Africans in Chad call for removal of French troops; French military base not welcome

French troops are stationed in various parts of Africa, not to help Africans but to facilitate France's imperialist interests.

CHAD — “Africa doesn’t need protection from Europe. Africa needs recognition of the crime which Europe committed in Africa.”

When the former French colony of Chad, gained so-called independence on August 11, 1960, French imperialism obviously had its own economic and political interests in maintaining some form of its illegal activities in its former occupied land in Africa. France left division and hatred between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South.

François Tombalbaye, the first president of Chad, was forced by France to sign a defense cooperation. That agreement gave France the power to set up military bases in Chad. This mechanism allowed France to have a huge number of troops well-trained and ready to intervene anywhere in Africa to defend its imperialist interests.

In 1990, French president François Mitterrand legitimized the regime of Chad’s current president, Idriss Déby. This was not done because Hissène Habré’s regime before it was a dictatorship, but because he had questioned the benefits expected by Elf Petroleum when oil was discovered in Chad since the mid-70s.

The crimes that French troops have committed are well documented. It was a French military base that gave orders and support to Idriss Déby to send our troops to Congo-Brazzaville where they carried out the massacre of thousands of civilians.

It was a French military base that was involved in regime change in the Central African Republic. French military bases in Africa are involved crime and genocide in Rwanda. The list goes on.

The true face of Chad’s neocolonialism

According to France, Chad is a democratic republic, and it must be protected from any military coup d’etat. In fact, Déby and his cohorts monopolize power and suppress any suggestion of a challenge.

Since November 2006, the regime has restored the state of emergency and restrictions in most of the country and has jailed several journalists and members of opposition. To criticize this parody of democracy, the political oppositions had boycotted the presidential election on May 3, 2006. They had also rejected Déby’s fraudulent victory.

In all actuality, the regime is not working for the interests of African people in Chad. It survives only through military support from France. France armed and legitimized the Déby regime because Déby works for French interest. Therefore, French military bases in Chad are illegal.

Imperialist-imposed Darfur crisis impacts Chad

The conflict of Darfur is war over resources between China and Europe with its ally America. Everything in the region of Darfur — the country, the people, the animals — is affected by the crossfire of these powerful imperialists.

The term of Arabs against non-Arab tribes is also a myth. Darfur has become cinema and theatre for the world. It has also become a place of business.

Western food programs exported countless Westerner’s products including rice, milk, millet and oils to East of Chad. The local farms closed their business because they cannot compete with the subsidized westerner products.

Food being imported from the United States and delivered to the refugees of Darfur is unacceptable. The United Nations World Food Programme should buy food from Africa’s farms if it wants to help refugees in Africa.

French’s traditional evil behavior contributes much to the crisis of Darfur. On one hand France supports the rebels of Darfur via its agent Idriss Déby. On the other hand, the Sudanese government responds back aggressively to rebels.

France’s citizens are even playing their part in deepening the crisis. Last Thursday, a French plane loaded with more than a hundred children was arrested by Chadian police at Abeche Airport. A French association called L’Arche de Zoe (or Zoe’s Arc) tried to illegally smuggle the 103 children from Darfur to France.

European Union would deepen crisis in region for its own interests

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner’s suggestion to deploy European Union (EU) troops to East of Chad is nothing more than the enforcement of French military bases in Chad. While the protection of refugee camps in Darfur is relevant, history does not tell us that the European Union and the UN are working for the security of this world.

Where were they during the genocide in Rwanda? Where were they during the genocide in the Balkan countries of Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania? Why don’t they protect civilians in Iraq?

If the EU and UN can prevent the conflict of Darfur it is only because they are the creators of the conflict. Sending EU and UN troops to East Chad is not an option to prevent conflict in Dafur. Instead, it will put more woods into the fire.

France wants the deployment of the EU and UN force because its aim is to control the areas of oil in Darfur on the border with Chad. It also intends to control the uranium and diamond mining areas North of the Central African Republic.

French troops out of Chad!

The Chadian oppositions, civil servants, trade unions, students and all Chadian workers are tired of the menace of foreign troops. What Chadian people want is to have the French troops out of Chad. Foreign military bases are not welcome here.

The myth that says Africans cannot help themselves is out of time. Africa is suffering because former colonizer countries are still exploiting via their lazy agents.

Africa’s poverty, conflict and disease are artificial and man made. These crises can only be ended when European countries stop their traditional looting.

We ask French citizens to urge their government to withdraw French military bases from Chad and everywhere else in Africa. We ask all Africans to join our struggle against the illegal French military base in Chad!

Uhuru News is the online voice of the International African Revolution. It is dedicated to giving voice to the struggles of the African working class from around the world through its programming in an effort to unite and inform the struggles of African people and forward the International African Revolution.