THE FO UN DATI ON FOR HU MA N R IG HTS

AN D DEVE LOP MENT (F HR D)

Reg. No E30/201/571/AR/BASC.B.P.8829, YAOUNDE CAMEROON
E-mail: fonloncenter@yahoo.com Tel: 94 67 12 86

18/08/2009
Ref.FHRD/BFRC/Nº007/08/009
Afanyi Ngeh,
Founding President,
The Foundation for Human Rights and Development (FHRD);
Director, Bernard Fonlon Research Center (BFRC);
Freelance researcher on human rights, peace, security, governance
and international relations.

To His Excellency
SYD MADICOTT,
Out-going British High Commissioner,
Yaounde Cameroon.

Subject: A Declaration on His Excellency SYD MADICOTT’s Press

Interview on the “SCNC” and the “Anglophone Problem”

Seasonal greetings from the FHRD.

Your Excellency,
It is with distinguished honour that the FHRD writes this letter to your
Excellency. The letter comes on the eve of a farewell message the FHRD
was preparing to forward to you by email which included a detailed report
on the security situation of Cameroon. It equally had to do with a thank you
note on what the British High Commission did in the area of governance,
especially the support that enabled our government to bring about a
rejuvenated National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms,
ELECAM and training to journalists. However, this good will gesture has

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been thwarted by your declarations to the Post News Paper of Monday
August 17 2009 on the SCNC and the Anglophone Problem.
Your declarations on the SCNC and the Anglophone Problem are so
stunning because, they come just a few days to the publication of a five-year
study by the FHRD on the “Grave and Gathering Security Threats to
Cameroon”. Besides, our Head of State, the Government and strategic state
authorities, the FHRD had identified the British High Commissioner as one
of the few diplomatic missions to be served with the original copy of the
report. Why this preferential treatment? The FHRD believes that the United
Kingdom of Great Britain has the moral responsibility of ensuring that the
Government of the Republic of Cameroon listens to legitimate cries from the
people of the former British Southern Cameroons which the British
Government at the time of independence apparently “sold into slavery” to
the French.
Your Excellency, the above sounds like very hard words for a
diplomat of your status whom the FHRD traditionally holds in very high
esteem, and still do. Well, before we examine the segment of your interview
under scrutiny below; let it be known that the FHRD has no link and no
sympathy for the case being put up by the SCNC for secession. The FHRD
believes in a strong and united Cameroon. The FHRD however, in the course
of its study of the security situation of Cameroon identified the SCNC and
its stands on the Southern Cameroons Problem as a mortal threat to the
country’s security, unity, and progress.
As a consequence of the above, the FHRD believes that the grievances
amongst other national problems merit a genuine national dialogue. It is in
the light of this same struggle that the FHRD wrote to His Holiness Pope
Benedict XVI during his last pastoral and state visit in March 2009, to

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Cameroon to kindly present the threats related to the Southern Cameroons
Question amongst other issues to our Head of State. We had seen in your
Excellency, a credible voice who could present the threats related to the
SCNC and Anglophone Problem to our Head of State and even to the British
House of Commons. We preferred a diplomat of your status because;
Cameroonian politicians of the Francophone extraction will never
acknowledge the reality of the problem. Even leading Francophone
intellectuals openly deny the historical fraud against the Anglophones in
academic discussions and lectures. In like manner, politicians from the
former Southern Cameroons are so afraid to ever mention this problem in
public for fear of offending the government on the one hand, or losing their
jobs on the other while secretly funding SCNC activities.
Western recognition of Governments
Your Excellency, in the interview accorded to the Post News Paper,
you affirmed that “Britain recognizes the Government of the Republic of
Cameroon as the sole authority in Cameroon.” You also added that “That
hasn’t changed since 1972.
Well, we do not have any problem in principle with the first premise
of your declaration. This is because; diplomatic rules impose such
obligations of recognition. However, practically, such recognition exposes
British hypocrisy over the current near perpetual genocide against most
African peoples. Your Excellency, do you remember that even on the eve of
the Rwandan genocide, the British government and other Western powers
still recognized the genocidal regime of President Juvenal Habyarimana as
the sole authority in Rwanda knowing fully well of its plans to exterminate
part of its population?; Do you also know that even when Marshal Mobutu
Sesse Sekou (the deposed late President of Zaire) was putting on napkins

