On 16 April 1862, US President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the so-called District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, which outlawed slavery in the US capital.
From the name of the act, one might assume that the victims of slavery received some form of compensation. However, it was the total opposite. The US paid about 930 enslavers, who were loyal to the US government during the Civil War, $300 for each of the 2,989 freed enslaved people. In total, the US government doled out $896,700, the equivalent of $28.39 million in 2025.
The Africans, who, for centuries, had endured the most depraved and brutal form of labour ever known to humanity, were not compensated beyond a measly $100 each (or about $3,100 in today’s dollars) and only on the condition that they leave the US.
While some like to hail the act as having set the course for the eventual abolition of slavery across the US, it, in fact, established the blueprint for the country's continued refusal to pay reparations to the victims of slavery
From the name of the act, one might assume that the victims of slavery received some form of compensation. However, it was the total opposite. The US paid about 930 enslavers, who were loyal to the US government during the Civil War, $300 for each of the 2,989 freed enslaved people. In total, the US government doled out $896,700, the equivalent of $28.39 million in 2025.
The Africans, who, for centuries, had endured the most depraved and brutal form of labour ever known to humanity, were not compensated beyond a measly $100 each (or about $3,100 in today’s dollars) and only on the condition that they leave the US.
While some like to hail the act as having set the course for the eventual abolition of slavery across the US, it, in fact, established the blueprint for the country's continued refusal to pay reparations to the victims of slavery
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Continued……. Countries such as Britain and France, which had abolished slavery years earlier, had also taken a similar path. For instance, the British began doling out £20 million in 1835 to enslavers in Britain and the Americas, or the equivalent of $17 billion in 2025. It was the largest bailout in British history until the 2008-09 financial crisis. The government even took out a loan to compensate enslavers. This loan was not repaid until 2015. France went as far as making Haiti pay the equivalent of between $20 billion and $30 billion in today's money for the 1804 revolution, when enslaved Africans drove out French enslavers.
It took Haiti more than 120 years to pay off the debt that historian Marlene Daut described as the ‘greatest heist in history.’ The effects of paying that illegal debt are still playing out in Haiti today as the country grapples with a security and socioeconomic crisis that Western countries have played a role in.
Now, centuries later, the countries that set up and benefitted from the European Slave Trade continue to refuse to pay reparations.
Sources
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/dc-emancipation-act
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1862?amount=900000
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/articles/z67dbdm
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/compensated-emancipation-act
https://haitiantimes.com/2020/06/30/when-france-extorted-haiti-the-greatest-heist-in-history
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1862?amount=896700
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/10/05/1042518732/-the-greatest-heist-in-history-how-haiti-was-forced-to-pay-reparations-for-freed
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/30/fact-check-u-k-paid-off-debts-slave-owning-families-2015/3283908001
https://taxjustice.net/2020/06/09/slavery-compensation-uk-questions
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/12/british-history-slavery-buried-scale-revealed
It took Haiti more than 120 years to pay off the debt that historian Marlene Daut described as the ‘greatest heist in history.’ The effects of paying that illegal debt are still playing out in Haiti today as the country grapples with a security and socioeconomic crisis that Western countries have played a role in.
Now, centuries later, the countries that set up and benefitted from the European Slave Trade continue to refuse to pay reparations.
Sources
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/dc-emancipation-act
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1862?amount=900000
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/articles/z67dbdm
https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/compensated-emancipation-act
https://haitiantimes.com/2020/06/30/when-france-extorted-haiti-the-greatest-heist-in-history
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1862?amount=896700
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/10/05/1042518732/-the-greatest-heist-in-history-how-haiti-was-forced-to-pay-reparations-for-freed
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/30/fact-check-u-k-paid-off-debts-slave-owning-families-2015/3283908001
https://taxjustice.net/2020/06/09/slavery-compensation-uk-questions
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/12/british-history-slavery-buried-scale-revealed
National Archives
The District of Columbia Emancipation Act
Enlarge Celebration of the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia for Colored People in Washington, April 19, 1866 Wood Engraving from a sketch by F. Dielman in Frank Leslie s Illustrated
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CASH-STRAPPED ZIMBABWE ‘COMPENSATES’ SETTLER FARMERS
The decision by the Zimbabwean government to spend billions of dollars on compensating White settler farmers whose land was expropriated during the country’s land-reform programme in the early 2000s has sharply divided opinion. According to the country’s finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, $3.5 billion will be paid out by 2028.
