Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) political party, have told the Speaker of Cameroun’s house of Assembly, Cavaye Yegue Gibril, that they would continue to boycott parliamentary sessions until the Anglophone crisis is resolved. They were speaking, Wednesday November 15 2017, during an audience the speaker granted the 17 SDF members of National Assembly.
According to the head of the SDF parliamentary group, Hon Joseph Banedzem, the SDF party is totally frustrated by the manner with which the government of Cameroon is handling the crisis. He urged the Speaker of the National Assembly to chart a way forward for an effective, inclusive and pacific dialogue between warring factions in the Anglophone crisis.
“For one year now, life in Anglophone Cameroon has been nightmarish, characterised by an undeclared but effective state of emergency which has resulted in the judicial system, the educational system, economic activities and others, grounded to a halt. Law and Order, at the verge of total collapse; the rampant abuse of human rights; people being chased out of their homes to bushes; the number of Anglophone refugees increasing on the neighbouring Federal Republic of Nigeria on a daily basis; the unjustified suspension of internet in these regions; the kidnapping, abduction, and deportation of citizens of these regions to detention centres in Yaounde, Bafoussam, and Douala, to be judged in the French Language, a language they barely understand; the unjustified killings of armless citizens, which has of late degenerated to the killing of members of the security forces in very murky circumstances. This is unacceptable! The population is crying for a way out of this impasse, and voices have called for meaningful and inclusive dialogue, to find a long lasting solution to the problem. The government is applying a military solution to a purely political problem whose existence is now universally acknowledged. In its recklessness, the government has ordered its functionaries and elites, to refer to Anglophone Cameroonians as Terrorists to be killed, dogs to be caged in, and rats to be exterminated…” Hon Joseph Banendzem told the Speaker.
The SDF MPs handed a document containing all their grievances and proposed solutions in English and in French to the Speaker of the National Assembly. They told him, the party will only resume work at the assembly, if the document has been studied and attended to. The document contained the state of the two Anglophone Regions and how things can get back to normal.
On his part, the Speaker of the National Assembly acknowledged the reception of the document, but pleaded with the MPs to return to parliament, so the house will continue deliberating on pertinent things on the country. He assured them that he will carry their information to the highest authority of the land, so urgent solutions can be looked at.
The meeting between the SDF MPs and the House Speaker, came on the heels of repeated pleas by the government to have the opposition party MPs resume session at the Senate and National Assembly, so as to quell in international attention seeking. SDF MPs are yet to reveal when they will resume session at the National Assembly, but from the look of things, they could be back before the November parliamentary session ends in December. Many have criticised the SDF for using the present crisis rocking the two English Speaking regions, for their political aggrandisement. They use boycotts to blindfold the general public, while they go behind the scenes and negotiate their own gains.
Whether they are playing a Cat-and-Mice game or not, time will tell. The general public is observing the situation very keenly and will vomit anyone trying to use the current situation for their selfish reasons.
By Lucas Muma,
Political Analyst – BaretaNews
2 comments
How can one ask the devil to morph on it self and become an Angel? That alone boggle my mind.
It’s too late to be doing such delay tactics. From a linguistic stand point, ever since the SDF came into creation, this is the first time ever that they have use the right political language even though at the wrong time.
This was suppose to have been done 2016, it’s too late.
Is there guarantee that southern Cameroon will gain independence when the senators and parlimentarians resign?
When the senators and parlimentarians resign they will lose their immunity, this means they can be termed secessionists and immediately arrested. How will you help them when they get arrested? We have learned from experience that is the only language LRC knows.
You need people to fight on the ground and people to fight in the diaspora. So far what have you done to help the hundreds of people who have been arrested and detained since September 22? Have you released any one of them? Yet you want more people to make decisions that could get them arrested.
What happens to the SDF parlimentarians and senators who are Francophones and who have been speaking against the government’s behavior?
What about the Francophones who voted for Fru Ndi in the past?
Southern Cameroon have a just case but you need to avoid unnecessary arrests and unnecessary deaths which bring no positive results for this crisis. Every single decision we make could bring failure or progress.