Series: Evaluating international mediation acceptance – Case of the ongoing anglophone dispute in Cameroon (5)
How to cite this journal: Author, Date of the post, WMO Conflict Insight, Title of the post, ISSN:
2628-6998, https://worldmediation.org/journal/
Part 5 of 5
Part 4 discussed the characteristics of a mediator and the likelihood of its acceptance. The USA, UK the AU offered to mediate, other bodies called on the UN to mediate but so far, no mediation is insight. In the next part, the international context will be examined. This part will also include the overall conclusion from the analysis, a look at ongoing conflicts around the globe, some resolution relevant insights, new options for a settlement, and lastly an outlook for the future.
International Context
Lastly, it is the international context which deals with other events or conflicts taking place simultaneously. When other conflicts become of greater importance to one or more adversaries, de-escalation is more likely to occur, and consequently acceptance of a mediation leading to mediation success.[1] “The African nation of Cameroon has lived for years between the fires of civil warfare from Nigeria to the west and the Central African Republic to the east.”[2] With the Boko Haram insurgency in neighboring Nigeria, its attack on Cameroonian soil since March 2014 has led to multiple displacements in the country’s Far North region.[3] Cameroon is host to around 336 000 refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic (CAR). In the Far North Cameroon region, the Minawao refugee camp currently hosts over 48 000 Nigerian refugees and CAR refugees in the East Cameroon region currently stand at 256 000 people.[4] This should be a big burden to the developing nation that is still hoping to emerge come 2035, with much at the grassroots level to handle like access to medical care, education, employment, and others.
The crisis in the Northwest and Southwest region, with the protests from opposition leader Kamto Maurice of Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) who rallied a lot of followers on 26 Saturday 2019 to lead protests in major cities in Cameroon is opening more fronts for the regime to battle with. With the pressing humanitarian crisis and more fronts to battle with, it is expected that the regime feels the pressure and accepts an inclusive dialogue or a mediated dialogue but so far there is nothing in sight.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, I foresee that there would never be an inclusive dialogue or a mediated dialogue – a negotiation about self-determination if the current regime remains in power. Subsequent regimes will be voted to power based on how they present the anglophone marginalization problem. During the 2018 presidential campaign, candidates were very careful to voice that they were going to negotiate with the separatist. Also, if the regime accepts to dialogue about self-determination which will subsequently be determined by a referendum, another group of Southern Cameroonians will rise and revolt against it. It is believed that the virtual government of Ambazonia is more of a kleptocracy and doesn’t have the interest of the people at hand. Despite the readiness of separatists to accept a mediated dialogue, the regime has the upper hand and will not accept a mediated dialogue with separatist movements. Those who are calling on the government of Cameroon for an inclusive dialogue know that they are throwing water on a duck’s back. This is a lack of seriousness on their part to see that this crisis is resolved in the best interest of Cameroonians.
Ambazonia doesn’t seem to have the resources and international support needed to persuade the regime into accepting and inclusive and mediated dialogue on self-determination. To an extent, mankind and the international community is suffering from inertia. With the numerous pictures and videos of the horrific beheading of government soldiers, the burning of houses in search of Amba Boys, wanton killings by government soldiers, and the killing of innocent civilians by both camps. No international body, country, or individual personalities or citizen diplomats have put pressure and succeeded to persuade the government of Cameroon and the separatist for a cease-fire or humanitarian diplomacy just to save lives or to create humanitarian corridors. It is intimidating that with the increasing death toll and destruction, the crisis has still not gotten the attention it deserves. The international community is watching as killings are going on in Anglophone regions of Cameroon. This is not different from what happened in the 1994 Rwandan genocide under the watchful eyes of the UN while the international community was silent.
This crisis is like no other as there has been no reported defection in the Cameroon military or police. In the Sudan civil war that ended with a comprehensive peace agreement in 2006, there was a high level of defection in the military mostly those from South Sudan to fight the war against the North. There were also typically Muslim north and Christian south. Most often they defected with military warfare equipment and turn to use it against the enemy. In 2013 when war broke out in the newly independent young nation South Sudan, the military split into two camps and especially along tribal lines since they were two predominant tribes; those supporting the president who is the Dinkars, and those supporting the rebel leader who is the Neurons. In all, there was the support of the UN, the AU, the Troika countries, and more so neighboring countries like Uganda and Kenya providing support and coercing for a cease-fire, setting a comfortable environment for negotiations, reaching a settlement, and overseeing its implementation. Anglophone separatists argue that most of these wars lasted for long before the intervention of the international community and that their “struggle” will continue. For example, the Sudan civil war lasted for more than 20 years before the UN intervention. Should the international community watch the ongoing destruction in Cameroon and intervene after some 20 years? The Anglophone crisis may need to be handled in a different way due to its protracted nature, its intensity, the composition of the fighters, and the regime in place.
The three-year Biafra war that ended in 1970, also saw men and women in uniform who defected from the Nigerian army. After independence, Nigeria was administered in provinces along tribal lines to include Fulani, Hausa, and Igbos. The Igbo tribe wanted their own country called Biafra and a deadly war was fought without success. There was much sympathy from European countries but only four countries were recognizing the call for self-determination by the Igbos. The case of the Central African Republic is also a fight between Christians and Muslims over political power and not over self-determination. With more than 245 ethnic groups in Cameroon, the Anglophone region doesn’t have a dominant tribe. Though there are experiences of inter-tribal wars, religious wars are not common. The crisis is not a religious or tribal conflict, nor is it a war to topple the regime but a fight based on the legacy left behind by the colonial powers.
The anglophone conflict in the North West and South West region of Cameroon is yet to be exported to “La Republique du Cameroun”. What is going on there is that Liberation Forces or Amba Boys apart from fighting, beheading, and killing soldiers and police, are more specialized in killing their own armless people. There is evidence that they kidnap their own people and ask for ransom, they terrorize the population and especially girls to use them for sex, kill men, women, and children and all those they assumed are against the “struggle”. They dig up potholes on the roads in the region making movement difficult for civilians and making emergency evacuations for medical reasons very difficult. They also burn schools and other infrastructure they deemed as colonial property and recently there were rumors of them being responsible for the burning of hospitals and kidnap of school children. This is unlike the case in the Biafran war where there is no evidence that Biafrans were killing each other but that they died of diseases and hunger rather than the fighting itself. They were all unified towards one war aim which was the liberation of Biafra.
The ‘ground-zero fighters’ who are unified under one war aim to free Ambazonia or homeland use; ‘odeshi,’ a magical spell from Nigeria that is assumed to protect them against bullets in their so-called God-ordained struggle. They also use Dane guns, machetes, stones, digging potholes, and use few warfare weapons seized from the military or police. This can’t defeat a professional patriotic army like that of the Republic of Cameroon. Cameroon is host to the Staff College or military academy that services some countries in and around Africa. Cameroon also has its military and police serving in UN peacekeeping missions like in the Central African Republic, Haiti, Darfur, and others. This should testify to her military might and professionalism. Sympathizers of Ambazonia equate the Cameroon military to Amba Boys. The factions in South Sudan like for example the White Army see women strong and well dressed in military gear, unlike the Amba Boys who look like child soldiers with limited military pose and with young girls posing as their wives. In the Central African Republic context, armed groups are also well equipped with warfare equipment.
The separatist groups in the diaspora seek funding even from people on ground-zero through online fundraising. It is alleged that they are corrupt, fight on, and mishandle these petite funds. Those in ground zero are specialized in the kidnap of their own people for chicken change ransom just to feed the fighters. There are no reports of kidnapped of government officials and demanding big concessions like the release of prisoners connected to the Anglophone crisis or a mediated dialogue. This is an indication that separatists are unskillful and may not be able to fund the war without external support. It is also clear that they lack the military might and skills to win the struggle against the government of Cameroon. Perhaps the international community is more silent expecting the separatist to analyze their chances of success and to give up the fight for self-determination since they are found in a disadvantaged position.
