February 23 Protests in Pretoria, South Africa

At the Cameroon High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa

 

 

 

Source: Camnetwork posting

Comments

[Princwill]

That was nice from South Africa.
We are asking all cameroonians abroad to make the world know that cameroon is still with a dictator. He must go this time.
Cameroonians abroad should go to the street in the verious countries to protect that Biya should go. we need a serious change in cameroon.

I see the change is coming please cameroonians just put a little bit effort and we will have the change.just give some short time and we will have this change.

few hour of ur time to go to the street and protest is will give millions of years change to cameroon.
Most of us have family members in the armed forces in cameroon. Can we all ask this family member to see into the cry of the people and try to surport them. Cameroon seriously need this change and this time to bring this change. we should all come out and suport.

[Rita]

love the efforts of those who protested today. This has to continue. Change is never an overnight event. It comes with a lot of determination and effort. If we stand together in one solid voice, then surely change will be at our door-step. Let's not give up. Determination is the key to success.

[fgbd]

CAMEROON
The Biya Military Regime, a Tradition of Corruption
The “loyalist” officers who defeated the April 6th coup attempt, all of them made generals today, gave the power back to Paul Biya in 1984 under secretly agreed upon conditions. One of these conditions appears to be total impunity on all crimes they would commit. Those officers are currently the untouchable corrupted, embezzlers and terrorist gangs’ godfathers Paul Biya cannot go after in his so called anti-corruption drive.
By Ndzana Seme

NEW YORK 01/28/2006 - Paul Biya, then prime minister of former president Ahmadou Ahidjo, became president thanks to a “constitutional coup” organized by the French. In fact, the Constitution of Cameroon then stipulated in one of its articles that the prime minister would become the president of the republic in the event incumbent president is incapacitated.

During a medical visit in 1981, French physicians told Ahidjo that he had a grave mental disease that made him incapable of pursuing his job as president of Cameroon. The health information precipitated Ahidjo’s resignation on November 1981.

This was followed by a “bicephalism conflict” at the head of Cameroon’s State between the president of the single party Cameroon National Union (CNU) Ahmadou Ahidjo and the new president of the republic Paul Biya. But the new leader’s incapacity at handling State issues, along with the fact that most officials and civil servants kept paying allegiance to the CNU president, most of all military officers who had only contempt for Paul Biya, created an atmosphere of instability.

On April 6, 1984, hundreds of army officers and troops seized the presidential palace (Paul Biya and his relatives took refuge into an underground bunker), the national radio, the airport and controlled strategic buildings and locations in the political capital Yaounde.

A sabotage (by the French?) of the coup attempters’ communications with the rest of the national armed forces gave army officers loyal to Paul Biya the opportunity to reorganize and to lead a successful counter-offensive. The coup attempters were defeated.

The military officers presenting themselves as the loyalists were in power two days later. After having massacred hundreds of coup plotters, they also led an ethnic cleansing with killings of hundreds of innocent individuals whose only sin was being born in the Northern area of the country, the region of origins of Ahmadou Ahidjo and most coup attempters.

The military officers who led the counter-offensive and defeated the coup plotters – they are current generals nominated by Paul Biya, except retired Colonel Titus Ebogo who commanded troop from the Southern battalion of Ebolowa and liberated the airport – decided to give the power back to the civilian Paul Biya, under secretly agreed upon conditions.

Corrupted, terrorists and embezzlers of public properties, Generals are above the laws in Cameroon

Since then, these officers are covered by a total impunity by president Biya for whatever crime they would commit. Contrary to all the other Cameroonians, including ministers and other government appointees, these generals are totally free to use corruption, embezzlement of public properties and funds, terror and all kinds of abuses. These generals, along with their relatives and accomplices, are above the laws, because the Biya regime is actually a military regime.

They are behind every major political decision Paul Biya may take. They make sure they take the biggest share of every major economic opportunity the State may open; which explains why salaries in the army were doubled or tripled while civil servants’ salaries were halved in 1993 by Paul Biya.

One of the last biggest tropical forest reserves on earth is being completely decimated in Cameroon. The mafia surrounding Cameroon’s wood business has two main types of actors: European individuals managing lumber companies, who are actual henchmen and accomplices of Cameroonian officials, and the generals who are owners of the trucks that transport wood barks to sea ports. Often, those trucks have no insurance and most have not even been registered. Tax collectors know them only as General Nganso’s trucks, General Benae’s trucks, General Esso’s trucks, etc. But there are also Frank Biya’s trucks that were reported when this son of president Biya was still in the country.

Access to the army occupation is one of the oldest and well rooted networks of corruption in Cameroon. Students are required to pay bribes of 800,000 francs Cfa (about $1,500) or more to be admitted to the Military Inter-Arms School (EMIA). And the current commandant of the EMIA, Colonel Mbida Gabriel, son of retired Colonel Ebogo Titus, pilots the corruption machine.

Colonel Mbida Gabriel is former Commander of the Northern battalion of intervention in charge of combating road gangs called “coupeurs de route”. He immediately became well known for his ruthless and unpunished killings and torture of both gang members and innocent villagers. After each series of killings, it is reported that Colonel Mbida Gabriel and his men would plunder villages, take gangs’ loot and keep all seized moneys and goods as their individual properties.

