April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

around, forms of resistance are developing at both local and national
levels. Civic awareness has increased over the last few years and people no
longer will allow themselves to be played for suckers. They no longer want
solutions imposed on them that worsen the problems they are facing. In
Senegal today and every day spontaneous demonstrations are taking place
throughout the country against decisions taken by government
representatives in Dakar or at the local level, decisions by a government
that cannot handle the situation because of budgetary restrictions on
education, health, drainage or public lighting. For example, power cuts
take place every day in every part of Senegal. I left home in the dark
because the government is incapable of meeting the demand for
electricity; public services are declining in the hospitals; there are
recurring strikes in the education system because the government has not
been able to meet the teachers’ demands for better working or
environmental conditions. This is the context in which the World Social
Forum took place. We think that this is an appropriate time for sharpening
the resistance against these disastrous policies imposed on us by the IMF
(International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank – and also to increase
pressure on the government that is acting as their accomplices instead of
meeting its responsibilities.
Therefore, we hope that the forum will provide an occasion for increasing
the awareness of our citizens and strengthening the convergence between
the social movements and the political parties, as we do have progressive
political parties that are struggling for different policies and putting
forward alternative solutions. This will be a good opportunity for seeing to
what extent the convergence between the political parties and the social
movement could ensure the transformation for which we are hoping.
ROSA MOUSSAUOI AND CHANTAL DELMAS: You spoke of this resistance to
budgetary austerity but also of resistance to imperialism. What does
‘resistance to imperialism’ mean in a country like Senegal 50 years after
independence?
DEMBA MOUSSA DEMBELE: So far the discourse of Western countries on
Africa has been an arrogant, condescending and sermonising one. Take, for
example, the organisation of elections. The Western countries set the
criteria; they send their observers to say ‘We can certify that all went
well’ or ‘In our view the elections did not take place in accordance with
international standards’ – according to their standards. Thus they continue
to tell us how to behave, how to run our elections, what democracy and
human rights mean and what policies to carry out. They claim this is to fit
us into the world economic system. All these, in my view, are signs of
imperialism – quite apart from their military interventions. For example,
the French intervention to save Idris Deby, or their military bases in Africa,
which are there to remind us that, while basically we are independent,
France still remains, in a way, the boss in many African countries.
Moreover, there is also American imperialism at work.
ROSA MOUSSAUOI AND CHANTAL DELMAS: Obama’s arrival has not really
changed the image of American imperialism, and yet his election had
raised hope of this.
DEMBA MOUSSA DEMBELE: Many Africans thought that with Obama America
would change the way it sees the African continent, its relations with the
continent and that there would even be a massive influx of capital towards
Africa. In fact, nothing has changed! On the contrary, Barack Obama is
pursuing George Bush’s AFRICOM (Africa Command) project of installing
military bases in Africa, ostensibly to fight terrorism and strengthen the
capacity of African armies. He is trying to do this now because George