Topics from 192 countries

Visit El Salvador!

2009-04-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

El Salvador it's becoming a huge touristic destination. With only 21000 square kilometers, and in order to establish a comparison Texas has 421231 square kilometers (261797 square miles) that means that the whole country fits more than 20 times in Texas. You will be able to find beaches, mountain, and all the stuff related to those destinations surf, rafting, rapel, cross country, motocross, enduro, etc.

In the streets of El Salvador it's very common to find foreigners backpacking from all over the world, germans, australians, british, canadians, french, etc, etc, etc they like to visit the places related to the colony as well as the places where took place the civil war that ended 17 years ago. Chalatenango, Cabañas, Morazan, Cuscatlan and La Libertad are the most common places where we can find lots of information regarding touristic destinations.

There is a common saying after visiting this wonderful place: You will be coming back, because you will fall in love with the humble salvadoran smile and the human warmth that its inhabitants transmit which is a trademark.

Topics from 192 countries: Indigenous ethnic groups

2009-04-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Topics from 192 countries: Indigenous ethnic groups

Indigenous ethnic groups

2009-04-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Due to its position as point of crossing and center of transport from their beginnings, the people and the culture of Panama reflect their international origins. The people and their culture have roots everywhere in the world, resulting in a tolerance atmosphere in which people get along with others well.

Its population is a crucible of races that includes a 62% of half-caste, 14% of African, 10% of Spaniards, 5% mulattos and 5% Indians. The Jewish, Chinese, Arab and Hindustani communities play an important role in the commercial sector. The 7 indigenous ethnic groups who live in Panama are scattered by all the territory, in regions very located.

The Emberá live in the borders of the Chagres river, and the Wounaan inhabits the area of Darien, the impenetrable jungle that separates Panama of Colombia. In spite of the distance, both ethnic groups share customs and clothes, taparrabos or " paruma " for them, and colorists skirts and naked torso for them, in addition to bracelets and necklaces of silver currencies. However, their languages are totally different.T

The Kunas are probably the indigenous group that more jealously it has maintained his culture, and live in the archipelago of San Blas. The women show to the mourning taking a red and yellow handkerchief in the head, and a longitudinal black line crosses their noses; the red is extracted of a called fruit jagua. Their dances are danced to the compass of flutes of bamboo and maracas done of pumpkins and seeds.

The Ngöbe-Bugle are the majority ethnic group in Panama and inhabits the provinces of Veraguas, Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí. Usually they work in the coffee plantations, sugar bowls and bananeras, since these provinces concentrate most of the agricultural production of the country. Their conditions of life are quite bad, and live such in large cabins within coffee plantations, that there are been crossing. They make " the very " colorists Chácaras, purses, and "chaquiras", geometric necklaces polychromes facts with obtained accounts of shells and bones.

The Teribe (Nazo) live near the borders of the river of the same name, are excellent constructors of canoes, hammocks, drums, and wood statures, and their dances very are varied, like gallote, and the dance of the tiger (there are no tigers here, but it sees that they know them). The Bokotá lives in Bocas del Toro and their dyed vegetal fiber hats are very famous. Finally, the Bri-bri live in the border with Costa Rica, in the Yorkin river. Their customs are similar to those of the Bokotá.

http://www.ahpanama.com

Tuberculosis: Right Action Is The Panacea

2009-03-31T03:13:00.001-07:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu

''Are your parents aware that you are sick?”
Ngwa, a Cameroonian, provocatively asked his classmate, John, who had just stopped coughing and was catching his breath.

“I don’t blame you. I didn’t buy it?” fumed John in reply. Even though John, looking frail, had been coughing with difficulty, for over two weeks he did not deem it necessary to consult a medical doctor to ascertain the cause of his troubling cough.

Why? He probably thought he had not had enough pains to feel threatened by his ailment. He was ignorant that he had TB, whose victims are stigmatised in many regions

But he would later be told in hospital that he had Active TB, and advised to start and take his treatment seriously.

TB is an infection caused by a bacterium, called mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is a dangerious, but curable disease, which has killed millions of people worldwide. Millions of people are still living with this infirmity despite increased efforts by health professionals to eliminate it from the surface of the earth

Health experts are agreed that, TB spreads through the air and usually affects one’s lungs. But other body parts such as bones, kidneys, spine and brain can also be infected

Indeed, there are two types of TB :( 1) TB Infection or Latent TB, meaning the bacterium is present but is not making the carrier sick; that also means the carrier can not spread the disease. (2) Active TB: the bacterium is present and is making the carrier sick; that suggests the carrier may be able to spread the disease.

Health is wealth. But unfortunately, many Africans -especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, for several reasons among which is poverty (weak financial power), don’t take their health seriously. They don’t respect their bodies and find no reason to give them special attention.

When you advise them to do check-ups or go for treatment at the early stage of an infection, this may be what you get in reply: “Don’t worry .I am feeling better. I don’t have money. I will be OK soon”

It is true that the body can get rid of some ailments without you resorting to medical treatment, but when an ailment is punishing you or taking long to disappear, there is that urgent need to seek medical advice and even moral support.

Some Africans forget that when one person in a family or community is sick other relations are affected and or infected in case of contagious disease.

The stress resulting from the sickness of a loved one could be financial, emotional, psychological or even physical-all obstacles to happiness

Suzy Prudden, one great mind, noted, “Your body is your vehicle for life. As long as you are here, live in it.
Love, honour, respect and cherish it, treat it well, and it will serve you in kind''

There are many killer- diseases such as AIDS, cancer, malaria, diabetes and tuberculosis (TB)
While some as AIDS are incurable such, others such as TB are curable. How nice to know that a killer disease is curable!

This writer’s particular concern here is on TB. Every March 24 is celebrated as World TB Day. That was the case last 24 March .This day is intended to celebrate the lives and stories of people affected by TB and those involved in the global war against this killer disease.
Cameroon, a Central African country with rising cases of TB, was also actively involved in this year’s celebration. In 2007, for example, it was estimated that Cameroon had 35,556 new TB cases and Cameroonians who were living with TB totalled 36.088.

World-wide in 2007 it was estimated that about 15 million people were living with TB despite sustained efforts to contain it.

When John, mentioned earlier, was coughing he did not suspect it could be a symptom of TB. Of course, he did not know that people with active tuberculosis often feel tired, and have a long lasting cough. Other TB symptoms may include weight loss, a fever or difficult breathing, chest pain, bloody sputum and night sweats

“Thank God that I was diagnosed with TB only. When I started coughing my classmates were claiming that I was an AIDS patient. That frightened me much and I was afraid to go to the hospital for testing .But I gathered courage and went for it. I was tested for both TB and HIV and I have only TB.I am already on drugs,” John who did not know how he got infected, but accepted that he was a heavy alcohol consumer, told me. “I have made my friends to understand that I am HIV negative. I am a free man.”

The people with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis far exceed those who have already developed active TB.

Health professionals often prescribe particular antibiotics for people diagnosed with the TB bacteria to take for some time, so to kill the infection, so it must not later develop into active TB.

And these bacteria –carriers are warned to strictly respect their drug prescription and to report any side effects as soon as need be.

For those who have developed active TB, they are prescribed a combination of antibiotics to take simultaneously so that the TB does not become resistant to treatment. TB patients require regular checkups to ensure they stay free of the tuberculosis disease, even after completing the full course of treatment that is usually six moths.

Dr. Matilda Ako Arrey, who is regional coordinator of Cameroon TB Control Programme for the Southwest Region with a population of over 1.3 million people ,on Radio Buea Health Updates slot, said, “TB cases are increasing in the region( Cameroon). Due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, TB cases are increasing.”

The Southwest region of Cameroon has 16 TB treatment centres. In 2008, Wane Victor, a health worker assisting Dr Ako Arrey revealed that 1112 (pulmonary) TB cases were diagnosed, adding that 41 started treatment and later stopped.

The other nine regions of Cameroon have their own TB statistics

“Defaulting patients are a problem to us”, cried Dr. Ako Arrey, insisting that sensitisation on TB must continue. “We are not satisfied with the level of sensitisation here.”

She noted that those who are mostly at risk of contracting the TB infection are smokers, abusive alcohol drinkers, those poorly fed, and those living in poorly ventilated houses. She called for healthy living habits.

TB and HIV /AIDS seem to be in love. That is why when one has TB he is tested for HIV and vice versa so that proper treatment can begin right away.

HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system and so someone with HIV is likely to have TB
“A weakened immune system allows TB to reproduce unchecked within the body, causing illness,” according to one health writer, Mark Cichocki R.N of About.com.

