Cameroon Anglophone Crisis: Minister Tasong urges return to normalcy in Lebialem

By Christopher Ambe

The Minister-Delegate in the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Paul Tasong and first ever native of Lebialem to serve as Cabinet minister in President Paul Biya’s 36 -year old rulership, has pleaded with natives of the Division to ignore calls from instigators (an indirect reference to separatists fighting for the Independence of Southern Cameroons) for the division of Cameroon.

   Minister Tasong’s fervent appeal was made ,last Saturday at Buea Mountain Hotel ,during a conclave with Lebialem elites , to examine the current socio-political crisis (Anglophone Crisis)rocking the Southwest Region ,with emphasis on Lebialem.

Minister Paul Tasong speaking to the press

Lebialem is one of the most vocal localities for the restoration of the independence of Anglophones.  Persistent clashes between government’s forces and armed separatists in Lebialem have resulted in several deaths, the burning of houses including that of Minister Paul Tasong and the culturally-rich Azi Palace, as well as kidnappings of government officials.

   Minister Tasong told reporters after the meeting that they met to strategize on how to defuse the tension in the Division, provoked by self-determination rights activists.

    He expressed “our wish to continue to extend the olive branch to the actors of the other side (the separatists), to the youth of Lebialem who in their vulnerability have decided to join the forces of backwardness.

   “We are encouraging the people of our Division who still have faith in the institutions of the republic, who still trust in Republican values to continue in that line because this crisis, like any other, will come to and end. And where shall we be when that day comes?”

    The Minister disclosed that several other meetings will regularly be held, all in a bid to cause life return to normal in Lebialem in particular and Anglophone Cameroon as a whole.

    “We have agreed to carry out specific actions and we already have a roadmap which will guide our actions to look for lasting solutions to the crisis”, the minister said.

    The on-going Anglophone crisis, which now seems to be fast turning into armed conflicts, started in 2016, when Common law lawyers’ and Anglophone teachers’ trade unions were protesting against perceived marginalization and the “Frenchification” of the English way of life.

    What is today called the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, used to be UN -British Southern Cameroons, which would gain  its independence on October 11961 by Joining  La Republique Du Cameroun, which had on January 1,1960  got its independence from France.

    The union of the states was supposed to function on the basis of equality of status.

 (This report also appears in The Horizon Newspaper,Cameroon,of June 12,2018)

                                                                                                                                        

Cameroon launches the physical counting of civil servants

Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé

(Business in Cameroon) - From April to June 2018, Cameroon will proceed to the physical counting of civil servants. According to the finance minister Louis Paul Motazé, this operation will help rationalize the country’s salary expenses.

Indeed, during the operation, all the civil servants who are irregular in the signing of the pay slip because of either an unjustified absence, a resignation or unreported death will be identified and removed from the state’s payroll.

The minister also informs that the operation will be carried out on the whole territory by teams deployed by the ministry at banks, microfinance institutions and the accredited accounting firms. He also reminds that this physical counting is mandatory and every civil servant should participate or lose their salary.  

For the record, this operation has been prescribed by Paul Biya in his circular of June 20, 2017. In that circular, he instructed the physical counting of Cameroon’s civil servants during the 2018 fiscal year because the payroll was about CFA1,000 billion and the exact number of the country’s civil servants could not be determined. Also, in 2017, during an administrative investigation on 14,134 presumed fictitious civil servants, the ministry of public work found that the pay of 2,817 of them had been suspended since January 2016.

Sylvain Andzongo

Nigerian students killed by tree on Cameroon school trip

A falling tree at a wildlife park in northern Cameroon killed three students on a school trip, an official told the country's state radio.

"Following a tornado, a tree fell on to a group" of Nigerian students staying in Bouba Ndjida national park, regional governor Jean Abate Edi'i said.

Sixteen students were also injured and taken to Garoua, the capital of the Northern Region.

The group of 50 students and six staff were on a school trip, according to Cameroon state radio.

The park is known for its elephant population.

In February, six troops and two guides were killed at the park during a clash with heavily-armed poachers on horseback.

Source:AFP

Cameroon’s economy is showing early signs of slowdown, AfDB reveals

(Business in Cameroon) - The African Development Bank reveals that Cameroon, the strongest and most diversified economy in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), has long been resilient to shocks, but its economy is showing early signs of a slowdown.

