Category Archives: Government Oppression

Are famines just things of the past? In the ancient world, a bad harvest threatened lives. The agricultural output of the world has dramatically increased in the last couple hundred years, and today, the Earth supports billions of healthy people thanks to advances in farm technology and global trade. Where individuals are relatively free from violence and have access to global markets, widespread starvation is not a problem today. Healthy food staples are cheap. And, in an emergency, there is a lot of goodwill out there, such that a community with a free press and open markets will receive aid.

Fortunately, most humans today do not live and die by whether rain happens to fall on their farm. Today, episodes of mass starvation only occur when people are oppressed by authoritarian government regimes or gang violence organized on a smaller scale.

The latest tragedy is in South Sudan, which the U.N. has now officially declared to be a famine. In a Washington Post article on March 9, George Clooney declared the famine in South Sudan to be government-made, not only to distinguish it from natural causes such as the weather but squarely point the finger of blame at the administration in the capital of Juba.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has pointed out that functioning democracies do not have famines. In free societies, a government so inept as to create mass starvation would be voted out. The accountability provided by a free electorate and free press incentivize politicians to respond to the needs of the people. The problem is not that authoritarian governments do too little to prevent famines, its that they do too much to cause famines.

Functioning democracies do not have famines.

The famines of the 20th century dwarfed the infamous Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century. In China, tens of millions starved under the rule of Mao Zedong. The Communist regime in the Soviet Union oversaw several famines in which many millions starved, including the mass starvation known as the Holodomor in Ukraine. These famine events were sometimes associated with bad weather, but droughts do not cause famines. Only violence could cause a bad harvest to turn into mass starvation in the modern world.

In 1931, there was a lot of food being grown in Ukraine, but the Soviet government took the food by force and left almost none behind to feed the farmers. Another kind of government oppression that made the situation worse, in this case, was the suppression of free speech and free press. The Soviets denied that anyone was starving and censored unfavorable reports, making it less likely that aid would come in from the international community. Aided by Western journalists friendly to Stalin, the Soviets effectively clouded the issue of famine in Ukraine.

The most widespread famine to affect Ethiopia in the past century lasted from 1983 to 1985. The government at the time had violently attacked the people of Ethiopia and moved them around in collectivization schemes. An already poor country was rendered helpless through government intervention and corruption. A campaign of misinformation allowed government officials to profit from the international aid that was sent from rich countries, while the government withheld donated food from areas of the country where the people were not supportive of the regime.

The most recent famine is now occurring in South Sudan. The people of South Sudan used to have productive resources with which to feed themselves, but soldiers representing both the government and rebel forces have raided villages and destroyed the means of production, such as cattle, leaving the people to starve. In his article, Clooney expresses cautious hope that foreign aid will be allowed to reach the victims of the famine, but he acknowledges that aid is a short-term fix. Famines will continue until the government is held accountable for corruption and abuse. Clooney is thinking like an economist, because he is talking about incentives, not intentions.

Soon after the Western world was alerted to the severity of the famine in South Sudan, President Salva Kiir hiked the fee for work permits for foreign aid workers from $100 to $10,000. Perhaps that change is small in comparison with the violent attacks against aid workers perpetrated by government soldiers, but it does indicate how the government views the famine victims.

Economic freedom for individuals and the protection of property rights is the reason that famines do not occur in democracies today, as Amartya Sen documented in his book Development as Freedom. Hunger isnt just about food its about freedom.

Original post:

Famine is about freedom, not just food - Learn Liberty (blog)

British children have a behaviour problem because teachers think telling them what to do is "oppressive", the Government's behaviour tsar has warned.

Former teacher and behaviour expert Tom Bennett, who was appointed by the Government in 2015 to examine behaviour in schools in England, said that there is a "national problem" with pupil behaviour which is not being taken seriously enough.

In a report he said teachers were afraid that telling pupils what to do would curtail their freedom.

Students must become "compliant" in order to be free, he said, and teachers' worries that telling them what to do would be oppressive was an "impediment" to better behaviour.

Under a section titled "Is expecting good behaviour oppressive?", he said: "The belief that directing student behaviour is harmful to their development is a serious attitudinal impediment to developing schools with better behaviour cultures".

He added that pupils had to be taught "self-restraint or self-regulation" in order to be "truly free".

In the report he said: "To be in control of ones own immediate inclinations or desires and fancies, is a liberty far more valuable than the absence of restraint.

"Compliance is only one of several rungs on a behavioural ladder we hope all our students will climb, but it is a necessary one to achieve first."

Quoting Russian-born philosopher Isaiah Berlin, he added that schools should not simply discourage bad behaviour but encourage "good habits of study, or reasoning, or interacting with adults, coping with adversity, or intellectual challenges".

The report suggested that behavioural issues in schools were more serious than the Government realised because Ofsted reports and headteachers' views did not accurately represent the scale of the problem.

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Britain's children have a behaviour problem because teachers see issuing orders as 'oppression', official behaviour ... - Telegraph.co.uk

A woman with a Russian national flag walks past a Police line in Pushkin Square, downtown Moscow, Russia, Sunday, March 26, 2017. (File | AP)

WASHINGTON: The US has condemned the arrest of hundreds of peaceful Russian protesters, including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, in Moscow, describing it as an "affront" to core democratic values.

