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The French far-right presidential candidate has positioned herself as a champion of African sovereignty. But her visit to the French military base in N'Djamena was condemned by some local politicians.

French far-right candidate Marine Le Pen has caused controversy with her visit to Chad in the final weeks of her presidential campaign. In a bid to show her support for France's anti-terrorism military operations in the Sahel region of Africa, Le Pen met Tuesday with Chad president Idriss Deby and planned to tour the French military base in N'Djamena on Wednesday.

The central African country's leading opposition party, however, sharply condemned the visit. The leader of the National Union for Democracy and Renewal (UNDR), Saleh Kebzabo, said he was "categorically opposed to her visit" because of her "racist and xenophobic" politics. He was referring to Le Pen's political platform which promises to curb both legal and illegal immigration into France and ban fundamentalist Muslim organizations.

UNDR spokesman Laring Baou told DW that Le Pen, as the successor to her father Jean-Marie Le Pen as leader of the National Front party, does not have the interests of Africans in mind. 

"The far right continues to promote the idea that if there are problems in France, it's because of the foreigners, especially Africans," said Baou. "I remember her father's words: 'I like Africans - but in only in Africa'."

A mixed message on colonialism

Le Pen is an outspoken defender of French colonialism. She attacked her major opponent Emmanuel Macron for calling the alleged torture and massacres of the colonial era "crimes against humanity," claiming that his criticism was itself a crime against France.

Nevertheless, Le Pen has positioned herself as the candidate most opposed to the politics of "Francafrique" - a term that refers to the continuing interdependence between France and its former African colonies. In the name of French economic independence, she advanced a policy of "non-interference" in African affairs during a speech last month.

"Marine Le Pen has had some success with her message to Africans," Jean-Claude Camus of the Jean Jaures Foundation told DW, "saying that you are masters of your own destiny in the same way that we should be the master of our own."

Anti-terrorism operations a focal point

At the center of Le Pen's trip to Chad was the issue of French national security. Terrorist attacks in the French cities of Nice and Paris in the past two years led current president Francois Hollande to claim that France is "at war" with Islamic terrorists.

The Sahel region of Africa, home to Islamist groups affiliated with al Qaeda, is key to France's anti-terrorist strategy. Chad hosts the headquarters of the Barkhane military operation, which consists of over 3,000 French troops, tasked with disrupting the activities of groups that France considers terrorist organizations.

Le Pen is not the only French presidential candidate to visit military bases. Center-right candidate Francois Fillon visited operations in Mali and Niger in December, and Macron toured a base in Jordan in January. The French Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian said that "all candidates who make a request may visit the military operations."

DW

 

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Rita Akana

25.Mar.2017

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CAPITOL HILL — 

One extra day could not buy President Donald Trump and his Republican Congress the first major legislative victory they needed to set the tone for the new administration.

Republicans canceled a crucial health care bill vote at the last minute Friday rather than lose a battle of numbers on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The cancellation followed a chaotic Thursday when the leadership postponed a vote in the hope that 24 more hours could win a long-promised repeal and replacement of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. 

Ryan delivered the news

House Speaker Paul Ryan rallied his splintered Republican Party during an emergency meeting in the depths of the Capitol after delivering the bad news in person to Trump at the White House.

The once-certain health care bill victory threw into question the rest of the Republican agenda addressing tax reform, government spending and infrastructure funding. Even though Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House, the reactions of members leaving the meeting gave varying clues on how the party moves forward.

A grim-faced Mark Meadows, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, offered no comment as he left the meeting led by Ryan. The conservative caucus helped bring down the Speaker’s bill, suggesting it was too close in form to the so-called Obamacare.

Other members looked visibly uncomfortable with questions about the next steps for Republicans.

“It’s unchartered territory, but it certainly doesn’t bode well as our first attempt out of the box to govern,” said Congressman Tom Rooney, a Republican from Florida. “We’re in power and we have the ability to do things and we’re not doing it.”

Tense moments

Many Republicans leaving the meeting said they had no issue with Ryan’s leadership after the vote cancellation.

