User:Dtalla/Anglophone Crisis

Historical Background
To understand the Anglophone crisis and possibly find a solution, there are different topics that need to be addressed. The first is the colonization period and its legacy. Indeed, the two colonizing countries had different political structures, educational systems and social norms. We would need to analyze their systems, how they operated and the impact the two governments had on the population involved. The 1961 reunification is the second topic that needs to be examined. In fact, that period of time brought various changes in both parties and was the starting point of the dormant crisis that erupted in 2017. Those two topics consist of looking at the background of the conflict, the history, the beginning, to understand how it happened and possibly to find steps to resolve the crisis.

The Anglophone crisis in Cameroon started in 2017 and is still an ongoing conflict. It is deeply rooted in the colonial history of Cameroon during which France and the UK shared Cameroon unequally with the French colonizing close to 80 percent of the country. This separation created two nations in one country. The French Cameroon (Francophone) was named La Republique du Cameroun after it achieved independence in 1960. The British-Cameroon (Anglophone) had the choice to either merge with Nigeria or La Republique du Cameroun. They chose the latter and were named the British Southern Cameroon. The 1961 reunification of both parties could be seen as a blessing for the Francophones but a curse in disguise for the Anglophones. It was then that the flame of the conflict was ignited.

=== Smaller opposition parties, such as the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), blame the government for failing to solve the Anglophone Crisis. On 26 January 2019, supporters of the MRC invaded the Cameroonian embassy in Paris. Although not their main motivation for taking over the embassy, the Anglophone Crisis was noted. In May 2019, the MRC joined the (SDF) in boycotting National Day celebrations. In August 2020 during a speech, MRC leader Maurice Kamto threatened to overthrow President Biya if the latter convened the electorate without first solving the Anglophone Crisis. The Cameroon People's Party, lead by Kah Walla, has taken a nuanced approach. Walla in condemning both the government and the separatists, believes the crisis can be solved by turning Cameroon into a federation. === The Cameroonian author, Akih supports this affirmation by looking specifically at West Cameroon’s history and how the lack of federalism was detrimental to the peace of Anglophones. In this part of his analysis, the federalist period before 1972 is a critical aspect of the subsequent analysis. This author criticizes the unification of Cameroon as the starting point of assimilation and marginalization of the Anglophone population. As an Anglophone himself, Akih considers the separatist solution in his argument. However, he quickly comes to the conclusion that separation will only bring add to the crisis. For him, federalism is the solution to the Anglophone crisis with the help of a third-party mediator and a disarmament force.

Humanitarian Consequences (adding to this section)

It is clear that Anglophones and Francophones have experienced the crisis differently. Anglophones lost their family and friends in some of the riots. Some of them were severely beaten and many of them were arrested during the protests. The government cut the internet on the Anglophone side for about three months. Due to the lack of teachers, burned schools and the unsafe feeling of going to school, many Anglophones lost years of school. With the crisis boiling came the rise of separatists who committed inhumane acts. The separatists in Cameroon are “fighting to create an independent Anglophone state of “Ambazonia” since 2016”. Armed separatist groups are kidnapping, terrorizing, and killing civilians across the English-speaking regions with no apparent fear of being held to account by either their own leaders or Cameroonian law enforcement”.

Most articles described the separatists as the ones bringing chaos to the country. One rare article by the Washington Post contained testimonies from the displaced Anglophones telling a different story. According to them, the Francophone military is the one killing people, burning villages. Interviews from Anglophone civilians who were displaced are depicting the horrific inhumane acts of the Francophone military (“killing a pregnant woman who could not lie down”). Some feel that the government goal is to kill Anglophones. This leads to Anglophone civilians willing to join the extreme separatists.

“Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports some 4,000 people have died in clashes, with around 60,000 forced to flee to neighboring Nigeria. It says about 850,000 children are unable to attend school due to the ongoing conflict. Some 2.3 million out of the 5 million Anglophone Cameroonians depend on humanitarian aid, according to HRW.”

On the other side, some Francophones have experienced the loss of their family and friends sent by the government as part of the army. In addition, some lost their relatives that were sent to the English speaking region for work. In fact, many Francophones are sent to the English part of the country after they graduate to work. The education department assigns people to specific workplaces, usually teachers, lawyers and doctors. Emotionally, some live in fear of retaliation from the other party or just finding themselves in the crossfire.

The military from the Francophone side is claiming the Anglophone population doesn’t support them even though they are trying to help them by killing the extreme separatists. They are saying that they have never burned innocent villages or killed anglophone civilians. There is video proof of them burning an anglophone village but it’s still met with their denial. A government official francophone said “ this can never take place and will never take place” talking about negotiating the split of Cameroon. He described it as an “amputation”. “As of June 11, 2018, the government said armed separatists had killed 32 soldiers, 42 gendarmes, 7 police officers, 2 prison wardens and 1 eco-guard in 123 attacks since the beginning of the crisis. In some cases, according to the government, bodies of security forces personnel were found mutilated or beheaded. Living in an extreme dictatorship, some Francophones are scared to help or say anything in favor of the Anglophones as they know they will either end up in prison or dead. A prime example, it’s the arrest of Maurice Kamto, the head of the MRC (Cameroon Renaissance Movement). He was sentenced to 8 months in prison February 2019 for “inciting violence” but really protesting against systemic discrimination.

Looking at both sides of the conflict, they all seem to be wanting security. Fear is a common theme from both sides and when people feel afraid, they tend to use different tactics to protect themselves.

Emotionality and Mediation
These aspects of human dimension could amplify emotions such as anger and distrust. This is what happened in the Anglophone crisis and led the extremist Anglophones to create their own independent state called Ambazonia. In response to this, the French government felt disrespected and used tactics such as violent attacks and public humiliation to dismantle Ambazonia. “Conflict and emotions are inextricably linked. Bodtker and Jameson (2001) argue that to be in conflict is to be emotionally charged. They point to the interesting phenomenon that one is not aware that one is in conflict unless one recognizes one is emotional about something”. Recognition of one’s emotion or acknowledging one’s emotion could be the starting point of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peacebuilding in Cameroon. What could mediation and negotiation look like in Cameroon and what role would emotion play?

During a mediation process, it is important to acknowledge people’s emotions. “Trying to suppress or dampen the emotions may simply lead to resentment and the breakdown of agreements. Parties may try to disrupt a process because they do not feel heard, or refuse to follow through with an agreement because their feelings were not recognized”. In the case of Cameroon, in 2019 the President(Francophone) initiated a 5-day dialogue between both parties. However, the dialogue was unsuccessful for different reasons. One of them being that separatists-extremists- invited to the conversation were either in prison or were scared of being arrested by the government. “Their fears were credible” as most of the separatists leaders that were arrested earlier were “handed life sentences on charges of terrorism”. “If parties are not emotionally invested in the process, negotiation is unlikely to succeed”. The Anglophones seem to be more emotionally invested in the process than the French government. The establishment of good personal relationships, trust, respect, recognition, honor, satisfaction, sense of belonging, and appreciation are all possible emotional rewards from reaching an agreement. If both parties involved were hoping for a peaceful society for all, they could get the emotional rewards which could follow with economical and social rewards.