THE LEGAL ARGUMENT FOR
SOUTHERN CAMEROON INDEPENDENCE
SC Workshop – Bamenda
11 February 2005
Presented by Germanus Dounge
Introduction:
“An annexed people is always for a king or an Emperor a matter of complex
problems for his own people are always divided on the annexation like the
annexed people themselves: he always has sleepless nights over them until
the annexed people free themselves by sword or by negotiation, for the ashes
of annexation are never completely cold”
Michiavelo Machiaveli
The problem which has been existing between the Southern Cameroons and La
Republique du Cameroun since 1961 has been given many improper names:
i. Marginalization (political, economic, social, cultural, and linguistic);
ii. Lack of democracy in the domain of elections;
iii. Bad governance;
iv. Non-accommodation of Anglo-French bilingualism on the grounds of the
French domino theory;
v. Dictatorship;
vi. Lack or imbalance of Affectio societatis between Southern Cameroonians
and camerounais;
vii. Annexation
The last name, annexation, is the appropriate name: the first six have been
in use since 1972; but annexation has been in use only since the peoples of
the Southern Cameroons started their struggle for liberation in 1982 with
the meetings of elites of the North-West and South-West provinces in Douala.
These meetings served as the nucleus of what was to later to become the
CAMEROON ANGLOPHONE MOVEMENT (CAM) in December 1991.
CAM later transmuted to
the SOUTHERN CAMEROONS RESTORATION MOVEMENT (SCARM) in July 1996. CAM
popularized the name, annexation, in its information bulletin called CAM
Forum No. 2. Annexation is the appropriate name because it is justified in
international law. The other names can be justified only in domestic law,
that is, within the framework of a national constitution.
To justify the current struggle for independence for the Southern Cameroons
and win the sympathy of the international community, SCARM all along has
been focusing on the international status of the Southern Cameroons by
exposing, explaining and upholding the struggle within the framework of
international law. This has been done in four sections:
Section 1 – The physical and legal birth of the Southern Cameroons under
international law;
Section 2 – The international legal existence of the Southern Cameroons from
1919 to 1946 under the Leagus of Nations;
Section 3 – The international legal existence of the Southern Cameroons from
13 December 1946 to 1961 under United Nations Trusteeship;
Section 4 – The international legal existence of the Southern Cameroons from
its annexation on 1st October 1961 to the expected independence.
THE LEGAL ARGUMENT IN INTERNATIONAL LAW FOR
INDEPENDENCE FOR THE SOUTHERN CAMEROONS.
SECTION 1
The Physical and Legal Birth of the Southern Cameroons under International
Law.
The German colony of KAMERUN was lying between the British colony of NIGERIA
and the French colonies of Tchad, Oubangui-chari, Congo and Gabon. At the
outbreak of the First World War in 1914 the British West African Frontier
Forces from The Gambia, Sierra- Leone, Ghana (the Gold Coast) and Nigeria
gathered at Ikom in Nigeria under the command of General CHARLES C. DOBELL.
These British colonial troops entered the German colony of Kamerun and
fought their first battle with German colonial troops commanded by Colonel
Zimmermann at SANAKANG. The French colonial troops from Tchad, Oubangui-Chari,
Congo and Gabon, under the command of General Joseph AYMERICH, entered
KAMERUN to fight the German troops. The war lasted from 1914 till 1918 with
the defeat of the German troops in Kamerun.
The British troops from the west and the French troops from the east had
penetrated right inside the colony by 1916. The British Secretary for the
Colonies, Alfred MILNER and the French Minister for the Colonies and Navy,
Henri SIMON, realizing that their combined troops were about to capture
German KAMERUN, drew a line in 1916 to partition the German colony between
Britain and France. As the war progressed, Alfred MILNER and Henri SIMON
signed an agreement to confirm the line in 1917: the agreement became known
as the SIMON – MILNER AGREEMENT which shared the German colony of KAMERUN
into two sectors for Britain in the West and for France in the East.
When the map of the partition was sent from London to General Charles C.
Dobell, he unexpectedly rejected the map, sent it back to London in protest
on grounds that the partition of the land from the sea – Tiko through
Misselele to Muyuka - is the area where he lost many of his men, and that
land had been put in the French Sector according to the map; so he could
never accept it; that that piece of land must be in the British Sector.
London rejected Dobell’s argument and refused to modify the map: Dobell
threatened to fight the French troops which were already camping in the
disputed area. Realising the seriousness of Dobell’s threat, London gave in
and modified the map to include the disputed area in the British Sector as
requested by Dobell. Dobell was later accused by the British of rebellion
and insubordination and sent on punitive transfer to Rawalpindi in India
(Rawalpindi is today in Pakistan).
The war ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany and the partition of the
German colony of KAMERUN. Britain and France set up administrations in their
respective sectors. In 1919 Britain, France and Germany signed the
Versailles Peace Treaty at LE PALAIS DES GALERIES DES GLACES (Versailles –
France) on 28 July 1919. This treaty confirmed the Simon – Milner Agreement
of 1916: and this was the physical and Legal Birth of the Southern Cameroons
in international law binding Britain, France and Germany, and eye-witnessed
by the United States.
