 |
| Paul Eric Kingue |
There is no single standard for what
makes a political prisoner or whether someone’s arrest is politically
motivated, biased, or retaliatory in nature. However, Paul Eric Kingue,
ex-mayor of Njombé-Penja, has been described as one whose arrest and detention was politically motivated. Given that there
is no unanimously established definition for political prisoners, people who
have held political offices and or have advocated for certain causes have in
several instances are often tagged names to be hanged. As mayor, Paul Eric Kingue
stood against the obnoxious economic gansterism of French plantations in his
council area. (In some instances, the use of violence does not prevent some
prisoners from receiving a political-prisoner designation, although this is a
controversial and divisive issue.)
Last week by the Supreme Court freed
Eric Kingue after seven years of unlawful detention in the Nkongsamba and
Douala prisons. It should be recalled that he was arrested in 2008 for allegedly
orchestrating the protest against French plantations for tax fraud. On July 16,
2015 Paul Eric Kingue was released by the Supreme Court in Yaounde.
You know politics is a game of interest
and seemingly Paul Eric Kingue lost interest in the CPDM party where he was
elected mayor. And since politicians are what they are; he is quoted to have
declared his intentions to continue active politics. Since only a fool cannot
run away from a rattle snake, Paul Eric just declared instantly that the
marriage with the CPDM is ended.
We believe that the freedom to express
one’s opinion is of paramount importance not only because it oils the engine of
a representative democracy but also because it creates a free and open
environment. The case of Eric Kingue abounds high. However, it is a sine qua
non to the full development and self-fulfillment of human
personality in society. Tongues have been waging as to whether it is right for
someone to suffer any consequences from the State for exercising freedom of expression.
Is to whether Cameroon is a "market place of ideas and opinions"
where the best solutions are freely discussed and argued about remains another
misery.
We believe that a government which does
not know what the people feel and think is in a dangerous position; and a
government that muzzles free speech runs a risk of destroying the creative
instincts of its people.
We also believe that legal restraints
upon individual freedom of expression should only be tolerated where they are
absolutely necessary to prevent infliction of actual harm or to secure the
liberties of others. What will be the next step now that evidences are clear
that the French plantation owners did connive with some high profile state personalities
to defraud the state of its taxes? A suivre
No comments:
Post a Comment