MORE AFRICAN BODIES WASH UP IN LIBYA
Don’t normalise Africans dying while attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Dozens of bodies have now washed up in Libya, a day after the same happened in Tunisia. pic.twitter.com/A83tv9wXQe
— African Stream (@african_stream) April 26, 2023
Editor’s Note: This video report was produced by African Stream.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—It was a meeting of Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam.
At least, that’s how African-led anti-imperialist organization Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) referred to the Biden administration’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit during a Dec. 16 press conference.
“Uncle Tom” is a euphemism for a person of African descent whose loyalty appears to be with their European-descended master. “Uncle Sam” is a nickname for the United States.
“Some people think that was somewhat harsh,” said BAP National Organizer Ajamu Baraka, moderating the press conference at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies. “We believe it reflects the character of that relationship. African leaders claim that they want to have respect, but it’s difficult to get respect when you allow yourself to be put in a position where you are summoned to the center of empire with a stick and a carrot.”
Day 2: Amid many protesters at the DC Convention Center, where the #Biden administration's "Meeting of Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam" aka #USAfricaLeadersSummit22, is taking place, we raised the call for #USoutofAfrica! Banner painted by BAP CC member repping @aaprp @RafikiMorris. pic.twitter.com/nBY32UcNsi
— Black Alliance for Peace (@Blacks4Peace) December 14, 2022
‘100 Million Electric Vehicles’
Some perceived a major deal that took place at the summit as an example of the subservient relationship many African countries have with the United States. On Dec. 13, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the U.S. government and the governments of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that would employ U.S. agencies’ technical assistance and financing support to mine for copper and cobalt. The goal is to help Zambia and the DRC develop an “electric vehicle value chain,” according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The terms of the deal remain unclear.
He added the DRC possesses 70 percent of the world’s known cobalt reserves, though other sources estimate it at about 50 percent. Meanwhile, Zambia is the world’s seventh-largest copper producer, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration.
After the deal was announced, media outlets reported a Bill Gates-backed startup, KoBold, bought a $150 million stake to use artificial intelligence to search for copper in a Mingomba-based deposit owned by the Lumambe Copper Mine in Zambia.
“Converted to copper contained in electric vehicles, it’s like 100 million electric vehicles,” KoBold President Josh Goldman told the Wall Street Journal.
Blinken touted the deal as a way to combat the global climate crisis. However, the thirst for minerals to produce gadgets and electric cars has been linked to the 2019 coup of Bolivian President Evo Morales and 5.6 million Congolese dying in a war. That led the International Court of Justice to order Uganda to pay $325 million in reparations to the DRC.
As Toward Freedom reported in August:
“Non-governmental organization Global Witness reported in April that 90 percent of minerals coming out of one DRC mining area were shown to have come from mines that did not meet security and human-rights standards. Companies relying on minerals from such mines include U.S.-based Apple, Intel and Tesla.”
‘Uncle Tom Part and Parcel of U.S. Plunder of Africa’
To counter the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, various organizations pulled together events to raise public awareness. The African Peoples’ Forum held Dec. 11 in Washington, D.C., attracted a couple of hundred African-descended people for three panel discussions, two of which Toward Freedom published here and here. The Global Pan-African Congress held a “people’s intervention” on Dec. 10, while BAP organized a week of actions Dec. 12-16.
“The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit was clearly set up to obscure the real U.S. role in Africa and give legitimacy to the continuing U.S. plunder of African resources, exploitation of African people and military domination of the African continent,” said BAP Mid-Atlantic member Khari Gzifa, as he read aloud an organizational statement at the Dec. 16 press conference.
BAP Coordinating Committee member Margaret Kimberley defended the use of terms like “Uncle Tom” and “Uncle Sam.”
“Do not rejoice just because African leaders gather in Washington,” she said. “The U.S. cannot cover up its many crimes […] the overthrow and murder of [first Congolese Prime Minister] Patrice Lumumba, coups against [first African-born Ghanian Prime Minister] Kwame Nkrumah, the destruction of Libya, the murder of its president. You cannot cover all of that up with a few days of receptions and photo opportunities.”
