‘France is Holding Africa Hostage’ With Grain Shipments, Malian Journo Says
Labourers load sacks of paddy crop on a truck at a wholesale grain market in Amritsar on September 20, 2022.
Paris is being hypocritical in its desire to sponsor grain exports from Ukraine to Africa, Malian journalist Moussa Naby Diakite told Sputnik.Emmanuel Macron surprised many by saying he wanted to sponsor the shipment of Ukrainian grain to vulnerable countries as part of the agreement between Moscow and Kiev. The French president is paying lip service to these relief efforts, Malian journalist Moussa Naby Diakite told Sputnik, noting that Europeans were the primary beneficiaries of these agreements.”It is a lot of hypocrisy, because Europe is the first to benefit from this aid. We have seen that the first aid that was intended for African countries was diverted via Turkey. It arrived in Africa in dribs and drabs,” he explained.In early August, the bulk carrier Razoni, loaded with 26,000 metric tons of Ukrainian corn, encountered difficulties in delivering its cargo. It had first headed to Lebanon, before making a detour to Syria, and finally ending its journey in Egypt.The Presidents of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau even had to step up to speed things up, Moussa Naby Diakité recalled. At the beginning of September, Vladimir Putin also criticized the fact that Europeans were taking the lion’s share of new grain exports.
Africa Held Hostage
While Moscow has said it is ready to deliver grain and fertilizer to poor African countries for free, European sanctions prevent ships from reaching their ports. These maneuvers make the continent a “hostage” of the West, particularly France, Moussa Naby Diakite said.”Russia today is ready to offer us security and to support our policies of sovereignty. Europe has no interest in this, especially France, which makes the people, especially those of West Africa, sick. France is taking Africa hostage in order to achieve its own ends and to reach Europe’s objectives,” he explained.The journalist added that Emmanuel Macron’s words can thus be interpreted from the angle that France is losing influence in Africa. Paris feels it is losing ground, both in Africa and internationally, and therefore wants to “fill” these gaps by “creating a necessary role for itself.”French diplomacy has been particularly unsuccessful in Mali in recent months, with the French ambassador being expelled at the end of January. Demonstrations against the French presence have also increased in neighboring Burkina Faso in recent weeks.
