News
Cameroon: Bracing Up for Privatisatione (by Lukong Pius Nyuylime, AllAfrica)
Cameroon: Turkey Business Forum, to Boost Globalization (by Lukong Pius Nyuylime, AllAfrica)
Cameroon: The Medal – Value and Merit (by Martin A. Nkemngu, All Africa)
Cameroon: Tracking of Fake Certificates on Course (by Elizabeth Mosima, All Africa)
Cameroon: Cocoa Exports Drop by 21 Percent (by Lukong Pius Nyuylime, All Africa)
Cameroon: Law on Legal Aid Provisions (by Fred Vubem, All Africa)
Cameroon’s CDC to Increase Banana Output 60 percent (by Pius LuKong, Bloomberg)
Cameroon Oil Output Fell 1.6% in 2008 on Shortage of Reservoirs (by Pius Lukong, Bloomberg)
Pope Praises Muslim-Christian Relations in Cameroon (by Scott Stearns, Voice of America)
Overview
Since gaining independence in 1960, Cameroon has been ruled by just two men. Ahmadou Ahidjo used emergency powers lasting 20 years to maintain his dictatorial rule, before giving way to Paul Biya, who has led Cameroon since 1982. Biya’s dominance of the government has not been as heavy-handed as his predecessor, although every election he has won has been marked by either a complete lack of political opposition or accusations of voting irregularities. Human rights abuses have been a consistent and serious problem in Cameroon for many years. The government’s poor treatment of its citizens has not prevented the US from maintaining good relations with Cameroon or conducting business with it. Oil is the primary trade between the two countries, with the United States buying millions of dollars of petroleum each year.
Basic Information
Lay of the Land: On the Gulf of Guinea at the bend below West Africa, Cameroon is covered with rain forest in the south and along the coast; the climate there is exceedingly humid. A central plateau rises to 4,500 feet, and the forested mountains of the west rise above 13,000 feet at Mt. Cameroon. The northern region is primarily savanna, with its rivers draining inland to Lake Chad, rather than to the Atlantic. Inland weather varies considerably, but outside the southern region it is generally much drier than the coast.
Population: 18.5 million
Religions: Catholic 28.3%, Protestant 28.0%, Ethnoreligious 22.6%, Muslim 20.0%, Baha'i 0.4%.
Ethnic Groups: Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%.
Languages: Beti 12.4%, Fulfulde 4.1%, Ewondo 3.6%, Yemba 1.9%, Ghomálá' 1.6%, Bamun 1.3%, French (official), English (Official). There are 279 living languages in Cameroon.
History
The first Europeans to discover the region known today as Cameroon were the Portuguese in the 15th Century. Reportedly, the explorers were so taken with the many giant shrimp found in local lakes that they dubbed the area “Camarões,” which led to the country’s name. For the next 400 years, the southern part of Cameroon was caught up in the slave trade, while Northern Cameroon was fought over by various tribal empires, notably the Kanem-Bornu in Chad.
Although the British later explored the area and were interested in colonizing Cameroon, it was the Germans who ultimately gained control in the late 19th Century. The Germans built schools, railways and plantations. After Germany lost World War I, its colonial possessions in Africa were divided up among the victors (Great Britain and France). The French were given control of 80% of Cameroon, with the British controlling two separate areas, one in the south-western highlands and the other in the north (now part of Nigeria). The British wound up paying more attention to its holdings in neighboring Nigeria, while the French improved the railway (with forced labor), developed cocoa and palm-oil plantations and exported timber, increasing the value of trade fivefold in its portion of the country between the world wars.
After World War II, new political parties formed in French Cameroon, pressing for independence. A northern-based party, the Union Camerounaise, gained control of the national assembly, aggravating the resentment of southerners. Following independence in 1960, that ill will blossomed into a full-scale rebellion that took five battalions of French troops and a squadron of fighter planes eight months to put down. Thousands were killed, and a state of emergency was declared that lasted two decades—thanks to the dictatorial rule of the country’s first leader, President Ahmadou Ahidjo, who remained in power until the 1982.
