Armed Cameroon Protestors Ask President Paul Biya To Go!

YAOUNDE  (AFP) – Armed men dressed as soldiers fired into the air and stopped traffic in south Cameroon on Thursday, demanding the departure of long-serving President Paul Biya ahead of a controversial poll, reports said.

The men fired their weapons at the main bridge in Douala, the economic capital of the west African nation that will hold a presidential election on October 9, according to media reports and law enforcement sources.

Cameroon Radio-Television (CRTV) described them as members of an unidentified armed group which held up traffic on Wouri Bridge for two hours. A local official and other sources said just one man was responsible however.

The governor of Littoral province, Fai Yengo Francis, said in a statement: “At about 6:00 am (0500 GMT) an unidentified individual, armed and dressed in military uniform, disrupted traffic on Wouri bridge.

“Thanks to the swift reaction of public order forces, under the supervision of the administrative authorities, the assailant was pushed back and traffic resumed.”

The governor said there were no casualties and reassured locals that efforts were being made to track down the gunman.

An unnamed taxi driver said: “I saw an armed soldier on the bridge. He had blocked the traffic and was asking people not to pass. He had a placard which I saw with ‘Paul Biya dictator’”.

CRTV meanwhile reported exchanges of fire between a group of men and the defence forces, “which forced the defeated assailants into the water,” the station said.

The outburst comes as tension builds in the country ahead of the elections which 78-year-old Biya, in power since 1982 and one of Africa’s longest-standing heads of state, plans to contest.

On Tuesday the country’s main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, (SDF) denounced what it said were irregularities in the organisation of the poll.

“There is a whole mountain of irregularities,” Evariste Fopoussi, the SDF’s pointman during the campaign, told AFP, citing double entries or missing names in electoral rolls as well as delays in preparation.

Civil society movements accuse Biya of having locked down the electoral system to ensure that he is returned to power.

Cameroon’s Supreme Court has validated 23 candidates for the presidency, including Biya and John Fru Ndi, the veteran opposition candidate of the SDF.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/09/armed-cameroon-protestors-ask-president-paul-biya-to-go/

What will GEJ do about this one. Na backyard Cameroun dey o.
Will GEJ support any recognised rebel or will He claim to be neutral this time.

Hmmmn,what is happening all over the globe?

Let's wait and see if this is just a flash or a real battle is about to happen before the elections.
Crossed fingers and toes.

I saw this coming

Paul Biya has been president of Cameroon for 29 years and the phucker is 78 years old. Enough is enough with this type of ruler in Africa.

^^
Did you mean 29 years?

^
Thanks. Corrected.

It's gonna be tough for Camerounians if they go against Paul Biya. He has got many followers except they switch lanes later.

I hope they rise up. its about time. One less tyrant will do the world a lot of good.

Not that I believe any ruler should stay in power for almost 30yrs but cameroun is a very stable place with very decent power supply. I don't know why I suspect that there is someone or group stirring the pot in third world countries that have had long term rulers. I wonder what france's response will be if this escalates. Support change or maintain foreign policy

There is problem everywhere in the world even in our mama Africa except in Naija's new ENGLAND, Ghanaaaaaaa

I'm Cameroonian and I really hope my country give the example of political change without blood, of course Biya has to go but the thing is our opposition has to be blamed as well because they're not UNITED enough and that's Biya's work to pay others to corrupt them and weaken them too

I believe in my country, Cameroon is an example of "living together" with all religions, many tribes and so on and God will bless this country over and over again

dagboss:

There is problem everywhere in the world even in our mama Africa except in Naija's new ENGLAND, Ghanaaaaaaa

Dagboss Ghana has experienced many coups before getting stabilisation

Nick Sarkozy directs his torch a little bit down south

Biya should step down for another person to try. Africa once in power, they never dream coming down.

hope dem silent the dictator ASAP.

Sam Milla:

Nick Sarkozy directs his torch a little bit down south

My dear Sarkosy shouldn't try to do what he's done to IVORY COAST , it would be very different cause Cameroonians are plenty here in France, their behaviour are quite different than our ivorian brothers, but Cameroonians are quite wise not getting involve in any troubles

time shall tell

I wish d man ll just step down without troble

^^thanks brother!! Cameroonian are wise and God is watching

Biya should be wise to step down immediately.

these sit tight rulers are disgracin africa!

