Internal resistance: Southern Cameroons victory day is shaping up ⁰

Southern Cameroons victory day is shaping up like that of Kosovo and South Sudan in recent years following a massive ghost town operation that historically has been mostly peaceful. The Biya Francophone regime’s tough policies against the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have greatly added fuel to the civil disobedience campaign that has now been extended to three days a week (Mondays to Wednesdays).

The Secretary General of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and the interim leader of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council, who have both endorsed calls for a general strike until a Southern Cameroons state is born, said they expect a larger, more intense participation in light of Biya and La Republique’s “overzealous” efforts to roll back Southern Cameroons’s legitimate rights.

“It’s been a rough 11 months, but it’s almost here,” said an operations manager of the Consortium. It’s unclear whether Biya’s 2018 election will ratchet up the Southern Cameroons demonstrations. Unlike the last few months, no central gathering spot has been advertised. Instead, multiple meeting locations around the cities of the West, the USA, South Africa including Ghana and Nigeria have been listed on social media and online, creating confusion — possibly deliberate — for the vicious French Cameroun police force.

Last year, violence quickly erupted, with some in the Bamenda County rejecting the staging of a unitary march by Prime Minister Philemon Yang. French Cameroun security agents herded a mob of several hundred West Cameroon protesters out of Bamenda, using the most ruthless methods ever in the nation’s history. The Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR fired firearms into large crowds of people in Kumba, Bamenda, Buea, Limbe Kumbo and Jakiri.

The officials of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium are advising Southern Cameroonians both at home and in the Diaspora to stay alert, be aware of their surroundings and inform operation managers if they see any criminal activity from La Republique’s security forces.

Businesses and academic establishments operating in Southern Cameroons have been warned to close their doors and retrieve outdoor signs or other objects from sidewalks. The transportation industry has also been cautioned and traffic disruptions are expected between La Republique and Southern Cameroons.

Southern Cameroonians have also been called to participate in the peaceful civil disobedience that will shut down highways, airports, and other key infrastructure feeding fat on La Republique. The Southern Cameroons Governing Council will in the days ahead announce an economic boycott of French Cameroun.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Chi Prudence Asong in Buea