By Elah Geofrey Mbongale
Anglophone elite from across the national territory will be embarking on what many have described as a perilous mission to the North West and South West regions following the events of September 22 and October 1 which led to the unfortunate death of several people and many others wounded or arrested.
In a letter signed by the director of the civil cabinet at the prime minister’s office, Prof. Paul Ghogomu Mingo, the head of state, President Paul Biya, who is still abroad, after the United Nations General Assembly, has instructed the Prime Minister and Head of Government to organise delegations of elites to visit the populations of the North West and South West regions.
According to the communiqué, the delegations are expected to commune with the population, bring the president’s goodwill message of peace and encourage the return to normalcy. The delegations are also expected to dialogue constructively with the population.
Each divisional delegation is expected to give a written report to the regional coordinator before Friday, October 20, 2017.
The mission has attracted varied reactions from the populations of the two Anglophone regins. While some have welcomed the move as a step towards the right direction which will eventually lead to the much heralded dialogue, pessimists have described the move as provocative at a time when the population is still mourning their losses and many still arrested and detained.
Human rights lawyer and president of the Fako Lawyers’ Association, Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla, who was himself arrested in January and spent eight months in prison before being released on August 30, said in a statement published by his communication unit on October 4 that;
“Following the decision by the government to dispatch a delegation of elites to visit and dialogue with the population of North West and South West regions, we strongly condemn, reject and disassociate ourselves from these visits…At a time when hundreds have been arbitrarily arrested, hundreds are seeking refuge in farms and unaccounted for, dozens dead and many hospitalized with gunshot wounds, we consider these visits as a provocation, which is irresponsible and a mockery to the population”, the statement read in parts
Agbor Balla thinks to appease the population, the government should release all peaceful protesters, account for the number of deaths, restore complete internet access and call for a round-table dialogue in the presence of the United Nations.
Many are of the opinion that the president is just throwing the elites to the wolves, to a population that has lost confidence in its political elite and is bubbling with anger.
This is reminiscent of the perilous and fruitless missions embarked by the Prime Minister to the North West and South West regions in the wake of the crisis late last year which resulted in the deaths of some protesters who tried to stop a CPDM rally in Bamenda.
Calls for an inclusive dialogue between the government and the Anglophone communities have been pouring in from national and international actors including the United Nations, the United States and the United Kingdom.
From reports, most Anglophones are skeptical of this move by government citing the so-called ‘grand large debat’ set up by president Biya after the tripartite conference in the early 90’s where people were asked to send in contributions for a constitutional review headed by Professor Joseph Owana which led to the 1996 constitution. Some of the provisions of the said constitution are yet to be implemented 21 years after.
The delegations of elites to the North West and South West are expected to face a herculean task trying to dialogue and convince the Anglophone population out of the anger of the recent heavy crackdown by security forces.