[Onthebarricades] CAMEROON: Unrest over high prices rocks regime

[Andy]

*  Unrest in Douala, also in the capital Yaounde, in Buea and in the west of
the country
*  Unrest sparked by taxi strike over police abuse, protests and strikes
over commodity prices, and attempts by president to stand for re-election
*  Reports of clashes with police, looting, burning buses and tyres, and
“what looked like an uprising”
*  A number of people – maybe 20 - were killed, some murdered by police,
others in clashes or accidents
*  Police attacked protesters with live ammunition and tear gas dropped from
helicopters
*  In one case police forced people off a bridge into the river
*  Police retributions included house raids, rapes, torture and robbery
*  Mass arrests – hundreds sentenced to up to 2 years in unfair trials; many
“buy their freedom” or are released
*  The unrest forced concessions including wage increases and price cuts
*  Police attacks on independent radio stations have been widely denounced
*  While some journalists and politicians look for scapegoats, blaming
opposition leaders and “bandits”, serious analysts suggest the unrest shows
the impact of global price rises on fragile patronage systems

Publicly Archived at Global Resistance:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/27/africa/27cameroon.php

Anti-government rioting spreads in Cameroon

Reuters
Published: February 27, 2008

YAOUNDE, Cameroon: Anti-government riots paralyzed the Cameroon capital and
main port on Wednesday as popular anger exploded over high fuel and food
prices and a bid by President Paul Biya to extend his 25-year rule.
Local journalists said one protester was killed by armed police on Wednesday
in the southwest town of Buea. The unrest - the worst in over 15 years in
this central African oil producing nation - has killed at least seven people
since it broke out at the weekend in the port of Douala, a major African
shipping hub.
There were unconfirmed reports of several more deaths on Wednesday but no
reliable total was immediately available. Local journalists said Cameroonian
authorities were instructing state media and hospital staff not to publicize
deaths.
The rioting spread on Wednesday to the capital Yaounde after sweeping
through western towns in the last four days.
Riot police fired tear gas at protesters in both cities, sometimes using
helicopters to drop gas canisters from the air.
State radio appealed for calm, saying the government had agreed with union
leaders to make cuts in gasoline and fuel prices, one of the key demands of
the protesters. But people expressed outrage at the small size of the
reductions.
In Yaounde, bands of stone-throwing youths blocked streets with barricades
of burning tires and timber. Businesses and shops closed and parents rushed
to fetch their children from schools. Some vehicles were smashed and
torched.
Some protesters chanted slogans against Biya, whose announcement last month
that he might seek changes in the constitution to prolong his mandate has
angered many opposition supporters. "Biya has gone too far, he must go,"
shouted one demonstrator in Yaounde.
Others chanted: "We're fed up."
In the commercial capital of Douala, a police helicopter dropped tear gas on
hundreds of protesters who marched to demand bigger cuts in fuel and food
prices. As the marchers scattered in panic on Wouri Bridge, some fell into
the river.
Witnesses saw police arrest dozens of protesters, taking them away in
trucks. Some were beaten with rifle butts, the witnesses said.
Anti-government protests were also reported in Bamenda in the northwest.
Cameroon is the world's fourth largest cocoa producer; no details were
immediately available on disruption to shipments.
Cameroon's government and union leaders reached an agreement late on Tuesday
to end a taxi drivers' strike which had triggered the rioting and widespread
looting in Douala - a hotbed of opposition to Biya - and other towns.
The government agreed to cut the price of a liter of gasoline to 594 CFA
francs, or about $1.36, from 600. Similar small reductions were agreed for
other fuel products like kerosene.
The riots followed similar protests against the high cost of living in other
West African countries after soaring oil prices pushed up prices for energy
products and basic foodstuffs.
Biya announced eight weeks ago that he might change the constitution to stay
in power when his term ends in 2011. Critics say Biya, 75, could use his
party's majority in Parliament to make the constitutional modifications.
The U.S. embassy in Cameroon advised its citizens to avoid travel in the
country. "Roadblocks have been erected without notice by both demonstrators
and petty criminals on many of the major thoroughfares of Cameroon," it said
in a message posted on the embassy Web site.
"Food, fuel and water are increasingly scarce, not only in Douala but in
other cities where expectation of shortage has sparked a run on gasoline,"
it added.

http://www.niletext.gov.eg/news.asp?sub=World&storyid=14662

Protests paralyse Cameroon's capital and port city    (27/2/2008)

Anti-government riots paralysed Cameroon's capital and main port on
Wednesday as popular anger exploded over high fuel and food prices and a bid
by President Paul Biya to extend his 25-year rule.

Local journalists said one protester was killed by armed police on Wednesday
in the southwest town of Buea. The unrest -- the worst in over 15 years in
the central African oil producer -- has killed at least seven people since
it broke out at the weekend in the port of Douala, a major African shipping
hub.

There were unconfirmed reports of several more deaths on Wednesday but no
reliable total was immediately available. Local journalists said Cameroonian
authorities were instructing state media and hospital staff not to publicise
deaths.

The rioting spread on Wednesday to the capital Yaounde after sweeping
through western towns in the last four days.

Riot police fired tear gas at protesters in both cities, sometimes using
helicopters to drop gas canisters from the air.

State radio appealed for calm, saying the government had agreed with union
leaders to make cuts in gasoline and fuel prices, one of the key demands of
the protesters. But people expressed outrage at the small size of the
reductions.

In Yaounde, bands of stone-throwing youths blocked streets with barricades
of burning tyres and timber. Businesses and shops closed and parents rushed
to fetch their children from schools. Some vehicles were smashed and
torched.

Some protesters chanted slogans against Biya, whose announcement last month
that he might seek changes in the constitution to prolong his mandate has
angered many opposition supporters. "Biya has gone too far, he must go,"
shouted one demonstrator in Yaounde.

Others chanted: "We're fed up".

In the commercial capital of Douala, a police helicopter dropped tear gas on
hundreds of protesters who marched to demand bigger cuts in fuel and food
prices. As the marchers scattered in panic on Wouri Bridge, some fell into
the river.

Witnesses saw police arrest dozens of protesters, taking them away in
trucks. Some were beaten with rifle butts, the witnesses said.
Anti-government protests were also reported in Bamenda in the northwest.

Cameroon is the world's fourth largest cocoa producer but no details were
immediately available on disruption to shipments.

PRICES

Cameroon's government and union leaders reached an agreement late on Tuesday
to end a taxi drivers' strike which had triggered the rioting and widespread
looting in Douala -- a hotbed of opposition to Biya -- and other towns.

The government agreed to cut the price of a litre of gasoline to 594 CFA
francs ($1.36) from 600. Similar small reductions were agreed for other fuel
products like kerosene.

The riots followed similar protests against the high cost of living in other
West African countries after soaring oil prices pushed up prices for energy
products and basic foodstuffs.

Biya announced eight weeks ago he might change the constitution to stay in
power when his term ends in 2011. Critics say Biya, 75, could use his
party's majority in parliament to make the constitutional modifications.

The U.S. embassy in Cameroon advised its citizens to avoid travel in the
country. "Roadblocks have been erected without notice by both demonstrators
and petty criminals on many of the major thoroughfares of Cameroon," it said
in a message posted on the embassy Web site.

"Food, fuel and water are increasingly scarce, not only in Douala but in
other cities where expectation of shortage has sparked a run on gasoline,"
it added.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5itrCnalXSGAMyav1o3WScSPMLwRQ

At least three killed as riots sweep Cameroon
Feb 25, 2008
DOUALA, Cameroon (AFP) — Three people were killed when riots broke out
Monday in Cameroon's economic capital Douala, the country's communications
minister said, but witnesses put the body-count as high as six.
Police battled protesters from early morning and small demonstrations began
at road junctions, while youths armed with clubs looted shops during a road
haulage strike, witnesses and an AFP correspondent saw.
The city is a stronghold of opposition to President Paul Biya, who has been
in power since 1982 but last month made clear that he wanted to stand for
office again in 2011.
This triggered protests in Douala and a ban on rallies, which Biya's
government said was for fear of turmoil similar to the rioting and killing
seen in Kenya since a disputed election there in December.
"There have been three deaths," Communications Minister Jean-Pierre Biyiti
Bi Essam said in a television interview late Monday.
Nevertheless, a journalist from the independent daily La Nouvelle Expression
told AFP he had seen four bodies -- a teenager, a woman and two men -- in
the city's Bonaberi district.
Two other people were shot dead in another area, Bessengue, according to a
witness and another Cameroonian journalist, who said these bodies were taken
to the morgue at the city's Laquintinie hospital.
Bi Essam, reached by telephone earlier in the day, said he knew of one of
the Bonaberi dead as well as the Bessengue victims.
"Service stations and shops have been looted on the road into the town," the
minister added, giving no further details.
Witnesses said police battled protesters who set fires and burned cars on
the main road to Yaounde, the political capital, while residents of a few
other towns also spoke of disturbances and transport strikes.
Many of Douala's three million people stayed indoors and kept stores closed
after a road haulage strike was announced for Monday, fearing that the
protest called over the price of fuel and basic products could turn violent.
An AFP correspondent saw several injured people taken to the Laquentinie
Hospital -- one, shot in the chest, in a wheelbarrow. A kiosk was in flames
in front of the hospital, surrounded by a menacing crowd.
Gunfire could be heard in the Bonaberi district, where thick columns of
smoke rose into the air. Violent clashes were reported in several other
parts of town and vehicles and piled-up tyres were on fire.
State radio reported that in one city district, the town hall and several
other public buildings had been ransacked and the news broadcast spoke of "a
tense situation," but made no mention of any casualties.
The ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC) released a brief
radio statement lashing out at "blind and unjustified violence, intolerable
under the rule of law."
It also presented condolences to "grieving families", without details of
casualties, and accused unnamed politicians of "manipulating" protesters.
"So that's democracy," one local man exclaimed on seeing an injured man
trying to reach the hospital. "Look what Cameroon's come to."
"Biya must go," another said.
The head of state's intentions remained unclear until early January, when he
said that a current constitutional limit on a third elected mandate "sits
badly with the very idea of democratic choice."
With business disrupted, traffic at a standstill and taxi drivers also on
strike, gangs of youths sought to profit from the disturbanceson Monday. In
the Akwa district, they raided shops owned by Chinese traders.
A resident of Buea, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Douala, described a
"confused situation" with clashes between "people throwing stones at police
who are trying to take down barricades."
At Dshang in the west, a student told AFP that "hooligans have smashed up
everything, ransacked the university." Also in the west, clashes were
reported from Foumban, Bafoussam and Kumba.
Apart from a transport strike, Yaounde itself was unaffected by the trouble
and so was Bamende, the stronghold in partly English-speaking west Cameroon
of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) led by opposition veteran John Fru Ndi.
But SDF supporters in Douala have defied the ban on political protests. One
man in his 20s was shot dead on Saturday during clashes with police arising
from a banned SDF rally.

http://stopdeportationofguy.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/death-toll-reaches-17-in-cameroon-protests/

Death toll reaches 20 in Cameroon protests
Posted by kirrily on February 28, 2008
Police and soldiers in western Cameroon shot and killed at least three
protesters on Thursday as anti-government riots smouldered on despite a
government appeal for dialogue, witnesses said.
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL28876577.html
Cameroon clashes claim more lives after strike ends
Douala, Cameroon, Feb 27, 2008 (AFP)

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iG8xiu5ZfwzCyRsPQqEJtuuAAm-g

- Renewed violence broke out Wednesday in Cameroon, where the mayor of the
western town of Njombe reported eight more deaths in clashes, after a
two-day transport strike triggered unrest.Eric Kingue, a member of the
ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Rally, told private Canal 2 television
that two people were killed on Wednesday morning in Njombe itself, and six
others died on Tuesday night in Loum, further north.Strife over the price of
fuel and essential products erupted on Monday and tapped into opposition
protests against a proposal to change the constitution to enable President
Paul Biya to run for office again in 2011.
The latest reports of violence brought the death toll to 17 since an
opposition protest in Douala on Saturday, according to an AFP tally. The
economic and political unrest has been accompanied by looting and vandalism.
Witnesses reported further clashes between protestors and riot police in
several districts of the western port city of Douala, the central African
country’s economic capital.
National radio reported that unions representing transport workers had won a
small cut in petrol prices, appealed for calm and called off the strike they
launched on Monday.
The Roman Catholic archbishop of Yaounde, Christian Tumi, also called for an
end to the unrest, after the unrest spread Tuesday to the capital itself,
east of Douala and in the heart of the country.
Gunfire again broke out in the Bonaberi district of Douala, a stronghold of
opposition to Biya, as riot police took up positions on the main bridge over
the Wouri river in the city, where streets were empty of traffic.
Witnesses said that the police on the bridge turned water cannon on
protesters there and some people fell into the river.
There were also reports of gunfire and columns of smoke in the southwestern
town of Buea.
In Yaounde, after a tense night, traffic reappeared in the morning but
ground to a halt later, as bands of vandals roamed the streets and petrol
stations remained closed for fear of attacks, an AFP correspondent noted.
One witness said that rioters burned a bus.
“Shops and stores are closed. Everybody’s trying to get home,” a Yaounde
resident told AFP.
Though road haulage unions decided to call for a return to work after the
government agreed to cut petrol prices, the unrest comes against a
background of protest at the cost of living and a crackdown on the
opposition.
“What’s happening in Cameroon has nothing to do with a simple strike against
a rise in fuel prices,” Joshua Osih, vice-president of the opposition Social
Democratic Front (SDF), said Wednesday.
“It’s the expression of multiple frustrations among the Cameroonian people.
The trouble runs deep,” Osih added, pointing out that most of those engaged
in vandalism were unemployed people under 30.
Douala authorities in mid-January banned rallies and demonstrations in the
city because of political opposition to a constitutional change Biya wants
that would enable him to run for another term of office.
Biya, 75, has been in power since 1982, on succeeding Ahmadou Ahidjo, who
resigned. He has made no statement on the unrest and rarely speaks in
public.