Samir Amin analysis of neo-colonialism with Frantz Fanon Critique of the National Bourgeoisie is so useful to understanding economic constraints on African nations today. pic.twitter.com/nIzvr8wqFU
— K.Diallo ☭ (@nyeusi_waasi) December 17, 2022
Rafiki Morris, who represents the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party on BAP’s Coordinating Committee, said the summit wasn’t simply a meeting, but an indication of a partnership.
“Uncle Tom isn’t colluding with U.S. imperialism,” Morris said. “Uncle Tom is part and parcel of the U.S. plunder of Africa.”
Morris added no amount of attempting to appeal to U.S. Congressional Black Caucus members’ or African leaders’ conscience could work to transform their actions or, as he said, bring them over to “our side of the fence.”
“We now realize Uncle Tom helped build the fence.”
Julie Varughese is editor of Toward Freedom.
TUNIS—Around 2:30 p.m., in the middle of the week, a dozen people lined up in front of a bakery in the district of Le Bardo, west of the Tunisian capital of Tunis. Some are daily customers. Many had gotten used to getting in line since Ramadan began in early April, though the people waiting were not the multitude they saw in the first days of the holy month.
“Before, and at the start of Ramadan, I would find some bakeries closed or running out of flour—now it’s better,” Mounir, a driving instructor in his late 50s, noted, speaking to Toward Freedom. “Still, people are going to shop earlier than usual to be sure they find enough bread.”
For him, the main problem is those buyers who are hoarding loaves, leaving little for the others.
Heavily dependent on grain imports and suffering its worst financial crisis, Tunisia is struggling with the global wheat shortage brought on by the fallout of the Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine.
That’s why Ramadan, known in the Islamic calendar to be a holy month of fasting—but also of feasting and consumption—is looking different this year.
Global Wheat Shortage Drives Up Prices
Tunisia is one of the predominantly Muslim countries throughout north Africa and west Asia that has been exposed to the impact of the conflict in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are the world’s largest and fifth-largest exporters of wheat, respectively. Tunisia relies on the countries for more than half of its annual wheat imports.
The situation has been aggravated by the economic crisis that the north African country has been passing through for more than a decade, as well as by a rapidly-impending public-finance crisis, which appears difficult to avert.
With a fragile economy plagued by high public debt, rampant inflation and unemployment, Tunisia’s funds are being depleted. Since December 2019, the Tunisian government has no longer been able to import on credit and has been forced to pay cash for each transaction due to its financial instability, which has led to foreign operators often demanding advance payment for fear of a payment default. As the country’s funds dwindle, suppliers hold goods offshore until payments are green-lighted.
Analysts have warned that Tunisia may face a social explosion due to scarce wheat and high prices. Inflation rose in March to 7.2 percent and it is likely to continue rising as the war in Ukraine drives up prices of food like grains, as well as oil and fertilizers. Ukraine and Russia, which account for 29 percent of global wheat exports, are the main suppliers of grains to dozens of countries in north Africa and west Asia. Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco and Turkey are among the most vulnerable countries to disruptions in wheat imports in the region. Egypt is the world’s top wheat importer with 85 percent coming from Russia and Ukraine. Tunisia relies on Ukraine for 50 percent to 60 percent of its wheat imports. Lebanon imports 60 percent from Ukraine. Turkey is also a big spender on Russian and Ukrainian wheat, with 85 percent coming from those two countries. Morocco is less dependent on wheat imports, with Ukrainian and Russian wheat representing 36 percent of its imports. However, it is currently experiencing its worst drought in 30 years, leading to food price hikes that will eventually push the government to raise grain imports.
Karabekir Akkoyunlu, a lecturer in politics of the Middle East at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, said on Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera that Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon are at great risk from a rise in prices and a surge in demand. Meanwhile, food policy expert David Laborde told German public broadcaster Deutsche Wellen that people won’t immediately feel the rising cost of wheat, given that many regional countries have subsidies in place. Governments could start rationing or increasing the cost of wheat-related products at some point, which could spark social unrest.
The Search for Bread
“I do my bread shopping after I finish work at 2 p.m., so I have time to look around. If I don’t find the quantity I want at one bakeshop, I go to another one,” Tareq, a 44-year-old clothing salesman, told Toward Freedom while holding a bag with ordinary baguettes and flatbread. For the first time, he plans to make sweets for the Eid (“feast”) celebration, since buying them would cost him a lot.
