Ambazoniagate: Wife of Interim President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe writes to the UN Secretary General

29, July 2018

Ambazoniagate: Wife of Interim President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe writes to the UN Secretary General 0

His Excellency Mr António Guterres

Secretary-General

United Nations

One United Nations Plaza

New York, NY  10017

 

Open Letter

 

ABDUCTION, ILLEGAL DETENTION AND DEPORTATION OF MY HUSBAND (JULIUS AYUK TABE) AND 46 OTHER CAMEROONIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES BY THE AUTHORITIES OF CAMEROON AND NIGERIA.

 

Dear Mr Secretary-General,

 

From the opening moments of your tenure, you were determined to make the promotion of human dignity the core of your work, and pledged to help alleviate the sufferings of the most vulnerable people on earth, especially those forcefully displaced from their homes and communities. At your direction, the UN has adopted a “new approach” that recognizes the institution’s past failures and calls for a “victim-centered strategy rooted in transparency, accountability and justice.”You have spoken movingly of the plight of victims and described how their accounts will haunt you forever. On 26 June 2018, marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, you stated that “torture in any form is absolutely unacceptable and can never be justified,”in all circumstances including periods of emergencies, political unrest and even war. This is inspiring and comforting, and gives me and families of victims worldwide some hope.

 

However,my husband Mr Julius Ayuk Tabe(leader of the people of the Southern Cameroons)and scores of other prominent Southern Cameroonian exiles living in Nigeria, who were abducted in Abuja on 5 January 2018, unlawfully deported to Cameroon and detained incommunicado for six months, are still languishing in illegal detention in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Prior to their abductions, many of them were working in Nigeria as university professors, engineers, businessmen and legal practitioners. Others were refugees who recently fled Cameroon Government-sponsored violence and incipient genocide in the Southern Cameroons.These abductions and extraditions were in flagrant violation of the United Nations Declarations of Human Rights, and the apparent continued silence of the United Nations on this issue calls into question the seriousness with which the United Nations takes its commitment to protect the fundamental rights of peoples everywhere.

Mr Secretary General, I plead with you to use your good offices to compel the government of Cameroon to release my husband and all other Southern Cameroonians being held illegally in detention centers in Cameroon, and for that government to end the genocide it is carrying out in the Southern Cameroons. My husband and fellow detained Southern Cameroonian leaders have suffered untold hardship, torture, cruelty, inhumane and degrading treatment in detention. Mr Secretary General, at the time of writing this Appeal, the Government of Cameroon announced that it had commenced the process of final interrogation of these detainees, after which they will be arraigned before the Military Tribunal in Yaoundé. If your office continues to be silent, the outcome of the trial by the Military Tribunal in Cameroon is predicted to parallel the unlawful hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa and his 9 Ogoni compatriots in Nigeria in 1995 after a similar trial by that nation’s Military Tribunal.

The inaction of the United Nations to compel the Government of Cameroon to respect its commitments under relevant international agreements and conventions it has ratified will send the wrong message to nations of the world that fundamental international regulatory instruments can be violated and eroded with impunity and without penalty. The weeks of street protests around the globe (including in front of the UN Headquarters in New York) led by the peace-loving people of the Southern Cameroons, which greeting the sad news of my husband’s illegal abduction and detention in Nigeria, bear testament to the weight of the responsibility Mr Ayuk Tabe bears as leader of the people of the Southern Cameroons. My husband and his lieutenants in the Southern Cameroons revolution are freedom fighters and men of peace, who are seeking to free our people from the determined clutches of the villainous vampiric political mess that is Cameroon. My husband and his colleagues are striving to restore dignity to the people of the Southern Cameroons by restoring their fundamental rights and freedoms as human beings.

I thank you for your time and hopefully look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Lilian Ayuk Tabe

 

 


Nigerian academic union to embark on action over detained Southern Cameroons academics

29, July 2018

Nigerian academic union to embark on action over detained Southern Cameroons academics 0

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Nigeria is to embark upon a campaign on various campuses in Nigeria calling for the immediate release of the six academics deported by the Nigerian government to Cameroon in January.

Since their deportation by military aircraft to Yaoundé on 24 January together with 47 others, followed quickly by news reports announcing they were to appear in court in Cameroon on charges of terrorism, there has been no sign of the detainees. Attempts in May by their legal representative Abdul Oroh to find them in Yaounde also produced nothing.

