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Daily News Analysis

France behind coups in former West African colonies

Dr Mustafa Bothwell Mheta

There are credible reports of France’s hand behind recent coups that have plagued former French colonies in West Africa.

Some are even suggesting that this signals a return to coups in Africa as was the case in the past.

Are these coups happening in isolation or there is someone behind them?

A closer look at events unfolding in many of the former French colonies, or rather still French colonies, points to France as being behind these military takeovers that have happened recently in West Africa.

Starting with Mali, Chad, Sudan, Guinea, and now Burkina Faso, the trend seems familiar.

First, all the officers who have led these coups with the exception of Sudan (which is an appendage of certain Gulf countries and is led by ambitiously greedy soldiers), are French trained legionnaires and soldiers and that cannot be a coincident in all these countries.

Second, why is this phenomenon mostly happening in France’s former territories?

From Colonel Assimi Goita, Colonel Mamady Doumbuya and now lieutenant colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, all are graduates from French Military academies.

The modus operandi of these coups is pretty much the same wherever it has happened, and it points to France as being the architect behind them.

France has never left its former colonies even after claiming to have given them independence.

Instead, it tied those countries to a complicated regime of political and economic controls which have been an albatross around these countries’ necks long after their so-called independence.

This also explains why we have the French cabal in charge at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa.

These men keep making very unpopular decisions on behalf of the people of Africa without consulting them.

A good example is that of allowing Zionist/Apartheid Israel to have observer status at the AU.

On January 24, after a chaotic weekend of protests and a mutiny, soldiers in Burkina Faso announced they had taken over the country and arrested the President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

The operation was carried out on the orders of lieutenant colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, previously in charge of anti-terror operations in the east of the country.

The army statement read out on RTB national television was issued in the name of a previously unknown group, the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, or MPSR.

According to the statement, written by MPSR president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, Kaboré had failed to unite the country and to deal effectively with the security crisis which “threatens the very foundations of our nation”.

He said his movement would re-establish “constitutional order” within a “reasonable time”.

Mutinying soldiers had made several demands, including the removal of army chief of staff and the head of intelligence service, more troops to be deployed to the front line; and better conditions for the wounded and soldiers’ families.

According to French sources, Damiba is listed as having graduated from a Paris military school in 2017.

He also completed studies in criminal science at the Arts et Métiers school (CNAM) and received a certificate in management, command, and strategy.

The above statement sounds familiar with what has happened in the other former French colonies that have experienced coups of late.

These military leaders seem to be accusing their governments of things that they themselves are mandated to do in the first place.

Much of the hype seems to centre around the issue of strategies to fight the so-called Islamist rebels in their territories.

As military leaders, they should be in the forefront of coming up with strategies to win these wars against the rebels. Instead, they turn on their leaders.

Behind all this, one sees the hidden hand of France that has been stealing the resources of its former colonies all along.

The French have never stopped exploiting their former colonies.

Today, they are using the soldiers trained in France to do the job on their behalf.

Altogether, France collects more than $500 billion from its former colonies through dubious means.

It is like asking the former colonies to pay royalties to France for having colonised them.

The AU should investigate these developments and keep France away from its backyard.

Africa must make its own decisions and be independent.

These blood suckers should be asked to leave Africa alone and stop exploiting it.

Most of these imperialist powers do not have any resources left in their countries so they come up with such plans to continue to suck the wealth of Africa and keep its people poor.

Dr. Mustafa Mheta, Senior researcher/Head of Africa Des, Media Review Network, Johannesburg, South Africa


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