Barrister Chief Charles A.Taku reacts to Bishops of Cameroun letter :
There is a letter in circulation from the Catholic Bishops of Cameroon signed by the Arch Bishop of Douala. This is a second letter written by the Bishops of Cameroon. Like the first letter, this letter fails to clearly identify the problem the writers purport to be concerned about. I find the use of contentious slogans like safeguard of “unite nationale” and similar language which Isa Tchiroma has consistently used in relation to the subject matter of the Bishop’s letter troubling.
The good news is that the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda came out with a comprehensive letter that dispassionately identified the profound causes of the crisis and made attainable reasonable proposals for comprehensive dialogue for the resolution to the crisis. Significant national and international actors have since endorsed the proposal of a comprehensive dialogue to resolve the crisis made by the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda. From the late palliatives announced by the government, it is obvious that some of the proposals made by the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda might have influenced governmental action; at least too little, too late. It is discernible from an anxious reading of the first letter of the Bishops of Cameroon, that of the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and the present letter of the Bishops of Cameroon that the latest letter of the Bishops of Cameroon is actuated by political rather than Christian motivations.
The Christian value of their letters is mitigated by the vacuous content on details and rigour in confronting the truth that the Gospel of the Cross teaches. Their peers in the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province and a significant number of clerics from many denominations have contemporaneously denounced the ongoing egregious violations on armless citizens, the politicisation of military justice, the genocide, the cultural genocide and several international crimes that have shocked the conscience of humanity in the territory of the Southern Cameroons. These late and timid reactions exposes these prelates as shepherds that abandoned the flock in time of need. I find their timid condemnation of the frivolous and vexatious cases against the Bishop and Church of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and the religious leaders of other Christian Churches surprising and unjustified. There are discernible attempts made by the Bishops of Cameroon in their two letters to impute some form of blame on Southern Cameroons civilian victims for articulating their grievances through peaceful and legal means guaranteed by multilateral treaties which Cameroon is state party. By omission or by practicing the gospel of Pontius Pilate, they may by default be emboldening and strengthening the hand of tyranny.
Their unfortunate ploy to balance their cursory concerns of the legally and morally unjustified use of excessive force by state actors who are bound by the Geneva Conventions (1949) to respect the sanctity of civilian lives, avoid actions in their deployments that will harm civilians and civilian targets is regrettable. If the actions of these prelates is intended to secure a place for them in a future comprehensive dialogue to resolve the crisis, I am afraid, they have overplayed their relevance. The crisis concerns the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda. The Bishops of this Ecclesiastical Province have spoken and we have taken note. Along with the Church, they are presently persecuted by proxy using senior members of the military who by military discipline will not form or be members of activist civil society associations. The bastardisation of the educational system harms Catholic education and the social teachings of the Church. The question, I must ask, who stands to gain from these crimes? And who stands to gain from the persecution of the prelates and church leaders? The spiritual underpinnings of these actions and the ruthless attempts to control, dominate and terrorize every person and institution that stand on the path of those who hope to eternalize power by mystical spiritual means are in the public domain. Some call it spiritual warfare. We Christians are ready and prepared for this phase of the battle as well. This is therefore a time for a profound critical recommitment to our Christian faith and to the tenets of freedom and justice.
As a Catholic Christian, I strongly urge the Bishops of Cameroon to advice the government of Cameroon to critically read the letter of the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda in which they confronted the truth with biblical inspiration and the faith in the Christian values.
For this reason, they letters are unnecessary and unwarranted.
Chief Charles A. Taku
12 comments
such a shame, all clerics are well educated, intelligent people, they have sat and watched a dictator who have suppressed it’s people for decades, use force to brutalise peaceful civilians, the majority of these civilians go to church every Sunday, yet the francophone clerics are unwilling to stand together and condemn what the biya government is doing in order to support their fellow men and women who have been dragged, shamefully to court, in a cruel manner by the same dictator, SC should open their eyes and see how all the francophone establishments has kept quiet even though most do not like the regime, this is a clear indication why SC must have their independence, LRC does not serve all Cameroonian
This clear indication s that the church in French Cameroon has been treating those of English Cameroon with contempt. Else such a diabolic meeting could have not hold. Secondly, it is a sign of light light shining through the tournel. Indication of separation of country. So the Bamenda provinces should hold on. We are a people and must God. There is hand writing on an invisible wall. I can see. Can’t you see?
