The separatist crisis in Cameroon deepened this week after a military tribunal handed down life sentences to the separatist movement’s leader and nine of his followers. As observers warned that the sentences would make it harder to bring the two-year conflict to an end, separatist militias launched reprisal attacks that killed at least two people and forced dozens more to flee their homes.

The conflict has its roots in concerns within Cameroon’s minority English-speaking population that they have been historically marginalized by the French-speaking majority. A 2016 strike in the Anglophone North-West and South-West regions culminated in a declaration of autonomy in October 2017. The situation rapidly deteriorated from there.

As Robbie Corey-Boulet detailed in an April briefing for WPR, long-time President Paul Biya responded to the declaration with a brutal state crackdown, with security forces killing civilians, sexually assaulting women, and burning and looting homes. The separatists in turn have reacted with a campaign of kidnappings and assaults. Hundreds of people have died and more than 500,000 have been displaced in the past two years.

The sentencing this week of separatist leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his followers further undermines any opening for dialogue between the two sides. The 10 separatists were arrested in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, last year and deported to Cameroon, where they faced charges of rebellion and complicity in terrorism, among others. In addition to the life sentences, they were ordered to pay a fine of $50 million.

Few domestic observers agreed with the assessment of government officials, who said the sentencings would not halt efforts to start a dialogue. Prince Ekosso, an opposition leader, told Voice of America, “The decision would intensify tension in the North-West and the South-West. It would intensify killings and it would intensify the destruction of properties.”

Source: World Politics Review

Since January last year, the two Anglophone regions of Cameroon have slid into a conflict that would have been unimaginable a few years ago. The Anglophone northwest and southwest have suffered the havoc of a war of secession that has displaced at least half a million people, leaving 1.3-million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The conflict is largely based on historical grievances stemming from the fact that the Anglophone minority has been systematically marginalised since the abolishment of the federal system of government in 1972. Although periods, including in the 1990s and 2008, saw increased activism for Anglophone secession, the movements never became violent. 
But this changed last year after the violent government crackdown on teachers, lawyers and civilians advocating for legal recognition for the English language.

In the 20 months since then, the government and the Anglophone secessionist have become entrenched in their positions.

The secessionists, which are mainly led by people now based in the United States and Europe, have rejected calls for “dialogue” and insisted on only entering into direct negotiations for independence. The government insists that the secessionists are terrorists and has denied that its military has committed atrocities such as targeted killings and burning down villages. Furthermore, the two sides have become embroiled in infighting that has made even the potential of conflict resolution immensely difficult.

The secessionists have divided into two groups. One is led by Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, who is imprisoned in Yaoundé and was convicted this week on terrorism charges and sentenced to life in prison, and the other US-based Samuel Ikome Sako. The same can be said of the government with some Cabinet members more in-line with the hardline stance taken by President Paul Biya and others supporting the conciliatory tone expressed by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute.

Amid all of this, the people residing in the two Anglophone regions continue to suffer at an unimaginable rate at the hands of both sides. Targeted and random killings of combatants and civilians alike at the hands of the government is commonplace. Instances of such have seen stray bullets taking the lives of women and children.

Further, the government has killed young men fearing that they may be secessionists. Similarly, the secessionist forces, who are called the Amba Boys, have prevented children from attending school in both Anglophone areas for nearly three years.

They also regularly kidnap civilians, including employees of humanitarian organisations. Further, they have been accused of barbaric actions such as decapitations, rape and drinking people’s blood.

In the past six months the international community has begun to pay more attention to the crisis that continues to deteriorate in what used to be one of Central Africa’s most stable countries. The US has cut some military assistance to the country and, during its presidency of the United Nations Security Council this past May, also co-organised a Security Council arria-formula (briefing) meeting on the country.

Canada and the European Union have expressed frustration and outrage at the situation. Even the government of Switzerland used its good offices to arrange dialogue sessions through a Geneva-based nongovernmental organisation that has yet to produce any tangible outcomes.

If anything, it has been a step back. It continues to deteriorate because of a variable that is relatively straightforward but near impossible to address, which is that the two sides are not willing to compromise on their hardline stances and have no motive to do so.

