- Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Robert P. Jackson
British High Commissioner's Residence, Yaounde
Your Excellency,
Fellow diplomats and colleagues,
Members of the press,
Representatives of the Government of the Republic of Cameroon,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First off, I would like to thank the British High Commission for conceiving the concept of this award and for hosting us this evening. I am pleased that the U.S. Embassy was able to partner with you on this project and provide some support.
Second, I would like to thank the Commonwealth Journalists Association, the judges, and everyone else who helped implement the project. To become involved in an effort like this suggests to me that you love this country and have a specific vision for its development. I join you in that vision and I share your optimism.
Despite occasional suggestions that there is something disloyal or unpatriotic about being vocal, critical, or contrary — we know differently. The mark of a citizen is civic engagement. It is his or her willingness to speak out and stand up; to care passionately and to have the courage to swim against the current when necessary. Doing so is nothing less than an expression of patriotism.
Third, I would like to congratulate all the journalists who competed for the award, especially the winners. For those who won, I applaud your fine work. For those who did not, I encourage you to carry on your noble work. Sometimes the greatest heroes in our society are those who quietly persevere, even when unrecognized, unrewarded, or un-thanked. Therefore, members of the press — in this room and throughout the country — I recognize and thank you.
Ladies and Gentlemen, friends, what we are doing here this evening goes far beyond the confines of a writing competition. We are chronicling our respect for freedom of speech and expression. We are also acknowledging the importance of diversity itself. Because there can be no diversity in society without the freedom to express it.
I am pleased to have with me this evening our Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Cynthia Akuetteh, so that she can witness some of the exciting things that are taking place here — as well as the initiatives of people like you. I believe that freedom of expression has come a long way in Cameroon and the country has made significant strides over the years.
Undoubtedly, there is much still to be done, but I believe the country is on track. Progress does not happen on its own, however, and it will take a continual and consistent effort to stay the course. For example, several weeks ago a radio station in Bamenda was censored and shut down. I consider such actions to be unhelpful and inconsistent with international standards, as well as incompatible with the government's own Vision 2035 plan of economic and social transformation. Fortunately, incidents like this one appear to be more and more the exception than the norm.
Permit me to share a few thoughts about the value of a free and professional media in a country's democratization. In functioning democracies, voters hold their leaders accountable. However, for voters to exercise effective oversight, they must have access to accurate information. The public relies upon you not only to convey the news but to identify it. You help shape opinions about what is newsworthy, about what events are significant.
Furthermore, it rests upon investigative journalists to discover the truth as well as to identify lapses in truth. This underscores the significance of the role you play and the importance of playing that role responsibly. In your positions of greater influence, you must demonstrate greater integrity. You must rise above the fracas of the street, above the banter of gossip, conspiracy theory, and sensationalism. You must be shrewd, thoughtful, well-reasoned, and impartial. Your devotion to truth should supersede any political allegiance or personal bias.
If public servants err or take a misstep, we face not only legal consequences but public scrutiny. We all know that even if our employer fails to identify a wrong, investigative journalists like you might. I am not just talking about theoretical concepts. I am talking about historical realities with practical relevance, such as Edward Murrow's 1960 investigation of the McCarthy anti-communist hearings; Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's reporting on the Watergate scandal; and Seymour Hersh's 2004 article on torture at the Abu Ghraib prison. However embarrassing and difficult these reports were at the time, they led to change and reform.
In closing, allow me to once more congratulate you for the work you do, day in and day out. I share your vision of the greatness of this country and its potential to excel. May you succeed in your important work; may you have the space to do so independently and may you have the wisdom to do so responsibly. If Cameroon is indeed a great "construction site," as characterized by President Biya, the structures to be built are not simply dams, bridges, and roads. They are institutions, mindsets, norms, and new realities. And you are among the key builders.
Thank you.