"The United States strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia on Sunday," State Department's Acting Spokesman Mark Toner, said.

"Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values. We were troubled to hear of the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny upon arrival at the demonstration, as well as the police raids on the anti-corruption organisation he heads," the State Department wrote in a tweet.

The statement of the State Department was retweeted by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a statement said, "strongly condemn the arrest of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators" in Moscow and across Russia.

"This crackdown is another indication that the space for civil society is rapidly closing inside Putin's Russia. It is not surprising that the Russian government's blatant corruption and culture of impunity have caused such a widespread and loud reaction from Russian citizens nationwide," he said.

Cardin said the Russians are the genesis and ultimate guarantors of genuine democratic change in their country.

Accountable and responsive governance in Russia will be the result of their courageous efforts, not anyone else's.

"But the Trump administration should not make their jobs harder," Cardin said and urged the Trump administration to maintain the US' commitment to universally recognised human rights and the democratic principles as laid out in the Helsinki Final Act.

"Any future dialogue with the Russian government should not diminish the importance of these essential American values," he said.

"Today's protest shows that corruption, propaganda, and thinly veiled oppression are a weak foundation for a government - even one led by a man as ruthless as Vladimir Putin," said Senator Tom Cotton in a separate statement.

Thousands of Russians defied bans yesterday to stage protests across the country against corruption. Navalny had called for the marches after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organisations.

See more here:

US condemns arrest of Russian protesters in Moscow - The New Indian Express

By Denis Foretia By Denis Foretia March 21

Denis Foretia is co-chair of the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation and a senior fellow at the Nkafu Policy Institute.

What began as occasional protests in Cameroon by Anglophone lawyers and teachers trade unions in November 2016 has now transformed into full-scale civil disobedience. Cameroons English-speaking citizens constitute 20 percent of the total population of about 24 million. The oppressive response from the government has brought the country to a state of complete political paralysis. What happens next will have serious ramifications on the future and political construct of the country.

English-speaking Cameroonians of the Southwest and Northwest regions have a unique historical experience in the country. In the referendum of 1961 the region, previously under U.N.-mandated British trusteeship, voted to reunite with the French-speaking Republique du Cameroun to form a two-state federation. In 1972, contrary to strict constitutional provisions, the countrys first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, orchestrated a referendum that changed the governing system into a unitary state with ensuing hyper-centralization of decision-making in Yaounde, the nations capital. Twelve years later, President Paul Biya, now 84 years old and in his 35th year of power, changed the countrys name from the United Republic of Cameroon back to the Republic of Cameroon, further alienating the Anglophones who were already being seen and treated as second-class citizens.

Cameroon today suffers from entrenched poor governance across all sectors, but the Anglophone marginalization is particularly pronounced. Of the36 government ministerswho control departmental budgets, only one is an Anglophone. Despite constitutional stipulations, the use of English barely exists in government administration. French-speaking teachers who barely understand English are sent to teach in Anglophone regions. Magistrates trained in French civil law, with no knowledge of the English language, are sent to administer the law to an English-speaking population that practices British common law. Anglophone teacher trade unions as well as lawyers have vehemently opposed this government-driven francophonisation of their communities. It is not the first time they have protested,but this time the challenge is different. Today, the entire Anglophone population is irate and speaks with one voice.

The governments response to the peaceful protests and civil disobedience has been true to its Jacobin teaching of total repression: the arrest of Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium leaders who are now accused of acts of subversion punishable by death; the arbitrary arrest of more than 110 English-speaking Cameroonians; the curtailing of civil liberties, especially freedom of speech; and the allegedrape and torture of university studentsby some members of the security forces. Many Anglophones have been killed and many others have fled the country. In an act of desperation, the government has shut down the Internet to the English-speaking regions, for two months now, as a last resort in preventing the spread of civil disobedience to the French-speaking regions.

The fight against the Islamic sect Boko Haram in the three northern regions, as well as the very porous borders in the East region with the Central African Republic, have created an extremely tenuous security situation. Conflict in the Northwest and Southwest means six of the 10 regions will face security challenges. National revenues and foreign exchange havedropped significantly in recent years, driven by low oil and commodity prices worldwide. There is growing pressure from the International Monetary Fund to devalue the currency and will likely result in the implementation of austerity measures that would undoubtedly be opposed by the predominantly young population. For a country with 62 percent of its population under the age of 25, this potential demographic dividend is far from being achieved.

The politics of fear and iron-fisted rule, a government specialty, has been completely crushed by Anglophones with Francophones taking full notice. State-citizen relations have been dramatically altered in a way similar to that of East Germany just before it collapsed in 1989. It is becoming increasingly questionable whether elections scheduled for 2018 will be possible.

