UNESCO Heritage Sites: Anger In Bafut As Palace Is Touched.
By Raymond Dingana
The
Bafut community at home and abroad is reacting with anger following the recent
happenings at the Palace, in the North West Region of Cameroon. According
to a source in Bafut who opted for anonymity, on Thursday August 06, 2020, men in
military Uniforms stormed the palace and occupied the Bujong Cultural Hall which
is part of the Royal Bafut Palace, included on a Tentative List Of World Heritage Site since 2006 by UNESCO .
“On Saturday August 08, armed men in military attires have been moving in and out of the Palace saying, they are looking Fon Abumbi III of Bafut for what I don’t know. The Bujong Cultural Hall which is part of the Bafut Palace, added on a Tentative List of World Heritage Sites since 2006 by UNESCO was occupied to the discontentment of the Bafut Community. The palace did not sleep breaking Saturday because of heavy gun shots. The home of Pa Asanji of blessed memory and the campus of GS Bujong were also occupied by the men in uniform. The school was razed after the grass was cleared by the military. They also stormed the market arresting closed to 150 people mostly women who were later released after paying huge sums while cell phones were also confiscated”. The source intimated.
Bujong Cultural Hall, Bafut Royal Palace. |
Talking to DrayInfos, Pa Ngwa, elite says their palace has been desecrated: “Those behind the desecration of our palace will not go unpunished. The people are angry because, torching the Palace is like torching the heart of a Bafut man. Our ancestors are not sleeping. According to articles 2, 3, 4 of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property during armed conflicts, such areas are a no go area for the belligerents. It is unfortunate that, the articles have been rubbished by those carrying guns”. He said.
The current crisis rocking the two Anglophone Regions of Cameroon has seen many cultural sites including palaces destroyed. May traditional rulers are now Internally Displaced Fons, IDFs. Many have not visited their palaces for years now while some have been brutalized and others killed.
Above Pictures Are Those Of The Bafut Palace. |
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