Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den

Citizenship in the Age of Globalization

During the African Athletics Championship which took place earlier this month in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, one of the star attractions was Cameroon’s hammer throw representative, Georgina Toth. Georgina attracted lots of media attention because she is white. A 26-year old native of Hungary, Georgina moved to the United States in 2006 after she obtained a scholarship for the Northern Arizona University where she is a Business major.

Georgina’s story an intriguing one because she does not have any tangible connection to Cameroon; she is not married to a Cameroonian, does not have children of Cameroonian ancestry and has never lived in Cameroon.

(Video) CamFranglais in Cameroon

"Cameroon is a country divided by its colonial past. Once ruled by the United Kingdom [and] previously administered by France, most speak French. The country is striving towards bilingualism in a bid to promote national unity but the road is hard. The youngsters however have found a way -- speaking, and singing, both at the same time in a chaotic mix known as CamFranglais or francanglais." (Agence France Presse).

2007: A Year of Declining Press Freedom in Africa

Culled from Press Freedom in 2007: A Year of Global Decline (Freedom House)

Press freedom declined on a global scale in 2007, with particularly worrisome trends evident in the former Soviet Union, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. This marked the sixth straight year of overall deterioration. Improvements in a small number of countries were overshadowed by a continued, relentless assault on independent news media by a wide range of actors, in both authoritarian states and countries with relatively open media environments…

Sub-Saharan Africa: Overall, 7 countries (15 percent) were rated Free, 18 (37 percent) were rated Partly Free, and 23 (48 percent) remained Not Free in sub-Saharan Africa. The average regionwide level of press freedom declined during the year, as did the average score in the legal and political categories.

Controversy over Ebenizer Folefack Sontsa’s death: Was His Alleged Suicide a Cover-up?

Was Folefack a victim of police brutality or did he really take his own life?

• Friends say Folefack was so beat-up after the first expulsion attempt that he could barely walk straight, let alone be able to hang himself
• Those who examined his corpse at the morgue claim that there was no sign of trauma around his neck
• Inmates at the detention center say it is virtually impossible to hang oneself in the bathrooms
• Authorities at the Merksplas refugee center insist it was suicide, and that Folefack left a couple of suicide notes
• An autopsy is ordered as lawyers file suit against X.

Two news reports from Belgian TV (in French):

Macabre Turn in the Brussels Airlines / Serge Fosso Affair: Deportee Commits Suicide

Belgian Politicians Call for a Moratorium on Expulsions

32-year old Ebenizer Folefack Sontsa, the Cameroonian national whose violent repatriation caused a mini revolt last Saturday on a Brussels Airline flight to Douala and led to the arrest of Serge Fosso, a passenger on the flight, committed suicide yesterday at the Merksplas refugee center (picture) in Belgium.

According to news reports, Ebenizer, who was placed in isolation after Saturday’s failed expulsion attempt, used bedsheets to hang himself in a bathroom. Police had to be brought in to quell the ensuing riot by other detainees.

Lapiro de Mbanga: "Everybody to Kondengui Prison" (Music Video)

Listen to the lyrics of this song to understand why the Biya regime is determined to silence jailed protest singer Lapiro de Mbanga

In this fiery and no-holds-barred song released last year, Lapiro lashes out against the symbols of decay in today's Cameroon: A regime in power which has turned its back on all the nationalist slogans of the early years; generalized corruption that has effected every stratum of society ; an insolent and arrogant ruling elite brazenly parading symbols of ostentatious consumption (vulgar SUVs out of place on Cameroon's roads, huge castles amidst appalling squalor, some shown in the video);

Serge Fosso: Why I was Kicked Off a Brussels Airlines Flight To Douala

"I am still very angry as I think of my daughter for whom I had exceptionally taken this vacation... I was treated with contempt and brutalized just because for one moment, I was the voice of a misfortune which did not have a voice; because I had come to the aid of a human being who was being ill-treated and needed help."