The geostrategic location and geopolitical situation of Ambazonia, which is a strip of landmass sandwiched between the Republic of Cameroon and the Federal Republic of Nigeria leave it at a disadvantage position to win the war because the Nigerian government is cooperating with the Cameroon government to see that they are brought to their knees. This was proven when Julius Ayuk Tabe and nine others were taken into custody in Nigeria and later deported to Cameroon in January 2018. The outcome of the upcoming Nigerian presidential elections scheduled for 23 February will determine the dynamics of this Anglophone crisis if the crisis will be business as usual or a new wave of change will blow. The Republic of Cameroon still enjoys bilateral relations with all its allies and is not under pressure to act in a low way. The internal threat to Ambazonia is basically the presence of more than 25 armed groups that turn to confront each other on occasions. Ambazonia is yet to gain international recognition or any country is yet to voice recognition of the piece of territory called Ambazonia, and the separatist is yet to get external support. Though the territory has access to the sea, the ports which have the oil refinery are still controlled by the regime and may be the last thing that the regime can ever give up. This looks like the Biafran war where they also didn’t receive much external support especially from its only next-door neighbor Cameroon. Though few countries recognized and supported Biafra’s fight for autonomy, it didn’t lead to success. The Sudan civil war saw South Sudan fighting for self-determination and enjoying the support of most east African countries. South Sudan had five neighboring countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.
There are basically no similar ongoing conflicts as most conflicts have had UN, AU and other organizations and countries intervening in one way or the other though they intervened after damages must have occurred. The ongoing crisis in the Central African Republic saw the arrival of the UN and the international community in a timely fashion. Though the crisis was not that of self-determination, the early intervention served as a deterrent to the intensity of the armed conflict thus saving lives. The armed conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, and others are enjoying massive media reporting and international concern. There are peacekeepers in South Sudan protecting lives from the sky through the land to the waters. But the difference with these wars is that they are fighting for the change of a regime not for self-determination. This Anglophone crisis falls under the category of a situation where former colonial masters exercised the right to self-determination where an entity was wrongly incorporated into the newly independent state and later the awareness of dissimilarities come. Examples of such include Eritrea, Somaliland, Kasmir, Southern Sudan, and others.
Cameroon is highly integrated socially and given the multicultural and bilingualism they enjoy, the government should take up its responsibility to protect the citizens and the territorial integrity of the great triangle. The separatist should fractionate their demands and opt more for enhanced local self-government, either decentralization, regionalization, or advocating for Cameroon to become a federated state made of more than the initial two-state federation. The only solution to this crisis is to review the Foumban Conference of 1961 which was the marriage between West Cameroon and East Cameroon giving birth to the Foumban Accord which was the foundation of the Federal Constitution. Apart from a two-state federation, an eleven-state federation will be ideal, casting out the fear that the English-speaking region may finally become independent in the future. Best practices could be drawn from neighboring Nigeria which is a thirty-six-state federation. This may lead to a détente and the regime will welcome the antagonists to the dialogue table to discuss the political solution to resolve the root course of the dispute. The regime on the other hand should call for a ceasefire and invite an international body to monitor it. If not, then the international community should put pressure on the government of Cameroon and separatists for a cease-fire. There is always a time to give up for strategic and tactical reasons and to prevent more losses. Separatists and the regime should consider the fact that they are fighting for the good of the citizens. If in this century people are still being killed without respect for dignity, it means that mankind has not learned a lesson from past mistakes, hence the saying that history repeats itself.
Communities are being depopulated by the wanton killings. This is outrageous in this global village with all; the Core International Human Rights Instruments (treaties) protecting human rights and the right to dignity, organizations like the UN, AU, and others with the mandate to deter or use force to prevent human suffering and genocides, world powers and countries that are supposed to play the role of big brothers like USA, Russia, and others. Apart from intervention, Peace Education, a concept and an initiative of UNICEF is an important and sustainable way of maintaining future world peace. It should not only be introduced in a post-conflict environment but should be considered as a way of empowering individuals to have peaceful relations and view conflict as an opportunity to progress and not to regress through the conflict partnership approach.
[1] Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation, Pdf on Egnyte, 373.
[2] United States Institute of Peace, Cameroon’s Anglophone Uprising, 2018.
[3] Hajer Naili, Five Things to Know About the Humanitarian Crisis in Far North Cameroon, NRC, June 22, 2018, https://www.nrc.no/news/2018/june/five-things-to-know-about-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-far-north-cameroon/ (accessed January 26, 2019).
[4] European Commission, Cameroon: European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, European Commission, May 2, 2014, https://ec.europa.eu/echo/where/africa/cameroon_en (accessed January 26, 2019).
Series: Evaluating International Mediation Acceptance – Case of the Ongoing Anglophone Dispute in Cameroon (4)
How to cite this journal: Author, Date of the post, WMO Conflict Insight, Title of the post, ISSN:
2628-6998, https://worldmediation.org/journal/
Part 4 of 5
It should be recalled that though the separatist movement is united towards liberating what they refer to as homeland otherwise known as Ambazonia, they are many internal threats. These internal threats can make it difficult to identify and accept credible leaders that will negotiate and secure the implementation of an agreement. Nevertheless, the regime is united and there are no internal threats to her war aims. In part 4 of this article, the characteristics of the mediator will be examined to appraise the eventual acceptance and success of a mediation.
Characteristics of the Mediator
The third criteria used to evaluate mediation success is the characteristics of the mediator, with a focus on variables like impartiality, leverage, and status. These characteristics are responsible for a mediator becoming accepted by disputing parties and in turn to the success of the mediation. Impartiality is more a matter of perception and mediator impartiality is crucial to the outcome of a mediation, though mediators’ acceptability is not reliant upon impartiality nor on trust in the mediation but instead on a mediator’s bias towards one of the parties. Leverage is used for mediation success by persuading conflicting parties to make concessions or for ensuring disputants to adhere to agreements though there is a contrast where analysts claim that lack of political power by mediator might facilitate rather than hinder the mediation success. Personal reputation, track records, special expertise of a mediator and his institutional and positional status also facilitates or hinders mediation. The higher the status, the greater the chances of success.[1]
The conflict in the Anglophone region has reached the point where there is no trust among Cameroonians on the two sides so there is an urgent need for a third party. Credible institutions and leaders within Africa have a stake in this and should take meaningful steps to salvage Cameroon from impending civil war and it is believed that the US can encourage this.[2] Tembon in his report in 2018 requested the US to call for international mediation to resolve the root causes of this territorial dispute and prevent further atrocities and genocide.[3] According to Campbell John, the US has a number of tools at its disposal to encourage talks.[4] In August 2018, the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect in a Joint letter urged the UN to call for and support a mediated dialogue to the crisis in the Anglophone region of Cameroon.[5] On 7 October 2018, a Cameroonian son and daughter urged the government and Anglophone separatist leaders to urgently engage in a mediated dialogue to find peaceful ways of ending the conflict that has taken the lives of hundreds of their brothers and sisters. They also called on the UN, US, and France to continue offering to provide mediation support.[6]
It is alleged that the conflict was escalated by the separatist to win the heart and mind of the UN, UK and other international bodies and countries which are signatories to the Human Rights Declaration of 1948. Separatists did not call on France, the formal colonial master of “La Republique du Cameroun” to mediate because they thought France will be biased. At the beginning of the crisis, separatist called for the UN and especially the UK’s intervention with the intuition that they will consider what they refer to as an error during the plebiscite of 1961 – either joining the Republic of Nigeria or the Republic of Cameroon without offering a third option of independence. The UN and the UK will therefore be biased, accepting the autonomy of the Southern Cameroons now. The USA, the UK, and the AU have some of the characteristics of a mediator which include impartiality, leverage, and status, and has offered to mediate but the government of Cameroon did not accept.
