Chimurenga.
6th April 2011, 01:48
http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/imperialist-out-ivory-coast.html
Hard on the heels of the so-called “humanitarian intervention” in Libya, European imperialists are again making a mockery of African sovereignty, this time in the Ivory Coast. On April 4 French forces spearheaded an attack on the residence of Laurent Gbagbo, head of one of two factions, each of which claims leadership of the nation.
Using the thin veneer of “protecting” civilians, the French, backed by United Nations “peacekeepers,” have also attacked various strong points held by Gbagbo’s loyalists, targeting in particular artillery and other heavy weaponry. This has been accompanied by the stationing of 1,500 French troops in Ivory Coast.
Under this pressure, a cease-fire was declared as of April 5, with France dictating terms to Gbagbo, demanding his surrender, departure and recognition of his opponent Alassane Outtara.
The political crisis in the Ivory Coast began earlier this year when presidential elections delivered a disputed result. On one side is the incumbent President Gbagbo, who ruled over the rump Ivory Coast government during the civil war in the early part of the decade. On the other is Outtara, a former prime minister and International Monetary Fund economist whose strongest base of support is in the former “rebel” zone in the north of the country.
While there are many complex issues involved, at base the conflict between the two camps centers on a scramble to control the country's economic resources. Under the government of Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivory Coast was the poster-child for capitalist development in Africa, with large profits flowing from cocoa, of which Ivory Coast is the world’s largest producer. Houphouët-Boigny was adept at using patronage to play the elites of various ethnic and religious groups against each other. After his death in 1993, there has been competition among these formerly loosely united factions over control of the Ivorian state, and thus its resources.
Gbagbo represents a more “nationalistic” bourgeoisie. He and his supporters resent French neo-colonial meddling, and seek a more independent path of capitalist development. Gbagbo has used anti-French sentiment as a prop to his regime. He gets significant support from the Young Patriots, a populist anti-French militia, which is based mostly in Abidjan, the country’s largest city.
Outtara has emerged as the favorite of Western imperialists. As prime minister in the early 1990s, Outtara helped oversee the imposition of IMF “structural adjustment” policies on the Ivory Coast. The full-throated support from France and the United States is a clear signal that Western imperialist powers view Outtara as much more amenable to their continued neo-colonial control over this economically strategic West African nation.
Forces loyal to both sides have been clashing recently, mostly in the west of the country. Outtara’s forces have consistently claimed imminent victory for the past several days. Victory has, however, been far from certain as Gbagbo has marshaled his forces, and so France, with the United Nations in tow, forcefully intervened Monday.
Their claims to be protecting citizens are utterly cynical. What do air attacks on the presidential residence have to do with a “humanitarian protection” mission? Who can believe that President Sarkozy is truly concerned with the well being of the Ivorian masses? This is the same Sarkozy who launched a vicious, racist campaign against the oppressed Roma people, who advocates fascist-style policing methods amongst France’s immigrant communities, and who has launched a brutal assault on the living standards of the French working class.
In reality, this is another in a long line of tawdry episodes by French neo-colonialists in their former colonies. This is a clear message to the rulers of France’s former colonies: Do not forget, in the final analysis your policies are determined not in your national capitals but in the Élysée Palace.
With French troops patrolling the streets and skies over Abidjan, any agreement ending the conflict is a total sham. This intervention is nothing more than an attempt by French imperialists, with moral support from the United States, to reassert their total control over the continent of Africa—first in Libya, now in Ivory Coast. The new war drive in Africa must be strenuously opposed by progressives and revolutionaries the world over.
French/U.N. troops out of Ivory Coast!
Imperialist hands OFF Ivory Coast!
Hard on the heels of the so-called “humanitarian intervention” in Libya, European imperialists are again making a mockery of African sovereignty, this time in the Ivory Coast. On April 4 French forces spearheaded an attack on the residence of Laurent Gbagbo, head of one of two factions, each of which claims leadership of the nation.
Using the thin veneer of “protecting” civilians, the French, backed by United Nations “peacekeepers,” have also attacked various strong points held by Gbagbo’s loyalists, targeting in particular artillery and other heavy weaponry. This has been accompanied by the stationing of 1,500 French troops in Ivory Coast.
Under this pressure, a cease-fire was declared as of April 5, with France dictating terms to Gbagbo, demanding his surrender, departure and recognition of his opponent Alassane Outtara.
The political crisis in the Ivory Coast began earlier this year when presidential elections delivered a disputed result. On one side is the incumbent President Gbagbo, who ruled over the rump Ivory Coast government during the civil war in the early part of the decade. On the other is Outtara, a former prime minister and International Monetary Fund economist whose strongest base of support is in the former “rebel” zone in the north of the country.
While there are many complex issues involved, at base the conflict between the two camps centers on a scramble to control the country's economic resources. Under the government of Felix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivory Coast was the poster-child for capitalist development in Africa, with large profits flowing from cocoa, of which Ivory Coast is the world’s largest producer. Houphouët-Boigny was adept at using patronage to play the elites of various ethnic and religious groups against each other. After his death in 1993, there has been competition among these formerly loosely united factions over control of the Ivorian state, and thus its resources.
Gbagbo represents a more “nationalistic” bourgeoisie. He and his supporters resent French neo-colonial meddling, and seek a more independent path of capitalist development. Gbagbo has used anti-French sentiment as a prop to his regime. He gets significant support from the Young Patriots, a populist anti-French militia, which is based mostly in Abidjan, the country’s largest city.
Outtara has emerged as the favorite of Western imperialists. As prime minister in the early 1990s, Outtara helped oversee the imposition of IMF “structural adjustment” policies on the Ivory Coast. The full-throated support from France and the United States is a clear signal that Western imperialist powers view Outtara as much more amenable to their continued neo-colonial control over this economically strategic West African nation.
Forces loyal to both sides have been clashing recently, mostly in the west of the country. Outtara’s forces have consistently claimed imminent victory for the past several days. Victory has, however, been far from certain as Gbagbo has marshaled his forces, and so France, with the United Nations in tow, forcefully intervened Monday.
Their claims to be protecting citizens are utterly cynical. What do air attacks on the presidential residence have to do with a “humanitarian protection” mission? Who can believe that President Sarkozy is truly concerned with the well being of the Ivorian masses? This is the same Sarkozy who launched a vicious, racist campaign against the oppressed Roma people, who advocates fascist-style policing methods amongst France’s immigrant communities, and who has launched a brutal assault on the living standards of the French working class.
In reality, this is another in a long line of tawdry episodes by French neo-colonialists in their former colonies. This is a clear message to the rulers of France’s former colonies: Do not forget, in the final analysis your policies are determined not in your national capitals but in the Élysée Palace.
With French troops patrolling the streets and skies over Abidjan, any agreement ending the conflict is a total sham. This intervention is nothing more than an attempt by French imperialists, with moral support from the United States, to reassert their total control over the continent of Africa—first in Libya, now in Ivory Coast. The new war drive in Africa must be strenuously opposed by progressives and revolutionaries the world over.
French/U.N. troops out of Ivory Coast!
Imperialist hands OFF Ivory Coast!