On March 27, 136 Nigerian passengers were ordered off a British Airways flight to Lagos after they complained about the brutal treatment of a man who was being deported to Nigeria. One of the passengers, Ayodeji Omotade, whom police considered the ringleader of the protest movement, was arrested, abandoned at the airport and banned from flying on British Airways.  One momth later, the outrage over this incident is still growing.

Last week, Nigerian President Yar’dua launched an investigation into the incident. Nigeria’s foreign Minister also met with the British high commissioner in Abuja to inform him in no uncertain terms that Nigeria “would not tolerate the inhuman treatment of any Nigerian for any reason, even when there are allegations of criminal activities” and that “Nigerians must be treated with dignity within and outside the shores of the country.”

Joe la Conscience: Cameroon’s Forgotten Prisoner of Conscience

By Dibussi Tande

In the past couple of weeks, there have been numerous stories in the national and international media about the arrest of prominent Cameroonian protest singer Lapiro de Mbanga. However, the arrest, summary trial and sentencing of the less known protest singer, Joe La Conscience, has not received as much attention.

Unlike Lapiro who is accused of being the mastermind behind the February riots, particularly in his native town of Mbanga (although eyewitness accounts and initial reports from local officials indicated that he had helped calm down angry rioters…) Joe La Conscience is not accused of any violence. His only crime is that he organized a one-man nonviolent protest against recent moves to scrap presidential term limits in Cameroon.

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Where's the Outrage? Video on "Breast Ironing" in Cameroon

The UN says that 3.8 million West and Central African girls are at risk of a painful form of body mutilation know as 'breast ironing'. In Cameroon where the practice is most widespread, 50% of adolescent girls in cities and a quarter of all girls nationwide have their breasts 'ironed,' often by their mothers.

The 'ritual' is performed by massaging the girls' chests with heated objects like stones, in order to reverse their pubescent development. The mums say it's driven by fear of unwanted male attention, rape and pre-marital pregnancies.

Law N° 2008/001 of 14 April 2008 Amending the Constitution of Cameroon

Law N° 2008/001 of 14 April 2008 to amend and supplement some provisions of law N° 96/6 of 18 January 1996 to amend the Constitution of 2 June 1972.

The National Assembly deliberated and adopted, the President of the Republic hereby enacts the law set out below:

Section 1: The provisions of Articles 6(2) and (4), 14(3) (a), 15(1), 53 and 67(6) of Law N° 96/6 of 18 January 1996 to amend the Constitution of 2 June 1972 are amended as follows:

Art. 6
(2)(new) The President of the Republic shall be elected for term of office of 7(seven) years. He shall be eligible for re-election.

Cameroon National Assembly Clears Way for Biya Third Term

By Tansa Musa

YAOUNDE, April 10 (Reuters) - Cameroon's parliament adopted a constitutional bill on Thursday removing a two-term limit to allow President Paul Biya to extend his 25-year rule over central Africa's biggest economy past 2011.

Opposition lawmakers, who criticise the bill as a setback for democracy, stormed out of the chamber before the vote.

The proposed change was a major cause of riots in February that killed dozens of people, many shot dead by security forces.

Another Failed State? Cameroon's Descent

By Ozong Agborsangaya-Fiteu (Originally published in International Herald Tribune)

Unless there is clear political reform that will allow citizens to finally enjoy basic civil liberties - including full freedom of expression, free elections and the rule of law - a crisis is inevitable.

Leaving Yaoundé, Cameroon's capital, after a recent business trip, my colleagues and I settled into our airliner's seats and breathed a sigh of relief. We had planned a retreat for emerging African leaders to devise practical ways to produce change within their individual countries and institutions. We had selected Yaoundé as the meeting place because of Cameroon's presumed political stability, relatively reliable infrastructure and easy access.

