“I have decided to convene a major national dialogue”
Yaounde, 10 September 2019
**
Fellow Cameroonians,
My Dear Compatriots,
For close to three years now, the North-West and South-West
Regions of our country have been going through a crisis that not
only jeopardizes the safety and well-being of the population
living there, but also has far-reaching consequences for
the national community as a whole.
It should be recalled that
the crisis was triggered by corporate demands made by lawyers and
teachers calling for the translation of the OHADA Uniform Acts into
English and the preservation of the specificity of the Anglo-Saxon
judicial and educational systems in the two regions.
From the outset, and true
to an option that I hold dear, I instructed the holding of dialogue
between the Government and trade unions to seek appropriate solutions to
these demands. The measures taken by the Government at the end of these
consultations went well beyond the initial demands and include:
- the translation into English of the OHADA instruments which are now available in the two official languages;
- the creation of a Common Law Section at the Supreme Court to handle appeals filed against the decisions of lower courts in Common Law matters;
- regarding the training of judicial and legal officers, the creation of a Common Law Section at the National School of Administration and Magistracy. This measure was accompanied by a programme for the recruitment of English-speaking pupil judicial and legal officers and court registrars;
- the launching of the special recruitment of bilingual teachers in secondary schools;
- at the level of the judiciary, the stay of proceedings against some persons arrested in connection with the demands;
- the setting up of a national Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multi-culturalism to, among other things, carry out an in-depth review of all the sources of frustration suffered by our compatriots in the North-West and South-West Regions.
Decisions were taken
subsequently to fast-track the decentralization
process, with the creation of a new ministry devoted thereto. The
upcoming regional elections will complete the process by enabling
our compatriots nationwide to fully participate in the management of
their local affairs.
My Dear Compatriots,
Despite the efforts
made by the Government, radical movements, mainly inspired from
abroad, have exploited and distorted the corporate demands. They
have thus hatched a secessionist plan to partition our country. In
this regard, they have formed and financed armed groups that have
caused untold harm to the population of the North-West
and South-West Regions.
The whole world has
witnessed the atrocities committed by these armed groups: maiming,
beheading, assassination of elements of the Defence and Security
Forces, administrative authorities and defenceless civilians,
destruction of public infrastructure and buildings, and burning of
schools, hospitals, etc.
I would like to avail
myself of this opportunity to once again extend my heartfelt
condolences and those of the entire Nation to those who have lost
loved ones in the crisis. I also wish to send a message of comfort
to the wounded and all those affected in one way or the other. I
want to assure them that they can count on the solidarity of the
Government of the Republic and the Nation as a whole.
My Dear Compatriots
The atrocities
committed by armed groups have forced thousands of our compatriots
to seek refuge in other regions of the country and, for some, in
neighbouring countries where they have been reduced to living under
precarious conditions.
In the face of these
intolerable acts, the Defence and Security Forces have taken
energetic measures, often at the risk of their lives, to perform
their duty of protecting citizens and their property.
These measures are
currently bearing fruits with the improvement of security and the
progressive resumption of economic activities in the two regions.
My Dear Compatriots,
Since the outbreak of
this crisis, I have spared no effort, with the help of Cameroonians
of good will, in seeking ways and means for its peaceful resolution.
In a bid to calm the
situation, I even ordered the discontinuance of judicial proceedings
pending before military tribunals against 289 persons arrested for
offences committed during this crisis.
In the same vein, I
extended a hand of peace to members of armed groups by calling on
them to lay down their arms and benefit from the process of
reintegration into society. A National Disarmament, Demobilization
and Reintegration Committee was thus set up. Regional Disarmament
Centres are gradually receiving many ex-combatants who
willingly accept to lay down their arms. We will continue to make
the necessary efforts to fully operationalize this process.
At the humanitarian
level, I decided to launch a large-scale assistance
plan for our affected compatriots of the North-West
and South-West Regions. I also established a Centre
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Action for its implementation.
I wish to thank our international partners for supporting us in this
initiative.
My Dear Compatriots,
The supposed feeling of
marginalization by the people of the North-West and South-West
Regions has often been advanced to justify this crisis. On this
score, I wish to remind our compatriots in these regions, but also
to those in the other eight regions of Cameroon, that
marginalization, exclusion or stigmatization have never guided the
work of the various governments I have formed since I became
president of our country. Though no human endeavour is perfect and,
in a developing country like ours with multiple challenges and
limited resources, many needs are still to be met, in all the
regions.
