Southern Cameroons: Our revolution will succeed ⁰

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime, French Cameroun political elites, and Southern Cameroons CPDM surrogates are leading a vicious campaign against the democratic forces directing the Southern Cameroons peoples revolution. The Yaoundé regime suspended all direct and indirect talks with the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, arrested its leaders including several hundreds of its followers and sympathisers and told the world that it had opened dialogue with Southern Cameroons community leaders.

Further, the Yaoundé Francophone regime outlawed the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and the Southern Cameroons National Council leaving the Biya regime with no genuine Anglophone partner to hold talks with. The successive US governments, the EU including France and Britain have all maintained a kind of deliberate silence ever since the revolution started some 11 months ago.

The Biya Francophone regime decided to freeze all bank accounts belonging to prominent members of the Consortium including lawyers and journalists who are all involved in the battle for Southern Cameroons independence. And prior to that, the French Cameroun occupation authority headed by the 85 year old dictator, decided to shut down internet services in Southern Cameroons.

But why this fierce assault?

The interim leader of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council was elected on a pro-independence platform. In addition, Southern Cameroonians have lost faith in Biya and are highly critical of the so-called commission for bilingualism and multiculturalism which recently celebrated its obituary following the resignation of its Chairman, Peter Mafany Musonge from the Senate.

The Southern Cameroons governing body and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have been labelled “terrorist” organisations even though none of them are on the US and EU terror watch list. But in the context of the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government, the term “terrorist organisation” is used exclusively against genuine Anglophone groups, but not against other Southern Cameroons factions and political parties such as the SDF with ties with the ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement, CPDM.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group think that any form of agreement between Anglophones and French Cameroonians with Paul Biya as President of La Republique du Cameroun will not be respected in West Cameroon. Biya has undermined Southern Cameroonian leaders, elites, traditional and religious authorities and peoples alike for over three decades coupled with extensive covert and Francophone public action to force the collapse of our Common Law heritage.

In his ill-disguised attempt at deceiving some weak and power-hungry Southern Cameroonians, the Southern Cameroons revolution issue has now been condensed in “Children going back to school.” Forgotten were the facts that the Francophone occupation and Biya’s failure in governance including Southern Cameroons joblessness preceded the establishment of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. In addition, constitutional amendments recognizing Southern Cameroons rights, and calling for an end to the French Cameroun occupation via the unitary state was pushed under the rug. The continues appointment of French Cameroun civil administrators to head Southern Cameroons counties and the daily arrest of hundreds of Southern Cameroonians are all issues that have put a spanner in the works and are yet to register on the screens of the powers undermining the people of Ambazonia.

The assessment of the situation made by the Roman Catholic Bishops of Southern Cameroons was also hushed. Southern Cameroons pro Yaoundé groups, namely; SWELA, NOWELA, South West Chiefs Conference, North West Fons Conference, PAP, SDF, LDP, CRP etc for over the last 35 years had fulfilled all the demands for a one and indivisible Cameroon. Yet Southern Cameroons did not get the 10 federated states or the decentralisation that was promised by Biya and his French Cameroun political elites. If 35 years of negotiations bore no fruit for Southern Cameroonians while achieving great economic gains for French Cameroonians, why should the Southern Cameroons Governing Council and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium be eager to negotiate with Biya and his gang of Francophone political elites?

But at the end of the day, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime, French Cameroun political elites, and Southern Cameroons CPDM surrogates are saving no effort in trying to stifle the Southern Cameroons revolution. For Biya, Anglophones are an endangered species; since his crusade is against them. For the French Cameroun political elites, the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and the Southern Cameroons Governing Council are anti Francophone and will not capitulate under pressure like the 1961 KNDP stalwarts. And for the Southern Cameroons CPDM surrogates, they continue to be tied down by sinecures from French Cameroun, and are not free to make an independent choice.

What makes such decisions more obscure is the fact that Southern Cameroonians are killed and maimed on a daily basis by troops and security agents from French Cameroun. Furthermore, Ambazonians continue to be detained and tortured in French Cameroun prisons. Southern Cameroons land in Fako, Akwaya, Ndian counties are being confiscated by French Cameroun political elites. All of these war crimes have now been branded “Children should go back to school.”

Southern Cameroonians have voted for the struggle and no force can deprive them of their right to defend themselves and their land against an oppressive, expansionist, discriminatory occupation. Instead of siding with the victim, the UN and the AU including some ill-informed Anglophones have sided with the occupier.

To this I put my name
Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai