CAMEROON: POST CONTINUES TO LOBBY GRC, SABGA MEN

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 001061 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/C AND H PARIS AND LONDON FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS EUCOM FOR J5-1 AND POLAD YATES E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PREF PGOV CM SUBJECT: CAMEROON: POST CONTINUES TO LOBBY GRC, SABGA MEN STILL CAMPED AT EMBASSY REF: A. YAOUNDE 1049 (NOTAL) ¶B. YAOUNDE 1044 (NOTAL) ¶1. (U) Summary. Charge and Mission staff have continued to raise the Sabga issue (reftels) with contacts in the GRC, but there has been no formal response. The group of men is still camped in front of the Embassy compound. The President of the leading national Mbororo organization called Poloff on August 24 to thank the USG for its support. End summary. ¶2. (U) In conversations at various levels of the Government of Cameroon (GRC),Charge and Mission staff have continued to express US concern that the GRC seek an appropriate resolution to the succession dispute in Sabga and avoid any measures that would damage the GRC's record on human rights (reftels). On August 21, Poloff raised the issue with Ama Muna, the Secretary of State for Commerce and a prominent politician from the Northwest Province who is reputed to be close to President Biya's inner circle. In separate conversations on August 23, Poloff raised the matter with Solomon Azoh Mbi, a senior advisor at the Presidency and with an Embassy contact, the son of President Biya's Chief of Staff. ¶3. (U) On August 23 Poloff spoke to Kurt Kovarik, a staffer in the office of Senator Charles Grassley, to review the recent history and current status of the dispute, including Embassy actions. Kovarik expressed confidence that the Embassy was being as proactive as possible without exacerbating the situation. ¶4. (U) On August 24, CDA raised the issue with Foreign Minister Jean Marie Atangana Mebara, who said he, too, was following the situation. ¶5. (U) In an August 24 conversation with Poloff, Manu Jaji, who is simultaneously the President of the Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA) and an official at the Presidency, thanked the Embassy for the USG's engagement with the GRC to seek a resolution to the dispute. Jaji reported that delegations from Sabga had been received at the Prime Minister's office and that he was optimistic that the Embassy had succeeded in bringing the issue to the attention of senior GRC officials. ¶6. (U) The representatives from the Sabga community who are camped in front of the Embassy compound have not created any difficulty for Embassy staff and they have not made any efforts at protest or other disturbances. They have so far been content to know the Embassy is raising their case with senior GRC officials, and have indicated that they do not want to seek asylum or refugee status. NELSON