It will soon be five years since the government of Cameroon made a huge and costly mistake by thinking that all political issues must only be addressed through repression and oppression. It simply did not take a lot of things into consideration and was oblivious of the fact that the dynamics had changed and that a minority in terms of numbers did not imply a minority in terms of courage and determination. 

The lion always thinks it can devour any other animal, but it has always found its match with the Tasmanian devil which is a very small animal that fights back and releases a pungent smell when attacked by the lion. That smell has always kept the lion away and the Tasmanian devil has been enjoying the peace no other animal species enjoy when the lion is around. 

The government must learn from its calamity in the two English-speaking regions of the country which are clearly the Tasmanian devils that have refused to be devoured by a very hungry and desperate lion. Size is not always might and a huge weaponry does not always reflect how formidable an army may be.    

The government’s declaration of war on its English-speaking citizens following the killing of some four gendarme officers in Agborkem German in the country’s Southwest region some five years ago, will go down in history as a faux pas which will haunt the country for a very long time. Thousands have been killed and maimed in a war very much driven by arrogance and ego, and many families will be entering the new year with a lot of pain in their minds.

The war itself was avoidable. There was no justification for a full-blown armed conflict in a country that is still at grips with massive and complicated development issues. Cameroon needs all its citizens to come together to give the country a shot in the arm, but the government does not seem to see things this way. 

The government seems to be caught up in a spiral of ego that may take the country to the bottom of the abyss. Civilian lives are being lost every day and soldiers are losing sleep because of the fear of death in a region that has become a cemetery for the poorly trained Cameroon soldiers whose only reason of joining the military is to earn a salary and help their families. 

The military is losing some of its best equipment to explosive devices that have changed the game in favor of the separatist fighters. The fighters, who started off with machetes and Dane guns, have morphed into major producers of deadly explosives which have brought death and destruction to the military and many families across the country, especially to the South and Center regions, where many young men have been fired up by the false belief that power belongs to them and that they must protect it at all cost, even if it means putting their youthful lives on the line.  

On the economic front, many things have fallen apart, and more are still falling apart as the government continues to sport a tough guy’s appearance. The country’s economy is stuttering, and unemployment is sky-high, causing a lot of frustration and desperation among the youths.

 A war the government thought it would wrap up in two weeks has ended up becoming a millstone around its neck. It is taking up huge financial and human resources which could have been deployed for development purposes.  

Many companies in the conflict areas are struggling and those which shut down operations at the beginning of the war, are yet to resume activities and this is only prolonging the pain of those who used to work for such companies.  

Traveling within the war zone is very demanding both mentally and financially. Passengers are permanently on edge as soldiers could open fire at any time. The war has turned army soldiers into monsters and shooting a civilian is no longer an issue to the soldiers who are supposed to be protecting civilians. The war itself has become an enterprise to the soldiers who are making hay while the sun shines and the war economy is growing by leaps and bounds. 

Truth be told, separatist fighters are no saints in this regard. Their atrocities have transformed them into monsters, far from the saints they were at the beginning of the crisis. They are now dreaded by the population which is clearly showing signs of war fatigue as separatist leaders abroad squabble over money. They cannot contain their bloated egos, and this is putting many fighters on the ground at risk. Many people in the country’s two English-speaking regions hold that the fighters are as dangerous as army soldiers, and this has left them in a bind. 

The population cannot betray the fighters for fear of reprisals, but they cannot also see the soldiers as protectors because the military is replete with rogues and rascals whose only concern is how to make money. Army soldiers are supposed to be winning hearts and minds as a way of bringing the war to an end, but their activities on the ground have made them to come down the people’s estimation. Many of them are reckless. They are alcohol-inflamed, sex-starved and trigger-happy.  It is hard to trust a human being who is the epitome of negativity. 

Intolerance has become the order of the day in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions. Soldiers are not friendly, and they resort to under-the-belt methods to make money off the impoverished population. Today, there are thousands of young English-speaking Cameroonians languishing in jails in Yaounde and Douala just because they could not afford what army soldiers are asking them to pay. A military without a conscience is a danger onto its own people and this is exactly what is playing out in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions. 

After five years of chaos, it is time for both parties to reflect on their actions. The government must change its strategy if its objective is to keep the country one and indivisible. The reckless killing of civilians by soldiers only underscores the fact that the English-speaking minority cannot live in peace with its neighbors who have embraced violence and chaos as the only way of addressing differences. Cameroon can be indivisible, but it can also be fundamentally federal. Both parties must meet each other halfway, as it is increasingly emerging that a military victory is not possible.

The government must use the various peace and negotiation frameworks available to it to bring back peace to a country which was once considered as an oasis of peace in a desert of destructive conflicts. The government must work through the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations (CDN) which offers a better framework for talks to bring the various factions to a common agreement so that a ceasefire can be declared. 

