AU blames Cameroon for excessive use of
force
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| AU Rights Commissioner ReineAlapini-Gansou |
The African Commission on Human and
Peoples’ Rights with Secretariat in Banjul, The Gambia, has expressed concerns
over recent killings in Cameroon amidst the ongoing Anglophone lawyers and
teachers’ strike action.
In
a statement titled “Press Release on the Human Rights Situation in Cameroon
Following strike actions of Lawyers, Teachers and Civil Society,” the African
Union’s rights outfit said the Commission’s Country Rapporteur for Cameroon and
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa, Hon.
ReineAlapini-Gansou, is deeply concerned with the deteriorating human rights
situation in Cameroon. Reine cited the killing of civilians; the deployment of
armed military personnel as well as special security forces (BIR) and war
machines to the two English-speaking Regions of the country.
The
statement also regrets the disproportionate and deadly use of force and
violence by gov’t forces to dispel peaceful and unarmed protesters in Bamenda,
Buea and Kumba, including rape of students in Buea; the arbitrary arrests,
detention and merciless beatings orchestrated by the police, gendarmerie,
military and the BIR following strikes and protests that have been going on since
October 2016.
“The
Special Rapporteur has received information that the strikes and protests are
allegedly provoked by what has been dubbed, “the Anglophone problem,” due to
deep-rooted and growing discontent among the Anglophone community. s, teachers
and civil society in English speaking Cameroon among Anglophones who are
legitimately and peacefully seeking a halt to “the gradual, but systematic
destruction and obliteration of the Common Law Legal System and the Anglo-Saxon
system of education; the marginalisation and neglect by the authorities of
Cameroon of the two English speaking Regions of Cameroon,” the Banjul statement
read in part.
The
release says the Special Rapporteur was particularly concerned about the
alleged deaths of more than nine (9) Cameroonians during the protests in
Bamenda, Buea and Kumba, and the allegations that the Government is planning
mass arrest, kidnappings and assassination of leaders of Lawyers’ Associations,
Teachers’ Trade Unions, Civil Society and human rights defenders as a means to
thwart the Anglophone cause.
While
condemning strongly the alleged use of disproportionate force against
civilians, the violent and deathly suppression of peaceful demonstrators, the
rights commission urges the Government of Cameroon to immediately investigate
the alleged killings, rapes, inhumane treatment and human rights violations on
peaceful protesters by the riot police, elements of the gendarmerie, the
military and the (BIR) in Bamenda, Buea and Kumba.
They
also called on Yaounde authorities to end the “alleged violence against
civilians” and take necessary steps to ensure that the human rights of its
citizens and all its inhabitants are respected.
“We
are calling on the Government to uphold the right to freedom of expression,
assembly, the right to peaceful protest and ensure the security of its
citizens, as provided by the African Charter; cease all arbitrary arrests and
detention; and release all individuals unlawfully arrested during the protest,”
the Commission pressed further.
“The
Special Rapporteur also calls on the international community to look into the
matter and support the Government of Cameroon in the peaceful resolution of the
‘Anglophone problem’; by encouraging genuine and inclusive dialogue between the
Government of Cameroon and the Cameroon Common Law Lawyers, Teachers, and Civil
society in the Anglophone Regions and other such bodies established to resolve
the issue,” the statement added.
The
Special Rapporteur, the statement announced, will continue to monitor developments
in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon and call on the African
Union to contribute towards the effective realization of human and peoples’
rights in the country as a whole.
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