The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) is concerned by the trial of lawyer Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla, commencing Monday 13 February 2017 in the Republic of Cameroon, West-Central Africa. As he prepares to face a military tribunal, the IBAHRI calls for the nation’s authorities to ensure that national and international obligations to legal and transparent due process are met. Barrister Agbor-Balla faces wide-ranging and serious charges, including ‘Hostilities against the Fatherland’ and incitement to civil war and revolution. A number of the indictments carry the death penalty on conviction. 

IBAHRI Co-Chair Baroness Helena Kennedy QC commented: ‘The IBAHRI is deeply troubled by both the arrest of Barrister Agbor-Balla, a civilian, and that the trial is to be conducted by military tribunal, quite possibly in closed session. The charges he faces have been brought by military authorities that will now prosecute, judge and sentence him. The graveness of the situation cannot be overstated and is acutely disquieting.’

IBAHRI Co-Chair Ambassador (ret.) Hans Corell said: ‘We respectfully remind the Government of the Republic of Cameroon that the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights states that “Military courts should not in any circumstances whatsoever have jurisdiction over civilians." Further, as stipulated in the Constitution of Cameroon, the government has a duty to respect and uphold the freedoms of expression and association, which international human rights standards extend to lawyers. Furthermore, Principle 23 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers states that they shall have “the right to take part in public discussion… to join or form… organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions.” These vital liberties have been ignored in the case of Barrister Agbor-Balla. Cameroon’s authorities should be defending the independence of the legal profession and simultaneously respecting its members’ human rights as citizens.’

Barrister Agbor-Balla is the President of the Fako Lawyers’ Association and heads the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) which represents anglophone lawyers and teachers. He was involved in recent negotiations with the Government of Cameroon to settle unrest between its anglophone and francophone populations. Following his arrest by special forces on 17 January 2017 after organising peaceful protests to promote the rights of the English-speaking minority in Cameroon, a ban was issued against the CACSC and he was detained incommunicado in a prison in the nation’s capital, Yaoundé.

Baroness Kennedy QC concludes: ‘We implore Cameroon to ensure that the trial is conducted fairly, in accordance with international standards, and that Barrister Agbor-Balla’s rights to legal counsel and to contact a family member are guaranteed.’

1. Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla has formerly served as Legal Adviser for both the United Nations mission in Afghanistan and the United Nations Police in the Congo. The Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, Barrister Agbor-Balla is currently the President of the Fako Lawyers’ Association as well as the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.
    
2. The opening of Barrister Agbor-Balla’s trial was initially scheduled to begin on Wednesday 1 February, but was postponed to Monday 13 February, reportedly due to a coinciding funeral for Cameroonian senior military officials, at which the president of the military court and senior court members were in attendance.
    
3. The International Bar Association (IBA), established in 1947, is the world’s leading organisation of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Through its global membership of individual lawyers, law firms, bar associations and law societies it influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession throughout the world.
   
   The IBA’s administrative office is in London, United Kingdom. Regional offices are located in: São Paulo, Brazil; Seoul, South Korea; and Washington DC, United States, while the International Bar Association’s International Criminal Court and International Criminal Law Programme (ICC & ICL) is managed from an office in The Hague, the Netherlands.
   
   The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), an autonomous and financially independent entity, works to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.

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Rita Akana

13.Feb.2017

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Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany's president on Sunday, the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in the post-war era.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who had served as foreign minister until last month, won 931 of the 1,239 valid votes by lawmakers and representatives of Germany's 16 federal states. There 103 abstentions and 14 votes were invalid.

After Bundestag president Norbert Lammert announced the results, all representatives held a standing ovation except for a few dozen members of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The anti-immigrant AfD, which has no lawmakers in the lower house but holds seats in 10 of Germany's 16 state parliaments, is forecast to be the third-largest party after a general election on Sept. 24.

The AfD filed its own candidate, who received 42 votes.

"I have faith in him to lead our country in these difficult times," Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term, said after the vote.

The Kremlin said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin had congratulated Steinmeier in a telegram and invited him to visit Moscow.

Steinmeier last year drew criticism when he said NATO's decision to stage military maneuvers in eastern Europe amounted to "saber-rattling". His Social Democrats prefer a softer stance towards Russia than Merkel's conservatives.

