Southern Cameroons National Council

Southern Cameroons National Council
Leader	Frederick Alobwede Ebong
Chairman	Ayamba Ette Otun (Late)
Vice Chairman	Nfor Ngala Nfor
Founded	1995
Ideology	Separatism
Website
SCNC Official Website

The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is a self determination organisation seeking the independence of the anglophone Southern Cameroons from the predominantly francophone Republic of Cameroon (La République de Cameroun). It is a non-violent organization with the motto "The force of argument, not the argument of force." The chairman is Chief Ayamba Ette Otun. Because the SCNC advocates separation from Cameroon, it has been declared an illegal organization by the government of Paul Biya. Security forces regularly interrupt SCNC meetings, arresting members and typically detaining them for several days before release.

After achieving independence in the 1950s, Cameroon took territorial control over the area of British Cameroons and adopted a federal structure giving some autonomy to the former British area. When Biya came to power in 1982, he began centralizing power and creating a single-party state. In 1993, the All Anglophone Conference formed pushing for a return to the autonomy provided to the Southern Cameroons under the federal system. In 1994, the Bamenda Declaration of large members of the AAC decided to work toward secession rather than autonomy. This resulted the next year in the creation of the Southern Cameroon People's Conference (SCPC) formed as an umbrella organization bringing together student, trade organizations, and political organizations committed to independence, rather than a return to autonomy. The Southern Cameroons National Council was the elected body in charge of organizing SCPC efforts with the initial chairman being Sam Ekontang Elad.

In 1995, the SCNC rose to political prominence with a host of efforts to push for secession of the anglophone Southern Cameroons from the country of Cameroon. The government of Cameroon was finishing its application to join the Commonwealth of Nations and the SCNC organized a number of publicity activities to oppose this inclusion. In August 1995, the SCNC petitioned the UN to intervene and mediate between them and the government of Cameroon warning that a lack of intervention would create "another Somalia". In October 1995, the SCNC publicized a plan schedule of work for an eventual declaration of independence. These political activities resulted in significant disruption by police and security forces.

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Wikipedia