Politics
"It is 4a.m. in Houston (Texas) and I have just made it into my hotel room after the meeting with the consortium followed by the meeting with MoRISC Houston Members & Sympathizers. If I'm posting late or so early it is because I want to make sure you, Members of the MoRISC Steering Committee, are the first to have the most accurate information on our meetings.
1. Despite MoRISC's show of good faith at the meeting with the Consortium this evening, the Facebook page of Mr. Ivo Tapang is full of spin and misrepresentation this dawn. For example, his totally false headline reads "MoRISC merges with the Consortium". Very sad to see the Consortium trying its hand at some of CRTV's dirtiest distortions of the truth.
2. The Facebook posting by Mr. Tapang this dawn is clearly meant to mislead MoRISC members and the public by suggesting that the MoRISC event is no longer holding. He is suggesting, falsely, that MoRISC invited everyone to converge at the venue of the event by the Consortium. Not true. The Consortium hopes that pulling such a last minute trick it would empty the event MoRISC had scheduled in favor of their event.
3. MoRISC told participants at the closed door event that it was too late to cancel any of the two events so late at night (in effect barely hours before both are to open). MoRISC regretted that the Consortium refused the offer which MoRISC made many days earlier for the Consortium to use the same venue as MoRISC especially given that at the time the Consortium still had not secured a venue.
4. Let it also be known that we rose from the meeting inviting the Consortium officials present to check back with their "commanders" and counsel and on the level of their comfort to speak openly about the restoration of independence agenda or even the level of their comfort to be with MoRISC. This was requested because a high level of discomfort had been shown by the Consortium in the past in failing to join MoRISC at rallies such as the one last week at the United Nations.
5. Contrary to the claim that MoRISC will be assisting the Consortium in raising funds, MoRISC reiterated the fact that it has repeatedly offered financial support to the Consortium from MoRISC's existing funds only to see the Consortium refuse such financial support in the past. MoRISC even pointed out a specific recent item (printers) the Consortium had funded that MoRISC would have financed.
6. In short, while MoRISC and the Consortium agreed to work together more smoothly going forward, MoRISC stressed the need for the Consortium to realize that the Houston meeting did not constitute bringing leaders or organizations together. Only 12 individuals reported present for the meeting; only one of them (yours truly) was from MoRISC while the rest were overwhelmingly Consortium sympathizers. MoRISC underlined the need to bring the other movements (SCNC, SCAPO, Ambazonia, SCYL, AGC, etc.)
7. MoRISC also made clear that it would not dignify with a reply the many anti-MoRISC propaganda pieces produced and disseminated by some of the same Consortium sympathizers who attended the meeting. MoRISC, however, insisted that it believes urgent attention needs to be paid to what it considers the troubling nature of power play and/or change of guard at the helm of the Consortium, including a change announced during the meeting granting yet another interim role for someone else.
8. In closing, therefore, please note that the two events are going ahead on Saturday at the two different venues although both MoRISC and the Consortium recognize the need to work more closely together going forward. MoRISC offered four principles that it hopes can be adopted to guide any partnership going forward: Frank collaboration; Division of Labor; Complementarity; and Teamwork.
9. Prof. Carlson Anyangwe and Dr. Atang who also attended this meeting can testify to the accuracy of the above account. In addition, Dr. Atang can testify that when the Spokesperson presented even this outcome as "work in progress" pending a decision later, Houston-based supporters of the restoration of independence agenda went up in arms, angered by what they consider a high level of sabotage by some of the Houston-based sympathizers of the Consortium."
Now, you know!
Ntumfoyn Boh Herbert (Yindo Toh)
Spokesperson, MoRISC
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- Rita Akana
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The MP for Bafut, (Tubah-Bafut Constituency), Hon. Fusi Naamukong, has written an emotionally charged letter to the Northwest Governor, Adolf Lele L’Afrique invoking the administrator’s swift intervention to stop what the MP describes as gross violation of the rights of Anglophone citizens.
He cites torture, kidnapping, victimisation, persecution and extortion as some of the human rights abuses being perpetrated by the military in the Northwest.
Read the full petition on page…
It is with a heavy heart that I write to your high office in respect of the continuous and gross violation of the rights of the people within the constituency which I represent.
As Member of Parliament for Mezam North (Tubah-Bafut Constituency), I owe a duty not only to ensure that members of my constituency are law abiding and peace loving but also to promote development and social justice in the Constituency.
