By NDIMUH B. SHANCHO
As the major national dialogue convened by President Paul Biya kicks-off, September 30 to October 4, 2019, proposals continue to troop in from Cameroonians of all walks of live including but not limited to religious authorities, civil society leaders and human rights activists, traditional rulers and others.
In a separate document to Prime Minister, Head of Government, Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and the President of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor, say ‘form of state’ should be a key theme on the dialogue table.
In their release dated September 25, the Bishops, while underscoring “respect for truth, sincerity, honesty, openness and frankness” during the dialogue, stressed on the need to address the form of state, administrative, legal and educational systems. “The form of state should be foremost on the agenda. Popular opinion points to at least a return to the 1961 Constitution with a two-state federation. The term of unity must be re-discussed,” the bishops insist in their proposal.
The men of God added that “if the dialogue has to be fruitful or successful and also lead to an eventual lasting solution, they should be a cease fire on both sides, all those detained and imprisoned as a result of the Anglophone Crisis should be released, and a general amnesty granted to Anglophones in the Diaspora to freely participate in the dialogue”. They also note that the Anglophones will not trust the genuineness of the dialogue if it is not moderated by a neutral party, preferably an international body.
Drawing inspiration from the origin of the crisis, Barrister Agbor Felix insisted that one of the conference’s themes be about the form of state. “CHRDA strongly believes that the form of state is central to the current conflict in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. We, therefore, strongly recommend that the form of state be placed on the agenda of deliberations at these talks, and that the views of minority Anglophones on this issue not be overshadowed by the government party or by stakeholders from outside both regions,” he stated in his suggestions.
The former executive of the outlawed Anglophone Consortium said a review of the government’s response to the demands of lawyers and teachers of the Anglophone sub-system will be critical in providing context to deliberations during these talks.
Regarding the management of the dialogue, the civil society leader also called on government to ensure that the conference secretariat includes translation and language professionals to ensure that all conference materials and proceedings are accurately transmitted in both languages “so as to avoid a repeat of the current situation where many pre-dialogue documents issued by the government are poorly translated and riddled with errors – a situation that increases Anglophone suspicion that the national dialogue is more of a window dressing exercise”.
The human rights activist expressed his desire that the conference resolutions be actionable and implemented