Issa Tchiroma Bakary’s ECCAS-COPAX Summit review

Fellow Journalists, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Here we are again, meeting in this Conference hall of my Ministry, to exchange and draw a balance sheet of the Extraordinary Summit of the Council for Peace and Security of Central Africa, COPAX, which held at the Conference Centre on February 16.

I would like to first wish you all a warm welcome and thank you for having as usual responded in great numbers to my invitation.

Fellow Journalists,

Yaoundé, the capital city of our country has just witnessed an unprecedented moment in the history of our sub-region.

History will have it that it was here that the common response strategy of Central African States against the Boko Haram terrorist group was formally and unanimously adopted on Monday, February 16, 2015, during a summit meeting whose main objective was the drafting of a sub-regional strategy to support Cameroon and Chad in fighting the Boko Haram terrorist group which threatens to destabilize the ECCAS sub-region.

As I earlier mentioned during the press conference to announce the Extraordinary Summit of COPAX, the just ended meeting was the culmination of a long process which all stated on May 17, 2014 in Pars, during a summit that brought together the French president and his African counterparts whose countries are either affected or threatened by the barbarous and criminal deeds of Boko Haram.

Following this Summit, several other meetings went on throughout the year 2014, until the start of the current year, with the aim to put in place a common strategy to annihilate the Boko Haram Phenomenon.

The call launched towards the international community by the Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA, on January 08, 2015, on the occasion of the presentation of New Year Wishes by the Diplomatic Corps at the Unity Palace, was undoubtedly, the trigger of a sub-regional, regional and international mobilization.

This date, February 16, 2015, should therefore be considered as a hallmark in the dynamics of pooling transnational efforts to fight against Boko Haram.

On this occasion, the States of the sub-region, as represented by their leaders, showcased their determination and will to translate into practice their shared strategy and to give themselves the means to meet their goal of neutralizing this terrorist and obscurantist group.

The first visible sign of this common determination and will can be said to be the participation of all ten Member States of the Community, including six Heads of State, one Prime Minister and three high level delegations, with the African Union and the United Nations alongside them.

We should also pinpoint the highlights of the various speeches that were given during the Summit:

ECCAS Secretary General, Mr AHMAD ALLAM-MI stated, and I quote:

“The sub-regional strategy that ECCAS intends to put in place is an act of solidarity towards Cameroon and Chad. (…) As a matter of fact, the Community has the duty to bring its multifaceted, individual or collective support in military, diplomatic and humanitarian domains (…) to two of its member States facing a very challenging situation.

I would like to seize the opportunity to reiterate my congratulations to Cameroonian and Chadian Armed Forces for the courage and bravery with which they have being facing the aggression of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

I also congratulate us, once again, for the exemplary cooperation between the Republic of Cameroon and the Republic of Chad in responding to this attack”.

The Special Representative of the President of the African Union Commission, General Jean-Marie Michel MOKOKO, indicated, on his part, that the African Union commended the holding of this Summit which, according to him, and I quote :

“Further testifies of the determination of the region to deploy new efforts to meet the challenges it is currently facing. Considering the seriousness of the threat caused by Boko Haram to regional security and stability, only a collective response could be effective, one which brings about, in line of the African solidarity spirit, a pooling of means and resources”, before concluding that the African Union will continue to stand by ECCAS in this fight that we have no other choice than to win.

In his speech read by Mr Abdoulaye BATHILY, Special Representative of the United Nations in Central Africa, The UN Secretary General, Mr Ban KI-MOON, declared, and I quote:

“We have a collective responsibility towards the populations living in areas affected by Boko Haram. We should work together to take up this urgent challenge. (…) The United Nations commends the positive measures taken by countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin to set up the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJT) to fight Boko Haram”.

For the President of the Republic of Cameroon, His Excellency Paul BIYA, the fight against Boko Haram is in no way whatsoever, and I quote:

“A crusade against Islam or an episode of a “crusade” against Islam or an episode in some kind of “clash of civilizations”.