It is acknowledged that since the commencement of this crisis in the Northwest and Southwest Region, I have ensured that my people do not indulge in actions that will compromise the peace and unity of our dear fatherland. It is against this backdrop that I expect our military officers and the rank and file, to conduct them in such a manner as to maintain peace, order and social justice in the community but this has not been the case.
Our military has transformed themselves into forces of torture, kidnapping, victimization, persecution, extortion of funds from helpless inhabitants, which action denies our people of their fundamental rights. Most often than not my people have been arrested without any warrant, subject under investigations by military regiment not charged with investigation of crimes in the community. Many are in the hospital suffering after being brutalized and left helpless by the presumed forces of law and order. These violations can only be seen in times of war.
Such was the case involving Mr.Ambe Joseph Nkwah, popularly known (Joe and Bros), a businessman of high integrity who left Bafut on Sunday 5 of February 2017 en route to Bamenda after watching the half of the African Nations Cup finals, between Cameroon and Egypt. Somewhere at Mile SixMankon, he noticed that he was being trailed by a pick-up at a very high speed with double trafficators and this was about 9:30 pm.
While suspecting that the driver must have been drunk or it was an emergency, he cleared a few meters away from Star Hotel Mankon, to allow the said vehicle to drive past. He was astonished that the occupants of the vehicle, whom he identified as BIR elements armed with guns blocked his vehicle, alighted from their pick-up and reaped him out of his vehicle and started brutalizing him until he defecated and urinated in his pair of trousers. He was blindfolded to block his visibility, handcuffed and drop behind the BIR pick-up van with the forces using his entire body as a foot mat. The more he cried, the more he was tortured. He could only follow the sound of the vehicle as it drove off while lying helplessly on the floor of the pick-up.
They drove with high speed and he later discovered himself at the BIR camp in Bafut when they took off the black mask covering his face. He was masked again on the second part of the journey to Up-Station. While at Up-Station they asked him to which trade union he belonged and he told them that he was not a teacher, that he was a businessman and that they should verify from his documents which they had in their possession. As they kept on torturing him, he would not stop asking them what he had done to warrant this inhuman treatment.
They threatened him, saying that if he continues to ask these questions, they will kill him. While at Up-Station, he discovered that they took along his vehicle; there was a standby vehicle waiting to transport him to Yaounde. He was taken in the cell at the Gendarmerie Legion Up-Station Bamenda, where he was interrogated and when they realized that they had arrested the wrong person, they simply transferred him to Gendarmerie Groupement Up-Station where he was detained in the cell.
The elements in this unit also accused him of distributing tracts, a charge which he refuted by saying that he was not a teacher and could not write tracts. Then after finding it difficult to hang any charge on him, he was unconditionally released on Tuesday without any apology.
Mr.Ambe Joseph Nkwah consulted at the hospital, where he was treated and is still on drugs. The panic and fear brought to the family throughout the night of the arrest cannot be overemphasized as the entire family was placed under trauma as the wife, the children and his friends went for a man hunt till the next day at 12 midday when he was discovered at the cell.
Your Excellency, Cameroon is certainly a state of law and it is difficult to view such flagrant violations of the fundamental rights of citizens without corresponding redress to such criminal actions. Mr.Ambe Joseph Nkwa practically did nothing to warrant this inhuman treatment. He has never been convoked to appear on a complaint and he failed to do so. Why would such measure of brutality be unleashed on a law abiding citizen?
It is my considered belief that as the Chief Executive Officer of the Region and the Operational Commanding Officer of the various military units within this Region, it behoves on you not only to call this elements of BIR to order but also to cause disciplinary actions and criminal sanctions to be meted out on them.
Our Governor, help us by ending this undeclared state of emergency. Stop this continuous arrest of teachers and civilians for peace to reign. A good society does not flourish on injustice and it is my humble belief that until justice is done or seen to have been done, those officers will remain haunted by our prayers.
Accept your Excellency our highest regards while waiting for your interventions and prompt action.
Yours Sincerely Hon. Fusi Naamukong W.
Cc: *National Commission For Human Rights and Freedoms Bamenda *The Honourable Procureur General PG Northwest *The SDO Mezam
Cameroonpost
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- Rita Akana
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Nigerian and Cameroonian troops have carried out a joint military operation against Boko Haram, the Nigerian Army said in a statement on Wednesday.
