SCNC Cameroon

We are interested in US citizen and business support for the SCNC in Cameroon. Please post or arrange to contact us if you may help.

You should contact Ambassador Henry Fossung. He is now residing in the USA --DC I think--but is active with the US Congress on the SCNC Cameroon issues. There was recently a resolution introduced in Congress in support of him. I don't have his number but saw him at Brown University and was very impressed.

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IV 109THCONGRESS 1STSESSIONH. RES. 503 Condemning the actions taken by
the Government of Cameroon against Henry Fossung and others, and for
other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER19, 2005 Mr.
MCCOTTERsubmitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations RESOLUTION Condemning the actions
taken by the Government of Cam-eroon against Henry Fossung and others,
and for other purposes. Whereas Henry Fossung is a highly regarded
statesman and national chairman of the Southern Cameroons National
Council, the motto of which is ''The Force of Argument, Not the
Argument of Force''; Whereas Henry Fossung served as Cameroon's
ambassador to the Central Africa Republic, Chad Republic, Liberia,
Guinea, and Sierra Leone; Whereas Ambassador Fossung is highly
educated, with a masters degree in international law/relations from
the American University in Washington, D.C. and degrees from
Blackstone School of Law, Johns Hopkins Univer-sity, and the Institute
of Higher Overseas Studies, and

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2 HRES 503 IH has lectured at Brown University, among other notable
institutions; Whereas Ambassador Fossung has served on numerous
inter-national committees and conferences, including the United
Nations Committee on Disarmament and Law of the Sea, has countless
decorations and honors to his credit, and has authored several books
and articles; Whereas on January 15, 2005, under the direction of the
Di-visional Officer for Buea and the Provincial Delegate for National
Security, more than 200 members of the Gov-ernment of the Republic of
Cameroon's militia and police surrounded, fired their weapons at, and
invaded the resi-dence of Ambassador Fossung and arrested Ambassador
Fossung and his houseguests, including women who were cooking food at
the time, a 2-year-old toddler, and elderly and disabled individuals;
Whereas Ambassador Fossung and his guests were taken into custody and
detained in a government facility for up to 2 days; Whereas the
Divisional Officer told Ambassador Fossung that he was arrested for
hosting a gathering of more than 2 people without permission from the
Government of the Republic of Cameroon; Whereas there was no warrant
of criminal charges issued to Ambassador Fossung or the others
arrested; Whereas 6 members of the militia knocked Ambassador Fossung
to the ground, stripped him naked, and dragged and kicked him, causing
severe injury, including a perma-nent injury to his left eye, a
fractured ankle, and head and groin injuries;

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3 HRES 503 IH Whereas several of the other detainees were also beaten
or mistreated; Whereas Ambassador Fossung and his guests were held in
2 small cells with over 50 other prisoners, with no drinking water and
no toilet, and were denied medical treatment and food for up to
11⁄2days; Whereas Ambassador Fossung's residence was vandalized and
looted by the militia and police and thousands of copies of books and
other writings were seized and destroyed, while Ambassador Fossung and
his family were held against their will; Whereas the militia and
police confiscated money, jewelry, and ball-point pens belonging to
the detainees, and ex-torted bribes from visitors attempting to bring
food to the detainees; Whereas Ambassador Fossung's dog also fell
victim to the brutality of the militia and police; Whereas these
actions of the Government of the Republic of Cameroon constitute gross
and reprehensible violations of international law and basic human
rights; Whereas the Government of the Republic of Cameroon con-tinues
to harass and intimidate Ambassador Fossung and members of the
Southern Cameroons National Council and to purge the country of all
political dissent; Whereas any citizen of the Republic of Cameroon who
dares to speak critically of the reigning government lives in fear of
persecution, torture, and assassination; and Whereas there are
numerous documented accounts of citizens of the Republic of Cameroon
being imprisoned, beaten, and murdered for political reasons: Now,
therefore, be it

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4 HRES 503 IH Resolved, That the House of Representatives

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4 HRES 503 IH Resolved, That the House of Representatives --1(1)
strongly condemns the actions taken by the 2Government of the Republic
of Cameroon against 3Ambassador Henry Fossung, his family, his house
4guests, and the members of the Southern Cameroons 5National Council;
6(2) affirms that the United States continues to 7hold the Government
of the Republic of Cameroon 8responsible for upholding all the rights
of its citizens 9and nationals, regardless of political views or
beliefs; 10(3) urges the Government of the Republic of 11Cameroon to
extend to all Cameroon's citizens, in-12cluding political dissidents,
Ambassador Fossung, 13and the Southern Cameroons National Council, the
14rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of 15Human Rights of
the United Nations and other 16international covenants on human
rights, including 17the freedoms of thought, conscience, and religion
18and equal protection of the law; 19(4) calls upon the President of
the United 20States to continue to --21(A) assert the concerns of the
United 22States Government regarding violations by the 23Government of
the Republic of Cameroon of the 24rights of Cameroon's citizens,
including Ambas-25

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5 HRES 503 IH sador Fossung and members of the Southern 1Cameroons
National Council; 2(B) emphasize that the United States re-3gards the
human rights practices of the Govern-4ment of the Republic of
Cameroon, including its 5treatment of political dissidents such as
Ambas-6sador Fossung and innocent civilians, as having 7a negative
impact on the relations between the 8United States and the Republic of
Cameroon; 9(C) urge the Government of the Republic 10of Cameroon to
emancipate members of the 11Southern Cameroons National Council by
12granting those rights guaranteed by the Uni-13versal Declaration of
Human Rights of the 14United Nations and other international
cov-15enants on human rights; 16(D) cooperate with international
organiza-17tions, including the United Nations and its 18agencies, in
efforts to protect the human rights 19of freedom of thought and speech
of all citizens 20and nationals of Cameroon, through joint ap-21peals
to the Government of the Republic of 22Cameroon; and 23(E) initiate an
active and consistent dia-24logue with other governments that are
influen-25

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6 HRES 503 IH tial with the Government of the Republic of 1Cameroon
in order to persuade that government 2to rectify its human rights
practices.

How can we reach Ambassador Henry Fossung and/or those working on the Souther Cameroon issues?

US Congressman McCotter (who introduced the Resolution above) may forward some information. WLD can also do so if need be. Email info@worldlawdirect.com

In the country of

In the country of le Cameroun, cest le Cameroun. Meaning, Cameroon is a perculiar case,

Ambassador Fossung should sue Cameroon for the attack made on his home and meetings--the US Congress agrees that the government was totally wrong and basically criminal in its conduct.

In the country of le Cameroun, cest le Cameroun. Meaning, Cameroon is
a perculiar case, "un paradis des paradoxes" or (linteresse aura droit
aux avantages et prerogatives lies a la fonction") and "Savez-vous a
qui vous avez affaire?" What keeps this country together despite
widespread instability in Africa, despite the turbulence of the
subregional environment in which it finds itself, and despite its own
internal contradictions? However, as the "national cake" diminishes
with the worsening economic crisis, corruption, mass misery and
ethnicity, one can legitimately wonder for just how much longer the
system can continue to deflate the disaffected.