The government of Cameroon has called in January on the European Union to stop funding a project to assist homosexuals.

By Anne-Mireille Nzouankeu, Yaoundé

Raul Mateus, Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Cameroon, was convened on January 13 by the Minister of External Relations, Henri Eyebe Ayissi.

The diplomat was asked to explain the funding behind the Projet d’assistance et d’encadrement des minorités sexuelles (Paemh) (Project for assistance and guidance to sexual minorities), amounting to 300,000 euros. One of the project goals is to provide legal and material assistance to people detained for being homosexual.

"Against nature"
The announcement of the European subsidy, two weeks ago, has aroused controversy in the country. Associations have even tried to organise protest marches against what they call the attempt to legalise practices that are "against nature".

According to article 347 of the Penal Code, any person who has intercourse with someone of the same sex, is liable to imprisonment from six months to five years and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 francs. (CFA francs, ed)

Stéphane Koch, coordinator of Paemh reveals that based on this law, each year, an average of 200 people are arrested and kept arbitrarily in custody in Cameroon.

He cites the case of a man still being held at the Yaounde Central Prison since his arrest in September 2009. He was in possession of condoms and lubricants on which was inscribed “Gay. Slide between guys.”

Inhumane and degrading
The investigation report “Identity Criminalization” of the NGO Human Rights Watch published in 2010, also spoke of dozens of people arrested based on Article 347. These people “very often remain in custody longer than the maximum period of 48 hours allowed by the law in Cameroon. When charged, the judges refuse their release on bail or set impossible conditions to meet."

The report says that police officers hit individuals they suspect of being homosexuals on different parts of the body, namely on the head and under their feet. They sometimes order inhumane and degrading examination of the anal area.”

Despite being subject to such practices, “it is rare that the detainees protest. They are afraid to complain, prefer to ignore it or simply cannot afford to hire a lawyer. When they do protest, either they are ignored, or they are subject to retaliation,” the report said.

The fear provoked by those degrading treatments, has caused homosexuals to hide their sexual orientation. This is the case of Felix, a young Cameroonian, married with two children. ''I took one woman and started a family because that is what society expects of me,” he says.

“I dream of the day when I would freely live my sexuality. I'm tired of hiding and always being afraid to be denounced to the police,” concludes Felix.