French President Hollande urges African leaders to “respect rules”
July 3, 2015, 9:48 am

French President Francoise Hollande with his Benin counterpart Thomas Boni Yayi on 2 July 2015 [Image: elysee.fr]

“We witnessed it again in Burkina Faso. Today in Burundi we are seeing the consequences. When these (constitutional) rules are not respected, are not shared, then there are risks and there are consequences,” Hollande told reporters in Benin at the start of a two-day African visit.

He was referring to the unrest in Burundi where more than 70 people have been killed in two months of protests and a failed coup attempt sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s defiant bid for a third term.

Benin’s President Boni Yayi has pledged to respect the constitution and not seek a third term next year, in stark contrast to other heads of state on the continent who have struggled to let go of power.

Hollande is visiting Benin, Angola and Cameroon.

“France is thinking of its security, because what happens in Africa has consequences in Europe … So by ensuring the fight against terrorism with our African friends, we are protecting ourselves,” Hollande said referring to France’s military intervention in Africa, from the anti-terrorist operation in Mali and the Sahel to safeguarding civilians in CAR.

French President François Hollande landed in Angola on Thursday for a one-day state visit to the oil-rich African nation on the second leg of a whistle-stop three-nation tour.

The constitution of Angola was changed in 2010, allowing current President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos – in power for nearly 36 years – to stand in 2012 and 2017 elections.

Neighbouring Burkina Faso was hit by violent unrest last year when former president Blaise Compaore tried to change the constitution to extend his 27-year rule.

Bo Mbindwane, a South African business leader and geo-political analyst described Hollande’s prescription for Africa as a “paternal prism”.

“While it is unthinkable that an African Head of State could opine over a European country’s laws or activities, however, time and again European leaders still find it their duty to parent Africa,” Mbindwane told The BRICS Post.

“Before Africa can build robust institutions of democracy, France and Britain must let go of her. The African Union must be recognized as an equal to the European Union and not a junior member of world bodies. Often when a European nation interferes in Africa, things become worse than they were. France should defer the matter to the AU and the African Eastern bloc under the President of Tanzania on maters of Burundi. That is what Africa needs from Mr Hollande,” he added.

TBP and Agencies