Bread, which Tunisians notoriously consume in abundance, has a symbolic value on the tables of Tunisian families. Statistics from Tunisia’s National Institute of Consumption (INC) showed that in 2018, average bread consumption per person was 74 kilograms (163 pounds) a year.
Fifty-eight-year-old Tili, a public sector worker who’s been buying from the same bakery for long, pointed out the wheat crisis is political. “Bread is always available,” he told Toward Freedom. He hinted some of the people who complain about diminishing grain supplies are implicitly taking a stance against Tunisian President Kais Saied’s handling of the scarcity.
On March 9, Saied announced that he was launching an anti-speculation campaign. He then issued on March 20 a new law (Decree-Law 2022-14) introducing heavy penalties for speculating on goods. These penalties range from 10 years in prison to a life sentence, including for the deliberate spread of “false or incorrect information” that would cause consumers to refrain from buying food or that would disrupt the supply of goods to markets, thereby causing price spikes.
Since then, the media has reported on police conducting raids on warehouses full of sacks of flour, semolina and other food.
Saied and government officials have blamed the delays and shortages on market speculators, labor union strikes, and a conspiracy by his opponents.
For several weeks, long queues for bread have been a common sight in different parts of Tunisia. The situation seems less critical these days amid reports of authorities pumping shares of flour into the market to limit shortfalls recorded at the beginning of April.
In normal times, bakeshops stay open throughout the week during Ramadan and availability of bread has never been an issue. But in the current period, they are either forced to ration the bread production or cut their working times because supplies are more limited. Some have raised their prices. Several others have even shut down due to the lack of semolina and flour.
‘We Must Keep Producing’
Coming out of another bakery in Le Bardo, Altra Cosa, 22-year-old student Imen complained about the wait time to buy bread. “I go to any bakeshop where I see the least longest queue. I normally have to queue up for half an hour or longer,” she lamented, speaking to Toward Freedom. “I sometimes can’t find bread at all. Then I have to go wherever I manage to.” In her view, market speculators hiding state-subsidized goods to sell at a higher price later are mainly those causing supply difficulties.
Ahmad, manager of Altra Cosa, said the government needs to fairly distribute raw materials among bakeries. “There are those that are delivered supplies of flour, sold for a price, others for a different [price],” he told Toward Freedom. “That should change.”
Despite the challenges, he stressed his bakery has been operating steadily in the recent period. “Bread will be always available here,” he vowed. “We must keep producing—otherwise, there will be a revolution.” Noureddine, one of the bakers, observed that the amounts of flour the state supplies to their bakeshop varies and, since the scarcity of cereals began, the staff have been carefully handling production volumes within set limits to suit the customer demand. To make sure subsidized bread is available for everyone, they sell no more than five baguettes per person.
“We’re making the same types of bread—regular and special—and haven’t changed prices,” the baker told Toward Freedom. “The government even asked us to make loaves of lesser weight, so [as] to ration the quantity of bread produced, though we don’t do that.”
A street cake vendor, Samir, stood nearby with his cart. He claimed wheat-based products could be found more easily now, in spite of the ruptures in the supply chain. He also alluded to Saied’s crackdown on goods speculators, intermediaries who hold on to stocks of foodstuffs to force prices up.
The Run-Up to the Wheat Crisis
Since December, labor union officials at the port of Sfax have reportedly said several grain shipments have not been unloaded because the state struggles to pay for them.
Households across Tunisia rushed to stock up on flour and semolina, as well as other staples, as food prices started to rise with the advent of the war.
#Tunisia #food_subsidies #Bread
89% of respondants consume daily the bread, only 47% said that the bread always available#InsightsTN #Poll 30Jan-8Feb2022 pic.twitter.com/jdCqlaGpMU— Insights TN (@InsightsTn) April 3, 2022
Based on a poll conducted by Tunisia-based Insights consultancy, between January 30 and February 8, 89 percent of Tunisians interviewed consumed bread daily and only 47 percent said bread was always available.
A video from the city of Sidi Bouzid that circulated on social media showed a crowd climbing aboard a truck delivering semolina.
A vido showing #Tunisia|ns antagonizing a truck of Semolina, Today in Sidi Bouzid.
