mediated an end to the Eritrean War of Independence in 1991, as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. That conflict bears some striking similarities to the ongoing crisis in Cameroon, where violence continues to rage between Anglophone separatists in the southwest region, and Paul Biya's Francophone government in Yaoundé.
On June 22, a group of prominent Nobel Prize laureates called for a ceasefire to let health workers deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, for which Cameroon is deeply unprepared amid the hostilities. Yet it will take a great deal to convince the Anglophone separatists, who frequently refer to themselves as "Ambazonians," to lay down their arms. The Yaoundé parliament's grant of "special status" to the Anglophone regions did little to address their desire for more independence.
I am writing to offer a new solution that may finally put an end to this conflict.
The Anglophone minority's grievances are rooted in historical fact: their region once enjoyed a great deal of autonomy within a federal system. In 1972 this was dissolved, and a widespread crackdown of discrimination and cultural subjugation against Anglophones ensued. Yet the Anglophone minority are far from the only group in Cameroon that feels deprived. Paul Biya's ethnic group, the Beti, dominates political and economic power, and many Francophones also feel that Cameroon in its current form is designed to limit their potential.
Indeed, the current system is utterly devoid of legitimacy. The 1972 referendum to dissolve the federation officially won 99.99% of the vote, with 98.2% turnout. Today, the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement—Biya's party—enjoys near-total control of national government. The run-up to the February 9 parliamentary elections was marred by extensive human rights abuses by both the separatists and the Biya regime. Electoral fraud by the CPDM was so widespread in the Anglophone regions that Cameroon's high court took the extraordinary step of ordering a re-run of the polls there. To no one's surprise, the second round of voting was marked by low turnout, more violence, and another CPDM victory—this time, during a global pandemic.
This is unsustainable. It is time for Francophones and Anglophones to jointly hit "reset" on Cameroon's entire governing structure. In the pre-1972 federal system, West Cameroun enjoyed its own government, including its own Prime Minister. But merely returning to this system would not address the needs of the other ethnic and cultural groups undermined by the Beti's hegemony.
The United States system, in which the state and federal governments are responsible for separate policy domains, offers a useful model. Under the U.S. Constitution, each state has its own elected governor and legislature, and enjoys control over all of the powers not explicitly reserved for the federal government.
Here is my proposal: each of the ten regions of Cameroon will become a federalized state. Currently, most of Cameroon's regions have geographic names—the new states should have names which reflect the cultural identity and heritage of the area. Each of these states will have their own elected executive and legislature.
Federal government control over education, justice, and cultural matters has been a key means of oppression since Yaoundé dissolved the old federal system in 1972. To restore trust, these policy areas—along with internal commerce, transportation, and municipal government—must be restored to the new states as their exclusive domain.
The federal government in Yaoundé will have a head of state, the President, elected by popular vote, as well as an elected parliament with representation based on population. It will retain power over defense, foreign policy, foreign trade, national health, monetary affairs, and interstate criminal justice.
A feeling of national unity, with confidence in diversity and cultural self-determination for all of Cameroon's people, is essential for the country. A legitimate government respecting every ethnic and linguistic group is the fundamental basis of both the Anglophone separatists' desire for independence, and any future in which the violence and desperation throughout Cameroon is curtailed. This federal system will deliver the justice which Cameroon's minorities seek, without further fracturing the country. Unity and mutual respect, not division, is the right way forward for Cameroon.
a global affairs media network
A Proposal for Peace in Cameroon
July 3, 2020
I
mediated an end to the Eritrean War of Independence in 1991, as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. That conflict bears some striking similarities to the ongoing crisis in Cameroon, where violence continues to rage between Anglophone separatists in the southwest region, and Paul Biya's Francophone government in Yaoundé.
On June 22, a group of prominent Nobel Prize laureates called for a ceasefire to let health workers deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, for which Cameroon is deeply unprepared amid the hostilities. Yet it will take a great deal to convince the Anglophone separatists, who frequently refer to themselves as "Ambazonians," to lay down their arms. The Yaoundé parliament's grant of "special status" to the Anglophone regions did little to address their desire for more independence.
I am writing to offer a new solution that may finally put an end to this conflict.
The Anglophone minority's grievances are rooted in historical fact: their region once enjoyed a great deal of autonomy within a federal system. In 1972 this was dissolved, and a widespread crackdown of discrimination and cultural subjugation against Anglophones ensued. Yet the Anglophone minority are far from the only group in Cameroon that feels deprived. Paul Biya's ethnic group, the Beti, dominates political and economic power, and many Francophones also feel that Cameroon in its current form is designed to limit their potential.
Indeed, the current system is utterly devoid of legitimacy. The 1972 referendum to dissolve the federation officially won 99.99% of the vote, with 98.2% turnout. Today, the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement—Biya's party—enjoys near-total control of national government. The run-up to the February 9 parliamentary elections was marred by extensive human rights abuses by both the separatists and the Biya regime. Electoral fraud by the CPDM was so widespread in the Anglophone regions that Cameroon's high court took the extraordinary step of ordering a re-run of the polls there. To no one's surprise, the second round of voting was marked by low turnout, more violence, and another CPDM victory—this time, during a global pandemic.
This is unsustainable. It is time for Francophones and Anglophones to jointly hit "reset" on Cameroon's entire governing structure. In the pre-1972 federal system, West Cameroun enjoyed its own government, including its own Prime Minister. But merely returning to this system would not address the needs of the other ethnic and cultural groups undermined by the Beti's hegemony.
The United States system, in which the state and federal governments are responsible for separate policy domains, offers a useful model. Under the U.S. Constitution, each state has its own elected governor and legislature, and enjoys control over all of the powers not explicitly reserved for the federal government.
Here is my proposal: each of the ten regions of Cameroon will become a federalized state. Currently, most of Cameroon's regions have geographic names—the new states should have names which reflect the cultural identity and heritage of the area. Each of these states will have their own elected executive and legislature.
Federal government control over education, justice, and cultural matters has been a key means of oppression since Yaoundé dissolved the old federal system in 1972. To restore trust, these policy areas—along with internal commerce, transportation, and municipal government—must be restored to the new states as their exclusive domain.
The federal government in Yaoundé will have a head of state, the President, elected by popular vote, as well as an elected parliament with representation based on population. It will retain power over defense, foreign policy, foreign trade, national health, monetary affairs, and interstate criminal justice.
A feeling of national unity, with confidence in diversity and cultural self-determination for all of Cameroon's people, is essential for the country. A legitimate government respecting every ethnic and linguistic group is the fundamental basis of both the Anglophone separatists' desire for independence, and any future in which the violence and desperation throughout Cameroon is curtailed. This federal system will deliver the justice which Cameroon's minorities seek, without further fracturing the country. Unity and mutual respect, not division, is the right way forward for Cameroon.
