Consortium Reject President Biya’s Divisionary Tactic
In a deceitful and regrettable attempt to rubbish the integrity and legitimacy of the ongoing winning West Cameroon struggle, and the Consortium’s unshakeable stance for a two-state federation, Cameroun’s President Paul Biya has signed a decree creating a National Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. The decree purports to push for the respect of our national languages — English and French — and to promote various distinct cultures.
By every logical implication, the decree is of bad faith. It is a lame walk to promote equality in the use of English and French languages and showcase the numerous cultures he seeks to present to his commission.
You see, Mr. Paul Biya, our original problem has nothing to do with language. Do not reduce it to that cheap level. Our major problem is against more than half of century of your gross marginalization since we opted to join Cameroun in 1961. It is worthless for our children to go to school because it schooling does not guarantee them a better life after in Cameroun or West Cameroon. All top schools are reserved for a certain ethnic group, culture, and regime-type.
Let us cite a few like ENAM, EMIA, ENS, ENSETs, CUSS, etc. Recently, CENAJES in Bamenda recruited only two West Cameroonians in 132 candidates. We cannot swallow nor churn out your vomit. It is enough!
This comforts Mr. Biya and his cronies in their well-known position that West Cameroonians are only a tribe within the dubious and dying “unitary system.” The budding commission is not created in the interests of West Cameroonians. It is meant to strengthen his power grip and enlarge his base of privileged slaves. As it has always been the case, the state propaganda tool, CRTV, immediately went on to air the views of corrupt officials who have been fighting against our winning struggle by offering bribes and prescribing failed intimidation tactics.
In fact, CRTV interviewed Cameroun officials who’d said from the start that all was well.
Take a closer look at his so-called commission and you will see that all members have to be handpicked by Paul Biya. He is the only one who can veto the decisions of his commission. Our problems today are created mostly by President Biya himself through decrees that only distance West Cameroonians from equal development, growth and employment opportunities.
His commission does not represent our interests and should not mediate our problems. In the past, other commissions of his’ like the elections governing authority, ELECAM, did not guarantee free, fair and transparent elections? None of his commission members are credible. They bow to his dictates because they are appointed through undemocratic channels.
Another body that readily comes to mind is the National Anti-Corruption Commission whose hand-picked members are drowning in very fat salaries. Even people whom the commission indicts for stealing billions of FCFA are still being rewarded with bigger jobs in the same regime by the same Biya who ignores the findings of the body he created.
Yet, they always turn a blind eye to high-level corrupt practices. The commission is a toothless bulldog and cannot bite its master, Paul Biya. So, the new commission will report to the President in the same way and he shall do whatever he cares with the report and we shall continue to be treated like sub-humans and slaves in our own land.
It is unacceptable and regrettable.
For all these reasons and much more, we must reject his evil strategy of divide, rule, and ruin. We are united to win the revolution against the failed “unitary” system of government. A system that does not work for us is against us. West Cameroonians will only begin to dialogue with him when he sees the need to forcefully understand that the least we can concede to is a two-state federation, our unchanging goal.
Let Mr. Biya know that nearly 80 percent of West Cameroonians want their right to self-determination, citing a recent and largest online survey to simulate the 1961 referendum. Time is running out.
That said, the Consortium is delighted to take this opportunity to congratulate the people of West Cameroon for the religious respect of the ghost town operations this Monday. We must do same on Tuesday. Our ghost towns run every Mondays and Tuesdays alone until 23 February 2017 as earlier prescribed. No school should resume and there is turning no back because we are UNITED. VICTORY is around.
As long as our Consortium leaders remain in detention, there is no reason to ever listen nor abide by anything from Mr. Biya and his followers. Our leaders called the strike and will be the only ones to ever end it during a public press conference after their official release from detention.
