Diplomats Urge Biya to Dialogue with Separatists

The Diplomatic community in Yaounde has urged President PAUL Biya to dialogue with separatist leaders as a means towards resolving the Anglophone conflict. Speaking through the voice of the dean of the diplomatic corps here, Gabonese Ambassador, H.E Paul Patrick Biffot, the diplomats said only a genuine, inclusive dialogue can produce a panacea to the raging conflict.

                Paul Biffot was speaking at a ceremony for the diplomatic and national constituted corps to present New Year wishes to President Biya, at the Unity Palace in Yaounde.

                “Open, inclusive dialogue and dedicated role of the civil society and the implementation of the recommendations of the Bilingualism Commission will be, in our view, an important element of such a process,” Biffot maintained.

                He praised President Biya for instructing the liberation of 289 Anglophones that were arrested and detained in connection to the crisis and saluted the Presidents manifest goodwill in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis and to accelerate the decentralization process.

                But the diplomat said that “more still need be done” to down the tension in the two crisis-ridden regions of Cameroon.

                “We take this opportunity to plead for the improved access of humanitarian actors to the NW and SW regions. We stand ready to accompany your country to achieve lasting stability and peace and to support the reforms you wish to implement,” Biffot said.

                Intriguingly, President Biya did not respond to the suggestions of the diplomatic community in his address at the ceremony. The President also did not as much as mention the crisis in the Anglophone regions. He rather dwelled on issues of international cooperation, especially on his resolve to strengthen economic cooperation ties with countries of the East like China and South Korea.

                However, in his state-of-the-nation address on 31 December 2018, the President had talked extensively on the Anglophone crisis. He re-echoed various measures taken by the government as answers to the grievances of the Anglophones. Added to these, the President said he had created the disarmament and reinsertion commission to assist war-mongers to drop their weapons and return to normal life. He said failure of the fighters to heed the call to disarm they will simply be “neutralized”. 

Since November 2017, separatist activists have taken up arms and are fighting against government forces. They claim they are fighting for the restoration of the statehood of former Southern Cameroon’s which they now call Ambazonia.