The End of French Rule in Cameroon

132 Pages·2010·1.1 MB·English

by  Martin Atangana

T E F R
HE ND OF RENCH ULE
C
IN AMEROON
Martin Atangana
Copyright © 2010 by
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Contents
List of Acronyms
Preface
Introduction
1. Political and Economic Development in Cameroon in the Post War Era (1946–1956)
2. The Implementation of the Loi Cadre (1957)
3. The Recognition of Cameroon’s Option for Independence (1958)
4. The Transition and Transfer of Power (1959–1960)
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Acronyms
AEF Afrique Equatoriale Française
ALCAM Assemblée Législative du Cameroun
ALNK Armée de Libération Nationale Kamerunaise
AOF Afrique Occidentale Française
ARCAM Assemblée Représentative du Cameroun
ATCAM Assemblée Territoriale du Cameroun
BDC Bloc Démocratique Camerounais
CAOM Centre des Archives d’Outre Mer
CGT Confédération Générale du Travail
CNO Comité National d’Organisation
ESOCAMEvolution Sociale du Cameroun
Fonds d’Investissement pour le Développement Economique et Social des
FIDES
Territoires d’Outre-Mer
GTN Groupement Tactique du Nord
JDC Jeunesse Démocratique Camerounaise
JORF Journal Officiel de la République Française
PCF Parti Communiste Français
PUF Presses Universitaires de France
RDA Rassemblement Démocratique Africain
SFIO Section Française de l’Internationale Ouvrière
SHD Service Historique de la Défense
UDEFEC Union Démocratique des Femmes Camerounaises
UN United Nations
UPC Union des Populations du Cameroun
USC Union Sociale Camerounaise
USCC Union des Syndicats Confédérés du Cameroun
ZIFOC Zone Insécurité aux Frontières Occidentales du Cameroun
ZOM Zone d’Outre-Mer
ZOPAC Zone de Pacification du Cameroun
Preface
This book is an analysis of the decolonization process that took place in Cameroon in the
late 1950s, and the circumstances surrounding Cameroon’s journey to reach independence on
January 1, 1960. I became interested in this subject as a graduate student in Paris in the late
1980s. But I soon discovered that historical research on the subject was, at that time,
complicated by a number of obstacles resulting from two main factors: the relative proximity
of the period under consideration, and the passions and hatred that the events, which took place
in Cameroon in the late 1950s and early 1960s, created. The three main consequences of this
situation were that archives related to the subject were still unavailable, it was difficult to
interview the people who had survived that agitated period, and many works were never
published due to censorship and the political climate in Cameroon. In recent years, however,
most of these obstacles have faded away, as evidenced by the increasing number of theses and
dissertations presented at the University of Yaoundé on political development in Cameroun
during the aforementioned period. It is an opportunity that I have decided to seize to complete
my old project. To do this, I have used many of the archives that are now open to the public.
These documents were found in France, Cameroon, and the United States. I also reviewed and
benefitted from studies that were produced in recent years on some aspects of the subject that I
have discussed in this book.
My purpose is first to offer a synthesis of these materials, provide a historical background
to the independence movement that occurred in Cameroon, and expand the existing limited
literature in English on the historiography of Cameroon.
Secondly, this book analyzes the circumstances surrounding the unsuccessful attempt of the
Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) to seize independence in Cameroon by force, and
the subsequent eradication of this party by an alliance of French and Cameroonian government
forces. It also offers information on the crushing of the UPC rebellion. One of the main
emphases is on exploring the decisions of key political and military figures. The Cameroonian
example of a violent uprising is unusual in French Black Africa and certainly merits more
attention than it has received. One of my primary goals is to make a contribution to this aspect
of the history of Cameroon, and to show the length the French were prepared to go to, in order
to leave Cameroon in the hands of a government that would be sympathetic to their interests.
I would like to thank Bea Vidacs who translated many of my original documents from
French to English. I want to express my gratitude to my colleague George White of the
Department of History and Philosophy at York College of the City University of New York
who read my manuscript and made corrections and invaluable comments. I should not fail to
mention Elizabeth Howitt who helped me with the proof-reading, editing, and formatting of my
manuscript. I am very grateful to the staff of the research centers where I conducted my
research, especially Njoki-Wa Kinyatti and John Drobnicki of the York College Library; Jacob
Jocelyn of the Service Historique de la Défense (Paris, France); Marie-Chantal Zangna Balla,
Nathalie Akama, and Flavien Dong of the Archives Nationales (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Jean
Claude Yojec of the Centre des Archives d’Outre-mer (Aix-en-Provence, France), Jackie
Charles and the staff of the Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations (New York,
USA). I am also indebted to Rose and Michel Poivre who accommodated me in their home in
Paris during my stay in France for research. Finally, my very special thanks go to my wife Lois
and her family in New York, my son Charles, and my family in Cameroon for their love and
support.
Martin Atangana
New York
May 2010
Introduction
In the wake of post-World War II reforms, generous ideas were launched in France as well
as in Great Britain concerning the future of the overseas territories. However, the period
between 1945 and 1955 was rather indecisive. Good intentions were rarely, if not at all,
followed by concrete actions. The colonial policy of small steps towards self-government only
increased the impatience of local African elites and intensified their demand for independence.
The slowness of the colonial authorities to implement the reforms that were promised
contributed to the overall feeling of mistrust and disappointment. Africans no longer trusted a
policy that was clearly oriented towards maintaining white domination and, therefore, their
demands became more radical. This led to the decolonization movement that was to affect
Black Africa between 1958 and 1965.
The year 1954 marked the beginning of the definitive decline of whatever still remained of
the French colonial empire that had been renamed the French Union in 1946. In Indochina, the
Viet Minh inflicted a military and moral defeat on the French expeditionary army that was to
lead to the abandonment of the colony. The loss of Indochina was consummated by the Geneva
Agreements of 1954. In India, old French territories were taken from France under Indian
pressure. In Paris, the treaties signed with the Etats associés (associated states) of Indochina
could not withstand the blow of Dien Bien Phu.
Indeed, the Algerian rebellion exploded and, as Joseph Laniel pointed out, “Marshal de
Lattre’s prediction that abandoning Indochina would rapidly lead to an uprising in North
Africa, came true.”1 Around the same time, the government of Pierre Mendès France
spontaneously gave up the Tunisian protectorate and shortly afterwards the government of
Edgar Faure relinquished the Moroccan protectorate. Nonetheless, in North Africa, anti-French
agitation increased. Massacres of isolated colons (French settlers) were followed by a long
string of killings. In the African territories under French rule, centrifugal forces—often
initiated from abroad—progressively expressed themselves: the notion of a French Union was
put into question. France’s prestige started to decline, which strengthened the nationalist
movements that were organized in various territories of the French colonial empire.
Nevertheless, following the French collapse at Dien Bien Phu and the beginning of armed
fighting in Algeria, French authorities fell back on Black Africa. From then on, they seemed
determined to prevent the disintegration of at least this part of their colonial empire. They
wished to oversee entirely and by all means the evolution of the territories still under their
control. With the return of General Charles de Gaulle to power in France in 1958 and the