On Monday May 2, 2022, Mali rescinded the defense treaties linking it to France. Remember that, as part of the colonial tax forced upon the Malian people by France (and all other 14 past French colonies in Africa), there is one rule which links Mali to France via defense agreements where France is supposed to help Mali in case of external attacks. As we have seen, France has not held its part of the bargain, instead funding and letting jihadists proliferate on the Malian territory and committing abuses against the local populations. Thus, the government of Mali decided to break off from its defense accords with former colonial ruler France, condemning “flagrant violations” of its national sovereignty by the French troops there. “For some time now, the government of the Republic of Mali notes with regret a profound deterioration in military cooperation with France,” spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga said in a televised statement.
What might have further exacerbated the already tense relationship might have been the finding, about two weeks ago, of a mass grave near an army base which had been occupied by French forces. Although France has denounced these accusations, given the history of France abuses in Mali, and the region, it is hard not to believe. We all remember the French capture of the Tata of Sikasso on May 1, 1898 with Colonel Audéoud‘s troops and the destruction and desecration that followed. Even though it has been over a century, French abuses in Africa are numerous, from the genocide in Cameroon, Algeria, Madagascar, and countless other places.
The decision to rescind the French defense agreements is an awesome decision, and it is about time! The remaining 14 countries still held under the rule of France via the colonial tax should rise up to say NO!… stand up as one man to say NO MORE!… ENOUGH is ENOUGH! … and stand alongside Mali.
The 11 Components of the French Colonial Tax in Africa – Component at the heart of the tension today:
#6. Right for France to pre-deploy troops and intervene military in the country to defend its interests
Under something called “Defense Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, France had the legal right to intervene militarily in the African countries, and also to station troops permanently in bases and military facilities in those countries, run entirely by the French….
In recent weeks, we have all felt the effects of the war in Ukraine, particularly at the gas pump. Prices keep going up everyday, forcing many to either stop driving, start biking, use public transportation, or switch to electric or hybrid vehicles when possible. The gas prices unfortunately affect almost everything else, such as the cost of food, given that it costs more to transport from the place of production to the stores. Today, we will highlight two African inventors who have been working on energy alternatives for quite a while now, but have now come to the forefront thanks to the crisis in Ukraine.
There has been recent news of European nations turning to Africa to meet their energetic needs because of the sanctions they have placed on Russia, and to reduce their reliance on Russia. Although we should applaud their sudden remembrance of African countries, it is still important to note that they turn to Africa because they can just pay peanuts compared to Russia, and the fact that Africa has so many little-little countries, Europeans can impose their own prize, or threaten them with never-ending debts inherited from colonial times. Thus, the reason they could afford to place Russia under sanctions that have proven in the past to never work.
African Heritage 