Senegal Independence Day Calls into Question France’s Future Role
April 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Dakar 04 April 2007 |
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Throughout Thousands in downtown Dakar lined up on General Charles de Gaulle Boulevard to see Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. This street has had decades of independence day parades since Senegal gained its sovereignty in 1960. Local political analyst Yoro Dia says Senegal’s relationship with "When you are a product of French colonial system, you have a French colonial mentality," he said. "The most important thing is what people are thinking in Paris. What Dia says it is inevitable France will lose some influence because he says Mr. Wade is the last of the colonial generation. "Wade is a kind of bridge between that colonial generation, people "I think this is the biggest change. You no longer have the relationship between the master and the [colonized]," he added. For 24-year-old government economist, Alfa, Senegal is still close to its former colonizer. "Nothing [has] really changed. It is our partner. We love French people. It is our big brother," said Alfa. But when asked where most people his age want to go if they are to For army Commander Alain Diop, the celebration honors Senegal’s responsibilities as a sovereign country. He says the day is a reminder of Senegal’s ability to make both peace and war. Officials say there were less military in attendance this year
Francophone West Africa, analysts say France’s influence has been
changing. In Senegal, the country observed its 47th year of
independence from France. With an octogenarian president entering his
last term, analysts say it is inevitable France will lose influence
with future leaders of its former colony. Phuong Tran has for VOA more
from Dakar.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade greets crowd at the Independence Day parade, 04 Apr 2007
France will soon change, because there are no more presidential
candidates trained in the French colonial system like Mr. Wade.
people are thinking in Washington [D.C.], you do not care. What people
are thinking in Senegal, you do not care. But what people are thinking
in Paris, you do care," he continued.
Senegal political analyst Yoro Dia
who fight for independence and the other generation, people who were
born in Senegal, trained in the United States, people who do not have
the colonial mentality," said Dia.
leave Senegal, he does not hesitate in replying: "For the students,
they want to go to America or China to learn more."
Commander Alain Diop
because more are serving overseas in neighboring countries’ conflicts.
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Senegal opposition confirms will boycott June polls
April 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment
By Diadie Ba
DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegal’s main opposition parties confirmed on
Friday they would boycott parliamentary elections set for June,
withdrawing their candidacy deposits hours away from the deadline for
submissions, a spokesman said.
A group of 12 opposition parties said on Monday they would boycott
the June 3 elections, accusing the government of buying votes and
doctoring the electoral roll in President Abdoulaye Wade’s re-election
in February.
"I have been mandated by the 12 opposition parties to withdraw the
deposits for the legislative elections from the public treasury. Now it
is a done deal, we will not take part in the elections," their
representative, Aly Haidar, told Reuters.
Monday’s announcement dented Senegal’s reputation for democracy and
embarrassed Wade hours ahead of his inauguration on Tuesday for a
second term in office at a lavish ceremony attended by almost 20 heads
of state from across Africa.
Wade easily won the February 25 presidential poll with 55.9 percent
of votes, but opposition parties accused him of doctoring voter lists
and buying votes.
Opposition parties had demanded the dismissal of Interior Minister
Ousmane Ngom and the redrawing of electoral boundaries before elections
take place, saying the current allocation of constituencies heavily
favoured Wade’s ruling Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS). Wade rejected
both of these demands.
"I must point out that it is President Wade who has broken off all
dialogue with the opposition in refusing an audit of the electoral
list. Therefore more than 40 percent of the electorate will not be
taking part in the elections," Haidar said.
The parties of most of the 14 rival candidates who challenged Wade
in the February poll are in the group boycotting the legislative
elections.
They include the Rewmi party of second-placed Idrissa Seck, Wade’s
estranged former premier and the Socialist Party, which led the former
French colony for four decades before being swept from power by Wade’s
election in 2000.
That election — one of Africa’s first peaceful transfers of power
from one elected government to another — enhanced Senegal’s reputation
for stability and democracy in a volatile continent.