SDF Response to Draft Bill to Amend the Constitution

Amendments Tabled by Hon Mbah-Ndam and the Members of the SDF Parliamentary Group

...section 6(2) constitutes in fact a solemn pact between the present Biya Regime and the Cameroonian people. To attempt to abrogate it unilaterally at this late stage is to perpetrate a fraud on the Cameroonian people and put in jeopardy the peace and stability we have so far enjoyed...

We agree with the government that “the 1996 Constitution was designed and adopted in a quite particular post crises context”. Indeed, it would be recalled that in order to bring to an end the “ghost towns” and “ghost country”, the government convened a sort of Tri-partite forum that brought together all the meaningful forces of the Cameroonian body politic and that it was at this forum that it was resolved to carry out a constitutional revision and a committee was put in place to that effect.

Text of the Draft Bill to Amend the Constitution of Cameroon

Bill No. 819/PJL/AN
To Amend and supplement some provisions of Law No. 96/6 of 18 January 1996 to amend the Constitution of 2 June 1972

Explanatory Statement

For a decade now, our country has embarked on an extensive insitutional reform to enable it to better adapt to the exigences of democracy and good governance. The reform also seeks to offer future generations an appropriate legislative and regulatory framework the application of which should not be impeded by any regulatory vacuum or ambiguity.

Draft Bill to Scrap Presidential Term Limits In Cameroon: A Recipe for Disaster

The draft bill does not address the well-documented shortcomings in the current constitution [but] is tailored to suit the political whims and caprices of a single individual and his surrogates - a definite recipe for acrimony, chaos and disaster down the road...

In spite of widespread opposition that has developed in the last six months, the Biya regime has called the public's bluff and submitted a draft bill to Parliament amending the constitution of Cameroon. Although it had been expected in many quarters that the regime would propose an extensive overhaul of the constitution – even if only to placate those opposing the scrapping of presidential limits but nonetheless believe that the 1996 constitution was a poorly drafted document believed that the constitution – the regime did no such thing. The Biya regime has instead proposed a very limited overhaul which focuses almost exclusively on the clauses related to the Presidency. Most significantly, it effectively scraps presidential term limits and grants the president immunity for acts committed while exercising his duties as Head of State.

Letter from Zimbabwe: "We have the right to choose our own leaders"

"...we have the right to choose our own leaders; we have the right to a bright and positive future; and we have the right to insist on our rights. We are not criminals and we are not bad people. We do not deserve the life Mugabe and his regime impose on us"

It’s hard to believe that the night before last the news was buzzing insanely with stories that Mugabe was on the brink of stepping down and going.

Tonight the news has swung like a pendulum with talk of a Mugabe crackdown against the opposition beginning. We saw him on TV seeing off the AU observers and almost immediately afterwards (like two fingers thrown up to the world) the news switched to the MDC MT officies being raided and riot police at the Meikles Hotel: apparently Tendai Biti, the MDC MT Secretary General was staying there.

"Operation Sparrowhawk": Abah Abah and Olanguena Arrested!

Two years after it was launched with the arrest of Ondo Ndong, Joseph Edou and Gilles Roger Belinga, Siyam Seiwe, Etonde Ekotto and others, “Operation Sparrowhawk”, the Biya regime's anti- corruption campaign, picked up again yesterday with the arrest of two former ministers and some of their collaborators.

Top on the list was Polycarpe Abah Abah, the former Minister of the Economy and Finance, who prior to his appointment on December 8, 2004 had served as the Director General of Taxes for over a decade. In the months following his dismissal from Government, and particularly in the past couple of weeks, the private media had been full speculation and titillating headlines announcing his impending arrest.

Summit Magazine: Still Going Strong

The fourth issue of Summit Magazine, which recently won the award for the best English language magazine in Cameroon, is now available in news stands in Cameroon and to readers in the United States.

Click here to view, print or download sample pages from this issue in PDF format

The magazine is distributed in the United States by Shrine of Africa. Click here for details.