“In HIV infected people, TB infection of the lungs or anywhere else in the body is considered an AIDS-defining condition. In other words, a person with both HIV and active TB has AIDS.”

There is no doubt that TB is a dangerous but curable disease; and that Cameroon ,like other countries, is making efforts ,supported by international organisations, to combat it.But such efforts need to be intensified at all levels.

But the panacea to TB, many now argue, is taking the right action at the right time. That would mean massive and continued sensitisation and education of citizens on all what the disease is about, subsidized treatment of patients, monitoring of patients on drugs, making TB drugs readily available, discouraging abusive smoking and alcohol consumption that are risk factors for TB; a call for improved diet and other healthy living habits such as enough sleep, regular exercise, strict respect of drug prescription.
But above all, action must be taken by all citizens within their means to pay greater attention to their health by going for regular medical check-ups. Health is wealth, they say.

Sarkozy Invites Biya to France to Defrost Bilateral Relations

2009-03-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu
The apparent icy relationship between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Paul Biya may be getting warm.President Sarkozy, widely believed by political observers not to be too friendly towards President Biya who has ruled Cameroon for over 26 years, has, at long last, extended an official invitation to the Cameroonian president to visit France this summer ,for a yet -to -be disclosed agenda.

But pundits think that Sarkosy now wants to voice out on democratic reforms inCameroon,which have been subject of public criticism.Sarkozy, who hates dictatorship, is said to be unhappy with Biya’s luke warm attitude towards carrying out genuine political and democratic reforms.

The Cameroonian president early last year influenced the amendment of the country’s constitution which scrapped off presidential term limit, by using his ruling CPDM party’s crushing majority in Parliament against popular protests.And last December he appointed several CPDM members into ELECAM, the body that’s supposed to organize all elections in Cameroon, whereas the law calls for the appointment of neutral personalities.

That act of Biya again drew sharp criticisms from within and out of the Cameroon especially Western Democracies.

Cameroon, a former French and British colony, is quite rich in natural resources. For example, Cameroon’s Bakassi peninsula, which projects in to the Gulf of Guinea is believed to contain up to 10% of the world’s oil and gas reserves.

France has huge investments and interests in this Central African Country and has maintained close relations with it for decadesBut relations between both presidents are reportedly icy.

Should Biya honor Sarkozy’s invitation, then that would revive and deepen French-Cameroonian ties, as well as between both leadersBiya first paid an official visit to France after Sarkozy was elected President in May 2007, but against high expectations Cameroon was dropped from a list of African countries President Sarkozy plans to visit not long from now.Alain Joyandet, French Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophonie was last Tuesday in Cameroon and was warmly received in audience at Unity Palace (Cameroon Presidency) by the Cameroonian President, during which he extended Sarkozy’s invitation to Biya.

But it was not clear whether Biya, who had since be expecting Sarkozy to also visit Cameroon, readily accepted the offer.

After the audience with Biya which lasted about an hour, the French Cooperation Minster told journalists that, their discussion centered on Franco -Cameroonian ties, which he described as good.Joyandet who was in Cameroon for two-day visit, also announced the visit of Francois Fillon, French Prime Minister to Cameroon in the near future

First published at www.mwcnews.net

The Art Of BEING Kuna

2009-03-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Kuna Indians are indigenous to Panama and may well be the remaining vestige of the Carib strain that once inhabited the north coasts of South America and parts of the Caribbean.

The major portion of the Kuna reside in 52 island and 10 mainland communities along the Caribbean coast of Panama. The comarca, or district, of San Blas, often called Kuna Yala ... literally means Kuna Land. The Kuna are one of Panama's three major indigenous groups.

The Kuna are a matriarchal society in which the line of inheritance passes through the women. After marriage, the young man must live in his mother-in-law's house and work for several years under apprenticeship to his father-in-law. Kuna myths suggest that, symbolically, Kuna women hold high status. Daughters, pampered with clothes and jewelry, are preferred to sons because they eventually bring additional manpower into the family.

Wearing 'molas' has come to symbolize Kuna ethnic pride tied to a "traditional" way of life. Molas are "THE Cuna ethnic boundary marker par excellence in that for both Cuna (Kuna) and non-Cuna it is a constantly visual, striking sign of Cunaite". After the 1925 Revolution of the Kuna Yala, against the colonial police and Panama ... which attemped to force the women to change from 'mola' (and wearing their asuolos - nose rings) to western dress ... the majority of Kuna women living in the communiteis where the colonial police had been stationed proudly and defiantly dressed in 'mola' and their 'asuelos'. Most of the women living on Nargana, the island most heavily influenced by missionaries, continued to wear western clothing. Since the revolt, wearing 'mola' has been seen by conservative and moderate Kuna (both male and female) as an important symbol of the Kuna people's right to self-determination.

Understanding who wears molas, why they are worn, and within which social contexts illuminates the ways women's dress defines Kuna ethnic identity and is used symbolically as a means for resistence. For some women, wearing molas was symbolic of their social and political autonomy as indigenous people. For other women, wearing mola was tied to a way of life. In the majority of San Blas communities, however, women are free to choose what they wear.

http://www.angelfire.com/tx/CZAngelsSpace/CunaIndians.html

Modern art in Trafalgar Square

2009-03-06T03:10:00.001-08:00

Readers who have been to London will know that like most cities of its age, it has plenty of statues, a large proportion of them dating back to the 19th and early 20th century, although in recent years there has been another spate of monument building, mostly connected with the Second World War - which one might have thought was safely in the past.

And even readers who have not been to London will probably know about the tallest such statue, that of Nelson in Trafalgar Square. But Trafalgar Square also has lions and four plinths. Three of the four plinths are occupied, I think with equestrian statues. (Despite being a regular visitor I am not too sure on that point). The fourth plinth, why I do not know, does not have a permanent occupant. But for the last few years it has had temporary occupants - more details at http://www.london.gov.uk/fourthplinth/. I have included here a shot of the current occupant.

Now during the coming summer it has been decided to have a peice of performance art. That is to say for 100 consecutive days and nights, the plinth will be occupied by a succession of people, one after the other, for an hour at a time. Apart from it being one person at a time, I think that the main rule is that you can do what you like but you have to be able to carry any equipment you might want to use. I have no idea how many people will apply, but I expect that it will be a lot more than the 2,500 or so places available. I am busily thinking of a suitable stunt for myself.

And I do think that stunt is the right word. A bit of fun, but I would not dignify this sort of thing with the name of art, despite the chap who dreamed it up calling himself a sculptor. All those old masters in the National Gallery adjacent must be turning in their graves.

Pope’s Cameroon Visit:Another Holy Opportunity for Biya

2009-03-04T03:09:00.000-08:00

By Chritopher Ambe Shu
Preparations are in high gear as Cameroon, Africa in miniature, looks forward to receiving Pope Benedict XVI on March 17.That will be Pope Benedict’s first pastoral visit to Africa since assuming the papacy in April 2005.
Some African countries, which were apparently hoping to host the incumbent Head of State of Vatican City, such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to media reports, think Cameroon should not have been chosen as the first African host of this Vicar of Christ on earth.
Pope Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had visited Cameroon twice -in 1985, and in September 1995, whereas several countries had not had such “regular holy visits”
The German-born Benedict is scheduled to have audience with President Paul Biya at Unity Pace, during which, it is widely hoped, there will be frank exchanges between the Pope and the President on matters of good governance, human rights, moral and democratic values.
President Biya, himself a staunch catholic would likely want to confide in the pontiff and seek his blessings in his leadership of Cameroon, pundits say.
The Papal visit to Cameroon is coming at a time when President Biya’s image is badly battered and soiled for socio-economic and political reasons, begging for cleansing.
Many political observers consider Biya’s leadership as “undemocratic and anti-people” even though the president has always claimed he is bent on modernizing and democratizing Cameroon.
Biya, who has ruled Cameroon for some 26 years, for example, still got his crushing majority in Parliament last year to amend the country’s constitution, removing term limits, against popular protest at home and abroad. The move was interpreted as Biya’s intention to become life president. His current and second seven- year mandate is expected to end in 2011.
Again, late last year Biya appointed several CPDM diehards as members of ELECAM (Cameroon’s so-called independent electoral body) and has since been widely criticized for not respecting the law which calls for the appointment of independent personalities. But the president does not seem to bother about the criticisms.
In protest, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), Cameroon’s leading opposition party has called for the boycott of any election organized by ELECAM, a call which if respected may plunge the country into violent confrontations.
Mgr Victor Tonye Bakot, Catholic Archbishop of Yaoundé (capital of Cameroon), who is also Chairman of the Organizing Committee for Pope‘s visit to Cameroon recently disclosed to the press that, Cameroon government and the church would share the financial cost of hosting the pope and his large delegation ,which could run in to hundreds of millions of FCFA.
It is worth noting that, the Pope was jointly invited to Cameroon by President Biya and the National Episcopal Conference

