[ti:Cameroon Denies Security Forces Abused Protesters] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM [00:00.12]The government in Cameroon says its security forces did not [00:05.80]abuse protesters during demonstrations in two areas last month. [00:13.36]Students, teachers, and lawyers in English-speaking parts of the country [00:20.68]were protesting the influence of the French language. [00:25.44]A government official told VOA that Cameroon's military [00:30.72]acted with restraint during the demonstrations, [00:34.40]and showed respect for international rules on human rights. [00:39.28]Government spokesman Issa Tchiroma said the government [00:45.12]is investigating the protests and the actions of military officers. [00:51.48]He noted that if the government finds evidence of wrongdoing, [00:57.24]it will take corrective action to punish the violators. [01:01.84]He also said that Cameroon will not accept [01:06.84]any attempts to ruin the country's hard-earned national unity. [01:13.16]The spokesman said he was reacting to a statement by the United States. [01:19.96]He said the State Department released the statement on November 28. [01:24.80]The State Department expressed concern about the deaths, [01:29.40]injuries and damage that resulted from protests [01:33.72]in the capitals of Cameroon's Northwestern and Southwestern regions. [01:40.76]U.S. ambassador Michael Hoza expressed concerns over the violence. [01:47.52]He met with Cameroon's president Paul Biya and explained that [01:52.52]the United States respects Cameroon's history of acceptance of diversity. [01:58.36]"...And both President Biya and I agreed that dialogue is the future for Cameroon. [02:04.92]We know that there will be discussions [02:07.96]and we are certain that Cameroon's people will find solutions [02:12.08]and be able to live together in tolerance as they have for many, many years." [02:16.64]Cameroon has two official languages: English and French. [02:23.68]English speakers make up about 20 percent of the population. [02:29.16]Cameroon's constitution says that English and French should be equally important. [02:36.96]However the protesters say the two languages are not treated equally. [02:43.44]English-speaking lawyers say some judges working [02:48.64]in English-speaking areas have trouble speaking the language. [02:52.96]Another issue is that the French-speaking regions operate under French civil law, [02:59.76]but the English-speaking areas are based on English common law. [03:05.48]Teachers have said that the government continues to send teachers [03:10.28]that only speak French to English-speaking parts of the country. [03:14.92]Some students in those areas are worried [03:19.36]that they will not be able to get good jobs after they finish school. [03:24.92]I'm Phil Dierking.