EU Declaration on the Situation in Cameroon

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the situation in Cameroon

Brussels, 27 March 2008: The European Union is watching closely the discussion concerning the revision of the Constitution, while noting that any changes to the Constitution have to be decided by the people and the institutions of Cameroon.

The European Union recalls that the Constitution adopted in 1996 was the outcome of political dialogue and the democratic expression of the will of the people. It emphasises the importance of the proposals for constitutional revision being subjected to a broad, free and open debate that involves all elements of Cameroonian society.

In their Own Words - An interview with Dibussi Tande

Originally Published in Success Story E-Magazine no 006, February 2008

In this major interview with Success Story E-Magazine, Dibussi Tande talks about a variety of hot-button issues including:

• The role of the Diaspora in national development
• The role of political parties in the political process in Cameroon
• The fallout from Cameroon's outdated and colonial educational system
• The state of Anglophone Literature today
• What the future holds for Cameroon's youth
• The link between good governance, democracy and sustainable development
• The risks and possibilities of the “bushfaller” phenomenon, etc.

Excerpts:

Now Available! Their Champagne Party Will End! Poems in Honor of Bate Besong

Joyce Ashuntantang & Dibussi Tande (eds). Their Champagne Party Will End! Poems in Honor of Bate Besong. Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon, 2008. 76 pages. Paperback. Available from African Books Collective (UK) £12.95 and amazon.com and affiliates (international) $19.95

 

Indeed, they have sworn fealty to their masonic lodges
& to each other to bankrupt our national coffers
The curse on the heads of the corrupt banditti.
There is evidence that evil still survives absolutely
And the only good is a cripple, chained to the dungeon of
Mockery and dust.

But their champagne party will end…

(Bate Besong - Culled from “Their Champagne Party Will End” in The Grain of Bobe Ngom Jua, 1997)

Driving in the City of Douala, Cameroon - Not For the Faint-hearted!

Who's In Charge of Cameroon - The IMF or the Biya Regime?

"While reductions in tariffs and duties are not likely to disturb the IMF... it is more likely to be concerned about Biya’s pledge to review fuel price policies... A “benchmark” under the plan for evaluating Cameroon’s compliance with IMF conditions is price hikes for gasoline, oil, and diesel."

In her book on Development and Good Governance in Africa, Rita Abrahamsen argues that in Africa, "economic liberalization creates problem for the majority - who democracy seeks to serve. Leaders therefore are confused about whether to satisfy external donors or to satisfy the aspirations of its people for both are irreconcilable constituencies".

She adds that "Demands of economic liberalization by donor institutions have eroded democratic standards because they bring poverty to the people through SAP. SAP denies the masses benefits from the government, thereby threatening 'the consolidation of democracy by exacerbating social conflict and differentiation, while at the same time undermining the state's capacity to respond to domestic demands'" (Cited in African Studies Quarterly ).

Cameroon Embassy Official Blames Protesters for Riots

By Andy Matthews (The Mount Airy News)

(Exclusive story on Cameroon protests in Washington, D.C. and interview with Cameroon Embassy)

Cameroonians Demonstrating in Washington DC on March 14, 2008

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.

Their Champagne Party Will End! Poems in Honor of Bate Besong

Coming soon to Amazon.com, Michigan State University Press and African Books Collective - The celebration in verse of the life and works of Bate Besong, Cameroon's most influential and controversial poet, playwright and scholar. Published by Langaa RPCIG.

With Contributions from 27 poets from Cameroon and Africa and a forward by Ba'bila Mutia

Success Story Magazine - A New Addition to the Cameroonian Media Scene

After years of being inundated with political magazines and newspapers, the Cameroonian media scene has recently witnessed the emergence of "image magazines" that focus primarily on people and places.

The most recent addition to this increasingly popular journalistic genre is Success Story magazine; a monthly publication which has the distinction of being Cameroon's first exclusively online magazine. According to its publishers, Success Story is about “celebrating [the] success [of] talented Cameroonians at home and abroad".

