French diplomats darted past the throng of protesters at the front door of the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations during the after-work rush hour on Tuesday when “ready at a moment’s notice” demonstrators, armed with bullhorns and posters, were on the march, demanding “France Out of Africa!” and “Hands Off Niger!”
Roger Wareham, spokesperson for the sponsors, said, “We are the December 12th Movement, we’re a human rights organization, and there is one simple fact which explains what is going on in Niger and how it can be resolved: France is in Africa and must get out. While France was forced to grant political independence to its African colonies in the late 1960s, it never gave up economic control of these countries. In 2023, while these former French colonies remain among the poorest in the world, they continue to provide money and boundless resources that keep France and its allies, including the United States, among the world’s wealthiest nations. The coup in Niger is a declaration that ‘we have had enough.’ Western countries have condemned the coup in Niger and threatened military intervention through ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). Despite this demand from the West, many countries oppose intervention and some, i.e., Burkina Faso, Mali, and Algeria, have offered Niger support in resisting any armed invasion.”
Representatives of several organizations participated in the protest, including Sylvestre Kouadio, an activist from Cote d’Ivoire; Dahoud Andre of Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti (KOMOKODA); HRM Queen Mother Dr. Dowoti Desir, Benin Republic; Steve Millies, Struggle/LaLuche; Jason Corley, Cuba Si!; Dr. Prince A.Z.K. Adekoya, African Diaspora for Justice; Krystal Cerisier, Black Agenda for Peace; and many others.
Dowoti Desir, representing a coalition from Benin and Martinique, began, “We want to let the people of Niger know that we stand in solidarity with them…This is about our vision, our narrative, our future. Some of us know the history of France all too well. It’s a history that is based in slavery and colonization, that has been camouflaged in the twin spaces of being children of Joan of Arc and the patron of human rights. And we know that France has been far from that. We are tired of having our resources pillaged. We know that this proxy war is being set up to force us to finish the dirty business that they have started—the work of genocide and extraction, of humiliation and dehumanization. This is intolerable and we’re not having it. Get your asses out of our country.”
“…Today, August 22, 1791, was the night our ancestors started burning the French colony of Saint Domingue,” said Andre. “On the night of August 14, our ancestors held a meeting and a ceremony. And they decided that slavery was over. They decided, and they understood that for slavery to be over, they were not going to send a petition to the King of France. We’re going to burn this place down, and we’re going to kill every white man in this place. And it started today, August 22, 1791.” Andre noted that the well-known Creole saying folks had been chanting all day meant “Chop off their heads!” and “Burn down their houses!”
“There is no other formula,” he said. “Power to the people of Niger. Power to the people of Burkina Faso. Power to the people of Mali. It’s not just France. It’s all of them. They have not stopped what they have done for 500 to 600 years. And there is no other way to get them to stop.”
Adekoya, who hails from Nigeria, said, “I want all of us here tonight to understand one thing clear. When we are sending a message to France, we are sending a message to the western world.”
Cerisier noted, “Imperialist powers like the U.S. and France feel empowered to take our resources because of white supremacist ideological thinking. They feel like it is their right to take our land and our resources. We cannot stand to maintain and justify their empowerment to come into our land and continue to extract our resources. We must deny, must reject, and we must resist every act of imperialism and colonization that the U.S. and Europe have been continuing to perpetuate on African soil and African people. It is times like this [when] Black solidarity is most important.”
In closing, Omowale Clay of the December 12th Movement said, “We must be focused. One enemy at a time. When France falls, all their puppets will fall with them. When France leaves Africa, all the puppets are gone, too, because they will be kicked out with France. We want to make sure we stay focused…Keep your ears to the ground. The word is in the street, I see it everywhere! Remember one single slogan. What is it?”
The crowd roared in response, “France out of Africa!Plans were for a forum on Tuesday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. at Sistas Place (456 Nostrand Avenue). For information, call 718-398-1766 or email to D12M@aol.com; www.D12M.com.