It should be noted that during the war, the United States which had refused
to fight alongside France and Britain when contacted, sold war materials to
Britain and France according to the “Buy and Carry Act” passed by the US
Congress as a diplomatic way of assisting Britain. “Buy and Carry Act” meant
you buy them in cash. According to President Woodrow Wilson “we sell arms to
you and you carry them away at once in one shipment to where you want and to
do what you want”.
When contacted to sign the Versailles Peace Treaty as a
big power, Woodrow Wilson refused on the grounds that “we have not been
defeated nor have we won in a war we have only heard of; but we should seat
at Versailles as an observer”.
The
Versailles Peace Treaty, an international treaty, made the Simon – Milne
Agreement boundary the permanent international boundary between the Southern
Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun du premier janvier 1960.
SECTION 2
The First Specific International Status of
the Southern Cameroons within International Boundaries.
Before the formation of the League of Nations, the international boundary of
the Southern Cameroons on its eastern border was the one recognised by the
Versailles Peace Treaty: on its western border, the international boundary
was the one recognised by the Anglo – German Treaty of 1913. The League of Nations was founded as an
international organisation to promote, maintain and keep peace around the
world. As manager of international peace, the League of Nations put all the
territories of German colonies captured during the war under a system of
Mandatory Administration to mandated powers. Britain – France - Belgium
became Mandatory Powers respectively for British Cameroons, Tanganyika,
Papua New Guinea, British Togoland; French Cameroun, French Togo; Rwanda –
Burundi.
The Southern Cameroons was given an international status in 1922 as a League
of Nations Mandated Territory under British Administration. In 1931, the
League of Nations requested Britain and France to landmark the international
boundary between the British Cameroons and French Cameroun.
So on 9 January 1931, the “Cameroons boundary Commission” met in London.
Under the supervision of the League of Nations. Administrators of the
British Cameroons and those of French Cameroun landmarked the international
boundary by building concrete cement pillar marks along the boundary: each
landmark was the object of a specific topographic document which was
co-signed by the Administrators of both countries.
SECTION 3
The Illegitimate and Illegal claim of Sovereignty over the Territory of the
Southern Cameroons by La Republique du Cameroun on the grounds that the
German colony of Kamerun ( Camereroes) became a German colony in 1884 by a
Treaty signed between the German Consul GUSTAV NAGHTIGAL and the Kings of
Douala.
That German colony comprised the current territory of La Republique du
Cameroun and the British Cameroons; but the territory of German Kamerun has
gone through a number of changes of its original boundaries over time. It is
known that Germany, under Chancellor Von Bismark went out later for colonies
because Von Bismark had in the past told the Reishtag (Parliament): “I do
not need colonies”. But Bismark, pressured by Von Papin, decided later to
get colonies especially in Africa. So Germany wanted the area from Tangiers
to Casablanca in the northern part of Morocco, a French colony.
The military governor of Morocco, General Lyanty, bitterly opposed the
German request. France and Germany quarreled over Tangiers – Casablanca; and
in order to settle the dispute, France preferred to offer land to Germany in
the heart of Africa where France had many large colonies: Gabon, Congo,
Oubangui – Chari, Tchad. France’s move was probably due to the fact that
those four colonies were governed by civilian governors who, of course, were
more amenable than a military governor like General Lyanty in Morocco, Biaut
–Willaumez in Gabon, Saborgnan de Brazzo (an Italian) in Congo, Captain Lomy
in Oubangui – Chari, and Reverend Father Foureau in Tchad. Germany accepted
France’s offer first by a treaty on 4 November 1911.
A portion of Tchad and
a portion of Congo were joined to the German colony. By a treaty on 1st
October 1912, a portion of Northern Gabon was joined to Kamerun. On 1st
February 1913, a very large portion of western Oubangui – Chari was joined
to Kamerun. So France expanded the territory of German Kamerun by 275,000
square kilometers before the outbreak of the war in 1914. By the effect of
war, the expanded German Kamerun was shared between Britain and France.
France and the Returned Lands from the expanded German Kamerun.
Two factors were at play:
1. The Mandate of the League of Nations;
2. The bitter protests of the populations of the portions of French colonies
which were attached to the original German Kamerun less than five years
earlier.
France took over its portion of the divided German Kamerun in a very brutal
manner, especially by forcefully suppressing the German language. The
French-speaking populations who were joined to German Kamerun soon tabled
two complaints: first, that war was never fought in the areas they inhabited
as it was in the German-speaking area; that they did not yet speak German
well; secondly, that they were not colonized by the Germans; that they
willingly collaborated with the French troops against German troops. So,
considering all those complaints, France returned to its colonies their
respective portions of territory she ceded to Germany by treaties. So the
Mandate given to France was applied on its original portion of German
Kamerun, that is, the current territory of La Republique du Cameroun since
1916.
La Republique du Cameroun cannot legally claim the territory of the Southern
Cameroons; La Republique du Cameroun has been claiming it as part of German
Kamerun. How can a war booty believe that it is the father or mother of a
twin war booty?
The Southern Cameroons and
La Republique du Cameroun are both monozygotic twins (from one egg) of the
First World War. ( c/f: London – Cameroons Boundaries Commission – State
Treaties Series No. CMD / 3639 / 03 – 9 January 1931).
SECTION 4
The International Legal Existence of
Southern Cameroons from 13 December 1946 till 1st October 1961.