The opposition, spearheaded by veteran John Fru Ndi and his SDF, accuses the
his government and ruling party, which is divided into a hardline old guard
and reformers, of plunging the country into corruption and poverty.The head
of state’s intentions remained unclear until early January, when he said
that a current constitutional bar on a third elected presidential term “sits
badly with the very idea of democratic choice.”A first person was killed
when riot police on Saturday violently broke up a rally in Douala, where the
SDF vowed to defy the ban. Protest banners carried in several towns since
have combined protests at the cost of living with calls for Biya’s
resignation.

http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL28876577.html

Three killed as Cameroon protests smoulder on
Thu 28 Feb 2008, 17:41 GMT

[-] Text [+]
(Recasts with fresh deaths, adds cocoa deliveries disruption)
By Tansa Musa
YAOUNDE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Police and soldiers in western Cameroon shot and
killed at least three protesters on Thursday as anti-government riots
smouldered on despite a government appeal for dialogue, witnesses said.
In the worst unrest in over 15 years in the central African oil producer, up
to 20 people have been killed in street demonstrations that have swept
through western towns and the central capital Yaounde to protest at high
fuel and food prices.
Protesters are also opposing a bid by President Paul Biya to extend his
mandate after 25 years in power.
In at least two western towns, Bamenda and Bafang, new protests flared on
Thursday, local journalists said. They said soldiers and police in Bamenda
shot dead three people as stone-throwing protesters confronted them. A local
official, who asked not to be named, also confirmed the deaths.
"Our beautiful country is at a crossroads, people are dying in our main
cities," Communication Minister Jean Pierre Biyiti bi Essam said. "Let's
call for dialogue and negotiations between people whenever there are
differences."
The death toll was "very high, but less than 20", he said.
Yaounde and the main commercial port of Douala, which were paralysed by
rioting and looting on Wednesday, were tense but relatively calm on
Thursday. Police and soldiers patrolled the streets, but most businesses
remained closed.
The protests have blocked goods and workers from reaching the harbour in
Douala, a key port hub on Africa's west coast.
Cameroon is the world's fourth-ranked cocoa producer. Late deliveries to the
coast from its 2007/2008 main cocoa crop were blocked in the southwest
growing region because of the riots.
Gangs of youths stood menacingly in the Bonaberi shanty town on the edge of
Douala. The few taxi drivers who ventured out said it was too dangerous to
cross into the city centre.
SOMBRE BROADCAST
The latest unrest came after a warning from Biya that he would use "all
legal means" to maintain order. The sombre-faced president, 75, appeared on
state television late on Wednesday to accuse political opponents of
fomenting the riots to try to topple him by force.
He offered no concessions to protesters demanding lower fuel and basic
foods, beyond slight fuel price cuts agreed by the government on Tuesday.
Biya announced eight weeks ago he might change the constitution to stay in
power when his term ends in 2011. Critics say he could use his party's
majority in parliament to make the constitutional amendments.
The president's broadcast appeared to have infuriated many protesters,
including taxi drivers whose strike over high fuel prices on Monday
triggered the wider unrest.
"This man is not serious. Is he taking us for fools?" said Sebastien Ebanga,
a taxi driver in Yaounde. "The strike will continue," he added.
John Fru Ndi, president of the main opposition Social Democratic Front
party, denied Biya's charge that the opposition was behind the
demonstrations. He said Biya ruled like an "absentee landlord, not always in
touch with the people".
Soaring oil prices have pushed up costs of energy products and basic
foodstuffs in West Africa, causing outbreaks of unrest. In poor suburbs of
Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou on Thursday, police fired tear gas
against residents protesting against high prices who blocked roads with
burning tyres. (Additional reporting by Talla Ruben in Doula and Mathieu
Bonkoungou in Ouagadougou; writing by Pascal Fletcher, editing by Mark
Trevelyan)

http://en.afrik.com/article12667.html

Riots kill 12 in Douala

At least 12 persons were killed in a riot that broke out Monday in Douala,
the economic capital of Cameroon. The riot stemmed from a general strike
action by urban and interurban transport unions protesting against an
increases in foodstuff and petroleum prices.

Tuesday 26 February 2008, by Will Ghartey-Mould

The unrest which started on Saturday in Douala, escalated on Monday with
scenes of looting coupled with clashes between police forces and strikers in
what looked like a city in an uprising.
"Two people were pulled out of their cars and beaten to death in the
Bonaberi area", according to an eye witness. "A third person was burnt to
death in a fire that ravaged an administrative building in the 5th
arrondissement of Doula, while a young man suffocated to death from tear gas
used to quell the riots, as well as two others in Bessengue, an area close
to the commercial area", he added.
In other developments, a female gendarme who found herself caught in a
stranglehold among rioters, opened fire killing a college student, whose
body is presently being kept at the Laquintinie Hospital morgue, according
to sources.
Last Saturday, two protesters were shot to death when the police opened fire
using real bullets in an area known as "Rond point Dakar", a working-class
neighbourhood in the Cameroonian economic capital, during a political
meeting organised by the Social Democratic Front (SDF, the main
parliamentary opposition party) which was finally postponed. The SDF had
planned to protest the amendment of the Cameroonian Constitution to favour a
third term representation by Paul Biya in the next presidential election in
2011.
A well supported general strike
The rallying cry for the general strike, Monday, by fourteen Camerooninan
transport union organisations against the increase in petroleum prices that
has in turn increased prices for other products, was largely supported
across the country, especially in Douala.
No car nor motto bikes were to be seen in the city’s streets on Monday
morning. This forced thousands of people to get to their work places by
foot.
The strikers, endorsed by the National Union of Transport Owners and
Taxi-Motto drivers, demanded an end to abuses from city guards and police
forces both in Douala and Yaoundé, a lowering of foodstuff and petroleum
prices, as well as a collective labour agreement governing their occupation.
Populations in Douala erected roadblocks and burnt car tyres. Widespread
looting was also reported among gas service stations and shops.
Clashes between police forces and protestors also took place in Douala. No
incidents were reported in Yaondé.
With Panapress

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76932

CAMEROON: Douala burns as taxi strike turns into general rioting

Photo: Elizabeth Dickinson/IRIN
Rioters burning vehicles and tires in Douala
DOUALA, 25 February 2008 (IRIN) - Residents of Douala awoke to heavy gunfire
on 25 February. Columns of thick black smoke rose over the city as youths
burned buses, cars and tyres, blocking off major arteries in the city.

There were also reports of widespread looting.

“We can’t leave our homes,” a man in Akwa, an area in the city centre, told
IRIN. “I live near a school and can see teachers sending home all students
that arrive. Rioters are occupying other schools in the area."

At least two dead bodies have arrived at the city morgue with gunshot wounds
to the head, a journalist told IRIN.

IRIN also saw people with serious gunshot wounds being carried to a
hospital.

The rioting appears to have been sparked off by a taxi strike planned for 25
February. Many people say they are sympathetic with drivers’ complaints of
rising fuel prices and the cost of living.

IRIN saw no vehicles in the city centre other than those belonging to
security forces.

Political tensions have been high in recent days with the government
attempting to push through constitutional reforms that would remove
restrictions on the number of times that Cameroon’s long-time leader Paul
Biya can be re-elected. He has been in power since 1982.
An unauthorised demonstration took place on 23 February in Newtown, a suburb
near the airport, in which police reportedly fired tear gas and water
cannons at a crowd of several hundred people. One protestor was killed,
according to government officials, but eye witnesses said at least one other
youth also died.

The following day, Sunday, the city was calm until the evening when gunfire
erupted again near the airport.

By Monday morning rioting had broken out throughout the city.

Accounts of the violence

One of the main bridges to the city has been blocked by burning tires,
according to an eyewitness living nearby. “We see smoke everywhere and hear
constant gunfire,” she said.

A national radio station reported that many government buildings were on
fire, including a town hall and one of the finance ministry buildings.

Photo: Elizabeth Dickinson/IRIN
The rioting appears to have been sparked off by a taxi strike planned for 25
February
The main road between Douala and the capital, Yaounde, is blocked by burning
tires and IRIN saw a number of petrol stations being looted along that road.

Youths have also reportedly broken into at least one major retail store.

In the city centre, IRIN saw large gangs of youths moving through the
streets with no police in sight. But elsewhere police were seen arbitrarily
arresting civilians.

“I saw two people in front of my office being stopped by the police and
arrested for no reason,” said Madeline Afite, a human rights advocate for
NGO Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture.

People catching flights out of the city had to walk to the airport. IRIN saw
young men attempting to enter the airport compound. Some were armed and
appeared to be shooting at the police. Police also appeared to be returning
fire.

“I think what is happening is that youths saw recent events in Kenya and are
now trying to copy,” Mary Mballa, a mother in Newtown, told IRIN.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL28501881

Cameroon government urges dialogue to end riots
Thu Feb 28, 2008 8:37am EST
By Tansa Musa

YAOUNDE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Cameroon's authorities appealed for dialogue on
Thursday to defuse the worst anti-government riots in over a decade, but
opposition leaders called President Paul Biya "out of touch" after 25 years
in power. Officials estimate up to 20 people have been killed in five days
of protests in several cities, including the main port of Douala and the
capital Yaounde. Protesters have vented their rage over high fuel and food
prices and a bid by Biya to prolong his presidential mandate in the central
African oil producer.

Yaounde and Douala, which were paralysed by rioting and looting on
Wednesday, were tense but relatively calm on Thursday. Police and soldiers
patrolled the streets, but most businesses were closed and public transport
was not operating.

A sombre-faced Biya, who is 75, appeared on state television late on
Wednesday to accuse political opponents of fomenting the riots to try to
topple him by force.

He offered no concessions to protesters demanding falls in the cost of fuel
and basic foods, beyond slight fuel price cuts agreed by the government on
Tuesday. The government would use "all legal means" to guarantee the rule of
law, Biya said.

Communication Minister Jean Pierre Biyiti bi Essam followed up on Thursday
with an appeal for dialogue.

"Our beautiful country is at a crossroads, people are dying in our main
cities and peace is in danger ... Let's call for dialogue and negotiations
between people whenever there are differences," he told Reuters after
meeting newspaper editors to urge them to contribute to the dialogue
process.

Biyiti bi Essam said it was difficult to give a precise death toll from the
riots, in which stone-throwing protesters clashed with armed riot police and
public buildings, businesses, shops and vehicles were set ablaze in a string
of western towns.

"The death toll is very high, but less than 20," the minister said. But he
said not all the deaths occurred in clashes between security forces and
protesters. Some resulted from the settling of personal scores and fights
over loot.

Far from pacifying citizens, Biya's broadcast appeared to have infuriated
many protesters, including taxi drivers whose strike over high fuel prices
on Monday triggered the wider unrest. Witnesses reported protests overnight
in the western towns of Limbe and Bamenda and at least one person was
killed.

CLAMOUR FOR PRICE CUTS

"This man is not serious. Is he taking us for fools?" said Sebastien Ebanga,
a taxi driver in Yaounde. "The strike will continue," he added.

John Fru Ndi, president of the main opposition Social Democratic Front
party, denied Biya's charge that the opposition was behind the
demonstrations. He said Biya ruled like an "absentee landlord, not always in
touch with the people".

"He does not know their problems," he added.

Biya announced eight weeks ago he might change the constitution to stay in
power when his term ends in 2011. Critics say he could use his party's
majority in parliament to make the constitutional amendments.

The riots followed similar protests against the high cost of living in other
West African countries after soaring oil prices pushed up prices for energy
products and basic foodstuffs. (Additional reporting by Talla Ruben in
Doula; writing by Pascal Fletcher, editing by Mark Trevelyan)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=45037&sectionid=351020506

Riots in Cameroon kill 4, injure 11
Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:08:17

Rioters raid shops in the Akwa district of Douala
Protests in Cameroon over high commodity prices have killed at least four
people and injured 11 others in three days, officials say.

One of the victims was a student who suffocated in a tear gas attack in
Douala, 250 kilometers south of Cameroon's capital of Yaounde, according to
police.

At least 11 people were rushed to Yaounde Central Hospital with injuries on
Wednesday, including a woman who was shot in the face, said hospital
physician Dr. David Mote.

The protest began in Douala, Cameroon's economic capital, on Monday with a
transportation strike as taxi and bus drivers called for lower fuel prices.

It gathered strength on Tuesday and erupted with full force on Wednesday,
spreading north to Yaounde, as protesters expanded their complaint to
include cement, rice and other commodity prices.

Thousands of people holding placards blocked intersections in Yaounde,
ransacking cars that attempted to pass. Police used tear gas and rubber
batons to beat back protesters.

AGB/RA

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/protest-turns-violent-in-cameroon/n20080227165709990044

Protest turns violent in Cameroon
BY EMMANUEL TUMANJONG,
AP
Posted: 2008-02-27 16:57:48
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) - At least four people have been killed and 11
injured in three days of protests over high commodity prices in Cameroon's
two largest cities, according to police and a doctor.

In Douala, 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of Cameroon's capital of
Yaounde, police said four people were killed Monday, including a student
that suffocated in a tear gas attack.

"A student who was among the vandals perpetrating looting was suffocated to
death in the Bonamussadi neighborhood," said the officer who requested
anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the press.

At least 11 people were rushed to Yaounde Central Hospital with injuries on
Wednesday, including a woman who was shot in the face, said hospital
physician Dr. David Mote.

The protest began in Douala, Cameroon's economic capital, on Monday with a
transportation strike as taxi and bus drivers called for lower fuel prices.
It gathered strength on Tuesday and erupted with full force on Wednesday,
spreading north to Yaounde, as demonstrators expanded their complaint to
include cement, rice and other commodity prices.

President Paul Biya spoke angrily as he addressed the nation Wednesday
evening on state-run TV: "It is unacceptable that such attitudes should
serve as a pretext for violence against people and property," he said.
"Public buildings (have been) destroyed or burnt down and shops looted or
devastated. State property is our common heritage. These are your effort,
reduced to nothing," he said.

