As imperialism plunders Africa
French troops intervene in Ivory Coast
By G. Dunkel
The French army has intervened in Ivory Coast, one of
France's former colonies in West Africa, exchanging fire
several times in late December with armed groups in rebellion
against the country's current government.
According to a video from an Ivoirian journalist carried on
French television, French soldiers fired over the heads of
demonstrators to break up a major popular demonstration in
front of the French army's guard post in Bouaké.
Demonstrators carried signs demanding that the "monsters of
imperialism" leave. Bouaké is a major town in the
country's North that the government lost control of in
mid-September.
When the current crisis broke out in mid-September, both
Washington and Paris sent special forces to the country for
alleged "humanitarian" purposes. U.S. and French imperialism
have been in competition for control of various parts of
Africa.
French troops rushed in and were first to reach a school for
U.S. children, mainly the offspring of U.S. missionaries in
West Africa. They then turned the children over to U.S. air
transport at the central airport.
Of course, the plight of the thousands of other foreigners
in the country, from places like Guinea, Liberia, Mali and
Burkina Faso, did not rate a mention in either the French or
U.S. media.
There are at least 20,000 French nationals living in the
Ivory Coast. They are not just teachers and the managers of big
French companies. They own restaurants and hotels, auto repair
shops, trucking firms and pharmacies and have made up a
significant portion of the country's petit bourgeoisie since it
was an open French colony.
The French army has had difficulty pretending it was on a
humanitarian mission since its troops started using light tanks
and heavy mortars to shore up their positions.
Washington has been trying to supplant French and other
imperialist interests in Africa, but right now it is on the
road to war against Iraq and is threatening North Korea. It
needs France's cooperation in the Security Council. Since U.S.
troops pulled out of the Ivory Coast, the French government has
been more compliant with Washington.
The U.S. media had ignored the developing situation in Ivory
Coast, which involves three separate rebel groups. After the
last confrontation between the French army and MPIGO (the Far
West Ivoirian People's Movement), the three movements issued a
joint statement warning the French against aggression. This
drew some U.S. media attention.
The statement came after French troops on Dec. 21 stopped
MPIGO forces from advancing on the strategic town of Duekoue in
western Ivory Coast, a gateway to the country's economically
vital cocoa belt. MPIGO claims that fire from French light
tanks cost it six men and three vehicles, with 15 wounded.
The MPCI (Patriotic Movement of the Ivory Coast), the MJP
(Movement for Justice and Peace) and the MPIGO said, "The
MPIGO, the MPCI and the MJP declare that from this very day any
French military attack against any of our positions will be
considered an act of war," and would lead to "a general attack
on all fronts." It warned French troops that any further
"mismanagement" could trigger "widespread anti-French sentiment
and serious and incalculable consequences."
Economic background of the struggle
The Ivory Coast was once one of the most prosperous
countries in West Africa. Its economy was based on diamonds and
cocoa, some oil and some manufacturing for the West African
market. Now it is an economic disaster zone, like much of
Africa. It is indebted to the tune of some U.S. $9.4 billion,
which exceeds its gross national product by more than 25
percent. The national government owes its suppliers arrears
equal to 12 percent of its GNP.
Ivory Coast does not even control its own currency. It uses
the CFA, which is used throughout the former French colonies
and is now linked to the Euro. It is controlled by a regional
central bank dominated by French and European banks.
While the French have political and economic dominance in
the CFA zone, all the imperialist powers, including U.S.
imperialism, take part in plundering the resources of the
region and pulling wealth out while the people there
suffer.
A famous French-language novelist, Ahmadou Kourouma, who was
born and lives in Ivory Coast, explained its economic situation
to the French newspaper L'Humanité. "Its economic
decline is linked to the unequal exchanges imposed not only on
the Ivory Coast but on the whole of the Third World. Indeed, on
all those placed under the domination of the capitalist
financial sector. In France, farmers did not let this be done
to them and grabbed some subsidies; the Third World, however,
was plunged into destitution."
He went on to say that the role of the Third World in
capitalist globalization must be studied, because "Each year
the price of our products falls still lower to the greater
profit of international finance capital, which fixes their
level. At the end of the account, you find the dramas such as
the one that the Ivory Coast is currently experiencing and
suffering through."
Reprinted from the Jan. 9, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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