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Individuals most get involve in other to eradicate this kanka worm. The National Commission of Human Rights and Freedom (which is only existing with little or no means to challenge the government recognizes the effort being made by the state as a party to the signatory of the convention against torture).
The Commission also recognizes that despite the measures put in place to combat this ills , certain groups of people and individuals who considers themselves as the owners of our beloved country still perpetuates this brutal attitudes.
The Commission also calls, for greater commitment on the part of the states and other groups in other to bring any violators of the rights of people to a dignifying existence to justice for them to be summarily punished. But for justice to take it course the judiciary must be free from any external influence but in Cameroon it is not the case.
A typical example is a Royal Fon (chief) killing his tribe’s man because of political diversity and all the state could do was to give the Fon the necessary protection he needed and as a result no judicial action was taken against him.
Torture can not be eradicated from our society, if we condone with those who exercise it. If we remain passive, the perpetrators will consider their acts as being approved.
ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TORTURE
The fight against torture has been unanimously embarked upon and every country has been doing their best to utilize the numerous tools put at their disposal to enhance this battle. Cameroon has provisions and rules against all kinds of torture methods. Given that torture used to be and is still a common tool in human society, especially utilized by the Cameroonian government to punish offenders, it cannot be totally banned in reality but there is need for a permanently sustained fight against it. This battle could be embarked upon by numerous players, the mass media, must take the lead. Many wondered how the Cameroon media could facilitates the fight against such a vice .that has eaten deep into the Cameroonian society. A society plaque with corruption, embezzlement, little accountability of the leaders and little or no respect of penal code.
A media that is objective, responsible, credible and powerful enough to shape the thought of the local people and influenced their mode of life would play a major role in this battle. The media are practical tools to fight against torture and communicators in society with a message that can influence and / or encourage people that have strong opinions through the media to influence the masses.
If the media must succeed to curb torture, the efforts must come from each and everyone. Individual Human Rights Activists, Civil Society Organisations must take the challenge to design programmes that will champion the fight against torture, programmes that would sell their course and laise with the various media houses to create the intended impact. Also, media houses must verify what ever message that is aired so as to ensure that it does not only entertain, inform, educate, but that it does not create an undesired impact. Media campaigns should be organised to sensitize the population against torture. This should be through specialized programs as well as publicity spots. The more information on torture is aired, the more it sticks in the minds of listeners, viewers or readers. The media should expose act of torture and not cover it like most of the Cameroonians media does. This would go a long way to scare the perpetrators to shy away from it.
GOVERNMENT ROLE IN THE FIGHT
Torture gained grounds in Cameroon in the early days of independence when repressive laws were put in place to deal with the “Marquis” and opponent of the regime and with such repressive laws, torture was commonplace.
Since the early 1990’s, torture has become institutionalized albeit tacitly with the advent of ghost towns that later bred Urban terrorism in 2000 which led to the creation of special crack forces like the “Commandment Operationel”, which led to extra judicial killings, torture, maiming of individuals for all kinds of reasons in their detention centers. The police and Gendarmes continue to use excessive, legal force against private citizens under detention, sometimes to their deaths.
The Cameroon prisons have basically no facilities. They are over crowded, with poor hygienic condition, poor nutrition (except one has a family nearby), poor health facilities and regular torture of inmate is very common especially in the famous Douala New Bell Prison. According to Amnesty International, torture is often used as an integral part of a government security for suppressing dissident or a method of government Justice System to deal with common criminal. Torture is used as a defense mechanism by State agents in emergency situations or where there is political upheaval to cow their opponents / victims into silence or renunciation of their belief. This is especially so in Cameroon, where the Government does not have the true support of the population and so torture is used to instill fear in the minds of the majority. A typical example is what recently happened at the University of Buea. Students were beaten and even killed because of the fraud in public exams.
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Akwalla Johanness
I am a young development activist who believes that for youths to be successful, we need to come together and share ideas that are beneficial to the whole of humanity.
I strongly believe that for Africa to come out of the political hostage its finds itself, our leaders must stop to consider themselves as traditional rulers. We all know that traditional rulers rule for life, and power is passed on to their descendant. And I think that once our leaders stop to think of themselves as such and concentrate on development by investing into the education and basic health care and social services, then can we say we are on the right path to human development.
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