Military action alone will not address any issues and getting more repressive only drives the fighters to more extreme views. The government has many avenues available to it to start frank and fruitful negotiations with its English-speaking minority. Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and the others captured in Nigeria almost three years ago are the people who can conveniently help to set the tone for real discussions.

The madness has lasted for too long and it is time for common-sense and wisdom to prevail. War has never addressed any issues. On the contrary, it generates more issues and makes existing problems more complicated. 

Cameroonian leaders must take a long and hard look at their ways. Their ways are responsible for the mess that has resulted in the deaths of many young Cameroonians, and this has given the country a very bad name while making life terribly challenging for many citizens of the country.

 Common-sense may be sense that may not be common, but it is available in Cameroon and there are many people around the world who have it and are willing to put that at the service of a country that is tearing itself apart.

After close to five years of fighting where the English-speaking part of the country has been transformed into a massive killing field, the Yaounde government, just like the fighters, must understand that a military solution to the issues is an impossibility. They must listen to wise counsel and should understand that there is no prize for killing each other. But will wisdom be given a chance to prevail? 

By Joachim Arrey, Ph.D

The Southern Cameroons Department of Foreign Affairs has released a statement saying the current ruling class in French Cameroun is not serious about peace in the two nations. The statement that was signed jointly by Vice President Dabney Yerima and Professor Carlson Anyangwe stressed that the Biya French Cameroun dream that its Francophone army soldiers will be at peace in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is a mere illusion that will never come true.

In the statement addressed to Southern Cameroonians in Ground Zero and Ground One, the Southern Cameroons Department of Foreign Affairs stated that “Mindful of recent military deployments to the Ambazonia homeland by the French Cameroun regime in Yaounde, it is becoming clearer to Southern Cameroonians every day that the occupying  French Cameroun army is not serious in fulfilling the demand of the Ambazonia Interim Government regarding their withdrawal”.

The Ambazonia Interim Government statement was making a reference to an earlier position that was taken by the leader of the Ambazonia revolutionary President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the Ambazonia Restoration Council requiring La Republique du Cameroun to end the presence of its army soldiers in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The statement said Southern Cameroons Self Defense groups will not wait until after the Africa Cup of Nations to begin the process of forcing French Cameroun troops to leave the Federal Republic of Ambazonia as demanded by both the Interim Government and the Restoration Council.

It called on the people of Ground Zero to be ready to fulfill their duty of staging massive “kontry Sundays” during the Africa Cup of Nations that will be directed by Vice President Dabney Yerima.

By Isong Asu

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government, Dabney Yerima has brushed aside the much talk about French Cameroun military solution to the five year-long conflict in Southern Cameroons as an illusion. The exiled Southern Cameroons leader stated in an interview with Cameroon Intelligence Report late on Monday that the two independent Cameroons are locked in a strategic stalemate on the ground for the past five years.

Dabney Yerima told CIR’s correspondent in Holland that it is time for the new generation of La Republique du Cameroun political elites to come to the negotiating table for the two nations to discuss the terms of separation.

Yerima furthered that Southern Cameroonians were not expecting miracles or quick solutions and pointed out that the path forward will be necessarily incremental. But he noted that 2022 will witness the departure of the 88-year old French Cameroun dictator, Paul Biya and with a new leader in Yaoundé, the Ambazonia Interim Government and its jailed leaders will be able to work on concrete steps towards a satisfactory divorce package.

The Southern Cameroons revolutionary figure highlighted that the lingering atrocities currently being committed by the Francophone dominated Cameroon government military and self defense operations by Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards are making it increasingly clear that Biya and Yaoundé cannot determine the outcome of the Southern Cameroons war of liberation, and that a military solution remains an illusion.

Dabney Yerima stated that he remains actively engaged with other Southern Cameroons restoration groups in order to develop a unified front against the enemies of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government underscored that it is important for restoration groups to move away from empty social media propaganda on face book, Whatsapp and YouTube and commit to the liberation struggle.

By Isong Asu with files from Den Hague

Mandatory voting, lowering the security deposit and modifying the Electoral Council’s composition… We list out the main points of the reform project that the opposition was prevented by police from presenting on 24 November as planned.

The show of force had an unexpected effect. On 24 November, police and gendarmes were deployed in large numbers in front of the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé, where the opposition was due to officially present its draft reform of the electoral code.

The organisers had no choice but to postpone the event at the last minute, so the guests had to leave. Even so, against all odds, the police’s muscular intervention put the initiative back in the spotlight. Launched by seven political parties last March, it seemed to have disappeared from the radar.

What does this 231-page document, which the opposition is now distributing to all public officials and diplomats in Yaoundé, contain? According to the technical secretariat that contributed to it, 15 political parties, 12 civil society organisations and about 50 citizens responded to the call for contributions that was launched.

The proposals, which mainly concern the electoral code’s provisions that require some modifications, were analysed, excluding those that could require the Constitution to be revised. “This is the minimum acceptable for the elections to take place smoothly,” say the members of the opposition.

