As if we need further proof that no amount of French cultural centers in Africa can justify colonialism and its devastating long-lasting effects, please follow the recent mess of dollar-stuffed djembe drums and euro-embedded art posters. There is an abridged cover in the http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/11/jacques-chirac-african-cash-claim?INTCMP=SRCH and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14878109 The real salacious details are in the French press http://www.lejdd.fr/Politique/Actualite/L-avocat-Robert-Bourgi-raconte-comment-il-a-convoye-jusqu-a-l-Elysee-les-millions-des-chefs-d-Etat-africains-interview-387001/?from=headlines of how African leaders, Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal), Omar Bongo (Gabon), Laurent Gbagbo (Cote d'Ivoire), Blaise Compaore (Burkina Faso) and Denis Sassou Nguesso (Congo-Brazzaville) allegedly paid direct cash of around USD10 millions to Dominique de Villepin and former president Jacques Chirac for the 2002 elections in France. Money that the party treasurer claim not to have seen too.
The astonishing detail of events of this widely known Francafrique modus operandi, but never before exposed in such staggering way and by a key personality in French-Africa politics, Robert Bourgi, has left a lot of people dumbfounded as well as repulsed. The places, methods, currencies, pseudo names used, and the grovelling manner that these leaders have shown while propping up Chirac and de Villepin are bad news. Robert Bourgi seems to be backed by the current power brokers in French politics. In a soon to be released book, La République des mallettes, [rough transl. The republic of briefcases], Michel de Bonnecorse argued that current president Nicolas Sarkozy, received remnants of the suitcases, that were not delivered to Chirac and de Villepin. Bourgi, who is close to the current president, is seen as using the current revelation to divert attention off Sarkozy.
Recently Robert Bourgi caused an uproar in Senegal some months ago when he disclosed Karim Wade, Abdoulaye Wade's son, called him in the middle of the night, at the thick of riots against power failures in the country, if he could intercede with the French government so that the French military forces based in Senegal could intervene. The shock of foreign military intervention being called by Karim Wade, Monsieur le Ministre d'Etat, Ministre de la Coopération internationale, des Transports aériens, des Infrastructures et de l'Energie (we don't need to be versed in Moliere to fathom that kind of convoluted position could cause diarrhoea) was damaging to say the least, particularly for a personality not considered by the populace as being local enough. Why Robert Bourgi, an apprentice of Jacques Foccart, bred in the mess for ages, has decided to come out with these revelations now is being discussed, but his explanations that it is part of the new hope for French-Africa relations, certainly does not convince a lot of people.
May be it will end up as a film to be shown at one of those cultural centers, rather than as continued real-life misery for the millions of Africans who need the money that they are doling out to French politicians.
Sulaiman Adebowale BP 5637 Dakar-Fann Dakar Senegal
The astonishing detail of events of this widely known Francafrique modus operandi, but never before exposed in such staggering way and by a key personality in French-Africa politics, Robert Bourgi, has left a lot of people dumbfounded as well as repulsed. The places, methods, currencies, pseudo names used, and the grovelling manner that these leaders have shown while propping up Chirac and de Villepin are bad news. Robert Bourgi seems to be backed by the current power brokers in French politics. In a soon to be released book, La République des mallettes, [rough transl. The republic of briefcases], Michel de Bonnecorse argued that current president Nicolas Sarkozy, received remnants of the suitcases, that were not delivered to Chirac and de Villepin. Bourgi, who is close to the current president, is seen as using the current revelation to divert attention off Sarkozy.
Recently Robert Bourgi caused an uproar in Senegal some months ago when he disclosed Karim Wade, Abdoulaye Wade's son, called him in the middle of the night, at the thick of riots against power failures in the country, if he could intercede with the French government so that the French military forces based in Senegal could intervene. The shock of foreign military intervention being called by Karim Wade, Monsieur le Ministre d'Etat, Ministre de la Coopération internationale, des Transports aériens, des Infrastructures et de l'Energie (we don't need to be versed in Moliere to fathom that kind of convoluted position could cause diarrhoea) was damaging to say the least, particularly for a personality not considered by the populace as being local enough. Why Robert Bourgi, an apprentice of Jacques Foccart, bred in the mess for ages, has decided to come out with these revelations now is being discussed, but his explanations that it is part of the new hope for French-Africa relations, certainly does not convince a lot of people.
May be it will end up as a film to be shown at one of those cultural centers, rather than as continued real-life misery for the millions of Africans who need the money that they are doling out to French politicians.
Sulaiman Adebowale BP 5637 Dakar-Fann Dakar Senegal
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