VOA

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Rita Akana

25.Mar.2017

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Six years after the uprising that ended his rule, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been freed from detention over his alleged involvement in the killings of hundreds of protesters in 2011.

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Rita Akana

24.Mar.2017

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A Frenchman was kidnapped in Chad in a remote region near the border with Sudan’s Darfur region early on Thursday, France’s foreign ministry said.

The man was kidnapped south of Abeche, a mining area about 800 km (500 miles) east of the capital N’Djamena, a French military source told Reuters.

There were no immediate reports of any group claiming responsibility or making demands in the area crossed by nomadic groups and rebels fighting the Sudanese government over the border in Darfur.

A source close to the matter said officials were leaning toward a criminal act rather than linking it to militancy. 

Europe 1 radio said the man in his sixties had been working for a mining company and was seized carrying the staff’s wages, without giving its sources.

“I confirm that a French citizen was kidnapped in Chad and we are doing everything to find him,” President Francois Hollande told reporters.

“When it comes to hostages it’s best to say the least possible in the interests of the person and the discussions that will take place.”

Madeleine Alingue, spokeswoman for the Chadian government, said search operations were underway.

The last French national kidnapped in Chad was an aid worker taken in the eastern border area in 2009 and released nearly three months later inside Darfur.

The foreign ministry said it was working with local authorities to secure the man’s freedom.

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Rita Akana

24.Mar.2017

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Speaking at the end of his face-to-face meeting with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella, on 20 March in Rome, the Cameroonian Head of State declared having broached, with the Italian President, the current situation in the North-West and South-West regions, affected by secessionist demands for some months now. 

“We have also mentioned the situation in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon. I have assured him of the commitment of the majority of Cameroonians to peace in our country”, declared President Biya. Before specifying: “Our people is attached to two fundamental principles: unity and diversity of the nation. Inscribed in our constitution, they have a tangible value. My government remains open to any dialogue which does not however question the unity and diversity of the country”.

Aside from the situation which is still tensed in the Anglophone areas of Cameroon, the Cameroonian Head of State also talked about the fight against the Islamist sect Boko Haram, in which the Cameroonian army has been involved for several months now. “This obscurantist sect, despite its current weakening, remains dangerous. I have reiterated to the President our gratitude for the support that Italy has given us and continues to give us in this fight. I seize this opportunity to sincerely thank all the other countries and international organisations who have also supported us. This support enables us to face many security, economic, and humanitarian challenges”, said President Biya.  

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Rita Akana

24.Mar.2017

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The Cameroon People Democratic Movement CPDM, the governing party in Cameroon was born in Bamenda on March 24, 1985 from the ashes of the Cameroon National Union CNU. As  preparations for the party's 32 anniversary reaches fever pitch across the country, Bamenda the birth place of the party is not catching the euphoria which usually characterizes the build up to the celebration.

During a closed door preparatory meeting chaired by the Prime minister Philemon Yang in Bamenda early this week, local party officials raised serious worries over the unstable socio political atmosphere in the city.  

They told the Permanent Regional Coordinator, Philemon Yang that the boiling tension in the anglophone regions and Bamenda in particular makes it unreasonable for any grand rally to held. They revealed that the party  is still haunted by the deadly clashes of December 8, 2016 triggered by an abortive attempt by the Prime minister to forcefully hold a rally, still perceived by a cross section of the population as an act of provocation. That incident was a disastrous turning point in the combined sit down protest of anglophone lawyers and teachers.

Reacting to the worries raised by local party officials, Philemon Yang has ordered the cancellation of the grand rally scheduled for the Commercial avenue Grand  stand. While some sections will commune at their levels, there will be no event in other sections due to the volatile environment.

Anniversary rallies have always been the avenue for senior party officials dispatched from Yaounde to come to their bases and sing the achievements of the regime. A move which has been heavily condemned by inhabitants of Bamenda who are embittered over the present stalemate in the North west and South west regions.

It is feared that there could be a similar atmosphere with low key celebrations in many parts of former West Cameroon following persistent calls from secessionists abroad to totally black out the praise singing event.

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Rita Akana

23.Mar.2017

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