According to the bank, this is due to the negative impacts of the economic recession in Nigeria, the crude oil crisis which hits CEMAC and the security crisis in the Anglophone region. It is also due to the decline in extractive activities (because of the postponement of investments in extraction and production) as the consequence of lagging oil prices.

Despite this slowdown, AfDB forecasts that the country’s growth will stand at 4.1% and 4.8% in 2018 and in 2019 respectively (a bit behind the average recorded between 2013 and 2015 which is 5.8%).

The bank further reveals that this improvement should be mainly “spurred by higher exports to the European Union following an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and increased energy supply due to new hydroelectric dams. Other tailwinds affecting growth include the development of forestry and agro-industrial value chains, as well as a reduction in imports in favor of local products”.

Brice R. Mbodiam

Anglophone Crisis: Targeting Suspects

By Peter Tacheo

 The Anglophone crisis, which erupted in October 2016, was not intended to be xenophobic attacks by English-minority Cameroonians against their French-majority compatriots.  Both Francophones and Anglophones have co-existed for as long as the Republic of Cameroon has existed.

In fact, the Anglophone crisis is an outburst of decades of pent-up anger by the English-speaking regions (Northwest and Southwest) of Cameroon, against the majority Francophone-led Administration.

 But the battle field is Anglophone Cameroon where deadly clashes between Government forces and armed separatists have been taking place as separatists seek the independence of their supposed country called Ambazonia.

Although not a xenophobic fight per se, some Francophones resident in Anglophone Cameroon have reportedly been threatened with deaths and asked to leave for their safety.

Tangwo Ngueffe G.T

 They are accused- rightly or wrongly- of contributing money to support the Government in its crackdown of Anglophones or of leaking information about the hideouts of the separatists

 A recent case is that of Tangwo Ngueffe Garcial Toscani, who was born in Loum in September 30, 1996, but later moved to Muyuka Subdivision where he was living with relations. Unfortunately for Tangwo, he was accused of leaking information to government forces about separatist fighters in Munyenge, where deadly clashes between government forces and separatists have been recurrent.

 Hinted  of a plan by some unknown men to abduct him, Tangwo and relations escaped. But their residence was reportedly later burnt down. It was not clear who committed the arson.

But the military has been accused of burning houses and villages, suspected to be hideouts for armed separatists while unknown men ,believed to be separatists have attacked and or kidnapped those their consider as the enemy to their struggle for independence.

Many other Francophones especially in Meme and Fako Division, who reportedly received anonymous threats, have also relocated to Francophone Cameroon.

Cameroon’s  Northwest & Southwest regions o were formerly known as UN British Southern Cameroons, which had gained independence from the British on October 1, 1961, by joining with La Republique du Cameroun, for both states to become a federation.

But the federation was abolished in 1972 against the spirit of the federal constitution, which in its 47(1) stated: “Any proposal for the revision of the present constitution which impairs the unity and integrity of the federation shall be inadmissible”.

The country then became United Republic of Cameroun and in 1984 it was renamed   La Republique du Cameroun, the name by which French Cameroon was called when it got independence on January 1, 1960.

 Since the union  of Francophones and Anglophones, the latter have  persistently  complained of  their gross  marginalization, resulting in  the formation of  the  Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC) in 1994 as  a pressure group fighting for  the restoration of Southern Cameroons independence.

But the Cameroon Government has outlawed the SCNC, labeling it as a terrorist group and thus prosecuting members.

The current crisis started when Anglophone teachers and lawyers staged public protests in late 2016 against perceived injustices by the Biya government but the latter rather resorted to repression after a failed dialogue.

Many fear that if the crisis, which has led to the deaths of many-both civilian and solidiers,is not quickly resolved as recommended by international organizations including the UN,it may sooner or later turn into a civil war between Francophones and Anlophones.

Cameroon:Anglophone Activists More at Ease abroad

By Elvis Bichuh

Many English-speaking Cameroonians are now scared of returning home because of what is now known as the Anglophone crisis, which started in November 2016 with lawyers’ and teachers’ protests against perceived marginalization of minority Anglophones by the Majority Francophone-led Government.

   Late last year many Anglophones abroad staged peaceful protests across several countries especially in USA, Britain, South Africa and Belgium to draw attention to the plight of English-speaking minority, who have, for decades, complained of their marginalization in development and appointments in the public service of Cameroon.

