US Department of State Responds to Call from West Cameroonians ( Citizens of Former British Southern Cameroons) on the Ongoing Anglophone Crisis.

The US Department of State, through her Bureau of Foreign Affairs in Washington D.C., respond to calls by West Cameroonians regarding the ongoing political unrest in West Cameroon. BaretaNews gathered that on January 16th, 2017, Cameroonians in New Mexico wrote to the Bureau of African Affairs in the United States Department of State to look into the plight of West Cameroonians. Amongst a variety of issues raised, they mentioned the current arbitrary arrests, detentions, and the twelve-page letter that Anglophone Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda had issued to the government on the Anglophone Problem.

According to the communique by the US Department of State, they are following up with a keen interest in collaboration with the US Embassy in Yaounde. Also, they acknowledged the fact that in the past few months, the Bureau has received numerous calls, and messages regarding the current political unrest in the North West and South West Regions in Cameroon.

As a follow-up of the situation, Benjamin D. Mossberg at the Cameroon Desk in the Department of African Affairs writes:

“We will continue to work diplomatically with Labour organizations, civil society, political figures and government officials to encourage credible dialogue to ease the situation and encourage an outcome acceptable to all Cameroonians”.

Furthermore, the efforts made by West Cameroonians towards finding lasting solutions to the problems were appreciated. They urged West Cameroonians to keep safe any evidence that might be lost because of distance and online communications. These include videos, photographs, and other oral testimonies. They also encourage West Cameroonians to keep in touch with the US Department of State Affairs while she continues with her diplomatic investigations.

It should be reiterated that a United States Politician Karen Bass representing the District of California in Washington D.C. on February 3, 2017, had condemned intimidation against West Cameroonians by the government of the Republic of Cameroon. From information gathered, she had called on the government to respect the rights to self-determination and freedom of opinion of the English-speaking population.

This statement from the U.S. Department of State is coming in at a time when the struggle is getting more intensive; a time when the people of West Cameroon are to demonstrate the biggest boycott as a non-violent strategy to compel the government to return to meaningful dialogue with the people. BaretaNews note that this is a good diplomatic move in the struggle. Also, BaretaNews add its voice by calling on other international organizations to intervene.

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