Any country or organization is yet to coerce the government of Cameroon for mediation acceptance though those that have offered to mediate have the leverage and the political power. Mediation cannot take place without the consent of the warring parties, and perhaps now, the international community respect the regime to handle the crisis in a professional way and bring it to an end without external intervention. So far, the regime is putting a lot of effort into addressing the issue by using military force to neutralize the Amba boys and equally addressing the poor governance which is affecting the entire republic via decentralization.
The next chapter is going to analyze the international context and how it is affecting the dynamics of the dispute and if it can lead to mediation acceptance and success. This part will also include the overall conclusion from the analysis, a look at ongoing conflicts around the globe, some resolution relevant insights, new options for a settlement, and lastly an outlook for the future.
[1] Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation, Pdf on Egnyte, 370 – 373.
[2] United States Institute of Peace, Cameroon’s Anglophone Uprising: A Crisis Overlooked, United States Institute of Peace, October 4, 2018, https://www.usip.org/publications/2018/10/cameroons-anglophone-uprising-crisis-overlooked (accessed January 27, 2019).
[3] Tembon, Crisis in the Republic of the Cameroon An Overview of the Anglophone Crisis,(2018).
[4] Campbell, Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon Was Decades in the Making, 2018.
[5] Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Joint NGO Letter Calling for Mediation in Cameroon: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, August 13, 2018, http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/690 (accessed January 27, 2019).
[6] Nkongho A. Balla and Mbe M. Ngo, The Crisis in Cameroon Can Still Be Resolved Peacefully, Cameroon Al Jazeera, October 7, 2018, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/crisis-cameroon-resolved-peacefully-181007072249247.html (accessed February 4, 2019).
Series: Evaluating International Mediation Acceptance – Case of the Ongoing Anglophone Dispute in Cameroon (3)
How to cite this journal: Author, Date of the post, WMO Conflict Insight, Title of the post, ISSN:
2628-6998, https://worldmediation.org/journal/
Part 3 of 5
It should be recalled that the government of Cameroon claimed to have agreed to the demands brought forward by CACSC which was formed to negotiate with the government but further demands of the federation and later independence led to the ban of the consortium and the jailing of front liners. This led to the escalation of tension which started with school boycotts, ghost towns, and later armed conflict. Since then, the separatist started calling for a mediated dialogue and are still calling for a mediated dialogue because they do not believe in a dialogue with the regime. The mayhem caused by the crisis on both sides is unbearable and all attempts to solve the problem by the government of Cameroon are not yielding desired fruits – firstly, an end to the killings by parties to the conflict. The parties involved in this crisis and their interrelationship will be examined considering the conflict for mediation acceptance and success.
Parties Involved and their Interrelationship
The second criteria used to measure mediation success is about parties and their interrelationship and focus on six variables including their characteristics, their cohesiveness, their type of regime, their motivation to mediate, their previous and ongoing relationships, and lastly the distribution of power between them. For mediation to be successful here, parties to the conflict must be clearly identified which is often problematic. Leaders’ internal cohesiveness will authoritatively negotiate and secure the implementation of agreements reached. Intervention is more successful in conflicts between democracies than non-democracies as democracies turn to have trust in third parties with judiciary competencies to settle their conflicts. The willingness to address the conflict and to accept mediation is considered a condition for mediation success. Others may accept mediation with the expectation to produce a favorable settlement, others do so for strategic and tactical reasons. The degree of transactions based on complementary and common interest, making them important relationships leads to the likelihood of mediation especially parties with a long-term relationship, and lastly balance of power is more likely for mediation success than power parity.[1]
The separatist initial strategy was shutdowns, then school boycott, civil disobedience, and lastly armed struggle which didn’t persuade the regime to slow down the military repression. Those taking up the armed struggle can be divided into two categories. The first consists of around a dozen violent splinter groups, each with an average of between 10 and 30 members, for example, the Tigers, Vipers, and Ambaland forces. The second category is comprised of three rebel militias, numbering more than a hundred fighters in total: the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), led by Ayaba Cho Lucas and Benedict Nwana Kuah, the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SOCADEF) commanded by Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga, and the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SCDF), under the leadership of Nso Foncha Nkem.[2]
“A number of groups have been formed over the years in this resistance movement. The SCNC (Southern Cameroons National Council) led by Nfor Ngala Nfor, formed after the All Anglophone Conferences of the 90s, Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) led by Akwanga Ebenezer, the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGC) led by Cho Ayaba, the outlawed Consortium led by Tassang Wilfred and Movement for the Restoration of the Independence of Southern Cameroons (MORISC) with Boh Herbert as the spokesperson, have been very active. The Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front (SCACUF) was formed in 2017 as a governing body to unite organizations fighting for the independence of Southern Cameroon. The group adopted the roadmap for independence developed by MORISC. Although some groups like (MORISC), ADC, and SYCL left SCACUF in late 2017, it transitioned into an Interim Government of Ambazonia under Interim President Ayuk Tabi. On 01 October 2017, Ayuk Tabi declared the restoration of the independence of Ambazonia.”[3]
This in effect illustrates how fragmented the secessionist camp as though they are all rallying behind the proclaimed President of Ambazonia with the aim to liberate the homeland from colonial occupation.
It is widely alleged that the separatist fighters also known as Amba Boys or Liberation Forces found in ground-zero are mostly former school dropouts, armed bandits, quarter thieves, ex-convicts, and convicts who broke out from prisons in this region when the crisis started and are now using the crisis as an opportunity to carry out their normal atrocities. It is also alleged that the Amba Boys are taking tramadol, a drug that makes them go ire. Most of the time they fight and kill themselves over arguments on ransom from kidnappings or when conflicting strategies are to be implemented. There has so far been no news making reported cases of taking government officials hostage and demanding “big” concessions. All they mostly do is kidnap armless civilians for ransom. They behead the military and kill armless civilians. Pundits hold that they also threaten young girls to join them as they use them for their sexual pleasures. The communities are rising to defend themselves as they think they are being taken hostage by hoodlums called Amba boys. There have been no reports of Anglophone Cameroonians living in “La Republique du Cameroun” abandoning their jobs or sacrificing to go and join the Liberation Forces. Instead, they welcome their relatives to come and find refuge with them in “La Republique du Cameroun” which is also known as the “camp of the enemy.”
It is equally rumored that Amba boys on ground-zero are remotely controlled from the diaspora by some separatist elements mostly leading isolated armed groups in their respective communities with conflicting ideas on best strategies to implement the school boycotts, ghost-towns, civil disobedience, and the armed engagement. For example, in the month of February 2019, a faction was advocating for ten days boycott of the 11 February unification day celebrations while another camp was advocating that only the Monday ghost-town should be maintained as usual to avoid the sufferings of the people. Quite often reports hold that these individuals in the diaspora leading armed groups in their communities direct their fighters on ‘ground-zero to kidnap their long time presumed enemies and those they consider black legs and ask for ransom, burn their houses and properties and even kill some. They have not been any reports of separatist in the diaspora coming to join forces with others in ground-zero. Instead, they send their relatives to find a haven and attain school in “La Republic du Cameroun”. One other remarkable thing about the separatist in the diaspora is the presumed mismanagement of funds raised online to feed fighters and buy arms, painting a picture of a kleptocratic virtual government.
