Cameroon Intelligence Report has been reliably informed that the Chairman of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, Barrister Agbor Balla and the Secretary General Dr. Fontem Neba are currently being moved to Yaounde in a military vehicle. Both leaders were arrested some few hours ago in the Southern Cameroons province of Buea.
Some senior political commentators have accused the Paul Biya-led One Cameroon regime of toying with the nation’s unity and future. Their comments were made public earlier today when state radio and television announced a ministerial order from the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization banning the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and the Southern Cameroons National Council.
The decision by Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi came after a declaration by the chairman of the so-called Ad Hoc Committee; Ghogomu Mingo Paul that the new generation of Anglophone leaders have unanimously resolved to resist any further dialogue with the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government.
Ghogomu Paul ignored claims by the Anglophone Consortium that the Yaounde regime was gambling with Cameroon’s future by continuing to maliciously deploy the military in the Southern Cameroons region and implementing sinister divide and rule tactics against Anglophone’s key actors.
The Minister Rene Sadi’s order has shut the door to the advice that was given to President Biya to personally and visibly head a holistic solution-seeking strategy that will prove his commitment to a robustly sustainable peace with British Southern Cameroonians.
Our chief political correspondent in Yaoundé opined that for there to be true unity, stability and progress in the country, President Biya should engage the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium with new faces who are not going to be wasting time establishing so-called Ad Hoc Committees that will not resolve pertinent issues .
At the time of filing this report, the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society had not reacted to the ministerial order published by the Yaounde regime.
By Chi Prudence Asong
An anti-Francophone rebellion is brewing in Southern Cameroons, where the embattled government of the 83 year-old Paul Biya continues to bring in new anti Anglophone measures and militarizing the English regions of the country. Now, even elected local officials are joining the fray in a seemingly random but increasingly prevalent wave of civil disobedience in West Cameroon.
Working under the direct supervision of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and on the theory of strength in numbers, the Anglophone teachers and lawyers have paralyzed business and academic activities in British Southern Cameroons. Southern Cameroons have observed a successful civil disobedience campaign for three days and there are speculations that the Consortium intends to step up the fight against Anglophone marginalization.
Furious at the success of the ghost town operations, the chairman of the so-called Ad Hoc Committee announced late yesterday that dialogue with the Anglophone leaders has come to an end. Prof. Ghogomu Mingo Paul in his statement launched a scathing attack on members of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society.
Anglophone lawyers, teachers’ trade unions and campaigners have tried to get the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government to implement a two state federation that will guarantee political and economic freedom to West Cameroonians. However, the regime in Yaounde has remained defiant and is reportedly planning to suspend thousands of Anglophone civil servants while maintaining a huge military presence in the English regions.
State buildings are empty ever since Monday the 16th of January 2017 and municipalities have stalled in ordering strikers back to work. The Southern Cameroon strikes are becoming so frequent that everyone from council workers to motor taxis, medical doctors to buy’am sell’am, has walked off the job at some point. Ghost town operations today were again successful following an appeal from the Consortium that West Cameroonians should remain calm and discipline.
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Last week, the Consortium called for a Ghost Town to protest against the continuous militarization of our towns, police provocation and brutality – shooting and arrest of citizens – even as the negotiations were going on. This call has been respected throughout the NW and SW Regions. West Cameroonians are a peaceful people and must remain so.
However, some pictures of people exacting violence on school children in Limbe have shocked the Consortium. These pictures remind us of what happened in Bamenda a month ago. Let it be clear that the Consortium unreservedly condemns violence in all its forms and aspires to a society where respect for human personality and property will reign supreme. We strongly urge all our people to remain decent, and to show greater self-discipline. We must undo violence from our cultural make up, and beware of infiltrations and people who are sent to incite violence so as to justify a crackdown. Nevertheless, we encourage parents to keep their children at home when there is a call to strike.
We call on Government to clear our streets of all armed uniform men. We also demand that all those arrested, abducted or kidnapped in Bamenda, Mutengene, Buea, Kumba and Mamfe, including teachers who expressed strong views about the current situation of the country should be released forthwith.
Fellow Citizens,
Concerning the work the Teachers’ Union did in the Teachers’ Ad hoc Committee, we expect them to present it to the public and educate the masses about its contents before an agreement is finalized. We are consulting with them and will ensure that the outcome is satisfactory to our people.