But the most certain thing that Cameroon would reap from the visit is the Pope’s Blessings to the leadership of Cameroon and its citizens
In Cameroon, the pope will also meet with bishops, Muslim authorities, and on March 19 celebrate an open-air mass on the occasion of the publication of the Instrumentum Laboris of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops at Amadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé.
The Pope leaves Cameroon on March 20 for Angola’s capital, Luanda.
Pope Benedict’s predecessor Pope John Paul II had visited Cameroon twice -in 1985, and in September 1995 at the celebration phase of the African Synod.
And in his departure speech at Yaoundé airport on 16 September 1995, after his three-day visit, Pope John Paul II had called on Cameroonians “in positions of authority in public life and business… to contribute to removing the obstacles, which still impede the development that ought to benefit their compatriots”. He strongly remarked, “My visit to Cameroon has enabled me to see the many material and spiritual gifts which the Almighty God has poured out upon your country”
But despite Cameroon’s abundant natural and human resources a majority of its citizens still live in abject poverty as corruption, embezzlement of public funds by holders of public office, unemployment are at record high.
Cameroon recently emerged twice as the most corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International, a Berlin –based good governance watchdog.
These social ills that are so rife in Cameroon are not unknown to Pope Benedict XVI
That is why on receiving Cameroon’s Ambassador to the Holy See last year, Pope Benedict XVI seriously warned the Biya regime to contain corruption, which has eaten deep into the fabric of this central African country
The Pope is coming to Cameroon at a time when even the country’s Catholic Church is known to be critical of the Biya regime, for not doing much to improve the lot of citizens The Catholic Church in Cameroon has in the last two decades had several of its priests murdered in mysterious circumstances, prompting the Vatican to call on the Cameroon government to carry out investigations so to prosecute the killers, but results of such probes are hardly made public.
But many critical watchers of Cameron political arena are convinced that President Paul Biya, will this time take the Pope’s God- inspired advice very serious and govern the country with the fear of GOD, which is said to be the beginning of Wisdom.

According to Vatican Information Service, “Cameroon has a population of 18,160,000 of whom 4,842,000 (26.7 percent) are Catholic. There are 24 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 816 parishes and 3,630 pastoral centres of other kinds. Currently, there are 31 bishops, 1,847 priests, 2,478 religious, 28 lay members of secular institutes and 18,722 catechists. Minor seminarians number 2,249 and major seminarians 1,361.
‘A total of 410,964 students attend 1,530 centres of Catholic education,
from kindergartens to universities. Other institutions belonging to the
Church or run by priests or religious in Cameroon include 28 hospitals, 235 clinics, 11 homes for the elderly or disabled, 15 orphanages and nurseries, 40 family counselling centres and other pro-life centres, 23 centres for education and social rehabilitation, and 32 institutions of other kinds.’’
NB:First Published on March 3,2009 by http://www.mwcnews.net/

First movie in the Balkans

2009-03-01T23:10:00.000-08:00

"Grandmother Despina"

This scene is a part of the very first film shot produced by the Manaki Brothers. Despina, the Janaki and Milton Manaki's grandmother, was recorded weaving in one high-angle shot. For no apparent reason, the first shot made in Macedonia, in the Balkans in fact, made by these two cinematography pioneers, contains peculiar symbolics: at the moment when the grandmother Despina spins the weaving wheel, film starts rolling in our country.

The movie from 1905 is created in standard technique, without sound, in black and white and 35mm.

The Manaki Brothers were Aromanian photographers and filmmakers born in the small village of Avdela, near Grevena, Aegean Macedonia, today Greece. They made the first motion pictures in the Balkans in the city of Bitola/Monastir in 1905.

“Cameroon Law Is Against Direct Trial of Children by Courts”

2009-03-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

- Magistrate Mrs. Epie Esther Ayuk, Deputy President Court of
First Instance, Buea and National Coordinator of CYJULERC

So concerned about the welfare of children, Magistrate Epie Esther Ayuk(pictured below) is fond of organising sensitisation meetings on Human Rights promotion and protection. As the only Inquiry Magistrate for children in the town of Buea and National coordinator of Cameroon Young Jurists Legal Resource Centre (CYJULERC) she recently assembled stakeholders in the juvenile justice chain to be updated on Children’s rights.

This jurist spoke to Christopher Ambe Shu after the seminar. Excerpts:

Your Worship, you recently organised a seminar at the Conference Hall of Alliance Franco- Cameronaise in Buea. What was the focus of the seminar?

Magistrate (Mrs.) Epie Esther Ayuk:The seminar was organised by Cameroon Young Jurists Legal Resource Centre (CYJULERC), a human rights organisation with headquarters in Buea. The seminar was on Juvenile Justice Chain in Cameroon: The Role of Actors; it also focused on international instruments relevant to juvenile justice administration .It was organised to commemorate the this year‘s youth day. And talking about youth we thought, there were some youth who were being neglected, whom we thought we could remember them on this day, and that is the young people involved in crime. This is a class that is always forgotten because most of the children involved are neglected or abandoned children. And most of them live along the streets and when they are picked up by law enforcement officers, no adult knows what has happened to them. And as such, no body cares about what is happening to them.
So we thought that CYJULERC, which has as one of its duties the protection of children’s rights , should organise a meeting to bring together the actors of the Juvenile Justice Chain-that is the civil society , the social welfare officers , the judicial officers(gendarmes and police),the State Counsel Chambers(the Prosecutors),the examining and inquiry magistrates , judges and the Prison officers, to deeply reflect on juvenile justice, and work together to ensure the justice of the young people when need arises.

From the interaction of participants during the one-day workshop, would you say the objective of the meeting was fully achieved?

It was achieved. It was more that the success we expected. The turn out was very massive, with over 40 participants. Some people who were not invited got wind of the meeting and turned up. Everybody participated actively and learned much from each other. We learned much on how to improve on certain aspects of our job working as a team. The workshop revised UN Guidelines for the prevention of Juvenile Deliquency, which stresses that, prevention of juvenile delinquency is an essential part of crime prevention in society. We treated the UN standard minimum rules for the administration of juvenile justice as well as the UN Rules for the protection of juveniles deprived of their liberty. The rules include principles that define the specific circumstances under which children can be deprived of their liberty, emphasizing that deprivation of liberty must be a last resort measure, for the shortest possible period of time and limited to exceptional cases.
We also examined the vulnerability of children in conflict with the law.

What are some of the new things you learned to improve on juvenile justice?

The meeting was chaired by the State Counsel for Buea,His Lordship Justice Wanki,who expounded on what is meant by juvenile justice and what laws are applicable in Cameroon and how these young people should be treated. One of the things which the participants learned which was new was the fact that, Juvenile justice was not only considered when it comes to crime, but also considered in civil matter; the young people have to be taken care of well.

How would you define juvenile justice?

It is an expression used when children come in conflict with the law. The justice that is supposed to be meted on them is special. The law has provided special protection for them to be treated differently from the adult. So, we can say juvenile justice is a process of trying children who are in conflict with the law. The term “children in conflict with the law” refers to anyone under 18 years who comes into contact with the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing an offence.

What special treatment do children have over adults?

The law in Cameroon has stratified children. Below ten years –total criminal irresponsibility; this means they are not responsible for their acts. Children between 10 and 14, they have partial responsibility and between 14 and 18, they have diminished responsibility. So the law has given this special provision for children’s responsibility to be diminished in case they are involved in criminal offences. Because of their vulnerability, these young ones will not fully know their responsibility and so the law makes it mandatory for those who are in charge of to be very careful. When a child is picked along the street by the law enforcement officer for having committed a crime it is mandatory for a social report to be carried out to be able to know the origin or the person of this child, the parent and the status of the child. The law also makes it mandatory for children not to be tried directly by the courts; they have to go through a special procedure of preliminary inquiry by an Inquiry magistrate, who is a magistrate of the bench of the Court of first Instance. Even if they are supposed to be tried it is not in the open court. They are supposed to be tried in camera –that is in chambers with only those involved in the matters.

Why are you so concerned with juvenile justice? Is it because you are a mother?

I am privileged to be a mother and I am also privileged to be a magistrate whose duty is to mete out justice to children. Coincidently I am the only inquiry magistrate for children now in Buea.I hope another one will be appointed soon. I am versed with their problems

Cameroon:Genesis and Reality of The Anglophone Problem

2009-02-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

For the Anglophone Problem to stop, Cameroon must revert to the 1961 Federal Constitution..

*By Chief A.S. NGWANA (pictured)

The Anglophone Problem is real, very important and urgent because it borders on the corporate existence of Cameroon as one country.
The German claim to Cameroon was recognized in the Berlin Conference of November 1884, but when Germany lost the First World War it also lost sovereignty over its African colonies, which by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles came under the ambit of the League of Nations as “Mandated Territories”

By this arrangement Cameroon was divided between France and Britain. The Eastern side went to the French and the Western side to the British. French Cameroon and British Cameroon were separated for nearly 40 years and each absorbed the culture of its colonial master.

East Cameroon became independent on 1st January 1960 and Nigeria to which Southern and Northern Cameroon were attached also gained independence from Britain on 1st October 1960. On 11 February 1961 the UN conducted a plebiscite in Northern and Southern Cameroon to determined whether Cameroonians wanted to be independent by joining the Federal Republic of Nigeria or the Republic of Cameroon.

The results of the plebiscite which should have been counted as one for the whole British territory, were split and counted separately between North and South Cameroon. The north voted to join Nigeria and the South voted to join the Republic of Cameroon. In June 1961, all the leaders of the political parties in Southern Cameroon met in Bamenda to discuss the terms and conditions of reunification.

There were disagreements on several issues, but all agreed unanimously that unification was to be based on Federalism and that Southern Cameroons was to retain all its organs and institutions, its culture and legal systems and its parliamentary system of government. In July 1961 the famous , “Foumban Constitutional Conference met in Foumban to draw up a Constitution for the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

After protracted talks it was finally agreed that reunification would be based on federalism, that the State of Cameroon would promote and strengthen the bi-cultural identity of Cameroon without the French or English culture absorbing the other, and that Southern Cameroon would retain all its organs and institutions.

These terms were then incorporated into the 1961 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Cameroon with a proviso in Article 47 making it impossible to unilaterally amend certain Articles of the Constitution without the risk of breaking up the Union. On the 1st of October 1961 the Federal Republic of Cameroon was born. It consisted of two Equal States – the State of East Cameroon (formerly French Cameroon or Republic of Cameroon) and the state of West Cameroon ( formerly British Southern Cameroon or Southern Cameroon.)

From 1961 to 1972 when the Federal Republic of Cameroon existed, there was no ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM. Let us not forget that it was Anglophones who voted to join the Union, and to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon, it was not the Francophones who voted, so the referendum to abolish the Federation should have only been voted by the Anglophones, but the Francophones with their majority in the Union “voted” and dissolved the Federation, the basis of Unification.
In so doing the Ahidjo government unconstitutionally and in breach of the Foumban Accord, abolished the Federal Government and introduced the present Unitary Government. This has created a new problem, a Constitutional problem called the ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM.
The Anglophone problem then started with the abolition of the Federation.

Anglophones who were used to the multiparty system of government suddenly found themselves in a one-party system of government (the “CNU monster ) with its dictatorship and suppression of human rights. East Cameroon-Francophone, oppressive laws and immanency laws, were extended and applied in West Cameroon.

West Cameroonians-Anglophones, were forced to carry “piece”(tax receipts, identity cards, voting cards, driving license etc) victims were arrested and tortured in the newly constructed BMM cells.
West Cameroonians who did not know fear before began to experience fear. Those who did not support the regime or criticize it were arrested, tortured or imprisoned.

By their legal system, a person is presumed guilty until he proves himself not guilty. Civil Servants were summarily dismissed businessmen lost their contracts or import licenses or were crippled by the imposition of unjustifiable taxes. Students were dismissed or had their scholarships withdrawn, journalists arrested and their papers seized or banned.

The whole exercise was planned and implemented by Youande to instill fear into the hearts and minds of West Cameroonians.
At the end Youande succeeded. West Cameroonian Judges, who had always been independent and fearless, began to accept dictation from Yaounde. They compromised their consciences, dignity and integrity and miscarried justice. Military Tribunals headed by West Cameroonians jailed innocent persons.
Members of Parliament were appointed and dismissed by Yaounde. Civil servants, Judges, the military and security forces were appointed, promoted, demoted or dismissed according to the whims and caprices of Yaounde. In the absence of justice, fear reigned. Those who suffered most were politicians and journalist.

By 1982 when Ahidjo resigned and appointed Paul Biya, his regime had succeeded in subjecting the whole Cameroon to Fear. East and West Cameroonians, Francophones and Angolphones lived in absolute fear. Democracy was dead.

In 1983, we (Anglophones) launched the Cameroon Democratic Party, our aims were to eradicate fear in the minds of Cameroonians, restore fundamental human rights and the rule of law, fight against corruption, mismanagement, nepotism, and above all, return Cameroon to multiparty democracy.
The ultimate goal was to build a buoyant and prosperous nation. Unfortunately the Biya government which inherited the atrocities of the CNU government of Ahidjo, kept me in exile for six years. Francophones must be told and the world must know that the Anglophone problem is not dying down but is gaining momentum every year.

In 1985, Fon gorji Dinka, a former president of the Cameroon Bar, unilaterally declared autonomy for Southern Cameroon. He named the new State Ambasonia.
Dinka is president of Ambasonia in exile.

The All Anglophone Conference (AAC1) held in Buea January 3-6, 1993 endorsed a return to the Federal System of government, While the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in its 1994 convention also accepted the Federal System.

On the 29th April to 3rd May 1994, AAC2, met in Bamenda, to discuss the “the road to peaceful self-determination and demand for zero hour” The AAC was transformed into “The Southern Cameroons People’s Conference” (SCPC) and then into the present SCNC “the Southern Cameroon National Conference”
In 1996, Dr. J. N. Foncha and S.T. Mona both of blessed memories, and once Vice-Presidents of Cameroon and retired Anglophone politicians, gave their full support to this struggle and led a delegation to the UN, accompanied by the Chairman of the SCNC, Mr. E.Elad, and prominent men from both North West and South West namely: Ambassadoe Epie of blessed memories, Ambassador Fossung, Mr. Litumbe, Dr. Youngbang, Justice Mbu and Dr. Munzo.

This was a clear indication of a united front and showed the gravity of the situation. In December 1999 Justice Ebong, a Judge of the Cameroon High Court, declared autonomy for Southern Cameroon, named the State “The Republic of Southern Cameroon”.

He was detained without trial for two years and then released Last year, 2008, Mr. Carlson Anyangwe, proclaimed the “Restoration Government of southern Cameroon”, he made himself president and appointed his ministers within and without the country All these people and movements in the Anglophone territory, are only trying to redress a situation which should never have arisen if our Francophone brothers have managed unification in the true spirit of brotherhood.
Instead we have been betrayed by the CNU/CPDM governments headed by our francophone brothers ADHIDJO/BIYA. In bad faith, they have betrayed our trust and confidence, our faith and aspirations for unification.
They have destroyed the basis of unification which is Federalism, they have, using their crooked control of political power marginalized Anglophones to second class citizens and are bent on destroying the Anglophone culture and tradition.

There are many Anglophones who have full mastery of the French language, more than many Fracophones and vice versa. But how can any one in good faith, explain the diabolic maneuvers to make sure that an Anglophone can never be president of Cameroon.

How can any one explain the fact that for 49 years, since independence an Anglophone has never held the important ministry of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Minister of Territorial Administration, defense or Chief Justice of Cameroon? Look at the disproportions, in numbers of Anglophone Generals, Governors, SDOs, Secretary Generals, Chief Executives of Government Corporations and parastatalls
In most of these places Anglophones occupy a second position How can you explain the fact that there is “regional balancing” in schools and universities only when it comes to admissions of francophone students. We did not unify to become second class citizens.

Unification was based on Federalism and Equality of Status, on Unity in Diversity, on equality of all Cameroonians.
A Federation is the only way by which any multinational and culturally divers communion, has the opportunity for variation in laws, existences, dispensations, that take account of the motley sensibilities and accordingly concede reasonable autonomy to the constituting units. Cameroon is a multicultural, multiethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious State.

That is why the United Nations gave Southern Cameroon independence on the basis of Federalism. We unified on the understanding that we would operate a Federal System, in which we will live in a mighty, united, economically strong Cameroon Nation; guaranteeing all citizens of every race and religion, inalienable fundamental and civic rights, equal opportunities and respect for the bicultural character of our people.

We therefore condemn any attempts to abolish or absorb, destroy or assimilate, promote or ignore, favor or submerge one culture, as inimical to the unity of Cameroon.
Therefore any person or party or government, who or which condones the marginalization, discrimination or the treatment of Anglophones as second class citizens, is an enemy of our unification.
Anglophones’ interest can only be protected and enhanced in a Federal Government. Our fight, our struggle is not against Francophones as such, but against the oppressive CNU/CPDM governments of AHIDJO/BIYA, governments which have denied us our fundamental rights and frustrated our political, economic and social aspirations;Governments which reduced us to second class citizens, and are hell-bent on keeping us there.

For any democratic dispensation to be successful, there must be an independent body to conduct elections so that the people can choose their rulers or leaders through free, fair and transparent elections by the ballot box.
For the first time when the most important organ of our democracy, (ELECAM), is to be set up, President Paul Biya, knowing fully well that this ELECAM was doomed to fail, because he would not respect the laws setting up ELECAM, he appointed an Anglophone to head it.

The failure of ELECAM would then be blamed on the Anglophones.

Well ELECAM has failed before it starts, Cameroonians as a whole and the International Community have rejected it, as not being a neutral body to conduct free and fair elections. Stop using Anglophones to do the dirty jobs.
For the Anglophone Problem to stop, Cameroon must revert to the 1961 Federal Constitution, or a modified Federal Constitution, which gives the Anglophones autonomy in their own Territory. May God spare Cameroon from chaos.

*Chief A.S. NGWANA is Chairman, Cardinal Democratic Party (CDP) ,an opposition party in Cameroon
His Contact Tel: (237) 33 43 10 72

Panama gets prepared for Carnival

2009-02-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Panama gets prepared for Carnival. There are four days, where almost every city and town forget their problems and go to the streets, dancing, singing, having fun in despite of the social, economical or political situation that affects the country.

Most popular are the Carnivals celebrated in the interior, being the most famous the Carnivals of “Las Tablas”. “Las Tablas” is the capital of the province of “Los Santos” and is located four hours from Panama City.

These carnivals are very traditional. The most popular and well known custom in this Carnival is that the city of Las Tablas is divided into two factions: Calle Arriba(Top Street) and Calle Abajo (Down Street), which are rivals during the celebrations. Each side has its princess and they compete with an incredible deployment of luxury, costumes, floats, decorations, fireworks and traditional tunes. Furthermore, each side has an organized committee that works during the whole year to gather funds and set up all the necessary mechanisms to have the streets brim over of pomp and majesty.

During these days, people from all cities and towns travel to Las Tablas, to be active part of this celebration. Since early in the morning, the central park is plenty of people who are dressed as if they are going to the beach, enjoying the daytime activity called "Culecos''. In these Culecos, big fuel dispenser cars are filled with water to dampen everybody in the park, while they dance and claim for more water.

At night the luxurious parade goes around the park, lead by the princess in her floats, with her retinue of ladies and followers who cheerfully sing funny and satirical tunes that have been composed especially to compete with their rival. When the parade finish, an almost endless and powerful deployment of fireworks is performed.

Celebration will start Saturday February 22, and ends Tuesday February 24, and this day is a declared day off.

During these days, people forget their problems, even though when the Carnival ends they would realize that their economical problems are worse than before, they will be broken but happy.

25 Random Things.. I love about Zimbabwe

2009-02-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

We have the best climate in the world- ask anyone. Harare in particular is wonderful, but the whole of Zim is pretty lovely. No, I am not biased.

We are really nice people. When you sit in a kombi (public transport), you can pour out your troubles and everyone will listen, perhaps laugh, usually have a kind word to say- no matter how pressing their own problems are. Strangers also smile and say hello. I love that.(Australians are nice too, incidentally).

We are peace-loving. After all the troubles we have been through in the last ten years... Well, anything could have happened. That stuff happens in other African countries. Not to minimize the cases that have been in the world media so much, but we never thought to turn to arms to make our point.

We know how to have fun. In the old days (pre-financial trouble), Christmas was a good excuse to party all night- with the whole neighbourhood. We know how to laugh, no matter what's going on around us. I think Zimbabwean jokes are among the best in the world. Maybe it's the weather, but anyone can have fun, at any time- and we do.

We endure. I admire the businesspeople who’ve stayed, and stayed in business, in spite of how tough things have been. I love walking into the shops and seeing products made in Zimbabwe. I love seeing people “making a plan”- people who lost their jobs five years ago just finding a new way to stay in the game. I love that most Zimbabweans don’t sit around waiting for a handout, no matter how hopeless the situation seems. I love that we are a hopeful lot.

I love that I don’t have to worry about the food I eat. Since just about everything we eat is organic, I don’t have to wonder if I’m getting cancer from my food… Or worry about being morbidly obese because of a reliance on takeaway food.

I love that no matter what the stresses we live under look like to the outside world, we still live a relatively stress-free life. Our lives are real. When we are stressed out, it’s because we have no food in the house, or because we are sick. It’s not because we want that fancy new car, or because of credit card debt. Levity aside, the incidence of so-called lifestyle diseases is low, and as a result we are healthier even into our old age.

I love the importance we place on extended family. One is never alone here. In times of trouble, there is always someone to turn to… And one in turn looks after others. I love that I will raise my children in community.

I love the importance we place on respect for elders. I think it’s a good basis for stability in society. I love, too, knowing that I will not be placed in an old age home for the convenience of my family, because that’s not how we do things here.

I love the way the rainy season comes. I love the way the dry heat builds up until it is almost unbearable, but then if you watch, every day you see storm clouds growing on the horizon… And then the first rains come with their drama- huge storm clouds, lightning, wind and the wonderful scent of rain mingling with dust… And then the storms that come at lunchtime and when you are about to leave the office after work, just to drench you. And then everything becomes green again, and it’s like the whole world is sighing with happy relief.

I love seeing the farmers work in the fields. I love going up to Honde Valley in Nyanga, the way the road winds until you are sick with vertigo, and yet you are gasping with amazement because each turn reveals some pretty, secret, lush valley… I love standing on the mountainside where home is, and looking across to the tea estates near the border with Mozambique. I love getting up really early, on those tear-inducingly cold mornings in Honde Valley, when you see woodsmoke from a dozen fires drifting upwards to mingle with the mist.

I love walking through the rain forest at Victoria Falls, getting drenched, and feeling like a child again… And then coming to a sudden clearing in the “jungle”, and there is the magnificent, me-shrinking majesty of the Falls. And all the other things- the hotels in Vic Falls and the excitement of being on holiday and ordering breakfast, the not-too-resorty “resortiness” of Vic Falls, the crocodile farm, watching the hippos swim at A’Zambezi River Lodge…

I love taking road trips here, and taking in the vast expanses of savanna… I love how beautiful the countryside is, and how the space gives one a feeling of freedom. I love that even in the city, I don’t feel cramped. I love that one can own a few acres of open land even in the city.

I love the pace of life here. Not even in the so-called fast-paced Harare is life truly fast-paced. I love that one still has time to stand and stare, and that work is never really frenetic.

I love that we don’t really have crime here. Not compared with other countries, I mean. And when there is crime, it’s hardly ever violent. The incidents are so isolated that this is the exception, rather than the rule. I love that you can walk around during the day without worrying about someone pulling a gun on you. I love that you can drive around without being certain that someone will try to hijack you.

I love how patriotic we get around sport- but usually only when our teams are winning. I remember going to a soccer match in Harare, and failing to get in because the stadium was packed. And how everyone was singing, and the feeling of pride in being Zimbabwean. I suppose this happens in other countries too… (grudgingly).. I love, too, going to watch cricket, whether at Harare Sports Club, or Queens in Bulawayo. The weather is always wonderful when cricket is on, and the atmosphere is fantastic.

I love how Zimbabweans think a party- or fun- is synonymous with a braai (barbeque)

I love the little places there are? were? in Harare, informal eating places like KwaMereki and Cresta Mbare, where one could get an excellent Zimbabwean meal- excellent value for your money. I love that one got to know about these places by word of mouth, and that everyone seemed to go to these places… So you would meet your friends and associates there. And that a lot of office workers would drive there at lunchtime, rather than to some fancy takeaway place… And the service at these places would be the envy of any catering business. And gradually the service would get personal, too, as you became a regular. I love that you never had to worry about the hygiene, because the hosts were at pains to make sure everything was perfect- just like home. I hope these places survive.