Abeg leave dem alone. As long as he was the elected president, abi no be democrazy they want?

Do you said Cameroonians are wise or funny for not issisting for a change in their country? Anyway,it's just like saying that Nigerians are wiser than Ghana who demanded for a better change of their national life ealier and now they are enjoying it.In conclusion,only time will decide how wise the cameroonians are.

almost impossible for biya to step down except they forcefully bring him down because he has over stayed as a president and hes planning on dying as a president GBAM.

Relax101:

Armed Cameroon Protestors Ask President Paul Biya To Go!

YAOUNDE  (AFP) – Armed men dressed as soldiers fired into the air and stopped traffic in south Cameroon on Thursday, demanding the departure of long-serving President Paul Biya ahead of a controversial poll, reports said.

The men fired their weapons at the main bridge in Douala, the economic capital of the west African nation that will hold a presidential election on October 9, according to media reports and law enforcement sources.

Cameroon Radio-Television (CRTV) described them as members of an unidentified armed group which held up traffic on Wouri Bridge for two hours. A local official and other sources said just one man was responsible however.

The governor of Littoral province, Fai Yengo Francis, said in a statement: “At about 6:00 am (0500 GMT) an unidentified individual, armed and dressed in military uniform, disrupted traffic on Wouri bridge.

“Thanks to the swift reaction of public order forces, under the supervision of the administrative authorities, the assailant was pushed back and traffic resumed.”

The governor said there were no casualties and reassured locals that efforts were being made to track down the gunman.

An unnamed taxi driver said: “I saw an armed soldier on the bridge. He had blocked the traffic and was asking people not to pass. He had a placard which I saw with ‘Paul Biya dictator’”.

CRTV meanwhile reported exchanges of fire between a group of men and the defence forces, “which forced the defeated assailants into the water,” the station said.

The outburst comes as tension builds in the country ahead of the elections which 78-year-old Biya, in power since 1982 and one of Africa’s longest-standing heads of state, plans to contest.

On Tuesday the country’s main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, (SDF) denounced what it said were irregularities in the organisation of the poll.

“There is a whole mountain of irregularities,” Evariste Fopoussi, the SDF’s pointman during the campaign, told AFP, citing double entries or missing names in electoral rolls as well as delays in preparation.

Civil society movements accuse Biya of having locked down the electoral system to ensure that he is returned to power.

Cameroon’s Supreme Court has validated 23 candidates for the presidency, including Biya and John Fru Ndi, the veteran opposition candidate of the SDF.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/09/armed-cameroon-protestors-ask-president-paul-biya-to-go/

Oh well, "Armed men dressed as soldiers" will soon become rebels fighting for demoCRAZY. All the "Armed men dressed as soldiers " need to do is show they mean business and their colonial MASTERS France will back them up by BOMBING their long term friend Biya out of power. If I remember correctly, Cameroon was given Bakassi by Nigeria which is rich in oil and Gas.

What's the latest on this issue?

I'm a cameroonian, and we should be carefull about what we hear. No one is understanding for sure who was behind what happened in Douala's main bridge last thursday, but i believe and so, almost all fellows i know that it is not what gonna change our country. For most cameroonians, even inside CPDM (Biya's party) - Biya has failed and he must  leave, but we don't forget that behind those strange "revolutionnaries" that seem to come from nowhere, there are people even hungrier than Biya who want to take our country even if it is to sell it again to the west. Talking about the "international community" - they have left Biya on his own, and their behaves for the last months have clearly show that they want popaul (BIYA) to step down. But this time, France seems to have left this task to the U.S,
The Obama's administration has seemed to be interested in Cameroon political life this year, like never before. Many of their behaves and what they said (through the ambassador, secretary of african affairs, Mrs Clinton or Obama himself) show that they will be willing to support "democracy" in Cameroon - in their way to support democracy. For example just last week there has been a curious meeting in the U.S. embassy between americans and some groups of civil society who claim that they will take power by the street (while in the same time the ambassador was received in the unity palace to congratulate Biya for his investiture to run for a re-election). They said Biya is a dictator, but in a real dictatorship, those people who announce revolutions and "coup d'Etat" everyday in the medias couldn't speak because they would be in jail or 6 feets under.

