Incisive Journalism in Cameroon: The Best of ��Cameroon Report�� (1978 � 1986)

37. Cameroon Report 01/6/1986: The CPDM and Civil Liberties

133 37 Cameroon Report 01/6/1986: The CPDM and Civil Liberties Introduction: The forces of law and order have recently been engaging is senseless and brutal disregard of the rights of the individual and these acts of violence have led to the death of several citizens who in all the cases had committed no crimes that warranted their fate. The recent shooting of Emmanuel Kwende, a shopkeeper in Yaounde for allegedly violating traffic regulation and the shooting in Nso of an army officer who was merely intervening to prevent a gendarme colleague from shooting a citizen have brought to focus the increasingly disturbing issue of indiscipline in the forces of law and order. Fai Henry Fonye has come up with some pertinent observations about violence practiced by forces of law and order: The democratic elections of the basic organs of the national party and the enthusiasm of the just ended seminars confirm our strong belief in the important role of the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement CPDM in nation building. One of the new hopes of the CPDM was to propose to Cameroonians a new way of living together, a new understanding of their rights and obligation, a new nation of political militancy and a bolder step towards national integration, the guarantee of peace, stability and prosperity. On the 20th of March 1985 in Bamenda, the national President of the party, Paul Biya explained the new motto – Unity – Progress – Democracy as endowed with a new dynamism and mobilization. Above all that new motto underscored among other things, the administration of justice 134 and ensuring the security of the citizen, his property and his rights. Such ambition means that the party should count on enlightened and frank militants who are critical and open with respect for civic discipline, thus expressing the desire for constructive democracy and the seriousness of a responsible people. It is in that spirit of enlightened, frank criticism that Cameroon Report comes out to condemn acts that have of recent tended to undermine the security of the citizen and civic discipline in our society. Just a few days ago, a young man was shot dead here in Yaounde. Barely a month ago, an army officer was shot in Nso. He later died in a hospital in Yaounde. Sometime ago another youth was carelessly killed in Buea. These shootings, as sporadic and isolated as they may appear bring surges of emotions and tears, particularly to the immediate relatives and like ice-bergs, these incidents point to hidden but dangerous signs for the people. But we must realize that people usually face big problems because they have neglected to solve small ones. The militants of the CPDM must be more vigilant in order to detect and fight against anything that could hinder the continuity of our options of peace and any possible threat to the security of citizens. The CPDM as a veritable framework for civic and political education must point out these evils that tend to disunite the people to the appropriate quarters. The government and the CPDM should ensure that sound legislative policies are made to protect citizens against the aggressions of others seeking to push their freedoms or their power too far. Officers in positions of authority and discipline must bear down hard to make their men behave 135 and deal in a friendly respectful way with the masses. Incidents of barbaric behaviour anywhere in the country can only bring discredit to the forces of law and order and the nation. There is perhaps no task more complex, except possibly the task of government itself, than that of engendering in a democracy an appreciation of the role of members of the forces of law and order who especially decide to be careless. Crude, carousing officers playing tough in bars, night clubs and elsewhere can do much to offset the image of a respectable profession. The forces of law and order must themselves obey the law, while enforcing the law. This way, they will demonstrate their moral fervour for the dignity of man. Those responsible for the shootings may be tried and even sentenced in accordance with the laws of the Republic, even with the objectivity and dignity characteristic of a good judicial system. But who wants to lose his or her relative, just because there is a possibility of eventually punishing the criminal? Human life is sacred and cannot be exchanged for anything else. And...