Anglophone Crisis: Barrister Ben Muna says CPDM negotiators were extremely lacking in political finese
Barrister Ben Muna, former deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has made a mockery of the members of government sent by President Biya to negotiate with the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. Ben Muna opined that the government officials were extremely lacking in political finesse.
The much respected man of law was guest on the TV show “Entretien on STV broadcasted on the 20th of April 2017. The former President of the Bar Association of Cameroon and leader of the Alliance of Progressive Forces revealed that talks between the Consortium and the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime ended in fiasco that should be attributed to the envoys of the government.
“My feeling is that those members of government did not master the art of negotiation. When you negotiate you have to wait for all the requests. You do not always have to say, “I have the power, I will do this or that.” These officials came with something in mind. They came to impose. It’s a bit annoying.”
Ben Muna further pointed out that the Consortium and the Yaoundé authorities decided to negotiate because both sides did not want the crisis to degenerate into violence. He said he believed that the two sides had agreed on certain points. For him, “it is clear that if we negotiated this meant that the basis was political. Now, we find ourselves before a state court “.
Bernard Muna welcomed the steps taken by the 84 year old dictator Paul Biya which to him are in line with genuine attempts at resolving the crisis. Commenting on the interrogation of his brother Barrister Akéré Muna in connection with the Anglophone crisis, Ben Muna denied rumor circulating that his national identity card has been retained. He added that neither he nor Akéré are above Cameroonian laws.
By Eyong Johnson
Cameroon Intelligence Report