03/19/2018

Cameroon: Wave of kidnapping fuels fear of civil war

STP calls for political dialogue and respect for human rights (Press Release)

For Biya, the profound crisis is merely a security problem – not a political conflict that can only be solved with political dialogue. Photo: Paulo Filgueiras via UN Photo

Following a wave of kidnappings and attacks on schools, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) fears that there will be a further escalation of the situation in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, which is predominantly French-speaking. “If the crisis in Cameroon is to be solved, there is no alternative to dialogue and respect for human rights. In order to prevent a civil war, there must be more efforts towards mediation and de-escalation,” said Ulrich Delius, the STP’s director, in Göttingen on Monday.

Last Saturday, the conflict reached a new high point when armed Anglophone fighters captured a bus and took 36 passengers hostage. Some of the abductees have since been released, but the hostage-takers are demanding a large ransom sum for the release of the Director of the Anglophone School Examination Office, Ivo Leke Tambo, who was kidnapped during the raid. The 67-year university lecturer is considered to be the highest-ranking victim of the recent wave of abductions of representatives of the state, carried out by fighters of Anglophone secessionist movement since January 2018.

The human rights organization demanded information about the fate of the 47 detained alleged supporters of the Anglophone secessionist movement who, after escaping to Nigeria, had been handed over to the authorities Cameroon – which is to be seen as a violation of international law. There has been no sign of life from the detainees for months. Further, the STP demanded the armed rebels to stop their attacks on schools, which are extremely unsettling for the civilian population. Due to the violence, at least 33,000 people have fled to neighboring Nigeria since autumn 2017.

The Catholic bishops of the country are calling for a dialogue between the conflicting parties as well, but in vain. “There aren’t many signs of hope that the government is really trying to bring peace to the troubled regions,” Delius stated. During a Cabinet meeting last Thursday, for example, President Paul Biya had reaffirmed his determination to enforce law and order in the two Anglophone provinces by deploying more troops and police forces. Instead of visiting the troubled regions, he decided to pay a visit to China. “For Biya, the profound crisis is merely a security problem – not a political conflict that can only be solved with political dialogue,” said Delius. The Anglophone minority, around 20 percent of the population, has been feeling disadvantaged for decades, which is why the people are calling for more autonomy – and there are more radical voices demanding an independent state of Ambazon. “This crisis cannot be solved by force of arms,” Delius warned.

Header Photo: Paulo Filgueiras via UN Photo