...Prohibits public demonstrations.

Cameroon’s National Assembly has voted into law a bill tabled by government prescribing death sentence on individual(s) who stage public demonstrations.

The bill tabled in the form of a law punishing individuals found guilty of acts of terrorism slowly but surely proceeded to rope in perpetrators of public demonstrations. Government originally submitted the bill to parliament under the heading ‘bill N° 962/PJL/AN on the suppression of acts of terrorism.’

Observers have said the bill as drafted deliberately defines the word ‘terrorism’ to include citizens who carry out public protest against the regime. The law is seen mainly to deter a massive political uprising in the country in the magnitude of what took place in Burkina Faso and led to the fall of the Compaore regime.

Fears are rife that the voted law shall automatically apply on the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC activists and even journalists who report positively on the activity of any demonstrator(s).

SDF members of parliament distanced themselves from the bill which passed thanks to the CPDM overwhelming majority. The vote took place, Thursday evening, December 4.

Once President Biya affixes his signature on the bill, it becomes law and gets enshrined in the penal code of Cameroon. Contrarily to the 1996 constitution which authorizes public demonstrations, the bill is a sharp contrast of the right to public demonstration. Chapter II, section II, paragraph 1 of the bill opens with the intent to completely annihilate any attempt of public demonstration.

It states; “Whoever, acting alone as an accomplice or an accessory, commits or threatens to commit an act likely to cause death, endanger physical integrity, cause bodily injury or material damage, destroy natural resources, the environment or cultural heritage with intent to:

a) intimidate the public, provoke a situation of terror or force the victim, the government and/or a national or international organization to carry out or refrain from carrying out an act, adopt or renounce a particular position;

b) disrupt the normal functioning of public services, the delivery of essential services to the public or create a crisis situation among the public;

c) create widespread insurrection in the country; d) shall be punished with the death penalty.”

The wording of the bill makes it difficult to draw a line between terrorism and public demonstration. Chapter II, section 4 of the bill harps on what it refers to as ‘laundering of terrorism.

“Whoever: a) procures, receives, keeps converts, transfers dissimulates or disguises goods that are proceeds or acts of terrorism; b) partakes in the use or sharing, even occasionally, of proceeds of acts of terrorism; shall be punished with the death penalty.”

Under this clause, journalists could be very vulnerable, especially when section 8 of the law prescribes severe sanctions on individuals who disseminate publicly, the activities of ‘terrorists.’

“Whoever publicly acclaims acts of terrorism shall be punished with imprisonment of from fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years or a fine of from Twenty-five million FCFA (25.000.000) to fifty million (50.000.000) or both such imprisonment and fine.”

Owing to the peculiarity of the said offences, the bill places offenders exclusively under the jurisdiction of military tribunals, while the provisions of the penal code, the criminal procedure code and the military justice code that are not repugnant to the law shall, going by the bill remain applicable.

Meanwhile, the SDF parliamentary group issued a memo signed by the group leader, Joseph Banadzem condemning the immensity of the bill and distancing themselves from it.

While acknowledging the adverse role terrorism plays in the society, the memo partly states; “this law which seeks to suppress acts of terrorist movements or organisations and their members, accomplices and accessories lacks definition and makes every citizen a potential terrorist.”

The SDF memo observes that the motive behind the bill is to muzzle the press and curb opposition activities.

“Either in its lack of reflection or its ill-intended move, the government has rather geared its objective to; muzzle the press, open up avenues to curb opposition activities, give blanket check to administrative and judicial authorities… indeed, this law makes the entire country becomes a ZOPAC".

The SDF MPs have in the memo drawn the house speaker’s attention to the fact that the death penalty is illegal because it violates the universal declaration of human rights to which Cameroon is a signatory.

Apart from stating that government has not clearly defined what terrorism is, Fru Ndi’s MPS also argued that the bill is unjust, cruel and counter-productive, given that it justifies excessive violence as well as promotes numerous human right abuses through state security apparatus.

The bill is also coming at a time when the opposition SDF announced only just last month that next month, January 2015, it is going to lead a massive uprising of the people that should usher Biya out of power as in the case of Blaise Compaore in Burkina Faso.