Cameroon's Separatist SCNC Still Pushing Its Cause

 

 Summary

The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is an Anglophone
separatist movement whose ultimate goal is a return to the two-state
Federation which existed pre-1972.  The movement has used violence in
the past and has recently internationalized its campaign by lobbying
in Washington, New York and Brussels.  The credibility of the SCNC is
questionable, and fake asylum cases for supposed members are common in
both the U.S. and Europe. End summary.

Historical Overview

The SCNC was founded in April 1993 at an All Anglophone Conference
(AAC) held in Buea, South West Region, in order to articulate
Anglophone grievances.  These grievances include a return to a
federation, better representation of Anglophones within the
government, increased use of the English language (especially in
official media), and an end to policies allegedly aimed at the
cultural destruction of Anglophones as a people.

In 1993, Anglophones of Cameroon decided to come together and analyze
their situation within an Anglophone/Francophone State.  Their
principal decision was a call for a return to the Federation which
existed before Cameroon became a unified nation on May 20, 1972. In
1994, the organizers of the AAC adopted a resolution which turned the
AAC Standing Committee into a national movement called the Southern
Cameroons National Council (SCNC).

In 1996, new leaders took over, with more radical ideas.  As of 2007,
the organization calls itself the United Nations Trust Territory of
the Southern Cameroons National Council (U.N.T.T.-SCNC).  This name
has not been designated by the United Nations, and the SCNC is not an
UN-recognized entity. The SCNC motto, "the force of argument, not the
argument of force," is at odds with the group's violent history.

A Violent Beginning

The SCNC used violence in the 1990s as a means to demonstrate their
commitment to the cause, and to show the Government of Cameroon (GRC)
their seriousness.  In March 1997, SCNC members killed three gendarme
officers in the North West Region. The group also tried to burn to
death a Divisional Officer and his wife in March 1997, but the couple
survived.  In 1999, the Yaounde Military Tribunal convicted 33 of
these activists.  Sentences ranged from ten years to life imprisonment
for charges such as murder, looting as an organized gang, illegal
possession and use of fire arms.

Fifteen members are still serving prison terms.  Government buildings
were also destroyed through arson or gun fire.  In 1999, SCNC
activists seized the CRTV-Buea Radio station and declared the
independence of Southern Cameroons.  Participants in these events were
arrested and in 2000, the activists were sentenced to two to three
years in jail, on charges of looting and declaration of secession.

Lack of Legal Status Leads to Arrests

The SCNC has never filed an application with the GRC to form a
political party and has never legally registered as an organization.
Although it claims to be a peaceful liberation movement, the SCNC is
considered an illegal organization by the GRC because it supports
secession, a cause which is illegal according to the Cameroonian
Constitution.

According to Section 4 of the December 19, 1990 law which governs
Freedom of Association, "Associations founded in support of a cause or
in view of a purpose contrary to the Constitution, the law and public
policy, as well as those whose purpose is to undermine especially
security, the integrity of the national territory, national unity,
national integration or the republican character of the state shall be
null and void."

SCNC members are often arrested when they meet, since illegal
organizations are not allowed to meet.  A group was arrested on
October 1, 2008 for raising an SCNC flag on the anniversary of
Cameroon's conversion from federal to unitary state.  This case was
recently adjourned to June 29, 2009 due to the absence of several of
the accused.

Twenty-four SCNC members were arrested on April 21, 2009 in Bamenda as
they gathered for a meeting.  The members were released quickly and
legal proceedings have not yet started on this case.  Ten SCNC members
were arrested on May 27, 2009 and seven were released soon after.
Three members were transferred to Yaounde for judicial proceedings and
released on June 3, 2009.

Leadership

The current head of the SCNC is Ambassador Henry Fossung, the
Secretary General is the Reverend Dr. Andrew Ambeazich, and the
spokesperson is Barrister Achem Joseph Ashu.  Henry Fossung is a
retired career diplomat with a Masters degree in Law and International
Relations from the American University in Washington, D.C.  He served
as Cameroon's Ambassador to the Central African Republic, Chad,
Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.  There are branch offices of the
SCNC abroad that lobby foreign governments and international
organizations for recognition.

Internationalizing the Cause

The absence of dialogue with the government has led the SCNC to
develop an international strategy, especially at the level of the
United Nations, the Commonwealth and the African Union.  In the last
six years, the Council has sent many legal/rhetorical documents to
these organizations to make the case that Southern Cameroons should
become an independent entity.

In November 1999, the SCNC applied for admission into the UN as a full
member of the organization.  In 2000, it also applied for membership
with the Commonwealth (both applications were denied).  More recently,
it filed a complaint against the Government of Cameroon at the African
Commission on Human Rights.

