2008 Cameroonian anti-government protests Totally Explained

Everything about 2008 Cameroonian Anti-government Protests totally explained

The 2008 Cameroon protests were a series of violent demonstrations in Cameroon's biggest cities that took place from 25 February to 29 February 2008. The protests followed on the heels of a strike by transport workers, who were opposing high fuel prices and poor working conditions. Further political turmoil had been caused by President Paul Biya's announcement that he wanted the constitution to be amended to remove term limits; without such an amendment, he'd have to leave office at the end of his term in 2011. Large groups of youths, whom the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) political party and the government blame one another for organising, took to the streets of Douala, Yaoundé, Bamenda, and other major cities, looting and vandalising property. The government sent in troops to crack down on the unrest, and protesters and troops alike were killed. The official government tally is that 40 people were killed, but human rights groups claim that the total is closer to 100. Government figures place damage to property at tens of billions of francs CFA (15.2 million euros or US$23.4 million).
In response to the protests, President Biya reduced the cost of fuel, raised salaries of civil servants and military personnel, reduced the duties paid on cement, and suspended duties on essential goods such as cooking oil, fish, and rice. Government forces also claimed to have arrested more than 1,600 people, including government officials, and to have prosecuted 200. Human rights groups and defence attorneys, on the other hand, claimed that more than 2,000 people had been arrested in Douala alone and decried the trials as overly swift, secretive, and severe. The government has also cracked down on artists, media outlets and journalists it accuses of threatening national stability.

Causes

The protests grew out of a strike by the urban transport union, which consists of bus, taxi, and lorry drivers. The union was angered over the rise in fuel prices and poor working conditions in Cameroon; so they scheduled a strike for 25 February 2008. high unemployment among youths, and President Paul Biya's proposal that the constitution be amended to abolish term limits on the presidency and allow him to run in the 2011 election. Biya has been president of Cameroon since 1982. On 23 February, an unauthorised protest of several hundred Cameroonians in the Douala suburb of Newtown, opposing Biya's proposed constitutional reforms, was broken up by police who allegedly turned tear gas and water cannons on the demonstrators, killing at least one. Conditions in Douala were peaceful the following day until that evening, when gunfire was heard near Douala International Airport.
Fru Ndi and the SDF have rejected the government's claims, citing several peaceful SDF-led protests in the past. Fru Ndi told the government to look at their own policies as the cause of the unrest. Fru Ndi said that he'd information that implicated government officials with "[manipulating] the State apparatus and its information system" in a bid to deflect attention from their own corruption.

Protests

The protests began on 25 February 2008 in Douala. Meanwhile, groups of young people looted and vandalised property, including petrol stations and a retail store.
   By 27 February, the protests had spread to other Cameroonian cities. Government figures show that the protests eventually spread to 31 municipal areas in five of Cameroon's ten provinces: the Centre, Littoral, Northwest, Southwest, and West. Marafa claims that the SDF collected and transported youths between hotpoints, including Bafoussam, Bamenda, Douala, and Yaoundé. Government forces allegedly stopped such convoys outside major cities on 25 February and 27 February.
   The unrest continued through 29 February 2008. He also raised the pay of military personnel. The government reduced the custom duty paid on cement from 20 percent to 10 percent to address a shortage of building materials. According to one report, the defendants are tried en masse (one trial had more than 150 defendants), and defence attorneys are not alerted beforehand whom that'll be asked to represent nor given access to police reports and files. Another SDF leader was arrested at the airport attempting to travel to Europe. He was accused of being the mastermind of the demonstrations. However, Cameroonians report that the government reprisals and fear of anther uprising have created a "climate of terror" in the country.
   Despite the protests, the National Assembly voted to change the Constitution to remove term limits on April 10 2008. Given the CPDM's control of the National Assembly, the change was overwhelmingly approved, with 157 votes in favor and five opposed; the 15 deputies of the SDF chose to boycott the vote in protest, denouncing it as a "constitutional coup". The change also provided for the President to enjoy immunity from prosecution for his actions as President after leaving office.

Deaths and damages

As of 10 March 2008, official government figures put the number of deaths at 40, which includes both government security personnel and civilians. Afité claims that the bans extend to photographing the remains or publishing the results of autopsies of those who died in the protests.
According to the government, during the demonstrations, protesters vandalised and sacked bars, bakeries, government buildings, industrial sites, 33 petrol stations, pharmacies, sales kiosks, security stations, and vehicles. The government estimates the damage caused by the protests at tens of billions of francs CFA (15.2 million euros or US$23.4 million).
On the 12 April 2008, opposition SDF leader John Fru Ndi called for a national day of mourning for 21 April 2008 to commemorate those who died during the protests and the "death of democracy" in Cameroon due to the April 2008 ammendments to the constitution to allow the president to run for more than two terms.

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