Ambazonia’s legal rights … According to the law

The following was found on one of the Ambazonian social media fora. It is a long read but provides reassuring legal expertise regarding often discussed legal righteousness of the Ambazonian Liberation Struggle. Ambazonians need to read it for their education, which ever route they choose thereafter. Ambazonia exists and an internationally recognisable geographical area and qualifies as a state. Acknowledgement of the effort of others in compiling this work goes without saying … It is not claimed as the work of this poster!

Francis Ngwa put the questions to Chief Barrister Taku Charles, Read on from archives:
Q What are the legal basis for the complaints of English-speaking people in Cameroon? Do they need a federal state or an independent country to resolve the problem?
A: In answer to your question, permit me to correct one misconception implicit in it. There is no such thing as “English speaking people in Cameroon”. I presume your question is directed at the legal basis for the restoration of the Sovereignty of the Southern Cameroons- Ambazonia over her territory.
With that caveat, permit me to state clearly that it is not contested that Southern Cameroons is a state recognized as such in International Law. The Southern Cameroons fulfilled the legal criteria of Statehood spelt out in the 1932 Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States.
Article 1 of the said Convention states:
“The State as a person of International Law should possess the following qualifications:
a) a permanent population.
b) A defined territory.
c) Government.
d) Capacity to enter into relations with other states.

