By NOELA EBOB BISONG
The conveners of the Anglophone General Conference have stated that an actual inclusive dialogue with Anglophone stakeholders is paramount to solving the Anglophone crisis.
This is the substance of a Press Release signed by Head of Communication for the AGC, Lasha Kingsly, following a meeting of the conveners of Anglophone General Conference on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral in Douala. The meeting was chaired by His Eminence Christian Cardinal Tumi.
According to the Press Release, during the meeting, a review was done on the recent socio-political happenings in the Anglophone regions in particular and in Cameroon in general.
It states that the conveners of the AGC however welcome Cameroon government’s admission that the only way out of the current Anglophone crisis is through dialogue.
“The conveners expressed sorry and disappointment at the continuous loss of precious lives in the North West and South West regions. They also expressed dismay and shock at the recent violence in the Far North region”, Lasha writes.
It furthers that the conveners of the AGC extend their sincere condolences to all Cameroonian families who have lost loved ones and are suffering hardships as a result of these conflicts. They pray God to grant them strength at this difficult time, while reiterating that “at no time have they claimed the AGC was a mediating body. The aim of the AGC is to provide a conducive and impartial forum for people in the grassroots to gather proposals of solutions and submit these to the Head of State, who is the guarantor of the sovereignty of the state”.
Elie Smith underlines humility as the magic formula
The Coordinator of the Anglophone General Conference, AGC, Elie Smith says only Cameroon can solve the crisis currently rocking its North West and South West regions. According to Elie Smith, as an internal crisis, all what is needed is the humility of both the government of Cameroon, as well as the contenders, for the bloodshed, suffering, intimidations and fright to be over.
He was speaking in Douala recently, following the call-off of a programmed Press Conference last Tuesday, June 18 2019. However, Elie Smith, speaking over a local TV station in Douala observed that “Humility is not synonymous to weakness; humility can also mean that you are so confident of yourself and that you have often than not, no fear of your adversary”, as he stated that it is the magic key which will definitely open the door to Cameroon’s almost forgotten peace. He also emphasized the need for effective communication to cement any negotiation process “Most often than not, it is the absence of communication that fuels conflict”, he stated.
The AGC coordinator also said that “Am happy the government is aware of the fact that the only way of solving this problem is through negotiation”, as he rejoiced that separatists, both within and out of Cameroon also hope to see Cameroon peaceful again.
He explained that as far as the solving of a national conflict is concerned, there is no victor, which means the government has to accept and consider all factors to ensure that peace and life returns to the troubled English-speaking regions of the country.
“Peace is not announced, an enabling environment for it is created”, Smith stated and said having such an environment greatly depends on the government of Cameroon, as “Any day the government decides to have a focal point to carry out the dialogue, then we are going to have it”.
The coordinator castigated the attitude of some who are already clamouring to mediate to resolve the armed conflict all in a bid to make gains in the process: “There are some people who are already jogging around because they think that it is an opportunity; not to solve the crisis but to increase the depth of their pockets”.
To him however, “A Cameroonian crisis should be solved by Cameroonians first, at least by Africans”, as he mentioned that there are some African experts who can contribute to the peace process in Cameroon, but not the United Nations or any European country, “because they will only elongate the crisis”, he holds.
Smith also said the reason why Cameroon is facing difficulties in solving the Anglophone crisis is simply because the country has really never found herself in such a crisis before.