credit: twitter.com/PR_Paul_BIYA / Tibor Nagy, the Assistant Secretary for U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African, meets with Cameroon President Paul Biya  in Yaoundé,  Mar. 18, 2019

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC TIMES

It was one of the most anticipated U.S. diplomatic meetings with an African leader in quite a while. Tibor Nagy, the Assistant Secretary for U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African, met with Cameroon President Paul Biya today. Prior to the top U.S. diplomat’s arrival in the west-central African nation’s capital city Yaoundé, human rights organizations, members of U.S. Congress, and the European Union were pressing Nagy to get tough with Biya  amid the troubling crackdowns on freedom of expression in Cameroon. There have been growing concerns over the Cameroonian government’s arrest of political opposition leader Maurice Kamto.

Kamto, Cameroon’s main opposition leader who insists he won last October’s presidential election, was arrested in January and charged with insurrection. Biya,  an 85-years-old veteran leader,  who has ruled Cameroon for 36 years, was  sworn in last November as the Central African country’s  President for a seventh term.  Kamto is currently being held in the maximum security Kondengui Central Prison, a location which has drawn international criticism for harsh conditions and overcrowding.

🇨🇲🇺🇸 Entretien ce jour au Palais de l’Unité avec S.E. Tibor Nagy, Sous-Secrétaire d’Etat américain chargé des Affaires Africaines.#PaulBiya #Cameroun pic.twitter.com/aig2AHoCwX

— President Paul BIYA (@PR_Paul_BIYA) March 18, 2019

Above translation: "Interview this day at the Unity Palace with HE Tibor Nagy, Under-Secretary of State for 
American Affairs"

Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, last week called on the State Department to address troubling crackdowns on freedom of expression in west-central Africa nation Cameroon. In a letter to the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs  Nagy,   Engel pointed to the Cameroonian government’s arrest of multiple political opposition leaders like Kamto as evidence of the growing problem.

Mr. Kamto’s arrest and subsequent hearing deferrals are part of a much wider trend of criminalizing dissent and persecuting President Biya’s perceived enemies. Moreover, Mr. Kamto is but one of hundreds of political prisoners in Cameroon who could soon be facing the death penalty, which is indicative of a rapidly contracting space for free speech and political opposition.”

U.S. Representative Eliot Engel.

European Union Denounces Political Crisis  In Cameroon 

Credit: European Commission /  Federica Mogherini ,  High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“The arrest and prolonged detention of several leaders of an opposition party, including its leader Maurice Kamto, and a large number of protesters and supporters, as well as the opening of disproportionate proceedings against them military justice, increases the political malaise in Cameroon. The rule of law calls for fair justice and the release of detainees against whom evidentiary evidence can not be presented.”

Federica Mogherini ,  High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs  Nagy Meets President Biya:

“Today President Paul Biya and I discussed the way forward in our bilateral relationship, security assistance, and human rights concerns inCameroon.  I also encouraged an end to violence and inclusive dialogue in the Northwest and Southwest Regions.”

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs  Nagy said via Twitter Mar. 18, 2019.

Foreign Minister Mbella Mbella and I had a constructive discussion today on areas of cooperation. I highlighted my concerns about the arrest of Kamto and others, encouraging #Cameroon to ensure due process, peaceful assembly, and freedom of speech. pic.twitter.com/esLBWfj6WG

— Tibor Nagy (@AsstSecStateAF) March 18, 2019

Ambassador Nagy also met with Cameroon foreign minister Mbella Mbella Mar. 18, 2019 during his two-day visit, during which the diplomat highlighted his “concerns about the arrest of Kamto and others.”

However, the substance of his meeting with President Biya remains confidential beyond the Twitter Tweets Biya and Nagy put out after the  tête-à-tête  with photos of them smiling ear-to-ear.

In an March 4, 2019  interview on Radio France International, Nagy stated his disquiet  over jailed Cameroon opposition leader Kamto. Nagy told RFI that:

the Cameroonian government “must ensure that Maurice Kamto has been arrested and jailed for legitimate reasons. I really think it would be wise to release him.”   U.S. diplomat  Nagy , Radio France International .

After Nagy’s arrival in Cameroon Sunday,  the  diplomat met with the American Chamber of Commerce in Douala to discuss trade and investment between the United States and Cameroon. Participants highlighted Cameroon’s great economic potential and suggested ways to improve the business climate, according to Nagy.  Cameroon was Nagy’s fourth and final stop on a four-country tour of Africa in which his travels included Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Africa. 

Priot to his visit to Cameroon, Nagy stated  that there are currently two serious problems in Cameroon that need resolving: The political crisis in the Anglophone Region , and in the North-the Boka Haram plight.  Last month, the U.S. announced it is slashing nearly $20 million in aid to Cameroon, earmarked for such items as airplanes, patrol boats, armored vehicles, and drones over growing concerns of serious human rights violations in the country.  Horrific videos circulated online last year showing Cameroonian security forces shooting and killing civilians,  including children, and in one incident a woman who had a small baby strapped on her back which  was also killed.