SNJC declares war against CNC

The Syndicat National des Journalistes du Cameroun (SNJC) has called on all media personnel in Douala to boycott the Conseil National de la Communication (CNC).

At a press conference held yesterday in the economic capital, Nkwebo Denis, president of SNJC, urged his colleagues not to adhere to the Cnc convocations. He also invited the President to dismiss members of that council which he deemed "illegal" in the sight of the law.

"The SNJC rejects the National Communications Council, whose operation is illegal as the vacancy of its presidency has exceeded six months. All decisions made by the CNC from September 4, 2014 to the date of foreclosure of the interim Peter Essoka are null and void. The SNJC advises Peter Essoka not to usurp the title of president of the CNC or be liable of the penalty," said the president of SNJC.

The conflict that has been brewing for a some weeks has been made public as on May 3, 2015 on the occasion of the world day of the freedom of the Press, the SNJC had "officially rejected" the CNC, saying it is "illegal".

"The presidential decree No. 2012/038 of 23 January 2012 on the reorganization of Cnc, stipulates in article 15 par. 3 that when the incapacity of the President of Cnc exceeds a period of six months, the PR shall replace the chairman, at the behest of PM. But the president of CNC, Mgr Befe Ateba, died June 4, 2014. Since 4 December 2014, the interim position assumed by Peter Essoka is foreclosed, therefore, all decisions taken since then under the chairmanship of Essoka are null and void," says the SNJC as a justification of the announced radicalization.

The SNJC had called on the Head of State to revoke the membership of the CNC as the body responsible for regulation of the media and to become "a settling instrument."

The straw that broke the camel's back is a series of sanctions imposed by the CNC on June 4. The measures in question are: temporary suspension of Dp of "Social Climate" and its newspaper; temporary suspension of "Afrique Media", two journalists of the Pan-African chain; temporary suspension of "The Fox" and its Dp; temporary suspension of the TV program "Town Cryer"; temporary suspension of the "Vanguard" newspaper; temporary suspension of "Cameroon Herald".

Members of Cnc have not yet agreed on sanctions for the newspapers "Le Messager", "Mutations" and "Emergence".

"We would say that the members of Cnc are masked," said the president of SNJC in his statement recalling that on May 18, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Cameroon's communications minister made public and "unilaterally" the list of Members of the National Commission for issuing press cards, the SNJC says they will not recognize the authority of this committee "which should have been a joint committee composed of press workers, publishers and representatives of the State."

"The decisions of the CNC, Mincom and others is to show a willingness to provoke the labor movement and to push us to the inevitable radicalization," Denis Nkwebo threatened.

The SNJC, moreover, acknowledged that many Cameroonian journalists are not free from the blame inviting them to be more professional and respect ethics.