Senegalese President: France will have to close its military bases because Senegal is sovereign
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Afai said, “France will have to close its military bases in Senegal, because it’s an independent and sovereign state, and sovereignty is incompatible with the presence of foreign military bases”.
In an interview with AFP, Diomaye Afai spoke about an upcoming update to Senegal’s military cooperation doctrine, adding, “this clearly means that there will be no military bases in Senegal for any country”.
Afai, who has held the presidency since last April after being elected to succeed former President Macky Sall, stressed that the French authorities must think about establishing a partnership devoid of military presence that would be rich, fruitful and distinguished like the one that links his country with many other countries.
The Senegalese President explained that military presence or absence shouldn’t mean a break, and that Senegal has strong relations with countries such as China, Türkiye, the United States, and Saudi Arabia, and none of these countries have any military base in the country.
Afai indicated that he received a letter from his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in which he acknowledged very clearly, and without any ambiguity in the terminology France’s responsibility for the massacre committed by French forces in “Tieroi” near the capital, Dakar, on December 1, 1944.
Bassiro welcomed this French recognition, considering it a big step on Macron’s part, while not ruling out the possibility that Senegal might submit a request to France to provide compensation to the victims’ families.
The Senegalese president pointed out that Macron apologized for not being able to participate in a ceremony to be held in Thiaroye next Sunday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victims of the massacre.
It’s worth mentioning that French president, Emmanuel Macron has sent a letter to his Senegalese counterpart, which he said, “France must acknowledge that a confrontation between soldiers and shooters who were demanding that their legitimate salaries be paid in full, caused a chain of events that led to a massacre”.
On the level of economic and trade cooperation, Bassiro stressed that France remains an important partner for Senegal in terms of investments, the presence of companies, and even citizens present in Senegal, noting at the same time that China is today the first trading partner in terms of the volume of investments and trade with Senegal.
The Senegalese president asked, “Does China have a military presence in Senegal? Are we talking about a break?”