Ambassador Robert P. Jackson
On Wed, May 29, 2013 at 6:39 PM, Pa Fru Ndeh <PaFruNdeh@yahoo.com> wrote:
Ntem Chwere O'Bouh F'egue:No need to be Chwere"ing(pretending)!Our resident buffoon/PSYCOPATH is now in the fray with his PSYCOPATHIC outpourrings that we are all too familiar with.In times of peace like now we prepare for war.The PAAWCE OPEN AGENDA is to capture the PRESIDENCY for One & Only ONE KAMERUN!We are fully aware of the divisionists, exclusionists and separatists in our midst. We handle them with care so that they are patriotically beveled to stand upright!Blessed Be Cameroon
Pa Fru NdehFrom: Ofege Ntemfac <ntemfacnchwete@gmail.com>
To: CreatiViews@yahoogroups.com
Cc: "SDF-FORUM@yahoogroupes.fr" <SDF-FORUM@yahoogroupes.fr>; "cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com" <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>; Cameroon Network <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>; "cameroonpatriots@yahoogroups.com" <Cameroonpatriots@yahoogroups.com>; "ambasbay@googlegroups.com" <ambasbay@googlegroups.com>; "accdf@yahoogroups.com" <accdf@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:30 PM
Subject: Re: [C r e a t i v i e w s] Re: [SDF-FORUM] Re: [cameroon_politics] Re: PAAWCE //O'Fegue SCAPO -> Docility of Cameroon Opposition Parties [1 Attachment]
<*>[Attachment(s) from Ofege Ntemfac included below]
SUCCINCTLY PUT..by the parties at table.
Most Succinctly PUT, I must add.
However consider this.
We know our friends and we shall befriend our enemies, you state.
Save that the truth about the Southern-West Cameroons is INCORRUPTIBLE
and incontrovertible!
It will NEVER be corrupted by all who use WEST CAMEROON for a
self-seeking+selfish+narrow+pathetic+pitiful+pity-able+IN
DELIAL+annexationist+subsuming+COLONIAL+Corrupt Peope Demonstrating
Malevolence aks Camerounese Agenda.
We are at the WAR FRONT, INDEED.
Que la guerre..COMMENCE!!!!!!!!!!
MAN NO POUM!.
Hahahahaha..je frotte les mains....
On 5/29/13, Jean-Bosco Tagne <jtagne@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> I will join any other group and even create a bush front with arms in hands
> than to see our beloved country going from biya to john b ndeh for another
> 20 years of destructions and darkness. We are not in the bush yet because
> have been said biya is old and dying. It was a mistake and we SHOULD do that
> ASAP to get the evil man and the ndeh working with him to bring our beloved
> country in the dark out of that place before a complete collapse.
>
> It is not a secret any more as you rightly point out that Cameroon_politics
> and many other fora this evil son of embezzler john b ndeh was put in place
> for Celcom. We got him and that is why he is so angry. We will keep him that
> way till biya is gone because this guy have created a lot of problem in the
> diaspora and can boost putting it out after we smocked him as you can read
> from: "We shall befriend our enemies, and those we cannot befriend, we shall
> keep'em close to rally behind our PAAWCE OPEN AGENDA"
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ofege Ntemfac <ntemfacnchwete@gmail.com>
> To: cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com
> Cc: "SDF-FORUM@yahoogroupes.fr" <SDF-FORUM@yahoogroupes.fr>;
> "cameroonpatriots@yahoogroups.com" <Cameroonpatriots@yahoogroups.com>;
> "ambasbay@googlegroups.com" <ambasbay@googlegroups.com>;
> "accdf@yahoogroups.com" <accdf@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 11:31 AM
> Subject: [SDF-FORUM] Re: [cameroon_politics] Re: PAAWCE //O'Fegue SCAPO ->
> Docility of Cameroon Opposition Parties
>
>
> Kenneth John Begheni Ndeh,
> Allow me re-POST this to your PALS in the Celcom of la Republique du
> Cameroun.
> May this DECLARATION of War not come back to haunt you.
> Prophet Ntemfac Ofege.
>
> On 5/29/13, Pa Fru Ndeh <PaFruNdeh@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> The PAAWCE OPEN AGENDA is to capture the PRESIDENCY for One & Only ONE
>> KAMERUN!
>> It is that simple. There is nothing more, nothing less to the PAAWCE
>> OPEN
>> AGENDA.
>> Anything else, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the PAAWCE
>> OPEN
>> AGENDA.
>> We REJECT anything else!!!!!!!!!!
>>
>> In 1992, a PAAWCE won the Presidency, but did not ascend to the throne of
>> the Supreme Magistracy.
>> As of 2007 and beyond the PAAWCE OPEN AGENDA has been to capture the
>> PRESIDENCY of CAMEROON by any legal means necessary. Elections, NO
>> Elections, Democracy or NO Democracy, War or NO War ........ whatever
>> ....... it does NOT matter!!!!! Our goal has a laser beam focus to it.