The reality is simple. On one side, there are our forces, defenders of a modern and tolerant society which guarantees the exercise of human rights, including that of religion, as well as representative democracy. On the other side, namely Boko Haram and similar movements, there are partisans of an obscurantist and tyrannical society which has no consideration for human dignity.

You would agree with me that these two models of society are absolutely incompatible and, hence, compromise is absolutely impossible.

Therefore, we need to put an end to the actions and activities of terrorist movements. We need to eradicate Boko Haram. By so doing, we would be able to reassure our populations and better focus on the only worthwhile struggle:

the struggle against poverty and for the dignity of Africans”,end of quote. The president of the Republic of Chad, His Excellency Idriss DEBY ITNO, incumbent President of ECCAS, was quite firm and resolute in his speech, and I quote him:

“There is a need to quickly contain this scourge as we have decided, through a firm commitment of Heads of State of ECCAS Member countries. We have resolved to provide a strong support to the countries that are at the front line, notably Chad and Cameroon which are facing the Boko Haram nebula on the field.

This is a therefore a significant outcome (…) I would like to seize this occasion to also pay a deserved homage to Cameroonian Defence Forces who have for nine month, faced this nebula alone. Thanks to them, not an inch of the Cameroonian territory is controlled by Boko Haram. They have paid a heavy price and thank God that Cameroon’s boundaries have remained intact. (…) I also thank my brother, President BIYA, for all the efforts made to accommodate us”, end of quote.

His Excellency Ali BONGO ONDIMBA, President of the Gabonese Republic, emphasized on the duty of solidarity which had become a must, and I quote him:

“It was important for us, members of the sub-region, to come here to show our support to our brothers and sisters of Cameroon. Today, the situation is very serious. And we have the feeling to be attacked. (…) That is why we must be here today around President BIYA, not only to show him as well as the entire Cameroonian people our support. We have the duty to be together”, end of quote.

Fellow Journalists,

The determination showcased by the distinguished participants to the Yaoundé summit was also present in the concrete decisions to efficiently and vigorously fight against the Boko Haram criminal sect.

In this vein, in emergency, Head of States agreed to financially support Cameroon and Chad with FCFA 50 billion. Moreover, member states of the ECCAS will support Cameroon and Chad in strengthening their equipment and military forces on the field of operations.

In addition to that conjuncture support, ECCAS Head of States and Governments decided to create a multidimensional support fund in the domains of logistics, humanitarian assistance communication and political-diplomatic actions. In this vein, they instructed the ECCAS Secretary General of to elaborate a plan of actions taking into consideration these different domains, to be submitted to the COPAX instances for its adoption and implementation.

Furthermore, each Head of State committed himself to reinforce the surveillance of the territory and actions of communication and sensitization towards its populations to, on the one hand, reduce risks of infiltrations of Boko Haram members inside national borders, and on the other hand, eradicate supplies network of these ill-fated terrorists.

Conscious of the compelling need to mutualise resources at the inter-regional level, ECCAS Head of States and Government committed themselves to develop an active cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

To this effect, a mandate was given to the Equatorial Guinea President His Excellency Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO and to the President of the Republic of Congo His Excellency Denis SASSOU-N’GUESSO to contact the ECOWAS sitting President, to discuss about possibilities for the holding of a summit between ECCAS and ECOWAS to adopt a common strategy to fight against Boko Haram.

In the same vein, Head of States decided to conduct political-diplomatic actions towards the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to increase cooperation between Nigeria and Cameroon and Chad, with which it shares borders. They once again mandated the Equatorial Guinea and Congo Presidents to get in touch with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to this effect.

In total, the actions taken during the Yaoundé extraordinary summit are, by their nature, to significantly increase the efficiency of the commitment of the two ECCAS member states in their fight to eradicate the Boko Haram phenomenon within their respective borders.

The emergency financial assistance of FCFA 50 billion, as well as the creation and implementation of a multidimensional support fund, will in fact relieve the pressure exercised by the war effort on our public finances.

In the same vein, the military and logistic means on the field of operations will be reinforced and the balance of opposing significantly modified in favour of the coalition Cameroon-Chad.

