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you a message on Peace and Collaborative
Development Network
"Its nice reading from you again, so far, I have covered all of what is going on in the north west region of Cameroon in terms of human rights abuses and conflicts at stake which are are leading CAMEROON in a short to a secession on the part of southern Cameroonians who are asking for their total independence from the FRENCH BROTHERS who have turned to colonize them, subjugate, and not respecting the clauses of their unity in 1961 as a federal state to a unity state and now the republic of Cameroon . THIS CHANGES TOOK PLACE WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS, and they are really suffering. Also, there is a fear of an occurrence of a civil war in Cameroon.This is because of the corrupt nature of the government officials in all sectors of public service,french domination of the economy of our country, and political issues.
Do well to let me know how things are moving with my cause for combating these ills."
OK so where do we begin to start with this recent email I have posted from my friend over in Cameroon? Maybe we should back up a bit and take a look at political history in Cameroon? Lets begin with some "official" info from the CIA fact book readily available to us online for a quick overview..
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conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon conventional short form: Cameroon local long form: Republique du Cameroun/Republic of Cameroon local short form: Cameroun/Cameroon former: French Cameroon, British Cameroon, Federal Republic of Cameroon, United Republic of Cameroon | |
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| republic; multiparty presidential regime | |
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| name: Yaounde geographic coordinates: 3 52 N, 11 31 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) | |
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| 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest | |
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| 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | |
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| Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) | |
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| approved by referendum 20 May 1972; adopted 2 June 1972; revised January 1996 | |
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| based on French civil law system, with common law influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | |
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| 20 years of age; universal | |
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| chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982) head of government: Prime Minister Philemon YANG (since 30 June 2009) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held by October 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 70.9%, John FRU NDI 17.4%, Adamou Ndam NJOYA 4.5%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.7% | |
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| unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) ; note - the president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature elections: last held 22 July 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPDM 140, SDF 14, UDC 4, UNDP 4, MP 1, vacant 17 note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established | |
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| Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of nine judges and six substitute judges; elected by the National Assembly) | |
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| Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou Ndam NJOYA]; Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or CPDM [Paul BIYA]; Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]; Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [Marcel YONDO]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA]; Progressive Movement or MP; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Peoples of Cameroon or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK] | |
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| Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president]; Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN] | |
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| ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | |
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| chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph FOE-ATANGANA chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 FAX: [1] (202) 387-3826 | |
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| chief of mission: Ambassador Janet E. GARVEY embassy: Avenue Rosa Parks, Yaounde mailing address: P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 2220 15 00; Consular: [237] 2220 16 03 FAX: [237] 2220 16 00 Ext. 4531; https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/Consular FAX: [237] 2220 17 52 the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html OK, so we are linked to some excellent "facts" from the CIA fact book published online from the great and precise US intelligence agency. But, things still do not add up. This article links to another site which talks about the true and precise Independence day for Cameroon which is celebrated in May 20th 1972. But, The CIA fact-book indicates that they had UN trusteeship in January 1960. What that means is they were still not really independent because they did not have a ratified constitution until May 1972. OK, now that we have that much straight. Why are the Cameroons still unhappy with the French? OK, I think I dug up some more answers from our friends at the US State Department: "In 1955, the outlawed Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), based largely among the Bamileke and Bassa ethnic groups, began an armed struggle for independence in French Cameroon. This rebellion continued, with diminishing intensity, even after independence. Estimates of death from this conflict vary from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. French Cameroon achieved independence in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the largely Muslim northern two-thirds of British Cameroon voted to join Nigeria; the largely Christian southern third voted to join with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The formerly French and British regions each maintained substantial autonomy. Ahmadou Ahidjo, a French-educated Fulani, was chosen President of the federation in 1961. Ahidjo, relying on a pervasive internal security apparatus, outlawed all political parties but his own in 1966. He successfully suppressed the UPC rebellion, capturing the last important rebel leader in 1970. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state." http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26431.htmAccessed 28 Aug 2009 So there has been tremendous underlying tensions for a long long time that apparently have never subsided in Cameroon. The tribal and party conflict(s) with the French and the "new" government remain even with this powerful republic government " in place". Which the President was elected by landslide. The real question to me is; the "new Prime Minister" and where he fits in to the equation. He was appointed as recently as June 2009. There are a lot of political undertones that even a chess master would be using crayons to do a coloring book trying to figure out the "next move". We will have to wait and see how the situation develops further in the "Republic of Cameroon". William | |
