Monthly Archives: February 2021

1, February 2021

Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism: Can Musonge unite the two Cameroons? ⁰

Created with great pomp in 2017 and presented as a solution to the socio-political crisis shaking Cameroon, the ‘Commission pour la Promotion du Bilinguisme et du Multiculturalisme’ [Committee for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism] is struggling to bring a deeply divided country together.

Peter Mafany Musonge slowly made his way to the Yaounde Convention Centre. On 21 January, the former prime minister of Cameroon attended a meeting there along with the other 14 members of the Commission pour la promotion du bilinguisme et du multiculturalisme [National Committee for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism] (CNPBM), an institution he has headed since its creation in 2017.

As he settled into meeting room “A”, where the biannual session took place, Musonge was aware that his citizens have a long list of demands. Especially since, for the year 2021 alone, its budget amounts to about 3bn CFA francs (€4.5m) – a substantial budget in a context of crisis, in which resources are scarce. The adoption of this package is, moreover, the main item on the agenda.

“This budget will allow us to carry out our three main programmes,” said Musonge in a brief statement to the media at the end of the session. “The programme on bilingualism, which is to be extended and implemented throughout the country, the programme on multiculturalism and living together and, finally, the one on governance and institutional support.”

“No effects on the ground”

A plan of action that should give a boost to activities in the field and silence criticism. There are indeed prominent public voices denouncing the organisation’s wait-and-see approach, given the fact that the social climate is deteriorating as the days go by. The events that occurred during the 2018 presidential election were a continuation of the problems that have affected the country since the Anglophone crisis began in 2016.

Musonge himself acknowledges a resurgence of “intra-community stigmatisation.” “In the political field, frightening expressions such as ‘supremacists’ or ‘ethno-fascists’ are used to label certain individuals or groups […] On the economic front, odious rhetoric is directed against certain tribes that are depicted as ‘land thieves’ and ‘invaders.’ This worrying phenomenon can lead to uncontrollable acts of violence,” he said in a forum at the end of 2020.

Civility

Presented three years ago as the solution to these divisions, the CNPBM is struggling to break a cycle that has plunged the country into a climate of anxiety and where violence is ongoing. “We don’t feel the effects of this committee on the ground,” says Peter O., a resident of Yaoundé. “Since its members were installed, hate speech between communities has increased. Even the Anglophone crisis, which was at the origin of its creation, is still ongoing.”

No reforms, no sanctions

The controversy over the purchase of company cars, which tainted the institution in August 2018, is still fresh in many people’s minds. The revelations surrounding a public contract of 700m CFA francs – awarded by mutual agreement and intended for the purchase of 15 Toyota Prado V8 vehicles for members of the committee – had shocked public opinion.

However, according to several observers, the committee’s apparent inertia is above all due to its structure and prerogatives. “It is difficult to expect anything from such a consultative body. Resolving the socio-political crises that undermine the country is a matter of governance, but this commission does not have the power to implement reforms,” says Franck Essi, a consultant for the think tank Strategies Consulting Firm.

“Its members took part in the major national dialogue [held in early October 2019], but they had no decisive role in organising and facilitating discussions. Nor does the commission have the means to track down and punish the abuses observed in society.”

Criticism that CNPBM members reject, highlighting their contribution to the adoption of laws promoting official languages and on hate speech. “The committee is not in hibernation,” said Musonge. “We are doing conceptual work for the head of state. Sanctions are not a priority for the committee” said George Ngwane, one of its members. “The important thing is to push people to adopt good practices.”

Will this be enough? Only time will tell.

Culled from Africa Report

1, February 2021

Bamenda: Cardinal Parolin brings Pope’s message of peace to Cameroon ⁰

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin expresses Pope Francis’ closeness and concern for Cameroon and the African continent, in his homily during the imposition of the pallium on Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda.

“The Pope is well aware of the difficulties that you have experienced in recent years and which you are still experiencing. He implores the Lord’s consolation for you, especially for those who have been victims of violence or who, in this crisis, have lost friends and loved ones.”

Those were the words delivered by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in his homily at Mass in Bamenda for the imposition of the pallium on Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya.