“In order to clear fleeing Boko Haram terrorists hibernating within remote and border areas, Nigerian and Cameroonian troops have carried out another joint operation to weed out Boko Haram terrorists along Nigeria and Cameroon border,” said Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, Director of Public Relations of the Nigerian Army.
The two day joint operation was led by Col Dourai and Lt Col Mohaman of the Cameroonian Defence Forces had troops drawn from the Cameroon’s Battalion Rapid Intervention and 151 Task Force Battalion of 21 Brigade, Nigerian Army.
“During the operation which ended yesterday Tuesday, troops of the two countries cleared Siyara, Kote, Sigawa and proceeded to Bulabundibe towns. Other areas cleared include AdeleKe, Tchatike and Lamukura villages,” he said.
General Usman said while conducting the operation the troops came in contact with Boko Haram terrorists and “neutralised many of them, apprehended two others, while many other terrorists escaped with gunshot wounds”.
“The Troops further recovered an unserviceable Toyota Canter, 7 Dane Guns and 5 Boko Haram terrorists flags, 4 vehicle tyres, 2 Motorcycles and vehicle spare parts,” he added.
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- Simon Ateba
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The programmes coordinator of the consortium,Mr Tassang Wilfred has released a new video in which he denounces the current tour being made by Cameoon's PM in the NW/SW regions.
He praises SC/Ambazonia Women, for the resounding boycott of Women's Day celebrations in Southern Cameroons.
He went further to to praise southern Cameroonian parents, on whose behalf the struggle being fought.
In his words,Mr Tassang wilfred says Yang Philemon has reduced himself to a Prime Minister of the North West Region.Watch this powerful Message
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- Rita Akana
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"One of the most important lessons I learnt in my life of struggle for freedom and peace is that in any conflict there comes a point when neither side can claim to be right and the other wrong, no matter how much that might have been the case at the start of the conflict.” Nelson Mandela
We all agree that Cameroon is presently facing an unprecedented Anglophone crisis. We also agree that there is need for dialogue. However what some are still to understand are those to be involved in the dialogue (people), what such a dialogue shall focus on (problem) and how the dialogue shall be carried out (process). In other words the key elements in dialogue are the people, problem, process, and to a great extent, the power relations of the conflicting parties before and after the dialogue.
The Anglophone crisis seems to have gone beyond conflict resolution because according to Sifiso Mbuyisa,
though conflict resolution aims to address the causes (single or multiple linear) of conflict, it does not necessarily change the relationship amongst the parties enjoined in conflict, nor the systems that are in place , and therefore is not addressing the factors underlying the conflict.
That leaves us with the concept of conflict transformation which according to Ronald Kraybill is an approach that ‘asserts the belief that conflict can be a catalyst for deep-rooted, enduring, positive change in individuals, relationships and the structures of the human community’.
Conflict persists when we insist on throwing stones at each other but it becomes transformed when those stones are used to build a new mansion (nation). Ours is a crisis that needs more of a citizen or stakeholder peace-making rather than inter-governmental diplomacy (African Union or United Nations), second-track peacemaking (using unofficial forums to strike peace deals) or retributive justice (using the judiciary). By proposing a citizen or stakeholder conflict transformation approach, I am aware that our country has substantial people (committed elite, traditional elders, the clergy, scholars in conflict, Independent personalities, government statespersons, etc.) who can claim a responsibility and an authority in relation to the conflicting parties; who can generate public pressure for the parties to listen to the people’s aspiration for peace; and who can formulate a long-term agenda for restorative justice, positive peace and sustainable co-existence in Cameroon.
In the light of the current crisis, I wish to suggest the following conflict transformation Actions that take cognisance of process, people, problem and power relations.
Action I: Stakeholders Meeting
The first scenario would require the Head of State to hold meetings in the South West (Buea) and North West (Bamenda) regions with identified stakeholders (not more than 20 in number) from the two regions to fully and frankly discuss the proximate (immediate) and root (underlying) causes of the Anglophone crisis. The second scenario would require the Head of state to grant audiences in Yaoundé or Mvomeka to identified stakeholders from the North West and South West regions, separately or collectively, for the same purpose. This is what Mwalimu Julius Nyerere calls the ‘Palaver tradition’.
The palaver tradition is the culture of talking and hearing things out, a kind of government by discussion where issues are agreed on while ‘sitting down under the tree’. The valid point about such an indigenous tradition of discussion is that talking things out was better than shooting them out. The time frame for this Action could be a week.
