On July 26, a military coup took place in the West African state of Niger. As a result of the coup, the pro-imperialist president Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown and arrested, and the formed National Council for the Protection of the Homeland headed by the commander of the Presidential Guard, General Abdurahaman Tchiani, came to power.
There is little information about the coup forces and their plans. But the actions and statements that are known allow us to define the coup as progressive, with the aim of liberating Niger from the shackles of neo-colonialism and from imperialist dependence and exploitation.
The National Council for the Defense of the Homeland announced the withdrawal of Niger from the military agreement with France, the suspension of uranium and gold exports there and gave France 30 days to withdraw its troops from the country. The people of Niger support the military administration. Thousands of people demonstrate with anti-colonialist, anti-imperialist slogans like “France go out!”, “Goodbye imperialism!”.
Niger has long had a very close dependency relationship with France. It was a French colony until 1960. And after “independence,” colonial slavery, like that of many other countries, was replaced by neocolonial slavery, under which the former colonies, having acquired formal sovereignty, were ruled by puppet governments and continued to be exploited by the imperialist powers.
After 63 years of “free” and “sovereign” development, Niger remains one of the poorest countries in the world and is highly dependent on foreign aid. According to deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, foreign aid accounts for 40% of Niger’s budget. This is despite the huge reserves of uranium, the most important mineral for nuclear power.
France and the European Union as a whole, the United States, and the UN opposed the military coup and supported the deposed president. The European Union, France and the USA suspended financial aid to Niger. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions against Niger and threatened military intervention, which was supported by Paris and Washington.
However, the imperialist grip on the African continent has clearly loosened. The leaders of Mali and Burkina Faso, which have also recently staged military coups against neocolonial dependence on the imperialism, have sided with the military rebels in Niger and said that an attack on Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war on their countries. The Senate of Nigeria, Africa’s largest state by population and a member of ECOWAS, refused to agree to an intervention in Niger. Also opposed to the intervention were Chad, Algeria and Guinea.
After the expiration of the week-long ECOWAS ultimatum, the intervention did not take place. Victoria Nuland went to help restore “democracy” in Niger and offered “good offices” to the Nigerian military on behalf of the U.S., but they “showed little interest”. Apparently, the US wanted to buy Niger’s new leadership but was rebuffed.
Neocolonial chains on the African continent are crumbling. Africa’s many years of humiliating dependence first on the metropolises and then on Western “democratic partners”, the expanding presence of Russia and powerful China on the African continent and, finally, the military clash between Russia and NATO on the territory of Ukraine and Russia’s action against U.S. and European imperialism have served as an impetus for the national liberation struggle of African peoples.
While the U.S. and the European Union are bogged down in the war in Ukraine, the freedom fighters in Africa are breaking exploitative ties with the imperialism, throwing the imperialist military out of their territory and turning towards Russia. A new world order is being built before our eyes, far from the one dreamed of by the imperialists.
Of course, the movement in Africa is far from being socialist, but it is anti-imperialist, and it is hitting the hegemony of the world terrorist USA and Europe, which has bent under the USA. The African movement for liberation from humiliating dependence and merciless exploitation weakens imperialism and must be supported by all progressive forces of the world.
SUPPORT THE ANTI-IMPERIALIST STRUGGLE OF THE PEOPLE of NIGER!
NO TO IMPERIALIST MILITARY INVASION OF THE WEST!
AGAINST IMPERIALISM LONG LIVE THE PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE!
Anti-Imperialist Front
