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

Cameroon’s opposition leader, Professor Maurice Kamto, has been in the spotlight for two years now because of his determination to change the country’s political landscape by all means.

The country has been in the grip of a corrupt dictatorship for decades and bringing about change in such a political system will require massive efforts and determination.

Key among the tools that the country’s political opposition is using are peaceful public demonstrations which are acceptable in genuine democracies and Cameroon has been flaunting itself as an advanced democracy though political dissent is not tolerated.

On September 22, the political opposition led by Professor Kamto called on its supporters in the country to come out en masse to demonstrate against a regime noted for its corruption and intolerance.

The turnout was impressive, despite the violent response from the government.

From every indication, East Cameroonians are gradually plucking up courage to challenge a political system that has brought more poverty and corruption to a country and its population.

Cameroon is in deep waters and for close to four decades, it has been ruled by a crime syndicate that has made corruption its hallmark and it is not repentant about that.

Over the last 30 years, the country’s economy has been suffering and this unfortunate situation has been made worse by the government’s refusal to see political dialogue as a way out of the quagmire.

Cameroon is going through tough times. The people are sick and tired of the dictatorship and economic hardship brought onto them by a government that is not willing to mend its ways.

The impressive results posted by the country’s opposition on September 22 are a testament to the fact that if more Cameroonians join the effort, the outdated political system could be changed.

However, if the demonstrations must result in anything meaningful, the demonstrations must be on a daily basis. Cameroonians must take a leaf out of the political book published by Sudanese and Algerians if they want to make any meaningful impact.

The odds are in the opposition’s favor. The government is cash-strapped and it is fighting many wars at the same time.

Its refusal to walk away from its old ways has left it in a permanent state of conflict. In the north, Boko Haram is making life very hard for everybody. The religious sect is killing both civilians and soldiers and the helpless population does not know where to turn to as the government itself is totally helpless.

But the government’s most uncomfortable nightmare is in the two English-speaking regions of the country where Southern Cameroonian separatists are hell-bent on achieving independence by force.

For four good years, the crime syndicate which passes off as a government has been pouring billions of dollars into the country’s two English-speaking regions but not for development purposes.

It has been battling an insurgency that might split the country if care is not taken. The fighting has already hit the country’s economy like a ton of bricks, leaving many young Cameroonians unemployed.

It has also generated many internally displaced persons and refugees. This situation is a real nightmare to the government that actually feels threatened.

Cameroonians must look at how other countries have achieved their political goals. Demonstrations to overthrow a deep-rooted dictatorship cannot be a one-off.

The hungry and desperate people of Cameroon must take to the streets every day until the dictator throws in his towel.

The people must understand that the government will not be going down without a fight and it will use all the means available to it to stay in power.

The people must not relent. They must understand that you cannot make omelet without breaking eggs.

Other countries have seen their dreams come true through their determined effort. Cameroonians can also chase this government away through collective action.

What is certain is that the government cannot kill or imprison everybody. This is a government that does not believe in genuine dialogue.

 If it has to change its way, then it must be compelled, one way or the other, to come to the negotiating table for true and genuine discussions. The ball is in the court of Cameroonians and the opposition leaders. Nobody will solve these problems for Cameroonians. The brave people of Cameroon must learn how to take on a government whose cardinal objective is to exploit its own people.

The country’s English-speaking minority has already set a beautiful example. East Cameroonians must learn from the English-speaking minority if they want their dream to come true.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom and Irene Nanyongo in Canada

Cameroonian authorities have to investigate the excessive use of force during peaceful protests in Yaounde and other cities in Cameroon on 22 September 2020. They must immediately release all protesters who were arrested solely for expressing their opinion and investigate attacks against journalists ill-treated and arrested for collecting information on the protest. The protests were organised by the Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) to demand the departure of the President of the Republic.

“It is unacceptable that the security forces used lethal force against peaceful protesters, arrested and humiliated people only because they were exercising their right to protest. The authorities must investigate these human rights violations and explain why one of the protesters died and others were injured and illtreated. The authorities must ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice”, said Fatou Jagne Senghore, Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 West Africa.

“One person was reportedly killed, at least ten wounded and 60 arrested including five media professionals. Some of them were victims of ill-treatments”

The Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) called for a series of peaceful protests across the country to demand the departure of the President of the Republic. On 21 September 2020, Communication Minister and Government spokesman Rene Emmanuel Sadi announced during a press conference the ban on the demonstration, describing it as calls for popular uprising and overthrow of institutions by leaders of a political party, such decision undermines the right to free expression and peaceful protest.