Critics say the billions could instead be used to address the many challenges the country is currently facing, mainly due to the sanctions that the West imposed on the country as retribution for the land-reform programme. They say it does not make sense to spend money to appease the beneficiaries of colonialism at a time when the country’s hospitals lack basic drugs and equipment. Some also add that the payments amount to capitulation to bullying by the West, which for years has demanded that Harare pay the farmers.
The decision by the Zimbabwean government to spend billions of dollars on compensating White settler farmers whose land was expropriated during the country’s land-reform programme in the early 2000s has sharply divided opinion. According to the country’s finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, $3.5 billion will be paid out by 2028.
Critics say the billions could instead be used to address the many challenges the country is currently facing, mainly due to the sanctions that the West imposed on the country as retribution for the land-reform programme. They say it does not make sense to spend money to appease the beneficiaries of colonialism at a time when the country’s hospitals lack basic drugs and equipment. Some also add that the payments amount to capitulation to bullying by the West, which for years has demanded that Harare pay the farmers.
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Continued…….. However, those who support the decision say that the government is simply trying to end the pain of Western-imposed sanctions and has few options on the table with which to bargain. They argue that the country’s economy will continue to bleed as long as the sanctions remain.
What do you think? If someone steals your watch and you manage to take it back a few year later, should you pay them for the loss of a watch?
Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream
What do you think? If someone steals your watch and you manage to take it back a few year later, should you pay them for the loss of a watch?
Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream
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African Stream
With the Lions, Not the Hunters.
Join the movement!
https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream
Join the movement!
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UK foreign minister David Lammy’s hypocrisy has been unmasked with a short but sweet tweet from British independent MP (and former Labour Party colleague) Zarah Sultana.
On 12 April, Lammy took to X to decry attacks by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary that had killed civilians. The RSF is, of course, bankrolled and armed by the United Arab Emirates - to whom London happily exports its weapons. In her reply, Sultana simply told Lammy to stop this trade.
In 2023, UK arms export licences to the UAE were valued at £56.5 million, according to data from the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). Lammy’s shock at the RSF’s violence in Sudan can, therefore, only be performative - and Sultana rightly picks him up on it.
On 12 April, Lammy took to X to decry attacks by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary that had killed civilians. The RSF is, of course, bankrolled and armed by the United Arab Emirates - to whom London happily exports its weapons. In her reply, Sultana simply told Lammy to stop this trade.
In 2023, UK arms export licences to the UAE were valued at £56.5 million, according to data from the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). Lammy’s shock at the RSF’s violence in Sudan can, therefore, only be performative - and Sultana rightly picks him up on it.
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Continued……
Emirati passports recovered from the battlefields in Omdurman in July 2024 suggest the UAE may even have had covert boots on the ground supporting RSF operations. Also, in September last year, a New York Times investigation revealed through satellite images that the UAE was disguising its arms shipments to the RSF through the Chadian border as aid using the Red Crescent emblem.
The war in Sudan, which has just entered its third year, has created the world’s worst displacement crisis - with over 14-million people fleeing their homes. London is fully aware that its business partner Abu Dhabi is keeping the devastating proxy war going by supplying kit to the RSF, which has been accused of g*nocide.
As ever, British profits prevail over human rights.
Sources
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1162096
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2025/4/14/animated-maps-show-two-years-of-war-in-sudan#
https://2021-2025.state.gov/genocide-determination-in-sudan-and-imposing-accountability-measures/
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/25/smoking-gun-evidence-points-to-uae-involvement-in-sudan-civil-war
https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/evidence-points-to-uae-involvement-in-sudan-civil-war
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/world/africa/uae-sudan-civil-war.html
https://adf-magazine.com/2025/01/evidence-of-uae-supplying-rsf-continues-to-mount/
https://caat.org.uk/app/uploads/2025/03/CAAT-Arms-Exports-2023-WEB.pdf
Emirati passports recovered from the battlefields in Omdurman in July 2024 suggest the UAE may even have had covert boots on the ground supporting RSF operations. Also, in September last year, a New York Times investigation revealed through satellite images that the UAE was disguising its arms shipments to the RSF through the Chadian border as aid using the Red Crescent emblem.
