The Cameroon government has since the formation in 1994 of Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC-a political pressure group, been harassing, molesting, arresting, prosecuting and allegedly persecuting members and sympathisers of this group.
President Paul Biya(pictured), who has ruled Cameroon for over 26 years and his regime describe the SCNC as “illegal and secessionist.”
But many pundits and human rights campaigners think the grievances of the SCNC are genuine, begging for corrective action
Last Monday over 25 more SCNC members were arrested by the Biya administration on claims that they were holding an illegal meeting and "threatening public order".
According to REUTERS, “The SCNC said the activists were arrested in Tiko, 50 km (30 miles) west of the southern city of Douala, where they went to support a colleague standing trial for holding an illegal meeting last October.
"The trial was adjourned and the leaders retired for a meal ... when they were surrounded by 14 (soldiers from) occupation forces and arrested," the group said in a press release.”
The SCNC is fighting, using “The Force of Argument, Not the Argument of Force” which is its motto, for the restoration of the independence of Southern Cameroons’- the portion of Cameroonian territory inhabited by English –Speaking citizens, commonly called Anglophones
In other words the SCNC, under the leadership of Chief Ayamba Otun(pictured below) is fightin
g against what they refer to as the gross marginalisation in appointments in top public offices and administration, army as well as in infrastructure development of the minority English-speaking Cameroonians by their majority French-speaking compatriots, called Francophones.In deed, Anglophones feel they are treated as a conquered people in Cameroon; that they are discriminated against in almost of facets of national life. They cry aloud that they are not given their fair share of the “national cake”. But the Biya regime seems to have been giving them a deaf ear.
Do you still believe in the SCNC cause? I asked Cameroonian- born Sam Ekontang Elad, a noted lawyer and pioneer SCNC chairman in an interview recently.
And after reflecting for a few seconds, he retorted, “Any one, who wants human rights, federalism, poverty eradication, democracy, and good governance, will continue believing in the SCNC cause. The cause is a genuine one! I think the validity of what the SCNC stands for remains very much alive”
Going by Lawyer Elad’s argument, one is forced to ask, “Why is Cameroon Government that claims to be an ardent advocate of human rights, democracy, poverty eradication and good governance, prosecuting and, to an extent, persecuting SCNC activists who are claiming to defend the same values like the Government? Why is the Cameroon Government procrastinating instead of attempting a lasting solution to the SCNC problem, which has been internationalised? Why is the Government undermining the strength of this pressure group which could throw the country some day into pieces? Why has the Cameroon government refused to dialogue with this pressure group, whose grievances are legitimate? Whose campaign against the Biya regime is only growing bigger and stronger?
SCNC is today a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) in The Hague and the attention of the United Nations Organisation, just like power wielders, has repeatedly been drawn to this sensitive problem, which many fear could one day turn into armed conflict, with horrible consequences.
On a visit to Cameroon while in office former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, advised the Cameroon government to dialogue with the group for the interest of peace, but the Cameroon government took it lightly.
Government officials claimed it was not right talking with an illegal group, thereby neglecting a potentially explosive problem
SCNC officials maintain that the Southern Cameroon’s question is a problem of international law. They recall that Southern Cameroon was a League of Nations mandated territory from 1922 to 1945 and a United Nation Trust Territory from 1945 to 1961.Thus, Southern Cameroons acquired international personality
Southern Cameroon is today the Northwest and Southwest provinces of Cameroon, the only two English-speaking provinces of this Central African country. Cameroon, a ten-province and bilingual country (French and English as official languages), has a population of about 18 million people .The two English provinces have an estimated population of about five million and very rich in natural and human resources.
Cameroon was a German colony but when Germany lost the First World War, it also lost sovereignty over its African colonies which included Cameroon. Cameroon then became a mandated territory under the League of Nations.
“By this arrangement, Cameroon was divided between Britain and France. The Eastern part of the country went to France while the Western part went to Britain. The latter further divided its own territory into two, North and South, ostensibly, for administrative convenience and the northern part, known as Northern Cameroon, was administered as part of Northern Nigeria while Southern Cameroon was administered as part of Eastern Nigeria.”, said Albert Samba Ngwana, political author and chairman of Cardinal Democratic Party,CDP, of Cameroon
It was on 11 February 1961 that Southern Cameroonians voted massively in a UN-supervised plebiscite to become independent by joining the Republic of Cameroon, which had earlier gained independence on January 1, 1960 from France. Southern Cameroons became independent on October 1, 1961 from the British.
The reunification of Southern Cameron and Republic of Cameroon on October 1, 1961 led to the establishment of the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In fact, it was from October 1, 1961 that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Cameroon became effective. The Federal Republic of Cameroon consisted of the two independent states-West Cameroon (former Southern Cameroon) and East Cameroon (former Republic of Cameroon).The federation lasted only for eleven years (1961 to 1972).
On May 20, 1972 a referendum was conducted and 99.9% of voters favoured the United Republic of Cameroon because President Amadou Ahidjo had argued strongly that, running a federal system was too expensive.
The unitary republic lasted for twelve years and on January 25, 1984 the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment replacing United Republic of Cameroon with Republic of Cameroon
Before Paul Biya became the second president of Cameroon in November 1982, Anglophones felt cheated and marginalised in the Union, but when Paul Biya assumed office he promised to truly democratise ,and modernise the country and to give all Cameroonians equal opportunities based on competence and merits. Anglophones especially were hopeful. But with the passing of time, their hopes for equal opportunities continue to be dashed, making some of them feel that “secession” could now be the only answer to their worries, thus the formation of SCNC.
Had Paul Biya, a lawyer and political scientist, since considered the worries of Anglophones and started redressing them, or at least met with its leaders to discuss what is today called the Anglophone problem, SCNC might not have emerged? Even with the formation of SCNC if Mr Biya took corrective action in response to their worries, SCNC might have died, naturally.
But the Cameroonian president appears to have adopted a wait-and -see attitude towards the problem, yet claiming that the SCNC is a threat to national unity and peace.
In conclusion, one can say Mr Biya‘s failure to react positively to Anglophones’ worries has given teeth to the SCNC and helped to popularise its cause.
What will Mr. Biya tell the world if the SCNC becomes an armed group, now that it has a government outside Cameroon and branches in many countries?
NB: Article first published by a Canadian- based site MWC News www.mwcnews.net/content/view/28872/26/
No comments:
Post a Comment