Politics
April 20, 2017 will go down in history as the day Paul Bathelemy Biya bi-Mvondo suffered his most devastating political humiliation in the more than 40 years he has roamed the halls of power as Prime Minister and President. In the midst of the unprecedented uprising by the oppressed and marginalized Anglophone population in Cameroon and the Diaspora, the Napoleonic tyrant ordered his minions, Minette Libom Li Likeng, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Issa Tchiroma, Minister of Communication, and the Director General of Camtel Nkoto Emano to pull the plug on the Internet in the Northwest and Southwest regions. The blackout took effect on January 18, 2017., and lasted 93 days. This was the longest, politically-motivated, punitive, Internet blackout in Africa. Biya wanted to punish the Anglophones collectively. All he succeeded in doing was to fatally weaken the foundations of his Napoleonic state. Cameroon will never be the same again, never!
Like dictators in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Burundi and elsewhere, the ailing lion of Mvomeka thought that by cutting off the Internet, and carrying out barbaric human rights abuses against innocent men, women and children in the dark, he would stifle and destroy the Anglophone movement that represents an existential threat to his rotten and tottering dictatorial regime.
The problem is that Biya and his henchmen were so comfortable in their little French colonial bubble they underestimated the resolve and will to freedom of the oppressed Anglophones. They also did not realize that Anglophones are a free people who have no fear of Biya’s murderous regime. They also had not been told that English is the global lingua franca. They have learned the bitter lesson the hard way. Strikes, and continuing ghost towns at home, demonstrations abroad, and informational activism in cyberspace have made the Anglophone problem a global issue. The result is that for the first time in the history of Francophone Africa, a minority has made a blood-thirsty dictator back down.
Now that Biya has suffered a crushing political defeat at the hands of the Anglophones, it is time for him to pay compensation for the millions of dollars his illegal and inhuman act cost. He is a billionaire. He can afford it. The IMF, World Bank and other economic institutions show that the Internet blackout cost millions of dollars per day. Millions of individuals, the Silicon Mountain Internet start-up hub, banks, businesses, schools, universities, and so on, suffered financial loss. It is time for Biya bi Mvondo, Minette Libom Li Likeng, Issa Tchiroma, Nkoto Emano, Camtel, MTN and others to pay the penalty.
When former Egyptian dictator, Hosni Mubarak shut down the Internet in Egypt for six days in 2011 in a futile effort to hang on to power, he failed miserably. After his fall, civil society groups sued Mubarak, the Egyptian government and responsible ministers for this gross human rights violation, and for economic loses. An Egyptian court fined the defendants millions of dollars. Biya and his gang must not get away with murder and go scot-free. In order to teach them a lesson, Anglophone lawyers need to take the fight to them. They need to act as a group and file a class-action suit in Douala and Yaounde. against Biya, La Republique and the other defendants, on behalf of all victims of the Internet shut down. Suits should also be prepared for the Buea and Bamenda High Courts went the lawyers’ strike is over. We know in advance how the cowardly Francophone judges and courts will rule but the media coverage will be priceless. Finally, Anglophone lawyers need to lodge a human rights complaints at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Council and other international jurisdictions. Make them pay!
It is said that a fanatic is one who, having lost sight of his objectives, redoubles his efforts. Biya gambled and lost. It is time for him to face the legal consequences of his reckless human rights violations.
I see nothing but loses ahead for Paul Biya. He is in a no-win situation. If he releases the Anglophone leaders, he loses. If he keeps them in jail, he loses. If he changes even a little bit, he loses, if he does not change, he loses. He already faces potential expulsion from the Commonwealth, loss of American military and economic aid due to Anglophone protests, and increasing unrest in la Republique itself. Anglophones have introduced the word “resistance” into the vocabulary of the Francophones. The momentum is clearly on the side of the Anglophones.
Mola Eko
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- Mola Eko
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The Coordinator of the Anglophone Dialogue Forum says Dialogue must be all inclusive to end the crisis in the Anglophone regions.
