AA/ Dakar/ Alioune Ndiaye
The announced departure of French soldiers from Senegalese territory results from a desire by Senegal and not from any negotiation with France, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced on Monday.
This statement made through the social network Facebook contradicts French President Emmanuel Macron, affirming that the departure of the French soldiers had been negotiated between France and the African countries concerned.
“We proposed to the African heads of state to reorganize our presence. As we are very polite, we left them with the primacy of the announcement,” added Macron during his declaration on the occasion of the conference of ambassadors, Monday in Paris.
“I would like to say that, in the case of Senegal, this statement is completely erroneous. No discussions or negotiations have taken place to date and the decision taken by Senegal arises from its sole will, as a free country, independent and sovereign,” said the Senegalese PM.
In his reply, Sonko also undermined the French leader’s argument that “no African country would be sovereign today if France had not deployed.”
“Let us note that France has neither the capacity nor the legitimacy to ensure Africa’s security and sovereignty,” he underlined in this regard.
“Quite the contrary, it has often contributed to destabilizing certain African countries like Libya with disastrous consequences noted on the stability and security of the Sahel,” continued the Senegalese PM, not without reminding Macron of the commitment of the Africans having been decisive for the liberation of France during the Second World War 1939-1945.
“If African soldiers, sometimes mobilized by force, mistreated and finally betrayed, had not deployed during the Second World War to defend France, France would, perhaps still today, be German,” he said. -he addressed to the French president who, in his declaration, regretted that African leaders had “forgotten to say thank you to France”.
As a reminder, Senegal announced at the end of November that the French military presence was incompatible with its sovereignty.
The same position was confirmed by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye during the New Year greetings.
“I have instructed the Minister of the Armed Forces to propose a new defense and security doctrine involving, among other consequences, the end of all military presences of foreign countries in Senegal from 2025,” the Senegalese president indicated.
Senegal thus joins Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and, very recently, Chad and Ivory Coast, in banning French troops.
On the French side, the authorities are talking about “a reconfiguration of the French military system in Africa”.
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