Macron acknowledges France’s responsibility for mass repressions in Cameroon during independence struggle

French President Emmanuel Macron has officially recognized France’s role in the harsh repressions during Cameroon’s fight for independence.

Report informs via French media that Macron’s letter, addressed to Cameroonian President Paul Biya, is based on the findings of a joint Franco-Cameroonian commission that examined France’s role and involvement in Cameroon’s independence struggle from 1945 to 1971.

“Historians have clearly shown that a war took place in Cameroon, during which colonial authorities and the French army employed various forms of repressive violence in certain parts of the country. This war continued even after 1960, when France supported the actions of the independent Cameroonian authorities,” the letter states.

“Today, I must acknowledge France’s role and responsibility in these events,” added the French president.

Macron’s letter follows a report published in January, which detailed France’s actions, including mass forced relocations, sending hundreds of thousands of Cameroonians to internment camps, and supporting brutal militias to suppress the Central African country’s drive for sovereignty.

Cameroon was a German colony until it was divided between Britain and France after World War I. Under UN oversight, the territory administered by France gained independence in 1960, while the southern British-administered part voted to join French Cameroon within a federation in 1961.