On 22 September, activists responding to the call of the MRC, stormed the streets in different cities of Cameroon to peacefully protest. But the security forces used tear gas and a water cannon to disperse the protesters. According to media reports, one person was reportedly killed, at least ten were wounded and 60 people arrested, including five media professionals. Some of the protesters were ill- treated, and security forces reportedly ordered those arrested to sit on the ground and forced them to sing a chant to glorify the President of Republic.

No one should lose their life, or fear torture or ill-treatment because of exercising their right to protest. The police should have facilitated this peaceful protest, but instead, they used force to disperse the protesters. ARTICLE 19 has reviewed three videos of the protests and all appeared to be peaceful. When attending a protest, the police should be guided by the presumption of peacefulness, rather than assuming there will be violence and resort to using force.

“Five media professionals were arrested. Although Rodrigue Ngassi identified himself to Security forces as Media cameraman, they arrested him and twisted his arm.”

ARTICLE 19 urges the authorities to ensure the protection and safety of journalists, to tolerate media reports on dissident opinions, especially during protests and to unconditionally release all those arrested only for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association.

The police arrested five media professionals: Tah Jarvis, Tebong Christian Lindovi Ndjio, Rodrigue Ngassi Polycarpe Essomba. The Equinoxe tv channel has in their news broadcast condemned how the security forces treated Rodrigue Ngassi. He identified himself as a cameraman to the security forces, but they arrested him, and twisted his arm and put a foot on his neck. Rodrigue Ngassi was later released and urged the Cameroonian police to respect journalist doing their job.

Polycarpe Essomba, a Radio France International reporter was beaten, while he was covering the demonstration. The police hit him with a truncheon and took him to a police station, released him after two hours. Lindovi Ndjio, Journalist of “Nouvelle Expression”, Tah Jarvis and Tebong Christian respectively Journalist and Cameraman of “ My Media prime” were finally released on the evening of 23 September 2020 in the second day of their arrest.             

“The arrest of the journalists, who were just doing their work, is a violation of media freedom. The role of the media is to report and inform the public about anything relevant to them. The authorities shouldn’t intimidate journalists and restrict the right to access to information.”

“Journalism is not a crime. It is not enough to release the arrested journalists. Any charges should be dropped. The Government must shed light on the ill-treatments and the motivation of their arrests against these journalists. Cameroon must end the cycle of impunity for attacks against journalists and brutal repression of protesters” urged Fatou Jagne Senghore.

It is very risky to work as a journalist in Cameroon, and the protection of the media continues to deteriorate. Following attacks on the press, ARTICLE 19 has interviewed the data journalist Paul Joël Kamtchang, Executive Secretary of ADISI Cameroon, who stated: “The protection of journalists in the exercise of their profession is deplorable in Cameroon.  The authorities seem to believe they are above the law; they think they can muzzle journalist on duty.”

We call on the African Commission Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to information to urge the government of Cameroon to respect their obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and guarantee media freedom.

“We are asking the African Commission Special Rapporteur to monitor the situation and urge the government to investigate these violations and make sure that Cameroon will not continue to prevent, hinder or restrict unduly the right to protest and to attack media.”

The right to protest enables citizens to participate actively in the socio-political life of their country. Cameroon’s 1996 Law on the revision of the Constitution guarantees the freedoms of expression, assembly and association, press freedom and the right to protest. Also, the Constitution prohibits the use of the torture, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

ARTICLE 19 has underlined in its principles of the right to protest that States should not prevent, hinder or restrict the right to protest except to the extent allowed by international human rights law and standards.

By banning and using excessive force to disperse a peaceful protest, Cameroon has violated its international obligations. For example, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 9 of African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) guarantee that everyone should be able to express their opinions without interference. The  Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa underline that protest is a right, for which organisers don’t need prior authorisation.

By using excessive force, the authorities failed to ensure the safety of the public and to safeguard the human rights of all persons during the protest as stated in the African Commission Guidelines for the Policing of Assemblies by Law Enforcement Officials in Africa. Moreover, the excessive use of force doesn’t comply with the requirements of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa.  

At the UN Human Rights Council, during its last UPR review in 2018, Cameroon received recommendations to ensure that any restrictions on freedom of assembly and demonstration should be in line with international obligations. Unfortunately, the country only noted these, and in practice, Cameroon continues to restrict the freedom to protest. For example, in January 2019 when the authorities banned “marches blanches” following the announcement of the Presidential election results which were contested by the MRC. The security forces used excessive force to disperse the protesters with tear gas and bullets and arrested several demonstrators including the prominent opposition leader Maurice Kamto.  