>> None of them SCAPO/SC/SCARM and all manner of alphabetical melanges that
>> represent the restorationist movements shall distract us. We do not care
>> about partisan politics either, CPDM or NO CPDM, SDF or NO SDF, CDU or
>> NOT
>> and so on and so forth. We are at the WAR FRONT and moving forward. We
>> know who our friends are and we know who our enemies are. We shall
>> befriend
>> our enemies, and those we cannot befriend, we shall keep'em close to
>> rally
>> behind our PAAWCE OPEN AGENDA.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Blessed Be Cameroon
>> Pa Fru Ndeh
>>
>> From: Ofege Ntemfac <ntemfacnchwete@gmail.com>
>> To: "cameroonpatriots@yahoogroups.com" <Cameroonpatriots@yahoogroups.com>
>> Cc: "ambasbay@googlegroups.com" <ambasbay@googlegroups.com>;
>> "cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com" <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>;
>> "accdf@yahoogroups.com" <accdf@yahoogroups.com>
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 7:47 AM
>> Subject: [SDF-FORUM] Re: [camnetwork] Re: Mr Agbor Enow and the Docility
>> of
>> Cameroon Opposition Parties
>>
>>
>>
>> KENNETH JOHN BEGHENI NDEH:
>> Whereas I have received many stimulating and challenging and most
>> comforting
>> messages since this POST..I find it interesting that you have neither
>> officially nor officiously reacted to its SOUNDNESS.
>> Rather you prefer loud-sounding yet hollow rhetoric like tagging me an
>> 'irrédentiste' etc.
>> the sorryYou have been RANTING about PAAAAAAWWWWWCCCCCEEEEE since 1997
>> and
>> that from position of IGNORANCE. You hope for a MIRACLE whereas the Bible
>> educates us to WORK OUT OUR MIRACLES. Once more..help yourself. Educate
>> yourself from this post that the world might have some PEACE.Perhaps you
>> do
>> not know that IGNORANT folks are a danger to themselves FIRST and a
>> greater
>> danger to society. PAAWCE and the Imperative of an Informed Paradigm
>> Shift
>>
>> The self-proclaimed spokesman of an unknown quantity called PAAWCE - Mr
>> Kenneth Fru Ndeh - states that PAAWCE stands for Patriotic Aboriginal
>> Anglophone of West Cameroon Extraction.
>>
>> We all know that West Cameroon is the state that ensued from the
>> re-branding
>> of Southern Cameroons as per the 1961 Unification processes.
>> We also know that the state of West Cameroon joined the re-branded state
>> of
>> La Republique du Cameroun - rebranded as East Cameroun - to constitute
>> the
>> Cameroun that is: a composite of two states as per its founding.
>>
>> Mr Kenneth Fru Ndeh has made a deliberate choice to speak of West Cameroon
>> I
>> have made a deliberate choice to rather speak of Southern Cameroons.
>> Hopefully there will be a meeting of the mind somewhere.
>> We also know that the UN processes that led to the composition of the
>> Cameroun that is recognised the peoples of the then Southern Cameroons as
>> A
>> PEOPLE with all the natural and international and divine and legitimate
>> and
>> legal rights ascriptive to A PEOPLE - any PEOPLE.
>>
>> That recognition of Southern-West Cameroonians as A PEOPLE with inherent
>> rights was reiterated only recently - in the 2009 Ruling by non other
>> that
>> the African Commission on the Human and Peoples Rights or the ACHPR.
>> The ACHPR is a vital arm of the African Union - the AU - which arm
>> oversees
>> and enforcees human and peoples rights in Africa.
>> Mr Kenneth Fru Ndeh tells us that PAAWCE is invented to appeal for the
>> next
>> president of Cameroun to be a West Cameroonian. This call - legitimate -
>> is
>> founded on the premise that after two East Camerounian presidents, it is
>> but
>> logical and legitimate to give a West Cameroonian the chance. Fair
>> enough.
>> But here is a fantastic statement from the spokesman of PAAWCE. Speaking
>> about Southern Cameroonians, Mr Fru Ndeh claims that the vast majority of
>> persons from this region are Patriotic to the nation state of Cameroon.
>>
>> Now Mr Fru Ndeh may not be aware of the 1995 Signature Referendum wherein
>> Southern Cameroonians voted massively - using their National Identity
>> cards
>> - to end what Mola Njoh Litumbe calls a Njomba Marriet with La Republique
>> du
>> Cameroun or East Cameroun. But the fact that Mr Fru Ndeh is ignorant
>> regarding this fact - and many other facts - is not the objective of this
>> treatise. I will soon land.
