7/27/2019 Coalition Letter to Biya
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/coalition-letter-to-biya 1/3
Page 1 of 3
c/o
Via Email, Facsimile, and U.S. Airmail
July 29, 2013
His Excellency Paul Biya,
Presidency of the Republic
Yaounde, Cameroon
Communication Unit
RE: Justice for Marafa Hamidou Yaya and all Prisoners of Conscience in the Republic of Cameroon
Dear President Biya:
As U.S.-based NGOs and NGO representatives with individual members and constituents
collectively numbering in the tens of thousands, we write to urge you to declare a moratorium on
“Opération Epervier”; suspend further arrests of public officials suspected of embezzling public
funds; release those currently in detention as well as those whose convictions are suspect such as
Mr. Marafa Hamidou Yaya; and appoint an impartial, Blue-Ribbon Commission to conduct a
thorough review of the administration of “Opération Epervier” that will make recommendations
to you.
Our U.S. President Barack Obama's administration acknowledges that Cameroon’s “constitution
and law provide for an independent judiciary, but the judiciary remained corrupt, inefficient, and
subject to political influence” as of 2012. The U.S. State Department reports as follows in itsrecently released, 2012 report on human rights practices in Cameroon:
. . .
On September 21, the Mfoundi High Court delivered a guilty verdict in the trial of Marafa
Hamidou Yaya, former secretary general of the presidency and former minister of state for
territorial administration and decentralization, on embezzlement charges stemming from the
7/27/2019 Coalition Letter to Biya
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/coalition-letter-to-biya 2/3
Page 2 of 3
MARAFA WATCH
Rodney Logal, Coordinator http://marafa-watch.tumblr.com/
The Oregon-Cameroon Connection
Elizabeth Armstrong, Managing Editor http://tocc.newsvine.com
Drum Majors for Truth
L. Kenneth Kendrick,Program Director http://www.dm4t.org
National Forum On Judicial Accountability
Timm Wheeler, CIOhttp://50states.ning.com
purchase of a presidential plane in 2001. The presiding judge read a 1,156-page judgment that
contained mostly allegations and insinuations, but little evidence, and sentenced Marafa to 25
years’ imprisonment. Observers noted that many aspects of the case pointed to executive
interference.
. . .
Minister Yaya was accordingly identified by the Obama Administration as a political prisoner.
Mr. President, even before the U.S. released its latest stinging report on Cameroon’s human rights
record, it was common knowledge that “Opération Epervier” had lost sight of its central objective,
weighed down by its own internal contradictions. It is our understanding that the initiative was
conceived and perceived to be a vehicle for recovering and, if need be, repatriating purloined state
funds; the goal being to bring those responsible to justice after a fair, just, and transparent trial.
“Opération Epervier” has, however, veered dangerously off course and apparently become an
instrument for capturing and persecuting political opponents.
Besides the case of Marafa Hamidou Yaya, the use of criminal trials to forestall political opposition
and eliminate rival candidates for the presidency of your Republic receives steady media
attention. Representatives of foreign governments, reported to have previously supported
prosecution of government and other public officials for corruption in Cameroon, now are said to
believe these trials were largely used to settle political scores and less to fight corruption. Word of
these cases and how they were misused does not help Cameroon’s international reputation as a
good place to make an investment or do business.
We believe it would be in the long term interest of the Cameroonian people if you as their
President took the firm decision to allow the judiciary to play the role prescribed for it in the
Constitution. A role, as we understand it, to serve as the guardian of republican values and not as
an instrument for settling political scores. We promote good government in our own country and
are therefore confident that it would be best for you to follow a righteous course. Please help
ensure a fair outcome in Minister Marafa’s case, redressing his and other similar grievances in the
best possible manner.
Thank you for your consideration, anticipated cooperation, and corresponding best efforts.
Respectfully,
7/27/2019 Coalition Letter to Biya
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/coalition-letter-to-biya 3/3
Page 3 of 3
The Plea For Justice Program
George Stokes, Co-Administrator http://www.plea4justice.org
OAK
Organizations Associating for the Kind of Change America Really Needs
Attorney Zena Crenshaw-Logal, Co-Administrator http://www.oak4change.org
POPULAR
Power Over Poverty Under Laws of America RestoredDr. Andrew D. Jackson, Co-Administrator http://www.popular4people.org
cc: His Excellency Paul Biya, Presidency of the Republic
c/o Ambassador Joseph Foe-Atangana
Embassy of Cameroon
3400 International Drive, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Prime Minister Philemon Yang
Prime Minister’s Office
Yaounde, Cameroon
Mr. Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo
Ministry of External Relations
Yaounde, Cameroon
Ambassador Joseph Foe-Atangana
Embassy of Cameroon3400 International Drive, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Ms. Bianca Menendez,
Political and Economic Section Chief
Embassy of the United States
Avenue Rosa Parks - P.O. Box 817
Yaounde, Cameroon