Researching on Facebook on 13 February 2019 and focusing on the month of January and February 2019, some of these armed group leaders may not be found on Facebook but the famous ones like Tapang Ivo Tanku otherwise known as the “General” have a hidden number of followers with a maximum number of 2.4K comments, Mark Bareta (BaretaNews) has 122.922 followers with a max of 1.4K comments, Eric Tataw has 5000 followers with maximum 1.5k comments, Akwanga Ebenezer has 8.802 followers with max 114 comments, Tassang Wilfred has 4,809 followers with no posts at study time (probably because he is detained and there is no one to operate his account), Cho Ayaba has a hidden number of followers with a maximum of 1.4k comments and the proclaimed president of Ambazonia Julius Ayuk Tabi has 3, 909 followers with no post during the study period (he is equally in detention). 99.99 percent of their posts have an average of between 1 to 200 comments meaning that many followers do not comment. The number of followers if used to measure the momentum of Anglophone Cameroonians to separate reveals clearly that there is no determination to separate. This number of followers cannot reflect the view of a population of about 8 million in the English-speaking regions. Some of the comments are purely against the so-called “Struggle”; giving contrary views on how to approach the matter, others are against the killings and shutdowns, while others are against the school boycott and shutdowns even raising questions like what are the benefits of all these? The respondents are impolite and calling anyone with a contrary view as being a blackleg or “La Republic du Cameroun” agent.
Some Cameroonians from the Anglophone Region strongly believe that this separatist movement is a social media fallacy that has captured the hearts and minds of some innocent youths and the country called Ambazonia is a virtual country. It is unclear if the majority of the people from the Anglophone region wish to separate as so far, most elites and the majority of people from this region are still silent perhaps for fear of a backlash from the Ambazonian armed groups or from the regime. Some Cameroonians from the English-speaking regions argue that separatist should revisit the history and territory of Cameroon under the Portuguese (Rio Dos Camaros) and German rule (Kamerun) before thinking of the perceived divide brought about when Cameroon was partitioned between the English and the French, while some accuse separatist for distorting history to satisfy their wishful thinking. It is strongly believed that the separatist movement has not played its cards well to win the hearts and minds of the Anglophone community.
Going by unity of the course, separatist movements in the diaspora and liberation forces on ground-zero are resolved to free what they refer to as homeland occupied by colonial forces but internally they are divided. They are so many leaders both known and unknown and there is no coherence in the strategy they have put in place. For mediation acceptance to be successful here, credible leaders must be clearly identified which may be problematic. Leaders’ internal cohesiveness will authoritatively negotiate and secure the implementation of agreements reached but so far there are many threats in the camp.
On the other hand, the regime is solidly united against any threats to republican values though the regime is democratic. This is probably due to her military might and the support from some Cameroonians from the English-speaking regions. They have not been any reports of decamping by the military or police and they have been sustaining the fight to defend the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cameroon through with a collateral impairment which includes burning of houses thought to be hideouts for Amba Boys and killing of armless civilians as well. The government of Cameroon has demonstrated the willingness to address the conflict taking completely a different approach which most Cameroonians believe is not the right approach to manage such a conflict. So far, the regime has not displayed the willingness for a mediated dialogue or an inclusive dialogue.
The next chapter will discuss the characteristics of the mediator, what is it that the mediator has that can encourage parties to the dispute to accept a mediation under his/her auspices.
[1] Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation, Pdf on Egnyte, 365 – 366.
[2] Reliefweb International, Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: Dialogue Remains the Only Viable Solution,” Cameroon ReliefWeb, December 21, 2017, https://reliefweb.int/report/cameroon/cameroon-s-anglophone-crisis-dialogue-remains-only-viable-solution (accessed January 21, 2019).
[3] W. Efi Tembon, Crisis in the Republic of the Cameroon An Overview of the Anglophone Crisis, 2018.
Series: Evaluating international mediation acceptance – Case of the ongoing anglophone dispute in Cameroon (2)
How to cite this journal: Author, Date of the post, WMO Conflict Insight, Title of the post, ISSN:
2628-6998, https://worldmediation.org/journal/
Part 2 of 5
When the crisis started, the government of Cameroon offered to dialogue with the adversaries as the best means of solving the problem, but secessionist elements gained momentum and increased the demands to include independence. The regime motioned that dialogue will not hold with separatists because it is not in line with republican legality – the one and indivisible nature of the republic. The Roman Catholic Bishops called upon the president to begin an inclusive dialogue but the regime will not dialogue with separatists, so the crisis gradually moved from shutdowns and school boycotts to an armed conflict and has kept on spreading. In this part, the characteristics of the dispute are going to be examined to appraise the possibility for a mediated dialogue acceptance by parties to the conflict.
The Characteristics of the Dispute
Conflict ripeness is the assumption that a conflict passes through a series of phases and that there is a certain stage that is good for intervention and therefore mediation should be initiated at such a “ripped moment.” Conflicting views exist about what constitutes or how to recognize a ripe moment. Some analysts believe that conflicts follow the logic of “clock time” hence more emphasis is laid on the duration, in terms of days, months, or years and is linked to the persistence or change of attitudes of the adversaries towards the conflict. The author highlighted that the late entry makes mediation more successful as it is a sign that conflicting parties have failed to reach an agreement. Other analysts think that early entry well before adversaries cross the threshold of violence and begin to inflict losses on each other will be successful. At this early stage, it is possible to consider possibilities for settlements before the conflict becomes entrenched and parties become inflexible in their attitudes. The study found out that the longer a dispute, the less amenable it is to mediate and that mediation efforts initiated between 12 and 36 months have proven successful.[1]
The Anglophone crisis which started in late 2016 is entering its third year with a failed attempt to negotiate and reach a settlement even though the government claims to have agreed to the demands which did not lead to a détente.[2] The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) which was formed to negotiate with the government was immediately banned alongside the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) after a failed attempt to reach a settlement on the basis that they jeopardize the security of the state.[3] On 17 January 2017, Agbor Mballa and other front liners were arrested and detained by the Cameroon Police with orders from the Cameroon government in connection to the Anglophone crisis. In August 2017, President Paul Biya signed a decree ordering the Yaoundé military court tribunal to release Mballa and others in connection to the protests in the North West and Southwest Regions.[4] This gesture of the president did not lead to a relaxation of tension as the crisis kept spreading.
After a failed attempt to reach an agreement in January 2017 the chairperson of the African Union Commission called for restrain and encouraged a continuation of the dialogue initiated by the government in order to find a solution to the social, political, and economic issues motivating the protests and that the AU Commission stands ready to assist the parties in this endeavor.[5] Since early 2018, the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU), the United States (US), France, and Equatorial Guinea called for dialogue to end the violence. More precisely the UK government said it was ready to help Cameroon resolve the dispute should the UK’s good offices be requested but that this would in practice, mean an invitation from the Cameroon Government.[6] The Minister for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Harriett Baldwin wrote to President Paul Biya seeking progress on the commitment he made in his New Year message. She reiterated the UK’s readiness to help and her continuous soliciting for ways to engage in the issue. She finally met with senior members of the Cameroon government during her visit in February 2018 where she encouraged restraint and relaxation of tension.[7] In April 2018, the US Ambassador to Cameroon Peter Henry Barlerin expressed his country’s willingness to assist in finding a solution to the crisis. He said his country could help provided both sides would approve of its wish to intervene as a peace mediator.[8] Going by the logic of the clock, early entry of a mediator was not successful perhaps because the government of Cameroon undermined the potential of the separatist to resist military repression. Kleiboer found out in her research that mediation acceptance was most likely between 12 -36 months and this crisis falls net between this timing but there are no hopes for a mediated dialogue. The rivals are left now with a late entry of a mediator as mediation acceptance depends solely on the regime’s acceptance. The conflict is persisting, and antagonists haven’t changed their attitudes and in this case, late entry could mean many years in the future. While the government says dialogue can only happen if the country’s legality is not disputed, secessionists want a country called Ambazonia while federalists want a two-state federation.
Kleiboer highlighted that the feeling of emergency will strongly increase the disputants’ motivation to moderate and or revise their expectations. Conflict is also seen as ripe when it is marked by an impending catastrophe, existing mutually hurting stalemate, and when power relations have changed hands in such a way that the party that previously had the upper hand in the conflict starts slipping and the underdog starts rising. In contrast, other analysts assert that developments within the contending camps are critical for the emergence of ripe moments like the rise of new leaders, the emergence of divided leadership, or split in government previously unified war aims.[9] President Paul Biya is in power since 1982 and retains a strong grip on power as he was declared winner of the 7 October 2018 Presidential elections. Dion Ngute, Biya’s close aide previously Minister in charge of special duties now Prime Minister, Head of government said that the President deserved the victory because he has done much for the good of the country.[10] During the President’s inaugural speech, he insisted that there are elements using the socio-professional grievances to roll out a secessionist agenda and that this action undermines the constitution which established the “indivisible” nature of the republic.[11] This statement confirmed that the government has not changed its war aims and the leadership of the regime is still intact. Separatist leader Julius Ayuk Tabe and the President of the virtual country called Ambazonia rallies support from splinter groups.
- The intensity of the conflict
The intensity of conflict in terms of threats, the magnitude of violence, or the number of fatalities is another variable that is contested. It is ambiguous what is meant by the “intensity” of conflict. Is it the degree of threat or tension or the magnitude of violence or number of fatalities? Analysts usually strongly disagree about its impact, however, some indicate that the greater the intensity, the more polarized the positions of the disputants will become, resulting in a greater inclination to reject any mediation effort, instead they will try to win at all cost. Some analysts weigh intensity in terms of fatalities experienced by adversaries and gains empirical support for the hypothesis that as the number of fatalities in a dispute increases, the likelihood that mediation will prove successful suffers a corresponding decline. They advise that protracted and intense conflicts should therefore be managed in a different way. Other analysts argue that the higher the intensity of the conflict, the higher the likelihood that mediation will be both accepted and successful as a method of minimizing losses.[12]
Violence increased significantly in the Anglophone regions in October 2017 when Anglophone militants carried out attacks against the military and police and a new group called the Ambazonian Defence Force claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.[13] Separatists murdered gendarmes, kidnapped government officials, and burned schools. On their part, the Cameroon military affects targeted killings, burning and looting of villages, and detention without access to legal support, according to reports.[14] Early June 2018, Amnesty International reported that the situation in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon is becoming increasingly desperate with no one spared from the violence which is spiraling out of control and that up to 400 ordinary people have been killed since a year by both the security forces and the armed separatist. The authoritative organization claimed it had also recorded more than 260 security incidents since the beginning of the year, ranging from clashes between armed separatist and security forces, kidnappings of members of the general population, and the killing of security forces by armed separatist. The incidents also include unlawful killings by the security forces and the destruction of private properties by both sides. Since the start of the crisis in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions in late 2016, Amnesty International has documented the deaths of more than 160 members of the security forces at the hands of armed separatists. However, the death toll could be much higher as some attacks go underreported.[15]
Amnesty International report in September same year which was said to be based on in-depth interviews with over 150 victims and eye-witnesses, and material evidence including satellite images saw how the general population is paying the highest price as violence escalates in Anglophone Cameroon. They reported that security forces have indiscriminately killed, arrested, and tortured people during military operations which have also displaced thousands of civilians. On the other hand, separatists fighters had killed dozens of members of the security forces, carried out attacks designed to strike fear amongst the population, going as far as burning down schools and targeting teachers who did not enforce the school boycott.[16] Since late 2017, 1200 cases of civilian protection rights violations have been registered, mainly physical abuse or threats, and lack of legal protection. More than 400.000 people have fled their homes.[17] Recently and especially in the months of January and February 2019, the crisis has been marred by the kidnap of school children and the burning of hospitals with patients with both camps accusing one another of the acts. It should be noted that school boycott and shutdown has been going on since the crisis started and this has affected the economy of the region and their way of life. The intensity of the crisis in terms of the threats, magnitude of violence, and the number of fatalities is high but the government of Cameroon, as well as separatists fighters, are determined to win at all costs.
At the onset of the crisis, the separatist movement and federalists started calling for mediation under the auspices of especially the UN, UK, USA, AU and it is generally thought that this is the reason why they escalated the conflict. So far, the government of Cameroon has the upper hand and mediation cannot take place without the consent of all the parties to the conflict. Perhaps the antagonists did not foresee that even the UN, US, or other bodies with political power may not oblige a sovereign state to accept a mediated dialogue.
Lastly, the nature of the issues which include ideologies, securities, self-determination, and other residual characteristics of other types of conflicts was also studied. Here analysts distinguished between five types of conflict issues which include sovereignty issues involving adversaries with incompatible claims to a specific territory. Ideological issues focus on the nature of the political system, basic values or beliefs, security issues concerning frontiers, borders, and territories, issues of self-determination and national self-hood, independence conflicts, and a residual category of other types of conflict like poor governance. The research found out that disputes involving territorial or security issues are far more amenable to successful mediation than those of ideology or independence. Many conflicts involved more than one set of issues which render it increasingly difficult to separate security or territorial issues from independence and or ideological issues. To circumvent such problems, analysts frequently move to a higher level of abstraction – issues such as disputes that arise from deep-rooted values or ideologies are basically zero-sum leaving no room for negotiation. And in contrast more interest-related, positive-sum issues would be more amenable to conflict management. Other analysts assumed that even if a conflict issue seems to be completely zero-sum, it may be possible to redefine or fractionate it into negotiable subunits and to try to trade those off against one another. Fractionating issues may be useful if interests are decoupled from values. However, when conflicting interests are derived directly from underlying values, disputes are difficult to resolve.[18]
The constitution of the newly established Federal Republic of Cameroon guaranteed respect for the cultural identity of West Cameroon but as years passed by, the government of Cameroon repressed the Anglophone minority’s identity and separatists longed for an independent Ambazonia.[19] Forced assimilation with dominant French-speaking politicians in government has been on the rise since the Federal Republic of Cameroon of 1961 became the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and later the Republic of Cameroon in 1984. In October 2017, the separatists’ leader Julius Ayuk Tabe declared the independence of the Republic of Ambazonia laying claim to a territory whose borders are the same as the UN Trust Territory of Southern Cameroons under British rule.[20] Several Anglophone associations and pressure groups emerged that have protested Anglophone marginalization, assimilation, and exploitation by the Francophone-dominated state. They placed the problem on the national and international agenda, laying claims to self-determination and autonomy by primarily returning to a two-state federation and then to an independent state. The relative underdevelopment of the region shows that it has not benefited sufficiently from its rich resources, particularly oil and this is reinforcing the feeling of being recolonized and marginalized in all spheres of life. By reuniting with French Cameroon, they had hoped for a loose federal union as a way of protecting their territory’s minority status and cultural heritage.[21]
The Cameroon government has attempted to offer solutions ranging from multicultural and bilingualism commission to decentralization, rejecting the inclusive dialogue or a mediated dialogue that will discuss self-determination supporting Kleiboer’s findings that issues that had to do with self-determination and values are not easy to be resolved. It is also a reality that the poor governance in Cameroon is affecting not only the Anglophone Regions but partly all of Cameroon creating an atmosphere that makes other Cameroonians think that the quest for separation based on marginalization is not genuine.
In part 3, the focus will be on parties involved in this crisis and their interrelationship, if they are united towards a unique war aim and if there are any internal threats.
[1] Ibid., Keliboer, 362 – 363.
[2] Human Rights Watch et al, These Killings Can Be Stopped: Abuses by Government and Separatist Groups in Cameroon’s Anglophone Regions, Human Rights Watch, July 19, 2018, https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/07/19/these-killings-can-be-stopped/abuses-government-and-separatist-groups-cameroons (accessed February 4, 2019).
[3] The Economists, Two Anglophone Activist Groups Banned, January 23, 2017, http://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=1365034320&Country=Cameroon&topic=Politics&subtopic=Forecast&subsubtopic=Political+stability&u=1&pid=95350593&oid=95350593&uid=1 (accessed February 4, 2019).
