Youths from the seven divisions of the North West Region, united under the Cameroon National Youth Council (CNYC), have condemned the recent attack on the Minister of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Mounouna Foutsou, and Cameroon’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Daniel Evina Abe’e in Brussels, calling on Belgian authorities to immediately deport perpetrators of the ugly incident to face the law back home.
The attack on the state personalities in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, February 28 and Monday, March 3, 2025 has been attributed to members of the anti-Biya regime Diaspora movement known in French as Brigade Anti-Sadinard (BAS).
Drawn from the seven divisions of the Region, the youth staged a peaceful protest march in Bamenda on Friday, March 14 demanding that Belgian authorities deport the Cameroonians. Carrying placards with some faces of some alleged members of the group, the young people presented the suspected BAS members as “wanted for remorse”, calling on the Belgian government, “to send these Cameroonians back to home for discipline”.
The young Cameroonians of the North West Region said they were against such unruly behaviours. Some messages on their posters read: “Youths of Mezam stand against terrorism, anti-gangs, violence, and hate speech”, “Donga Mantung: All youths must be players in the building of an emergent Cameroon, free from hate speech and moral decadence”, “Boyo: All we want is a peaceful environment to contribute to the growth of our nation, Cameroon”, among other messages.
To distance the youths of the Region from the events in Belgium, Mekom Samuel, President of Cameroon National Youth Council for the North West urged that the perpetrators be sent back to Cameroon. “We are pleading with the government of Belgium to deport these individuals to Cameroon so we can help them go through the process of remorse and also make them understand that North West youths are peaceful people”, said Samuel.
“We are passing this message to you, so that you can relay it to the ambassador of Belgium to Cameroon: we need these youths deported so we can guide them through a process of remorse,” he told the media.
Mekom emphasized that most youths in the North West Region are often erroneously labeled as terrorists. “I can tell you today that only 1% of youths in the region are recalcitrant. None of the faces in this picture are from the North West Region. We do not want this type of act in our country again,” he stated.
Also present at the peaceful protest organized by the CNYC was the City Mayor of Bamenda Paul Achobong, who commended the youths for making their voices heard. “We have seen our youths say no to violence both at home and abroad. I greatly appreciate and congratulate them, as this will serve as a deterrent to troublemakers,” the Mayor said.
The Secretary General at the North West Governor’s office, Saidouna Moussa, speaking on behalf of Governor Lele Lafrique, praised the Republican spirit of the youths. “This is to affirm that the youths of the North West region want peace and development by denouncing acts of terrorism. The government supports your efforts to bring peace and development to the region,” said Saidouna.
The Secretary General assured the youths that their message has been noted and will be communicated to hierarchy.
Minister Mounouna Foutsou and his delegation were in Belgium to conclude the youth month when the they were attacked Tuesday, February 28 and Monday, March 3. Videos of the attack went viral on social media, prompting widespread condemnation from Cameroonians who argued that violence is not a solution to problems.
The government condemned the incident which Yaounde said was carried out by a group of terrorists, promising heavy sanctions against the perpetrators. In a statement following the incident, the Minister of Communication and Government Spokesperson said the battering of Minister Mounouna Foutsou and Ambassador Evina was an attack on the entire nation, appealing to Cameroonians within the country and the Diaspora to protect the country’s image.
First published in NewsWatch newspaper No 205 of Monday, March 17, 2025.