Ahidjo’s reign was exceedingly brutal and autocratic, filling jails with tens of thousands of political prisoners and censoring the press. Ahidjo’s positive contribution was to invest in agriculture, education, health care and roads, while resisting the temptation to borrow heavily and build expensive show projects that other developing nations agreed to do as the behest of Western banks. As a result, school enrollment reached 70% and farms produced enough food to keep the country self-sufficient and export a wide range of commodities.
Ahidjo, a northerner and a Muslim, was succeeded by his hand-picked successor, Paul Biya, a southerner and a Christian. Biya upset Ahidjo’s supporters when he began removing many of them from positions of power in the government. In 1984, Biya’s enemies attempted to stage a coup to overthrow him, but failed.
Cameroon made international headlines in 1986, when a toxic cloud erupted from a remote volcanic lake in the western mountains, asphyxiating nearly 2,000 people in their sleep. Two years later, Biya was equally strong in stifling opposition in the 1988 election, in which he ran unopposed. Unlike his predecessor, Biya didn’t handle the Cameroonian economy well, leading to complaints of widespread government corruption. A new party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), sprang up in 1990 and was the target of attacks by government forces. The government’s attempt to wipe out the SDF backfired, and in less than a year there were 30 political parties and nearly a dozen independent newspapers in Cameroon.
After Biya refused to call a constitutional convention in 1991, strikes brought the country to a standstill. During this time, the Cameroon Anglophone Movement was founded, dedicated to establishing greater autonomy for Southern Cameroon. Biya eventually called for the first multi-party elections in more than 30 years, and in 1992 various opposition parties took 52% of the vote and a new prime minister, Simon Achidi Achu, formed a coalition government. Later that year, Biya narrowly won re-election as president, while garnering only 40% of the vote. Biya was accused by international observers of tampering with the vote, which set off widespread rioting in western Cameroon. Biya nevertheless remained in power and was re-elected in 1997 and 2004.
In 2002, the International Court of Justice ruled in favor of Cameroon in its territorial disputes with Nigeria over the Bakassi peninsula, which is rich in oil. Nigeria was slow to abide by the decision, but agreed finally in August 2008 to turn over control of the territory to Cameroon.
Cameroon Timeline (The Crawfurd.dk)
History of Cameroon (by Mark W. DeLaucey, Encyclopedia Brittanica)
Cameroon (World Wide Web Virtual Library)
Nigeria Turns Over Disputed Land to Cameroon (Will Connors, New York Times)
History of U.S. Relations with Cameroon
The United States established formal diplomatic relations with Cameroon shortly after it achieved independence from France in 1960. Those ties have been maintained without interruption. For many years, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) maintained an office in Cameroon until 1994, when federal budget cuts forced the agency to shut down its program. Cameroon has continued to receive some USAID funding since this decision.
Cameroon became eligible for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, adopted to promote free markets, in 2000. The Chad-Cameroon pipeline, launched by a United States-led consortium in 2000 involving Exxon-Mobil, is the largest commercial undertaking in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the State Department. As a result of the pipeline, the United States has become one of the leading foreign investors in Cameroon.
Through the Department of Agriculture, the US provided a commodity grant valued at $6 million in 2003 to fund agricultural development projects in northern provinces of Cameroon. Similar programs were approved in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The $4 million 2004 program funded an agricultural development and nutrition enhancement project in the east and Adamawa provinces. The $4 million 2005 program integrated tree crops and agri-business in center and southwest provinces. The 2006 project focused on an agroforestry program carried out in the northwest and west provinces.
Cameroon President Paul Biya first visited the United States in 1986, when he met with President Ronald Reagan. Biya visited the US again 2003 and met with President George W. Bush.
