clarity, with a minister calling it a “very bitter and difficult decision”.
Malaysia, Senegal and Singapore followed suit with similar announcements.
Many other countries with Muslim populations — from Egypt and Morocco to Turkey, Lebanon and Bulgaria — have said they are still awaiting Riyadh’s decision.
In countries like France, faith leaders have urged Muslims to “postpone” their pilgrimage plans until next year due to the prevailing risks.
The hajj, a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, represents a major potential source of contagion as it packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites.
But any decision to limit or cancel the event risks annoying Muslim hardliners for whom religion trumps health concerns.
It could also trigger renewed scrutiny of the Saudi custodianship of Islam’s holiest sites — the kingdom’s most powerful source of political legitimacy.
A series of deadly disasters over the years, including a 2015 stampede that killed up to 2,300 worshippers, has prompted criticism of the kingdom’s management of the hajj.
“Saudi Arabia is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea,” Umar Karim, a visiting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told AFP.
“The delay in announcing its decision shows it understands the political consequences of cancelling the hajj or reducing its scale.”
– ‘Buying time’ –
The kingdom is “buying time” as it treads cautiously, the South Asian official said.
“At the last minute if Saudi says ‘we are ready to do a full hajj’, (logistically) many countries will not be in a position” to participate, he said.
Amid an ongoing suspension of international flights, a reduced hajj with only local residents is a likely scenario, the official added.
A decision to cancel the hajj would be a first since the kingdom was founded in 1932.
Saudi Arabia managed to hold the pilgrimage during previous outbreaks of Ebola and MERS.
But it is struggling to contain the virus amid a serious spike in daily cases and deaths since authorities began easing a nationwide lockdown in late May.
In Saudi hospitals, sources say intensive care beds are fast filling up and a growing number of health workers are contracting the virus as the total number of cases has topped 130,000. Deaths surpassed 1,000 on Monday.
To counter the spike, authorities this month tightened lockdown restrictions in the city of Jeddah, gateway to the pilgrimage city of Mecca.
– ‘Heartbroken’ –
“The hajj is the most important spiritual journey in the life of any Muslim, but if Saudi Arabia proceeds in this scenario it will not only exert pressure on its own health system,” said Yasmine Farouk from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“It could also be widely held responsible for fanning the pandemic.”
A cancelled or watered-down hajj would represent a major loss of revenue for the kingdom, which is already reeling from the twin shocks of the virus-induced slowdown and a plunge in oil prices.
The smaller year-round umrah pilgrimage was already suspended in March.
Together, they add $12 billion to the Saudi economy every year, according to government figures.
A negative decision would likely disappoint millions of Muslim pilgrims around the world who often invest their life savings and endure long waiting lists to make the trip.
“I can’t help but be heartbroken — I’ve been waiting for years,” Indonesian civil servant Ria Taurisnawati, 37, told AFP as she sobbed.
“All my preparations were done, the clothes were ready and I got the necessary vaccination. But God has another plan.”
Source: AFP
Yaounde under pressure as international community calls for investigation into Wazizi’s death
Several countries have expressed concern about the death of Cameroonian journalist Samuel Wazizi while in military custody.
The concerns were raised at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Cameroon and the Central African subregion last weekend.
The government of Cameroon has been urged to immediately investigate the circumstances leading to the death of the 36-year-old journalist and bring the culprit to book.
Wazizi died 10 months ago, but this information was only made public earlier this month. He was arrested by police on August 3, 2019, in a suburb in the conflict-ridden south-west region of the country.
He was transferred to military custody on August 7, then ferried to the capital Yaoundé six days later, Cameroon’s military spokesperson Colonel Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo said. Wazizi arrived in Yaoundé feeling feverish and died on August 17 due to an infection, the military said.
Local and international organisations have also called for an impartial probe, saying that the UN Security Council members should urge accountability for the death of the journalist when it is briefed on the situation in Cameroon at their meeting with the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA).
The United States Mission to the UN also called for an independent investigation into Wazizi’s death and called attention to the conflict in Cameroon, which according to the UN Refugee Agency(UNHCR) has displaced more than 600,000 people.
“The US also calls attention to the conflict in Cameroon, which @Refugees reports has displaced nearly 680K people. We are deeply concerned by the death of journalist Samuel Wazizi while in Cameroonian military detention and call for an independent investigation,” the US Mission wrote on Twitter.