Culled from Sierra Leone Telegraph

As Cameroonians began to fall sick from the novel coronavirus, President Paul Biya made a plea for public solidarity to help the government support a healthcare system already collapsing under the weight of multiple security crises affecting the country.

Dozens of people and companies immediately poured money into a fund hastily created by the president. This fund should have augmented the millions of dollars in a separate Health Solidarity Fund, an emergency reserve established by the government in 1993, into which healthcare facilities pay 10 percent of their revenues each month. These revenues largely come from patient fees, raising the cost of health care, already unaffordable for many.

However, the government has managed both these funds in secrecy, obstructing the public’s ability to track public resources.

It is not clear if and how the government has spent these funds, nor the $226 million from the International Monetary Fund it received to support its Covid-19 response, among other international assistance. As the virus swept across the country, medical staff and others told us in June that their hospitals had received no extra financial assistance, hampering their ability to treat patients or provide healthcare workers with adequate  protective equipment.

Only after enormous public pressure, citing the “urgency of transparency,” did the government publish, on July 29, some basic information in a two-page statement about how it spent about 22 billion FCA ($40 million), which it said was its  total expenditure to respond  to Covid-19 in the preceding five months.

Funding from the ADB and the IMF

The information provided is too general to allow for meaningful public oversight – saying only that, for example, 1.75 billion FCA ($3 million)  went toward “rehabilitating, renovating, and extending” isolation areas in three hospitals in Yaoundé, the capital. The statement similarly provides a generic list of equipment to account for another 3.92 billion CFA (nearly $8 million) attributed to “procurement of medical equipment distributed to facilities.”

And what little is included may not be entirely accurate. Observers who visited the three Yaoundé hospitals and spoke to staff there two weeks after the Health Ministry published the statement were unable to identify any new construction work  to prepare for Covid-19 patients, although two had set up tents outside as testing sites. A sign at the General Hospital of Yaoundé dated July 16 announced that the hospital would no longer accept Covid-19 patients.

Watchdog groups such as the Association for the integrated development and Interactive solidarity (ADISI), with its digital platform Data Cameroon, have also pointed out that the $40 million does not account for all the funds the government received to support its Covid-19 response. The Health Ministry statement included a list of about 65 individuals and companies who donated around 1 billion FCA ($1.8 million) to the president’s solidarity fund. But it hasn’t made public any information specific to the fund’s revenues and disbursements, which appear not to be governed by any legislation. And the total sum the Ministry says it spent is far smaller than the amount it received in international assistance for more than 43 Covid-19 projects, including $100 million from the African Development Bank.

The International Aid Transparency Initiative tracks funds for these projects, but does not include comprehensive details on expenditures. Nor does the tracker account for the $226 million in emergency assistance the government received from the IMF in June.

More than 20,000 cases and 416 deaths

In a letter requesting the loan, the finance minister cited the importance of the funds “to cover urgent needs to upgrade the health system.” The letter committed to publishing all procurement documents related to Covid-19 expenditures, including the names of the real owners of companies awarded contracts, but we were unable to find any such contracts.

In his letter, the minister also promised to publish the results of an independent audit by the end of 2020 fiscal year, which passed on June 30 without any news that an audit is even in progress.

Tracking this money is about more than the government reciprocating public solidarity with accountable governance; it is key to ensuring funds crucial for fighting a pandemic are fully and fairly distributed across the country. Cameroon reported more cases and deaths than most countries in Central Africa – nearly 20,000 cases and 415 deaths as of September 10, according to the World Health Organization. Yet many hospitals remain woefully unprepared six months into the pandemic.

We spoke to a doctor who works in a hospital in the North-West region, which has been hard- hit by violence since late 2016 and whose medical facilities have been repeatedly attacked by both government forces and armed separatists. He said that the 10 health facilities in his district received a combined 10 million FCA (around $17,000) in early August. Prior to that, his hospital, had only received 12 masks, 20 boxes of gloves, and four full body gowns for almost 50 employees, he said.

The money enabled his hospital to buy personal protective equipment for some staff, medicine, and two oxygen machines, he said, but it didn’t come close to meeting the needs of the hospital needs, which still lacks sufficient protective equipment for most staff, as well as adequate access to electricity and an ambulance. And the money arrived tragically late: a nurse at a nearby hospital died from Covid-19 in June.

Cameroonians have demonstrated their solidarity. It’s well past time for the government to do the same and publish a full accounting of the Covid-19-related spending, including from the Health Solidarity Fund.

