DJERBA,
Tunisia —
Facing calls to do more to resolve global crises, the world’s French-speaking
leaders met in
Tunisia Sunday to discuss growing instability and popular
discontent in Francophone Africa.
اضافة اعلان
The head of the 88-member International
Organization of Francophonie (IOF) bloc, Louise Mushikiwabo, said Saturday it
should strive to be a “link that can be used to prevent tensions from
degenerating into conflicts”.
But Senegalese civil society figure Alioune
Tine said the IOF has shown itself to be “totally powerless in the face of
fraudulent elections, third mandates (of African leaders), and military coups”
in Mali, Guinea, Chad, and Burkina Faso.
On Sunday, delegates at the conference on the
island of Djerba were to also attend workshops on the youth and women’s
entrepreneurship before an economic forum starts.
Ahead of the summit, Mushikiwabo told AFP
that “the defiance that we’re seeing among young people in francophone Africa
comes from political disillusionment” and frustrations over daily life.
The IOF, founded in 1970, aims to promote the
French language, develop economic cooperation and help mediate international
conflicts.
Many African leaders have expressed dismay at
the West’s rapid response to the war in Ukraine, in contrast to wars in their
own countries.
Macron said Saturday that the IOF should
reclaim its diplomatic role, and Paris later announced that it would seek to
take on the organization’s rotating presidency from 2024.
This year’s conference is a diplomatic boon
for Tunisian President
Kais Saied, whose government has faced international
criticism since a sweeping power grab last year in the only democracy to have
emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings.
Macron on Saturday alluded to concerns over
the country’s political future, saying that “fundamental freedoms were
intrinsic” to Tunisia’s “democratic achievements”.
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