“The road to Buea”: State-driven violence and the Anglophone call for secession in Cameroon

Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Research in Management and Economics

Year: 2019

DOI:

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“The road to Buea”: State-driven violence and the Anglophone call for secession in Cameroon

Marie Cleo Mahouva Massela and Maria Enow Ayuk

ABSTRACT: 

Waves of protests have shaken Cameroon lately contrasting with the peaceful image that the world has perceived the country over the years. In November 2016, peaceful protests led by the lawyers and teachers Union against the marginalization of the English language as opposed to the French language in the two Anglophone regions (Northwest and Southwest) in Cameroon, resulted in outblown confrontation and violence by the state military forces. The use of force by the latter as a response to the peaceful protests and mobilization of the former has exacerbated the conflict bringing in other actors. The Anglophone diaspora has emerged as a leading force behind the demand for separation and the status of the Anglophones as an independent people. Against this backdrop, this paper analyzes how the use of force by the state has influenced violence and conflict as well as the quest for independence by the Anglophones.

Keywords: Anglophones; confrontation; marginalization; political violence; protest; separation.