Two United States Members of Congress, Charles Ellis Schumer and Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand have in a joint letter written to the the US Ambassador at the United Nations.
Nikki Hale and Rex Wayne Tillerson current United States Secretary of State, serving since February 1, 2017, under President Donald Trump their concerns of the worsening situation in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon.
Read the full Letter:
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
November 1, 2017
The Honorable Rex Tillerson
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington DC. 20520
The Honorable Nikki Haley
Ambassador
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
2201 C Street NW
Washington DC. 20520
Dear Secretary Tillerson and Ambassador Haley,
We write to express our concern regarding the worsening situation in Cameroon. In particular, we would call your attention to reports by the New York Times and the BBC about injuries, assaults and deaths in the English-speaking regions. After the reported deaths of over 20 people during rallies held in early October, we are approaching a critical juncture. The rallies were held to protest the way that Francophone and Anglophone regions of the country were fused together in 1961.
For reasons based both in our values and our national interest, we support a unified Cameroon based on both equality amongst all language and ethnic groups and mutual respect. We urge the United States Government to convey this position to the current government and to the Cameroonian community here in America We are concerned about disturbing State Department and Amnesty International reports of live ammunition being used to disperse protests, mass arrests, increasingly harsh crackdowns on freedom of the press, severe restrictions on the movement of people living in predominantly Anglophone areas, and internet blackouts imposed by the government targeting the country’s English-speaking minority.
Cameroon is already being tested by Boko Haram activity in the north, and by tens of thousands of refugees flowing across the border from the Central African Republic in the east. According to Amnesty International and subsequent media reports by CNN, harsh tactics by state security forces, including alleged torture and extrajudicial killings, have occurred. It is our worry that such harsh actions are likely to further drive radicalization and anti-govemment sentiment in all affected regions, and undermine the intended impact ofsignificant U.S. security assistance. We are further concerned that a failure to depolarize the current situation will result in larger challenges that devolve into a crisis that threatens regional stability, U.S. interests in Cameroon, and the lives of American citizens currently living and working there.
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| Anglophone Crisis - United States Expresses Worry Over Worsening Situation In The North West and South West of Cameroon |
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
November 1, 2017
The Honorable Rex Tillerson
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington DC. 20520
The Honorable Nikki Haley
Ambassador
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
2201 C Street NW
Washington DC. 20520
Dear Secretary Tillerson and Ambassador Haley,
We write to express our concern regarding the worsening situation in Cameroon. In particular, we would call your attention to reports by the New York Times and the BBC about injuries, assaults and deaths in the English-speaking regions. After the reported deaths of over 20 people during rallies held in early October, we are approaching a critical juncture. The rallies were held to protest the way that Francophone and Anglophone regions of the country were fused together in 1961.
For reasons based both in our values and our national interest, we support a unified Cameroon based on both equality amongst all language and ethnic groups and mutual respect. We urge the United States Government to convey this position to the current government and to the Cameroonian community here in America We are concerned about disturbing State Department and Amnesty International reports of live ammunition being used to disperse protests, mass arrests, increasingly harsh crackdowns on freedom of the press, severe restrictions on the movement of people living in predominantly Anglophone areas, and internet blackouts imposed by the government targeting the country’s English-speaking minority.
Cameroon is already being tested by Boko Haram activity in the north, and by tens of thousands of refugees flowing across the border from the Central African Republic in the east. According to Amnesty International and subsequent media reports by CNN, harsh tactics by state security forces, including alleged torture and extrajudicial killings, have occurred. It is our worry that such harsh actions are likely to further drive radicalization and anti-govemment sentiment in all affected regions, and undermine the intended impact ofsignificant U.S. security assistance. We are further concerned that a failure to depolarize the current situation will result in larger challenges that devolve into a crisis that threatens regional stability, U.S. interests in Cameroon, and the lives of American citizens currently living and working there.
We urge you to do your utmost to ensure that Congress is kept promptly apprised of all the latest developments in Cameroon. We also ask to be kept informed of the State Department and Ambassador Haley’s efforts to protect the rights of all language and ethnic groups in Cameroon, in particular the country‘s English-speaking minority, which has too ofien been the target of discrimination. We also ask that you make this information available to members of theCameroonian diaspora community via a briefing at our UN Mission, so that they can be fully informed about the challenges facing their home country and about US. efforts to assist.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Kirsten Gillibnmd
United States Senator
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator.
