Cheikh Oumar Diagne under fire from critics. This minister of the Senegalese government caused an outcry by treating the Senegalese riflemen in recent days as “traitors” who fought “their African brothers”, with a historian denouncing “unjust” remarks.
Minister in charge of Administration and Equipment at the Presidency of the Republic, Cheikh Oumar Diagne estimated that “those who celebrate the riflemen do not know what” these colonial soldiers are in reality, in an interview with a television local, fafa Tv, published Saturday. “The skirmishers are traitors. They fought against their brothers” during revolts or anti-colonial wars in Africa, Diagne added.
“(…) There were times when France made them do a dirty job. But if we take a general average and describe the suffering and heroism they showed, it would be unfair to call them traitors,” historian Mamadou Fall retorted on private radio RFM. “It’s not serving the good cause,” he added.
Mamadou Fall teaches at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar and is also a member of the committee commemorating the 80th anniversary of the December 1, 1944 massacre of African riflemen by the French army.
Events that France has just recognized as a massacre and that Senegal under the new president Faye has planned to teach in schools and to commemorate in particular with street names. On the Internet and in the media, Cheick Oumar Diagne's comments were also widely criticized, with some calling for his departure from the presidency of the Republic.
Senegal solemnly commemorated this year and on an unprecedented scale the events of 1944 at the Thiaroye military camp, near Dakar. French colonial forces had fired on riflemen repatriated from fighting in Europe, not only Senegalese but also from other African countries, who were demanding payment of arrears of pay.
Many gray areas remain regarding the circumstances of the tragedy, the number of riflemen killed, their identity, and the place of their burial. French authorities at the time admitted the deaths of 35 people. Several historians put forward a much higher number of victims, up to 400. The 202 graves in the Thiaroye cemetery are anonymous.
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