Newspapers in Cameroon
In Cameroon there is only one daily newspaper, the French-speaking Cameroon
Tribune (edition: about 20,000 copies), which has an English-language weekly
edition. Important independent newspapers are the weekly Cameroon Post (about
50,000 copies) and the three-day newspaper Cameroon Outlook (about 20,000
copies). However, the overall newspaper distribution is very small (7 newspaper
excl. Per 1,000 residents, 1996). The press has been under government control
since 1966. In 1990, however, freedom of the press was promised.
The state-owned company Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Cameroonaise
(CRTV) broadcasts radio in three channels in French, English and a variety of
local languages. The television business started in 1985, and broadcasts reach
about 75% of the country. Some programs are purchased from France. Radio and TV
are mainly financed by advertising. There are 163 radio and 34 TV receivers per
1,000 residents (2000).
Culture
The traditional art in Cameroon consists
mainly of sculptures and reliefs in wood as well as
ceramics and masks. The music is characterized by
rhythmic multiplicity and acoustic song. The country
also has several well-known authors.
Singers are often accompanied by a kind of harp-
citra (mvet). Contemporary popular music
is strongly influenced by Western but also exhibits
traditional features. Particularly popular are the dance
rhythms macossa and bikutsi.
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Countryaah:
Latest population statistics of Cameroon, including religious profiles and major languages spoken as well as population growth rates in next three decades.
The Cameroonian author Ferdinand Oyonos (1929–2010)
books are counted in the classical literature in Africa
and have been translated into many languages. Oyono was
primarily concerned with analyzing colonialism and its
effects. So did Mongo Beti (1932–2001), another of the
country's foremost writers. Beti lived in exile in
France for most of her adult life.
In Swedish there are also books by Calixthe Beyala
and Christian Epanya, who is also an illustrator. A
contemporary writer is Imbolo Mbue, which was published
in 2014 with the novel Behold the Dreamers. It
is about a Cameroonian immigrant and a manager at the
Lehman Brothers financial institution in New York during
the 2008 financial crisis.
2019
December
The lower house gives regions in the west increased self-government
December 18
A legislative proposal that gives the two English-speaking regions in western
Cameroon a special status is adopted by Parliament's lower house. If the bill is
also pushed through by the Senate, the two regions will be given responsibility
for, among other things, education and legal issues at the regional level. The
bill is an attempt by the government to appease the separatists in both regions
(see also October 2019).
November
MRC boycott the election
November 25
Opposition leader Maurice Kamto says his party MRC will boycott the local and
parliamentary elections on February 9, 2019 for fear of election fraud. Kamto
believes that the electoral system must be changed before the election is
conducted, and that the conflict with the separatists in the west must be
resolved before an election can be credible. He urges residents not to take part
in the elections.
Parliamentary elections in February
November 10
President Biya announces that parliamentary elections will be held on
February 9, 2020. The election, which should have been carried out as early as
2018, has previously been postponed by Biya on two occasions.
October
Kampto and hundreds of others are released
October 5
Maurice Kampto, leader of the opposition party MRC, leaves prison after
President Biya decides to release 330 people arrested in connection with the
separatist uprising in the English-speaking regions. Among the released are many
MRC members. Criminal investigations against the released are closed. Biya's
decision is praised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Kampto was
arrested in January 2019 for several months leading the opposition protests
against the outcome of the presidential election in the autumn of the previous
year (see October 2018). A total of around 1,000 people have
been arrested since the uprising broke out in autumn 2017.
Increased self-government on a proposal
October 4th
The national dialogue ends with the delegates proposing in a resolution that
the two English-speaking areas should be given "special status" in the form of
increased autonomy. It would mean increased taxation rights, that the governors
of the regions are elected by the local people instead of being appointed by the
central government, and that the traditional leaders (chieftains) should be
reinstated. The proposal is well received by moderate groupings, while the
radical groups that demand full independence (and are not invited to the
dialogue) reject the proposal.
September
National peace dialogue begins
September 30th
The government is launching a national dialogue in Yaounde on how to end the
separatist insurgency in the country's English-speaking parts. The dialogue
should last a week. Some separatist leaders participate, while others demand
that the talks be held abroad with foreign mediators in place.
MRC politicians are imprisoned
September 9th
Mamadou Mota, deputy chairman of the opposition party MRC, is sentenced to
two years in prison for participating in a July revolt among prisoners in
Yaounde's prison. Mota was in custody in prison awaiting another trial, for
rioting in connection with regime-critical mass protests. Mota calls the
judgment "clearly political". The MRC leader Maurice Kamto is also facing the
right to rise.
