Scenes from Marafa Watch Anniversary Demonstration, April 2014 - Washington, D.C.
A Recap by Zena Crenshaw-Logal, Coordinator
Marafa Watch Anniversary Demonstration in Washington, D.C.
April 23, 2014
It was a chilly and blustery late April morning in Washington, D.C., but much more than the weather invigorated a D.C. delegation of Marafa Watch supporters including some co-founders of the U.S. Friends of Marafa Committee (USFMC). We gathered and spent the morning of April 23, 2014 chanting “Free Marafa!” and “Biya Stay Home!” before the Van Ness − District of Columbia University metro entrance, all while holding signs and distributing literature reinforcing our dual-message. The occasion marked the second year (and a few days) since Marafa Hamidou Yaya was arrested in Cameroon, where he remains a political prisoner, and the first anniversary of U.S.-based Marafa Watch.
A Journey for Freedom:
From the Republic of Cameroon to the Van Ness Metro Stop - Washington, D.C.
Marafa Hamidou Yaya
Marafa Hamidou Yaya was one of the most powerful government officials for the Republic of Cameroon when on April 16, 2012, political rivals had him arrested and eventually convicted for misappropriation of public funds − charges so unsubstantiated that each year since 2012 the U.S. State Department deemed him a political prisoner in its prestigious reports on human rights in Cameroon. Years earlier, in what was supposed to be a confidential cable, U.S. officials described Marafa as an astute, progressive leader who aligns with America’s interest in curbing Cameroon’s rampant corruption and strengthening its commitment to democracy. Within months of Wikileaks exposing that 2008 cable, Marafa was jailed. The cable undoubtedly angered people hoping to succeed Cameroon’s current aging president as they likely perceived it as American support for Marafa becoming Cameroon’s next President.
Ripples Across The Pond
All U.S. support for Marafa since his arrest, no matter its source, has been angrily and quite publicly rebuffed by official and
de facto Cameroon government spokespeople. Some Cameroon journalists specifically condemned Marafa Watch, the USFMC, and our U.S. State Department in recent headline articles.
Such rage should be intolerable for Americans who, despite their own economic hardships, pumped millions of dollars into Cameroon only to have much of it stolen by corrupt people densely scattered throughout Cameroon’s government and business elite. Acclaimed food safety advocate, Green Party candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, and Marafa Watch supporter, Kenneth Kendrick, recently quipped, “We push back against Putin, but let Cameroon tell us to butt out when it comes to the country’s political prisoners?!?!”
To add insult to injury, it appears that the Obama Administration has invited Cameroon’s President Biya to be our country’s guest at the U.S. − Africa Leaders Summit to be held this August in Washington, D.C. While the invitation may be a diplomatic show of good faith, evidence abounds that Biya is an often ruthless dictator masquerading as a democratic leader. Are American taxpayers to pay for this despot to rub shoulders with other heads of state while Marafa rubs shoulders in Cameroon’s notoriously overcrowded, inhumane prisons?
The word on the streets of Washington, D.C. −
at least it was during the morning of April 23, 2014 around the Van Ness metro stop − is “Biya Stay Home!”. . . “Uncle Sam No Want You.” Perhaps the messages should have been more eloquently or precisely stated. Leading up to our Van Ness demonstration, one major U.S.-based media outlet after another would not cover the event; hinting what a precious few editors would essentially say off the record:
Your story is just a thinly veiled spin on the worn out “Corruption in Cameroon” theme. So it seems that Marafa Watch should acknowledge the appropriateness of Cameroon’s President Biya attending something like a “Corruption Leaders Summit” in the U.S.,
but nothing else!
Democracy In Action
Displaying the geographical breadth of Marafa’s support in the U.S. is a multi-media endeavor that began with a
photo-signature mural and will soon include the documentary,
“Injustice Anywhere: The Story Behind a U.S. Protest for Cameroon Political Prisoner, Minister Marafa Hamidou Yaya”. The film will depict how even the protest that its title anticipates, evolved into a distinctly American grassroots public-awareness initiative and teach-in.
Rather than “protest” as planned before a somewhat isolated building that is the Republic of Cameroon’s Embassy in D.C., Marafa Watch coordinators made a last minute decision to engage people outside of a nearby metro stop. Literally within hours of his arrival, we persuaded Professor Ndiva Kofele-Kale (the American trained lawyer and international law scholar who is Marafa’s Chief Defense Counsel) to supply a written statement instead of attending our event so it would seem impromptu and less academic. We nonetheless filmed Dr. Andrew D. Jackson, a Marafa Watch co-founder, reading Professor Kofele-Kale’s powerful statement on site.
Also videoed outside D.C.’s Van Ness metro site were statements from international development expert, Professor Kwame Gyamfi; media specialist and Whistleblower Liaison for Pacifica Foundation Radio, Ms. Marcel Reid; Congressional Candidate and “Occupy the Law” representative, Mr. George McDermott; and Mr. Rodney Logal, co-founder of “The Law Project”, the Indiana State Community Council, and Marafa Watch.
A written statement from Marafa, remarks by Dr. Jackson for POPULAR (Power Over Poverty Under Laws of America Restored), a few insights from me, and words from Marafa-Watch co-founder Gail Jefferson will be separately recorded. In whole or in part, all of the audio and video recordings from our April 23rd Marafa Watch demonstration will become part of the Injustice Anywhere documentary to premiere on May 20, 2014, “National Day” in Cameroon, a holiday ironically analogous to America’s Independence Day.
In addition to adding their powerful commentary to Injustice Anywhere, my distinguished fellow activists “worked the crowd”, as the saying goes, for the related Marafa Watch demonstration. Although at any one time our audience was never particularly large, we enjoyed a steady stream of curious onlookers, emerging from and walking past D.C.’s Van Ness metro stop, just outside the District of Columbia University.
The scene was inspirational. People stopped to take pictures, ask questions, shake hands. It was democracy in action . . . that is, until our event ended, prompting Dr. Jackson, Mr. Logal, and I to walk the two blocks to Cameroon’s embassy to take a few photos.
Democracy, Cameroon Style
Having been required the day before to stay outside a perimeter marked by concrete pillars while demanding televised proceedings at the U.S. Supreme Court, Andrew, Rod, and I instinctively positioned ourselves in front of similar barriers at the Republic of Cameroon’s D.C. embassy. We began unpacking our “Free Marafa!” protest banner, quite content with our First Amendment activities on that and the preceding day. Quickly, some kind of guard emerged from Cameroon’s desolate-looking embassy and asked if we were there for a demonstration. I cheerfully explained that we were part of an earlier demonstration at the Van Ness metro stop, but merely wanted to take a few pictures in front of Cameroon’s embassy.
The young guard allowed us to proceed, retreated inside, but soon returned indicating he was told to have us move across a driveway, further away from the Cameroon embassy. We complied, but subsequently hoisted our protest banner so its contents faced the building. Our corresponding message to the embassy occupants: “U.S. Friends of Marafa Say: Free Marafa!”