CONTINENTAL DRIFT: The Angry and Desperate Generation

By Binyavanga Wainaina (Originally published in Mail & Guardian Online) 

If you walk through the streets of Dakar or Nairobi or Douala, there they are. Well dressed, in well-selected second-hand clothes... They own nothing and have no prospects. Most have only high-school education or less. They cannot afford to marry or to live in any meaningful way on their own... [Their] life is focused around dealing with all [their] pent-up anger.

I was in Senegal for a few weeks, and was assisted by an able and creative young man. For a while, I wondered why he did not react to my text messages. His French was good. He dressed well, if rather flashily in my Anglophone view. We had a fight when I asked him for receipts and I realised he could not read.

The Ghost of Um Nyobe (In Memory of Bate Besong, One Year After)

By Dibussi Tande

Culled from Their Champagne Party Will End! Poems in Honor Bate Besong (Forthcoming Langaa Publishers / Michigan State University Press)

They say you died in enemy territory
They say you died on the wrong side of THE BRIDGE
But what better place to die
- On the other side of the bridge -
Than in the Sanaga Maritime -
The sacred land of the Ngog Lituba
The springboard of Cameroun nationalism
The heartland of the Cameroun resistance;
Purified with the blood of thousands of patriots
Who said NO! to the imperialists and neo-colonialists?

Cameroonians Demonstrate in Washington, DC

Cameroonians in Washington, DC yesterday took part in demonstrations at the Cameroon embassy and the White House organized by the "Civil Society Platform for Democracy in Cameroon".

According to organizers, the goal of the demonstrations was to draw attention to what the organization describes as the "systemic corruption and embezzlement, and public mismanagement that has crippled our country's economy and stunted its growth" and the "human rights violations, undemocratic practices and other actions that threaten the peace in Cameroon."

The Call To Arms of the Mfoundi Elite (English Translation)

No chaos will happen again in Mfoundi... From now hence; an eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth... We are strongly requesting those forces of destruction from wherever, to immediately leave our land because it is no longer secure for them... the living forces of Mfoundi have donned the war gear of their ancestors who fought against the Europeans.

It was not as brazen as the "ennemis dans la maison" declaration of May 1990 by the former mayor of Yaounde, Emah Basile, which was directed against Anglophone Cameroonians. Neither was it as incendiary as the anti-“Anglo-Bami” tracts distributed by Beti militia groups at the height of the “war of tracts” of 1991 such as the one below from the «Front National de la Libération du Peuple Beti» : 

Cameroon: Another President Who Won't Go

From The Economist print edition

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.

Act Before It’s Too Late! - Cameroonian and African Intellectuals Write to CPDM Members of Parliament

“Our future is precious, please don’t waste it for one man… changing article 6.2 of the Cameroonian Constitution will only help weaken the country’s institutions which stand as the only barriers against barbarism”.

 
A group of Cameroonian intellectuals, writers, artists and journalists, joined by a number of their African colleagues have criticized attempts by President Paul Biya to scrap presidential term limits. They have called on CPDM members of Parliament who have a majority in Parliament to act “before its too late”.

Crisis in Cameroon - What Cameroonian Bloggers are Saying

Dibussi Tande

Although the Cameroonian blogosphere is not as vibrant or as organized as the Kenyan blogosphere, and lacks tools such as Ushahidi which Kenyans used to keep the world updated on events in the country at the height of the post election violence, a number of Cameroonian bloggers at home and abroad have nonetheless stood out this past week thanks to their on-the-spot reporting or analyses of the ongoing crisis in Cameroon.

Le Blog de Nino and Media City lead the pack in terms of videos and images of the rioting. Le blog de Nino goes a step further by updating his blog with SMS updates from eyewitnesses on the ground. Others such as Le Blog de Tamba run by Le Messager reporter Edouard Tamba, have provided on-the-spot reporting of events that occurred in Yaounde.

