Interview

Agbor Balla on RFI:

-Ambazonia Independence was precipitated, ill-timed

 -Biya created the Anglophone problem, he cannot be part of the solution

The President of the defunct Consortium of Anglophone Civil Societies, Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla, who is also the President of the Fako Lawyers Association , FAKLA and Founder/CEO of Buea-based Centre For Human Rights And Democracy in Africa, has said that the Biya regime created the Anglophone crisis, and they are incapable to find solutions to the problem. Balla says about 1000 Anglophones have been jailed since the unset of the crisis and that more and more civilians and soldiers are being killed on a daily basis as the crisis escalates. He says from every indication the Biya regime is at a loss of solutions to the crisis and only a new regime will hopefully solve the problem. The widely travelled and free-talking Vice President of the African Bar Association in charge of Central Africa, who spent eight months in jail because of his role in organizing and coordinating Anglophone protests, was guest last week, on Radio France International, RFI’s program, ‘Spotlight on Africa’. The following are excerpts of the exchange.

**Welcome Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla. What’s the latest on the jailed Anglophone leaders that were extradited from Nigeria?

Human Rights Lawyer And President of the outlawed Consortium of Anglophone Civil Societies,
Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla, said it all on RFI

--The latest is that there is no latest in the sense that we don’t have any information. So far, nobody has seen them; nobody has spoken to them be it their lawyers or their families. I have been there twice with a couple of lawyers and we were not allowed to see them.

**Aside the leaders transferred from Nigeria, do you know how many Anglophones in total are currently in custody?

--There are close to 1000 detained between two maximum security prisons in Yaounde- The Kondengui Principal Prison where I spent eight months and the Kondengui Central Prison where Bibixy Mancho, Pen Terrence and others are being kept. There are others detained at the Gendarmerie Headquarters, SED, in Yaounde. Others are at the Judicial Police Headquarters in Yaounde. Then there are about 409 in the Central Prison in Buea, SW region. Others are scattered in the Bamenda Central Prison and in other prisons in the country. These are just the ones we can identify. Some have already been tried and sentenced to various prison terms. Pen Terrence for example was given 12 years, while others had 11 years. Mancho Bibixy and Tsi Conrad were found guilty of terrorism, secession and group rebellion. Their matter has been a adjourned to the 24 of May when hopefully the verdict will be pronounced.

**Why do you think you were released from Jail last Year?

--To be sincere and honest with you, we don’t really know which criteria were used to release myself, Dr. Fontem, Justice Ayah Paul and about 51 others.

**Do you support the violence carried out by some separatist groups? They say they are defending the people against crimes carried out by the Cameroonian security forces.

--It’s a very tricky one for me. I believe in self-defense; I believe in the right for people to protect themselves and for people to protect their people. I think the right to self-defense is a fundamental right. But I don’t agree when you go beyond self-defense and you start doing things which are out of the law. That is where I have a problem with the ongoing violence. I think the whole issue of self-defense also stems from the fact that most of the people I have spoken to and who advocate an armed struggle justify their position by saying that the government arrests and kidnaps people arbitrarily and takes them to Yaounde to be detained and tried. Maybe these guys are trying to protect the people against these arbitrary actions of the government. So it is quite a tricky balance; people fighting in self-defense and committing offences at thesame time.

**The violence is quite close to your home. In fact your family house in Mamfe was attacked. How did this make you feel?

--I felt a bit sad and disappointed because I believe that for most of my adulthood I have in one way or the other contributed or fought for our people. I did not start the struggle in 2015 as most people are wont to believe. Maybe I came to the limelight only in 2015/2016. But I have been in the struggle all along, since the days of the All Anglophone Conferences when I was a young boy. So for me who went to jail because of the struggle and having my dad buried whilst I am in jail, to have our family house burnt, I don’t think it was fair. But it is not the majority of the people and that’s why I am not very worried. I believe that in any struggle you have people who disagree with you. You will always have people who do not reason or think like you do. But I caution violence, and I keep telling whoever cares to listen that we can disagree without being disagreeable. True, we have a common goal to fight; to fight for the right to self determination of our people. But we must understand that not everybody will think like you.

**You talked about divergent views there. But the Anglophone movement has somewhat splintered into a number of different groups. Isn’t it important to try to reconcile these groups?

---It is very important for us as a people to try as much as possible not to be seen as fighting each other, even if we don’t talk with one voice. There are times when the leaders of some groupings spend a lot of time criticizing and attacking one another rather than focusing on the set target which is fighting for the self-determination of the people. If I had my way, I would advice, I would urge, I would organize with the other leaders and get them to see the need to have an Anglophone Leaders’ Forum where the leaders can sit and dialogue and try to agree on those things that are in the common interest.

**Was the self-declaration of the state of Ambazonia a bad idea?

--I think the timing was not appropriate. It was a little precipitated; not enough groundwork had been done. But I was not involved and perhaps they had information that I

did not have.

**You are saying it is a bad idea, aren’t you?

--Not that it was a bad or a good idea because I don’t have the facts that they have. I don’t know the background under which they decided to declare independence. But giving the situation on the ground, declaring independence doesn’t change anything. If the independence is granted, how can you effectively protect it? How can you effectively live as an independent state? What are the recognitions you have from other states? So its not just about declaring the independence.

**What role has France and the UK played since the start of the crisis?

--I think they are doing behind-the-scenes diplomacy. I have met a couple of French and British diplomats and officials and personally I think that they could do more; they could engage both parties to try to see how they can find a solution or how we can get a truce to the conflicts. They may also try to address the problems that the Anglophones have been raising. I think it is very important for us to look into these problems and try to find a long lasting solution. The British and the French are at the root cause of the problem. In fact they are responsible for the problem and I think it behooves them to engage in finding a solution to the problem. They cannot just stay aloof and pretend that it is an independent state and they cannot intervene.  When do they want to intervene? When there is a peace-keeping mission? I don’t think that is proper. I think the right time for them to come in is now. It is true I appreciate what they are already doing but I urge them to engage the government and the other groupings to try to see how we can find a solution because the current situation on the ground is not helping anybody, be it the government or the Anglophones. So the earlier we find a solution that guarantees peace and living together in harmony as we used to live prior to the uprising the better for everyone. We need genuine peace, genuine justice, genuine harmony and not the kind of justice where one group feels they are second class citizens. We want a society of equality and fairness for everyone irrespective of where you come from.

**Could change for the Anglophones come through the ballot box? Do you think with the forthcoming elections something could change?

--There are divergent opinions. Some think that an election could help the situation. But I must say it is difficult o defeat the current regime in an election. They control just everything – the elections management body, Elecam and the constitutional council that proclaims the results. They also control the state coffers and other state resources and they use it to their advantage. And you may want to know that the election process from registration, access of candidates to media, voting, vote counting in fact the entire process can hardly be free and fair. I wish there was a possibility for all the candidates vying for the presidency to come together and identify a veritable candidate to challenge incumbent president Biya. It is only by so doing that they can give the ruling party a run for its money. When you talk to some of them you don’t have the feeling that they would come together.

**So the elections for you are irrelevant?

--I think they would not help the situation. Going for an election when part of the country is in a situation of war may not be the best solution for now. I think we should first address the issues. And these problems were created by the current President. And I don’t think he has the capacity and the capability to solve the problem. So he continuing in power this problem will not be solved. I think the problem will only be solved when he leaves power.

**Thank you for joining us on RFI

--The pleasure was mine