Dr Christopher Fomunyoh, Regional Director for Central Africa Programmes at National Democratic Institute, NDI, has once more hit hard on Biya regime’s handling of what he terms the “senseless war”, which has been rocking the North West and South-West regions for almost five years now. In an outing on his official Twitter handle September 26,
the renowned expert on democracy and good governance in Africa, categorically stated that the regime of President Paul Biya, 88, which declared war on its citizens, can never be “a willing participant” in efforts to end
to the ongoing bloodletting.
The viral tweet pulled reactions from many renowned personalities including former US diplomat, Tibor Nagy, international lawyers, some diaspora-based Ambazonia separatist leaders and apologists and many others concerned with the violence in the two Anglophone regions
Armed conflict in NW, SW:
• Says gov’t that declares war on citizens won’t easily engage in peace talks
• Urges US gov’t to lead other world powers to end “senseless war”
• Warns Biden administration against turning a blind eye on Anglophone crisis like Clinton administration did during Rwandan genocide
“No regime that declared war on its citizens ever became a ‘willing participant’ to peace negotiations, ” Fomunyoh declared, while replying Iffat Rahman, member of the African Bar Association and International Criminal Court. Fomunyoh cried out cried to the US government and other world powers not to give a blind eye to the situation in Cameroon.
To Dr Fomunyoh,
“awaiting political will” for the resolution of the conflict in the North West and South West regions would instead mean “more deaths and atrocities under our watch” . He firmly added that “no one rolls out tanks to cut flowers”
. Urges US to lead others to end war in NW, SW
The Senior Associate, in the outing, made a rallying cry for the government of the United States of America, USA, to step-up and lead other world powers to end the “senseless war” in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon.
“ …US must step up and lead, bring others along to end this senseless war,
” the multi-international election observer stated. He lauded the efforts of former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, not to “relent” in his efforts to see the return to peace in the conflict-hit regions of Cameroon. “We all appreciate Ambassador Tibor Nagy’s efforts for peace in Cameroon, ”Fomunyoh said.
Nagy says colonial masters should take lead Reacting to Dr Fomunyoh’s appeal for him to continue pushing harder to see into it that the US government rallies other governments to intervene in the situation in the English-speaking regions, Nagy said he wished “it were that simple”
.
The former US diplomat added:
“Holding a Peace Conference requires incredible preparation and willing participants. Cameroon’s colonial powersFrance, UK and Germany should be hyper-involved in seeking peace and political resolution”
.
Dr Fomunyoh rejects Nagy’s neo-colonialism proposal Reacting to Nagy’s suggestion for the former colonial masters to take the lead in seeking peace and political resolution, Dr Fomunyoh said Africans want to steer clear of neo-colonialism.
“Africans want out of the neo-colonial construct. Referring us back to our former colonisers is not the right way to go, ” Fomunyoh noted in one of his replies to the US diplomat. Warns Biden not to stay mute like Clinton regime did on Rwandan genocide Harping further on the role he thinks the US can play to arrest the unrest in Cameroon, Dr Fomunyoh warned the Joe Biden-led administration not to give a blind eye to the worsening situation in Cameroon like was the case with the administration of Bill Clinton during the Rwandan genocide.
“ …on US role, I remember Clinton administration regrets for standing back during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. I sincerely hope the President of the United States of America, Biden, doesn’t stand back on ending the Anglophone crisis,
” Fomunyoh pondered. Dr Fomunyoh added: “We have to identify those individuals who make decisions for their states and governments. We must prick their consciences to realise that as human beings, they’re failing humanity by not acting right in the face of evil”
.
Fomunyoh’s umpteenth proposal to Biya regime Dr Fomunyoh has incessantly made proposals on how the close to four decades regime can lead the country out of the conflict which is seriously threatening the country’s much-parroted unity and peace. Since 2017, Dr Fomunyoh has repeatedly warned the government against the use
of a military solution to tackle a purely political problem.
Last February 16, 2021, in a presentation as a witness in the Canadian House of Common’s Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Dr Fomunyoh, said the only way out of the conflict is for an immediate ceasefire, cessation of hostilities and commitment of government and separatists to negotiations with third-party facilitation.
Dr Fonmunyoh had urged Canada to engage France to leverage position to get the government to commit to peace negotiation to bring an end to and address the root causes to the conflict, adopt targeted sanctions against perpetrators of torture and other atrocities as well as use its position on multilateral organisations to ensure that resources granted to Cameroon for development purposes are not diverted to perpetuate the war against the Anglophone minority.
Fomunyoh, it should be noted, is credited for designing and assisting in launching the Africa Statesmen Initiative, ASI-a programme aimed at facilitating political transitions in Africa by encouraging former democratic Heads of State to stay engaged in humanitarian issues, conflict mediation, public health and other key sectors of political, economic and human development on the continent
Source: By Doh Bertrand Nua
N° 2255 Wednesday September 29- The Guardian Post