After the Yalta Conference in 1944 - (Stalin (Soviet Union)– Franklin Delano
Roosevelt (USA) – Orlando (Italy) – Winston Churchill (Britain) - the U.N.O.
was formed on 24 October 1945 at San Francisco to replace the League of
Nations. On 13 December 1946, the U.N.O. created its Trusteeship Council by
UNGAR 63-111 to replace the Mandates System of the defunct League of
Nations. By the same Resolution 63-111 of 13 December 1946, the UN appointed
Britain – France – Belgium – Australia – New Zealand Administering
Authorities for the same territories over which there had been mandated
powers of the defunct League of Nations. The same day, 13 December 1946, the
U.N.O. signed Trusteeship Agreements with each Administering Authority for
the former Mandated Territories. By these Agreements the former Mandated
Territories became known as UN Trust Territories under the Administration of
the Administering Authority.
The UN and Britain signed the Trusteeship Agreement No Document A / 152 /
REV2 for the British Cameroons; and No. Document A / 155 / REV2 for La
Republique du Cameroun
The Southern Cameroons then had its second specific international legal
status as a UN Trust Territory. From 13 December 1946 the Southern Cameroons
enjoyed its new international legal status through numerous UNGA Resolutions
till 1st October 1961. The most important UN Resolutions on the Southern
Cameroons in chronological order are:
* Resolution 338 – XI banning public corporal punishment within the
territory: from this resolution, the popular 25 lashes were henceforth given
as punishment inside a house, no more in the public view.
• Resolution 224 – 111 on the Administrative Union between adjacent UN Trust
Territories under the same Administering Authority (see Nigeria and the
Southern Cameroons as part of the Eastern Region of Nigeria till 1959 with
Dr. E.M.L. Endeley as Prime Minister).
• Resolution 1282 – X111 of 13 July 1958 with British Report T./ 93 on the
progress towards independence.
* Resolution 1350 – XIV on the principle of a plebiscite in the Southern
Cameroons.
• Resolution 1352 – XIV of 16 October 1959 organizing the plebiscite in both
Northern and Southern British Cameroons.
• Resolution 1608 – XV of 21 April 1961 on the independence and union with
La Republique du Cameroun.
SECTION 5
The Plebiscites of 11 and 12 February 1961
Definition of plebiscite:
It is a vote to confirm a decision which has already been taken: in case of
a YES vote, the decision is maintained; in case of a NO vote, the decision
should be called off and the process may be re-launched. But the Southern
Cameroons plebiscite was not a de jure confirmation of the two questions put
at the plebiscite. Any YES vote was a mere wish for union; it was due to
have any legal effect only as it was later specified by Resolution 1608 –XV
of 21 April 1961. So the YES vote for union with La Republique du Cameroun
was not legally binding.
Already Resolution 1352 – XIV categorically stated in its paragraph 6:
“the Administering Authority should take steps to separate the
Administration of the Southern Cameroons from that of Nigeria not later than
1st October 1960”.
This paragraph put La Republique du Cameroun and Nigeria on an equal footing
so that on 1st October 1960, the day fixed by the UN for independence for
Nigeria, L a Republique du Cameroun and Nigeria had no legal link with the
Southern Cameroons. This put a legal end to the Administrative union
according to Resolution 224.
By contrast, a referendum is a vote to authorize to take a decision to do
something: the two procedures are not substitutive. The 1961 plebiscite was
a vote on a projected legal union whose legal treaty was due to be worked
out as prescribed by Resolution 1608.
SECTION 6
The Debate on Resolution 1608 – XV at the
UNGA on 21st April 1961
The Draft Resolution was proposed by India (IYA JAIPAL and Chrishna MENON)
-Chairman 14th General Assembly: Lambertin Dinar (Indonesia)
-Chairman of the Southern Cameroons item 13 and 41: Adnan PACHASI (Iraq)
-Vice – Chairman: Miss Silvia Shelton Villalien (Cuba)
-Djabal Abdo (Iran), Plebiscite Commissioner (seating with consultative
status).
Take note that the vote was in three stages:
Round 1: Termination of the Trusteeship Agreement for the Southern
Cameroons.
Round 2: Independence and its date.
Round 3: The Treaty and form of union between the Southern Cameroons and La
Republique du Cameroun.
The chairman opened the Debate by putting to vote the entire Resolution 1608
as drafted by the team chaired by M. Stravoulopos; and it was accepted by
acclamation..
The chairman then put to vote the Rounds with the following results:-
- Round 1: 50 YES votes, 6 NO votes, 12
abstentions;
- Round 2: 50 YES votes, 6 NO votes, 12 abstentions;
- Round 3: Union in the form of a United Federal Republic of Cameroons
[Cameroons in the plural (2 Cameroons: La Republique du Cameroun and the
Southern Cameroons)]: 50 YES votes, 21 NO votes, 6 abstentions as specified
in paragraph B.
THE TREATY OF UNION:
A constitutional conference to be held to draft or workout an international
Legal Treaty for the projected union with the assistance of Britain, the
Southern Cameroons, La Republique du Cameroun, three experts in
Constitutional and Administrative law. This Treaty of Union could legally
validate the YES vote retroactively. According to the Law on Treaties (that
is their legal system), the draft constitution must be approved by both
parliaments of La Republique du Cameroun and the Southern Cameroons by a
Vote of Acceptance after first and second readings to the House by the
Speaker; readings during which probable questions on the sensitive points
would be asked and answered as well as the psychological, semantics and
syntaxes in the draft.