The leadership of the Anglophone secessionists is not directly suffering from the continuous war to the extent they would be if they lived in the midst of it. The government realises that it is much more sophisticated militarily than the secessionists and live in the relative stability of the capital Yaoundé. Further, the two sides are hinged upon several notions that must be dismissed if the conflict is to be resolved.

The secessionists have been firm in their position for months that they will only settle for independence, what they often refer to as restoration. This is because a key notion of their argument is based on an element of historical revisionism.

Specifically, they argue that the UN resolution that organised the post-colonial plebiscite in Cameroon in 1961 gave what was then British Southern Cameroons independence. Hence they strongly believe that history and international law are on their side in their bid for an independent state called Ambazonia.

The infighting between and within the independence movement has led to chaos and, at times, incompetence. Yet, all factions agree on one thing: they will only settle for independence and the conflict will continue until it is obtained.

The government has not been any better than the secessionists in its actions. It continuously denies the severity of the crisis regarding displacement figures and the number of fatalities. Additionally, it refuses to accept that the current crisis has its more recent origins in the beatings, intimidation, arrests and killing of Anglophone teachers and lawyers in the latter half of 2016. The independence movement became violent only after the military killed pro-secession demonstrators in 2017. Even after the breakout of violent conflict in 2018, the government denies proven human rights atrocities, and says the crisis is solely the result of “Ambazonian terrorism”. In doing so, it ignores the root causes of the crisis, for which the government bears responsibility.

It appears that the situation in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon will continue to deteriorate at the expense of civilians. Despite substantial international efforts, the conflict has yet to be resolved, largely because of the stubborn and zero-sum mentality that has been taken by the two sides.

Unless the secessionists and the government are able to change how they approach the conflict, any chance of it being resolved soon is wishful thinking.

Source: Mail&Guardian

When Switzerland offered that they wanted to mediate in the crisis in Southern Cameroons, some of our leaders and comrades jumped up with excitement. They called the initiative credible and said it was an opportunity for us to sit down with La Republique du Cameroun

The initiative was immediately endorsed by the international community. Many found and still find the Swiss initiative as a hoax. The endorsement of the initiative by the international community to many is a conspiracy. Southern Cameroonians do not understand why certain individuals think that because an initiative has been endorsed by the international community, the initiative is good and must be embraced. This same international community endorsed the ousting of Gaddafi including the war in Syria against Assad.

Now, Southern Cameroons leaders have been given life sentence. How many of them have spoken against the sentence? We know all those who quickly hailed the Swiss initiative and endorsed it. How many of these so-called international community guys have now stepped forward to condemn the regime? Has Switzerland done so? Has the UK done so? What has the AU said about it? Faki, the AU Chairman was quick to endorse the Swiss initiative. Now he is taking too long to finish his prayers to Allah because he doesn’t want to say anything. Harriett Baldwin MP former UK Minister for Africa who endorsed the Swiss nonsense can’t even make a comment. The UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab has his mouth shut up. The UK Minister for the Commonwealth, Baron Ahmad who hailed the Swiss dialogue has gone mute. Stephenson MP, new British Minister for Africa is busy drinking tea. Patricia Scotland of the Commonwealth too is drinking her champagne in the Caribbean’s.

If you want Southern Cameroonians to consider the endorsement of the Swiss initiative by the international community as credible, what then does the international community have to say about their indifference now? President Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and his top aides have been condemned and the international community is not condemning it. Yes. Cohen condemned it but he ended up talking of federation that seems to miss.

In the midst of “Dialogue” you are sentencing the Ambazonia leaders to life imprisonment and expecting Southern Cameroonians to believe that you are willing to dialogue or negotiate with them! Well, there are others who strongly believe in Yaounde’s willingness to dialogue.

Source: Anonymous

After close to three years, it seems the Yaounde government has learned nothing. The leaders seem to blind to the changes taking place around them. They seem to be stuck in their old mentality of wanting to send home strong messages.

Strong messages no longer threaten Cameroonians, especially the Southern Cameroonian, who has seen his siblings, mother, brother and father killed by trigger-happy soldiers. The Southern Cameroonian loves peace, but not the poisoned gift that was given to his parents in Foumban shortly after independence.

If some Southern Cameroonians have picked up weapons against their own government, it is not because they are a barbaric people or people who do not have any regard for law and order. It is more because they are faced with a government that is indifferent to the sorry plight of its citizens.