That the Southern Cameroons possessed these qualifications is no longer subject of reasonable controversy, regard had to be made to the fact that the UN through its Resolutions affirmed her exercise of the right of self-determination through a well-conceived procedure with full UN participation, that was to commence with a UN organized Plebiscite and ending with an Internationally recognized union treaty with La Republique du Cameroun.
That process, we all know, was aborted and so no treaty worthy of recognition and enforcement pursuant to articles 102 and 103 of the UN Charter exists between Southern Cameroons and La Republique Du Cameroon.
It is therefore futile for anyone to invoke alleged historical or political arguments to justify the existence of any union between the two, without first ascertaining whether the UN-laid down basis for the existence of a legally binding treaty was executed or faithfully implemented pursuant to the Charter responsibilities of the all the parties involved.
In conflating the notions of Sovereignty and that of Statehood to justify its annexation of the Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia, La Republique Du Cameroun is oblivious of the fact that Southern Cameroons as a Legal Order, prior to the annexation of her territory, had her own executive and legislative organs, conducted foreign relations through her own organs, had her own system of courts and legal system, had her own nationality laws, and above all had her own constitution.
Her loss of the decision making over these matters due to the overbearing foreign control through military, economic and political blackmail and downright colonial criminality do not affect her statehood status in International Law. Similarly, Iraqi exercise of sovereignty over Kuwait, American exercise of sovereignty over Iraq, Allied exercise of sovereignty over Germany after the Second World War or Soviet exercise of Sovereignty over the Soviet Republics did not ipso jure lead to a loss of the statehood of the occupied states in International Law.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights only recently reaffirmed that Southern Cameroons constitute a people recognized as such under the Charter. That can only be construed within the context of the distinctive statehood of Southern Cameroons since the constitutive tribes of La Republique do not have any of the qualifying attributes of a state defined in the Montevideo Convention.
There can be no gainsaying the fact that had La Republique du Cameroun as an occupying force not invoked the status of Southern Cameroons in International Law as well as the treaties that defined her International Boundaries, and all other acts that accord with the Montevideo Convention, the case she initiated against Nigeria would have been dismissed as a matter of law and fact.
To this extent, the exercise of sovereignty over that case, culminating in the Greentree agreement in which both Nigeria and La Republique undertook to withdraw their forces to their respective boundaries at Independence as the leadership of Ambazonia has correctly argued, is but a logical conclusion of an exercise of sovereignty which an occupying power merely undertook for the benefit of the State of Southern Cameroons- Ambazonia as their pleading and evidence tendered at trial reasonably suggests. In this regard, there is no other reasonable conclusion or inference to draw from the totality of the proceedings and its outcome. To that end, therefore, the continuous occupation of the territory of the Southern Cameroons by La Republique Du Cameroun is manifestly illegal, untenable and unacceptable.
Coming to the next arm of your question whether Southern Cameroons need a federation or independence to resolve the problem, I will defer in part to the preceding answer. I wish however to emphasize that the Southern Cameroons overwhelmingly voted for independence in a UN supervised plebiscite in 1961 and was required thereafter to exercise her right of self-determination by negotiating and defining with UN and British Government’s participation of a union treaty with La Republique du Cameroun.
Note must be taken of the fact that the British Government’s participation was in respect of her UN Charter obligation and not in any other capacity. To the extent that the said Charter responsibility was never affected and has never occurred, there is no union between La Republique Du Cameroun and Southern Cameroons.
Assuming for the purpose of argument only, one were to say that Southern Cameroons was never independent as the spokesman of La Republique Isa Tchiroma stated lately, that conflation of the notion of independence and Statehood would reasonably be construed as ignorance of the state of international law on the subject.
Ian Bronwlie and Jose’ E. Alvarez, Leading authorities on International Law have stated that it is inappropriate to confuse independence as an aspect of statehood, because several factors may explain a loss of independence and / or sovereignty which may not necessarily lead to a loss of statehood. Brownlie emphasizes that “a common source of confusion lies in the fact that “sovereignty may be used to describe the condition where a state has not exercised its own privileges, and immunities in respect of other states. In this sense, a state which has consented to another state managing its foreign relations, or which has granted extensive extra-territorial rights to another state, is not “sovereign”. If this or similar content is given to “sovereignty”, and the same ideogram is used as a criterion of statehood, then the incidents of statehood and legal personality are once again confused with their existence”.
For the above reason, it is submitted that neither the statehood nor the independence of the Southern Cameroons are in question. What is at stake is the exercise of sovereignty that both confer on the State of Southern Cameroons. It is this stolen sovereignty that we are on course to recovering. That in essence is what we call the Southern Cameroons problem.
With the suggestion that a federation may solve the problem, I may venture to state that the suggestion has been overtaken by events. These are evident in the acts and conduct of La Republique Du Cameroun that rendered the fulfillment of UN Charter responsibility on the Southern Cameroons problem impossible.
First, the UN Resolutions required that the exercise of the rights of self-determination of the people of Southern Cameroons be inviolable and sacrosanct. Neither Foncha nor Ahidjo nor any other person however so called could alienate those rights upon himself.
In addition to the none fulfillment of the UN Charter responsibilities by the UN and Great Britain as stated above, all acts undertaken by these individuals or who so ever at Foumban where a purported Federal Constitution was allegedly conceived adopted and promulgated by Ahidjo without the sanction of the Southerns Cameroons through her House of Assembly or by referendum was null and void ab initio and without an legal effect whatsoever.
Even if the Federal Constitution that came out of that process was legitimate, the subsequent violation of article 47 of the said constitution that rendered any amendment that impaired the federal character of the Republic null and void rendered the alleged union the constitution purported to create void ab initio.
Besides, that constitution was not and could not be the union treaty contemplated by the UN Resolutions on Southern Cameroons because in promulgating the said Constitution into law, Ahmadou Ahidjo did not draw inspiration from the UN Resolution on Southern Cameroons, or the Plebiscite of 11 February 1961. He simply did so through an amendment of and adaptation to the Constitution of a “reunified La Republique Du Cameroun” of 4 March 1960 through Law No. 61-24 of 1 September 1961.
It is therefore in error for anyone to hold that that amendment of the Constitution of La Republique Du Cameroun by Law No. 61-24 of 1 September 1961 even before the Independence of the Southern Cameroons on 1 October 1961 created a valid and subsisting union contemplated by the UN for the purpose of its charter obligations. That law was rather the very basis of annexation and colonization of the Southern Cameroons which all peace-loving people of the world must condemn vehemently.
It was therefore in perpetuation of this illegality that La Republique Du Cameroun in 1972 organized a purported referendum to create a unitary state, in violation of article 47 of its own amended constitution, a so-called Federal Constitution.
These illegalities and criminal annexation and colonization have invariably been denounced by Prominent Southern Cameroonians led by HRM Fon Gorgi Dinka, Professor Carlson Anyangwe, Albert Womah Mukong and a plethora of others listed by an eminent Camerounian Scholar Pierre Fabien Nkot in his seminal book “Usage Politiques du Droit En Afrique: Le Cas Du Cameroun”.pg35-40.
In recognition of the illegalities denounced vehemently and persistently by many led by Fon Dinka in particular for and on behalf of the severely repressed revolting masses of the Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia and cognizant of the gravity of the consequences of the crimes of annexation and colonization, the President of La Republique Du Cameroun, Paul Biya, in 1984, enacted a law reverting the Republique du Cameroun to its legal personality at Independence, and with it, its internationally recognized boundaries, its state symbols and re-emphasized this fact as Dinka has rightly stated in the Greentree agreement with Nigeria.
La Republique Du Cameroun was offered an opportunity to get into a valid, Federation with the Southern Cameroons at the AAC1, reiterated at the AACII and she declined. In so declining, she exercised an act of sovereignty which Southern Cameroons was mandated in law to respect and did respect. La Republique is similarly obligated to respect International Law and her UN Charter obligations by vacating the territory of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia forthwith.
According to Pierre Fabien Nkot, (pg 40) Paul Biya has boasted that he was ready to organize a referendum to show the world that only a minority of Southern Cameroons was agitating to regain her sovereignty. The African Commission ordered that dialogue should be held under its auspices to resolve the Southern Cameroons problem. I encourage President Biya to bring this suggestion to the negotiating table which if accepted could be an alternative to violence and needless loss of life and limb.
For me, and a majority of Southern Cameroonians, anything other than a regain of sovereignty in conformity with international law is simply unacceptable. The contrary will give tacit blessings to impunity and crimes against the peace for which the UN and the civilized world are firmly opposed.

