AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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tribunals exercise criminal jurisdiction over civilians, which in the past denied some
civilians fair trials. Security forces conducted illegal searches and harassed citizens.
The Government infringed on citizens’ privacy and monitored and harassed some
opposition activists. The Government continued to impose limits on press freedom.
Although private newspapers enjoyed considerable latitude to publish their views,
journalists continued to be subject to official and, on occasion, serious harassment.
There were no reports that the Government seized newspaper editions; however, the
Government continued its prosecutions of pro-opposition journalists under criminal
libel laws. The Government continued to obtain convictions against journalists
under these laws. In July the Government implemented a 1990 law designed to end
its virtual monopoly of domestic broadcast media. Five radio stations subsequently
applied for licenses to operate and continued to broadcast pending final authorization.
The Government restricted freedom of assembly and association. At times the
Government used its security forces to inhibit political parties from holding public
meetings. Government security forces limited freedom of movement. Violence and
discrimination against women remained serious problems. The abuse of children
was a problem and female genital mutilation (FGM) persisted in some areas. Discrimination
against indigenous Pygmies continued. Societal discrimination based on
religion persisted in some areas. Discrimination against ethnic minorities remained
widespread. The Government continued to infringe on workers’ rights, and restricted
the activities of independent labor organizations. Child labor remained a serious
problem. Slavery reportedly persisted in northern parts of the country. Forced
labor, including forced child labor, was a problem. There were reports of trafficking
in persons, primarily children, for purposes of forced labor. Mob violence continued
to result in some deaths.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing.—There were no confirmed reports of
political killings; however, the security forces continued to use excessive, lethal force
against private citizens and committed numerous extrajudicial killings.
In mid-January Atangana, a gendarme serving at the Douala port, shot and killed
Alhadji Bapetel, a customs officer also serving at the port. The shooting followed a
quarrel over authority issues. The Government arrested the gendarme, who was
awaiting trial on charges of ‘‘assault occasioning death’’ at year’s end.
On March 2, an unidentified Douala soldier, who reportedly was drunk, shot and
killed Pascal Kalo, a young Nigerian businessman. The death occurred after the soldier
shot wildly at a group of customers who left the bar without paying their bill,
but instead hit Kalo, who was eating dinner in a nearby restaurant. Reportedly
there was no investigation nor action taken in this case by year’s end.
On April 6, police officers beat to death Emmanuel Ebanda, a porter at the
Douala International Airport (see Section 1.c.). The police claim that Ebanda died
because he beat his own head against the wall; however, a jailed witness contests
these charges, claiming that he called repeatedly for medical assistance for Ebanda,
but that the police ignored his pleas. The police investigated the case and on August
21, three police officers were arrested; they remained in detention pending trial at
year’s end.
On May 7, a police officer by the name of Bahiga shot and killed Laurent Abbe
in Yaounde, allegedly during an illegal search of Abbe’s friend’s residence (see Section
1.f.). The Government arrested Bahiga, who was in detention pending trial at
year’s end.
On May 11 in Yaounde, a mixed patrol of police officers, gendarmes, and soldiers
attempted to seize a vehicle illegally for non-emergency purposes. The driver loudly
disputed the seizure, and attracted a crowd that began to laugh at the security
forces. One of the officers, angered by the laughter, shot indiscriminately at the
crowd, killing two women. Reportedly there was no investigation nor action taken
in this case by year’s end.
On May 29, police officers from the Yaounde special operation grouping (GSO) detained,
tortured, and killed Edouard Leuwat, a Yaounde taxicab driver (see Section
1.c.). One GSO policeman, with assistance from other officers, had arrested Leuwat
without warrant on May 28, believing Leuwat to be the driver of a taxicab in which
the policeman had left his handgun on May 27. Leuwat denied the charge, and the
policeman tortured Leuwat to extract a confession. The Government arrested eight
police officers involved in the case and charged them with ‘‘torture having resulted
in death.’’ On June 20, the Government transferred the eight to the Yaounde-based
Kondengui Central Prison, where they were awaiting trial at year’s end.
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