MASSACRE OF SIX CHILDREN AT MOTHER FRANCISCA BILLINGUAL ACADEMY, KUMBA

Yesterday, 24 October 2020, an act of despicable barbarism was perpetrated upon our people in Kumba, Meme County, Southern Cameroons. Eyewitnesses attest that at about 11:30am, armed men entered the Mother Francisca International Billingual Academy, Fiango Kumba and opened fire on students. Six students were killed, and many are being treated for life-threatening injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families at this time of sorrow.

After an initial moment of pause, reflection and information-gathering, Ambazonia Intelligence Services have now confirmed that this act was committed by French Cameroun forces. The shell-casings found at the crime scene and some recovered from the bodies of the deceased children are bullets from sophisticated weapons possessed by the French Cameroun military.

Ambazonia Intelligence Services briefed the Interim Government last night that yesterday’s atrocity was designed to spread fear within the civilian population. The regime is desperate to give our legitimate fight for freedom and independence a bad name. The car used for the operation is owned by the French Cameroun military. Yesterday’s massacre was executed with military precision.

The regime in Yaoundé has been creating armed militia disguised as Ambazonian Self-Defense Forces but the people of Ambazonia will not fall for these sloppy gimmicks. The Interim Government of Ambazonia is determined that the truth about these massacres be made public. All the perpetrators of these acts must be brought to justice.

Ngarbuh, Kwakwa, Muyenge, Ikata, Muyuka, and now Kumba are unresolved massacres. Yesterday’s act has triggered international outrage.  The world must understand that outrage alone will not address the root cause of the conflict in Ambazonia. The regime in Yaoundé possesses no shame and has issued a facts-vague statement accusing Ambazonian Self-Defense Forces for the atrocity.

Mindful of the continuous acts of violence perpetrated upon the people of Southern Cameroons, the Interim Government of Ambazonia is calling on the UN Security Council to press the regime in Yaoundé to commit to:

•             A UN humanitarian intervention in the Southern Cameroons.

•             An international fact-finding mission to investigate the crimes perpetrated in the Southern Cameroons.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia believes that only by engaging in the above actions would the facts of these massacres and atrocities be established and the perpetrators brought to justice.

Thank You,

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

Once upon a time, there was indeed an Ambazonia struggle! To be sure, the people of Southern Cameroons and the Ambazonia Interim Government read from the same script. The rushed succession plan following the Abuja incident changed the whole concept and pattern of the Southern Cameroons war of independence. One cannot but wish for a different narrative, a different kind of story.

Every well-meaning Southern Cameroons citizen that is not worried about where the Ambazonian revolution is now and where we are headed must be living in Maryland, USA or in French Cameroun. Southern Cameroonians including President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe believed, and rightly so, that the corrupt leadership of the disgraced Dr Sako Ikome and Chris Anu was clueless and didn’t have the capacity to take Southern Cameroonians to the next level, and, therefore, instituted change.

But ever since President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe made public the Southern Cameroons dream Interim Government administration headed by Vice President Dabney Yerima, Sako Ikome and Chris Anu have blatantly refused to allow the Southern Cameroons Interim Government to put its acts together.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group can now reveal that the Southern Cameroons resistance is in a free fall. The Federal Republic of Ambazonia seems to be on a standstill and, in recent times, the Biya French Cameroun regime that has slaughtered thousands of Southern Cameroons citizens including women and children is gaining an upper hand in the Ambazonia homeland.

Those who are complaining about the killing of prominent Amba fighters are no longer only President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and Vice President Dabney Yerima but also the corrupt Southern Cameroons so-called front line leaders that are haunted by their sordid and avaricious past to whom the Sako-Chris Anu period had become the ultimate nemesis.

The real tragedy of the Southern Cameroons situation is that its diaspora and thousands in Ground Zero are not convinced that the struggle is making progress. We of the Concord Group are sad about what has become of the war to liberate the people of Southern Cameroons, and more so of what has become of Ambaland.