I love township life. I love how when you play your radio, it’s so that the neighbours at the end of the line can hear every word. I love that everyone knows when you have bought a new fridge- even those who live ten roads down. I love that every home has a fruit tree in the front yard- and if you don’t have one, you can steal your neighbour’s fruit- doing them a favour, because otherwise the neighbourhood kids will. I love the fact that you can borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbour, or a teaspoon of salt- unless they started a rumor about you ten years ago, in which case you would rather go to the people two roads away. I love the general exodus to any cleared space as soon as the rains begin, to plant maize (corn), which you can be sure we’ll be eating like mad for four months.

I love how we exaggerate. I love that nothing is small, especially when you tell a story. I love that everyone is a storyteller- you only have to watch a Zimbabwean, any Zimbabwean, for two minutes as they relate something, to know that. The gestures are huge, the voice is raised, and there is a great deal of poetic licence.

I love that I can joke with policemen. I call them “chef” or “officer”, and watch them puff up with pride when I do. I love Zimbabwean in-jokes like that, the words and phrases that I can use to any Zimbawean that convey a wealth of meaning- words and phrases like “berial cheques”, “demonize”, Diaspora, and “under curatorship”. I love how we are about community, and every experience becomes a shared “Zimbabwean” thing.

I don’t know how many of these things are particularly, or originally, Zimbabwean, but I love: Mazoe Orange, Buttercup Margarine, Sun Jam, Willards Custard, Colcom Cambridge Pork Sausages, Chimombe…. Zimbabweans will know what I mean. I love that we get homesick when we think about such things when we are far away.

I love how public transport is never full here. There is always room for one more person on the bus or Kombi. I love (strangely enough) the “chicken” buses that take you to the rural areas, no longer with squawking chickens, but with squealing babies and sweating mothers, with blaring music and a shouting conductor, and a household’s complement of furniture on the roof. I also love how the informal bus stops gain a name that everyone knows them by- pa chibage (“by the mealies”, referring to where someone is selling roasted maize/ corn); pa ma gum tree (at the gum trees), pa musika (at the market), ekhoneni (at the corner), e mapostorini (where members of the Apostolic Faith meet or sell their wares). I love that the name may last even though landmarks change.

I love the music… From the endlessly-repeated riffs and plaintive sound of the lead guitar in sungura, to the sort of Afro-jazz sound of Oliver Mtukudzi, to the vernacular choral music we sing at the Anglican church, that has the ability to move me so…

I love how Zimbabweans in the Diaspora long for home. It must mean that there is something particularly special about this sort of teapot-shaped piece of earth.

Snow in the south of England

2009-02-08T02:09:00.001-08:00

Little else but snow has happened in the south of England this week - and now it seems to be spreading to other parts.

Last Sunday was very cold, then overnight Sunday-Monday it managed about 12 inches of snow in an hour. The snow had been forecast, but our snow clearance people were temporarily overwhelmed.

We woke up on Monday to a blanket of snow over Epsom - something which has not happened for 10 years or more. Local roads more or less impassible for most of the day, but main roads started opening up during the day. Lots of vehicles got stuck and were abandoned, adding to the difficulties of those still trying to move about. Those people not trying to move about or get to work had a good time building snowmen and such like. We even had a sprinking of them in Epsom market place. The picture, from the Daily Mail, is, it seems, of a celebrity called Lily Allen. But not so celebrated that I had heard of her before. More information can be found about her at http://www.lilyallenmusic.com/lily/. But she did a better job of rolling her snowball than I did; at least it is ball shaped while mine was cylindrical, having been too lazy to vary the direction of roll.

Some of the snow is still hanging about although life is now more or less back to normal. So now it is time for the witch hunt. Why did the gritters not get out overnight Sunday-Monday? Why did the local councils not have enough salt and grit stockpiled? Who was responsible for the salt supply chain? Who thought it was a good idea to stand all the buses down? Close all the schools? Why don't we have a rule like the Danes do which says you have to sweep the smow off the pavement outside your house? Why don't we have a rule like the Norwegians which says you have to put special snow tyres on you car during the winter? The whole business has generated an impressive amount of media coverage; a welcome change from all the financial doom and gloom which has been our staple diet for months.

Macedonian handball hero Kire Lazarov

2009-02-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

MACEDONIAN HANDBALL HERO KIRE LAZAROV

At the World Handball Championship in Croatia 2009, Kire LAZAROV broke the record of Yoon Kyung-Shin from 1995's championship in Iceland - 86 Goals.
Now LAZAROV holds the record, best scorer with 92 goals

Fayrouz In Dallas: Iraqi Women, Then and Now

2009-02-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

Fayrouz In Dallas: Iraqi Women, Then and Now

One day, this'll be worth a lot of money.

2009-02-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

Portugal's prime minister, Jose Socrates

2009-01-31T05:55:00.000-08:00

Portugal's prime minister, Jose Socrates, is embroiled in an alleged corruption scandal over permission granted for a British development on protected land outside Lisbon.

Police searched the home of Mr Socrates's uncle this week in connection with the affair, which is said to have taken place when Mr Socrates was environment minister in a previous socialist government. Britain's Serious Fraud Office is said to be investigating the unexplained transfer of some 4m euros to bank accounts in Portugal at the time of the deal, press reports say.

Mr Socrates is alleged to have waived environmental restrictions in 2002, following intervention by his uncle and cousin, to grant the British company Freeport a licence to build the Alcochete mall or "village outlet", a gigantic emporium of designer shops south of the Portuguese capital.

The English royal family is reported to have a large stake in Freeport, which was taken over by the US conglomerate Carlyle in 2007.

Mr Socrates denies having misused his ministerial position to allow the shopping mall to go ahead, or having taken bribes from Freeport. In a rare television appearance at the weekend, he scorned the storm of media allegations, which was spearheaded by Lisbon weekly "Sol".

"The reports and the way they are presented are meant to target me personally and weaken me politically in an election year," Mr Socrates said. "Those who think they can beat me this way are wrong, because I'll fight to defend my honour, my integrity."

The Alcochete project was one of a number of major schemes that carved through Portugal's virgin lands, sometimes in defiance of environmental protection orders, in a drive to modernise the country.

The scandal has re-emerged at the worst possible moment for Mr Socrates, who faces general elections this autumn battered by the economic and financial crisis sweeping Portugal.

Environmental approval of the Freeport Outlet project met all legal requirements at the time, Mr Socrates said. He denied that the go-ahead, granted three days before general elections in 2002, was given with "unusual haste". The shopping complex, built in an environmental protection area along the Tagus estuary, needed cabinet approval for regulatory changes.

Ministers reportedly approved the changes just three days before the polls, which Antonio Guterres's Socialists lost to Jose Manuel Durao Barroso's conservative Social Democratic Party. Portugal's environment secretariat subsequently granted planning permission.

"I never gave any instructions to give the case urgent treatment," Mr Socrates insisted. "I reject all insinuations and slanderous allegations that involve my name regarding this case."

The media spotlight focuses on the prime minister's uncle and cousin, Julio and Hugo Monteiro. Hugo Monteiro is alleged to have held meetings with Charles Smith, a Scottish intermediary contracted by Freeport to ease the deal. Julio Monteiro is then said to have used his kinship with Mr Socrates to set up a meeting with the erstwhile environment minister for Mr Smith.

Mr Socrates vaguely recalls meeting Mr Smith in 2001, but "only to present to him the government's environmental requirements," after his ministry had twice blocked the building project. He says he has nothing to do with his uncle's business operations.

THE INDEPENDENT

Macedonia - timeless

2009-01-31T00:04:00.000-08:00

Macedonia - Timeless is a project of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia to promote awareness of Macedonian tourism opportunities.

For such a small country, Macedonia boasts a bewilderingly complex history, one which defies neat explanations and which has kept researchers and regular folks constantly occupied with investigating, and debating, their findings. The country's territory has been continuously settled through all periods of human civilization, and has been both the center of great empires and a decisive battleground where rival powers sparred, including the ancient kingdoms of Macedon and its contemporaries, the Roman empire, Byzantium, medieval Bulgarian, Serb and Macedonian kingdoms, the Crusaders, the Ottoman empire and the contemporary Balkan states.

Despite a turbulent past, however, Macedonia's people today are peace-loving, friendly and optimistic about a common future among the greater European family of nations.

