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Pro-independence activists released

    ABIDJAN

    Six members of a pro-independence movement were released after 14 months in detention, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

    The men, all members of the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), were charged with high treason for declaring English-speaking southwest independent and hoisting a flag.

    Cameroon became a “United Republic” in May 1972 after a referendum voted down the 11-year federation, divided into French-speaking and English-speaking provinces. In 1982, “an Anglophone problem” arose when current President Paul Biya removed the word “United” from Cameroon’s official name. The SCNC objected to this because it said the new name failed to reflect the entity of the country, a Cameroonian political analyst told IRIN on Tuesday. Since then the SCNC has been demanding independence for the southwest.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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