France responsible for ‘extreme violence’ in Cameroon independence war, report says

Noelle Louise Mekah Fossi, 71, reacts near the Metche Falls where her father Jacob Fossi (unseen), a pro-independence and nationalist activist was murdered, in Bafoussam on January 25, 2025. (AFP)
Noelle Louise Mekah Fossi, 71, reacts near the Metche Falls where her father Jacob Fossi (unseen), a pro-independence and nationalist activist was murdered, in Bafoussam on January 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 29 January 2025
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France responsible for ‘extreme violence’ in Cameroon independence war, report says

France responsible for ‘extreme violence’ in Cameroon independence war, report says
  • Between 1956 and 1961, France’s fight against Cameroonian independence claimed “tens of thousands of lives” and left hundreds of thousands displaced, the historians said
  • A 2021 report concluded France bore “overwhelming responsibilities” in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and a 2020 review examining France’s actions during Algeria’s war of independence called for a “truth commission” and other conciliatory actions

PARIS: France waged a war marked by “extreme violence” during Cameroon’s fight for independence in the late 1950s, historians said in the latest officially commissioned study grappling with Paris’s colonial past released on Tuesday.
The historians found that Paris implemented mass forced displacement, pushed hundreds of thousands of Cameroonians into internment camps and supported brutal militias to squash the central African country’s push for sovereignty.
The historical commission, whose creation was announced by President Emmanuel Macron during a 2022 trip to Yaounde, examined France’s role leading up to when Cameroon gained independence from France on January 1, 1960 and the following years.




History professor Emmanuel Tchumtchoua  poses for a portrait next to a martyrs' wall in the village of Bahouan, in Bafoussam, on January 25, 2025. (AFP)

Composed of both French and Cameroonian historians, the 14-person committee looked into France’s role in the country between 1945 and 1971 based on declassified archives, eyewitness accounts and field surveys.
Most of Cameroon came under French rule in 1918 after its previous colonial ruler, Germany, was defeated during World War I.
But a brutal conflict unfolded when the country began pushing for its independence following World War II, a move France violently repressed, according to the report’s findings.
Between 1956 and 1961, France’s fight against Cameroonian independence claimed “tens of thousands of lives” and left hundreds of thousands displaced, the historians said.
“It is undeniable that this violence was extreme because it violated human rights and the laws of war,” it said.
For many in France, the war in Cameroon went unnoticed because it mainly involved troops from colonies in Africa and was overshadowed by the French fight in Algeria’s 1954-1962 war of independence.
“But this invisibility should not create an illusion. France was indeed waging war in Cameroon,” the report said.
The formerly British Cameroons to the south gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961 and became part of the newly independent state.

While the study aims to fill France’s “memory gap” on this period, for Cameroonians, “the profound trauma linked to repression remains,” it said.
The report comes as France has seen its influence wane among its former African colonies, which are reevaluating — and sometimes severing — their ties with Paris.
Even after Cameroon gained independence in 1960, Paris remained deeply involved in its governance, working closely with the “authoritarian and autocratic” regime of Ahmadou Ahidjo, who stayed in power until 1982.
France helped draft Cameroon’s post-independence constitution and defense agreements allowed French troops to “maintain order” in the newly independent state.
Ahidjo’s successor, current President Paul Biya, 91, in office since 1982, is only the second president in Cameroon’s history.
Receiving the report in Yaounde on Tuesday, Biya called it a “work of collective therapy” that would encourage the peoples of both countries to better accept their past relationship.
Ahead of its publication, former anti-colonial fighter Mathieu Njassep had told AFP he wanted France to admit to wrongdoing.
“If France does not recognize it was wrong, we won’t be able to forgive it,” said the 86-year-old who fought against Ahidjo’s government from 1960 and was thrown in jail for 14 years for “armed rebellion.”

Macron has taken tentative steps to come to terms with once-taboo aspects of the country’s historical record, though many argue he has not gone far enough.
A 2021 report concluded France bore “overwhelming responsibilities” in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and a 2020 review examining France’s actions during Algeria’s war of independence called for a “truth commission” and other conciliatory actions.
But Macron has ruled out an official apology for torture and other abuses carried out by French troops in Algeria.
France is now reconfiguring its military presence in Africa after being driven out of three countries in the Sahel governed by juntas hostile to Paris — Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
And Chad accused Macron of showing contempt after he said African leaders had “forgotten to say thank you” to France for helping to combat jihadist insurgencies in the Sahel.
Last week Macron said he was committed to “continuing the work of remembrance and truth initiated with Cameroon” after receiving the report.
 