But longtime opposition leader John Fru Ndi said Biya had only himself to
blame for the eruption of violence.

"Mr. Biya is an absentee landlord. He's never around the people," he said,
adding: "He never knows how much a market woman goes through to bring her
goods to the market. He doesn't know anything. To say that fuel is not
expensive, Mr. Biya wouldn't know because he has never gone to the gas
station."

Thousands of people holding placards blocked intersections in Yaounde,
ransacking cars that attempted to pass. Police used tear gas and rubber
batons to beat back demonstrators. In both cities, government offices and
private businesses were looted and some were set ablaze.

Over the weekend, three people were reported dead in a separate
demonstration calling for the reopening of the shuttered Equinoxe TV station
in Douala. The private

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/01/after-week-of-unrest-cameroon-appears-calmer/

March 2, 2008
After Week of Unrest, Cameroon Appears Calmer
By WILL CONNORS
The New York Times
LAGOS, Nigeria — Calm appeared to be returning to Cameroon after rare
violent demonstrations inspired, in part, by frustrations over the president’s
recent announcement that he wanted to amend the Constitution to allow him to
run for another term.
President Paul Biya has been in office for 25 years and critics say he has
allowed too few freedoms in his efforts to maintain stability.
Up to 20 people were killed last week after riots in the capital, Yaoundé,
the main port city of Douala and several western towns, according to news
reports, but it was unclear how they died. The reports said that government
soldiers had fired bullets and tear gas at demonstrators.
The government has said that fewer than 20 people were killed and blamed
“delinquents” bent on looting and opposition politicians trying to foment
unrest for some of the violence.
The unrest began last weekend when a transport union went on strike in
Douala to protest high fuel prices and angry youths took to the streets to
protest fuel and food costs. The strike ended Wednesday, but the violent
demonstrations continued and spread to Yaoundé, and quickly took on a
political edge.
“It’s the expression of multiple frustrations among the Cameroonian people,”
Joshua Osih, vice president of the main opposition group Social Democratic
Front, told Agence France-Presse. “The trouble runs deep.”
By Friday, soldiers were patrolling the streets of the capital for the first
time in years, shops were reopening and taxis were operating again.
In January, Mr. Biya, president since 1982 and prime minister for seven
years before that, said he would amend the Constitution, which was written
in the 1990s and dictates a two-term limit on presidents, so that he could
run for another seven-year term in 2011 elections. He was last elected in
2004.
“For some people the objective is to obtain through violence what they were
unable to obtain through the ballot box,” the president said in a speech
last week.
The government closed a popular radio station Thursday after listeners
called in to complain about the president’s handling of the protests,
according to the media watch group Reporters Without Borders.
On Friday the United States Embassy in Cameroon issued a warning encouraging
all Americans to evacuate. As violence eased, the statement was amended to
urge Americans to exercise strong caution and to avoid unnecessary travel.

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/01/travel-alert-cameroon/

Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
CAMEROON
February 28, 2008
This Travel Warning is being issued to advise American citizens of the
unstable security situation in Cameroon. On February 28, the Department of
State authorized the departure from Cameroon of eligible family members of
American employees of the U.S. Embassy throughout Cameroon. American
citizens in Cameroon should exercise extreme caution and try to depart the
country if their situation permits. American citizens outside of Cameroon
should defer non-essential travel until the security situation stabilizes
and critical services are restored. International flights into Douala and
Yaounde continue, but may be diverted or cancelled on short notice. U.S.
citizens should monitor the U.S. Embassy Yaounde website at
http://yaounde.usembassy.gov and media sources for the latest information.
This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Alert for Cameroon of February 27,
2008.
Since February 25, the city of Douala has experienced violent
demonstrations, roadblocks, looting, and clashes with police resulting in
numerous fatalites. Although the violence has been worse in Douala and the
Littoral, South West, West and North West provinces, unrest began in the
capital city of Yaounde on the morning of February 27 and the security
situation throughout Cameroon is dynamic. Critical services continue to
deteriorate and there are growing shortages of food, fuel and water, as well
as transportation disruptions, throughout the country.
U.S. citizens or family members concerned for the safety of American
citizens in Cameroon or with an after hours emergency may call 24/7 at
1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada. Callers outside the U.S. or
Canada should call our regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. American
citizens in Cameroon are urged to register with the U.S. Embassy at
https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/.

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/10/166/

Tidbits of Cameroon’s Civil Unrest - Feb - March 2008
March 10th, 2008 by FriendsofCameroon
By Joe Dinga Pefok Leocadia Bongben & Elvis Tah
Bamenda: Northwest Governor, Achidi Achu, J. B Ndeh Tear-gassed
Northwest Governor, Abakar Ahamat, who had braved it to the Bamenda
Commercial Avenue grandstand to conclude his maiden tour of the seven
Divisions on
Tuesday morning, was greeted by angry rioters.
As the surging crowd invaded the grandstand, anti-riot gendarmes and
soldiers fired teargas, which nearly suffocated the officials who went
crashing on
their bellies. Apart from Abakar, former Prime Minister, Simon Achidi Achu,
John B. Ndeh
and a host of others came short of taking to their heels.
Free Booze
There was a free for all self-service boozing at three brewery depots in
Bamenda. Youths were seen with crates of beer looted from Guinness S.A and
Les
Brasseries du Cameroun all over major streets. Some who got drunk were
arrested and they only regained soberness in detention camps.
Yaounde:Transporters Warn Government Against Obsolete Methods
Transporters’ trade unions have warned government to do away with colonial
methods of solving problems. The transporters sounded this warning at a
meeting with the Director of the National Hydrocarbons Price Stabilisation
Fund,
CSPH, Ibrahim Talba Malla, and government officials. They said government
instead of addressing a problem, turn around it.
They urged government to ensure that the promises made are redeemed. The
trade union leaders argued that if government had just reduced the price of
fuel
even by FCFA 5, there wouldn’t have been a strike.
They accused government for being responsible for the strike. Though the
meeting was to inform them of the price fixing methods employed by the CSPH,
the
trade unionists said they had learned such mathematics since 2005 and wanted
only cuts in the price of fuel.
Gendarmes Vandalise Magic FM
Gendarmes reportedly made their way into the studios of Magic FM on
Wednesday and ceased broadcast equipment. They snipped wires, ceased
telephones and
took away computers. According to information from Kiyeck, Magic FM
Editor-in-Chief, the problem is that “Magic Attitude” a call-in programme is
allegedly
critical of government. He said the gendarmes accused them of inciting the
people to make them revolt, the consequence being the strike. Kiyeck said
that
it should have been the work of the Ministry of Communication that is silent
on the issue.
Drivers Say Their Leaders Were Bribed
Drivers have accused their leaders of being corrupted by the government for
them to call off the strike. They say this explains why they did not
negotiate well enough. To them, it is normal for the government to raise
fuel price
by FCFA 16 only to take it down by a meagre FCFA 6. Following the
accusations,
some of the syndicate offices are said to have been destroyed and the
leaders are in hiding.
Though there are threats for the strike to resume on Monday, the President
of the Taxi Drivers’ Trade Union has maintained that efforts are underway to
ensure that the arrested drivers are released before Monday.
Students Circulate Tracts
Students who joined the strike circulated tracts with a heading which read,
“Youths are Saying: No to Constitutional Amendment”. Following a meeting
that
held in Douala on February 17, the youths represented by ADDEC, CECODEV,
UNECA, UBSU, FCJ, MOCPAT, Uone, SOS- Jeunesse Libre, Un Monde a Venir,
SURCI,
and Masters of the Game, they declared that the constitutional revision can
be
envisaged only after 2011. They announced the creation of the Youths’
Patriotic and Popular Council to independently organise and federate without
any
external influence of youth political participation.
Buea: Brutality
The transporters’ strike plunged Buea on Monday, February 25 into a ‘ghost
town’ of sorts. This situation was made worst by death and several injured
youths after protestors clashed with anti-riot police. Troops fired live
bullets
in the air and used teargas to disperse stone-throwing youths, while several
youths were arrested and detained.
Besides this, the troops went on the rampage breaking into private homes,
beating household members and looting property such as TV sets, cell phones,
money and other valuables.
Man Hides Under Bed
A father in Great Soppo reportedly hid under his bed leaving his wife and
two little children in the parlour when troops invaded his house. The troops
ordered one of his kids to go to the room and call his father, which he did.
The father reportedly chased the boy, who lied to the troops that his father
had escaped. The officers then asked for money from the man’s wife, who
received some strokes for not giving anything.
Police Stopped From Looting
Policemen got to a palm wine drinking spot belonging to a certain Romanus.
There were people drinking palm wine outside while others were inside his
parlour watching TV. When the police arrived, those who were outside alerted
those in the house and they all escaped, causing a stampede.
The police ate some bananas that were for sale, and were about going away
with the TV set, when Romanus and a group came out of their hideout and
stopped
them. The policemen quietly gave back the TV set when Romanus and his group
and other people started jeering at them, calling them thieves. In Sandpit,
it was a combination of armed forces, gendarmes and policemen that raided
hous
es and beat up the occupants.
One of the victims, Richard Tanto, a barber, who was badly wounded on the
head and arm, told The Post that he was sleeping in his saloon when the
soldiers smashed the door and started brutalising him. “The soldiers hit me
with the
end of a gun, destroyed my shaving mirror and other items…” Tanto said.
4 Shot, I Killed In Muea
Troops deployed in Muea reportedly shot four youths killing one on
Wednesday, February 27. A boy of about 12 was shot in the chest and he died
immediately. Bullets caught three others in their legs and buttocks. A
certain Roland
Moki was shot in his right buttock, while another, Yengong Abubakar,
received
a bullet in his ankle.
The third, whose only name we got as Eric, received a bullet in his right
leg that was amputated. The Post learned from the Buea Provincial Hospital
Annex that five victims injured by police bullets were received on Tuesday,
February 26. The youths had reportedly blocked the entrance and exit of
Muea. They
destroyed part of King David Square Hotel and the house of its owner, Chief
David Molinge, who allegedly told the protesters to go and strike in
Bamenda.
Douala: Prostitutes Count Losses
All economic operators in Douala are counting their losses following the
closure of their businesses due to the recent strike including prostitutes,
especially those who service ‘Rue de la Joie’ at Deido. They registered
their
complaint that February 25 to 29 was bad a business period for them.
They said their situation was aggravated by the fact that many men in Douala
were more preoccupied with survival and security than with sex. Things got
rougher when many people were forced to cut down on their daily food
consumption, due to the scarcity and the skyrocketing prices of food.
However, in the
night of Saturday, March 1, Rue de la Joie was as busy a beehive as the
prostitutes tried to catch up on lost time.
Many of them were already complaining about lack of their weekly or monthly
“njangi” money. Most of them didn’t ask for drinks or accepted drinks. It
was
straight to business, as they each tried to secure as many men as possible
for the night. But then some young armed soldiers almost spoiled the sport
by
all pestering the prostitutes about their ID cards.
Mboua Massock -The “Nuisance”
Political activist Mboua Massock, “Combatant”, has been regular in the news
these days in Douala. To the local administration, especially the Littoral
Governor, Francis Fai Yengo and the Wouri SDO, Bernard Atebede, Mboua
Massock
is a big nuisance. It is also widely believed that Mboua Massock was one of
those President Biya attacked in his violent address of February 27, of
wanting
to use unorthodox means to unseat him.
It is worth noting that Massock had for some years been silent, until when
he was last November in Geneva, Switzerland, awarded the newly created Felix
Moumie Prize, by an association of Cameroonian political activists in the
Diaspora that calls itself “Collectif des Organisations Democratiques et
Patriotiques de la Diaspora”.
At a press conference in December 2007, Mboua Massock announced a series of
public demonstrations aimed at getting the Government to institute official
recognition of martyrs like Um Nyobe, Felix Moumie, and Ernest Ouandie. He
had
also announced that he has to launch a campaign to get all colonial statutes
in the country, especially those of some former French Generals, destroyed.
On Saturday, February 12, Mboua Massock went to Ndokotti market area and
organised a march to call on the Government to get history text books in
colleges revised, so as to include chapters on those he considered as
Cameroon’s
martyrs. But then when Mboua Massock arrived in Ndokotti, he realised that
the
main interest of the youths who joined him for the march, was rather the
issue
of the controversial plan to change Article 6 (2) of the 1996 Constitution.
Massock immediately added that issue as one of the reasons for the public
demonstration, which the police later disrupted. Seeing that the focus of
many
people in Douala these days is rather on the issue of the planned
constitutional change, Mboua Massock, has since that February 12 shelved the
issue of
martyrs and statutes of colonialists and has gone full time staging
 “illegal”
public demonstrations against the planned constitutional revision.
Illegal Image Distributors
There are said to be some 600 cable distributors in Cameroon involved in the
piracy of images supplied by Canal Satellite. A bulk of these illegal cable
distributors are in Douala. It would be recalled that on January 19, the
cable distributors went on strike, when the authorised sole representative
of
Canal Satellite in Cameroon, Multi TV Afrique, seized the equipment of one
of
the biggest cable distributors in the country.
The seizure was said to be an implementation of court judgement, which by
then was over two months old. Considering the period of the strike action,
the
administration had to quickly intervene in the crisis, to get the cable
distributors end the strike and reinstate images to their thousands of
clients.
The issue here however is that, the strike and the subsequent meetings,
which the Minister of Communications has held with Multi TV Afrique and the
cable
distributors, are now making many people in Douala realise that they had for
years been dealing with illegal cable distributors.
French Schools Remain Close
In spite of the song being sang by the CPDM government all over the
State-owned CRTV that everything is now back to normal in Cameroon, the
French
Embassy is not taking any chances. A copy of a communiqué from the French
Embassy
dated February 29, states that French schools in Yaounde and Douala that
were
temporarily closed due to the strike action, will only reopen on Thursday,
March 6. These schools include Savio, Fustel de la Coulanges and Flamboyant.