>>
>> Mr Fru Ndeh's is a vision and the man would not know the Habbakukian
>> prescription on translating every vision into reality. Suffices to say
>> that
>> he has done his best. It behooves all men - and women - of goodwill to
>> see
>> if we could use this as a stepping block to something. This is where I am
>> going. Now, there is a critical flaw in Pa Fru Ndeh's current reasoning.
>> He
>> expects his PAAWCE candidate to land on the system by magical fiat! Or by
>> the typically Napoleonic decree! I argue that that is not happening. I
>> believe that nothing is given and that the SDF Saga has its
>> jurisprudence.
>> If at all taking power in Yaounde were still in the cards for Southern
>> Cameroonians that process will not be served by every once in a while
>> roaring PAAWCE on the Internet. The thing will be won inch by inch, step
>> by
>> step, blow by blow.
>> een in this light PAAWCE has not even started.
>>
>> I now land and I intend to shoot two birds with one stone. I am writing
>> as
>> the elected Chairman of the Commission of Ways and Means for the Southern
>> Cameroons Peoples Organisation. I am writing from a purely legal and very
>> legitimate position - all protocols considered. From my vantage point, I
>> may
>> have more information than I put in here to back up my arguments. I use
>> this
>> medium for want of another but this is the beginning. You see, as opposed
>> to
>> East Cameroun, Southern-West Cameroons is - and will always be a
>> self-governing PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY. Our system exudes
>> POWER-TO-THE-PEOPLE not power-to-the-decree. This means that leaders are
>> secreted not top-to-bottom but bottom-up ie from grassroots. And that
>> leaders, elected by the grassroots have a chance of making it to the
>> Prime
>> Minister's Office.
>> Permit me post for our consideration what SCAPO calls the First and the
>> Second Schedules.
>>
>>
>> The First Schedule is a presentation of all the Counties, Local
>> Government
>> Areas and Precints in the Southern-West Cameroons.
>> The Second Schedule is the Legislative Schedule or how to invent
>> municipal
>> -grassroots leaders to represent and speak for their people. The time is
>> now
>> to implement the First and Second Schedules. Could we now step up and do
>> what we have to do.
>> Why?
>> It is a matter of self-government, it is a matter of being the ELITE, it
>> is
>> a matter of survival. It is even a matter of Organised Development.
>> Within the means available, SCAPO is willing to set up a powerful home
>> secretariat to supervise the process.
>> Is this do-able?
>> Of course it is.
>> For one thing it will facilitate other initiatives like the Southern
>> Cameroons Reserve Fund invented by Dr Martin Tumasang. Other groups and
>> units are engaged in other processes to guarantee self-government.
>> The Southern-West Cameroon Diaspora can, most naturally, show
>> LEADERSHIP
>> in this process. If you cannot be downfield to effect your presence in
>> your
>> Precinct and Local Government Area why not look for some lethal
>> Southern-West Cameroonian to represent you? Then you fund and control the
>> grassroots and ensure than nothing happens therein without you. This, I
>> believe, is making ourselves useful. My comrade-in-arms, Mr Boh Herbert
>> calls our generation THE PEOPLE WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. So?I believe
>> that
>> the time is now for us to start the re-conquest of the Southern-West
>> Cameroons from the Counties to Local Government Areas to the Precincts.
>>
>> God bless you.
>>
>> God bless Southern- West Cameroon.
>>
>> Contacts
>>
>> southerncameroons.scapo@gmail.com for the Executive Vice National
>> Chairman
>> of SCAPO.
>>
>> ambasmediasc@gmail.com for the Ways and Means Commission.
>>
>> Or Contact me directly.
>>
>> Available Affidavits
>>
>> 1. The ACHPR Ruling on the Southern Cameroons.
>>
>> 2. Communnications 266 and 337
>>
>> 3. The Abuja Processes
>> 4. The Bamenda High Court Process
>> On Wed, May 29, 2013 at 1:42 AM, Mishe Fon <mishefon@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Mishe Akoson
>>>I am not a Lawyer but I think what I wrote is not wrong. Infact, it is so
>>> true that if there were to be a HOT Vacancy today (as we speak) with the
>>> Chief Pa Nfon Mukete still in the capacity as "Acting or Interim" Senate
>>> President...Chief the Honorable Pa Nfon Victor will Chop Biya's Chair
>>> IMMEDIATELY with no qualms and no questions asked. If he were even a
>>> little younger (say like 94 years only), he will over night convene a
>>> meeting of the CPDM Polit-Bureau, a few talking heads of the Central
>>> Committee, call a few Army Generals...inside a locked room and tell
>>> them:
>>> "Wuna look me well well 4 eye. God has just "Buttered" our bread. This
>>> is
>>> our time. Do you feel me? The Constitution has just been changed as at
>>> this moment...and I am your NEW PRESIDENT.
>>>All those Against say NAY (looking around the closed room for any
>>> renegades)...Silence totale dans la salle. All those FOR say
>>> AIE...Thunderous applause with cries of "Vive notre nouveau President
>>> Mishe Nfon Munkwete Victor, Long Live Fiango, Kumba, Long Live SW
>>> Province, Bye Bye Baminda Peepoo...Wuna don see wetin? Wuna wayo be don
>>> toomuch...Kamalloon na we Kontri. In less than two weeks, Pa Mishe Nfon
>>> will be "Knacking" French like Leopold Sedar Senghor and ALL
>>> Cameroonians
>>> will LINE up behind him to show their support and so-called solidarity.
>>>Raymond, in Cameroon we call that "La Politique Du Ventre Affame". Go
>>> Figure.
>>>Have you seen how the National Assembly DEPUTES (where you say you want
>>> to
>>> become a Parliamentarian under Pa PAP's Party) have been reduced to "Boy
>>> Boy Status"? They were all looking like "Suffer Peepoo" during the 20th
>>> May, Defile.
>>>
>>>
>>>From: Akoson Raymond <akosonako@yahoo.com>
>>>To: "ambasbay@googlegroups.com" <ambasbay@googlegroups.com>;
>>> "camnetwork@yahoogroups.com" <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>;
>>> "cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com" <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>
>>>Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 6:28 AM
>>>Subject: Re: Mr Agbor Enow and the Docility of Cameroon Opposition
>>> Parties
>>>Mishe Fon,As per the curennt constitution, should anything happen to
>>> cause
>>> vacancy at the presidency, Nfon Victor E. Mukete cannot become the
>>> interim
>>> president. He is only the president of a provisionary bureau or better
>>> still, he's only interim president of the Senate. The constitution
>>> states
>>> the president of the senate, NOT interim senate president. That said,
>>> speaker of the National Assembly steps in.
>>>
>>>
>>>Raymond
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>"…Time has come, I believe, for our leaders to start training the youths
>>> to
>>> take over the baton. Effective, efficient and rigorous training does not
>>> constitute issuing subservient roles; rather, it involves sitting side
>>> by
>>> side on the round table for policy and decision making and thorough
>>> brainstorming on the normative values that undergird progressive issues.
>>> Ayah Paul of PAP takes great pleasure in working with the youths. I am
>>> proud to work with him..." Akoson A. Raymond.
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>From: Mishe Fon <mishefon@yahoo.com>
>>>To: "cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com"
>>> <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>; "camnetwork@yahoogroups.com"
>>> <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>; "ambasbay@googlegroups.com"
>>> <ambasbay@googlegroups.com>
>>>Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 11:48 AM
>>>Subject: Re: Mr Agbor Enow and the Docility of Cameroon Opposition
>>> Parties
>>>
>>>Massa Agbor Enow
>>>In essence, you are not serious about your brilliant article on the
>>> "Docility of Cameroon Opposition". I was engaging you to get more
>>> substance and have you put more "beef" on the skeleton I thought I
>>> discerned in your missive. Now you are asking me to support "my
>>> friend" Pa Fru Ndeh's PAAWCE foolishness? How is wishing that an
>>> "Anglophone" becomes a President...a Political ideology or platform? OK
>>> so
>>> something terrible happens tomorrow to the incumbent and 96 year old
>>> Bameta-Bafaw-Kumba (PAAWCE) Pa Chief Nfon Mukete is catapulted President
>>> of Cameroon as per the present Constitution...will you Agbor Enow or
>>> other
>>> Cameroonians be better off? Please, Give me a freaking break. I was
>>> sincerely holding you in very high esteem...just from reading some of
>>> your
>>> input here in Matango House. I simply hope I was not mistaken. I know we
>>> have a lot of "Very Crazy Ideologues" in cyberspace who will say and
>>> write
>>> any damn "Banza Washiwara" that pops in their
>> cerebellum, just to sound relevant. Enjoy the rest of your day.
