French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the archives of his country’s colonial rule in Cameroon would be opened “totally”, asking historians to shed light on the “painful moments” of the era.
Macron said from the Cameroonian capital Yaounde that he wants historians from the two countries to work together to investigate past events and determine “responsibility”.
French colonial authorities brutally suppressed armed Cameroonian nationalists until the country’s independence in 1960.
Tens of thousands of UPC supporters, including independence leader Robin Homm Niobe, were massacred by the French army.
The Cameroonian army, led by Ahmedu Ahidjo, the country’s first post-independence leader, was involved in the assassinations of Cameroon Peoples’ Union militants.
Former President François Hollande admitted in 2015 that Cameroon’s French colonial past had brought “tragic” moments, indicating he was ready to reveal the archives.
On Monday, a group of Cameroonian political parties called on Macron to acknowledge the “crimes” committed by France during the colonial era.
