Continued….. Following that panel, we met and spoke with two organisers in Niger. Madame Abdou Mariatou is the founder and president of Femmes Engagee pour le Sauvegarde de la Patrie (Women Engaged to Safeguard the Homeland), one of the mass women's organisations shaping the contours of the Nigerien struggle. Ibrahim Hamidou is a prominent socialist trade unionist who also organises in solidarity with Cuba.

Day 2's final panel on youths’ role within the Pan-African struggle featured Booker Ngesa Omole (@bookerbiro on X), the General Secretary of the Communist Party Marxist Kenya (CPM-K) (@communistske on X). He clarified that it's not just about uplifting youth but also understanding their class reality. For example, Omole pointed out that young people in the family of now-overthrown Nigerien former President Mohamed Bazoum will not have the same class interests as the majority of AES youth.

SENEGAL'S PASTEF SWEEPS PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS

After Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved the parliament in September, calling for snap elections, news reports say Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s PASTEF party (African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity) secured a majority in the 17 November election. Sonko said these snap elections were essential to overcoming opposition to his ambitious 25-year economic reform plan. With control of parliament, the @PastefOfficiel (X) founder can pursue this agenda, which aims to transform Senegal’s economy through industrialisation and sustainable growth. 

Continued……Despite @PR_Diomaye (X) being president, many regard the 44-year-old as Sonko's protegé. When the highest court blocked @SonkoOfficiel (X) from vying for president, Diomaye Faye ran instead for the top job with Sonko, 50, as the prime minister candidate, seeing through a successful campaign.

Sonko’s plan includes increasing per capita income by 50 per cent within five years and tripling it by 2050. To achieve this, he envisions leveraging Senegal’s agricultural, mining, oil, and gas resources to drive industrialisation, integrate raw materials into global value chains, and boost local raw-material processing. The government has committed $11.7 billion to research, innovation and infrastructure development. Key goals include training 700,000 youth to combat unemployment, ensuring energy self-sufficiency through new oil and gas reserves, and raising life expectancy by three years. 

While these objectives are ambitious, critics question Sonko’s ability to implement such sweeping reforms given the pair have not stood by their campaign promise to create a national currency. Instead, they chose to reform the France-controlled West African CFA Franc.

Sources.
News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wj4dwvj1po?at_format=link&at_bbc_team=editorial

Sonko’s economic plan
https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20241015-senegal-unveils-25-year-development-plan-aiming-for-economic-sovereignty-and-sustainability

Reform not abolish CFA
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/senegal-opposition-leader-backs-off-promise-create-national-currency-2024-03-15/

Faye visits France
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/06/18/senegal-s-president-faye-to-visit-france-in-first-trip-outside-africa_6675092_4.html

Faye visits Ivory Coast
https://powersofafrica.com/article/610/ivory-coast-senegal-faye-meets-ouattara

Faye visits Ghana
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Akufo-Addo-hosts-Africa-039-s-youngest-president-Diomaye-Faye-of-Senegal-1931388

Faye visits Nigeria
https://www.tvcnews.tv/2024/05/tinubu-receives-senegal-president-diomaye-faye-at-aso-rock-villa/

Faye visits Mali, Burkina
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20240530-senegal-s-faye-makes-first-visit-to-military-ruled-mali-and-burkina-faso

Court blocks Sonko
https://apnews.com/article/senegal-sonko-presidential-election-supreme-court-468d261fd4fdee23793a3b5114209beb

Dissolves parliament
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/13/senegals-faye-dissolves-parliament-and-sets-elections-for-november

AUSTRALIAN COMPANY TO PAY MALI $160 MILLION
TO SECURE CEO RELEASE

Australia-based Resolute Mining has agreed to pay Mali $160 million to secure the release of its employees, including CEO Terence Holohan, after tax-related detentions. 

The payment will be split, with $80 million from cash reserves and the rest due in coming months. This incident follows Mali adopting a mining code in 2023 that increases the country’s share of mining revenue and mandates a 35 per cent stake in new projects. Gold is crucial to Mali's economy, accounting for 25 per cent of tax revenues and 75 per cent of export earnings.

Similar detentions occurred in September, with Barrick Gold agreeing to pay $80 million to resolve its dispute. 

Continued….. The Alliance of Sahel States confederation, made up of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, has exerted its sovereignty over its natural resources in recent months. For example, in June, Niger revoked a mining licence from France-based Orano. 

As Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré recently said, ‘We know how to mine our gold, and I don’t understand why we should let multinationals come and mine it.’

Sources:
News
https://archive.ph/7LHbT#selection-4779.0-4779.105

Gold contribution to economy
https://allafrica.com/stories/202411190028.html

Mali detains Barrick Gold employees
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-30/barrick-says-it-reaches-deal-with-mali-after-reports-staff-were-detained

Orano sidelined in Niger
https://www.orano.group/en/news/news-group/2024/october/niger-growing-financial-difficulties-will-force-somair-to-suspend-operations

Burkina on mining own resources
https://archive.ph/7LHbT#selection-4779.0-4779.105

https://allafrica.com/stories/202411190028.html

GHANA WELCOMES 500+ DIASPORA AS NEW CITIZENS

Ghana is leading the way in reconnecting diaspora Africans to the continent. It’s just welcomed 524 newly minted Ghanaian citizens from all over the world at a special ceremony in Accra. As this video shows, they were clearly delighted to be reconnecting to their ancestral roots.

President Akufo-Addo told them, “Your ancestors left these shores in circumstances that were tragic and inhumane. Today, we embrace you as our own - as fellow citizens of this nation and as part of the Ghanaian family."

The programme was first launched in the Year of Return in 2019, commemorating 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas through the so-called ‘door of no return.’

ASPIRING BLACK IRISH TEACHER:
NO DIVERSITY WITHOUT INCLUSION

Black people in Ireland are facing worsening levels of racism, despite making up only 1.5% of the population. According to a March 2023 report by the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), 600 racist incidents were registered in 2022 via the iReport.ie portal, up from 404 in 2021. Of the total documented, 223 were criminal, while 190 involved illegal discrimination and 136 hate speech.

The INAR says the growth in racism is driven by anti-migrant rhetoric from far-right groups. It also notes that harassment often goes unaddressed by the authorities.

Continued……In this clip, Baisat Alawiye, a trainee secondary-school teacher in Ireland, sheds light on how racism in Ireland impacts education and why the issue needs to be addressed early on in the classroom. She wants to see policies that work towards genuine inclusion - rather than just hear grandstanding statements on diversity.

Video Credit: GORM (YouTube)

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPDAoe9o9xE

https://emn.ie/one-in-ten-of-the-population-are-non-irish-citizens-census-2022-figures-show/

https://inar.ie/reportsofracism2022

AMSTERDAM MAYOR BACKTRACKS ON ANTI-SEMITISM CLAIMS

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has backtracked on recent statements, alleging Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv fans' violence in the city was antisemitic in nature. Initially, she described their actions as a ‘pogrom’ but retracted the term, citing its politicisation. 

On 6 November, some of the approximately 2,800 Maccabi fans visiting Amsterdam for a match ripped Palestinian flags from buildings and attacked taxi drivers. To defend against the violence, Amsterdammers—many of whom were pro-Palestine—mobilised to counter the attacks. The violence continued the following day at the match. Videos surfaced of some visiting Maccabi fans chanting, ‘Let the IDF win’ and ‘F*** the Arabs.’

However, mainstream media coverage portrayed the assailants as victims, fuelling accusations of anti-semitism against those the Maccabi fans had attacked.

Continued……. On 17 November, Halsema expressed frustration with Israel’s swift reaction, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of exploiting the events for propaganda before Dutch authorities had gathered all of the facts. She clarified that she had not intended during an 8 November press conference to equate the violence in Amsterdam with historical pogroms. ‘Pogrom’ refers to an organised attack on a specific ethnic or religious group, and had been used in the context of World War II-era violence against Jews in the Netherlands. Halsema criticised politicians for using the term to target Moroccan and Muslim communities, exacerbating divisions within Dutch society.

Halsema acknowledged that authorities failed to adequately protect Amsterdammers during the riots and promised an independent investigation.

Sources
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2024/11/amsterdam-mayor-says-pogrom-is-being-used-as-propaganda/

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/535440/World/Region/Dutch-authorities-backtrack,-admit-Israeli-fans-in.aspx

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant. They are wanted for war crimes in Gaza.

ICC decisions are binding on all 124 party states (which ratified the Rome Statute treaty). Thirty-three of these are in Africa and the majority - 42 - in Europe. In theory, this means that if either suspect steps foot in any of these countries, he will be arrested and handed over to the court.

Israel is not a signatory to the treaty, and while the US signed the Rome Statute in 2000, it did not ratify it, leaving it as a non-party state. This has led to what former US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues David Scheffer terms the ‘immunity interpretation.’ This argues that the ICC has no jurisdiction over US nationals, even if they commit crimes in a state party to the Rome Statute.

Continued......
Politicians in the US - including Senate Majority leader-elect John Thune - have previously warned that they will ask the Senate to vote on sanctioning the ICC - and those that assist - if it issues arrest warrants for Israel’s leadership. A bill to that effect has already passed the House.

Ironically, the US and its allies were vocal, for example, in pressuring South Africa to enforce an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes on Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2023 BRICS summit (which he ended up attending only virtually).

It’s unclear if Netanyahu or Gallant will risk travelling to one of the 124 countries obliged to arrest them, and which countries would act.

Sources:

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/full-list-124-countries-must-arrest-netanyahu-icc

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/21/world-reacts-to-icc-arrest-warrants-for-israels-netanyahu-gallant

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/21/what-are-the-icc-countries-where-netanyahu-and-gallant-may-face-arrest

https://lieber.westpoint.edu/united-states-should-ratify-rome-statute/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly2exvx944o#

SOUTH AFRICANS ATTACK MIGRANTS OVER FOOD POISONINGS

A wave of food poisoning cases that has so far killed at least 22 children across South Africa has led to vigilante groups and locals attacking migrant shopkeepers.

The most affected migrants are those from Somalia and Ethiopia, who run small neighbourhood grocery stores, locally known as ‘spaza shops.’

Videos posted on social media showed mobs vandalising and looting shops, and hounding out migrant shopkeepers.

However, during an address on 15 November, President Cyril Ramaphosa clarified that investigations conducted by multiple government agencies indicated shops—whether migrant-owned or South African-owned—storing food items alongside chemicals and pesticides caused the poisonings.

He added that a lack of routine inspections due to inadequate government staffing led to widespread non-compliance with safety and health regulations.