Cameroon Newspaper

The government adopted legislation in 1990 to authorize the formation of multiple political parties and ease restrictions on forming civil associations and private newspapers. Cameroon' s first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held in 1992 followed by municipal elections in 1996 and another round of legislative and presidential elections in 1997. Because the government refused to consider opposition demands for an independent election commission, the three major opposition parties boycotted the October 1997 presidential election, which Biya easily won. All of these elections were marred by severe irregularities. In December 2000, the National Assembly passed legislation creating the National Elections Observatory (NEO), an election watchdog body. NEO played an active role in supervising the conduct of local and legislative elections in June 2002, which demonstrated some progress but were still hampered by irregularities. The NEO also supervised the conduct of the ... [Read More]

Cameroon

Despite the large number of private newspapers in the country, the influence of print media was minimal. Distribution was problematic outside of major towns, and prices of independent newspapers were high, due largely to high government taxes on newsprint; however, during the year, the Government established a special fund to support the development of the press, particularly newspapers, and funds were dispersed to some private newspapers and radio stations during the year. According to media reports, funding was awarded very selectively, and some media outfits, such as Mutations and Radio Reine, refused to apply for funds because of the lack of accountability measures for the disbursement of funds. In addition, government control of newspaper warehouses allowed the seizure of controversial editions of certain newspapers prior to distribution. For example, the Government seized two editions of Mutations and one edition of Insight magazine because of controversial articles. ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Belize is a transit and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation. Women and children are trafficked to Belize, mainly from Central America, to work in Belize’s growing sex industry. Girls are trafficked internally for sexual exploitation, sometimes with the consent and encouragement of their parents. There are also reports of sexual and labor exploitation of men and women in Belize’s banana, sugarcane, and citrus industries. Some Chinese and Indians are trafficked to Belize for debt bondage. Exact numbers of trafficking victims are unknown, particularly the number of transnational trafficking victims, given Belize’s lengthy and porous borders. The Government of Belize does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. B ... [Read More]

Cameroon

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including: a. Freedom of Speech and Press The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government continued to impose limits on these rights. The Penal Code's libel laws specify that defamation, abuse, contempt, and dissemination of false news are offenses punishable by prison terms and heavy fines. The Government sometimes invoked these statutes to silence criticism of the Government and officials. Unlike in the previous year, no one was tried for defamation. The Government publishes an official newspaper, the Cameroon Tribune. This paper occasionally implies criticism of the Government; however, its reporters did not report extensively on activities or political parties critical of the Government, overtly criticize the ruling party, or portray government programs in an unfav ... [Read More]

Cameroon

Formal censorship ceased in 1997. Since 1998, the Government largely has ceased to interfere with private newspaper distribution or seize print runs of private newspapers; however, security forces continued to restrict press freedom by harassing or abusing private print media journalists. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that the Government harassed some newspapers through fiscal means. In May 2000, the Government sealed the offices of the Douala-based French-language publication Le Front Independent for one day due to non-payment of taxes estimated at $21,000 (15 million CFA francs) by the Littoral Province Office of Taxation. In June 2000, the Government again sealed the paper's offices, claiming that arrears had jumped to $57,000 (40 million CFA francs). The newspaper and the taxation office reportedly were negotiating a deal at year's end. ... [Read More]

Cameroon

From March through May, the Government harassed some newspapers through fiscal means.  On April 30, the Center Provincial Taxes Department sealed the office of the Yaounde-based French-language newspaper, L'Anecdote, demanding that the paper pay tax arrears of $280,000 (200 million CFA).  According to one newspaper, the move was prompted by an article the paper had published in September 1999, accusing the wife of a senior official of the Ministry of Finance of involvement in the embezzlement scandal at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, for which the Government later arrested her.  On May 19, the Government sealed the offices of the Douala-based French-language publication Le Front Independent for one day due to non-payment of taxes estimated at $21,000 (15 million CFA) by the Littoral Province Office of Taxation.  In early June, the Government again sealed the paper's offices, claiming that arrears had jumped to $57,000 (40 million CFA).  The newsp ... [Read More]

Cameroon

The Catholic Church operates two of the country's few modern private printing presses (one in Yaounde and one in Douala), and a weekly newspaper, L'Effort Camerounais. A 2000 government decree requires potential commercial radio broadcasters to submit a licensing application, pay a fee when the application is approved, and pay an annual licensing fee of $15,600 (10 million CFA francs). Two private religious radio stations that had been broadcasting illegally, the Pentecostal Radio Bonne Nouvelle and Radio Reine, which is managed by a Catholic priest although not officially sponsored by the Catholic Church, continued to broadcast while awaiting official authorization. A new private Catholic radio station, Radio Veritas, submitted its application to broadcast in January 2001, and is currently awaiting official licensing before broadcasting. ... [Read More]

Cameroon

The Catholic Church operates two of the country's few modern private printing presses (one in Yaounde and one in Douala), and publishes a weekly newspaper, L'Effort Camerounais. ... [Read More]

United States Embassy Cameroon: Information Resource Center/Library

The IRC subscribes to more than 50 general and specialized periodicals in English and French, including scholarly journals and current American newspapers. ...

Periodical & Newspaper Collection ...

The IRC subscriptions also include several Online databases covering a range of sources and subjects in mostly full-text format:PROQUEST, First Search, EBSCO (Full-text articles from thousands of American journals and newspapers)PDQ (U.S. Policy Documents)Lexis-Nexis, Dow Jones (Legislation by Federal and State government)Galenet (News, transcripts, etc.)InfoUSA (General information about the U.S.)Apart from indepth and specialized searches for target audiences, the IRC provides quick reference services on contacts, addresses, simple statistics, biographical information, professional and non-governmental associations, and articles in specific areas. ... [Read More]

United States Embassy Cameroon: The American Cultural Center celebrates World Press Freedom Day 2005

The people of Dzeng will live to remember this visit for a very long time. “For the past 50 years, we have not had any visit of such magnitude,” the Mayor of the Dzeng said and one of the villagers exclaimed, “America has come to us!” The national radio/television, CRTV, the state-owned daily, “Cameroon Tribune,” as well as the private newspaper “La Nouvelle Expression,” reported positively on the events. STV, a private TV station in Douala will report on this visit. Radio Reine reported on the event. Media reports on the events reached an estimated audience of 5 million. Hon. Nnemnde welcoming his guest to Dzeng [Read More]