When at least 53 people died in Cameroon in late January after a bus collided with a fuel-laden truck—one of the worst road accidents in the country’s history—few observers would have expected that reactions to the tragedy would include ethnic slurs, mainly on Facebook. They were directed toward members of the Bamileke community, from which most of the victims appeared to originate. Cameroon has long prided itself on the relative harmony between the country’s approximately 250 ethnic groups, none of which dominates nationally—a diversity that many Cameroonians consider to be a safeguard against communal violence.

But Cameroon now has to deal with a new reality. A heavily contested presidential election in 2018 has unleashed a new layer of political tensions that have taken an ethnic turn and found a formidable amplifier on social media. Among the supporters of longtime President Paul Biya and the main opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, many now frame the political dispute that arose from that election as a competition for power between, on the one hand, Biya’s Bulu group and the ethnic Beti with whom the Bulu identify, and, on the other, Kamto’s Bamileke community.

If allowed to further deepen its roots, this increasingly ethnic acrimony could lead to violence and threaten the stability of a country already facing a separatist insurgency in its Anglophone region. Cameroon’s social fabric could then be torn apart, especially as both sides position themselves for the eventual end of Biya’s presidency. He will turn 88 next week, after nearly four decades in power. A rash of communal violence in a southern town in October 2019 gave Cameroon a taste of what could come if the genie is not swiftly put back in the bottle.

To avoid reaching the point of no return, Biya’s government and the opposition should engage in meaningful dialogue about electoral reforms, while the government should also strengthen the country’s laws against ethnic discrimination. Facebook, the most popular social media platform in Cameroon, has a role to play, too—by increasing its capacity to identify and remove inflammatory content on its platform.

The ethnic cleavages originate in the rivalry between the ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, known by its French acronym RDPC—which firmly intends to keep the upper hand whenever Biya’s presidency ends—and opposition leaders ambitious for power, Kamto most prominently. The 2018 election, considered by many observers as riddled with irregularities and whose results are still being contested by the opposition, stoked further political division.

Since then, Kamto’s Cameroon Renaissance Movement, or MRC, has boycotted parliamentary and regional elections in 2020 and condemned Biya’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Anglophone crisis. The opposition also wants to see the government undertake some electoral reforms before any future election. This wish notably emanates from a fear that Biya could die or resign before the end of his term, in 2025, leading to snap elections that the ruling party would be better able to control under the current, compromised electoral system.

Despite warnings from influential figures and institutions, like Cameroon’s Catholic bishops more than a year ago, the power struggle between the RDPC and the MRC is now increasingly aligned with ethnic affiliations—a situation only made worse by the use of social media by both politicians and the public.

While the rise of social media has been a welcome boost for free speech in a country where government-controlled outlets occupy most of the media space, it has also had some destabilizing effects. The platforms, and especially Facebook—the most popular social media platform in Cameroon, with close to 4 million users—are now used to spread ethnic stereotypes, exchange ethnic-based insults, propagate misinformation and even incite violence. That is all widening the divide between the two sides.

The power struggle between the RDPC and the MRC is now increasingly aligned with ethnic affiliations—a situation only made worse by the use of social media.

In the southern town of Sangmelima, such increased divisions seem to have played a role in riots that erupted in late 2019, when Indigenous Bulu targeted Bamileke and Bamoun groups originating from Cameroon’s West Region. Underlying tensions over land rights in the area, notably for space to open shops—which local Bulu feel locked out of by the other groups—spilled over into violence after a Bamoun man was blamed for the murder of a local motorbike taxi driver. Hundreds of locals then attacked Bamilekes, Bamouns and other Cameroonians from the country’s north with sticks and stones, while also looting and destroying their properties. Hundreds fled back to their region of origin in western and northern Cameroon.

The government quickly held intercommunal talks, which managed to calm the situation in Sangmelima. However, the episode is a possible sign of the dangerous path the country is currently embarking on. As political actors position themselves for the end of Biya’s presidency, there is a risk they will turn to their own ethnic groups when mobilizing support, meaning even more serious ethnic disputes could arise and shatter decades of relative harmony between ethnic communities.

Both the ruling party and the opposition have in their ranks people who understand the dangers of this trend toward tribalized politics, and who have voiced their concerns. But neither camp has done much to stem these tensions. The authorities have sounded alarm bells on rising hate speech, run seminars to warn of its potential harm and even passed a new law criminalizing “contempt of tribe,” in December 2018. But the political opposition has greeted these moves with suspicion, suggesting that they are a smokescreen for repressing journalists. Yet since its passage, the law against tribal hate speech, which provides for more stringent punishment for inflammatory language that appears on social media, has yet to be applied in even a single case. There are concerns over when the law will be used and on what basis, given widespread abuse by both sides.

