Privatisation and ethno-regional protest in Cameroon

'Privatisierung ist ein wesentlicher Eckpfeiler im von westlichen Geldgebern und Gläubigern formulierten System von Struktur-Anpassungsprogramm und guter Regierungsführung. Diese Fallstudie aus Kamerun zeigt deutlich, dass Privatisierungsprojekte häufig nicht in der Lage waren, bei Reformen im öffentlichen Sektor Transparenz und Verantwortlichkeit zu fördern oder größere Partizipation der Zivilgesellschaft in den Entscheidungsprozessen zu erreichen. Häufig haben Privatisierungspläne dagegen zu vehementen Protesten auf Seiten ethno-regionaler Organisationen geführt, insbesondere dann, wenn diese sich beim Verkauf bedeutender regionaler öffentlicher Unternehmen an gutsituierte inländische Firmen oder an Unternehmen in ausländischem Besitz ausgeschlossen fühlten.' (Autorenreferat)'Privatisation has become a cornerstone of the good governance-structural adjustment linkage formulated by Western donors and creditors. This case study of Cameroon, however, dearly shows that privatisation schemes have often failed to promote any transparency and accountability in public-sector reforms or to encourage greater participation of civil society in the decision-making process. Privatisation schemes have instead frequently led to vehement protests from ethno-regional organisations, particularly when they have felt excluded from the sale of vital regional public enterprises to well-placed nationals or to foreign-owned enterprises.' (author's abstract)

The Anglophone Problem in Cameroon

The root of the 'anglophone problem' in Cameroon may be traced back to 1961, when the political elites of two territories with different colonial legacies - one French and the other British - agreed on the formation of a federal State. Contrary to expectations, this did not provide for the equal partnership of both parties, let alone for the preservation of the cultural heritage and identity of each, but turned out to be merely a transitory phase to the total integration of the anglophone region into a strongly centralized, unitary State. Gradually, this created an anglophone consciousness: the feeling of being marginalized by the francophone-dominated State. In the wake of political liberalization in the early 1990s, anglophone interests came to be represented first and foremost by various associations and pressure groups that initially demanded a return to the federal State. It was only after the persistent refusal of the Biya government to discuss this scenario that secession became an overt option with mounting popularity. The government's determination to defend the unitary State by all available means, including repression, could lead to an escalation of anglophone demands past a point of no return. Notes, refASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Occupation of Public Space Anglophone Nationalism in Cameroon

Occupation de l’espace public. Le nationalisme anglophone au Cameroun. – Cet article examine le processus historique qui a abouti à l’émergence d’un nationalisme anglophone dans l’espace public au cours du processus actuel de libéralisation au Cameroun. Le nationalisme anglophone représente une sérieuse menace pour le projet de construction de la nation entrepris par l’État post-colonial, projet motivé par la ferme résolution de l’élite politique francophone de dominer la minorité anglophone et d’effacer les fondements culturels et institutionnels de l’identité anglophone. Les tentatives récurrentes de l’État, dominé par des francophones, visant à contrôler les mouvements anglophones récemment créés ont incité les nationalistes anglophones à recourir à des formes de résistance moins ostentatoires en créant un espace public pour une identité et un nationalisme anglophones dans les domaines historique, artistique, virtuel, légal et dans la vie de tous les jours.The article examines the historical process leading to the emergence of Anglophone nationalism in public space during the current liberalisation process in Cameroon. Anglophone nationalism poses a severe threat to the post-colonial state’s nation-building project that has been driven by the firm determination of the Francophone political elite to dominate the Anglophone minority and to erase the cultural and institutional foundations of Anglophone identity. Persistent attempts by the Francophone-dominated state to control the newly created Anglophone movements have made Anglophone nationalists resort to less obtrusive forms of resistance, creating public space for an Anglophone identity and nationhood in historical, artistic, virtual, legal and everyday domains

Dietary Acrylamide Intake and the Risk of Lymphatic Malignancies: The Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer

BACKGROUND: Acrylamide, a probable human carcinogen, is present in many everyday foods. Since the finding of its presence in foods in 2002, epidemiological studies have found some suggestive associations between dietary acrylamide exposure and the risk of various cancers. The aim of this prospective study is to investigate for the first time the association between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of several histological subtypes of lymphatic malignancies. METHODS: The Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer includes 120,852 men and women followed-up since September 1986. The number of person years at risk was estimated by using a random sample of participants from the total cohort that was chosen at baseline (n =5,000). Acrylamide intake was estimated from a food frequency questionnaire combined with acrylamide data for Dutch foods. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated for acrylamide intake as a continuous variable as well as in categories (quintiles and tertiles), for men and women separately and for never-smokers, using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: After 16.3 years of follow-up, 1,233 microscopically confirmed cases of lymphatic malignancies were available for multivariable-adjusted analysis. For multiple myeloma and follicular lymphoma, HRs for men were 1.14 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.27) and 1.28 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.61) per 10 µg acrylamide/day increment, respectively. For never-smoking men, the HR for multiple myeloma was 1.98 (95% CI: 1.38, 2.85). No associations were observed for women. CONCLUSION: We found indications that acrylamide may increase the risk of multiple myeloma and follicular lymphoma in men. This is the first epidemiological study to investigate the association between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of lymphatic malignancies, and more research into these observed associations is warranted

Public–private partnership in higher education provision in Tanzania: implications for access to and quality of education

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Dietary methyl donors, methyl metabolizing enzymes, and epigenetic regulators: diet–gene interactions and promoter CpG island hypermethylation in colorectal cancer

Dietary methyl donors might influence DNA methylation during carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Among 609 CRC cases and 1,663 subcohort members of the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer (n = 120,852), we estimated CRC risk according to methyl donor intake across genotypes of folate metabolizing enzymes and methyltransferases