Cameroon moves to quell independence calls from English-speaking Ambazonia

The authorities in western Cameroon have banned public meetings in the mainly English-speaking region before demonstrations scheduled for today to demand independence from the rest of the largely francophone nation.

The protests in the southwest and north-west regions have been called by a group known as Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia Governing Council. Campaigners plan to hoist blue-and-white Ambazonia flags in a series of rallies across the two areas, said the chairman of the organisation, Sisiku Ayuk Tambe.

South-west regional governor Bernard Okalia Bilai has imposed a curfew, banned meetings of more than four people, shut down nightclubs and prohibited inter-city travel from 9pm on Friday to 7am tomorrow.

“Cameroon remains one and indivisible,” Mr Bilai said on Friday in the south-west regional capital, Buea. “That is why any attempts at secession will not be tolerated. So we have taken measures to obstruct any independence declarations and all attempts at destabilising the country.”

President Paul Biya, 84, ordered arrests this year after lawyers and teachers in English-speaking areas protested against the dominance of French in courts and schools.

He also temporarily shut state-controlled internet services throughout the northwest and south-west regions, which border Nigeria.

Mr Biya declared clemency for more than 100 detained anglophone activists on August 23, according to a government spokesman.

The president’s ruling Cameroon Peoples’ Democratic Movement announced demonstrations to counter the secessionist protests.

Cameroon, colonised by Germany, was split after the First World War into a bigger French-run zone and a smaller British-controlled area. They were unified in 1961.

The country is a transit point for landlocked Central African Republic and Chad, and exports oil, cocoa and palm oil.

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres urged all parties to refrain from actions that could heighten tensions.