Culled from Human Rights Watch

In July, jailed separatist leaders in Cameroon fighting for the creation of an independent state held their first formal talks with the government about ending the violence plaguing the country’s two Anglophone regions. While the origins of the conflict are in colonial-era divisions of territory, its proximate cause was protests in 2016 against the marginalization of Cameroon’s Anglophone minority, which makes up roughly 20 percent of the population in the majority French-speaking country. In the years since, the conflict has killed several thousand people and displaced nearly a million more.

The recent talks with the government were led by the most prominent separatist leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, who leads a self-declared English-speaking state that the separatists call Ambazonia, and has been imprisoned since 2018. They follow on earlier attempts at negotiations last year, facilitated by the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, which failed to gain traction due to a lack of trust on both sides.

Part of the reason those talks fizzled was the Cameroonian government’s insistence that the ongoing crisis is an issue of terrorism, to be addressed militarily. In 2019, President Paul Biya announced a “Grand National Dialogue” that didn’t even include any separatists and didn’t address key issues, such as whether to revert to a federal form of government that existed prior to 1972.

Subsequently, in January, the government announced a new “Special Status” for the Anglophone regions, which created more regional legislative bodies, among other measures. But this new status did little to change the reality on the ground, and the following months saw widespread violence. Essentially, the Cameroonian government made clear that it was not interested in the separatists’ offers to engage in dialogue and would instead continue with its militaristic approach.

This is why the recent talks between imprisoned separatists and Biya’s government are so noteworthy. The government was represented by officials from the presidency and the office of Prime Minister Joseph Ngute. The separatists were represented by several imprisoned leaders, including Sisiku. Negotiators held two meetings outside the Kondengui Central Prison in Yaounde, the capital, where Sisiku and other political prisoners are being held.

The agenda for the talks centered on what separatists refer to as four action items that would create an enabling environment for further negotiations toward a lasting solution to the conflict. The action items include the demilitarization of the Anglophone regions, with the Cameroonian military being confined to barracks; an amnesty to allow separatists living overseas to return; the release of political prisoners; and a cease-fire that will last until the two sides convene for talks mediated by a third party. The most contentious of these is the release of prisoners, as Sisiku has insisted on a comprehensive release of political prisoners, not an arrangement where the government releases a select group of detainees. Sisiku has also said that if a release occurs in phases, he must be among the last to be released. During the talks, the two sides reached an understanding of the action items.

The talks were initially held in secret, and Sisiku only confirmed them after the second round had concluded. The news was welcomed by multiple separatist leaders and was applauded by civil society groups in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions, which have long been advocating for a cease-fire. The government, however, did not comment for several days, and even then, its statement downplayed the talks, saying information that government representatives had met with “secessionists awaiting trial is not consistent with reality.”

If hard-liners in the Cameroonian government successfully sabotage the peace process, the costs would be horrific.

To many, this seemed as though the government was denying that the talks had taken place. But in reality, the statement was an indication that not all members of the Cameroonian government are sincere about ending the conflict. In fact, the government is divided into two camps: those advocating for overtures toward separatist leaders, and those seeking to obstruct any negotiated settlement. The first camp consists of Prime Minister Ngute, whose office has spearheaded the talks along with the intelligence chief, Maxime Eko-Eko, who has met with separatist leaders. Gregoire Owona, the minister of labor, and Achille Bassilekin, who is the minister of small and medium sized enterprises, are also in favor of the talks.

On the other side, one of the chief opponents of the talks is Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the powerful secretary-general of the presidency. Other hard-liners in the government include Jacques Fame Ndongo, the minister of higher education, and Paul Atanga Nji, the minister of territorial administration. Notably, the divide does not break down along linguistic lines, as there are Anglophones and Francophones in both camps. Since the talks in July, the latter group appears to have seen success, as there have been no follow-up conversations with the separatists.

Clearly, certain prominent members of Cameroon’s Cabinet are not committed to reaching a lasting political solution to the war that has ravaged the country for nearly four years, with economic and humanitarian implications far beyond its two Anglophone regions. This internal division within the government has only been compounded by tensions about who might succeed the 87-year-old Biya, with both Ngoh Ngoh and Ngute angling for the position. While tensions over succession in Cameroon are not new, in the current environment, they could stymie a real chance to end a needless war.

There are also divisions on the separatist side, with the movement split between two main factions—one led by Sisiku and the other led by Samuel Sako, a former pastor based in the United States, in Maryland. Sisiku is the most influential, with the overwhelming majority of fighters seeing him as the leader of the movement. Even some separatist leaders who do not necessarily support Sisiku’s leadership have indicated that they support his initiative to negotiate with the government.

