They poured out into empty spaces in the Kondengui prison, completely taking the prison authorities and francophone prisoners unawares with their noisy but peaceful demonstration.
They sang all day, calling for their immediate release and reminding Paul Biya that the war he declared on them is long overdue for a ceasefire.
What’s more, they hailed Sissiku AyukTabe Julius as their president. And they had placards two of which stood out in a prison video sent out by the inmates.
They read: “Free All Arrested” and “Trump Help Us,” security operatives were on high alert, but no one was brutalized or arrested.
The groundbreaking protest was partly provoked by the heavy propaganda about the return to school campaign launched by pressure groups with Mancho Bibixy and “General” Felix Ngalim from prison giving the campaign a face.
The opposition against them became overbearing as a vast majority of the inmates lampooned the duo for spearheading the call for schools without a corresponding appeal for an end to the war that is claiming so many lives and the insecurity that cannot guarantee safe a school environment. However, the duo was part of the Monday protest.
Meanwhile, they protesters have forwarded a memorandum to the prime minster and sent copies to the UN, EU, etc.
Please read the following excerpts of the petition below.
“We the Prisoners of conscience from the former United Nations Trust Territory of Southern Cameroons under United Kingdom Administration also referred to as Anglophone Cameroon arrested and detained in the various detention Centers and prisons across Cameroun in connection with the Anglophone Crisis wish to make our position known.
“We recognize the importance of education as spelt out by Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, however, children have not been spared from the patterns of violence, they have often been deliberately targeted or insufficiently protected or both. As such, the resulting Human Rights violations in the Anglophone Regions by the Cameroun Military have very direct consequences for education because the children subject to trauma, insecurity and displacement that come with arm conflict are unlikely to achieve their potential for learning. The very places that should provide a safe haven for education are viewed as prime targets”
“When we think of war, we think of soldiers but they are not the only ones facing violations and death. Children, women and schools are often on the frontline as well.
“The parties in the conflict have to recognize that education is part of the vicious cycle that can reinforce the grievances that fueled the arm conflict in the first
place. In this light, education should be put at the center of a peace building and conflict resolution measure rather than using it for political gains and interests. No defenses are more secured than public attitudes grounded in tolerance, mutual respect and committed to dialogue.
“In as much as we the prisoners of conscience are not against school resumption for the 2019/2020 Academic year in the conflict Zones, we hereby propose the following measures to be taken;
- An immediate ceasefire to the hostilities plaguing the Anglophone Regions so as to preserve Human lives being wasted on daily basis. The right to life is for the most part an inalienable right granted to every human upon the planet. It is the responsibility of the state to take drastic action, which can stop civilians being killed on daily basis.
- The demilitarization of the conflict zones which will serve as a constructive tool for cooperation and peace.
- Assist in the safe return of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Refugees scattered all over Africa and the reconstruction of burnt down homes and villages.
- Reconstruction and rehabilitation of destroyed educational infrastructures. 5- The release of all Political Prisoners jailed in the various detention centers in Cameroun amongst which are teachers, students and parents so that
They can partake in the school resumption 2019/2020 Academic year.
- The granting of amnesty to all Anglophones scattered around the world due to the Anglophone Crisis.
- Set up an immediate program for an inclusive dialogue mediated by Germany, USA, Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), Switzerland, the U.N and the
A.U. Putting millions of
children that should be in school on the street due to inertia to call for an
Inclusive Dialogue exposes them to violence, including sexual violence, gender
violence, abduction, and other forms of exploitation and violence against
children, and implicitly amounts to enslavement, trafficking of children, and
ill-treatment, three of the eleven acts that may amount to a crime against
humanity under the Rome Statute.
“Since war begins in the mind of men (and women), it is in the mind of men (and women) that the defenses of peace must be constructed”
U. N. E. S. C. O
CC
- United Nations Office for Central Africa
- The American Embassy Yaoundé
- The African Union
- The European Union
- The Canadian Embassy Yaoundé
- The German Embassy Yaoundé
- Commonwealth