Like their civilian regime, the church in la Republique du Cameroun has unfortunately been corrupted and is apt to condone the unconscionable sadistic acts of their incorrigible regime against Southern Cameroons civilians. We should therefore, expect nothing positive from those so called shepherds. They are accomplices to crimes against humanity committed by their murdering regime. This should explain to Southern Cameroonians why Paul Biya, their diaper wearing octogenarian despot, tried but failed to influence the elevation of late archbishop Jean Zoa of Yaounde, to cardinal, instead of Bishop Christian Tumi of Southern Cameroons, when the late Pope John Paul II appointed the latter to the college of cardinals. In mean time, I ask these poignant questions of Southern Cameroonians serving in the armed services of that criminal regime, what are they waiting for, in order to mutiny against that evil regime that is murdering their fellow Southern Cameroons civilians? What will it take for them to react against that regime?
This is not surprise to me at all.
It’s exactly what I expected. If their boss in Rome, the so call chosen one put here to save mankind sleeps with those doing evil to our people what else should I expect for these little guys.
We are in real time witnessing how guns, demonic powers, the evil and money of man literally keeps so call holly and God chosen people in check. Powerless power that only serve to prepares people for some after life, can’t do a damn thing to even challenge the devil here on earth.
I am not convinced that the bishops in francophone Cameroon are any less christian than their anglophone peers. And yet, they just cannot speak the same language about the same subject. In the guise of Mr. Abouem a Tchoyi and many other honest and sincere francophones officials who have served in anglophone Cameroon, they have all acknowledged that we are indeed two different peoples, culturally. Apart from the physical, a man’s culture determines how he sees and interacts with the world. We all decry the ills of colonization often referring only to its physical aspects. The lasting effects of colonization like slavery and all the other historical incidences of the take over and mass control of one people by another people, the real “travail de sape” that enables the subdued people to remain subdued, is the psychological and subtle but extremely powerful transformation exercise that keeps the trend. Of all the colonial masters that worked with Africans in Africa, only the British didn’t completely assimilate their subjects. The French, Spaniards and the Portuguese were masters in the art of making Africans think of themselves in terms of what the master wanted. Take a look at Africa today and you see the sequels of this. This partially explains why the developing Africa happens to be the ex-British Africa.
The so-called Anglophone Problem has transformed Cameroon forever. Cameroon will never be the same again. Our brothers on the other side of the Mungo are beginning to understand that it is not suicidal, just like it is not disrespectful to challenge authority and demand the respect of your rights. That generation is evolving. And the coincidence with the waning CPDM regime is precipitating the evolution, because a lot of things will die with the CPDM.
No, the francophone Bishops are no less Catholic than their anglophone peers. They are just francophones of a certain generation. The times will educate and update them or the church will die in Cameroon.
The clergies in la republic are just an extension of the biya and his gangster regime. The only difference is you have people dressed in religious garments portraying themselves as clergies.
Even churches and its members of la republic cannot be trusted?
It is the more reason why we, the Southern Cameroonians/Ambazonians must have to part our separate ways with la republic.
Given the opportunity, these Francophone Catholic Clergies will advocate for Southern Cameroonians to be owned as SLAVES by the Francophones in Cameroon. SHAME.
Hello fellow so called Men of GOD in LRC is there any sense of humanity in your flesh ? of which you pretend not to see what God’s children in other parts of the same country suffered from di-humanisation I may say and your reactions shows signs of in difference ? Are you as Men of God to take sides in issues or be a moderator if you are the real sons of GOD! God’s finger is watching for his children agony!!!
RWANDA NEVER AGAIN IN SOUTHERN CAMEROON
In Rwanda the church made the mistake of siding with the majority Hutsi government to extinguish the minority Tutsi.Four months ago pope Francis apologized to Pres Kagame.I know our bishops learnt from this and will never allowed injustice and marginalisation if minority to become a key for extinction of southern Cameroon. Thank you to bishops of Bamenda Ecclesiastic province for standing for the truth while your peers glorified a dictator.Time will tell us who is serving God ,I declined criticizing men of God even when they are clothed with evil intention.I know the Francophone bishops are still bishops but they are allowing their flesh to rule them
Pope John Paul II is partially to blame for the Rwandan genocide of the Hutus, almost all the top people in the Rwandan government were Catholics, and John Paul could have easily pressured them to stop that genocidal act. But he kept quiet and did nothing. Pope Francis should be reminded that history is about to repeat itself, as the francophone regime of LRC has embarked upon a murderous rampage in Southern Cameroons, while he sits at the Vatican and does nothing. I hate that francophone murdering regime with everything in me for what their jack booted thugs did to our young people at the universities of Buea and Bamenda. I am seething with enormous anger for us to avenge those atrocities and genocidal acts committed against our people. Nothing, and I really mean nothing that government does will ever erase such horrific acts of inhumanity from my memory. They are an uncivilized people!!!!!!
You Wonder why all Africans have thrown out their colonizers and only Francophones remain a colonized people in Africa in the 21st Century? We do NOT belong with these people. They are one and indivisible with their government and with evil.