Prelate Lauds “atmosphere of peace, tranquility” in Cameroon after “secret” Gov’t Talks

In his report that does not make any reference to the October 24 attack, the Archbishop of Bamenda noted that the development of the talks between Cameroon's government officials and representatives of leaders from the troubled Anglophone regions in the country were hidden from the public domain.

“I think something is happening in secret,” the Cameroonian Archbishop said, and added, “For our part, we are doing everything we can to reactivate the dialogue and keep it open at all times in order to find a solution to the conflict as quickly as possible.”

In reference to the official negotiations to end conflict in the country, however, Archbishop Nkea said that “no progress has been made and at least officially we have no news of recent or scheduled meetings.”

“At the end of September, at the end of the 69^th meeting of the Bishops' Conference of the Bamenda Province, we Bishops of the English-speaking regions wrote a public statement. In the letter we made several requests to the government and the faithful that received much media coverage,” Archbishop Nkea said.

He regretted that they are yet to receive “any indication of a response from the government.”

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The July meeting with Julius Ayuk Tabe, a separatist leader currently serving a life sentence in prison on terrorist charges, discussed the possibility of a ceasefire that is yet to be seen concretely in a country that continues to witness attacks in its Anglophone Northwestern and Southwestern regions.

Mr. Ayuk who spoke to the media following the meeting did not, however, disclose details of the meeting but only said, “Be reassured that we remain committed to the restoration of the independence of the homeland.”

The self-declared president of the English-speaking region of Cameroon christened Ambazonia further added, “This war has made us see the resilience of the Anglophones from an ideological point of view.”

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.