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HONOR AND LOYALTY : MANAGING CRISIS HOTBEDS IN CAMEROON: THE PROVEN EFFECTIVENESS OF NATIONAL SOLUTIONS



The world news as it is reported to us portends bad times for humanity. With frozen conflicts on the verge of reactivation, high-intensity wars escalating and other hotbeds of belligerence waiting to erupt, the warmongers seem to have reason, enthusiasm and common sense on their side. They can go on air all day long and make inflammatory statements expressing their extremist positions.


But let us not forget that many of these warmongers of the moment have assumed the role of mediators for some and lesson-givers for others regarding the security crisis we have experienced in various parts of our national territory. And even some of these approaches were accompanied by thinly veiled threats, as if to force our country to conform to these universal solutions, at the risk of seeing its future mortgaged. Cameroon categorically refused. And current events are proving us right.


But at the time, our government’s decision to reject the interference of an apparently well-meaning international community - this decision, we said - was widely denigrated by those who did not see the essence of it, but above all by those who saw it as an opportunity to deprive our country of its sovereignty.


It became common and fashionable to claim that the continued radicalisation and unrepentance of the terrorists was nothing more than the consequence of the hardening of the Cameroonian government’s positions. It was a pitiful fabrication that amounted to a deplorable distortion of the truth. In short, a sham.


Nevertheless, Cameroon has made good use of the sovereignty it acquired at the cost of the blood of its children, a sovereignty it has jealously guarded ever since.  To everyone’s surprise, our leaders chose not to give in to the propositions of the arms merchants lined up at the gates, but to open a dialogue with their repentant compatriots, who may have been terrorists for a day, but were still sons of Cameroon.


In a calm and concerted manner, beyond the transgressions and tragedies, it was necessary to give a positive, timely and adequate response to the legitimate demands of our compatriots, ex-combatants of armed groups who were no longer even called terrorists, but young people temporarily lost.


In truth, the military solution has never been favoured in the socio-political crisis shaking the North-West and South-West Regions. There has never been a declaration of war, a state of emergency or even a state of exception. On the contrary, virtually everything is being done to guarantee peace and security.


The repeated release of persons prosecuted for armed violence, the delivery and distribution of emergency humanitarian aid and the creation of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Centres for ex-combatants of armed groups are just some of the measures taken to calm the situation. In the same vein, our Defence and Security Forces are carrying out countless civil-military operations for the benefit of our people. The situation is now being consolidated and normalised.


 

A few years before these internal problems arose, our country had already made a name for itself internationally as a peacemaker. Instead of declaring war, albeit a legitimate one, on its neighbour Nigeria over the Bakassi dispute, Cameroon opted for a confrontation in the international courts. The verdict was accepted by all, and there was “the peace of the brave”.


Someone once said that courage is not about invading others, but about dealing with humiliation at home. In the same way, power does not lie in the ability to impose one’s will on others, but in the ability to assert oneself while respecting the existence of others.


Obviously, this constant serenity in the understanding and use of courage and power seems to be lacking in our convinced pacifists of yesterday, unyielding belligerents and warmongers of today. So why not come and take lessons from Cameroon?


 

Navy Capitain

ATONFACK GUEMO,

 Head of Communication Division - MINDEF

Derniers commentaires

06.12 | 17:52

Initiative à encourager. Merci et bravo aux promoteurs du mouvement 👏👏

03.12 | 09:31

Buenas tardes, encantado de saludarte. Soy Jose
Quería escribirte porque me ha parecido interesante comentar contigo la posibilidad de que tu negocio aparezca cada mes en periódicos digitales como not

30.11 | 11:53

Bonjour Mme et toutes mes félicitations,
Je suis à Douala, je suis à la recherche de votre tisane. Avez-vous une représentation à Douala. Sinon comment faire pour avoir régulièrement votre produit.

28.11 | 21:45

Vive la folie de la littérature

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