Southern Cameroons: Yerima speaks, breaking silence and repositioning the Ambazonian Revolution ⁰

State of the Nation Address

Repositioning the Ambazonian Revolution

Happy New Year 2021 to all the people of the Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia). We are mindful of the difficulties that many of you are enduring back in the forests, the burnt-down villages, the deserted towns in Ambazonia, the refugee camps in Nigeria, and the strange and hostile communities in French Cameroun. We are mindful of all the families that have lost loved ones over the last four years due to the brutality of the French Cameroun regime. The thoughts and prayers of the Interim Government of Ambazonia are with you and your families at this challenging time.

Today January 3, 2021, is two days away from the 3rd anniversary of the abduction of our leader President Julius Ayuk Tabe, and 11 of his associates at the NERA Hotel in Nigeria in a flagrant disregard of international law. To our leaders in detention, our restoration forces, and all our fallen heroes, I say your sacrifice to our nation shall never be forgotten.

On 11 February 1961, our forebears were lured into a bungled decolonization process by Great Britain and the United Nations. On 1 October 2017, after 56 years of subjugation and abuse, we, the people of Southern Cameroons, under the leadership of President Julius Ayuk Tabe, made a bold step to take our destiny into our hands. This decision was met with a declaration of war from the President of Cameroun Republique on 30November 2017. Since that declaration, more than 10,000 of our citizens have been executed, over one million have been internally displaced, 120,000 are refugees in Nigeria, Ghana and the Mexico border, and 550 of our villages have been burnt down.

2020 was a challenging year. The coronavirus pandemic, Ngarbuh Massacre of 24 women and children in February by French Cameroun military, the torture, and murder of Journalist Samuel Wazizi whilst in detention in June, the beheading of Comfort Tumassang in Muyuka in August by French Cameroun militia, the October execution of seven schoolchildren in Kumba- a diabolic crime organized by the colonial SDO of Meme, the December outbreak of xenophobic violence in Fako County sponsored by rogue chief Monja Monja, were some of the low points of a gloomy year.

The question in front of our nation during our lifetime is one of independence or extinction. French Cameroun’s continuous movement of armed men, militias, and heavy weapons of war into our territory is an obvious statement of intent. Are armies, guns, and bombs needed in our villages and towns if Mr. Biya had reconciliation in mind? Are we unwilling to be reconciled that brutality and murder must be employed to win back our love? Let us not delude ourselves, these actions from Yaoundé are the instruments of war. And it is a war that if our enemy wins, our subjugation is ensured forever.

Many of you have been advocating peace and a return to the status quo. It is natural to shut out reality and indulge in illusions of optimism. One of the best ways to judge the future is by looking at the past. Looking at the past 59 years, what gives anyone any hope that French Cameroun would be able to engage in constructive discussions towards a peaceful resolution of our struggle? The regime in Yaoundé knows not peace and dialogue. Its currency is violence.

Where it is safe to do so, the Interim Government is advocating for community schooling whilst the new Secretary of state for the Department of Education will work with international partners to facilitate schooling on online educational platforms and international communities where possible.

Chiefs and Fons must know that they remain the traditional fathers of our nation and must avoid being political footballs of our enemy. As traditional leaders, Fons and Chiefs have a special standing in the Ambazonian structure. Consequently, they must now stand with their people. Many traditional rulers did not take part in the regional elections, and on behalf of the nation, I want to thank them for their wisdom and courage.

This week, President Paul Biya of French Cameroon in his speech to his nation, spoke of the Republic of Cameroun, thus confirming to the world that we are two separate nations.  Let us rise this year with greater readiness and stand with greater determination to confirm our freedom. With regards to the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations, Ambazonia Intelligence Service (AIS) has briefed the Interim Government on sophisticated new strategies that would be employed to defend our national interest. We have informed French Cameroun and nations participating in this tournament that any attempt to bring its activities to Ambazonia would be considered a deliberate violation of our sovereignty, and our response will be prompt and definite. 

Today, I will be announcing a bold and ambitious program to deliver our freedom. We intend to restore security and confidence to our communities. If there is one message that comes through loud and clear over the last three years, it is that the overwhelming majority of Ambazonians are in support of this struggle. This plan re-strategizes and refocuses our struggle with clear actionable and achievable goals in 2021. This plan will focus on Defense, Diplomacy, Humanitarian, Finance, and Communication. Details of this plan will be made available in hard copies.

DEFENCE

The Responsibility to Protect populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing has emerged as an important global principle since its unanimous adoption at the UN World Summit in 2005.This Interim Government from this day of 2021, will be rolling out an innovative and dynamic plan to ruthlessly adhere to its Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Ambazonia.