Visit of Cameroon's president (Department of State Bulletin)
Current U.S. Relations with Cameroon
The US State Department characterizes U.S.-Cameroonian relations as “close,” while adding that the African nation’s longstanding poor human rights record has been a cause for concern with American officials. These concerns have not prevented the US government from sending Peace Corps volunteers to Cameroon, where approximately 140 volunteers work in agroforestry, community development, education and health.
The Public Affairs section of the US Embassy in Yaounde maintains a library and helps foster the development of Cameroon’s independent press by providing information in a number of areas, including US human rights and democratization policies. The embassy’s Democracy and Human Rights Funds are said to be some of the largest in Africa.
Through several State Department and USAID regional funds, the US provides funds for: biodiversity protection, refugees, HIV/AIDS, democratization, and girls’ scholarships. The US also has provided indirect assistance through its funding of international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank, which provide financial and other assistance to Cameroon.
In 2006, 7,242 Americans visited Cameroon, a decrease of 21% from the 9,194 that visited in 2004. Almost 5,000 Cameroonians visited the US in 2005. The number of visitors from Cameroon has fluctuated between a high of 5,003 in 2002 and the low of 4,366 over the last five years.
Where Does the Money Flow
Oil represents the most important import from Cameroon for the United States. In 2003, the US imported $167.5 million in oil, down to approximately $101 million in 2007. Fuel oil is another key import, topping out at $111.8 million in 2007. The US has been increasingly buying lumber from Cameroon, going from $8.2 million in 2003 to $35 million in 2007.
Not surprisingly, America’s importation of Cameroonian oil has resulted in the US exporting substantial amounts of oil drilling equipment to the African country, going from $22.8 million in 2003 to $85.5 million in 2007. The second largest export is petroleum products, averaging $4.6 million from 2003-2007. The US did export modest amounts of wheat and rice to Cameroon, but this has stopped as of 2007.
Overall, the US is running a trade deficit with Cameroon, importing $297 million in goods in 2007, while exporting only $133 million. This deficit has risen dramatically in 2008, as U.S. imports reached $487.9 million in the first seven months of the year alone.
US oil giant Exxon-Mobil built a $3.5 billion oil pipeline from Chad to the Cameroon port of Kribi. Shell Oil also has interests in Cameroonian oil.
In FY 2007, the State Department authorized the export of defense articles and services valued at $51,007,358 to Cameroon. All of the $231,000 in US aid to Cameroon in 2006 was dedicated to International Military Education and Training.
Republic of Cameroon, Africa Profile (Geovic Mining Corp)
Controversies
US Court Convicts Canadian Smuggling Cameroonian Ivory
An art dealer who operated import and export businesses in Canada and Cameroon that were fronts for smuggling raw elephant ivory was sentenced in August 2008 to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine for smuggling ivory from Cameroon into the United States. Canadian citizen Tania Julie Siyam, 32, was sentenced in Akron, Ohio, after pleading guilty to four felonies. The sentence, handed down by US District Court Judge John Adams, was the result of a multi-year, international investigation by special agents of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife officials from Environment Canada and the US Attorney’s Office in Cleveland, Ohio.
Cameroon-Canada-U.S. Ivory Smuggler Gets Five Years (Environment News Service)
Congress Condemns Treatment of Cameroonian Official
Since the mid 1990s, the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) has pushed to create a separate state in the southern half of the country. Henry Fossung, a veteran Cameroonian diplomat, has led the effort to gain autonomy for Southern Cameroonians, who have long resented the dominance of Northern Cameroonians. Fossung has been the target of persecution by the government of President Paul Biya. In 2005, armed troops vandalized Fossung’s residence and brutalized SCNC members and sympathizers. The incident did not go unnoticed by lawmakers in the US Congress, who adopted a resolution condemning the violence against Fossung.
