- H.E. ISSA TCHIROMA BAKARY, MINISTER OF
COMMUNICATION
Full text of the introductory statement by
the MINCOM at a press conference on Friday 1st April 2016 in Yaounde to
disclaim reports in some local media that the US State Department has ranked
Cameroon as the second most dangerous nation on earth
Distinguished Journalists,
Allow me to thank you for responding to the
invitation I sent to you to take part in this exchange, and allow me to also
wish you a warm welcome to this press conference.
For
some time now, some media have been involved in broadcasting an alleged report,
which, according to them, may have been made public by the U.S Department of
State and the Council on Foreign Relations, which is an American independent
body.
Still
according to these media, the above-mentioned report would have ranked Cameroon
as the second most dangerous country in the world.
It
should be underscored that it is the U.S Government itself that was the first
to react to such serious allegation.
In fact, the United States Ambassador to
Cameroon, His Excellency Michael Stephen HOZA, through a press release that was
published on February 16, 2016, strongly and categorically refuted the
statements attributed to the U.S Government by some local media on the security
issue in Cameroon.
It
is clearly stated in the published press release that the U.S Department of
State or the Council on Foreign Relations has never ranked Cameroon as the
second most dangerous nation in the world.
Speaking
on behalf of the U.S Government, the United States Ambassador stated and I
quote: "Cameroon is a peaceful country, despite the security challenges
associated with Boko Haram." However, the Ambassador indicated that, the
U.S Government, in compliance with the customs of American diplomacy, informed
its nationals of the security situation prevailing in the East and the Far
North regions of Cameroon and urged them to avoid as much as possible to get
there until the situation returns to normal. The U.S Ambassador also stipulates
that such a practice is common in his country, once a risk is present in any
given region in the world.
We
can therefore all agree that no ranking on a specific danger in Cameroon for
any reason whatsoever has so far been made by the United States of America, be
it through its official institutions or through related civil society
organizations operating in America.
Such
a ranking can therefore only exist in the minds of those who have resolved to
tarnish the image of our country for reasons best known to them.
One
fact that does emerge consistently is the clear denial by the U.S Government
asserting in strong terms that Cameroon remains a nation of peace, a stable
country where the cultures of tolerance, solidarity and concord prevail.
It
can never be overemphasized that the war which Cameroon is involved against
Boko Haram in one of the ten regions of our country has been imposed on us by
an implacable, obscurantist and dehumanized enemy.
This enemy whose only ideology lies in
intolerance, crime and barbarism, actually has nothing to blame our country
for, if not its attachment to the civilizational values that are commonly
accepted worldwide.
The
Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA, has decided to lead this war until the
final victory, for the sake of our country’s sovereignty and the supremacy of
the civilizational order.
Fully
aware that the terrorist threat has no border and that it is bent at attacking
any country of the globe and sowing death and destruction around the world, the
international community has chosen to join the efforts of Cameroon to stop Boko
Haram’s destructive momentum and reduce it to nothing.
How
then can we understand that faced with the globalization of such peril,
Cameroon, counted among the most recently affected countries, happens to be
stigmatized to the extent of being considered the second most dangerous country
in the world.
It
is therefore clear that this is not possible.
Moreover,
with regard to the aggression imposed on us for nearly two years now by Boko
Haram, our country by the action of its defense and security forces was able
for eight months and alone on the war front, to push back the criminal attacks
of Boko Haram, without yielding an inch of our territory to the enemy.
Today,
joined by the Multinational Joint Task Force and enjoying the multifaceted
support of many friendly countries worldwide, Cameroonian Armed Forces, in
perfect synergy with their Nigerian counterparts, have carried the fight into
the enemy’s territory, launching the decisive assault for the eradication of
Boko Haram.
The
last special operations conducted in the localities of Ngoshe and Kumshe, which
were the real logistics bases and important decision-making and offensive centers
for the criminal actions plotted and launched by Boko Haram towards the
Cameroonian territory, have allowed us to hit the enemy at the heart of its
strategic device.
Today,
reliable military sources report that Boko Haram is substantially weakened. The
criminal horde is in total disarray, completely devastated and reduced to
seeking sustenance. Vigilance should naturally be intensified and the various
military and intelligence involved in the fights continue to crisscross the
entire border area plagued with security threats.
Large-scale
operations are ongoing and jointly conducted between Cameroonian and Nigerian
Armed Forces and the Multinational Joint Task Force to increasingly pressurize
the enemy and eradicate the last fall-back of the terrorists, right within
Nigerian territory.
In
such conditions, Dear Journalists, one cannot allege that Cameroon is a
dangerous country and, even worse, the second most dangerous country in the
world. Several other indicators testify to this, at economic level especially
where despite the fact that the war against Boko Haram is weighing heavily on
our public finances; despite the fact that the atrocities committed by this
criminal horde on our populations in the conflict area seriously impede local
economy which primarily relies on tourism, agriculture, livestock farming and
cross-border trade; In spite of these factors, as I was saying, the
modernization of our economy is steadily on track, and the determination of the
Head of State to lead Cameroon to emergence remains constant.
We
only have to look at the multitude of major development projects underway
throughout the national territory. Let’s take a few examples. In terms of
energy production we can cite the Memve’ele, LomPangar, Mekin hydro-power
plants. In the area of transport infrastructure, we have the Kribi Industrial
and Port complex, the second bridge over the Wouri River, the Yaoundé/Douala
and Yaoundé/Nsimalen highways, the Eastern and Western Access Roads to the city
of Douala, the Batshenga-Yoko-Lena road. Other projects include the Nachtigal
Water Supply System; the modernization of sports infrastructure; the Technical
Rehabilitation of CRTV, etc.
To
speed up economic growth in our country, the President of the Republic, His
Excellency PAUL BIYA, has decided to set up a three-year emergency plan funded
to the tune of nearly a trillion CFA Francs. This plan is today being executed,
as well as the northern emergency plan which covers the Adamawa, North and
Far-North regions.
On
February 10, the Head of State further announced a special three-year plan for
the youths, worth 102 billion CFA Francs, to promote the insertion of youths in
the production channels and ease their operationalisation as development
actors. With regard to tourism, a true indicator of Cameroon’s attractiveness
on foreign visitors, official statistics report a steady progress from over
669,000 tourists in 2010, 817,000 in 2012, 910,000 in 2014, to over one million
tourists in 2015.
Regarding
the business climate, the "Doing Business" ranking reported that the
slight decline recorded by Cameroon in the previous year was rather due to a
lack of communication on the positive reforms effectively pursued by the
Government, than to a deteriorating security situation in our country. This was
indeed confirmed by the Seventh Session of the Cameroon Business Forum held
earlier this month in Douala, in the presence of all economic players of the
country.
Dear Journalists,
It
was therefore of utmost importance to restore the truth, faced with the
persistence of such multiples misinformation maneuvers that absolutely want to
undermine the view that the international community and our economic partners
have of Cameroon.
Allow
me to seize this opportunity to remind you once again that this duty concerns
each and every one of us, and perhaps most importantly you as social mediators,
educators of the people and conveyors of the perception that the world has of
our country.
Thank
you for your kind attention
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