Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den

"France 24" Webnews: Cameroonian Bloggers and the Ongoing Crisis

France 24: "President Paul Biya, in power since 1982, announced that he would like to modify the constitution in order to be re-elected one 'last' time. The announcement lit the powder keg in the streets of Yaounde. The opposition is organizing itself on the web." (My translation).

 

«La Politique de Pourrissement»: Why Biya Remains Defiant

Dibussi Tande

"This is the famous “politique de pourrissement” whereby the regime allows the political situation to 'rot', with the expectation that those who have taken to the streets will ultimately be worn down by the repression and the government’s intransigence. This strategy worked in 1991 and regime hardliners believe that it will work again this time around."

Debris blocking the main highway in Buea (c) Orock Eta

Some 72 hours after riots broke out in Douala before spreading to most major towns of the country including Yaounde, the capital city, President Biya officially responded to the ongoing crisis in a nationwide televised address. Prior to that speech, there was hope, and even an expectation,  in many quarters that the president would be conciliatory in his remarks, and probably make some concessions to the rioters whose demands ranged from the respect of  presidential term limits to the scrapping of recent hikes in the price of fuel. Instead, President Biya refused to budge an inch and delivered a speech that was defiant:

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Three killed when riots sweep Cameroon's economic capital

DOUALA, Cameroon, Feb 25, 2008 (AFP) — Three people were shot dead and at least one more seriously injured when riots broke out Monday in Cameroon's economic capital Douala, witnesses and a first official toll said.

Police battled protesters from early morning and small demonstrations began at road junctions, while groups mainly of youths armed with clubs began to loot shops in the wake of a road haulage strike, witnesses and an AFP correspondent saw.

50 Years After "Things Fall Apart": A Chat with Chinua Achebe

By Joyce Ashuntantang, PhD. (Scribbles from the Den Exclusive)
                        
“Okonkwo was well known through out the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his clan by throwing Amalinze the cat”.

Dr. Ashuntantang with the legendary Chinua Achebe

With these words Achebe began Things Fall Apart and introduced the world to modern African literature.  For some of us these words have become sacred and the author, Chinua Achebe, a demigod.

Nightmare at Northern Illinois University

The spate of school shootings that has hit America in recent months struck close to home yesterday, February 14, 2008, when gunfire shattered the serene atmosphere at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois. A gunman burst into an amphitheater and shot 22 students, killing five, and then turned the gun on himself.

NIU DeKalb is some 65 miles west of Chicago, and a mere 35 miles from my home. It is also my alma mater. My wife, also an NIU alumna, works with the mother of one of the victims.

Mount Cameroon Race: "Volcanic Sprint" Now Available on DVD

“The epic story of Africa’s most grueling mountain race, and the local athletes who risk all for glory.”

Dorst Mediaworks Presents Volcanic Sprint. A Film by Steve Dorst and Dan Evans. 2007. Filmed on location in Buea, Cameroon. 52 mins. $19.99

After about a year of online teasers on Youtube and elsewhere, Volcanic Sprint, the long-awaited film on the Mount Cameroon race by Steve Dorst and Dan Evans is now available on DVD. Extreme sports enthusiasts and fans of the Mount Cameroon race will not regret the long wait. The final product is a beautifully produced, visually stunning and compelling hour-long film built around the trials and tribulations of a handful of athletes trying to conquer “The Chariot of the Gods” or Mount Fako, as the locals call it.

One of the individuals that the film  profiles is John Ekema, winner of the inaugural race in 1971, who is trying to recapture some of the past glory through his 17-year old son. We discover Bart VanDoorne, a Belgian military officer who met his Cameroonian wife during the 2002 edition of the race and has returned with a one-year old son in tow, for another shot at the mountain.

Cameroon: The United States Against Scrapping Presidential Term Limits

Excerpts of US Ambassador Janet E. Garvey's "Super Tuesday" speech

We have consistently spoken out against changing executive term limits in other countries, such as in Nigeria, and we would recommend against an effort to amend the constitution when such a move could be perceived as being for the benefit of one individual or group.

Cameroon has made many positive changes in the past decade. You should be proud of your press freedoms, religious tolerance and improvements in human rights. The 2006 Criminal Procedure Code was a major step forward. Cameroon’s role in supporting international peacekeeping, in combating wildlife trafficking, and in hosting refugees shows an ability to adapt positively to a changing world environment. I would like to acknowledge my government’s appreciation for the excellent support we have received from the Government of Cameroon in evacuating our Embassy personnel from Chad this week – it underscores our long and broad-based friendship.

Reliving The Twilight: A Review of Dibussi Tande's No Turning Back

Reviewed by Kangsen Feka Wakai (Originally published in The Frontier Telegraph Vol. II No. 8 of January 29, 2008)

Dibussi Tande No Turning Back: Poems of Freedom 1990-1993 - Available on Amazon.com and Michigan State University Press)

To suggest that Cameroon embodies the tragedy that befell African peoples when European colonialism imposed itself on the continent is quite an understatement.   

Today, Cameroon, like a host of its African neighbors has become a landscape on which real and imagined identities are contested.   This struggle within Cameroon, albeit critical in its evolution as a geo-political entity, occurs against a backdrop of political misrule, economic stagnation, social tensions, and systematic graft.