To mark that the country is knowing a historic crisis of cereals, including other basic materials. #Tunisia_coup pic.twitter.com/TDoxcs7oED— Haythem MADDOURI (هيثم المدّوري) (@HaythemMADDOUR1) March 11, 2022
Meanwhile, angry bakers in the city of Ben Arous, south of Tunis, threatened a strike in mid-March.
By the time Ramadan kicked off, crowds gathering outside bakeshops had become a regular occurrence. On April 2, the head of Kairouan Modern Bakery Group, Abdelbaki Abdellaoui, stated 17 modern bakeries (those that trade mainly non-subsidized bread along with a little subsidized bread) had shut down in the governorate of Kairouane, due to the lack of semolina and flour. He had requested the regional director of trade to intervene and provide the region’s share of semolina. The next day, residents staged a sit-in protest in front of the city’s municipal market to demand provision of primary staples.
‘We’ve Only Heard Promises’
The Kairouan bakery group’s president criticized the monthly 10,000-kilogram (22,000 pounds) allocation of flour the government had set for bakeries “very limited,” as he suggested the load would last 20 to 25 days, forcing bakers to stop production until the next month.
“We’ve just heard promises of increased loads from the minister of trade, and are still waiting to receive them,” Abdellaoui sighed, while speaking to Toward Freedom.
He mentioned one major problem specific to Kairouan is the lack of wheat flour mills, which makes it logistically complicated for flour delivery to bakeshops in the region, compared to those operating in other regions.
Abdellaoui anticipated that the wheat challenge will be bigger after Ramadan, when Tunisians will be returning to daily meals after observing a month of fasting.
Mohamed Jammali, president of Tunisia’s Modern Bakery Group, reported that a dozen modern bakeries closed their doors since the beginning of Ramadan because of the penury of basic wheat staples. Modern Bakery Group is part of Confédération des Entreprises Citoyennes de Tunisie (CONECT), an employers’ union organization that brings together private and public enterprises in various sectors of the Tunisian economy.
Early this month, the Tunisian union of bakers denounced continuous shortages of flour and semolina for more than four months in all regions, and called on the government to provide the necessary amounts of grains to ensure a provision of bread to citizens.
“10,000 kg of flour a month for bakers is not acceptable,” Jammali complained while talking to Toward Freedom. He added that while some bakeries getting subsidized flour, others are selling ordinary bread at a higher cost because they must use grain bought privately.
The head of the national bakery group appealed for the inclusion of bakers’ associations in relevant discussions at the government level, noting that they have been side-lined by the cabinet.
“We want to make decisions in coordination with the Ministry of Trade,” Jammali demanded. “We should take part in setting bread prices and regulating the bakery sector.”
Although the state has not raised flour prices, the price of bread in some non-subsidized bakeries has gone up by 25 percent in the last few months. A baguette costs only 190 millimes (6 U.S. cents) because it’s being heavily funded by the government in an effort to maintain social stability. However, it can sell for 250 millimes (8 U.S. cents) or more in non-subsidized bakeshops, where they cannot get enough subsidized flour or choose to lift their prices for more profits. Before hiking prices, bakers tend to reduce the shape and weight first.
Running Out of Bread
A bakeshop at Tunis central market appeared moderately busy by 3 p.m. on a Friday. Two women in their early 20s were waiting outside while their father was buying bread. One of them noticed the line is usually long during the week.
“I come here regularly to get a baguette, I prefer it and it’s the cheapest. Other types can cost 500 millimes ($0.16) up to one dinar even,” she told Toward Freedom. The dinar is the Tunisian currency. “Prices of special breads rose before Ramadan after the Russia-Ukraine war, and have risen again recently.”
“The reserves of cereals already decreased before the war—now, they are insufficient,” her sister commented to Toward Freedom. “Tunisia has imported more than in the past years, and it’s struggling to cover import costs because of the economic crisis.”
The conversation abruptly ended as their father came out with fresh bread in hand and made it clear it was time to leave, preventing this reporter from catching the women’s names. As mentioned earlier, Saied’s law criminalizes the deliberate spread of “false or incorrect information” regarding food scarcity.