In an exclusive interview with University World News, barrister Oroh, who is representing the detainees at the bequest of their families, confirmed that those forcefully deported from Nigeria were members of a political organisation demanding reform of Cameroon’s Constitution with a view to returning the country to genuine federalism.

Such an arrangement would give Francophone and Anglophone components equal status. It would also give equal recognition to French and English Languages.

“This liberal reform is what the central government of Cameroun is equating to terrorism. My clients are peace-loving gentle men and women. We would do everything legally possible to secure their immediate release so that they can go back to their campuses and resume their teaching and research work,” he said.

‘Fearless scholars’

Dr Baiyah Quodus, an academic in the Economics Department of Ado Bayero University, Kano, said he knew some of the expelled academics and described them as “fearless scholars and sound intellectuals who have contributed to the academic development of Nigeria”.

Professor Akintan Onileara of the Philosophy Department at Obafemi Awolowo University said he knew two of the expelled lecturers. “They are hard-working teachers, Pan-Africanist and unrepentant promoters of African Development. At conferences and seminars, they kept reminding all of us about the need for Africa to invest in education and vocational training.

They never hid their sadness over the poor human rights records in Cameroon and elsewhere on the African continent.”

Dr Ekong Akpan of the Philosophy Department at the University of Uyo said he knew three of those detained and some of them had been married to Nigerians and living in Nigeria for more than 29 years. “So, Nigeria has committed a crime against her own citizens,” he said. “More worrisome is the fact that Nigeria has no extradition treaty with Cameroon. This has added another dimension to the injustice and disrespect for international law.”

Seeking to travel to Yaounde in search of the academics and out of concern for their health and safety, Orah and his colleague Femi Falana approached the Cameroonian High Commission in Abuja earlier this year.

“We were armed with a letter for such visit. We met with the High Commissioner, Ambassador Ibrahim Salaudeen, who received us warmly and promised that he would transmit our request to Yaoundé and that we would surely get a reply,” Oroh said.

After waiting for four weeks without a reply from the Ambassador, Oroh flew to Cameroon on 14 May 2018 accompanied by a bilingual Nigerian journalist who had previously worked in Yaoundé.

“We spent five days in Yaounde visiting the ministries of justice, foreign affairs and the headquarters of Cameroon’s Human Rights Commission. Those we talked to could not confirm or indicate the whereabouts of our clients,” he said.

Safety concerns

The two men left the country without meeting the detainees and without establishing their safety. Oroh said if the detained lecturers were not sent for trial, their safety could not be guaranteed. “I sincerely hope that they would be released as soon as possible,” he said.

According to diplomatic sources in Abuja, the United Nations High Commission in Charge of Refugees and Amnesty international is pressuring leaders of Western democracies to ensure that these detained university teachers are released as soon as possible and sent on voluntary exile to countries of their choice.

According to Dr Adewale Suenu, Accademic Staff Union of Universities secretary based at Lagos State University, the union is shortly to commence a campaign on various campuses in Nigeria appealing to both the Nigerian and Cameroonian government to effect the immediate release of the university teachers.

Meanwhile, university teachers on various campuses, including Professor Bissong Harstrop of the Law Faculty at the University of Calabar, say the deportation is a clear violation of human rights. “The unlawful repatriation of lawful persons is a clear case of rights violation,” said Harstrop.

Dr Abdullahi Ango from the Psychology Department at Ado Bayero University, Kano compared the expulsion of the academics to the similar treatment of Professor Patrick Wilmot in the 1980s. Wilmot was a sociologist working at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

“He was expelled for reasons we are yet to be told. We should note that the sudden arrest and illegal repatriation of these university teachers of Cameroonian nationality is against the fundamental human rights to which Nigeria is a signatory,” said Ango.

Unclear rationale

Professor Richard Anselm of the Sociology Department in Umaru Musa Yar Adua University, Katsina, noted that the rationale behind the repatriation of the academics was unclear and called on civil rights organisations and movements in both Nigeria and Cameroun “to rise up and defend these university teachers”.