It is evidently clear that the silence maintained by men like Hon. Joseph Wirba is deliberate! If those still rallying behind the Maryland mafia group think that Southern Cameroons had made progress, the assassination of General Ayeke and the disappearance of the Field Marshal in the Lebialem County can now help them to see today how much the resistance had gone down the hill! Not only on the negative politics being played by the diaspora including members of the cabinet appointed to assist Vice President Yerima but things like armed robbery and kidnapping, robbery and thieving that were such a taboo in a typical Southern Cameroons society are now the hallmarks of the Ambazonia revolution. While fighters who are pro Sako and Chris Anu in Ground Zero are getting away with murder, the disgraced US based Ambazonia front liners are getting away with massive embezzlement of My Trip To Buea funds!! With these things, you just wonder where we are heading.”

It has been extremely difficult for this writer to understand why the few still passing for a Sako IG, with their overt religiosity, find it difficult to walk their religious talk. The Southern Cameroons thieves of Maryland are all virtually baptized Christians. And since most Southern Cameroonians are Christians, most of the thieves are Christians too!!

Is it that President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the Ambazonia Interim Government have not put in their best? If so, is their best so bad or so poor that Southern Cameroonians haven’t made any significant difference? The leader’s recent call for unity from his cell in the Kondengui High Security Prison and the Maryland reaction that followed with the endorsement of Deacon Tassang, gave we of this publication a dissenting sense of defeatism.

We believe and fervently too that the Southern Cameroons diaspora have failed their fellow citizens in Ground Zero and this failure is slowly but surely generating a kind of frustration among the jailed leaders which is gradually translating to regrets.

Of course, like many living in the bushes and in refugee camps in Ghana and Nigeria, Southern Cameroonians can always console themselves with the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. But Let Vice President Yerima continue to do all that he can, while Prof Carlson Anyangwe remains steadfast in diplomacy, hoping that another generation may stand on their shoulder and stand higher and do better for the suffering and oppressed people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. But it goes without saying that President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe has done his bit.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Culture is the individualities and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, shared habits, music, and arts. The challenges for various structures of cultural institutions in Africa over the last centuries have been abundant but with a solid foundation of truth and justice, the institution of Ekpe has made hundreds of Manyu generations in the Cameroons rightfully honoured. Not even the Christian missionaries of the last seven score years could penetrate and distort the foundation of this cultural giant.

Over the last centuries, Epke has come to define and distinguish Manyu culture. With solid societal norms which go beyond the realms of this editorial, this institution has become an envy of many the world over. But the falsification of cultural institutions from within and external elements has been one of the most under-reported cultural crimes within the Manyu and Cameroonian community.

Ekpe has heavily influenced community peace, truth, and justice since the Manyu man started living in communities over 5500 years ago. With the growing influence of money over the last five decades, hundreds of Manyu men have expressed interest in buying their way into membership and leadership of this sacred institution. This is a trend that the elders and custodians are thankfully putting a stop to.

The title of Sessekou was on the verge of becoming so commercialized that the proud traditions were in danger of becoming trivialized. A cultural title is something which one should inherit from his ancestors and not bargain after earning a few dollars in the West.

The 25 July 2020 video publication on the YouTube platform upon which the elders and Ekpe Chiefs of Ntenako village found Johnnes  Arreymbi of London guilty of the cultural wrongdoing and also for posing as a Sessekou for too long in the UK is a stark reminder of the valleys many would descend for phoney self-aggrandizement. The video from the great people of Ntenako in their most raw, explicit, and unrestrained was unequivocal. Johnnes  Arreymbi has been passing for a Sessekou in the diaspora for over ten years and has been treated within the Cameroonian community with the veneration that the title attracts.

With the embarrassment of having been uncovered as a cultural imposter, a predictable but baseless and feeble social media fight-back was launched. Arreymbi’s fight-back to safe face can be seen by even the blindest amongst the blind. His tactics risk causing deep and lasting damage to the reputation of his village, clan and Ekpe. Trust in cultural institutions is an essential foundation and a basic human trait. Any cultural institution that is partial in its deliberations and decisions is viewed as lacking in credibility and such a reputation will be difficult to shake off.

The notion that the Elders and Ekpe Chiefs of Ntenako village on three occasions could not remember when they performed a celebrated public event of Sessekou Enthronement is not plausible. Any attempt by anyone in Manyu or London to perpetuate this gigantic lie would be met with vociferous consequences by the custodians and sympathizers of the Manyu culture.

