Africa

The revolutions in the Sahel have captured the imaginations of Africans across the continent - including artists who decorate Kenya’s beloved ‘matatu’ taxi minibuses, which are like art galleries on wheels. Their exteriors are typically bedecked with colourful graffiti-style designs and cartoons, as well as portraits of cult musicians and actors. But a new face has been spotted on Nairobi matatus: that of Burkina Faso’s anti-imperialist leader, Ibrahim Traoré. Like the people of Burkina Faso, Kenyans have been standing up for their rights and fighting back against exploitation by imperialist foreign actors. This was most evident in the recent mass protests that swept Kenya in opposition to IMF-pushed tax hikes. These were mainly attended by young people, undeterred by the harsh police crackdown which proved fatal to dozens. Burkina’s youth are also instrumental in the change their country is undergoing, with Traoré - at 36 - one of the world’s youngest leaders. So the question for Kenyans is: will it just be their matatus’ wheels that will be experiencing a ‘revolution’?

www.workers.org

>Alongside the debate on ways to boost industrialization, economic growth and development in the region, the participants expressed great concern at the continued [neocolonial] attack on civilians in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip. This attack is causing thousands of victims, the devastation of towns and villages and the deterioration of humanitarian conditions. In its final communiqué, SADC called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all prisoners and the start of talks to reach a lasting solution to the conflict. > >The Harare summit reiterated the call for the unconditional removal of the sanctions the United States of America, the United Kingdom and [their] allies have imposed on Zimbabwe and pointed out that these illegal measures continue to hinder the progress and prosperity of Zimbabweans and the region in general. > >The heads of state also addressed the problem of Mpox on the continent and in the region, noting the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO), which classified the issue as a “public health emergency of international concern.” In this context, they called on the WHO, African health bodies and other partners to mobilize resources to respond to the disease in the region. > >The Southern African leaders meeting in Harare reiterated their “unwavering support” for Mozambique and the DRC in promoting and consolidating peace, security and stability in the two countries. They highlighted the efforts of Angola and its leaders to achieve lasting peace in the face of security challenges in the eastern part of the DRC, brokering a ceasefire agreement between the DRC and Rwanda. > >Interpreting the spirit of the summit, the new SADC chairperson defended the modernization and industrialization of southern Africa and stressed that the region must be developed by its own peoples. The development process must be carried out “through our individual and collective efforts,” insisted Mnangagwa. He said that “those who want to help us are welcome,” but they must do so “on our terms, guided by our priorities and respecting our sovereignty.” And he assured that with unity and hard work “nothing is impossible.”

www.workers.org

>In 2021, the Malian government had hired the Wagner group, a privately owned Russian military company, to provide training to its armed forces and security to government officials, tasks that the French forces neglected. > >After the French left, the Malian Armed Forces and the Wagner Group generally conducted joint operations. > >Soldiers from the Wagner Group and the Malian Armed Forces were operating on the Algerian border near the commune of Tinzaouaten in late July when an insurgent group ambushed them, leaving dozens of Malian and Wagner forces killed, injured or captured and the insurgents in control of the commune. > >Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, was speaking on Ukrainian television when he indicated Kyiv’s possible involvement: “That the rebels received the necessary data to successfully carry out an operation against Russian war criminals has been observed by the entire world. Of course, we will not disclose details.” (Al Jazeera, Aug. 8) > >Some security analysts with inside knowledge of the attacks said Ukrainian forces could have provided limited training to Tuareg fighters, teaching them how to operate drones, drop IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and launch mortar attacks. > >Ukraine is proving to be a very useful proxy for both European and U.S. [neo]imperialists.

www.workers.org

>Deploring the “alarming” security situation in the Sahel, with attacks committed by “terrorist groups financed and trained by the West,” the Senegalese organizations expressed solidarity with the Malian armed forces and with the Alliance of Sahel States, a recently created collective defense alliance made up of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which is fighting against the terrorist groups now aided by Ukraine. > >Senegalese diplomacy, meanwhile, severely criticized the publication of the video by the Ukrainian Embassy, considering it “unequivocal and unreserved support for the terrorist attack perpetrated in northern Mali by Tuareg rebels and members of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims against the Malian armed forces.” > >What’s more, Sénégal “rejects terrorism in all its forms and cannot accept, on its territory and in any way whatsoever, comments and gestures that glorify terrorism, especially with the aim of destabilizing a sister country like Mali.” > >Similarly, Burkina Faso criticized Ukraine and “called on the international community to assume its responsibility” in the face of Kiev’s choice to collaborate with terrorism “in a global context where there is unanimity on the need to fight this scourge.” > >The Burkinabe government called on “peace-loving African countries, in particular, to condemn these subversive actions that threaten the stability of the continent.” And it called on Ukraine to “get its act together” and refrain from aiding the terrorists who “are massacring, killing, raping and pillaging” in northern Mali and throughout the region.

In an interview, Shahid Bolsen, founder of Middle Nation and a political commentator on global Muslim affairs, discusses how countries’ leaders and governments are not managing their economies. Using Kenya as an example due to the recent protests over tax hikes, he stated that President William Ruto is just a face. The actual decision-makers are lenders, like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who aim to secure the profits of Western multinational corporations, such as Coca-Cola, Barclays Bank, Nestlé, and others.

monthlyreview.org

Some great information and critique here. Dominant western perspectives, even when dubbing themselves "decolonial", still paint Africa as the Dark Continent, whose inhabitants are powerless against external forces. Instead, Vijay Prashad and Mikaela Nhondo Erskog argue, we need to center the (re-)emergence of Red Africa, the indigenous efforts towards socialism.