If it is rejected, the work on these points must be done again
satisfactorily. If it is accepted, it can be debated on its legal
implications. After the debate, it can be ratified, meaning that it is good.
Then a length of time is set for reflection on it; then after that time, it
can be signed, making it internationally binding in international law.
SECTION 7
Federation:
There two kinds of federation: aggregative
and segregative
A
Segregative Federation
is a mode of
governance by a sovereign state to resolve political, economic or cultural
problems within the state – it is not recognized in international law – its
members are generally called autonomous regions, provinces or districts:
they are not states as defined by the international law. And in
international law they cannot quit the federation because they are an
integral part of the national territory.
An
Aggregative Federation
is the form
of federation the Southern Cameroons voted for in the 1961 plebiscite – it
is formed by sovereign states which have internationally recognised
boundaries. Although the Southern Cameroons was not a sovereign and
independent state, at the time of the plebiscite, it had its international
legal status as a UN Trust Territory which allowed the Southern Cameroons to
form an aggregative federation with La Republique du Cameroun. That was the
reason why the UN could not simply ask the Southern Cameroons at the
plebiscite to integrate itself into La Republique du Cameroun.
It was on
this legal ground that the UN envisioned the workout of a Treaty of Union
for the projected federation according to the international law on Treaties.
So one wonders why La Republique du Cameroun calls the Southern Cameroons a
province of its territory. Members of an aggregative federation are called
Federated States: each of them has the right to quit the federation.
Examples of aggregative federations are: Federation of the Federated States
of Micronesia in the South Pacific, Senegal / Gambia. The majority of
federations around the world are segregative federations: Brazil, India,
Nigeria, Argentina, Australia, Germany, etc.
SECTION 8
The Foumban Conference: How it took place
(c/f la Duperie du Foumban).
“As the Anglophones were given only three days to study the constitution
that sealed their fate” .
Foumban is a calm, sunny and beautiful town, where Ahmadou Ahidjo used to go
to for relaxation because of his twin friendship between Sultan Seidou and
Arouna Njoya. According to eye-witnesses at the time, Foumban was an island
of peace in a environment where terror reigned in the midst of an armed
rebellion. Despite the enormous means in men and materials put at the
disposal of the regular army, it was not easy for it to crush the rebellion
led by the National Liberation Army of Cameroun, the armed wing of the UPC.
In the two weeks leading up to the Foumban Conference, it was reported that
more than one hundred people had been killed by terrorists in Loum, Bafang,
Ndom and Douala. The echoes of these killings rapidly spread across the
Mungo and seriously worried a large number of unification advocates there.
On several occasions, Foncha had to publicly express his worries; on July 3,
1961 in Douala he made the following appeal: “Those who are killing should
return to legality and work for the greatness of this country”.
In that climate of high insecurity in the country, Ahidjo was very much
worried about how to reassure the leaders of the Southern Cameroons; so in
deciding on the choice of Foumban as venue for the conference, Ahidjo
thereby wanted to prove to those leaders that he was the master of peace.
But Ahidjo’s choice was not completely without risks. Indeed Sultan Seidou
and the traditional council of the Bamoun people have always been on the
side of legality; but it should be remembered that Felix-Roland Moumie, a
son of the soil, was one of the front leaders of the UPC, and as such , he
had won many hearts over to the UPC cause; and he had even succeeded in
introducing the doctrine of the UPC into the Sultan’s palace through one
Mekou Samuel who was not only a friend but also the private secretary to the
Sultan. Mekou Samuel had joined the UPC in the early days of its launching.
Even though the Koutaba military camp was there to reassure whoever, “the
terrorists” of ANLK had proven that they mastered the field and could carry
out any audacious attack wherever as was confirmed by the recent killing of
the SDO, Albert Khong, through the complicity of DO Samuel Njouma.
In order to curb the infiltration of terrorists into Bamoun country, the
authorities had tightened preventive security measures: after a short period
of relative calm, a curfew was reinforced in all the administrative units
around Foumban effective from the beginning of July. A stern communiqué
issued by the prefet of Mbouda on July 3, 1961 to the populations that were
used to violating the curfew warned that nobody should be found outdoors
from 10pm to 5am in the Mbouda urban area, and from 7pm to 10pm in the
assembling campus in the area of Bamboutos (camps commando); that from
6.30pm, only the vehicles of the administrative authorities, army and police
were allowed to move. These same measures were taken in bafang, Bangante and
Dschang.
On July 6, 1961 at the end of his tour in “Bamileke country”, the minister
of justice pledged to the administrative authorities that “ he will inform
the head of state about the encouraging feeling of the population about the
very efficient fight against terrorism by the authorities”. The much
publicised tranquillity and serenity and the paradisaical locality of
Foumban was all fake. Of the date of 16 July 1961, only the people of the
inner circle, like the minister of interior, Arouna njoya, knew that Foumban
was nothing but an entrenched camp.