Walking out of the bakery, Chaima, a 30-something nursing assistant, carried a bag with three baguettes. “In Ramadan time, people normally eat a lot of traditional bread, but not this year,” she remarked, addressing Toward Freedom, and continued, “We don’t have enough flour at the moment. The country is running out of money. It can’t pay [for] its imports.”
Tunisians consume less subsidized bread during the Muslim month. Instead, they typically opt for special bread from a range of types that are today becoming less affordable for the average person.
Hamed, owner of the market’s bakeshop, explained that until the week before the supply of flour distributed to his shop by the state was lesser than the demand making it very hard to satisfy customers. Then, he said, the government allocated “an extra 15% share approximately” for bakeries though he specified that many of those based in the city’s suburbs are still counting on short supplies.
“Things are manageable now. With the share of flour we had before, we often had to close at 11 a.m., because we had finished our stocks by then,” the business owner told Toward Freedom.
In the last period, people seeking to buy the affordable baguette have resorted to the more expensive bread when no other option was available for fear of being left without bread.
Glancing at the price list stuck inside his bakery, Hamed pointed to a variety of loaves ranging from olive and barley, 500 millimes, to cereals, 800 millimes (26 U.S. cents) and semolina-made bread, 1 TND (33 U.S. cents).
“Except for the one-dinar bread, which we increased by 200 millimes, our prices are the same since last year. We’ve also been selling our baguette at 190 millimes for 15 years,” he went on to say.
‘Disruption Originates From the Top’
Besides mentioning diminishing government spending power, which has caused cash flow problems, Hamed hinted at the profitable smuggling trade that runs from Tunisian milling facilities into neighboring Libya.
Talking to independent Tunis-based media collective Inkyfada, Tunisian Customs spokesman Haithem Zaned said the largest part of subsidized foodstuffs (especially wheat products) that customs services seized [as part of the recent anti-speculation efforts] were intended for smuggling. He specified that the smuggling trade is primarily bound to Libya.
“There is clearly a problem in the supply chain, and the disruption originates from the top,” Houssem Saad of ALERT, an association campaigning to end Tunisia’s windfall economy that benefits influential business families, said to Toward Freedom. He referred to the government’s Office of Cereals, which is responsible for imports of grains that are then unevenly distributed through a system of quotas among milling companies making pasta and other wheat-based products.
Saad estimated 70 percent of grain quotas go to flour mills that have factories producing pasta, couscous and other goods, leaving the remaining small portion to mills that trade flour and semolina only.
These manufacturers purchase subsidized wheat or flour from the Office of Cereals, he explained, part of which is diverted to make products to export to different countries, especially Libya, where they resell the raw materials for a much higher price.
Minister of Commerce Fadhila Rabhi, reportedly highlighted the need to fight speculation and embezzlement of staple foods (such as semolina and flour) by moving from a system of subsidized prices to one based on compensation via direct transfers by 2023. She also was quoted in local media as saying: “Some people have interest in perpetuating instability to profit through smuggling. Subsidized Tunisian couscous (crushed durum wheat semolina) was even found on the black market in Niger, Sudan and Chad.”
“It’s officially a state monopoly where rentiers, a handful of milling companies, are given a privilege,” Saad argued. “Moreover, the government’s policy is not aimed at encouraging domestic production—instead, it’s based on imports.”
The Ministry of Commerce stated to local media last year that it will use “all necessary mechanisms to confront the phenomenon of monopoly and parallel markets.” This came at a time when prices of most food products had increased.
Tunisia has been increasingly importing cereals. According to data from the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP), 1 million hectares of arable land were used last year for cereal production, compared to 1.2 million hectares in 2020. The union forecasts the amount will decrease even more this year.
In referring to the country’s political instability and financial deterioration, Saad highlighted Tunisia is currently facing problems in paying foreign suppliers and is systematically paying late. He estimated that ships carrying cereals can be held unloaded for four to five weeks, waiting for the Office of Cereals to negotiate a high-interest loan with a private bank, at a cost of between $15,000 and $20,000 per day. That, in turn, pushes the price of imports up. At this pace, importing cereals is likely to get more and more costly for Tunisia.