Dr Schwarnang Ankhol Law Faculty, University of Jos accused the Nigerian government of contravening the basic tenets of ECOWAS, which supports free movement of citizens to work and reside anywhere within West Africa. “The Nigerian government must be made to realise that she has a duty to protect the rights of all foreign residents working and residing in Nigeria,” he said.

Dr Ahmed Akwanga of the Political Science Department at Benue State University, Makurdi, urged ASUU to take up the matter urgently, while a number of other academics canvassed noted the fact that the deportations were in in violation of human rights.

Professor Ishaq Bawwana from Afe Balola University’s Criminology Department, for example, said both Nigeria and Cameroon should be reported to ECOWAS and the African Union’s Human Rights Commissions for violation of the individuals’ rights.

Professor Sheriff Ikhman, based at the Law Faculty at the University of Maiduguri, called on Amnesty International to intervene.

Source: University World News


Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson spotted in Yaounde

29, July 2018

Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson spotted in Yaounde 0

Former England and Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has reportedly been lined up to coach Cameroon national team after being spotted in the central African country on Thursday.

Eriksson, who has also been strongly linked with the Iraq job, is said to have demanded an annual salary of €1.9 million, while the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) is negotiating for a lesser amount.

The reigning African champions are with no substantive coach since last December when Belgian Hugo Broos was sacked following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 Fifa World Cup.

Source: Goal.com


African Union, CEMAC intentionally ignores Biya’s despotic actions against Southern Cameroonians

28, July 2018

African Union, CEMAC intentionally ignores Biya’s despotic actions against Southern Cameroonians 0

The African Union and CEMAC are maintaining a kind of deliberate silence on the genocide currently going on in Southern Cameroons and the chairman of the pan African organization is not going to criticize the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime for its despotic acts because the French government need their economic and military presence in the Sub Saharan country.

The African Union is under very strong French government influence and the French are pushing the AU to neglect counter-democratic activities and human rights abuses conducted by the Biya Francophone regime in Yaounde against its own citizens.  Yaounde is also hosting several French military service men and women who are participating in maintaining French surrogates in power in countries such as Gabon, Chad, the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville.

There is simply no way that this current Francophone dominated African Union certainly under Chad’s Moussa Faki is going to complain at all about the despotic actions by the Biya regime. The Francophone CEMAC nations have turned a blind eye on the Yaoundé regime’s actions against human rights and violations of international law in Southern Cameroons.

According to the UN, some 161,000 Southern Cameroonians have been displaced by the war declared against the English speaking people by the 85 year-old leader President Paul Biya. Some 50,000 Ambazonians have also fled the conflict into neighboring Nigeria. With attacks on Southern Cameroonians increasing in French Cameroun, the Yaoundé regime is slowly but surely rendering most of Southern Cameroons citizens stateless.

Biya and his gang have gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. Troops from France and Chad were deployed to assist the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) in its crackdown. Scores of Southern Cameroonians have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or arrested as a result of the Biya regime’s crackdown.

By Chi Prudence Asong


US tells President Kabila ‘Time for posturing is over’

28, July 2018

US tells President Kabila ‘Time for posturing is over’ 0

The United States of America has called out Congolese president Joseph Kabila for failing to publicly state that he will not run for re-election in a planned December election, warning him that “the time for posturing is over.”

Kabila said in a speech a week ago that a presidential election in December would go ahead, but he declined to say whether he would defy term limits to stand for re-election. Some of his allies have in recent weeks advanced a legal argument they say would justify his candidacy.

“He is not eligible under Congolese law to seek a third term. The United States regrets that President Kabila did not use his July 19th address to parliament to resolve the uncertainty regarding his intentions,” U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen told the United Nations Security Council.

International pressure on Kabila, who succeeded his assassinated father in 2001, to leave office has grown since a November 2016 election was postponed. That sparked violent protests in which security forces have killed dozens of people.

DR Congo’s allies express concern

The United States and European Union have sanctioned several close Kabila allies accused of overseeing the crackdowns and obstructing the electoral process, moves Kabila denounced.

The U.N. Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council last week jointly “called upon all political parties, their supporters, and other political actors to remain committed to the 31 December 2016 Agreement, which is the only viable path out of the current political situation.”

Under an accord struck on Dec. 31 between Kabila’s representatives and opposition leaders, Kabila is barred from trying to change the constitution to seek a third term.

