Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society
consortium
We share President Biya’s statement that
Cameroon is one and indivisible
Fellow brothers and sisters,
We, the people of West Cameroon, have
listened to the President’s address with keen interest. We are very
disappointed that given what is currently happening in West Cameroon, the
speech has once again only been delivered in French, as it has been for the
last 34 years, to the disadvantage of most people in English speaking Cameroon.
The President’s speech has completely
misjudged the situation for West Cameroonians whose education, culture,
language and economic aspirations have been severely undermined over a period
of 55 years. The people are thus very determined to secure their Anglo-Saxon
heritage and aspirations as we enshrined in the constitution of 1961.
The speech calls for honest dialogue which
we share, thereby recognizing the dishonest approach of government’s previous
efforts. Therefore, we cannot determine whether or not negotiations will
provide any lasting solutions unless the governments manifest good faith.
We
share the President’s emphatic statement that Cameroon remains One and
indivisible. However, this does not mean that the people of West Cameroon
should give up their rights to self determination, social and economic
aspirations as was intended in the federated agreement of West Cameroon of
1961. We fear that the current trends could totally undermine those
aspirations, something we do not wish to see.
What
is happening in English speaking West Cameroon is a grassroots movement for the
restoration of the values that West Cameroon inherited at independence such as
the democratic shield and Common Law, which appear to have been severely undermined.
It is natural that in a peaceful protest, there are bound to be people
especially from forces who might even be misguidedly acting on behalf of the
government.
What
we have seen in some of our towns like Buea, Kumba and Bamenda is blatant
disregard of fundamental Human Rights which have been watched with horror both
at home and abroad, thanks to the exposure of social media all around the
modern world.
We
strongly urge the President to investigate and prosecute those who have
facilitated or perpetrated these killings, rape and torture of English speaking
West Cameroonians.
To
dismiss these fundamental aspirations of the people of West Cameroon as
‘hooligans being manipulated’ suggests that President has either been misled or
misinformed about the truth of the actual situation.
We
would like the President to look outside his immediate circle as there is
evidence of serious misinformation and misrepresentations from his own
ministers.
We
wish the people of Cameroon a happy New Year 2017 and whilst we cannot call off
strike actions planned for 2017 at the current time, we look forward to
substantive discussions early in the New Year to hammer out a lasting
settlement for West Cameroon that will retain the integrity of a federal
republic – an aspiration that we share with the President.
Barr.Nkongho Felix AgborBalla
President – CONSORTIUM
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