With the massive
support you gave me during the last presidential election, I intend
to work relentlessly, with all the sons and daughters of our
country, towards meeting the challenges we are facing in order to
improve the welfare of our population, especially in terms of
infrastructure, water and electricity supply, healthcare delivery
and youth employment.
My Dear Compatriots,
On 4 January this
year, I made a vast government reshuffle, particularly with the
appointment of a new Prime Minister, Head of Government. As usual,
the choice of these officials was mainly guided by their human and
professional qualities, their competence and experience. However, I
would like to underscore that as faithful as I have
always been to the regional balance policy, I chose a Prime Minister
who hails from the South-West Region. His predecessor
who served in that key position for nearly ten years was from the North-West
Region. In fact, since 9 April 1992, Prime Ministers, Heads of
Government, have been appointed from among the people of those two
regions.
Despite all this, some
people will continue to talk of marginalization of the people of
these regions. It must be acknowledged that such is human nature and
there will never be enough duty posts to satisfy all the regions,
divisions, sub-divisions, towns, villages, families
and citizens of our country. Any choice that is made will always
cause joy whenever one is honoured, and disappointment when one is
not.
It is, however,
crucial for us to change our mentalities in this regard. Though it
is necessary to consider regional balance in new countries with a
diverse sociological composition like ours, it should be recalled
that ministers and other officials are not appointed to serve only
their regions, villages or families, but to serve the entire
national community. They must serve the general interest and not
specific interests.
That is why since I
came to power, I have and will continue to wage a ruthless war
against corruption and the embezzlement of public funds, and to
promote good governance.
My Dear Compatriots,
Since the outbreak of
the crisis in the North-West and South-West
Regions, the term dialogue has never been so much talked about, used
and even misused.
In and out of the
country, people have made proposals and suggestions. Some are
realistic while others are clearly less so. There has been a barrage
of advice. Some smart, others based on interests. Some people dared
to issue injunctions.
There have also been
multiple and varied initiatives, most of them made by people of good
faith, by countries or organizations that are truly concerned about
the future of our country and the well-being of our
people. I wish to thank them for their effort and token of
friendship.
It is, however, worth
noting that the proliferation of such initiatives was sometimes
unfortunately based on simplistic and false ideas, born out of
secessionist propaganda. Such is the case with the purported
marginalization of Anglophones, persecution of the Anglophone
minority by the Francophone majority, Government’s refusal to engage
in dialogue preferring a military solution to the crisis or even
ridiculous accusations of genocide.
Talking about dialogue
per se, the issue has always been, with whom?
New information and
communication technologies, especially social media networks, have
unfortunately facilitated the advent of self-proclaimed
leaders, extremists of all shades trying to achieve recognition
using insult, threat, hate speech, violence and murder.
However, in no country
in the world, has the killing of gendarmes or civilians, kidnapping,
mutilation, molestation, burning, destruction of public
infrastructure, prevention of children from going to school or
people from going about their activities in peace ever been a source
of legitimacy to represent or speak on behalf of the people, the
very victims of such atrocities.
In democracy, only
elections confer such legitimacy.
My Dear Compatriots,
The many consultations
I have continued to hold on this crisis have enabled me to size up
the strong desire of the people of the North-West and
South-West Regions to return to a normal life, to be
able once again to safely carry out their economic and social
activities, to witness the return of refugees and displaced persons,
and to see their children return to school. The Prime Minister’s
recent tour of the two regions has helped to confirm this feeling.
I therefore strongly
believe that the time has come to rally all well-thinking
and constructive forces in our country and in the diaspora to make
this desire come true.
That is why I have
decided to convene, from the end of this month, a major national
dialogue that will, in line with our Constitution, enable us to seek
ways and means of meeting the high aspirations of the people of the
North-West and South-West Regions, but
also of all the other components of our Nation.
The dialogue in
question will mainly concern the situation in the North-West
and South-West Regions. Since it will focus on issues
of national interest such as national unity, national integration
and living together, it is obvious that it will not concern only the
population of these two regions.
The dialogue will
therefore rally all the sons and daughters of our beloved and
beautiful country, Cameroon, to reflect on values that are dear to
us, namely: peace, security, national unity and progress.