Introductions on preparations for the
Conference
By all indications, one can believe that the principle to hold the
constitutional conference in Foumban was adopted in the aftermath of the
plebiscite of 11-12 February 1961 in the Southern Cameroons. Watch out! The
Sultan of Foumban, Seidou Njoya, was one of the very few dignitaries who
were at the Yaounde airport on March 3, 1961 to welcome Foncha who had come
to brief Ahidjo on the outcome of the plebiscite. Five weeks later,
precisely between 11 and 13 APRIL 1961, Ahidjo received in his palace, one
after another, Njoya Arouna, and the nephew of the latter, Sultan Seidou
Njoya of Foumban – since then, these three personalities, even before all of
them died, people have always been tight lipped about the agenda of their
meeting; but one may guess that the guidelines of the proposed
constitutional conference were discussed during the underground meetings of
the trio – Ahidjo – Seidou – Arouna. In fact, soon after that meeting,
Yaounde (Ahidjo) sent strict instructions to the administrative authorities
in the Bamoun country about the big projected event.
Without boasting his double capacity as eye-witness and as sous prefet of
Foumban at that time, Emmanuel Njoya recounts the story as if it took place
just two days ago. Let us listen to Emmanuel Njoya, now 92 years old, who
was the sous-prefet of Foumban in 1961; hear him:
“ I became an administrative authority in 1955 as assistant DO of Foumban;
from 1959 to 1963, I was the sous-prefet of the same town. Two months before
the opening of the conference, the prefet, Jean-Marcel Mengueme, and myself
were instructed and trusted with the organisation of the conference.
So while waiting for the politicians to come in for business, the prefet and
the sous-prefet had to resolve the tedious problem of accommodation, feeding
and transport of delegates as well as the animation of Foumban during the
six days of the conference; decent houses hosting functionaries were
requested; big farmers likeLaurent Guerpillon, Andre Blanc, Trolier et
Charles Ock Dopher were solicited and contributed by putting at our disposal
either a vehicle or a beautiful house; this local contribution was meagre
compared to the huge means that were sent from Yaounde. As I must speak the
truth, we cajoled, lured and enticed the Anglophones by our way of welcoming
them; we were given so many things to prepare for the conference----- with
all these things at our disposal, we lured the Anglophones.
Ahidjo and Foncha were accommodated in the Sultan’s palace where the Sultan
himself took care of them. As concerns the others, we were given a special
assignment to blindfold them: so each delegate had a refrigerator in his
room, which was always full of champagnes and other assorted drinks; each
big one among them had two refrigerators in his room, had a well-made bed
with the most beautiful and expensive mattress and beddings. In addition,
there were two beautiful girls who were assigned to permanently take care of
him. These are the things which normally should not be told- these girls
were instructed to permanently take care of our guests--that was real
corruption-corruption has always existed- it has not started today..but at
that time, it was not corruption for selfish interests as it is today..at
the time it was good corruption to build the country.
As for the agenda of the activities, it included ballroom dances every
evening throughout the week; cocktails followed by ballroom dances in
Auberge de Foumban, prefet’s residence, sous-prefet’s residence, Dr. Herve’s
residence; these were the logistics put in place when the delegations set
foot on the soil of Foumban on July 16, 1961.
Arrival of delegations
First to arrive was the delegation of La republique du Cameroun du premier
janvier 1960, headed by Ahmadou Ahidjo: it comprised Charles Assale (premier
minister), Charles Okala (minister des affaires etrangeres), Josue Tetang (Secretaire
d’Etat a l’Information), Christian Tobie Kuoh (Secretaire general du
minister des Affaires etrangeres), the Guinea-Conakry-born Cheick Kekou
Sissoko (chef du Secretariat particulierd’Ahmadou Ahidjo). Arouna Njoya(,
Minister of interior, had been come ahead of the delegation to supervise the
preparations for the conference.
The delegation of the Southern Cameroons left Tiko by a twin engine plane on
the same 16 July 1961 and landed at Koutaba; as soon as it landed, the
delegation left for Foumban by road where they arrived in the afternoon in
the midst of an immense and enthusiastic crowd. It was made up of John Ngu
Foncha, Emmanuel Liffaffe Endeley, Augustine Ngom Jua, Solomon Tandeng Muna,
Nerius Namasso Mbile, John Bokwe, Bernard Fonlon; ten KNDP members, five
CPNC members and two Ok members, and traditional rulers. At night fall, the
delegation, still very tired after the long tedious journey from Tiko to
Foumban, found solace for their tiredness by joining the immense crowd in
singing and drinking; the ceremony was animated by Orchestre Irenee and
Victor Priso band at the Auberge de Foumban.
The next day, 17 July 1961, the delegates, highly spirited, moved into the
premises of the Cours complementaire (Teachers Training college).
Consecutive speeches from Ahidjo, Foncha and Endeley lauded the singular
opportunity for the come together. Endeley, leader of the opposition who had
threatened to raise one hundred thousand men to break away and join Nigeria
during the plebiscite campaigns, had already forgotten about that threat.
Opening the Conference by Ahidjo on July 17,
1961
Ahidjo, standing by the edge of a very long table covered with a green
cloth, opened the constitutional conference that brought together the
delegates of la Republique du Cameroun and those of the Southern Cameroons
which was still a UN Trust Territory evolving towards the termination of the
Trusteeship Agreement and independence. Ahidjo said: “The Bamoun country
which I have chosen to host this conference, and whose chief, Sultan Seidou,
is our friend whom I warmly thank for welcoming us so heartily, is a country
where one would like to go for rest and relaxation”. This is how Ahidjo
justified his choice of Foumban as the venue for the conference.