Crisis In Cameroon: Eyewitness Reports from the Expatriate Community

Dibussi Tande

Although the recent riots in Cameroon received widespread coverage on the alternative media (videos on Youtube, pictures amateur photographers, etc.,) what has been noticeably missing (unlike the Kenyan situation) is an indigenous Cameroonian blogging community providing running commentaries of events and eyewitness reports of what has been going on in different parts of the country.

Fortunately, the Cameroonian expatriate community (Peace Corps and VSO volunteers, students, missionaries, etc) has stepped up to fill up this void. This is a review of some of these postings that help give a personal touch to this week’s events in Cameroon.

Cameroon Crisis: Statement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson

Daily Press Briefing:

Q - Cameroon has experienced a wave of violence over the last six days? What’s your position? (…)

We are paying close attention to events in Cameroon.

After the rioting of the last few days, a relative calm seems to have returned today to the main cities in Cameroon. Our consulates in Douala and Yaounde continue to keep in touch with our compatriots whom we are advising not to move around at this stage.

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that our advice to travelers is unchanged: we advise against travel to Cameroon and we urge travelers to exercise extreme caution.

"France 24" Webnews: Cameroonian Bloggers and the Ongoing Crisis

France 24: "President Paul Biya, in power since 1982, announced that he would like to modify the constitution in order to be re-elected one 'last' time. The announcement lit the powder keg in the streets of Yaounde. The opposition is organizing itself on the web." (My translation).

 

«La Politique de Pourrissement»: Why Biya Remains Defiant

Dibussi Tande

"This is the famous “politique de pourrissement” whereby the regime allows the political situation to 'rot', with the expectation that those who have taken to the streets will ultimately be worn down by the repression and the government’s intransigence. This strategy worked in 1991 and regime hardliners believe that it will work again this time around."

Debris blocking the main highway in Buea (c) Orock Eta

Some 72 hours after riots broke out in Douala before spreading to most major towns of the country including Yaounde, the capital city, President Biya officially responded to the ongoing crisis in a nationwide televised address. Prior to that speech, there was hope, and even an expectation,  in many quarters that the president would be conciliatory in his remarks, and probably make some concessions to the rioters whose demands ranged from the respect of  presidential term limits to the scrapping of recent hikes in the price of fuel. Instead, President Biya refused to budge an inch and delivered a speech that was defiant:

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Three killed when riots sweep Cameroon's economic capital

DOUALA, Cameroon, Feb 25, 2008 (AFP) — Three people were shot dead and at least one more seriously injured when riots broke out Monday in Cameroon's economic capital Douala, witnesses and a first official toll said.

Police battled protesters from early morning and small demonstrations began at road junctions, while groups mainly of youths armed with clubs began to loot shops in the wake of a road haulage strike, witnesses and an AFP correspondent saw.

50 Years After "Things Fall Apart": A Chat with Chinua Achebe

By Joyce Ashuntantang, PhD. (Scribbles from the Den Exclusive)
                        
“Okonkwo was well known through out the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his clan by throwing Amalinze the cat”.

Dr. Ashuntantang with the legendary Chinua Achebe

With these words Achebe began Things Fall Apart and introduced the world to modern African literature.  For some of us these words have become sacred and the author, Chinua Achebe, a demigod.

Nightmare at Northern Illinois University

The spate of school shootings that has hit America in recent months struck close to home yesterday, February 14, 2008, when gunfire shattered the serene atmosphere at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois. A gunman burst into an amphitheater and shot 22 students, killing five, and then turned the gun on himself.

NIU DeKalb is some 65 miles west of Chicago, and a mere 35 miles from my home. It is also my alma mater. My wife, also an NIU alumna, works with the mother of one of the victims.

Mount Cameroon Race: "Volcanic Sprint" Now Available on DVD

“The epic story of Africa’s most grueling mountain race, and the local athletes who risk all for glory.”

