The members of the Joint Commission on the role and commitment of France in the fight against independence and opposition movements in Cameroon (from 1945 to 1971) were at the Unity Palace on January 28.
They went to give Paul Biya a copy of the report that concludes their research mission. The Cameroonian president promises that this research work will not be forgotten. He announces the creation of a monitoring committee to better capitalize on the results of this research. Paul Biya even mentions the idea of a reform of school curricula on Cameroonian nationalism. “The Memory Commission has done a work that will undoubtedly impact future generations in that it will allow them not only to understand their history, but also to better project themselves into the future,” argues the tenant of the Unity Palace. He did not say more. We must therefore wait to see whether he will take advantage of the National Education Forum, which is being prepared, to take action.
If he wishes to capitalize on the work of the Memory Commission, Paul Biya does not hold back from welcoming this initiative. It is certain that this research work is first and foremost the triumph of his ideas. He read to his guests a few lines from his book “For Community Liberalism”, published in 1987, in which he already asked historians to restore, without complacency or bias, the events that led to the decolonization of Cameroon. An arduous task because of the law of January 3, 1979, which extends the time limits for opening archives on France’s commitment to Cameroon after the Second World War and the beginning of Cameroonian nationalism, as historian Samuel Efoua Mbozo’o pointed out on the CRTV set.
The decision of French President Emmanuel Macron to open these archives is undoubtedly also a diplomatic victory for Paul Biya. He readily presents the research work of the memorial commission as an opportunity to rewrite the new novel of the relationship between Paris and Yaoundé. “We had to get to this point and together admit this catharsis between France and Cameroon, two friendly countries, with secular, plural and multifaceted relations,” declared the tenant of the Unity Palace in his speech.
Gray areas
In the opinion of the 14 researchers (7 French and 7 Cameroonians), who accompanied the French historian Karine Ramondi, in the rewriting of the first pages of this new novel, there are many gray areas that the archives recorded in France have helped to shed light on. This is the case for the events of 1945. The Second World War is over and the nationalist discourse is beginning to make its nest in people’s minds. As Cameroonians take to the streets in Douala, a brawl ensues that has often been described as a “riot”. The report of the memorial commission rather refers to events that were violently repressed by the settlers who did not want to lose their privileges. This clarification was made possible thanks to information recorded in the archives of the Ministry of Overseas France and those of the French military justice system at the time.
This example speaks volumes about other facts that are presented in a new light in this report. This is the case of the bloody events of May 1955 in Douala, which led to the banning of the Union of the Populations of Cameroon (UPC), the nationalist party, and pushed its leaders into hiding. The report also reports unspoken stories from the history of nationalism. French and Cameroonian researchers have discovered how the campaign to demonize the UPC was organized. The idea was to portray Ruben Um Nyobè, the first secretary of the UPC, and his party comrades as terrorists and not as nationalists.
For Paul Biya, this ignored past has begun to be unearthed thanks to this report. He is already suggesting that researchers take over. “Your work must be understood as a necessary first step that opens up prospects for other research in the quest for the truth,” the Cameroonian president told the members of the memorial commission.
As a reminder, it was in 2022 that the Cameroonian and French presidents agreed to create this commission. It was not until March 2023 that it began its work with two components: a research component led by Karine Ramondi and an artistic component led by Cameroonian musician Blick Bassy. Expected in December 2024, the report was finally presented to French President Emmanuel Macron on January 21 at the Elysée Palace. Paul Biya was represented at this ceremony by Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, the director of the civil cabinet of the presidency of the Republic. On January 28, it was therefore the Cameroonian president’s turn to receive the report. Emmanuel Macron was represented at this ceremony by Mohamed Soilihi Thani, Minister Delegate to the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs in charge of Francophonie and International Partnerships.
SBBC
