Cameroon (GV) – In English-speaking regions of Cameroon, the internet has been shut down since January.
This is not unprecedented — when faced with widespread public discontent, some governments respond by blocking access to social networks or the Internet altogether. In Africa, multiple countries have resort to this tactic when threatened by electoral violence, student uprisings, union protests, or political instability following unpopular decisions by the government.
The current unrest in Cameroon’s anglophone regions stems from many factors. In a blog post published on courrierdesafriques.net, Bounya Lottin explains why lawyers took to the streets in protest on October 11, 2016.
Escalating feelings of marginalization in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest Regions lie at the heart of this long-lived drama. Anglophones represent approximately 20% of Cameroon’s population of 22.5 million.
Teachers, students and unions soon followed suit as they sounded off against the unequal status of the English language in education, business, and institutions. On December 8, 2016, the number of deadly confrontations with police and arrests of protesters quickly escalated in the streets of the Northwest Region capital, Bamenda. There were 4 casualties and serious injuries.
In the face of increasing unrest, access to the internet was cut off in English-speaking areas in mid-January 2017. There have been serious and widespread repercussions since.
Access Now, an organization that defends the digital rights of users at risk around the world, has published an open letter on its website addressing the CEOs of Cameroonian telecommunication companies. Twenty civil society organizations from Cameroon, Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere have signed the document.
Ticmag.net, a website featuring African ITC and telecommunications news, published an article citing a report from the NGO Internet sans frontières.
The blackout continues, despite the fact that as far back as 2012, Alexandre Salque noted on 01net.com, one of France’s most visited sites specializing in information technology, that the UN (of which Cameroon is a member) has recognized access to the internet as a basic human right.
Subsequently, in July 2016, during its 32nd session, the same group adopted by consensus a further resolution on freedom of expression on the internet.
The resolution also encouraged all nations to guarantee freedom of expression in accordance with their international obligations.
Unfortunately, the Cameroon government has decided to ignore its obligations to such international resolutions and continues to attack freedom of expression as evidenced by threats from the National Communication Council (NCC) on January 20, 2017 to suspend or close several media outlets. The Union of Cameroonian journalists has called on the Cameroonian authorities to put an end to threats against the media and journalists and to engage in a constructive dialogue with the media on their role in Cameroon’s society.
This report prepared by Abdoulaye Bah, translated by Julie Walker for Global Voices.