Action II: Stakeholders Meeting Outcome
This approach deals with outcomes that seek to normalise and encourage problem-solving. It is an action that deals with putting in place an enabling environment for broad-based discussions often with a national character. Therefore, some of the outcomes from Action I would in any order include:
- resumption and modification of the school calendar in the Anglophone regions;
- restoration of ‘media-regulated’ internet connections in the Anglophone regions;
- release (Amnesty) of all those involved in the current crisis;
- rehabilitation through community service and civic education of those involved in burning of state emblems and those guilty of gross human violations on armless citizens;
- rebranding Cameroon with a people’s constitution. Outcomes are not necessarily indicators of weakness or victory talk less of lack of state authority or hegemony control.
Outcomes are vital traits of open-mindedness, empathy, sensitivity and responsiveness or simply responses inherent in our indigenous value system like Professor Ali Mazrui’s epithet of ‘Africa’s short memory of hate’ (forgiveness and magnanimity); Paul Biya’s advocacy for ‘mbangsuma’ (duty of solidarity); Julius Nyerere’s vision of ‘ujamaa’ (family hood) and Southern Africans rally cry around ‘ubuntu’(society over individual interest). Indeed the Roman adage: salus populi suprema est lex (the salvation of the people must be the supreme law) summarises it all. The time frame for Action II can also be a week.
Action III: All-Stakeholder Dialogue Platform
This Action echoes the voices of many Cameroonians since the current Anglophone crisis became the epicentre of national and international media discussions.
We have heard ad nauseum, buzz phrases like ‘unitary decentralised state’, ‘one and indivisible country’ ‘united and peaceful living together’, ‘ten-state autonomy’, ‘immediate implementation of the 1996 constitution’, two-state federation’, ‘greater decentralisation and devolution of power’, ‘two by ten states system’ etc . All of these catch phrases point to one early action-the making or reviewing of the supreme law of the land. It is only within a stakeholder dialogue platform that decisions on whether the 1996 constitution should undergo a fast-forward implementation, whether the 1996 constitution needs further amendments to accommodate specific measures that would protect, guarantee and safeguard the Anglophone persona or whether we all need to go back to the drawing board to fashion a new law of the land that tailors our current crisis to the overarching vision of a binary rainbow nation.
Be it as it may, Obafemi Awolowo makes it clear that
the formulation of a constitution for a country is a solemn and grave undertaking. Those who are privileged to be charged with this solemn and grave responsibility need much more than mere emotional impulses (it is natural, in political discussions especially those relating to the discussion of a constitution during and after a crisis, that a good deal of emotion and sentiment should come to play) and unreflective patriotic sentiments as their equipment. They must as a matter of unavoidable necessity, see to it that objective reason takes the steering, in order that the safety of the country’s journey and of arrival at the desired destination may be fully and confidently guaranteed.
I wish to also add that the driving force in constitutional engineering is the knowledge that our country was not only given to us by our parents but it is also loaned to us by our children. Action III can be likened more or less to what the English call ‘Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission’, the Americans call a limited ‘Town hall meeting’, the Rwandans call ‘gacaca’,the South Africans call ‘Indaba’, and the Sotho people (from Lesotho) call ‘Lekgotla’. The common message embedded in all of these appellations is one of ‘a community parliament where matters of the nation are discussed collectively and wisdom is shared’. The time-frame for this Action could be a month.
Action IV: Stakeholder Transformative Dividend
The creation of commissions, the recognition of specific sector values (judiciary, bilingualism, education, etc.) and the fashioning of a constitution are lasting clues needed for horizontal harmony (power relations between citizens). But the implementation to the letter of every tenet of these institutions and the respect for these structures are everlasting glues needed for vertical harmony (power-relations between citizens and their country). Therefore the transformative dividend of any dialogue is the establishment of a social contract for physical and political reconstruction. It is the social compass for a new political order based on the lessons learnt from the crisis.
Although a transformative dividend does not exclude or preclude further crisis, it nonetheless includes mitigating mechanisms that can contain (conflict management) or nip the crisis in the bud (conflict prevention). A man’s strength is recognised not by how he fell but by how he got up. This is also true for a nation. Because this crisis is man-made it must be man-managed. Lest we forget, conflict or crisis is not all destructive or negative. Constructive or creative conflict tends to draw attention to problems that should be addressed to achieve a sustainable peace.
