Setting the stage for Maurice Kamto to mount the rostrum, Christian Penda Ekoka said they will not leave to their children the battles they are supposed to fight during their lifetime.

He said Kamto has through the CRM taught the masses to be honourable so they can achieve great things, to be free because only a free people can be developed and to be courageous because no great thing can be realised through fear.

Penda says the masses have been taught to be Cameroonians, to put Cameroon first and take their appointment with destiny. “There is a wind of change. And it has taken a human face in the person of Prof. Maurice Kamto.”

Mounting the rostrum, Maurice Kamto said the February 1, 2020 rally in Paris is an exceptional moment. He went on to open his speech with a chant of the country’s National Anthem in the French language, hoping as it were that during the next rally, it will be song in English.

He thanked the French authorities for authorising them to organise the rally, something he said is near impossible back home in Cameroon. “We have to be ready to pay the supreme price for our freedom. We have come to France to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your engagements during the election campaigns in 2018, said Kamto.

He regretted that the crisis in the North West and South West regions has degenerated into an armed conflict, leading to between 3,000 and 12,000 deaths, with hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons and thousands of refugees.

The candidate at the 2018 presidential elections said the role of a government is to address the issues of the country and open its hands to welcome its compatriots. He regrets that the current regime has failed to meet the needs and aspirations of the people, recalling that he took a commitment during the presidential elections that if voted, his first visit will be in the English parts of Cameroon because his commitment is to resolve the Anglophone crisis.

“If we put our heads and hearts together, we can settle that crisis,” said Kamto, adding that, “We will be relentless in searching appropriate solutions to the crisis. In the coming months, we will solve that crisis.”

Kamto went on to demand for the unconditional release of CRM 1^st Vice National President, Mamadou Yakouba Mota and many others held in detention centers in Cameroon. He said Mota is an authentic hero for the fight for change in the country. He read out names of those held in detention and standing trial for simply asking for change.

Hear Kamto: “Fear has left us. Cameroon is not the property of a few. Cameroon is our fatherland. No one can put us on our knees so we can get favours. If I fall tomorrow, take the baton and continue to struggle. No need for flowers on my grave. They should know that we will never give up. Many of our parents paid the supreme price to fight dictatorship. We have to fight.

“We did not create the CRM to give posts to our comrades. We created the CRM to bring change for our people. We invite our militants to understand the spirit of the boycott of the February 9, 2020 elections. I am waiting for you. The wind of change, the national renaissance has started.”