Adama Coulibaly | Dynamique Unitaire Panafricaine

Dear Comrades,
The Pan-African Unitary Dynamic (DUP) is honored to once again take part in this international conference in Caracas, dedicated to the themes “Comuna o Nada” and “Anti-Imperialism and Anti-Fascism.”

Africa, like South America, has long endured the torments and barbarity of imperialism—and, in more recent times, the predatory and degrading dictates of the capitalist institutions of Bretton Woods, the IMF, and the World Bank. Today, these same forces are imposing fascism and war upon us. Our concerns and our struggle are shared.

The DUP brings together more than twenty African and Afro-descendant organizations—political, civic, and associative—from the continent, from territories still under French colonial rule, and from the diaspora. Our struggle aims to free the continent from all forms of domination and to rebuild a united, sovereign, and prosperous Africa—serving the peoples of Africa in active solidarity with other nations, for a peaceful world at the service of humanity.

We stand for a pan-Africanism that is anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, revolutionary, and sovereignist. We reaffirmed this commitment at the Dakar International Conference, through the voices of our comrades who outlined the state of the struggle across different countries.

This conference takes place amid a global context marked by the madness of a system in deep crisis—a system seeking to survive by any means necessary: provoking conflicts, destroying the environment, spreading terrorism, and globalizing war in all its forms. War has always been the imperialist-capitalist system’s way of resolving crises, turning the people into cannon fodder. Yet, the peoples have always resisted—and they stand for peace.

Comrades,
Like the Caribbean, Venezuela, and other parts of the world, Africa remains one of the main victims of the destabilizing and criminal actions of this system of domination, which destroys all values other than profit.
Let us remember: Africa has been treated as a sordid testing ground for over four centuries, ravaged by continuous wars of occupation designed to enslave and exploit its labor, exterminate its peoples, and plunder its resources. Africa lives under a state of permanent war—too often ignored by the rest of the world, eliciting little solidarity beyond the African and Afro-descendant diasporas.

Yes, Africa—a vast continent, rich in peoples and resources—has been deeply scarred by nearly five centuries of the slave trade, during which tens of millions of men and women were scattered across the globe to contribute to the accumulation of Western capital. Tens of millions more perished in armed and unarmed resistance, through Arab slave raids, and on the horrific voyages across the Atlantic.

These massacres continued with the partition of Africa at the Berlin Conference of 1884–85: through colonial wars of invasion, forced labor, the conscription of youth as cannon fodder in the two imperialist world wars, and the establishment of neo-colonial puppet regimes.

Political and armed resistance, both past and present, has been led by patriots, sovereignists, and independence activists—many of whom were eliminated by imperialism: Toussaint Louverture in Haiti; Patrice Lumumba in Congo; Barthélémy Boganda in Central Africa; Ruben Um Nyobé, Félix Moumié, and Ernest Ouandié in Cameroon; Sylvanus Olympio in Togo; Amílcar Cabral in Guinea-Bissau; Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso; and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

Imperialism and its local allies have flooded countries with weapons and divided communities, often resorting to genocide—as in Congo under King Leopold II, which cost over ten million lives, or in Rwanda, where nearly one million were killed and the violence spilled into the DRC, claiming fifteen million more over the past three decades. The U.S.–DRC agreement signed this year has done nothing to end this ongoing genocide.

A new imperialist war offensive is underway in Africa, led by NATO—imperialism’s armed wing. This new campaign of subjugation and recolonization intensified after the destruction of Libya and the assassination of Gaddafi, the arming of militias, and the spread of deadly terrorism throughout the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea. Added to this are civil wars in Sudan and rebellions in the DRC.

The resistance of young people and the masses has emerged powerfully across many countries, uniting around slogans against imperialist domination, against the plunder of wealth, and for sovereignty. Recent developments—such as the regime change in Senegal through the ballot box and the flight of Madagascar’s president in the face of the Gen Z movement—show this growing popular will. As usual, French imperialism exfiltrated its puppets, just as it did with Blaise Compaoré in 2014.

In the Sahel, imperialism amassed an armada of heavy weapons and tens of thousands of troops under the G5 Sahel framework—supposedly to fight terrorism. It was a total failure. Terrorism spread, the people rose, and NATO forces were expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad.
These new military regimes came to power on the wave of popular protest—expressing hope and the will of the people. Their anti-imperialist and sovereignist measures include:

• The expulsion of NATO military forces (French, European, and U.S. armies) from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
• The denunciation of colonial agreements and unfair contracts, especially with France.
• The diversification of diplomatic and economic partnerships based on mutual respect.
• Strengthening military cooperation with Russia and other partners.
• Breaking from ECOWAS, exploited by imperialism.
  
• Pooling resources through the AES and its Confederation for common defense and diplomacy.
• The nationalization of strategic sectors and the pursuit of bold economic projects amid the ongoing war on terrorism.
  These actions—long demanded by generations of activists and youth—resonate across Africa and the world. Yet, we must not overlook the weaknesses and authoritarian tendencies of these new regimes, which risk undermining progress and giving imperialism new pretexts for attack.
  
  As Frantz Fanon and Amílcar Cabral warned, the petty bourgeoisie must undergo “class suicide” in favor of revolution and socialism. The social base of these regimes remains fragile; in several countries, anti-imperialist leaders and trade unionists have been repressed or disappeared.
  
  Long-standing anti-imperialist activists must not be targeted—they are a vital resource in mobilizing popular forces for liberation. Extrajudicial executions, especially against the Fulani community, endanger social cohesion and unity, which are essential for victory over terrorism and imperialist domination.
  
  We must forge revolutionary unity of action to defend our peoples and leaders—the only enduring way to weaken imperialism, which must also be fought within its own centers of power.
  
  The DUP continues to unite determined pan-Africanist and anti-imperialist organizations in support of the growing struggles across Africa. The imperialist powers and their local proxies are responding with sabotage, repression, terrorism, and military escalation—now involving Ukrainian drones and mercenaries in the Sahel.
  
  Our “communes,” the member organizations of the DUP, represent resistance movements across Africa and the Afro-descendant world. Without these organizations, our struggle would not have the impact it has today.
  Together with the peoples of Africa, we are working to reclaim full sovereignty and unity, to end capitalist plunder and exploitation, and to ensure that all foreign and UN troops leave African soil.
  
  This goal—liberation and progress for all peoples—can only be achieved through concrete internationalist solidarity in the struggle against capitalism and imperialism. We are ready for this united struggle with comrades across all continents.
  This is not only a political and economic fight, but an ideological one. The militarization of capitalism goes hand in hand with the rise of fascism in imperialist countries and their zones of influence. The political and ideological education of youth, women, and workers is essential to counter it.
  
  The DUP prioritizes this educational work and welcomes collaboration with other anti-imperialist organizations to share experiences and strengthen our collective struggle.
  We are committed to building strong ties with all forces working to create a world based on solidarity—one in which no nation dominates another, where the right of peoples to self-determination becomes a living reality, and where peace and cooperation prevail.

Long live active solidarity among peoples and their true representatives!
Against war and fascism, for peace—the workers and peoples of the world will prevail!
Nan lara, an sara! (If you lie down, you are dead!)
Only struggle liberates!
Official Speech Presented at the International Conference on the Political Situation in Guinea