We have already spent valuable time, vibrant resources and volatile rhetoric on the path of paired contradictory metaphors like repression and resilience, expression and suppression, universal rights and group advocacy, rule of law and private justice, combative communication and pedestrian propaganda, praise and protest literature, human rights violation and affirmative action, state authority and people power, hate speech and hard talk, emotional arson and erratic arrests, diatribes and dogma, threats and resistance, hoax and honesty, facade and fact and finally psychological fear and physical exile. It was time we moved on.
Rather than being frightened by the human fear that this crisis can lead our country into the abyss of cataclysm, I am inspired by divine faith that a meticulous conflict transformation approach can relaunch the country to the pinnacle of creative governance. But timely Action is of the essence. For like the Somali people say ‘some of what has been lost in the fire can still be retrieved in the ashes’.
*Mwalimu George Ngwane is author of the book “Settling Disputes in Africa” (2001); Senior Chevening Fellow, Conflict Prevention and Resolution, University of York (UK) 2010; Rotary Peace Fellow, University of Chulalongkorn, Bangkok (Thailand) 2015; Commonwealth Professional Fellow, Minority Rights Group, London (UK) 2015; Bilingual Commission scholar, Cardiff, Wales 2015; United Nations Minority Rights Fellow, OHCHR, Geneva (Switzerland) 2016. He is the Executive Director of the civil society organisation in Cameroon called AFRICAphonie.
Sources
- Awolowo, Obafemi, 1966, Thoughts on Nigerian Constitution, Ibadan, Oxford University Press
- Biya, Paul, 1987, Communal Liberalism, London, MACMILLAN Publishers
- Kokole, Omari, 1996, Ethnic Conflicts versus Development in Africa, London, Macmillan Press
- Kraybill, Ronald; Robert A. Evans and Alice Frazer Evans 2005, Peace Skills manual for community mediators. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
- Mandela, Nelson, 2011, Nelson Mandela by himself, Johannesburg, Pan Macmillan publishers
- Mbuyisa Sifiso, 2013, public participation as participatory conflict resolution, Durban, African Journal on Conflict Resolution, ACCORD
- Ngwane, George, 2001, Settling Disputes in Africa, (reprint) Colorado Spring, America, International Academic Publishers
- Nyerere, Julius, 1968, Nyerere, Freedom and Socialism, Dar es Salaam, Oxford University Press
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- Mwalimu George Ngwane
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Despite the call made by the Prime Minster Philemon Yang in Bamenda on Monday 6th March 2017, classes are yet to resume in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon.
His call seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Reports say that yesterday 7th march 2017 the supposedly reopening day, teachers were present in schools but not a single student was seen around.
This scenario has again casted a dark cloud on the path of Philemon Yang considering that this is not his first attempt.
It should be noted that this is the third time since November last that he is embarking on the same mission to the North West. He yesterday 7th march 2017 continued on his mission to Bui and Menchum Divisions of North West Region.
The question that comes to mind is: will schools resume effectively in the two Anglophone regions any time soon?
Of course the answer lies in how well the problem is handled by both the Government and other education stakeholders.
But one thing is sure. The present Anglophone behaviour seems to suggest that two wrongs don’t make a right; taking away their internet, militarization of Bamenda, arresting and abducting activists, will only make things worse.
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- Tawe Gije nkfunji
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Subcategories
Biya Article Count: 73
# Paul Biya and his regime
Explore the political landscape of Cameroon under the rule of Paul Biya, the longest-serving president in Africa who has been in power since 1982. Our Paul Biya and his regime section examines the policies, actions, and controversies of his government, as well as the opposition movements, civil society groups, and international actors that challenge or support his leadership. You'll also find profiles, interviews, and opinions on the key figures and events that shape the political dynamics of Cameroon.
Southern Cameroons Article Count: 549
.# Southern Cameroons, Ambazonia
Learn more about the history, culture, and politics of Ambazonia, the Anglophone regions of Cameroon that have been seeking self-determination and independence from the Francophone-dominated central government. Our Southern Cameroons section covers the ongoing conflict, the humanitarian crisis, the human rights violations, and the peace efforts in the region. You'll also find stories that highlight the rich and diverse heritage, traditions, and aspirations of the Southern Cameroonian people.
Editorial Article Count: 885
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