AMBAZONIA_MUST_BE_FREE K.A 💙

Indicate your view in the vote.

The IG calls for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Comrade Abdul Karim Ali

The IG has issued a statement calling on international partners and stakeholders for peace to bring their influence to bear on La Republique du Cameroun to release the recently abducted Ambazonia scholar Abdul Karim Ali.

Having contacted the victim’s family, the IG is able to ascertain that Comrade Abdul Karim Ali is in good spirits and has been visited both by family of counsel.

Here is the IG’s communique.

Why the Federalists are wrong

This post comes a bit out of date and that is ironic because the “arguments” submitted by this sample of federalists is itself … out of date. Who knew!

The Ambazonia Restoration War has switched gear recently to expand on communication. There is a new untenable class called “Federalists” who find themselves promoting, at once the idea that the international community is not going to help while relying on the intervention of the international community in an eventual negotiation for Federation. We recall that La Republique du Cameroun started the war to avoid any idea of federation and actively dissuaded many from even using the very word.

New platforms have led to the highlight of some of the voices of “pro-federation anglophone figures” in debates and 1-on-1’s.

Whereas their previous highlight was the effort of Cardinal Tumi which culminated in the first established temperature of Anglophone opinion on the conflict, recent outings have come from proponents of Federation.

Speaking on ABS TV in Mar/April 2022, Dr. Munzu described “national negotiations” which would come “after LRC and Separatists come to realise the war is too expensive and unwinnable”. These “national negotiations” remind of the GDN of yore.

Dr Munzu imagined that the Federalists were the middle ground saviours who would provide a happy-median between the antagonists. Though this is a paraphrase it does carry the idea he tried and intended to convey.

The first question which was not posed, and therefore not answered, was the morality of not only waiting in the wings while children got killed in Ambazonia, but actually declaring that they [the federalists] were waiting thus! Anyone who would so calculatingly wait to come in and pick up the pieces could hardly be empathetic enough to solve the problems that invariably arise from such conflicts, even if the antagonists, somehow were to agree to cede their positions to the self-proclaimed “median”!

As “an expert on international workings”, having worked at the UN, Dr Munzi decried the futility of the Ambazonians’ efforts in conducting an armed restoration struggle, “as international law does not allow secession”. Forget Timor L’Est. Forget Somaliland, though they are not recognized yet. The outing reminded very much of the La Republique du Cameroun tactic of wheeling out “experts” to present illogical and untenable arguments. Let’s say if secessions never happened we would not have the examples cited – and the very word would not exist. The more accurate idea is that they do happen in eventual negotiations.

The illogic of Dr. Munzu’s position is the question of why LRC and Ambazonia would go to negotiations, one having objected to their dysfunctional union and the other having violently objected to federation, and that both voluntarily accept federation. So having explained how the international community would not help, the Federalists are now implying that the same international community will basically impose a federation!

The Federalist “upgrade” idea

The most recent effort and a more refined one came from Dr Ben Akih, who introduced himself as an Engineering professor from Syracuse University.

Drawing on his conjunction of political science “training” he emphasised how international law, and national law, forbade separation and rendered the restoration struggle futile…unless it is won in the war! Dismissing the prospect of winning, Dr Akih proceeded to outline a method for forcing “the government of LRC” to change. He actually described it as a way for the people to “defeat the government” lawfully.