The Office of Cereals admitted in a statement it was delayed in paying six ships at Tunisian ports that were carrying grains in December. However, the office also warned that false reports about payment issues “can be exploited by suppliers to increase the prices of imported cereals and to impose new exorbitant conditions in calls for bids” and that “such [a] situation will generate additional expenses in cash for the state’s treasury.”
Although the Ministry of Agriculture assured current wheat reserves should last until the June harvest, concern remains about the government’s ability to secure sufficient supplies. Meanwhile, on March 11, the Office of Cereals failed to conclude a deal for May’s wheat imports because it didn’t have the financing in place.
This reporter was unable to reach the Office of Cereals, the Ministry of Commerce and Saeid’s office for comment during Ramadan.
Tunisia hopes to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a financial rescue package in return for deep economic reforms, including cuts in state subsidies that keep bread accessible to the population.
Alessandra Bajec is a freelance journalist specializing in West Asia and North Africa. Between 2010 and 2011, she lived in Palestine. She was based in Cairo from 2013 to 2017, and since 2018 has been based in Tunis.
Editor’s Note: The following represents the writer’s analysis.
Thousands of demonstrators took to Mali’s streets on January 14 to demonstrate against sanctions the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed on the country after the military government’s supposed delay in the transitional map (plan) to transfer power to civilians. The military junta called for mobilizations throughout the country. Protests took place in the capital, Bamako. Other cities in the West African country also witnessed demonstrations, the most notable ones being in Timbuktu in the north and Bougouni in the south.
The former transitional president, Bah Andau, called on his compatriots to defend the homeland.
What is the general context in which these popular demonstrations took place? What are the positions of the actors in the crisis? How did international actors react, including France and Russia? And how is their position a reflection of the Malian authorities and the demonstrations?
Election Day Canceled
The beginning of the latest crisis started at the national conference—organized by the transitional government on January 2—which concluded its work in Bamako by adopting a recommendation to extend the political transition map for a period ranging from six months to five years.
The transitional government, led by President Asimie Goïta (also spelled Guetta), had approved an 18-month timetable, from the military coup carried out in August 2020 to elections that are supposed to be held this month.
Then the transitional government retracted that map, claiming the transitional phase needed to be elongated because the country had suffered from terrorist attacks that coincided with the coronavirus pandemic.
The ruling military council justified this change by saying it was unable to meet this month’s deadline, pointing to the continuing instability due to violence, in addition to the need to implement reforms, including that of the constitution. The hope was protests would not take off around the election, as had happened with previous elections.
At the huge protests in Mali, lots of protesters are waving Russian flags and holding posters that say "Mali-Russia cooperation" and "Thank you China and Russia for your support of Mali".
There are also lots of protesters carrying posters that say "Death to France and allies". pic.twitter.com/YPhaP5d0ZA
— Turtle (@swimming_free) January 17, 2022
Unprecedented Cruelty of ECOWAS Sanctions
After the recommendation to elongate the transitional period was issued and submitted to ECOWAS, it decided to hold a double special session of the Conference of the Heads of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. That is where ECOWAS imposed a set of sanctions on January 9, which included:
ECOWAS said the junta’s proposal to hold presidential elections in 2026 is “totally unacceptable” because it “means that an illegitimate transitional military government will hold the Malian people hostage over the next five years.” ECOWAS will only lift sanctions gradually, when Malian authorities present an “acceptable” timetable and when satisfactory progress is observed in its implementation.
These sanctions are more stringent than those imposed after the first coup in August 2020, which prompted observers to accuse the regional organization of unfairly applying economic and political sanctions for goals linked to foreign interests, France in particular. This is pertinent because ECOWAS did not impose the same sanctions on another West African country, Guinea, which witnessed a coup in September.
The strong French influence within the corridors of ECOWAS affects the independence of the organization’s decisionmaking. France colonized large portions of West Africa from the 1800s onward. Although West Africa gained independence and was split into sovereign states in the 20th century, France keeps a military presence in the Sahel region of West Africa and mandates many French-speaking African countries use the French currency, the franc, for transactions.
These sanctions would seriously affect the Malian economy, which is among the poorest in the world and has been experiencing a crisis stemming from terrorism and the pandemic. This is especially because the Republic of Mali is landlocked and depends on Senegal and the Ivory Coast to engage in trade. Consequently, these sanctions constitute a tremendous political and economic pressure on the country, exacerbating its worsening problems.
