(Ottawa) Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has not explained why the government of Cameroon says it never asked for Canada’s help in conducting peace talks aimed at ending the escalation. of the conflict in this country.
Mme Joly, however, said Tuesday that Ottawa still wanted to negotiate a deal.
“Peace processes are always complicated, are always long too, so our goal is to ensure that we play a positive role and bring the parties to the negotiating table,” the minister said on the sidelines of a retreat of the federal cabinet in Hamilton.
She recalled that many civilians are suffering from the crisis that has lasted for 40 years.
“I think we have to take a deep breath – a big breathe, as we say in Quebec,” she added.
Ottawa announced last Friday that it was holding talks with the government of Cameroon and different groups, which have found themselves in a conflict that has violently escalated in recent years. M’s officeme Joly says that three meetings have already taken place in Ontario and Quebec.
“We were approached by the Cameroonian government, and we also had a UN representative present during the mediation,” added Mr.me Happy Tuesday.
However, the Cameroonian government indicated on Monday that it had not appointed “any external mediator”.
René Sadi, Cameroonian Minister of Communication, wrote in a press release that Cameroon “has not entrusted any external country or entity with any role of mediator or facilitator to resolve the crisis”.
The Cameroon High Commission in Ottawa did not respond to an interview request.
Years of fighting and conflict have displaced nearly 800,000 people in the country, in a dispute over how the largely English-speaking western region of the largely French-speaking country should be governed.
Colonial powers carved up the borders of West-Central Africa, demarcating Nigeria and Cameroon and rejecting local demands to form an independent state, known as Ambazonia.
The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people since 2017 and left 600,000 children without full access to education.
According to the United Nations, fighting continued between state security forces and armed groups, leading to killings and displacement of civilians, including attacks on schools and children.
Switzerland attempted mediation to end the so-called Anglophone crisis in 2019, but Mme Joly said those efforts failed.
She said Ottawa remains committed to helping the country reach a peace deal.
“Our only interest is to make sure the parties are at the table,” she said.
A spokesperson for M.me Joly said Ottawa was in contact with Cameroonian government officials on Tuesday.
Cameroon has been ruled by President Paul Biya for 40 years, and Human Rights Watch says his government has limited opposition parties’ freedom of expression and association.
Aid groups have exposed atrocities committed by government and opposition forces.