August
Lifetime of separatist leaders
20th of August
A military court sentenced Julius Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, leader of the
English-speaking separatists, to life imprisonment for terrorism and separatism.
Nine other separatists are sentenced to the same sentence for similar crimes.
The ten are also fined a total of $ 422 million. Ayuk Tabe is considered to be
among the more moderate separatists and judges fear that the life sentence
against him may radicalize the movement. Ayuk Tabe has declared himself
President of the English-speaking outbreak state Ambazonia which was formed in
October 2017. The announcement of Ambazonia was met by a comprehensive military
offensive. Since then, attacks from both sides have demanded around 1,850
casualties according to the think tank International Crisis Group (ICG). The UN
estimates that around 530,000 people have been forced to flee their homes,
fighting between separatists and government soldiers.
July
AI: "Fifty million MRC supporters have been tortured"
July 26
Security forces have tortured 59 people who fought for Maurice Kamto, leader
of the MRC opposition party, to be released from prison where he has been
sitting since January 2019. This is what Amnesty International writes . Kamto
was imprisoned together with 107 other opposites. MRC has been organizing
demonstrations since October 2018, when Paul Biya won the presidential election
that MRC believes was rigged to Biya's advantage. The 59 arrested must have been
beaten with wooden canes, batons and cables in a police repository. They must
also have been forced to "walk like ducks in mud", that is, in a humiliating
way.
March
HRW: At least 170 civilian casualties
March 28
At least 170 civilians have been killed in the separatist uprising in
English-speaking Cameroon since October 2018, Human Rights Watch (HRW) writes in
a new report. The government forces have killed large numbers of civilians, used
indiscriminate violence and burned down hundreds of homes, the human rights
organization writes. During the same period, 31 soldiers were killed. According
to HRW, separatists abused and kidnapped dozens of people and executed at least
two men. The think tank The International Crisis Group (ICG) states
significantly higher death rates: over 500 civilians and more than 200 soldiers.
Dozens of opposition prisoners
the 13th of March
Twenty-six people arrested in connection with protest demonstrations
organized by MRC leader Maurice Kamto (see January 2019) have
been sentenced to one year in prison each, their defense lawyers say . At least
twelve of those convicted are MRC members.
February
Kamto is charged with rebellion
February 13
Opposition Party MRC leader Maurice Kamto is charged with rebellion along
with 28 other MRC supporters. Kamto says he was stripped of victory in the
October 2018 presidential election and has called for protests against it. He is
taken to a prison in Yaounde (see January 2019).
Hospitals are burned to the ground
February 11
Four people are killed when unknown perpetrators attack a hospital, which
they then burn to the ground. The attack takes place in the city of Kumba in an
English-speaking area in western Cameroon. The city has previously been hit hard
by the advance of the separatists. It is unclear if the victims are shot dead or
if they die in the fire. It is also not known if these are patients. The attack
takes place on National Youth Day, which is the anniversary of the 1961
referendum that led to the addition of English-speaking territories to the
French-speaking territories that had just become free from colonial power France
(see Older History).
The United States holds military support
February 7
The United States is reducing its military support to Cameroon because of
information on human rights violations committed in connection with the
offensive against the rebels in the two English-speaking territories. The United
States praises Cameroon for its support in the fight against Boko Haram but says
it is concerned about the violent offensive against insurgency in the country.
Among other things, the United States holds the supply of nine armored vehicles,
four combat boats and materials for the refurbishment of an aircraft. The United
States is also setting up some training and training for Cameroonian soldiers
and is waiting to deliver a radar system. According to the think tank
International Crisis Group (ICG), at least 500 civilians and more than 200
soldiers have been killed in the government forces' offensive against the
rebels.
January
Kamto is arrested for rebellion
January 28
Opposition Party MRC leader Maurice Kamto is arrested by police in a party
hangover's residence in Douala and is being investigated for the uprising. After
the arrest, around 300 MRC supporters gathered outside the site of the arrest in
protest of the authorities' actions.
Leading MRC politicians are arrested
January 26
At least three people were shot in connection with a demonstration in Douala
in support of Maurice Kamto of the MRC. It reports MRC representatives. It is
unclear who unloaded the shots. Kamto lost the presidential election in October
2018 against Paul Biya but has not yet accepted the election result. On the same
day, more than 100 people are arrested in connection with regime-critical
protests around the country, including the MRC treasurer and the party
responsible for Kamto's presidential campaign.
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