Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Søren Pind has been asked to report to the Danish Parliament on the loans provided by the Danish Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) to the Danish-based global company A. P. Moller-Maersk in its acquisition of 21 percent of the shares in a controversial banana plantation in Cameroon. The political opposition finds this necessary after harsh critique of the plantations human rights record has arisen over the past months.

The Danish newspaper Information writes that the company Societé de Plantations de Mbanga (SPM) is accused of exposing its employees to dangerous pesticides and for neglecting the importance of protective equipment. At the same time SPM is accused of bearing co-responsibility for the imprisonment of the acclaimed singer Lapiro de Mbanga in Cameroon in 2008.

“These are violations of human rights which are contrary to basic principles of our foreign aid. Søren Pind has a duty to investigate and return with an answer to the public and parliament” said foreign affairs spokesman for the Social Democrats Jeppe Kofod to Information on 22 June 2010. The Minister agrees that an investigation should be made and is awaiting a response from IFU.

Social unrest
According to the article SPM which owns the plantation took part in the lawsuit against the popular singer following a major social unrest that took place in the West African country in February 2008. During the trial SPM’s lawyer accused Lapiro de Mbanga for organising the social unrest. The singer was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay damages equivalent to three million US dollars to SPM for his alleged involvement in destroying the banana plantation during the riots.

Freemuse has supported Lapiro de Mbanga since he was jailed in 2008 and considers his conviction a political miscarriage of justice. “We request Søren Pind to look into the case because it's a matter of freedom of expression, social responsibility and investment, representing core aspects of the Danish development policy,” says Ole Reitov, Programme Manager at Freemuse. Freemuse believes that the IFU should consider whether Maersk’s and SPM’s handling of the matter is in line with IFU’s values and objectives of respecting basic human rights.

Freemuse, Freedom Now and International PEN are convinced that Lapiro was imprisoned because he is a known critic of the country’s president and that SPM is helping the Cameroonian government to silence a critical and popular voice. Lapiro de Mbanga himself declares that he is innocent and that his conviction is politically motivated.

Diverging statements and accounts
According to Information, SPM refuses to have made direct accusations against Lapiro de Mbanga at the trial in 2008. According to Julius Aken, the present spokesman for SPM, the lawyer at the trial did not speak on behalf of the company. However, this is contrary to the official court records, which are in the possession of Freemuse and Information.

As a result of the contradictory statements and accounts, The Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) has demanded a response from the management of the plantation on the company’s role in the trial of the famous singer Lapiro de Mbanga: “There are apparently different accounts of what occurred at the trial, and we must of course investigate this further” says Rune Nørgaard, communications director of the IFU.

While all this is happening, Lapiro de Mbanga is still sitting in New Bell prison, notorious for its horrendous and unhealthy conditions, in Cameroon. He is currently waiting for the Supreme Court to set a date for his appeal and he has no doubts about the company's role in the case: “SPM and Maersk are behaving hypocritically. They accused me of being behind the unrest and demanded a fortune for the damages. They therefore bear a great responsibility that I'm sitting in jail today”, the singer explains to Information.