The commission responsible for working on France's action in Cameroon during colonization and after the country's independence will be co-directed by Cameroonian artist Blick Bassy and historian…

Cameroon war: Blick Bassy and Karine Ramondy will co-lead a “memory commission”

A statue in homage to Ruben Um Nyobé, separatist leader killed by French forces in Bassa country in 1958, in Eseka, Cameroon.

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The commission responsible for working on France's action in Cameroon during colonization and after the country's independence will be co-directed by Cameroonian artist Blick Bassy and French historian Karine Ramondy, RFI has learned.

Its creation was announced in July 2022 by Emmanuel Macron in Yaoundé.

The French President had promised a total opening of the archives on the Cameroon War (1955-1971).

According to information from RFI, the “memory commission” on Cameroon will be co-directed by

Cameroonian singer Blick Bassy

and French historian

Karine Ramondy

The creation of this commission was announced during President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Yaoundé.

Made up of a dozen experts from both countries, it will have to try to establish the truth about what really happened during the period of the war of independence.

A war long passed over in silence.

► Also to listen: L'Invité France - Colonization in Cameroon: Macron "announces the opening of all the archives but restricts their consultation"

Through the archives, the commission will try to clarify the role played by France in what historians now call the Cameroon War.

A research period spanning from 1945 to 1971.

Seeking to rehabilitate the memory of the great figures of independence

Two regions in particular were targeted at the time by fierce repression: the Bamileké country in the west and the Bassa country in the coast.

This period saw the death of several separatist leaders: Ruben Um Nyobe, killed by French forces in Bassa country in 1958, but also Félix Roland Moumié, poisoned in Geneva in 1960.

The work of the commission will look into these painful episodes.

They will seek, say RFI sources, to rehabilitate the memory of the great figures of independence

► Also to listen: The Guest Africa - Cameroon: France has "orchestrated a war to eliminate the separatists"

Last July, Emmanuel Macron made "

the solemn commitment

" to open the French archives "

in full

The members of the commission will also rely on testimonies from survivors of this period.

Some sources hope that this move will lead to official recognition from France for its role in the war.

In 2015, former President François Hollande admitted that Cameroon had gone through “tragic episodes”.

Who are Blick Bassy and Karine Ramondy?

He never hid his attachment and his desire to honor the memory of the martyrs of the struggle for independence in Cameroon.

A committed artist, Blick Bassy uses his talent to convey his messages.

He is a singer, author, composer, producer, guitarist and percussionist.

In his latest album, entitled “1958” – in reference to the year of the execution of heroes of the Cameroonian anti-colonial resistance – he pays tribute to Ruben Um Nyobe, a fighter for the country's independence.

At his side, historian and teacher Karine Ramondy.

She is the author of several books and articles on African leaders assassinated before independence.

Associate researcher at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Karine Ramondy defended her thesis in 2018 on the assassination of African leaders at the turn of the 1960s, as a “moment” of national construction

and

regulation of international relations.

His research revolves around the History of Africa in international relations in the 20th century, the history of Pan-Africanism.

Cameroon war: Blick Bassy and Karine Ramondy will co-lead a “memory commission”

Cameroon war: Blick Bassy and Karine Ramondy will co-lead a “memory commission”

Seeking to rehabilitate the memory of the great figures of independence

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