Mass politicide in colonial and post-independence Cameroon

For those of you who can understand French, Swiss radio RSR's Histoire Vivante has a documentary series of five shows on the virtually unreported two-and-a-half decades long politicide in Cameroon. It notes that between the middle of the 1950s and the end of the 1970s, historians estimate that between 30,000 and 500,000 people were killed from the ranks of the UPC (Union of the populations of Cameroon). As the dates suggest, this was perpetrated both by the colonial regime and by the post-independence dictatorship of Ahmadou Ahidjo.

State terror in Cameroon

I'll have something on Zimbabwe soon, which makes me more competent than the country's electoral commission. But Radio Netherlands' excellent The State We're In program did a chilling report on Mugabe-style state terrorism in Cameroon. The international media did some report on the food riots that gripped Cameroon last month, but little follow up was done.

RNW's premier journalist Eric Beauchemin did some investigation and found that a lot more happened than just 'ordinary' clashes between protesters and police. Over 100 people were killed by police, according to local human rights' organizations. There were mass arbitrary arrests. And disgustingly, the police wouldn't even release the corpses to the victims' families without large bribes. While one might attribute that to daily life in one of the most corrupt countries in Africa, human rights groups say the real motive is to hide the scale of the slaughter. The report stated that police are touching up some corpses to hide bullet wounds.

Rioting spreads to Yaoundé

The rioting that had hit Cameroon's economic center Douala has apparently spread to its political capital Yaoundé.

Douala in flames

The UN's IRIN news service has continuing coverage of the rioting in Douala, Cameroon's economic capital.

So does the Voice of America.

Oddly enough, the BBC doesn't.