At the strategic level, the commitment of the West Africa sub- region through cooperation recommended with ECOWAS, as well as the launching of discussions with Nigeria which is, as you are probably all aware, the epicentre of the Boko Haram threat, provides means to expect, at the end, an encirclement of the terrorists troops and a dismantlement of their positions from their internal basis.

We should not forget that presently, two ECOWAS countries – Nigeria and Niger – are already victims of the criminal actions of Boko Haram, and that a third country – Benin – is probably targeted, furthermore, the North of Mali, which is still subject to terrorists movements, could become the fallback position of Boko Haram.

I t should be adder here – as previously mentioned – that the reinforcement of security at the borders of each member state, as well as the intensification of communication and sensitization actions towards populations will undoubtedly help in neutralizing the cross-border infiltrations attempts, counterbalancing the impact of proselytes actions grounded by showy religious masks and tracking down sleeping cells established within national territories by the networks of the terrorist organisation.

Fellow Journalists,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is perfectly evident that the Yaoundé summit brought a decisive dynamic in the fight against Boko Haram.

At the end, Cameroon played a key role, through not only its particularly efficient, but also through the respect and credibility of the Head of State His Excellency Paul BIYA vis-à-vis his counterparts, resulting in a full success of that summit.

This is therefore the opportunity to recall on the Cameroonian People, and on behalf of the Government, to keep supporting the President of the Republic and our defence and security forces, whose bravery and efficiency have been praised by all the speakers and participants to the last Yaoundé summit.

But above the field of military operations, the merit of other actors, who act upstream and downstream of this fight. I would particularly mention our military health system, which has been particularly lauded by President Idriss DEBY ITNO for the efficiency of its action in favour of wounded soldiers at the war front and I quote him once again:

« I am very delighted to remark that there exists here, in this hospital, not only an up to date medical equipment but also a highly qualified personnel, which has saved many human lives. We did not hesitate even one second to send our soldiers here for medical treatment. Allow me to congratulate the entire medical staff for their exceptional work », end of quote.

Allow me to underline, to appreciate, that the call for mobilization launched by the Head of State towards the international community, continues to yield its fruits above our boundaries.

For instance the holding, after the COPAX extraordinary summit, of the Cameroon-Nigeria Cross-Border Security Committee which opened the works of its third session yesterday Wednesday February 18, 2015 here in Yaoundé, with the main goal to identify and propose measures capable of preventing conflicts or restore peace and security in the areas surrounding the common border.

Among other topics discussed during the exchanges, experts from both sides will work on criminal activities of the Boko Harm terrorist group.

In the mean time, Washington is holding, since yesterday, an international summit against extremism. This summit, presided over by the US President, His Excellency BARACK OBAMA with delegates from more than 60 countries among which Cameroon, aim to elaborate a global approach to eradicate violent extremism.

At bilateral level, on February 15, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Laurent Fabius, announced that he would in the near future, visit Cameroon, Chad and Niger, to bring the support of his country to these States facing the Boko Haram threat.

On its part, Japan has just announced that it would double its assistance to countries which have chosen to prioritise the fight against terrorism.

At multilateral level it should be underscored that the call for international mobilisation launched by the Head of State, will in the days ahead, lead to a referral to the UN Security Council by the African Union, based on the operational concept drafted during the Experts Meetings that preceded the Yaounde Summit, in order to confer an international mandate to the Multinational Joint Task-Force (MJT) which is expected to set up within the framework of the common fight against Boko Haram, and to raise the necessary funds to run this force.

Fellow Journalists, dear friends,I would now like to address you specifically to congratulate you on the path you have chosen, that of a citizen and republican commitment behind the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul BIYA, Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and our Defence and Security Forces on the battle fields.

But to those of you who still seem to persist on paths that are dissenting and contrary to this sacred union for the salvation of the Republic, I invite them not to fight the wrong battle but come to their senses and join the entire Cameroonian nation to fight terrorism, organised crime and ideological obscurantism.

Thank you for your kind attention.