The Senegalese president also declared that the presence of French military bases on the territory of his country was incompatible with national sovereignty.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced Thursday in an interview with AFP that his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had recognized in a letter that French colonial forces had committed a «massacre» in Thiaroye, near Dakar, on December 1, 1944. “I received today (Thursday) from President Emmanuel Macron a letter in which he recognizes that it was a massacre, very clearly, without ambiguity on the terms”said Bassirou Diomaye Faye at the presidential palace.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye greeted “a big step” made by the French leader who, according to him, «s’excuse» in this letter of not being able to participate due to scheduling constraints in the 80th anniversary commemorations planned for Sunday in Thiaroye. “France must recognize that on that day, the confrontation between soldiers and riflemen who demanded that their entire legitimate pay be paid, triggered a chain of events leading to a massacre”says the content of Mr. Macron's letter consulted by AFP. Mr. Faye considered the possibility of a future request for an apology from France.
“Recognizing that we have perpetuated a massacre obviously must have the effect of making amends. Without being in one-upmanship, we think that in a natural way, this is what must follow”he estimated. More than 1,600 riflemen – former German prisoners of war who had participated in the fighting of 1940 – were gathered in Thiaroye at the end of 1944. On December 1, two weeks after their arrival in the camp and while they were demanding payment of their arrears of pay and various combat bonuses and allowances, the colonial forces shot at them. French authorities at the time admitted the deaths of at least 35 people. Several historians put forward a much higher number of victims, up to several hundred.
Senegal does not “accommodate” French military bases
The Senegalese president also declared that the presence of French military bases on the territory of his country was incompatible with national sovereignty. “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 Bassirou Diomaye Faye in this interview at the presidential palace.
Sixty-four 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 like we have with many other countries”. The president, who took office in April after being elected on the promise of sovereignty and the end of dependence on foreigners, assured that it was not an act of «rupture». “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.
Bassirou Diomaye 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 the Senegal”he said.
