Inside Story

How will Cameroon fix its language divide?

English speakers in Cameroon are demanding an end to what they say is discrimination by the French-speaking majority.

Secession has been the talk of the week, from the Kurdish region of Iraq to Catalonia in Spain.

And on Sunday, English-speaking parts of Cameroon joined the trend by demanding their own independence.

Police shot and killed at least eight people in the western regions of the country. The rallies took place on the very day Cameroon’s English and French regions had united 56 years earlier.

There have been similar protests for almost a year now, but until recently they only had called for reforms. 

Cameroons’s English-speaking minority say they are being marginalised by the French-speaking majority.

So, what does this unrest mean for Cameroon’s unity?

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam

Guests:

Hans de Marie Heungoup – Cameroon analyst, International Crisis Group

Albert Nchinda – Political blogger focusing on Cameroon

Michael Amoah – Visiting Fellow, Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa, Institute of Global Affairs, London School of Economics