However, infighting within Biya’s Cabinet and jostling over who will succeed him may prevent the process from advancing. If hard-liners in the Cameroonian government successfully sabotage the peace process, the costs would be horrific: Residents of the Anglophone regions would continue to suffer from violence and human rights violations, as a country that was once known as a beacon of stability in a troubled region will continue to destabilize.

Events in recent weeks have shown that the government is continuing a hard-line approach. In response to the killing of a police officer in the Northwest region, the military banned motorbikes in the provincial capital of Bamenda and launched a military operation to sweep the city. Moreover, on Sept. 17, an appellate court in Yaounde upheld Sisiku’s life sentence on charges of terrorism and secession.

As the Cameroon authorities’ violent response to the peaceful protests that emerged in 2016 showed, the government is capable of starting a war by ignoring legitimate grievances. However, that same government now has the ability to seek an end to it. The only question is whether the hard-liners who have historically had the most influence in the Cabinet will prevent meaningful talks with separatists from advancing.

Culled from World Politics Review

‘We Feel safe If we trust our institutions, and we trust our institutions if we see them acting effectively in crises’ (Mary Kaldor “Old War, New Wars: organized Violence in a Globalized Era” 1998).

Generally, we all feel safe when threats are alleviated from our cherished values, which if left unmanaged threaten our survival or that of a referent object in the near future. Security is important and forms the basis of our existence and expression in society. Imagine what life will be without any form of threat, where security is normal, passive and not priorities and politically demanding issues? Absence of threat to a certain level is a prerequisite for growth and development of any society. Increase threats level drive down local production and inflow of foreign investments.

Security matters and absence of threats in our society remained a major illusion in our highly politicized society. Globalization and advent of technological development has continued to expose our societies to different forms of threats. Politics has continued to be instrumental to endangering security. While positive political environment allows for integration and development of peaceful co-existence, several political actors privy to command resources for eliminating threats have resolved to make politics a major issue in threat escalation.

Political nature of security has made the definition of the term security an object of argument based on the perspective of analysts and writers on the topic. Traditional understanding of security emphasizes the physical accumulation of military power to defend the state from external and internal aggression. African states at independence were incorporated into the geopolitical East – West polarization. The need for expression of influence by super powers was reflected in the strength of allied states armies.  Big armies were used to prop up and maintain loyal stooges as powerful rulers in states without proper understanding of principle and operation of statehood.

The period between 1956 and 1989 when the Cold War ended, dictators like Idi Ami in Uganda (1971 -79), Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt (1954-1970), Ahmed Sekou Toure in Guinea (1958-84) and Mengitsu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia (1974-1991) ruled with iron fists in defense of their countries territorial integrity and redefined state security as security for the few ruling elites at the expense of the masses. The states employed the “Kill and go” mentality in elite securitization to defend their territory and unleash terror on dissenting public. The armies and the police in African states now become instrument of public oppressions, as there were no external aggressions to address.

 The end of the Cold War brought new realities in international relations understanding of security. Emergence of “new wars” –intra-state wars- in Africa and Eastern Europe led to new thinking about the effects of globalization on security planning. Buzan Barry in 1983 introduced the theory of a shift from physical or critical security thinking towards a focus on human security. Mary Kaldor also emphasized the need for new directions for security in her work “Old War, New Wars: organized Violence in a Globalized Era” (1998). They both postulated the need for newer roles for states armies as numbers of inter-states wars have continued to reduce in the world while organized violence from non-state actors emerged as new threats to developing states in Africa and Europe at the turn of the century.

Emergence of organized insurgent groups and terrorists that targets civilians and non-combatants has been blamed on the lack of a shift in the roles of states security operations from elite centered towards public supports. The need to defend states sovereignty with the security forces at the expense of securing the people while crime and threats to lives grow due to lack of resources to achieve basic human development have ennobled the need for the shift of focus of citizens security to Private Security Companies (PSC) and ethnic militias in most areas of Africa.   Initial goals of the public supports for these militias; remain in achieving security towards protection of cherished values in most states.

Regrettably, lack of states’ control and management of the growth and development of militia groups, expanding influence of militias has resulted in abuse of power and such influences. Most militia has turned from their roles as defenders of the people to direct anti-state organization. Thereby increasing people’s exposure to more threats.

Security is a relative and controversial term which relevance can only be surmised by the presence of object for security. People was traditionally ascribed the object of security in developing world however within international relation, the UN and other developed nations states empanelled the state as reverent object of all security discourse before the turn of the millennium.

The United Nations through the UNDP at the end of the Cold War, introduced in 1993 “Human Security” as the main focus of state security. The UN maintained that states duties to their citizens should include the assurance of their survival and securing their access to humane living conditions. States have to provide all basic amenities to secure citizens needs and aspirations. Human Security Index was introduced as the measure of legitimacy of states. 

