The Cameroons question
Author:
valentine
| 12.09.2002 15:23
After the wonderful show of the national football team of Cameroon at the FIFA world Cup tournaments the name Cameroon is not as unknown to people as the life of the people leaving in Cameroon. The great show started in the 1982 FIFA world cup when the team threaten to beat the to be champions-Italy, as well as returning home without conceding a defeat. This was followed by the great show of Roger Milla in the coming tournament, with his many goals and dancing. The height of it all was when Cameroon won the cup holders Argentina with the famous player of the century Diego Maradona in the field.
This is basically what comes to the mind of many people when they hear the name Cameroon. Yet the polically life of this country is as well peculiar.
Roger milla the dancing goal scorer of Cameroon
German Reichspost (Imperial Postal Service) began operation in Kamerun in 1887.
French Cameroon troops in a parade.
Murdered Former Prime-minister Hon.Augustine Ngom Jua
French President Chirac & 2 neocolonial dictators.Paul Biya(CAM) &Eyadema(TOGO)
During the 18th century the Germans got involved in colonisation abit late as compared to other European countries. In West Africa the Germans put together a PATCHWORK called the German colony of Kamerun. This was made up of parts of territories that other European Countries like Britain and France were not very interested in and thus could let the Germans acquire, and some territories which the Germans themselves annexed in Africa. Thus the German colony of Kamerun included parts of present day Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Gabon and the Former UN trust Territories of French Cameroun and British Southern Cameroons(Ambazonia).
The German Patchwork Kamerun ended with the WWI. All the territories of Nigeria, Gabon, Chad and C.A.R ended up in the said countries while the other parts of Kamerun ended up under UN trusteeship as French Cameroun, British Cameroons. The United Nations mandated France and Britian to prepare this two territories for independence. With time Britain and France orientated their policies towards controlling the territories indefintely.
COMMUNIST FACTOR
The Communist in French Cameroon under the leadership of the UPC( Union of the Peoples of Cameroun) started a war of liberation. The French responed by sending in their troops which carried out mass killings in villages with ethnic groups suspected of sympathizing with the Communist. In this background France finally accepted to give independence to French Cameroon under the rule of a neocolonial government in January 1960 under the name “La Republique du Cameroun”.
Britain on the other hand complained to it’s allies of the influence of the Communist in the territory under their control; as some communist from French Cameroon had taken refuge in British Southern Cameroons. Also the leader of the government of British Southern Cameroons had very good relations with the socialist president of Ghana (Kwameh Nkrumah).
The UN voted for the independence of British Southern Cameroons(Ambazonia) for 1st October 1961. The British government concluded a bilateral agreement with France. By this agreement France and French Cameroon troops crossed over the borders and occupied British Southern Cameroons(Ambazonia) in in September 1961 on the eve independence.
In this agreement French Cameroon will control British Southern Cameroons with it’s petroleum and other resources, while Britain will control the former German plantations it had been controlling since the Germans left. This deal seemed done as the forces brutalised the people to subjection and murdered most important personalities like the former Priminister Ngom Jua. Then University students took the lead in resisting the French Cameroon occupation policy in the early 80s and since then there have been a slow but stable increase in those involved and determine to liberate British Southern Cameroons(Ambazonia).
As those interested will go about reporting and informing here is a small list of words that will be used and that will mean the same thing.
-Ambazonia , Southern Cameroons, British Southern Cameroons, Cameroon Meridional are all names used to refer to the former UN trust territory of British Southern Cameroons.
-2.French Cameroon and La Republique du Cameroun, and the Republic of Cameroon all refer to the former UN trust territory of French Cameroon which got independence in January 1960 as La Republique du Cameroun
Precision in Diplomacy is the key to Success
author:: Lesly Awa Muluh
I am very proud to be a citizen of Southern Cameroon.We all know that the troops of La Republique Du Cameroun are engaged in operations and aggressions of fellow Southern Cameroonians Under the Dictator Mr Biya.
I think our main focuse is to push ahead with the liberation process of our people,the history of which we already know rather than spend more time narrating a story to the author of the story.
Thanks.
eMail: lesly2000@justice.com