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/14/the-people-versus-biya/

The people versus Biya
March 14th, 2008 by FriendsofCameroon
Africa Confidential
Vol 49 Number 6, 14th March 2008
CAMEROON
The people versus Biya
The President wants to go on for ever but recent protests show the people
may not let him
Having ruled for 25 years, President Paul Biya wants to go on ruling until
2018, when he will be 85. The constitution decrees that he cannot stand for
a further seven-year term in the 2011 elections. Although there are
dissenters in the ruling Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais,
Biya would not have much trouble persuading his parliament to pass the
necessary constitutional amendment, since he controls it through his iron
grip on the RDPC.
Some observers fear that Cameroon might replicate the troubles of Côte d’Ivoire
and Kenya. The violence in its larger towns late last month was the worst
for 15 years. The rioters were ostensibly protesting against fuel price
rises but a slight reduction in prices after two days of strikes did not
calm things down and the protests became overtly political. Mboua Massock (’father
of the ghost towns’), who helped to organise nationwide anti-government
protests in the early 1990s, had led previous demonstrations against the
proposed constitutional changes. He was promptly arrested.
The weak but sometimes noisy official opposition, led by the Anglophone John
Fru Ndi of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), is united in its opposition to
any constitutional change. So too are most of Cameroon’s numerous civil
society organisations. After some looting and destruction, the police and
later the army responded in the way they know best, by shooting down
demonstrators: twenty were killed during a week of protests.
This is how Biya and his government have reacted to public protest for 20
years. When protests against the constitutional change started, the Governor
of Littoral Province, Fai Yengo Francis, banned all demonstrations in
Douala, the economic capital. The protesters responded by erecting
barricades, destroying government property and looting. As during the
anti-government strikes of the early 1990s, Gilbert Tsimi Evouna, Government
Delegate to the Yaounde Urban Council, put into circulation 20 taxis to
cripple the core of the protest, the taxi-drivers’ strike.
Information Control
The regime vigorously blocked public information. Communications Minister
Jean-Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam sent soldiers to close down two private radio
and television stations, Equinoxe in Douala and Magic FM in Yaounde. He
claimed that neither had paid the 100 million CFA francs (US$200,000)
required for an operating licence. Equinoxe Editor-in-Chief Charles Akoh
said the stations had been shut for being too critical of the government
crackdown on peaceful demonstrators; the Minister summoned newspaper editors
and threatened to close them down, too, if they went on criticising the
government.
On state radio and television at the height of the crisis, Biya accused the
opposition of trying ‘to obtain through violence what they were unable to
obtain through the ballot box’ and threatened ‘legal action’ against anyone
fomenting trouble. Fru Ndi denied any involvement in organising the
demonstrations but said he supported the protests against the ‘illegal
increase in fuel prices’. Transport union officials called the
demonstrations but failed to control their consequences. Many demonstrators
acknowledged that the strike had given them an opportunity to vent their
anger about other grievances.
The presidential succession is particularly problematic, because Biya is
grooming a successor. After a failed coup d’état in 1984, Bello Bouba
Maïgari, then Prime Minister and probable presidential successor, was fired
and the post scrapped. From the Northern Province, Bello Bouba was accused
of supporting former President Ahmadou Ahidjo (another northerner), who was
in turn accused of staging the coup. Bouba fled to neighbouring Nigeria but
came back and is now Minister for Posts and Telecommunications.
Critics are rare and soon silenced. Titus Edzoa, who had been Secretary
General at the Presidency and a presidential confidant, resigned as Health
Minister in 1997 to stand in the presidential election, was promptly
arrested and is serving 15 years in gaol for embezzling state funds. Ayissi
Mvondo, who aimed to run against Biya, died under mysterious circumstances.
Célestin Monga, an economist, challenged the President’s failing economic
policies, was promptly put on trial, escaped with a suspended sentence and
now lives abroad. Mila Assoute also challenged Biya and now lives in France.
Opposition leaders are called unpatriotic if they criticise the President.
Last month, Biya accused them of manipulating youths to destroy property and
called them ‘demons’.
Standing for election against Biya is not a rational move, since local and
foreign observers consistently describe his elections as ‘flawed’. The
government has resisted all suggestions that it might create an independent
electoral commission to organise free and fair polls; it did, however, make
economic reforms just sufficient to gain admission in 2000 to the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries programme, which the International Monetary Fund
designed to reduce unsustainable debt owed by countries that agree on fiscal
and economic reform (normally, but not in this case, including transparency
for government accounts).
Somewhat behind the times, Biya’s opponents tend to assume that France, the
former colonial power, will have a big say in who becomes the next
president; the late President Ahidjo lost his job when France withdrew its
support. Biya met President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris last year but although
Sarkozy has twice been to Africa since his election in May 2007, he has not
visited Cameroon - and seems keen to escape the African entanglements that
in the recent past have aligned France with various dictators. In any case,
there is nobody left who looks worth backing.
John Fru Ndi, the best-known opposition leader, is a militant
English-speaker who, during the turbulent 1990s, called for a boycott of
French goods in protest against French influence. This February’s street
protesters attacked French businesses, including stores belonging to the
brewery Brasseries du Cameroun, kiosks of the betting company Pari Mutuel
Urbain du Cameroun, Total oil company (and Mobil) and even French-owned
driving schools. A protester said these were legitimate targets as symbols
of the hated French influence in politics. In fact, there are few other
foreign businesses to attack.
Charles Ateba, a supporter of the ruling party who opposes any
constitutional amendment to make Biya president for life, describes Cameroon
as ‘a volcano waiting to erupt’. Adamou Ndam Njoya, leader of the opposition
Union Démocratique du Cameroun, believes the country is on the brink of
civil strife. Political pundit (and former SDF Secretary General) Tazoacha
Asonganyi sees similarities between the violence that followed elections in
Kenya and events in Cameroon. Yet there are big differences.
Biya has held power far longer and has entrenched it far deeper than Kenya’s
Mwai Kibaki, who was originally democratically elected. Cameroon has no
powerful opposition leader (ethnically based or otherwise) such as Raila
Amolu Odinga. Yet many of the ingredients for an eventual explosion are in
place.

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/03/dark-days-in-country/

Dark Days in Country
March 3rd, 2008 by FriendsofCameroon

The Post (Buea)
3 March 2008
By Francis Wache & Azore Opio With Field Reports
Calm has now returned to Cameroon after a week of demonstrations that
crippled the nation.It all started on Monday, February 25, when taxi drivers
called a strike to protest against the hike in fuel prices.
Nobody on that Monday, February 25, could have predicted that the nationwide
transporters’ strike action would take such a dramatic and bloody
clash.Though the strike action by the Syndicate of Transporters had been
announced, the State owned CRTV, said on Sunday, February 24, that the
strike action had been called off by the leaders of the Syndicate of
Transporters after clinching a deal with the Minister of Labour and Social
Security, Prof. Robert Nkili.
And, so, both the government of Cameroon and the population were surprised
when, on Monday, February 25, not only were the streets without taxis, but
the inter-urban and intra-urban buses were grounded paralysing all
movements.
The situation soon degenerated when disgruntled and mostly unemployed youths
seized the opportunity and took to the streets expressing their discontent.
They complained that those in power had not created enough avenues for
employment and economic opportunities.
The strike action, peaceful at first, quickly turned violent with the
rampaging and sometime marauding youths engaged in running battles with the
forces of law and order. While the troops fired gunshots into the air, the
mob responded with volleys of stones. Then the troops riposted, tossing
teargas canisters.
Worse, bandits and petty criminals soon joined the fray and then began an
orgy of violence, savagery, brutality and the looting of private property
and the destruction of public buildings. Lives, too, were lost and
trigger-happy forces of law and fired live bullets at fleeing demonstrators.
The situation was not improving faster as expected. Cameroon was
progressively plunging herself into the abyss of endless destruction. Calls
for peace and calm began to surface from all nooks and crannies from the
country. But the angry youths and Cameroonians in general felt that the most
soothing words must come from the Head of State.
Biya’s ‘Declaration Of War’ Speech
President Paul Biya, on Wednesday, February 27, made a declaration on the
situation. He castigated the opposition that had failed to win power by the
ballot for turning to the bullet to destabilise the country.
In a vitriolic tone, and in less than five minutes, he defiantly told the
“demons” instigating the demonstrators that their efforts were
doomed.Immediately after President Paul Biya’s address, the protesters, in
Bamenda, for example, infiltrated by bandits, went amok, destroying and
looting anything on their way.
Targets: PMUC, Breweries, Taxation Offices…
In most towns, demonstrators targeted PMUC offices. When they could not
torch them, they turned to the ubiquitous PMUC kiosks planted along the
streets and set them ablaze. In Bamenda, they ransacked all the offices of
PMUC building owned by the SDF National Chairman, John Fru Ndi, on
Commercial Avenue.
The angry crowd evacuated computers, electronic gadgets, money and other
valuable property and burned them outside the building. They tried to make
away with the safe in vain.
The same scenario was enacted at the Cow Street Taxation Office, Nkwen,
where the rioters could not remove the safe. They, however, carted away
laptops and valuable documents and set them ablaze outside the office.
The protesters also ransacked and burnt down the Nkwen Post Office
immediately after Biya’s speech on Wednesday night. The angry youths
proceeded to the Bamenda Urban Council, where Abel Ndeh’s three cars were
all razed.
An inventory conducted by The Post indicated that two seven-ton loaders were
burned, one trailer damaged, three vans “Keep Bamenda Clean” vandalised,
windscreen of European Union service car shattered, two salon cars and a
motorcycle parked on the Council premises were burned; and six tippers had
their windscreens shattered. Several private vehicles impounded at the
Council premises were also destroyed.
The rioters left the Council premises at Ntarikon and stormed a primary
school known as County Primary and Nursery School, owned by Abel Ndeh’s
wife. They inflicted some damage on the structure.
In Nkambe, Donga Mantung, the Police Post at the Nkambe Main Market was
razed. In Kumbo, the protestors vented their anger on some government
institutions and private establishments. Despite pleas from Bui Senior
Divisional Officer, SDO, Daniel Panjouono, they stormed the Transport
Delegation at Bam-bui Quarters; a building that also housed the Public Works
Service and Radio Meteo and set fire to it.
They later ransacked the Divisional Delegation of Elementary and Secondary
Education and the Delegation of Commerce, where they emptied offices and
burnt documents, furniture and damaged computers and photocopiers.
Brasseries Du Cameroun depot at Ta Mbve, the Guinness Depot and a police van
did not escape the wrath of the protestors.
The Taxation Office and Finance Control Service at Mbve received the same
treatment, while some taxation officials were equally visited and their
property destroyed. Indeed, the youths went out of hand as they extended
their ire to billboards at the Tobin Roundabout mobile phone kiosks.
In Mbengwi and Babito and other parts of Momo, protestors set administrative
installations on fire. Meanwhile in Santa, rioters burned the DO’s office
and a vehicle. In Kumbo, Bui Division, Divisional Delegation of Transport,
Public Works were burned as well. At Taxation Office and that of Education
and Youth Affairs, the protesters brought out all the office equipment and
set it on fire. Guinness and Brassieres were depots were looted.
Meanwhile, in Kumba in the Southwest, the Delegations of Taxation,
Education, Social Affairs, Town Planning and Treasury were burnt. The most
affected was PMUC, which had all its properties and kiosks burnt. Les
Brasseries du Cameroun had its Kumba Regional office completely burnt.
Demonstrators also burnt down and destroyed Kumba I (Kumba Town) and Kumba
II (Mbonge Road) and Kumba Central Police Posts.
Also, two Total Filling stations were destroyed. Demonstrators equally
looted treated palm oil from a timber company near the train station. The
looters have reportedly sold the ‘poisonous’ palm oil, which was meant for
the treatment of timber. The timber company has put up a notice cautioning
the population against consuming the oil, since it might be harmful. This
has caused general panic, as the local population are unsure of palm oil.
Muea in the Southwest Province witnessed part of its police post burned
down.
Arrests, Torture, Rape
Over 150 youths arrested in Bamenda are now undergoing severe torture in
various detention camps. Rumour holds it that in the days ahead they would
be transferred to Yaounde.
When over 200 Koutaba special troops landed in Bamenda in the wee hours of
Thursday, they treated nearly every home at Mile Two, Foncha Street
Junction, Ntarikon, Commercial Avenue and Hospital Roundabout to a good dose
of torture.
They even raped a soldier’s wife whose names we are withholding. Several
cases of rape were reported in Mile Three, Ntarikon, and Hospital
Roundabout, where the soldiers broke into private houses, forcing boys out
to clear off the debris and road blocks.
On Ghana and Cow Streets, most of the houses broken into were owned by free
women. Most women were deprived of their cell phones and money. One woman
who spoke to The Post regretted, “when they broke open my door, they pulled
out my brothers and beat them to near death.
The reason was that two of the soldiers pulled down their trousers and were
about to rape me in front of my brothers, but my brothers protested and the
soldiers thrashed them severely.”
Also, two students from Progressive Comprehensive High School, PCHS Bamenda,
were reportedly raped at Ayaba Hotel.
In Kumbo, no death was reported, but over 30 persons were arrested.
Meanwhile, in Nkambe, the Senior Divisional Officer for Donga-Mantung,
Godlive Mboke Ntua, declared that over 20 youths were arrested and would be
prosecuted.
In Kumba troops moved into quarters, beating and arresting those suspected
of being involved in looting and destruction of properties. They visited
places like Fiango and Hausa Quarters were most of the demonstrators were
suspected to have come from.
Buea, like other towns, was also paralysed with troops and the youths
occasioning destruction, theft and torture. In all, about ten youths
sustained wounds from gunshots, while one died of a bullet wound at the Buea
Hospital Mortuary. Others are still nursing their wounds in various
hospitals after being severely tortured by troops.
Those arrested were about fifty, most of them teenagers picked at random.
They are now incarcerated at the Mobile Intervention Unit, GMI, waiting for
the Governor to seal their fate.
On their part, troops went amok breaking into private homes, beating its
occupants and looting whatever they could. They looted cell phones, money
etc, and destroyed TV sets, electronic gadgets and other valuables.
Hordes Of Looters To Serve Jail Terms
In Yaounde, about 400 alleged looters, who were judged and convicted at the
Legal Department, have been transferred to the Kondengui Maximum Prisson
where they are to serve a two-year jail terms each.
Most of the arrests were arbitrary as the troops swooped on passers-by and
took them away. They even ransacked homes arresting those they found there.
The convicts were transferred in four trucks on Friday, February 29, under
the mournful eyes of parents and relations who were helpless at such
convictions without ample evidence.
According to the family of Baba Abdoulaye, one of the supposed looters, in
the ‘Derriere Combatant’ neighbourhood, their son, was sleeping in the house
when a group of children who ran into their house for safety, woke him up.
When the police invaded the house, they whisked him away with others and no
amount of pleas could make the police release him.For Fabrice Kamdem, who
resides at Polytechnic, when violence started on Tuesday, he decided to park
the CD plates he was selling in the usual place before heading home.
He said his friend decided to eat before going home. As the friend was
leaving the restaurant, the police asked him to identify himself. Although
the friend produced his ID card, the policeman yelled, “c’est vous” (you are
the ones). Then he was bundled him into the truck.
Children who flocked to the streets out of curiosity were also arrested.
Some of the kids sent on errands by parents were whisked to detention cells.
Civil rights and other observers describe the arrest, trial and
incarceration of the putative looters as a violation of human rights and a
blatant disrespect for the new Criminal Procedure Code.
Those who were lucky to escape the detention cells had to buy their freedom
after being beaten and bruised. They were subsequently released after paying
sums ranging from FCFA 10,000 - FCFA 80,000. Those whose mobile phones were
seized never got them back.
In Limbe, soldiers arrested a human rights activist, Djibril Ngeve Nyeke, at
the Mile I neighbourhood and accused him of encouraging mob action. But The
Post learned that Ngeve had been trying to dissuade some of the boys from
perpetrating violence. A 16-year-old welder, Clinton Ngwa, was also
brutalised by soldiers as he went to pick his younger brother from school.
Meanwhile, in Kumba, over 30 youths have been arrested and detained at the
Gendarmerie and police cells. Although they were arrested indiscriminately,
they were accused of orchestrating looting, violence and destruction of
properties.
Death Toll
When reinforcement arrived from Koutaba Military Base in the West Province,
a bloody confrontation ensued in Bamenda. At the end of it, six youths were
shot to death. These included; Emmanuel Che, 24, of Ndamukong Street who was
shot at Mile Two Junction, Ashley Fontoh, 14, student of GTC Bamenda, shot
at Ntarikon Junction, Devoline Awah was shot in the head at Brassieres
Junction, and Bernard Ngwa was shot on Che Street, Ntarikon.
Among the several youths shot with live bullets and currently receiving
treatment at the Bamenda General Hospital are; Gerald Nichia and Janet
Nimbong.
Kumba recorded one of the highest death tolls in the Southwest Province,
with seven youths shot to deaths. Crates of beer killed three others as they
looted beer from Les Brasseries regional office.
In Limbe, soldiers deployed to quell demonstrations shot dead a petty
trader, Richard Tangie Nwonfor, 32, about three hours after President Biya’s
address.Tangie had sallied out to observe youths, irked by the President
Biya’s declarations, battle with the police and the military. The troops
shot him around the hips and ran before collapsing on the campus of UNICS
Secondary School, where he died.
The long and short of the transporters’ strike is that it ignited a heap of
smouldering grievances among the youths and other Cameroonians; those who
see Brasseries du Cameroun as a ‘drug’ industry, PMUC as drain on the
economy as well as fuelling corruption amongst the armed forces, vacillating
politicians who tell youths blatant lies and voracious tax collectors who
feed fat from both the government and taxpayers.
Some of the grievances, however, were not addressed during the protests -
the medical corps, the judiciary, businessmen, teachers and just the
ordinary Cameroonian looked on as the youths attempted to send their
messages home.
The damages, human, material and financial losses caused by the strike have
left painful gaping wounds in the economy and the society. In nearly all the
places where the strike reached, there was a recurring refrain;
trigger-happy troops, with the police to bear most of the blame, toyed with
tear gas and live ammunition, dropping unfortunate youths to their untimely
deaths. The government did its best to stifle any sort of protest with
batons, tear gas and water canons.
By press time, the prices of essential commodities that had started creeping
upwards even before the idea of the strike had formed in the minds of the
transporters, had at the weekend doubled up - a cup of garri in most
scantily attended markets sold at FCFA 100, rice went at FCFA 100 a cup, a
fresh tomato FCFA 50, a loaf of bread (blockade) FCFA 350 and so on and so
forth.
*With Field Reports By Chris Mbunwe, Peterkins Manyong, Kini Nsom, Walter
Wilson Nana, Leocadia Bongben, Willibroad Nformi, Francis Tim Mbom & Ernest
Sumelong

