By NOELA EBOB BISONG
The vice president of the interim government (IG) of the yet to be established Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Dabney Yerima, on behalf of his government, has condemned in the strongest terms, the violence carried out by some of their fighters, in a recent video circulated on social media last Wednesday, July 17, 2019.
In a communiqué on July 18, 2019, Yerima lashed out on the fighters, saying the act was “inexcusable and despicable”.
As revealed in the video, five (5) men armed with assault type weapons, sticks and cables are seen beating three (3) women, two of which are with babies. The gunmen accuse the women in Mungaka, a language spoken in Bali Nyonga of the North-West Region of spying on them, an allegation denied by the women, as they receive strokes from the fighters.
According to Yerima, “Words can’t describe the revulsion and indignity I felt upon watching the video. The Interim Government condemns in the strongest terms any acts of senseless violence especially against women and children in Ambazonia. It’s unacceptable and inexcusable. As a government, we condemn all human rights abuses in our country. I have ordered an immediate investigation into this deplorable incident. Under no circumstance should anyone living within our territory be subjected to such barbarism”, he stated in the communiqué.
The ‘IG’ vice president also furthered that “Our fight for self-determination must see us respect international law at all times. Self-defence forces have been constantly reminded of their responsibilities under the Geneva Convention of 1949. Any self-defence group operating within Ambazonia is expected to adhere to very high standards when dealing with civilian population and enemy captives”.
In a somewhat unclear manner of whether the vice president was pushing the blame away from their fighters, he accused Territorial Administration Minister, Paul Atanga Nji, of funding militias in ‘Ambazonia’ and said “Their intention is to perpetrate abuses so they can blackmail our restoration forces”, reiterating their call for an International Fact Finding Mission to get the exact culprits of such atrocities.
This later position of Yerima is not surprising because die-hard supporters of the said struggle have often been quick to judge that such abuses are never committed by their fighters. Even in this present day-light situation in Bali, many on the Social Media quickly concluded that those in the video were “Fake Amba”, whatever that might mean.
However, Mark Bareta, one of the separatist activists, in total dismay posted on his Facebook account barely few hours after the video footage surfaced on the internet, confirming that the guys seen in the video were ‘Amba boys’ in Bali. He added that those in charge of the Amba boys in Mezam must get hold of the misguided Amba boys.
“Those boys who committed the Bali shameful act have been fished out and arrested. They will be detained for two months. They are apologizing that they won’t do it again. I think this is not enough. Though what they accused the ladies of committing is against our revolution, such treatment given to them was wrong. I think this is not enough. The fighters must look for the ladies, apologise for such treatment then educate them on the dangers involved in any cooporation with Cameroun military”, Bareta informed in a later post.
Also, the Centre For Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), has condemned the act of the fighters, stating that “Causing human pain and suffering especially pain caused on women and children does not only constitute Gender Based Violence, but are acts tantamount to the rules of international law and are contrary to the values defended by the Centre”.
The organization furthers that “Any form of repression or persecution targeting civilians in a situation of armed conflict constitute a grave breach of international Humanitarian law and international human rights”.