We therefore decry all attempts by the Chairperson of that Committee to manipulate the process and to exacerbate tensions at a time when everyone is looking forward to a sustainable solution. In the same vein, we urge the community – parents, students and other stakeholders – to be patient and wait for the Teachers’ Unions to suspend the strike when the process has come to a logical end. But this can only be after the community has been properly informed about the resolutions arrived at, and guarantees provided that past abuses will not be repeated.
Our hope for this beautiful country is that we and our brothers East of the Mungo can cohabit peacefully, and that every child will have equal opportunity to rise to greatness through hard work. We pray for a country where our origin will no longer limit us.
God is our strength.
For the CONSORTIUM
Barr. Nkongho Felix A. Dr. Fontem A. Neba
The inhabitants of Mamfe today January 16th 2017 defied all odds and stayed at home obeying the call from their leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium to observe a ghost town all over Southern Cameroons.
Shops, offices, markets all remained closed throughout the day. Motor taxis and other transporters deserted the roads. This situation will continue tomorrow as the people of Manyu Division have resolved that decision making in West Cameroon is now in the hands of the Consortium. All schools in the entire Manyu are currently closed.
It is vital to include in this report that the Mamfe population registered their anger and frustration against Mayor Ayuk Takunchong who earlier attempted to disrespect constituted authority designated in Mamfe by members of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society. The mayor himself had been a victim of Francophone marginalization when he was refused the opportunity to play with the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon for lack of mastery of the French language.
By Bruno Difand Tarh in Mamfe
Ntarikon youths took advantage of the civil disobedience campaign orchestrated by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and transformed the main motor way in the neighborhood into a playground. The young people organized a football encounter on the road linking Ntarikon to Nchuabuh in Bamenda. The ghost town operation which was widely observed throughout West Cameroon will continue tomorrow Tuesday the 17th of January 2017.
In areas in the Bamenda metropolis such as T-Junction, City Chemist, Mobil Nkwen and Meta Quarters, places were quiet as pedestrians walked to their different destinations with the absence of usual taxis or commercial motor bikes. Business activities were also grounded as the major shopping centers remained closed. The banking sector and its very active money transfer services were also shut down. Francophone security agents have been stationed in all the four cardinals’ points of the city of Bamenda.
The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium is expected to issue a statement late on Tuesday which will include an evaluation of the two-day civil disobedience campaign and the work done so far by the lawyers drafting the new constitution that will give birth to a new Southern Cameroons state.
Sama Ernest with files from CIN
The people of West Cameroon are protesting against unprecedented attacks by troops from the French speaking part of country. It what has been described as the second round of a massive civil disobedience campaign, all major towns and cities in the Anglophone section of Cameroon have been shut down following orders from the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.
Our cream of reporters in the South West and North West regions have all observed that “Everything is dead,” while describing life in Southern Cameroons. Furthermore, they added that the Francophone regime in Yaoundé has militarized the entire Anglophone territory. The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium launched a civil disobedience campaign which is now been supported by pro Francophone groups such the South West Elites Association, the South West Chiefs Conference and the Cameroon Anglophone Bishops Conference.
Nevertheless, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government has responded by massive killings and arrest of more than a dozen West Cameroonians and shutting down local media houses. Neighborhoods across the capitals of the North West and South West regions and other towns are said to be quiet as West Cameroonians have boycotted shops and schools. The success of the first ghost town operation of Monday the 9th of January 2017 greatly motivated British Southern Cameroonians to participate in further steps against Paul Biya’s tyrannical genocidal regime that has ruined the country and impoverished and killed its citizens.
The authority of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium in West Cameroon is shown by refusal of the West Cameroon public to listen to the calls from its political elites serving the Francophone regime. Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that Smart mobile phone has been the game changer by using social media of twitter, face book, viber, WhatsApp for the anonymous youth to make the ghost town a success.
The West Cameroon ghost town operation has many faces and multiple means of configuration and persuasion and implementation. The leaders of the Consortium recently pointed out that it includes:
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Sama Ernest, Sonne Peter
Fellow West Cameroonians,
One of the weapons most adapted to Government’s quest to keep us permanently Subjugated has been “divide and rule”. For years, this was used very skillfully to Sharpen ethnic divisions within the SW Region as well as between the SW and NW Regions. The consequence was the exclusion of our people from political appointment (only inconsequential positions in government are given to us), the francophonization of local administration (almost all our governors and DOs are French-speaking), Etc. The use of force in administration was entrenched as a way of life. Today, gendarmes and police are everywhere on our streets, in the villages forcing our people to march; in short, our lives have been militarized as you can see everywhere today.
