How many soldiers, members of Security Forces (SF) and civilians should be killed in the anglophone regions for President BIYA to finally realize that the country faces challenging moments?
The indifference of President Paul BIYA to the tragedy that has been going on since November 2016 in the North West and the South West regions is becoming unbearable and is now a political mistake of exceptional gravity.
How is it possible for a President of the Republic to show so much contempt for the pain and bloodshed of soldiers, elements of security forces and civilian populations in his own country for more than a year?
The civil war we are getting into in our beloved country is the consequence of the arrogance and contempt of President BIYA, the Government, his party the CPDM and its allied parties.
All segments of society and various actors in the Cameroonian political scene have called, some since the beginning of the Anglophone crisis and others recently, for an inclusive national political dialogue. The main international organizations (UN, AU, EU) and the friendly countries of Cameroon are unanimously urging the authorities to deal with the causes of this serious political crisis – which the President of the Republic has clumsily tried to ignore – but not its consequences. Despite all these calls, the regime remains deaf. Meanwhile, Cameroonians kill each other.
On 28 September 2017, during a press conference held at the headquarters of our party in Yaoundé on the same issue, we asked the Parliament to discuss it in the face of the indifference of the Head of State and the inability of his Government to provide an adequate solution. However, during the parliamentary session of November which has just ended, surreally the power has banned the inclusion of the anglophone question on the agenda by sheltering behind a legal facade, even as there were already military and civilian victims of the starting civil war in the two anglophone regions.
The privileged of the regime, granitic and unconditional supporters of President BIYA, seem determined to sacrifice a whole people for keeping him on power, he who, after 35 years at the head of the country, pretends to believe that he still has something to bring to this sick and disoriented country.
The CRM strongly condemns the killings of soldiers, members of the law enforcement forces, but also Cameroonian citizens, some of whom have turned into extremism because of the contempt and arrogance of those who govern us. The CRM once again invites the President of the Republic to:
- Get out of his political arrogance towards Cameroonians;
- Release all persons detained in connection with the Anglophone crisis and stop proceedings against them;
- Present the condolences of the Nation to the families of all victims and Government’s apologies to the populations of the North-West and South-West Regions;
- Go personally and meet the populations of the said regions, who have been begging for his visit since the beginning of the crisis, to inform them about key points of political discussions, since the failure of the Government and the Prime Minister are now obvious;
- Organize the national political dialogue that will deal with the thorny anglophone question, but now, also electoral issues, including the reform of the Electoral Code, and institutional reforms.
The CRM National President
Maurice KAMTO
Yaounde, 11th December 2017
