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U.S. officials are giving details about the arrest this week of a former Liberian rebel commander.  Forty-nine-year-old Mohammed Jabbateh, aka "Jungle Jabbah," was arrested at his home in Philadelphia following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. 

He allegedly served in the 1990s as a commander in the rebel group known as the United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO), later called ULIMO-K.

An indictment said Jungle Jabbah either personally committed, or ordered ULIMO troops under his command to commit numerous atrocities.

Zane David Memeger, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said Mohammed Jabbateh lied twice on two application forms about his membership in a rebel movement and that he engaged in genocide. 

“When we admit people into the United States, we don’t want people who have engaged in war crimes, and the fact, as alleged in the indictment, is that Jungle Jabbah, as he was known, engaged in horrific acts against civilians in Liberia and he failed to disclose that information to U.S. officials when he applied for admittance into the United States and sought permanent residency in the United States,” he said.

According to the indictment, among the crimes that “Jungel Jabbah” is alleged to have committed or ordered ULIMO troops under his command to commit include the “murder of civilian non-combatants; the sexual enslavement of women, the public raping of women, the maiming of civilian non-combatants, the torturing of civilian non-combatants, the enslavement of civilian non-combatants, the conscription of soldiers, the execution of prisoners of war, the desecration and mutilation of corpses, and the killing of persons because of race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin or political opinion."

Memeger said while the United States has always welcomed refugees and those fleeing oppression, it will not be a safe haven for alleged human rights violators and war criminals.

Jabbateh first applied for political asylum in 1998 and asked on his application whether he had ever committed a crime or harmed anyone, he allegedly answered “no."

Memeger said Jabbateh has been in the United States for 18 years, but he said there are a variety of reasons why it took 17 years to apprehend him.

“We can’t proceed with cases unless we get information that the government can rely on to investigate. That is what happened here,” Memeger said.

Memeger would not say whether U.S. authorities were investigating other possible Liberian human rights violators who might be living in the United States, or soliciting the help of Liberians for information about possible violators.

“The reality is with regard to investigations such as this that we generally do here in the United States, there are issues with regards to witnesses, their privacy, their security, we need to make sure that we are protecting them so that we can pursue our cases and make that justice is done,” Memeger said.

The U.S. Homeland Security agency says victims of Jabbateh who have information to report can call the “Victims Assistance Hotline” at (215) 717-4987. 

In 2014, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Jucontee Thyomas Woewiyu, a former member in Charles Taylor’s government upon his arrival from Liberia and charged him with lying on his 2006 application to become a naturalized US citizen and in a 2009 interview with an immigration officer. 

The indictment alleges that Taylor and Woewiyu’s rebel movement executed their opponents, forced girls into sex slavery and conscripted boys to become child soldiers.

Memeger said Jabbateh is due in court on Monday a for detention hearing.  If he goes to trial and is convicted, he faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison.  He could also face fines of up to $250,000, and possible deportation from the United States.

VOA

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Elangwe Pauline

15.Apr.2016

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Freedom House, a Washington-based organization that has established reputation in studying the extent of democracy in the world has just published a study showing that Cameroon does not promote political rights, civil liberties and freedom of the press.

This is another report emerging from the US that will further upset the Biya regime. This time around, it does not come from an anonymous association, but Freedom House, a highly credible Washington-based organization that studies the extent of democracy in the world. 

According to the report, Cameroon is listed among the world's worst 50 oppresive countries that do not favor civil liberties.

Amongst the 195 countries and 15 territories that were included in the survey, Cameroon produced a partial score of 24 points out of 100, Just like Afghanistan and Angola.

According to Freedom House , the method used to assess the freedom is taken from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . It has been applied to all countries and territories, regardless of geographic location, ethnic or religious composition , or level of economic development.

See Total Scores

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The governmnet delegate to the Bamenda City Council Board has blamed the slow  implementation of projects for the development of the city to limited resources. Vincent Nji Ndumu was speaking during the  first Ordinary Session of the city board yesterday Thursday 14, 2016 in Bamenda. The session which was dedicated entirely to the administrative and management accounts gave room for the city Government delegate to explain to the city board members how he spent the FCFA 3.6bn given him as budget in 2015.