We would be bold and resolute in taking our territory by launching OPERATION CAPHOT aka THE BIG RUBBER GUN. This operation specifically provides equipment and prepares our Restoration Forces for the next phase of this revolution. The Interim Government will build the necessary capacity through training and supply of sophisticated equipment to our Restoration Forces to reclaim, defend our territory, and protect our population.

DIPLOMACY

The Interim Government must continue efforts to establish concrete diplomatic breakthroughs with friendly and sympathetic governments. On Friday, 1 January 2021, US Senate Resolution 684 was passed calling on the government of La Republique du Cameroun to respect human rights and pursue genuinely inclusive dialogue towards ending the crisis between our nations. The Resolution was robust and a move in the right direction. We shall continue to explore all diplomatic tools available to us over the next twelve months. I want to register my appreciation to our comrades in the US who worked tirelessly to get this resolution to the Senate floor.

HUMANITARIAN

To focus and bring international awareness to the plight of our refugees, we have decided to create a separate humanitarian organization to coordinate with all private humanitarian initiatives for maximum impact. I am announcing the creation of the REKINDLE HOPE OUTREACH to engage the international donor community. The Interim Government can now state without equivocation that the plight of our refugees will be on the front pages and editorial boards of mainstream media in 2021.

DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS

The Department of Home Affairs has worked on advancing our cause by developing Data Management Portals. The CR20 – Ambazonia Citizen Registration and Census Portal aims to present Ambazonians with a user-friendly system to capture and manage the data of Ambazonians across the globe in preparation for a possible referendum. The AR21 – Ambazonia Refugee Portal has been developed to manage the records of refugees and IDPs on G0, G1, G2. The system will enhance the work of our leadership and promote the operations of civil society organizations operating in these communities to give our refugees and IDPs the dignity they deserve.

FINANCE

We have worked hard to re-establish trust with credible institutions like the Bank of Ambazonia. The Chairman of the Transitional Restoration Council announced last year that a group of patriotic Ambazonians agreed to fund a complete and independent audit of the Ambazonian Foundation and Ambazonia Consulting Inc, two organizations that were responsible for mobilizing funds since the creation of the Interim Government.

The IG, in compliance with that audit request, ordered the Secretary of State for Economy and Finance to release all the information and documents necessary to facilitate and complete this process. Mr. Tabenyang Etchu has complied and submitted all the documents and is reporting to the independent auditor. I will call on all those who were involved with these two organizations to comply with the independent auditor so we can have closure on this matter that undermined trust in our structure.

The killing of our people has not stopped because of the mismanagement of prior resources. We must continue funding the prosecution of our fight for independence. The launching of OPERATION CAPHOT and the strengthening of our payment platforms will mark a new beginning backed by thorough accountability of the funds that will be raised. We respect those who want to remain anonymous and will provide secure channels for them to continue funding the revolution. To our most loyal and committed donors, we say thank you and promise to get it right as we have learned from the past.

COMMUNICATIONS

The Interim Government has decided to bring in an external professional firm with a global presence in 2021. I am excited to announce to you that, we have engaged the Services of a Media Relations PRfirm to work with us and improve our visibility in the global mainstream media.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

The Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia) is 45 000 sq km and has an estimated population of eight million people. It is bounded to the west and north by Nigeria, to the east by Cameroun, and to the south by Equatorial Guinea. This erstwhile UN Trust Territory under UK administration is the aggrieved victim of a bungled decolonization by the UN and the UK.

As a direct consequence of that incomplete decolonization, the Southern Cameroons finds itself under colonial annexation, occupation, oppression, spoliation, and a war of extermination by the adjacent French vassal state of Cameroun. This humiliation and indignity are unacceptable. The decolonization of the Southern Cameroons must be completed by the UN and the UK as a matter of international law and obligation. Decolonization is the only alternative to colonization.

The objective of the ongoing national liberation struggle of the people of the Southern Cameroons, under Cameroun’s hideous and ravaging colonial occupation and exploitation, is clear. The objective is to take back control of their territory, their lives, and their destiny.

Anything else that apologists of colonialism, propagandists, and conspirators may say is nothing but deceit, intoxication, and distortion.  If there is one permanent thing in human society, it is change. The Southern Cameroons Incomplete Decolonisation Question is not the inconsequential matter of marginalization, deprivation, neglect, or patronage sinecures. It is a political question. It is a fundamental issue that concerns the very existence of a people, their survival, their sovereignty, their territory, their identity, their dignity, and their humanity. Colonial annexation and occupation, like apartheid, cannot be reformed. It cannot be endured in whatever guise it is camouflaged. It can only be eliminated.