Originally scheduled for February 2006, the legislative elections
were postponed by a year after Wade said the money for organising them
was needed to cope with widespread flooding after the heaviest rains in
decades in late 2005.
The polls were postponed again in February after the opposition protested against the map of electoral boundaries.
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. |
Senegal’s opposition to boycott election
April 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Senegal’s main opposition parties announced Friday they would
boycott June’s legislative elections over the president’s refusal to
change the electoral process.
They said they had begun
withdrawing their 15-million CFA franc (23,000-euro) deposits for the
polls, which will render their candidates ineligible to stand, ahead of
the midnight deadline for applications.
"We are going to gather
the final documents that we need to withdraw our deposits in the next
few hours," said Yero De, the spokesman for the opposition coalition
comprising the Socialist Party, LD/MPT and Rewmi parties.
"We
cannot participate in the election without holding talks with the
president (Abdoulaye Wade) on the electoral process," he told AFP.
Abdel
Kader Sabara, a delegate of the Alliances of Forces for Progress,
another opposition coalition, said: "I am in the process of completing
the process to withdraw my deposit."
On Monday, 12 opposition
leaders threatened to boycott the June 3 elections if Wade refused
their calls to revise the voter list and create an independent
structure to replace the government-appointed electoral commission.
The president, who was sworn in to a second term on Tuesday, refused to meet them but said they were free to boycott the polls.
Among
those taking part in the boycott are Idrissa Seck, Ousmane Tanor Dieng
and Moustapha Niasse, who came second, third and fourth respectively in
February’s presidential elections which Wade won with 55.9 percent of
the vote.
Only two small opposition parties — the Jef-Jel
alliance and the African Party for Democracy and Socialism (AJ/PADS) –
have said they will take part in the legislative elections.
There
was no official response to the boycott on Friday but commentators
expressed concern at the effect on democracy in Senegal, the only west
African country never to have experienced a coup d’etat.
"We are
going to ask the parties to go back on their decision. For the sake of
democracy, they must give dialogue a chance," Alioune Tine, executive
secretary of Dakar-based human rights group RADDHO, told AFP.
"The
opposition do not have the right to deprive voters of their
representation in the assembly. For his part, Wade must do everything
to ensure they are present to avoid a catastrophic regression in a
country viewed as a democratic leader in Africa."
Wade promises better future for Senegal
April 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Dakar, Senegal, 04/05 – President Abdoulaye Wade has
reaffirmed his determination to work for sustained
progress of Senegal during his second five-year mandate.
"The task will not be easy. It demands from all of us
a sustained effort and passion to build a new Senegal,"
he said in a radio and television broadcast Tuesday night,
on the eve of the country`s 47th independence anniversary.
According to Wade: "the vision remains unchanged today more
than ever," adding: "More than just a simple evolution, it
is a revolution of mentalities."
He called on his compatriots "to remain mobilised and united
around what is essential."
"Each Senegalese is accountable for the national destiny and
must share the dream which nurtures progress of human society"
the Senegalese leader said.
"Such is the approach that will keep guiding my choices and
action to work with you in the service of a Senegal always free
and independent, for national unity and cohesion," he added.
Senegal’s Wade starts 2nd term with airport project
April 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
y Diadie Ba
DIASS, Senegal (Reuters) – Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade
marked the start of his second term on Wednesday by laying the
foundation stone of a new $460 million airport, the latest major
infrastructure project in the West African country.
"This airport is the first of the big projects I want to build
during my five-year term. Infrastructure is not a luxury for Africa, it
is a necessity for development," the octogenarian president said at an
event inaugurating work on the airport.
Wade took the oath of office for a second term on Tuesday at a
ceremony attended by almost a score of presidents from across Africa.
He won a February election in which opponents say his side bought votes
and doctored the electoral roll.