The standard and the unexpected

Some of these proposals are fairly standard: introducing a single ballot paper; lengthening the duration of electoral campaigns (30 days instead of 15); lowering the security deposit required for legislative elections (from 3m CFA francs ($5,165) to 500,000 CFA francs per candidate) and municipal (from 50,000 CFA francs to 25,000 CFA francs); and prohibiting polling stations from being set up in barracks or chieftaincies.

THE RACE TO TRANSFORM

Others are more surprising, such as making voting compulsory. This would complement Article 2 of the electoral law, which currently stipulates that the election is by universal, equal and secret suffrage, and that it can be direct or indirect. The measure aims to reduce the abstention rates observed in recent elections. During the last local elections in February 2020, turnout was just over 40%.

The opposition has fear and doubts regarding the neutrality, representativeness and independence of the Electoral Council.

To remedy this, it has proposed that the 18-member body be composed – in future – of eight representatives from parties sitting in the Assembly; three representatives from parties only present in municipal councils; three figures from the three parties whose candidates emerged top during the last presidential election; two representatives from the administration that were chosen by the president of the Republic who have had no political affiliation for at least three years; and two members of the civil society.

The minutes from the 2018 presidential election proved to be a stumbling block while the case was being examined before the Constitutional Council. In general, the authenticity of the documents transmitted to the Commission Nationale de Recensement des Votes was often questioned.

The opposition therefore proposed establishment of a communal commission that will be responsible for supervising votes, ensuring the conformity of the minutes and be above the departmental commission. The objective is to reduce the risk of litigation at the national level. The same document adds that all the minutes should have the same legal value, but that today, only the Elecam’s PV is valid in case of dispute.

Another proposed change – which would amend Articles 133, 168 and 194 of the electoral code – is that post-election disputes be examined after the provisional results have been announced. Therefore, the body would only be able to proclaim an election’s final results once the Constitutional Council settles any possible post-election disputes.

Source: The Africa Report

Mandatory voting, lowering the security deposit and modifying the Electoral Council’s composition… We list out the main points of the reform project that the opposition was prevented by policefrom presenting on 24 November as planned.

The show of force had an unexpected effect. On 24 November, police and gendarmes were deployed in large numbers in front of the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé, where the opposition was due to officially present its draft reform of the electoral code.

The organisers had no choice but to postpone the event at the last minute, so the guests had to leave. Even so, against all odds, the police’s muscular intervention put the initiative back in the spotlight. Launched by seven political parties last March, it seemed to have disappeared from the radar.

What does this 231-page document, which the opposition is now distributing to all public officials and diplomats in Yaoundé, contain? According to the technical secretariat that contributed to it, 15 political parties, 12 civil society organisations and about 50 citizens responded to the call for contributions that was launched.

The proposals, which mainly concern the electoral code’s provisions that require some modifications, were analysed, excluding those that could require the Constitution to be revised. “This is the minimum acceptable for the elections to take place smoothly,” say the members of the opposition.

The standard and the unexpected

Some of these proposals are fairly standard: introducing a single ballot paper; lengthening the duration of electoral campaigns (30 days instead of 15); lowering the security deposit required for legislative elections (from 3m CFA francs ($5,165) to 500,000 CFA francs per candidate) and municipal (from 50,000 CFA francs to 25,000 CFA francs); and prohibiting polling stations from being set up in barracks or chieftaincies.

THE RACE TO TRANSFORM

Others are more surprising, such as making voting compulsory. This would complement Article 2 of the electoral law, which currently stipulates that the election is by universal, equal and secret suffrage, and that it can be direct or indirect. The measure aims to reduce the abstention rates observed in recent elections. During the last local elections in February 2020, turnout was just over 40%.

The opposition has fear and doubts regarding the neutrality, representativeness and independence of the Electoral Council.

To remedy this, it has proposed that the 18-member body be composed – in future – of eight representatives from parties sitting in the Assembly; three representatives from parties only present in municipal councils; three figures from the three parties whose candidates emerged top during the last presidential election; two representatives from the administration that were chosen by the president of the Republic who have had no political affiliation for at least three years; and two members of the civil society.

The minutes from the 2018 presidential election proved to be a stumbling block while the case was being examined before the Constitutional Council. In general, the authenticity of the documents transmitted to the Commission Nationale de Recensement des Votes was often questioned.

The opposition therefore proposed establishment of a communal commission that will be responsible for supervising votes, ensuring the conformity of the minutes and be above the departmental commission. The objective is to reduce the risk of litigation at the national level. The same document adds that all the minutes should have the same legal value, but that today, only the Elecam’s PV is valid in case of dispute.

Another proposed change – which would amend Articles 133, 168 and 194 of the electoral code – is that post-election disputes be examined after the provisional results have been announced. Therefore, the body would only be able to proclaim an election’s final results once the Constitutional Council settles any possible post-election disputes.

Source: The Africa Report