Cameroon’s longtime president Paul Biya’s latest “private visit” to his usual retreat at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva has sparked more than its usual mix of political controversy and quiet embarrassment.

Over the last decade, Biya, 86, who has been in power since 1982, has made the top floor suites of the five-star luxury hotel into his home away from home spending months at a time even as his country has slowly descended into conflict from Boko Haram Islamic terrorists in the north of the country and an Anglophone-led insurgency in north- and southwest of the country. The knowledge of his presence there has long infuriated various sections of Cameroonians at home, particularly in the opposition, but also in the Cameroonian diaspora in Europe who have been protesting in larger and larger numbers with each Biya visit.

This past weekend Swiss police fired tear gas and water cannons at Cameroonian protesters who clashed with security at the hotel where dozens of Biya’s personal security agents and federal police have stayed on guard in- and outside.

Violent scenes outside Geneva hotel of Cameroon president

And even while Geneva has long been seen as a personal break for Biya, it has now become the venue for possible peace talks between the Anglophone and Francophone sides and mediated by Switzerland. And the arrival last week of Biya and his wife, Chantal, is now seen as problematic.

“Not helpful” is how one source close to the diplomatic process described the arrival of Biya just days before a second meeting between factions from the predominantly Anglophone regions was to take place in Saint Luc—some 200 kilometers to the east of Geneva. The International Crisis Group reports that some 1,850 people have been killed and more than half a million left homeless, as an armed separatist movement evolved in response to political and social tensions.

Switzerland’s foreign affairs ministry, together with the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, are leading the mediation process aimed at putting an end to the deadly conflict which evolved after peaceful protests by English-speaking professionals to structural discrimination in October 2016. Groups in the two western regions of the country want the creation of an independent state called Ambazonia. President Biya has branded separatists as terrorists. Ebenezer Alwanga, chairman of the African People’s Liberation Movement, one of the main participants at the peace talks said that Biya’s repeated visits to Geneva “complicate” the peace talks, given he spends so much of his time here “rather than running the state he claims to be president of”.

Nfor Hanson Nchanji, a Geneva-based Cameroonian journalist emphasized that parties to the discussion need to communicate with their communities back home for talks to succeed.“The presence of Paul Biya in Switzerland has caused some Ambazonians to reconsider whether Switzerland may be the perfect mediator. But should they refuse the Swiss mediation…they will have nowhere to go.”

The Swiss mediated talks have been supported by United States, the European Union and the United Nations.

Meanwhile some Francophone opponents to Biya’s government, regretted that Maurice Kanto, a rival to Biya in the October 2018 presidential election, who won 14% of votes according to the Constitutional Council, was not included in the talks. The opposition accused the government of having rigged results. Doris Toyou, a Cameroonian lawyer living in Washington, who supports groups behind Saturday’s protest in Geneva, said Switzerland could not be trusted in talks.

It’s been reported Biya had spent at least 1,645 days abroad on private trips since 1982, with Geneva being his top destination. It estimated it costs Intercontinental Hotel around £40,000 ($50,000) a night for the president and his entourage. “How could Switzerland be trust-worthy in mediating the talks after the way the police treated protesters?” said Toyou.

Meanwhile, Jean Philippe Brandt of Geneva’s police explained that as protesters did not respect the agreed terms for protesting, and left an authorized area accorded for the demonstration, “The use of any accessory or armament was related possibly to the aggression by the protesters and to disobey instructions given by the police.”

The confrontation came just days after a Swiss journalist, Adrien Krause, who was covering Biya’s stay from in front of the Geneva hotel, was attacked. “It is very probable that they were security guards” associated to Biya.

 Since then six members of Biya’s security team have been convicted of assault on the journalist.

Culled from Quartz Africa

Declaration of a 24-Hour Unilateral Ceasefire from the Ambazonia Security Council (ASC) starting Midnight 2 July, 2019, to allow the visiting US Congressional Delegation safe and unfettered access to the sites of the crimes of the past 2 years.

The Ambazonia Security Council (ASC), and representatives of other ally Ambazonia community self defence groups fighting to end the occupation of our land by the French Neo-colonial regime in Cameroun, after consultation with our community leaders in an extraordinary meeting, do sign this declaration to commit to a 24-Hour Unilateral Ceasefire to go into effect on midnight today 2 July 2019.

