Anglophone Cameroonians are the people of various cultural backgrounds, most of who hail from the

English-speaking Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

regions of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

(

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

and

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Regions). These regions were formerly known as the British

Southern Cameroons The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Region and Sou ...

, being part of the

League of Nations mandate A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administ ...

and

United Nations Trust Territories United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Nati ...

administered by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. An anglophone Cameroonian is widely regarded as anyone who has lived in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, undertaken Anglosaxon education and practices the Anglo-Saxon system of education and law. The two English-speaking regions of Cameroon make up 17% of a population of 17 million (2005). http://www.statistics-cameroon.org/downloads/Rapport_de_presentation_3_RGPH.pdf Langues du Cameroun Carte

Political representation

The Social Democratic Front, the largest opposition political party in Cameroon's parliament, is headed by an Anglophone. Separatist movements, notably the

Southern Cameroons National Council The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is a political organisation seeking the independence of the former anglophone Southern Cameroons from the predominantly francophone Republic of Cameroon (République du Cameroun). It is a non-vio ...

(SCNC) and the

Southern Cameroons Peoples Organization Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

(SCAPO), call for the separation of the two English-speaking regions from French-speaking Cameroun in response to the dismantling in May 1972 of the federation formed in 1961 and subsequent marginalization of the Anglophone minority by the Francophone majority and its political leadership. As of March 2017, only one of the 36 government ministers who control departmental budgets is an Anglophone.

2016–2017 protests and government response

In November 2016, after a law was not translated, Anglophone lawyers began a protest in

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is ...

against the central government for failing to uphold the constitutional guarantee of a bilingual nation. They were joined by teachers, protesting central government appointees with lackluster English skills, and ordinary citizens. In December, security forces dispersed protests and at least two protesters were killed and others injured. Protesters have also been accused of violence, however, the government's heavy-handed crackdown has revived calls for the restoration of Southern Cameroons' independence gained on the 1st of October 1961. Various protesters were arrested, including Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla, the president of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, and Fontem Neba, the group's secretary general. The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was declared illegal by the government on 17 January 2017 and "any other related groups with similar objectives" were prohibited."

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

has called for the release of Agbor-Balla and Neba. The central government shut down the internet in the Anglophone regions in mid January and was restored in April 2017, following a request for restoration by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. The NGO Internet Without Borders estimated that the blackout cost the Cameroonian economy almost €3 million (US$3.2 million).

References

{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Cameroon Languages of Cameroon Southern Cameroons Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia)

Political representation

2016–2017 protests and government response

See also

References