By Doh James Sonkey
The Federal Republic of Belgium has urged the Republic of Cameroon to use the Belgian experience of non violent process to reconcile its people with its official languages.
The call was made last November 8, 2018 at the Emergence Building in Yaounde, by the Special envoy of the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jozef Smets, who is the Director for Africa in the Directorate General of Bilateral Affairs of the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs of Belgium, at an audience granted him by the President of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, Peter Mafany Musonge. Also present at the ceremony were the Commission’s Vice President, Oumarou Djika and the Secretary General of the NCPBM, Dr Chi Asafor Cornelius.
Peter Mafany Musonge
Accompanied to the occasion by the Belgian Ambassador to Yaounde, Stephane Doppagne, the Special envoy of the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs explained to reporters that “Belgium and Cameroon have similarities because our country Belgium also has several languages; three languages – one more than Cameroon and we try to arrange and to organize multilingualism as good as we can. We went through a whole process which was totally non violent and we will like to encourage, endorse and support Cameroon to also go through that process by finding creative solutions to make sure that also in the Anglophone regions of the country, peace comes back and that all attentions go to development, tolerance and progress.”
He said “We are visiting a few institutions here in Cameroon but for us, the visit to the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism is a priority. That is because we think that this Commission has to play a historic role in contributing to the pacification of this beautiful country which for us is an important partner country.”
Jozef Smets underlined that “Cameroon is a beautiful nation and it will be even more beautiful if the identity of each group is fully established. I think that this Commission is playing a great role as we heard in the inaugural speech of the President of the Republic. We offer from the Belgium side support and encouragement to this Commission.”
The Musonge Commission coincidentally received two Federal governments in two successive days as the visit of that of Belgium was preceded by the previous day by that of the Federal Republic of Germany.