Taking part in CRTV's flagship program, Press Hour, Dr Simon Munzu reveals that only the Head of state has the responsibility of calling a national dialogue to discuss the Anglophone Problem. To him, this dialogue must embrace all issues affecting the anglophone community. The problems of lawyers and teachers are just a fallout of political injustices in 1961 and 1972.
Commenting on steps made by government on the judicial and educational sectors as the restoration of the internet in the North west and South west regions, the outspoken legal figure says those steps cannot solve the pains of Anglophones.
He is calling on all parties to be free to chat about all every issue that affects their existence. Dr Munzu has warned the regime to stop censoring opinions and allow Anglophones to discuss in a free atmosphere without room for intimidation.
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- Rita Akana
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One of the stories that have undoubtedly sold more than hot cake in recent times is the Anglophone Problem. This mighty crisis that began like a drop of water in an extraordinary ocean has raised eyebrows across the globe. “All the examinations organized by the ministries of basic and secondary education must be taken this year as usual…” That was part of a press release read on the state broadcaster, CRTV, a few months back.
It implies tacitly that just like all the other examinations, the GCE will be taken without any worry. If that is the case, then we will have a question to ask: Who is eligible to sit the examinations? The doors for registration are all shut and locked when the majority of the students do not have their names on the list; we are less than two months to the examinations, and yet very little practical lessons have been done in the two regions where tensions are not yet completely out of play.
With these revelations, is it not possible for us to repeat our question: who is eligible? Or maybe we are ignoring one glaring fact: classes have been effective in all other parts of the nation. Those who have been going to school normally are eligible. They want to do the examinations. Indeed, they can. But those who have done nothing should not be used as a shield. By the way, if everybody were to do the examinations, what nature would the questions take? Would they be set based on equity or equality? If you take the former, you agree with the fact that the questions will be set in relation to the programme covered by each school.
Those who had studied more receive more questions and vice-versa. Gong by the latter, the questions would be the same everywhere. In that case, how balanced is your scale? Or there could be a third option: the examinations descend far below standard so that everybody makes it. But then this option is not void of crises.
The students who have had a normal school year will not only do exceedingly better than their counterparts who have not had a steady school year, but they will also do incredibly better than all previous batches. Consequently, they will stand head and shoulder above everyone else in every competitive sphere where a GCE certificate is required. Thus, if the GCE were to be taken this year, the date ought to pass under another, more serious review. The two weeks postponement is not really enough to make the difference.
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- Tasha Seidou
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1) The more they call us Extremists , Terrorists the more we dig in to discover who we really are . And thanks to the Assimilation , we now understand perfectly our history , culture and who we really are .
2) The unity slogan of " cameroon is one and indivisible" has provoked us to understand better that there is no smoke without fire given room for research to know how that so loud unity came fruition . Now we understand we were an Independent State .
3) By disconnecting the Internet , we have learnt a lesson of self-sustainance . Not even the disconnection of water , electricity would mean anything anymore to us.
4) For soldiers to display their tiny muscles and armoury to an unarmed People , we have only been empowered to fight on .
Just one southern cameroonian is capable of taking on five of La Republique's scouts .
You dare ? Lets go . One on One .
5) The lies that have been broadcasted on crtv has only made the southern Cameroonian believe that a chinese language tv/radio could even be more distracting than watching news or listening to crtv .
6) The more our children , fathers , mothers , Leaders are captured , tortured , gives us the bile and venom to be transformed leaders , fighters and guerrillas in our own right to defend ourselves and our loved ones . The "ready to die attitude" has been injected into system- dna .
Now that we know who we really are , and fully aware we cohabited with a disguised backstabber , wisdom has superseded mere knowledge .
Thanks to La Republique , we now understand that our fate lies in our own hands and noone else .
We can see clearly now the throughway to the Independence of Southern Cameroon thanks to the good work of La Republique Du Cameroun.