Dorst Mediaworks Presents Volcanic Sprint. A Film by Steve Dorst and Dan Evans. 2007. Filmed on location in Buea, Cameroon. 52 mins. $19.99

After about a year of online teasers on Youtube and elsewhere, Volcanic Sprint, the long-awaited film on the Mount Cameroon race by Steve Dorst and Dan Evans is now available on DVD. Extreme sports enthusiasts and fans of the Mount Cameroon race will not regret the long wait. The final product is a beautifully produced, visually stunning and compelling hour-long film built around the trials and tribulations of a handful of athletes trying to conquer “The Chariot of the Gods” or Mount Fako, as the locals call it.

One of the individuals that the film  profiles is John Ekema, winner of the inaugural race in 1971, who is trying to recapture some of the past glory through his 17-year old son. We discover Bart VanDoorne, a Belgian military officer who met his Cameroonian wife during the 2002 edition of the race and has returned with a one-year old son in tow, for another shot at the mountain.

Cameroon: The United States Against Scrapping Presidential Term Limits

Excerpts of US Ambassador Janet E. Garvey's "Super Tuesday" speech

We have consistently spoken out against changing executive term limits in other countries, such as in Nigeria, and we would recommend against an effort to amend the constitution when such a move could be perceived as being for the benefit of one individual or group.

Cameroon has made many positive changes in the past decade. You should be proud of your press freedoms, religious tolerance and improvements in human rights. The 2006 Criminal Procedure Code was a major step forward. Cameroon’s role in supporting international peacekeeping, in combating wildlife trafficking, and in hosting refugees shows an ability to adapt positively to a changing world environment. I would like to acknowledge my government’s appreciation for the excellent support we have received from the Government of Cameroon in evacuating our Embassy personnel from Chad this week – it underscores our long and broad-based friendship.

Reliving The Twilight: A Review of Dibussi Tande's No Turning Back

Reviewed by Kangsen Feka Wakai (Originally published in The Frontier Telegraph Vol. II No. 8 of January 29, 2008)

Dibussi Tande No Turning Back: Poems of Freedom 1990-1993 - Available on Amazon.com and Michigan State University Press)

To suggest that Cameroon embodies the tragedy that befell African peoples when European colonialism imposed itself on the continent is quite an understatement.   

Today, Cameroon, like a host of its African neighbors has become a landscape on which real and imagined identities are contested.   This struggle within Cameroon, albeit critical in its evolution as a geo-political entity, occurs against a backdrop of political misrule, economic stagnation, social tensions, and systematic graft.

Internet Activism: Bloggers are Africa's New Rebels

By Paul Salopek (Originally published in the Chicago Tribune)

The Web has become a powerful tool for democratization.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: The man was nervous. He was afraid, he said, of the secret police. So he advised me to hire a random taxi. I was to park at a certain church. And there, I was to wait. A few minutes later he called again, this time on a different cell phone. He gave me directions to a nondescript house with an iron gate.

"Sorry about these procedures," he apologized, tapping away at a laptop in a shuttered room. "But I could spend years in prison for what I do."

Such spy-movie shenanigans in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, weren't required to meet a gangster or terrorist. Instead, Dagem, as he chose to be called, was a new type of African revolutionary: a blogger.

Biyaism Without Biya? The Battle for Regime Change in Cameroon

Dibussi Tande

"Evidently I am for regime change... but I look beyond that change. I sincerely believe that we can have 'Biyaism' without Biya." Celestin Monga.

After close to a year of subtle and not-so-subtle calls by members of the ruling CPDM for an amendment of Article 6(2) of the constitution of Cameroon which imposes presidential term limits, President Paul Biya finally took a stance on the debate last December 31. During his nationwide end-of-year address, Paul Biya backed the opponents of term limits by arguing that: “In fact, there are arguments for a revision, particularly of Article 6 which indeed imposes a limitation of the people’s will, a limitation which is out of tune with the very idea of democratic choice.”