God is always by us
For the Consortium
Mark Bara and Tapang Ivo
12 comments
The intention of this so called committee is Forseen already.Where was Biya when all this started? He should have tried to create something like this two months ago. After the dialogue,then wat? Will it bring back our brothers who have lost their lives because of your brutality? Will it ease the pain and humiliation our brothers and fathers have suffer because of your cruelty?? The committee is a continuous manipulation of your dubious ways. You have never had good intentions for Anglophones, why you deprive them of all basic needs of life. The struggle continue until God says it is well.
Thank you brother you talk it all
No empire has ever last biya is joking his time is near
This man does not have any idea about the country he pretends to rule. The constitution of Cameroon is clear as concern Bilingualism and biculturalism. Did the people of west cameroon told him that they don,t understand the constitution or what is he adding? Referandom is the name of the solution to our problem
Now that his failed military regime is fighting against thin air, he is making another corrupt committee to divide [us] west Cameroonians. A stagnant brain like yours mr biya, your hands are soiled with the blood of our innocent bothers. We will not let them die invaine The times has come for the captives to be set free
Just got some disturbing news that the occupational army OS LRC are forcing store owners in Long Street Buea to open their stores else they shall arrest them as the people instigating the strike action. Can someone verify the authenticity of this information?
Information from Nkambe says that soldiers are harassing children who come to carry water, forcing them to go back home and go to school. If they see a child with his/her mother going to the farm, they will harass the mother and send them back home. Can someone verify and let us know?
We also get infos that some councils are being asked to buy all the Taxis so as to crack down the strike actions .
The creation of the Beti National Commission is just another calculated attempt to play down on the current Anglophone Problem in this cursed union which itself has not survived the very essence of its creation.
Worst of all, it seeks to address a “MULTI-CULTURAL ” problem whereas the Anglpohones are presenting a “BI-CULTURAL” problem embeded in the constitution which was the basis of the 1st Federal Republic born in 1961.
The Old Dictator has even forgotten that he had created a Pilot Linguistic Centre with antenas in the north and South west regions, all with the same mission and objectives to promote bilingualism in his country.
Can some Beti Esinga fellow in his palace get him out of sleep to see the confusion he is creating through the numerous contracdicting decrees he signs everyday?
I have spent some time, reading about community organizing, a tool used to fight for change and the rights of communities.
Here are some lessons I have learnt:
1. The opponent is often unwilling to give in to the people’s demand because they don’t want to lose something.
2. The opponent will to use his/her power and resources as much as possible to push back against the people’s pressure. That should be expected right from the beginning.
3. Just as the community is using different tactics to get what it wants, so too is the opponent using different tactics to push back.
4. Just because the opponent says “NO” in the beginning doesn’t mean that cannot change to a “YES”.
5. For the community to succeed in getting what they want they must first ask themselves ” What will it take for the opponent to say ‘YES’?” The community should be willing to put itself in the opponent’s shoes and ask
“Why am I resisting these people? ” and ” What would make me say “YES” to these people?”
6. The community should look internally, do a power analysis, and ask themselves “What power do we have. and what power do we have over the opponent?”
7. The community should consider intermediate goals that will lead them to the bigger goals later. The community should be willing to make some compromises and win smaller victories that eventually add up to the bigger victory later.
Although we have been given lemons for over 55 years, it is time we begin to turn those lemons into lemonade using the powers we have.
God bless everyone.
To Emmanuel N
Your write up sunds good but what do you mean by
“Although we have been given lemons for over 55 years, it is time we begin to turn those lemons into lemonade using the powers we have”.
eluminate on this
Hi Zamba,
Thanks for your response. What l mean we can use the very problems that La Republique has created for our people to defeat the regime’s resistance. In his efforts to suppress west Cameroon Mr Biya has told many lies, many many unfulfilled promises, tortured and killed many people.
The regime basically uses the psychology of fear to keep the people quiet by committing all those atrocities.
We can use records of those atrocities as vital resources for planning our pressurising strategies. Those records are some of the weaknesses of the regime even though they have the soldiers, the money and other things.
I have a few ideas on how those records can be used but this platform may not be a good place to share them because the dictator’s people are also reading.
I hope l was able to clarify my point.