Cameroon faces a historic opportunity to transform itself into a pluralistic, democratic, broad-based market economy where diversity is at the core of its raison dtre. It can choose to be a country where open, frank debates are celebrated, as demonstrated in Ghana, not one where countless presidential decrees are the norm.A federalist governing system, perhaps a 10-state federation, is the surest way to resolve these crises while simultaneously enhancing national unity and well-being.Cameroonians must continue to fight for this. Will the Biya government see the writing on the wall or will it, by being incapable of changing, continue down its repressive path with the consequences that abound?

Read more here:

Cameroon continues its oppression of English speakers - The ... - Washington Post

wbur Joshua Sobol. (Courtesy New Repertory Theatre)

His plays have made an impact, causing a riot in a Tel Aviv theater, championing the rights of Palestinians and attracting the attention of renowned British actor Brian Cox.

Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol may not cause quite as much commotion in the Boston area as he begins a two-week residency, but with titles like that of the lecture hes scheduled to deliver at no less than five Boston area venues "Theatre as a Form of Resistance to Oppression and Genocide" dont expect a celebration of contemporary political leaders.

I read only today in the newspapers about the human catastrophe in Africa, the keenly attentive Sobolsaidin a recent interview. There are some 20 million people who are risking starvation there in Africa because of these tribal wars that are going on there, and which seem to have no obvious reason except just making war for the sake of war."

This is one side of the coin, the playwright added. The other side of the coin is what happens in Europe and the United States with nations who are becoming very paranoid and fearful because of the wave of refugees, asylum seekers and so on. The two phenomena are interconnected, of course ... I think that this wave of panic is very dangerous because we dont have adequate leaders in the Western world or adequate leadership to face that problem and to solve it somehow and deal with it.

"I think that this wave of panic is very dangerous because we dont have adequate leaders in the Western world or adequate leadership to face that problem and to solve it somehow and deal with it."

Where political leadership fails, the arts often and fearlessly pick up the slack. Sobol's residency will be with Boston-based Israeli Stage, but his sojourn here also happens to coincide with a season in which the New Repertory Theatre's theme is "What's Past is Prologue." (And, in case you don't get what they're hinting at, one of its first productions this year was the cautionary tale "Good" about a decent man's slide into Nazism; another was a pointed reading of "Fiddler on the Roof.")

Sobol's visit is also planned to unfold in parallel with New Rep's month-long "New Works" festival, which includes a presentation of Greensboro Arts Alliance & Residency/Mirror Theater's fully staged production of his play, "Sinners." Staged readings of two more of Sobol's works are also on the itinerary, one of them a world premiere by Israeli Stage. (Sobol will also take time out of his lecture series to chat live with The ARTery's editor Ed Siegel at theCharles Mosesian Center in Watertown.)

The story of this remarkable cross-institutional adventure begins with Israeli Stages producing artistic director and founder, Guy Ben-Aharon, meeting Sobol in Israel in 2012, just a couple of years after the companys start in 2010.

Of the prolific Sobol author of more than 75 plays over the course of a career spanning four decades Ben-Aharon said, He embodies the act of winking, if you will. Very whimsical, very sharp, cynical, yet optimistic."

A few months after we first met, Ben-Aharon continued, Israeli Stage presented the American premiere of 'Sinners' ... as a staged reading with Nael Nacer and Maureen Keiller.

That initial meeting eventually led to an invitation to Sobol to travel to Boston for the "In Residence" program at theIsraeli Stage, which is dedicated to bringing top Israeli playwrights to the Greater Boston Area to workshop new plays, according to an Israeli Stage statement.

That goal will be fulfilled with the world premiere of"David, King," a new Sobol work, in a staged reading featuring Boston actor Jeremiah Kissel. "David, King," Sobol said, is an interpretation of the historical Jewish leader as a man reluctant to accept his place on the throne.

I took the biblical story of King David, and I tried to create a kind of narrative that is not [typically] the kind of narrative when we deal with King David, Sobol said. I represent him as a king who didnt want to be king, who was basically an artist a musician, a songwriter, a poet. And he is somehow forced to take over the throne of Judea. On every occasion that offers itself he tries to get rid of the throne. He says he doesnt seek to power.

The playwright pointed out that his interpretation has scriptural roots. I found it in the Biblical story King Saul was [a] paranoid person and he [feared] David was dreaming after the throne. King Saul tried to kill David and tussled with him On various occasions in the Biblical story, David says to him, Listen, I could kill you, but I dont want to kill you. Please understand, I dont want to become a king. Leave me alone. And so in this sense its a kind of a comedy, but its a serious comedy, saying, Maybe we should elect leaders who are not greedy for power, and who are not eager to stick to power. People who when the mission is accomplished, they are ready to step aside and give it over to others.'

He tied the theme of the new play to current events, remarking, I believe that in our situation, when we see leaders sticking to power for longer periods, power corrupts and they become corrupted. Corruption is again a danger, because corrupt leaders are always trying to justify themselves by creating a crisis and saying, Now is a time of national emergency; our existence is in danger, and so on. 'David, King' has to do with that question of what is an ideal king, or an ideal leader. In my mind, its someone who has a very clear mission, and if the people dont want to follow him on that mission he says, OK, Im not imposing it on you. Im stepping aside. Do what you want.