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- Rita Akana
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The government of Cameroon that has been under sustained international pressure to re-instate internet signals in the North West and South West regions of the country has, according to reports been working on a strategy to control conversations and be able to spy on the people before taking any steps to restore such communications.
A highly trusted source at the Cabinet of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Mme Libom Li Likeng nee Mendomo Minette revealed to The Times Journal that senior officials of a US-based firm known as- Spirit Ventures LLC, led by its President, Dr. Gareth E. Murray were received in audience by the Minister on the 28th of March, 2017 in the meeting room of that Ministry. He pointed out that the audience was negotiated by the US Embassy in Yaounde in a mail dated the 27th of March, 2017 (a copy of which was handed to us) and addressed to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.
Our informant that generally talks on basis of anonymity, noted that the Spirit Ventures LLC Delegation was made up of Dr. Gareth E. Murray, Mr. Preston D. McGee Senior- Managing Director of iQ-iA, Mr. Thierry Wandji- Senior Solution Engineer- ART Cyber, Mme Madeleine Belomb- Director, Sales and Marketing at ART Cyber and Mr. Christopher Ekom- Commercial Specialist at the American Embassy in Yaounde. The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications took part at the meeting with two of her close aides, The Times Journal gathered: Dr. Wilfred Mfuh- Technical Adviser N0.2 and Dr. Banga Mbom Calvin- Director of Network Infrastructure Security.
The Ventures LLC Delegations is said to have made a presentation on how communications on the social media could be monitored in real time within the geo space of the North West and South West regions of Cameroon. They expounded on ways of spying on conversations on networks such as facebook, Twitter and Instagram without anyone involved taking note that their chats were under serious surveillance at all times.
Our source read from his notes that the monitoring solutions proposed to government turned around; “Full monitoring of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram conversations and chats within a given “Geo-Space”, notably the North West and South West regions, with the monitoring team sometimes participating in the conversations to influence discussions, the collection and analysis of data from the chat rooms using complex algorithms to establish intelligence such as the full cyber-profile of those emitting or forwarding data as well as their view points within the given geo-space and finally enabling government to pick up intelligence on any criminal activities in planning or unfolding within the given geo-space and even enabling knowledge of the meeting points of key actors”.
These proposed solutions seemed acceptable and enticing enough to the Minister and her close aides because they had the potential to make the people of the North West and South West regions stay in perpetual bondage for years without ever being able to “surprise” the government with an uprising of this magnitude ever again, our informant cried out, adding that; “it makes Anglophones in Cameroon all criminals until they demonstrate that they are not offensive. It also punishes all Southern Cameroonians equally, both those in government who think they are seen as part of the system and those who are currently determined to ensure the restoration of the independence of the former British colony”.
Although the American visitors took off time to explain how workable their proposed solutions could be, making references to earlier live demonstrations of the said solutions to the Prime Minister, Head of Government and some security agencies; General Delegation for National Security, Ministry of Defence and the General Directorate in Charge of External Research, our source said the Minister still identified some weaknesses of concern.
Mme Libom Li Likeng is said to have expressed concern that the solutions did not include WhatsApp, considered the most used social media in Cameroon. Again, it was revealed that she did not like the fact that the proposed solutions did not require the collaboration of local network operators, insisting their non-involvement could make it difficult for government to physically identify and probably arrest those producing and distributing unacceptable cyber literatures or engaging in criminal activities.
As could have been expected, our source intimated that the Minister regretted the fact that the proposed solutions would operate on a centralized architecture whereas “interested stakeholders in Cameroon, mainly the police, gendarmes, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and well others functioned each in their own fief with little or no information sharing, necessitating a hierarchical structure.
The Minister’s recommendations, our informant noted, insisted on the need to include WhatsApp with all data processing conducted in Cameroon to safeguard national sovereignty, the importance of government having to use cyber evidence- technically known as cyber forensics to indict or convict offenders in the North West and South West regions and much more.
