Bamenda youth leaders accuse gov’t of mass killing

Leaders of the Cameroon Youth Association have accused the Government of choosing to waste the lives of disgruntled Cameroons instead of engaging them for dialogue.

The youth leaders were speaking at the Presbyterian Church Centre Ntamulung in Bamenda on Wednesday December 14, during a press conference on the on-going strike action in Cameroon.

In his opening remarks, the Coordinator of the Cameroon Youth Association, Marcel Amabo Mutanga said “like the biblical Job, we have waited, hoping that our fathers and leaders will resolve these issues. We have waited in anxiety hoping for the truth to be told and the nation stabilized.

We have waited for open minded and nation oriented dialogue to no avail.

We have instead watched with consternation, the massacre of our brothers, self-justification, the use of national issues for selfish political interest, the conspiratorial silence of Statesmen and custodians of our traditions.

We have watched with shock, the misuse of our military and security by self-minded individuals who were entrusted with the sacred authority of our country and the deliberate misinformation of our people, and attempts to sow ethnic conflicts in issues that are purely constitutional and Governmental,” Mutanga said.

The Cameroon Youth leaders condemned amongst other issues; all forms of violence in the expression of grievances and the maintenance of law and order from all parties.

They also condemned the gruesome massacre of Anglophones or Southern Cameroonians by forces recruited to protect them and the transfer of those arrested from the locus crimilis whereas there are competent courts in those areas to try them.

“We hereby demand the release of all those arrested in Bamenda, Kumbo and Kumba.”

While pledging their support to the lawyers and teachers strike, the youths said the fight is purely constitutional and not political.

They demanded the return to a two State Federation that will be inclusive and will respect the bi-jural and bi-cultural nature of the country.

“We note that a Federation was the basis of the Union between Southern Cameroon and La Republique du Cameroun, besides, a Federation brings more accountability, increases political participation, quicker and balanced development and a safeguard to the culture and identities of its entities and so endorse same as an appropriate solution to teachers, lawyers and other sectors’ problem.”

Marcel Amabo reiterated that there is no problem between Anglophones and Francophones. To him, the problem is between the poor citizens on one hand and, a failed government on the other.

He promised to investigate into the real number of those arrested, missing, wounded and to descend to the streets to sensitise the youths on how to go about the crisis in civility so as to stay away from soldiers killing them.

He further cautioned youths not to block the roads or fight with soldiers, who are armed to kill them.