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Viewing cable 08YAOUNDE103, CAMEROONIAN PRESIDENT BIYA TELLS AMBASSADOR HE

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08YAOUNDE103 2008-01-31 18:04 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Yaounde
VZCZCXRO6398
RR RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHYD #0103/01 0311804
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 311804Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8526
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE 0073
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1695
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1993
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 YAOUNDE 000103 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PARIS AND LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2018 
TAGS: ASEC ECON ENIV MAS PGOV PHUM PINR PREL
SUBJECT: CAMEROONIAN PRESIDENT BIYA TELLS AMBASSADOR HE 
PLANS CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jane E. Garvey for reasons 1.4 (d) and (e). 
 
1.  (C)  On January 31, Ambassador met for one-and-a-half 
hours with President Paul Biya, at our request.  Biya 
outlined his plans to change the constitution in March to 
eliminate term limits.  He hoped this would reduce internal 
friction within his government.  He plans to create a Vice 
President position and hopes to get the Electoral Commission 
off the ground in anticipation of elections in 2011.  He was 
worried about Cameroon's security situation and appreciated 
USG mil-mil cooperation.  Biya reiterated support for 
fighting corruption, voicing distrust of a key figure in our 
cooperation in this area, Francis Dooh Collins.  End summary. 
 
Constitutional Change 
--------------------- 
 
2.  (C)  Ambassador told Biya that Washington was concerned 
about the pace and direction of his move to change the 
constitution to eliminate term limits, noting that the United 
States viewed term limits and leadership change as healthy 
for democracy.  Biya confirmed that in March he plans to 
change the constitution to eliminate term limits.  His 
government had become increasingly distracted by internal 
jockeying for position in anticipation of a succession 
post-2011, when his mandate was due to expire.  The internal 
battles were preventing the proper functioning of government, 
he said, adding that Cameroon could not handle three years of 
campaigning.  He feared the military might intervene in such 
a case.  Also in March, he plans to amend the constitution to 
create a position of Vice President.  This was a more 
significant change than changing term limits, he said, 
ensuring leadership "if the President dies".  The current 
constitutional arrangement, which in case of his death would 
cede power to the Speaker of the National Assembly until 
elections 40 days later, are untenable and could spur 
military intervention, he said.  Biya did not depict the Vice 
President as his obvious successor or even the party's 
candidate in 2011.  When Ambassador asked if he would run in 
2011, Biya said "I don't know if I'll be alive, or a 
candidate, or if I run, if I will be elected." 
 
3.  (C)  Biya praised US-Cameroon relations and appreciated 
the attention we give to his country.  He asked Ambassador to 
convey to President Bush his commitment to "move toward 
democracy".  It was important for 2011 elections to be 
"sincere" (Ambassador interjected "transparent and 
democratic" and he repeated "sincere").  Biya stressed the 
importance of creating the Electoral Commission ELECAM this 
year and giving it independence from any ministry.  He 
acknowledged the importance of press freedoms, although he 
thought it was at times abused.  Biya was contemplating 
sending emissaries to Washington, London and Paris to explain 
his rationale for constitutional change. 
 
Security 
-------- 
 
4.  (C)  Biya was very concerned about the country's security 
situation, citing worries about the possible spillover of 
instability in CAR, Chad, and Sudan and noting the challenges 
of banditry, especially in the north.  He was puzzled by the 
recent attack against Cameroonian troops in Bakassi, saying 
an investigation was still ongoing but many of the details - 
especially the fact that the local commander had ordered 
weapons to be locked up - were troubling.  He noted the many 
internal forces threatening internal stability, wanting to 
avoid a situation like Kenya. 
 
5.  (C)  The President repeatedly praised USG security 
assistance.  He had read a January 16 letter from the 
Ambassador outlining USG mil-mil engagement and showed 
Ambassador a large dossier of documents he compiled to read 
up on the subject.  He was delighted with our ongoing navy 
ship visits and the upcoming ACSS maritime security 
conference, saying he would send many senior officials to 
attend.  He was interested in planned special forces training 
and looked forward to the late February visit of AFRICOM 
Commander General Ward.  Cameroon wants to participate in 
peacekeeping operations and is prepared to contribute three 
battalions of troops but does not have the funds to equip and 
deploy them, Biya said, though he speculated that Nigeria 
might be able to help financially. 
 
YAOUNDE 00000103  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
6.  (C)  Biya said he would remove several of his generals in 
the next month, criticizing them as too old and fat.  He 
encouraged us to work with the Israeli colonel assigned to 
his presidential guard, who he conceded could be difficult 
but was effective.  He clearly did not think highly of 
Minister of Defense Ze Meka. 
 
U.S. Commercial Interests 
------------------------- 
 
7.  (C)  The President said he wanted to encourage U.S. 
investment and he was aware of the U.S. mining company 
Hydromine and recent discussions with a US company to manage 
Camair (Note:  PM Inoni told Ambassador just before she went 
to the Presidency that the GRC hoped to get US company 
Capital Aerospace to help Camair.  End note.) 
 
