The Union des Populations du Cameroun and Third World Internationalism: Solidarity, Cooperation, and Abandonment, 1955-1970
Beginning in the early 20 century, and culminating at the Bandung conference in 1955, the Third World began to consolidate itself as an international bloc around a philosophy of self rule and international solidarity. Cameroon’s Union des Populations the Cameroun (UPC) embraced this project from its inception, and maintained a strong internationalist agenda throughout its existence as it struggled for Cameroon’s independence, first from French trusteeship, and then from what was, in its view, an illegitimate neo-colonial government. International solidarity was not merely a rhetorical tool for the UPC, but was rather an essential part of their strategy to achieve their national goals. The party attempted to put the objectives of Third World solidarity in to practice through a number of projects, most notably in the cultivation of personal and political relationships between the party’s elite and emerging Third World Leaders, and educational and military exchange. This work is intended to provide a body of historical evidence of the participation of the UPC in the Third World Internationalist Movement. Contacts: Dr. Willibroad Dze NgwaA professor of History and International Relations at the University of Yaounde I, as well as the director of the secondary school at Mario Academic Complex and the founder and head of a Peace and Conflict NGO, Willibroad conducts research on the UPC, and is also knowledgeable on a number of other historical subjects. He is a great resource for anyone interested in studying history, or any of the contemporary conflicts going on in Cameroon today. Tel: 77 65 93 65; e-mail: dzewing@yahoo.com Jacob TatsitsaJacob is currently writing his dissertation on the relationship between Bamileke migration and the UPC’s armed conflict. He has been researching the UPC for well over ten years, has UPC contacts all over the country, and has worked on several international projects concerning the party’s history. He is another great resource for anyone interested in the UPC. Tel: 75 66 75 90; e-mail: tatsitsa@yahoo.fr
Du Bois, Dark Princess, and the Afro-Asian International
At last India is rising again to that great and fateful moral leadership of the world which she exhibited so often in the past in the lives ofBuddha,Mohammed and Jesus Christ, and now again in the life of Gandhi. . . . This mighty experiment, together with the effort of Russia to organize work and distribute income according to some rule of reason, are the great events of the modern world. The black folk of America should look upon the present birth-pains of the Indian nation with reverence, hope and applause. —W. E. B. Du Bois, Crisis, 1930
Arab Uprisings and the Outstanding Return to Democracy: Tunisia as a Model
In the wake of the Middle Eastern crises, the Tunisian case in focus has been doted as a unique phenomenon being that it was the Genesis of the revolution that ultimately spread across the Middle East like wild fire, but has eventually heralded a new dawn as democracy has incidentally returned to the Empire. This literature therefore looks closely at the extent to which the ‘DignityRevolution’ has been instrumental in the Middle East uprisings, which have brought an end to dynastic autocracies. The literature zeros in on the Tunisian uprising which has attracted global concerns, sympathy and has sparked interests in the international arena. The literature finds that the people hold colossal prospect in the uprising and its resultant effect, as it paved the way for the revolutionist to generate, gather and disseminate information on the condition of the entire region to the international community. The people in this context were of utmost importance and played a very crucial role in the creation of awareness, mobilization of protesters and utmost determining the direction of the uprising and also ensuring a speedy return to democratic rule. The paper submits that the role of the people in ensuring that the ruins of the uprising is not left littering around and democracy restored is highly commendable and should be a model for all other Arab countries involved in the revolution.