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/04/cameroon-crisis-continues-as-inflation-surges/

Cameroon crisis continues as inflation surges
March 4th, 2008 by bobebill

The Financial Times
By Matthew Green in Douala, Cameroon
Published: March 4 2008
Only a few crumbs were left on the counter at the Boulangerie du Rail
delicatessen in Douala after looters swept the shelves of cake, croissants
and champagne.
But anger with Paul Biya, Cameroon’s president, is still boiling after the
worst unrest in 16 years failed to thwart plans to change the constitution
to prolong his quarter-century rule.
“People are hungry, they have nothing to eat,” said Felix Djoyo, the
manager, who had locked himself behind a metal door while shanty dwellers
ransacked his bottles of Bordeaux.
The crisis in Cameroon might have generated few headlines abroad, but the
violence shows how soaring oil and food prices on global markets are
threatening the patronage systems propping up some of Africa’s
longest-serving leaders.
Protests linked to surging inflation have broken out in Guinea and Burkina
Faso in recent months, where presidents have ruled for more than two
decades. Niger, Ghana and Senegal have also seen demonstrations.
In Cameroon, a government increase in petrol prices last month triggered a
taxi drivers’ strike that quickly developed into a week-long outpouring of
rage at the prospect of Mr Biya extending his stay in office beyond
elections in 2011. The convulsion revived memories of months of protests in
the early 1990s when the opposition came close to toppling Mr Biya, before
splintering.
While Cameroon is perhaps best known abroad for the exploits of its
Indomitable Lions football team, last week’s unrest will resonate in
Beijing, the Pentagon and the Texas headquarters of ExxonMobil.
Tucked between oil-producing Nigeria, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, the
country of 18m has acquired a new strategic value in recent years as the
global race for energy security has reached west Africa. Both China and the
US are seeking closer ties.
ExxonMobil opened a pipeline through Cameroon in 2003 – as part of a project
with Chevron and Petronas of Malaysia – that exports about 170,000 barrels a
day of oil from southern Chad. Costing about $4bn (€3bn, £2bn), the scheme
is among the biggest investments in sub-Saharan Africa.
As discord flared and expatriates trapped in a hotel in the coastal resort
of Limbe wondered who might rescue them, the grey hull of the USS Fort
McHenry floated offshore. The navy transport vessel visited Cameroon as part
of a plan to train west African forces to boost security in the Gulf of
Guinea. The region is expected to supply a quarter of US oil imports within
a decade.
The question now is whether unrest will erupt again despite Mr Biya ordering
one of the biggest military deployments for a generation. At least 20 people
were reported to have been killed during the rioting, although on Monday
Cameroon was calm.
Much of the anger comes from a younger generation who see few career options
beyond driving motorcycle taxis, known as “Bendskins” after a dance
approximating the hip-swaying motion of swerving round potholes.
“If you see people throwing stones, it means if they had guns, they would
have been shooting,” said Frederick, an economics graduate who survives by
driving a Bendskin.
The government has agreed to a small reduction in fuel prices to placate
protesters, saying it cannot afford the kinds of subsidies needed to shield
the economy from global market forces. But many residents blame Mr Biya for
the hardship, saying years of venal rule have skewed the economy to favour a
tiny elite.
Despite some recent arrests of senior officials on corruption charges,
campaigners wonder whether Mr Biya’s 60-odd ministers are too compromised to
undertake reforms needed to ward off the risk of future unrest.
“It’s unprecedented, people are actually being investigated,” said Akere
Muna, founder of Transparency International in Cameroon. “But it’s like
asking the fish to buy the hooks.”

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/17/cameroon-embassy-official-blames-protesters-for-riots/

Cameroon Embassy official blames protesters for riots
March 17th, 2008 by editor
(Exclusive story on Cameroon protests in Washington, D.C. and interview with
Cameroon Embassy)
By Andy Matthews
Editor
The Mount Airy News
WASHINGTON, D.C. ? A spokesperson for the Cameroon Embassy said on Friday
that anti-government protesters are not looking for a peaceful resolution to
their quarrels with President Biya’s administration, suggesting that they
prefer instead to incite riots and civil unrest that have led to the country’s
worst violence in the last 15 years.
Modeste Michel Essono, the First Secretary of Communication for the Embassy
of Cameroon’s Communication Center, also said that some Cameroon protesters
in the United States are deliberately misleading the media, providing news
outlets with sensational stories of government brutality so that they can
seek refugee status in the United States. The military was forced to act,
Essono said, to restore order in the country, adding that there is no way to
know if some of the deaths linked to the military’s crackdown weren’t
“accidents” separate and apart from the demonstrations.
“The duty of the government is to protect the people; to make sure
everything is done peacefully,” Essono said in an exclusive interview with
The Mount Airy News from his D.C. office. “These people ? these protesters;
they show you a lot of pictures. They just come here with pictures of dead
people. How are they sure they did not die in accidents? How are they sure
they are killed by the military . . .
“They just want to go out and start fires everywhere. Why do this? They just
want to create some stories to convince people there is unrest in Cameroon .
. . They are insulting their own country.”
Essono’s comments came as about 100 hundred protesters gathered Friday
morning in front of the Cameroon Embassy to demonstrate against President
Paul Biya just weeks after protests rocked the central African country,
leading to the worst violence the country has seen since 1992. Human rights
activists claim that more than 100 lives were lost and many more injured.
The Cameroon government initially placed the death tool at 15 but has since
raised it to 40.
Biya wants to amend the Cameroon constitution to allow him to go on ruling
until 2018 when he will be 85. Currently, the constitution says that Biya
cannot stand for another seven-year term in the 2011 elections.
Property damage from the protests, which began February 25, has been
estimated at 10 billion CFA francs (23.4 million dollars). Between 1,500 and
1,700 people are thought to have been arrested so far. Many have been
sentenced to prison terms in a process that has been decried by the
independent press as unfair.
Taxi drivers parked their vehicles and many cities resembled “ghost towns”
as protesters burned tires, tossed stones at vehicles and destroyed some
gasoline stations. The protests were a response to a rise in fuel and living
costs. The government has since cut fuel prices marginally and said it plans
to raise civil service pay.
Standing in front of a crowd of demonstrators, Chief Alexander Tabre lifted
up a bullhorn as he excoriated the Cameroon government for what he called
the brutal repression of free speech and prominent opposition leaders who he
says are routinely locked up by the military when they oppose Biya’s desire
to extend his presidential rule.
“My friends, we do not know the exact numbers of children who have died,”
Tabre shouted, turning his voice and attention to the large three-story
Cameroon Embassy complex. “We don’t want the United States or the United
Nations to come after people have died. We want to avoid that. We want a
peaceful transition of power.”
If anyone is to leave, Tabre said, it should be Biya.
“The only person we want to exile is Biya,” Tabre shouted as the crowd
exploded in applause and cheers of “Yes we can!”
As more protesters continued to gather in front of the Cameroon Embassy, the
small grassy area was adorned with signs demanding that Biya step down. “No
to Constitutional Change” said one sign. “No to Biya’s Life Presidential Bid
After 26 Years,” said another. “Amnesty International: Cameroonians Need
Your Help,” said a sign that showed a beaten, bloody body on a hospital
stretcher. “President Bush Helps the Cameroonians,” said yet another
placard.
Larry Eyong-Echaw laid out the protester’s requests.
“We want peaceful change through elections,” he said as the crowd chanted
“Down With Biya.” “We don’t want bloodshed. We want a peaceful resolution .
. Biya wants to put his son in power.”
It’s difficult to imagine how an opposition party will be able to wrest
control from Biya since all opposition leaders are called unpatriotic if
they criticize the president. In a rare television appearance on Feb. 28,
three days after the riots began, Biya accused demonstrators of manipulating
youths to destroy property and called them “demons.”
Organizers of Friday’s protests still believe that they can use the power of
the media, the Internet and diplomacy to achieve their goals. They want to
avoid civil wars that have plagued other African countries.
“The only way to get results is through international pressure,” said Admin
T. Tazifor, who like many protesters, drove several hours all night to
arrive at the early morning protest.
Two protesters, Talla Corantin and Eric Tagne, say they are political exiles
in the United States. If they return to Cameroon, after organizing
anti-government protests, they will be arrested by the military.
“We cannot do this in Cameroon,” Corantin said. “This is forbidden in
Cameroon.”
Tagne agreed, noting that his wife and daughter remain in Cameroon while he
tries to find them a home in America.
“If I go back, I’m dead,” Tagne said. “As a student I organized a strike and
I was tortured.”
Larry Eyong-Echaw said that the United States and France are “colluding”
with multi-national corporations to reap the benefits of Cameroon’s natural
resources.
“If you take our oil, you must take our refugees,” Eyong-Echaw told a
cheering crowd.
There was one tense moment in Friday’s demonstrations as members of the
Civil Society Platform for Democracy in Cameroon, which organized the
protest, delivered a letter to Cameroon Embassy officials. Washington, D.C.,
police moved toward the crowd, instructing demonstrators not to cross the
street.
The letter to Cameroon Parliamentarians pleads with government officials to
oppose a constitutional amendment that would allow Biya to extend his rule
until 2018.
“We remain hopeful that the President of the Republic will listen to the
message we sent to him,” the March 14 letter says in part. “Nonetheless, we
are cognizant of the fact that you remain the voice of the people and we are
calling on you to recognize the potential for civil unrest and political
instability that may ensue if the intention to modify the constitution is
put into effect.”
Andy Matthews
Editor
The Mount Airy News
www.mtairynews.com
Amatthews at mtairynews.com
1-336-749-8974