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while rebels were closing in on Kinshasa, Britain and other Western
governments still recognized the dying dictator as the sole authority in
Zaire? The same holds in Uganda, Sudan, and Liberia where you Western
diplomats stood by and watched human beings to be slaughtered in their
millions by ruthless tyrants and kleptocrats.
So your declaration above could be understood in the light of post-
civilized European diplomacy where genocide, ethnic cleansing and endless
warfare are the genuine though undeclared diplomatic weapons. Hence, the
fact that the British and other Western governments and UN member states
may recognize the government in Yaounde publicly does not roll out the fact
that the same may be seeking its down fall by arming the SCNC
clandestinely. Our fear is that your blunt denial of the national and
international standing of the SCNC and the reality of the Southern
Cameroons Question is a calculated attempt to accelerate the SCNC moves
towards violence.
Britain upholds the 1972 Constitutional Coup in Cameroon
Your Excellency, in the second premise, you insinuated that prior to
1972; Cameroon did not have only one authority. Which were the authorities
in question, if I may ask? This is where our problems as Anglophones in
Cameroon began after being nurtured in the fraudulent 1961 “independence
by-joining”. Here you spoke the truth unwittingly. The problem of
Anglophone Cameroonians which you have shamelessly denied its reality
and existence and the threat it poses to the unity, progress and stability of the
country and Sub-region raises serious questions on your integrity as a person
and as a diplomat.
Your Excellency, by formally acknowledging the fact that the British
government has recognized and still recognizes the government of the

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Republic of Cameroon as the sole authority in Cameroon since 1972, you
formally endorsed the thesis that the British government did not only sell the
people of the Southern Cameroons to La République via France, but have
also worked very hard diplomatically to ensure that Yaounde totally annexes
and assimilates all of Anglophone heritage. Thanks to your timely interview
we now know that the British gave their diplomatic support to the 1972
Constitutional coup orchestrated via a referendum against the Federal
Constitution. We now know too that the British government gave its full
support to the 1984 unilateral Presidential Decree that transformed the
United Republic of Cameroon into the Republic of Cameroon (the name
which the French speaking part of the country had at independence). This is
the act which according to the FHRD study formally ended the political
Union between the people of the former British Southern Cameroons and
those of La République du Cameroun.
Your Excellency, if you read history retrospectively and link it
with international law, you will establish for yourself that as of now,
there is no legal justification of the co-existence of the two Cameroons.
The legal framework has all been eroded by the 1972 referendum and by the
1984 Presidential Decree. Cameroon can not continue to function in such
illegality. Our leaders must be called upon through democratic means to
examine and resolve this tickling time bomb which you have denied its
reality. Contrary to your expectations, your brutal denial of the reality of the
Anglophone Problem and the threat posed by the SCNC both on the national
and international scene rather emboldens genuine patriots like us who are
working tirelessly to get these problems examined at national level.
So as you can see, the SCNC is right to read history retrospectively.
By looking backwards, we can better understand our problem. To resolve the

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Anglophone Problem or better still the Southern Cameroons Problem (which
the British helped create and perpetuate), which to you does not exist will
require a retrospective reading of Cameroon’s history. The wrongs and
manipulations which the British government masterminded with the French
and covered up ought to be exposed and corrected. In fact be informed that
the FHRD has made tremendous discoveries in this direction. You just
opened the Pandora’s Box. I hope you will be able to contain the outcome.
That there is no Anglophone Problem in Cameroon
How on earth does a diplomat of your standing say there is no
Anglophone Problem in Cameroon? Can a person from the former Southern
Cameroons be allowed to be President of the Republic in Cameroon
following the current political dispensation? What power has the ceremonial
Prime Minister has? Can he/she appoint or dismiss even the lowest
administrative officer of the Republic, that is, a Sub-divisional Officer? Can
he/she be actually allowed to propose any of the Ministers in the cabinet as
the Constitution warrants?
By the way, why do you think that this ceremonial Post of PM is
reserved for Anglophones? It is strictly because the Anglophones are
supposed to have a special political status in the state of union which the
government does not want to acknowledge and to resolve. The unwritten
political (constitution) practice of Cameroon is such that Anglophones can
serve as Prime Ministers each time that the latter is not the direct
constitutional successor of the Head of State, President of the Republic.
Similarly, the post of President of the National Assembly or Senate is
reserved for Anglophones when the Constitution makes the PM
constitutional successor.

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 Your Excellency, if you feign ignorance of reality, may we kindly
inform you that the Anglophone Problem is not a matter of being able to
speak English or not. In Cameroon, we have the ethnic or geographical
Anglophones and the sociological Anglophones. The former are historically
the people of the former British Southern Cameroons which Her Majesty’s
government sold into slavery while the latter are Cameroonians from the
former La République du Cameroun who have learned English as a second
and even as a first official language.
So the Anglophone Problem which the FHRD calls the Southern
Cameroons Question is not a question of language as you are insinuating. It
is neither a question of marginalisation nor even of minority. It is far greater
than all of these combined. It is a question of the political destiny of a
state that never was. Of course, your predecessors used the United Nations
sponsored plebiscite to ratify the secret treaty (FHRD findings have
uncovered the existence of this secret treaty)* between France and Britain
over the fate of the Southern Cameroons.
Now, tell me this, how do a people become independent by joining
another state? Why did you British diplomats not grant political
independence to the Southern Cameroons so that like equals the two states:
the Southern Cameroons and La République du Cameroun could then
negotiate unification terms as equals? Where have you kept your soul,
integrity as a diplomat to boldly affirm that there is no Anglophone Problem
in Cameroon? Do you know what we Cameroonians from the former
Southern Cameroons (Anglophones) suffer in our Universities and other
Training institutions? Do you know what we suffer in the Public service? Do
you know that Anglophones are terminal assistants in most government
offices? So may you do all in your power to tender a swift and honourable