African states that have hitherto experienced patronage from international superpowers to maintain strong armed forces and equipment based on mere east/west alignments at the end of the cold war were unceremoniously left to dry. Low revenue for most states led to high inflation, unemployment, poverty and low capital formation. With huge and unmanageable security bills to supports and growing hunger, many states fell under the gun to coups and counter coups by the same armies that had helped in wasting the national fund.

The harsh military rules of the late eighties and nineties in Africa helped in building a new form of public resistance and anti-state movements. The growing need for re-organisation of condition for statehood in most states was blocked under the need to defend states’ territorial integrity. This challenge continued to form basis for ethnic strengthening instead of nation building. Challenging the traditional roles of states as sole controller of violence became more rampant as ethic armies demands emancipation and control of their territories in several states like Somalia, Nigeria, Chad, Mali, Niger and Sudan from the late eighties.

Lack of trust in weakening states institutions due to years of oppressions and high level of official corruption continued to contribute to stress of the political landscape. The failure of states to empanel proper conflict management and internal law enforcement mechanism to ensure justice, accountability and equity, finally sounded the knell on the popularity of the states in Africa. Public supports for the institutions of states waned and growth of radical thought escalated unbridled.

The growth of terror organisation in Africa becomes inevitable as poverty expanded. Lack of proper planning and finance for states’ internal security and inequalities in the sharing of resources of state has made radicals out of the youth with low life expectancy. Growth of illicit economies with huge rewards for participants in an environment with high incidence of poverty, have resulted in the development of a new class of African youth; ready to make it by every means necessary.

The Al-Shabab, Boko Haram, MEND, OPC, Bakassi Boys, MAJOC, AQIM, and others are the products of a system of elite security that have complete answer to all issues. The apparent lack of dialogue in African state is so appalling.  The states are being run by an elites who are used to decrees and pronouncement without consultations. The elites have shown the public that security can only be achieved through the use of violence. State policies in most African states have always favoured ex-militants and violent individuals. The youth in Nigeria look at ex-Niger Delta militants that have become leaders in political discussions and businesses and choses their heroes and Kenyan youths’ hero is President Kenyatta himself, the President with cases of human rights abuse in the ICC.

There is urgent need for complete reformation of the African state focus of security, the people should be the focus of national security while the people in turn through their trust in national institutions support and uphold the sovereignty of the state. How we lose our African heritage of love, peace, equity and justice to these common criminals remain an issue. If we don’t address the issues of leadership and equity in Africa, here will always be another violent struggle to further endanger the peace of our people.

The author Don Michael ADENIJI is the Executive Director African Initiative for Peace and Human Development, Ibadan and also moonlights as Contributing Editor of the Cameroon Concord News Group

For close to a decade, Cameroon has been going through many crises and for many Cameroonians, it is almost impossible to flush out the corrupt Yaounde government led by its old and sick president, Paul Biya, who has been in power for 38 years with no results to justify such a long stay.

Corruption has become the regime’s hallmark and it has sent millions of Cameroonians to an early grave. The country’s economy has collapsed, and unemployment is at its highest level as the senile president has been switched off by ill-health and incompetence.

For years, East Cameroonians who constitute the majority felt that real democratic change would come through the ballot box and this has pushed them into the type of indifference and docility which have made the government to make intimidation a national policy and a tool of choice when it comes to dealing with issues that are blighting the people’s lives.

Each time the people expressed disagreement with a government policy or questioned a government decision and wanted to make their disagreement known even through peaceful means, the government simply rolled out its military equipment and deployed its military across the country as if there was an external aggressor threatening to invade the country.

This strategy has worked for more than three decades, but it has failed to produce the fear that is it is intended to generate in Southern Cameroons where the country’s English-speaking minority has brought down the fake wall of fear that the government had erected. 

Following peaceful demonstrations in October 2016 by English-speaking lawyers and teachers against systemic and institutionalized marginalization and discrimination, the Yaounde government rolled out its armada with the objective of intimidating the English-speaking minority. The violence that ensued turned out to be counter-productive, as the people of Southern Cameroons came out with their clubs and hunting rifles to defend themselves against government brutality.

Today, the government understands that it could be challenged and that the wall of fear is gone for good. The challenge has come today from a different source. The country’s opposition parties have made common cause and they want to dig Mr. Biya and his useless government out of their hiding places. Their incompetence and corruption have hurt so many Cameroonians and the country’s citizens know that they can no longer wait for the ballot box to change their fate.