Now i want to be clear about two things, first of all - i want to remain you that i'm strongly against Biya's policy because it's a BIG failure and it's killing cameroonians everyday, but i'm also convinced that there are people not better than him who have already sold our country before to get to the Etoudi palace - and now are just waiting to profit from any occasion to bring chaos and blood and then accuse Biya for it.
the second thing is that i didn't say america is behind what happened in Wouri bridge (i even don't think they are) but they will support any rebellion that might eventually come out to attack the regime.

Anyway, i believe the people from Cameroon, even if they want Biya out more than anyone, they know there is cannibals out there just waiting to use the people's frustation to take the power.  So all this blood for what? I believe in progressive transformation in our mentality, and we get more and more freedom every season than in the previews ones.

Cameroon has a great history of fighting for freedom. Cheick Anta Diop - the Senegal's greatest historian and anthropologist had once said that "the first time he heard an african claim that he wants the indepedance of his country, it's was a cameroonian." And the great heritage we got from our forefathers is the ability to understand depending on the situation where our interest are. Today it is not in Biya's rule, but neither in some weird hungry politicians who act like if they want they good of the people more than the people itself.

perhaps biya has fallen out of favour with sarkozy or maybe biya didnt make any cash donations to sarkozy's presidential campaign fund like his fellow puppet francophone west african presidents as was reported recently in the london telegraph:

Nicolas Sarkozy 'received cash from West African leaders'

Nicolas Sarkozy received cash from West African leaders, it has been alleged, following claims that Jacques Chirac and his Dominique de Villepin received an estimated $20 million stuffed into briefcases over eight years.

Left, lawyer Robert Bourgi in Paris today, and right, Nicolas Sarkozy Photo: REUTERS / AP
By Henry Samuel in Paris
6:12PM BST 12 Sep 2011
The scandal has cast fresh light on France's historically murky ties to African dictators, who for decades allegedly doled out dirty petrodollars to French politicians in exchange for diplomatic and military support in a set-up known as "Françafrique".

Robert Bourgi claimed on Sunday he personally handed millions of francs from five African leaders to Mr Chirac when he was mayor of Paris and later president, along with Mr Villepin, his right hand man.

Mr Bourgi, 66, says the money, which he variously transported in a sports bag, a poster and even a ceremonial African drum, came from Burkina Faso, the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast and Senegal.

Yesterday, he estimated having lugged a total of $20 million (almost £13 million) to Mr Chirac and Mr Villepin between 1997 and 2005. Around half of this went into funding Mr Chirac's successful 2002 electoral campaign, he claimed.

Bernard Houdin, an adviser to former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, said that such payments were "a historical practice" and that "the sums mentioned are no doubt below reality".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/nicolas-sarkozy/8758267/Nicolas-Sarkozy-received-cash-from-West-African-leaders.html


so sarkozy offers these african dictators military support and a very long stay in office in exchange for cash!!! hmm nice

meanwhile the african people suffer under the yoke of these traitors.

by the way - can someone tell me why paul biya's wife walks around with that hideous thing on her head looking like a masquerade:

http://chantalbiyahair.tumblr.com/

gone are the days when africa had respectable looking women as first ladies, the only african first lady that i respect and admire is winnie mandela - she has the beauty, the intelligence and the courage, she is a true african queen and warrior not these illiterate, fake things that parade around today calling themselves first ladies.

cap28:

by the way - can someone tell me why paul biya's wife walks around with that hideous thing on her head looking like a masquerade:

http://chantalbiyahair.tumblr.com/

gone are the days when africa had respectable looking women as first ladies, the only african first lady that i respect and admire is winnie mandela - she has the beauty, the intelligence and the courage, she is a true african queen and warrior not these illiterate, fake things that parade around today calling themselves first ladies.