Senegal's PM calls out France for co-opting murder of African troops

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
30 Jul 2024 18:59

France will recognize six of the dozens of African troops it murdered in Camp Thiaroye in 1944 as soldiers who "died for France."

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A mural in Dakar, Senegal, commemorating the massacre at Thiaroye in 1944, as photographed on June 11, 2006 (Erica Kowal/Flickr via Creative Commons)

France is attempting to co-opt the story of six African soldiers executed by French troops, by labeling them as soldiers who "died for France."

The announcement by French authorities comes after the government in Senegal prepared to honor these soldiers in a celebration of the 80th anniversary, which it hopes will "give new meaning to this painful memory."

On December 1, 1944, French colonial troops and gendarmes were ordered by French army officers to execute several dozen African troops at the military camp of Thiaroye, near Dakar, Senegal.

The African riflemen, known as tirailleurs senegalais, were repatriated after being held in Nazi Germany prisoner-of-war camps and were awaiting demobilization from French authorities.

French officers ordered their execution after demanding that bonuses owed to them be paid and that they be treated as equals to French soldiers. The incident was kept hidden for decades before being unveiled to the greater public in a 1988 film, Camp de Thiaroye, by Ousmane Sembene and Thierno Faty Sow.

France will no longer control stories of African who helped save it

Six of the soldiers, four from Senegal, one from Cote d'Ivoire, and one from Burkina Faso, will now be labeled by the French authorities as having "died for France," despite the clear and blatant violation of international law.

"We ask the French government to review its methods because times have changed," Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko posted on X, in a message he signed off as President of the Senegalese PASTEF party.

The Prime Minister criticized those who saw the French decision as "a great step forward," questioning the "sudden" announcement, as Senegal prepares to celebrate the 80th anniversary this year.

"I would like to remind France that it will no longer be able to make or tell this piece of tragic history alone," Sonko wrote.

"It is not up to her to unilaterally determine the number of Africans betrayed and murdered after having helped save her, nor the type and extent of the recognition and reparations they deserve," he underlined.

"Thiaroye 44, like everything else, will be remembered differently from now on," Sonko concluded.

France's influence weakens as nations rise up to claim their rights

African troops and others from France's colonies around the world played a crucial role in liberating the country from Nazi occupation in World War II, as per the admission of France's veterans and remembrance department.

Paris is now attempting to absorb the pain and struggles that it caused to nations around the world during its colonial era, by recognizing some of the crimes that it committed.

However, as pointed out by Prime Minister Sonko, this process has been largely unilateral in nature.

French authorities are also dealing with multiple crises in areas of influence, such as West Africa, where a series of coups in the Sahel forced France out of three nations, while the latest Senegalese elections saw unfavored Bassirou Diomaye Faye take office after a long struggle with the previous French-allied authorities.

Currently, France is facing increasing pressure in territories it controls all over the world, such as protests launched by natives in New Caledonia in the South Pacific.

Undoubtedly, the events that took place across France's sphere of influence have ushered in a new era that has seen the weakening of Paris as a neo-colonial power, as nations rise to demand and seize their rights.