Cameroon: Macron wants historians to investigate French colonization
French President Emmanuel Macron was received by his counterpart Paul Biya at the presidential palace in Yaoundé on July 26, 2022. AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN
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Emmanuel Macron is visiting Cameroon where he arrived on Monday evening.
After his speech to the French community, the president was received by his counterpart Paul Biya.
The two heads of state had a one-on-one meeting at the Unity Palace for more than an hour.
They then held a joint press conference, during which the issue of memory was notably addressed.
Emmanuel Macron wants French and Cameroonian historians to work together and the total opening of the archives.
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Seven years ago, his predecessor François Hollande was the first French president to acknowledge the
repression of separatists in the 1950s and 1960s
.
Will Emmanuel Macron's France go further?
He said he was in favor of joint work by Cameroonian and French historians to "
shed light
" on France's action in Cameroon during colonization and after the independence of this country, announcing the "
entire
" opening of French archives on “
painful
” and “
tragic
moments ”.
“
I make the solemn commitment here to open our archives in their entirety to this group of historians who will allow us to shed light on this past on individual situations, episodes that you mentioned and to describe things very precisely.
That is to say the involvement of France, the role also of the Cameroonian authorities of the time, before and after independence
,” he said.
“
It is necessary to establish factually”
“
responsibilities
”, added the French president during his joint press conference with Paul Biya.
On Monday, a group of Cameroonian political parties called on Emmanuel Macron to recognize the "
crimes of colonial France
".
"
We have a historic dispute with France (...) We are taking the opportunity to wake up Cameroonians to the problem with France which is to put all the crimes of France on the table and settle it definitively if we want have a peaceful relationship
,” Bedimo Kuoh, a member of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy (Manidem), said on Monday during a press conference in Douala.
No timetable has been given for the establishment of this joint committee of historians and the rendering of the work.
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Cameroon
France
Emmanuel Macron
Paul Biya
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