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/07/over-1600-arrests-so-far/

Over 1600 Arrests So Far
March 7th, 2008 by bobebill
Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
7 March 2008
By Nkendem Forbinake
Amadou Ali says every action being taken is within the framework of the law.
The Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals Amadou
Ali yesterday stepped in a most salutary manner to stop the running rumours
about generalized arrests in the country following last week’s social
upheavals in Cameroon. In a press briefing held in the third floor
conference room of the Ministry yesterday morning, a confident Amadou Ali
announced that as at February 27, 2008, some 1671 arrests had been made
across the country broken down as follows: Centre province, 400; Littoral,
671; North West, 220; South West, 100 and West, 280. These figures, the Vice
Prime Minister said had been communicated to him by the Procureurs Generals
of the various provinces concerned. He said the arrests had been made
following instructions given out to judicial police officers by the
Procureurs general by virtue of Article 103 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Mr Amadou Ali said in matters of preliminary investigation, two types of
procedure can be used: the simple procedure and the flagrante delicto. The
simple procedure system can be initiated by any judicial police officer on
the instructions of the State Counsel or by a complaint by an affected
person.
The flagrante delicto system, under which the recent arrests were made, is
activated when a crime is being committed or when it has just been committed
or, after the commission of a crime, there is public clamour or when after
such a crime, the suspect is found in possession of incriminating objects.
Under this system, 25 individuals were arraigned before the Yaounde-Ekounou
Court of First Instance on February 28. Of this number 12 pleaded guilty and
were sentenced to two years in prison while the 13 others asked for
adjournements. At the Yaounde-Centre Administratif Court of First Instance
there were 281 suspects. 18 persons pleaded guilty when hearing opened on
February 29, 2008. They received prison sentences ranging from 15 months to
three years.
In Douala, II people received sentences ranging from seven months to one
year at the Douala-Bonanjo Court of First Instance. The same court acquitted
22 arrested suspects. In the Douala-Ndokoti Court in the same city 48
persons received prison sentences between six months two years while 17 were
acquitted.
In Nkongsamba, of the nine persons brought before the court last March 4,
2008, two were acquitted, six sentenced to prison terms between four and 16
months while one case is pending. In neighbouring Mbanga, the six arrested
persons brought before the court last Wednesday were each sentenced to 18
months in prison.
In Limbe in the South West Province, two of the six persons brought before
the Court of First Instance were acquitted while four received sentences of
six to eight months. In Tombel, three people appeared before the court on
Wednesday, March 5. One was acquitted while two others were fined CFA 50 000
or an imprisonment term of six months.
The Vice Prime Minister said investigations were still underway in Buea,
Tiko, Bamenda, Kumbo, Kumba, Dschang and Bafang. He said all proceedings
were bing carried out in strict respect of the Criminal Procedure Code. In
Yaounde specifically, Mr Amadou Ali said proceedings are being held in
public, with defence counsels and are covered by journalists.
The Minister insisted on the legal character of what has happened so far,
insisting that all sentenced people have a right to appeal.
Following the Vice Prime Minister’s introductory remarks, journalists sought
to know why the judgements had been so expeditious and if the people pulling
the strings had actually been identified. To this, Mr Amadou Ali said in
such events, the immediate concern of the public authorities is to stop
disorder first. He said in a state in which the rule of law reigns such as
Cameroon, the responsibility of determining whoever were behind the
upheavals devolves on the specialized security services. But he was quick to
say that most of the arrested people are an important source of information
for those investigating the matter. The Justice Minister said although no
names were yet handy, there was no doubt that the behind-the-scene
perpetrators of the disorder really exist. To buttress his point, he
revealed that a number of youths had been arrested as they made their way up
to the northern provinces to incite disorder.
Mr Amadou Ali also took exception with some news organs which gave the
impression that the social upheaval had gripped the whole country “I can
assure you, he said, that only five of the ten country’s provinces were
affected; and even in some of the affected provinces, some divisions were
not involved, such as Nkam and the Sanaga Maritime in the Littoral;
Lebialem, Kupe Muaneguba, Manyu and Ndian in the South West; Nde in the West
etc.”
He said although the press had started identifying some of the hidden faces,
it was the sole responsibility of the justice delivery system to do such a
job. “In matters of justice, only facts count, not rumours”, the VPM
counseled.
The press briefing was held in the presence of the Minister of Communication
Jean Pierre Biyiti bi Essam, the Minister delegate in the Ministry of
Justice, Maurice Kamto and the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice
in charge of Penitentiary Administration Emmanuel Ngafesson.

http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=17431

Cameroon: Lawyers decry indiscriminate jailing of riot suspects Author:
Ernest Sumelong Date Written: 7 March 2008 Primary Category: Central Region
Document Origin: The Post News Secondary Category: -none- Source URL:
http://www.postnewsline.com Key Words: Cameroon, human rights,
demonstrations, trail, layers
African Charter Article #6: Everyone shall have the right to liberty and
security of his person including freedom from arbitrary arrest and
detention. (Click for full text...)
African Charter Article #6
Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his
person. No one may be deprived of his freedom except for reasons and
conditions previously laid down by law. In particular, no one may be
arbitrarily arrested or detained.
 (Click to hide charter text)

Summary & Comment: Usually justice is an illusion in Cameroon where power is
extremely centralised. Reports say youths between 16 and 18 were
indiscriminately arrested during recent nationwide demonstrations. They were
given speedy, melodramatic trials, many without any counsel. Lawyers think
the fate of those suspects may have been decided even before their trials
began. JM

Lawyers decry indiscriminate jailing of riot suspects
Lawyers have frowned at the sentencing of hundreds of youths in Douala and
Yaounde without fair trial following indiscriminate arrests during
nationwide demonstrations recently. The lawyers cried foul after hundreds of
youths were sentenced to two years or more jail terms in unclear swift
trials. On Friday, February 29, some 400 youths were sentenced in Yaounde,
while The Post learned that others were jailed on Monday, March 3, in
Douala.
Following the spate of imprisonments and other scheduled trials in many
parts of the country, the Cameroon Bar Council met on March 3 in Yaounde and
urged lawyers to mobilise so that the rights of the suspects are upheld.
They also agreed to appeal the cases of those who have been jailed in
connection with the strike action. The Bar Council Representative for the
Southwest, Innocent Bonu, told The Post that they want to ensure that the
suspects are given a fair trial. "We realised that in the trials of the
other youths, the courts were not well constituted, and they did not have
the right to a defence counsel.
The defence, according to the new criminal procedure code, has three days to
prepare his case but this was not the case with the other trials. The Bar
Council is urging all lawyers to go out and defend the suspects. Although
the Bar Council does not endorse violence and destruction, we feel that any
accused person deserves a right to a fair trial."
In the Buea Court of First Instance, a college of lawyers led by Barrister
Eta Besong Junior frustrated what many described as a precipitated trial of
riot suspects brought before the court on Monday, March 3. The youths had
been charged jointly following their arrests during the strike action, The
Post learned. Prior to Monday’s abortive trial, the State Counsel for Buea,
Alfred Suh, asked the youths that were brought to court to go to separate
courts so that they could be tried. But Eta Besong, leading the defence
counsel, objected the move, insisting that they be tried in the same court
since they were charged for the same crime, same purpose and same area. The
defence counsel and the State Counsel were thus engaged in a war of words,
with Eta Besong emphasising that Cameroon is a State of law and the laws
must be respected. Seemingly frustrated by the stance of the defence
counsel, the State Counsel asked police officers to take away the youths and
keep them in custody.
Among the detainees was former University of Buea Student Union President,
David Abbia, who revealed to The Post that he was only victimised. The
objection by the defence counsel reportedly forced the Bench to reconsider
and modify the nature of the charges. In a hearing on Tuesday, March 4, the
suspects were charged and tried separately with the defence counsel putting
up a spirited fight. Even though lawyers admitted that in cases of flagrante
delicto the trials have to be speedy, most of them picked faults with the
way the others had been conducted. After Tuesday’s trial, others continued
on Wednesday, while others have been adjourned to Monday, March 10.
On his part, the presiding Judge assured the defence counsel that justice
would be done to the suspects. But observers believe that the trials had a
political undertone and the executive has muffled the judiciary leaving it
no chance than to comply with instructions from the administration. In
Kumba, the trial of over 30 youths also arrested in connection with the
strike started on Tuesday, March 4. Most of the suspects are reportedly
standing trial without any counsel. When one of the suits came up, two
benevolent lawyers, Patrick Enu Atem-Anya and Eddy Etape Mesumbe, reportedly
entered appearances for the defendants.
On his part, the Southwest Regional Secretary of the National Commission on
Human Rights and Freedom, Christopher Tambe Tiku, described the trials as
melodramatic. He said he was informed that most of the suspects were taken
from their houses and probably would have been innocent. He expressed hope
that the lawyers would put a formidable fight to ensure that justice is done
and uphold the right of the suspects. He, however, expressed fears that the
fate of the suspects might have been decided even before the trial and the
struggle of the lawyers might be futile.
Police sources say close to 50 youths were arrested in Buea, with many of
them either buying their freedom or released by certain officials.For now,
the fate of scores of youths arrested indiscriminately during the recent
nationwide strike action hangs in the balance pending hearing in Buea and
other parts of the country.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200803171305.html

Cameroon: Fate of Riot Suspects Uncertain, Bail Denied

The Post (Buea)
16 March 2008
Posted to the web 17 March 2008
Ernest Sumelong
The fate of some 40 riot suspects in Buea still hangs in the balance pending
judgements to be delivered on Monday, March 17, as a sequel to adjournments
during the week.
Presently, none of the suspects has been convicted and none granted bail in
spite of applications by their defence counsel. When the suspects were
arraigned in court on Tuesday, March 11, for continuation of the hearing
that started on Monday, March 4, they were handcuffed, looked emaciated and
dishevelled. Some of the suspects are reportedly sick, following torture at
the time of arrest and have so far been denied access to medical attention.

The denial of bail, even to minors, has become a vexing issue to both the
defence counsel and human rights activists. An application submitted by one
of the defence counsel, Barrister Joseph Tanyi Mbi, for one of the minors to
be granted bail, was overruled.
But the court, in one of the rulings to a submission, argued that granting
bail might defeat the legal department's process of a speedy trial in
conformity with cases of flagrante delicto. The defence was also granted
three days, in accordance with the new Criminal Procedure Code, to prepare a
case file.
Southwest Regional Secretary of the National Commission on Human Rights and
Freedoms, Christopher Tambe Tiku, described the treatment meted out to the
suspects as poor. "They are handcuffed from the Buea Central Prison to the
court as if they committed felonies. These suspects are still presumed
innocent and have been charged for simple misdemeanours and should not be
paraded around like criminals."
Another worrying issue the Human Rights Secretary raised was the denial of
bail. "How do you justify the fact that people charged with murder are
granted bail and are moving about freely, while these youths have been
denied bail? This is unfair"
On their part, prison officers who accompany the suspects to court defend
the handcuffing, stating that they are taking precaution against any escape.
The prison guards have been handicapped by the absence of vehicles to
transport the suspects to court.
Police Chief To Testify
Southwest Judicial Police Boss, Peter Adjoffoin, might testify in a Buea
Magistrate Court on Friday, March 14, in connection with the arrest of
former University of Buea Student Union, UBSU President, David Abbia.
The court ruled on Tuesday, March 11, granting an application submitted by
the defence counsel to summon the Police Chief to appear in court. The
former UBSU President, who was apprehended during the recent nationwide
strike action, had testified that Adjoffoin occasioned his arrest,
supposedly with instructions from the Provincial Delegate of National
Security.
Leading the defence counsel, Barrister Eta Besong Junior, submitted that the
Police Chief be summoned before the case could be heard. He had also
submitted that the trial be adjourned, pending the summon appearance of
Adjoffoin, and due to health reasons on the part of the counsel.
Abbia told The Post the police boss had called him from his residence to his
office and ordered officers to remand him in custody, with the blessing of
the Security Delegate. According to Abbia, this is the second time he is
being arrested on the instructions of hierarchy.
After Abbia's tenure of office as UBSU President, local administrative
authorities had linked him with organising strike actions both on and off
the campus of the University of Buea, The Post learned. In a conflict at the
DO's office in Buea during the July 22 twin elections, Abbia revealed, he
was also arrested on yet, the same instructions.
Even though Justice Minister, Amadou Ali, in a press conference, justified
the hasty and shady trials of riot suspects in Yaounde and Douala, lawyers
in Buea and Bamenda have been hailed for setting a precedence in ensuring
that the suspects get a chance to fair trials.
The lawyers all mobilised and have been offering pro-bono services
throughout the trial to ensure that justice is done. It is one of the first
times that police officers involved in arrest cases take turns to testify in
court.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=5d37c3e2-4c68-4328-a3b7-47f79842a00f

Canadians trapped by Cameroon riots rescued
Cindy E. Harnett ,  Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, March 01, 2008
VICTORIA - As the ra-tat-tat of gunfire reverberated through the riotous
streets around their compound in Cameroon last week, two terrified Canadian
women hid in the dark and did what came naturally. They watched Sex and the
City and played chess.
"It's totally surreal," said Victoria's Lindsay Luke. "You're sitting there,
and you feel it, but still you feel so removed from it. But in hindsight, of
course, I was petrified in the moment."
Luke is now safe in a hotel in Buea, a southern city in Cameroon, after she
was rescued from her residence in Limbe, after riots broke out in the West
African country last week, leaving about 17 dead according to news reports.
Luke and other Canadians will fly out of the area on Tuesday.

