Politics

What a shame and what a disgrace for the supposed organ that was created to replace the moribund League of Nations . The league of Nations. The world saw the birth of the United Nations Organization as a new dynamism to steam voilence and incessant and wanton destruction of lives.
Sadly enough it created at its inception paper tigers called the big five with veto powers and it killed the very organisation that was hoped could provide solace to a perishing world.
Today it has become that toothless bold dog whose loud noise can be undermined.
No wonder how a very inconsequential country like Cameroon has defied the United Nations Organization.
The Press briefing in Yaoundé that was organised by the Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations Organization for the Central African Sub Region,UNICA had the following points as the demands of the United Nations organization aimed at resolving the Anglophone Crisis or the Anglophone equation in Cameroon. 
The three points were as follows:
1. Unconditionally reinstate Internet connectivity across the erstwhile Southern Cameroons.
2. Unconditionally release all the detainees arrested or kidnapped by thugs of the regime during this crisis
3. Mandatory demilitarize the erstwhile Southern Cameroons with immediate effect.
Unfortunate these blood thirsty thugs in the name of soldiers have not been reduced. Their number keep swelling every passing day as well as their atrocities like the battering to death of Awah Remeo and hundreds of others who have been killed by savages.
Where then is the United Nations Organization, African Union and other organizations like the United Nations Human Commission?
Out of the three obligations that were recommended by the United Nations Organization,only one of them have been heeded to.
The simple reason being that its switch off equally affected the state's own transactions . Most importantly it was reinstated for financial reasons because the state was loosing billions per week.

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Ben Ngouche

02.May.2017

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The SCACUF economy group would like to expand its expertise base by inviting people with knowledge and experience on various aspects of the Cameroon economy to submit brief discussion  papers of no more than 5 pages on key topics which will contribute to the preparation of an economic blueprint for an independent Southern Cameroons after separation and restoration takes place.

The economic blueprint must be the collaborative effort of the population if it is to have the desired impact. The topics on which brief discussion papers are requested are the following:
- Cameroon has a corporate tax rate of 38.5% even though very few actually pay it. What is the corporate tax rate that should be introduced in SC after separation in order to stimulate both domestic and foreign investment
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- What are advantages of introducing value-added tax in order to contribute to fiscal revenues of the SC government 
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- The future government of SC shall cancel the Herakles Farms land concession in Ndian and Kupe Manenguba Divisions. What are the mistakes that were made by the government in Yaounde in granting this concession that will have to be corrected?
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- Akwaya has vast potential for commercial oil Palm development if the region is provided with the necessary infrastructure. How should the SC government go about negotiating a land use agreement with the people of Akwaya so that foreign direct investment in commercial Palm oil development can be accepted
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- The NW region has the potential to produce 500,000 metric tons of avocado oil which has multiple uses and is a high value added product.  How can the SC government go about introducing avocado cultivation in the NW as a cash crop to replace coffee
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- The NW region continues to be the main source of plantation Labour to the CDC, Socapalm, Ferme Suisse and Hevecam. In order to develop the oil Palm sector in SC and make the SC the largest producer of raw Palm oil in Africa, most of the plantation Labour in Socapalm, Ferme Suisse and Hevecam will have to be attracted back to SC. What are the conditions under which migrant plantation labourers work.
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- There are currently four licensed telecoms operators which have deployed their networks in SC. Explain the nature of their networks in SC and advise whether the SC government should grant licenses to these operators or invite entirely new operators.
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- A group of young IT entrepreneurs have come together to form a group based in Buea under the umbrella of the "Silicon Mountain". How can the SC government help the entrepreneurs of the Silicon Mountain
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- The movie industry is slowly developing in Cameroon under the brand name of Callywood. What can the SC government do so as to help the growth of Callywood as a vehicle for job creation for the youth
Send your briefing papers by 20th May latest to:

Dr. Nfor N Susungi
Group Head (Economy)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Rita Akana

02.May.2017

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Whether the people respect the law or the law is going to no-go zones is a puzzle that I do not seem to understand. The relationship between the police on the one hand and street vendors on the other leaves much to desire.

There are regular confrontations between the police and street vendors. The police fight on a daily basis to see that the vendors keep some distance from the road. But the business persons are adamant.

On Saturday I witnessed a scene that marveled me. It was 2pm or so at Post Central when I saw a police pick-up drive past. A wave of commotion followed them as they jumped off at the speed of light. The uproar that accompanied the scene attracted people’s attention, and when I looked into that direction, I saw men in a little river-like valley. 

In spite of the water in the river, the vendors looked triumphantly satisfied with piles of cloths, belts and other merchandises, either on their heads or in their armpits. They were looking triumphantly at the police officers who stood helpless beside their vehicle.

