No-nonsense UNPO delegation to arrive Cameroon soon
By Amindeh Blaise Atabong in Yaounde
 |
| Late Chief Ayambe Ette Otun |
The Southern Cameroons’ independence struggle should
be entering a decisive stage if news that a huge delegation of members of the
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation, UNPO, is due in Cameroon in the
days ahead is anything to go by.
According to sources within the SCNC, the UNPO
delegation is not only coming to Cameroon to condole with the family of the
late SCNC national chairman, Chief Ayamba Ette Otun but also to get first hand
information on the problems being faced by Anglophones in Cameroon.
The Guardian Post has it on good authority that the
delegation’s first stop-over would be in Mamfe where they would condole with
Chief Ayamba’s family before undertaking a tour of the Southern Cameroons
territory to live the true picture of Anglophones. Testimonies from aggrieved
Anglophones, The Guardian Post was told, would be used by the UNPO to strengthen
the Southern Cameroons’ independence struggle.
Confirming news of the coming of the UNPO delegation
to Cameroon, Yembe Martin Fon who many see as a likely and formidable force to
replace Chief Ayamba at the helm of the SCNC told The Guardian Post: “It is no
longer news within the SCNC that a UNPO delegation is visiting Cameroon to
condole with Chief Ayamba’s family. What I can’t tell you with exactitude is
how many people would be in the delegation’’. SCNC activists, Yembe Martin told
The Guardian Post, are already mobilizing to give the UNPO delegation a red
carpet reception.
Asked if the secessionist movement was not afraid
the Yaounde authorities could block the UNPO delegation from entering Mamfe
like it happened with the burial of Chief Ayamba, Yembe Martin retorted: ‘’It
would be a good thing for the SCNC if the Biya regime attempts to block the
UNPO delegation from getting to Mamfe to condole with Chief Ayamba’s family…if
that happens, the Yaounde authorities would not only inadvertently be giving
the SCNC publicity but would have reported themselves to international bodies
that they are a repressive regime…’’
It should be recalled that when news of Chief
Ayamba’s death was made public, the UNPO head office in Brussels issued a
condolence statement which read in part:”…the UNPO presidency, secretariat and members would like to
express their sincerest condolences to Chief Ayamba’s family, friends and the
people of Southern Cameroons…Mr. Ayamba Ette Otun dedicated his life to
protecting and promoting the rights of the Southern Cameroons. His activism for
the right to self-determination has been relentless…he had vowed never to shave
his beard until the Southern Cameroons is completely free. With the passing
away of Chief Ayamba, the Southern Cameroons movement for self-determination
has lost a great leader. The UNPO stands with the people of Southern Cameroons
in this difficult moment, and hopes the legacy of Chief Ayamba may inspire
many…’’
About
the UNPO
The UNPO, it must be said, is a movement
whose main objective centres on drawing attention to issues affecting
marginalized groups at the United Nations. For its over twenty years of
existence, the UNPO’s key action plan has been to ensure that it members are able to
effectively access and take part in the discussions of international bodies
mandated to protect their rights.
Membership to the UNPO where the Southern Cameroons is also a
member is open to all nations and peoples who are not adequately represented at
the United Nations. Prospective members have to be a nation or a people,
possessing the will to be identified as a nation or a people and are bound to a
common heritage which can be historical, racial, ethnic, religious or
territorial. The prospective participant can also be a section of a people,
constituting a minority, living on a portion of its ancestral territory,
incorporated into a state other than a state represented by that people.
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