Russia wants the European Union to lift sanctions imposed over its annexation of Crimea and backing of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The German constitution mandates that a special assembly is convened to elect presidents. It includes 630 lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house and an equal number of representatives from the federal states.

Current President Joachim Gauck steps down on March 18.

 

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Rita Akana

12.Feb.2017

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The Anglophone consortium has today, Sunday, 12.Febraury 2017 released a press statement outling a way forward in the current crisis.The press statement comes barely two days after which Mr. Wilfred Tassang, educator and founding member of the All Anglophone Civil Society Consortium,  announced to the whole world the restoration of the sovereign state of the Southern Cameroons in a video statement.Today's statement from the consortium outlines the following as put forward by Mark Bareta on his Facebook wall:

While bearing in mind that schools shut down and courts remain in place; while noting that our leaders and hundreds of our people are still in jails; While noting that our internet and means of communication is still shut down; bearing in mind the brutality on our people in Ndop, Jakiri and Bali; the people's struggle must continue. The consortium since yesterday has been in dialogue looking for possible means to sustain this struggle. Below are the highlights within this communique. We ask all to read keenly and communicate back home. Further strategies will come forth as we continue a broad-base consultation with all groups. The highlights include:

Fellow Southern Cameroonians, the Consortium leadership is particularly delighted to congratulate you all for the historic victory recorded in the boycott of yesterday's march pasts. Your shouting rejection of this day of slavery and servitude has sent a strong message where it ought to go; that time has come for the people of God to walk into freedom.

We are happy to announce to you that due to the resilience we have all demonstrated this far, our Lord God has raised solid quarters to begin laying the foundation of our graduation from constant kidnappings and torture, rape and dehumanizing treatment of all nature. Standing on that re-assuring pedestal, we are now able to gladly reveal that by August of this same year 2017, Southern Cameroonians from Mundemba to Nkambe, Bangem to Mbengwi and Buea to Bamenda will be singing redemption songs.
Let us therefore remain patient and enduring, for weeping lasted the night, but Joy cometh in the morning. Victory is near, thus this is not the time to waver. We shall maintain the boycott of schools by keeping our children safely back home until we acquire the power to give them proper education.
Due to the huge success we noticed in the boycott of 11 February festivities in all the counties of the northern and southern zones; we have exceptionally decided to limit ghost towns only on Tuesday this week. So, tomorrow - Monday the 13th of February, you shall
open your shops and go about your normal activities, while on Teusday we shut down again.Next week we shall resume ghost towns on Mondays and Tuesdays untill the time hen we deem it necessary to suspend same and that may not be long from now.

This Monday also, some of our leaders who are in detention will be standing trial. While we fast and pray to God against the spirit of compromise, we should put them in remembrance and ask God to take control. Where it is possible our people should storm the courts to show solidarity.

CivIl Resistance:

The Consortium is hereby suspending the payment of all forms of taxes by our business community in Southern Cameroons. We are also calling on our people to strictly boycott all Camtel products. Suspend your Camel or CTphone subscription immediately because communicating on that network is like talking In a market. The company has opened its servers to government and that is what is facilitating the numerous arrests we are witnessing.

Keep boycotting CRTV as much as possible, because its only role now is misinformation and manipulation. Last Saturday February 11, they broadcast old images and we saw dead people marching, only in an effort to deceive the world that you did not boycott the evil celebration.

We are urging all Southern Cameroonians to strictly stay away from this year's edition of the Buea mountain race and all official celebrations organised by la Republique.
 
Boycott of Police/Courts:

The Consortium is calling on our people not to take their matters to the courts being run by colonial judges anymore. They should no longer take complaints to gendarmerie and police stations. Let our quarter heads, Fons, chiefs, religious leaders hear your cases until we take our destiny into our hands. Common law lawyers all over the regions shall lend their support to these jurisdictions. We are calling on our traditional authorities as well as religious leaders to dispense justice with the fear of the Lord; they should always mimic King Solomon's wisdom.

Diplomatic Offensive:

The Consortium is so proud of our brethren in the Diaspora. They are playing an invaluable role in this struggle. But with effect frorn this week, they will play an even greater role. We are preparing specific guidelines for that as directed by God.
The Consortium wishes to once more thank you for the unprecedented sacrifice and cooperation we are getting from you.