Given the opposition’s boycott of the 2020 parliamentary elections, which lost it the opportunity of getting seats in the National Assembly, the ruling party and the opposition have no forum where they can engage on the difficult topic of electoral reforms. Both sides must nonetheless find a way of talking to each other in order to reach agreement on changes to make the process more transparent—perhaps, most importantly, by moving from a multiple ballot vote, which is more open to manipulation, to a single ballot.

Meanwhile, to deal with ethnic tensions, the government should strengthen the legal framework that prohibits ethnic discrimination, notably for access to public service employment. One way to do that might be to better empower a body it created in 2017 to fight this discrimination, but which lacks funding and only has an advisory role.

Social media companies have a responsibility, too. Curbing hate speech and disinformation online will not in itself solve the ethnic tensions born out of Cameroon’s political crisis. But it remains key to reduce their reach, and therefore to mitigate the risks of violence. Facebook, in particular, should improve its own capacity to identify and remove fake content and content that incites violence, including by hiring moderators familiar with the particularities of Cameroonian hate speech and linguistic nuances. The social media giant should also boost its outreach to politicians in Cameroon to help them engage with their supporters and tone down the rhetoric online.

Biya and his backers may be reluctant to take measures they will perceive as weakening their grip on power. Still, there is reason to hope that the president, at 87, will consider his legacy. With separatist sentiment mounting in the Anglophone areas, the man who has been leading Cameroon since 1982 should be particularly sensitive to preserving the country’s historically amicable interethnic relations.

Culled from World Politics Review

Cameroon’s government displayed an “openness” towards dialogue for solving the country’s ongoing Anglophone crisis, during a visit by the Vatican’s number two earlier this week, according to a top church official from the Anglophone regions.

“There is a kind of openness for dialogue,” said Andrew Nkea, Archbishop of Bamenda. “But how this is going to come about, I think we must also be discreet in the way we handle those things.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, completed a visit to Cameroon on Wednesday, after a five-day trip during which he met President Paul Biya and held mass in Bamenda, the capital of the North West Region.

Fighting between armed separatists and Cameroon’s military continues in the North West and South West regions. The Catholic Church believes the only way to stop fighting and end the conflict is to hold talks between the warring sides.

“The cardinal was able to say to all the powers that be that dialogue was the most important tool for the solution of this problem,” Nkea told Africa Calling podcast, referring to discussions he sat in on between Parolin and the government.

Boycott and continued violence

Parolin’s visit to the Anglophone regions was marked by deserted streets, as armed separatists called for a boycott of his trip to Bamenda, but nevertheless, many church goers showed up at his mass.

Fighting and violence also continued during Parolin’s visit as three people were allegedly killed by Cameroonian soldiers on 31 January in the village of Semndzen, located in Bui Division in the North West Region.

Troops were searching for separatists, locally known as Amba Boys, and allegedly shot three villagers in the bush who were tapping palm wine, mistaking them for fighters, according to information RFI received.

Cardinal Parolin said during his trip to Cameroon that the Catholic Church, at both a local level and in Rome, is ready to facilitate dialogue between Yaoundé and the separatists.

“This facilitation depends on the actors involved, we cannot force the partners to dialogue,” said Nkea, in an interview.

Both the government and separatists have at times viewed the church’s efforts for mediation with some suspicion.

Local church leader Cardinal Christian Tumi had been trying to help bring fighting to an end, however, he was kidnapped by gunmen in the North West region on 5 November.

“It depends on the openness of the government, and it depends on the openness of the separatists,” said Nkea, discussing the possibility of future peace talks.

Building foundation for talks

Nkea would not be drawn on what the next steps for possible mediation might be, but mentioned steps and instruments that need to be put in place to lay the groundwork for any talks. “Now, it’s modalities,” he added.

“Things have moved at least a step forward,” said Nkea, describing candid talks with the authorities in Yaoundé.

“One of the big problems we’re talking about in this dialogue is there are at least 8 to 10 different leaders of the separatist groups,” said Bamenda’s archbishop, underlining the importance of including everyone.

“This needs time, and that’s the delicate aspect of it,” said Nkea.

Fighting started following protests in 2016 by Anglophones over perceived marginalisation by the Francophone ruling majority.

A crackdown on demonstrations led to a self-proclamation of independence for a state called Ambazonia and ultimately fighting between the army and separatist fighters.

Both separatist groups and Cameroon’s military have been accused of killing civilians and committing rights abuses during the Anglophone crisis.

Human Rights Watch said this week that soldiers killed at least nine civilians in the South West region on 10 January. The human rights watchdog said the soldiers looted homes and threatened residents.

Source: RFI

As the world is currently more focused on the mess the Trump Administration has left behind in Washington D.C., many dictators across the world now think they have a free hand to wreak havoc in their own countries and that is the game that is playing out in Southern Cameroons where a four-year insurgency has given the Yaounde government the carte blanche to transform the country’s two English-speaking regions into an open killing field.