For its part, the German Mission to Cameroon focused on the impact of the conflict on the subregion while calling for accountability in Wazizi’s death as well as respect for human life.
“The situation in #Cameroon and its negative impact on Central Africa remain of particular concern. On the death of journalist #SamuelWazizi in detention, Germany urgently calls for accountability, respect for human rights and freedom of the press,” a tweet from the German Mission to the UN read.
Wazizi worked as a journalist at the privately owned broadcaster Chillen Muzik and TV (CMTV) in Buea, south-west region.
Source: IOL.Co
Cameroon disabled protest neglect as coronavirus spreads
Hundreds of people with disabilities fanned out across Cameroon’s capital Monday, protesting against the neglect they say they’ve suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaigners say social distancing rules have discouraged caregiving for the disabled, leaving many more vulnerable to the virus. Cameroon has seen nearly 10,000 coronavirus cases and 276 coronavirus-related deaths, making it one of the worst-affected countries in Africa.
Hundreds of people with disabilities visited markets, churches, mosques and public buildings to remind Cameroonians not to ignore them as the central African country deals with COVID-19.
Among the campaigners was Coco Bertin, founder of the Club for the Rehabilitated Young Blind People of Cameroon. Bertin, who is visually impaired, says there are no braille documents explaining measures to combat coronavirus.
“We heard that there were some posters to sensitize the people about this pandemic, but we can not be aware of it because we can not read. We need the government to get involved and to transcribe these documents,” said Bertin.
The campaign was organized by Jean Pascal Somb Lingom, president of the Association for the Promotion of Assisted Technologies and the Education of the Blind.
Lingom, who is also visually impaired, said the government did not contact people living with special needs when explaining COVID-19 prevention measures.
“People who are on wheelchairs need specific measures to be able to have access to hand washing facilities to limit being contaminated by the virus. Hearing impaired persons need facilities that can help them have access to adequate information so that they can know what to do and how to do it so that they will not be affected,” he said.
A tap with a bucket and a bar of soap is available for students to wash their hands as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Lycée Général Leclerc School in Yaoundé, Cameroon, June 1, 2020.
Lingom said blind people cannot see buckets and soap kept in public places for people to wash their hands and avoid COVID 19. He said social distancing measures have scared caregivers from assisting them for fear of being contaminated.
He said people living with disabilities are becoming poorer because they find it difficult to do business or to go to their offices without help.
An estimated three million of Cameroon’s 25 million people are living with disabilities.
Eric Tanda, director of health in the Health Ministry, said the government has started examining what he calls pertinent issues raised for Cameroon’s disabled.
Speaking by telephone in Yaounde, Tanda said the disabled, such as the hard of hearing, need to follow measures put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“The government, especially the ministry of public health, has provided somebody who interprets this message to them by using the sign symbol. Once in the community, they should try as much as possible to respect physical distancing while with their masks on.”
The government recommends everyone wash their hands regularly, keep a distance of at least a meter and a half from others, and always wear face masks to avoid spreading or catching the coronavirus.
Source: VOA
Cameroon records 11 deaths from COVID-19 in 24 hours
Cameroon has recorded eleven deaths from coronavirus in twenty-four hours according to the Ministry of Public Health. One hundred thirty-six people have also died from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news report by ‘cameroonmagazine.com’.
The daily press briefing by Dr. Fanne Mahamat on the situation of coronaviruses in Cameroon revealed that on Tuesday 12 May 2020, two thousand eight hundred people (2,800) had been diagnosed with the virus, of which one hundred and thirty-six died.
According to the director of health promotion at the Ministry of Public Health, confirmed cases increased on Tuesday as one hundred and eleven new people tested positive for COVID-19.
Prime Minister of Cameroon, Joseph Ngute on June 5 has appreciated the efforts of the public and said, “the figures to date are 6,789 positive cases, 4,565 cured and 203 deaths.”
Cameroon on March 5 became the first central African country to register a case of the virus. A 58-year-old French national who had arrived in the capital Yaounde in February.
Source: Devdiscourse
Yerima calls on the International Community to investigate the killings going on in Southern Cameroons
The Vice President of the exiled Southern Cameroons government, Dabney Yerima has called for an investigation of the horrible reports that several Southern Cameroons civilians are being killed by the Cameroon government army.