 


Germany’s Merz voices ‘concern’ on Gaza, to send foreign minister to Israel

Germany’s Merz voices ‘concern’ on Gaza, to send foreign minister to Israel
Updated 17 sec ago
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Germany’s Merz voices ‘concern’ on Gaza, to send foreign minister to Israel

Germany’s Merz voices ‘concern’ on Gaza, to send foreign minister to Israel
  • Friedrich Merz said FM Johann Wadephul would travel to Israel at the weekend and that ‘we are currently preparing this trip together’
  • Friedrich Merz: ‘Israel must remain a country that lives up to its humanitarian obligations’
BERLIN: Germany’s new Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday voiced “considerable concern” about the Gaza conflict and said he would send his foreign minister to Israel this weekend.
The conservative Merz, 69, long a strong supporter of Israel, said that Israel has a right to fight the Palestinian militant group Hamas but must follow international law.
Merz, who took office on Tuesday, said Germany’s new Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul would travel to Israel at the weekend and that “we are currently preparing this trip together.”
Israel’s security cabinet has approved plans for the “conquest” of Gaza, an official said Monday, and Israel’s military has said expanded operations would entail displacing “most” of its residents to the southern part of the territory.
Merz, speaking to public broadcaster ARD, said: “We view the developments of the last few days with considerable concern.”
“Israel has the right to defend itself against the brutal attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and everything that followed,” said Merz.
“But Israel must also remain a country that lives up to its humanitarian obligations, especially as this terrible war is raging in the Gaza Strip, where this confrontation with Hamas terrorists is necessarily taking place.”
He added that “it must be clear that the Israeli government must fulfil its obligations under the international law of war and that humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip must be provided.”

Belarus opens case against a 78-year-old activist who became a symbol of the pro-democracy movement

Belarus opens case against a 78-year-old activist who became a symbol of the pro-democracy movement
Updated 4 min 36 sec ago
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Belarus opens case against a 78-year-old activist who became a symbol of the pro-democracy movement

Belarus opens case against a 78-year-old activist who became a symbol of the pro-democracy movement
Retired geologist Nina Bahinskaya was charged with repeatedly violating Belarus’ laws
Bahinskaya is one of the most recognizable faces of Belarus’ pro-democracy movement

TALLINN: Authorities in Belarus opened a criminal case against a 78-year-old activist who became the face of the country’s pro-democracy protests in 2020, a rights organization said Tuesday.
Retired geologist Nina Bahinskaya was charged with repeatedly violating Belarus’ laws on holding and organizing protests, Belarus’ Viasna human rights center said.
Authorities accused Bahinskaya of repeatedly walking the streets of the Belarusian capital displaying symbols striped with white, red and white: the same colors used by Belarus’ pro-democracy opposition. If found guilty, the activist faces up to three years in prison.
Bahinskaya is one of the most recognizable faces of Belarus’ pro-democracy movement, which reached its peak during mass protests in the summer of 2020, shortly after the country’s authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, was declared president for a sixth consecutive term.
Observers widely condemned the vote as rigged. In March, Lukashenko was sworn in to a seventh term.
Bahinskaya’s defiance and caustic tongue quickly has made her a popular opposition figure. When told by police in 2020 that she was violating a government ban on unauthorized demonstrations, she simply responded, “I’m taking a walk” — a snappy reply that was adopted by thousands and chanted at demonstrations.
“I noticed that the riot police more rarely beat protesters when they see elderly people among them,” she told The Associated Press at the time. “So I come out to protest as a defender, an observer and a witness. I’m psychologically and intellectually stronger than the police. Even among those who detained me, there were people who respected me.”
The 2020 protests triggered a wave of police violence from Belarusian security services, and political repression that has engulfed the country of 9.5 million people.
More than 65,000 people have been arrested, thousands have been beaten by police, and independent media and nongovernmental organizations have been shut down and outlawed, prompting condemnation and sanctions from the West.
Belarus holds about 1,200 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski. At least six political prisoners have died in prison, according to human rights activists.
Bahinskaya has been previously detained on multiple occasions, collecting fines totaling 7,200 Belarusian rubles (about $2,400).
As part of the case against her, Bahinskaya was detained in early May and taken for a forced psychiatric examination, Viasna said. In April, UN experts reported that Belarusian authorities had resumed the Soviet practice of forced psychiatric treatment as a punishment for political dissent, and that at least 33 cases of punitive psychiatry had already been recorded against political prisoners.
“Bahinskaya is a symbol of resistance to totalitarianism within the country, and it is important for the authorities to break her,” Viasna representative Pavel Sapelka told the AP. “This is a show case against an elderly person who has dedicated her entire life to the fight for freedom.”
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives and works in exile in Lithuania, also condemned the case.
“Today, the regime is still afraid of Nina Bahinskaya’s courage,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “For decades, Nina has stood up to tyranny.”

