Anglophone Crisis: Great Britain Recognizes The 1961 Referendum In Cameroon and Rejects The Request For Independence

More is known about the reasons for the refusal on 8 September 2017 by Queen Elizabeth II of England to receive representatives of the secessionist movement claiming the partition of Cameroon. Indeed, the latter could not be received at the Buckingham Palace, as they wished.

Since the outbreak of the strike, which subsequently gave way to secessionist demands in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon in 2016, Britain has made a religion about this situation, after several discussions with the Cameroonian authorities.

This is at least revealed by an official correspondence from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, signed on 2 May 2017 by Tobias Ellwood (photo), the head of relations with Africa and the Middle East. The Correspondence is addressed to a member of the House of Commons (J. Cunningham), Lower House of the United Kingdom Parliament.

Tobias Ellwood

“With regard to Mr. Sam Egbe‘s initiative on independence, it is important to note at the outset that the United Kingdom recognizes the results of the 1961 referendum held by the United Nations on territories under British mandate in Africa. The two regions that make up Southern Cameroons have agreed to become a part of French-speaking Cameroon, “recalls Tobias Ellwood.

The latter continues: “In 2003, the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC) failed in its independence claims before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This petition was rejected in 2009 by the Commission, which called for a constructive dialogue between the parties. The United Kingdom encourages all parties to accept and rely on this recommendation to build a stable and prosperous future for all Cameroonians.“

But before this rather sententious conclusion, Tobias Ellwood recalled the steps taken by the British High Commission in Yaoundé, before taking this position. “Our High Commissioner in Yaoundé is closely following the situation in the northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon. We will continue to do so with the Cameroonian government. The High Commissioner of Great Britain met with the President of the Republic on 7 March and discussed with the Minister of External Relations on 19 April 2017 on the tensions in the South-West and North-West “.

In the course of these discussions with the Cameroonian authorities, Tobias Ellwood emphasizes, “we have called for an end to the use of force by the various protagonists, for the obligation to respect human rights, and to the use of legal channels for the resolution of this crisis. We have also called for dialogue to bring the situation back to normal in both regions." Anglophone Crisis: Great Britain Recognizes The 1961 Referendum In Cameroon and Rejects The Request For Independence