Cameroonian riot police patrol a street during violent protests in the port
city of Douala last week. Protesters upset over rising fuel and food prices
have brought chaos to the country.
Reuters
Luke is on an employment internship organized by Victoria's Camosun College
and the Canadian International Development Agency.
Luke's rescue, along with that of her friend Taryn Barry, of Edmonton, came
thanks to some quick thinking by Luke's mother, Tracy Shenton.
Earlier in the week Shenton tracked down Capt. Ed Smith, a Canadian Armed
Forces officer working in Cameroon.
Smith, based in North Bay, Ont., arranged with Capt. Ayang Frederick, of
21st Battalion of Buea, to pick up the girls and get them home safely, Luke
said.
"He has a good relationship with the Cameroon military and asked them to
come and get us," Luke said. "They don't have to do this. They're just doing
it to be helpful."
Protesters upset over rising fuel and food prices have brought chaos to
Cameroon over the past week. But Luke and Barry thought they were safe in
quiet Limbe.
On Tuesday the women, unable to find a cab, walked to work with a large
stream of locals. All was fine until later in the day when they heard the
thundering sound of people running in the streets.
The violence swelled quickly. People threw rocks and lobbed anything they
could onto the main road. Cars were set ablaze while plumes of smoke could
be seen in the distance.
Then came shots from military vehicles streets ramming through the streets,
pointing guns at people.  That sent the crowds running back in the opposite
direction.
"I was shocked, to be honest, this happened in Limbe," Luke said. "People
are poor and they work so hard but the biggest thing they find frustrating
is they just don't have any power to change anything. The president (Paul
Biya) has been in power since I was born. But they're still considered a
democracy."
Businesses hastily began closing, a hint of tear gas infected the air and a
local man had to negotiate Luke and Barry through two gangs of youth. From
Monday until early Friday, the two women hid in the home they rented in the
city, until Smith showed up in an armoured vehicle and drove them to safety.
Despite the close calls, the women both feel bad about leaving their work
behind unfinished, Luke's mother Shenton said.
"They only had two more weeks to go, but they didn't get to say goodbye.
They both volunteer in an orphanage. They have survivor's guilt."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7267731.stm

Cameroon head blames opposition

There have been scenes of unrest in Douala since the weekend
President Paul Biya has blamed the opposition for violence which has left at
least seven dead in Cameroon.
Protests, sparked by a fuel price rise, continued despite a government
decision to scale back the increase.
Police tear gassed stone-throwing youths in the capital, Yaounde, who had
set up burning barricades.
Correspondents say protesters are also angry about suggestions President
Biya might amend the constitution to try to extend his 25 years in power.
In a televised address on Wednesday evening, the president accused political
opponents of trying to force him from power.
He said some people were trying to obtain through violence what they had
failed to achieve through the ballot box.
He used colourful language as he described those behind the violence as "the
apprentice sorcerers in the shadows" who, he said, did not care about the
consequence of their actions.
"What we're looking at here is the exploitation... of the transport strike
for political ends," said President Biya.
Bridge clash
The BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah in the city of Douala says a taxi-drivers strike
was called off on Tuesday night after the government agreed to a small
reduction in the price of fuel.

There are plans for Mr Biya to run for president again in 2011
But the unions have lost control of the situation and the violence has not
ended, he adds.
Protesters are demanding more cuts in the price of food and fuel.
Police in Douala clashed with some 2,000 protesters as they tried to cross a
bridge, causing about 20 to fall into the river below, our reporter says.
Tear gas was also used to quell demonstrations in other cities like Bamenda
and Yaounde.
Opposition groups have been calling for protests to stop the constitution
being amended to allow Mr Biya to run for re-election when his current term
expires in 2011.
On Saturday, tear gas and water cannon were used to disperse hundreds of
opposition supporters in Douala.
The day before, the government had announced the closure of private
television station Equinoxe, which has broadcast interviews with politicians
opposed to plans to change the constitution.
The BBC West Africa correspondent Will Ross says Cameroon is home to more
than 100 different ethnic groups, and keeping the country relatively stable
has been one of the major achievements of President Biya's time in office.
The violent scenes across the country this week are a sign that the
population is becoming increasingly frustrated in what is one of the most
corrupt countries in Africa, he says.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08721706.htm

Cameroon ups state wages, cuts prices after riots
08 Mar 2008 15:39:54 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Updates with measures in Niger, Burkina Faso paragraph 7-9)
By Tansa Musa
YAOUNDE, March 8 (Reuters) - Cameroonian President Paul Biya has raised
state salaries by 15 percent and suspended customs duties on basic
foodstuffs like fish, rice and cooking oil to ease discontent over high
prices which provoked riots last week.
In two presidential decrees broadcast on state radio late on Friday, Biya
increased the wages of civilian and military personnel from April 1 and
raised their family allowances by 20 percent of the monthly basic salary.
The radio also said custom duties on cement would be cut to 10 percent from
20 percent until the end of August, to ease an acute shortage of building
materials which has led to a doubling in the consumer price for cement in
recent months.
Biya also urged the government to settle its payment arrears, maintain
salary and pension advances, strengthen youth employment programmes and
recruit more part-time teachers.
In the medium term, he demanded a review of the pricing of fuels, telephone
rates and bank charges and he urged the government to press ahead with
stalled industrial, mining and agricultural projects.
"I urge the prime minister to scrupulously carry out with celerity and
efficacy the instructions I have just given. I will not tolerate any failure
in their execution," Biya said.
Neighbouring West African countries have announced similar measures to
counteract the effects of high food prices.
Niger on Saturday announced the suppression of all taxes and customs duties
on rice imports for three months, and said it would increase government
stockpiles of rice and cereals.
Burkina Faso also announced a reduction in customs on basic foodstuffs last
month after several towns were hit by protests. IMF Director General
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, visiting the region last month, said the Fund would
support measures to counteract the price rises.
The measures in Cameroon came in the wake of a Feb. 25-28 taxi drivers
strike to protest at fuel price hikes in the central African country that
degenerated into rioting in several towns against the high cost of living
and Biya's intention to extend his 25 years in power.
The government put the death toll from the clashes at 24, although human
rights activists put it at over 100, most of these shot dead by the police
in the economic capital Douala.
The government said 1,671 people were arrested, about 200 of whom have so
far been tried and sentenced to serve between six months and three years in
prison. Rights organisations denounced the summary trials behind closed
doors and heavy jail terms.
Meanwhile, union groups criticised Biya's announcements.
"For us, these are just cosmetic measures and a non-event," said the
president of the Cameroon Teachers Trade Union (CATTU) Simon Nkwenti. "What
we want is the restoration of salaries to their pre-1993 levels."
In 1993, as part of IMF-backed reforms, Cameroon cut wages by 70 percent
and, one year later, the CFA franc currency was devalued by 50 percent,
slashing consumer purchasing power.
In the early 1980s, Cameroon was one of sub-Saharan Africa's most successful
economies, with annual growth of over 7 percent.
But the country was plunged into a prolonged economic crisis in the
mid-1980s by a collapse in coffee, cocoa, and oil prices, which exposed the
weakness of economic policies. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have
your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Additional
reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Niamey; writing by Daniel Flynn,
editing by Mike Peacock)

http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=333630&referrer=RSS

Cameroon govt accused of muzzling media over riots

Tansa Musa | Yaounde, Cameroon
29 February 2008 02:16

Cameroon's main journalists' union accused the government on Friday of
trying to silence media coverage of anti-government riots after police shut
down a popular radio station that aired criticism of the president.

Magic FM 94, a private radio station in the capital Yaounde, was closed down
by armed gendarmes on Thursday after callers to the station criticised
President Paul Biya for his handling of a wave of protests that have swept
the central African country.

Officials estimate up to 20 people, possibly more, have been killed in
violent riots this week that gripped the capital, the main port city of
Douala and several western towns. They were the worst anti-government
protests in Cameroon in over 15 years.

The protesters have been demanding cuts in fuel and food prices, but have
also expressed anger over a bid by the reclusive, veteran president to
prolong his 25-year rule.

In a broadcast to the nation late on Wednesday, Biya, who is 75, offered no
concessions to the protesters but said the authorities would use "all legal
means" to restore order.

Soldiers and police have been deployed in the streets of Yaounde and
Douala -- which were reported calm on Friday -- as well as in other riot-hit
towns in the west.

The closure of Magic FM 94 followed the shutting down of another private
radio, Equinoxe, in Douala on Tuesday.

Equinoxe's sister TV station was closed by authorities last week after its
coverage of growing opposition to an announcement early this year by Biya
that he might change the Constitution to stay in power when his term ends in
2011.

The head of the National Cameroon Journalists' Union, Jean Marc Sobboth,
condemned the measures against private media.

"This is simply a case of transferred aggression, because I cannot
understand why the authorities have decided to close these radios only at a
time when the country is traversing a serious crisis," he told Reuters.

Opposition anger
Magic FM 94 journalist Martin Nzogo, who was conducting the call-in
programme when police interrupted on Thursday, said "people were calling in
from all parts of the town to denounce the president". The gendarmes turned
off the station's power and carried off studio equipment and transmitters,
he said.

Biya said in his new year message last month that his government would
"re-examine" the Constitution after what he said were popular calls for him
to stay on past 2011. The Constitution requires Biya to step down that year.

Biya's party won an overwhelming parliamentary majority last year in
elections the opposition dismissed as a sham. This could allow it to change
the Constitution.

Earlier this month, Equinoxe TV broadcast an interview with John Fru Ndi,
leader of the main opposition Social Democratic Front, in which he accused
Biya of wanting to rule for life.

Like many other TV and radio stations in Cameroon, Magic FM 94 and Equinoxe
were operating without broadcasting licences while media authorities
considered their applications.

Stations are generally allowed to continue operating during the lengthy
application process under what the authorities have termed "administrative
tolerance". - Reuters

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/02/29/breaking-news-anti-government-riots-hit-cameroon-capital
/
Negotiations Sought After Deadly Riots
February 29th, 2008 by FriendsofCameroon

Negotiations Sought After Deadly Riots
The Washington Post, 2/29/08
Authorities in the central African country of Cameroon appealed Thursday for
negotiations to defuse the worst anti-government riots in more than a
decade, but an opposition leader said President Paul Biya was out of touch
after 25 years in power.
Officials estimated that as many as 20 people had been killed in nearly a
week of protests in several cities, including the main port of Douala and
the capital, Yaounde, over high fuel and food prices and an effort by Biya
to prolong his tenure in office.
Douala and Yaounde, which were paralyzed by rioting and looting Wednesday,
were tense but relatively calm Thursday. Police and soldiers patrolled the
streets, but most businesses were closed and public transport was not
operating.

