It should be recalled that the Ambazonia Governing Council on January 21st 2017 had banned the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement-CPDM across Southern Cameroons as a fascist and terrorist group. In a follow-up to the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium non-violent action, CPDM anniversary celebration will be visited by ghost towns in Southern Cameroons. The consortium has informed Southern Cameroonians that the party of Paul Biya has got itself involved in so many atrocities in Southern Cameroons as such cannot be celebrated.
In line with the socio-political realities, the CPDM North West Leadership bowed down to the Consortium’s call for ghost towns and non-celebration of such illegality in Southern Cameroons by modifying the anniversary celebration to indoors only within the Bamenda congress hall. This is in stark contrast to previous years where their militants were allowed to march in all fan fare.
BaretaNews learned that at a CPDM northwest planning meeting which was chaired by Cameroun first slave Philemon Yang, the party officials toned down the anniversary celebration in a tacit acknowledgment of the socio-political crisis currently plaguing the region. CPDM officials in the meeting went on to admitted that the lives of their members will be in danger should they come out in pump and fanfare as in previous years. Philemon Yang and other CPDM bigwigs, therefore, declared that celebrations in Bamenda have been strictly restricted to Bamenda Congress Hall, the party’s head office in the North West. The usual parade at the Commercial Avenue has been called off for fear of violent confrontation with the public.
We are also informed that celebrations will be held equally indoors in other towns and villages that are not very volatile at the moment. In places considered to be hotspots areas, there will be no celebrations at all. Members were advised to stay away from particular neighborhoods like Cow Street and Atuakom neighborhoods in the city of Bamenda-Cameroon journal added
Cameroon Journal went on to add “…The party is taking such precautions after the 8 December 2016 incident where PM Yang and the party’s scribe, Jean Kuete and a host of militants were barricaded from leaving Ayaba Hotel by protesters. The bloody protest led to the death of many with others arrested and whisked off to Yaoundé. It is the deadliest confrontation between protesters and security officers since the strike started.
In the build-up to tomorrow’s party anniversary, text messages have been circulating in both the South West and North West Regions from activists declaring severe ghost town and warning people of serious consequences should they join the CPDM in celebrations on Friday.
Coincidentally, the CPDM was born on March 2, 1985 in Bamenda. In a country where alternative voices are strangled, such a meeting, had it been that of an opposition party, would have been banned by gov’t on security grounds just like the SDF meeting two weeks ago in Douala was banned by administrative authorities….”
It is the position of BaretaNews that until Paul Biya open up dialogue with Southern Cameroons leadership, nothing shall go on smoothly.
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