Yearbook 2008
Cameroon. According to
Countryaah-ABCDE, several cities were shaken at the beginning of
the year by protests against the government and at least 20
people were shot dead by police. The unrest was triggered by
sharply increased food and fuel prices but were also
protests against the government's plans to change the
constitution so that President Paul Biya could be re-elected
an unlimited number of times.
The RDPC (Cameroonian People's Democratic Movement),
despite the protests by virtue of its stable majority, was
able to change the constitution, allowing the president to
run for re-election in 2011, when he would otherwise have
been forced to resign. He is also guaranteed prosecution for
all future crimes.
The government sought to mitigate the effects of the
price increases through increased minimum wages and
abolished import duties on basic foodstuffs.
In August, K. formally took over the disputed Bakassi
Peninsula from Nigeria by virtue of a ruling in the
International Court of Justice in The Hague. The landslide
was met with protests by the Nigerian people in the area and
several times during the year Cameroonian soldiers were
attacked by armed rebels.
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