The war in Sudan, which has just entered its third year, has created the world’s worst displacement crisis - with over 14-million people fleeing their homes. London is fully aware that its business partner Abu Dhabi is keeping the devastating proxy war going by supplying kit to the RSF, which has been accused of g*nocide.
As ever, British profits prevail over human rights.
Sources
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1162096
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2025/4/14/animated-maps-show-two-years-of-war-in-sudan#
https://2021-2025.state.gov/genocide-determination-in-sudan-and-imposing-accountability-measures/
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/25/smoking-gun-evidence-points-to-uae-involvement-in-sudan-civil-war
https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/evidence-points-to-uae-involvement-in-sudan-civil-war
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/world/africa/uae-sudan-civil-war.html
https://adf-magazine.com/2025/01/evidence-of-uae-supplying-rsf-continues-to-mount/
https://caat.org.uk/app/uploads/2025/03/CAAT-Arms-Exports-2023-WEB.pdf
UN News
Sudan faces unprecedented hunger and displacement as war enters third year
The conflict in Sudan has become one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century, leaving millions of women, children and displaced families suffering from violence, food insecurity and the collapse of essential services.
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Boko Haram is making a resurgence, warns the governor of Nigeria’s Borno State, where the t*rror group has left a trail of destruction since its founding in 2002.
Governor Babagana Zulum cautions that the military is losing ground to Boko Haram fighters, who are launching nearly daily attacks against both civilian and military targets. The militant group gained notoriety in 2014 when it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in northern Nigeria at the height of its power. Although Nigerian and regional counter-terrorism operations initially pushed Boko Haram back, it still poses a significant security threat.
Governor Babagana Zulum cautions that the military is losing ground to Boko Haram fighters, who are launching nearly daily attacks against both civilian and military targets. The militant group gained notoriety in 2014 when it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in northern Nigeria at the height of its power. Although Nigerian and regional counter-terrorism operations initially pushed Boko Haram back, it still poses a significant security threat.
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Continued……. Neighbouring countries such as Chad, Cameroon and Niger have also been affected by the increase in t*rror attacks, particularly around the Lake Chad Basin, which runs through their borders.
The resurgence of Boko Haram comes after US Congressman Scott Perry’s allegations in February that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded t*rrorist organisations, including Boko Haram. This revelation prompted Nigeria’s House of Representatives to investigate the activities of non-governmental organisations in Nigeria, focusing on their real identities, sources of funding and how they use their funds.
What do you make of this situation? Let us know in the comments.
Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kxxg5jy0ro
https://www.dni.gov/nctc/ftos/boko_haram_fto.html#:~:text=OVERVIEW&text=Boko%20Haram%2C%20which%20aims%20to,it%20was%20established%20in%202002.
https://von.gov.ng/house-set-to-probe-terrorism-allegations-against-usaid
https://archive.ph/5AJuy#selection-1299.43-1299.134
https://acleddata.com/2024/04/16/a-decade-after-chibok-assessing-nigerias-regional-response-to-boko-haram
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/01/nigeria-boko-haram-must-end-vicious-killing-spree
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/surrendered-terrorists-evade-official-rehabilitation-programme-reinfiltrate-nigerian
https://www.dw.com/en/nigerias-ex-boko-haram-fighters-weigh-return-to-conflict/a-68449555
https://archive.ph/5AJuy
https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/es/node/13829
https://trainingforpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/EPON_MNJTF.pdf
The resurgence of Boko Haram comes after US Congressman Scott Perry’s allegations in February that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded t*rrorist organisations, including Boko Haram. This revelation prompted Nigeria’s House of Representatives to investigate the activities of non-governmental organisations in Nigeria, focusing on their real identities, sources of funding and how they use their funds.
What do you make of this situation? Let us know in the comments.
Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kxxg5jy0ro
https://www.dni.gov/nctc/ftos/boko_haram_fto.html#:~:text=OVERVIEW&text=Boko%20Haram%2C%20which%20aims%20to,it%20was%20established%20in%202002.
https://von.gov.ng/house-set-to-probe-terrorism-allegations-against-usaid
https://archive.ph/5AJuy#selection-1299.43-1299.134
https://acleddata.com/2024/04/16/a-decade-after-chibok-assessing-nigerias-regional-response-to-boko-haram
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/01/nigeria-boko-haram-must-end-vicious-killing-spree
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/surrendered-terrorists-evade-official-rehabilitation-programme-reinfiltrate-nigerian
https://www.dw.com/en/nigerias-ex-boko-haram-fighters-weigh-return-to-conflict/a-68449555
https://archive.ph/5AJuy
https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/es/node/13829
https://trainingforpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/EPON_MNJTF.pdf
Bbc
Babagana Zulum: Borno state governor warns of Boko Haram comeback in Nigeria
The jihadist group has recently staged several deadly attacks and even seized control of some districts.
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THE MOTHER OF ALL KARENS
You’re probably familiar with the concept of a Karen (an ennoscriptd, excessively demanding White woman who weaponises her privilege), and have seen one in action, at least online. But have you heard of the ‘ultimate’ Karen?
We’re talking about Karen Blixen, whose birthday it is today. However, there’s little to celebrate about this Danish author and aristocrat who once owned a sprawling 6,000-acre coffee plantation at the base of the Ngong Hills during Kenya’s colonial period. She employed a large staff of servants who worked tirelessly to cater to her every need. The land she occupied was originally owned by the local Maasai people, who were forcibly displaced to accommodate colonisers such as herself.
Her literary works reflected racist attitudes and a White-saviour mentality. Despite this, Nairobi continues to honour her legacy with a suburb named after her, a place that still carries an air of colonial elitism and snobbery. African Stream’s Wambura Mwai paid a visit.
You’re probably familiar with the concept of a Karen (an ennoscriptd, excessively demanding White woman who weaponises her privilege), and have seen one in action, at least online. But have you heard of the ‘ultimate’ Karen?
We’re talking about Karen Blixen, whose birthday it is today. However, there’s little to celebrate about this Danish author and aristocrat who once owned a sprawling 6,000-acre coffee plantation at the base of the Ngong Hills during Kenya’s colonial period. She employed a large staff of servants who worked tirelessly to cater to her every need. The land she occupied was originally owned by the local Maasai people, who were forcibly displaced to accommodate colonisers such as herself.
Her literary works reflected racist attitudes and a White-saviour mentality. Despite this, Nairobi continues to honour her legacy with a suburb named after her, a place that still carries an air of colonial elitism and snobbery. African Stream’s Wambura Mwai paid a visit.
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In the last two years of Sudan’s proxy war that has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, overwhelming evidence has emerged detailing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) role in prolonging the conflict.
Despite the irrefutable proof, including a US congressional investigation, UN reports, and on-the-ground discoveries, the G7’s recent statement calling for a ceasefire in Sudan conspicuously fails to hold the Gulf nation accountable, only vaguely referencing ‘external actors.’
Further, Sudan has taken the UAE before the International Court of Justice, accusing the Gulf nation of complicity in g*nocide as the UAE-backed RSF is accused of k*lling non-Arab Masalit peoples. The hearing at The Hague began on 10 April.
Despite the irrefutable proof, including a US congressional investigation, UN reports, and on-the-ground discoveries, the G7’s recent statement calling for a ceasefire in Sudan conspicuously fails to hold the Gulf nation accountable, only vaguely referencing ‘external actors.’
Further, Sudan has taken the UAE before the International Court of Justice, accusing the Gulf nation of complicity in g*nocide as the UAE-backed RSF is accused of k*lling non-Arab Masalit peoples. The hearing at The Hague began on 10 April.
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Continued……. The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, victors and losers in World War II that chose to ally.