In providing the explanation, Vincent Nji stated that he was able to collect just FCFA 2.3bn and used that to run the council and carry some projects like taring roads. 

The City board members representing Bamenda I, II and III council's had to examine the delegate's submission together with that of the Municipal treasurer and the stores accountant before voting unanimously for adoption according to the Secretary General of the City Council Jude Waindim.

The government will later present a new city hall requesting the grand councilors to vote and empower him to seek funding to the tune of FCFA 300 million from the council support fund for mutual assistance FEICOM for its realisation with an addition of FCFA 200 million from the City Council. 

The absence of the two mayors of Bamenda I and III all opposition (SDF) has been noticed by reporters particularly as ex-officio members and certainly leaders of the SDF Grand councilors group. Their role in the adoption of projects is always very vital. It is not certain if the SDF grand councilors group can independently reject the adoption of a bill without them.

The session coincided with the 6th anniversary of Mayor Amandou's death (pioneer mayor of Bamenda III Council who died April 14, 2010) and according to Senior Councilor Kaba Charles who was elected protem chairman during the session it was a natural way to pay tribute to the SDF fallen hero. See image of late mayor beside this story.

 The session it should be noted held in-camera. 

Bakah Derick

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Bakah Derick

15.Apr.2016

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The Prime Minister and Head of Government Philemon Yang is representing President Paul Biya in the 13th edition of the Islamic Cooperation Organization Summit which began 15th April 2016 in Istanbul, Capital of Turkey.

The two day summit is focused on the Palestinian crisis, conflicts in member states and ways of fighting against terrorism. The summit which is being represented by over 30 countries was founded in 1969 to safeguard and protect the interest of the Muslim world in promoting international peace and harmony. The Organisation is made up of a total of 57 member states.

Prominent guests at the meeting include Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose countries find themselves on opposing sides in the Syria and Yemen conflicts. 

Turkey has said it wants to use the meeting to narrow differences between the world's estimated 1.7 billion Muslims.

However, the gathering risks being overshadowed by disputes on issues ranging from Syria to Yemen.

Notable absentees

There is a security lockdown around the summit venue in Istanbul, the former capital of the Ottoman Empire from where the Ottoman sultans for centuries ruled Muslims from the Balkans to Arabia.

While the summit marks one of the most significant gatherings of heads of state for years in Istanbul, some prominent leaders such as Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will be notable by their absence.

CRTV

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15.Apr.2016

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Human rights group Amnesty International is calling for trials following revelations that Nigeria’s Kaduna state government secretly buried the bodies of nearly 350 slain Shi'ite Muslims in a mass grave.

Kaduna state officials told a panel of inquiry Monday that the bodies were buried in the bush after clashes between army troops and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in the town of Zaria in December.

“The horrific revelation by the Kaduna state government that hundreds of Shi'ites were gunned down and dumped in mass graves is an important first step to bringing all those suspected of criminal responsibility for this atrocity to trial,” M.K. Ibrahim, the director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said in a statement Tuesday. 

“It is now imperative that the mass grave sites are protected in order that a full independent forensic investigation can begin,” Ibrahim said.

Kaduna officials said army raids on the Shi'ite group were ordered after the IMN allegedly attempted to kill Nigeria’s army chief.  The IMN has denied the accusation.

Muhammad Namadi Musa, director-general of the Kaduna State Religious Affairs office, said Monday that he was ordered to travel to Zaria with the Kaduna state police commissioner to “find out the number of corpses and how they would be buried.”

“Most corpses were covered with black materials and they included women and children,” Musa said at the hearing.

Musa said 156 bodies were counted at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, while 191 were collected from the army base in Zaria.

The Nigerian army, which has been accused of human rights abuses against civilians in the insurgency by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, denies wrongdoing.

Chief of Army Staff General Tukur Yusuf Buratai said in January that soldiers “acted in accordance to the rule of engagement” and their orders.

Human Rights Watch said “at least 300” people were killed in the Zaria clashes, although no official death toll has been released.

One medic at the Ahmadu Hospital told the French news agency that he counted at least 400 bodies in the morgue on December 12. Local residents said just as many bodies were scattered on the streets.

voa

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14.Apr.2016

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