We take this step as a good-faith response to the fact-finding tour of the ongoing conflict between our self-defence forces and the forces of the Cameroun regime which has been undertaken by United States Congresswoman Karen Bass, the Chair and leader of the Foreign Affairs and National Security Task Force of the Congressional Black Caucus, and her team. This decision is to ensure unfettered access to Rep. Bass’s team as they gather the facts on the ground to pave the way for a fast end to the killings and eventual resolution of the roots of the conflict.

We acknowledge the personal efforts of Rep. Bass to get the US Congress to pay attention to this war; stating with her H.Res.1111 of the 115th Congress, and now H.Res. 358 of the 116th Congress.

It is our fervent belief that the Congressional Black Caucus can live up to its credo of the “Conscience of the Congress,” as we saw it do in the battle against Apartheid in South Africa.

In taking this action, we also call others to action: 1. We call on the Cameroun authorities to do the same and declare a 24-hour unilateral ceasefire as a sign of their interest in finding a peaceful resolution to this conflict.

1. We call on the Cameroun government to allow humanitarian groups unlimited access to our territory as requested by the US, Sweden and other representatives to the UN Security Council at the past two briefings.
2. We call on Rep. Bass and her team to visit the sites where some of the most horrendous international crimes the world has seen in decades have taken place, including:

• The site in Bambui where Cameroun forces assassinated US Missionary Charles Wesco;

• Menka- Pinyin, were 29 youths were summarily executed in broad daylight at a hotel by Cameroun soldiers and to this day the regime is still to provide an explanation to the mourning families;

• Kwakwa, where Mami Appih Sarah, 96 years old, was burnt alive in her bed when Cameroun soldiers burnt down the village;

• Belo, where Cameroun soldiers murdered and beheaded Chiaba Samuel alias Sam Soya and photographed themselves doing the beheading and put it on social media;

• Mamfe, were Kenyan Missionary Cosmas Omboto Ondari was summarily executed in front of his congregation by Cameroun soldiers;

• Bali, where Cameroon soldiers summarily executed 20 students and burned their bodies on one occasion, and in another the teacher of CPC Bali College Ndeh Blaise was shot and killed in cold blood while his colleagues who tried to help him where shot and severely injured without cause;

• Batibo, where a family of 10 were all summarily executed by Cameroun soldiers;

• Mile 8 Mankon, Bamenda, where 126 homes were burnt to the ground by Cameroun soldiers;

• Kumba, where the General Hospital was burnt to the ground by Cameroon soldiers;

• Mbengwi were medical workers Nancy Azah and Njong Paddisco were summarily executed on their way from their farm by Cameroun soldiers at a barricade, sparking a general protest by medical workers in the North zone;

• Muyuka were 5 months old baby Martha Ngum, was shot point blank ten times on the head while asleep in her parents’ bedroom by Cameroun forces;

• Yaounde Central and Principal Prisons- Kondegui where 236 civilians are being held incommunicado without access to lawyers or families, under the pretense that they are being handled through the military court, which is a violation of international law by Cameroun and the list continues.

1. We call on Rep. Bass and her team to support US Senators Durbin, Cardin, Van Hollen and Kaine’s NDAA Amendment To Halt Security Assistance To Cameroun, and to initiate a similar amendment to related House bills in order to pressure the Cameroon regime with the imminent removal of aid.
2. We call on Rep. Bass and her team to give voice to and strongly decry the malicious targeting of our civilian population, which is pushing hundreds of thousands into a state of homelessness and exile. We are painfully aware of the suffering of our people, and know that shining the light on this situation is a necessary step to putting us on a path to a peaceful end of the occupation.

We also take this opportunity to highlight that we are ready and open to engage in honest peaceful negotiation with Cameroun facilitated by independent impartial non-participant third parties — which most definitely excludes France and the other neo-colonial French regimes that are using the French neo-colonial currency formerly known as the Colonies Françaises d’Afrique (CFA) Franc.

Our signature to this unilateral ceasefire declaration only commits us to non-offensive action during this 24-hour period, but we will hold to our positions and remain alert, aware Cameroon forces might try to exploit the ceasefire posture to ambush on our positions.

We hope this unilateral ceasefire is seen for what it could be: the first step on our path to end this conflict and build a new sub region based on the rule of international law.

Yours truly,
Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia