YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – Cameroonians living abroad are fanning the flames of the separatist conflict in the English-speaking regions, according to Archbishop Avelino Bettencourt, the Vatican representative to the Central African country.
The separatist crisis in Cameroon began in 2016 when lawyers and teachers in the English-speaking regions protested against the marginalization by the predominantly French-speaking government. The situation escalated into a full-blown separatist conflict, with armed groups in the northwest and southwest regions seeking independence for a new state called Ambazonia. The conflict has led to the deaths of more than 6,000 people, the displacement of over a million, and the destruction of property.
In a wide-ranging interview published September 16 in local newspaper, Municipal Updates, the Papal Nuncio said violence of any kind cannot be justified, and noted that he has seen up and close the human suffering in Cameroon’s war-torn English speaking regions, the Northern regions afflicted by Boko Haram as well as the difficulties Central African refugees living in the east of the country are going through.
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Narrowing down on the separatist war in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, and the role of the diaspora in supporting the conflict, the pope’s representative challenged diaspora Cameroonians to be conveyors of love and hope, instead of being the tools for violence.
“I believe when you are out of your country, your nation is even dearer to you,” Bettencourt said.
“And that love, if it is love, can only be real if it is to promote peace in your homeland. I would encourage all the diaspora to love their homeland because it is beautiful and rich in traditions and it is worth giving one’s life for peace,” he explained.
In comments to Crux, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of the Bamenda Archdiocese in the separatist stronghold of the North West Region of Cameroon echoed a similar feeling, blasting the diaspora for supporting and abetting a crisis without fully understanding the harm it’s causing the people.
“Our diaspora is so involved because they are not living in Cameroon. They lack adequate information and do not have firsthand experience of the crisis.” Nkea said.
“They see images on social media and hear about events that have occurred. When people are killed in Bamenda, I am the first to arrive at the scene. When houses are burned, I am the first to witness it. So, I speak from personal experience,” he added.
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He emphasized the importance of firsthand experience in understanding the true impact of the crisis.
“Regardless of how connected these people are to social media, they lack firsthand experience, which is why they can make the statements they do,” he told Crux.
Nkea expressed a reluctance to engage in discussions about Anglophone problems with those who are not on the ground.
The archbishop’s argument, which he has made on several other occasions, highlights the growing divide between those experiencing the crisis firsthand and those observing from afar, raising questions about the role of the diaspora in addressing the issues facing the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
But that argument has typically not been taken well with the diaspora, who have accused the archbishop of dishonesty in his assessment of the role of the diaspora in the ongoing crisis.
Chris Annu – leader of one of the factions fighting to create the nation called Ambazonia – has in a YouTube declaration blasted the President of the Cameroonian Episcopal Conference for being “deeply dishonest” in his assessment of the role of the diaspora, and for striving to be “politically correct.”
“Diaspora members who have lost loved ones and property to both La Republique du Cameroun soldiers and rogue Ambazonian elements understand the devastation firsthand. Diaspora leaders he [the archbishop] disparages are deeply informed and genuinely care about the people,” he said.
The Apostolic Nuncio in his interview appealed for dialogue as the only viable way of getting out of the crisis.
“I think at the end of the day, we need to talk to each other with a certain amount of humility and a certain amount of desire to attain the better good of the population,” Bettencourt said.
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“We have to work together. All the forces have to work together – be it the religious leaders from all denominations, all social institutions together with security and military and the government. We are people who believe in law and order, and anything less than law and order is chaos,” the Vatican representative said.
Nkea emphasized that meaningful dialogue can only occur if the appropriate atmosphere is established, which, in his view, requires the cessation of violence.
The archbishop also rejected the notion that peace can only be achieved through justice. Citing the example of America, which he described as one of the most unjust societies in the world, Nkea pointed out that this injustice has not led Americans to engage in widespread violence.
“We should have peace, and then we can fight for justice,” he told Crux.
