The Social Democratic Front, SDF have announced the holding of an important meeting in the Littoral region aim at putting an end to the Anglophone crisis. In a press release made public yesterday the 23^rd of February 2017, the SDF Regional Executive Committee revealed that the forum will take place on Saturday the 4^th of March at Bepanda in Douala.

The SDF sources further indicated that the forum is expected to adopt a strong position on federalism and national unity. We understand the March 4^th meeting is a follow up of the resolutions that were agreed upon by the Regional Executive Committee meeting that held on January the 15^th 2017 in Douala.

The leadership of the Social Democratic Front including the party’s national chairman Ni John Fru Ndi has expressed their total and complete disapproval of the CPDM government’s handling of the Southern Cameroons situation.

Since the beginning of the Southern Cameroons uprising, several government actions have been counterproductive and have contributed to lure many Anglophones to support secession instead of federalism.  Francophone media gurus have described Anglophones as “rats” not fit to be part of the Cameroun society.

The Internet services in Anglophone Cameroon were shut down on 14 January. Troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé have shot and killed scores of Southern Cameroonians. Hundreds have been arrested and are currently being detained in Francophone jails.

The National Communication Council has closed down all private radio and television stations in Southern Cameroons and state radio and television, CRTV has turned a blind eye to the rapes and extra judicial killings going on in West Cameroon.  The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has intensified its ghost town campaign and has called for economic sanction on La Republique du Cameroun.

By Rita Akana

The South West Chiefs Conference, SWECC have raised a finger protesting a decision taken by the Francophone Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, Zang III banning the Elective General Assembly of the association. SDO Zang claimed he made the decision after receiving complaints from the Fako Chiefs. The South West traditional rulers were expected to hold a historic forum from Friday the 17^th -Saturday 18^th of February 2017 at the Limbe City Council hall. The civil administrator cited social tension and security threats as main reasons for the ban.

The Deputy Secretary General of SWECC, His Royal Highness Chief Robinson Tanyi on behalf of the outgoing President Senator Nfon VE Mukete observed that the ban was ill-advised, unwise and an unfortunate situation. Chief Tanyi Robinson pointed out that SWECC is made up of persons of value and honor including Senators, Parliamentarians, senior administrators, army Generals among others all of whom are men of exceptional standing and quality and ally to the Yaoundé regime. The much respected Upper Banyang Chief further noted that the custodians of the South West tradition have never breached the peace of the nation nor participated in public disorder of any kind that can jeopardize the security apparatus of the state.

Cameroun Info.Net reported that while averring to respect the ban, the chiefs in a statement said, “Article 11 cited in the letter on the election of officers is an internal affair that calls for no interpretation and influence from non members and public officials. You only need to read it well and with goodwill to understand it hasn’t the interpretation given and if at all it does supersede the Fako statutes referred to.”

The South West Chief’s conference is suffering from a deadlock witnessed within Fako Chiefs conference which is expected to produce a single candidate to represent the division. While the people of Buea think that it is time to choose a president, those from Limbe think otherwise. Other faction thinks that HRH Chief Njombe Johnson of Wokaka village presented as candidate is too young and not fit to ran the body.

Cameroon government spokesman and Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary has once again presented a fake report on the atrocities committed by troops loyal to the regime in Yaoundé. Of the more than 800 Anglophones arrested so far from the Bamenda and Buea provinces of Southern Cameroons, the controversial Nordist politician disclosed that only 82 people were in police drag net in the wake of the ongoing crisis in the North West and South West regions.

Issa Tchiroma observed that out of the 82, 21 were subsequently released. “Of the 61 persons still under detention, 31 are awaiting trial before the competent court, namely, the Yaoundé Military Court,” Issa Tchiroma Bakary said during a press conference in Yaounde on Wednesday February 15. Those awaiting trial include Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla and Fontem Aforteka’a Neba, leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), whose existence had previously been declared null and void.

Issa Tchiroma avoided questions on Anglophones that have been killed so far in places like Jakiri, Buea, Kumbo Bamenda and Kumba. He said Southern Cameroonians arrested are prosecuted for acts of terrorism, hostility against the fatherland, secession, revolution, insurgency, and contempt of the President of the Republic, contempt of the constituted bodies and civil servants, group rebellion, civil war, dissemination of false news, apology for crimes and are tried under the 2014 anti-terrorism law.

Though the aforementioned activists pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance last February 13, they could be sentenced to death should the court eventually find them guilty.  “To these main charges, we should envisage to add those that could eventually stem from their foreseeable consequences,” the government spokesman told the press.

In an apparent response to popular opinion and some media reports, Issa Tchiroma said none of the defendants is prosecuted for the mere fact of having participated in a strike, having masterminded or participated in a peaceful demonstration.