Sobol has never been afraid to court controversy with his work. "Ghetto," one of his first plays and still his most famous examines the Holocaust through a surreal lens. A 1985 play titled "Palestinian Girl," written when he was assistant artistic director for a theater in Haifa, challenged deep-seated Israeli notions even before the play went up.

You see, the playwright explained, in the '80s it was almost a taboo in Israel to use the word Palestinian, a taboo that Sobol clarified by noting that accepting Palestinian as a name for a genuine and distinct minority means we have to recognize the Palestinians as a people; and then once you recognize them as a people, you have to accept that they have rights as a people using the word Palestinian and putting it on the posters on the theater was already a challenge for many people, and we had problems with subscribers of the Haifa theater of the time who protested against the title of the play. They wanted [the theater] to return their subscriptions because we had the word Palestinian on the poster. In the end, the fuss was worth it: I dont say that I was the only one, but I helped also to legitimize the use of that word.

"I think that theater and the arts in general, when they make a common effort and they join forces, they can change the discourse in a society. They can change the priorities."

I think that theater and the arts in general, when they make a common effort and they join forces, they can change the discourse in a society. They can change the priorities, Sobol continued. I am not nave; I am not exaggerating in estimating the power of theater or of art to change political trends, but you can do something. I feel it is my duty. It is still my duty now.

A few years later, in 1988, Sobol created still more controversy with his play"The Jerusalem Syndrome," which so outraged theatergoers a riot broke out and Sobol ended up leaving his post at the theater. Despite the personal cost, Sobol saw the response to the play as a sign that he was on the right path.

I must say that the moment when the riots broke out in the auditorium when we played 'The Jerusalem Syndrome' in Tel Aviv for the first time, in January 1988 it was a moment when the auditorium really became a kind of arena of violence it was a moment when I felt that the theater is doing what it should do, because the play was about the danger of society indulging in zealotism, fanaticism and a warning that if we will indulge in a nationalistic fanaticism, we will maybe end up in a catastrophe and the destruction of the state of Israel, because I believe that the fanatics, they lead society to disaster, Sobol recounted. I think we are still running the danger in Israel. Now we have a government, the most extreme right wing government we had in our short history of 70 years, and it is a government that fills me with apprehension, and with fear sometimes.

But Sobol has not stopped responding to the times as he feels he must. Another play he's only recently completed is titled "Bereaved," in which two families one Israeli, the other Palestinian meet. The Israeli clan has lost a son, but its Palestinian counterpart has also sustained the loss of a child, a daughter, who was shot at a checkpoint.

"We'retrying to deal in this play with bereavement as a reason to look deep into what they are doing and to understand that [while] it is a catastrophe on a personal level for the families, we should consider it a catastrophe on the national level," Sobol said, adding that if no humane and compassionate solution is found, Israelis and Palestinians will "become two bereaved societies, [each of them] badly injured.

"Now, we are going to do the play with two couples," the playwright continued. "A couple of Israeli Jewish actors, and another couple of Palestinian actors. Also, maybe, part of it will be in Hebrew and part of it will be in Arabic. We shall see what the audience will make of it." With a laugh, Sobol confessed, "I don't know what to expect."

That sense of blended urgency and uncertainty also colored the Vermont production of Sobols play "Sinners." After Israelis Stages American premiere of the play as a staged reading in 2013, a full production by Greensboro Arts Alliance & Residency/Mirror Theater eventually followed. Mirror Theater will repeat the feat for Sobols visit, though this time the play will be staged in Boston, at TheatreLab@855, in a presentation by the New Repertory Theatre in association with the Boston University-affiliated Boston Center for American Performance.

Actress Nicole Ansari reprises her role as Layla, a married teacher charged with having an adulterous affair with a young man named Nur. When Nur betrays her, Layla faces death by stoning. Its strong stuff, and Ansari felt so strongly about the work that she ended up played a key role in getting "Sinners" to the stage in Vermont in the first place.

Ive known Joshua for 20 years, Ansari said in a recent phone conversation that included her husband, actor and director Brian Cox. I worked with him on a play called 'Alma' that he wrote especially for the international theater festival in Vienna.

Ansari went on to explain that about four years ago he sent me this play, ['Sinners'], and said to me, I think you should do this play. You are perfect for this. I read it and I was just bawling; I had to read it two times in a row because the first time I read it I just couldnt read it because my tears were all over the paper. When Cox found his wife in this state and asked what she was reading, she showed him Sobols play. Cox decided on the spot he wanted to direct it.

Fast forward to 2015, when Ansari had just finished starring in a run of "Hamlet" with Mirror Theater. The plays director, Sabra Jones also the producing director for Greensboro Arts Alliance & Residency/Mirror Theater asked Ansari what she might like to do for the following season.

I said, Well, besides "Medea" and "Hedda Gabler," I dont know,' " Ansari recounted. There is one play, but I dont think its right for Vermont. Its about a woman being stoned to death for adultery in the Middle East.

Sabra, however, loved the script.She was all over it she said, No, no, no, we can make this work. It think its perfect, Ansari said. Cox signed on as director, and the show went up.

I had always wanted to direct Nicole, and she would be the perfect vehicle [for this play] in some ways, Cox chimed in. Shes half Iranian, so its part of her culture.

