Who are Cameroon′s self-named Ambazonia secessionists? | Africa | DW
October 1 this year will mark the second anniversary since separatists in Cameroon’s northwest and southwest regions proclaimed a so-called independent state “Ambazonia.” It is a symbolic date: on the very same day in 1961, the East, which was then administered by the French, and the West, administered by the British, were united to form Cameroon. Something, the “Ambazonians” want to reverse. This year, the day will be under close watch: Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has announced plans to hold a “national dialogue” with the aim of ending the conflict.
It is a conflict which is scarred by violence and severe human rights violations from both security forces and armed groups, Amnesty International reported. 3,000 people have died and close to half a million have been displaced. Multiple separatists groups have formed in the southwest and northwest of the country.
Who are the ‘Amba-boys’?
Agbor Balla, an Anglophone human rights lawyer, tells DW: ” I think each county or each community is coming up with its own groups. There are about 10 groups, including the Ambazonia Defense Forces, the Tigers, and groups working for the interim government of Ambazonia.” All of these groups serve one purpose: the fight for independence. It is a struggle that has a long history.
In the run-up to their independence, residents of British-administered Southern Cameroon, which included the northwest and southwest regions, held a referendum on 30 September 1961 under the auspices of the United Nation. The question was whether they wanted to belong to the newly Independent Federal Republic of Nigeria or to French-administered Cameroon. Under promises of a federal state and English as the official language, English-speaking Southern Cameroon joined the majority French-speaking East. Despite the agreement, Cameroon became a unitary state in 1972. “Many think that if we had remained faithful to the Federal Republic of Cameroon we would not have had the problems we have now,” Cardinal Christian Tumi tells DW.
Marginalizing Cameroon’s Anglophone regions
In the 1990s, Anglophone parties issued threats of declaring independence unless the old constitution was re-instated. They felt marginalized by the majority francophone government. Joseph Wirba, self-exiled Cameroonian MP, told DW: “We joined a nation that did not want our freedom and they presumed that they had to eliminate our culture gradually, to reduce us to second class citizens. That neglect pushed people gradually over the years to that extreme to say: no, we can not continue to be treated that way.”
On 12 October 2016, lawyers and teachers started demonstrating peacefully. Schools were closed and the ‘ghost town’ strikes started – for several days each week, shops and institutions closed their doors. The government responded by shutting down the internet, arresting and intimidating protestors.
Independence of ‘Ambazonia’
On 1 October 2017, separatists declared an independent state, which they named Ambazonia. The government sent in forces, and large-scale fighting broke out. Bullets and tear gas were unleashed onto civilian population the cross-hairs. According to Amnesty International, 17 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded.
Reverend Thomas Mokoko Mbue, from the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, says in a DW interview: “It was the beginning of a radical movement towards armed struggle. The argument was that the government had attacked their people who were unarmed and that they needed to defend them, so armed groups were formed.”
No chain of command
Freedom fighters, radicals, or Amba-boys – nowadays, the separatists have many names. Mark Bareta, a Cameroonian activist in the diaspora fighting for Ambazonia, explains: “At the moment we have different groups, different structures: Those who decided to pick up arms and are fighting the republic, those doing diplomacy and those providing support to those in the bushes.”
The groups don’t have a chain of command. “You cannot really identify how they operate,” Balla says. People like Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, one of the imprisoned Cameroon Anglophone separatist leaders, would not be controlling the movement. Tabe and nine of his followers were convicted of charges including terrorism and secession. However, “the ones acting on behalf of Sisiku are very important, some take orders from them,” Balla says. “Some leaders of the groups are in contact, they make joint statements.”
The lines between good and evil
Some of the armed groups are led and funded by Cameroonians living in the diaspora, Balla says. “The diaspora, these are Cameroonians. Some want to see things changed, some of them want to have an independent state, some of them might have had their issues with the government. Some of them might have been blacklisted and they cannot come back to the country. So some hope to come back to an independent state.” However, most groups survive through kidnappings and ransom.
The fights have become increasingly brutal, schools, hospitals and whole villages are burned down, people murdered and intimidated. “At the beginning, abuses were mostly and largely committed by government forces. Now the line between the bad and the good is really blurred and we see these separatist groups attacking and targeting civilians,” explains Ilaria Allegrozzi from Human Rights Watch. “Civilians are really being caught in the middle of this crisis and paying the highest price.”
A lost generation
Another worrying phenomenon stresses the severity of the conflict. “Armed robbers have re-branded themselves, calling themselves Amba-Groups,” Mbue says. They recruit young men and profit out of the situation: “Kidnappings, ransom taking, breaking into homes. They loot whatever they want to loot.”
Mbue is worried: If the conflict continues, the young generation of “Ambazonia” will be lost. “There are kids of eight years who have never seen a school. Young men dropped out of secondary school and have become barbarians of their community, they lost their basic sense of civilization and only see the option of carrying guns. A whole generation is going down.” Some of the fighters are as young as 15 years, Mbue says. “It is heartbreaking to see those who are to build our community dying because of a senseless war.”
Dirke Köpp contributed to this article.
Ni nani wanaojitambulisha kama waasi wa Ambazonia nchini Kamerun? "Kama ilivyoelezwa, tarehe 1 Oktoba mwaka huu ni maadhimisho ya miaka miwili tangu wapiganaji wa kujitenga katika maeneo ya kaskazini magharibi na kusini magharibi mwa Kamerun walipotangaza ""ambazonia"" kuwa nchi huru, tarehe hiyo ni ya mfano: siku moja tu mwaka 1961 mashariki, ambayo wakati huo ilikuwa chini ya utawala wa Ufaransa, na magharibi, iliyokuwa chini ya utawala wa Uingereza, yaliungana na kuunda Kamerun." Kitu ambacho "Wambazonians" wanataka kukigeuza. Mwaka huu, siku hiyo itazingatiwa kwa ukaribu: Rais wa Kamerun Paul Biya ametangaza mipango ya kufanya "mjadala wa kitaifa" kwa lengo la kumaliza mgogoro. "Mashambulizi hayo yamekuwa yakisababishwa na ""mauaji na ukiukaji mkubwa wa haki za binadamu"" na vikosi vya usalama na vikundi vya silaha,"" shirika la Amnesty International limesema." Watu 3,000 wamefariki dunia na karibu nusu milioni wamehamishwa. Vikundi vingi vya kujitenga vimeundwa kusini magharibi na kaskazini magharibi mwa nchi hiyo. Ni nani "wavulana wa Amba"? Agbor Balla, mwanasheria wa haki za binadamu wa Kiingereza, anawaambia DW: <unk> Nadhani kila kaunti au kila jamii inakuja na vikundi vyake mwenyewe. Kuna vikundi 10 hivi, ikiwa ni pamoja na Vikosi vya Ulinzi wa Ambazonia, Tigers, na vikundi vinavyofanya kazi kwa serikali ya mpito ya Ambazonia. Ni mapambano yenye historia ndefu. Mwaka 1961 wakazi wa Kamerun Kusini walioshikiliwa na Uingereza, ambao ni pamoja na mikoa ya kaskazini magharibi na kusini magharibi, walifanya kura ya maoni chini ya usimamizi wa Umoja wa Mataifa. Swali lilikuwa je, walitaka kuwa sehemu ya Jamhuri ya Muungano ya Nigeria iliyokuwa imepata uhuru au sehemu ya Kamerun iliyokuwa chini ya utawala wa Ufaransa? Chini ya ahadi za serikali ya shirikisho na Kiingereza kama lugha rasmi, Kamerun Kusini inayozungumza Kiingereza ilijiunga na Mashariki inayozungumza Kifaransa. Kwa mujibu wa makubaliano hayo, Kamerun ilitengenezwa mwaka 1972. "Wengi wanafikiri kwamba ikiwa tungebaki waaminifu kwa Jamhuri ya Shirikisho la Kamerun hatungekuwa na matatizo tunayo sasa, "Kardinal Christian Tumi anaambia DW. Katika miaka ya 1990, vyama vya Kiingereza vilitoa vitisho vya kutangaza uhuru isipokuwa katiba ya zamani ilirudishwa. Walijisikia wametengwa na serikali yenye watu wengi wanaozungumza Kifaransa. "Joseph Wirba, mbunge wa Kamerun aliyejitenga mwenyewe, aliwaambia DW: ""Tuliungana na taifa ambalo halikutaka uhuru wetu na walidhani kwamba walipaswa kuondoa utamaduni wetu hatua kwa hatua, kutupunguza kuwa raia wa darasa la pili." "Hiyo ilisababisha watu hatua kwa hatua kwa miaka mingi kusema: ""Hapana, hatuwezi kuendelea kutibiwa kwa njia hiyo."" ""Kama ilivyoelezwa na waandishi wa habari, mwanasheria na walimu walianza maandamano ya amani Oktoba 12, 2016." Shule zilifungwa na mgomo wa "jiji la roho" ulianza <unk> kwa siku kadhaa kila wiki, maduka na taasisi zilifunga milango yao. Serikali ilijibu kwa kufunga mtandao, kukamata na kuwatisha waandamanaji. Ambazonia: Ambazonia ni jimbo la Marekani ambalo lilijengwa mnamo Oktoba mwaka 2017 na kuanzishwa na waasi wa Ambazonia. Serikali ilituma majeshi, na mapigano makubwa yakaanza. Risasi na gesi ya machozi zilitumiwa dhidi ya raia. Kulingana na shirika la Amnesty International, watu 17 waliuawa na mamia zaidi kujeruhiwa. Mchungaji Thomas Mokoko Mbue, kutoka Kanisa la Presbiteri nchini Cameroon, anasema katika mahojiano na DW: "Ilikuwa mwanzo wa harakati kali kuelekea mapambano ya silaha. """Hakuna mfululizo wa amri, wapiganaji wa uhuru, wakali, au wavulana wa Amba, leo, waasi wana majina mengi." Mark Bareta, mwanaharakati wa Cameroon katika diaspora anayepigania Ambazonia, anaelezea: "Kwa sasa tuna vikundi tofauti, miundo tofauti: Wale ambao waliamua kuchukua silaha na wanapigana na jamhuri, wale wanaofanya diplomasia na wale wanaowapa msaada wale walio katika vichaka. " Vikundi havina mlolongo wa amri. "Huwezi kutambua jinsi wanavyofanya kazi", Balla anasema. Sisiu Ayew Tabe, kiongozi wa chama cha Cameroon Anglophone, ambaye amefungwa jela, amekuwa akishirikiana na kundi hilo. Tabe na wafuasi wake tisa walishtakiwa kwa mashtaka ikiwa ni pamoja na ugaidi na kujitenga. Hata hivyo, "wale wanaotenda kwa niaba ya Sisiku ni muhimu sana, baadhi huchukua amri kutoka kwao", Balla anasema. "Wanajeshi wa Kamerun wanaendelea kujihusisha na makundi ya wapiganaji wa kivita na wanafanya mazungumzo na kuwasiliana na viongozi wa makundi hayo, na kutoa taarifa za pamoja, ""Balla anasema." <unk>Watu wa diaspora, hawa ni Wakameruni. Baadhi yao wanataka mabadiliko, wengine wanataka uhuru, wengine wanataka kuingiliana na serikali. Baadhi yao huenda wameorodheshwa kwenye orodha nyeusi na hawawezi kurudi nchini. Kwa hiyo baadhi wanatumaini kurudi katika hali ya kujitegemea. Hata hivyo, vikundi vingi huokoka kupitia utekaji nyara na fidia. Mapigano yamekuwa makali zaidi, shule, hospitali na vijiji vyote vimechomwa moto, watu wameuawa na kuogopeshwa. <unk> Mwanzoni, unyanyasaji ulifanywa hasa na kwa kiasi kikubwa na vikosi vya serikali. """Sasa mpaka kati ya wabaya na wazuri umefadhaika na tunaona vikundi hivi vya kujitenga vikishambulia na kuwashambulia raia,"" anaeleza Ilaria Allegrozzi wa shirika la Human Rights Watch." "Watu wa kawaida kweli wanakamatwa katikati ya mgogoro huu na kulipa bei ya juu zaidi. " "Kizazi kilichopotea" Jambo jingine la wasiwasi linasisitiza ukali wa mgogoro huo. "Waporaji wenye silaha wamejiita tena, wakijiita Amba-Groups", Mbue anasema. Wao kuajiri vijana na faida nje ya hali: <unk>Kikopeshaji, kukamata fidia, kuvunja nyumba. Wao huvunja chochote wanachotaka kuvunja. <unk> Mbue ana wasiwasi: Ikiwa mgogoro utaendelea, kizazi cha vijana wa <unk>Ambazonia<unk> kitatoweka. <unk>Kuna watoto wenye umri wa miaka minane ambao hawajawahi kuona shule. Vijana walioacha shule ya sekondari na kuwa watu wa kawaida katika jamii yao, walipoteza hisia zao za msingi za ustaarabu na kuona tu chaguo la kubeba bunduki. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""kuna baadhi ya wapiganaji ambao ni vijana wa miaka 15,"" alisema Mbeki." "Ni jambo lenye kuvunja moyo kuona wale ambao ni kujenga jamii yetu kufa kwa sababu ya vita isiyo na maana. " Dirke Köpp alichangia makala hii.