“President Kabila has committed repeatedly to respect the constitution and implement the December 2016 agreement. We’re a mere five months away from election day. The time for posturing is over,” Cohen said.

France and the United States questioned Congolese plans to use untested electronic voting machines and pushed authorities to state what assistance they need from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country, known as MONUSCO, to organize the polls.

“MONUSCO cannot afford to wait until the last moment to put a plan into action,” Cohen said.

Kabila put off a planned visit earlier this month by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and refused to see U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who diplomats said had also separately planned to visit Kinshasa.

U.N. Security Council envoys are planning to visit Congo in October, diplomats said.

REUTERS


BRICS nations pledge enhanced economic cooperation in face of US tariff threats

27, July 2018

BRICS nations pledge enhanced economic cooperation in face of US tariff threats 0

The member states of BRICS, the association of five major emerging economies, have pledged to strengthen their economic cooperation as the US continues to beat the drum for trade war and unilateralism.

“We express concern at the spill-over effects of macro-economic policy measures in some major advanced economies,” the heads of the BRICS group — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – said in a joint statement on Thursday after meeting in Johannesburg for an annual summit.

They added that the multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges, stressing the importance of an open world economy.

Addressing the 10th BRICS summit in South Africa on the second day of the talks, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, “We should stay committed to multilateralism”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS summit on July 26, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by AFP)

 

He further called on BRICS members states to deepen strategic partnership and open up the second “golden decade”.

The session, hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, was also attended by Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Putin also addressed the summit, saying, “BRICS has a unique place in the global economy — this is the largest market in the world, the joint GDP is 42 percent of the global GDP and it keeps growing”.

“In 2017, the trade with our BRICS countries has grown 30 percent, and we are aiming at further developing this kind of partnership,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has said he is ready to impose tariffs on all $500 billion (428 billion euros) of Chinese imports, complaining that China’s trade surplus with the US is due to unfair currency manipulation.

Trump has slapped levies on goods from China worth tens of billions of dollars, as well as tariffs on steel and aluminum from the EU, Canada and Mexico.

The BRICS summit is taking place in Johannesburg between July 25 and 27. Heads of state or government from the five member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are discussing areas of possible cooperation.

Source: Presstv


Cameroon’s Escalating Conflict Triggers Alarm at UN

27, July 2018

Cameroon’s Escalating Conflict Triggers Alarm at UN 0

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, is seeking access to Cameroon to verify what he says are alarming reports of horrific abuse by separatist and government forces in the country’s English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions.

The U.N. human rights office said the situation in Cameroon’s English-speaking communities has worsened considerably since protests against what the English-speakers see as structural discrimination started two years ago.

The Anglophones are demanding an end to what they allege is their economic and political marginalization by the country’s Francophone majority.

The High Commissioner’s spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, told VOA what began as protests for greater access to jobs and linguistic equality has gotten out of hand. She said violence by both armed separatists and the government has spiraled out of control.

“The violent separatists, these armed groups are killing people, torching schools, carrying out kidnappings and extortion and all sorts of horrible human rights abuses to try to disrupt the situation,” she said. “The government’s role should be to protect people in such a horrible environment. Instead, the government is employing a heavy-handed response, which is not helping the situation. It is further causing human rights violations.”

United Nations figures show more than 21,000 refugees have fled to neighboring countries, while some 160,000 people are internally displaced by the violence, with many reportedly hiding in forests.

An army spokesman has rejected charges of abuses by the security forces as “rumors.”

Shamdasani said there is a lot of misinformation and propaganda on both sides. She added that the High Commissioner has asked that monitors be allowed to verify allegations of abuse against both security forces and armed separatists.

The government has rejected this request, she said. Consequently, she added that the U.N. human rights office will have to consider other options to keep tabs on the situation, including remote monitoring.

Source: VOA


Open Letter to His Eminence, Christian Cardinal Tumi

27, July 2018

Open Letter to His Eminence, Christian Cardinal Tumi 0

Your Eminence, Christian Cardinal Tumi,

Allow me to use this opportunity to congratulate on your effort to seek a lasting solution to the ongoing crisis in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Your Eminence, allow me to also express my gratitude to you for the positions you have always taken when there are issues facing our country, especially issues bordering on human rights violation and poverty which have a tendency to dehumanize our fellow human beings.

