Pro Independence Fighters In Bali Punish Colleagues For Molesting Women And Children

Pro-Independence fighters in Bali Nyonga, a village in Mezam Davision, North West Region of Cameroon have detained some of their colleagues who appeared in a video that went viral on the social media showing them molesting women carrying children. According to report from Bali, the video was allegedly taken on Monday July 15, 2019 at the Ntahko’o neighborhood in Bali. The actions by some of the fighters in Bali have received wide condemnation both at home and abroad.

In another video that went viral on social media, Wednesday July 17, 2019, the Pro Independence fighters who appeared in the video showing them molesting the women are seen on their knees faces masked and answering to questions from a voice suspected to be that of one of their leaders in an undisclosed location.

In the video, the voice began by asking them what happened on that day. “What happened on that “contry Sunday (ghost town)”? One of the fighters answered. “After the first mission that Monday morning, we moved to the camp when we got reports that the soldiers were on their way, we went back to wait for them when we saw a lady with a dish with chicken inside, we called her and started interrogating her. It shows that, she was feeding the soldiers and the soldiers were coming back to collect the food. As we were interrogating her, two of her children came out carrying two babies. We called them but they ran in to their shop and locked themselves inside. We did everything to bring them out but our efforts were futile. We forced open the door and saw them hiding under the tables. We brought them out and started beating them when an elderly man came and pleaded with us to stop beating them and that we should instead take them away and investigate them and that may be they were  taking the food but to their home and not to the soldiers but we told him that, the women were taking the food but to soldiers. We beat them because, no one is supposed to be out on Mondays because Mondays are ghost town days and very dangerous. So we beat them because it was a ghost town day and no one is supposed to be out”.

The voice also asked if they reported  the matter to their leaders in the camp, They said No. the voice also said they don’t beat civilians and that they were supposed to have reported the matter to the camp for the leaders to investigate rather than treating them the way they did. They later said they were sorry promising never to do it again but the voice said they were going to be detained in a cell for two months and that, they were going to take care of any health issues  that the women and their children may undergo as a result of what they did to them.


According to Ba Dobgima, a native of Bali, pro independence fighters in Bali are not known for such but this act should be condemned by any right thinking individual.“I have been in Bali ever since this war started, i have seen the boys operate,it is true that they may have their excesses but molesting nursing mothers and their babies is what i have never seen or heard of i condemn it with all my strength . I was very disappointed when i saw that video online.At first i never wanted to belief it was coming from my village-Bali until when i listened keenly to the language they were using. I was broken because these are guys helping the old, physically challenged and the vulnerable to fetch wood, fetch water, help in farm work,split wood and many others. I could not belief such could have come from them but thank God the matter is under control as i hear the perpetrators have been detained  by their leaders in Bali”.He ended

In an audio clip that have been on the social media, the person behind the audio says he is the spokes person of the restoration forces in Bali. He says in the audio clip that, the fighters in Bali have accepted and have taken the blame for what some of their colleagues did to some nursing mothers and their children.He also said in the audio that, the perpetrators were  acting on their own and that the order did not come from the leader in Bali. He says they only got the information when the video was published online.The voice also apologised  to the victim's and their families but warned the population of Bali to always stay indoors on ghost town days.

Worthy of note is the fact that, the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children and these rights have to be respected even in times of war. Article 54 of the November 20^th, 1989 convention which went in to force on the 2^nd of September 1990 is very clear on that.

Both sides in the ongoing war in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon have come under fire times without number for not respecting the rights of women and children as far as the ongoing war is concerned. Many women and children have seen their rights violated by state actors and abused by non-state actors with calls from Human Right Organizations for both sides in the war to respect the rights of women and children. 

This is a developing story....

Perpetrators Of The Act Being Interrogated According To This Video Taken In An Undisclosed Location 

                                        

            Pro Independence Fighters Caught On Camera Molesting Women And Children In Bali.