Reuters: Cameroon govt accused of muzzling media over riots
Fri 29 Feb 2008, 12:12 GMT
By Tansa Musa
YAOUNDE, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Cameroon’s main journalists’ union accused the
government on Friday of trying to silence media coverage of anti-government
riots after police shut down a popular radio station that aired criticism of
the president.
Magic FM 94, a private radio station in the capital Yaounde, was closed down
by armed gendarmes on Thursday after callers to the station criticised
President Paul Biya for his handling of a wave of protests that have swept
the central African country.
Officials estimate up to 20 people, possibly more, have been killed in
violent riots this week that gripped the capital, the main port city of
Douala and several western towns. They were the worst anti-government
protests in Cameroon in over 15 years.
The protesters have been demanding cuts in fuel and food prices, but have
also expressed anger over a bid by the reclusive, veteran president to
prolong his 25-year rule.
In a broadcast to the nation late on Wednesday, Biya, who is 75, offered no
concessions to the protesters but said the authorities would use “all legal
means” to restore order.
Soldiers and police have been deployed in the streets of Yaounde and
Douala — which were reported calm on Friday — as well as in other riot-hit
towns in the west.
The closure of Magic FM 94 followed the shutting down of another private
radio, Equinoxe, in Douala on Tuesday.
Equinoxe’s sister TV station was closed by authorities last week after its
coverage of growing opposition to an announcement early this year by Biya
that he might change the constitution to stay in power when his term ends in
2011.
The head of the National Cameroon Journalists’ Union, Jean Marc Sobboth,
condemned the measures against private media.
“This is simply a case of transferred aggression, because I cannot
understand why the authorities have decided to close these radios only at a
time when the country is traversing a serious crisis,” he told Reuters.
OPPOSITION ANGER
Magic FM 94 journalist Martin Nzogo, who was conducting the call-in
programme when police interrupted on Thursday, said “people were calling in
from all parts of the town to denounce the president”. The gendarmes turned
off the station’s power and carried off studio equipment and transmitters,
he said.
Biya said in his New Year message last month that his government would
“re-examine” the constitution after what he said were popular calls for him
to stay on past 2011. The constitution requires Biya to step down that year.
Biya’s party won an overwhelming parliamentary majority last year in
elections the opposition dismissed as a sham. This could allow it to change
the constitution.
Earlier this month, Equinoxe TV broadcast an interview with John Fru Ndi,
leader of the main opposition Social Democratic Front, in which he accused
Biya of wanting to rule for life.
Like many other TV and radio stations in Cameroon, Magic FM 94 and Equinoxe
were operating without broadcasting licences while media authorities
considered their applications.
Stations are generally allowed to continue operating during the lengthy
application process under what the authorities have termed ‘administrative
tolerance’. (Additional reporting by Talla Ruben in Doula; Writing by Pascal
Fletcher)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Another president who won’t go
Feb 28th 2008 | DOUALA
The Economist
Many Cameroonians are angry because their president refuses to retire
THE MAN who has presided over Cameroon for 25 years touts a simple slogan:
“Paul Biya for peace”. But it no longer rings true. On February 24th and
25th, in Douala, Cameroon’s commercial capital on the Atlantic coast,
protesters lit fires on the streets, shooting broke out, and looters ran
amok. Taxi drivers went on strike and many other people stopped work too.
Shops and petrol stations were ransacked, cars burnt. Black clouds of smoke
and the noise of gunfire enveloped the residential area along the main road
out of Douala towards the capital, Yaoundé, where police later tear-gassed
stone-throwing youths who had set up burning barricades.
The reason for the mayhem was the president’s heavy hint, in an
end-of-the-year address, that he might stay on for a third term of another
seven years; the present constitution, which came into force in 1996, allows
for only two terms. Since then, many Cameroonians, usually a quiet lot, have
taken to the streets. Mr Biya has yet to make a clear bid to change the
constitution but the issue has been widely aired in the newspapers, on
television, and on street corners.
Mr Biya has reacted angrily. Several people who organised demonstrations
against him have been arrested. Douala’s governor has banned any more
rallies. Earlier, the minister of communications closed one of the country’s
most popular private television stations for running too many programmes
candidly discussing the prospect of a third term for Mr Biya. A musical
artist, known as Joe La Conscience, was prevented from walking the 320
kilometres (200 miles) to Yaoundé from the town of Loum, north of Dowala,
singing songs against the proposed constitutional change.
Many strikers say they are merely protesting against the high cost of fuel.
But the problem runs a lot deeper. Mr Biya’s bid for another term has
unleashed a rare outbreak of public discussion and dissent at a time when
the country has fallen heavily into debt. Transparency International, a
Berlin-based lobby that measures corruption, says it has become “endemic” in
Cameroon. Elections in the last few years have been so patently rigged that
few voters bother to turn up.
Still, the opposition is weak, though Mr Biya excoriated “the apprentice
sorcerers in the shadows”. More than 200 parties have sprung up since
multi-party politics was allowed in 1990. Garga Haman Adji, a former
minister in Mr Biya’s government who is now in opposition, says that many
opposition parties have been infiltrated and bought out by Mr Biya’s party.
In any event, the 75-year-old president has been badly rattled.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Army patrols capital after days of unrest in Cameroon
2/28/08
YAOUNDE (AFP) — Troops were out in force on the streets of the Cameroonian
capital Yaounde Thursday, after days of violence that President Paul Biya
has blamed on an orchestrated campaign to overthrow him.
The violence has left at least 17 dead since Saturday, according to an AFP
toll.
Soldiers took up positions at the city’s main junctions and guarded petrol
stations, the targets of vandalism in the past days’ unrest.
Taxis and buses were not running in the capital, a day after the end to a
transport strike observed by lorry and taxi drivers, though there were a few
cars on the streets.
The strike was called off after the government agreed to cut the price of
petrol: it was the price rise that had provoked the strike.
There was no sign of the gangs of youths who had clashed with riot police on
Tuesday and Wednesday, into the small hours of Thursday morning.
The most recent clashes centred around the city’s university district, where
student leaders accused riot police of having launched an “expedition” after
a speech by Biya late Wednesday.
Students told AFP that soldiers had wrecked residence halls and injured
several students.
Biya, in a televised address, blamed the unrest on an orchestrated campaign
by “apprentice sorcerers in the shadows”.
He added: “For some … the objective is to obtain by violence what they have
not achieved through the ballot box,” Biya said on state television.
“What we’re looking at here is the exploitation … of the transport strike
for political ends.”
Biya said he would use all legal means to re-establish order.
The situation was also calm in the western port of Douala, the country’s
economic capital and a stronghold of opposition to Biya.
On Wednesday, gunfire was heard as protestors clashed with riot police there
despite the end of the strike.
Witnesses reported sporadic gunfire overnight Wednesday.
Calm had also returned to the northwestern city of Bamenda, the stronghold
of the main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF), after unrest late
Wednesday following Biya’s speech.
“What’s happening in Cameroon has nothing to do with a simple strike against
a rise in fuel prices,” Joshua Osih, vice-president of the SDF, said
Wednesday.
“It’s the expression of multiple frustrations among the Cameroonian people.
The trouble runs deep,” Osih added, pointing out that most of those engaged
in vandalism were unemployed people under 30.
In mid-January, the authorities in Douala banned rallies and demonstrations
there because of political opposition to a constitutional change Biya wants
to make to enable him to run for another term of office.
Biya, 75, has been in power since 1982, with the opposition, spearheaded by
veteran John Fru Ndi and his SDF, accusing his government and ruling party
of plunging the country into corruption and poverty.
Biya said last month that a current constitutional bar on a third elected
presidential term “sits badly with the very idea of democratic choice.”
Protest banners carried in several towns since have combined protests at the
cost of living with calls for Biya’s resignation.
***************************************
Unrest paralyses Cameroon
By Matthew Green in Limbe, Cameroon
Published: The Financial Times
February 28 2008 03:01
Protests paralysed Cameroon on Wednesday as anger over plans to change the
constitution to extend Paul Biya’s rule as president beyond the 30-year mark
exploded into violence.
Both China and the US are seeking to deepen economic and military ties with
Cameroon, strategically placed between west African oil producers Nigeria,
Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
But the worst unrest in the country since the early 1990s has exposed the
depth of frustration over rising costs of basics such as fuel, flour and
cement as well as Mr Biya’s plans to prolong his stay in power.
Mr Biya, who took over in 1982 and won a seven-year term at the last
presidential elections in 2004, is obliged by the constitution to step down
at the next polls in 2011. But he signalled two months ago that he would
consider changing the law to allow him to run again, dismaying opponents who
accuse him of favouring a venal elite while doing little to lift the country
of 18m out of poverty.
The crisis has revealed the potentially destabilising impact of rising
global oil prices on Africa, where many countries have seen fuel import
bills soar.
Plans by the government to pass some of the cost on to consumers by raising
the price of subsidised petrol sparked protests by taxi drivers in the
commercial centre Douala, crippling the country’s main port.
Cameroon pumps about 85,000 barrels a day of oil and the port is a lifeline
to landlocked Chad and Central African Republic. The unrest has spread to
the capital, Yaounde, and towns in the south.
Mr Biya has deployed troops for the first time in a decade to contain the
unrest as stone-throwing youths blocked main roads and burned tyres. Media
reports said at least eight people had been killed, though some residents
said the toll could be higher.
Mr Biya on Wednesday night struck a defiant tone in a televised address to
the nation, disappointing those who had hoped he would take a more
conciliatory approach. “To those who are responsible for manipulating the
youth to achieve their aims, I want to tell them their attempts are doomed
to fail. All legal means will be brought into play to ensure the rule of
law,” he said.
“What we are seeing is an accumulation of grievances and anger and
frustration,” Fru Ndi, national chairman of the opposition Social Democratic
Front, told the Financial Times.

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/07/cameroonians-in-washington-dc-protest/

Cameroonians in Washington D.C. protest
March 7th, 2008 by bobebill

(from http://constitutioncamerounaise.skyrock.com/)
Cameroonians resident in the United States marched in Washington, D.C. on
March 6th in concern for recent occurences in Cameroon. After a protest at
the Cameroon Embassy, they marched several blocks to demonstrate in front of
the White House.

http://www.friendsofcameroon.org/2008/03/06/cameroon-not-quite-back-to-normal/

CAMEROON: Not quite back to normal
March 6th, 2008 by bobebill
YAOUNDÉ, 6 March 2008 (IRIN) - Traffic jams and urban bustle have returned
to main towns and cities in the west and centre of Cameroon, belying the
violence that just weeks earlier left many of people there dead and a
general population so scared most did not leave their homes for several
days.
Yet human rights groups remain concerned that the government is employing
heavy-handed tactics in clamping down on the media and arresting and
imprisoning hundreds, possibly thousands, of youth who they say are not
receiving due process.
“The arrests [of those accused of taking part in the violence] continues,”
human rights advocate Madeleine Afité, of House of Human Rights, told IRIN
The number of arrests is in dispute. A government spokesmen said the total
is around 1,500 but Afité said the number is much higher. “Around 2000
people were arrested in Douala alone,” she said.
A lawyer in Yaoundé, Me Francis Djonko, told IRIN that those arrested are
not receiving due process. “The accused should have at least three days to
prepare their defence but that is not being respected in the cases I have
had to defend,” he said, adding some of the accused have already receiving
prison sentences of up to three years.
A source close to Cameroon’s President Paul Biya said that some members of
the government are suspected of fermenting the violence and may soon by
taken into custody. President Biya went on state media on 27 February during
the rioting to say that “certain politicians” were seeking to overthrow his
government in a coup d’état.
Figures on the number of dead also remain unclear. The government
spokesperson Jean-Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam told the French Agency Press (AFP)
on Wednesday that only 24 people had been killed but human rights groups say
the number is far higher.
“We are still trying to cross-check information but we can already say that
a hundred or so people must have died,” Afité said.
International media monitoring groups have accused government of censoring
the media and beating and intimidating journalists as well as confiscating
their equipment.
The government has also closed down at least three media houses but denies
that it is part of a general effort to censor the press. “[The media houses]
either carried out certain broadcasts which are insensitive, provocative, or
controversial and obviously certain administrative decisions have been taken
in order to ensure that these broadcasts do not endanger the stability or
social order,” government minister Elvis Ngolle Ngolle told Voice of
America.
The riots started in the economic centre Douala in the west of Cameroon on
25 February, and quickly spread to the political capital Yaoundé and other
cities as youths protested against rising fuel and food prices and efforts
by President Biya to change the constitution so that he could run again in
the 2011 elections.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cameroon activists say riots kill more than 100
Thu 6 Mar 2008, 6:53 GMT
By Tansa Musa
YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Human rights campaigners in Cameroon accused the
government on Wednesday of covering up the true death toll from riots last
week, in which one organisation said at least 100 people were killed.
Crowds of youths fought police and soldiers in several towns and cities when
a strike by taxi drivers over fuel prices turned violent amid anger over
President Paul Biya’s plan to change the constitution to extend his 25-year
rule.
Communication Minister Jean-Pierre Biyiti bi Essam told Radio France
International on Tuesday that 17 people had died, and accused human rights
groups of exaggerating the death toll.
But Madeleine Affite, Littoral Province coordinator for Action by Christians
for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), said the true death toll was higher.
Littoral Province includes the commercial capital Douala and several other
towns hit by riots.
“The information we have received from our field workers in the various
towns affected by last week’s violent incidents, as well as complainTs from
families, indicate that at least 100 people died in clashes with security
forces, over 10 others missing and several hundred others injured,” she
said.
“I’m afraid this number could even be higher when a final count is made in
the coming days,” she told Reuters.
Fellow human rights activist Alice Nkom, who is a lawyer in Douala, agreed
the official toll was too low.
“There are many more than they are saying, and they were killed by bullets,”
she said. “They don’t want people to know.”
BODIES IN RIVER
Affite said 20 bodies had been recovered from Douala’s Wouri river where
security forces confronted demonstrators a week ago.
“They were trapped by security forces on both ends of the bridge who started
throwing tear gas at them. In the confusion that followed many of them were
forced to jump into the river in a bid to save their lives, but died,” she
said.
Affite said the authorities had instructed hospital morgues not to release
the bodies of those killed in order to hush up the scale of the violence and
the security forces’ response.
“We’ve met aggrieved families, we’ve met with hospital authorities who have
told us that mortuaries are filled with corpses from last week,” Affite
said.
Members of the Cameroon Bar Council criticised summary trials of hundreds of
people detained in last week’s violence.
Many are being charged with looting of private and public property,
destruction of property and erecting barricades, said Francis Ndjonko, one
of six lawyers who have offered to represent defendants in court for free in
the capital Yaounde.
“Once they appear in court, they are hurriedly tried without any defence
counsel, with trials lasting sometimes just about five minutes, and
sentenced to heavy terms in prison ranging from 14 months to two years and
payment of fines,” he said.
Alice Nkom, a lawyer and human rights activist in Douala, said the city’s
courts were working through some 450 defendants, many of whom she said had
been beaten in custody.
“They have been tortured … They are naked from the waist up in court, and
you can see the marks,” she said.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues,
visit: http://africa.reuters.com)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200801170671.html

Cameroon: SDF's Feeble Protest Against Constitutional Amendment

The Post (Buea)
17 January 2008
Posted to the web 17 January 2008
Joe Dinga Pefok
The first of the street protests against President Paul Biya's much-loathed
scheme for a constitutional amendment for a third term started feebly in
Douala on Sunday, January 6.
Organised in Bepanda by the SDF Littoral Provincial Bureau led by Jean
Michel Nintcheu, the protest march ended after barely a couple of metres.
Critics now have it that the SDF party embarked on a feeble start by taking
the march to an obscure location rather than to Akwa or Bonanjo where it
would have registered a greater impact.

Another, no less ugly, error, the critics argue, is that the SDF would have
first tried to contact other opposition parties to jointly embark on the
anti-constitutional amendment protests.
A political activist in Douala, Robert Simo, criticised the very idea of
protesting against the modification of the constitution. Speaking to
reporters in Douala, Simo explained that a large part of the 1996
Constitution has not yet been implemented.
To him, it is irrational for the SDF or any other party to talk of protest
against the modification of an article in the Constitution, instead of
calling for its effective implementation.
Nintcheu, speaking on Radio Equinoxe on January 13, tried to vitiate Simo's
criticisms. He said the SDF does not only take interest in Article 6.2 of
the 1996 Constitution, but that the party has, over the years, been
relentlessly calling for the implementation of the entire 1996 Constitution.
He also described their January 6 protest march as symbolic.
Nintcheu also said after listening to President Biya's statements on
December 31 as regards the modification of the Constitution, he is now
convinced that Biya was secretly behind the series of meetings that CPDM
Sections organised in some parts of the country, to urge for the
modification of Article 6.2 of the 1996 Constitution.