STRATEGIC DIPLOMATIC OFFENSIVE WITH INSIGHT INTO THE RIGHT APPROACH ON THE UN by EBM

STRATEGIC DIPLOMATIC OFFENSIVE WITH INSIGHT INTO THE RIGHT APPROACH ON THE UN AND HIGHLITS ON UNGA REOLUTIONS AFFECTING SOUTHERN CAMEROONS INCLUDING UNGA RESOLUTION 1608 (XV)

My fellow brethren of Southern Cameroons. This is your humble countryfellow EBM. I greet you all. I beseech and appeal to all Southern Cameroonians to read this carefully, and share massively to educate and empower our people, and give guidance to our activists to fight correctly.
For many years now, we have been pursing diplomatic battles in our quest to restore the independence of our beloved motherland; Southern Cameroons. But our quest for independence has until recently been gloomy. And this is mostly because we have not been pursuing our diplomatic fight correctly.
There is much talk about UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution resolution 1608 (XV) being the resolution that granted us independence, and claims that we didn’t achieve the granted independence because Britain did not implement the UNGA resolution 1608 (XV).
On the contrary, UNGA resolution 1608 (XV) was the resolution that robbed us of our independence and as such we should never use it as a weapon to push our case forward. Rather, we should castigate the UNGA resolution 1608 (XV) and the UN for unlawfully ripping us of our deserved independence.
I will give a brief explanation of the resolutions that prescribed and resulted to ‘independence’ of Southern Cameroons.
UNGA resolution 1514(XV) of December 14, 1960, granted Unconditional independence to all trust and colonised territories. Paragraph 5 of this resolution declared that; ‘’Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Trust territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom.
Suspiciously, this landmark resolution was updated the very next day on Dec 15, 1960, by UNGA 1541(XV), which states that, for a small country which, although entitled to sovereign independence in its own right, found itself incapable of bearing all the burdens of a sovereign State, such as for defence and diplomatic relations worldwide, such a State would be deemed to have attained a full measure of self-government by joining a neighbouring sovereign state that already had the facilities it lacked.
It is this resolution (1541(XV)) which prescribed the concept of joining, that led to UNGA resolution 1608 (XV) that robbed Southern Cameroons of its deserved independence as declared in UNGA resolution 1514(XV). In pursuance and implementation of the dubious UNGA resolution 1541(XV), The UN granted independence to Southern Cameroons by joining the already independent Republic of Cameroun, through UNGA resolution 1608, after having conducted a plebiscite with two questions set forth: to choose between gaining independence by joining the independent Federal republic of Nigeria, or the independent republic of Cameroun.
So, we see clearly that using UNGA resolution 1608 (XV) as a tool to advance out quest for independence is detrimental to our fight for independence. That is why the motion that was circulated some months ago asking Southern Cameroonians to sign a petition requesting the chair of the African Union to petition the ICJ to interpret UNGA resolution 1608 (XV) was a miscalculated step.
This is because the declaration of UNGA resolution 1608 is explicit and clear enough and expressly states that Southern Cameroons has chosen to gain independence by joining the republic of Cameroon. So, any interpretation by the ICJ would be based on that. And it would be disastrous for us if the ICJ passes such a verdict. Therefore, my fellow Southern Cameroonians we must never make such a blunder ever again.
What is the right strategy?
The right diplomatic offensive we should pursue based on the UN resolutions affecting the independence of Southern Cameroons is threefold.
Firstly, we must embark on the original UNGA resolution 1514(XV) that granted Unconditional independence to all trust and colonised territories. We must petition the UN that, Southern Cameroon, just like the other nations that were granted independence based on this resolution, also reserves the right to enjoy unconditional independence and freedom.
Secondly, we must petition the UN and castigate the dubious UNGA resolution 1541(XV) that prescribed independence to some territories by joining another independent country. This is because a nation cannot become independent by joining another nation. And worst still, if the nation is denied a seat at the UN.
We should further castigate this dubious resolution for its unfairness to Southern Cameroons particularly because, other territories that were granted independence by joining, in this same resolution, such as the case of the Republics that were part of USSR had separate seats at the UN are a glaring pointer to the fact that Southern Cameroons was robbed of its right to self-determination and independence. This is because having a seat at the UN secures the right of the parties to regain their sovereignty without necessarily having to pull much string, in case of material breach of treaty.
Thirdly, we must castigate the UNGA resolution 1608, which even though being unjust and robbed Southern Cameroons of its independence, has still being violated by LRC. UNGA Resolution 1541(XV), which is the precursor of UNGA resolution 1608 (XV) declared and prescribed two modes or systems of achieving independence by joining, and the two systems both provided for joining without comprising the independent status of either party. The two systems of joining were: joining by way of association, or joining by way of integration.
For joining by way of association, the resolution provides that, the smaller territory retains its territorial integrity and constitution, which it is free to amend without consulting the bigger country it wishes to associate with, subject only to any Agreement reached on the sharing of power in a Federation of two States, of equal in status.
For joining by way of integration, the resolution provides that, the two parties share the three (3) powers of Government equally, thus:
(a) The Presidency: The office of President of the integrated country was to rotate alternately each term between the two joining States;
(b) The Judiciary: The parties were to provide an equal number of Magistrates and Judges throughout the integrated territory, and where the judiciary is headed by a Chief Justice, that post also alternates in like manner as the Presidency;
c) The Federal Legislature: For equality at the Federal Legislature, the people from the small state held a veto power on all draft bills before they were passed into law.
Further, UN Charter Articles 102/103 mandatorily require that any Agreement reached by the parties must be evidenced in writing, and a copy filed at UN Secretariat for Publication, should need arise.
Fellow Southern Cameroonians, it can be seen clearly that, Southern Cameroons has been robbed of its independence, and most importantly that, as required by UN charter, there has never been any treaty of union between Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun.
What is the diplomatic way forward?
I will post the volume 2 of this writeup that will detail how to navigate the UN bodies and how to pursue our diplomatic offensive.
But we must keep up our military action and fight and force LRC out of our territory.
Southern Cameroons is free ✊🏿
E B M