Anglophone Crisis: Stakeholders Say Toronto Meeting First Step Towards Building Trust

Ambazonia separatist leaders and representatives of Southern Cameroons have ended a four-day CDN-led conference to build consensus amongst activists’ factions, towards creating pathways for peace in Anglophone Cameroon.
A statement at the end of the confab codenamed the “Toronto Statement”, contains four elaborate points of agreement, presented to the world as the outcomes of collective efforts from the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiation (CDN), and Cameroon separatist actors.

The statement notes that the talks led to the acknowledgment that there is strength in diversity, hence, leaders consented that all factions will operate together, in restoring trust, respect, and tolerance.

They also added a memorandum of understanding on social media usage and respect for its etiquettes.

While showing great concerns on the social welfare of Southern Cameroonians, particularly children, the struggle leaders agreed to promote children’s rights to education, with the aid of community schools as well.

Adding the agreements to encourage parents of schoolchildren to access secured atmospheres before making choices of schools for their children, likewise aiding humanitarian aid workers access and assist the conflict-hit populations of Southern Cameroon.

In the light of representing the people of Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia) to a sustainable solution to the conflict, the ringleaders affirm that the most successful collective actions in times of negotiations are founded on trust.

They noted the importance of a collective agreement of seeking channels to create a single representative body for internal as well as external negotiations for the interest of Southern Cameroonians.

To ensure a lasting solution, the activists agreed to collaborate to see that negotiations with international mediations are credible, adding that all stakeholders agree to double efforts for international mediations by including like-minded partners.

With agreements to reconvene to measure the progress of the talks in alignment with the interest of the population back home, the Ambazonian independent struggle heads applauded the CDN initiative; assured their support to the organization, while pleading with the CDN to call for talks within the shortest period, to elaborate on important matters raised during the Toronto retreat.