The current government is unreliable and will stop at nothing to change the verdict of the ballot boxes in the event of an election. The government cannot be trusted. It has transformed the country’s treasury into the ruling party’s ATM. Jobs only get given to those who are loyal to the party and public contracts only get awarded to supporters of the president’s party. 

This is very revolting and the country’s opposition parties are tapping into this frustration and bitterness to take Mr. Biya out. This is not a coup d’état. The sovereign people of Cameroon can bring whoever they want to power and can also recall such a person in the event of incompetence or corruption. It is the prerogative of the people of Cameroon to change their minds when things are not working. Mr. Biya and his government have triggered that change of mind after more than three decades of incompetence and corruption. The people are not ready to wait. In their view, the wait is over. It is time to for them to act and now is the time.

The Biya regime has been rattled ever since the opposition leader, Prof. Maurice Kamto, called on East Cameroonians to take to the streets on September 22, 2020, to demonstrate against the government with the long-term objective of ousting the corrupt Biya regime.

The population seems to be prepared for the show and the government is struggling to preempt such an event. People power revolutions seem to be working in Africa and many African dictators have been either chased out of the country or sent to jail as the people take control of things. The collapsing Biya regime is aware of this phenomenon and it is not taking any chances.

More brutal dictators have been brought down by such means and tomorrow’s demonstrations could mark the end of a regime that entirely relies on the military which has also called on the people to come out to challenge the status quo. Egypt, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Mali have all chased their dictators through people power revolutions and this spirit seems to be spreading across the continent like wildfire.

Currently, the Yaounde government is vulnerable. The government is clearly fighting a war on many fronts. The English-speaking minority has left the regime with a sticky situation and the Southern Cameroonian crisis has left the government with a bloodshot eye. 

The government is out of money and the military which has spent the better part of the last four years battling an insurgency in Southern Cameroons is tired and is reluctant to engage in another battle with the majority Francophone. The disaster that Boko Haram, the deadly religious sect, has unleashed in the country’s far north region is robbing the regime of much-needed financial resources. These conflicts have become permanent nightmares to the regime. The mere thought of having to take on another fight is leaving regime supporters with a bitter taste in their mouths. 

While Southern Cameroonians are in support of the tragicomedy that is about to play out in East Cameroon, they have however clearly indicated that they will not be involved in the internal affairs of their neighbors. For now, their concern is to get the army of occupation out of their territory as independence from East Cameroon is their objective. 

September 22, 2020 is therefore an important day in Cameroon. It will either see Biya out of the national palace he has occupied for 38 years or demonstrate that French-speaking Cameroonians are not courageous enough to take care of business. The Francophone Cameroonian must step out of his comfort zone to change his destiny. 

Those living abroad have been protesting for a long time and they have been calling on those back home to join the fray. What should be obvious is that the military that is all over the country will not kill everybody just because it wants to keep Biya in power. If all Cameroonians come out, the military will stop protecting Mr. Biya who has failed to meet the glorious expectations of his people. The time has come, and the Francophone Cameroonian must act now. The ball is in his court!

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Group Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

For many decades, many people around the world have been doubting why French-speaking Cameroonians have been indifferent to their own suffering. Many have been seeking to know if the French-speaking Cameroonian is a sado-masochist who is enjoying his excruciating pain.

Experts around the world have put the indifference down to alcohol and the government’s high-handed approach to life.

The typical French-speaking Cameroonian loves food and drinks and has a diminished view of the future because he has been made to think that the short term is more important than the long-term.

But the last two decades have ushered in a new mentality and the scales are gradually falling off. French-speaking Cameroonians are now traveling to English-speaking countries and they are noticing the difference.

 Even on the African continent, English-speaking countries are making giant economic strides while their French-speaking counterparts are turning in circles, hoping that France will come to clean up their political, economic and financial mess.

Besides, the country’s English-speaking minority has brought down the wall of fear and over the last four years, the country’s government has been battling an insurgency that will not be rolled back anytime soon.

Despite repressive measures taken by the government, the fighters in the country’s two English-speaking regions have stood their ground and they will not yield to anything short of total independence, though some English-speaking Cameroonians hold that a well-designed federation might calm down tempers and lay a solid foundation for a peaceful coexistence between the two linguistic blocs.

Besides the armed conflict, the country is also dealing with terrorism in its northern regions where Islam is predominant. Soldiers and civilians are being blown up everyday by suicide bombers affiliated to Boko Haram, a feared religious sect that has its tentacles in Niger, Nigeria and Chad.

Boko Haram has become a real nightmare to the Yaoundé government that lacks the resources to deal with such a man-made catastrophe.

