VZCZCXRO7598
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHYD #0486/01 1521608
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 011608Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9946
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 000486 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2019 
TAGS: AMGT CM ECON MAS PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: CAMEROONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER PRAISES BILATERAL 
RELATIONS 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Scott Ticknor for reasons 1.4 (d) and (e) 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  On May 18, Ambassador met with 
Cameroonian Minister of External Affairs Henri Eyebe Ayissi, 
who praised bilateral relations and cited regional and 
maritime security as his top foreign policy priority.  He 
claimed to know little about an ongoing case of piracy 
involving an American company.  He noted presidential support 
for a planned Africa-wide gendarme training center outside 
Yaounde.  End summary. 
 
US-Cameroon Relations 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Ayissi praised Cameroon-U.S. cooperation and 
congratulated us for being voted into the Human Rights 
Council, adding that human rights is a priority for President 
Biya.  He hoped the Obama administration would develop close 
ties to Africa, especially Cameroon, and that President Obama 
would keep Cameroon in his future travel plans.  "We 
appreciate what you do for us," he added. 
 
Priorities 
---------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  When asked about his foreign policy priorities, 
Ayissi said security in Central Africa topped the list, 
especially maritime security.  He appreciated U.S. assistance 
in this area and noted the recently signed maritime security 
agreement signed by the Economic Community of Central African 
States (CEAC).  He hoped the U.S. would support Cameroon's 
aspirations to be a logistics base for an Africa-wide standby 
force.  Ayissi also pointed to the priority need to address 
the global economic crisis and said Cameroon planned to have 
high level participation at a G-20 meeting on the world 
economic situation in New York in June. 
 
Other Issues 
------------ 
 
¶4.  (C)  Tidewater:  Ambassador asked if the Foreign Minister 
had any update on the Tidewater hostage situation. (Note: 
pirates attacked a ship owned by Tidewater, a U.S. company, 
in Cameroonian waters on March 14, taking four non-Amcit 
hostages.  The ship is now reportedly in Nigerian waters and 
sources in Delegate General of National Security (Chief of 
Police) told us that the Foreign Minister had been charged 
with approaching the Nigerian government to help resolve the 
problem, which the Nigerian High Commissioner to Cameroon 
later confirmed to Ambassador.  End note.)   Ayissi said this 
matter was being handled by the Minister of Defense and 
required "great discretion". 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  EIFORCES:  Ambassador asked about how the 
government views EIFORCES, a planned gendarme peacekeeping 
training center based outside of Yaounde.  Earlier in the 
week the Foreign Ministry had helped organize a visit by the 
entire diplomatic corps and a visiting African Union/European 
Union delegation to the EIFORCES site, including a briefing 
and a live demonstration of riot control techniques.  Ayissi 
affirmed that the President was committed to creating 
EIFORCES but that the timing and funding were to be 
determined.  He hoped the U.S. would support it (Ambassador 
noted we have a small amount of money for such support). 
 
¶6.  (U)  American School Murder:  Ambassador explained that 
in 2005 Franck Abega, a Cameroonian student whose father is a 
Mayor of Yaounde and a former soccer star, murdered a fellow 
student at the American School of Yaounde (ASOY).  Abega had 
since been under guard at a Yaounde psychiatric hospital but 
on April 20 he showed up at ASOY asking for a specific 
teacher.  Ambassador noted that this was deeply disturbing to 
ASOY and the Embassy.  Abega was detained with RSO help and 
is now under guard again in the hospital but Ambassador 
stressed concerns for the safety of the school and the 
importance of this not happening again.  The Foreign Minister 
understood our concern and the importance of the issue and 
promised to look into it.  (Note:  Embassy had demarched the 
Ministry formally about our concerns in a diplomatic note on 
April 23.  Ambassador had also raised this issue earlier with 
the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of 
Justice.  The Justice Minister is investigating the case and 
promised to seek a more satisfactory solution for Abega and 
the school.  DCM also reinforced our concerns with the Deputy 
Secretary General at the Presidency and the Director of the 
Americas at the Foreign Ministry.  End note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
 
YAOUNDE 00000486  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7.  (C)  In his typically awkward style, Ayissi brought seven 
note takers into the meeting, staged the press outside, and 
expounded in flowery, legalistic French without saying much. 
We believe he knows more about the Tidewater issue than he 
was willing to discuss.  He seemed genuinely positive about 
U.S.-Cameroon relations, suggesting that Biya might seek a 
meeting with President Obama on the margins of the UNGA in 
September.  Ayissi asked specifically about U.S. Middle East 
policy, whereas his Director of Americas asked earlier in the 
week for information about U.S.-Latin America policy - 
pointing to an interest in the Obama Administration's broader 
approach to foreign policy. 
GARVEY