Religious leaders endorses Canada Peace process in Cameroon
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STATEMENT OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THE NORTH WEST AND SOUTH WEST REGIONS FOLLOWING AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON 20 JANUARY 2023 BY CANADIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF A PEACE PROCESS TO RESOLVE THE ONGOING SOCIO-POLITICAL CRISIS IN THE NORTH WEST AND SOUTH WEST REGIONS OF CAMEROON
1. It was with salutary thankfulness to Almighty God, Creator of humankind, that we, the Religious Leaders of the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon read on several social media handles, the Statement on the peace process in Cameroon, published on the 20th of January, 2023 reported to have been released by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, the Honourable Melanie Joly. The statement states inter alia that “Canada welcomes the agreement by the parties to enter a process to reach a comprehensive, peaceful and political solution of the conflict. The parties have also agreed to form technical committees to begin work on confidence-building measures”.
2. Having been firsthand witnesses to the ravages of war and the evils that have come with the armed struggle in these two Regions of Cameroon and as frontline advocates of peace, we, the Religious leaders of the North West and South West Regions welcome this statement as a major step towards the search for true, sustainable, and lasting peace in these two Regions. This has been our prayer and we are thankful to God that a hopeful corridor is beginning to open for inclusive dialogue that should usher in a peaceful resolution of the distressful socio-political crisis in the English-speaking Regions of Cameroon.
3. Appeal to all Stakeholders: As Religious Leaders, we remain independent and sovereign – the voice of the voiceless and therefore we wish to appeal to all the stakeholders in this peace process to be honest, God-fearing, sincere, humble, and patriotic throughout the entire announced peace process and let the spirit of God assist them in their deliberations. It is our hope and prayer that all the parties will keep aside their personal and/or political or other exclusive interests, but will sincerely and determinedly work for the common good, inspired by truth, justice, love, and equity. Pride, might, power and egoism should give way to humility, service, and altruistic love for the people of our country, especially the suffering masses within the conflict zones.
4. Appeal for immediate cessation of violence: As we heartily welcome this announcement of a peace process, it is undeniable that violence is still a reality in the two affected Regions. Killings, kidnappings, road blocks, lack of free circulation, intimidation and abuse of human rights are still rife and the population is still subjected to a lot of fear and insecurity by various forces. We appeal therefore to all carriers of fire arms to stop violence with immediate effect as this will promote confidence building and credibility as well as a conducive and assuring environment for the announced peace process to thrive.
5. Appeal to the international Community: The world has become a global village and in that connection, we are one another’s keeper. As we all know, “No one can be saved alone” and in this regard, it is our hope that the members of the international community, especially the African Union, the European countries that colonized Africa, and the United Nations Organization, will show an indefectible interest in this crisis in the North West and South West Regions and assist without bias or prejudice in the resolution of the crisis for the common good of the people of Cameroon.
6. Call for Prayer. We call on everyone who believe that the Almighty God: of peace can resolve any and every conflict amongst humankind, to join us in prayer that the Devil and his agents (both human and otherwise), may not destroy this peace process which announcement concomitantly announces hope to our suffering people. We appeal and pray that all of us should be positive and be pro-peace in this process till we attain it
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Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
