The Outspoken diplomat has ended his stay in Cameroon but the close to three years spent in the country remains memorable.
On Tuesday July 14, 2020, US Ambassador to Cameroon, Henry Peter Barlerin was given a farewell audience at the unity palace by President Paul Biya.
The Ambassador is leaving Cameroon at the end of a mandate that both him and the Head of State, Paul Biya including Cameroonians in general cannot forget in a hurry.
Cameroonians would remember him as outspoken and very much present on social media.
One of his striking outings in the country was on May 18, 2018 when he delivered a message that provoked reactions from Cameroonians of all walls of life.
It was after a meeting with President Paul Biya at the Unity Palace on May 17.
Below is an except of the declaration from Ambassador Henry Peter Barlerin that was received with mixed feelings.
“… Finally, the President and I discussed upcoming elections. I suggested to the President that he should be thinking about his legacy and how he wants to be remembered in the history books to be read by generations to come, and proposed that George Washington and Nelson Mandela were excellent models…”
The above statement was interpreted differently.
Critics to the government greeted it with joy while pro government officials were furious.
It was top news on the private press in Cameroon as well as some international media organs.
Days after the outing, Information circulated that the Ambassador was summoned by the Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella.
No official summons letter was made public, and the Ambassador did not stage another public outing relative to the allege summons, but source at the Ministry of External Relations (Minrex) were quoted by International media organs to have confirmed the allegations.
Voice of America (VOA) went as far as to indicate that it was all about the speech from Ambassador Henry Peter Barlerin.
Besides Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella, other government Ministers made outings that showed clearly that the statement was not welcomed within the ranks of the government.
The then Minister of Communication and government’s spokesperson, Issa Tchiroma Bakary was quoted by VOA to have declared that the government will not accept any form of infantilization on the nation Cameroon, adding that Cameroonians are aware of the stakes and are ready to cast theirs votes for a democratic change.
To Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, it was interference into the internal affairs of the nation Cameroon.
It should be noted that 2018 was an electoral year with the Presidential that was coming up barely five (5) months from the date of the controversial declaration from the Ambassador.
The Ambassador will also be remembered for his frank outings on the Anglophone crisis where he would not mix words to indict seperatist fighters and exactions from Cameroon’s security forces.
The statement from Amb. Henry Peter Barlerin made headline news because it was like the first of its kind, for a diplomat to openly suggest to the Head of State to start planning to hand over power.
By then the US Ambassador was not up to one year old in the country.
Two years have passed and as he leaves today, he leaves behind footprints of his actions still fresh in the minds of Cameroonians, some of whom confessed to News Upfront.
It is not clear if the Head of State is heeding to the proposal from the US diplomat, but what is certain is that he was again reelected in the October 2018 Presidential Election, and is still the President of the Republic of Cameroon.