[4] Encyclopedia Article, “Felix Agbor Balla,” Wikipedia, February 20, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felix_Agbor_Balla&oldid=884305950 (accessed February 22, 2019).
[5] African Union, AU Expresses Concern on the Situation in Cameroon, African Union, January 18, 2017, https://www.au.int/web/en/pressreleases/20170118-0 (accessed January 20, 2019).
[6] Lunn and Brooke-Holland, The Anglophone Cameroon Crisis: June 2018 Update, 12.
[7] Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Cameroon: Human Rights: Written Question – HL7788, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK Parliament, May 11, https://www.parliament.uk/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/lords/2018-05-11/HL7788 (accessed January 17, 2019).
[8] Journal du Cameroun.com, U.S wants to be honest broker in Cameroon crisis, Journal du Cameroun, April 20, 2018, 2019, https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/u-s-wants-to-be-honest-broker-in-cameroon-crisis/ (accessed January 20, 2019).
[9] “Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation.Pdf on Egnyte, 363.”
[10] BBC, Cameroon’s President Biya Wins Seventh Term, BBC Africa, October 22, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45940414 (accessed January 27, 2019).
[11] Presidency of the Republic, Inaugural Address by H.E. Paul BIYA, President of the Republic of Cameroon, on the Occasion of the Swearing-in Ceremony, Presidency of the Republic, November 6, 2018, https://www.prc.cm/en/news/speeches-of-the-president/3153-inaugural-address-by-h-e-paul-biya-president-of-the-republic-of-cameroon-on-the-occasion-of-the-swearing-in-ceremony-6-november-2018 (accessed January 27, 2019).
[12] Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation, Pdf on Egnyte, 364.
[13] Lunn and Brooke-Holland, The Anglophone Cameroon Crisis: June 2018 Update, 9.
[14] Dakar Reuters, U.S. Accuses Cameroon of ‘targeted Killings’ of Anglophones, Reuters, May 18, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cameroon-usa-idUSKCN1IJ23Y (accessed January 17, 2019).
[15] Amnesty International, Cameroon: Horrific Violence Escalates Further in Anglophone Regions, Amnesty International, September 18, 2018 last modified 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/09/cameroon-horrific-violence-escalates-further-in-anglophone-regions/ (accessed January 20, 2019).
[16] Amnesty International, Cameroon: Anglophone Regions Gripped by Deadly Violence, Amnesty International, June 11, 2018, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/06/cameroon-anglophone-regions-gripped-by-deadly-violence/ (accessed January 21, 2019).
[17] OCHA, Cameroon: North-West and South-West Situational Report No. 2, 2018, 1 – 5.
[18] Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation, Pdf on Egnyte, 364.
[19] John Campbell, Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon Was Decades in the Making, Council on Foreign Relations, August 16, 2018, https://www.cfr.org/blog/anglophone-crisis-cameroon-was-decades-making (accessed January 27, 2019).
[20] Phyllis Taoua, Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis Has Brought the Country to the Brink of Civil War, Quartz Africa, June 26, 2018, https://qz.com/africa/1313745/cameroons-anglophone-crisis-has-brought-the-country-to-the-brink-of-civil-war/ (accessed January 27, 2019).
[21] Nantang Jua and Piet Konings, Occupation of Public Space Anglophone Nationalism in Cameroon, Cahiers d’études africaines 44, no. 175, 2004): 609–633, http://journals.openedition.org/etudesafricaines/4756 (accessed January 27, 2019).
Series: Evaluating International Mediation Acceptance – Case of the Ongoing Anglophone Dispute in Cameroon (1)
How to cite this journal: Author, Date of the post, WMO Conflict Insight, Title of the post, ISSN: 2628-6998, https://worldmediation.org/journal/
Summary: Fighting between separatists in the Anglophone regions and the government of Cameroon is ongoing and little international attention is being paid to it. This crisis started in October 2016 following a perceived marginalization of the Anglophone community whereby schools and courts in the North West and South West Regions were allegedly flooded by French-speaking professionals to the detriment of the Anglophones. Teachers and lawyers strike sequel to this that demanded the removal of French teachers and judges from English schools and courts was later hijacked by secessionists elements when the government of Cameroon turned down a request for further negotiation with the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and issued a ban on them. This ban instead led to the escalation of tension that has led to about three years of armed conflict involving high rates of fatalities, destruction of properties, several persons internally displaced with others crossing into Nigeria as refugees. The UK, AU, and the US have formally offered to mediate if they are given the opportunity, but mediation acceptance is based on the government of Cameroon’s willingness. Though the secessionists are ever ready for mediation, unfortunately, mediation cannot take place without the consent of all the parties to the conflict. Separatist fighters’ war aim is to liberate what they call Ambazonia which is a portion of the territory previously known as the British Southern Cameroons. On its part, the government of Cameroon is fighting to maintain the integrity of the one and the indivisible Republic of Cameroon, a legacy that was handed down at independence (1960) and Reunification (1961). This crisis is therefore not about religion, tribe, or toppling of a regime but about a piece of territory and the legacy that was left behind by colonial masters – English culture for the Anglophone region and French culture for the Francophone region making the situation one of the most unique in history. According to Marieke Kleiboer in the article titled “Understanding the Success and Failure of Mediation” published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, international disputes, and international diplomacy turn to be complex in such a way that evaluating the criteria for their mediation acceptance or success raises more questions than answers. She stated in her research that there are four frequently used yardsticks to measure mediation acceptance and success and they include; the characteristics of the dispute, parties involved and their interrelationships, characteristics of a mediator, and lastly the international context. This piece examines these variables in the context of the ongoing Anglophone crisis in Cameroon for a possibility of mediation acceptance and success by the disputants. The article will be divided into five parts including the background to the anglophone dispute, the four frequently used yardsticks and the conclusion will focus on; the conclusion from the analysis, if there are similar ongoing conflicts around the globe, some resolution relevant insights, new options for a settlement, and lastly an outlook for the future.
Part 1 of 5
Background to the Anglophone Crisis
Present-day Cameroon was a German protectorate called Kamerun. After World War I, the Germans were defeated by the allied powers notably the French, English, and Belgian forces. The territory was then effectively partitioned between Britain and France in 1919. Britain administered the two portions given to her as part of Nigeria. They called these portions Southern Cameroon and Northern Cameroon. The rest of the territory that was administered by the French was referred to as East Cameroon.[1]
When the wind of change was blowing across Africa in the 60s, a plebiscite was organized by the United Nations (UN) and Southern Cameroons opted to join East Cameroon which already gained its independence from France on 1 January 1960 as La République du Cameroun while Northern Cameroon opted to join Nigeria. The new Federal Republic of Cameroon thus comprised of two states; one comprising of the former French zone referred to as East Cameroon and one comprising of the former British colony referred to as West Cameroon. In June 1972, the federal system was abolished through a referendum as the country moved into a unitary system and was named United Republic of Cameroon[2] and in 1984 the country was renamed the Republic of Cameroon.
