President Paul Biya will keep failing if he maintains a deaf ear to the calls from international organizations.
By: Nche Tala Aghanwi
Published: November 4th 2018
The Central African nation of Cameroon which is the regional head of CEMAC has since 2016 been embroiled in a deepening secession crisis that has turned deadly. Citizens of the two predominantly English speaking regions have since the beginning of the crisis picked up arms against the French majority government being lead by one of Africa’s most brutal dictators Paul Biya as they focus on breaking away from the Cameroon state to establish their own country called Ambazonia.
Since the crisis got started violence has been on a steady rise mostly perpetrated by the government of Cameroon against a defenseless people it claims to represent who are advocating for fare representation in state circles, respect of their unique Anglo-Saxon educational system and common law system by the majority French government. However due to the traditional heavy-handed approach to problem solving typical of the Biya government, the last two years alone according to some International organisations has witnessed the dead of 1,850 people. Our figures based on field reports, puts the figure above 2,000 within this same period. Though both sides have been largely involved in these systematic killings, the Cameroonian military have been largely unprofessional and have been involved in indiscriminate killing and torture of civilians. These include children, pregnant women, the old, persons with disability and the list goes on. The killing of 4 months old baby by the Cameroonian military a few months ago have cleared all doubts as regards the true perpetrators of hate and violence.
As regards the refugee situation in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon advocating for a separate state called Ambazonia, more than half a million citizens of English expression have been forced to flee their homes because of the war currently being waged against them by a brutal and repressive regime with an army that has very little respect for human and people’s rights. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have stated that it has been hard to process the numbers that have fled the conflict to neighboring Nigerian states, other foreign countries, including those who have fled in to other regions in Cameroon and the tragic stories they left behind. While the Africa Science Diplomacy and Policy Network continue to join its voice with that of other major international stakeholders campaigning in support for the respect of human rights and the rights of refugees to mount pressure on the Biya regime to stop its genocidal campaign against the people of the two English speaking regions, the government has continued to maintain a deaf ear to these calls choosing the path violence. This has resulted in a surge in human population in the Littoral and West regions which before now were already over stretched due to high population density. The present situation in these over populated regions has meant displaced persons are forced to live under inhumane and degrading conditions.
We have documented with disgust the brutal destruction of properties belonging to the civilian populations who are not involved in any violent activity against the government. Whole villages have been razed down by the Cameroonian military, harvest and seeds belonging to poor farmers have been razed to ashes in store houses, farms have been razed and food crops cleared down by the Cameroonian military as a system of war against an already battered people struggling to live under extremely barbaric circumstances. Places and institutions which represent the cultural identity of the people and which they hold secret have been desecrated without any regard of their significance to the local population.
We have documented with disgust the brutal destruction of properties belonging to the civilian populations who are not involved in any violent activity against the government. Whole villages have been razed down by the Cameroonian military, harvest and seeds belonging to poor farmers have been razed to ashes in store houses, farms have been razed and food crops cleared down by the Cameroonian military as a system of war against an already battered people struggling to live under extremely barbaric circumstances. Places and institutions which represent the cultural identity of the people and which they hold secret have been desecrated without any regard of their significance to the local population.