You have always spoken out against bad governance in Cameroon and your publications and interviews stand to attest to your love and respect for human dignity.

Regarding the All Anglophone Conference that you and your peers have decided to convene, I would like to express my total support to your effort. The conflict in Southern Cameroons has resulted in the killing of thousands of civilians and soldiers and this should not be any good news to any right-thinking person.

Human life is sacred and we all have the responsibility of protecting life. It is a shared responsibility and we all have to pull our fair share of the weight.

It is unfortunate that many have been killed in this conflict. However, I strongly believe that there is hope on the horizon. We cannot bring back those who have died, but we can work together to ensure that we do not lose more lives.

The conference you and your peers are proposing could be that trigger that might bring about a change in thinking among the warring factions. War has never solved any problem. At best, it has only made things worse.  We all should ensure that human life should not be wasted and that conflicts should be resolved at the negotiating table.

During this challenging moment, voices like yours are needed to help calm down tempers. I hope you will use your privileged position to mobilize Southern Cameroonians, many of whom are longing for peace in their country.

Many Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora want to attend your conference. The idea is commendable and many hold that it could bring about some useful recommendations which, if well implemented, could spare the country the specter of war that is hanging over our heads.

However, they have a few concerns.  Over the last two years, the government has been arresting and jailing Southern Cameroonians living abroad when they come back home to visit their loved ones. For those who hold foreign passports, they are usually denied entry into the country. This has been a source of frustration for many members of the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora.

These measures by the government have created a rift between the government and the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora; a rift that has made it hard for the government to use these efficient resources for the economic development of our country.

As a major convener of this conference, I hope you are taking the appropriate steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur at the airports and even when the conference participants are in the country.

I would like to underscore that the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is a major force and its weight and influence have been felt during this conflict. If members of this Diaspora are not brought to the table to share their perspective, the resolutions and recommendations of your conference may just be as good as a dead letter.

In this regard, I would like to hail your call for a general amnesty for all Southern Cameroonians living abroad and at home. Your call for the release of all those arrested within the framework of this conflict is also commendable. I know the government has not been very open to this idea. Are there any steps you and your peers are taking to ensure that the government pays heed to your call?

The Diaspora is looking forward to the resolution of these issues. Their resolution is necessary for your conference to attract some of the country’s best and brightest. Cameroon needs all its sons and daughters and a conference like the one you have convened will go a long way in bringing many factions together.

I look forward to having answers to the questions I have raised in this letter.

 Sincerely,

 Joachim Arrey

About the Author: The author of this letter has served as a translator, technical writer, journalist and editor for several international organizations and corporations across the globe. He studied communication at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and technical writing in George Brown College in Toronto, Canada. He is also a trained translator from the Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI), Buea, and holds a Ph.D. He could be reached at: arreyjoachim@hotmail.com.




South Africa: Putin, Ramaphosa hold talks at BRICS summit

27, July 2018

South Africa: Putin, Ramaphosa hold talks at BRICS summit 0

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa met on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The leaders signed a joint declaration of strategic cooperation between Russia and South Africa on Thursday. They also signed an agreement relating to the agricultural sector and a memorandum of understanding on water resources.

The BRICS summit is taking place in Johannesburg between July 25 and 27. Heads of state or government from the five member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will discuss areas of possible cooperation.

(Source: Ruptly)


Southern Cameroons Crisis: “Five Adjustments To Make The Cardinal TUMI Mediation Work”

27, July 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: “Five Adjustments To Make The Cardinal TUMI Mediation Work” 0

This Op-Ed serves to contribute to the recent initiative by some Church leaders in Cameroon to seek lasting solution to the Anglophone crisis that has recently taken the turn of an armed conflict. On July 25, 2018; leaders from the Catholic, Presbyterian and Muslim Church communities in the Anglophone regions announced a peace plan to resolve the on-going conflict in Cameroon. The plan involves as necessary first step, the holding of an “Anglophone General Conference” (AGC) convened for August 29-30, 2018 in Buea. The aim of the AGC is to seek consensus among Anglophones on the “issues to be examined at a yet-to-be convened national dialogue, as well as freely designate Anglophone representatives at that dialogue”. The conveners of the AGC designated Dr. Simon Munzu, an international luminary and renowned Cameroonian civil society leader, as their spokesperson and also outlined a number of initiatives that the Cameroon government should take to ensure a smooth conference participation by all Anglophone Cameroonians. These initiatives include notably, an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all detainees, and a general amnesty.

