Thursday, 9 May 2024 — The Tricontinental
Liby Ousmane Lougué (Burkina Faso), Papa Roger, 2020.
Dear friends,
Greetings from the desk of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.
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. France’s weapons shipment to opposition groups in Guinea was interdicted in Senegal, whose President Mamadou Dia complained to the French government. France would not tolerate African independence, but the people of Africa would not tolerate French dominion.
Nigeriens participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, July 30, 2023. Poster reads: ”Down with France, long live Putin.”
Heads of state of Burkina Faso (Ibrahim Traoré) and of Mali (Assimi Goïta). Photo: Mali Online TV.
[Source: 
Pathy Tshindele (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Untitled, 2016.
Seydou Keïta (Mali), Untitled, 1948–1954.
Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA
Chaïbia Talal (Morocco), Mon Village, Chtouka, 1990.
Ibrahim Traore
The New Dark Age 