September 12, 2023
Organizations and individuals can sign on to the statement by going to the December 12 Movement website at www.D12M.com
Protest outside Niger and French airbase to demand the French army leave, Niamey, Sept. 2, 2023. Photo websource: Aljazeera.com
We, the undersigned, express our firm solidarity with the revolt against French neocolonialism sweeping across the African continent. We stand completely opposed to a Western-backed, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) intervention and sanctions in Niger and further oppose the ongoing sanctions and pressure campaign against Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea by the U.S., European Union and other nations. Across the African continent, particularly in the Sahel and West Africa, millions of exploited and marginalized people are rising up, demanding a future free of abject poverty and neocolonial subordination.
In Niger, 43% of the country lives on less than $2 a day, 83% of the country lives in rural areas, but only 9% have access to electricity, and 54% of Nigeriens have no access to clean water. Similar statistics could be quoted for nations all across sub-Saharan Africa. This is the context for the military transitions and popular uprisings taking place. This is despite the fact that these nations produce hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth for non-Africans every year. Changes in government are only possible because of the burning desire among the masses for a change in the system.
France, the United States and various African “leaders” are extremely hypocritical in their denunciations of the civil-military governments in West Africa. France and the United States only care about “democracy” when it affects their puppets. For instance, they fully supported the French-backed coup that installed current Côte d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara in 2010 and made not a peep when he illegally ran for a third term and suppressed working-class Ivorians with brutal force in 2020.
France, in particular, has used the CFA franc to keep West and Central African nations undeveloped — and from ports to mineral deals has forced African countries into deeply unequal economic relationships. Despite their boats of “aid” in 2021, “aid” to Niger amounted to $1.37 a week per Nigerien; only 7 cents were spent on education and 15 cents on supporting health care services.
Appealing to “democracy,” blaming Russia and various other excuses are born out of desperation as imperialism loses its grip on the African continent. The military forces of the NATO countries are no longer able to enforce a deeply unequal order. Africans understand what’s going on, and won’t take it any longer. French neocolonialism is the most odious manifestation of a broader set of policies backed by the G7 nations to keep Africa in chains; the uprising against it is the first step in removing those shackles.
For information contact the December 12th Movement: (718) 398-1766; D12M@aol.com; Facebook — The December 12th Movement
ENDORSERS (List in formation):
ORGANIZATIONS (Alphabetical listing) :
ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition
CACI-USA (Committee of Actions for Cote d’Ivoire)
CEMOTAP (Committee for the Elimination of Media Offensive to African People)
December 12th Movement
International Action Center
KOMOKODA (Komite Mobilizasyon kont Diktati an Ayiti)
Mobilization4Mumia
New York-New Jersey Cuba Si Coalition
Party for Socialism and Liberation
People’s Organization for Progress [POP]
Struggle for Socialism/La Lucha por el Socialismo
Workers World Party
INDIVIDUALS:
(Organizational listing is for identification purposes only and does not indicate organizational endorsement)
Ike Nahem, International US-Cuba Normalization Conference Coalition
Kenniss Henry, Female Co-Chair of N’COBRA