The failure to take substantive measures to stop the UAE’s involvement is unsurprising, given the G7 countries continue to maintain and even deepen their ties with Abu Dhabi. For instance, the US and the UK continue to maintain their trade and diplomatic relations with the UAE. The UAE is the UK’s largest trading partner in West Asia, and the US designated it a ‘major defence partner’ in 2024. France and Germany have defence contracts and economic ties. At the same time, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the European Union continue business and investment partnerships with Abu Dhabi.
As the war in Sudan enters its third year, over half of the country’s population—30 million people—remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN. It is a crisis that the US special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, estimated may have killed over 150,000 people by May 2024.
Sources
https://www.state.gov/g7-foreign-ministers-statement-marking-two-years-since-the-beginning-of-the-devastating-war-in-sudan/
https://adf-magazine.com/2024/01/uae-role-in-sudans-civil-war-draws-criticism/
https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/united-arab-emirates-arming-rsf-genocide-in-sudan
https://africanarguments.org/2024/02/how-the-uae-kept-the-sudan-war-raging/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/world/africa/uae-sudan-civil-war.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-lawmakers-find-uae-provides-weapons-sudan-rsf-uae-denies-this-2025-01-24/
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/25/smoking-gun-evidence-points-to-uae-involvement-in-sudan-civil-war
https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-jacobs-confirm-uae-providing-weapons-to-rsf-in-sudan-in-contradiction-to-its-assurances-to-us
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/uae-us-defense-partner/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/23/biden-administration-designates-uae-major-defence-partner-in-rare-move
https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2025/03/09/300-meteor-missiles-arm-uaes-rafales-in-bold-french-team-up
https://caat.org.uk/app/uploads/2025/03/CAAT-Arms-Exports-2023-WEB.pdf
https://www.diehl.com/defence/en/press-and-media/news/diehl-defence-and-edge-sign-partnership-for-uae/
https://www.governo.it/sites/governo.it/files/UAE-ITA-Joint-Statement-20250224.pdf
https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/are/partner/jpn
https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/Missions/Ottawa/UAE-Relationships/Economic-Cooperation
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/read_25_1043
https://press.un.org/en/2025/db250415.doc.htm
The failure to take substantive measures to stop the UAE’s involvement is unsurprising, given the G7 countries continue to maintain and even deepen their ties with Abu Dhabi. For instance, the US and the UK continue to maintain their trade and diplomatic relations with the UAE. The UAE is the UK’s largest trading partner in West Asia, and the US designated it a ‘major defence partner’ in 2024. France and Germany have defence contracts and economic ties. At the same time, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the European Union continue business and investment partnerships with Abu Dhabi.
As the war in Sudan enters its third year, over half of the country’s population—30 million people—remain in dire need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN. It is a crisis that the US special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, estimated may have killed over 150,000 people by May 2024.
Sources
https://www.state.gov/g7-foreign-ministers-statement-marking-two-years-since-the-beginning-of-the-devastating-war-in-sudan/
https://adf-magazine.com/2024/01/uae-role-in-sudans-civil-war-draws-criticism/
https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/united-arab-emirates-arming-rsf-genocide-in-sudan
https://africanarguments.org/2024/02/how-the-uae-kept-the-sudan-war-raging/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/world/africa/uae-sudan-civil-war.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-lawmakers-find-uae-provides-weapons-sudan-rsf-uae-denies-this-2025-01-24/
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/25/smoking-gun-evidence-points-to-uae-involvement-in-sudan-civil-war
https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-jacobs-confirm-uae-providing-weapons-to-rsf-in-sudan-in-contradiction-to-its-assurances-to-us
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/uae-us-defense-partner/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/23/biden-administration-designates-uae-major-defence-partner-in-rare-move
https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2025/03/09/300-meteor-missiles-arm-uaes-rafales-in-bold-french-team-up
https://caat.org.uk/app/uploads/2025/03/CAAT-Arms-Exports-2023-WEB.pdf
https://www.diehl.com/defence/en/press-and-media/news/diehl-defence-and-edge-sign-partnership-for-uae/
https://www.governo.it/sites/governo.it/files/UAE-ITA-Joint-Statement-20250224.pdf
https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/are/partner/jpn
https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/Missions/Ottawa/UAE-Relationships/Economic-Cooperation
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/read_25_1043
https://press.un.org/en/2025/db250415.doc.htm
United States Department of State
G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement Marking Two Years Since the Beginning of the Devastating War in Sudan
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, unequivocally denounce the ongoing conflict, atrocities and grave human rights violations…
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DID KAGAME TRIGGER RWANDAN GENOCIDE?