In 2002, the SCNC named a Head of Mission for the United States of
America in Washington, D.C. (office located on K Street). The purpose
was to launch a diplomatic offensive in Washington and New York that
would help push the admission of the organization to the UN.  These
initiatives have so far failed to produce results, especially as the
credibility of the organization is increasingly being questioned.
Other diplomats in Yaounde have also report seeing increased lobbying
by SCNC groups based in their home countries.

COMMENT: Questionable Credibility

The SCNC is a marginal organization with a limited following (probably
numbering in the hundreds).   Its members seem disconnected from the
realities of the current world.  The SCNC has no standing in
Cameroonian politics, not only because of its illegal status, but also
because most Cameroonians - including Anglophones - do not agree with
its separatist ideology and strongly reject its involvement in violent
actions ten years ago.  Nonetheless, there is a widespread passive
approval of SCNC activities as an expression of linguistic and
political fault lines.  Many Anglophones do feel marginalized and
cheated by the Francophone majority (and sometimes their own leaders'
collaboration with them).

Some of them might support a return to a federal state system if it
were done through peaceful means.  Today, the organization appears to
focus on making its case and fundraising to international audiences
through the internet and other communication tools.  The SCNC recently
tried to garner public support to claim rights and benefits on behalf
of the population inhabiting the Bakassi region, arguing that this
population has a similar claim against the GRC.  This attempt has not
been successful to date.

There have been allegations that the SCNC makes money from providing
fake asylum documents to Cameroonians in the U.S.  Some people see
asylum fraud as the organization's main purpose, although it is
difficult to confirm such allegations.  In an interview with "The
Herald" newspaper in 2003, Sam Ekontang Elad (Chairman of the 1993 All
Anglophone Conference) said that when his leadership team left, "the
new leadership had no vision and saw the Cause as a source for
enriching themselves."  There have been many cases of Cameroonians
claiming asylum in the U.S. because they allege that they fear
persecution as members of the SCNC; many of these claims were later
found to be fraudulent.

European countries have also seen a large number of fraudulent asylum
cases, but have found that numbers slowed after most cases were
denied.  While it is very difficult for post to accurately evaluate
the volume of SCNC claims, they number several hundred annually, with
perhaps half of them being approved.  Post has been asked by theDepartment of Homeland Security to investigate a few dozen suspect cases in the past three years and has found every one of them to be fraudulent.

Recently, Cameroonian lawyer Patrick Tzeuton, a specialist in bogus
SCNC claims based in Maryland, was convicted of immigration fraud and
sentenced to five years in federal prison and three years of
supervised release for assisting hundreds of his countrymen in making
false claims for asylum.

This conviction and the eroding credibility of the SCNC seem to be
pushing Cameroonians to favor other claims as the basis for asylum.
For example, asylum applicants now routinely allege that membership in
the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) has led to their
persecution.

The SCNC leadership is elusive and its support base is difficult to
assess.  We believe its domestic following is very small.  The
organization is not considered to be a significant player in
mainstream Cameroonian politics and appears to have a larger support
base outside Cameroon than domestically.  As many of the founding
members age and fewer new members join, the organization increasingly
appears out of touch.

If, however, a dynamic leader enters the picture, or if armed
resistance is perceived as being a viable alternative, the SCNC could
transform into a violent alternative to the Social Democratic Front
(SDF), the leading opposition party in Cameroon.  One senior SDF
contact told us, for example, that he believes SCNC members were  involved in sparking the nationwide February 2008 riots. END COMMENT
GARVEY

Comments

[Patrick Tima]

Trash trash trash trash trash trash trash.Man you come up with your own SCNC and really have the guts to put it up here for the public to read.How disgusting your stinking mouth could be.Unfortunately for you the world knows a lot about the real SCNC not this fabricated story you write here.Dull people like you would never stop telling lies.God would punish you for telling lies against a people the world knows and respects so much.
You scared of publishing your ereal name?What is Garvey.Say Garvey this or Garvey that,if you want the world to take seriously.Useless dirty lier like you.May satan give you all the love it can.Nonesense

[Pryde]

Hello Up station people. There seems to be a spate of unattributed articles on this forum. I happen to know that this is an excerpt from a Wikileaks cable but the person who posted this did not bother to reference he or her source. That is a violation of intellectual property which can land you guys in trouble.

PLEASE ASK YOUR CONTRIBUTORS TO CORRECTLY ATTRIBUTE STORIES THAT THEY POST HERE, AND INCLUDE THE WEB LINKS IF AVAILABLE.

The article on Meyomesse is a great example on how to use third party stories on your site.

[John Dinga]

Good advice, Pryde, very good advice.