He expressed Pope Francis’ closeness to the people of Cameroon, as well as to the entire African continent.

The Pope, added the Cardinal, “joins in the desire for peace and reconciliation that rises from this beloved and wonderful land toward God.”

Reconciliation, compassion, hospitality

Cardinal Parolin arrived in Cameroon last Thursday accompanied by Monsignor Ivan Santus, an official with the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

His visit is meant to be a concrete sign of the Pope’s commitment and solidarity, and a call to promote compassion, reconciliation, and healing, especially in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 humanitarian emergency.

In communion with the Pope

“The Pallium,” explained Cardinal Parolin in Bamenda Cathedral, “is a symbol of a special bond of communion with the Pope. It is woven from the wool of lambs blessed by him on the feast of St. Agnes, and evokes the figure of the Good Shepherd, who goes in search of the lost sheep and places it on His shoulders. It represents the power that the Archbishop exercises in his Diocese, in communion with the Supreme Pontiff. It is a sign rich in meaning, which powerfully inaugurates the mandate of every new Archbishop: his new ministry is placed from the beginning under the sign of communion, in obedience and union with the Holy Father and in communion with his brother Bishops.”

With the Gospel in his pocket

“While many voices resound around us; while so many want to act as teachers in our lives,” the Cardinal stressed, we need to give “unique weight to the Word of Christ.”

“For this reason,” he added, “the Pope, on several occasions, has invited us to carry a small book of the Gospels with us. ‘The Gospel in your pocket’ is not a slogan but a spiritual program.”

The effectiveness of the Word

“Jesus desires good for humanity, and therefore frees us from Evil,” said Cardinal Parolin. “Jesus is able to completely free us precisely through His simple and powerful Word: Come out of him! There are no magic formulas; not even strange gestures: it is His Word that is exceedingly effective.”

The Secretary of State underlined that “Evil exists and Christ is able to defeat it. It is up to us to carry on this battle every day.”

Serenity and vigilance

Cardinal Parolin then evoked the teaching of the Apostle Paul, indicating two important themes that must mark each person’s spiritual journey: serenity and vigilance.

“Serenity: because with Christ we are victorious, in our adherence to Him through prayer and the Sacramental life. Vigilance: so that we can discern Evil where it lurks, beginning with our own hearts.”

Seed of hope

Cardinal Parolin then urged the faithful of Cameroon to combat the violence, divisions and fratricidal struggles that afflict the nation.

“He who fights against the evil that dwells in his heart becomes a bearer of good and peace in his family, among his friends, in his community. He thus becomes a seed of hope for all.”

Avoiding the risk of spiritual pride

The Vatican Secretary of State concluded his homily by recalling that after two thousand years, amazement before the Lord Jesus is a precious attitude to be guarded with care.

“We should never stop reflecting on this Mystery, so that we avoid the risk of spiritual pride, of those who are convinced that they already know everything about Jesus, without realizing that He is always greater than we can humanly comprehend. We should never cease to marvel before the fundamental Mystery of our Christian faith: that of the Son of God who became man to set us free.”

The Mass in the Cathedral of Bamenda was attended by a large number of the faithful, offering a sign of affection for Archbishop Fuanya and of joyful communion with the Pope who was represented by his Secretary of State.

Source: Vatican News

1, February 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: The military is carrying out summary executions ⁰

As the world is currently more focused on the mess the Trump Administration has left behind in Washington D.C., many dictators across the world now think they have a free hand to wreak havoc in their own countries and that is the game that is playing out in Southern Cameroons where a four-year insurgency has given the Yaounde government the carte blanche to transform the country’s two English-speaking regions into an open killing field.

While the scale might not be as large as what happened in Ngarbuh, Kumba and Mautu, the killings are still gruesome and targeted which clearly explains that the Yaounde government does not believe in the rule of law.

This slaughtering has been going on for four years and it is now becoming more spectacular and anybody suspected by the country’s military is good enough to die.

Sometimes, the soldiers take it upon themselves to eliminate young men who have beautiful girlfriends just because they desire those girls.

The country’s government has simply shredded the rules book and its soldiers are on the prowl, targeting young men or any new faces visiting the region.