>>>Mishe Fon
>>>
>>>
>>>From: Agbor Enow Augustine <Enow007@yahoo.com>
>>>To: cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com
>>>Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 12:13 AM
>>>Subject: Re: [cameroon_politics] Re: [camnetwork] The Docility of
>>> Cameroon
>>> opposition parties
>>>
>>>
>>>Dear Mr. Mishe Fon,
>>>
>>>Why form CAAP? Your good friend is already a leader of PAACE,just give
>>> him
>>> all the support he needs.Pa Fru Ndeh will not be happy to hear that his
>>> friend does not belief in him.
>>>
>>>Augustine Agbor
>>>
>>>The outcome of my life is not more than three lines:
>>>I was a raw material
>>>I became mature and cooked
>>>And I was burned into nothingness.
>>>Rumi
>>>
>>>--- On Mon, 5/27/13, Mishe Fon <mishefon@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>From: Mishe Fon <mishefon@yahoo.com>
>>>>Subject: [cameroon_politics] Re: [camnetwork] The Docility of Cameroon
>>>> opposition parties
>>>>To: "camnetwork@yahoogroups.com" <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>,
>>>> "ambasbay@googlegroups.com" <ambasbay@googlegroups.com>
>>>>Cc: "cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com"
>>>> <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>
>>>>Date: Monday, May 27, 2013, 11:57 PM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Massa Agbor Enow
>>>>
>>>>You write a very good "Story Line". I will not even dispute a
>>>> single word
>>>> of some of the arguably disputable analysis you've injected in your
>>>> brilliant narrative.
>>>>OK! So the SDF and by extrapolation, the entire Cameroon Opposition has
>>>> collectively failed...and you have the solutions. Square and fine by
>>>> me.
>>>> I agree with you INTOTO. For arguments sake, let us screw the CPDM and
>>>> their new wife, SDF (the two compradors and cankerworm that have
>>>> destroyed Cameroon DEMO-CRAZY).
>>>>Forget the "Fon" that is attached to my name and consider me "blindly
>>>> for
>>>> now" as an avid supporter of anything righteous i.e. someone you can
>>>> trust (even with your wife) no "Herd Mentality", No Raffia bag of
>>>> tricks,
>>>> No tribalism, No Mago Mago business, No negative epitaphs usually
>>>> associated with retrograde, careerist opportunistic Political Animals;
>>>> No
>>>> Bamendrousness, No Bamilekeness, No NW vs SW, No Banyangui vs Bakweri,
>>>> No
>>>> Bafaw vs Bameta, No Francophone vs Anglophone (Yet)...non of those
>>>> Negatives that stifle TRUE DemoCrazy...
>>>>
>>>>OK. Now; I want you to form a brand new Political Party (let us name
>>>> it: Cameroon Advanced Action Party "CAAP") with a Manifesto that
>>>> depicts
>>>> what you sincerely believe in and which (except I read you wrong...I am
>>>> still in my first cup of Hennessey) you so intelligently articulated in
>>>> this beautiful prose here below. When that your/our Party CAAP is
>>>> eventually formed (to replace the failed SDF & CPDM) you can and should
>>>> consider me one of the first and very loyal MILITANTs who will fight
>>>> tooth and nail to uphold the ideology and philosophy you so strongly
>>>> believe in. That way, you and I (so-called Internet Politicians) will
>>>> not
>>>> be seen as mainly criticizing the status quo, but actually proposing
>>>> something concrete in solving the myriad of problems the CPDM and their
>>>> third wife SDF(after incestuously sleeping with UNDP, PAL, UPC(Koddock,
>>>> Hogbe Nlend, Dakole, Tchiroma) have bequeath to the younger generation
>>>> of
>>>> Cameroonians and the complete
>> quagmire our country finds itself in right now.
>>>>As they say; The ball is in your court...Monsieur le President AGBOR
>>>> ENOW...Over to you.
>>>>Your CAAP Organizing and Publicity Secretary...to be.
>>>>Mishe Fon
>>>>NB: President Agbor and myself need a professional to translate CAAP
>>>> into
>>>> French. Don't give us that google crap of "Avancement d,Action du Parti
>>>> Camerounais". Nonsense.
