Tag: CEDEAO

Mali : ECOWAS Lifts Sanctions and France Moves Troops to Neighboring Niger

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment
Map of Mali with its capital Bamako

Over the weekend, ECOWAS (CEDEAO), the regional West-African agency and France’s puppet organization in the region, lifted its 6-months embargo against Mali. Back in January, with tensions escalating between France and Mali, the ECOWAS placed unbelievable sanctions on Mali, closing borders, banking, and more. For the history, Mali has been in disarray since the fall of Libya in 2011 losing up to 80% of its territory to jihadists armed by foreign forces. Faced with 80% of its territory occupied by foreign forces and terrorists, and in order to regain sovereignty over its lands, Mali sought the partnership of Russia, which France screamed against based on The 11 Components of the French Colonial Tax in Africa which denies Africans the right to other military or economic partners without France’s approval [The French Colonial Tax at the Heart of Mali-France Tensions, France confirms it will withdraw from Mali … moving to neighboring countries and beyond, Mali Rescinds France Defense Agreements].

Yesterday, the West African bloc ECOWAS has lifted the economic and financial sanctions against Mali’s military government after the promise that Mali will hold elections in February 2024. The move has been celebrated by many Malians who have been struggling under the restrictions and the global rise in fuel and food costs. As many applaud the lifting of sanctions, it is important to analyze why ECOWAS might have changed its mind: a) the countries in the West African block were not aware of how much weight Mali had in the region and the impact to their economies, and were all suffering from the Mali embargo, and thus are scramming to have Mali rejoin its ranks; b) With sanctions lifted, it will be easier for terrorists groups (armed by foreign forces) to travel back into the country easily, as there will be less control; c) a few days ago, the Spanish minister threatened Mali with a NATO intervention to protect European interests in Mali, which he later denied; d) France just moved its troops to neighboring Niger (another puppet). How convenient that the sanctions are lifted a few days after this minister’s outburst, and right before France’s troops move to Niger. Thus, knowing that ECOWAS is France’s puppet in the region, the lifting of sanctions is rather something to be skeptical of, and distrust entirely. No one should fall for this ECOWAS turncoat tactic… Mali should keep its guard high, and we should all pray and fight for the freedom of Mali and Africa as a whole!

Thomas Sankara’s Murder Trial on Hold

On By Dr. Y.In Great PeopleLeave a comment
Thomas Sankara
Thomas Sankara a Ouagadougou

The trial to find Thomas Sankara‘s murderers (Who killed Thomas Sankara? The Trial starts in Burkina Faso) has been halted because of last week’s coup in Burkina Faso which saw the removal of president Roch Kaboré (2022 Burkinabé coup d’état). This adds to the fragility of the entire region, where the métropole (France) is impoverishing and destroying the countries it claims to be helping. As always, the ghostly/nonsensical organization that is ECOWAS (CEDEAO) with its nonsensical rules that only favor the old colonial powers came out with some ‘sanctions’. Below are excerpts from the article on ABC News.

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BurkinaFaso6
Flag of Burkina Faso

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The long-awaited trial on the killing of Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso’s influential leftist leader killed more than three decades ago, has been suspended as a result of the West African country’s recent coup.

The trial has been paused until the constitution is reestablished, a lawyer for the prosecution said Monday.

The suspension comes one week after a military junta overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, suspended the constitution and dissolved the national assembly.

Prosper Farama, one of the lawyers for the Sankara family called the suspension a good thing that would respect everyone’s rights. “We have to be patient until the constitution is reestablished for things to be legal,” he said.

… Fourteen people are being charged for Sankara’s killing, including former President Blaise Compaore, who ousted Sankara in a 1987 coup. Compaore is charged with complicity, undermining state security and concealing corpses, according to military documents seen by The Associated Press. He’s being tried in absentia, as he has been in exile in Ivory Coast since he was toppled in 2014.