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apology to the Anglophone population whom you have acknowledged
British undeclared participation in enslaving for close to five decades now!!
The Example of Canada
Why is your Excellency so hateful of the Anglophones of Cameroon?
You say rightfully that the Francophone population in Canada where you
served before your mission to Cameroon is about 20% of the population and
that they were historically marginalised. But you failed to tell the world that
the Francophone community in Canada (Quebec) after complaining was
granted a special autonomy status. If the SCNC is pushing for a separate and
independent state, it is because; the past governments in Yaounde have
denied the existence of this historical fraud and injustice orchestrated by
Britain and France.
That the SCNC hasn’t got Significant Support
Your Excellency, of all your shaky claims on the SCNC, the one
which is clearly faulty is the position “Let me also say that I don’t think that
the SCNC has significant support in Cameroon, including in the Anglophone
parts of Cameroon”. The FHRD has scientific evidence to the contrary! How
did you get your facts? From the government? From the press? Which press?
Did your Embassy conduct any study? We challenge you to publish your
findings!!
Well, according to findings which took the FHRD to almost all the
main towns of the English speaking Regions (a report due publication next
week), “the SCNC is the most organized, most popular and most vital,
political force in the North West and South West Regions after the failure of
the CPDM and SDF to deliver on their promises.” The SCNC is represented
in all villages of these regions. They hold weekly meetings, collect funds
from the population, and sensitize the latter on their coming ‘independence’.

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Besides, the SCNC is not only a matter of the English speaking Regions,
FHRD findings point to the fact that most Anglophone political and
economic elites in Yaounde, Douala and all over Cameroon contribute
generously towards a realization of the SCNC dream of an independent
Southern Cameroon. As if the above is not enough, the SCNC equally has a
very strong presence out of Cameroon: Nigeria, South Africa, Germany,
Britain, and the USA, where they raise funds for the organisation.
Except you chose to be dishonest, as a diplomat you ought to know
that during President PAUL BIYA’s last state visit to Britain, the SCNC
organized its militants there to demonstrate against our Head of State. The
same is true of the last presidential visit to the UN in September 2008. If as a
diplomat, you are the first to minimize the weight and consequent threat of
the SCNC at a time that it is openly speaking the language of violence, then,
the FHRD suspects that your remarks are calculated to push the SCNC to
embark on a full scale violent struggle. The FHRD had rather considered
you as an experienced diplomat who could speak the truth to our Head of
State with regards to the reality of the Southern Cameroons Problem and the
threat it poses to national security and development. Unfortunately, you have
just proven that like recent British diplomats on the international scene,
Britain is gradually becoming an enhancer of international terrorism.
Mindful of what Southern Cameroonians have suffered already
mindful of what Cameroonians collectively suffer, we pray that God may
curse any diplomat, any human being and institution that shall willfully
work towards the disintegration of Cameroon!!! You British diplomats used
both diplomacy and religious violence to ensure that Northern Ireland
remained part and parcel of a united Britain, though historically the latter has

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never been part of Britain! Why then, are you making declarations
susceptible to provoking violence and bloodshed in Cameroon?
Hope for a Genuine Dialogue
The FHRD and most objective Cameroonians of the English
extraction believes that in spite of all, the point of no return is yet to come.
We still believe that through genuine dialogue, a political settlement can be
reached, that is, if international diplomats like you can for once speak the
truth openly and help the government of our country to initiate fruitful
dialogue in this country. By denying the existence of the Anglophone
Problem and by minimising the potential threat of the SCNC you are by so
doing denying any degree of political autonomy for the Anglophone
population of Cameroon. Just think over this. Have you forgotten the high
degree of autonomy enjoyed by the Northern Irish, Scottish and government
of Wales? This is the type of thing we want in our country.
Mr. High Commissioner, after the kindness and hospitality offered
you during your stay in Cameroon, do you think it is gentlemanly to pay us
back with violence? Is it morally upright for you to deny the reality of a
problem that the British created in the first place? Our greatest fear is that
the UK government is gradually packing out of Cameroon before the zero
option is applied. Else, how can you explain the fact that under your tenure
the main symbols of British presence in Yaounde were closed down? We
mean the British Council Library and the Visa Section of your Embassy
which has been moved from Yaounde to Accra in Ghana.
Your Excellency, if you do really love Cameroon, then, it is time for
you to initiate a Parliamentary Inquiry in Britain into why and how, the
territory of the former British Cameroons was transferred to the French via
the UN. The FHRD believes that as the main architects of the political

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drama which we are living, it incumbent upon the British government to
help President PAUL BIYA and the people of Cameroon to resolve this and
related problems.
While hoping that this letter will move you to champion the course for
a democratic resolution of the Southern Cameroons Problem once you return
to London, we wish you best wishes of health and security.
Best wishes.
Done at the Bernard Fonlon Research Centre
Yaounde Cameroon.
August 18th 2009.
Copied:
The Press.

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