Putin tells Pezeshkian Russia wants ‘fair’ US-Iran nuclear deal

Putin tells Pezeshkian Russia wants ‘fair’ US-Iran nuclear deal
Updated 23 min 13 sec ago
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Putin tells Pezeshkian Russia wants ‘fair’ US-Iran nuclear deal

Putin tells Pezeshkian Russia wants ‘fair’ US-Iran nuclear deal
  • The latest round of the talks between Tehran and Washington, initially set for May 3, was postponed, with mediator Oman citing ‘logistical reasons’ for the delay
  • Russia has deepened its military and diplomatic ties with Iran since it launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022

MOSCOW/TEHRAN: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that Moscow wants a “fair” nuclear deal between the US and Iran and was ready to help advance talks, the Kremlin said.

“The Russian side confirmed its readiness to contribute to the promotion of this dialogue with the goal of reaching a fair agreement based on the principles of international law,” the Kremlin said in a readout of a call between the leaders.

The latest round of the talks between Tehran and Washington, initially set for May 3, was postponed, with mediator Oman citing “logistical reasons” for the delay.

The two countries have held three rounds since April 12, their highest-level contact since the US withdrew from a landmark deal with Iran in 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term as president.

Russia has deepened its military and diplomatic ties with Iran since it launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022. 

The two countries, both under massive Western sanctions, signed a strategic partnership earlier this year. 

Most recently, Moscow has sent two planes to help put down a fire after a deadly explosion in Iran’s biggest commercial port.

Russia earlier confirmed its readiness to help find a diplomatic solution to the stand-off between Washington and Tehran, and to play any role in the talks.

A fourth round of talks is likely to take place over the weekend in Muscat, with Iranian state media pointing to May 11 as a probable date.

Cautioning that the timing was not yet finalized, an Iranian source close to the negotiating team said: “The talks will take place over two days in Muscat, either on Saturday and Sunday or Sunday and Monday.”

Top US negotiator Steve Witkoff also said Washington was trying to hold the next round of talks this weekend, according to the news site Axios, a day after Iran’s Foreign Ministry reiterated

US President Donald Trump, who withdrew the US from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, has threatened to bomb Iran if no agreement is reached with his administration to resolve the long-standing dispute.

Western countries say Iran’s nuclear program is geared toward producing weapons, whereas Iran insists it is purely for civilian purposes.


Indonesia bus crash leaves at least 12 dead

Indonesia bus crash leaves at least 12 dead
Updated 25 min 38 sec ago
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Indonesia bus crash leaves at least 12 dead

Indonesia bus crash leaves at least 12 dead

PADANG: A bus carrying 34 passengers sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and leaving others injured, police said.

The inter-province bus was on its way to Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, from Medan in North Sumatra province when its brakes apparently malfunctioned near a bus terminal in West Sumatra’s Padang city, said Reza Chairul Akbar Sidiq, the director of West Sumatra traffic police.

He said police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but survivors told authorities that the driver lost control of the vehicle in an area with a number of steep hills in Padang after the brakes malfunctioned.

The 12 bodies, including those of two children, were mostly pinned under the overturned bus, Sidiq said. All the victims, including 23 injured people, were taken to two nearby hospitals, he said.

Thirteen of the injured were treated for serious injuries, Sidiq said. The driver was among those in critical condition.

Local television footage showed the mangled bus on its side, surrounded by rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency, police and passersby as ambulances evacuated the injured victims and the dead.

Road accidents are common in Indonesia because of poor safety standards and infrastructure.


US ends separate Palestinian affairs office in Jerusalem

US ends separate Palestinian affairs office in Jerusalem
Updated 48 min 51 sec ago
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US ends separate Palestinian affairs office in Jerusalem

US ends separate Palestinian affairs office in Jerusalem
  • The closing of the separate office comes as Israel resumed a military offensive in the Gaza Strip
  • Trump in his first term moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that the United States would end a separate office for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem, a largely symbolic step that supports the Israeli position.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio “has decided to merge the responsibilities of the Office of the Palestinian Affairs office fully into other sections of the United States embassy,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Trump in his first term moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a major win for Israel which considers the contested holy city its eternal capital.
In doing so, Trump closed a historic consulate in Jerusalem that had served US diplomatic outreach to the Palestinians.
Rubio’s predecessor Antony Blinken sought to reopen the consulate, while maintaining the embassy in Jerusalem, but Israel resisted the move.
The United States instead set up the separate Office for Palestinian Affairs which was still inside the embassy but reported separately to Washington.
The closing of the separate office comes as Israel wages an offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government fiercely opposing moves toward a Palestinian state.
Bruce played down a wider significance to Tuesday’s announcement on the Palestinian office, saying it reverted to policy under Trump’s first term.
The decision is “not a reflection on any outreach, or commitment to outreach, to the people of the West Bank or to Gaza,” Bruce said.
She said it was part of a streamlining of the State Department in Washington, ensuring that offices on “the issues that are important are all working together.”