TV Spot: Directed by Milcho Manchevski
Director of Photography Isabelle Dumas, Production Designer David Munns, Edited by Peter Mostert, Music Composed by Kiril Dzajkovski (based on a traditional Macedonian song), Sound Editing Igor Popovski, Casting Kirijana Alushevska Nikolovska, Costume Zaklina Krstevska, Consultants: Pasko Kuzman (Archaeology), Vladimir Janevski (Ethnology) and Iskra Dimitrova (Arts), Special Effects Obtuse NY, Produced by Darko Popov and Elena Staniseva for Senka Film.

Macedonia Timeless http://www.macedonia-timeless.com

" If you want to serve people ,use every opportunity have"

2009-01-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

-Dr Amos Namanga Ngongi, President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

Dr Amos Namanga Ngongi is a former Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Program. He dutifully served the United Nations for 19 years in various capacities and retired in 2003 while in Democratic Republic of Congo as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-Genera. Upon his return to Cameroon, President Paul Biya recognized Dr Ngongi’s drive for transparency and good governance and appointed him a member of the country’s national commission to fight corruption. But After serving for several months, Dr Ngongi resigned to take up a much more challenging job as president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) with residence in Kenya. During a brief stop in his village in Buea, Dr Ngongi talked about his new job and more to Recorder Editor Christopher Ambe Shu. Excerpts:

You are president of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). What is it all about and what prompted its creation?

It was created as a response to persistent calls by African leaders for assistance from the international community to support its agricultural development.

The African Union met in Maputo in 2003 and resolved to make every effort to increase their own budgetary support for agriculture from the low level of 3-4% that was at that time to 10% of their national budget. Regrettably, very few countries have reached that 10% targetBut in any case, Bill and Melinda Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation decided to create an alliance with African governments, farmers and African institutions to be able to make a contribution to develop agriculture in Africa, though a program for productivity increases, small holders farmers’ scheme

How do countries benefit from AGRA?

First of all, AGRA does not just give money to countries. AGRA at its initiation carried out studies in Africa and identified 13 countries out of the sub-Saharan countries that it could start with, which include Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia.Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Those are the initial countries in which AGRA is working .It will expand to other countries as need arises or as countries enter into the AGRA program. But that decision is taken by the board of directors of AGRA, who meet regularly and examines the potentials of expanding the programs of AGRA.

For how long has AGRA been operating and so far what are its achievements?

It has been operating now-unfortunately, for two years with the 13 countries that I earlier mentioned. It first program was that of improving African Seed systems, to train African plant breeders, to support in providing new crop variety, to support African seed companies and help establish them so that they can produce and multiply those seeds and to set up a distribution system through agro-dealers who will bring the seeds to small holder- farmers.
There are about 60 students who are doing masters degrees and PhD in about eight African universities; we have plant breeders who have been supported in African research institutions to produce seeds.
Last year alone there were some 53 varieties of seed, which were released in the countries that we are supporting. We are also supporting the seed companies in which our initial stage-one full year, last year was 1500 metric tons of improved seeds of maize, rice. That is already a phenomenal increase in African Capacity to produce seeds.

And some 2000 agro-dealers have been trained and even empowered to access loans in credits institutions so that they can stock sufficient quantities of agricultural products-seeds, fertilisers, insecticides, and pesticides to be able to have them accessible to farmers.

And also we have worked with commercial banks to be able to leverage financial credits in banking systems to give loans to farmers.

In fact, in Kenya alone we and the International Fund for Agricultural Development we put together a guarantee fund of five million dollars and we leveraged $50 million from Equity Bank to be able to put bit at the disposal of agro-dealers and farmers. In Tanzania, we started with one million dollars and we leveraged five million dollars in the national finance bank to give credits to their farmers.
In March we will be making a major announcement. We have negotiated with a major bank in South Africa to leverage up to $200million.I think it is a lesson for us in Africa to be able to use our own resources in Africa to finance African agriculture rather than only running round the world asking for help. Of course, donors will continue to help Africa but Africa should also use its own resources to help itself.

When you retired from the UN you came back to Cameroon and expressed your readiness to help develop Cameroon. One of the ways you wanted to do this was to contest election for the post of mayor of Buea, but unfortunately you were denied the opportunity. Now that you have got another international job with residence in Kenya, how do Cameroonians especially Buea residents benefit from you?

Oh, there are many ways to serve a population. You can serve in a public office or you can serve in your private capacity. There are many to serve a population. It is not just occupying a political office, through which you can serve.
So if you are to help people you can put ideas together, bring people together to be able to achieve a common objective without necessarily being in a political office. At least in my little village of Bonalyonga here in Buea, we have formed a development committee, which has been registered and approved by the administration. We are looking forward to pooling our resources together to establish our own community center, to bring people together, to have indoor games, to have access to computers and other little things that can improve and give dynamism to a community.You don’t have to be in a public office before you do that, but public office gives you an opportunity to be able to do it at a larger scale. If you want to work for people you use every opportunity wherever you are to do that. Where I am now if AGRA is able to extend its activities to Cameroon that would be an achievement-a great help to Cameroon.But that is not my individual decision, but that of the board of directors of AGRA. So there will be missions coming to Cameroon to see the conditions of intervention. And if their recommendations are approved by the board then that will bring some additional benefit to the country, including Buea.

When you retired from the UN and came back to Cameroon the head of State Paul Biya recognized your drive for transparency and governance and appointed you one of the members of the national commission to fight against corruption. Now that you are resident in Kenya how do you help this fight to succeed?

Well, first of all, I was honored by the appointment made by the head of state. For the eleven months that I was there I did discharge my duties as best as I could. But unfortunately by accepting an appointment out of the country I had to resign from the anti-corruption commission.But no body can stop the efforts made by the government to try to fight corruption.
The intentions are clear.

But as you all know it is more the implementation that depends on human beings like you and me that can really bring results. It is more on the dynamism of implementing those decisions taken by the president; he has decided to fight corruption and has made several public pronouncements on that. I don’t think any body can fault those pronouncements.Now, how to be able to turn it into reality, you can see that many people at high places have been arrested, tried and imprisoned. Whether the pace is fast enough is another question. May be it is not just the arrest of people but the institutionalization of the notion of probity –that is having people who discharge their duties for public interest.
For Cameroon to have been declared two- time champion of corruption meant that we were really high at the corruption index list.Hopefully, with all these efforts people will be more conscious of the public need for probity and the judgment of the population at large of their actions. What you journalists are doing is also helpful by naming and shaming people. At least it helps to reduce the degree of corruption.

In as much as you are out of the country you are a CPDM militant and patriotic .I understand, you follow with keen interest events in Cameroon. Recently President Biya appointed ELECAM members and has since been drawing sharp criticisms from home and abroad for not respecting legal provisions in the his appointment. What is your reaction to the ELECAM appointment?

When I came to the country in 2003 every body was calling for the creation of an independent electoral body. The body, ELECAM, has been created. Now the criticisms are on the membership of ELECAM.Let us separate two things.
The creation of ELECAM is a wonderful opportunity. It creates an environment that potentially should lead to transparent, free and fair elections.

We should first of all be thankful that this body was created. Virtually, there is no Cameroonian who does not belong to a political party. We have over 100 political parties in Cameroon, so it will be difficult to find a Cameroonian who does not belong to a political party. Once you appoint people who are prominent in a party into ELECAM it is for them now to take the oath of office and it is their own personal integrity that would make them respect their oath of office. In fact, that is what we should judge.
We should not judge from where people are coming. Let us hope that the people who have been appointed will live up to the aspirations of Cameroonians. No body quarrels with the duties. So if they are able to live up to the spirit of the duties as stated by the law, then wherever they come from will not be something to be questioned. People should judge it from the results rather than before.

Cameroon is classified as a rich country both in terms of human and natural resources, but Cameroonians are poor. What do you think is the problem?

Well, potential is potential until it is touched, transformed and developed. We have the potentials-we have the land, good climate, geograpic differences, sufficient water for most of the country etc, but all of that have to be developed. If you are living where is diamond but you don’t realize that it is diamond, then it is worthless. Until somebody discovers it and starts using it then you will realize it is wealth. Until we (Cameroon) transform what we have into wealth we will remain poor. We have to set ourselves up to use our resources properly. It is not by accident that some other countries are able to move ahead. It is by orgainisation, structural changes -by putting people in place who are able to transform potentials into realities.

NB:First Published in The RECORDER newspaper,Cameroon,of Jan.29,2009

Cameroon :English Newspaper Publishers to Form Association

2009-01-29T05:09:00.000-08:00

By Christopher Ambe Shu

The existence of Anglophone Publishers and Editors Association (APEA) based in Bamenda and Cameron English Newspaper Publishers Association (CENPA) based in Buea, has not in any way stopped publishers of English Newspapers from creating another one.

