The Southern Cameroons’ independence struggle should be entering a decisive stage, if news that a huge delegation of members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation, UNPO, is due in Cameroon in the days ahead is anything to go by.

According to sources within the SCNC, the UNPO delegation is not only coming to Cameroon to condole with the family of the late SCNC national chairman, Chief Ayamba Ette Otun but also to get first hand information on the problems being faced by Anglophones in Cameroon.

The Guardian Post has it on good authority that the delegation’s first stop-over would be in Mamfe where they would condole with Chief Ayamba’s family before undertaking a tour of the Southern Cameroons territory to live the true picture of Anglophones. Testimonies from aggrieved Anglophones, The Guardian Post was told, would be used by the UNPO to strengthen the Southern Cameroons’ independence struggle.

Confirming the news of the coming of the UNPO delegation to Cameroon, Yembe Martin Fon who many see as a likely and formidable force to replace Chief Ayamba at the helm of the SCNC told The Guardian Post: “It is no longer news within the SCNC that a UNPO delegation is visiting Cameroon to condole with Chief Ayamba’s family. What I can’t tell you with exactitude is how many people would be in the delegation’’. SCNC activists, Yembe Martin told The Guardian Post, are already preparing to give the UNPO delegation a red carpet reception.

Asked if the secessionist movement was not afraid the Yaounde authorities could block the UNPO delegation from entering Mamfe like it happened with the burial of Chief Ayamba, Yembe Martin retorted: "It would be a good thing for the SCNC if the Biya regime attempts to block the UNPO delegation from getting to Mamfe to condole with Chief Ayamba’s family…if that happens, the Yaounde authorities would not only inadvertently be giving the SCNC publicity but would have reported themselves to international bodies that they are a repressive regime…"

It should be recalled that when news of Chief Ayamba’s death was made public, the UNPO head office in Brussels issued a condolence statement which read in part:”…the UNPO presidency, secretariat and members would like to express their sincerest condolences to Chief Ayamba’s family, friends and the people of Southern Cameroons…Mr. Ayamba Ette Otun dedicated his life to protecting and promoting the rights of the Southern Cameroons.

His activism for the right to self-determination has been relentless…he had vowed never to shave his beard until the Southern Cameroons is completely free. With the passing away of Chief Ayamba, the Southern Cameroons movement for self-determination has lost a great leader. The UNPO stands with the people of Southern Cameroons in this difficult moment, and hopes the legacy of Chief Ayamba may inspire many…"

About the UNPO The UNPO, it must be said, is a movement whose main objective centres on drawing attention to issues affecting marginalized groups at the United Nations. For its over twenty years of existence, the UNPO’s key action plan has been to ensure that it members are able to effectively access and take part in the discussions of international bodies mandated to protect their rights.

Membership to the UNPO where the Southern Cameroons is also a member is open to all nations and peoples who are not adequately represented at the United Nations. Prospective members have to be a nation or a people, possessing the will to be identified as a nation or a people and are bound to a common heritage which can be historical, racial, ethnic, religious or territorial. The prospective participant can also be a section of a people, constituting a minority, living on a portion of its ancestral territory, incorporated into a state other than a state represented by that people.