Since this reunion, tension has been mounting with West Cameroon (Southern Cameroon) otherwise known as the Anglophone Regions convinced of marginalization and a bad feeling reinforced by the difficulties experienced in capturing the fallouts from the exploitation of natural resources and the political systems.[3] The immediate trigger of the current Anglophone crisis is the Anglophone lawyers’ strike in October 2016, joined by all Anglophone teachers’ sit-in strike in November 2016 as they all protested against the appointment of French judges and teachers to English courts and schools.[4] Local lawyers demanded their removal and restoration of the federal system of government which was abandoned in 1972. University students and other activists got involved and the security forces responded with force.[5] The President of the Republic in his end of year speech to the nation on 31 December 2016 said;
“As I reminded you recently, it is my duty to ensure republican order, social peace, the unity of the nation, and Cameroon’s integrity. I set up the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism which will play a key role in promoting our togetherness. It is in the same light that at the onset of the crisis, I requested the government to engage in constructive dialogue with English-speaking teachers and lawyers to seek solutions to their demands. The government took many actions following the dialogue, even going beyond the vital demands. Others are still ongoing or in the pipeline. To my mind, dialogue has always been and will always remain the best means of resolving problems, so long as it is strictly in line with republican legality.”[6]
It should be noted that before the President’s speech, secessionist movements had started gaining momentum. They started with the school boycott, shutdowns, and civil disobedience, and later picked up arms as a strategy to lure the government of Cameroon for a dialogue. From the above speech, the President made it clear that his government was ready for dialogue, but this dialogue was not going to discuss anything that is contrary to republican legality, in other words, secession will not be part of the discussions on the dialogue table. On the other hand, separatists have started calling not only for dialogue but for a mediated dialogue under the auspices of the UN.
In 2017 the Roman Catholic Bishops called for the President to begin an inclusive dialogue to find a sustainable solution to the crisis during their 43rd plenary meeting of the National Episcopal Conference.[7] This inclusive dialogue means the inclusion of secessionist elements which was contrary to the President’s end of year speech and will therefore not be accepted by the government of Cameroon.
In the next part, the characteristics of the dispute will be examined in the context of the crisis. The variables embedded in the characteristics of the dispute to define a mediation acceptance or success include conflict ripeness, the intensity of the conflict, and the nature of the issues.[8]
[1] Wikipedia, “Kamerun,” Wikipedia, December 25, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kamerun&oldid=875334325 (accessed January 20, 2019).
[2] Jon Lunn and Louisa Brooke-Holland, The Anglophone Cameroon Crisis,” House of Commons, June 6 2018, Briefing Paper Number. 8331, in House of Common Library (accessed January 20, 2019).
[3] Joseph T. Kenfo, Le ‘Probleme Anglophone’ Au Cameroun: La Reponse Par Le Processus Participatif Au Developpement Territorial. (Universite de Yaounde I, 2017), 5.
[4] Camilla A. Tabe and Isaac Fieze Njofie, A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF NEWSPAPER HEADLINES ON THE ANGLOPHONE CRISIS IN CAMEROON, British Journal of English Linguistics Vol.6, no. 3 (2018), 66, http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Critical-Discourse-Analysis-of-Newspaper-Headlines-on-the-Anglophone-Crisis-in-Cameroon.pdf (accessed January 20, 2019).
[5] Lunn and Brooke-Holland, The Anglophone Cameroon Crisis: June 2018 Update, 8.
[6] Cameroon Radio and Television, President Paul Biya’s end of year message to the nation. http://www.crtv.cm/2017/12/president-paul-biyas-end-of-year-message-to-the-nation/ (accessed January 17, 2019.
[7] Killian C. Ngala, Cameroon Bishops Urge President to Resolve Anglophone Crisis with Dialogue. Crux, April 21, 2018, https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2018/04/21/cameroon-bishops-urge-president-to-resolve-anglophone-crisis-with-dialogue/ (accessed January 2019).
[8] Kleiboer, Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation, 362 – 363.
The two faces of conflict and their outcome
How to cite this journal: Author, Date of the post, WMO Conflict Insight, Title of the post, ISSN: 2628 6998, https://worldmediation.org/journal/
ABSTRACT *
This article develops a constructive understanding of conflict as an unavoidable and potentially valuable manifestation of human diversity. Drawing on the World Mediation Organization’s anthology on mediation and conflict management and on Dudley Weeks’ conflict partnership approach, the author traces the phases of conflict from communication and perception through coping and manifestation to outcome, and situates them within the conflict transformation framework with its levels of prevention, resolution, settlement and peacebuilding. The paper contrasts traditional conflict resolution approaches, which the author characterizes as oriented toward winning without regard for the future relationship, with the conflict partnership process and its eight steps, from creating an effective atmosphere to the mutual benefit agreement. Particular attention is given to the concept of positive power in its three forms of self power, partner’s power and shared power, understood as a power with rather than power over dynamic. The author concludes that conflict, approached as partnership, becomes an engine of social learning and an opportunity for growth rather than destruction.
KEYWORDS *
Conflict transformation, conflict partnership, positive power, shared power, mediation, conflict phases, Dudley Weeks, relationship building, social change, conflict resolution skills
INTRODUCTION
Interaction with human beings often brings misunderstanding which confirms the fact that “the history of human societies, as well as everyday experience on interpersonal conflict, show that driving forces of conflict are very strong and may pull us strongly towards destruction” (World Mediation Organization 2008, 158). However, there are interactions that often generate conflict and in the end, the outcomes are positive. Conflict is an unavoidable manifestation in any society. This is because the human environment is diversified and there are interactions of human beings with different beliefs, opinions, power, desires, goals, values, needs and preferences, feelings, and emotions. Conflict is, therefore “the outgrowth of diversity that characterizes our thoughts, our attitudes, our beliefs, our perceptions, and our social systems and structures” (Weeks 2014, 7). This diversity can be found in the workforce, families, and the larger society. The root causes of conflict are large to be found in poor governance, failure to distribute benefits, human rights violation as well as environmental degradation (Natural Resources Conflict). Diversity is therefore a healthy aspect of human society and can open potentials, challenge us to consider alternatives, and keep us from allowing ourselves stagnant (Weeks 2014, 33). As ambiguous as it may be, conflict means different things to different groups in a different context. When we encounter a conflict, it can change the way we think and challenge us towards the growth or destruction of relationships. Conflict to a greater extent has always been viewed as negative. Conflict should instead be viewed as part of a useful and complex relationship that can provide opportunities for growth.
MAIN CORPUS
The conflict has many phases or process models which include communication where people interact, exchange information, and relate with others with the aim to understand the situation (World Mediation Organization 2008, 92). The second phase includes detection and perception which is when two individuals are aware that there is a conflict. Though there may later realize it was just a misunderstanding and in order instances both parties may recognize that there is a conflict (World Mediation Organization 2008, 93). Phase three involves coping which is dealing with the actual conflict, a stage where conflict translates to actions. Within these phases there are no appropriate styles to handling the conflict but competing, collaboration, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating are some categories identified (World Mediation Organization 2008, 94). Phase four is manifestation and deals with peoples’ behaviors towards a conflict as it becomes visible from minor disagreements, bloodshed, and even war. The last stage deals with the outcome regardless of whether there are good or bad (World Mediation Organization 2008, 95).
The core feature of conflict transformation in conflict. The conflict transformation approach understands conflict as a multi-dimensional, social phenomenon essential to social change (World Mediation Organization 2008,82). The conflict transformation framework composes of conflict management which entails activities undertaken to limit, mitigate and contain an open conflict (World Mediation Organization 2008, 218). In another sense, it is composed of actions and processes which seek to alter various characteristics and manifestations of conflict by addressing the root causes of the conflict. The conflict transformation framework is made up of levels which include conflict prevention or crisis prevention, which are activities undertaken in particularly vulnerable places at times over a short to medium term that seek to identify situations that could produce violent conflicts and reduce the manifestation of tension (World Mediation Organization 2008, 219). Conflict resolution levels are activities undertaken with the aim of overcoming deep-rooted causes of conflict. Thirdly conflict settlement is a level where there is an achievement of an agreement between parties to the conflict. Lastly, there is the peace-building stage which is a generic term to cover all activities to encourage and promote peaceful relations and overcoming violence (World Mediation Organization 2008, 220).
