Skip to content

Decolonization

France Must Go From Africa Is The Slogan Of The Hour

A cascade of anti-French sentiment continues to sweep across the belt of the Sahel in Africa: joining Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, Chad and Senegal demanded in November that the French government withdraw its military from their territories. From the western border of Sudan to the Atlantic Ocean, French armed forces, which have been in the area since 1659, will no longer have a base. The statement by the foreign minister of Chad, Abderaman Koulamallah, is exemplary: ‘France… must now also consider that Chad has grown up, matured, and that Chad is a sovereign state that is very jealous of its sovereignty’.

We Can’t Decolonize Architecture Without Talking About Palestine

One year ago this month, Palestine Collective was born. We’re a group of more than 50 creatives in the U.K. who have the primary goal of normalizing support for Palestine in architectural and design circles, both in the academic and practitioner space. We came together in response to the censorship we were facing in our places of work and study when speaking on the human rights and spatial injustices faced by Palestinians. We have seen censorship of Palestine across top cultural institutions. London’s Barbican Centre, a prominent performing arts venue, backed out of hosting a London Review of Books lecture series over a talk called “The Shoah after Gaza.”

Can The UN Fulfill Its Mission In An Imperialist-Dominated World?

During the months of September and October the United Nations is holding its 79th General Assembly, which is the space of broadest participation of the international body. The United Nations’ legitimacy, credibility and capacity to fulfill its founding mission to ensure peace and security have been questioned for decades, and 2023-24 was no different. Still, never before has the world witnessed a genocide unfolding before its eyes. In this context, the United Nations’ inability to do anything to stop it shines a bright and unforgiving light on the limitations of this body. Shaky Foundations Throughout its history the United Nations has been subjected to intense efforts at control or sabotage by colonial powers and US imperialist interests.

Burkina Faso Nationalizes United Kingdom Gold Mines

Burkina Faso will nationalize two gold mines at a cost of about US $80 million. The Boungou and Wahgnion mines were sold last year by London-listed Endeavour Mining to Lilium Mining for US $300 million. On August 27, the mines were purchased by Burkina Faso’s government for a fraction of this cost. “This strategic move is aimed at reclaiming Burkina Faso’s mineral wealth,” said Joe Hotagua of African Streams, “ensuring that a larger portion of the profits benefits Burkinabe people.” Endeavour Mining is based in London, UK, and claims to be the largest gold producer in West Africa. It also possesses assets in Senegal and Ivory Coast. Recently, allegations of serious misconduct have been levied against its mining operations in Ivory Coast.

Decolonization Movement Is Expanding In Africa’s Sahel Region

The United States announced that it will remove its troops from Niger in September after the government ordered them to leave. Mali and Burkina Faso have done the same. Chad is the most recent country in the Sahel Region of Africa to order the US out. This follows a wave of resistance against French colonization in the region. Clearing the FOG speaks with Abayomi Azikiwe of Pan African News Wire about the growing resistance in the Sahel and the United States. He discusses the unfulfilled promises of the Biden administration and the uncommitted movement in this presidential election.

Imperialist Weaponry And Shifting Alliances In The Sahel

$95 billion in supplemental defense spending aimed at furthering the interests of the United States in various geopolitical regions of the world was recently passed by the legislative branches of the government. These actions speak volumes on the actual priorities of Congress and the administration of President Joe Biden. During the course of the first Biden administration, the Congress failed to pass pieces of legislation which were promised during the 2020 presidential campaign such as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, among many others. Inflation remains a serious problem for working and oppressed peoples even though the White House is praising its economic agenda which has left tens of millions locked in poverty and social deprivation.

The Sahel Seeks Sovereignty

The call “La France degage!” (“France, get out!”), against the ongoing legacy of French colonialism in the region, has long echoed across West Africa. In recent years, this call has reached a new pitch of intensity, from the 2018 grassroots movements in Senegal and newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s campaign promise to unshackle his country from the neocolonial monetary system of the CFA franc to the popularly supported military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger and the ejection of French military forces from these countries between 2021 and 2023.

In Africa They Say, ‘France, Get Out!’

