CAMEROON'S SOUTH WEST GOVERNOR TALKS BAKASSI, SCNC

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000321

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/C AND AF/RSA
DEPT ALSO FOR DRL - M DAVIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC CM MOPS PGOV PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: CAMEROON'S SOUTH WEST GOVERNOR TALKS BAKASSI, SCNC


1. (SBU) Summary: In a March 10 meeting with Pol/Econ
Chief, Governor of the South West Region Louis Eyeya Zanga
said his region was blessed with fertile land and good forest
resources but had too few roads. The priority in Bakassi
(which is in his region) is security and roads, he said. The
separatist SCNC is marginal, he claimed, arguing that he is
tolerant of some activity but has to draw the line at times
to keep the SCNC from becoming a bigger problem. End
summary.

Bakassi
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2. (SBU) It will take time to stabilize Bakassi, given the
presence of "professional" Niger Delta bandits and years of
neglect from Nigeria, according to Zanga, who has been
involved in Bakassi issues for almost 15 years. Zanga
believed the March 31 deployment of the Rapid Intervention
Battalion (BIR) in the area would significantly improve
security, stating that "security is the fundamental" before
economic development or oil exploration can take off. The
biggest development priority is roads and the planned African
Development Bank-funded road connecting Nigeria and Cameroon
(with the recent addition of Japanese government funding)
would go far to reduce tensions in the area. The government
is building police and gendarme facilities and he saw these
entities as essential for administration and local law and
order.

SCNC
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3. (SBU) P/E Chief asked about the status of the Southern
Cameroons National Council (SCNC),an illegal anglophone
secessionist organization whose headquarters is in the South
West Region. Zanga thought the SCNC was "a residual,
generational" problem led by nostalgic, marginal individuals
with a "dream of a Cameroon in the past". The media and
Diaspora keep it alive, he added, noting that he meets on
occasion with SCNC leaders but that the young people don't
support it. Zanga thought they had no political base and he
has instructed his police and gendarmes to ignore them as
much as possible. That said, "I can't ignore certain
things," such as groups meeting to talk about secession,
which is punishable under the penal code. The SCNC fails to
declare meetings, as it is supposed to do ,he said. He
thought that if the government doesn't intervene to stop
meetings focused on secession, the SCNC might become a bigger
problem. Zanga insisted that he "lets a lot of things go"
with the SCNC and is not very repressive, but that he has to
draw the line and "we're not as advanced as the U.S." in
terms of political tolerance.

Comment
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4. (SBU) Zanga is an impressive interlocutor with years of
experience in the region and previously as a governor of
North Province. (He visits the U.S. at least once a year to
see his daughter, who won the DV lottery). His views on the
security priorities of Bakassi make sense. He was willing to
talk about the SCNC at length and, while he probably
underplayed the organization's draw, we concur that the SCNC
seems to be a marginal group stuck in the past. Pol/Econ
Chief tried during the South West visit to meet with two
alleged SCNC leaders but both were elusive and the meetings
never happened. One contact suggested to us that the SCNC is
stronger in Buea than Zanga would like to admit. Zanga
appears determined to keep the SCNC under wraps, preferably
quietly but with force if necessary.
GARVEY