US Resolution Condemns la Republique du Cameroun's Brutal Colonial Actions in the Southern Cameroons
A Prevailing Movement (interview with Henry Fossung by Ajong Mbapndah L, Peace & Conflict Monitor)
American HIV Drug Manufacturer Accused of Exploiting Cameroonian Prostitutes
In 2005, California pharmaceutical manufacturer Gilead was at the center of a controversy over using hundreds of Cameroonian sex workers to test a new HIV drug. The women recruited for the project were rushed into signing a consent form in English that most didn't understand. Activists also said that the 400 participants in the experiment weren’t given condoms or counseling during the trial, and too little care if they were infected with the virus. Half of them were given a placebo instead of the drug, which also caused concern. The drug, sold under the name Viread by Gilead, is widely used in developed countries as part of HIV treatment.
Cameroon AIDS Research Sparks Controversy (Voice of America)
Human Rights
The State Department characterizes Cameroon as having a “strong presidency” in reference to the long reign of Paul Biya, who has ruled the country since 1982, thanks to elections marred by “irregularities.” International and domestic observers have noted significant deficiencies in the electoral process, including substantial barriers to registration and insufficient safeguards against fraudulent voting.
Biya has been known to rule by decree and to alter legislation as he sees fit. “He has used his legislative control to change the constitution and extend the term of the presidency. Although civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, security forces sometimes acted independently of government authority,” says the State Department.
The government’s human rights record remains poor, and it continues to commit numerous human rights abuses. US officials cite: “Security forces committed numerous unlawful killings. They engaged in torture, beatings, and other abuses, particularly of detainees and prisoners. Impunity was a problem in the security forces. Prison conditions were harsh and life threatening. Authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained Anglophone citizens advocating secession, local human rights monitors and activists, and other citizens. The law provides for the arrest of homosexuals, as well as persons not carrying national, government-issued identification cards. There were reports of prolonged and sometimes incommunicado pretrial detention and infringement on citizens' privacy rights. The government restricted citizens’ freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and harassed journalists. The government also impeded citizens’ freedom of movement. Other problems included official corruption; societal violence and discrimination against women; female genital mutilation (FGM); trafficking in persons, primarily children; discrimination against indigenous pygmies and ethnic minorities; and discrimination against homosexuals. The government restricted worker rights and the activities of independent labor organizations. Child labor, hereditary servitude, and forced labor, including forced child labor were problems.”
Past Ambassadors
Leland Barrows
Appointment: Apr 20, 1960
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 9, 1960
Termination of Mission: Left post, Sep 6, 1966
Robert L. Payton
Appointment: Jan 26, 1967
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 4, 1967
Termination of Mission: Left post, May 27, 1969
Lewis Hoffacker
Appointment: Dec 2, 1969
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 20, 1969
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jun 6, 1972
C. Robert Moore
Appointment: Jun 27, 1972
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 22, 1972
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jul 28, 1975
Herbert J. Spiro
Appointment: Jul 24, 1975
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 1, 1975
Termination of Mission: Left post, May 7, 1977
Mabel M. Smythe
Appointment: May 11, 1977
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 1, 1977
Termination of Mission: Left post, Feb 24, 1980
Hume A. Horan
Appointment: Jun 30, 1980
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 29, 1980
Termination of Mission: Left post, May 17, 1983
Myles Robert Rene Frechette
Appointment: May 26, 1983
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 8, 1983
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jul 30, 1987
Mark L. Edelman
Appointment: Jul 31, 1987
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 9, 1987
Termination of Mission: Left post, Mar 19, 1989
Frances D. Cook
Appointment: Nov 21, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 21, 1989
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jan 1, 1993
Harriet Winsar Isom
Appointment: Aug 17, 1992
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 19, 1993
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 17, 1996
Appointment: May 26, 1983
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 8, 1983
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jul 30, 1987
Mark L. Edelman
Appointment: Jul 31, 1987
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 9, 1987
Termination of Mission: Left post, Mar 19, 1989
Frances D. Cook
Appointment: Nov 21, 1989
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 21, 1989
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jan 1, 1993
Harriet Winsar Isom
Appointment: Aug 17, 1992
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 19, 1993
Termination of Mission: Left post Jan 17, 1996
Charles H. Twining
Appointment: Dec 19, 1995
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 28, 1996
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 17, 1998
Appointment: Dec 19, 1995
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 28, 1996
Termination of Mission: Left post Aug 17, 1998
John Melvin Yates
Appointment: Oct 22, 1998
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 5, 1999
Termination of Mission: Left post Nov 4, 2001
Appointment: Oct 22, 1998
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 5, 1999
Termination of Mission: Left post Nov 4, 2001
George McDade Staples
Appointment: Sep 5, 2001
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 21, 2001
Termination of Mission: Left post, July 10, 2004
Appointment: Sep 5, 2001
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 21, 2001
Termination of Mission: Left post, July 10, 2004
R. Niels Marquardt
Appointment: July 2, 2004
Presentation of Credentials: Oct. 29, 2004
Termination of Mission: 2007
Appointment: July 2, 2004
Presentation of Credentials: Oct. 29, 2004
Termination of Mission: 2007
Cameroon's Ambassador to the U.S.