Soon after the speeches, the trust and confidence of the Southern Cameroons
delegation was rudely shattered by Ahidjo: to the surprise of the Southern
Cameroons delegates, Ahidjo rudely requested them to make their observations
on the Draft constitution. “Which constitution?” Southern Cameroons
delegates shouted! They had thought that they had come to Foumban together
with Ahidjo’s delegation in order to jointly draft a constitution for the
future federal united state. They were very embarrassed to learn that the
drtaft constitution had been handed to Foncha for screening and studying
long ago; but Foncha kept the Document secret.
The All Party Conference that held in Bamenda a month earlier had been the
occasion to screen and debate the Ahidjo draft constitution. Mbile said: “
We have the feeling that we have waisted our time coming to Foumban for the
draft to be tabled to us for our observations in this way. This is in total
contradiction to our expectations; instead of a draft confederal
constitution, we are being requested to make observations on a draft highly
centralised constitution with unlimited powers; members of the CPNC
delegation can now understand what Foncha meant when he said in the Akwa
meeting hall in Douala on 13 July 1961: “the goals of the struggle have been
completely achieved”.
Ngom Jua’s angry surprise seemed to indicate that even within the KNDP
everybody was not aware of the handing of the draft constitution to Foncha.
Bitter protests erupted from all round: the protesting Southern Cameroons
delegation demanded that they should be given three more weeks to study the
draft. They recalled the constitutional conferences of London in 1953, 1957,
and 1958, each of them having lasted for at least three weeks.
Endeley warned: ”Too much haste would have far-reaching consequencies on the
people of the Cameroons”.
Ngom Jua screamed: “I have never seen people expected to write a
constitution in two days!”
The tense atmosphere of unhappiness and protests caused one journalist to
write: “ political observers are wondering if it is really here in Foumban
in this rowdy atmosphere that the guidelines of a federal constitution are
going to be effectively drawn”.
Finally, just after the mid-day meal, the Southern Cameroons delegation sat
down to work in studying the Ahidjo draft constitution. The atmosphere was
kafkaienne: counting on their experience gained during the constitutional
conferences in London and Lagos (Lugard, MacPherson, Littleton
constitutions) the Southern Cameroons delegates worked really hard on the
Draft brought to them from Yaounde. While they were working in anger,
distrust and suspicion, the francophones were relaxing calmly as they had
spent months to draft the constitution with the assistance of French experts
in constitutional law.
The atmosphere of the workshop was often rowdy; from time to time delegates
shouted in protest and in anger. According to Namasso Mbile, Foncha, feeling
guilty for having deprived his colleagues of the opportunity to study the
draft at the All Party Conference in Bamenda, adapted a low profile
throughout the working session.
On Thursday night, the Southern Cameroons delegation handed the report of
their work to the francophone side: the report contained amendments demanded
by the Foncha delegation on the following points:
1. The Flag.
2. National Anthem.
3. Motto
4. Federal Capital to be in Douala.
5. Electoral maturity at 21.
6. Secret ballot.
7. Powers and attributions of the federal president.
8. Presidential mandates limited to two.
9. A federal assembly made up of a national assembly and a senate.
10. Double nationality.
11. Primary and Higher education system.
12. Cancellation of the word INDIVISIBLE from the constitution.
Unification
The next day, Friday, July 21, 1961, the last plenary session was opened by
Ahidjo with fanfare and festivities as many traditional dance groups from
all over Bamoun country had been converging at Njinka since dawn , and the
festivities went on till 4pm.
At 4pm Foncha took the floor and congratulated everyone for the team spirit
and fraternity that prevailed during the working session.
Endeley took the floor after Foncha and warmly thanked Sultan Seidou for the
lavish welcome given to them and expressed his high satisfaction for the
success of the work; he concluded as follows:
“Mr. President, we shall always be completely loyal to you whenever you
should request our collaboration for the larger interests of Cameroon”.
At 4.30pm, Ahidjo took the floor to address the plenary session; he swiftly
and rudely gave answers to the demands of the Southern Cameroons delegation
for amendments to the draft constitution. A second shock awaited the
Southern Cameroons delegation: Ahidjo, in a rather dictatorial manner,
brushed aside all the demands tabled by the Southern Cameroons delegation.
He said: “The word
indivisible
will
be cancelled, but a clause guaranteeing the integrity of the federation and
preventing any possibility of secession shall be introduced. For lack of big
financial means, there is no room for a bicameral parliament; the House of
Chiefs will be maintained; Yaounde must remain the federal capital. -There
is no room for double nationality; -The president and the vice-president
shall be elected by universal suffrage. -While waiting for the setting up of
new institutions, the functions of the federal president and federal
vice-president shall be performed by the president of la republique du
Cameroun and the prime minister of the Southern Cameroons”
The Foumban conference did not satisfy the
prescription of UN GA Resolution 1608 (XV) of 21 April 1961, neither in form
nor in substance.
SECTION 9
The Independence of La Republique du Cameroun du premier Janvier 1960
The United Nations, by UNGAR 1349 – XIV of 13 March 1959 decided to grant
independence to le Territoire soustutelle l’ONU du Cameroun sous
administration francaise on 1st January 1960. The Territory did achieve
independence on 1st January 1960. The British permanent representative at
the UN, Sir Andrew Cohen, represented Britain at the independence ceremony.
