Cameroon president preaches patriotism amid Anglophone crisis

Cameroonian president Paul Biya is urging citizens to remain patriotic irrespective of what people may think about it. According to him, it was a mark of responsible citizenship.

A terse statement on his official social media handles posted on Wednesday October 18 read as follows: “Patriotism is a virtue that some people might wrongly consider outdated. Even today, it remains a mark of responsible and nobly asserted citizenship for the nation.”

The message was accompanied by a smiling photo of the leader who is currently on vacation since he left the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The president’s quote comes at a time when tensions remain high in the country’s English-speaking regions. In what has become known as the ‘Anglophone crisis,’ people in the North West and South West regions of the central African country are pushing for independence.

The resultant protests which started months back has resulted in deaths, injuries to scores of people and mass arrests of protesters.

The height of the clashes was on October 1 when a symbolic declaration of independence under the Ambazonia republic was planned. The government had deployed heavy security presence to the regions to face off the separatists.

There has been widespread calls for the government to engage leaders of the restive region in dialogue. The president in his last address on the crisis condemned the violence. The government has, however, defended the security forces over the level of force used during protests.

I strongly condemn all acts of violence, regardless of their sources and their perpetrators […]: https://t.co/hw08zgxeDQ #PaulBiya #Cameroon pic.twitter.com/0n6ZfZKFgk

— President Paul Biya (@PR_Paul_Biya) October 1, 2017