Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09YAOUNDE956
2009-11-09 15:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yaounde
Cable title:  

Cameroon: AU Verdict Rejects Secessionism, Vindicates

Tags:  CVIS CPAS CMGT PHUM PGOV ASEC CM 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHYD #0956 3131552
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091552Z NOV 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0431
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 0874
UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000956 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

Dept for CA/FPP - W Muller, AF/C -K Tucker and DRL -M Davis
Frankfurt for Regional Consular Officer - S Welborne

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS CPAS CMGT PHUM PGOV ASEC CM
SUBJECT: Cameroon: AU Verdict Rejects Secessionism, Vindicates
Anglophones

Refs: (A) Yaounde 841, (B) Yaounde 581

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000956

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

Dept for CA/FPP - W Muller, AF/C -K Tucker and DRL -M Davis
Frankfurt for Regional Consular Officer - S Welborne

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS CPAS CMGT PHUM PGOV ASEC CM
SUBJECT: Cameroon: AU Verdict Rejects Secessionism, Vindicates
Anglophones

Refs: (A) Yaounde 841, (B) Yaounde 581


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A recent African Union decision dismissed
anglophone Cameroonian secessionism while acknowledging serious
human rights violations committed against secessionist anglophones
by the government of Cameroon. Though a blow to the cause of
anglophone independence, the AU's findings will be used by
Cameroonians seeking asylum in the U.S. to support their cases.
Post acknowledges that grave human rights violations have occurred
in the past, but notes that reports of abuses in recent years have
consisted primarily of detentions for convening illegal meetings.
END SUMMARY.
-------------- --------------
AU Acknowledges Abuses While Dismissing Secession
-------------- --------------

2. (U) A 2003 complaint with the African Union (AU) alleged numerous
human rights violations by the Government of Cameroon against some
political activists from the anglophone regions (what they termed
"The Southern Cameroons"). This complaint by members of the
secessionist Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and the
Southern Cameroons Peoples' Organization (SCAPO),further sought
recognition of anglophone Cameroon's right to self-rule. The AU's
Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights pronounced a verdict earlier
this year, with the results made public last month.


3. (U) The AU's commission found that the Government of Cameroon
violated individual rights and those of the anglophone Cameroonian
people. The violations cited include:

- Subjecting separatist prisoners to "cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment," including amputation, torture, and denial of medical
treatment.

- Discrimination against anglophone commerce by forcing businesses
to register nationally only in French.

-Transporting anglophone prisoners to Francophone areas for trials
or military tribunals, conducted in French without interpreter.

It also, however, called upon the SCNC and SCAPO "to abandon
secessionism" and to address their grievances as legitimate
political parties within the Cameroonian system. The AU also
recommended that the government of Cameroon correct continuing
abuses.


4. (U) State-controlled media has spun the AU verdict heavily in the
government's favor. Official and sympathetic press focused
exclusively on the denial of the complaint's secessionist claims.
While anglophone press highlighted the findings of abuse, the
overwhelming sentiment remained that the verdict favored the
government.


-------------- --
A Blow to Separatists; A Tool for Asylum Seekers
-------------- --


5. (SBU) Comment: The SCNC is illegal, with a history of committing
violence. The prospect that they or SCAPO would join mainstream
Cameroonian politics is highly unlikely in the short term. Their
advocacy for secessionism, incompatible with status as a legal
political party in Cameroon, is their primary differentiation from
other opposition groups. Nevertheless, they face aging leadership,
dwindling membership rolls, and the loss of legal avenues in the
international arena. Individuals sympathetic to anglophone
grievances will be increasingly motivated to abandon such groups and
address the issues from within the Cameroonian political process as
the AU suggests.


6. (SBU) Most Cameroonians claiming asylum in the United States are
anglophones citing persecution for membership in groups such as the
SCNC. Though the AU's verdict is based on a six year old complaint
it still cites both past and continuing abuses. Post has reported
that there is little recent evidence of such oppression (refs A and
B). Despite this, Cameroonian anglophones claiming asylum in the
U.S. will likely use the AU's verdict as support for claims of
torture, arrest and inhumane treatment. End comment.

GARVEY