Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07YAOUNDE1049
2007-08-22 12:09:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Yaounde
Cable title:
CAMEROON: POST DEMARCHES GOVERNMENT, TRADITIONAL
how-toVZCZCXRO6968 PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO DE RUEHYD #1049 2341209 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 221209Z AUG 07 FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8080 INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
UNCLAS YAOUNDE 001049
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR AF/C, DRL
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS
KAMPALA FOR REGIONAL REFUGEE OFFICER
EUCOM FOR J5-1 AFRICA DIVISION AND POLAD YATES
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PREF PGOV CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: POST DEMARCHES GOVERNMENT, TRADITIONAL
LEADERS CONTINUE TO CAMP OUTSIDE US EMBASSY
REF: YAOUNDE 1044
UNCLAS YAOUNDE 001049
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR AF/C, DRL
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS
KAMPALA FOR REGIONAL REFUGEE OFFICER
EUCOM FOR J5-1 AFRICA DIVISION AND POLAD YATES
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PREF PGOV CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: POST DEMARCHES GOVERNMENT, TRADITIONAL
LEADERS CONTINUE TO CAMP OUTSIDE US EMBASSY
REF: YAOUNDE 1044
1. (U) Summary. Leaders and community members from Sabga
(reftel) spent the night August 21 outside the Embassy gates,
claiming fear of harassment and arrest if they left. In an
August 22 demarche to the Political Director at the Ministry
of Territorial Administration and Decentralization (MINATD),
Poloff expressed the USG's desire for a peaceful resolution
to the dispute and emphasized the potential negative
repercusions for the Government of Cameroon if the situation
was mishandled. End summary.
2. (U) About twenty men from the Sabga community in
Cameroon's Northwest Province, including many members of the
traditional leadership structure (reftel),spent the night
from August 21 to 22 outside the Embassy compound. Post
received reports that the Government of Cameroon intended to
forcibly remove them, but there has been no such attempt.
Representatives from the group spoke to Cameroonian press
outlets and an officer from the sub-regional office of the UN
High Commission on Human Rights on August 21. The UN office
said it was passing a report on the matter to its
headquarters office in Geneva.
3. (U) On August 22, Poloff demarched Alexandre Yomo, the
Director for Political Affairs at MINATD. Explaining that
the USG was not seeking to take sides in the dispute, Poloff
explained the USG's interest in encouraging all sides, but
especially the Government of Cameroon (GRC),to respect human
rights and the rule of law. Recalling that the same region
had been the subject of the USG's Country Reports on Human
Rights in 2003 and in subsequent years, Poloff reminded Yomo
that the GRC's handling of the matter could have
ramifications for future human rights reports, and that
Cameroon's record on human rights would influence a number of
important areas of USG engagement including AGOA eligibility,
training and equipment of police and armed forces, and the
Millennium Challenge Account. Poloff expressed hope that the
GRC handle this situation in a manner that would help
improve, not damage, the GRC's record on human rights.
4. (U) Yomo took copious note of the demarche and asked for
further detail on the situation in Sabga, indicating he was
not briefed on the history or the current state of the
dispute. Yomo said he would brief the MINATD Minister,
Hamidou Yaya Marafa, immediately.
NELSON
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR AF/C, DRL
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS
KAMPALA FOR REGIONAL REFUGEE OFFICER
EUCOM FOR J5-1 AFRICA DIVISION AND POLAD YATES
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PREF PGOV CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: POST DEMARCHES GOVERNMENT, TRADITIONAL
LEADERS CONTINUE TO CAMP OUTSIDE US EMBASSY
REF: YAOUNDE 1044
1. (U) Summary. Leaders and community members from Sabga
(reftel) spent the night August 21 outside the Embassy gates,
claiming fear of harassment and arrest if they left. In an
August 22 demarche to the Political Director at the Ministry
of Territorial Administration and Decentralization (MINATD),
Poloff expressed the USG's desire for a peaceful resolution
to the dispute and emphasized the potential negative
repercusions for the Government of Cameroon if the situation
was mishandled. End summary.
2. (U) About twenty men from the Sabga community in
Cameroon's Northwest Province, including many members of the
traditional leadership structure (reftel),spent the night
from August 21 to 22 outside the Embassy compound. Post
received reports that the Government of Cameroon intended to
forcibly remove them, but there has been no such attempt.
Representatives from the group spoke to Cameroonian press
outlets and an officer from the sub-regional office of the UN
High Commission on Human Rights on August 21. The UN office
said it was passing a report on the matter to its
headquarters office in Geneva.
3. (U) On August 22, Poloff demarched Alexandre Yomo, the
Director for Political Affairs at MINATD. Explaining that
the USG was not seeking to take sides in the dispute, Poloff
explained the USG's interest in encouraging all sides, but
especially the Government of Cameroon (GRC),to respect human
rights and the rule of law. Recalling that the same region
had been the subject of the USG's Country Reports on Human
Rights in 2003 and in subsequent years, Poloff reminded Yomo
that the GRC's handling of the matter could have
ramifications for future human rights reports, and that
Cameroon's record on human rights would influence a number of
important areas of USG engagement including AGOA eligibility,
training and equipment of police and armed forces, and the
Millennium Challenge Account. Poloff expressed hope that the
GRC handle this situation in a manner that would help
improve, not damage, the GRC's record on human rights.
4. (U) Yomo took copious note of the demarche and asked for
further detail on the situation in Sabga, indicating he was
not briefed on the history or the current state of the
dispute. Yomo said he would brief the MINATD Minister,
Hamidou Yaya Marafa, immediately.
NELSON