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President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, is sub-Saharan Africa's second-oldest ruler, after Robert Mugabeof Zimbabwe.
自1982年执政以来，总统Paul Biya是撒哈拉以南非洲第二年长的统治者，仅次于津巴布韦领导Robert Mugabe。
Yet despite his age, he has mastered social media, in the sense of figuring out how to silence digital dissent.
尽管年事已高，从消灭网络抗议的意义上来说，他仍掌控着社交媒体。
After young Arabs used smartphones to organise the uprisings of the Arab Spring, despots everywhere grew nervous.
自从阿拉伯年轻人使用智能手机组织阿拉伯之春的起义后，各国独裁者都紧绷神经。
But then they found the off-switch.
但是之后他们发现了关闭网络这一灵丹妙药。
Last year 11 African governments, including Zimbabwe and the inaptly named Democratic Republic of Congo, interfered with the internet during elections or protests.
包括津巴布韦和刚刚命名的刚果民主共和国在内，去年11个非洲政府在选举或抗议期间对互联网实施过干扰。
The government cut off the internet to a part of the country known for its technology start-ups, which probably hasn't done much for economic growth.
政府切断了以新兴技术公司闻名的部分地区的互联网，这对经济增长可能没起多大作用。
Before the crackdown internet usage in Cameroon had been soaring, with penetration rising to 18% in 2016, from 4.3% in 2010.
但在遭受限制之前，喀麦隆的互联网使用率一直急剧上升。从2010年到2016年，互联网渗透率从4.3%上升至18%。
Phones are also ubiquitous, which may be why the communications ministry has been sending text messages, sometimes several times a day, warning of prison sentences of up to 20 years for anyone “found guilty of slander or propagating false declarations on social media”.
手机也无处不在，这或许解释了为什么交通部一直在发布短信，三令五申，警告任何人“只要被发现在社交媒体上诽谤他人或散布谣言”，会面临最长20年的监禁。
Journalists have been arrested and a popular radio station has been taken off the air.
在这场镇压中，记者被逮捕，一家广受欢迎的电台被停播。
Although the conflict in Cameroon has mainly affected the English-speaking minority, the government's heavy-handedness suggests that worse may lie ahead.
虽然喀麦隆的冲突主要影响说英语的少数群体，但政府的大张旗鼓表明更糟糕事情的可能就在前面。
Next year the country's 84-year-old leader is expected to run for a seventh term.
明年84岁的喀麦隆总统有望获得第七次任期。
With no clear successor or challenger in sight, Mr Biya probably has no need to ratchet up repression.
既然眼前没有明确的继任者或者挑战者，Biya先生或许没有必要升级这场镇压。
But meddling with the internet can be addictive, like the internet itself.
但是干涉互联网可能会让人上瘾，就像网络本身一样。
译文来源考研英语时事阅读