>>>>From: Agbor Enow Augustine <Enow007@yahoo.com>
>>>>To: camnetwork@yahoogroups.com
>>>>Cc: cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com
>>>>Sent: Monday, May 27, 2013 4:45 PM
>>>>Subject: [camnetwork] The Docility of Cameroon opposition parties
>>>>
>>>>The Docility of Cameroon opposition parties:
>>>>The anocracy in Cameroon was not introduced by the autocratic junta of
>>>> the
>>>> CPDM led regime to further democracy. In fact, multipartism was
>>>> promoted
>>>> by Biya as a means to hang on to power, by averting the threats from
>>>> violent strikes and mass actions that had engulfed the country during
>>>> this era. The ruling Cameroon peoples Democratic Movement has assumed a
>>>> sense of superiority over national polity, which it has no title; and
>>>> embarked on a quest to turn all Cameroonians into a docile, dependent,
>>>> and obedient mob. I will not waste my time to talk about the CPDM as a
>>>> party, because it is nothing more than a corrupt crowd of old cowards
>>>> locked in a tiny hut playing drums, while many self-conceit, obstinate,
>>>> and docile laypeople jump helplessly and hopelessly round and round to
>>>> catch a glimpse. Some Cameroonians even call it Cameroon Productive
>>>> Destructive Movement (CPDM); and I concur with them, because the best
>>>> resource the country has (its people) are
>> produced and destroyed by the regime. While my intention is to reflect
>> on
>> the docility of opposition political parties in Cameroon, it will be
>> dishonest not to acknowledge the oppression of opposition parties by the
>> authoritarian regime led by the junta Biya Paul.
>>>>The Social Democratic Front (SDF) is a macrocosm of the more than 200
>>>> political parties that exist in Cameroon, most of which are satellite
>>>> parties of the CPDM. Opposition parties are supposed to be watchdogs
>>>> for
>>>> scrutinizing and criticizing wayward government decisions, as well as
>>>> providing alternate sense of direction. But in Cameroon, we have an
>>>> ethnically fragmented political opposition desperate to be bought up by
>>>> the Biya regime. Opposition parties like the SDF are experiencing rapid
>>>> erosion of public confidence, increasingly weak internal organization,
>>>> and the eroding of grassroots membership.
>>>>The demise of political opposition parties is due to external and
>>>> internal
>>>> factors that characterized the political environment in Cameroon. The
>>>> first external factor that affect political opposition parties, hence
>>>> forth SDF, is the authoritarian rule of regime junta Paul Biya and his
>>>> coterie. In such authoritarian settings, elections are just placards to
>>>> legitimize the autocratic power of the junta. Elections are just shams
>>>> and does not chose the government, for the junta does; and legislative
>>>> bodies play little or no role. Political opposition parties are
>>>> supposed
>>>> to force the junta to either pay a higher cost for electoral fraud or
>>>> public repression, but not contest to win elections. In fact, stealing
>>>> elections in Cameroon has become too cheap for regime junta Paul Biya.
>>>> The frequently asked question is why would anyone oppose an
>>>> authoritarian
>>>> junta like Paul Biya through elections if they are going to lose
>>>> anyway?
>>>>I would argue that the SDF contested and won the presidential election
>>>> of
>>>> 1992 that was stolen, but the SDF that won the presidential elections
>>>> of
>>>> 1992 is no more. The SDF is now a party without a defined program, and
>>>> fully dependent on the personality of its chairman of 23 years Ni John
>>>> Fru Ndi. The official opposition party is less of a threat to the junta
>>>> Biya, because it now depends on the junta's largesse for survival. You
>>>> cannot benefit from the largesse extorted from the people by a regime
>>>> junta, and still play the role of a relevant opposition. Ni John Fru
>>>> Ndi
>>>> and Mbah Ndam have their tails between their legs, and should both
>>>> resign
>>>> for the good of the party. Let me repeat this again, opposition
>>>> political
>>>> leaders such as Ni John Fru Ndi and Mbah Ndam have their hands in the
>>>> pockets of the person whose hands are in the till; they cannot look him
>>>> in the face and called him the thief that he actually is.
>>>>Other external factors affecting the performance of the SDF is the
>>>> fragmentation of the opposition in Cameroon. The fragmentation of
>>>> opposition political parties is the exact divide-and-rule tactics that
>>>> play into the hands of regime junta Biya. Because most supporters of
>>>> political parties in Cameroon give their loyalty to party leaders and
>>>> not
>>>> party ideology, it is difficult to coordinate the opposition under
>>>> specific ideologies. Most of the time, parties are in the hands of
>>>> elites
>>>> who are the nemesis of democracy in Cameroon. Weak financial position,
>>>> ethnic and regional loyalties; and just like the CPDM, these political
>>>> opposition parties are democratic institutions without democrats.
>>>>The internal failures of the SDF are where one should pay much focus.