   

www.workers.org

>The heroic uprising has propelled Kenyan President William Ruto, an ally of President Joe Biden’s administration, not to sign the controversial bill, at least on a temporary basis. Many Kenyans are now demanding that their president resign. > >The Communist Party of Kenya stated: “The blood spilled on the streets of Kenya lies squarely in the hands of the IMF, the World Bank and their local puppets led by President Ruto in Nairobi. Ruto resign or be overthrown.” (communistpartyofkenya.org, June 26) > >This unimaginable debt should be canceled once and for all. Reparations are owed to the people of Kenya along with the entire African continent for hundreds of years of stolen resources and superexploited labor, first on the part of the [neo]imperialist ruling class of Britain, France, Germany and other rich European countries and presently by the [neo]imperialist banks dominated by the U.S.

Julian Assange is free! After accepting a deal that will see him plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in exchange for his freedom, he has departed for a court in the US commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, from where he’ll continue on to Australia. He has spent five years in what has been dubbed ‘Britain’s Guantanamo,’ aka the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison. His real ‘crime,’ many would argue, was simply lifting the lid on US wrongdoings - by publishing a trove of diplomatic cables that implicate Washington in atrocities and alleged war crimes. Many of these relate directly to Africa. Here’s a reminder of some of Assange’s key revelations concerning American foul play on the African continent - and why his freedom is important.

www.iom.int

cross‐posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2719560 >Port Sudan, 6 June – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is warning that the number of people displaced by conflict inside Sudan could top 10 million in the coming days. The world’s worst internal displacement crisis continues to escalate, with looming famine and disease adding to the havoc wrought by conflict. > >IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix, which issues weekly statistics, recorded 9.9 million people internally displaced across all 18 states in Sudan this week – 2.8 million prior to the April 2023 war, and 7.1 million since. More than half of all internally displaced persons (IDPs) are women, and over a quarter are children under the age of five. > >“Imagine a city the size of London being displaced. That’s what it’s like, but it’s happening with the constant threat of crossfire, with famine, disease and brutal ethnic and gender-based violence,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “Humanitarian needs in Sudan are massive, acute and immediate, and yet only 19 per cent of the funds we have asked for have been delivered. Unified international efforts are required to avoid a looming famine.” > >In total, some 12 million have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan, with more than 2 million crossing borders into neighbouring countries, principally to Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt. > >After years of protracted crisis, full-scale civil war erupted in mid-April 2023 when fierce fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in the capital Khartoum, and quickly expanded across the huge country, home to nearly 50 million people. > >The brutality and intensity of the war are relentless, with reports of grave violations of human rights including ethnic violence, rape and gang rape as tools of war. Seventy per cent of the people forced to move in Sudan are now trying to survive in places that are at risk of famine. Humanitarian access is patchy or non-existent. The upcoming rainy season will complicate this and may lead to climate-related disasters and the spread of disease. > >Last week, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the United Nations system, issued a stark warning that the situation in Sudan had reached catastrophic levels. > >In Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, the intensifying conflict has left more than 800,000 civilians trapped in what the IASC called “a merciless onslaught of fighting and aerial bombardments.” Essential infrastructure, including health care, has collapsed. Prices of food, water and fuel have skyrocketed, making these basic essentials unaffordable. > >“Crucial roads out of Al Fasher are blocked, preventing civilians from reaching safer areas, while at the same time limiting the amount of food and other humanitarian aid coming into the city,” added Othman Belbeisi, IOM’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “We join the United Nations in calling for an immediate end to the fighting and the guarantee of safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access across the borders and across frontlines. Millions of lives depend on it.” 

www.cadtm.org

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2512597 > A worthwhile read on global capitalism, sub imperialism, apartheid and post apartheid South Africa, Israel, global apartheid and BRICS+.

He and his right-hand man Ousmane Sonko have an anti-colonial stance and want to pull out of the CFA Franc. France was recently expelled from Niger, and now there is a new blow coming.

odysee.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/4176177 > Kwame Ture: Marx did not 'invent' laws of socialism

www.workers.org

>The [neo]imperialists don’t respect Nigerien sovereignty, just as they don’t respect Iraqi sovereignty. In 2020, Iraq’s Parliament voted to have all U.S. troops leave the country. They are still there in 2024. > >If the troops refuse to leave, the U.S. becomes an occupation force, illegal under international law. What part of “Get out!” don’t these Pentagon operatives understand? > >Historically, capitalism developed in Europe and later in the United States based on the rapid accumulation of wealth needed to finance industrialization and expansion by brutally kidnapping, enslaving and exploiting Africa’s people. Western capitalists have plundered the African continent for centuries, looting its land and precious resources and squeezing exorbitant wealth from its impoverished working class, including by paying starvation wages. > >Of course, in true arrogant, [neo]colonial fashion, [neo]imperialism insists its presence is welcome. Welcome? Why would any African country want this ugly, bloody history to continue on its soil? > >U.S. out of Africa! Get out and stay out!