Corruption 
---------- 
 
8.  (C)  The President stressed his continuing commitment to 
combating corruption, which he thought was important to 
tackle now because it would be more difficult once a "young" 
president takes his place.  He was aware of efforts by the 
police and ANIF (the GRC's financial crime office) in 
corruption cases, saying would act on several dossiers in the 
next month.  He was frustrated with corruption in the army 
and said he did not trust Francis Dooh Collins, whose 
services were costing too much (note:  As reported septel, 
Collins is the central figure who has been working with the 
Ministry of Justice, USDOJ and other foreign governments to 
recover illicit funds overseas.  He is also part of a new 
anti-moneylaundering cell.  End note.)  Biya was interested 
in recuperating overseas proceeds from corruption and said it 
was not necessary to send corrupt officials to jail if they 
were cooperating with the government and showed remorse.  He 
implied that his highly corrupt former Minister of Finance 
Abah Abah was cooperating. 
 
Echoes of Other Conversations 
----------------------------- 
 
9.  (C)  Conversations we have had over the past week with 
people highly placed in the government offered slight twists 
on Biya's plans.  In a January 28 meeting, Deputy Secretary 
General of the Presidency, Philemon Yang, told the Ambassador 
that since 2003, some CPDM "militants" had been advocating 
changing the presidential term limits.  Yang said that Biya 
thought his comments in the October 2007 France24 interview, 
in which he said the constitutional issue could wait, would 
sideline the party "militants" but it did not (Biya, on the 
other hand, intimated to Ambassador that this interview was 
not planned and his remarks on the constitution not well 
thought out).  Yang insisted that no decision had been made 
about a constitutional change and that there would be an open 
discussion about the matter with the opposition.  Yang added 
that Biya has always "carried himself as someone whose term 
will end in 2011" and that the oppositions' fears that Biya 
wants to remain in office for life were "unwarranted".  Yang 
said that the current issue of changing term limits was 
merely a "procedural" matter which could be handled through 
Parliament and depicted constitutional change as "part of a 
package" that would include creating a transparent, 
independent ELECAM, which he said would be in place before 
June.  Yang emphasized that the President was trying to be 
"thoughtful" in his actions, mindful of his militant party 
wing and the lack of a democratic political culture in the 
country. 
 
10.  (C)  Poloff recently spoke to a close family member with 
considerable access to Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni who 
concurred that Biya wanted to use constitutional change as a 
way to maneuver himself out of office while ensuring the 
safety and security of his family, ethnic group and the 
nation.  He believed that Biya would change the Constitution 
in March, create a Vice Presidential position and reduce the 
Presidential term limit.  The source predicted that Biya 
would hold an extraordinary congress of the CPDM in which he 
would announce the Vice President.  (Note: The CPDM recently 
announced a "seminar" for all CPDM Section heads to begin on 
February 7. End Note.)  He thought the VP would not be a Beti 
(the President's ethnic group), a Northerner (many 
 
YAOUNDE 00000103  003 OF 003 
 
 
northerners are still bitter over the treatment of former 
President Amadou Ahidjo) or a Bameleke (considered already to 
be too economically powerful).  Instead, he opined, it would 
be someone from a politically neutral part of the country. 
The source added that the President would call for elections 
in the first half of 2009 and then would step down. 
 
11. (C)  CPDM Parliamentarian and Vice President of the 
National Assembly Rose Abunaw told us separately in the past 
week that the President would not wait until the March 2008 
Parliamentary Session, but instead would call an 
extraordinary Parliamentary Session to pass the 
constitutional amendment in February.  Poloff also spoke with 
Adama Modi, an outspoken CPDM Parliamentarian, who stated 
that President Biya's primary concern was the safety of his 
family and nation.  He opined that perhaps if Biya were given 
assurances that there would be no retribution against him, 
his ethnic group or his family he would leave the Presidency 
in 2011.  Finance Minister Essemi Menyi also confirmed Biya's 
plans to change the constitution in a discussion with 
Ambassador this week, saying there were "too many bull 
elephants" in the government and Biya was trying to reduce 
the dissonance in his administration. 
 
Comment 
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12.  (C)  Biya was talkative, engaging and well informed.  He 
spoke of his exercise routines (swimming, walking and biking) 
and seemed energetic, although his eyes were very bloodshot. 
It is not clear that he is worn out and seeking an exit any 
time soon, as many speculate.  He was not in a listening mode 
on the issue of constitutional change; he offered up his 
thoughts on all these issues virtually unprompted and 
appeared to have clearly made up his mind on the term limit 
issue, despite suggestions by Philemon Yang that the 
President remains in some way open minded.  Biya professes 
personal affection for President Bush, values our mil-mil 
relationship, and sees our commercial relationship as a 
counterbalance to the Chinese, who he appears to distrust. 
We can hope for (but not bank on) progress on corruption and 
investment promotion.  We will continue efforts to promote 
political dialogue and democracy building and will speak out 
about the democratic value of term limits and regular 
leadership change.  However, it is now clearer that we 
probably have little to no scope to change Biya's mind on 
extending term limits through a constitutional amendment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GARVEY