UNITED NATIONS, Aug 11 (IPS) – Going again to the sixteenth century and persevering with by way of the late Nineteen Sixties, France was described because the world’s second largest colonial energy—simply behind the British Empire.
Because the outdated saying goes: The solar would by no means set over the British Empire as a result of God wouldn’t belief an Englishman at nighttime. However would that additionally apply to the French colonial empire?
The army coups in three former French colonies — Burkina Faso, Mali and extra not too long ago Niger – are maybe a sign of the start of the top of French post-colonial and neo-colonial ties to West Africa.
The three army leaders are turning in direction of Russia and the Russian mercenary group Wagner for brand spanking new political, financial and army alliances.
The headline in a New York Instances article final week learn: “Waning Affect for France, the Colonizer that Stayed in West Africa “
The coup in Niger, a landlocked nation of about 25 million folks, is more likely to outcome within the departure of greater than 2,500 Western troops, together with 1,100 Individuals, who had been stationed within the West African nation to battle anti-US and anti-Western militant teams.
In Niger, there was additionally robust public help for the Russians, with demonstrators waving Russian flags.
Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics on the College of San Francisco, informed IPS many Africans harbor comprehensible resentment in direction of French neocolonialism and their native collaborators.
“Sadly, regardless of the shortage of a colonial legacy, the Russian affect is even worse. They’re backing a number of the area’s worst warlords, reactionary army leaders, and prison parts,” he mentioned.
Requested for his feedback, US State Division Spokesperson Matthew Miller informed reporters: “I’ve heard questions on these protests, typically on this briefing room, and typically you see folks assume that since you see folks on the streets it’s an expression of precise help fairly than individuals who might need been paid to point out up at protests”.
Enjoying down the pro-Russian demonstrators, he mentioned: “It does appear odd to me that in case your nation is struggling an tried army takeover, the concept that the very first thing anybody would do is run to a retailer and purchase a Russian flag. That strikes me as considerably an unlikely state of affairs.”
Miller additionally mentioned that Yevgeniy Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, was publicly celebrating the occasions in Niger and “we definitely see Wagner reap the benefits of such a state of affairs every time it happens in Africa”.
“We, as I’ve acknowledged earlier than, didn’t see any function by Wagner within the instigation of this tried takeover, and we now have not seen any Wagner army presence as of but in Niger. I don’t have any particular Wagner actions to – that I could make public at this level, however we noticed Yevgeniy Prigozhin publicly celebrating what’s occurred. And as I mentioned, it did appear a really odd occasion that we had a bunch of Russian flags present up at so-called protests – in help of the junta leaders,” he added..
Maybe the longest and bitterest battles in opposition to French colonialism befell in North Africa in the course of the Algerian conflict of independence.
That battle was a serious armed battle between France and the Algerian Nationwide Liberation Entrance (NLF) from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria profitable its independence from France and represented “the latest and bloodiest instance of France’s colonial historical past on the African continent”, with roughly 1.5 million Algerians killed and hundreds of thousands extra displaced within the eight-year battle for independence.
A posting on the Overseas Coverage web site August 8 mentioned Niger’s coup leaders had one week to relinquish energy and reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or else face army intervention by the Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS).
At midnight on Sunday, that deadline expired with out Bazoum being reinstated. Now, Niger and its neighbors are getting ready for attainable conflict—and ECOWAS, which plans to carry a second emergency summit is questioning whether or not issuing its unprecedented menace was a sensible concept to start with.
On Sunday, Niger’s junta authorities despatched troop reinforcements to the capital, Niamey, and closed Niger’s airspace to brace for ECOWAS’s potential invasion. A senior U.S. diplomat held “frank and at occasions fairly troublesome” talks on Monday with junta leaders, who rejected calls to revive democracy, in accordance with Overseas Coverage.
Requested in regards to the Russian affect in Niger, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed reporters August 7 “for certain we now have issues once we see one thing just like the Wagner Group probably manifesting itself in several elements of the Sahel, and right here’s why we’re involved: as a result of each single place that this group, Wagner Group, has gone, loss of life, destruction, and exploitation have adopted.”
He mentioned insecurity has gone up, not down. It hasn’t been a response to the wants of the international locations in query for better safety.
“I believe what occurred and what continues to occur in Niger was not instigated by Russia or by Wagner, however to the extent that they attempt to reap the benefits of it – and we see a repeat of what’s occurred in different international locations, the place they’ve introduced nothing however dangerous issues of their wake – that wouldn’t be good,” Blinken declared.
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© Inter Press Service (2023) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service