On Saturday, January 29, the military arrested a 46-year-old man known as Agbor Issac Assek in Ossing and promptly gunned him down without interrogating him or without following known legal procedures to determine or establish the reason for his arrest.

Cameroon Concord News Group sources in Ossing hold that the victim had been in the military’s cross hairs for some time, but the need to arrest him became urgent when the principal of Government High School Ossing was killed in broad day light by Southern Cameroonian insurgents who have been fighting for the total liberation of the former British colony.

Our source said that “Even before the principal’s death, the military has been looking for him on the grounds that he was a friend to General Macopolo, an Amba General who has been operating around the Ossing-Kembong axis.”

But human rights activists and lawyers are questioning the government’s actions in this case and many others as they argue that such summary executions will only result in an escalation of violence in the region.

According to a human rights activist in Mamfe, a town some 6 kilometers from Ossing, by undertaking such an action, the Yaounde government has clearly demonstrated that it does not believe in the rule of law.

“One would think that with the passage of time, the military and the government would learn the lessons of the past. The killing of Mr. Agbor Isaac does not address any issues. It will only call for violence and the circle of violence will only continue,” he said.

“Mr. Agbor had already been arrested and the military was supposed to have followed due process. Gunning him down is a clear demonstration that the government and the military do not believe in human rights and the rule of law,” the activist, who elected anonymity, said.

“We are really disappointed with the way the government has conducted its military operation. Just killing young men will not cause the issues to disappear. The government needs to come down its high horse to discuss with all the factions involved in this conflict that has torn the country apart,” he said.

“With such an approach, it is hard for a peaceful solution to emerge. There are many Anglophone Cameroonians who want to come home from abroad, but they cannot because of the government’s indiscriminate killing of young people,” he stressed.

“If members of the region’s Diaspora come home, jealousy could cause the military to arrest these people and arbitrary arrests discourage our brothers who really want to return to their land from investing here and this is creating unemployment and other serious economic issues,” he regretted.

“The government should be leading by examples and it is totally wrong for soldiers to be gunning down young men. This country must be guided by the rule of law and due process should be followed, especially when the suspects have been arrested. We cannot continue to conduct ourselves as if we are wild animals,” our source said.

“The Southwest and Northwest regions are not safe, though ministers like Paul Atanga Nji are misleading the world that peace has returned to the two English-speaking regions. Nobody is safe. The military has the carte blanche to kill whoever it wants. This is not how a country should be operated. It is indeed disheartening,” our source concluded.

Meanwhile, due to increasing insecurity in the two English-speaking regions of the country, the government has opted to conduct recruitment into the elite military corp known as the BIR for the Northwest and Southwest regions in Bafoussam and Douala respectively.

Many critics have already indicated that if the government is scared of carrying out recruitment in Bamenda and Buea, why would ordinary citizens believe that things have returned to normal?

The government, most critics assert, is not willing to address the issues that triggered the conflict. They argue that there are more French-speaking Cameroonian officials in the two English-speaking regions today than they were before the commencement of the conflict.

They argue that the government is clearly provoking the English-speaking minority, adding that with such an attitude, the conflict will never be over.

It is obvious that even the country’s president, Paul Biya, no longer cares about things in the country and has given his corrupt officials a free hand to handle the insurgency however they want.

The activist stressd that if the government had to change its mind regarding the crisis that has created hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons, then the international community must hold its feet to the fire.

While the killing continues, there is however a feeling that there is hope on the horizon. The Southern Cameroons Diaspora in the United States has already briefed the Biden Administration on the situation in the two English-speaking regions of the country and the nominee for the post of Secretary of State has already indicated that the new Biden Administration will be laser focused on Cameroon due to the gross human rights abuses.

Similarly, the arrival of a senior Vatican official in the country last week might help change government decisions on how it operates in the two English-speaking regions.

The Vatican senior official who has met with Cameroon government officials has called on the government to make peace with its English-speaking minority in order to end the killings and restore peace in the region.

The world is waiting for the government of Cameroon to realize that violence only begets violence and that there will never be any military victory in this conflict as both parties are determined to win the war.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai