CI-NEWS

333 more Anglophone detainees freed

2019-10-08

No: 450

The long wait before the reading and adoption of committee reports last Thursday at the Major National Dialogue was by design. H.E. Felix Mbayu, General Rapporteur of the forum, employed diplomacy to plead with delegates to patiently wait for the arrival of the PM. Then probably on instructions from high quarters, the deputy chair of the MND, Bishop Kome, began chairing the deliberations with the report on the committee charged with the role of the Diaspora in the crisis and contribution to the country’s development read by Mbafor Afesi Jean Marc. It was at the end of this report that Prime Minister Dion Ngute arrived with fresh breaking news:

The President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul BIYA, has ordered the discontinuance of the proceedings pending before the Military Tribunals against certain persons arrested and detained for misdemeanours committed in the context of the crisis in the North-West and South-West regions;

This important presidential measure concerns three hundred and thirty three (333) people.

Announcing the news to journalists shortly after, Dr George Ewane, spokesperson for the MND said “It will be implemented without delay by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency, in charge of Defence.”

Commenting on the decision, he told the press;

“With this new order, the Head of State once again confirms his irreversible resolve to work towards the restoration of peace in the North-West and South-West regions, to see our young compatriots from these two regions return to the right path and make their contributions to the lofty task of national construction.

I would like to remind you that since the beginning of the crisis, this concern for appeasement has been a constant concern of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul BIYA.

This is reflected in the many measures taken to this end, including:

The discontinuance, in August 2017, of the pending proceedings before the Yaoundé Military Tribunal against certain leaders from the North-West and South-West of Cameroon accused of acts of terrorism,
The discontinuance, in December 2018, of pending legal proceedings against 289 people arrested for offences committed in connection with this crisis,
The offer of peace to members of armed groups invited to lay down their arms and benefit from a social reintegration process,
The launch of a comprehensive humanitarian assistance plan for our stricken compatriots in the North-West and South-West regions,
The establishment of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration,

And the list is not exhaustive.

In any case, all these presidential measures, including today’s, must be seen as decisive steps towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis in the North-West and South-West regions.”

Ewane then gave a synthesis of major resolutions reached during the plenary debriefing session:

The adoption of a special status for the two regions of the North-West and South-West, in accordance with Article 62 of our Constitution, including the restoration of a House of Traditional Chiefs in these two regions and the election of local governors in these two regions;
The return to the name “United Republic of Cameroon”;
The enforcement of Article 66 of the Constitution on the declaration of assets;
The rotation of the celebration of the National Day of Unity among regions;
The rapid integration of ex-combatants into society;
The immediate relaunch of certain airport and seaport projects in the South-West and North-West,
The insertion of English sentences in presidential speeches, among other things.

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333 more Anglophone detainees freed