On the way to that plan Dr Akih listed and condemned the various violations that French Cameroon had committed since the 1961 reunification:

< begin paraphrase>

It is wrong to celebrate 20th May as a national holiday as it marks a constitutional violation of the federation of West Cameroon and East Cameroon.
The referendum that changed the federation was unconstitutional as it violated articles of the federal Constitution.
The Cameroon government is wrong to be enforcing a unitary state and calling it national unity. These are two different concepts… as, taking the example of the US, the the US is very much united around allegiance to the flag and yet functions as a federation so national unity is not about a unitary state, concepts which the francophone populations confuse.
The manipulator is France, who set up the whole process by helping their collaborators appropriate, against their wishes [so much that East Cam PM Andre Marie Mbida resigned], the unification program/ideas of the UPC before “independence. [ France has a lot to lose as democracy in Cameroon could lead to similar in other French colonies, viz Chad, Mali, Togo …]

Dr Akih missed out the first violation, namely not bothering to bring the treaty of union to either state assembly! That means the Federation did not exist and none of the other violations matter! Nor do any international law theories!

In any case Dr Akih, to his credit, does admit that winning the war would do!

With the lack of union treaty and the fact that LRC became independent in Jan 1960 and was a separate country for more than a year whereas Southern Cameroons was a separate independent [even if just technically] for months while the union treaty was meant to be concluded, international law would be hard pressed to enforce a union that never was as secession would not apply!

Here is Dr Akih’s plan for achieving federation in 2025!

Why 2025? Well, the plan relies on everyone massively registering to vote and the introduction of polling so that “parties” can see from polls that Federation is the most popular option for the electorate! No explanation yet for why francophones, who [falsely] imagine themselves to be the beneficiaries of the unitary state… and are not used to the freedoms of thought that characterise Southern Cameroonians, would prefer federation. Well, the solution is that the margin between competing parties should be less than 20% as the Southern Cameroons electorate accounts for 20% in “the would-be federation” as that would demonstrate to the parties that they need to be federalists… Suspend disbelieve for once, that even in the more democratic countries parties have been known to ignore their manifestos after elections. OR that Elecam is supposed to organise the elections… Or even that all Southern Cameroonians [including Ambazonians] would want to vote in the “massive block”.

So, the LRC government, which Dr Akih says bans polls, will agree to legalise polls in time for 2025 and let Elecam run free elections so that they can lose…after fighting a genocidal war in the last six years! So why not just negotiate and leave out the war part?

Please maintain suspension of disbelief! There is a recourse for “if” it is “clear that the elections have been rigged”… say the Constitutional Council hears pleas and announces a result that “could be proved” to be contrary to the polls [prior polls, yes, those polls that everyone in the polling community always so do not guarantee the results!].

In Cameroons case the polls need to be believed, which we are as we are suspending disbelief so in the event on a rigged election result … “we should go out and fight” for the result in “massive protests”

You couldn’t make it up!

Abdul Karim Ali Abducted in Bamenda

Muslim scholar Abdulkarim Ali has been abducted in Bamenda. Witnesses describe him being bundled away in an armoured car to Up Station Bamenda on Thursday 11 August 2022.

Concerned Southern Cameroons groups are calling for his immediate and unconditional release given that he has not been charged and has not even been acknowledged. His family were reportedly turned away on Friday 12 August 2022 when they went bring him food.

The personnel claimed ignorance of his whereabouts.

The Cameroun regime is renowned for arbitrary detentions without trial including some really tragic cases.

Though ministers like to recite “etat de droit” and in even occasionally “innocent until proven guilty” the vast majority of detainees in La Republique du Cameroun are held without trial, some for merely being accused of defamation.

Ambazonia How to Consolidate Our Freedom

“Hail! Hail! Hail this land of glory!”

Over the last six years Ambazonia has been defying LRC’s occupation in the face of terror tactics designed to dissuade the Ambazonian civilians. In this post a suggestion of how to start controlling our destiny and decolonising.

Villages have been burnt, civilians killed, children killed on their way to school, ruthlessness and impunity all to no avail.

Though all these acts have pained Ambazonians, they have also reinforced their dignity in saying “No! Enough!”.
Even large amounts of money swirling around have not moved the long suffering civilians who have seen straight through it.

“Ambazonia risen to fall no more”
Some francophones have started openly defending the Ambazonian right and pointing out characteristics which could explain LRC’s abject failure with the tactics that their French mentor’s once used against the Cameroun Independence movement before installing the colonial proxies who still occupy LRC.
One phrase from a recent video by a francophone “sister” was “les anglophone sont ‘According to the law’“. This is a true attribute which would go to explain the failure of the terror and bribery tactics which have failed LRC.
We want our freedom and we want to maintain it in perpetuity. Temporary gratification from money does not get any Ambazonian anywhere. In LRC Ambazonians have no dignity and no future for their children. Even money does not guarantee anything given that our children’s talents cannot be developed in a biased and rigged system where the constant lock up of all opportunities to the families of a small clique will continue to create frustration for all the talented Ambazonian children. What use is money if your children cannot develop?

