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DE RUEHYD #0581/01 1801549
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E.O. 12958: N/W 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR CVIS CM
SUBJECT: Cameroon's Separatist SCNC Still Pushing its Cause 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is an 
Anglophone separatist movement whose ultimate goal is a return to 
the two-state Federation which existed pre-1972.  The movement has 
used violence in the past and has recently internationalized its 
campaign by lobbying in Washington, New York and Brussels.  The 
credibility of the SCNC is questionable, and fake asylum cases for 
supposed members are common in both the U.S. and Europe.  End 
summary. 
 
Historical Overview 
------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The SCNC was founded in April 1993 at an All Anglophone 
Conference (AAC) held in Buea, South West Region, in order to 
articulate Anglophone grievances.  These grievances include a return 
to a federation, better representation of Anglophones within the 
government, increased use of the English language (especially in 
official media), and an end to policies allegedly aimed at the 
cultural destruction of Anglophones as a people.  In 1993, 
Anglophones of Cameroon decided to come together and analyze their 
situation within an Anglophone/Francophone State.  Their principal 
decision was a call for a return to the Federation which existed 
before Cameroon became a unified nation on May 20, 1972. In 1994, 
the organizers of the AAC adopted a resolution which turned the AAC 
Standing Committee into a national movement called the Southern 
Cameroons National Council (SCNC).  In 1996, new leaders took over, 
with more radical ideas.  As of 2007, the organization calls itself 
the United Nations Trust Territory of the Southern Cameroons 
National Council (U.N.T.T.-SCNC).  This name has not been designated 
by the United Nations, and the SCNC is not an UN-recognized entity. 
The SCNC motto, "the force of argument, not the argument of force," 
is at odds with the group's violent history. 
 
A Violent Beginning 
------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The SCNC used violence in the 1990s as a means to demonstrate 
their commitment to the cause, and to show the Government of 
Cameroon (GRC) their seriousness.  In March 1997, SCNC members 
killed three gendarme officers in the North West Region. The group 
also tried to burn to death a Divisional Officer and his wife in 
March 1997, but the couple survived.  In 1999, the Yaounde Military 
Tribunal convicted 33 of these activists.  Sentences ranged from ten 
years to life imprisonment for charges such as murder, looting as an 
organized gang, illegal possession and use of fire arms.  Fifteen 
members are still serving prison terms.  Government buildings were 
also destroyed through arson or gun fire.  In 1999, SCNC activists 
seized the CRTV-Buea Radio station and declared the independence of 
Southern Cameroons.  Participants in these events were arrested and 
in 2000, the activists were sentenced to two to three years in jail, 
on charges of looting and declaration of secession. 
 
Lack of Legal Status Leads to Arrests 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) The SCNC has never filed an application with the GRC to form 
a political party and has never legally registered as an 
organization.  Although it claims to be a peaceful liberation 
movement, the SCNC is considered an illegal organization by the GRC 
because it supports secession, a cause which is illegal according to 
the Cameroonian Constitution.  According to Section 4 of the 
December 19, 1990 law which governs Freedom of Association, 
"Associations founded in support of a cause or in view of a purpose 
contrary to the Constitution, the law and public policy, as well as 
those whose purpose is to undermine especially security, the 
integrity of the national territory, national unity, national 
integration or the republican character of the state shall be null 
and void." 
 
¶5. (U) SCNC members are often arrested when they meet, since illegal 
organizations are not allowed to meet.  A group was arrested on 
October 1, 2008 for raising an SCNC flag on the anniversary of 
Cameroon's conversion from federal to unitary state.  This case was 
recently adjourned to June 29, 2009 due to the absence of several of 
the accused.  Twenty-four SCNC members were arrested on April 21, 
2009 in Bamenda as they gathered for a meeting.  The members were 
released quickly and legal proceedings have not yet started on this 
case.  Ten SCNC members were arrested on May 27, 2009 and seven were 
released soon after.  Three members were transferred to Yaounde for 
judicial proceedings and released on June 3, 2009. 
Leadership 
---------- 
 
¶6. (U) The current head of the SCNC is Ambassador Henry Fossung, the 
Secretary General is the Reverend Dr. Andrew Ambeazich, and the 
spokesperson is Barrister Achem Joseph Ashu.  Henry Fossung is a 
retired career diplomat with a Masters degree in Law and 
International Relations from the American University in Washington, 
D.C.  He served as Cameroon's Ambassador to the Central African 
Republic, Chad, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.  There are branch 
offices of the SCNC abroad that lobby foreign governments and 
international organizations for recognition. 
 