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Rita Akana

12.Feb.2017

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Rita Akana

10.Feb.2017

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Cameroon Concord's  Buea correspondent picked up by Cameroon security forces as Biya's regime Continues to harass reporters covering the current anglophone crisis.Amos Fofung is a correspondent for Cameroon Concord, The Gaurdian Newspaper and US based publication Blasting News.com.He was arrested upon his arrival from Douala yesterday ,09.Februaray 2017, and detained at the 3rd Police district police station in Buea,South West region of Cameroon.

Amos was detained alongside Atia Azohnwi, who works for The Sun Newspaper in Cameroon.Both men are accused of being in possession of tracks(flyers)that were calling for a boycott of the National Youth Day in Cameroon / February 11, 2017, in protest with the current Anglophone crisis.

Biya and his gang seem especially worried that word gets out into the world about the situation in the Anglophone regions and particularly about tomorrow's 11 Febraury event that has been doomed by the anglophone consortium to fail.Journalists  in Cameroon, have been threatened with sanctions if they report on the conflict.Cameroon Concord reporters all over Cameroon are all afraid to correspond objectively concerning the crisis. Peter Essoka, the head of the media regulator CNC (Conseil National de la Communication) had issued a warning that media outlets  could see their licenses revoked if they report favourably on separatist or federalist demands by the Southern Cameroonians.Text messages have been sent by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications threatening and intimidating reporters with arrests.

Journalists in Cameroon are often subjected to arrests designed to intimidate. Ahmed Abba, Radio France Internationale's Hausa-language correspondent in northern Cameroon, is being held incommunicado in Yaoundé since August 2015 in a manner qualified as “extra-judicial” by RFI. Abba was later charged with terrorist collusion and failing to report terrorist acts to the authorities,

François Fogno Fotso, the editor of the weekly Génération Libre, has been facing charges of disobeying the police and “rebellion” ever since he photographed the heavy-handed arrests of pro-democracy activists in September. His trial has so far been postponed three times.

Cameroon is ranked 133rd out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

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Rita Akana

10.Feb.2017

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A strong delegation of members of the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms, led by its Vice Chairman, Professor James Kobila, has set camp in Buea. The team is on a fact finding mission to investigate all allegations of human rights abuses in the region since the civil unrest following the strike actions taken by teachers and lawyers.

The commission is one half of a larger mission, with the other half being led by the Human rights commission chairman, Dr. Divine Banda leading investigations in the North West region.
Six out of the thirty members of the commission were present at a meeting with various stakeholders and government officials of the south west Region, at the Buea Council Town Hall to have a frank discussion with inhabitants of Buea living in the heart of the crisis, in an effort to have first-hand testimonies and concrete examples of violations suffered by the them.

Speaking, the South West regional secretary for the National Commission on Human rights and freedoms, NCHRF, Tambe Tiku Christopher, revealed that contrary to the opinion by a plethora of critics that the commission is heavily in favor of the government, it is a completely independent body that does its own investigations, determines where human rights have been trampled upon and renders findings to the courts for legal action to be taken on the perpetrators.

The members of the commission come from a wide spectrum of Cameroon’s society including Civil Society Organisations, the Cameroon Bar Association, workers’ trade unions and Penitentiary Administration. During interventions by attendees of the gathering, the issue of the severe violation of children’s rights was hammered upon due to their prolonged stay out of school for over 2 months.

Equally of major concern was the rape of a female UB student during the November strike and questions to find out if information circulating on social media announcing the death of the said girl was true. To this, the commission retorted that their investigations have confirmed the rape to have happened, but that the girl is alive and well.

Questions about the internet blackout in the North and South West Regions as well as the arbitrary arrest and detention of individuals sympathetic to the causes of the striking lawyers and teachers were equally posed.
The Vice chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms, Professor James Kobila, told reporters in an interview that it has come to the South West region in order for all parties, whether government of civil, to report all cases of violations of human rights over the past two months. He admitted to understanding that the grievances tabled to government by the Anglophones stem from deeply rooted problems but that their job is to identify the root causes and the individuals responsible. He said they would question some persons for better understanding of the problem and urged stake holders on both sides of the divide to respect the rights of the others.

The Commission equally has the task of visiting prisons and detention centers around the South West region to feel the reality of prisoners and inspect the conditions of detention. They are also to visit sites where violence took place, with promises of doing a thorough job and making sure that justice is served and law breakers are punished accordingly.

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10.Feb.2017

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