Nothing happens in former French colonies without the knowledge of France. Yesterday’s coup in Ouagadougou is not a surprise to many of us. Burkina Faso military leader Paul-Henri Damiba has been deposed in the country’s second coup in a year, as army Captain Ibrahim Traore took charge, dissolving the transitional government and suspending the constitution.
Traore said on Friday evening that a group of officers had decided to remove Damiba due to his inability to deal with a worsening armed uprising in the country. The captain was previously head of Special Forces unit “Cobra” in the northern region of Kaya.
It is the second takeover in eight months for the West African state. Damiba took power in a coup in January that overthrew former President Roch Kabore, also due in part to frustration over the worsening insecurity.
Burkina Faso has been struggling to contain rebel groups, including some said to be associated with al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). Despite all this, there is something behind this instability and there is no doubt all the fingers point at France, the former colonial power.
France continues to maintain a strong grip on all its former colonies and this is what led to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda pulling out of France’s axis of influence in Africa. France believes that ‘once a colony, always a colony’. It continues to milk and exploit its former colonies to an extent of levying billions of dollars every year.
There is no doubt that France was the mastermind of the assassination of Captain Thomas Sankara because he was the threat to France’s hegemony over Burkina Faso. They instigated none other than Blaise Compaore one of Sankara’s closest comrade to kill him and take power.
The interference by former colonial masters on African countries is as clear as daylight. Which only shows disrespect by former colonial masters of these countries sovereignty and territorial integrity.
When will these racist, colonialist and imperialist’s countries stop what they are doing? We call upon the African Union (AU) to demand an end of this behavior. They need to know that Africa is not their backyard as seen in their issuing of instructions to who they befriend and how they should run their affairs.
On Friday, Traore announced that borders were closed indefinitely and that all political and civil society activities were suspended. A curfew from 9pm to 5am was also announced.
Faced with the deteriorating situation we tried several times to get Damiba to refocus the transition on the security question,” said the statement signed by Traore and read out by another officer on television, flanked by a group of soldiers in military fatigues and heavy armour.
The statement said Damiba had rejected proposals by the officers to reorganise the army and instead continued with the military structure that had led to the fall of the previous government.
“Damiba’s actions gradually convinced us that his ambitions were diverting away from what we set out to do. We decided this day to remove Damiba,” the statement said.
National stakeholders will be invited soon to adopt a new transitional charter and designate a new civilian or military president, it said.
One wonders why these parasitic former colonial masters won’t leave us alone. They pretend to be partners with Africa when in actual fact it’s a disguise to enter into crooked deals meant to cheat and defraud African countries of their precious minerals. This situation cannot be allowed to continue, we demand a stop to it. Aluta Continua!
By:
Dr. Mustafa Mheta
Senior researcher/Head of Africa Desk
Media Review Network SA
Dean: School of Languages at Somali
National University (SNU) Mogadishu
Federal Republic of Somalia
- HEADS MUST ROLL AT SANDF - January 13, 2023
- JUST WHAT DOES ON “BOTH SIDES” MEAN? - December 23, 2022
- ARAB COUNTRIES MUST IMMEDIATELY END THE PRACTICE OF MODERN DAY SLAVERY IN THEIR TERRITORIES - December 20, 2022