Cameroon: Paul Biya announces Special Status for Anglophone Regions at Paris Peace Forum

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 03:14 pm

The Head of State Paul Biya has revealed measures are being taken to confer a special status to the North West and outh West Regions of Cameroon as a measure to solve the crisis in the part of the country.
Speaking during a panel debate at the Paris Peace Forum today, the Head of State said the special status will be conferred to the two regions to consolidate national unity.
Responding to a question from Mo Ibrahim on the measures taken to solve the crisis in the North West and South West Regions of the country, Paul Biya said: “We have done everything possible to put English and French at the same level but the education and judicial systems are different.”
“This led to the present conflict which we are trying to resolve in order to preserve the special status (of the Anglophone Regions) so that we stay in unity.”
On the special status, Paul Biya said: “We had the possibility of directly integrating the (Anglophones) into the Francophone system which is the majority with 80 percent of the population but I think countries are proud of their identities and we are trying to put in place a special status which recognises the specificity of the Anglophone region while respecting the territorial integrity of the country.”