For years, our own brothers and sisters contributed to this situation with the kind of tribal or regional politics they played. They fuelled the hatred of the other and fought each other over positions which did not matter one bit. In parliament, they failed to present our plight and even clapped when the bill being passed was clearly anti-us.
My brothers and sisters,
Why has this become our preoccupation in the Consortium? We have noted with shock, an increase in hate speech among our academic and political elite. They castigate our very effort to bring justice to our people hoping that it could fetch them a promotion or an appointment. The number of nocturnal tribal meetings is on the increase, because some of our politicians think that the continuation of the ‘people’s
strike’ might jeopardize their political chances. The strike to them, means freeing ourselves from the vicious grip of this government which has used our political elite like ‘hand cuffs’. Yesterday, we all saw how the hatred some of our elite expressed in the social media resulted in an arson attack on Dr. Fontem Neba’s car. We strongly condemn such violence and are surprised that the government has not said a word about this shameful incident. As a community, we condemn all our brothers and sisters who toy with our destiny and think that they are justified in sowing division among us or spreading hatred.
CAMEROON ANGLOPHONE CIVIL SOCIETY CONSORTIUM
Propose policy alternatives to improve on the lives of the people
Commission studies to collect and analyze data on the problems identified
Identify problems affecting the existence of Anglophone People in Cameroon
Educate, advocate, mediate, advise and speak for Anglophones rights in Cameroon
Source for award/grants and scholarships to determine and influence policy orientation
Our social movement is a peaceful one, but all we have experienced is shootings, killings, arrests and now destruction of property. The Consortium holds Government responsible for this attack and demands that Government investigate the arson attack on Dr. Fontem and punish all those behind it immediately. The Consortium holds Government responsible for such attacks since they have failed to control their partisans and demands full reparation for such damage.
Fellow West Cameroonians,
Our unity, especially in such trying moments, is precious to us. If we have been able to ask the oppressor for accountability, it is because for once, we have united with each other. We must not allow the selfish ones among us to destroy our quest for a better life. Tribalism and narrow mindedness help to keep our people in bondage and we say NO to that.
We thank all West Cameroonians for remaining very peaceful and resisting all forms of provocation. Let it be clear, we must not break our unity; it is a strong weapon against oppression. Anyone propagating tribalism at this time of the struggle is an enemy of our people – shun him.
God is our strength.
17 elderly people including 5 women were slaughtered at the end of last week in Gnam-Gnam, a village about a dozen kilometers from the tourist town of Waza in the department of Logone-et-Chari , in the Far North region by militants of the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram.
Their bodies were discovered in decomposition, in a bush with the heads of the victims sliced and meticulously placed on the chest or beside certain body parts as if Boko Haram wanted to send us a message and a challenge, “says a Cameroonian military source.
The attackers would have entered the village in retaliation, against the population they suspect of collaborating with the security forces that track them, continues our source. We also gathered that some robust men were kidnapped to be enrolled in the ranks of the sect.
A few days before the attack, the members of the sect had given instructions that forbade the populations to collaborate with Cameroonian authorities and the security forces. This attack by Boko Haram comes at a time when 33 members of the Nigerian Islamist sect, who allegedly became a member of the Islamic State, were released from a Maroua prison.
Culled from Cameroon Concord News
SWELA Secretary General’s consultation with some senior South West opinion leaders:
Concerned about the present strikes by Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers in our Country;
Aware of the sacrifices that the members of the Education Community and Lawyers in the North West and South West Regions are making;
Cognizant of the short term, mid-term and long term gains these sacrifices shall bring to our Educational and Legal System;
Sensitive to the overtures made by the Head of State in his end of year speech with focus on frank dialogue and the imminent creation of a National Entity that shall discuss reforms related to our bi-cultural co-existence;
The under mentioned Opinion Leaders from the South West Region meeting in Buea on 8th January 2017 resolved as follows:
Done in Buea this 8th day of the Lord 2017.
