Cameroon opens national peace dialogue without separatists
YAOUNDE, Oct 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cameroon starts a national dialogue on Monday in a bid to end a separatist conflict in the country’s anglophone provinces though key rebel leaders have already refused to participate.
Nearly 3,000 people have died and half a million fled their homes since fighting broke out in 2017 between the army and armed fighters who want independence for Cameroon’s two English-speaking provinces.
The talks, led by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, are scheduled from Sept 30 to Oct 4 at the Congressional palace in the capital Yaounde.
President Paul Biya, who has been in power for 37 years, hopes the talks will end crisis that is also hurting the economy of the coffee and cocoa-producing Central African state.
Oct 1 marks the second anniversary of the spiral towards conflict – the declaration of the self-described “Republic of Ambazonia” for Cameroon’s English-speaking minority.
Even before it began, the national dialogue ran into trouble with many activists arrested and experts voicing scepticism that it would yield tangible results.
English-speakers account for about a fifth of Cameroon’s population of 24 million, who are majority French-speaking.
Anglophones are mainly concentrated in two western areas, the Northwest Region and the Southwest Region that were incorporated into the French-speaking state after the colonial era in Africa wound down six decades ago. Many locals here complain of discrimination and marginalisation.
In a report published last week, the International Crisis Group (ICG) estimated that around 3,000 people have been killed by separatist violence and the military crackdown.
The ICG said the talks do not include separatists or Anglophone leaders who support more federalist solutions.
“It thus risks further frustrating Anglophones widening the gulf between the two sides and empowering hardliners,” the group said.
“The government should make greater space for Anglophones, particularly federalists who are willing to attend. It should also seek a neutral facilitator.”
Biya’s government has rejected both a return to more federalism and any proposed separation.
The government’s dialogue spokesman George Ewane said Cameroonian authorities had held preliminary discussions with some separatists, adding that even hardliners were welcome to join the talks.
Of the 16 separatist leaders invited, those heading armed groups such as Ebenezer Akwanga and Cho Ayaba are also snubbing the talks.
Most of the leaders have expressed willingness to hold talks with the government but in the presence of an international mediator and in a foreign country with the terms for secession the main item on the agenda, according to the ICG. — NNN-AGENCIES