Vermont audiences responded appreciatively. Despite their uncertainty about how the play would be received, Cox said, the reaction was tremendous, absolutely tremendous. People came back two or three times to see it. Then the production found fresh life, thanks to Sobols planned visit. Cox recalled that the people from Boston said, Would you bring it? Were doing this retrospective of Joshuas writing.

"...if you feel that its your destiny to share your insights, then you do it with your means. I do it with my plays."

Retrospective might not quite be the word for it, just as "Sinners" does not exactly fit into the New Repertory Theatres month-long Festival of New Works ("We're grouping it with the festival even though its not very new, but [its] new to Boston, New Rep publicist Michael Duncan Smith explained.),but a sense of occasion, and of communal enthusiasm, attends this celebration of Sobol and his career.

Sobol gave a suitably lyrical summary of his work as ourinterview wound down. There was a poet, Elsa Lasker-Schler, a German Jewish poet who compared the artist to a tree that gives its fruits. She said he cannot force anyone to eat the fruits that he offers, but he cannot help giving the fruits. I accept the metaphor, and I think this is probably the best view of the artist. If you can avoid it, then you must not offer anything. But if you feel that its your destiny to share your insights, then you do it with your means. I do it with my plays."

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Israeli Playwright Joshua Sobol Confronts Oppression And Corrupt Leadership With His Work - WBUR

By Denis Foretia By Denis Foretia March 21

Denis Foretia is co-chair of the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation and a senior fellow at the Nkafu Policy Institute.

What began as occasional protests in Cameroon by Anglophone lawyers and teachers trade unions in November 2016 has now transformed into full-scale civil disobedience. Cameroons English-speaking citizens constitute 20 percent of the total population of about 24 million. The oppressive response from the government has brought the country to a state of complete political paralysis. What happens next will have serious ramifications on the future and political construct of the country.

English-speaking Cameroonians of the Southwest and Northwest regions have a unique historical experience in the country. In the referendum of 1961 the region, previously under U.N.-mandated British trusteeship, voted to reunite with the French-speaking Republique du Cameroun to form a two-state federation. In 1972, contrary to strict constitutional provisions, the countrys first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, orchestrated a referendum that changed the governing system into a unitary state with ensuing hyper-centralization of decision-making in Yaounde, the nations capital. Twelve years later, President Paul Biya, now 84 years old and in his 35th year of power, changed the countrys name from the United Republic of Cameroon back to the Republic of Cameroon, further alienating the Anglophones who were already being seen and treated as second-class citizens.

Cameroon today suffers from entrenched poor governance across all sectors, but the Anglophone marginalization is particularly pronounced. Of the36 government ministerswho control departmental budgets, only one is an Anglophone. Despite constitutional stipulations, the use of English barely exists in government administration. French-speaking teachers who barely understand English are sent to teach in Anglophone regions. Magistrates trained in French civil law, with no knowledge of the English language, are sent to administer the law to an English-speaking population that practices British common law. Anglophone teacher trade unions as well as lawyers have vehemently opposed this government-driven francophonisation of their communities. It is not the first time they have protested,but this time the challenge is different. Today, the entire Anglophone population is irate and speaks with one voice.

The governments response to the peaceful protests and civil disobedience has been true to its Jacobin teaching of total repression: the arrest of Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium leaders who are now accused of acts of subversion punishable by death; the arbitrary arrest of more than 110 English-speaking Cameroonians; the curtailing of civil liberties, especially freedom of speech; and the allegedrape and torture of university studentsby some members of the security forces. Many Anglophones have been killed and many others have fled the country. In an act of desperation, the government has shut down the Internet to the English-speaking regions, for two months now, as a last resort in preventing the spread of civil disobedience to the French-speaking regions.

The fight against the Islamic sect Boko Haram in the three northern regions, as well as the very porous borders in the East region with the Central African Republic, have created an extremely tenuous security situation. Conflict in the Northwest and Southwest means six of the 10 regions will face security challenges. National revenues and foreign exchange havedropped significantly in recent years, driven by low oil and commodity prices worldwide. There is growing pressure from the International Monetary Fund to devalue the currency and will likely result in the implementation of austerity measures that would undoubtedly be opposed by the predominantly young population. For a country with 62 percent of its population under the age of 25, this potential demographic dividend is far from being achieved.

The politics of fear and iron-fisted rule, a government specialty, has been completely crushed by Anglophones with Francophones taking full notice. State-citizen relations have been dramatically altered in a way similar to that of East Germany just before it collapsed in 1989. It is becoming increasingly questionable whether elections scheduled for 2018 will be possible.

Cameroon faces a historic opportunity to transform itself into a pluralistic, democratic, broad-based market economy where diversity is at the core of its raison dtre. It can choose to be a country where open, frank debates are celebrated, as demonstrated in Ghana, not one where countless presidential decrees are the norm.A federalist governing system, perhaps a 10-state federation, is the surest way to resolve these crises while simultaneously enhancing national unity and well-being.Cameroonians must continue to fight for this. Will the Biya government see the writing on the wall or will it, by being incapable of changing, continue down its repressive path with the consequences that abound?