The Yaounde government has no regard for its people. Human life does not mean anything to it. Instead of serving their people, Yaounde authorities have been serving themselves using the people’s resources.  The large number of ministers and directors that are today languishing in state jails is testimony to the egoism that these officials are noted for.

After three years of intense debates on and challenges to state authority, a selfless and reasonable government that holds national unity and peace so dear to its heart should be reaching out to all the stakeholders in all the crises that are tearing the country apart.

A reliable government should be thinking of the country’s future and its actions should speak to its determination and sincerity to pursue peace and national reconciliation.

But its latest action, that of slamming a life sentence on President Julius Ayuk Tabe and his fellow Southern Cameroonians speaks to the government’s recklessness and determination to pursue a line of action that will instead deepen the crisis in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

After a questionable and sham process, the leaders of the Southern Cameroons struggle have been sent to prison although they were already in hell before the politically motivated decision. This decision will not make things better in the country. Schools will surely not resume. Ghost towns and lockdowns will intensify in the coming days, and justifiably so.

Southern Cameroonian leaders and activists have been given a reason to pursue their own policies and they will do so in the firm belief that they do not have a reliable and peace-loving partner on the other side with whom they can hold a constructive and inclusive dialogue that will lead to sustainable peace in the country.

The Yaounde government has miscalculated on all fronts. It has mismanaged all the crises that are threatening to tear the country apart. While other countries of the word are seeking stability and peace so as to attain sustainable development, the Yaounde government that many Cameroonians hold is a crime syndicate is displaying a lot of irresponsible behavior and this is disturbing to the international community that is tired of calling for an inclusive dialogue to address the crises that are giving the country a very bad name.

President Julius Ayuk Tabe and many of those in jail are the people the population considers as leaders of the struggle. Slamming them with a life sentence only reduces any real chances for dialogue. President Julius Ayuk Tabe is the poster boy of this revolution and he must be at the negotiating table if any real results must be achieved.

Instead of throwing him in jail for life, the Yaounde government should have sought the middle ground as a means of defusing the tensions that have transformed the country into a “blast furnace”.

Cameroonians are going through the toughest moments of their lives. Jobs are scarce and life is a permanent struggle. Decisions like the one that was taken under the cover of darkness only makes the country to look like a ticking time bomb that might go off anytime soon.

The sentencing of Julius Ayuk Tabe in such circumstances does not address any real issue. He has been in jail for a long time and he is already used to his new environment. He is a man with a strong mentality and today’s decision will not break him down.

He has a cult following which makes it hard for the government to celebrate any success. A wise decision would have been to use him to defuse the tensions in the two English-speaking regions of the countries. The government seems to be willing to set a fire to a “tinder box” and the consequences will be catastrophic.

Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla’s message on Facebook aptly captures the mood in the country and it rightly depicts how the country is being managed. “The sentencing of Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe to a life sentence is an affront to due process and the rule of law. The right to a fair trial is a fundamental human right. The sham process is a reflection of the sham management of the country,” he said.  

Today’s decisions are indeed a travesty of justice. The Yaounde government has displayed its reckless for all to see. It does not have the interest of the country at heart. Its cardinal objective is to send home a message strength to a people who are already deaf and frustrated. A message which does not have any legal basis will surely not have the desired impact. If anything, it will simply speak to the numerous accusations Cameroonians have been making against the government.

These unfortunate decisions are robbing the country of the peace it dearly needs at this time. The Southern Cameroons crisis will only deepen and the determined fighters will never drop their weapons. The violence will soon escalate. Many civilians in the two English-speaking regions will lose their lives while many soldiers will sent to the regions will never go back home.

The decisions are indeed a dead sentence to the school year which was already a lightning rod for controversy. If the government cannot show flexibility at this critical moment, how does it expect Southern Cameroonians who have been complaining for more than five decades to be understanding?

This is not the time to score points. This is time to take actions and decisions that can bring peace to Cameroon. The Yaounde government must take a look at its own actions and decisions to see if they are really helping to defuse the tensions in Cameroon. This is the time to show flexibility and any tough stance does not work in the interest of peace.

By Joachim Arrey in Canada