3, February 2018
France condemns killings in Cameroon, urges dialogue 0
France condemned on Friday attacks by suspected English-speaking separatists in Cameroon that killed three gendarmes on Thursday, but urged the Cameroonian government to engage in dialogue to stop an escalation in violence.
The separatists have taken up arms over the past year in an attempt to create a nation they call Ambazonia. The insurgency represents the gravest challenge yet to the 35-year rule of Cameroon’s President Paul Biya.
France, which has significant business interests in its former colony and relies on it to fight against Islamist militants, has been careful not to overly criticize the government’s handling of the crisis.
“France condemns the new killings of law enforcement officials that took place on 1 February in Cameroon,” Foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes Von der Muhll told reporters in a daily briefing after three gendarmes were killed in separate clashes on Thursday in towns in the North West Region.
She said only dialogue would enable a peaceful response to the concerns of all sides and ensure the unity and integrity of the country.
“This is a message we are also passing on to the Cameroonian authorities, in close consultation with our European and international partners,” the spokeswoman added.
Violence has flared in the past week, with armed separatist factions clashing against Cameroon security forces in several towns and villages in the two English-speaking regions after Nigeria deported the leader of the self-declared state and 46 others.
The United Nations refugee agency condemned the handing over of the 47 people, saying most of them had submitted asylum claims and their forced return was in violation of international refugee law.
More than 43,000 Cameroonians have fled as refugees to Nigeria to escape the government crackdown on the separatists, say local aid officials. The majority are in Nigeria’s Cross River state, which borders southwest Cameroon.
REUTERS
3, February 2018
Legacy of history drives Cameroon’s rift 0
Unrest has spread in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions since October as a secessionist movement has pushed for independence.
Dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled the violence.
But the tensions can be traced back to events a century ago, when Britain and France occupied Cameroon, taking over Germany’s major colony in West Africa.
– World War I split –
Cameroon was a Germany colony until 1916, when British and French troops forced the Germans out.
The two countries divided it into separate spheres of influence that were later formalised by the League of Nations, the forerunner to the UN.
The much larger French colony gained independence in 1960.
A year later, the British colony also gained independence. Some of the English-speaking areas choose to join newly-formed Nigeria, others to become part of the federation of Cameroon.
– English-speaking regions –
The two mainly English-speaking southern provinces are home to around a fifth of Cameroon’s 23 million population.
Named the Northwest Region and Southwest Region, they jut into southeastern Nigeria.
The English-speaking areas were allowed some self-governance.
But many English-speakers complained of discrimination at the hands of the francophone majority in areas such as education and the justice system, and alleged national wealth was not shared fairly.
– Disputed ‘unity’ –
In 1972, the original federal structure was scrapped in a national referendum that approved the creation of one state.
Calls for a breakaway English-speaking state mounted in the 1990s, with demands for a referendum on independence accompanied by low-level unrest.
In 2001 banned protest rallies turned violent. Several people were killed when security forces moved in and secessionist leaders were arrested.
The separatist Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC) set up a “government” in Britain and leaders moved into exile.
– 2016 flare-up –
Lawyers in the English-speaking regions, which are also strongholds for the political opposition, went on strike in late 2016 to demand the right to use Anglo-Saxon common law.
Teachers followed, protesting at the appointment of francophones in the region’s education system.
Tensions rose in December, when the national flag was torched at protests and a separatist version hoisted. Clashes in some areas left several people reported dead.
Prime Minister Philemon Yang, himself an anglophone, ruled out secession — “Unity is the bedrock of our country.”
– ‘Independence’ declared –
In January 2017 senior secessionist activists were arrested and charged with terrorism and rebellion.
New protests brought several cities to a standstill, but the government hit back by cutting off internet access to flashpoint areas for several weeks, alleging the spread of “fake news”.
In an apparent effort to calm the situation, President Paul Biya halted the secessionists’ trials in August and some were later freed.
In October, several thousand defied a ban on protests to mark the anniversary of the country’s October 1961 unification.
Separatist leaders issued a symbolic declaration of independence. “We are no longer slaves of Cameroon,” said Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the self-declared “president” of a new republic called “Ambazonia”.
Biya, in power since 1982 and standing for reelection in 2018, branded the secessionists “a band of terrorists” and ordered a crackdown with curfews, raids and other restrictions.
At least 17 people were killed in clashes the following weekend. Nearly two dozen members of the security forces have also been killed since the flareup, according to a toll compiled by AFP.
– Nigeria role –
Since January 2018, much of the focus has shifted to Nigeria, which the Cameroon authorities suspected was being used as a safe haven for separatists.
The two neighbours have experienced tensions in the past over various issues, but forged cooperation on fighting the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency.
On January 29, Nigeria extradited 47 anglophone separatists, including Tabe, which was followed by fresh unrest English-speaking regions of Cameroon, in which three policemen and at least one civilian died.
Cameroon security forces, according to local sources, have also been seen among the estimated 30,000 people who have fled the violence to southeast Nigeria.
Source: The Citizen