Macron acknowledges 1944 West Africa killings as massacre
French president Macron for the first time recognised the killing of West African soldiers by the French army in 1944 as a massacre in a letter addressed to Senegalese authorities, according to Africa News and agencies.
The announcement was made by Senegal’s president Bassirou Diomaye Faye in an interview air on French television on November 28th. The move comes as the 80th anniversary of the killings in Thiaroye approaches.
The West Africans were members of a corps of colonial infantry in France’s colonial army called the Tirailleurs Senegalais unit.
On December 1st 1944 French soldiers killed between 35 and 400 West African soldiers who fought for France in the battle of France in 1940 in what was later described as a mutiny over unpaid wages. Some of the protesting soldiers were tried on March 1945.
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Faye said the step should “open the door” so that the “whole truth about this painful event of Thiaroye” can finally come out. “We have long sought closure on this story and we believe that, this time, France’s commitment will be full, frank and collaborative,” he added.
“France must recognize that on that day, the confrontation between soldiers and riflemen who demanded their full legitimate wages be paid, triggered a chain of events that resulted in a massacre,” read Macron’s letter.
“It is also important to establish, as far as possible, the causes and facts that led to this tragedy,” he added. “I have asked my services to inform me of the progress of the work of the Committee for the Restoration of the Facts, which your government has decided to set up, under the direction of Professor Mamadou Diouf, whose eminence and qualities are recognized by all.”
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The letter follows Senegalese legislative elections in which ruling party PASTEF secured a definite majority. This gave newly elected president Faye a mandate to carry out reforms promised during the campaign including increased economic independence from foreign companies, including French companies.
Discussing the around 350 French troops in its former colony, Faye said “obviously, I think that when you reverse the roles a little, you will have a hard time conceiving that another army, China, Russia, Senegal, or any other country could have a military base in France.”
Africa News, Anadolu Ajansi
