*Dr.Amos Namanga Ngongi is former Head of UN Peace-keeping in DRC.
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| Dr. Amos Namanga Ngongi |
The
Head of UN Peacekeeping Mission in the crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), from 2001-2003, Dr.
Amos Namanga Ngongi, has commended the convening of a national dialogue
intended to resolve the three-year old Anglophone crisis in Cameroon.
But
the erstwhile UN undersecretary-general, now on retirement and based in Buea,
strongly recommends that a political commission on “How to end the war” could
be included on the agenda of the national dialogue. He quips,” Ideally, to have a good atmosphere for
dialogue, you should first have a ceasefire”
Dr.Ngongi
voiced out his views, Thursday 26 September, in an exclusive interview with The Horizon’s Contributing Editor
Christopher Ambe, in Buea.
In a previous
interview with me last year on the Anglophone crisis, you said “it is a serious
but not impossible problem to resolve”. President Biya has convened a national
dialogue on the crisis, are you optimistic that crisis will be laid to rest?
Well, as a Cameroonian I
should be optimistic that by bringing hundreds of delegates together they will
be able to work out a solution that will permit us live in peace and carry on
our normal activities, and hopefully engage in the real development of our
country.
There may be some
stumbling blocks but the essence is that President Biya had convened a
dialogue. There are differences of opinion on the modalities-whether they are
the most appropriate. The essence is that, there is now an opportunity for
Cameroonians to meet round the table and discuss issues that were taboo just a
few months ago.
It is important to have a
good process but it is more important to have discussions that are open,
transparent and lead to some mutually acceptable conclusions.
And do you
foresee this happening, conscious that one of the warring factions, the
separatists- are unwilling to come citing no- guarantee to their security and
preferring but a neutral country for dialogue?
Well, the issue of the
separatists is serious. All the groups invited for the dialogue in the
President’s speech represent a wide section of opinion in the country. But the
real problem is the shooting war between the separatists and government forces
and suffering that has imposed on the population.
So, everything should be
done to have the separatists participate in the dialogue. I hope when the
delegates meet they will be able to find a solution to that thorny issue.
During the five-day dialogue there could be a solution to that seeming
blockage, because if they don’t have the separatists to discuss why they are
combatting the regular forces and what needs to be done for them to stop the
combat, then the dialogue will not be
able to touch the essence of the problem.
I do hope that during the
opening of the dialogue, some delegates would suggest, and may be the rest
would agree that they find modalities that will permit the separatist take part
in the dialogue. This is a critical moment in the history of our country. It
should not be let to slip by.
Many critical
thinkers hold that it is more important for a ceasefire to be called before
dialogue or negotiations go on. But we know that President Biya hasn’t yet
called for a ceasefire. What is your take on this?
May be we
should not focus too much on the process. It would be really good to have a
ceasefire so that there is openness for the participation of everybody. Not
only a ceasefire but also guarantees of safe passage for potential delegates in
the Diaspora. I hope that thedelegations that have gone to consult with the
Diaspora will convince them that when they come for the dialogue their
securitywill be guaranteed.
But there are
many ways of meeting people to converse with them. It may be that there is no
open ceasefire; it may be note of good conduct or something like that which
permits you to travel without being harassed, getting to the venue of the
dialogue and if necessary, get back to the place where you came from.
Ideally, to
have a good atmosphere for the dialogue, you should first have a ceasefire. You
can even have a temporary ceasefire- called a truce. You can have a truce for
five days before, five days after for these activists to there and back.
If in the
course of the dialogue a permanent ceasefire is made that is even much better.
You were Head of
the UN peacekeeping in the crisis-stricken Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
from 2001 to2003. You should have quite some expertise in crisis management.
Have you been invited to be one of the delegates for the national Dialogue?
As of now, I have not
received an invitation. That is not a problem. I guess there are people
participating in the dialogue who have equivalent or more crisis management
experience. So, it cannot be the monopoly of one person. I have had
opportunities to convey my opinions on national dialogue at various venues and
I have also communicated my opinions in writing. It is not absolutely necessary
that I should be physically present at the dialogue but it would be nice.
Government has
proposed eight themes for the dialogue:bilingualism,culturaldiversity,education,justice,reconstruction and
development, decentralization and local governance;demobilization,disarmament and
reintergration,and Diaspora. You are quite knowledgeable about the Anglophone
problem. Do you think discussing these themes will actually resolve the
Anglophone crisis?
From what you just listed
I did not hear anything about ending the shooting war. It is assumed that by
discussing all the other elements the armed conflict will come to an end. But,
it would be nice if a “How to end the war” is put on the agenda. This could be
handled by a "Political Commission". It could also be discussed in
plenary. Thousands of people have died; hundreds of thousand have been
displaced (IDPs and refugees); economic activities have come to a standstill;
to discuss economic revival when the conditions that caused the economy to be
destabilized are not directly addressed will be a bit difficult; disarmament
and demobilization should come after hostilities have ended. It would be nice
to bring up a specific issue on how to end the war as a political discussion during
the dialogue.
Do you think
there is need for a third party in resolving the problem between the
separatists and the government?
We are trying to find
ideal situations now. The dialogue has been called .In the course of the
dialogue, delegates could suggest, if there is an impasse, that a facilitator
or mediator, someone who will work to allay the fears of both side and get them
to sit around the table. A mediator would be required if the formal delegates
see the need to be in direct contact with the separatists but find it is
difficult to get them to participate. The facilitator or mediator is not a
magician; he/she cannot solve the problem; it is the parties in conflict that
resolve their problems…by discussing their problems over one or two weeks, or
whatever period and then they feel comfortable with each other to be able to
say “Ok, I am not 100% satisfied but I think you and I have agreed to live
together under the conditions we have arrived at.”
If you only hold on the
fact that you have the final solution, then that is a difficulty.
As a crisis management expert,
what advice do you have for the 400 or so delegates to the national dialogue?
My advice is that everybody going to the
dialogue should have the highest level of expectations; at the same time they
should have expectations that if satisfied they can live with; everybody cannot
have their highest level of expectations met; each delegate or group of
delegates should agree that this is what we want ultimately-if we have that it
is halleluiah, we are 100% satisfied; they should also have the minimum level
that if they get it, they’d say “well, it was successful”. Anything above the
minimum is cause for celebration; if they go there and everybody is holding
very tightly on to their maximum demands, then we will never have a successful
dialogue. Unfortunately, the time
leading to the dialogue is quite short but delegates should go to the dialogue
with open minds and lots of goodwill.
[This interview is also published in The Horizon Newspaper, Cameroon ,of September 30,2019 ]
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