Already, some voices within the Cameroonian diaspora, which has been the brain behind the armed separatist movement, have raised a number of critical concerns regarding the form and modalities of holding such a conference in Cameroon at this time. Let me highlight just three of the main concerns of the separatists. First, separatists claim that the time for dialogue with the government of Cameroon has passed and now is the phase of mediation as the crisis has transitioned to an armed conflict. They also criticize the choice of Dr. Simon Munzu as spokesperson of the AGC, given his controversial vocal stance for a federal Cameroon. Federation is no longer an option for a solution to the conflict, according to the separatists. Lastly, the separatists fear that, even with an amnesty, the Cameroon government is capable of rounding them up while in Buea, attending the AGC. And there are legitimate reasons to distrust the government, notably at the start of the crisis, representatives of the then Cameroon Civil Society Consortium that met with the government to dialogue were arrested soon after the meetings. Separatists are thus suggesting a safe venue outside of Cameroon for the AGC and for a neutral spokesperson, instead of Dr. Simon Munzu.

Let me quickly comment on the initiative by the Church authorities and suggest ways of making this work, considering the concerns raised by the separatists.

The peace plan to gain consensus on the root cause of the Anglophone Problem, it’s solution as well as to designate representatives to a broader national dialogue; dovetails nicely with the biblical approach to resolving conflicts that I opined not long ago in a piece circulated on social media in early June 2018. In particular, it’s of prime essence to have genuine interlocutors of the Anglophone Problem. Although there are two clear parties to the on-going armed conflict in Cameroon, the interlocutors on the side of the separatists are highly divided ideologically and the risks of the conflict becoming intra (among the separatists themselves) is high. Thus, a conference with the stated objectives is highly welcomed as a necessary first step towards dialogue/mediation/negotiation to resolve the conflict.

Now to make the Anglophone General Conference work, there’s more to do and a few more conditions to be fulfilled than the conveners have proposed.

1. In a situation of an on-going armed conflict, there’s need not only for a ceasefire but also for supervision of the ceasefire, in order to limit any further casualties. This necessitates the intervention of the UN in Cameroon, through its peace-keeping arm. The presence of UN peace keepers will also reassure displaced populations about their safety thereby contributing to a smooth holding of the AGC.

2. Although understanding the urgency of the need for a lasting solution to the conflict, the holding of the AGC need not be hurried. The proposed date seems rather hasty and fears are that the conference might not contribute to healing and an atmosphere of detente, if some perceive it’s timing as corresponding to the electoral calendar in Cameroon. This crisis has been on-going for about two years and several peace building initiatives by the government need to take place for trust to build on both sides. That takes time but the timing of the conference a few months to the forthcoming presidential elections to hold in October 2018 sends mixed messages. I would suggest a date for the AGC further ahead, preferably after the presidential elections.

3. Given the fact that the leadership of the separatist movement mostly reside in the diaspora, to ensure their effective participation and representation at the AGC, there need to be a preparatory conference of Anglophone Cameroonians in the diaspora (preferably held in the US) where representatives of the diaspora community to the AGC would be designated.

4. Participants at the AGC should be allowed to elect their own spokesperson and Dr. Munzu (the conveners’ spokesperson’s) mandate should end on day one of the conference, unless he is elected at the meeting to continue.

5. Following the AGC, the next stage of dialogue/negotiation/mediation, should be between the belligerent parties (that is, between the Cameroon government and would-be representatives of the Anglophone community) and not a national dialogue per se, as the Church leaders propose. The resolution of a crisis/conflict, needs to be primarily between the belligerents, of course, inter-mediated by third parties. The role of the international community and friends of Cameroon would be to facilitate as mediators.

By Dr. Julius A. Agbor, Associate Professor at Vanguard University of Southern California (USA)

Author is a Political Economist, and Associate Professor at Vanguard University of Southern California, Formerly, a Research Fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative of the Brookings Institution in Washington DC
Also, a contributor to the NY Times.


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