The traditional conflict resolution approach is all about a win in a negotiation without reservations paid to the overall relationships for the future (Weeks 2014, 10). Mediation here becomes a dispute resolution tool that is suitable to technically complicated problems and politically sensitive issues (Natural Resources and Conflict). It usually brings the parties in conflict together so that they can present their demands and most often parties are angered that their opponents are making such unrealistic demands (Weeks 2014, 66). These ineffective aspects to conflict resolution included conquest, avoidance, bargaining, quick fix or band-aid, and role player. These approaches create the illusion that the problems of conflict have been addressed. These traditional conflict resolution approaches are mostly used in mediation, arbitration, and reach the middle-level conflict resolution where parties to conflict come to some mutually acceptable agreements that settle a conflict, and the lower level when one party conquers the other or when the relationship is dissolved with mutual damage.
To move beyond the traditional conflict resolution approach towards effective and sustainable conflict resolution, something else is required. There is the conflict partnership approach or process to conflict resolution which focuses both on the immediate conflict and the overall relationship, providing skills that are not only conflict resolution skills but relationship building skills to reach what is referred to here as top-level conflict resolution (Weeks 2014, 10). The conflict partnership process to conflict resolution embodies the following steps in the order listed which include creating an effective atmosphere, clarifying perceptions, focusing on individual shared needs, building shared positive power, looking to the future and learning from the past, generating options, developing doubles – the stepping stones to action and lastly the mutual benefit agreement.
The conflict partnership process is a process that aims at empowering people and groups to build mutually beneficial relationships and resolve conflicts effectively. It constitutes five basic principles concerning how we can effectively deal with a conflict (Weeks 2014,63). The first principle is aimed at avoiding the confrontational I-versus-you pattern usually found in a conflict and adopting a healthier attitude of “we” making the interaction one of partnership where each party needs the other for the conflict to be dealt with successfully. The second principle is that conflict should be dealt with in the context of the overall relationship meaning that a single conflict should not define the entire relationship and how this conflict fits into the overall relationship should not be ignored. The third principle has it that conflict resolution will have to do with improving the relationship in the long term instead of harming it. The fourth principle states that a conflict resolution should result in mutual benefits where each party to the conflict feels they have received something of benefit from the process (Weekes 2014, 64). And lastly that the skills are used for both conflict resolution and to establish and nurture healthy relationships (Weekes 2014, 65). Unlike the traditional approach, conflict partnership focuses on needs, perceptions, goals, potentially shared power, and possible commonalities of the conflict partner, not the combative and often unrealistic demands (Weeks 2014, 67).
Every relationship and conflict involves the power that can be used positively or negatively. Power consists of attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors that give people and groups the ability to act or perform effectively. In the conflict partnership process, positive power is employed to deal with conflict effectively and to improve relationships by adopting and acting on attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors that produce positive results. There are three types of positive power operating in relationships and in conflict and they include self-power, the partner’s power, and shared power (Weeks 2014, 148). Positive power seeks therefore to promote the constructive capabilities of all parties involved in a conflict, it energizes a “power with” process rather than a power over pattern and avoids the misguided conception that weakening the conflict partner will somehow strengthen one’s own power (Weeks 2014, 151).
Positive self-power is about having a clear self-image which involves being clear and honest with ourselves and overseeing oneself in a conflict situation. Individuals can gain self-power by developing their skills and using them effectively (Weeks 2014, 155). Conflict partners should help to activate the positive power in each other to avoid the damaging seesaw power approach which creates the illusion that one partner is more powerful than the other. Shared needs are referred to as critical building blocks on which conflict partnership constructs its process, but it is shared positive power that constructs the process and moves it towards effective conflict resolution. Shared positive power happens when both partners combine their powers, therefore causing it to flow from a partnership atmosphere and ranging from clarified perceptions of the self, partner, the conflict, the relationship and it makes relationships effective and conflict resolution successful and lasting (Weeks 2014, 159).
SUMMARY *
The author presents conflict as a natural product of human diversity that passes through recognizable phases, from communication and perception to manifestation and outcome, and argues that how these phases are met determines whether conflict destroys or develops a relationship. Against traditional approaches oriented toward winning, avoiding or quick fixes, the paper sets the conflict partnership process with its eight ordered steps and five principles, in which the parties treat each other as partners rather than opponents, address the conflict within the whole relationship, and seek mutual benefit. The engine of this process is positive power in its three forms, self power, partner’s power and shared power, which replaces the logic of power over with a logic of power with.
CONCLUSION
Conflict is therefore an engine of social learning (World Mediation Organization 2008, 80) as it reveals issues, whether there are dealt with destructively or constructively. Conflict should therefore be viewed as an opportunity for social change (Kleiboer 2012, 382). Though stock with a cost of conflict, conflicts also have benefits and are often driven by a sense of grievances so engaging in it provides the means of addressing these concerns by either affirmation a position of advantage or overcoming perceived shortcomings (World Mediation Organization 2008,79). To this end, conflict should be embraced if humanity wants to progress. Humanity should see the conflict partner as a friend and not as an enemy. This will help to avoid the damaging effect of conflict and magnify the positive side of the conflict. It will also provide the room to activate the positive power in each other. With this kind of attitude towards conflict resolution, the tendency is that both parties to the conflict will be able to identify their conflicts and negotiate while at the same time building and exercising the skills they acquired to sustain the conflict resolution and to handle future conflicts. With this approach to conflict resolution, communities will be empowered since conflict range from individuals to groups and it will become a way of life as people explore the positive aspects and outcomes of conflict.
POTENTIAL SOLUTION *
Since this article addresses conflict as such rather than one specific dispute, the appropriate solution is a path from concept to practice: how the conflict partnership approach can be moved from the page into the daily life of families, organizations and communities.
First, translate the eight steps into a teachable routine. The strength of the partnership process lies in its fixed sequence, and its weakness in practice is that people under stress forget sequences. A condensed working form, prepare the atmosphere, clarify perceptions, name shared needs, build options together, agree on mutual benefit, can be taught in a single day workshop and rehearsed through role play until it becomes available under pressure. Institutions that adopt it, schools, workplaces, congregations, should anchor it in a named internal procedure, so that invoking the process is a normal move rather than an admission of failure.
Second, train the power shift explicitly. The decisive inner change the author describes, from power over to power with, does not occur through insight alone. Exercises in which each party must articulate the other side’s needs to that side’s satisfaction before advancing their own, and in which both parties identify one capability of the other that the solution will need, make shared positive power a practiced skill rather than an ideal.
Third, connect the approach to the transformation framework’s levels. At the prevention level, communities can hold regular structured dialogues before tensions harden; at the resolution level, trained peer mediators apply the partnership steps to live disputes; at the peacebuilding level, resolved conflicts are documented as learning cases so that the community’s capacity grows with each conflict it survives. In this way conflict genuinely becomes the engine of social learning the author invokes.
Fourth, guard the approach against misuse. Partnership language must never be used to press a weaker party into premature harmony. Where violence, abuse or gross power imbalance is present, protection precedes partnership, and the mediator’s first duty is to restore the conditions under which two people can meet as partners at all. With that safeguard in place, the attitude this article commends, seeing the conflict partner as a friend in the making, is not naivety but method, and it is learnable.
* Added by the WMO Editorial Team
REFERENCES
Bibliography
Marieke, Kleiboer. Understanding Success and Failure of International Mediation. 2012. https://euclid.egnyte.com/dl/2XXZdo1m77. Accessed 4 December 2018.
United Nations Department of Political Affairs. Launch of “Natural Resources and Conflict: A Guide for Mediation Practitioners”. 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=AbpmzSb2VCo. Accessed 4 December 2018.
Weeks, Dudley. Eight Essential Steps to Conflict Resolution. 2014. https://euclid.egnyte.com/dl/qdiS7BDwfm.Accessed 23 November 2018.
World Mediation Organization. Anthological Correlation: Mediation & Conflict Management. 2008. https://euclid.egnyte.com/dl/2roFZWPvuZ. Accessed 13 October 2018.