It is necessary at this critical moment to once more clarify our ideas beyond confusion. I have heard people say they want Republique to grant them independence; others that the UN should grant independence and so on. Because of this confusion of ideas, I feel bound to intervene again.
Republique du Cameroun is incompetent to grant us independence. And like every colonial master, it cannot listen to that. We must take it by every means possible.
What we want is not independence from Republique, but for Republique to withdraw from our territory and respect its international boundaries as they were on its day of independence, 1 January 1960.
Our case is anchored on the fact that we are a people under international law; with a right to self-determination; with our own territory, which has international boundaries, created and protected through international treaties; a territory that was not created by Republique but which has the same status as the territory of Republique du Cameroun. We are invoking the same principles that Republique will invoke if its territory were encroached upon! Under International Law, Republique is obliged to respect the boundaries of its territory, which became frozen on its day of independence, 1 January 1960! Republique is a foreign country and an invading force on our territory.
We must not continue to say Republique should give us independence; we thereby falsify our case and problem and the international community will not understand it! We are asking Republique to withdraw from our territory to its own! Once you say this, you have already told the world that your territory is different from that of Republique. Always remember that at the end of the day, it is the rest of the world, through the UN, that will hear this matter and rule on it. We must state the problem from the angle that the international community will understand easily. So please stop all confusion about what we want.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COLONIAL MASTERS
The colonial regime in Yaounde will not move until it is forced to move. It will not bend until it is broken. It clings convulsively to the Southern Cameroons, deluding itself that the Southern Cameroons is a part of its territory, yet it has no proof. It has confused our people to the extent that many of our people are unable to see clearly what they want. From our historical understanding of colonization, we warn our people to beware of these things before they happen, because they will surely happen:
- Extreme violence and intimidation:
Since colonization lives only on violence and intimidation, the colonial regime will resort to extreme violence in the hope of cowing down our people through the fear factor. Its plan is to so terrify us with violence that we will surrender without even trying. And many of our people will succumb to this trick: they will say, I don’t like violence; people should stay home; you will be killed and so on. We have been so confused that we have developed the syndrome of blaming ourselves for the crimes and violence of the enemy. It is not the true owner who causes violence, but the thief who enters a house that is not his own. Republique kills our people on a daily basis; we don’t see, but when our people throw a stone that hurts no one, a massive cry against violence is heard! What aberration! So beware. We shall see this. - Divide and rule: The colonial regime will intensify the Northwest Southwest divide, using collaborators from Southern Cameroons. They will corner those who want power; who will fight for a grain of corn and lose their country, and so on. Watch out.
- Platitudes and carrots: Since Yaounde has always managed to disarm our people with empty platitudes, it will once more try this tactic; for example, the creation of a so-called Common Law school; the GCE Board, etc. All of these will fail. Where will that law be practiced, when the courts are occupied by Francophones? We must not listen to any proposals short of complete yielding to our demands. The greatest danger is that if we cave in, then the colonization will be intensified even more in the hope of completing the process before we can reverse it. You are likely to see motions of support; communiqués of groups saying they distance themselves from what happened; the chiefs coming out to support the regime and so on. Do not be bothered by those communiqués; they are all part of the game of trying to conquer us. They will even use women to start warning people about letting their children into the streets and so on.
HOW TO MOVE FORWARD DESPITE ALL WHAT YAOUNDE WILL DO
- Leadership:
We need leadership on the ground now more than ever. Whoever can take control on the ground should do so. People like Fon Mukete should join in and speak out; Ayah Paul, SCNC leaders and every person who has a voice should come out and encourage the struggle. This is not the time to play politics with words, but say that we want Republique to withdraw from our territory to its recognized international borders as they were on its independence day, 1 January 1960. We need a Mandela on the ground! - Shut down the colonial Radio and TV in your house:
What saps your energies is the fact that you expose yourself everyday to the propaganda of the enemy. You keep hearing Cameroon is one and indivisible; national unity; your own country (Southern Cameroons) is called a “part of the country” and so on. That propaganda is maintained through its Radio and TV stations. To free your mind, the first thing you must do is shut down all instruments of propaganda of the enemy from your mind. The mind is like the body; it can only give out what it has taken in. Try it and tell us what you notice! If you feed from the enemy’s propaganda, that is what will rule your mind. So shut it out. I have not turned the enemy’s propaganda tools in my house for almost 20 years! - Go on Youtube and download all speeches and interviews by our leaders: Mola Njoh, Ayaba, etc. and play them in public places and bars within the Southern Cameroons. We need to play these addresses in public places, no in hiding. The enemy must know that we must be free.
- Remove everything of the colonial regime in your house: flag, symbols, everything. Let nothing that reminds you of Yaounde be around you. Even in your car, remove everything relating to the colonial regime.
- Do everything that can be done without the colonial regime finding an excuse to arrest you
- Make and wear Southern Cameroons T-shirts, logos, buttons, caps, etc. This requires boldness and determination. It must start gradually and then be amplified until all our youths are wearing them. You will meet with intimidation, but it will only be intimidation. Do not be frightened, because remember: they want to frighten you.
- Mass action:
Mass action is something the colonial regime cannot face. So we need to keep planning and mobilizing our own people by whatever way we can. - Use private news media to articulate the problem:
Those who master the problem should go on private TVs and Radio stations and speak out and say Southern Cameroonians want Republique to withdraw from our territory.
~Atemkeng Denise
