Church official: Cameroon risks civil war without church's proposals

Published: 2006-07-31

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) -- If the government does not approve the church's electoral legislation proposals, Cameroon risks a civil war, said the coordinator of the Cameroonian bishops' Peace and Justice Commission. Pierre Titi Nwel said without adopting the legislation, politicians will not make needed structural reforms, including fighting corruption. "We have a big problem here with elections," Titi Nwel said. "If the people in power are not afraid that they will lose the next election, nothing will change." "If we don't want war, change the law. If we don't (change the law), war will come," he said. "For the moment, there is peace. But it is not solid." The Cameroonian church submitted two pieces of legislation to President Paul Biya earlier this year that the church says will increase the transparency and competitiveness of the next legislative elections in 2007. Twice under Biya, Cameroon was ranked the most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International.

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