See the original post:

Cameroon continues its oppression of English speakers - Washington Post

Honorable Wirba Joseph has finally broken the silence following reports that he has fled Cameroon to avoid arrest. See what he wrote via his official Facebook page below...

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The struggle of the people of West Cameroon is on course. I wish to welcome all of you to my new official Facebook page. You can also join the #WirbaForce on Twitter (@HonWirbaJoseph) and Instagram (@WirbaJosephM). This will enable me reach out to you and participate in your determined push for our freedom.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all of you, on behalf of our people, and from the bottom of my heart, for all your prayers, support, and unquestionable commitment towards our struggle.

I will also want to inform you that after I led the persistent hard push on the colonial government, their brutal military forces came searching for me. The order for my arrest was given by the Secretary General at the presidency of Cameroon in agreement with the Minister of Interior and designated the Chief of Police, Mbarga Nguele to execute. There were two names in that arrest order: WIRBA JOSEPH, SDF MP and AYAH PAUL ABINE! The execution date was January 20th, 2017! The Cameroon government's goal was to stop me from reaching Kumba, in the South West Region where I was to lead a follow up rally after the one in Kumbo, North West Region! The manhunt for me was thus launched and I am sure their main target was to assassinate me.

My experience from the 1990s when we fought in the streets to ensure the SDF party survived the brutal onslaught of our oppressors, helped me stay ahead of my hunters. My immediate goal was to stay safe in order to continue the fight for our freedom. All you need to know for now, is that l am safe and despite the overwhelming challenges of life on the run, my spirits are very high because of my firm belief that the time to seize our freedom is now! We will remain vigilant and smart in our strategies.

My brothers and sisters, l will not sleep, rest or have any peace as long as some our children lie dead and others hospitalized from the brutal guns of our oppressors; as long as some of our brothers and sisters are in jail, on the run, in hiding, or violently forced into exile! How can l have any respite when millions of West Cameroonians at home live the daily misery of man-made poverty under violent government oppression?

For now, social media presents a convenient forum, especially to those of you in the diaspora with unlimited access. It presents an opportunity for you and I to connect, communicate, and forge a stronger and united team to resist oppression and take back our freedom.

I will continue to remain honored by your commitment, participation and prayers.

Please feel free to share any communiques that are published on my page to as many sympathizers and supporters as you can to help advance our cause for freedom.

I wish you all good health and God's abundant blessings.

Stay blessed Hon. WIRBA.

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" My experience from the 1990s...helped me stay ahead of my hunters" - Honorable Wirba Joseph finally breaks the ... - Cameroon Concord

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English-speaking Cameroonians of the Southwest and Northwest regions have a unique historical experience in the country. In the referendum of 1961 the region, previously under U.N.-mandated British trusteeship, voted to reunite with the French-speaking Republique du Cameroun to form a two-state federation. In 1972, contrary to strict constitutional provisions, the countrys first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, orchestrated a referendum that changed the governing system into a unitary state with ensuing hyper-centralization of decision-making in Yaounde, the nations capital. Twelve years later, President Paul Biya, now 84 years old and in his 35th year of power, changed the countrys name from the United Republic of Cameroon back to the Republic of Cameroon, further alienating the Anglophones who were already being seen and treated as second-class citizens.

Cameroon today suffers from entrenched poor governance across all sectors, but the Anglophone marginalization is particularly pronounced. Of the 36 government ministers who control departmental budgets, only one is an Anglophone. Despite constitutional stipulations, the use of English barely exists in government administration. French-speaking teachers who barely understand English are sent to teach in Anglophone regions. Magistrates trained in French civil law, with no knowledge of the English language, are sent to administer the law to an English-speaking population that practices British common law. Anglophone teacher trade unions as well as lawyers have vehemently opposed this government-driven francophonisation of their communities. It is not the first time they have protested, but this time the challenge is different. Today, the entire Anglophone population is irate and speaks with one voice.

The governments response to the peaceful protests and civil disobedience has been true to its Jacobin teaching of total repression: the arrest of Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium leaders who are now accused of acts of subversion punishable by death; the arbitrary arrest of more than 110 English-speaking Cameroonians; the curtailing of civil liberties, especially freedom of speech; and the alleged rape and torture of university students by some members of the security forces. Many Anglophones have been killed and many others have fled the country. In an act of desperation, the government has shut down the Internet to the English-speaking regions, for two months now, as a last resort in preventing the spread of civil disobedience to the French-speaking regions.

The fight against the Islamic sect Boko Haram in the three northern regions, as well as the very porous borders in the East region with the Central African Republic, have created an extremely tenuous security situation. Conflict in the Northwest and Southwest means six of the 10 regions will face security challenges. National revenues and foreign exchange have dropped significantly in recent years, driven by low oil and commodity prices worldwide. There is growing pressure from the International Monetary Fund to devalue the currency and will likely result in the implementation of austerity measures that would undoubtedly be opposed by the predominantly young population. For a country with 62 percent of its population under the age of 25, this potential demographic dividend is far from being achieved.

