Joint statement by Mark Bareta and Tapang Ivo Tanku
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In support of the ongoing lawyers and teachers-led peaceful protest sweeping across the Anglophone regions of the country, and mindful of the fact that seek ye first the Federalism or Secession and all these better things like roads, hospitals, schools, equality, jobs, good life, etc., shall be added unto you, two concerned Cameroonians and citizen journalists Mark Bareta and Tapang hereby support:
1. That ALL Anglophones in the entire Southwest region should massively rally on Monday in Buea and support the main opposition party chairman, John Fru Ndi. We will not be supporting Fru Ndi as the SDF politician, but as citizens who fully recognize his actions to lead a non-partisan long walk from the Molyko Stadium to Governor’s office and back. Fru Ndi would visit the area where more than 100 university students were illegally beaten, allegedly raped, attacked and harassed at gunpoint by unruly Cameroon police and soldiers. Federalism is clearly enshrined in the SDF constitution as a right.
2. That ALL Anglophone schools should remain closed across Anglophone regions, according to the authorisation of the teachers’ union. Catholics should fully respect the call and fight collectively for the right to equality, democracy, freedoms, full and unconditional integration in all spheres of Cameroon’s polity, economy and social realms. Catholics must openly support this democracy drive.
3. That ALL Anglophones should massively boycott the CPDM campaign rally on Tuesday and Wednesday in Bamenda. The campaign vaguely seeks to deny and rubbish the Anglophone problems and project Paul Biya as president for life. CPDM is not the way, the truth, and the life. Peacefully boycott the party that has mortgaged our future and given Cameroon a bad name. Cameroon is not North Korea and we are not North Koreans.
4. That ALL Anglophones in the entire Northwest region should massively flank John Fru Ndi in Bamenda on Thursday and Friday in a peaceful walk for dialogue on Federalism or Secession. It is a non-partisan rally and Fru Ndi is a respectable and charismatic senior citizen in Cameroon’s polity.
5. That ALL Anglophones must refrain and deny all forms of bribery and corruption from regime elites who reportedly seek to force the protest to a grinding halt. This is a winning protest for dialogue and not war, violence, rancor or regime change. We build and we do not destroy or kill. We seek only diplomacy, understanding, and empathy for all parties on the dialogue table.
6. That ALL Anglophones have suffered brute repression for more than half a century. Enough is enough. Every citizen has an equal right in the union that must be signed by the UN. We cannot continue to mortgage the future of our unborn children in this next century. We are one and we are united and we are now coordinated.
7. That ALL Anglophones should know that the social media is the alternative media and is the most trusted source for fact-checking in Cameroon. Believe CRTV at your own risk. Meantime, if you see something, record something. You have the right to freedom of expression and the right to exercise your civil rights and political liberties. It is your right to strike and it is your right not to strike. do not use violence. Accept provocations and do not shout back.
Done this day December 4, 2016, by Mark Bareta and Tapang Ivo Tanku