Once an oasis of peace and stability in Africa, my beautiful home region of southern Cameroon is currently experiencing excruciating pain, apparently worse than the 1994 Rwandan genocide: our people are being exterminated like cockroaches. Almost two years have passed and, I am convinced, the UN and the AU have not shown any real commitment to mediate in this threatening situation. It is well known that France is pulling the strings to hold captive our nation, full of rich human and natural resources.
Under the current circumstances, it is unwise for the Grand Masters to parade through the halls of the Palace of Unity, dine and bestow praise on a president whose inactivity is suspect; a man who, since the advent of the current crisis, has refused to shear the sheep. This crisis, which has gradually degenerated into a civil war, is no longer an internal affair. It is rather a global threat to peace and stability because Cameroonian patriots around the world and Africans of good will are affected. It is no longer an internal matter because the government has violated the universal declaration of human rights in all its facets.
What should we do? There is an urgent need for a ceasefire on both sides. I vehemently condemn all thieves and armed bandits who take advantage of the situation to loot and harass peaceful civilians. A peaceful resolution can only be possible with the mediation of a third party because the people of southern Cameroon have completely lost confidence in the Biya regime. Considering the AU and UN estrangement, the US is in a position to mediate at this point. In particular, the case of southern Cameroon has been a topic of discussion on Capitol Hill with sufficient evidence of untold human rights abuses and the subjugation of the people of southern Cameroon. As the crisis worsens by the day, can the US Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee take another look at the case of South Cameroon? Honestly, can my friends in the US advise me on what else we can do to encourage the US to enter this bloody crisis? Are the inhabitants of southern Cameroon less humane than those of Libya, North Korea or Syria? Please help us, our people are perishing!
Let us pray! God is not dead. He sits on the throne, and in the end he will be King and judge; but before the end comes, we must commit ourselves here and now to work for justice, peace and equality.
“African politicians must learn to retire at a minimum age of 70, but rather we have packed old men into our leadership, how can we move forward? Some are even over 80 and still ruling.” (Kofi Annan)
KINDONG MILTON – SCNC ACTIVIST UNITED KINGDOM