Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08YAOUNDE367
2008-04-15 15:13:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yaounde
Cable title:
BIYA SIGNS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REMOVING TERM
how-toVZCZCXRO8017 OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO DE RUEHYD #0367 1061513 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 151513Z APR 08 FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8806 INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY 0135 RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000367
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/C FOR SARDAR
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR CM
SUBJECT: BIYA SIGNS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REMOVING TERM
LIMITS
REF: A. YAOUNDE 359
B. YAOUNDE 358 AND PRIOR
UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000367
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/C FOR SARDAR
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR CM
SUBJECT: BIYA SIGNS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REMOVING TERM
LIMITS
REF: A. YAOUNDE 359
B. YAOUNDE 358 AND PRIOR
1. (U) President Paul Biya on April 14 signed and ratified
the controversial constitutional amendment passed by the
National Assembly on April 11. Among other things, the bill
removes presidential term limits and creates immunity for the
president after he leaves office. A widely rumored
opposition strike has so far not materialized, but there is a
heavy presence of security forces in Douala, Yaounde,
Bamenda, and on the country's major highways. The government
(GRC) has ordered police and gendarmes to remain on alert and
in their robust status in the coming days, most likely
through National Day on May 20.
2. (SBU) The government's harsh actions against dissenters
continues. Singer/songwriter Lapiro de Mbanga, who wrote a
song opposing the move to amend the constitution, was
recently arrested for alleged involvement in the February
riots. Social Democratic Front (SDF) Parliamentarian Jean
Michel Nintheu, one of the organizers of demonstrations in
February, is reportedly under military surveillance and his
passport has been confiscated. SDF Chairman John Fru Ndi has
called for resistance, but he lacks the ability to mobilize
large numbers of people. Outspoken Cameroon People's
Democratic Movement (CPDM) parliamentarian Paul Abine Ayah
said that he did not vote during the National Assembly's
passage of the constitutional amendment but that his vote was
stolen when a fellow CPDM Parliamentarian used a forged proxy
to vote on his behalf. All other CPDM (ruling party) members
voted for the bill; rumors abound that substantial sums of
money exchanged hands in the process.
3. (SBU) Comment: The quick signing of the constitutional
revision into law comes as no surprise. The imposing
security presence in the country's potential hot spots, and
the still fresh memory of the quick clampdown on the February
riots, probably ensures there will be no massive outcry.
Rather, there is a feeling of resignation in the air. At the
same time, there is a certain level of hope and expectation
among our contacts, and expressed in the independent media,
that the United States will now come forth with a response,
given that we issued the strongest and earliest foreign
government statement when the constitutional change was
proposed. Biya's signing of the constitutional revision will
likely turn more attention to rumors of an imminent Cabinet
shuffle and of possible early elections.
NELSON
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/C FOR SARDAR
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR CM
SUBJECT: BIYA SIGNS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REMOVING TERM
LIMITS
REF: A. YAOUNDE 359
B. YAOUNDE 358 AND PRIOR
1. (U) President Paul Biya on April 14 signed and ratified
the controversial constitutional amendment passed by the
National Assembly on April 11. Among other things, the bill
removes presidential term limits and creates immunity for the
president after he leaves office. A widely rumored
opposition strike has so far not materialized, but there is a
heavy presence of security forces in Douala, Yaounde,
Bamenda, and on the country's major highways. The government
(GRC) has ordered police and gendarmes to remain on alert and
in their robust status in the coming days, most likely
through National Day on May 20.
2. (SBU) The government's harsh actions against dissenters
continues. Singer/songwriter Lapiro de Mbanga, who wrote a
song opposing the move to amend the constitution, was
recently arrested for alleged involvement in the February
riots. Social Democratic Front (SDF) Parliamentarian Jean
Michel Nintheu, one of the organizers of demonstrations in
February, is reportedly under military surveillance and his
passport has been confiscated. SDF Chairman John Fru Ndi has
called for resistance, but he lacks the ability to mobilize
large numbers of people. Outspoken Cameroon People's
Democratic Movement (CPDM) parliamentarian Paul Abine Ayah
said that he did not vote during the National Assembly's
passage of the constitutional amendment but that his vote was
stolen when a fellow CPDM Parliamentarian used a forged proxy
to vote on his behalf. All other CPDM (ruling party) members
voted for the bill; rumors abound that substantial sums of
money exchanged hands in the process.
3. (SBU) Comment: The quick signing of the constitutional
revision into law comes as no surprise. The imposing
security presence in the country's potential hot spots, and
the still fresh memory of the quick clampdown on the February
riots, probably ensures there will be no massive outcry.
Rather, there is a feeling of resignation in the air. At the
same time, there is a certain level of hope and expectation
among our contacts, and expressed in the independent media,
that the United States will now come forth with a response,
given that we issued the strongest and earliest foreign
government statement when the constitutional change was
proposed. Biya's signing of the constitutional revision will
likely turn more attention to rumors of an imminent Cabinet
shuffle and of possible early elections.
NELSON