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.

Friends tell each other the truth, and in the spirit of friendship, I would like tonight to offer some thoughts about ways I believe Cameroon can move ahead to a brighter future.  As Kofi Annan said, the world around you is moving fast.  As we enter a new year, my wish for Cameroon is that you continue to show the wisdom and courage to embrace a future of positive change. I hope 2008 will be a year in which Cameroon continues to demonstrate regional and global leadership. I hope to see continued progress in strengthening the economy – American companies want to invest here, but, like many other investors, they often find Cameroon a very difficult business environment. This does not have to be the case and I would like to work with the Cameroon government to improve the investment climate. It’s time for Cameroon to rise above the bottom rung on international rankings of governance and corruption.  I hope to see the kind of inclusive, vibrant democracy which Cameroonians want and so richly deserve.  In the spirit of an election night like tonight, I hope 2008 will bring the creation of ELECAM and preparations for a truly free and fair election in 2011.   

I look forward to your national dialogue on constitutional change as it plays out over the coming months or years.   I know there are many issues you could discuss, including provisions for succession, a possible two-round ballot system, and other matters in addition to the question of term limits. 

The United States position is clear – as I have said already – we acknowledge every country’s right to change its constitution and in our experience term limits and periodic leadership change – at least every decade – are healthy for democracy.  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.

We believe the kind of very serious decisions involved in changing a constitution should be done through a national conversation in which the voice of every political party, every civil society and business organization, students, teachers, workers, journalists – indeed every Cameroonian, to the extent possible – is heard on a matter of such vital importance.  The result of such a dialogue would be a decision that all can accept and support, in peace and brotherhood – and sisterhood! 

I was pleased when President Biya himself said recently that there are many more important issues for his administration and the National Assembly to tackle in the immediate future --issues like poverty reduction, improving the lives of Cameroonians in all ten provinces, rooting out corruption in public life, bringing education and health to all Cameroonians.  The United States Government and the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon look forward with great eagerness to working with the people of Cameroon on these vital issues, and to listening in, as the Cameroonian people discuss the issue of constitutional change, prepare for the important presidential election three years away, and work in other ways to strengthen your democracy. 

I hope that you enjoy watching the results of Super Tuesday come in tonight.  Tonight is the beginning of a year of Embassy events and discussions focused on the U.S. election.  It always inspires me to watch American democracy in action – and I hope it inspires you too. 

Click here to read the entire speech

Comments

[Innocent Ndifor Mancho]