In a 2006 BBC Hard Talk interview, Rwandan President Paul Kagame admitted that his predecessor had always been likely to die during the country’s civil war - started by the 1990 invasion from Uganda of the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), which Kagame went on to lead. However, Kagame sidestepped the issue of whether he’d had a direct hand in the fatal 1994 shooting down of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane over Kigali - saying only that he’d had the right to ‘fight for my rights.’
The interview followed a lengthy 12-year investigation led by French anti-terror judge Jean-Louis Bruguière, who determined that Kagame had ordered his troops to shoot down the plane with the help of nine of his closest aides. In late November 2006, the French justice system issued international arrest warrants for those aides, while Kagame, as a sitting president, was protected by diplomatic immunity.
In a 2006 BBC Hard Talk interview, Rwandan President Paul Kagame admitted that his predecessor had always been likely to die during the country’s civil war - started by the 1990 invasion from Uganda of the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), which Kagame went on to lead. However, Kagame sidestepped the issue of whether he’d had a direct hand in the fatal 1994 shooting down of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane over Kigali - saying only that he’d had the right to ‘fight for my rights.’
The interview followed a lengthy 12-year investigation led by French anti-terror judge Jean-Louis Bruguière, who determined that Kagame had ordered his troops to shoot down the plane with the help of nine of his closest aides. In late November 2006, the French justice system issued international arrest warrants for those aides, while Kagame, as a sitting president, was protected by diplomatic immunity.
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Continued……. However, another investigative report commissioned by two French judges in 2012 cleared Kagame and his aides. The report stated that it was unlikely that the missile that hit the plane was by the Kagame-led rebels. The investigation was done with the assistance of Kagame’s Rwandan government.
It’s hard to tell what happened, but this interview certainly didn’t do Kagame and his supporters any favours in convincing the world that he had nothing to do with it.
The aftermath of the Habyarimana assassination led to a chaotic 90-day period of violence and ethnic slaughter, known as the Rwandan Genocide. While in Uganda, the RPA (the military wing of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, now Rwanda’s ruling party) received support and training from the U.S.-backed Ugandan government.
Video credit: BBC Hard Talk, 2006
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/12/rwanda.rorycarroll
https://blackagendareport.com/crime-turned-central-africa-vast-killing-ground
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6218196.stm
https://cpmk.org/87-recent-news/375-defend-congo-stop-imperialist-plunder-and-rwanda-uganda-destabilisation
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26875506
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2000/02/cong-f03.html
It’s hard to tell what happened, but this interview certainly didn’t do Kagame and his supporters any favours in convincing the world that he had nothing to do with it.
The aftermath of the Habyarimana assassination led to a chaotic 90-day period of violence and ethnic slaughter, known as the Rwandan Genocide. While in Uganda, the RPA (the military wing of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, now Rwanda’s ruling party) received support and training from the U.S.-backed Ugandan government.
Video credit: BBC Hard Talk, 2006
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/12/rwanda.rorycarroll
https://blackagendareport.com/crime-turned-central-africa-vast-killing-ground
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6218196.stm
https://cpmk.org/87-recent-news/375-defend-congo-stop-imperialist-plunder-and-rwanda-uganda-destabilisation
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26875506
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2000/02/cong-f03.html
the Guardian
Kagame set genocide in motion, Paris judge says
The destruction of the plane carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana - the incident which began the Rwandan genocide - is blamed by a French investigating magistrate on the Tutsi rebel leader, now president, Paul Kagame, according to the newspaper Le Monde.
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Burkina Faso Minister of Foreign Affairs Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré published a statement on 15 April 2025 expressing his disagreement with disparaging remarks made by General Michael Langley, commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), about Burkina Faso's President Ibrahim Traoré.
During a recent Senate Armed Services Hearing on 3 April 2025, US Senator Roger Wicker asked General Langley about corruption and bribery connected to trade with China, to which he responded, ‘Absolutely, chairman. I see this, and I don't mind calling this out. Captain [Ibrahim] Traoré in Burkina Faso... their gold reserves are just in exchange to protect the junta regime.’
During a recent Senate Armed Services Hearing on 3 April 2025, US Senator Roger Wicker asked General Langley about corruption and bribery connected to trade with China, to which he responded, ‘Absolutely, chairman. I see this, and I don't mind calling this out. Captain [Ibrahim] Traoré in Burkina Faso... their gold reserves are just in exchange to protect the junta regime.’
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Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Continued……In response, Burkina Faso stated: ‘By arguing that Burkina Faso's mining resources, as well as certain revenues from cooperation with the People's Republic of China, do not benefit the population, but rather serve to protect the ‘regime in power,’ General Langley adopts a stance that deliberately denies Burkina Faso's new sovereignist dynamic… The Ministry formally denies these allegations. The concrete actions carried out on the ground testify to the sincere commitment of the Burkinabé authorities to driving inclusive and sustainable development. Far-reaching reforms have been undertaken in the fields of agriculture, water, infrastructure, education and health, with the aim of better distributing resources for the benefit of the population…
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Continued……. General Langley would have benefited from confining himself to his field of expertise by providing the members of the Senate committee with a more balanced reading of the causes which led Burkina Faso to re-evaluate certain military cooperation agreements, while respecting its sovereignty.’
The disrespect of the United States and other Western countries toward Africa has led some countries to sever ties with their militaries.
Ouagadougou's neighbouring ally Niger is the first African country to boot AFRICOM. Meanwhile, Eritrea never signed an AFRICOM agreement. Both are the only African countries that do not cooperate militarily with the United States.
Video credit: @SASCGOP / @SASCDems
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJxXZneKick
(2:08:10-2:08:32)
The disrespect of the United States and other Western countries toward Africa has led some countries to sever ties with their militaries.
Ouagadougou's neighbouring ally Niger is the first African country to boot AFRICOM. Meanwhile, Eritrea never signed an AFRICOM agreement. Both are the only African countries that do not cooperate militarily with the United States.
Video credit: @SASCGOP / @SASCDems
Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJxXZneKick
(2:08:10-2:08:32)
YouTube
LIVE: Senate Armed Services Hearing on the Posture of US European Command and US Africa Command
The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing to examine the posture of the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for fiscal year 2026 and the Future Years Defense Program, at 9:30 a.m. ET on April…
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Do you think Burkina Faso will cut military ties with the United States after these remarks?
Anonymous Poll
94%
Yes, I hope so
6%
No, I doubt it
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WHY RSF’S PARALLEL GOVERNMENT IN SUDAN IS PROBLEMATIC!
The United Arab Emirates-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have declared the formation of a parallel government in Sudan.
The troubling announcement came on 15 April, the second anniversary of Sudan’s foreign-backed proxy war that has displaced as many as 14 million people and k*lled as many as 150,000 people by May 2024, per US envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello.
In February, the RSF, a paramilitary group accused of g*nocide against non-Arab peoples, signed a charter to establish a rival administration called the ‘Government of Peace and Unity’ in areas under their control. On 3 March, the RSF, allied armed groups and other formations signed a transitional constitution during a summit held in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. This move was immediately condemned, with the Sudanese civil societies, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), among others, warning that such a step threatens Sudan’s unity.
The United Arab Emirates-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have declared the formation of a parallel government in Sudan.
The troubling announcement came on 15 April, the second anniversary of Sudan’s foreign-backed proxy war that has displaced as many as 14 million people and k*lled as many as 150,000 people by May 2024, per US envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello.
In February, the RSF, a paramilitary group accused of g*nocide against non-Arab peoples, signed a charter to establish a rival administration called the ‘Government of Peace and Unity’ in areas under their control. On 3 March, the RSF, allied armed groups and other formations signed a transitional constitution during a summit held in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. This move was immediately condemned, with the Sudanese civil societies, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), among others, warning that such a step threatens Sudan’s unity.
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