Below are some declarations made by the bishops of Cameroon on the killing of some religious and priestsand on general insecurity in the country.
* 18th Seminar of Bishops of Cameroon (10 - 16 January 1994)
The Bishops alluded to the violent disappearance of His Excellency Mgr Yves Plumey, Retired Archbishop of Garoua, the disappearances of some priests and religious, the poor and defenceless people, not forgetting the frequent aggressions perpetrated on Catholic Missions and the exploitations and abuse regularly carried out against the weak and defenceless. The respect of all men would have to be taken into consideration…
* Declaration after the death of Fr Engelbert Mveng, Yaoundé, April 29, 1995
Sunday April 23, 1995, Rev Father Engelbert Mveng, S.j was found dead in his bedroom at Nkolafeme (Yaounde). There is no longer any doubt that this priest was assassinated.
Once more, the forces of darkness and death have moved against "the Gospel of life" which the Church has been preaching in our country for over a hundred years. The Bishops of Cameroon, meeting at Mvolyé, are deeply shocked and dismayed by this drama that took place on the eve of their Annual Plenary Assembly.
This tragedy adds onto a long list of the murders of men and woman of the Church: Mgr Yves Plumey in Ngaoundéré, Fathers Joseph Yamb in Mandoumba, Materne Bikoa in Mbalmayo, Joseph Mbassi in Yaounde, Mgr Kounou in Mbalmayo, Fr Anthony Fonteh in Kumbo, Father Cornelius Vaan den Burg in Lolodorf, Rev Sisters Germaine and Marie Léone in Djoum… as well as many other sons and daughters of our country.
What revolts and worries the Bishops of Cameroon and our entire society, is the fact that no inquiry has yet revealed the perpetrators and accomplices of these atrocious crimes, outside of a few cases.
This gives rise to doubts on the competence and especially on the willingness of the authorities charged with such affairs in our country.
The Bishops of Cameroon demand that some light be shed and justice be done on the murder of Father Engelbert Mveng, as well as on previous cases. It tells heavily on the image of our country, the credibility of our administration, and the security of our people. This is why the Bishops question the highest authorities of the Republic.
* Plenary Assembly of the Bishops (24 to 29 April 1995 in Yaounde)
The assassination of Reverend Father Engelbert Mveng, just at the beginning of this Meeting cruelly reminds all, that yesterday, just as today, the proclamation of the Gospel has to also be the proclamation of the unconditional respect of life.
"Today," asserts Pope John Paul II in his last encyclical letter, The Gospel of the life, "this announcement becomes particularly urgent, because of the multiplication and the aggravating threat against the life of persons and the people, especially when this life is weak and defenceless". If not to priests, religious, and lay people assassinated in our country, what other value do we grant to life in our country?
*Declaration of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon on the insecurity in our country (26 June 2001 in Yaoundé)
Meeting in an extraordinary session in Yaoundé, this 26 June 2001, we, the Bishops of Cameroon, have examined some situations in our country concerning the fundamental rights of the human person, notably the security of persons and their property……
This is why we cannot remain silent when we observe with our fellow citizens, that serious incidents continue to upset human rights and justice and put in peril the security of all…. We are thinking primarily of acts of banditry which have multiplied in the country: burglaries, highway robberies often accompanied by assassinations, rapes, armed robberies… We strongly condemn such acts and ask that justice officials pursue and punish the perpetrators, according to the law… We are particularly anxious, with all the citizens of our country, when we learn that bandits sometimes operate with the assistance of some members of police force who rent their arms out to criminals, or engage prison convicts to accomplish these acts.
Moreover, bandits who have been arrested are sometimes released after payment of certain sums, to the great anxiety of the population. In certain other cases, petty criminals are apprehended and punished so that the true partners, who are sometimes highly placed and well known, can rest at ease, not forgetting that the innocent are severely sanctioned and even killed in the place of the real culprits…
We do not desire anything other than peace, security and the prosperity of our nation… We are inviting all Cameroonians to receive the blessings that the God of life, love and happiness, offers to Cameroon, to work and pray for more justice and liberty. In short, for more democracy and a solid foundation of durable peace and security in our country.
Declaration of Mgr Santos Abril y Casttelo, Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon in 1995 during the funeral Mass of Father Mveng (6 May 1995 at the Cathedral Our Lady of Victory in Yaoundé)
…But what saddens us more, and I believe that my cordial and respectful voice expresses the sentiments of the Bishops and everyone here present, is that of all the cases of the murders of Church persons, only in one instance has there been some illumination and justice. In the other cases, even when we have solicited information on the inquiries, we have never obtained any convincing and tenable explanations.
It would seem as if there was a conspiracy to shroud all these incidents in silence. But our intermittent silence does not mean that we have forgotten to renounce our right to ask that some light be shed on each case, and that we are duly informed.
Even in cases where there were clear enough tracks, we have never received the slightest explanation.
That is very surprising.
As I said myself during the funeral of Mgr Plumey, we are not asking for a privilege. We ask only for a minimum of security in order that we may be able to devote ourselves to the task of the faith and the wellbeing of others….
Source: L'Effort Camerounais Achives
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