I asked myself if it was a new drama. But it was not strange. It is a regular battle between both camps. And I kept wondering whether it was wrong or right for the police to control street vendors.

 If it were not wrong, why would the same people do the same thing over and over? Are Cameroonians too stubborn? Or are the police missing something? Better still it could be a goose that lays the golden egg for one of the parties, given that even when some of the goods are seized the owners sometimes still possess them through a means I do not know how.

Let the powers that be come to terms with the fact that the vendors have a problem that must be looked into as urgently as possible. 

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Tasha Seidou

30.Apr.2017

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 The Situation in Southern Cameroon: A Call for a Halt to Human Rights Repressions

The ILA (Nigeria) Committee on Justice and Human Rights, acting under the protective mandate of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, is concerned over the ongoing events in the Republic of Cameroon and has considered it imperative to add its voice to the variously expressed opposition to the wanton violation of the rights of the people of English speaking Provinces of Cameroon by the Government of the Republic of Cameroon.

The facts upon which the intervention of the Committee is established, as verified by CNN, Amnesty International and the African Bar Association, are as follow:

I. That residents of Cameroon's two English-speaking provinces have longstanding grievances against the largely-francophone central government, complaining of economic marginalization and the imposition of French legal and education systems upon them;

II. That in November and December 2016, Anglophone lawyers led protests against the use of French in courts, resulting in clashes with police in which protesters were killed;

III. That the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) and Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), responded with series of strikes and "Operation Ghost Town" – a form of nonviolent resistance that requiring all supporters to stay at home;

IV. That following the strikes, schools and courts in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon have been shut since November 2016;

V. That on January 17, the government banned the CACSC and the SCNC, holding them responsible for the protests. The CACSC President Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla and Secretary General Dr. Fontem Neba were arrested on charges relating to terrorism, and are yet to regain their freedom and have not been offered all the necessary facilities for fair and impartial trial.

Being aware that the issues leading to the current impasse are not new, the Committee takes cognisance of the following:

(a) that the current situation is intimately linked to the events that occurred in British Southern Cameroon in the context of decolonisation having its root in the League of Nations Mandate System that partitioned Cameroon between Great Britain and France and which culminated in the plebiscite of the United Nations on Southern and Northern Cameroon independence question;

(b) That matters arising from the plebiscite have been a subject of litigation and discussion at several international forums, particularly, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples;

(c) That the Committee is aware that the facts presented to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights on the Southern Cameroon (‘Ambazonia’) in the case of Gorji-Dinka v Cameroon (2005) AHRLR 18 (HRC 2005), particularly, paragraphs 2.1 to 3.2, were unchallenged by the government of Cameroon;

(d) The Committee also takes cognisance of Kevin Mgwanga Gunme et al v Cameroon (communication 266/03) in which, after it had painstakingly considered the position of both parties, the African Commission made the following findings:
· On the facts presented that Cameroon’s law enforcement officers were employing torture, amputations and denial of medical treatment to suppress the Southern Cameroon question, against the claim of government of Cameroon that the agitators had perpetrated terrorist acts in the country, the Commission found Cameroon liable, emphasising that the methods employed by Cameroon were unjustified;

· On the imposition of French on the Anglophone regions, the Commission found that it was wrong for institutions, such as banks to force Southern Cameroon based companies to change their basic documents into French in violation of Article 2 of the African Charter;

· On the failure of Cameroon to guarantee fair trial to the Anglophone activists, the Commission found Cameroon in violation, for:

- transferring individuals from Southern Cameroon to Francophone Cameroon for trial by military tribunals,

- denying interpreters to those tried in civil law courts;

· The Commission found (concerning the individuals that were tried in French without the help of interpreters) that, having denied them the opportunity to adequately prepare their defence, Cameroon violated articles 7.1.b, 7.1.c and 7.1.d of the Charter.

· The Commission was categorical in finding that the tendency of military tribunals is to act as an extension of the executive, rather than the judiciary, and that they are not intended to try civilians but to try military personnel under laws and regulations which govern the military. The Commission finds that trying civilians by the Yaoundé and the Bafoussam Military Tribunals was a violation of the right to fair hearing;

· The facts before the Commission showed cases of suppression of demonstrations with excessive force as well as the unlawful arrest and detention of protesters, peaceably exercising their right to freedom of assembly. The Commission found that some of the detained persons were acquitted while some died at the hands of security forces or in detention. The Commission found Cameroon in violation of article 11 of the African Charter.