   So angry were Anglophones to the extent that those abroad formed an Interim Government (IG) of Ambazonia, a putative country. 

The IG led by Sisiku Julius Ayuk,a computer engineer, had on September 22,2017 mobilized mass protests of English-speaking Cameroonians across the globe to embarrass President Paul Biya who  was addressing  the UN General Assembly same day President Biya was actually giving his speech at the UN,the protest marches were going on simultaneously.

    Undaunted, the IG pushed further by declaring on October1, 2017, the symbolic independence of Southern Cameroons, what today are the Northwest and Southwest Regions(the two English-speaking communities) of Cameroon.    

    The declaration of independence was followed by what was supposed to be peaceful demonstrations in the Northwest and Southwest Regions, but the protests rather turned violent, as there were bloody and deadly confrontations between government forces and the civilian populations. Several civilians were shot dead

   Then on January 5, 2018 came the news of the abduction of Southern Cameroons leading separatists among whom, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, President of the Interim Government of of Ambazonia.

   Their abduction reportedly by Nigerian state Security and detention in Nigeria instead provoked more protests by pro- Anglophone activists, and attracted condemnation from international rights protection organizations.

   At the moment in Cameroon, there are clashes between Government forces and ‘Ambazonian militia in several communities in Anglophone Cameroon, further fueled by the controversial deportation last January 29 of the arrested Ambazonia ministers to Cameroon. The Cameroon government confirmed the activists were now in judicial custody and considers many Anglophones abroad are discreetly or publicly backing the call for a divided Cameroon.

   The continued fighting between the Ambazonia fighters and government forces has caused not only the deaths of both civilians and soldiers in their numbers, but has forced many civilians to flee to safer localities and to neighboring Nigeria.

   According to the UNHCR, thousands of English-speaking Cameroonians are now in Nigeria for asylum; many others have been internally displaced.

Stories abound of Anglophone Cameroonians in the Diaspora who have visited Cameroon during this crisis passing through difficulty and torturing moments.

Franklin Forbinake Aroke

    Consider the case of Franklin Forbinake Aroke, now a fleeing SCNC activist, who had suffered in the hands of security agents in Buea, capital of Southwest Region of Cameroon, which town is also claimed by Anglophone activists to be the headquarters of Ambazonia.

    The activist told this reporter in a telephone chat, how he has gone through hell but vowed: “We shall continue fighting for the independence of Southern Cameroons aka Ambazonia no matter the torture inflicted on us and no matter where we find ourselves until self-determination is ours”

    Now an ex-student of NASPW Buea, Forbinake Aroke is said to have encouraged minority rights activism while as a student, thus having problems with the local administration.

    He  travelled abroad in 2017 ,but returned to Cameroon early January this year and on January 13  he was confronted by police in Fako over videos of Ambazonia’ protests discovered in his android phone.

“I must thank God that I was smuggled out of detention. I see this as a miracle especially as many others are languishing in jail” he said. “Now that I am out of danger, I can only keep thanking God. My family does not yet know my whereabouts”

   The SCNC, together with the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society consortium(CACSC), was outlawed in Cameroon by the Minister of Territorial Administration on January 17,2017,on grounds that it was instigating calls for the independence of Southern Cameroons even when President Paul Biya has been  insisting  that Cameroon is “one and indivisible”

   With the ban on SCNC and similar groups their supporters are at risk of  being molested, tortured and prosecuted in Cameroon, especially as the Anglophone crisis persists.

Anglophone Crisis: Why Activists fear returning home.

By   Ndechu James  

Shu Aghanifor :accused of links with SCNC

When Shu Aghanifor Ishmael, started an organization in Cameroon which he named Europe-Africa Development Initiative (EADI), little did he know that he unknowingly inviting trouble for himself and the family. EADI, was supposed to be a humanitarian organization, intended to empower youth, but it was reportedly identified as having links with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), a pressure group advocating the independence of English-Speaking Cameroonians, who before 1961 were known and called British Southern Cameroonians.

Southern Cameroons, a former United Nations Trust Territory under the administration of Britain, gained its independence on October 1.1961 by joining French-speaking La Republique du Cameroun, to form a single country.

But being the minority these English-speakers have, since their union with the majority French speakers, complained of being grossly marginalized in administrative appointments and development by the latter, who dominate the leadership of the country.

