Ambassador John Lamora Reiterates U.S. Policy on Anglophone Crisis

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

The U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon Christopher John Lamora has said that the U.S. government has been clear on its stance and that there is a need for a peaceful resolution in the ongoing crisis in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

The socio-political crisis that escalated in 2017 has seen over six thousand people killed and over 700 thousand have been displaced internally and externally. Government forces and separatist fighters have been accused by national and international rights organizations of having carried out human rights abuses.

“We want there to be peace throughout all of Cameroon and we want Cameroonians to be able to enjoy the rights that they have as Cameroonian citizens," Ambassador John Lamora said.

“In terms of US policy towards the North West and South West Regions’ crisis, we have been very clear and unchangingly clear for over seven years as regard for the need to be a peaceful resolution.”

Ambassador John Lamora is also very clear on using the US to foster violence in the North West and South West Regions. He said:  "We have said from the beginning that it is unacceptable to use the United States as save-heaven to engage in the promotion of violence.”

In an interview with journalists in Bamenda, the chief town of the North West Region, the U.S. diplomat began by unveiling his reason for visiting Bamenda and the stance of the US government in the ongoing crisis in the two English-speaking regions.

It has taken the Ambassador 2 years to come to the North West Region. Why now?

Ambassador Lamora: I arrived in Cameroon in March 2022. Indeed, it has been almost 2 years that I have been in the country. I needed to come to the North West Region that I come to Bamenda. It has taken longer than I would have liked but Cameroon is a bigger country. I have now been to seven other regions; there are others I haven't been to. I haven't been to Adamawa and the North.

What has been ongoing in the North West and the South West Regions over the past 7 years and some few months is a great concern and priority to the U.S. government. I don’t think that rushing to the scene in the South West would have accomplished anything; I needed to get smart and we needed to be sure that the security situation allowed for me to come. We felt we had reached that point and I came as soon as I thought it was possible.

What did you come to do in the North West?

Ambassador Lamora: I guess I can use the term fact-finding. It is important to verify what is going on, see with your own eyes and talk directly with sources on the ground, I engage frequently with government officials, and members of civil society in Yaounde and elsewhere across the country but nothing beats coming and talking to people and more importantly listening to people here.

I have had meetings with government officials, religious leaders, and representatives of civil societies and I am learning a lot about the perspective on the ground, and what people in Bamenda and the surrounding area are feeling. It will help me to continue to formulate and recommend Washington US policy viz-a-viz North West and South West and Cameroon at large.

You have come, seen and heard, what is your evaluation of the situation as of now?

Ambassador Lamora: I am pleased that in the areas that I have seen, people seem to be going about their businesses. People have found ways at least in the areas that I have seen to go on with their lives in the best way possible. What I hope is that we will quickly come to a point where that is true for everybody in the North West and South West Regions. And the question for me then becomes what the U.S. can do to get to that day. And I come back around to find out the truest information I can about what is happening here because if I am not well-informed, then our policies will not be well-informed.

You talked about US policy, the population is confused about the stands of the U.S. in the ongoing seven-year crisis in the region. Can you clearly state the position of the U.S.?

Ambassador Lamora: The United States stands for rights and we stand for peace. We want there to be peace throughout all of Cameroon and we want Cameroonians to be able to enjoy the rights that they have as Cameroonians citizens. In terms of US policy towards the North West and South West Regions' crisis, we have been very clear and unchangingly clear for over seven years as regards the need to be a peaceful resolution.

In terms of people living in the United States who have fostered financed or expressed support for violence, we have also been very clear about that. We have said from the beginning that it is unacceptable to use the United States as a haven to engage in the promotion of violence. Just as Cameroonians have rights that they exercise, so do people living in the United States and we cannot simply go and arrest someone for saying something. Our law does not allow us to do that. You voiced your opinion and you are arrested, that does not happen and we cannot allow that to happen in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Justice over the past two and a half to three years has arrested, charged, and sentenced numerous people in the United States for engaging in activities that contrary to U.S. laws have fed the violence here in Cameroon and our records on that are clear. I hope that we will be able to continue in that vein but that is what we have done so far.

Are you talking to parties, the government and the separatists?

Ambassador Lamora: I am not going to get into who I am talking to. Our position is clear as regards what we want the outcome to be. We want the outcome to be peace and the ability of the people of North West and South West to return to the lives that they had before the crisis.

Ambassador Lamora, are you assuring the people of the North West that the United States government is involved to see that peace returns to the region?

Ambassador Lamora: We have engaged constantly and consistently for years in trying to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

You just mentioned that the United States stands for peace in the crisis in the two English-speaking regions. How are you doing this when it comes to both parties sitting and negotiating?

Ambassador Lamora: We have encouraged the government and everyone to continue talking. I know that there are concerns sometimes about the use of certain words. If you say we want to dialogue, some people will say we had the Grand National Dialogue and we are pursuing that. I am not taking a side but continued communication is critical.

The government has engaged in the reconstruction of the North West and South West. You might find peace where you are but when you get to the hinterlands, that is where the destruction and loss of lives have been recorded. What is the US stand on the ongoing reconstruction plan?

Ambassador Lamora: There is no question that the destruction of infrastructure, roads, schools, hospitals, and villages never ought to have happened. For life to return to normal, those things need to be rebuilt or rehabilitated. In the question of timing, the government has made it clear that in zones that it is permissive, they want to continue and advocate for redevelopment even now.

We have looked very clearly at the evolution, of what people refer to as Green, Red and Yellow zones; you want to be sure that if you are going to do a major development project it will be sustainable. You want to make sure that if you build a certain thing in a certain location today, it will not be destroyed tomorrow. That is a very difficult decision on how to sequence that and where. I do not envy the people who have to make those decisions whether they are from the government or the local population about when to do what and where. In the long term, there is no question that we want to help rebuild what has been destroyed.

What are the priority areas of the U.S.-Cameroon relationship?

Ambassador Lamora: Our relationship with Cameroon is broad-based. We are engaged in the promotion of security both in Cameroon and the surrounding countries. We have worked very well with the Cameroon government and Cameroonian security forces on some of those security issues like combatting Boko Haram and ISIS in the Far North and the Lake Chad area and also marine security in the Gulf of Guinea.

We are also involved in the humanitarian sphere through our millions of dollars in health programming, supporting the government efforts against HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, and COVID-19; all these health concerns, building up their infrastructure, training Cameroonian doctors as well as providing more immediate humanitarian support to refugees, internally displaced persons, food security.

As is the case with the United States all around the world, it is engaged in governance issues. We are talking to Cameroonians, the government, and civil society and asking them what they would like their country to look like in future from a governance perspective. We are working in partnership to see how we can help Cameroon get to where Cameroon wants to go.

Will you say that the US is engaging more in promoting business and livelihood in the country?

Ambassador Lamora: U.S. government policies and U.S. interest in Cameroon everywhere are broad. You mention businesses; I cannot compel a U.S. business to Cameroon. I can help U.S. businesses identify opportunities that will allow them to contribute to Cameroon's economic growth, and provide job opportunities for Cameroonians. This is what we want; increasing bilateral trade and investment is one of our priority areas as well and we will work on that.

In terms of opportunities for livelihoods, I think it is important to bear in mind just how many Cameroonians study in the United States, how many Cameroonians participate in U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs and all of those people who are getting that training and experience in the United States and coming back and contributing in building your own country. That is something that may not be seen as flashy as a big building that someone might build but is as valuable over the long term as those people who went to the States. The long-term of our engagement in that way will pay dividends for a long period.