Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
CAMEROON
February 28, 2008
This Travel Warning is being issued to advise American citizens of the unstable security situation in Cameroon. On February 28, the Department of State authorized the departure from Cameroon of eligible family members of American employees of the U.S. Embassy throughout Cameroon. American citizens in Cameroon should exercise extreme caution and try to depart the country if their situation permits. American citizens outside of Cameroon should defer non-essential travel until the security situation stabilizes and critical services are restored. International flights into Douala and Yaounde continue, but may be diverted or cancelled on short notice. U.S. citizens should monitor the U.S. Embassy Yaounde website at http://yaounde.usembassy.gov and media sources for the latest information. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Alert for Cameroon of February 27, 2008.
Since February 25, the city of Douala has experienced violent demonstrations, roadblocks, looting, and clashes with police resulting in numerous fatalites. Although the violence has been worse in Douala and the Littoral, South West, West and North West provinces, unrest began in the capital city of Yaounde on the morning of February 27 and the security situation throughout Cameroon is dynamic. Critical services continue to deteriorate and there are growing shortages of food, fuel and water, as well as transportation disruptions, throughout the country.
U.S. citizens or family members concerned for the safety of American citizens in Cameroon or with an after hours emergency may call 24/7 at 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada. Callers outside the U.S. or Canada should call our regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. American citizens in Cameroon are urged to register with the U.S. Embassy at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/.
March 2, 2008
After Week of Unrest, Cameroon Appears Calmer
By WILL CONNORS
The New York Times
LAGOS, Nigeria — Calm appeared to be returning to Cameroon after rare violent demonstrations inspired, in part, by frustrations over the president’s recent announcement that he wanted to amend the Constitution to allow him to run for another term.
President Paul Biya has been in office for 25 years and critics say he has allowed too few freedoms in his efforts to maintain stability.
Up to 20 people were killed last week after riots in the capital, Yaoundé, the main port city of Douala and several western towns, according to news reports, but it was unclear how they died. The reports said that government soldiers had fired bullets and tear gas at demonstrators.
The government has said that fewer than 20 people were killed and blamed “delinquents” bent on looting and opposition politicians trying to foment unrest for some of the violence.
The unrest began last weekend when a transport union went on strike in Douala to protest high fuel prices and angry youths took to the streets to protest fuel and food costs. The strike ended Wednesday, but the violent demonstrations continued and spread to Yaoundé, and quickly took on a political edge.
“It’s the expression of multiple frustrations among the Cameroonian people,” Joshua Osih, vice president of the main opposition group Social Democratic Front, told Agence France-Presse. “The trouble runs deep.”
By Friday, soldiers were patrolling the streets of the capital for the first time in years, shops were reopening and taxis were operating again.
In January, Mr. Biya, president since 1982 and prime minister for seven years before that, said he would amend the Constitution, which was written in the 1990s and dictates a two-term limit on presidents, so that he could run for another seven-year term in 2011 elections. He was last elected in 2004.
“For some people the objective is to obtain through violence what they were unable to obtain through the ballot box,” the president said in a speech last week.
The government closed a popular radio station Thursday after listeners called in to complain about the president’s handling of the protests, according to the media watch group Reporters Without Borders.
On Friday the United States Embassy in Cameroon issued a warning encouraging all Americans to evacuate. As violence eased, the statement was amended to urge Americans to exercise strong caution and to avoid unnecessary travel.
Cameroon govt accused of muzzling media over riots
Fri 29 Feb 2008, 12:12 GMT
Reuters
By Tansa Musa
YAOUNDE, Feb 29 (Reuters) – Cameroon’s main journalists’ union accused the government on Friday of trying to silence media coverage of anti-government riots after police shut down a popular radio station that aired criticism of the president.
Magic FM 94, a private radio station in the capital Yaounde, was closed down by armed gendarmes on Thursday after callers to the station criticised President Paul Biya for his handling of a wave of protests that have swept the central African country.
Officials estimate up to 20 people, possibly more, have been killed in violent riots this week that gripped the capital, the main port city of Douala and several western towns. They were the worst anti-government protests in Cameroon in over 15 years.
The protesters have been demanding cuts in fuel and food prices, but have also expressed anger over a bid by the reclusive, veteran president to prolong his 25-year rule.
In a broadcast to the nation late on Wednesday, Biya, who is 75, offered no concessions to the protesters but said the authorities would use “all legal means” to restore order.
Soldiers and police have been deployed in the streets of Yaounde and Douala — which were reported calm on Friday — as well as in other riot-hit towns in the west.
The closure of Magic FM 94 followed the shutting down of another private radio, Equinoxe, in Douala on Tuesday.
Equinoxe’s sister TV station was closed by authorities last week after its coverage of growing opposition to an announcement early this year by Biya that he might change the constitution to stay in power when his term ends in 2011.
The head of the National Cameroon Journalists’ Union, Jean Marc Sobboth, condemned the measures against private media.
“This is simply a case of transferred aggression, because I cannot understand why the authorities have decided to close these radios only at a time when the country is traversing a serious crisis,” he told Reuters.
OPPOSITION ANGER
Magic FM 94 journalist Martin Nzogo, who was conducting the call-in programme when police interrupted on Thursday, said “people were calling in from all parts of the town to denounce the president”. The gendarmes turned off the station’s power and carried off studio equipment and transmitters, he said.
Biya said in his New Year message last month that his government would “re-examine” the constitution after what he said were popular calls for him to stay on past 2011. The constitution requires Biya to step down that year.
Biya’s party won an overwhelming parliamentary majority last year in elections the opposition dismissed as a sham. This could allow it to change the constitution.
Earlier this month, Equinoxe TV broadcast an interview with John Fru Ndi, leader of the main opposition Social Democratic Front, in which he accused Biya of wanting to rule for life.
Like many other TV and radio stations in Cameroon, Magic FM 94 and Equinoxe were operating without broadcasting licences while media authorities considered their applications.
Stations are generally allowed to continue operating during the lengthy application process under what the authorities have termed ‘administrative tolerance’. (Additional reporting by Talla Ruben in Doula; Writing by Pascal Fletcher)