“It should be indicated that each of the accused persons benefits from the presumption of innocence, which means that they remain innocent until the court establishes whether or not they are guilty at the end of the trial,” the communication Minister stated.

Justifying why those arrested are standing trial in Yaoundé whereas they were arrested in the North West and South West regions with military tribunals, he said the Yaoundé Military Court is a court of national jurisdiction, “empowered to exercise its powers over the entire National territory in the event of serious threats to public order, State security and in case of acts of terrorism.”

Cameroun Info. net

A detailed road-map showing several steps, strategic actions and campaigns expected to culminate on Sunday, 1 October 2017 in Buea, South West Region, with the restoration by an Interim Congress of the independence of Southern Cameroons was released Sunday at a townhall meeting in Maryland, USA. The road-map has been put together by the Movement for the Restoration of the Independence of Southern Cameroons (MoRISC) whose objective is to use all non-violent ways to enthrone a government based on popular consent, deriving authority and legitimacy from the people of Southern Cameroons, not from decrees or the might of the Government of La Republique which, since 1961, has been injurious to citizens’ rights to life, freedom, independence, equality and dignity.

Here are a few highlights from the road map:

Effective 1 January 2017 and lasting until 30 September 2017 – Ghost Towns, once a week (every Monday); a Prayer for the Peaceful Restoration of Independence to be said in all churches on Sundays and all mosques on Fridays across Southern Cameroons; Governors, SDOs, Dos, to be de-legitimized as colonial officers to be replaced by elected officials such as councilors, mayors, MPs and Senators. The House of Chiefs and Fons to be reconstituted as the Upper Chamber of the New Interim Congress whose Lower Chamber will include elected officials and leaders of other organizations (trade unions of lawyers, teachers, student unions, Okada taxi bike riders, women’s groups, etc.)

Once every month until September 2017 – Southern Cameroonians to hold a monthly day of shaming colonialism in street protests outside the homes of residents.

Boycott Campaigns – A series of boycotts are included in the road map. Under the plan, Southern Cameroonian citizens are invited to boycott all events called, organized or presided by Governors, SDOs, and/or DOs seen as colonial officers sent by Yaounde to lord it over the people. Also to be boycotted are celebrations to mark the so-called Youth Day – really Plebiscite Day for Southern Cameroons (11 Feb. 2017); Women’s Day Celebrations (8 March 2017); and the so-called Reunification (20 May 2017).

Ambassadors, Governors, SDOs & DOs in Waiting – The road map envisages the election by Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora of Ambassadors-in-Waiting who will begin lobbying on behalf of the Restoring Independence and Recognition of the New State; the election by elected councilors, mayors, MPs, Senators and Chiefs/Fons of Governors-in-Waiting and of a Government-in-Waiting.

Worldwide Diaspora Conventions – Southern Cameroonian Diaspora worldwide are convened for 11 February 2017, according to the road map, to hold a major conference to, among others, agree ways of raising funds for the struggle.

Interim Government of Southern Cameroons – The House of Chiefs and Fons along with the Lower Chamber of the New Interim Congress of Southern Cameroons will elect the interim government of Southern Cameroons on 21 April 2017, the anniversary of the adoption of the resolution by the United Nations General Assembly granting Southern Cameroons independence.

Sunday, 1 October 2017 – The Interim Government, the New Interim Congress of Southern Cameroons, Ambassadors-in-Waiting, and Delegations from all across Southern Cameroons and the Diaspora convene in Buea, South West Region for the Declaration of the Restoration of Independence.

Francophone government officials are multiplying their promises in order to ease the tensions in Southern Cameroons where for more than 8 weeks trade union demands have turned into a political crisis and paralyzed socio-economic activities in the two English speaking regions of the country.

The Francophone authorities are pretending that the socio-political crisis in the North West and South West are problems that affect the education sector in all regions in the country. As a result, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government has decided to give impetus to the education sector. The CPDM government has proposed new methods of examination into technical and scientific schools.

Yaoundé has also announced the creation of a new technical teacher training school (ENSET), – French-speaking, after that of Douala in order to reduce the presence of Francophones in the ENSET of Bambili (North- West) and Kumba (South-West). The government hinted of the establishment of new specialties in the technical education of the Anglophone sub-system and the creation of a polytechnic in Bamenda or Buea to reduce the deficit of Anglophone engineers.

The Francophone regime further announced that 2970 teachers will be contracted during the year 2017, with the objective of reducing the teacher deficit decried in rural areas.  However, the interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have dismissed the Yaoundé gesture saying is too little too late. Ghost town operations have resumed all over Southern Cameroons today, Tuesday the 14^th of February 2017.

By Sonne Peter