A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #355 - Elections, a trap for... Cameroonians! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

A Central African country with a population of 30 million and 
independent since 1960, Cameroon rarely makes headlines in the French 
media except for its national football team, its internationally 
renowned musicians... or, ironically, for its President. Paul Biya, 92, 
has not only been in power for 43 years, but he also rules Cameroon like 
a despot from a hotel in Geneva, where he spends half his time. 
According to national and international experts, Issa Tchiroma (1) won 
the presidential election of October 12 - but Biya has nonetheless 
secured another seven-year term.

Once again, a wave of hope for profound change had swept through 
Cameroon: large segments of the population had mobilized to put an end 
to the electoral charade, with its predetermined results, and vigilance 
committees had been created to monitor the vote. Then, during the two 
weeks when Biya hesitated to release the results-which were, as usual, 
rigged-a palpable tension and simmering anger were felt: how would the 
Cameroonian masses react? But Biya has proven, in a bloody fashion, for 
decades that he knows how to crush popular uprisings. His latest victory 
has embarrassed the French government, as Foreign Minister Jean-Noël 
Barrot acknowledged it while invoking respect for fundamental democratic 
rights. While his statement clashes somewhat with the unconditional 
support France had previously given Biya, Paris will nonetheless refrain 
from imposing any sanctions against him. There is no question, for 
example, of halting the delivery of weapons used against the 
demonstrators, particularly those supplied by the French security 
company Alsetex. The French press participates in this complicity with 
Biya's bloody regime by rarely mentioning Cameroon (with the exception 
of publications labeled left-wing, progressive, or revolutionary). It 
ignores both its struggle for independence (see box), with its tens of 
thousands of deaths, and the country itself.

Furthermore, Cameroonian opposition figures, all of whom are in a 
precarious organizational state, struggle to even discuss their battles. 
Many parties boycott presidential elections, regardless of their 
ideological positions, because they are unable to participate and fear 
that their candidate's candidacy will be invalidated.

Uprisings against the "democratorship"
Upon assuming power in 1982, Biya reorganized the hierarchy of the 
presidential guard and the army, favoring his cronies and sparking 
discontent (particularly in the north of the country, the region of his 
predecessor). A coup attempt was made against Biya in 1984, but it 
failed. The regime hardened: soldiers were executed, and Issa Tchiroma 
was imprisoned for six years, wrongly accused of participating in the coup.

In 1991-1992, the "structural adjustments" imposed by the IMF sparked 
popular discontent, and a new form of protest emerged: the "ghost town" 
movement, a kind of general strike. Furthermore, a democratic wave swept 
across the African continent, and national conventions for political 
pluralism were held in various countries. Biya pretended to make 
concessions, but the presidential election against John Fru Ndi was 
rigged. From then on, young people labeled the regime a "democratorship."
A new wave of protest arose with the global subprime mortgage crisis in 
2008. In the so-called "Global South," it had a significant impact on 
the price of basic foodstuffs (2). So, when Biya seized the right to 
rewrite the Constitution by removing presidential term limits, there 
were calls for strikes and demonstrations across the country, 
particularly in Douala. But the repression was swift: more than 2,000 
arrests and at least a hundred deaths.

In 2016, the conflict that erupted was reminiscent of the war of 
independence: the Anglophone region of Cameroon rose up in response to 
the contempt and social marginalization it suffered at the hands of the 
Francophone central government in Yaoundé. Faced with a strike movement 
launched by lawyers and teachers, the government resorted to force. In 
response, Anglophone activists took up arms and declared the 
independence of the Anglophone region under the name Ambozonia. This 
conflict continues to this day, but it is largely silenced (unlike the 
fight against Boko Haram, which has been waged since 2013 in the Far 
North of Cameroon). It is the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) - 
created by Israeli mercenaries after the failed coup of 1984 - that 
carries out the most important military operations (3).
In the 2018 presidential election, Biya faced Maurice Kamto, who 
declared victory before the official results were published... and was 
imprisoned for several months. However, Kamto's campaign and candidacy 
rekindled the interest of the Cameroonian population, particularly a 
segment of its youth, in political engagement. Kamto appealed to the 
Constitutional Council for three days to contest Biya's re-election, and 
this action, broadcast on television and social media, helped expose the 
fraudulent voting techniques.

This political engagement materialized in a desire to organize through 
collectives and networks, as well as to mobilize in the streets on 
several occasions: in 2019, 2020, and 2022. But each time, the 
authorities banned the demonstrations and arrested those who 
participated, effectively stifling any attempt at organization.

The government's inflexibility in the face of popular anger
For the 2025 presidential election, tensions and clashes nevertheless 
erupted across Cameroon from October 12 to 26, starting with the first 
round of voting, even though the regime was monitoring, controlling, and 
making preemptive arrests. All the cities were in turmoil because, from 
Bafoussam to Douala, passing through Limbe and Dschang, it was observed 
that ELECAM (4) agents were rigging the votes. Some of them were 
violently assaulted by the population. Then, the public attacked the 
headquarters of the presidential party, targeted members of the regime, 
tore down posters of the President, and set fire to symbols of power. 
Tchiroma, who was imprisoned and surrounded by the army, was declared 
the winner. The Cameroonian people thus attempted to establish a balance 
of power against the government.