… “As young Sankarists, we are very worried about the suspension of the trial,” said Passamde Occean Sawadogo a singer and activist. “We remain vigilant so that nothing can jeoparidze the trial’,” he said.

Is France Trying to (re) Colonize Africa?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments5 Comments
500 Fcfa_BEAO
1000 FCFA (West African CFA)

On the eve of Christmas last year, the Côte d’Ivoire President, Alassane Ouattara, and the French president Emmanuel Macron announced the “end” of the FCFA and the introduction of a new currency, the ECO, to replace the treacherous FCFA currency. Many have applauded the announcement, but to me, it looks more like a coup perpetrated by France on African countries to colonize even the countries it never colonized, … simply by using currency.

The FCFA is a colonial tax imposed by France on its former colonies which amounts to at least 500 billion Euros every year in the coffers of France without having to raise a finger, as African countries which are part of this FCFA zone deposit 50-60 % (at one point it was 85 %) of their foreign reserves into France central bank.

A few things were already fishy with the Ouattara-Macron announcement:

ECOWAS_members
ECOWAS Member States

1. Only FCFA countries in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo) will have their currency changed to the ECO, while the FCFA countries in Central Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon) will continue to have the FCFA as a currency and to send out 60 % of their reserves to France. Why is it only West Africa moving on to the ECO? Isn’t the FCFA used by 15 countries in West Africa, Central Africa, and the Comoros? Why is the break only for West Africa then? Sounds like a divide-and-conquer tactic!

2. Also, France says the new currency’s value will be pegged to the Euro, similar to the way the FCFA‘s value was pegged to the French Franc, and now to the Euro. The ECO will remain fixed to the Euro, though the required deposits from these nations into French coffers are now eliminated (how true is this?) and France will no longer hold a seat on the UEMOA-linked West African central bank; it will instead send its puppets like Ouattara.

FCFA_Franc_map
FCFA Map

Why do I call this a coup? The ECO is the currency that the  Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), 15 members of the West African union, had been working on for years, to be rolled on the entire territory of their union to facilitate exchanges between countries. Thus the name ECO stems from ECOWAS. The 15 member states of the ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Out of these 15 countries, 6 are not part of France’s pré-carré, and thus do not use the FCFA: Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Cape Verde, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. As you can see, Africa’s second biggest economy, Nigeria with its Naira is part of the ECOWAS, as well as Ghana with its Ghanaian cedi. This is also the reason why only the West African Franc zone countries will move to the ECO while the Central African Franc zone will not: because France is simply stealing the ECOWAS idea! Given the protests in recent years asking for France to step away from the FCFA and to leave African countries alone, France had no real choice but to act as if they had taken into considerations the requests. Now, France is trying to stage a coup on stable economies such as Nigeria and Ghana which have been fighting so hard to re-create President Kwame Nkrumah‘s dream of a common currency in the region and in Africa as a whole.

ECOWAS_Flag
ECOWAS Flag

In essence, France is simply hijacking the idea of the ECO. More importantly and this is cause for serious action, France is trying to colonize some of Africa’s biggest economies simply by using the currency! This is extremely deceitful, and we pray that Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Cape Verde, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, will not fall for this. France is simply trying to harvest where it never sowed (as always), with the help of its puppet, Ouattara!

As a last note, it is about time that we, Africans, those who are still in the FCFA zone, those from whom France collects 500 billions Euros every year, it is high time to awaken, and to break the chains of slavery. Thomas Sankara said in his 1984 speech at the UN, “the slave who is not capable of assuming his rebellion does not deserve that we feel sorry for him. This slave will respond only to his misfortune if he is deluding himself about the suspect condescension of a master who claims to free him. Only struggle liberates …!” AFRICA MUST UNITE and FREE ITSELF!!!

To learn more, read my articles The 11 Components of the French Colonial Tax in Africa, FCFA: France’s Colonial Tax on Africa, Africa is funding Europe!, and also read this article on Africa Report.