· The Commission also condemned the relocation of business enterprises and location of economic projects to Francophone Cameroon, which generated negative effects on the economic life of Southern Cameroon as a violation of article 19 of the Charter.

(e) Having carefully considered the similarities of behaviour of the government of Cameroon that gave rise to the aforementioned cases to those now being employed by the government (and which show that Cameroon failed to implement the recommendations of the Commission), it is the view of this Committee that for their currency and relevance to the presence situation, fitting to adopt and reiterate the recommendations and to strongly urge the Cameroonian government to take all necessary steps to implement the findings as an important step towards the resolution of the historic Southern Cameroon question.

(f) Accordingly, we call on the government of Cameroon to, among others:

· release forthwith all those who are currently detained or are being tried for and in respect of matters arising from the southern Cameroon question;

· commence a process of national dialogue and payment of compensation to all individuals whose rights have been violated by the unwarranted use of force by the government of Cameroon against the people of Anglophone regions of Cameroon.

· address the grievances expressed by the English speaking Provinces of Cameroon through its democratic institutions. The 1993 Buea and 1994 Bamenda Anglophone conferences raised constitutional and human rights issues which have been a matter of concern to a sizable section of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon for quite a long time;

· immediately begin sincere, inclusive and purposive process of consultations towards the amendment of 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon to address the demands of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon, particularly since it did not accommodate the concerns expressed through the 1993 Buea Declaration and 1994 Bamenda Proclamation;

abolish all discriminatory practices against people of Southern Cameroon, including equal usage of the English language in business transactions;

stop the transfer of accused persons from the Anglophone provinces for trial in the Francophone provinces;

ensure that every person facing criminal charges be tried under the language he/she understands;

locate national projects, equitably throughout the country in accordance with economic viability as well as regional balance;

enter into constructive dialogue with the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon, and in particular, CACSC and the SCNC, to resolve the constitutional issues, as well as grievances which could threaten national unity; and

to carry out judicial reform towards guaranteeing the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.That the Southern Cameroonians’ should cooperate with sincere and meaningful attempts by the government to resolve their grievances by constitutional means.

Dr Amos O Enabulele,
Chairman
ILA (Nig) Committee on Justice & Human Rights

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Rita Akana

30.Apr.2017

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Permit me go straight to the point, is your butt stuck to that armchair? From the womb I saw you sat there, Now I near the tomb, you're still there Grandpa, is that your heritage? Why hold fast with eagle's grip?

Off it you knocked off big brother, Sent him to shake hands with ancestors Now like fish he's smoked on strange soil, Why do this evil to your fellow blood?

You overturned the table with trickery, And sat your butt like King Kong.  You run your household with iron fist And set eyes everywhere to watch your back, What are you scared of, old man?

Your skin is older than your hair, Can you bribe age with goat's hair? A sower of wheat must reap wheat. Now you dread your own kind, You flood your yard with watchdogs, They watch your step like guardian spirits, You spend every dime to oil their lips. When you sneeze everyone catches cold. Are you a bear to your household? You zip every mouth that points a finger And give them a bed in a parrot's cage. Can a cage turn a parrot into a dumb? The neighbours are all watching!

You sneak out and in like rat moles, How long will you run from your shadow? Your hands are painted with camwood, Why are your children deserting you? See how they flock into neighboring houses, You set your forest on wild fire. Why would the beasts not flee for refuge?

Now amend your ways while time rolls. Get your wrinkled butt off that armchair. Do with haste before it gets scorched. Those parrots you caged at the backyard Are muttering your name day and night. Amend your ways before you become one Grandpa.

I sincerely mean no disrespect,

Your grandson!

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Rita Akana

29.Apr.2017

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Wreak-less killing and wanton destruction of lives continue unabated by our supposed Police officers who by their training were aimed at protecting lives and property. Yesterday around Commercial Avenue, a young man by name Awah Romeo was butted unto untimely death by armed to teeth Police Officers. He was severely beaten with a gun by La Republique Police officer early this morning.The deceased was returning from a night club when he came across a police barricade.Cameroon Concord could not independently say what pursued during the confrontation, however,  the police used their gun to punch on him mercilessly. On reaching the hospital, Awah died.

How many more of such training on human rights do these state murders want before they can cease to kill innocent souls and cut short live? Don't they understand that by killing suspects,evidence is destroyed and investigation leads marred? The Cameroon Police badly needs to dump into River Wouri and River Sanaga their old antics of French brutality and be humble enough to be trained by the Standards of the Scotland Yard Police Academy.

We badly need a new brand of Police and Gendarmerie officers who can draw the line between state institutions and and individual purported called the head of state.

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Ben Ngouche

29.Apr.2017

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