>>>> The
>>>> CPDM led dictatorship in Cameroon has failed, but the SDF has also
>>>> failed
>>>> to provide clear, articulate, and coherent alternative policy options.
>>>> Can anyone tell me what the position of the SDF is on issues such as
>>>> the
>>>> strike at the University of Buea, the Herakles Farms debacle, the mess
>>>> at
>>>> Fecafoot, youth unemployment, rising poverty, and the huge balance of
>>>> trade deficits, just to mention a few. The SDF has not only failed to
>>>> provide alternative policy directions, but also cannot tell the people
>>>> of
>>>> Cameroon how it can do things different from the CPDM. In fact, there
>>>> is
>>>> complete mistrust between all political parties and the public. This is
>>>> not good for the SDF, as it needs the people's support to dislodge
>>>> power
>>>> from the regime.
>>>>The nexus between all the failures of the SDF is its leadership. Like
>>>> the
>>>> CPDM, it is the blind leading the stupid, or the stupid leading the
>>>> blind. Given that the man in the driver sit of the Cameroonian economy
>>>> is
>>>> old, worn-out, and blind, we do not need another old and blind person
>>>> to
>>>> replace him. That is why; Ni John Fru Ndi can never be the right choice
>>>> to compete against Biya. The puppet Biya is there for 31 years, and he
>>>> is
>>>> SDF leader for 23 of those 31 years.
>>>>While the party's constitution, ideology, symbols, membership, and
>>>> organization are products the shape its competitiveness, party
>>>> leadership
>>>> is the single most important product. It is the most visible indication
>>>> for what the party stands for, and what it is likely to deliver if
>>>> voted
>>>> to power. This is what Biya and Fru Ndi stand for-outdated leadership
>>>> around retirees. But almost 70% of Cameroon's population is youthful;
>>>> an
>>>> opportunity for leaders who look and feel like them. They need leaders
>>>> who understand their demands, and not civil dictatorships. We need
>>>> leaders who can isolate themselves from the corrupted crowd.
>>>>Another leadership failure within the SDF is that because junta Biya
>>>> controls patronage and precious state resources, opposition figures
>>>> like
>>>> Ni John Fru Ndi and Mbah Ndam have jumped ship, and are now political
>>>> entrepreneurs servicing the hegemonic Cameroon Peoples Destructive
>>>> Constructive Movement (CPDM). The leadership of the SDF has no
>>>> ambitions,
>>>> other than waiting for elections to extort part of the state largesse
>>>> under junta Biya's control.
>>>>Lastly, the SDF has no strategy to win power from the dictator Biya.
>>>> Strategically, you cannot defeat an autocracy by vying for the same
>>>> vote
>>>> as the autocrat. In the political spectrum the CPDM canvass for votes
>>>> from those in the center. Opposition strategies should be towards
>>>> voters
>>>> at the extremes; so it is important for opposition political parties to
>>>> appeal to dissident groups, social movements, and protest
>>>> demonstrations.
>>>> It is also important for opposition political parties to build
>>>> successful
>>>> coalitions based on a common ideology, respect and trust. This
>>>> coalition
>>>> should be sealed behind close doors before coming out to the public to
>>>> make statements. Recently, we all heard the news of opposition parties
>>>> coming together; the public do not need this kind of information.
>>>> Finish
>>>> your negotiation behind close doors before making any announcements. I
>>>> see these statements as a ploy by opposition political party to say to
>>>> junta Biya, "you better bring
>> in more money, because we are to form a strong coalition against you."
>>>>The hegemony of the CPDM in Cameroon polity is as a result of electoral
>>>> fraud, biased electoral rules, neo-colonial protection from France,
>>>> voter
>>>> repression and suppression, and the uneven access to state resources.
>>>> But
>>>> the docility of the Cameroon opposition led by the SDF to move away
>>>> from
>>>> their radical anti-status quo position to the status quo position. It
>>>> will help to know that political parties that lack internal democracy
>>>> are
>>>> characterized by isolated and unchanging leadership; marginalized party
>>>> members, and poor internal communication. This is where the SDF and
>>>> CPDM
>>>> find themselves. For opposition political parties to effectively
>>>> challenge the junta Paul Biya's dictatorship, we all have to tell the
>>>> old
>>>> foxes, such as Ni John Fru Ndi to get lost.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Augustine Agbor Enow
>>>>
>>>>The outcome of my life is not more than three lines:
>>>>I was a raw material
>>>>I became mature and cooked
>>>>And I was burned into nothingness.
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