The Yaoundé government is corrupt and its legendary arrogance has made it hard for ordinary citizens to live a normal life. Unemployment is at its highest level while the number of young unemployed graduates is growing exponentially.

Corruption that has become the government’s hallmark has paralyzed government services and sent many to an early grave. The country’s hospitals have been reduced to consultation clinics while government offices have become places where bribery has taken up residence.

Senior government officials, soldiers, police officers, medical doctors, nurses, court clerks, university professors, high school teachers and other civil servants have simply transformed their offices into money-making endeavors.

The most disturbing thing is that French-speaking Cameroonians have always felt that genuine change will come through the ballot box.

 Strangely, the ruling party, which considers itself as the state, has won every election since 1992 when the country’s so-called advanced democracy started, with the country’s president, Paul Biya, ruling for 38 years without campaigning and with nothing to show for his long stay in power.

With the system finally falling apart, the docile French-speaking Cameroonian understands that change will not come through the ballot box.

Biya and his collaborators have held the country hostage and they are determined to hang on to power even if all Cameroonians have to die.

All attempts to let the government see beyond its nose have failed. The country is disintegrating and Mr. Biya, who is bed-ridden due to age and poor health, has held onto old strategies which have outlived their usefulness.

But the hour of change is around the corner and East Cameroonians are pumped up and are determined to flush the regime out on September 22, 2020.

The regime is the worst disaster that has ever befallen the country. The regime is worse than the Coronavirus and it has consumed millions of its own citizens.

Support for the government has been crumbling for years, but it is the eroding military support that is causing the ailing regime to lose sleep.

Many army soldiers have been deserting, with hundreds calling on their fellow soldiers to understand that the real enemy is the regime which has looted state coffers, fostered corruption and ruined the country’s economy, and not the population which is crumbling under the weight of mismanagement and arrogance.

Burkina Faso, Algeria, Mali, Sudan, Tunisia and Egypt have all chased their dictators away from power and this seems to be the road to peace, stability and economic prosperity that the French-speaking Cameroonian is prepared to walk.

The hour has come and every Cameroonian must join in to ensure Mr. Biya and his regime becomes a distant memory.

The Cameroon Concord News Group shareholders and staff endorse Prof. Kamto’s call for a national demonstration that must lead to the departure of the incompetent and corrupt Yaoundé regime that has brought untold hardship to the hardworking and peace-loving people of Cameroon.

The military is on the people’s side and all Cameroonians, especially those in Yaoundé and Douala, must come out on September 22, 2020, to see off Biya and his corrupt collaborators.

Bye bye, Biya!

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in Germany

After months of diligent work by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffers, the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations welcomes this very strong draft Senate Resolution calling on the United States Government (USG) and the international community to leverage their influence on Cameroon to bring a negotiated end to the escalating civil war between Cameroonian Government forces and armed separatists(restorationists) groups.

The Coalition applauds all thirteen Senators for introducing this carefully worded bipartisan Resolution. Special thanks go to Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), for their extraordinary leadership and commitment towards ending the ongoing armed conflict.

The Coalition appeals to many more members of the U.S. Senate, across the political spectrum, to sponsor and support this milestone Resolution. We equally call on the Senate membership to pass the resolution overwhelmingly as a demonstration of the Senate’s commitment to uphold international human rights, including that of children and women; to hold perpetrators of international human rights abuse accountable, and to reaffirm Congress’s legislative role in directing the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

This resolution complements H.R. 358 and S.R. 292 introduced in the House and Senate in July 2019 and further highlights the ongoing and escalating situation on the ground, including the international human rights abuses, putting millions of lives at risk.

We are particularly thankful this resolution addresses the major stakeholders of this civil war, denounces France’s limited response, joins the European Union Parliament’s call for the conflict to be brought before the United Nations Security Council, calls for an immediate ceasefire, and enjoins parties to negotiate through an independent mediator.

The Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations will continue to work with the United States Congress to further strengthen this Resolution and other endeavors, and is committed to continue its engagement with relevant international stakeholders to ensure the achievement of a durable, mediated, and negotiated end to the war.

The conflict, since 2017 has reportedly resulted in more than 12,000 Southern Cameroonians arbitrarily arrested, detained, imprisoned, summarily executed, massacred, and killed. The Government of Cameroon reported the killing of at least 700 of its security forces and administrative personnel. Over 300 villages have been razed by Government forces, forcing the displacement of more than 900,000 and over 70,000 seeking refuge in other countries including Nigeria and the United States. An estimated one million children have been unable to attend school for the past three years, and approximately 1.9 million face severe hunger.