Anglophone regions may get autonomy, if the recent bill being discussed by the Cameroon law makers are of any indication. The Members of Parliament in Cameroon is now debating a bill which seeks to grant more autonomy to countries in the region.
The recent development is a follow up of the debates at the Grand National Dialogue called by government which took place in the capital, Yaoundé, two months ago. Some of the new law, which gives more importance to the local languages, are already in force. With this, court decisions can be rendered in any of the official languages, depending on the choice of the litigant and the understanding of all present in court.
English-speaking North West and South West regions in Cameroon have been experiencing a civil conflict since 2016 on account of the language issue. There were demonstrations over the use of French in the English majority regions. It started from teachers and lawyers marching the streets with branches of trees. A group of activists wanted to secede from Cameroon. Several people died in the clashes between secessionists and government forces. Violence and subsequent law and order situation had affected many people. To address this issue, .President Paul Biya is toying with the idea of granting special status to the regions as part of efforts to end the crisis.
