August 05, 2011

 

 

President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

 

 

 

 

Subject: Memorandum on our fight for sovereignty, democracy, human rights,

 

 

Dear President Obama:

 

We are using this memorandum to share with you our vision and efforts for sovereignty, democracy, respect for human rights, liberties and dignity in Cameron in particular, and in Africa in general. This is to recognise your demonstrated interest in democracy, progress and development in Africa.

 

Proud and thankful for the struggles of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, African-Americans, and the entire American nation, we would like to inform you of our unyielding will and determination to achieve in Cameroon a successful and modern democracy that respects human rights, liberties and dignity. Below are the crucial and non-negotiable core goals of the Cameroon's revolution that is currently underway:

 

 

2)      Transition to democracy and the creation of sovereign, strong, independent, transparent democratic institutions under the leadership of a third person, not Mr. Paul Biya.

 

    3)      Total and complete responsibility on and charge of all affairs of Cameroon in the hands of Cameroonians, in the service of Cameroonians, in harmony with the international community.

We would like to elaborate on each of the core goals listed above in the sections below:

 

Mr. Paul Biya has been at the head of the cruel Cameroonian dictatorship for nearly half a century, first as Secretary General to the President, then as Prime Minister, and for now 29 years as President. Under his Presidency, hundreds of Cameroonians have been killed by repression of peaceful protests including University students and minors; the living standard of Cameroonians has dropped catastrophically leading to widespread hopelessness and resignation; universal health care has been practically eliminated giving many poor Cameroonians a death sentence as soon as they get sick; generalized unemployment has destroyed lives and hopes for many Cameroonians, young and old; unspeakable poverty has led to a level of insecurity and criminality that equals only few places in the world; Cameroon has been classified multiple times as the most corrupt country in the world and has remained at the very top of the list of most corrupt countries for decades; Freedom House, a standard in human rights and liberties, ranks Cameroon at the top of the most oppressive and repressive regimes amongst countries like Iran and Nord Korea; and the list of the catastrophic statistics of the Biya's regime could continue endlessly. Therefore, Mr. Paul Biya has completely lost legitimacy and the support of the Cameroonian people and has no ability to lead Cameroon and any transition to Democracy.

 

To this already endless list of deceiving actions, Mr. Paul Biya added the modification of the 1996 constitution that set forth a two Presidential term limit thereby completely loosing the trust of the Cameroonian people. It shall be reminded that Mr. Paul Biya promised a transition to democracy already in 1991 after being forced to three-party talks following huge instabilities and immense losses in human lives in 1990. These three-party talks led to the 1996 constitution. Mr. Paul Biya did not respect it and did not keep his word and thereby proved that he is dishonest and always sets his interests above those of the nation. As the Biya's regime forced through this modification of the constitution in 2008, he brutally crushed a peaceful protest in Douala leaving over 130 people dead. To this record shall be added many smart Cameroonians who are being abducted and in some cases assassinated continuously in Cameroon. In addition, the 2008 constitutional modification eliminating the two term limit does not apply to him as sitting President according to ours and most experts' interpretation of the non-retroactivity of the Cameroonian law. We do not believe any promises and arguments Mr. Paul Biya brings; they are purely intended to trick and mislead the Cameroonian people one more time. We do not believe any real democratic transition under Mr. Paul Biya and are prepared to fight him, stop him, oppose his potential candidacy and him staying in power with all means. 78 years old Paul Biya is old, tired and not in an appropriate state of health; Mr. Paul Biya hanging on to power or dying suddenly while in power is unanimously assessed to surely cause instability, huge uprising, chaos and even civil war which would be damaging, also for American businesses and interests in Cameroon. Considering all the above, we view the resignation of Mr. Paul Biya as necessary, imperative, indispensable and non-negotiable.

