Dear Editor,
I write to you as the Secretary of State for Communication, of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, (Government in exile) in reaction to your publication on Dr. Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle’s 12-point proposal as solution to the crisis in the British southern Cameroons, stating the government’s position.
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
By Dr. Martin Mungwa, PhD
Secretary of State for Communication, Federal Republic of Ambazonia
June 25, 2025
Why Dr Halle’s 12-Point Plan Cannot Solve the Ambazonian Question
Much has been made of Sir Dr. Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle’s 12-point proposal to President Paul Biya—hailed by some as a missed opportunity to end the war in Ambazonia. Recently republished in The Colbert Factor, the plan has drawn fresh attention as a humane, reform-minded pathway to peace.
But while the proposal reflects Dr. Halle’s moral commitment to justice, it ultimately misdiagnoses the conflict. Ambazonia’s war is not a crisis of governance. It is the result of a forcible annexation of a sovereign people in 1961.
That makes the Sako-led government’s position clear: We are not asking for inclusion. We are demanding restoration.
What the Plan Gets Wrong
Let’s break down some of Dr. Halle’s key proposals and why they fail to meet the realities on the ground:
A televised apology from Paul Biya?
Ambazonians are not asking for an apology from a foreign head of state. We demand formal recognition of Ambazonia’s sovereignty.
General amnesty and clemency?
That implies guilt. But our prisoners are freedom fighters and political detainees—citizens of another state illegally held in foreign prisons. They should be released unconditionally or handed over under international law.
Cease-fire and demilitarization?
Yes, but it must begin with the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Ambazonia. Anything short of that is not peace—it’s occupation without gunfire.
A national reconciliation forum?
A dialogue chaired by the very government we are separating from is neither neutral nor legitimate. Any such process must be mediated internationally, between two parties—not one party and its “regions.”
Constitutional reform?
We’ve been here before: the 1996 Constitution, “special status,” and decades of broken promises. We are not fighting for better laws in Yaoundé. We are fighting for the right to write our own laws in Buea.
A Path Forward — Rooted in Reality
The Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia remains open to a negotiated settlement with international mediation leading to a free Ambazonia. That is the only viable roadmap left.
Anything else—no matter how detailed or sincere—presumes that we belong in the house of La République du Cameroun.
We do not. We once shared a union that was never legal, never ratified, and violently imposed. That union is broken beyond repair.
We therefore put forward three non-negotiable pillars for any genuine peace process:
Recognition of Ambazonia’s Sovereignty, backed by international law and precedent.
Immediate Troop Withdrawal, with independent oversight.
A Mediated Process Toward Final Political Settlement, possibly including a plebiscite or bilateral treaty.
Final Word: To Dr Halle and the International Community
We honour the courage of Sir Dr. Nico Halle. But we ask him—and others who still cling to reformist models—to shift the lens from “fixing Cameroon” to freeing Ambazonia.
Peace will not come through another Yaoundé-led initiative. It will come when the world recognises what our people already know: Ambazonia is free, and it is time the world caught up to that truth.
Liberation now. Not later.
Dr. Martin Mungwa, PhD
Secretary of State for Communication
Federal Republic of Ambazonia
sos.comm.ambazoniagov@gmail.com
Leave feedback about this