Senegal’s president says France’s presence is incompatible with the sovereignty of his country due to its independence, demanding that the military base must close.
On Thursday, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told AFP: “Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accommodate the presence of military bases in a sovereign country,”
The Senegalese President also announced in an interview that French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged in a letter that French colonial forces committed a “massacre” in Thiaroye in 1944.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye has said the move is not an act of “rupture”, advocating for a “renewed partnership” with France. The president was elected in March on the promise that he would restore the country’s sovereignty, with the closure of France’s military base playing a part in that.
“A renewed partnership (…) can only be renewed in truth and in the completeness of truth,” said Bassirou Diomaye Faye, referring to the former French President François Hollande who described 1944’s events as a “bloody repression”, but not a “massacre”.
“France remains an important partner for Senegal given the level of investments, the presence of French companies, and even French citizens who are in Senegal,” said Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who reaffirmed his desire to diversify his partnerships with other countries.
But 64 years after independence, “French authorities must consider having a partnership stripped of this military presence but one that is rich, fruitful, privileged, and global like we have with many other countries,” he said. “Military presence or absence should not equal rupture,” he added.
He pointed to existing relations between Senegal and countries like China, Turkey, the United States and Saudi Arabia. “All these countries don’t have military bases in Senegal,” he said.
“Today, China is our first trading partner by volume of investments and exchanges. Does China have a military presence in Senegal? No. Does that mean we talk about rupture? No,” he added.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye mentioned an upcoming update of the military cooperation doctrine. This update “obviously requires that there are no more military bases from any country in Senegal but also imposes other evolutions in military cooperation with these different countries that still intend to maintain (the cooperation) with Senegal,” he said.
