Military
Coup Brings French Army Back to Central African Republic:
Divided Africans suffer in French, U.S. turmoil
On March 15, 2003, in a classic
neo-colonial military coup supported by French imperialism, Idriss Deby
of Chad, and Joseph Kabila of Congo, General Francois Bozize seized power
in Bangui, Central African Republic (CRA), overthrowing the 10-year-old
regime of Ange Patassé while the president was abroad. This coup
is part of the bloody contest between the U.S. and France for the rape
of Africa.
Ange Patassé was nearly
overthrown in November last year, but was rescued by the troops of Jean
Pierre Bemba, the anti-Kabila Congolese rebel leader backed by Museveni,
a U.S. puppet chief in the region. As expected, Bozize declared himself
president, suspended the constitution and promised to work with political
parties to prepare future elections in the country.
This is clearly part of the
ongoing neo-colonial crisis that has split the African petty bourgeoisie
between the French and U.S. imperialist rivals in the rape of Africa.
Four years ago, the French
army was forced to leave the CAR as tension grew between their neo-colonial
regime and French imperialism. Patassé had escaped three mutinies
and two military putsches. He flew into exile in Togo.
Now, Joseph Kabila hopes to
deny Bemba's rebel troops the use of the Central African Republic as a
rear base to launch military attacks on Congo. Equally, Idriss Deby, the
president of Chad hopes to secure Chad’s southern frontier in order
to protect the oil that is to be pumped out to white imperialist countries
later this year.
Colonel Ghaddaffi of Libya
is another loser in this coup, because he had provided soldiers to protect
Ange Patasse.
French imperialism is the
main cause of the poverty of our people in CRA
With a population of less than five million people, the Central African
Republic has been impoverished beyond recognition by more than a century
of French imperialism. It is a land-locked country the size of the state
of Texas, located between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon,
Sudan, Chad and Republic of Congo.
It is a nation with no railways,
equipped with just 429 kilometers of paved highway. Under the control
of French imperialism, it exports diamonds, uranium, gold, oil, and timber
to white imperialist countries. The imperialist crisis has accelerated
since January 12, 1994 when the French government devalued the African
Financial Community (CFA) currency used in 14 African countries. The French
devalued the CFA currency to 50 percent of its previous value. Most of
the workers and state civil servants have not been paid in 30 months.
This coup is designed to protect
the shaky French parasitic imperialism, which in reality will accelerate
the crisis of imperialism in CRA.
New black ruler but the
same old white power imperialist domination of CRA
General Francois Bozize is in power due to the military backing of France,
Chad and the DRC. This is enough to know that the suffering of our people
will continue without end, because these armies are in peace with white
power, whose existence requires the depoliticization, disorganization,
exploitation and constant repression of our people.
Bozize stated that he stands for a "consensus transition," which
will be defined at a later date. He also announced a "program of
reconstruction" breaking with "10 years of democratic impasse."
Abel Goumba, a medical professor
who is the head of the Patriotic Front for Progress, is the new and first
prime minister of Bozize's government. His role is to give a civilian
cover to the military regime of Bozize.
Abel Goumba is one of several
neo-colonial parties opposed to the ousted President Ange-Felix Patasse.
He stated "I remain attached to my principle: those who want to come
into the government must have clean hands, not those that have dipped
their hands into the state’s coffers." This is a stupid statement
since the French control the currency and the state’s coffers in
the first place. This is a government of the status quo, a Negro government
that supports business as usual. It will transfer our resources to Europe,
loot the country and repress the masses.
In their first week in power,
the government has been shooting anyone who thought they could use the
chaos created in the early hours of the coup to seize some food, medicine
and other products of basic necessities. They were shot on sight by the
new regime.
The African Socialist International
is the only way
This new situation continues to expose the trend that emerges in every
neo-colonial crisis: the absence of a revolutionary party of the African
working class equipped with a vision and strategy to defeat the sell-out
primitive African petty bourgeoisie and white imperialism, and achieve
the total liberation of Africa and the unification of all African people
dispersed around the world.
That is the task of the African
People’s Socialist Party. That is why we are organizing the State
of Black People Around the World conference in London this July. That
process will take us to the creation of the African Socialist International,
an organization of African workers in alliance with poor peasants that
will organize the resistance and the offensive of Africa to kick out U.S.-
and French-led white imperialism.
Uhuru !
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