The Ambazonia Interim Government on Sunday expressed its deep concern about the very horrible scenes in Bamenda and Eshobi in Manyu where armed militias and troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé reportedly killed several innocent civilians.
Bamenda, the chief city in the Northern Zone of Southern Cameroons had ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic been under heavy gunfire from Cameroon government army soldiers the recent being yesterday the 14th of June at Mile 7 Mankon where a contingent of Cameroon government military entered and raided homes right towards the Bamenda airport.
A sister publication, Cameroon Concord News reported that the airport deployment had support from a patrol group of 5 armored cars dispatched to the city by the commander of the Rapid Intervention Battalion.
Dabney Yerima said that he had received very disturbing images of deaths, destruction, and looting from Ambazonia Intelligence Services in Manyu on the prevailing situation in Eshobi and Mberere.
Yerima made a passionate appeal to the international community to conduct a prompt, transparent and effective investigation into reports of extrajudicial killings going on in Southern Cameroons.
By Isong Asu for Cameroon Intelligence Report
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI undergoes heart surgery
King Mohammed VI of Morocco had successful heart surgery on Sunday in Rabat, state news agency MAP said.
The King was treated for a heart rhythm disorder known as “atrial flutter”, it said.
The 56-year-old King underwent a similar surgery to normalise his heart rhythm two years ago in Paris.
King Mohammed VI has headed the Muslim world’s longest-serving dynasty since 1999, when his father Hassan II died.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy where the King holds sweeping powers.
(REUTERS)
Southern Cameroons War: Heavy gunfire in the heart of Bamenda
Heavy gun fire was heard yesterday for over an hour in Bamenda, the chief city in the Northern Zone of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia.
Our correspondent revealed that there was confusion in the city as the exchange between armed Ambazonia Restoration Forces and elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion lasted for more than an hour in the city.
Cameroon Concord News learnt that resident barricaded themselves in their homes and three explosions were also heard.
The Francophone administrators of the region have still not commented on the incident.
However, people in the know have opined that serious shooting started at Mile 7 Mankon where a contingent of Cameroon government military entered yesterday Sunday the 14th of June and moved towards the Bamenda airport.
The airport deployment had support from another patrol group of 5 armored cars.
By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda
Yaounde puts Southern Cameroons journalist in solitary confinement after reporting on rape of his cousin
Cameroon government authorities have reportedly placed Daniel Ashu Tando in solitary confinement at the Central Prison in Buea for reporting and detailing how three government army soldiers raped his cousin by name Fanny Eda who died in Mutengene.
Daniel Ashu Tando who according to Cameroon Intelligence Report sources has been in detention for over sixteen months, was arrested in Mabonji on his way to Kumba in his car and ever since, the commander of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) has been pushing for charges of belonging to a separatist Southern Cameroons group against him.
The Buea prison administrator moved him to solitary confinement immediately after he met with his lawyer Barrister Peter Nkea Atabong last week. We understand, the journalist will be appearing before a French Cameroun judge at the Buea Military Tribunal on the 17th of June.
Prisons remain overcrowded both in Southern Cameroons and in French Cameroun and the Biya regime authorities have not undertaken health and sanitation measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds of Southern Cameroons inmates are afraid of contracting the virus due to the lack of access to medical care and protective gear inside detention facilities, as well as overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.
Last week, the Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Dabney Yerima wrote an open letter to Ambazonians all over the world urging them to immediately contact their local representatives and clamour for an end to the genocidal campaign going on in Southern Cameroons and the release of all Ambazonia prisoners of conscience including journalists behind bars, as freedom has become a matter of life and death amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Daniel Ashu Tando had a short spell at CRTV under Olivia Tamanjong and thereafter Kolle George and Kedia Basebang. At the time of his arrest he was reporting for Word Empowerment Radio.
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
People at the presidency want to assassinate me – Brenda Biya
She didn’t only say this, according to the gorgeous lady, they want to assassinate her at the presidency.
After having taken numerous videos previously of her section of the house scattered with TV and a couple of stuff broken, Bree posts a message on Sc she sent to somebody revealing that they want to assassinate her at the presidency.
She even sent those videos as a proof to back up her statement. According to Bree, she wishes to change her environment.
Culled from afriblinks