Kini Nsom
30 March 2008
SDF National Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi has refuted claims that government has succeeded in intimidating his party to swallow its anti-constitutional amendment protests.
Speaking to the press in Yaounde recently, Fru Ndi said despite government bid to cow the SDF into submission, the party will fine-tune its plan and map out effective strategies to re-launch street demonstrations.
Critics held that by calling off the anti-constitutional amendments street demonstrations in Douala, the SDF had virtually danced to government's music. They claimed that such a call toned down the spate of protests against government's attempts to amend the constitution.
When one Journalist asked the SDF Littoral Provincial Chairman, Hon. Jean Michel Nintcheu to explain, Fru Ndi said he would not allow Nintcheu to talk because he was not the one granting the press conference. He said the party's National Executive Committee, NEC, will deliberate on the issue and map out strategies to re-launch the street demonstration.
"I want to make it abundantly clear that the SDF supports the people's right to peaceful demonstration in reaction to injustice and search for social justice. I strongly condemn any government or its officials that give orders to forces of law and order to kill, rape and vandalise its people."
He said the SDF will not equally tolerate any vicious hidden agenda of the CPDM government, calling on the National and international community to bear witness. Fru Ndi charged government with trampling on the law at will in a desperate attempt to suppress any contrary views on the debate on constitutional amendment.
"There is increasing and incontrovertible evidence of the non respect of the State, the institutions which it incarnates, as well as those duly elected to serve in these institutions. The most recent but tragic example is found in the arrest, handcuffing and questioning of Hon. Nintcheu, Member of Parliament, as well as the confiscation of his passport."
Fru Ndi said in their lawlessness, the gendarmes did not care a damn about Hon. Nintcheu's elected status and parliamentary immunity when they were molesting him. He disclosed that the elected CPDM mayor of Njombe-Penja, was abruptly sacked by an order of the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, MINATD. The said mayor, Paul Eric Kingue, is said to be currently detained in Nkongsamba with no recourse to due process on charges of leading the recent strike in his area.
"If Mr. Biya calls Cameroon a State of Law, he must not allow the process of law to be trampled upon. We recall here the 21 members of the SDF who were arrested two years ago and are still languishing in prison without trial in complete disrespect of the law whereas the perpetuators of the May 26, 2006 prohibited convention are going about freely, and this is the sad fate of many Cameroonians."
Fru Ndi further called on Cameroonians to resist any attempt to change the Constitution. Hear him, "I call on all Cameroonians to be vigilant and be prepared to defend our nation from the imminent threat of collapse that would result from any attempt to modify Section 6(2) of the 1996 Constitution in order to externalise Mr. Biya in power after a record 26 years of bad governance. It is better to die in dignity for a just cause than to live in slavery."
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