A Constitutional referendum was held on 12 February 1960. On 4 March 1960,
the constitution as approved by the referendum was promulgated.
- On 10 April 1960, presidential elections took place: the president was
elected by the Depute’s at the National Assembly. There could not be
elections by universal suffrage because there was an insurrection ravaging
the country. Ahidjo had only one opponent, Abel Eyinga, who was not residing
in Cameroun but in Algeria as a lecturer in the Faculty of Law in Algiers
and France.
- On 28 January 1960, the newly independent La Republique du Cameroun
applied for UN membership.
- On 20 September 1960, by UNGA Resolution 1476 – XIV La Republique du
Cameroun was granted UN membership.
- On 6 August 1961, the National Assembly amended the constitution of 4
March 1960 by 88 YES votes, zero NO votes, and 6 abstentions.
- On 1st September 1961, the amended constitution was promulgated as the
federal constitution of the Federal Republic of Cameroon. This was done in
total violation of the strict and specific prescriptions of the UNGA
Resolution 1608 –XV of 21 April 1961 on the projected union between La
Republic du Cameroun and the Southern Cameroons as the outcome of the
UN-sponsored plebiscite of 11 and 12 February 1961 in the British Cameroons.
The federal constitution of 1st September 1961 was signed by the president
of La Republique du Cameroun, Ahmadou Ahidjo, alone; never by John Ngu
Foncha, the Prime Minister of the Southern Cameroons.
SECTION 10
La Republique du Cameroun and the Southern
Cameroons were not a Franco – British Condominium:
A condominium is a Latin word meaning a house jointly managed by two equal
masters. So a condominium is a territory jointly ruled by two powers
according to a treaty they signed in international law. Examples of
condominiums are: the present island of St. Martin in the West Indies =
Netherlands West Indies, Aruba – Bonaire – Curacao – Saba – St. Martin – St.
Eustache. St. Martin is jointly ruled by France and The Netherlands. The New
Hebrides (today Vanuatu) was a Franco – British condominium; it was a
bilingual French – English condominium. But take note that a condominium is
not necessarily a matter of languages: the language factor is incidental. So
a condominium could be monolingual. What is important is its international
legal status.
In the case of New Hebrides, four months before Britain and France granted
independence, a senior citizen of the English Sector, Stephen Maleku,
unilaterally proclaimed a separate independence for the English Sector. (He
wanted the territory to achieve independence, then become a confederation of
two states. As Stephen put Britain and France before a fait accompli, while
Britain was still reflecting on the issue, France hurriedly sent 400
gendarmes from La Nouvelle – Caledonie, a nearby French colony, to occupy
Port - Vila, the capital of New Hebrides and forcefully stopped Stephen’s
move. Britain bitterly complained to France, saying that by opting
unilaterally for a military solution for the condominium’s problem, France
had instead complicated the situation as Moleku’s move for separate
independence was based on the brutality of the French administration.
La Republique du Cameroun cannot even pass through a legal status of a
condominium to annex the Southern Cameroons since such locus standi does not
exist. La Republique du Cameroun has been arguing verbally and very
emotionally on a non - existing condominium. The 1961 plebiscite and the
fake bilingualism crudely imposed on both La Republique du Cameroun and the
Southern Cameroons do not make the two countries a condominium because
condominium is a matter of international law.
And not that of Anglo-Saxon + Greco - Latin linguistics. La Republique du
Cameroun has been brandishing its de facto bilingual condominium at home but
at the same time brandishing itself as a monolingual francophone unitary
state at the international level. On one hand La Republique du Cameroun is
imposing a de facto Anglo – French condominium on two neighbouring former UN
Trust Territories with separate Trusteeship Agreements, and on the other
hand imposing a unitary state on an illegal defunct two-state federation.
This is blatant dubious contradiction!
SECTION 11
The Administration of La Republique du
Cameroun in the Southern Cameroons since 1st October 1961
According to La Republique du Cameroun, the constitutional amendment made on
6 August 1961 on la constitution de la Republique du Cameroun du premier
janvier 1960, was meant to accommodate the Southern Cameroons as the western
part of German Kamerun. We now know all about the German colony of Kamerun
from the preceding legal analyses. The Constitutional Amendment of Yves
Bie’ville, the French jurist who drafted the constitution of 4 March 1960,
was a mockery of international law, the international community, and the
United Nations. The amended constitution could in no way become a Treaty of
Union in international law as prescribed by UNGAR 1608 (XV) of 21 April
1961.
On the grounds of the amended constitution, la Republique du Cameroun moved
its troops and administration into the Southern Cameroons on 1st October
1961 and has since been ruling the Southern Cameroons in the same brutal
manner in which France ruled its portion of the divided German Kamerun. The
administration of la Republique du Cameroun in the Southern Cameroons is
null and void ab initio: it is illegitimate and illegal. It is a civil – cum
military administration. The cardinal legal principle, tantum appelatum,
quantum revelatum, meaning that the judge of the Appeal Court cannot have
the right in a civil matter to grant more than it was requested by the
Magistrate Court.
