Asharq Al-Awsat: Africa will support Putin in the fight against US hegemony in UkraineAfrica has become another front of the Ukrainian crisis, writes Asharq Al-Awsat.
The US and the EU decided to win her over to their side. However, the continent does not want to return to the colonial past. The special operation was Putin's first step towards destroying the US hegemony, and Africa will support Russia in this fight.
Africa is the hottest continent, covered with forests, swamps and deserts. It is inhabited by domestic and wild animals. Since ancient times, it has been torn apart by wars between various social groups. Boundless riches lurk in the depths of Africa, so the countries that passed the industrial revolution rushed to this continent. Africa was a storehouse of human resources. Many of its inhabitants were sold into slavery to America, where they were forced to work in agriculture, household, as well as in industry.
Europe was interested in the riches of the brown continent. Since 1880, the struggle of European countries for Africa began. German politician Otto von Bismarck foresaw that European nations could enter into a large-scale conflict over this continent. He called for a conference to be convened and Africa to be divided peacefully in order to avoid a clash of European countries eager to control its wealth. In 1884, the Berlin Conference was held, which was attended by 14 European countries. It was held several times until 1885.
Thus began the era of European colonialism. After the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War between the Communist East and the capitalist West, the situation changed. African countries gained independence from Europe in the 60s of the XX century, but an international struggle was still waged for their territories. The Soviet authorities supported the national liberation movements against European colonialism and the apartheid regime in the Republic of South Africa, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the balance of power changed. The West returned to the continent and established almost complete domination over its wealth and even began to interfere in political decision-making. Its presence was consolidated by the creation of military bases in many African countries.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s of the XX century, the West, led by the United States, monopolized political and military domination in the world. China, which was on the rise economically and militarily, adhered to a soft and semi-silent foreign policy, while Russia was forced to come to terms with reality. She didn't want to accept it, but she didn't have the opportunity to change anything. When Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer, came to power in Russia, he began taking steps to create a new world order that would limit the global domination of the West.
The Ukrainian conflict is the first step towards creating a multipolar horizontal division of power instead of the monopolar vertical hegemony of the West led by the United States.
The theater of Russia's military operations on the territory of Ukraine is the front line of a large—scale global confrontation. Kiev opposes not only the Russian army. All of Europe and America (NATO forces) are fighting together with Ukraine, supplying it with the latest types of weapons, and imposing unprecedented economic sanctions against Moscow.
Russian military and political forces in the rear
Russia has opened "fronts" in the Baltic States. She supports political and popular forces opposing the Russophobic campaign of the West. Russia has deepened relations with European parties that sympathize with it and do not want to blindly obey America, especially in Italy, France, Germany and Hungary.
The African continent is the weakest and at the same time the strongest link in the international equation. Interest in it has not stopped since the XVIII century. Russia did not lose sight of Africa, as well as Western Europe. Other rising powers were also interested in the riches of this continent. China has become the first economic gift for African countries. Since 2017, the volume of trade between China and Africa has increased more than 17 times. The volume of US trade with Africa fell to $ 39 billion, and the volume of trade with Beijing reached $ 148 billion. China has opened the doors of its universities to African students and encouraged Chinese people to immigrate to Africa and marry African women. Turkey, in turn, is aggressively expanding its economic and political presence on the continent. France, on the contrary, is reducing its military, political and economic presence in Africa, granting independence to the countries previously occupied by it.
Today, the African continent is involved in a global confrontation with many players. Russia has sent its military and political power to the rear, as the military say, and wants to make Africa a second Dunkirk. Its presence on this continent has deep historical roots. It has no colonial history. Russia supported national liberation movements and cooperated with progressive forces. She supported Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia and Mohammed Siad Barre in Somalia before he turned to the West. Russia has a political presence in Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It supplies weapons and sends military specialists to various African countries. Thousands of officers are trained in Russian military educational institutions. Russia has accepted hundreds of African students at the RUDN in Moscow.
France was engaged in active military, political and economic expansion in Africa. The genocide in Rwanda was a great shock for the entire continent and made one wonder: does the European West consider Africans to be second-class people for whom it is not worth sacrificing something? Before that, the same question was raised during the apartheid era in the Republic of South Africa.
The positions of Western countries have been shaken due to the war with terrorist groups in the Sahel region and the Sahara in West Africa.
Military coups have taken place in both Mali and Burkina Faso, and new leaders have opened the doors of their countries to cooperation with Moscow. Russia's military presence remains in 14 African states. The Wagner PMCs is deployed in many countries of the continent, including the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mozambique. Russia also maintains its military presence in the Port Sudan area.
Russia's new strategy in Africa was outlined by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Addis Ababa. According to him, Moscow is ready to implement joint plans with Ethiopia in the field of energy, infrastructure, information technology and military-technical cooperation. He also criticized the policy of the United States and its allies, saying that Russia had informed its African colleagues about the latest developments in the framework of a special military operation in Ukraine. It was decided to create a multipolar world. African countries support Russia in the conflict with Ukraine.
The Horn of Africa is a strategic region over which various world Powers are fighting for control. Military bases of different countries are crowded in Djibouti. It is one of the smallest and most militarized States in the world. On its territory there are French, American, Japanese and Chinese military bases, as well as a European base representing the reaction forces of the European Union. Other countries are also seeking to deploy their military bases there.
Russia is well aware of the strategic value of the Horn of Africa. He plays a key role in the global confrontation with the West, which supports Ukraine. The Russian presence in Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan allows Moscow to control most of this region.
Author: Abdel Rahman Shalgam (عبد الرحمن شلقم)Abdel Rahman Shalgam is a former Libyan Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative of Libya to the UN.
