Senegal on Sunday commemorated the 80th anniversary of a massacre of African soldiers who fought for France during World War II, and were gunned down by French troops in 1944 for demanding fair treatment and payment on their return.
The West African nation has long demanded its former colonizer take responsibility, officially apologize and properly investigate the massacre that took place in Thiaroye, a fishing village on the outskirts of Senegal’s capital, Dakar.
The event, which renewed those demands, came as France is losing influence over its former African colonies, many of which have turned to Russia for security instead.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The riflemen sacrificed everything. They gave of their youth, they gave of their blood, they gave of their flesh for freedom and world peace,” Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told guests and reporters.
Accounts of the massacre vary, as does the death toll, which former French president Francois Hollande raised to at least 70 from 35 during a visit to Thiaroye in 2014. Historians say hundreds might have died in the confrontation with colonial authorities.
The ceremony, which French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot attended alongside other African heads of state, started with a visit to the Thiaroye military cemetery to lay flowers.
A printed guide to the ceremony described the “horrific repression” of members of the Senegalese infantry unit, who were surrounded and gunned down for requesting due compensation.
A few days before the commemoration, French President Emmanuel Macron wrote a public letter to his Senegalese counterpart in which he referred to the killings as a “massacre.”
Faye said Macron’s acknowledgement was a significant step in the process of rehabilitating the honor and dignity of the victims.
Barrot said in a speech that his nation had recognized that on that day, “a chain of events was set in motion that led to a massacre.”
Gaspard Mbaye, head of an association dedicated to the soldiers’ memory, said that he was disappointed because he expected more from the French government.
“They continue to conceal the truth and try to divert attention,” Mbaye said.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
RSS