CAMEROON – Lawmakers from Cameroon’s Anglophone region disrupted parliamentary proceedings in protest over the crisis in their region on Thursday.
Members of Parliament from the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) party threatened that there would be no business in the house till the ‘Anglophone crisis’ was tabled for debate.
Amid all the chanting of slogans and singing, the protesting members of parliament asked how many more people were going to be killed by the government led by Paul Biya.
The Northwest and Southwest regions of the central African country have been under curfew following deadly attacks on security operatives by members of a separatist group.
So far, four Cameroonian security forces have been killed, the government confirmed. Last month, security forces stopped a planned demonstration in the port city of Douala organised by the SDF. The protest action was said to be in solidarity with the embittered Anglophone regions.
People in the said regions have long decried marginalization by the majority French speaking part of the country. The people attempted an independence declaration under the Ambazonia Republic but were met with armed force leading to deaths, mass arrests and injuries.
The government has called the secessionists, terrorists and also issued international arrest warrant of 16 leaders of the secessionists. The President, Paul Biya, has condemned the violence and called for dialogue but concrete efforts have yet to materialize in that direction.
Leave a Reply