Although the US-based company promised that in no distant time they could be able to crack into WhatsApp, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, our source specified, paid greater attention to a proposal by one of the members of the delegation, Dr. Murray identified as a former and first Black Senator of Maryland in the United States of America who revealed that they had developed a rich legal framework in Maryland which takes into consideration cyber evidence, promising to share the framework with Yaounde to assist the Ministry of Justice and other interested local agencies.
While the two parties agreed to meet once more at the end of the month of April, 2017, the Minister reportedly settled down to dispatch memos to the Prime Minister’s Office for onward transmission to the Presidency of the Republic. At the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, one of our regular informants confirmed that a write-up from the Star Building in that regard was received on Thursday the 13th of April, 2017.
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- Rita Akana
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We continue the updates of what happened while you were away. This time it was your activity which made us proud. The diaspora has never been this afraid. What you did sent shocking waves into the spines of la Republique and shook the core of the Cameroons.
La Republique has always been using football to preach false unity. Like anyone else in the world we all love football but we can't forget where we come from.
On the night when our neighbouring national team was playing the finals of the African Nation cup, the wishes of most of us in the diaspora was that the opposite team should win. The diaspora was afraid what will happen the next day Monday which was ghost town day as a result of the frenzy celebrations. But you Southern Cameroonians Home proved us wrong. You made us to understand that supporting football has got nothing to do with the struggle after all we all support foreign teams and jubilate when a team we like wins a cup such as the Champions league.
We were told that on that particular Sunday when la Republique won the nation cup, there was huge celebrations at night in Southern Cameroons cities. You once again put a smile unto the faces of the regime, the regime thought that was the end of the strike and ghost towns. They deliberately decided not to declare Monday a public holiday so as to test to see if schools and ghost towns will fail as a result of the nation cup. But you good people of Southern Cameroons shocked them. You celebrated on Sunday but got up on Monday with the best Ghost towns ever imagined. Cities like Buea, Mutegene, kumba, Bamenda etc that celebrated the event got up with a dead town. The same was true in all villages and communities.
Your singular action made la Republique panicked. You gave those of us in the diaspora hope. You made us believed in the struggle once again and yes you proved to the world that our struggle is genuine and football cannot make us loose sight of what we want-Restoration.
BaretaNews correspondent made us to understand that speaking with some police officers from Mutengene, they said Anglophones are hypocrites. They wondered how we can jubilate the victory of the lions so crazy and got up the next day Monday with total ghost towns with no fly on the street. Oh yes, we are not hypocrites, we merely confirmed what we are going for.
On this note, I want to specifically thank all Southern Cameroonians at home. This struggle is moving ahead because of your collective resolve to take it to its logical end. Please continue to have faith in this struggle. We will succeed as a team and we will flush la Republique out of our home. Keep the faith and God bless you.
Once more congratulations. I love you all. Remember ghost towns on Monday 24th across the entire territory.
Mark Bareta
Bui County
Southern Cameroons
Follow the struggle and not individuals
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- Rita Akana
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Subcategories
Biya Article Count: 73
# Paul Biya and his regime
Explore the political landscape of Cameroon under the rule of Paul Biya, the longest-serving president in Africa who has been in power since 1982. Our Paul Biya and his regime section examines the policies, actions, and controversies of his government, as well as the opposition movements, civil society groups, and international actors that challenge or support his leadership. You'll also find profiles, interviews, and opinions on the key figures and events that shape the political dynamics of Cameroon.
Southern Cameroons Article Count: 549
.# Southern Cameroons, Ambazonia
Learn more about the history, culture, and politics of Ambazonia, the Anglophone regions of Cameroon that have been seeking self-determination and independence from the Francophone-dominated central government. Our Southern Cameroons section covers the ongoing conflict, the humanitarian crisis, the human rights violations, and the peace efforts in the region. You'll also find stories that highlight the rich and diverse heritage, traditions, and aspirations of the Southern Cameroonian people.
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