On 2 October 1958, Guinea declared its independence from France. Guinea’s President Ahmed Sékou Touré clashed against France’s President Charles De Gaulle, who tried to strong arm Touré into abandoning the project for independence. Touré said of De Gaulle’s threats, ‘Guinea prefers poverty in freedom to riches in slavery’. In 1960, the French government launched a covert operation called Operation Persil to undermine Guinea and overthrow Touré. The operation was named after a laundry detergent, used to wash away dirt. This provides a clear window into the French attitude toward Touré’s government.

Is US Imperialism Maneuvering Toward ‘Humanitarian Intervention’ In Burkina Faso?

Western NGOs like Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Western state-funded news outlets such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA) are not merely consistent in siding with imperialism. They are extensions of it. This must be kept in mind when attempting to understand why the African nation Burkina Faso suspended the radio broadcasts of BBC Africa and VOA for two weeks over their coverage of an HRW report. On April 27, 2024, Burkina Faso’s Communications Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraog issued a statement that said...

Africa’s National Liberation Struggles Brought Democracy To Europe

Fifty years ago, on 25 April 1974, the people of Portugal took to the streets of their cities and towns in enormous numbers to overthrow the fascist dictatorship of the Estado Novo (‘New State’), formally established in 1926. Fascist Portugal – led first by António de Oliveira Salazar until 1968 and then by Marcelo Caetano – was welcomed into the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949, the United Nations in 1955, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1961 and signed a pact with the European Economic Community in 1972.

Russians Advisors Arrive In Niger; Masses Demand Immediate Withdrawal Of Pentagon Troops

On Saturday April 13, thousands of people gathered in Niamey, the capital of the West African state of Niger, demanding the dismantling of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) operations inside their country. This demonstration represents an ongoing struggle in several former French colonies to end the economic, political, cultural and military ties to the imperialist powers. In addition to the negative influence from Paris, the U.S. has joined their counterparts in France deploying thousands of military personnel under the guise of fighting “Islamic terrorism”. AFRICOM was launched in February 2008 from its base in Stuttgart, Germany.

UNAC Conference: Decolonization And The Fight Against Imperialism

UNAC understands the importance of bringing us together from all over this country and the world. We have two ambassadors this weekend, from Nicaragua and the Western Sahara, the Polisario front. This state and its allies in corporate media hide the rest of the world from us. UNAC does the opposite and brings the information we need to see that the same people who fight against the sovereignty of African nations and who want to destroy the Nicaraguan revolution are the same people who build cop cities. The same people who speak of “mistaken” killings committed by the IDF sound just like people who dismiss the more than1,000 police killings that take place in the country and call those mistakes.

UNAC Conference: Decolonization And The Fight Against Imperialism

Join us for the UNAC Conference from April 5 to April 7, 2024. As we have seen the horrific events in Gaza and the imperialist debacle in Ukraine, the US pushes ahead with threats aimed at China and any country that will not accept its domination. Now is the time for us to come together as a movement to assess the period we are in and plan for the future. Join us at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel located on East Kellogg Boulevard in Saint Paul, MN, USA. Some of the groups that will be participating are: The Black Alliance for Peace, BAYAN, USA, Popular Resistance...

Israel Loses Control Of Its Borders

Israel once reigned supreme on the back of some immovable narratives: widely spun myths of a "promised land," a "land without a people," the "only democracy in the Middle East," and the “only secure place for Jews in the world.” Today, those lofty soundbites lie in tatters, with the occupation state reeling from an unprecedented blow to its foundational ideas. This transformation has unfolded with unexpected intensity since the 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood resistance operation and Israel's devastating, genocidal war on Gaza. But it is not just the challenge of narratives that has Israel on its back feet.

Cultural And Communicational Decolonization

Without the organization of culture and communication within our community, our best decolonizing efforts occur as islands of “good intentions,” even if they are educated, ingenious, and passionate. There is no correct practical application without correct organization. That is a major weakness and an urgent current task. What should such a community organized against symbolic manipulation look like? Perhaps we do not know it completely, but it is inexcusable to know how we do not want it to be, [without considering what it should be.] That is why we need a semiotics for de-colonization.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.