Joint Statement by Mark Bareta and Tapang Ivo Tanku
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Referencing May 15, 2017, Ministerial Release by Angouing Michel Ange, Cameroun’s Minister of Public Service and Administrative reform, announcing the special recruitment of “50 Pupil Magistrates and 30 student Court Registrars of English expression” into the judiciary service;
Considering that Minister Angouing clearly confirmed that his announcement is pursuant to “instructions” from President Paul Biya as “a solution to the preoccupation raised by some Anglophone lawyers;”
Cognizant of the fact that the host training institute ENAM (now referred to as NSAM) has always been and continues to be the bedrock for corruption, bribery, nepotism, tribalism, cronyism, and jingoism in Cameroon;
Reaffirming that ENAM must be shut down in any sane political culture and its training rubbished for the growth and health of any political system;
Acknowledging that Barrister Felix Agbor Balla and all other Common Law leaders were the key leaders who initiated the judiciary reforms in Southern Cameroons but are still under illegal detention in Yaounde and/or on the run on;
We, public opinion holders, in keeping with our tradition of the Joint Statement to inform, educate and caution Southern Cameroonians, hereby, inform the general public in Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroun that:
1. The struggle is now the people’s struggle and cherry-picked
cosmetic solutions shall neither be binding nor enforce. The solution must deal with the legitimate aspirations of the people of Southern Cameroons.
2. The regime’s move to “solve” the so-called ‘Anglophone’ lawyer’s crisis is dubious and unacceptable by the peaceful people of Southern Cameroons. It is another mature form of dictatorship on a people who have vowed not be cowed anymore by colonial oppressors.
3. Any meaningful judiciary policy shift for the people of Southern Cameroons cannot be carried out within the current form of the so-called union. It must go through meaningful democratic debates, dialogue, and discussion procedures between the leaders of the Republic of Cameroun and the leaders of the Southern Cameroons. Some are in jail and others in exile. A third-party intervener must be involved.
4. The people of Southern Cameroons must not be served with teaspoons. The people have had enough of the short-term policies. The inclusion of a Common Law system for only Anglophones was one in many problems lumped under a banner from the Common Law Lawyers championed by a sweeping call for a two-state Federation or Independence.
5. The use of the term “English expression ” in Minister Anguoing’s announcement is logically dubious. It means that just citizen who speaks English, irrespective of where that citizen comes from in today’s Cameroons, is eligible to take the dubious exam. The dubious announcement failed to strictly emphasize that the exam is meant only for Southern Cameroonians. As such, the call for Cameroonians with an English expression will automatically mean our courts shall still be flooded with our neighboring citizens who would also speak English. This ploy is unacceptable.
6. Why will a father give a child a stone when he asks for bread, or a snake when he asks for fish? Once more, President Biya has openly shown bad faith by cherry picking the least of our worries to “solve.” The people want a meaningful and inclusive dialogue with all relevant stakeholders.
7. Mr. Biya cannot claim to solve the problems raised by Common Law lawyers when he still keeps it key advocates and initiators behind bars, in exile, and having a death penalty option. Also, he has not relieved them of the trumped-up charges against terrorism in particular. All Southern Cameroonians must be released as the first step to anything meaningful and inclusive.
We, hereby, urge, caution and advise Southern Cameroonians against taking such a dubious exams. It is a calculated means to flood state covers with millions of CFA because thousands of unemployed graduates could rush to register for it. Southern Cameroonians must ignore this exam because it only adds up to our problems rather than looking for long-lasting solutions to purported “union” between both sovereign states.
Done this day, May 16, 2017, by Mark Bareta From Bui County and Tapang Ivo from Lebialem County, Southern Cameroons.
4 comments
Well said.
In military science when an entity is very difficult to destroy, the last trick is try assuming its identity and if successful, then capitalize on it and kill two bird with one stone. That is destroy the entity and then replace it in total silence.
Ever since LRC realize they can’t defeat us and has no option other that lose, all their words, action, laws, … are to set the stage for what I just mention above while at the same time giving the illusion of making space and peace with us, while in fact it is to make space for themselves.
We have some blind thrusting, politically retarded and mentally sick Southern Cameroon politicians falling for this trick. For now it sound good but in 100 years, they will be done with us.
What do they mean by ” English speaking”? The are always using abstract, general and non concrete terms in their language.
Southern Cameroonian listen to me, If we fall for this trick, the will destroy us for within in silence in such a way that we will have no means to resist, protest or fightback for they are now us.
Deceptions, pain and regrets awaits all those who reject, refuse to know and thrust who they are but instead accept to believe and thrust in their own believes and thrust of who they take other persons, people to be.
The question is why type of spirit must a person harbor inside their physical body to behave in the above stated manner? Only a spirit that hate what it is and probably the physical body it is living in (Cursed) will behave as such.
The fact that we Southern Cameroon have come this far is a sign that we are smarter and will not fall for these tricks and scams, so lets make sure it stays like that.
It was clearly stated that common law students so I bilive it’s irrespective of the language we speak. Some one like me am a francophone but did common law so are u saying am not eligible to write bc am not English speaking from origin?? Even thou I understand English well…… Please let’s be considerate
Gigitrish, of course that is exactly the argument of Malis. You are Francophone, and the many who will be admitted will be Francophones who have done common law like you or Francophones who can speak English well. At the end, you the Francophones will be sent back into our courts in your numbers to protect La Republique’s interest by practicing something in the semblance of Common Law. When that is done, you Francophones will brandish to the world that the legal system being practiced in Southern Cameroons is Common law by Common law lawyers and Common Law Judges, when in actual fact it is the same old game going on with a different face. And with this, Southern Cameroonians will have no voice in their own land.
The francophone are certainly on their way out of our country; it’s just a matter of time. They know that they have already lost control of our country and want to device all kinds of dirty tricks to hang on; they will not succeed.. Let them practice whatever kind of law they learned in their own country. We don’t need them because they are intellectually inferior to us, and they know it. Their country and system is based on nothing but superficiality, mediocrity, and mendacity. If Southern Cameroons had been on her own as an independent sovereign nation state since 1961, we would have been developed beyond any comparison. Sooner than later, they will see what we are quite capable of doing as a civilized, intelligent, hard working people. They will forever languish under Napoleonic authoritarianism!