“Allegiance to the heroes who bore this land with their blood”
Having endured these LRC terror and temptation what should Ambazonians do now?

We should now shift from defiance to progressive decolonisation by controlling our destiny.
The immediate key for Ambazonians is to quietly move towards community education in their local community schools. As we already fund the infrastructure in all schools that LRC claim to create, it is not a huge jump to take control and run our schools with a local and relevant curriculum.
There is help in developing the Ambazonian Curriculum and sourcing qualifications to assess the Ambazonian children’s educational development independently of LRC strictures and “structures”, if we can describe the chaos as a structure!
When Ambazonian parents make this move, it is unlikely LRC will be able to sustain the occupation. They may up the terror and the bribery but Ambazonians need to think long term and hold their collective nerves. This move will remove the tax that LRC collects from Ambazonia through all those “registrations” for rigged exams that do not secure any route up the social ladder under LRC occupation. By so doing it will hasten the departure of LRC and mean that our children’s qualifications actually have a value in getting them opportunities in Ambazonia and internationally.

On the security front, the RFs should aim to push away the roadblocks that LRC uses to collect a stealth tax from Ambazonia on a daily basis. The capital that we lose through these roadside bribe/taxes is currently paying for the terror they are raining on us! When we stop paying and wasting that capital, it can be used to develop our own economy and reward our citizens’ efforts and ambition. Once the roadblocks have gone our RFs can keep a discreet security eye for our community schools as we undertake this step of our decolonisation.

Build Bridges and Link Arms
This scenario is going to work dependent on the collaboration of our citizens and RFs who should henceforth see themselves as fellow citizens in the same struggle for our liberation for the same collective dignity “according to the law” and for “fair play” in all social and economic competition.

“You shall live in plenty meeting our needs”
“And your children shall be like the stars above”

Ambazonia A Okay!

Ambazonia progress and power.

“Hail! Hail! Hail this land of glory!”

Six years ago Ambazonia was a fringe idea and a word used by a small collection of people. There was a debate even among those people whether it was better to stick to “Southern Cameroons” or “Former British Southern Cameroons” or use the “less familiar” “Ambazonia”. Today we are no longer debating the name. We know our legal righteousness. We know our moral righteousness. We have reclaimed our dignity.

“We, the Ambazonians, pledge our loyalty!”

In this write up I will attempt to get us to take a positive stock of the progress and power of Ambazonia bearing in mind how much psychological attack we the Ambazonians are withstanding. That we do not even know we are under such attack, makes it even more remarkable that we are withstanding it. The truth is Ambazonia is doing the job for us. Ambazonia is protecting us as a nation should protect its citizens. All around the globe we are holding our heads high and savouring the dignity that once eluded us when we would hear the phrase “but I thought Cameroun is a francophone country”!

This week when that assertion was made at the Commonwealth games in Birmingham #Birmingham2022 it was true and valid! As the presenters announced LRC athletes in the opening ceremony, they announced that Cameroun is “an odd example of a francophone country which is in the Commonwealth.” All I can say to any LRC functionary who provided this gem to the BBC is “Thank You!”. How long have we been trying to establish our separateness from LRC. We look forward to our participation if we deem it in our interest to apply to join!

“Allegiance to our heroes who bore the land with their blood”

Our fora are flooded with clumsy suggestive write-ups to make us question our commitment and accuse each other. We pick them up and spread them further with our own magnifications and single-person witness statements, some of them third-hand quotes. And yet Ambazonia has only gotten stronger. LRC functionaries and lackeys now accept and use the name with the correct spelling – which is more than can be said for their use of the names of their “head of government” at the start of “his government”! Renowned diplomates are using the name routinely, as in without supplementary explanations or Southern Cameroons in brackets. As per the foregoing regarding #Birmingham2022, internationally renowned and authoritative media house of the calibre of the BBC acknowledge our separateness from LRC! They no longer mention us as an appendage to French Cameroun!

Ambazonians continue to express their choice weekly in quiet dignified observation of meditative “country Sunday”. LRC has tried to inflict all sorts of pain, offer inducements and bribes, threatened livelihoods, threatened and applied violence and non of these have dissuaded the masses. If anything these LRC efforts have validated the righteousness of Ambazonia. Ambazonians have come to value and treasured their sacrifice for their nation and the dignity that the nation is giving them.

“You shall live in plenty, meeting our needs!”

