Fighter aircrafts bearing names of Ambazonian towns and cities that were flying the Yaoundé sky to celebrate Cameroon’s National Day may not have been the only kind gesture that the Biya regime extended to Southern Cameroonians to avoid embarrassment. They had also been used in attacks in Southern Cameroons to kill women and children.

By early evening on Sunday in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, it became clear that there will be a marked low attendance of the so-called National Day at the Bongo Square in Buea because of the Southern Cameroons boycott. Cameroon Intelligence Report sources say that it was at this juncture that the Biya  Francophone Beti Ewondo regime decided to bring in van loads of its military personnel from La Republique in an attempt to prove that Cameroon was indeed one and indivisible.

The US ambassador and several other western diplomats were present at the Yaoundé 20^th may Boulevard today. However, many more French Cameroun soldiers arrived in vans in both the Northern and Southern Zones of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to increase the number of people at the 20^th   May National Day celebration.

Some French Cameroun officials have however denied knowledge of any such development and pointed out that the number of guests from French Cameroun for the 20^th May National Day celebration in Ambazonia were high even in the previous years before Biya declared war against the people of Southern Cameroons. However, given the strong bond that the ruling CPDM government and some corrupt Southern Cameroons political elites enjoy, the possibility of Yaoundé trying to bail out it’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Chief Dr Dion Ngute and a cream of Southern Cameroons political elites to get out from yet another spot cannot be ruled out.

But irrespective of the French Cameroun Biya effort, participation at the 20^th May function in Southern Cameroons remained significantly low.

Today’s 20^th May celebration in Southern Cameroons was marred by intrusive behavior and harassment of the French Cameroun CPDM guests in every nook and crannies of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.  It was very clear that the boycott was sparked off by a call from the Ambazonia Vice President, Dabney Yerima’s decision to officially boycott the celebrations due to French Cameroun’s murderous attack throughout Southern Cameroons territory.

The unprecedented and over-zealous move by the Francophone governors of the South West and North West regions did not only target pro Yaoundé Southern Cameroonians during today’s 20^th May celebrations, subjecting them to intense  French Cameroun security scrutiny but also prevented most of the Ambazonian moderate invitees from entering the Buea or Bamenda 20^th May Boulevard.

The Cameroon National Day is officially celebrated on May 20th.While no senior elite from British Southern Cameroons were noticeable anywhere in the Northern and Southern Zone, the usually packed French Cameroun celebration that every year overflows with Francophone SDOs and DOs was an extremely low-key affair this Monday.

By Seseskou Asu Isong in London