This brings us to London, 17 October 2020. Cameroon Concord News Group has been reliably informed that a certain Sampson Tanyi, who arrived in the United Kingdom when Kwame Nkrumah was the chairman of the OAU and still has no intention of retiring to Manyu has voluntarily ventured into uncharted territory. This publication understands that the said Sampson Tanyi who has been described by many within Manyu circles as a prominent and successful failure is attempting to do the unthinkable by challenging the due process that led to the uncovering of this serious cultural crime.

Manyu cultural barons and custodians at home and in the diaspora are watching the current comedy led by this Self-appointed Quarter-head with wonderment and interest. One thing must be made clear to the cultural clowns and impostors in London: anyone who attempts to challenge the decision of the Epke custodians in Ntenako and Manyu on this matter would be embarking on a journey of many dangers as the consequences would be unimaginable.

We of the Concord Group publication are watching the cultural humourists and charlatans in the United Kingdom closely. All collaborators of the Sampson Tanyi in this pseudo-cultural endeavour would face the full force of Ekpe and Manyu.

The impulse to cheat is evident in many humans and wherever there are influence and money; villains and charlatans are never far away. Africans love titles but most Manyu men are predominantly obsessed with being Sessekous for honour and veneration and this fixation is driving many to obtain it by hook or crook. Ekpe as a cultural institution should not be misused and phoneys should not be shielded.

Ekpe represents a critical piece of Manyu identity as it forms the foundation of its social order. It reminds us of our past, shapes who we are today and will make the future of our descendants richer. The variety and vastness of the Manyu semi Bantu kingdom can sometimes make communication and stability demanding but Ekpe has reigned supreme in breaking these barriers and ensuring consistency, justice, and continuity.

What started as an investigation into an Ekpe title impersonation has now uncovered unanswered and pressing questions about academic titles. But for this editorial, Cameroon Concord News Group will stick to culture and Ekpe.

If Ekpe and the custodians of the Manyu culture dream of a world where no mortal will scorn or impersonate the coveted title of Sessekou, the time to put a stop is now. Sampson Tanyi and the charlatans of his Ekpe-meeting-by-zoom should take special note. Ekpe must employ this opportunity to underpin the values and beliefs that the Manyu community cherishes. The alternative to putting a stop to cultural corruption and impersonation is taking these values for granted.  If any culture is diluted and taken for granted, our way of life will become foreign to us and our descendants. And Manyu intends to pursue that path not.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman and Editor-in-chief

Cameroon government army soldiers and members of the National Gendarmerie and other security agencies raided the office of the Cameroon Concord News Group in Buea seizing computers. No reason has so far been given concerning the military operation, but we of the Concord Group believe it is related with our coverage of the Southern Cameroons crisis.

The backbone of any free society is an unbiased, professional, and responsible media. Attacks on the media and press in Cameroon carrying out their daily duties are sadly now a regular occurrence. The regime in Yaoundé is aping the world’s worst with astonishing efficiency and regularity. The evidence of recent months indicates that these attacks are now reaching epidemic proportions.  These must be discontinued.

Last night’s, forcible entry by French Cameroun gendarmes into the Cameroon Concord News Group regional office in Buea is unacceptable and reprehensible. These persistent attacks on our property, staff, the Anglophone press and media in Cameroon are sad, regrettable and a backward step. The prudent course of action for the Cameroon government is to desist from these campaigns of attacks and intimidation. Paul Atanga Nji must know that for Cameroon to enjoy any modicum of respectability on the international stage, freedom of the press and media must be respected within its territory.

These acts of vandalism and intimidation by Cameroon government thugs disguised as law enforcement officers is the third of such intimidation tactics on our property and staff within six months. Yaoundé must be aware that resentment over its treatment of the English media and press fuels the secession struggle in the Southern Cameroons. The excuse for invading our premises in Buea is weak, false, and unacceptable.

Samuel Wazizi and Kingsley Njoka belong to a long line of media and press victims, many of whom will never be reported in the news. The regime in Yaoundé evaluation of the resolve of the media and press in the Southern Cameroons is exceedingly inaccurate.

