Independence – best option to resolve Anglophone war says Canadian institution
Independence is the best way to end the now six-year old Anglophone War according to the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI), a thinktank based in Calgary, Canada.
“Ultimately, this crisis will not be settled by force of arms, even as the security forces claim tactical victories when they eliminate some of the Ambazonian generals and field marshals who lead small units” the organization wrote.
“After six years of acute crisis, but decades of marginalization and autocracy, there is still enough anger and momentum for Ambazonian armed groups to persist and often grow despite setbacks” it stated.
In a ten-point suggestion, CGAI argues that “The best, permanent solution to the anglophone crisis would be a transparent, inclusive negotiated peace process leading to a free and fair, internationally-supervised referendum that included a clear question on institutional arrangements, including independence”. Under this point, the organization further clarifies that doing this would “solve a historical wrong committed first in 1961 under British and UN auspices, and again in 1972. It would signal an end to the political and economic marginalization perpetuated from Yaoundé”.
It also notes that the Anglophone Conflict is easier to solve than the more recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
CGAI’s full statement can be read here at:
https://www.cgai.ca/pathways_to_peace_in_cameroon_ten_critical_observations_for_the_international_community
“The reality is that independence is the best option to remove a tired, kleptocratic gerontocracy from the lives of five million or more Anglophones” the institution stated, further arguing that while independence is best for the former Southern Cameroons, diaspora leaders were to blame for deceiving Anglophones “that independence was just around the corner” when in fact it needs more tact to happen.
The thinktank also argues that what is going on in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon is no longer just a “crisis” but outright unarmed war with the Cameroon military being the ones with the heavy artillery stating that “For years, the Cameroon government and international organizations have purposely refrained from referring to the conflict as a NIAC or civil war”.
Canada is slightly the reverse of Cameroon with one province (Quebec) that is primarily Francophone out of ten provinces.
Some observers believe that after the Swiss-mediated process failed to take root as a result of the Cameroonian government showing no interest in it, Canada is the next most trusted international partner not only because of its political stability, but also because of its similar linguistic and cultural heritage to that of Cameroon.
