“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accommodate the presence of military bases in a sovereign country.“, said Mr. Faye in this interview at the presidential palace.
Mr. Faye, elected in March on the promise of restoring the sovereignty of his country, assured that it was not an act of “rupture“, and defended a “renewed partnership” with the former colonial power and historical ally France.
He greeted like a “big step“the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged in a letter that French colonial forces had committed a”massacre” in Thiaroye, near Dakar, on December 1, 1944 by opening fire against Senegalese Tirailleurs returning from France.
Mr. Faye revealed during the interview the sending of this letter, confirmed by the Elysée, three days before the commemorations to which the new Senegalese authorities intend to give particular emphasis.
“A renovated partnership (…) can only be renovated in truth and in the completeness of the truth“, said Mr. Faye, referring to the many gray areas that remain over what former President François Hollande had described in 2014 as a “bloody repression”, but not a “massacre”.
Mr. Faye reaffirmed his desire to diversify the partners of his country, which seeks to develop and remain the interlocutor of the greatest number while countries in the neighboring Sahel formerly under the government of the military have abruptly broken with France and turned to Russia.
“France remains an important partner for Senegal in view of the level of investments, the presence of French companies and even French citizens who are in Senegal“, said M. Faye.
Chinese counterexample
But, 64 years after independence, “the French authorities must consider having a partnership stripped of this military presence, but which is a rich partnership, a fruitful partnership, a privileged and global partnership as we have with many other countries,” he said.
“Military presence or military absence should not equal rupture” he said.
He cited the existence of relations between Senegal and countries like China, Turkey, the United States and Saudi Arabia. “All these countries do not have a military base in Senegal,” he said.
“Today, China is our leading trading partner in terms of investment and trade volume. Does China have a military presence in Senegal? No. However, are we talking about a breakup? No” he said.
Mr. Faye mentioned an upcoming update of the military cooperation doctrine.
This update “obviously requires that there be no more military bases of any country whatsoever in Senegal, but it also imposes other developments in military cooperation with these different countries which still intend to maintain it (cooperation) with Senegal” he said.
France has decided to significantly reduce its military presence in Africa.
At the beginning of the summer, two sources close to the French executive and a military source told AFP that the intention was to keep around a hundred soldiers in Gabon (compared to 350 then), as many in Senegal (compared to 350 ) and in Ivory Coast (previously 600) as well as some 300 in Chad (compared to 1,000).
The Elysée announced this week that Emmanuel Macron's personal envoy to Africa, Jean-Marie Bockel, had submitted to the French president his report on the reconfiguration of the military system in Africa, which advocates a “renewed” and “co-constructed” partnership. “.