Enter the psycholgical effort! It used to be called propaganda in olden times and consisted blatant slanted messages with a clear characteristic designed to raise the morale of one side while sapping that of the other. It was easily indentifiable as it could be easily sourced, that is, it did not take much to tell where it had come from. For one thing, propagandists did not bother to disguise who they were, but rather concentrated on the message. These days it is heavily disguised and because of the prevalence of social media and the relative lack of cost it is more aand more shrouded as it propagates. By the time a message has been forwarded five times, it is practically impossible to determine its source or its purpose. But that only makes it more effective as it engages most people in debating and propagating it – each propagation lending more plausibility as it appears to come, implicitly endorsed, by our “contacts”!

“Ambazonia, Land of Freedom!”

Our reminder to deal with this psych ops is to remember the fundamentals.
We are Ambazonians from Ambazonia, a UN recognised territory with international boundaries.
We had no army or leadership when LRC decided to launch a war against us. Ironically in so doing validating our status as a separate nation. LRC helped define our boundaries by targeting us for the internet blackout. They validate and define our borders by giving us the nickname NOSO and subjecting our citizens to the treatments they do… including the special treatment as the only place in the world where soldiers fire live rounds into school-run traffic or burn down villages with pregnant women and children – and repeat the dose!
The people of Ambazonia now accept they are Ambazonian and express that weekly.
The people of Ambazonia are decolonising their minds in small but significant steps. Even when they study under LRC they know they are just keeping up with the international knowledge competition. Increasingly Ambazonia is running community schools, which are the genesis of our next step in decolonization.
We have many who are putting their lives on the line to defend Ambazonia for zero pay! How much more does anyone need to “prove” the persistence and resilience of a state! Ambazonia gives her citizens dignity and her citizens like that dignity and love their nation.

“And your children shall be like the stars above”

Collaboration! Ambazonians who know they are Ambazonian should collaborate with Ambazonia! Build the bridges that will speed up our liberation.
Some of us, including even those who know this psych ops is going on, are occasionally down-hearted.

The solution is to have a look at the Anthem and the Flag each morning…

AND REMEMBER MOST OF THE NEGATIVE FORWARDS EVEN FROM YOUR CONTACTS ORIGINATE FROM LRC’s AGENTS. DELETE THEM! THEY DO NOT AFFECT OUR RESTORATION.

“The Most High God is the Watchman of our Nation”

Ambazonia! You are A-Okay!

Collaboration on Ambazonia Restoration

Collaboration is a very obvious concept. All Ambazonians would mention collaboration as a way to progress the Restoration more quickly, even if just to decry the lack of it! On this page we attempt to outline the manifestations of collaboration that could be embarked on in a daily routine.

Between RFs

This is where our self-defence groups back and support each other. Even if they are from different groups, they know that they are working for the common goal of restoring the nationhood of Ambazonia. They know that the existence of each of their separate groups means that Ambazonia is more likely to succeed. They have more eyes if they can rely on each other. If LRC militias are traversing our country, our RF should rely on each other to keep them informed so that they are not surprised. If one of our RF groups is attacked, they should rely on nearby RFs of different groups to back them up and mitigate any damage and fallout. This situation would make all the RFs safer together – that is because of the existence of the several RF groups. This sort of collaboration relies heavily on trust that can only be built locally. They must rely on their own instincts and observation on the ground to decide where such collaboration is feasible and possible. The RFs must communicate at least to avoid any misunderstandings that could expose all of them to danger. They must remember that they are the ones putting their lives on the line and must prioritize their own local instincts over any dubious or doubtful or illogical orders from outside. If the RF collaborate this way, those dubious orders will cease as, lets face it, the authors of those dubious schemes who are not on the ground, are not the ones putting their lives on the line. The minimum common area should be to be sure or trust that the separate RFs are definitely working to liberate Ambazonia. Of course like in every sphere of life all such collaboration should be under constant review and because it is not joining, could be adjusted or ceased or intensified as confidence changes. Remember it is your lives you are putting on the line! Money is not everything! You will be rewarded more when our country is free, but you must make sure you keep all RF lives safe as they are the most essential ingredient of the restoration. You need to be able to trust that RFs are RFs. If they are, you have worked out that they are working for the Restoration and that they rely on you just like you rely on them. That means they will inform you if enemy forces are headed in your direction, or information you and request back up when they engage the enemy. All of this depends on a level of confidence that is built slowly based on intelligence – sustained intelligence.