Cameroon Concord News Group demands the authorities in Cameroon make public any offenses committed by its media personnel or desist from these constant harassments and intimidation. We cannot and would never ignore our responsibility to the Cameroonian public and the world. Our duty as a media organization is to report the news and stimulate debate and no amount of intimidation would deviate us from our duty.

No civilized society can thrive without a free press and media and Cameroon Concord News Group is here to stay.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman and Editor-in-chief

On the 14th of October 2020, an airplane carrying onboard over 100 asylum seekers from the United States landed in the Douala International Airport in Cameroon into the waiting hands of the Cameroonian authorities stationed at the airport. Their fate is now a mystery.

Leaving one’s home country as a migrant to settle in and start living in another country has always been a challenging venture. It becomes not only challenging but difficult, daunting, and risky when you must flee from your country without prior notice due to persecution or war. Danger or menace to one’s life or that of your family members is a major reason for fleeing these days. One, therefore, flees from danger from their home country to become a refugee by seeking asylum.

The word ‘Asylum’ is a Latin form of the Greek word ‘asylon’ which in English means ‘freedom from…’ It is true that in International Law, states are not bound by any obligation to grant asylum to a refugee. However, nations are bound by the principle of non- refoulement as defined in article 33 of the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees which prohibits the expulsion or return of refugees to areas they have fled from.

The case in hand is, therefore, a flagrant violation of the above-named convention. The United States should know better. It is rewarding that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Germany, and many EU nations, still hold close to their hearts the protection of human rights and freedoms especially those of refugees and asylum seekers.

It has been before now, common knowledge that the United States, Britain, and France as allies, are among the best in the world when it comes to the protection of human rights and freedoms as well as the protection of refugees and asylum seekers. This writer is confident that if this were in the United Kingdom, the outcome would have been different at least not until all due processes followed and with strict respect for the rule of law.

With the recent deportation of vulnerable asylum seekers by the United States government to Cameroon, the United States has moved one step away from this prestigious circle of rights defenders. It is no news anywhere in the world that what is going on in the former British Southern Cameroons in particular, and Cameroon in general does not only constitute human rights abuses but genocide in gestation.

This writer has reason to believe that by this singular act, the US has shown the world that it partners the dictatorial regime in Yaoundé. What other reason can be given to justify sending asylum seekers back to a country they have fled from in the middle of a war?

It is equally worth noting that this group of mostly Former British Southern Cameroons asylum seekers was deliberately transferred months ago by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the T. Don Hutto Residential Centre in Taylor, Texas. A detention facility that has been noted and stands out for its several allegations of human rights abuses and other degrading treatments of refugees and asylum seekers.

Based on recent figures from the UN High Commissioner for refugees, there has been a 56% increase in the number of people seeking political asylum from the Cameroons. And that number has increased since November 2016 due to the ongoing war in Former British Southern Cameroons.

It remains really strange and inexplicable how with all the statistics and evidence available on the ongoing crisis in Cameroon, and despite letters from some congressmen and women asking for the process to be delayed for more evidence, the Texas officials succeeded in deporting helpless asylum seekers to Cameroon, a country where the abuse of human rights has become a norm and a daily occurrence. 

This process of deportation has smeared the dreadful image of the United States’ already injured human rights image. The country has missed an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that it does not side with the regime Yaoundé regime.

Nelson Agbor is an International Human Rights Law Scholar. He holds a Master of Laws (LLM), from Hertfordshire Law School, UK. He is currently a Doctoral Research Student, International Human Rights Law at Plymouth University, UK.

The Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations today announced the launch of its newly formed strategic committee of trusted advisors. This Advisory Board includes well renowned leaders whose focus will be to shape and guide the strategy of the Coalition, working closely with the Steering Committee.

 The new Board includes Former Liberian President H.E Amos Sawyer, Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Ambassador Herman J. Cohen; Former Resident Representative for Sierra Leone & Liberia of the African Development Bank Dr. Margaret Kilo; Former U.S. Ambassador to Liberia and Uganda Ambassador Deborah Malac; Senior Associate and Regional Director National Democratic Institute Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh; and Founders of Pave The Way Foundation Gary and Meredith Krupp.