 

 

Through their selfless, patriotic and heroic thinking, communications and actions, many well-known Cameroonians today have earned the respect and trust of the Cameroonian people who regard them as the Cameroonian national consciousness. Although suffering from harassment, intimidation, beatings, arrest, torture and all other types of brutality and crimes committed by the Biya's regime, they have successfully resisted corruption, have never betrayed our country, never stopped engaging and have kept working for the well-being of Cameroon and Cameroonians. In addition and most importantly, they never manifested any desire for hatefulness, revenge, division or discrimination. These Cameroonians have earned our trust and we demand that they lead a transitional government of national unity that will enacted a new constitution; sovereign, strong, independent and transparent democratic institutions; and end the transitional period by organising free, fair and transparent two-round Presidential elections. Two rounds are imperative in a country like Cameroon where there are tens of political parties and candidates including opportunists. Also, the dictatorial regime of Mr. Paul Biya incites to and uses divisions within the opposition to maintain itself in power although not supported by the majority of Cameroonians. Two round elections will eliminate the crowded chaos in the first round; allow the two top candidates to address the nation in a focussed fashion in the second round; and enable the ultimate President to earn the vote and the support of the majority of the Cameroonian people.

 

Although the history of Africa is well-know to you, we would like to remind the facts of Cameroon's path since 1945 because we are convinced that the irresponsibility and lack of responsiveness of dictators as well as our horrible state today have their primary roots in the failed independence movements of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. As an ex-colony of Germany, Cameroon became a French-English mandated territory as UN Trusteeships in 1946. However, as called upon at the United Nations by our late independence leader Ruben Oum Nyobe at three addresses at the United Nations including that of 1952, Cameroon was rather treated as a colony. Even worst, independence leaders, patriots and sovereignty leaders like Oum Nyobe and Félix-Roland Moumié were prosecuted and ultimately assassinated by the colonial power. This was followed by a practical dissemination of the entire sovereignty movement first by the colonial and later by the neo-colonial armies by exile, detentions and assassinations well into 1971; the shooting execution of Ernest Ouandié at a public market place in Bafoussam, Cameroon, in 1971 being one of the most prominent neo-colonial state atrocities and crimes. It shall be reminded that such assassinations of sovereignty fighters were executed at public places, in front of crowds of peoples in order to spread fear, terrorise and traumatise a whole nation and force people to resignation and servitude, a state of mind in which many Cameroonians and Africans, knowingly or unknowingly, are stuck in until today. The neo-colonial regimes that are ruling now not only in Cameroon, but also in many African countries today, have just continued this policy of oppression, terrorising and repressing any patriots trying to defend human rights, liberties and dignity, as well as any real political and economical reform and sovereignty. This, Mr. President Barack Obama, may not explain everything and hard work and persistence always prevail, but surely is at the root of most of our failures. In fact, the neo-colonial regimes in Cameron in particular, and in Africa or even in the world in general, do not care about the needs, the will and problems of their own nations. They only worry about their greedy power and whether their ex-colonial masters stand by them or not. They do not care about the well-being and support of their people; they get to power and are kept in power by their powerful masters, their weapons, crimes against humanity and reckless oppression and repression. They destroy, impoverish and terrorise their own nations, cause widespread helplessness, resignation and disseminating mortality across their nations. This carelessness, ignorance and lack of responsiveness of the neo-colonial regimes to their people is the main cause of our problems and miserable state that are now becoming a huge problem for the entire world, the international community, and more and more a humanitarian catastrophe. Cameroonians tried many times to overcome this heavy oppression, virtual jail and slavery, and have fought with all means since before independence, all the way until 1971, then through many uprisings including those of the 1990's and 2008; and today again we don't stop fighting. All our efforts are systematically and repeatedly brutally crushed by the Biya's regime that thereby committed and continues to commit serious crimes against the Cameroonian people and against humanity. We shall add that the Biya's regime is so much against democracy and the well-being of Cameroon that it has forced even many investors, intellectuals, engineers, medical doctors and other Cameroonians able to lift up the country from poverty to flee the country after harassments, detentions, unmanageable corruption and many other obstacles that make any change and improvement practically impossible. Instead of serving the Cameroonian people, the Biya's regime is solely focussed on surviving and preserving power at any costs leaving the country practical helpless, hopeless, in a complete chaos and without real leader.    