That is why during the last general assembly of the Cameroon Association Of English Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) that held in Buea on July 18 -19, 2008, members expressed the strong need for another publishers’ association that “ could help find solutions to the numerous problems facing the journalism profession, in general and the Newspaper industry in particular.”

Consequently on January 23,publishers of English Newspapers from Yaounde, Bamenda, Limbe and Buea met at the Star Media Group Office in Limbe and brainstormed on on their difficulties and decided to form another association that would have a national character and attract broader membership. It was believed that, if the yet -to -be formed association would be strong enough it would cause the other associations to join its fold. Francis Wache, National President of CAMASEJ, chaired the Limbe publishers’ meeting

Before the publishers, who deliberated for several hours rose they resolved: to create an association that will look for solutions to their common problems. A steering committee was set up, chaired by Nhon Zachee Nzoh Ngandembou, Publisher of Eden Newspaper and The Sunday Eden, to come up with a draft constitution and by-laws within six weeks.

Other members of the committee include: Norbert Wasso Binde of The Sun as Secretary, Francis Wache of The Post, Charles Endeley of CAMASEJ Echo, Christian Ngah of The Guardian Post, Paul Nkemanyang Foanyi of The Star and Lucas Teneng of The Reporter.

The Committee was charged with convening a general assembly by April 2009 during which members would deliberate and adopt the name and constitution of the association.
Other publishers in attendance were Christopher Ambe Shu of The RECORDER, Ako Kingsly of Cameroon Express, Eric Motomu of The Chronicle, Eugine Nforgwa of The Quail, Gerald Ndikum of The Horizon, Fon Yembe of ……and Henry Njalla Quan, General Manager of CDC and Publisher of the CDC News.
Njalla Quan used the meeting to stress the need for professionalism by the media practitioners.

NB: first Published in The RECORDER newspaper, Cameroon, of 29 January, 2009

Cameroon:Is Biya soliciting Pope’s Blessing to cling to power?

2009-01-29T04:20:00.000-08:00

By Chritopher Ambe Shu

Pope Benedict XVI will next March 17 come to Cameroon as part of his first pastoral visit to Africa since he became pope in April 2005, it has been confirmed. The confirmation was made January 26 during a press conference in Yaounde by the president of the National Episcopal Conference and Archbishop of Yaounde, Victor Tonye Bankot.
On arrival, President Paul Biya will gladly receive the pope at the Yaounde Airport
The German-born Benedict is scheduled to have audience with President Paul Biya at Unity Pace, during which, it is widely hoped, there will be frank exchanges between the Pope and the President on matters of good governance, human rights, moral and democratic values.
The Papal visit to Cameroon is coming at a time when President Biya’s image is badly battered and soiled for socio-economic and political reasons, begging for cleansing.

The Presidency of Cameroon had earlier announced that, the Pope’s coming to Cameroon was also at the invitation of the Head of State, suggesting that President Biya, himself a staunch catholic, may, after all, want to confide in the pontiff and seek his blessings in his leadership and apparent bid to stand for reelection in 2011.

Many political pundits consider Biya’s leadership as “undemocratic and anti-people” even though the president has always claimed he is bent on modernizing and democratizing Cameroon.

Biya, who has ruled Cameroon for some 26 years, for example, still got his crushing majority in Parliament last year to amend the country’s constitution, removing term limits, against popular protest at home and abroad. The move was interpreted as Biya’s intention to become life president. His current and second seven- year mandate is expected to end in 2011.Again, late last year Biya appointed several CPDM diehards as members of ELECAM and has since been widely criticized for not respecting the law which calls for the appointment of independent personalities. But the president does not seem to bother about the criticisms.

In Cameroon, the pope will also meet with bishops, Muslim authorities and celebrate an open-air mass at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde.
The Pope leaves Cameroon on March 20 for Angola’s capital, Luanda. Benedict XVI will not be the first pope to visit Cameroon in recent memory.

Pope Benedict’s predecessor Pope John Paul II had visited Cameroon twice -in 1985, and in September 1995 at the celebration phase of the African Synod.

And in his departure speech at Yaoundé airport on 16 September 1995,after his three-day visit, Pope John Paul II had called on Cameroonians “in positions of authority in public life and business… to contribute to removing the obstacles, which still impede the development that ought to benefit their compatriots”. He strongly remarked, “My visit to Cameroon has enabled me to see the many material and spiritual gifts which the Almighty God has poured out upon your country”
But despite Cameroon’s abundant natural and human resources a majority of its citizens still live in abject poverty as corruption, emblezzement of public funds by holders of public office, unemployment are at record high.
Cameroon recently emerged twice as the most corrupt country in the world, according to Transparency International, a Berlin –based good governance watchdog.

These social ills that are so rife in Cameroon are not unknown to Pope Benedict XVI
That is why on receiving Cameroon’s Ambassador to the Holy See last year, Pope Benedict XVI seriously warned the Biya regime to contain corruption, which has eaten deep into the fabric of this central African country

The Pope is coming to Cameroon at a time when even the country’s Catholic Church is known to be critical of the Biya regime, for not doing much to improve the lot of citizens The Catholic Church in Cameroon has in the last two decades had several of its priests murdered in mysterious circumstances, prompting the Vatican to call on the Cameroon government to carry out investigations so to prosecute the killers, but results of such probes are hardly made public.
Also Visit: www.recorderline.blogspot.com

St. Paul Winter Carnival

2009-01-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

In the northern reaches of the USA, there are snowy places. Places where the people enjoy the piled high white stuff. Where they get out and play in it. One of those places is St. Paul, Minnesota, where they have had a winter carnival, with a 'King of the Winds', since 1886.
For a week in late January, they celebrate with many activities, including an ice sculpture contest: photo gallery
Many of us in the southern states are content to see the snow on the internet and wonder about these people who enjoy the cold so much.

YouTube Say Macedonia

2009-01-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

YouTube Say Macedonia is a Macedonian YouTube users campaign for changing the official policy of YouTube naming us as Macedonia - The Former Yugoslav Republic of. YouTube Say Macedonia!

YouTube we respect your name, your owners and your service by using the name that YOU want to be your trademark. you have the right to it. But why is so hard for you to respect someones basic human right to be called by the constitutional name, by the name he choised to. Just as well as I don't have the right to change someones name, no one has the right to change mine. So please respect that. Call me by my NAME! Say MACEDONIA. Anyone who want to help can do that by writing a commet under the video. You can simply writte: YouTube Say Macedonia. You can find the videos on YouTube or here.

The Fists of a Nation.

2009-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

A well worldwide known figure from Panama is Roberto "Manos de Piedra(Stone Hands)" Duran. His awesome sporting career and his numerous achievements and victories have been the inspiration for writers,screen players,athletes and all his fans and followers. However, for us, Panamanians, he is more than an athlete or a celebrity, for those what have grew up parallel to his career. I remember when I was a child, and a Duran match will be held, I couldn't stand in front of the TV, watching the event! It was crazy! I ran to hide in my bed and put a pillow over my head, covering my ears, only when the cries coming from the collective euphoria, that happened only when Duran was one of the contenders, were made me get up and join the celebration.The anxiety and then the joy, after the victory I felt, is unique and incomparable. So, I grew up celebrating Duran's fights, championships, victories as a daily basis, as part of myself as the nationalism and Panamanian proud.
Now, he is retired,and I assure you,everybody miss his glory moments, because were not just for him, were for everyone who follow his career. Recently we have seen a very good short documentary, written and directed by a Panamanian movie maker, Pituka Helbron, titled: "The Fists of a Nation", and again the glory moments,happiness and joy we felt in the past came back and renewed the proud all us have inside. This documentary has been awarded in many international Festivals worldwide, but the best moment, as the director Pituka said, was when the documentary was presented by first time to the Panamanian audience in the Television. How come? Because she knows after she completed her masterpiece, the meaning and parallelism between Duran's fights and historic fights of Panama (The Canal, the Invasion,etc)and feelings like union and solidarity that only him can wake in the population. More than an fighter, athlete, humble and charismatic Latin American idol, Duran represents an unforgettable figure that involves all the temperament, character, thoughts and feelings that being simple and powerful at the same time, as dreams are born in the deep of a great small country called Panama. Duran is just a man, and we are a little country, but such a big heart we have!!Thanks Roberto!!

I invite you to look up the trailer in the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1v09uDrIEM