 “We are very honored to have such a distinguished team join us in actively seeking an end to the escalating armed conflict in the Southern Cameroons that addresses the root causes of the conflict” said Dr. Denis Foretia, Co-Chair of the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations. “We will continue to do all we can to stop the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the country.”

For the last 100 years, food has been used as both a weapon of war and in some cases the driving force behind it. Hunger, in particular, has been at the heart of many of the revolutions of the past. Just over a decade ago the Arab Spring was launched because of the rising price of food. It is therefore understood by many that food, and fear of hunger, can overthrow regimes, shift political power, and even change the course of a nation. But how does food insecurity and the potential unrest it drives impact America? The west African nation of Cameroon is a perfect example of how food insecurity can undermine a stable regime and change the balance of power in an entire region critical to US foreign policy objectives.

Led by 87-year-old President Biya since 1981, Cameroon is seen in Africa as a stalwart of stability in an unstable neighborhood. But all is not rosy in Cameroon today. As has happened across the world, rising food costs and resulting food scarcity often drive human conflict. In fact, conflict in Cameroon threatens the entire sub-region because of food insecurity. With an ongoing insurgency in the Anglophone regions, Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa in the Far North, and non-state rebel intrusions from Central African Republic, Cameroon faces significant deficits in its ability to protect and feed its population. As the largest donor across all sectors in the sub-region – health, military assistance, and food – the United States logically would be expected to lead any response efforts to an unfolding breakdown of the humanitarian situation. It is important that Americans understand how interconnected stability in Cameroon is to the sub-region and ultimately to U.S. taxpayers.

Surrounded by conflict-laden countries, Cameroon hosts over 430,000 refugees. The bulk of assistance is from the United States through the United Nations World Food Program, which provides millions of U.S. dollars of shelter and food to these refugees. In addition, Cameroon is a key trading hub to exporters around the globe. Cameroon plays a role as the regional “food highway”. Many of Cameroon’s neighbors are dependent on its open borders, open ports, and open roads for their trade. Its landlocked neighbors receive much needed food and fuel imports through Cameroon’s main port, Douala.

Cameroon security challenges inside its borders threaten the stability of the government. The first is an ongoing insurgency in the nation’s two Anglophone regions since 2018. This struggle has internally displaced over 679,000 of the three million people living there and those left, over one million people, are believed to be in a severe food crisis. In the insurgency in Northwest and Southwest Regions, Anglophone separatists attack some of the most critical industries in Cameroon, killing workers and burning cocoa, coffee, banana, and plantain fields. By targeting the agricultural productivity of the country, separatists effectively choke off production in these regions. This eliminates large swaths of employment and creates severe food shortages driving food insecurity, and hunger further fueling the conflict.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Far North region has faced ongoing conflict from extremist groups Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa since 2014. Raids by the terrorists are common on Lake Chad and along the Nigerian border. These raids target cattle, food, fuel, and kidnaps-for-ransom. The violence has internally displaced over 297,000 Cameroonians and combined with severe weather has caused severe food shortages in that region. The country also hosts over 114,300 Nigerian refugees, victims of conflict forced across the border fleeing violence. Cameroon’s response is a military strategy that had been successful through 2018. However, on the heels of Cameroon’s 2018 presidential elections, Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa increasingly targeted Cameroonian security forces and pushed further into the country. The conflict activity has also reached Cameroon’s border with Central African Republic where incursions by non-state rebel groups target already vulnerable UN refugee camps which host over 274,000 refugees. As Cameroon searches for the force balance that allows it to address security challenges, insecurity reigns in the troubled areas in the Lake Chad basin, along the eastern border with CAR, and in the Anglophone Regions.

So, what is at stake for Cameroon’s neighbors and why should Americans care?  Equatorial Guinea’s second and fourth largest imports in 2017 were from Cameroon. Without regulated trade and cross border staples fluidity from Cameroon, the majority of Equatorial Guineans would face severe levels of food insecurity. Cameroon is the Central African Republic’s main trading partner. It accounts for 58 percent of all of its exports and 41 percent of imports in 2018 alone. Because CAR is landlocked, nearly all exports and imports are over land through Cameroon. Any impact to the CAR-Cameroon border could destroy CAR’s economy. Many of Cameroon’s neighbors are already in dire straits. Almost half of the CAR’s population is food insecure. In Chad, 43 percent of children under five are stunted. And in Equatorial Guinea, where data are hard to obtain, over 26 percent of children under five are stunted. The United States is the number one responder to food security shortfalls in the sub-region. Through the USAID Food for Peace, Cameroon received over 70 million USD, CAR over 118 million USD, and Chad over 187 million USD. Disruption to food flows through Cameroon to these countries caused by a complete breakdown of political stability would have catastrophic effects to these countries and require an immediate response by western governments and non-governmental organizations. 

Between the security challenges stretching Cameroon’s armed forces, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s stability is precarious—and therefore, so too is the entire West and Central African region’s food security. As we know from history, food insecurity and instability can enter a dangerous feedback loop. Conflicts, and their consequences, never stay confined within a nation’s borders. What Americans should understand is that an unstable Cameroon doesn’t just hurt Cameroon, as tragic as that is alone. Cameroon is the doorway into Central Africa. Knock down that door, and the hunger crisis that awaits the world would be large in scope and terrible in outcome. As the largest foreign assistance provider in the sub-region, the United States would be on the hook to lead response efforts, footing the bulk of any bill.

Culled from agri-pulse.com

Interim Government of Ambazonia on the statement issued by the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda 69^th General Assembly.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia welcomes the recent statement of the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda at the end of its 69^th General Assembly in Buea, Southern Cameroons.  The statement issued on 25 September 2020 expressed considerable concerns about the ongoing genocide in our country.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia appreciates the call of the Catholic Bishops for a;

• Ceasefire in the war in the Southern Cameroons as requested by the UN Secretary General on 23 March 2020 and reiterated by Pope Francis on 29 March 2020.
• Release of all Southern Cameroons Prisoners of Conscience detained in various prisons and detention facilities as a result of the ongoing war.
• Continuation of negotiations between the government of La Republic du Cameroun and the leadership of the Southern Cameroons currently detained unlawfully in Yaoundé.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia notes that the Conference called for a complete school resumption in the Southern Cameroons.  We believe that the rights to life and education are fundamental and our position on school resumption has not changed. As a government, we have publicly observed that only parents can determine if the conditions are conducive for Southern Cameroons children to return to school. The Southern Cameroons Interim Government wants children to study in a calm and peaceful environment and therefore advises parents that where it is unsafe to resume, they should let their children study at home. The Interim Government will continue to support community schools all over Ambazonia.

We call on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution mandating a UN International Fact-Finding Mission to investigate the alleged abuses during the Ambazonia–French Cameroun Conflict. A UN mandated International Fact-Finding Mission has the authority to challenge the culture of impunity that the Cameroun regime currently operates within, and such accountability is a prerequisite for achieving a just peace. We believe that a UN-mandated international Fact-Finding Mission will have the immediate effect of quelling violence, saving lives, and halting the destruction of our peoples’ lives and livelihood.

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

When South Africa assumed the chairpersonship of the AU in February 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to prioritising a long-standing objective of silencing the guns on the continent within this year. But while we were celebrating the signing of the Sudan peace agreement in Juba on October 3, Southern Cameroonians were engaged in acts of resistance. The people have been forced to defend themselves from the Biya regime due to being ongoing subjects of the most brutal murders, detentions, sexual violations and physical and psychological torture.

Southern Cameroon, a self-governing territory since 1954, was expecting to be granted full independence during the 1960s wave of decolonisation, like their neighbours Le Republique du Cameroun (LRC), which became independent on January 1, 1960, and Nigeria, which became independent on October 1, 1960. Despite having been accorded a distinct international status by virtue of UN General Assembly Res 1608 (XV) of April 21, 1961, it was forced to choose between amalgamating with one of the two countries.

As an independent sovereign state, LRC passed many laws in its Parliament, and Law No 24/61, promulgated by its President Ahmadou Ahidjo on September 1, 1961, laid the basis for the annexure of Southern Cameroonian territory and the establishment of the Federal Republic of Cameroon on October 1, 1961. Despite the forced integration, there had been a general commitment to convivial relations within the Cameroons since independence; the decades of abuse of English-speaking Cameroonians have however reached intolerable levels. October 1 has accordingly become a symbol of annual remembrance.