To end the consequences of colonial annexation and occupation, a subjugated people must first seek the political kingdom, turn the annexation inside out and take absolute control of their own state of affairs and shape their destiny. No subjugated people anywhere in the world have ever enjoyed freedom and the benefits of development. No people, not even animals, willfully subject themselves to extinction. The purpose of the plebiscite was not to procure the extinction of the Southern Cameroons through a transfer of the trust territory to Cameroun Republic, itself a trust territory barely decolonised twelve months earlier, or to any other country.

There is no warrant for that under international law. The plebiscite was primarily a vote for independence (that is, freedom from UK rule and UN international tutelage), and secondarily, a vote for federal political association with Cameroun. The territory of the Southern Cameroons was to be politically linked to the territory of Cameroun but not to become part of the territory of Cameroun. The federal political association involved the linking of the two federated states (the Southern Cameroons/West Cameroon, and Cameroun Republic/East Cameroun) at the level of the Federal Government, and not one federated state absorbing the other.  In legal terms, the Federation involved a dovetailing rather than a supersession of legal orders.

The restoration of the independence and statehood of the Southern Cameroons is legitimate and consistent with international law.  Any person, state, or organisation propagating the colonial apology and falsehood that the territory of the Southern Cameroons is part of the territory of Cameroun is hereby challenged to exhibit to the world at large the legal instrument by which Cameroun purportedly acquired title to the territory of the Southern Cameroons, when and how it did it. It is the historic duty of the people of the Southern Cameroons to leave a rich legacy for their descendants. 

No nation is born great. It is the citizens who through diligence, hard work, creativity, innovation and inventiveness, and patriotism make their nation great. All free nations and free peoples of the world are governed under a democratic constitution that they have framed and given to themselves.

TO THE PEOPLE OF LRC

Our peace is your peace and prosperity. There will be no tranquility in French Cameroun until the Southern Cameroons is free. Our quest for freedom will continue to shake the foundations of your homeland until justice emerges for our nation. Your government must commit to peace between our two nations and it must find a way to work with the constituted authority of Ambazonia.

The move that was made by the regime in Yaoundé in July 2020 by engaging with President Ayuk Tabe and other leaders in detention was commendable and a step in the right direction. We shall never negotiate out of fear but never fear to negotiate. States are made legitimate by people and the domination of La Republique du Cameroun over the Southern Cameroons ended on 1 October 2017.  As a people, we have the right to freely determine our international status and we reject the notion of returning to the status quo. 

DIASPORA

Fellow Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora, Millions of people have put their faith in the Interim Government and support our President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, and his vision for our nation. We cannot afford to let them down. We have become the prey of a hostile nation, but we must remain masters of our own house. United, there is little we cannot do. Divided, there is little we can do. Our Defense and Intelligence community ask only for your dedication and funds. If our self-defense forces are to succeed, it is vital that their equipment and training are the best. That is why we are moving ahead with OPERATION CAPHOT aka THE BIG RUBBER GUN

The last three years have exposed the incompetence in Yaoundé. It will take more than platitudes from Yaoundé to erase the memory of years of neo-colonial vandalism and genocide upon our people. That is why we did not engage in their so-called HD initiative. Many of us were born in hardship and abuse but have been groomed in civility. We are proud of our roots and are unwilling to accept subjugation anymore. Let the regime in Yaoundé and France know that we shall pay any price and meet any hardship to succeed. This much, the diaspora must pledge.

Fellow Ambazonians, this war for independence is worth it. In the end, we intend to build a Southern Cameroons where children are given a chance to reach their full potential irrespective of their background. A prosperous and peace-loving nation is our goal. That is the future and vision that our leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe has. I am humbled by the support that millions of Southern Cameroonians have placed in the Interim Government at this challenging moment.

If we in this generation, cannot deliver freedom for our nation, we all would be guilty of betrayal. Now the trumpet summons us again as a call to donate financially and sacrifice our energy to this struggle against tyranny and oppression.

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the opportunity of achieving freedom. Let us welcome this responsibility rather than shrink from it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other generation.

My Fellow Ambazonians, your time to deliver freedom is now. I am ready. Are you ready?

If you are, come with me on this journey of Operation CAPHOT and Operation REKINDLE HOPE OUTREACH.

Stay safe during this pandemic.

God bless you.

God bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonia

Vice President

Dabney Yerima