The creation of the SCNC as a pressure group was therefore to campaign for the statehood of the disgruntled English-speakers; but the Cameroon Government described the SCNC as an illegal and secessionist group, and banned it in January 2017, paving the way for the molestation, torture, arrest, and prosecution of the group’s members and supporters.

And so when EADI, whose founder is a rights activist, was accused of being an auxiliary of the SCNC, the organization’s members started running into hiding, to avoid persecution and prosecution. Even relations of workers of the EADI became targets for police investigations, as some of them were allegedly subjected to molestation to push them show the whereabouts of EADI workers.

Even when Shu Aghanifor Ishmael left the country, he is said to have joined radical Anglophone rights activists in the Diaspora such as Mark Barata,Cho Ayaba,Tapang Ivo,Akwanga Ebenezar,Chris Anu, Akoson Pauline, John Mbah Akuroh and Akoson Raymond, whom the Cameroon Government accusing of  sponsoring  protests in Cameroon, calling for the independence of Anglophones and wants them arrested.

The ongoing crisis in Anglophone Cameroon(Northwest and Southwest Regions),known as the Anglophone Crisis erupted in  2016 when common law lawyers and  Anglophone teachers’ trade unions staged  protests in the two pressing  for solutions to their professional  grievances but the Cameroon  government did not sufficiently address the issues at stake

Cameroon Military raid neighborhoods in search of  Anglophone Separatists, demanding their own state

At least hundreds of people have died as government forces engage  Anglohone separatist fighters in deadly clashes .Enormous property have been vandalized destroyed,

More than 30 thousand Cameroonians are seeking asylum in Nigeria, while more reports talk some 200 thousand people being are internally displaced.

The deadly clashes have given rise to a serious humanitarian crisis in Cameroon begging for huge global support, according to the UNO and rights groups.

As the crisis worsens, Anglophones in the Diaspora have been protesting at Cameroon embassies, mounting pressure on the decades-old Biya regime to resolve the crisis by way of genuine dialogue, and not oppression (the option which the Government seems to have chosen against expert advice).

As the deadly clashes between separatists and State security forces continue, the international UNO and rights groups have called for inclusive and meaningful dialogue.

Woman allegedly assaulted for refusing to marry polygamist

By Chi kingly Tung 

A Douala-based woman, aged 28 whose name is withheld for safety, has reportedly lodged a complaint with the police in nation’s economic capital, accusing a certain Alhadji Bouba, of molesting and assaulting her after the latter failed to convince her get married to him.

Mr. Alhadji, a polygamist and cattle dealer, resident in the neighborhood of New Town Aeroport, is said to have met her’s parents and secretly arranged to marry their daughter who was then staying with him. 

The molested woman  had considered the  elderly man as an uncle who offered  to assist her learn some trade, not knowing she had been betrothed to him by her  seemingly poor parents.

 When it dawned on her that her parents wanted her to marry the aged but wealthy cattle dealer, she bitterly protested against such an arrangement, describing it as an expensive joke any mature lady cannot take in modern-day Cameroon.

By rejecting Mr.Alhadji’s love advances, the purportedly betrothed was rough handled on several occasions by the supposed suitor.

 The supposed suitor is alleged to have violated his presumed spouse, pushing her to lodge a formal complaint with the view to seeking a legal remedy

It is not clear how the complainant’s parents reacted to their daughter’s legal action especially if truly they had negotiated and collected her bride-price.  The accused could not be reached for reaction to the accusations leveled against him.

Reports said Mr. Alhadji had before, on several occasions, been dragged by others to the police because of similar allegations but he always returned home without being charged. He would boast that he was practicing his tradition and customs.

Although polygamy is legal in Cameroon, the country’s Civil Status Registration Ordinance, states that spouses-to-be must consent before their marriage is legalized.

According to Article 52(4) of the Civil Status Registration Ordinance, “No marriage may be celebrated if the spouses- to- be don’t consent”

Even the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Cameroon is a signatory, states in its Article 16(2), “Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of intending spouses”

But it is public knowledge  that,  in the Northern parts of Cameroon, contrary to the laws , child, early and  forced marriages are common, encouraged by traditional and religious norms of the natives  there.  

We gathered several rights lawyers have already approached the complainant, offering to defend her rights, conscious that the said Alhadji is not only a wealthy business man but also a political heavy weight.