Interim Government of Ambazonia

The Interim Government of Ambazonia is the provisional government in exile of the internationally unrecognized Federal Republic of Ambazonia.[1]

Interim Government of Ambazonia
Seal
RoleExecutive cabinet
Established2017
PresidentSamuel Ikome Sako
Armed forcesAmbazonia Self-Defence Council

History

Ayuk Tabe cabinet (2017–18)

The Interim Government of Ambazonia was formed from the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front (SCACUF), a nonviolent independence movement. Its members includes former leaders of the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), an independence movement that was prominent in the 1990s.[2] It was SCACUF, led by Chairperson Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, that declared the independence of Ambazonia on October 1, 2017. The Interim Government was officially formed on October 31, 2017,[3] with Tabe assuming the role as President of Ambazonia and SCACUF forming the Interim Government.[1]

By the time SCACUF transformed into the Interim Government, a separatist war had been raging for almost two months. Several separatist militias were active, with the largest one - the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) - answering to the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC), led by Ayaba Cho Lucas and with Benedict Kuah as Chief of staff. The Interim Government initially rejected the idea of an armed struggle, preferring civil disobedience and a diplomatic campaign.[4] In early November, the Interim Government condemned an ADF attack on gendarmes.[5]

In January 2018, most members of the Interim Government were arrested by Nigerian authorities and extradited to Cameroon. They were subsequently imprisoned for almost a year, before a trial started in December 2018.[6] This became controversial in Nigeria, as most of those deported had submitted claims for political asylum. In March 2019, a Nigerian court determined that the arrest and deportation had been unconstitutional, and ordered everyone returned to Nigeria and compensated.[7] This had no practical implications, and on August 20, 2019, the ten leaders, including Ayuk Tabe, were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Yaoundé Military Tribunal.[8]

Sako Cabinet (2018–21)

Following the arrest of most of the Interim Government, Samuel Ikome Sako was elected in a diaspora electoral college to acting president in February 2018.[9] In an attempt to unite several local militias under a single banner, the Interim Government created the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council (ASC) in March 2018. While the ASC is collectively larger than the ADF, it does not have a centralized command structure and is more of a cooperation project than a single organization.[10]

President Sako sought to bury the differences between the Interim Government and the Ambazonia Defence Forces, which is loyal to the AGovC.[11] On December 31, 2018, he announced that a Mobile Wing Police would be established, and that the separatists would abandon their defensive strategy and seize the offensive. He also promised to take action against anyone involved in the kidnapping of civilians, which had become a growing problem in Southern Cameroons.[12] On March 31, 2019, the Interim Government and several Ambazonian movements agreed to create the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council, a united front consisting of both separatists and federalists.[13] However, despite its attempts at uniting the separatists, critics accused the Sako cabinet of incompetence and misappropriation of funds.[14]

Leadership crisis (2019–present)

On May 2, 2019, a document signed by Ayuk Tabe declared that the Sako-led interim cabinet had been dissolved, and that his own pre-arrest cabinet had been restored. The document expressed recognition for the job the Sako-led cabinet had done, but claimed that infighting had rendered it unfit to continue; the caretaker cabinet has lost the ability to reconcile our people and, in doing so, has imperiled the identity and mission of the interim government to complete the decolonization of Southern Cameroons through advancing our collective national interests.[15] This triggered a leadership crisis within the Interim Government, as the Sako-led cabinet refused to step down. In June, the Ambazonia Restoration Council impeached Ayuk Tabe for "treasonous misconduct", and declared that a proper change of leadership would be initiated in three months. This marked the start of the 2019 Ambazonian leadership crisis.[16] The AGovC threw its support behind Ayuk Tabe[17] and in August it formally allied itself with the Ayuk Tabe-led faction of the IG.[18]

Despite the imprisonment and the infighting within the Interim Government, Ayuk Tabe was still considered more influential than Sako. In July 2020, Cameroonian officials met with Ayuk Tabe and other members of his cabinet to discuss a ceasefire.[19] When asked about his conditions for a ceasefire, Ayuk Tabe listed three; that the ceasefire be announced by President Paul Biya, that the Cameroonian military would pull out of the Anglophone regions, and a general amnesty for separatists.[20]

References
  1. "Several killed in Cameroon as anglophones declare 'independent Ambazonia'". Euractiv. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  2. Who are Cameroon’s English-speaking separatists? , The Citizen, Feb 20, 2018. Accessed Mar 10, 2019.
  3. Okereke, C. Nna-Emeka. "Analysing Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis." Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses 10.3 (2018): 8-12.
  4. Cameroon: Anglophone Crisis - Dialogue Remains the Only Viable Solution, AllAfrica, Dec 7, 2017. Accessed Mar 9, 2019.
  5. ‘Ambazonia’ Interim “President” Condemns Violence Amid Claims By ADF of Masterminding Gendarme Killing, Nov 9, 2017. Accessed Nov 11, 2019.
  6. Cameroon: Ambazonia leaders appear before judge at military tribunal, Journal du Cameroun, Nov 28, 2018. Accessed Jan 13, 2019.
  7. Cameroon: Nigerian Court orders return of Ambazonia leaders, Journal du Cameroun, Mar 1, 2019. Accessed Mar 1, 2019.
  8. Cameroon: Detained Ambazonia leaders handed life sentence, Journal du Cameroun, Aug 20, 2019. Accessed Aug 20, 2019.
  9. Just In-Dr Samuel Ikome Sako Is now the Interim President of The ‘Federal Republic of Ambazonia’, Cameroon News Agency, Feb 4, 2018. He is Commander in Chief of the Ambazonia Restoration Forces which constitutes 95% of Restoration Forces in Ambazonia. Accessed Apr 19, 2018.
  10. “These Killings Can Be Stopped” - Abuses by Government and Separatist Groups in Cameroon’s Anglophone Regions, HRW, Jul 18, 2018. Accessed Mar 13, 2019.
  11. 3 most touching tributes offered to “General Ivo”, The National Times, Dec 24, 2018. Accessed Dec 25, 2018.
  12. No Retreat, No Surrender, From Defensive To Offensive Strategy, The way Forward In 2019-Dr Samuel Sako, Cameroon News Agency, Dec 31, 2018. Accessed Dec 31, 2018.
  13. Anglophone Struggle Takes Another Kink, Separatists, Federalists Bury Hatchet, Create Southern Cameroons Liberation Council Archived 2019-04-07 at the Wayback Machine, The National Times, Apr 1, 2019. Accessed Apr 1, 2019.
  14. Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: How to Get to Talks?, Crisis Group, May 2, 2019. Accessed May 2, 2019.
  15. Detained Sisiku Auk Tabe Dissolves Interim Government As Infighting Bedevils ‘Ambazonia’, The National Times, May 2, 2019. Accessed May 2, 2019.
  16. Cameroon: Confusion as detained Ambazonia leader impeached by peers, Journal du Cameroun, Jun 12, 2019. Accessed Jun 12, 2019.
  17. Cameroon: Sepratist hardliners react after impechment of detained Ambazonia leader, Journal du Cameroun, Jun 12, 2019. Accessed Jun 12, 2019.
  18. Ahead of peace talks, a who’s who of Cameroon’s separatist movement, The New Humanitarian, Jul 8, 2020. Accessed Jul 9, 2020.
  19. Cameroon holds first peace talks with main separatist insurgents, Reuters, Jul 4, 2020. Accessed Jul 4, 2020.
  20. Cameroon: Government is secretly negotiating with the Ambazonians, The Africa Report, Jul 6, 2020. Accessed Jul 7, 2020.


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