General Ngambou Isaïe is another officer who built wealth through corruption and embezzlement of public funds. This started when he was Commander of the Unit of artillery at Dschang. Commander Ngambou was known to all recruits for his embezzlement of the troop’s food, the nutrition fees and his fabricated mission benefits.

General Ngambou has built an impressive real estate empire, with several residential and commercial properties in Cameroon. It is reported that Ngambou always took the precaution of giving General Tataw James and General Pierre Semengue their “envelops” (their share of loot) after each embezzlement operation. Envelops given to the hierarchy is the rule one should follow to ensure oneself the protection of impunity in Cameroon.

Current news is that General René Claude Meka and his nephew the defense minister Rémy Ze Meka have embezzled the ex-Amacam building of Akwa, Douala (See our files about the Amacam matter).

The question is whether Paul Biya is able to order the investigation and to have General Meka arrested and tried for embezzlement and corruption. Wouldn’t such a decision be a breach of the agreement Paul Biya reached with this group of officers on April 1984?

Even though the role of René Claude Meka in the operations that defeated the April 6th coup is still not clearly known today, he was one of those who remitted the power back to Paul Biya. General Meka being tried of corruption represents a big threat for all the other generals who have already accumulated wealth through corruption, embezzlement of public properties and terror.

The threat that immobilizes Paul Biya for any anti-corruption drive is that those generals can take their power back at any time. THE GENERALS ACTUALLY IN POWER IN CAMEROON
EDITORIAUX
POLITIQUE
ECONOMIE/FINANCE
SPORTS
DIVERTISSEMENTS
FEMMES
CONTACT

[maxine]

That is the correct analysis of the Cameroon situation today. Biya is held hostage by the military who put him back "in power" after the attempted coup, and they enjoy total impunity. That is the criminal cabal that the protesters are contending with, and should factor into anything that they do.

[Gan Charles]

This confirms my conviction that non-violence protests and calls for negotiations with the regime will never work. The options are to either continue with the illusion that persistent protests will pressure Biya to step down and be tortured or killed in the process or look at fighting fire with fire.
If the analysis above is correct, the generals must have either convinced or pressured Biya into changing the constitution to run for a third term. The generals will not want to take a chance with a new president who may frown on such agreements.

[susuung]

This is a paradox. Imagine the fleet of cameroonians who live in RSA and compare with the tiny club of adventurers cum strikers, then you know this all a failed joke. Cameluu ô bochoo

[maxine]

Gan, you do not understand, neither does Susuung. The organizers are inexperienced, and I hope they keep learning and are persistent.

[Dr A A Agbormbai]

Good posting there by fbdg. It makes us understand what is going on at the top of the country. We will need a combination of demonstrations and foreign military intervention to take out these truants.

The revolution must go on. At the right time we shall have foreign military intervention. It's end of days for Paul Biya, his cronies, and his military crooks.

Those military personnel who want to abandon the Biya system and join the people must do so well in time, to save themselves. Of course, those Biya's crooked generals can never be trusted and will never be allowed to join the people.

[dakness]

the WAR needs to be on or there will be no change.From there beginning till the end of the world,there must be a sacrificial lamb.If we are not ready for the WAR then we are not ready for change.

[Gan Charles]

Maxine - I do understand. Inexperience is no excuse. Protesting the Biya regime either overtly or covertly has been going on for years. These Diaspora protesters and organizers are supposed to be educated, the creme of the Cameroon crop. It is a shame if they do not know what they are doing. They should study other past successful uprisings and modify to apply to the Cameroon situation.
This confirms my belief that most of these characters are either opportunists or mainly those that left the country with little or no education and are just projecting their ineptitude elsewhere and in some quarters making a mockery of themselves. I am a proponent of doing your homework on an issue or look foolish explaining it.
If you ask the majority of those holding signs the goal of the protest, I am sure only a handful will be able to articulate the reasons, goals and intended outcomes. All I hear is "Biya must go". Then what? It is not good enough to kick Biya out. Propose options. These are the same people who leave Cameroon to go abroad without a plan and now they want to change a whole nation. This is why the call for change has failed and will continue to fail.
For people to take up a cause you must state why change is needed (eg replace corrupt regime), how you intend to make the change (eg through civil disobedience etc ) and lastly a replacement road map. People will follow if they are convinced and more importantly, will be able to explain the the next person why they are believers. I have not heard that from the various groups that want to take over Cameroon, at least they do not want to explain that part for fear they will be held accountable as is the case with the current regime and all the oppositions parties that seek to replace it.
Movements for change in Cameroon as elsewhere rely heavily on funds from supporters to strive. Cameroonians are the worst when it comes to donating for causes, even those they pretend to champion. They will spend thousands on parties, drinks, good times but as soon as donations for causes are mentioned they come up with excuses, or the BIG MAN syndrome sets in (this is where people pledge in public without the intention to follow through). Cameroonians need to put their money where their mouth is.
This not inexperience, this is ineptitude!

[jipnb]

Cameroon is waiting for a leader to emerge. A leader who will fight for freedom and democracy. Somebody willing to put his or her life on the line to defend the country. Until such a leader emerges,the citizens can't follow the Arab examples of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia. This is because as a people, we are timid.

[Chanel J12]

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