Dr Christopher Fomunyoh, Regional Director for Central Africa Programs at National Democratic Institute (NDI) has said a possible way out to the armed conflict tearing Cameroon’s North West and South West regions apart should involve belligerents call for an immediate ceasefire, cessation of hostilities and public commitment by the government and separatist to negotiations with help of a third-party.
Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh proposes negotiation backed by third party as way out of Anglophone crisis
He made the proposals 16 February 2021 while speaking as a witness in the Canadian House of Common’s Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.
In a presentation to the committee, Dr. Fomunyoh detailed the root causes of the four-year-old armed conflict which he blamed government for aggravating by bad faith efforts to assimilate Anglophone minority into Francophone.
This, he added has been championed by the two French-speaking presidents of Cameroon since independence and reunification as strong proponents of the highly centralised system of government.
The multi-international election observer expressed three key worries in relation to the current armed including government’s inclination to use military and brute force to resolve legitimate political grievances of Anglophones, continuous poisoning of minds because of killings and atrocities perpetrated in the two Anglophone regions and the lukewarm attitude of international community beyond a few declarations and now resolution 684 of US Senate.
The expert on democratization in Africa argued, that Canada is “in a unique position to contribute to an end to the armed conflict that addresses root causes, mutually respectful relationship across Africa and with European countries that it could leverage and galvanise to help end the killings and atrocities being committed today in Cameroon”.
Aside proposing third-party backed negotiation to end the conflict, Fonmunyoh equally added urged Canada to use her good offices to engage France to leverage position to get the government commit to peace negotiation to bring an end to and address root causes to the conflict, adopt targeted sanctions against perpetrators of torture and other atrocities.
He also called on Canada to use her position on multilateral organisations to ensure that resources granted to Cameroon for development purposes are not diverted to prosecute the war against the Anglophone minority.
He revealed that the frustration of Anglophones and disaffection has grown for decades, driven in large parts by government action including: the May 1972 abolition of the Federal Republic of Cameroon and the adoption of the Federal Republic of Cameroon; the February 1984 regression of the country’s name from the United Republic of Cameroon to the Republic of Cameroon which coincides with the territory which obtained independence from France on January 1, 1960; the October 1992 presidential election with a contested outcome which an Anglophone was declared runner-up whereas he and many of his supporters felt they had won and the April 2008 constitutional amendment which undid presidential term limit and allowed the President Paul Biya to stay as President for life.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
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