Protests by Ambazonians, the preferred name used by many Southern Cameroonians, including school boycotts due to the marginalisation of English practises in schools, escalated in 2016, and have now reached the levels of armed resistance. As of September 2019, it was estimated that over 2 000 people have lost their lives and more than 100 towns and villages in the anglophone regions had been targeted with arson attacks by state forces, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

The UN, the AU, the Economic Commission for West African States are all conscious of the savagery being inflicted upon the people of Southern Cameroon, as clippings of rape, amputation of breast and limbs, killings, scorching of villages and crops and the vilest forms of torture, circulate widely. These include footage of a 2-month-old deceased child who was reportedly shot in the back of the head by Cameroonian military officials; people having been tied up, set alight, and burnt to death; and the burning of genitalia during interrogation. It is known that hundreds of detainees are held incommunicado, many of whom are tortured, in a detention facility in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital. A sense of urgency to substantively intervene however, seems to be absent.

South Africa appears to be complicit in the inertia. It has shied away from having the matter addressed at the UN Security Council and is seemingly doing little to ensure that the AU intervenes. Southern Cameroonians, who actively contributed to the fight against apartheid through international solidarity, feel abandoned. They feel that the continent’s former liberation movements have all abdicated their functions as liberation movements and have forgotten their roots.

South Africa, given its strategic position on the continent and internationally, can play an important role in stopping the endless human rights atrocities in Southern Cameroon. The separatists are willing to negotiate, but on territory that they trust. South Africa is that territory. Our government should reach out to the separatist leaders, reach out to the state, and urgently facilitate a process that can end the genocide and restore peace. Silence will be a shameful scar on the conscience of humanity.

Source: iOl.CO.ZA

Today marks the third anniversary of the restoration of our independence. We started with peaceful demonstrations of hope in 2016 but have become the prey of a hostile regime in Yaoundé. We observe today therefore in challenging times not, as a victory but a celebration of fortitude and truth.  I come to you today at the end of a week that has observed the marauding forces of La Republique du Cameroun slaughter four innocent young men in Bamenda. Last week, a mother and her two sons were executed in Lysoka, Buea. Unfortunately, such barbarisms are now daily occurrences for our people in the Southern Cameroons.

When the United Nations was founded in 1945, nearly a third of the world’s population lived in territories that were forcefully governed by colonial powers. The international trusteeship system was established by the UN Charter affirming the principle of self-determination. Seventy-five years after this affirmation, the people of Southern Cameroons are still languishing in despair in their country under a brutal neo-colonial regime. Seventy-five years after the affirmation of the principle of self-determination by the UN Charter, the people of Southern Cameroons are slaughtered for proclaiming their right of self-determination.

The independence vote by the people of the Southern Cameroons was endorsed by UNGA Resolution 1608 (XV) of 21 April 1961. At the time of the adoption of this Resolution, UN membership stood at 100 states.  Sixty-four states voted in favour of independence for the Southern Cameroons. The geographical spread of these states covers all the continents of the world. The 64 states included three of the Big Five in the UN Security Council, namely, the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Russia.

Since we restored independence on 1 October 2017, we have lost 10,000 of our fellow citizens, we now have over 1 million internally displaced persons, 421 of our villages have been burned down by the French Cameroun military, 100,000 of our people are living as refugees in Nigeria. Our leader, Sisiku AyukTabe, and his leadership were abducted in Nigeria and now unlawfully detained in La Republique du Cameroun.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia has submitted over 100 cases to the UN special procedures. These special mechanisms include the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women; the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons; the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

In the coming weeks, we shall begin to see a steady flow of reports on these cases by the various Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups. Already, two reports cover the murder by Biya’s troops of several civilians perpetrated in Belo, Bamenda, Buea, and Ekona between February and October 2018. Another report dated 7 July 2020 on the Wazizi case and the Kingsley Njoka case is out. As is the practice and procedure, these reports are addressed to the Yaoundé regime with a request for its response.