While the scale might not be as large as what happened in Ngarbuh, Kumba and Mautu, the killings are still gruesome and targeted which clearly explains that the Yaounde government does not believe in the rule of law.

This slaughtering has been going on for four years and it is now becoming more spectacular and anybody suspected by the country’s military is good enough to die.

Sometimes, the soldiers take it upon themselves to eliminate young men who have beautiful girlfriends just because they desire those girls.

The country’s government has simply shredded the rules book and its soldiers are on the prowl, targeting young men or any new faces visiting the region.

On Saturday, January 29, the military arrested a 46-year-old man known as Agbor Issac Assek in Ossing and promptly gunned him down without interrogating him or without following known legal procedures to determine or establish the reason for his arrest.

Cameroon Concord News Group sources in Ossing hold that the victim had been in the military’s cross hairs for some time, but the need to arrest him became urgent when the principal of Government High School Ossing was killed in broad day light by Southern Cameroonian insurgents who have been fighting for the total liberation of the former British colony.

Our source said that “Even before the principal’s death, the military has been looking for him on the grounds that he was a friend to General Macopolo, an Amba General who has been operating around the Ossing-Kembong axis.”

But human rights activists and lawyers are questioning the government’s actions in this case and many others as they argue that such summary executions will only result in an escalation of violence in the region.

According to a human rights activist in Mamfe, a town some 6 kilometers from Ossing, by undertaking such an action, the Yaounde government has clearly demonstrated that it does not believe in the rule of law.

“One would think that with the passage of time, the military and the government would learn the lessons of the past. The killing of Mr. Agbor Isaac does not address any issues. It will only call for violence and the circle of violence will only continue,” he said.

“Mr. Agbor had already been arrested and the military was supposed to have followed due process. Gunning him down is a clear demonstration that the government and the military do not believe in human rights and the rule of law,” the activist, who elected anonymity, said.

“We are really disappointed with the way the government has conducted its military operation. Just killing young men will not cause the issues to disappear. The government needs to come down its high horse to discuss with all the factions involved in this conflict that has torn the country apart,” he said.

“With such an approach, it is hard for a peaceful solution to emerge. There are many Anglophone Cameroonians who want to come home from abroad, but they cannot because of the government’s indiscriminate killing of young people,” he stressed.

“If members of the region’s Diaspora come home, jealousy could cause the military to arrest these people and arbitrary arrests discourage our brothers who really want to return to their land from investing here and this is creating unemployment and other serious economic issues,” he regretted.

“The government should be leading by examples and it is totally wrong for soldiers to be gunning down young men. This country must be guided by the rule of law and due process should be followed, especially when the suspects have been arrested. We cannot continue to conduct ourselves as if we are wild animals,” our source said.

“The Southwest and Northwest regions are not safe, though ministers like Paul Atanga Nji are misleading the world that peace has returned to the two English-speaking regions. Nobody is safe. The military has the carte blanche to kill whoever it wants. This is not how a country should be operated. It is indeed disheartening,” our source concluded.

Meanwhile, due to increasing insecurity in the two English-speaking regions of the country, the government has opted to conduct recruitment into the elite military corp known as the BIR for the Northwest and Southwest regions in Bafoussam and Douala respectively.

Many critics have already indicated that if the government is scared of carrying out recruitment in Bamenda and Buea, why would ordinary citizens believe that things have returned to normal?

The government, most critics assert, is not willing to address the issues that triggered the conflict. They argue that there are more French-speaking Cameroonian officials in the two English-speaking regions today than they were before the commencement of the conflict.

They argue that the government is clearly provoking the English-speaking minority, adding that with such an attitude, the conflict will never be over.

It is obvious that even the country’s president, Paul Biya, no longer cares about things in the country and has given his corrupt officials a free hand to handle the insurgency however they  want.

The activist stressd that if the government had to change its mind regarding the crisis that has created hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons, then the international community  must hold its feet to the fire.

While the killing continues, there is however a feeling that   there is hope on the horizon. The Southern Cameroons Diaspora in the United States has already briefed the Biden Administration on the situation in the two English-speaking regions of the country and the nominee for the post of Secretary of State has already indicated that the new Biden Administration will be laser focused on Cameroon due to the gross human rights abuses.

Similarly, the arrival of a senior Vatican official in the country last week might help change government decisions on how it operates in the two English-speaking regions.

The Vatican senior official who has met with Cameroon government officials has called on the government to make peace with its English-speaking minority in order to end the killings and restore peace in the region.

The world is waiting for the government of Cameroon to realize that violence only begets violence and that there will never be any military victory in this conflict as both parties are determined to win the war.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai