Interim Government Statement on the Leadership Retreat in Toronto, Canada

Fellow Southern Cameroonians/ Ambazonians,

A Retreat of leaders and other stakeholders of the Southern Cameroons liberation quest, facilitated by the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations (CDN), took place from October 30th to November 1st, 2021, in Toronto, Canada, and your interim government was present. The closed sessions were focused on defining the problem, building bridges, teamwork, internal dialogue, trust-building and principles for negotiations and consensus-building. The debates were frank, heated but focused solely on the dignity of our people and the future of Ambazonia.

It is regrettable to note that while we were working hard for the Ambazonian people during the retreat, some of us were busy misinforming our people through social media platforms. The Interim Government of Ambazonia is by this statement putting on record that;

1.            La Republique du Cameroun had nothing to do with the Retreat.

2.            The IG has never been against the Swiss Government’s initiative to facilitate a mediation process to end the war in our country. However, no one endorsed the Swiss initiative in Toronto. The Interim Government made it clear to the British, Canadian, and Swiss diplomats present at the retreat that the people of Ambazonia will not go into an initiative that lacks clarity and objectivity.

3.            We made it clear to the Swiss and other partners that we shall ONLY ENDORSE the Swiss mediation when it opens to other partners for a MULTI-MEDIATION PROCESS where the parties will operate internationally recognized best practices in matters of arbitration.

4.            We made it clear to the Swiss government and the international community that as a people, we prefer to be addressed as Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia, not North-West and South-West regions of Cameroun. We also clarified that we are NOT the political opposition to the government of Mr Paul Biya.

We know what Ambazonians want–Absolute Independence. We shall only make decisions and take actions that guarantee the attainment of this objective. We are pleased to report that doors for consultation and collaboration were opened in Toronto. In the coming weeks, the IG will issue a final detailed report on the Retreat.

Thank You and God Bless You

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia