Talks collapse as lawyers walk out on gov’t
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| Barrister AgborBalla led lawyers out of the dialogue forum |
Yaounde: Rippling strikes in
English-speaking regions were maintained Wednesday after talks between the
government and Anglophone lawyers ended in a deadlock, even before the
substantive issues in dispute were examined.
Lawyers
walked out on the second day of talks after the government failed to give
“guarantees” on several pre-conditions for their participation, particularly
the “unconditional” release of dozens of youths arrested during protests in
Anglophone regions over the last month, a lawyers’ representative said.
“Nothing
has changed,” said AgborNkongho Felix Balla, the president of the Fako Lawyers’
Association and head of a consortium of Anglophone civil society organisations
now coordinating the strikes. “The government bench has not shown enough good
faith; so things are still where they have always been.”
It
was another setback to a government push to end three months of strikes and
protests which have left courts barely operational and disrupted the better
part of the first term of schools. Violence earlier this month left several
dead, dozens wounded and some properties destroyed. Security forces arrested
scores of people, most of them transferred to Yaounde.
On
Tuesday, teachers also walked out of similar talks in Bamenda, which were timed
ahead of a major speech by President Paul Biya at the weekend. Biya was
expected to address the problem for the first time in his end of year address
to the nation. Grievances range from the overbearing nature of French in
English-speaking parts of the country to specific requests on education and law
practices. Demands include a return to federalism and even the “total
independence” of the former British Southern Cameroons.
Lawyers
raised preliminary objections as soon as the special committee headed by the
Minister Delegate of Justice, Jean Pierre Fogue, began its deliberations on
Tuesday. Among other things, they called for the release of detainees, a change
of some committee members and the uplifting of a ban on several Anglophone
lawyers’ associations, before talks could start.
After
long deliberations, punctuated by several breaks, Fogue adjourned the meeting
late Tuesday to permit the government examine the lawyers’ objections. The
government side came back Wednesday morning with concessions that were
unsatisfactory, said Balla.
“They
promised to see into the release of the detained youths but gave no guarantees,”
Balla said, maintaining: “for us, the unconditional release of those youths is
non-negotiable and so we walked out.”
Lawyers
were coordinating with teachers through the consortium in apparent
counter-offense against the government’s decision to separate lawyers’ and
teachers’ grievances, which now orbit around the demand for federalism.
After
the double failures, attention was all turned to Biya’s Saturday speech, in
which he was expected to announce the government’s most official response to
the strikes and the current deadlock.
Striking
teachers and lawyers have rejected all measures that authorities have taken so
far, such as recruiting 1000 bilingual teachers and translating the business
law into English, as either too little too late or out rightly unrelated to
their grievances.
President Paul Biya had hoped to capitalise
on the outcome of the outreach of the government in the week. But he had to
deal with a more resolute and dug-in Anglophone community when he spoke to the
nation on Saturday.
Federalism,
which appears to be the biggest point of disagreement, was likely the most
anticipated subject to come out of the speech, a tradition during which the
head of state addressing the state of the nation before projecting into the new
year.
Before the speech, government officials had
spoken against federalism and had pressed for a “one and indivisible” Cameroon.
But none has yet to make a strong argument against the form of government,
which many Anglophones see as the best protection for their heritage.
Biya’s
tone and choice of words would be the principal indicators of how he feels
about the problem, when he speaks on Saturday. Meantime, teachers and lawyers
feel “the government bench is still maintaining bad faith.”
Reactions
Barrister Nkongh Felix AgborBalla,
President of “The Consortium”
The meeting has ended in a stalemate. This
is because we insisted that the children who were kidnapped in Bamenda, Kumba
and Buea and taken to Yaounde be released immediately and unconditionally. The
chairman of the Adhoc Committee said the government will look at the request in
the future but we insisted that if it is not done immediately then we cannot
continue the meeting. So that’s why we the common law lawyers had to walk out
of the meeting. The meeting has thus come to an end without addressing the
issues at stake. You recall that the teachers also raised this same preliminary
objection in Bamenda. We all know why and how the kids were arrested. It was a
political decision that informed the arrests, and the same politician who
ordered the arrests can still order their release. All of us the common law
lawyers were unanimous that if the kids are not released then there can be no
dialogue. We cannot sit in air conditioned rooms discussing, when our children,
some of them minors, are languishing in dungeons in Yaounde. As I am talking to
you now we have information that some of these kids are seriously ill and are
lying in the Kondengui prison dispensary. How can you engage in dialogue when
your children are dying in prison? The government should show some good faith
by reacting positively to our preliminary objections. This should be done if
they want us to come back to the table to discuss the substantive issues;
without that we cannot move forward. The request we are making is legal. We are
in a situation of law and politics. That the kids were arrested in Bamenda and
brought to Yaounde is illegal. Besides, it is a political decision that caused
their arrest. So let another political
decision release them.
The Criminal procedure code should be
respected
Eta Bisong Junior, former Bar President
We are in a country of law. The criminal
procedure code gives jurisdiction based on three conditions: The place of the
commission of the alleged offence; the place of the arrest and the place of
residence of the suspect. The people allegedly committed their crimes in
Bamenda; they were arrested in Bamenda and are resident in Bamenda. So what
gives jurisdiction to the court in Yaounde to try them? Their transfer to
Yaounde is contrary to the criminal procedure code. We must respect what the
law says. We are against illegal detention of persons.
We need to urgently seek common ground
Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, President of
Bar General Assembly
The first session of the Adhoc Committee
has ended in a stalemate and this is quite unfortunate. When I set out to come
to Yaounde I had in mind the sole mission to try and seek common ground and
lasting solutions to the stand-off. Unfortunately the government bench did not
immediately support the request for persons arrested during the uprisings to be
released. And this was the unanimous position of all the common law lawyers in
the meeting. But I still think we can forge ahead, especially if both parties
show good faith and see the need to make concessions. When parties in a
dialogue cannot make concessions then it means they have hidden agendas; and
this only blocks the way forward. This strike has dragged for too long, and its
consequences are already far reaching. It is time enough we sought common
ground and move ahead. You recall that before I joined the Adhoc Committee I
gave as pre-condition for my participation the co-opting of Barristers
AgborBalla and Eyambe from the Southwest. This was because I wanted a fair
representation in the Committee. And when the PM immediately heeded this
request I told myself this was evidence the government is out for frank and
serious dialogue. But this was not to be. What we had in Yaounde was a kind of
dialogue of the deaf. And this was very discomforting to me especially given my
capacity as an international peace crusader. You also recall that when the
strike was first called I took upon myself to hasten to Yaounde to urge the
Justice Minister to do something and fast too. And the minister immediately
ordered for the OHADA Law to be translated. This is what dialogue is all about.
Parties in dialogue must make concessions. I however hope that in the coming
days both sides will soften up so that we can sit together and resolve this
problem that is now threatening the peace that we have so jealously preserved
in our beloved country for several decades running.
Bad laws must bechallenged
Barrister NgalleMonono
All I have to say is that it is an unjust
law that makes for people to be arrested in one region and taken to another
region for trial. When did they ever arrest persons in Yaounde and carried them
to Buea or Bamenda to be tried. I maintain that it is a bad law and every bad
law must be challenged.
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