The politics of fear and iron-fisted rule, a government specialty, has been completely crushed by Anglophones with Francophones taking full notice. State-citizen relations have been dramatically altered in a way similar to that of East Germany just before it collapsed in 1989. It is becoming increasingly questionable whether elections scheduled for 2018 will be possible.

Cameroon faces a historic opportunity to transform itself into a pluralistic, democratic, broad-based market economy where diversity is at the core of its raison dtre. It can choose to be a country where open, frank debates are celebrated, as demonstrated in Ghana, not one where countless presidential decrees are the norm. A federalist governing system, perhaps a 10-state federation, is the surest way to resolve these crises while simultaneously enhancing national unity and well-being. Cameroonians must continue to fight for this. Will the Biya government see the writing on the wall or will it, by being incapable of changing, continue down its repressive path with the consequences that abound?

Foretia is co-chair of the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation and a senior fellow at the Nkafu Policy Institute.

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Cameroon continues its oppression of English speakers - Albuquerque Journal

Its been 54 years since Kenya got her independence and yet there are still a number of archaic, colonial and discriminatory laws on the statute books. From archival research I have done its clear that these laws are used to exploit, frustrate and intimidate Kenyans by restricting their right to movement, association and the use of private property.

They also make it difficult for ordinary Kenyans to make a living by imposing steep permit fees on informal businesses.

These laws were inherited from the colonial British government and used to be within the purview of local government municipalities under the Local Government Act. This act was repealed when municipalities were replaced by counties after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.

Currently, these laws are contained in county rules and regulations, criminalising a good number of activities, including making any kind of noise on the streets, committing acts contrary to public decency, washing, repairing or dismantling any vehicle in non-designated areas (unless in an emergency) and loitering aimlessly at night.

The colonial laws served a central purpose segregation. Africans and Asians could be prosecuted for doing anything that the white settlers deemed to be a breach of public order, public health or security.

Violating human rightsMany of these archaic laws also restrict citizens use of shared or public space. Some of them grant the police powers to arrest offenders without warrant, and to prosecute them under the Penal Code.

Offences like the ones mentioned above are classified as petty crimes that can attract fines and prison terms.

Some have argued that these laws are being abused because they restrict freedom of movement and the right to a fair hearing.

A few of them also hinder the growth of the economy. For example, hawking without a permit is against the law. To get a permit, traders must pay steep fees to various government authorities. This requirement is a deterrent to trade and infringes on the social economic rights of citizens.

Another example is the law that makes it a crime to loiter at night. This law was initially put on the books to deter people from soliciting for sexual favours, or visiting unlicensed establishments. It has however become a means for state agents to harass anyone walking on the streets at night.

Genesis of archaic lawsThe laws can be traced back to legal ordinances that were passed by the colonial government between 1923 and 1934.

The 1925 Vagrancy (Amendment) Ordinance restricted movement of Africans after 6pm, especially if they did not have a registered address.

Post-independence, the ordinance became the Vagrancy Act, which was repealed in 1997. The Vagrancy Act inspired the Public Order Act, which restricts movement of Africans during the day, but only in the special circumstances that are outlined in the Public Security (Control of Movement) Regulations.

The Witchcraft Ordinance of 1925, which formed the basis for the Witchcraft Act, outlawed any practices that were deemed uncivilised by colonial standards. The provisions of the Act are ambiguous and a clear definition of witchcraft is not given. This has made it easy for authorities to prosecute a wide range of cultural practices under the banner of witchcraft.

Rationale behind punitive lawsThe idea behind most of the targeted legislation enacted by the colonialists was to separate whites from people of other races, including Asians. For example, in 1929 settlers in the white suburbs of Muthaiga in Nairobi raised an objection when the Governor announced plans to merge their suburban township with greater Nairobi.

That would have meant that they would have had to mingle with locals from Eastleigh and other native townships, which were mostly black. As a caveat to joining the greater Nairobi Township, the Muthaiga Township committee developed standard rules and regulations to govern small townships.

These rules and regulations were applied to other administrative townships such as Mombasa and Eldoret.

White townships would only join larger municipalities if the Muthaiga rules applied across the board.

The Muthaiga rules allowed white townships to control and police public space, which was a clever way to restrict the presence and movement of Asians and Africans in the suburbs.

Variations of these rules remain on the books to date. The current Nairobi county rules and regulations require residents to pay different rates to the county administration depending on their location.

In addition, the county rules demand that dog owners must be licensed, a requirement that limits the number of city dwellers who can own dogs. This rule can be read as discriminatory because the vast majority of lower-income earners now find themselves unable to keep a dog in the city. Indeed, discrimination was the basis of the colonial legal framework.

Can oppressive laws be legal?Strictly speaking, these discriminatory rules and regulations were unlawful because they were not grounded in statutory or common law. Indeed, they were quasi-criminal and would have been unacceptable in Great Britain.

Ironically, because such rules and regulations didnt exist in Great Britain, criminal charges could not be brought against white settlers for enforcing them.

To curtail freedom of movement and enjoyment of public space by non-whites the settlers created categories of persons known as vagrants, vagabonds, barbarians, savages and Asians.