The Senegalese leader had campaigned on a pledge to create jobs and complete a major public works programme.
Much of the capital Dakar has turned into a construction site while
modern highways and hotels are built, partly for an Organisation of the
Islamic Conference summit due to be held here next year.
After presiding over a military parade marking Wednesday’s national
day celebrations, Wade inaugurated work on the new airport 45 km (28
miles) inland from Dakar, which is on a spit of land that is mainland
Africa’s most westerly point.
Saudi Binladin Group, which is owned by the estranged family of
Osama Bin Laden and has built more than two dozen airports around the
world, will lead the building consortium.
Wade said the airport would not cost the state "a penny".
Karim Wade, the president’s influential son, adviser and head of
the airport’s financing committee, said income from passenger taxes
from Dakar’s existing airport over the past two years had been kept in
an account to help finance the project.
"With the help of the Banque Marocaine pour le Commerce Exterieur
and BNP-Paribas, we have been able to mobilise nearly 350 million
euros, or around 230 billion CFA francs, on international financial
markets," he said.
Germany’s Fraport will manage the airport, in which the Senegalese
state will own a 45 percent stake, with the remaining 55 percent held
by Aeroport International Blaise Diagne (AIBD) SA, a company owned by
Senegalese investors.
Used as a hub for flights from Africa to Europe, the United States
and Brazil, Dakar’s existing airport has seen traffic grow rapidly in
recent years, but its location, surrounded by Dakar’s suburbs, limits
its potential to grow.
The new airport, named after the first black African elected to
France’s parliament in 1914, Blaise Diagne, should take 30 months to
build and have an initial capacity of 3 million passengers a year –
almost double the 1.7 million annual traffic handled by the existing
airport, a statement said.
It is also intended to attract more foreign tourists to Senegal and
fuel the growth of a planned new economic development zone outside
Dakar.
Senegal marks 47th independence
April 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
afrol News, 4 April – Senegalese
on Wednesday converged in a colourful and symbolic ceremony in the
capital Dakar to mark their country’s 47th years of independence. On 4
April 1960, Senegal gained nationhood from France. 47 years down the
line, Senegal has proven to be one of Africa’s leading democratic
giants.
The occasion was graced by over 20 African leaders, including those from Libya, Ghana and Nigeria.
After mounting a guard of honour and march past by security forces,
President Abdoulaye Wade, delivered a brief speech. The event was also
punctuated with displays of Senegalese artistic talents in the form of
singing and dancing.
The Senegalese President expressed delight about his country’s numerous
achievements since it became independent. Mr Wade was enthusiastic
about the women’s achievements in many fields of development.
“Senegalese women have excelled in all fields of development but I am
delighted that they are now doing well in the army,” he said.
President Wade assured Senegalese to snore well during their sleep at
night because his country boasts of a “professional, well-disciplined
and talented army” who busy themselves to guarantee security in the
country.
Mr Wade thanked foreign Presidents, especially the Libyan leader,
Muamar Gaddafi, for sparing their invaluable time to wine and dine with
them Senegalese as they celebrate their national day.
Also speaking on the occasion was President Gaddafi. Dressed in western
costume, the Libyan leader commended his Senegalese counterpart for
pushing the agenda for African unity. He also saluted Mr Wade for
achieving a lot within a short period.
The 47th independence celebration followed the official swearing-in
ceremony of President Wade for a second term of office on Tuesday at
Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar.
The 80-year-old President swept the polls on 25 February when he
defeated 14 opposition candidates in a first round battle. The race was
declared free and fair by international observers. However, Mr Wade’s
opponents, who boycotted the Tuesday’s ceremony, said the polls have
been rigged.
© afrol News
LA Screening a Suscess!
April 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Many thanks to everyone who came out to the LA screening of African Underground: Democracy in Dakar! The Echo Park Film Center was packed and the vibe was amazing. Big up to Echo Park, Hampshire College Crew and everyone else who came out to support!