Between RFs and Civilians

The restoration started when all Ambazonians came out in 2017 on that September day. Grand mothers came out, children came out, all areas came out. All areas have constantly observed the Country Sunday all this time ever since. That is because the vast majority of our citizens are committed to the restoration. Our population needs to rely on the RFs as the RFs need to rely on our population. The RFs should be different from LRC militias when our population encounter them. For example our population should not feel they need to hand over money to any RFs like they commonly have to every time they come across LRC roadblocks. Our population needs to feel safe that the RFs are working to protect them in all circumstances. If any citizen is arrested, there must be no question that the solution is that money should be paid. That would be kidnapping for ransom, which is a war crime and is utterly un-Ambazonian. In the war-situation we need our population to back our RFs and this will only come from mutual trust. In fact our RFs and population should aim to get to the state where we are just all the citizens with the same objective of regaining our dignity and freedom in our nation, that is, not even thinking of two sides. RFs know that our citizens will be under pressure and being courted by the enemy with all manner of inducements. As such RFs must work on winning hearts and minds. Our people must be able to see a better future when our nation is restored. They must be able to spot at least one positive difference between the RFs and the enemy forces in those daily encounters. If RF road blocks have been mounted they should be necessary and for a purpose but must not subject our citizens to anything they experience at the hands of the enemy. The aim should be that the RFs cause the withdrawal of the enemy check points as that would be a very swift improvement and positive dividend of the liberation struggle.

These two areas of collaboration on the ground would go a long way to speed up the end of the La Republique du Cameroun occupation of Ambazonia.

The Mistakes

Collaboration is so logical that some think that it is simple and must be done. It is certainly logical but the collaborators need to rely on their assessment of each other to ensure that they are working on the common cause. They should collaborate in different stages. You could share some information first, then when confident enough, have meetings, then resources or operations. Certainly do not expose your bases as a first step unless you have the strong trust to back your instincts. If someone is offended because you are not exposing all your resources and positions, it is OK. They should be carrying out the same due diligence and should understand and be patient if they wish to build confidence. Don’t prioritize hospitality, prioritize security!

Diaspora Collaboration

The diaspora has more time to collaborate and the dangers for them are not as immediate. Obviously their collaboration is important for optimising the resources they have to put in the restoration. Working together would make the resources go a longer way by avoiding anything from duplication at best, to in-fighting at worst. The due diligence for this collaboration should follow the same methods of establishing the common base of their ideas – aiming for the restoration of Ambazonia. The three outcomes of this collaboration would be to encourage the G0 collaborations, gain favourable diplomatic resources and nudge LRC towards a more sensible easier negotiated route out.

The IG document on Building Bridges outlines the protocols for diaspora collaboration but it is also a good basis for all the other aspects discussed above. The gist of that document is summarised:

The IG is OPEN to building bridges of reconciliation, collaboration or unity with any Ambazonian entity (individual, group, movement, association, organization) that meets the following two obligatory prerequisites:

1) Existence of evidences of an OPEN DECLARATION that the Ambazonian entity in question stands for the total and unconstitutional INDEPENDENCE of the Former British Southern Cameroons aka Ambazonia.
2) Documented evidences or TRACT RECORD of the Ambazonian entity (individual, group, movement, association, organization) FIGHTING the enemy LRC Diplomatically or/and Legally (Litigation) or/and by Advocacy or/and militarily through the self-Defence actions of their forces in G0.

Addendum

The chaos of audio and counter-audio in the August lockdown and no August lockdown must have been music to Dobekreo’s ears!

Declaring a “no lockdown” is a very difficult logical and psychological message to send. But it needed to be sent and the whole fallout of the situation could yet have the positive outcome of triggering the sensible collaboration scenarios, some of which are suggested here. Too much time has passed for us to put the spectacle to “lack of experience”. It is clearly an issue of egos and of ignoring the constant and common message from the ground calling for “one voice”. That means collaboration. No single “leader” should have taken it on themselves to declare a lockdown whether for a day or a month without consulting others. That must be the big lesson. In future if many audios come out for a lockdown they should all have the same message. If they are many it should only be because they are in our different languages rather than because they are from different groups.

What we can attribute the spectacle to is lack of maturity. We do not have mature leaders yet who would see the main objective ahead of any idea that they personally are “the liberators”. Maturity will be when they work out that they should keep in constant communication on their common objectives and try to expand those objectives so as to optimize the effectiveness of their efforts.

The key word is listen. Listen to GZ, The Diaspora is not more important or cleverer! Listen to the RFs, they have a better idea of what is going on and can be more helpful to other RFs than the Diaspora “Strategists”. RF lives have to be treasured and guarded jealously. Any RFs killed and displayed by the enemy is an affront to all RFs first, and then to the dignity of our nation. We need to know all enemy movements on our land and ensure we use them to minimize further losses.

We have less resources than the enemy. We have less experience with manipulation tactics. But we have Right, Resilience and …our Flag.

