Editorial: Prodigious arrests in Buea condemnable but….

The human rights group also revealed that “the arrests were carried out without warrants or notifications of the reason(s) for the arrest, which constitute a violation of their fundamental human rights".

It "condemns the recurring violation of the rules of criminal procedure in general and in particular the arbitrary arrest and detention of more than 80 people, by defence and security forces”. 

It should be noted that before the screening of a documentary in Buea, titled: “Paul Biya, a Great Statesman with a Prodigious Destiny,” on September 19, security was been commendably beefed up in Buea. The situation was prompted by a vile statement by separatist fighters beating their atrocious drums of lockdowns and ghost towns.

In a press release issued on September 17, 2024, Chris Anu, faction leader of the Facebook "Interim Government of Ambazonia", said the documentary was "an attempt to distract from the brutal war that has raged for over eight years," in the North West and South West Regions.

The statement, he added that their so-called "Ambazonian Restoration Forces have been given strict orders to prevent the documentary from being screened by any means necessary... those who dare to defy this ban should be prepared to face the consequences”.

It is just logical that the government, under such threats, would not have taken them lightly, given that the separatists have occasionally been deadly in their operation, especially against innocent civilians they tag as "enablers" or “blacklegs”.

Articulate observers argue that it was against such a perilous background that defence and security forces, in their defined mission to keep peace and order, carried out the raid.

What is often deplorable is that victims of such sporadic raids are usually young men, who are jobless or have no identification papers. In the case of Buea, even those with identity cards were said to have been bundled into security vehicles and dumped in several detention facilities in the South West Regional capital, Buea.

Despite the security operation, the separatist hoodlums still attempted to stop some compatriots, mainly CPDM supporters, traditional rulers and local politicians from watching the documentary, which has been going round in other Regional capitals of the country.

A caravan of CPDM party members going to watch the film came under attack by armed separatist fighters. Eyewitnesses reported that the convoy was ambushed as it entered Muea, with shots fired from all directions. 

“It was terrifying,” one witness said. 

“The CPDM supporters were shot at from all angles. We thought they wouldn’t make it, but somehow they managed to press on under heavy gunfire unhurt,” the witness added. 

The attack highlights the ongoing tension and atrocities in the North West and South West Regions, especially with the impending presidential election slated for next year, given that the hooligans have persistently deprived the people of the two English-speaking Regions of their inalienable rights to vote.

The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, is one of the many government officials who has been encouraging refugees and internally displaced persons to return, participate in voting and "living together".

He told Radio France Internationale, RFI, that: "If you are registered in a locality, you must go and vote in your locality. That is the logic...I believe that for those who are displaced, most are returning, whether to the North West Region or the South West Region, to vote; because they have to vote. That is the best way to participate in building our common destiny”.

That should be the spirit of democracy, which gyrates on the rule of law.

Will refugees and internally displaced people, if they read various reports from human rights organisations like the Coalition of Civil Society and Human Rights Organisations for Peace in the English-speaking and other Affected Regions, report that people are indiscriminately arrested and detained?

History and empirical research have indicated that in a civil conflict like the one that has been going on in the two English-speaking Regions for some eight years, it is hairsplitting to identify the separatists among innocent people, except their leaders who are all hiding abroad.

As justice demands, "it is better to let a criminal free than to arrest innocent people just because investigators want to fish out a suspect who should however be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a due process".

The Guardian Post condemns separatists' threats used to coerce innocent citizens to dance to their devilish stanzas. We also hold the strong view that security and defence forces should not in their raids arrest those who have their identification papers. And even when they must arrest and detain, the suspects should be given free bail or unconditionally released if they are blameless.

The Buea incident of a violent attempt to screen the documentary, and raids that led to the arrest of people, which is being condemned by the human rights coalition, should be another wakeup call for the government that the bullet won't end the insecurity in the North West and South West Regions. Inclusive dialogue without pre-conditions, we dare say, will. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3241 of Thursday September 26, 2024