President Paul Biya’s call for dialogue on the separatist crisis in Cameroon’s two anglophone regions was given a cautious welcome on Wednesday by some, although several separatist leaders swiftly and bluntly rejected it.

The 86-year-old president, apparently softening his stance, said he would convene a “major national dialogue” later this month.

It will “examine the ways and means to respond to the deeply-held aspirations of the populations in the Northwest and Southwest regions but also in all the other component parts of our great nation,” Biya said in a TV address late Tuesday.

His announcement came ahead of the second anniversary of the declaration of the “Republic of Ambazonia” — the self-proclaimed breakaway state for the two English-speaking regions where separatists have launched an armed campaign for independence from the majority French-speaking state.

More than 2,000 people have died, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) thinktank, while the UN says at least half a million have fled their homes. The cost to Cameroon’s economy, meanwhile, is mounting.

In a statement, the UN said Secretary General Antonio Guterres “welcomes the announcement” and “reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to support the dialogue process.”

“All Cameroonian stakeholders” should participate, it said.

• Separatist leaders jailed –

But many commentators said that if Biya’s overture is genuine, it will have little chance of headway so long as breakaway leaders remain behind bars or in exile.

In May, Biya’s prime minister had already said the government was willing to host a dialogue with the separatists.

Yet three months later, separatist leader Julius Ayuk Tabe was sentenced to life in prison along with nine of his supporters — a move that made the prospect of peace seem even more remote.

A leading Cameroonian anglophone lawyer and human rights campaigner, Felix Agbor Nkongho, gave Biya high marks for the openness of the proposed forum.

It would include members of political groups, civil society and religious groups, as well as representatives of the armed forces and armed rebel groups, according to the announcement.

“The call for an all inclusive dialogue is very appreciated,” the lawyer said in an interview with AFP.

But, he said, “the government should now allow anglophones of various political thought to mobilise, organise themselves and take part without fear of arrest or other punishment for their ideas.”

In the Southwest Region’s capital Buea, prominent local campaigner Blaise Chamango said the hosting of a dialogue was “something that people have been asking for for a long time.”

But he also pointed to a radicalisation of the pro-independence movement over the last three years, after Biya rejected more moderate demands for autonomy or a federal state.

“The separatists have become more radical, and everything that Yaounde (the government) puts forward is seen as a poisoned chalice.”

Peace would be impossible if the separatists are not given a seat at the table, he suggested.

• Separatist scepticism –

Biya’s offer was notably given an immediate thumbs-down by several separatist groups, gathered in an association called the South Cameroon Liberation Movement.

“We will not allow him to use a circus like this to lure the international community,” it said, calling on Biya to withdraw all troops and government officials from the two anglophone regions.

“We will not be party to any national dialogue. The period for dialogue died a long time ago,” Ebenezer Akwanga, a separatist leader, told AFP from the United States.

“We want a comprehensive negotiated settlement on the terms of separation. We will settle for nothing less!”

English speakers — who make up roughly one fifth of Cameroon’s 24 million inhabitants — mostly live in the two regions that were formerly a British colony until they were folded into post-independence Cameroon in 1961.

Anger at perceived discrimination by francophones against anglophones in justice, education and the economy has built for years.

Cameroonian newspapers that are sympathetic to the opposition also questioned the point of the exercise — “a dialogue with ghosts,” said one headline.

Biya, in his speech, made no reference to releasing jailed leaders, although he reiterated an offer to a “pardon” any separatists who voluntarily lay down their arms.

Those who refuse to do so will face “the full force of the law” and of the country’s security and defence forces, he warned.

Source: AFP

The national dialogue recently announced by Cameroonian President Paul Biya has been praised by the UN general secretary António Guterres. This was revealed by the secretary’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in a statement published on September 10, 2019.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement made today by President Paul Biya on the launch of a national dialogue process in Cameroon. He encourages the Government of Cameroon to ensure that the process is inclusive and addresses the challenges facing the country. He calls on all Cameroonian stakeholders, including the Diaspora, to participate in this effort. The Secretary-General reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to support the dialogue process,” the spokesman wrote.

The dialogue announced by Paul Biya will be articulated around themes that will answer the concerns of residents in the South-west and North-west. It will also bring answers to issues like bilingualism, cultural diversity, social harmony, reconstruction and development of regions affected by the sociopolitical crisis, the education and legal system, decentralisation and local development. Issues like the return of refugees and displaced persons, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants as well as the diaspora’s role in the country’s development will be addressed.

The socio-political crisis started about three years ago in South-west and North-west Cameroon. It started as corporate demands expressed by lawyers and teachers but gradually became violent pro-independent claims with armed groups wreaking havoc, death, and grief.

21,291 Cameroonians fled to Nigeria to avoid combats between armed groups and the regular army, according to the UNHCR. International Crisis group indicates that at least 1,850 people have died during the 20 months of combat.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The west African nation of Cameroon is plagued by near-daily clashes between security forces and anglophone separatists that can be traced back to its split between Britain and France 100 years ago.

Here is some background:

WORLD WAR I SPLIT

Germany was stripped of its African colony of Kamerun after its 1918 World War I defeat when the League of Nations, the forerunner to the UN, split the territory between victors Britain and France.

Four-fifths went to France, becoming independent Cameroon in 1960.

The British portion, along the border with Nigeria, became independent in 1961. A northern Muslim-majority section chose to join Nigeria while the remaining southern area was unified with Cameroon in a federation.

The federal structure was scrapped in 1972 and the anglophone portion was annexed.

ENGLISH-SPEAKING MINORITY

Largely francophone Cameroon has 10 regions, two of which are mainly English-speaking: Northwest Region, whose capital is Bamenda, and Southwest Region with Buea as its capital.

They are home to around 14% of Cameroon’s population of 23 million.

The two regions are permitted some self-governance and language rights, including bilingual schools. But many complain of francophone-favoured discrimination in education, the justice system and the economy.

DEADLY PROTESTS

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, secessionists defied a ban on rallies to protest the 40th anniversary of unification with Cameroon and were confronted by security forces. Several people were killed and secessionist leaders arrested.

The separatist Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) set up a “government” in Britain and leaders moved into exile.

There was a new outbreak of violence in 2016 after lawyers went on strike to demand the right to use Anglo-Saxon common law. Teachers followed, protesting at the appointment of francophones in the region.

While some protesters want only a return to federalism, a minority is pushing for the creation of an independent state called Ambazonia.

ARMED REVOLT

In January 2017, senior secessionist activists were arrested and charged with terrorism and rebellion. President Paul Biya halted their trials in August, apparently trying to calm the situation.

In October 2017, separatist leaders issued a symbolic declaration of independence. At least 17 people were killed in clashes on the sidelines.

Radical separatists took up arms in late 2017, attacking security forces and torching symbols of the administration, such as schools. They also kidnapped police officers, civil servants and businessmen, sometimes foreigners.

CIVIL WAR

In April 2018, the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF), which defies the separatists, described the violence as “civil war”.

Separatists torched the Northwest Region home of SDF leader Ni John Fru Ndi in October and also kidnapped his sister, who was later released. Fru Ndi was briefly kidnapped twice in 2019.

A US missionary was killed in the unrest in October 2018 and the following month 79 schoolboys were kidnapped in Bamenda but freed two days later.

In December 2018, Biya ordered the release of 289 people arrested in connection with the crisis. However, in August 2019, separatist leader Julius Ayuk Tabe and nine others were sentenced to life in prison for charges including “terrorism and secession”.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in violence between separatists and security forces in the anglophone regions since October 2017, Human Rights Watch says. Around 530,000 have fled their homes, according to the UN.

EWN