Foe-Atangana, Joseph
Joseph B.C. Foe-Atangana presented his credentials as Cameroon’s Ambassadsor to the United States September 12, 2008. He replaced Jérôme Mendouga, who was relieved of his duties after he was accused of fraud regarding the purchase of an airplane for Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya. Three years earlier, Mendouga, who had represented Cameroon in the U.S. since 1994, fought off accusations of embezzlement. Prior to his appointment, Foe-Atangana served for several years as Cameroon’s consul general in Calabar, Nigeria.
- Table of Contents
- News
- Overview
- Basic Information
- History
- Newspapers
- History of U.S. Relations with Cameroon
- Current U.S. Relations with Cameroon
- Where Does the Money Flow
- Controversies
- Human Rights
- Debate
- Past Ambassadors
- Ambassador to the U.S.
- Embassy Web Site in the U.S.
- Comments
- Leave a Comment
U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon
Jackson, Robert
Robert P. Jackson assumed the post of U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon on September 17, 2010. It is his fifth posting to Africa.
A native of Tennessee, Jackson received his B.A. degree in Government and Legal Studies from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He earned an M.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University, and an M.S. in National Resource Strategy from National Defense University, both in Washington, D.C.
Jackson taught English and American Civilization at the University of Clermont in Clermont-Ferrand, France. He subsequently taught French and English as a foreign language at the Institut Montana in Zugerberg, Switzerland.
Jackson has held a variety of posts since joining the Foreign Service in 1982: Consular/Economic Officer in Montreal, Canada; Political/Economic Officer in Bujumbura, Burundi; Chief of the Political Section in Harare, Zimbabwe; Country Officer for Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Botswana; Coordinator of the Junior Officer Training Program and Deputy Director of the Orientation Division at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C.; Political-Military Officer in Lisbon, Portugal; Political/Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; and Director of the Office for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.
Jackson was subsequently named Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affairs, ad interim, at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. He most recently served in that same capacity at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, Morocco.
Jackson is married to Babette Pollard Jackson, a speech and language pathologist.
Previous U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon
Garvey, Janet
Janet E. Garvey began serving as the US Ambassador to Cameroon on September 13, 2007. Garvey received her bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University, where she was valedictorian, and her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University School of Law.
A career Foreign Service officer, Garvey worked in various positions at the United States Information Agency and the State Department in Washington, DC, early in her career. Her first overseas postings were at the US Consulate General in Cape Town, South Africa, the Consulate General in Leipzig, Germany, and at the US Embassies in Yugoslavia, Finland and the former East Germany.
She then became Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, followed by serving as director of the Office of North Central European Affairs at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in the State Department.
Garvey served most recently as deputy coordinator at the Bureau of International Information Programs at the State Department before assuming her post in Cameroon.
Garvey speaks French, German, Bosnian/Serbo-Croatian and Hungarian.
Comments