Mali: Foreign Minister Diop Speaks Openly about Neo-Colonial Forces on Africa

and explains why AES ,Alliance des États du Sahel, has been formed to protect the sovereignty of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from Western backed terrorism and financial blackmail from the IMF and World Bank.

image: roscongress.org

Attending the recently held first Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum which took place on 9–10 November 2024 at the Sirius Federal Territory of Sirius University,  Mali`s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop, spoke openly about Western interference. It is an excellent and candid talk which highlights the war for African sovereignty. Russia has thankfully provided a platform for genuine African leadership to speak about truths.

Minister Abdoulaye Diop

transcript by PD Lawton, 16 Nov 2024

“I will start with two truths. The first truth is that Russia is not a colonial power. It has never been a colonial power. On the contrary it has been on the side of African peoples and other peoples around the world to help them get out of the colonial system and assert their sovereignty. I think this is also one of the truths that we should continue to fight on our side against neo-colonialism and all forms of hegemonic domination.

The second truth is that colonialism left in order to stay better.

Colonialism is not a theme of the past, colonialism is over, but neo- colonialism is still alive and all the tools of perpetuation of the colonial system are still there well in place, unfortunately, with more subtle forms, but they are well in place. I think we have talked about certain tools; first the political control of our countries has continued then there are the media,  we have talked about it.

Some media today have become weapons of mass destruction. Many of these former colonial powers understand it is no longer necessary to send armies and with the manipulation, the instrumentalization and the financing of the media who today no longer speak in their language. They are at home speaking in our languages. Why don`t they invest in our public institutions to inform us but they invest in their own institutions.

So I don`t say all the media but today some media of this neo-colonial system are tools of perpetuation of this system and have even become weapons of mass destruction .

And I want to make the link because the media in connection with terrorism amplifies this element of weapons because today with terrorism we must not cover our faces. They have tried to make us believe that terrorism comes from Muslim extremists or other extremists. For us in the Sahel especially in Mali, terrorism is manufactured.

It is often supported by colonial powers because terrorism, we must not forget, is a political instrument of destabilization, often of regime change. And today the media, one of the French media recently has become an office for terrorists, who give the floor to terrorists groups who show their clear alliance with terrorist groups and the objective that is sought is the subjugation and domination of our countries.

They have left to stay.

In many of our countries we have the CFA, the French African franc but it is a neo-colonial currency . Even the name. It was at the time the franc of the French colonies and now it has become  the franc of the African financial  community.

But it has left to stay better.

And today our countries are controlled because of this. Mali for example has been sanctioned because we belong to the Central Bank of the West African States which is our regional bank which is used by former powers to punish our populations.

So colonialism is not a subject of yesterday it is a subject of today. It is still alive, unfortunately.

 I will just try to take two or three tools of perpetuation of this colonial system. First through international institutions starting with the United Nations.

Unfortunately, for example, the fact that there are statutes of feather bearers that still exist at the level of the United Nations. It is a perpetuation of a colonial practice that puts the former French colonies under France and the former English colonies under Great Britain.

For an organization that is  supposed to defend us, the people, it is really a big question for our countries and Mali denounced and refused the system of having a feather bearer because we went to school, we can hold our  feathers ourselves. We have a voice. Mali will now speak for itself on the international scene. We do not need a feather bearer.

The second system of perpetuation is the same as the system of sanctions that existed at the level of the United Nations. We take an example: in Mali there was a regime of sanctions for the application of the peace agreement and it was one of the means that was also used to subjugate us. When the government and the Malian population asked to lift this regime of sanctions unfortunately it was not done, only Russia used its veto.

Unfortunately our African brothers, who are sitting in the Security Council, voted in the direction that the former colonial power wanted. It is a great disappointment.

 Today the international financial institutions, the IMF and the World Bank, are also used to perpetuate this system of domination. Today the World Bank, the fund, refuses financing to Mali because of our political choices, because there are other powers that are behind it,  to try to subjugate us.

And closer to us, in our region, unfortunately, the ECOWAS, our regional organization that we have left, is in the hands of these powers to achieve the same objectives.

So I think that all this is really sanctions against countries like Mali; even against Niger we wanted [were pressured into] to organize military interventions to please these powers.

Now in the face of all this situation we thought it was important to get out of this dynamic and to propose new alternatives that allow us to get out of this colonial, neo-colonial or  domination. That is why Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger decided to set up the  Confederation of the States of Sahel  which is an alternative model of  integration, a model that is controlled  by an African leadership whose functioning is ensured by ourselves at the limit of the means that we have, to  be able to provide our response to this and to ensure that we can assert our sovereignty by our own means.

I believe that the security of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is insured by our own armies, by our own means.

For 10 years we have waited for help from the outside world but it was in a scenario of dependence that did not put us in a capacity to assume our security.

I think that this is a new model in which we think that our organizations should, because who finances pays, unfortunately.

Most of our organizations, their functioning is financed by the outside world.

With the Confederation of the States of Sahel [ AES, Alliance des États du Sahel ]we have put in place a new model. First of all it is a confederation, it is not an organization as such, that works one for security two for concerted diplomatic action and three for development. The project is to create a homogeneous space between our populations where we can work to ensure our security, autonomy, but  even our autonomy in terms of development and also to ensure that from now on we will not take our instructions in Paris and Washington or elsewhere. We want respectful partnerships, sincere partnerships, winning partnerships but we are no longer in a dynamic of being under the control of people.

Some even say but why are you going to Russia, leaving a master to go to another master? We said but you are wrong this is why I started by saying that Russia is not an old colonial power. It is not a colonial power.

But this requires a mental decolonization in each of us to understand that these colonial imperialist policies must cease. But they are there and they want to impose themselves, including by force, including by terrorism if necessary.

So I think these elements must be there and we must propose new alternatives in our countries, new responses, responses on the economic level ,autonomous, generate internal resources, create capacities.

But it all starts with the mental.

We must first say that we must  get out of this old system to do what we must do in the interest of our populations without being afraid of such or such power that will perpetuate. It is their interest too.

These powers will continue because they live from it.

It is up to us to do what is good for our populations and to be able to assume [judge]. So this colonialism fortunately is not a theme of the past. It is there. It has subtle forms, extremely dangerous forms and even perfidious in many of our systems. We must all be aware of this and we salute the resolution that was adopted with the leadership of Russia, the initiative of Russia to ensure that this issue remains at the centre of our actions.

Thank you