Normal week, no lockdown…

The IG has noticed fake information claiming the government had ordered a lockdown in response to Mr Macron’s visit to LRC.

No such lockdown has been ordered as Mr Macron’s visit has nothing to do with our country. We do not need to send any particular messages to the French as they must, like everyone else and perhaps even better, the exactions that have been visited on our people.

The IG expects to continue to pursue the restoration of Ambazonia.

Macron’s state visit to LRC. What does it matter to Ambazonia?

Mr Macron’s visit comes too late in the period of the Ambazonia liberation war. Too late for France, too late for french Cameroun and just too late, period.

What should Ambazonians do? Nothing! Well, nothing special. In the last six years Ambazonians have regained their dignity and should carry on enjoying it in every way they can. We have persisted with the country Sunday week in week out. We should “behave free” and remain focused on ending the LRC occupation.

Our errors of the past were good errors. Our founding fathers thought we were joining brothers in good faith and it turned out those brothers were conniving proxies of France to maintain colonies in Africa. We accept that was the founding fathers’ error and we ask ourselves who are we going to be? Are we going to resume our position of helpless victims or persist in our newfound dignity and restore our nation? That is the question every Ambazonian on ground zero must ask themselves. Though life has not got any easier in the last few years it is clear that dignity is back. No longer is “Bamenda” the insult it used to be. We can proudly tell Camerounese that we are from Bamenda.

The arrival of Mr Macron is going to attempt to solve one problem for LRC – the succession. The “obvious” french mechanism to anoint a son as the “chop-chair”. From our perspective, the chop-chair whose kite had been testing the skies brings nothing to our attention. We have not lost school children, grandmothers, pregnant women young men and villages only to return to second-class citizenship under lazier and more incompetent nobodies! Not even with the support of the French and British behind them! Our lives and livelihoods are not available to be sacrificed to maintain a concept that was constructed by foreign occupiers for their own interests. Without justice, it makes no difference whether Cameroon continues to exist. We would not be losing anything!

Given the foregoing truism, the French may be tempted to engineer the “Anbglophons’ turn”. This would take the form of finding a stooge they would present as the next president of LRC. Of course that would only be a temporary break to try and also kill off the restoration of Ambazonia as, they might calculate, the ARF might be susceptible to suggestions that that is the change that was demanded. To make sure, they could “grant” a federation “of sorts”, then in a few years the francophones would resume their position and proceed with the assimilation. Ambazonians should simply behave free and not be dazzled. It would be hard to explain the last six years of repression on the very word federation only to “grant it”.

This scenario is extremely unlikely given the limited amount of time to construct it, but nothing can be put beyond the French, witness their recent exploits in renewing their proxies in neighbouring Chad! Who could the stooge be? PMM? PAN? JDN?

They might try not to make it too obvious. Choose a francophone and “reform to a federation of sorts”. They would be pressed for time and plausibility in repressing for these years only to “reform”, but that would be under-hand as only the French can do.

Ambazonians should ignore any such offers.

Of note is the idea that the “choice” is unlikely to be Ambazonian but more likely a facilitator from the ranks of the so-called elites. In that case we can trust Ambazonians to see past any appearances and remain resilient and focused on “behaving free”. We must remember how we have been exploited and and abused over the decades and not be tempted just because sardines are dangled!

All of this is mere speculation and supposition given the fact that it is all too late! And the visit is not even confirmed!

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FMA has taken Ambazonia within sight of the finishing line…

… Ambazonians now need to take possession and “behave free” as we continue to #fee4fire.

When it was still feasible for LRC’s militias to crush the will of Ambazonia

When LRC militias casually burnt homes and grand mothers in Ambazonia

When LRC militias casually issued statement to the effect that they had “neutralised suspected separatists” in Ambazonia

When LRC media routinely referred to Ambazonia as an ” imaginary state they call Ambazonia”

When we still thought marching to the Commonwealth Headquarters would do it for Ambazonia

When Mr Biya thought “declaring war” on Ambazonia was a metaphor…

Field Marshal stepped up

Field Marshal maintained the heat

Field Marshal changed minds until Ambazonia became a normal word

Field Marshal inspired others to step up

That means the departure of Field Marshal from the stage, though very painful, does not threaten the existence of Ambazonia

Now to “behave free”, Ambazonia needs to multiply community schools to and use our own curriculum and qualifications. The exit of Field Marshal cannot be anything but the hand over of the baton to all citizens.

We honour Field Marshal today in our hearts as we wait to honour him appreciately when the occupation ends.

Glory to the heroes who bear our land with their blood.

The Most High God is the Watchman of Ambazonia.