The principle does not apply between the Southern Cameroons and la
Republique du Cameroun because la Republique du Cameroun has no right to
belittle the Southern Cameroons as its province, as if la Republique du
Cameroun is the alter ego of the Southern Cameroons. This is because the
international status of the Southern Cameroons under the League of Nations,
then under the U.N.O., cannot be changed.
La Republique du Cameroun has no right to judge positively or negatively the
results of the 1961 plebiscite and use that to annex the Southern Cameroons
because nemo crime sine legi – there is no crime (offence) without a text of
law which defines and punishes the incriminating act. So by voting, and
voting YES in the plebiscite, the Southern Cameroons did not commit an
offence punishable by La Republique du Cameroun by annexation as penal
punishment.
La Republique du Cameroun has been benefiting enormously from the annexation
of the Southern Cameroons in violation of the Latin legal principle nemo
nudutur propriam turpitudi – nobody should benefit in any way whatsoever
from a crime he has committed. La Republique du Cameroun has been arguing
that the Southern Cameroons has no utis possedetis juris on 1st October
1961; that the Southern Cameroons was an empty piece of land that La
Republique du Cameroun annexed to civilise and develop.
The argument has no legal basis because the Southern Cameroons had utis
possedetis juris - international legal status publicly recognised. As a UN
Trust Territory the Southern Cameroons had utis possedetis juris by the
Mandate of the League of Nations, and by the UN Trusteeship Agreement.
In addition, the Southern Cameroons was jointly administered with the
Eastern Region of Nigeria within the international legal framework of UNGA
Resolution 224 – 111 on the Administrative Union between adjacent
territories under the same Administering Authority.
There is no modification of international
boundaries between States by domestic or internal law
. The
constitution of a state being a fundamental internal law, la Republique du
Cameroun cannot legally justify how it modified its international
boundaries, as we have demonstrated earlier, with the Southern Cameroons for
its own benefits.
The peoples of the Southern Cameroons, in their daily life, accept all acts
of constitutional law, civil law, criminal law, and administrative law
imposed on them by La Republique du Cameroun as Actes of bienseance, that
means, Acts which one does not like, but toterates them in order to survive.
SECTION 12
The International Legal Status of the
Southern Cameroons since 1st October 1961 to date
La Republique du Cameroun started to govern the Southern Cameroons from 1st
October 1961 when the Treaty of Union had not yet been worked out as
prescribed by UNGA Resolution 1608 –(XV) of 21 April 1961. The international
legal situation in the Southern Cameroons on 1st October 1961 was that,
without a Treaty of Union, the Southern Cameroons smoothly moved backwards
from the status of a UN Trust Territory it had from 12 December 1946 till
1st October 1961, to the status of a UN Territory the Southern Cameroons had
on 11 December 1946. In between the adoption of the UN Resolution 63 – 111
that created the UN Trusteeship Council, and subsequently appointed Britain
as the Administering Authority for the Southern Cameroons, and the signing
of the Trusteeship Agreement No Document A / 152 / REV2 for the Southern
Cameroons between the UN and Britain on that same date 13 December 1946.
The formation of the UN Trusteeship Council having abrogated the Mandates
System of the League of Nations of 1922 (and) the Trusteeship Agreement for
the Southern Cameroons therefore replaced the Mandate Britain had on the
Southern Cameroons from 1922 till 13 December 1946. The situation,
simplified, is that on 1st October 1961, the Southern Cameroons had not been
granted any independence, neither according to Article 47 paragraph B of the
Charter of the United Nations, nor according to UNGA Resolution 1608 –(XV)
in the 994th plenary session on 21 April 1961 which granted independence by
joining whose international legal Treaty for the projected Union had not
been worked out on the date fixed for independence (1st October 1961).
So, through a cool-minded legal analysis, one can understand that since 1st
October 1961, La Republique du Cameroun has been forcefully occupying and
governing a UN Territory. The difference between a UN Trust Territory and a
UN Territory is that a UN Trust Territory is governed by an independent and
sovereign State according to a contract or mandate signed between the
country and the UN; whereas a UN Territory is directly governed by the UN
through its permanent representative it appoints to the Territory. The UN
representative should in no way be a native of that territory: He / she is
called, the UN Administrator, governor. As the Administering Authority, the
UN Administrator governs the territory in preparation for independence.
SECTION 13
The Way to Independence for the Southern
Cameroons
1) The way to Independence for the Southern Cameroons is in the hands of the
UN. The UN should follow the same path it took to grant independence to
other UN territories. It must be noted that the Southern Cameroons is a
particular UN Territory as it had been annexed by La Republique du Cameroun
and France through an orthodox independence-by-joining that the UN granted
the Southern Cameroons in 1961.
The Southern Cameroons today is in the same situation as the three Baltic
States (Estonia – Lestonia – Lithuania). Let it be recalled that the latter
three states were granted independence by the League of Nations, and the
independence was later suppressed by the Soviet Union which then annexed
them on the grounds that as small neighbouring states, it was their weakness
that allowed the German troops to crush them very easily and then crossed
their international boundary with the Soviet Union into St. Petersburg. But
with
Glassnok and perestroika
brought
by Mikail Gorbatchov, the latter states regained their lost independence
through the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) and the
UN.
2) Another way out for the Southern Cameroons is that the UN may simply
implement the UNGA Resolution 1514 – (XIV) of 14 December 1960 on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Territories and Peoples.