Cameroon - Q&A - Excerpts from the daily press briefing (14.06.18)
Q - According to the latest Amnesty International report, the Cameroonian army responded to demonstrations in that country with arbitrary arrests, torture, illegal homicides, and the destruction of property. The security forces destroyed villages and tortured at least 23 people, including minors, to extort “confessions” from them. Armed separatists attacked 42 schools and killed 44 members of the security forces. This matter was brought before the British and German Parliaments. Apart from condemning the violence on both sides, is France taking any initiatives to provide external mediation of the crisis?
A - We are closely monitoring the situation in Cameroon, a friend and partner, and we are concerned by the tensions persisting in the English-speaking regions. We reiterate our call for an end to the violence and call on all actors to show restraint.
As we have already said, we are convinced that only dialogue will make it possible to respond peacefully and in a concerted manner to the concerns of all the parties, in a way that respects the country’s unity and integrity. That is a message we are sending to the Cameroonian authorities and we are prepared, in cooperation with our international partners, to support all efforts leading in that direction.