“The conflict in Cameroon is not just an issue of language differences – although that is certainly a factor – but rather a deeply rooted divide in status with Cameroonian society.”
The latest events in an ongoing sectarian conflict in Cameroon threaten to throw the whole country into full blown violence. Reports indicate several homemade explosive devices were detonated in the northern city of Bameda and killed two people. Government sources are blaming the attack on “government separatists.” The incident is the latest act in a series of outbursts that began last October, and follows a raid on a government checkpoint last week in the southern region around the capital of Buea. The raid resulted in the deaths of four security personnel.
To understand the source of this conflict, a bit of background.
Cameroon began its long period of colonial rule in the early 16th century at the hands of Portuguese traders. The territory fell in and out of the hands of European nations for the next 300 years until finally coming under the dominion of a joint French and British mandate in the early 1900’s. The country was divided into mostly French areas of influence which held roughly eighty percent of territory, while the northwest and southwest regions were left to the British.
Despite having achieved independence in 1958, the situation in Cameroon today is reflective of that final stage of the colonial period.
The conflict in Cameroon is not just an issue of language differences – although that is certainly a factor – but rather a deeply rooted divide in status with Cameroonian society. The English speaking minority has seen themselves as marginalized by the Francophone-dominated government in the socio-cultural, political, and economic spheres for quite some time. To provide one poignant fact as an example, currently, only one of 36 ministers in the Cameroonian government is an Anglophone.
Biya has a history of suppressing attempts at achieving independence in the country since the 1980’s.
The imposition of French as the official language has been a particularly sore issue. In November 2016, a coalition of English speaking lawyers and activists organized an effort to protest against the use of French as the primary language in public institutions including schools, courthouses, and hospitals. A protest campaign began throughout the country and the events became a flashpoint for violence. In December, government security personnel forcibly dispersed a rally in Bamenda killing at least two and injuring several others.
Since that period several violent protest actions have been erupting sporadically throughout the country by Anglophone separatists, culminating in the most recent incidents.
Cameroon’s president Paul Biya is not exactly known for his malevolence towards political opposition. Biya has a history of suppressing attempts at achieving independence in the country since the 1980’s. It will be very difficult for domestic or international influences to veer him off of his current course of beating down the separatists.
Some have looked to the coalition of African nations known as the African Union (AU) to intervene. The AU could possibly be a mediator that both sides would be willing to work with and may be the push that the conflicting parties– both of whom have expressed the desire for reconciliation – need to come sit at the same table.
To be realistic though, no current signs are pointing to a let up in the current trend: attacks by separatists, answered by crackdowns, curfews, and arrests by the government. The question is how much bloodletting will be needed before the two sides are really ready to start talking instead of shooting?
From a more global perspective, the separatist crisis in Cameroon will only distract the country from its ongoing fight against the jihadist group Boko Haram. If the crisis persists, it may give militants the window they need to gain an important foothold in parts of the African country.