Over the years we have exhibited as Cameroonians, complacency in the way the political live of the country is run. As individuals we have each contributed to making Cameroon what it is today. In as much as I have castigated and blamed the essingan mafia for the troubles they have put the people of Cameroon through, I should nonetheless accept responsibility for my docility and role in that destruction.
A lot of times we have sat behind our desk, on our computers and poured our venom and frustration on Biyaist and the essingan brotherhood. How many times have we asked ourselves what we failed to do when we had the time to do it? In the 1990s when the heat of the debate was rife, when a great number of Cameroonians we willing to sacrifice their lives for nation, how many of us stood aside and watched?
I am among that group of people who used to sit behind their desk and type pages announcing the impending revolution. I accept the fact that several years ago, I thought Biya will not stay in power forever. I believed he will soon die and we'll get the change we all desire. Yes, I accept my own complacency and responsibility in sustaining him in power. I recognize my role in that and because I accept my responsibility I now know it is my duty to stand up and fight. We have done the talking and we will continue to talk. But the time is changing. The talking must be accompanied by walking. The walking must be followed by the running. The running towards Etoudi must accompanied by the fighting. The fighting should be followed by the screaming and when all these things come together, the pandemonium will be such that the essingan brotherhood will bail out. They will flee and we will be able to sing the victors son. And for once our fatherland will be free and we shall set things right for ourselves, for our children and for our children’s children.
The question of change in Cameroon is not about apportioning blame. The new machinery developed by Biyaist is the "blame theory" which states simply that give your people someone to blame for the woes and the fault will never be yours. At the micro level we as individuals have failed to examine ourselves and have turned to blame Biya and co for our woes whereas if we examined our souls we'll see our role in this decadence. Because Biya has understood the blame theory so well he has set Fru Ndi to blame Muna for his failures in the leadership of the SDF. The Ewondo man has to blame the Beti man and the Tupori man must blame the Fulani. The North westerner has got the South westerners to blame so has the Douala got the Bamilike to blame. The blame theory is child of the divide and rule principle. At an experimental phase it has worked remarkably well for Biya and of course, it was once said that fool and people once shame on you. But when you fool them twice, then the shame should be on them Biya has done it once, shall the shame be ours?
The new revolution for Cameroon requires that we all accept responsibility for sustaining the corruption and decadence in Cameroon. It is going to be difficult for some people to take that responsibility but remember that for every "choko" you gave you were putting a nail on the coffin. How many times did you bribe a police man for not carrying a national identity card? How much did you bribe the immigration service to get a passport? For all the bush fallers, how many times have you bribed customs at the port or the airport to claim your goods? How many times have your bribed the immigration police to enter or leave the country without a vaccination certificate? Did you condemn that friend, brother, cousin, or classmate who bribed their way into ENS and ENAM? We know them, we live with them, we drink with them and we know what they have done. I am not preaching witch hunting. I am not talking about taking advantage of a situation and going after people simply because they happened to have gone to institutions we coveted. I am talking about a responsible and accountable recognition of wrongs we have done to Cameroon both individually and collectively and working towards putting things right.
A mass revolution requires a re-examination of our inner self. The individual will for change super cedes the political will. When as individuals we have that will to instigate change, even if the political will is not there we can force that change to come. The change we crave for in Cameroon is not about changing Biya or the president. It is about changing the institution of the president, over hauling the entire political machinery. Biyaism has for 25 years has been institutionalized into every sector of daily life in Cameroon. To remake Cameroon requires not only removing Biya but removing all the tenets and relics of the system. The present war should not just be about Biya but more about eradicating Biyaism because if we only take out Biya, Biyaism might endure even long after he's gone.
I accept the fact that as Cameroonian I have allowed my frustration with the system to over ride my zeal and motivation to fight. I accept that I have resorted to inexplicable excuses why I don't have to fight. Yet I come to understand that a wise man must not wait until his back is against the wall to start fighting. By the time you get to that wall, you might not even have room to move your fist.
Who is afraid of violence? Can you have omelets with breaking the eggs? You cannot build a house without a foundation. It is either we destroy to reconstruct or we let the house collapse on us and kill us. If we want a better Cameroon let us get ready to cut down the baobabs of corruption, the irokos of electoral fraud, and the mahoganies of manipulation. For those who want to build a better Cameroon, let us get ready to dig up the foundations of mal-governance. I am sick and tired of being a peace loving Cameroonian if my love for peace will only help maintain the dominance of the essingan brotherhood.
Let history be our judge
Peace.

[paulo laurent]

who is cameroonian?
who is not?
who is a second clas cameroonian?
whose destiny is in the hands of the other? know the truth and the truth will set you free.

[don micheal]

i as an individual thinks things are falling apart.i am ashamed of the ambitions of the present political leader and their so call ambition for the country.we need new blood in the country and nothing more.Being president is not a possesion and is not for a particular individual.prices of everything is increasing and these same evil minded politicians talk of change.to me,the UN and the even the US ambasador is doing nothing about this.they have the power to bring a change but are trying to stay back.please, the cameroonians are poor and have little or nothing to fight back.the people are dying in silence.ppppppppplllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssaaaaaaaaaaaaa the UN and the US, help us.am still you and tries to imagine what would happen in the years to come.

[KAMERunian]

the whole government needs to be wiped out for anything positive to happen. the lion needs to be snipped, then beheaded for any change to come about.

[paulo laurent]

NO TURNING BACK, NO TURN ING BACK
I SAY TURN YOUR BACK, TURN YOUR BACK, , SINCE YOU BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONS HAD BEEN GOING THE WRONG WAY SINCE 1961, IF YOU NOTURN BACK, YOU WILL FALL IN A BOTTOMLESS PIT WITH LA REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN/

[Sithole Luthuli]

I a Zambian living in South Africa and have been following what is happening in Africa.And I would say that more developed nations should hepl boost democracy in Africa.The international community has put alot of pressure in some African countries and results are forthcoming eg Zimbabwe.I think this should continue