Repeated insults on President Biya: Communication minister urges politicians, opinion leaders to exercise restraint!.

The reaction of the member of government is contained in a communique he issued Thursday. Minister Rene Sadi in the release called for restraint on the part of those repeatedly directiving invectives at the President of the Republic and the state institutions he incarnates.  

Minister Rene Sadi was categorical that the freedom of expression, which exists in the country “should not give anyone the latitude to attack the institutions of the Republic nor the honourability of those who embody them”. 

He harped particularly on the case of the Head of State, whose image, the minister said, is repeatedly been dragged in the mud by fellow compatriots. 

“It is for this reason that it is unacceptable for compatriots, be they leaders of political parties or members of the public, to use irreverent, insulting or even offensive languages with regard to the person who legitimately and happily presides over the destiny of Cameroon,” the minister stated. 

The MINCOM boss was firm that the “government of the Republic strongly disavows and condemns the language that some of our fellow citizens indulge in, with impunity under the guise of democracy, flouting both decorum and the laws and regulations of the Republic”.

The Government Spokesman said the state is “once again calling for restraint and a sense of responsibility on the part of all in the exercise of public power”. 

He also called for the exercise of “restraint and a sense of responsibility on the part of all in the exercise of the legitimate right of freedom”.

The legitimate right to freedom, Minister Rene Sadi insisted, must not be “allowed to descend into outrage and contempt, to flout our fundamental societal values, or to contravene the basic norms of democracy and the rule of law”.

Cameroon not a lawless state 

Minister Rene Sadi reminded compatriots that Cameroon is a democratic country and a State governed by the rule of law. 

Cameroon’s evolution in the area of freedoms, after long years of monolithism, he stated, is thanks to the “resolute commitment” of President Biya.

He said it is on this that after “several decades of political experimentation and maturation, Cameroon can today congratulate itself on the remarkable progress made”.

Minister Rene Sadi qualified the proliferation of media organs, multiplicity of political groups that operate freely, as well as the freedom of tone as “undeniable characteristics” that “bear witness to the effectiveness and vitality” of Cameroon’s democracy.

“Cameroonians can express themselves without any constraint, approve or disapprove of the actions of public authorities, and make their points known on all issues relating to the life of the nation,” he clarified, insisting that such “should not give anyone the latitude to attack the institutions of the Republic”. 

Like Rene Sadi, like Atanga Nji

The outing of Minister Rene Sadi, it should be recalled, comes barely weeks after the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, threatened tough times against those insulting the Head of State. 

The MINAT boss was speaking at the opening of the First Semester Regional Governors’ Conference in Yaounde.

He had stated firmly that when it concerns Paul Biya and his responsibilities as Head of State, the democracy he has offered Cameroonians must not be abused. 

Atanga Nji was categorical that President Biya has worked “to build our country on a solid foundation, where we enjoy peace, national unity and the spirit of living together, in spite of our differences”. 

He declared that Biya “remains the Head of State and incarnates all State institutions. Unscrupulous politicians have taken upon themselves to address the Head of State as if they are talking to a layman.”

He had warned that: “Henceforth, such utterances shall not be tolerated”.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3173 of Friday July 19, 2024