This archive report was first published on 29 June 2019.
On Saturday, June 29, 2019, a large demonstration was scheduled to kick off in Geneva, Switzerland, against Cameroon's 86-year-old President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country since 1982.
According to rally co-organiser Robert Wanto, a Cameroonian national living in exile for three decades, the protest aimed to 'demand that Cameroon be allowed to enter the modern democratic era.'
Several hours before the rally's start, around 30 protestors were already setting up a stage and hanging banners with graphic pictures of dead bodies, with the message: 'The people say no to Paul Biya.'
Cameroon's embassy in Bern had warned earlier that Cameroonian nationals living in European countries were planning a 'violent' protest against Biya.
Geneva police were expecting a 'large' demonstration and had been authorised to use the square in front of the United Nations European headquarters.
However, the demonstrators had not been granted permission to march to the Intercontinental Hotel, where Biya was believed to have been staying since Sunday.
Wanto stated that the demonstrators had given Biya an 'ultimatum' to leave, and if he remained at the hotel when the protest began, 'we will march there.'
Biya's security detail was seen standing around the hotel, with several police vans parked outside and officers stationed at regular intervals.
