| Summary/Abstract |
SINCE OCTOBER 2016, the North West and South West regions of Cameroon have been brought to a standstill by strikes and protests. First led by lawyers and teachers defending the special status of law and education in these English-speaking or anglophone regions, the protests spread to the entire population. Following calls for ghost towns (villes mortes), entire towns, cities, and villages in the anglophone regions came to a standstill as schools were closed, banks and shops were not opened, and even taxis were not operating. The most drastic reaction of the government, cutting down access to internet in the two concerned regions from January to April 2017, received attention all over the world. While both sides have walked out of negotiations, the government has reacted through repressive measures. Federalism and even secession of the two regions, under British trusteeship until 1961, have come to dominate the protesters’ discourse, widening antagonisms between the protesters and the government.
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