The Transitional Government Reacts
The government in Mali chose two parallel courses.
First, they rejected the sanctions and escalation in a strongly worded statement and recalled its ambassadors from ECOWAS countries, closed its land and air borders with them, and stated it would reserve the right to review its participation within ECOWAS bodies. The ECOWAS stated it did not take the situation in Mali into consideration before imposing sanctions, which Mali considered illegal, and not based on any legal basis regulating the work of the group. The sanctions also contradict ECOWAS’ objectives as an African regional organization aimed at achieving solidarity, and Mali expressed regret that the regional organization had become an “instrument in the hand of forces from outside the region have hidden plans,” an unmistakable reference to France.
Despite the harsh tone, Mali declared the door for dialogue is still open to reach a solution to the aggravating crisis.
The second trend has been to mobilize the street, which is rising in anger at France and its suspicious role in Mali, as well as at ECOWAS and its sanctions that disturb Malians’ lives. Surprisingly, these demonstrations denounced the French presence, and saw the French occupation as grounds for terrorist practices. Protesters declared in their slogans their support for Russia’s directions in support of their country’s cause. During the action, the demonstrators carried posters in which they thanked Russia and its efforts in Mali.
It is no secret the agenda that appeared in the rallies and popular demonstrations is the same as the agenda carried by the Goïta government, which no longer desires the support of the French colonizer. Rather, the government has accused France on more than one occasion of being a major supporter of terrorism in Mali, and therefore saw in the Russian presence a hope and a means that could be relied upon to get the country out of the security quagmire and reduce or end the suspicious French role.
It may be true these demonstrations came out in response to the call of the military, and that they protested against the despised French colonial presence, as well as denounced the penalties of ECOWAS. But it should not be taken for granted that their emergence lends a kind of legitimacy to the double military coup, as well as offers approval and acceptance of the five-year transitional map.
It is undoubtedly a long transitional period, at the end of which may only see an extended military rule, or a false civilian rule that covers for the military rule that holds the wheel of government.
These demonstrations ignited a wave of anger against French colonialism, as the Malian and general African community demonstrated in front of the Malian embassy in Paris, in support of the Malian government’s decision to reject the ECOWAS decisions. January 22 was dedicated to organize demonstrations in front of the French embassies throughout the world.
The World Reacts
The Malian military’s agenda, which the popular demonstrations supported, met with multiple international reactions. For example, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France and the Europeans, who are militarily involved in the fight against militants in the region, want to stay in Mali without any conditions.
The French Ambassador to the United Nations, Nicolas de Rivière, affirmed Paris’ full support for ECOWAS’ sanctions because Malian authorities did not respect ECOWAS demands and obligations in terms of a speedy return to the democratic process.
French anger in this context is understandable. It saw the Malian demonstrations and a hostile military that France did not expect and did not want. France fought against such a change in power for decades by passing whoever it deemed to be at its mercy into power, while suppressing and oppressing peoples with a tyrannical, dictatorial rule that hardly allows their voices to be heard.
However, Mali expelled the French ambassador on January 31, giving them 72 hours to leave the country.
As for Russia, it demanded an understanding of the position of the Malian authorities. The Assistant Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, called during a meeting of the UN Security Council devoted to West Africa and the Sahel region, to show the necessary respect for the Republic of Mali and its efforts aimed at restoring order in the country, calling for an understanding of the difficulties they face. Without the return of the state’s authority to many regions of the country, it will not be possible to take into account the credibility of the election results, according to Russia.
The Russian position, consistent with the vision of the military government in Mali, rebuffs the Western presence that has begun to recede from Mali. It is a prelude to the expected Russian presence, whether in the form of security companies (Wagner) or direct support by Russian military forces.
These popular demonstrations may constitute the beginning of a real departure for the French colonialist and a decline in its role in West Africa. It may form the nucleus of a popular legitimacy that would constitute a lever for stable rule in the coming days.
Kribsoo Diallo is a Cairo-based Pan-Africanist researcher in political science related to African affairs. He has written for many African magazines and newspapers. Diallo has contributed to translated editions of papers and articles in Arabic and English for several research centers within the African continent.
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019