The day before the results were announced, various organizations called 
for demonstrations in several cities. But the police fired on the 
protesters, and the official death toll rose to four.
Douala, the country's economic heartland, is the city of major popular 
mobilizations. This is why the regime harshly repressed any unrest in 
the proletarian slums there. Starting with the emblematic "New Bell," 
which it cordoned off to fire live ammunition at the demonstrators. But 
it did the same in other working-class neighborhoods of Douala and 
Yaoundé: wherever there were gatherings or demonstrations, the police 
and army were out in force, along with tanks.

To avoid being shot, some demonstrators waved white flags, but all the 
while chanting a slogan not without irony: "Everyone suffers, even the 
poor (5) suffer."

The government launched a propaganda campaign against the looting of 
shops, gas stations, and pharmacies, resorting to the familiar rhetoric 
of panic, also well-known in France. It also used discriminatory 
language against the northern population, exploiting tribal and ethnic 
divisions. Calls for a general strike and economic shutdown were issued 
by Tchiroma. These calls were heeded in several cities, but they lacked 
the intensity of the protests of the 1990s, and did not have the desired 
political impact on the government. Nevertheless, the government felt 
compelled to communicate through the media and social networks to 
reassure "economic actors": nothing was happening in Cameroon, and the 
economy was doing well. Prefects and high-ranking civil servants 
traveled to Cameroon to shake hands with some business owners in an 
effort to reassure capital.

Repression, an old story
A German colony from 1884 to 1918, Cameroon was officially entrusted to 
France and England, under an international mandate from the League of 
Nations (the precursor to the UN), to guide the territory towards 
self-determination. In reality, France made it its model colony.

After contributing to the defeat of Nazism during the Second World War, 
many African soldiers returned to their countries hoping for improved 
living conditions, or even the end of the colonial system. A powerful 
trade union movement emerged in Cameroon in 1944, supported by French 
communist and internationalist activists living there. In 1948, Ruben Um 
Nyobé founded the independence movement UPC (Union of the Peoples of 
Cameroon - the country is indeed home to many ethnic groups).

Edgar Faure, President of the Council in France, banned the UPC in 1955. 
Riots broke out in Cameroon, but the repression was fierce, with 
hundreds killed in Douala. The UPC went underground, and France waged a 
veritable war against it: creation of pro-French militias, hunt down 
guerrillas, assassination of nationalist leaders (such as Um Nyobé and 
Félix Moumié), bombings, torture, etc. But, unlike the Algerian War, 
which was taking place at the same time, this war was deliberately 
concealed by French politicians, determined not to relinquish control in 
Cameroon as they had in Indochina.

When Cameroon finally gained independence under pressure from the 
resistance fighters, France installed the puppet regime of Amadou 
Ahidjo. As the High Commissioner to Cameroon, Pierre Messmer, wrote in 
his memoirs: "We will grant independence to those who demanded it the 
least, after having politically and militarily eliminated those who 
demanded it with the most intransigence." The last resistance group was 
dismantled in 1971, and Ernest Ouandié, the last historical leader of 
the UPC, was executed in the public square after a sham trial. A pall of 
repression descended upon Cameroon, and one of the most formidable 
dictatorships in Francophone Africa took hold, thanks to the efficiency 
of a political police force and an army trained by torturers in Algeria.

In 1982, Ahidjo was replaced by his Prime Minister, Paul Biya...

A possible continuation of popular resistance?
Seeing young people reclaiming the long-hidden war of independence and 
drawing parallels between their impoverished social conditions and the 
dictatorship they experience daily, one might think that history will 
serve as a compass for Cameroonian youth. More broadly, the political 
break between a large segment of the population and the Biya regime is 
complete. Certainly, human rights and progressive organizations (such as 
the Stand Up For Cameroon platform (6), which includes what remains of 
the UPC today) have reported 40 deaths and 2,000 detainees related to 
the recent post-election protests. But despite the repression, something 
of these protests should remain.

Furthermore, Tchiroma continues to proclaim himself President and is 
playing his hand by fanning the still-smoldering embers of popular revolt.

However, the regime is still holding on, and there is no palace coup in 
sight, no credible alternative to Biya within the inner circle, as 
happened in Gabon. We are simply witnessing the growing influence of the 
Secretary to the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh. He is the one leading 
the current repression. He is also the one who runs Cameroon with a 
myriad of clientelist clans drawn from the various ethnic bourgeoisies 
(including traditional chiefs) that make up the country and share common 
interests with the regime in power. To complete the picture, we mustn't 
forget to mention President Macron who, despite the disputes between the 
Bolloré Group and the Cameroonian state over control of the port of 
Douala, still desires a French economic, diplomatic, military, and 
cultural presence in Cameroon.

Alfano, November 24, 2025

Notes
1. Tchiroma has served as a minister under Biya on several occasions, 
most recently until last June.

2. 23% of the population lives below the poverty line, and nearly 60% of 
this population is under 35 years old.

3. This partly explains the regime's position on the Palestinian 
question, namely the absence of any resolutions passed in favor of the 
Gazan and Palestinian populations in general. Security support in 
exchange for diplomatic support. This runs counter to the views of the 
overwhelming majority of Cameroonians, who are largely in favor of the 
Palestinian cause.

4. Electoral commission tasked with overseeing the election.

5. Police.

6. Read the article "In Cameroon, taking to the streets for change," 
published in Courant alternatif in February 2022, on 
oclibertaire.lautre.net.

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4585
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en