 

Mr. President Obama, we are fully aware that we Cameroonians are ultimately sole responsible for our situation, faith and destiny without any exception, excuse or alibi, and that only Mr. Paul Biya and his government shall be called upon for the horrible state of our country. We are willing and determined to do our part; we are smart and strong. However, we deeply believe that the United States of America in particular, and the West in general, shall support democracy in Africa now that Mr. Paul Biya and his colleague dictators see the Chinese communist dictatorship as a model to follow in order to indefinitely stay in power while detesting leadership alternations practiced even at the head of the Chinese government. The development of Asian democracies such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the city of Hong Kong, substantial progresses in emerging African democracies such as Ghana, Mali and Benin, the excellent relationships between all these countries and western democracies, clearly prove that sovereign, strong, democratic and modern Cameroon and Africa are in the best interest of and a much better and reliable partner for The United States of America and the entire world. We are aware that the Biya’s regime is trying to misleadingly gain Cameroonians’ sympathy and is playing with Cameroonians’ patriotism and emotions by decrying foreign interference while purchasing arms from abroad to terrorise the Cameroonian people. We ensure you that Cameroonians know their history and are conscious that the neo-colonial Biya's regime is a product of foreign interference that helped it crush our patriots and sovereignty movement. We, the overwhelming majority of the Cameroonian people, do not view any honest assistance offered by the United States of America and the West to remove the Biya's regime as foreign interference. Rather, we view it as an act for humanity and reconciliation for a new start into a sovereign, fair and successful partnership for the future. 

 

 We demand that the United States of America be true to its values, asks Mr. Paul Biya to step down; categorically rejects him and stops dealing with him and his government; imposes strong sanctions against them; freezes all their funds and fortune in order to transfer them back to the Cameroonian people who desperately need them. Also, we demand that the United States of America contributes to transfer Mr. Paul Biya and his aides to justice if they selfishly hang on to power, risk instability and civil war, which would again force the United States to intervene, waste their resources and be distracted from solving pressing problems of the American people.

 

To conclude, we would like to reiterate our unyielding demand for respect for human rights, freedom of expression and peaceful protests in Cameroon; a stop to arbitrary harassment, intimidation, brutality, arrest, torture and assassination of individuals, journalists, members of the opposition and civil society.

 

Dear President Obama, we followed your speeches in Ghana with huge interests, followed the multiple visits of the Secretary of State, Mrs. Hilary Clinton to Africa, as well as the visits of your spouse, Mrs. Michelle Obama and your two wonderful daughters, heard and listened to your calls for Africans, particularly young Africans to stand up and take charge of their own destiny. We are completely aware of the dislike and confrontations you are experiencing from greedy African dictators who have long placed their interests above those of their nations. We know that these dictators are trying to mislead the African people by decrying foreign interference while in fact they are just worried about their greedy power and despicable ego; those dictators who are hanging on to power, impoverishing their countries by mismanagement and unprecedented misappropriation of public funds while their nations die from famine, poverty, unemployment, helplessness, lack of basic health care, even lack of clean water, and much more. We want to sincerely ask you to stand with all means and American power on our side, the side of the people, of democracy, human rights and liberties. Your ascendance to the head of the United States of America, Leader of the free world, and the leadership of America in the world are an inspiration to us and we call on you to stand by us on the right side of history.

 

The United States of America have proven their commitment to democracy and prosperity for decades, even a century, including during the rebuilding of Germany and Europe, Japan and Asia after the second world war. We want relationships between Cameroon, Africa and America to be at an identical level because at least as much as these two continents, Africa feels deep brotherhood, bound and connection to America due to the common origin and history of our people. We wish excellent relations, sovereign, fair and just partnership with the United States for the well-being of our two great nations!

 

Thank you for reading! Thank you for listening! Thank you for standing on our side!

 

Yours truly,

 

Members of the communication committee:

 

 

Contact:

·         info@cameroonrevolution.org

·         Camerrevolution@gmail.com

·         http://www.cameroonrevolution.org

 

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