But we know its response to these cases. And we know beforehand its response to scores of other cases still to come. It is incapable of saying anything else other than making barefaced denials. It is so morally bankrupt that it is unable to take responsibility for the genocide it is perpetrating and hoping that by some miracle it will escape accountability. Barefaced denials are its shameless familiar line. In the numerous cases against it in the Human Rights Committee going back to the 1980s, it has sung this familiar song and in each case, it has lost.

Fellow Ambazonians, going forward, lawyers local and international working for the Interim Government  will be instructed to institute proceedings against the Yaoundé regime and its military for each case of murder, rape, torture of any civilian as well as for any case of pillage, theft, arson, destruction, and looting. It is our responsibility to protect our people and land and we must not shrink from it.

In the history of mankind, only a few generations have been tasked with the role of fashioning freedom and independence for their nations. This is an arduous responsibility which I hope and pray that as a generation, we do not shrink from. Despite the challenges of the last three years, the energy and devotion which we bring to this revolution going forward is key to the victory we seek.

Our people in the bushes and the refugee camps struggling to break the bonds of misery and fear must know that love and truth can never be suppressed forever. Despite the setbacks of the last few months and the challenges of these last three years, I urge you to keep the faith. We are a stricken people in a world that has abandoned us. But we must not entertain thoughts of defeat nor contemplate a return to the status quo.

Fellow Ambazonians, it is our duty in this generation to fight and if necessary die for our freedom and independence. By our courage, determination, and poise, our independence and freedom are permanent. France and her puppet regime in Yaoundé must know that our right to self-determination is non-negotiable. The Never-Again-Generation of Ambazonians is unwilling to continue under servitude and oppression.

Even as the enemy believes that she will exterminate us, I implore you all not to lament for I see hope in our struggle. We shall pay any price; bear any burden to assure our liberty. This, we pledge as a people. United there is nothing we cannot do.  Our temporal challenges and losses are sadly within the context of our chosen goal of independence. Let history be the final judge of our actions. As a people, let us go forth to defend our land knowing that if it is to be, it is up to us.

To all our women, especially the Takumbengs, we salute your courage. Your peaceful March of 22 September 2017 set us all off on this challenging but worthwhile journey.

To all the free and independent nations of the world, our best hope is your conscience. We call on you to show compassion and humanness. Ours is not a drive for power, but a just fight for independence and freedom. It is a colossal blunder for the world to continue to overlook the genocide in our country. In French Cameroun today, we see failure, backwardness, and unprecedented evil. In French Cameroun today, we see a failed state on borrowed time.

There is a legitimate question about our attitude towards the people of French Cameroun. The people of Ambazonia make a huge distinction between the French Cameroun imperialistic regime and the people of the country. Our disagreement is with the imperialism of their government backed by France and buttressed by the silence of the world’s nations. The people of La Republique du Cameroun must understand that despotism and neo-colonialism produce economic and social backwardness because it impedes the human impulse to create. Despotism and neo-colonialism find peace and unity offensive. We don’t intend therefore to exchange one wickedness with another.

To the murderous regime in Yaoundé, no matter how long you unleash your wickedness and barbarism upon us, we shall overcome and our independence and freedom are everlasting. The people of Ambazonia shall oppose aggression and subjugation until the end. There will be no peace in La Republique du Cameroun until she pulls her military out of Ambazonia.

With regards to ending the war between our two nations, let it be known that civility is not a sign of weakness and as a nation, Ambazonia shall never negotiate out of fear but we shall never fear to negotiate.

Fellow Ambazonians, in your hands, rest the success or failure of our cause. Plenty is at our disposal but we must start using our talents and opportunities persistently and wisely. As a nation, we are half-awake.  Be reassured that as your leaders in detention are standing tall and marching forth to the foot of the mountain despite anything that is thrown at them, I call upon you today to keep your eyes fixed on the prize-FREEDOM.

It is our responsibility to protect our freedom and independence. Our nation is asking for action from all of us to lead to achieving this commanding goal of independence. Let us be ready and willing to submit our lives for the action of attaining our freedom. If we all pull together, the enemy will be defeated and Buea will be a reality soon.

Happy Independence Day 2020

Long Live Ambazonia,

God Bless You All.

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia