The militarization of the continent through entities like AFRICOM and the militarization of police forces on the continent serves the purpose of making sure that we don’t wage a formidable, organized resistance.
Though they claim to fight crime and terrorism, the history of programs like SWAT, the 1033 program in the U.S., and AFRICOM's role in the destruction of Libya show that militarization is a tool that the colonial capitalist system uses to prevent any independent liberatory force from emerging.
The U.S., under the banner of fighting terrorism in Africa, is tightening its military grip on the continent while destabilizing entire regions and spreading insecurity in order to secure the economic interest of the U.S. and other imperialist powers at the expense of Africa and her people. The U.S. must end its interference on the African continent and withdraw its military forces and installations.
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U.S. Out of Africa: Voices from the Struggle
Imani Na Umoja is on the Coordinating Committees of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). He is also a member of the African movement in Solidarity with Cuba and the Black Alliance for Peace's U.S. Out of Africa Network. What follows is a very abbreviated transcription of our video interview with him.
Tunde: How should Africans think about AFRICOM?
Imani: In our opinion, the two most important ingredients to fight are like what you’re doing with the Black Alliance for Peace: organization and raising consciousness. You mentioned that AFRICOM has a presence in 53 of the 54 African countries. If that’s true, I’m sure that the overwhelming majority of the people in those countries don’t know. They are not conscious of the presence of AFRICOM in their areas. The most important thing in this sense is to make them conscious of the presence of AFRICOM.
Following that is organization, and it has to be an organization that is not just limited to revolutionary organizations or progressive organizations, but all the way from the left to the right. Because a lot of people don’t consider themselves to be revolutionary or even progressive, but they know about the presence of AFRICOM and what it comes to do, and I’m sure that they will use their energies to fight against it.
I think that Africans should see AFRICOM as it is – another foreign enemy of Africa that must be defeated. But we must not only think of it as an enemy, we must also fight against it. And the best way to fight is through organization and consciousness raising. We must through anything and everything, constantly raise the consciousness level of our people through initiatives like this, utilizing social media, songs, dance, and art.
Tunde: What form does western imperialism and neo-colonialism take on in the daily lives of the people in Guinea-Bissau?
Imani: Imperialism and neo-colonialism, the new form of colonialism, have different tactics they use in different areas. For example, Guinea-Bissau is the only country in West Africa that led a people’s armed struggle, where the people themselves picked up arms. Of course, it was organized by the African Party of Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) led by the great Pan-Africanist revolutionary Amilcar Cabral. Guinea-Bissau took total independence. It didn’t negotiate. It took it. In fact, in the process of taking its independence, it helped to bring about a revolution inside of Portugal itself, what they call the Carnation Revolution, on April 25, 1974, where the fascist regime was overturned.
To make neo-colonialism work in a place like Guinea Bissau, they had to rely on internal traitors. One of the traitors is someone they propped up to do a coup d’état in 1980. And a few years after that, struggling to consolidate control of the party and the state apparatus, he was able to make some concessions with imperialism, such as the IMF structural adjustment program, agreements with the World Bank, etc.
To make a long story short, neo-colonialism produces misery. High levels of unemployment, the prices increasing in the market all the time, the infrastructure, the health system is not accurate, etc. We don’t have homeless people, but the housing situation is not very good. There are problems with energy. That’s how it’s done here. You don’t have a European with a gun in his hand in the streets pointed at you. But they get it through your pockets and political control.
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This event featured Maurice Carney from the Friends of the Congo and Ajamu Baraka from the Black Alliance for Peace who gave remarks and answered questions about AFRICOM.
February 22, 2021 by Claudia Jones School for Political Education
What is AFRICOM and How Does it Affect Me?
Connecting global and domestic imperialism, this teach-in highlighted the ongoing military operations on the continent and the militarized policing programs in Baltimore.
February 21, 2021 by Black Alliance for Peace – Baltimore Chapter
Libyan Officials Call on West to Assist in Ousting Russian Forces
Ten years of the Libyan Nakba (catastrophe) caused by US-led NATO regime change is marked by puppet officials installed by the US calling on the West to assist in ousting Russian forces.
February 19, 2021 by Daily Sabah
Zionism’s Shrewd Manipulation of African Movements
This article lays out the Zionist movement’s calculated manipulation of African people all over the world to develop a support network for their illegal and immoral opportunism.
February 18, 2021 by Ahjamu Umi
Weekly Pan-African News: Africa, Imperialism, and Propaganda
This installment of the AAPRP New Mexico’s Weekly Pan-African News discussed the issues of imperialism and propaganda regarding the African continent.
February 11, 2021 by All African People’s Revolutionary Party New Mexico
Top US lawmaker vows to reverse Trump’s ‘insulting’ Africa policy
Congressman Gregory Meeks is another Black face who will attempt to shape US policy in Africa and further the ends of imperialism on the continent.
February 1, 2021 by Joseph Stepansky
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Photo credit: AFP Photo