Internationalizing the Cause 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The absence of dialogue with the government has led the SCNC 
to develop an international strategy, especially at the level of the 
United Nations, the Commonwealth and the African Union.  In the last 
six years, the Council has sent many legal/rhetorical documents to 
these organizations to make the case that Southern Cameroons should 
become an independent entity.  In November 1999, the SCNC applied 
for admission into the UN as a full member of the organization.  In 
2000, it also applied for membership with the Commonwealth (both 
applications were denied).  More recently, it filed a complaint 
against the Government of Cameroon at the African Commission on 
Human Rights. 
 
¶8. (U) In 2002, the SCNC named a Head of Mission for the United 
States of America in Washington, D.C. (office located on K Street). 
The purpose was to launch a diplomatic offensive in Washington and 
New York that would help push the admission of the organization to 
the UN.  These initiatives have so far failed to produce results, 
especially as the credibility of the organization is increasingly 
being questioned.  Other diplomats in Yaounde have also report 
seeing increased lobbying by SCNC groups based in their home 
countries. 
 
COMMENT: Questionable Credibility 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶9. COMMENT: (U) The SCNC is a marginal organization with a limited 
following (probably numbering in the hundreds).   Its members seem 
disconnected from the realities of the current world.  The SCNC has 
no standing in Cameroonian politics, not only because of its illegal 
status, but also because most Cameroonians - including Anglophones - 
do not agree with its separatist ideology and strongly reject its 
involvement in violent actions ten years ago.  Nonetheless, there is 
a widespread passive approval of SCNC activities as an expression of 
linguistic and political fault lines.  Many Anglophones do feel 
marginalized and cheated by the Francophone majority (and sometimes 
their own leaders' collaboration with them).  Some of them might 
support a return to a federal state system if it were done through 
peaceful means.  Today, the organization appears to focus on making 
its case and fundraising to international audiences through the 
internet and other communication tools.  The SCNC recently tried to 
garner public support to claim rights and benefits on behalf of the 
population inhabiting the Bakassi region, arguing that this 
population has a similar claim against the GRC.  This attempt has 
not been successful to date. 
 
¶10. (U) There have been allegations that the SCNC makes money from 
providing fake asylum documents to Cameroonians in the U.S.  Some 
people see asylum fraud as the organization's main purpose, although 
it is difficult to confirm such allegations.  In an interview with 
"The Herald" newspaper in 2003, Sam Ekontang Elad (Chairman of the 
1993 All Anglophone Conference) said that when his leadership team 
left, "the new leadership had no vision and saw the Cause as a 
source for enriching themselves."  There have been many cases of 
Cameroonians claiming asylum in the U.S. because they allege that 
they fear persecution as members of the SCNC; many of these claims 
were later found to be fraudulent.  European countries have also 
seen a large number of fraudulent asylum cases, but have found that 
numbers slowed after most cases were denied.  While it is very 
difficult for post to accurately evaluate the volume of SCNC claims, 
they number several hundred annually, with perhaps half of them 
being approved.  Post has been asked by the Department of Homeland 
Security to investigate a few dozen suspect cases in the past three 
years and has found every one of them to be fraudulent.  Recently, 
Cameroonian lawyer Patrick Tzeuton, a specialist in bogus SCNC 
claims based in Maryland, was convicted of immigration fraud and 
sentenced to five years in federal prison and three years of 
supervised release for assisting hundreds of his countrymen in 
making false claims for asylum.  This conviction and the eroding 
credibility of the SCNC seem to be pushing Cameroonians to favor 
other claims as the basis for asylum.  For example, asylum 
applicants now routinely allege that membership in the main 
opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) has led to their 
persecution. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The SCNC leadership is elusive and its support base is 
difficult to assess.  We believe its domestic following is very 
small.  The organization is not considered to be a significant 
player in mainstream Cameroonian politics and appears to have a 
larger support base outside Cameroon than domestically.  As many of 
the founding members age and fewer new members join, the 
organization increasingly appears out of touch.  If, however, a 
dynamic leader enters the picture, or if armed resistance is 
perceived as being a viable alternative, the SCNC could transform 
into a violent alternative to the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the 
leading opposition party in Cameroon.  One senior SDF contact told 
us, for example, that he believes SCNC members were involved in 
sparking the nationwide February 2008 riots. END COMMENT 
 
GARVEY