Imperialism behind crisis in Ivory Coast
By Monica Moorehead
As of Nov. 9, French troops are reported to have killed at
least 50 people and wounded 700 more in the African country of
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Many of the deaths came when
they fired into a crowd of thousands of Ivoirians who were
protecting the home of Presi dent Laurent Gbagbo. Understand
ably, the Ivoirian people fear a French-instigated coup against
Gbagbo. Coast is a sovereign state," declared signs carried by
the people.
The international capitalist media has been focusing on the
deaths of nine French "peacekeeping" troops at a
French-occupied base in an air raid by the Ivoirian air force
on Nov. 6. The Ivoirian government stated that the killings
were accidental.
Responding like an armed bully, the French military
destroyed two Ivoirian war planes and three helicopters,
devastating the very small Ivoirian air force. French troops
have been sent to the capital city, Abidjan, to quell mass
protests by Ivoirians on the outskirts of the French army base
there.
The Bush administration immediately supported its fellow
imperialists. "We think that the response by the French was an
action that was necessary to protect their people from further
attack and violence," said Richard Boucher of the State
Department.
"France has decided to humiliate us, to scorn our
independence and to drag our dignity and sovereignty through
the mud," Pascal Affi N'Guessan, a former Ivoirian prime
minister, stated. (Reuters, Nov. 7)
The French government is planning to introduce a resolution
in the United Nations Security Council calling for an arms
embargo and other sanctions against Côte d'Ivoire.
The New York Times said on Nov. 7 that "machete-wielding
pro-government supporters" were threatening the safety of the
estimated 15,000 French citizens who reside in Côte
d'Ivoire. This all-too-familiar racist propaganda is meant to
instill sympathy for the French citizens by portraying the
Ivoirian people as "anti-white."
This prejudicial characterization of African peoples is also
a dangerous, insidious weapon that has been used for decades to
justify military intervention on the part of the rich
capitalist countries against their former colonies.
The truth is that the Ivoirian people view these French
citizens, who are members of the petty bourgeoisie, as grim
reminders of racist colonialism.
The current crisis began in September 2002, after a failed
coup attempt against President Gbagbo led to fighting between
government troops and rebel movements. A cease fire between the
two sides was signed in 2003.
The cease fire was abandoned on Nov. 4 of this year when
Ivoirian government forces reportedly launched attacks on the
rebel forces in the northern part of the country, where they
are strongest.
At one time, the French government had backed the present
government while the rebels were reputed to promote sentiments
against French imperialism. The French attacks on the Ivoirian
air force could very well signal that this former colonial
power is now seeking to replace Gbagbo with a puppet regime
more to their liking.
There is an historical basis for the instability that is
going on in Côte d'Ivoire and the rest of Africa. It is
rooted in centuries-old plunder and super-exploitation of the
African continent by mainly European imperialism since the days
of the slave trade over 400 years ago.
At one time, France was the largest colonizer of Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire gained its formal independence from France
in the early 1960s due to heroic anti-colonial national
liberation struggles that spread throughout the African
continent.
Colonialism gave way to neocolonialism or imperialism. This
has resulted in mineral-rich African countries drowning in
spiraling poverty and indebtedness to the IMF and World Bank,
which determine how their economies should be run.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and socialist camp in
1991, the U.S. has attempted to usurp the once-dominant role of
its European counterparts in Africa. U.S. imperialism is
interested in gaining the upper hand in controlling untapped
oil reserves in Africa, including Sudan and much of West
Africa. This is an important reason why the U.S. military is
more strategically placed in areas where this oil is
located.
Côte d'Ivoire, with an abundance of cocoa and
diamonds, has one of the poorest populations in the world. The
economy, which is still really controlled by French
imperialism, is based on exporting the wealth at the dictates
of the capitalist market and not on using the resources to
build up the infrastructure to meet the needs of the
people.
Reprinted from the Nov. 18, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
Subscribe wwnews-subscribe@workersworld.net
Support independent news http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
HOME
:: U.S. NEWS ::
WORLD NEWS ::
EDITORIALS ::
SUBSCRIBE ::
DONATE
Email
this article
Printable
page