The government of Cameroon needs to consider a well-structured dialogue with the people of its Anglophone regions, a new research report by the West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI) has recommended.
Fighting between government security forces and armed separatists has lingered for the past three years despite the September-October 2019 Grand National Dialogue (GND).
The report, titled The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon and the imperative of the Cohabitation Pact: Building Peace from the ‘Great National Dialogue’, suggested that the GND failed ‘due to its structure, timing and also the established absence of some protagonists’.
Since late 2016, civilians have been bearing the brunt of unlawful killings, kidnappings, and widespread destruction of houses and villages.
Cameroon’s northwest and southwest regions have been rocked by violence after separatists declared the independence of ‘Ambazonia’.
The crisis, which has led to more than 3,000 deaths, started when lawyers and teachers took to the streets of Buea and Bamenda to protest the domination of French in Anglophone courts and schools.
With a view to restoring confidence, peace, and stability in the regions, the country’s leader, Paul Biya, convened the GND in 2019.
The aim was to examine ways of responding to the deep aspirations of all the regions of the country.
‘The recurrence of the threats and violence carried out by the separatists, their exclusion from the Grand Dialogue and the rejection of the proposals presented at this event are proof that the dialogue conducted has not had the desired impact’, the report stated.
It added, ‘In order for a dialogue process to be effective, it is important that external and non-external support be able to respond concretely and sustainably to the concerns of the population. The arguments for marginalisation should therefore not be underestimated’.
The report noted that the prevention of violent conflict requires that societies be able to address the root causes of conflict such as poverty, inequality and patterns of discrimination or social exclusion.
‘Far from justifying the violence perpetrated by separatist movements, it would be important for governments to consider forms of response other than violent or armed modes of action, which tend to call into question their willingness to genuinely end the crisis’, it said.
The report called on the government to work to develop empathy through recognition of the suffering caused by the aggressors precisely (separatists, armed forces), as well as populations of other regions in the country.
Furthermore, it urged the government to uphold truth as a precondition for reconciliation, creating the objective circumstances for people to see the past in terms of shared suffering and collective responsibility.
This process, the report stated, must take place in a climate of peace leading to the protection of rights and the political commitment of all actors.
Source: WACSI
Photo source: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
