ORGANIZER

Centro de Estudos Africanos of the University of Porto (CEAUP), Portugal

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ABOUT THE EVENT

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War of independence, war of national liberation, war in Cameroon, maquis, guerrilla war, unrest, civil war, subversion, pacification, the events in Cameroon… Why is it that until today the scientific community and even the political power have not been able to name what happened in Cameroon from 1957 to 1971? “To misname things is to add misfortune to the world” said Albert Camus. To the misfortune of the defeat of the national camp was added for those who had fought the colonial order, a kind of moral decline. They were made to believe that they had been wrong to rebel. Although they knew that on a moral level, they were right, the political order that emerged from the conflict gave them a feeling of shame. Why? How did we get here?

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Of all the sub-Saharan territories administered by France, Cameroon was the only one to resort to armed struggle to free itself from colonial rule and win its independence. Led by peasants, workers and intellectuals experienced in political and trade union action, the nationalist struggle took a major turn in 1948 with the birth of the Union of the Populations of Cameroon (UPC). This party embodied the opposition to the colonial order in both the North of the country and the South. From the city of Douala, it imposed itself in the public debate through meetings, gatherings, tours, petitions and grassroots units scattered throughout the cities and villages. Added to this was the sending of representatives to the United Nations and to anti-imperialist conferences organized throughout the world. This intense political activity, embodied by leaders such as Ruben Um Nyobè, Félix and Marthe Moumié and the mass ofactivistsanonymous, gave the movement the opportunity to position itself from the beginning of the 1950s at the forefront of the resistance movement to France's assimilationist policy in Africa.

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Such a project, which called into question the entire colonial policy, obviously encountered strong opposition from the French administration and political power. The result was the banning of the UPC and, above all, the war that lasted more than ten years. However, and contrary to what happened in Algeria, it was not the pro-independence camp that won the war, but the resolute opponents of the project, particularly France.

"France granted independence to those who demanded it the least, after having politically and militarily eliminated those who demanded it with the most intransigence. ; in the Bassa and Bamiléké regions ; order was not yet completely restored on January 1, 1960, when Cameroon under French administration became independent. »[1]

The new authorities put in place by France, who were, moreover, a few years earlier, resolute opponents of independence and reunification, decided, in the absence of historical legitimacy, to found the new republic on oblivion and amnesia. Through a series of laws, notably those relating to the repression of subversion and the state of exception, not forgetting acts of authority, the Ahidjo regime confiscated the production of thought and speech, transforming the new State that had just been born and which since October 1961 had been called the Federal Republic of Cameroon into a sort of dictatorship based on repression and fear.

Despite all these political, administrative and memorial barriers which refuse to pass, they continue to impact political life in Cameroon and influence cooperation relations between Cameroon and France more than 60 years after the war.

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Thus, it took strong pressure from the population for the benefit of the fight for democracy and fair and transparent elections for the taboo subject of the 'Cameroon War' to resurface in the national debate and for the political power to give ground by promulgating Law No. 91/022 of December 16, 1991 on the rehabilitation of certain figures in the History of Cameroon. However, we have been waiting in vain for more than 30 years for the implementing decree of this law.

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As strange as it may seem, this unnamed or misnamed war is a war whose main archives are located outside Cameroon, precisely in France. The attitude of the authorities of this country has contributed to shrouding this part of our history in a black veil. In May 2009, the then Prime Minister of France François Fillon, visiting Yaoundé, described the events of 1957 to 1971 and the retention of archives from this period by France as "pure invention".

It was not until the visit to Yaoundé in July 2015 of French President François Hollande that the latter acknowledged "that there were tragic episodes in history. There was repression in Sanaga-Maritime, in Bamiléké country and I want the archives to be opened for historians". This promise, which was very partially kept, did not put an end to the quarrel and did not meet the expectations of all those who hoped for a new era in relations between France and Cameroon regarding this war and its writing. French President Emmanuel Macron, during his trip to Cameroon in 2022, promised the establishment of a joint France-Cameroon commission tasked with clearing France of responsibility for the events of the 1950s and 1960s in Cameroon. While waiting for the conclusions of this commission, it should be noted that this unilateral decision by France results, contrary to what has been said, in the establishment of a commission appointed, financed and controlled from start to finish by the French party. On closer inspection, it should be noted that some of its members are not specialists in the issue, while there are forgotten people throughout the world who have worked enormously on this topic. 

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            In view of everything surrounding these events, it is important to note that this part of our history is completely fallow. Despite a few publications, some of which are of good quality, theses and dissertations of students, the gray areas and the unspoken remain enormous. As we noted above, the archives on this period are scattered in several sites in Cameroon and in Europe, mainly in France. Some of these archives are kept secret, others neglected or left to natural and progressive destruction.

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The renewed interest raised by this issue (Macron commission for example) as well as by the controlled opening of archives and the written testimonies of actors from all sides, are they not opportunities to be seized to revisit this history, raise and address a certain number of questions? Why are these long-hidden events still the subject of mistrust by the ruling elite? Moreover, what had the Cameroonian nationalists of this episode done wrong for their memory to suffer such amnesia?

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This conference also intends to delve into the twists and turns of the war to bring out and highlight these marginalized or neglected aspects. It also intends to be the laboratory of scientific analyses where contributions and debates will allow us to agree on the naming of these events, to lift the amnesia and to give voice to the actors who, until now, have been considered second-class and unimportant people. The stories and life stories will therefore, alongside many other aspects, constitute one of the central sections of this conference.

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This conference on the "unnamed or misnamed war in Cameroon" is aimed atto teachers, toresearchers, organizations, doctoral students and practitioners and wishes to address the following thematic areas:

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• The life stories of nationalist fighters and activists;

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• The little-known areas of resistance: the Eastern, Southern and Central fronts;

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• Forms of resistance and counter-resistance;

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• The maquis in urban centers and urban guerrilla warfare;

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• The internationalization of resistance;

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• The contribution of women and children;

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• The economy of war;

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• Life stories and testimonies;

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• The legacy of the maquis in Cameroon;

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• The Cameroon war seen by other countries (colonial and anti-colonial);

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• The challenges of preserving the memory of the nationalist movement in Cameroon;

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• The effects of the war on local customs and traditions (ritual ceremonies, widowhood, preservation of relics, funerals, obsequies, etc.);

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• Ideas, reasons and object of political propaganda of Cameroon nationalists;

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• Publications of witnesses (local population and foreign witnesses);

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• War photographs; collection and conservation techniques; methods of use;

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• The war and relations between France and Cameroon;

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• The circulation of arms during the Cameroon war

 

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