These were the persons targeted by the loitering, noisemaking, defilement of public space, defacing of property, and anti-hawking laws. The penalty for these offences was imprisonment.

Anyone found loitering, anyone who was homeless or found in the wrong abode, making noise on the wrong streets, sleeping in public or hawking superstitious material or paraphernalia would be detained after trial.

Police had the powers to arrest and detain offenders in a concentration camp, detention or rehabilitation centre, or prison without a warrant.

This is the same legal framework that was inherited by the independence government and the very same one that has been passed down to the county governments.

The Public Order Act allows police powers to arrest without warrant anyone found in a public gathering, meeting or procession which is likely to breach the peace or cause public disorder. This is the current position under sections 5 and 8 of the Act.

This law, which was used by the colonial government to deter or disband uprisings or rebellions, has been regularly abused in independent Kenya.

At the end of the day Kenyans must ask themselves why successive governments have allowed the oppression of citizens to continue by allowing colonial laws to remain on the books.

Mercy Muendo, Lecturer, Information Technology and the Law, Mount Kenya University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Kenyans are still oppressed by archaic colonial laws - Mail & Guardian Africa

WikiLeaks uncovers the U.S. police state

By Mark Luedtke

All hail Julian Assange, the head of WikiLeaks. No scribe in history has dared expose the machinations of rulers to the extent Assange has. A hero in every respect, including his flaws, Assange sacrifices his freedom and risks his life to inform people of the evils of coercive government.

Assange could not accomplish this mission on his own. All members of WikiLeaks and the whistleblowers who feed them are heroes.

WWII was presented to the American people as a conflict between an open society and a closed one. Rulers contrasted how Americans enjoyed the free exchange of ideas without surveillance or consequence while fascist countries were ruled by secret police that monitored everything. The communists employed the same tactic during the Cold War.

The book They Thought They Were Free documents how Germans believed they were free until the Nazis made it clear they werent. They had surrendered their freedom before the Nazis took power, and then the Gestapo ruled them. The KGB ruled the Soviet Union.

We recently learned Americans are ruled by our own secret police: the NSA, FBI, and, as WikiLeaks spectacularly documented, the CIA. Americans who believe they are free are as mistaken as the Germans before them.

Of course, Americans have never been allowed the free exchange of ideas without surveillance or consequence. George Washington read every piece of mail he could confiscate during the Revolutionary War and the revolts during his presidency. John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were forced to write essays protesting oppression under pseudonyms. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and imprisoned newspaper writers who criticized him and his war against Southern states. Roosevelt imprisoned Americans of Japanese descent. War is the impetus for oppression.

However, despite the governments efforts, Americans largely succeeded in keeping society open. Thats why the best and brightest people in the world moved to America, especially during the rise of fascism between the world wars. The openness of American society was one of the major factors in winning WWII and the Cold War.

But not any more. The WikiLeaks expos proves beyond a shadow of a doubt all Americans are now monitored and controlled by secret police.

The first important takeaway from this WikiLeaks dump is U.S. government agents will go to any extreme to hack anybody they want. The law does not limit them. They are not limited by conscience. They follow their worst instincts without consequence. Promoting changes to the law to limit U.S. spies is useless, because they dont obey the law.

Second, government agents intentionally make the internet less secure. Rhetoric about wanting to secure the internet is a joke. Rulers spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually making it less secure so we are more vulnerable to internet predators.

Exile Edward Snowden tweeted, If youre writing about the CIA/WikiLeaks story, heres the big deal: first public evidence USG secretly paying to keep U.S. software unsafe.

Snowden continues, The CIA reports show the USG developing vulnerabilities in US products, then intentionally keeping the holes open. Reckless beyond words.

Surrendering power to the U.S. government, ostensibly to secure the internet, is setting the fox to guard the henhouse.

WikiLeaks CIA document dump also shows how U.S. spies regularly create fake intelligence and masquerade as rival intelligence services, so the next time you hear Russian or Chinese hackers hacked something, you cant trust it. Fake intelligence from the U.S. government, especially the CIA, is the primary source of the fake news that permeates the mainstream media.

Its ironic that despite all its tools for creating fake intelligence, the CIA produced zero evidence Russia hacked the recent presidential election. Its outrageous that America, once the haven for the best and brightest people in the world, now has a government that drives productive Americans to expatriate in record numbers.

I fear for Julian Assange. WikiLeaks has been so successful that Sean Hannity, who never saw a war or spy program he didnt like, is suddenly talking about the danger of the deep state. The last person to so publicly wound the CIA was President Kennedy, and he was assassinated for it.

Assange is already trapped in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, but the Ecuadorians cant protect him from the CIA. I fear hell either be extradited or assassinated by years end. Hopefully, WikiLeaks will continue doing the job American establishment reporters wont do if the worst happens to Assange.

The views and opinions expressed in Conspiracy Theorist are the views and/or opinions of the author and do not reflect the views and/or opinions of the Dayton City Paper or Dayton City Media and are published strictly for entertainment purposes.

Tags: conspiracy theorist, headline, surveillance, U.S. police state, WikiLeaks

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Conspiracy Theorist: 3/21 - Dayton City Paper