Forgotten World (221): Cameroon
It’s one of the regular weeks of postings in my long-running series called Forgotten World – a look at parts of the world that too rarely feature in our media or thoughts. You can check the previous 220 entries here.
The modern state of Cameroon – an African country of some 19 million – was created in 1961 by the unification of two former colonies, one British and one French. Since then it has struggled from one-party rule to a multi-party system in which the freedom of expression is severely limited. There are still tensions over the two mainly English-speaking southern provinces. A secessionist movement, the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), emerged in the 1990s and has been declared as illegal.
In April 2008, Cameroon’s parliament passed a controversial amendment to the constitution enabling the veteran President Paul Biya – who has ruled the country since 1982 – to run for a third term of office in 2011. Cameroon has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. However, the country’s progress is hampered by a level of corruption that is among the highest in the world.