It will also focus on
issues that can address the concerns of the population of the North-West
and South-West Regions, as well as those of the other
regions of our country such as bilingualism, cultural diversity and
social cohesion, the reconstruction and development of conflict-affected
areas, the return of refugees and displaced persons, the education
and judicial system, decentralization and local development, the
demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants, the
role of the diaspora in the country’s development, etc.
The dialogue, which
will be chaired by the Prime Minister, Head of Government, will
bring together a wide range of personalities: parliamentarians,
politicians, opinion leaders, intellectuals, economic operators,
traditional authorities, religious authorities, members of the
diaspora, etc. Representatives of the Defence and Security Forces,
armed groups and victims will also be invited.
Obviously, it will not
be possible for everybody to effectively participate in this
dialogue, but each person will have the opportunity to make a
contribution.
Prior to the effective
holding of the dialogue, the Prime Minister, Head of Government,
will carry out broad-based consultations to solicit a
wide range of views that will serve as a source of inspiration for
the conduct of deliberations. In the coming days, delegations will
also be dispatched to meet the diaspora to enable them to make their
contribution to discussions on the resolution of the crisis.
In this regard, I am
appealing to the patriotism and sense of responsibility of all our
compatriots in the country and in the diaspora so that everyone,
wherever they are, should seize this historic opportunity to help to
steer our country on the path of peace, harmony, security and
progress.
My Dear Compatriots,
The propaganda of
secessionists has tried to present the recent court decisions taken
against a number of our compatriots in the context of this crisis as
an obstacle to the dialogue envisaged.
That is not the case.
I also wish to use this opportunity to stress that respect for the
rule of law and the fight against impunity are pillars in the
consolidation of a State ruled by law to which we all aspire.
Violating the rule of law and granting impunity to some citizens is
paving the way for anarchy.
It is therefore
crucial, at this stage, to dispel rumours that one can quietly loot,
rape, burn, kidnap, maim, murder, in the hope that a possible
dialogue will erase all these crimes and provide impunity to their
perpetrators.
As shown by the
experience of many countries in the world, such way of thinking will
only encourage the perpetuation of violence in the crisis regions
and even encourage it in crisis-free regions.
Admittedly, however,
in the context of a dialogue, a peace process or national
reconciliation, the possibility of pardon may be considered, under
certain conditions.
It is equally true that
in accordance with our Constitution, the Head of State is empowered
to exercise the right of pardon.
It was, moreover, on
the strength of this authority that I made a peace offer to members
of armed groups during my recent swearing-in ceremony.
I wish to solemnly
reiterate this offer today. Those who voluntarily lay down their
arms and place themselves at the disposal of the Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Centres have nothing to fear.
Their fellow armed group members who are already there can testify
to this. Conversely, those who persist in committing criminal acts
and violating the laws of the Republic will have to contend with our
Defence and Security Forces and will face the full force of those
same laws.
The same applies to
promoters of hate and violence who, comfortably settled in foreign
countries with impunity, continue to incite murder and destruction.
Let them know that sooner or later they will have to face justice.
I am appealing to the
countries sheltering these extremists to take action against these
criminals if they really care about the situation of the people of
the North-West and South-West Regions.
Most of them no longer have Cameroonian nationality, but
they spend their time raising funds to carry out terrorist
acts in Cameroon, masterminding acts of arson, kidnappings
and murder, and issuing calls aimed at preventing children
from attending school and fellow citizens from going about
their business peacefully.
My Dear Compatriots,
The entire national
community has high expectations for the dialogue I have just
announced and hopes that this will be an opportunity for our
brothers and sisters in the North-West and South-West
to close this particularly painful chapter, to forget their
suffering and to return to normal life. It also hopes that our
country will continue resolutely on the path of progress, through
fruitful discussions on ways and means of creating conditions
conducive to the optimal exploitation of natural resources and our
country’s enormous human potential. Therefore, we should all work
towards a successful dialogue.
My Dear Compatriots,
Over the years, we
have used our linguistic and cultural diversity, the talent of our
sons and daughters, and our commendable efforts and sacrifices to
build a solid country and a strong Nation. Together we have met many
challenges and won uncountable victories. We have proven that united
there is no difficulty we cannot overcome and no obstacle we cannot
cross. We proved it yesterday. We will prove it again today and
tomorrow. The future of our compatriots in the North-West
and South-West Regions lies within our Republic.
Cameroon will remain one
and indivisible.
Long Live Cameroon!
Comments