See how France did not allow Burkina Faso get good weapons.

Since the wave of revolutionary coups spread across the Sahel region, all the hidden acts by France to undermine the Independence of African countries and subject them to conditions that would make them never grow have come to light. And the more we hear about them, the more we understand the anti-french sentiments that have spread with the wave of coups. We have heard of how France has protected its interest in Africa through covert operations such as assassinations, staging coups, and the use of the French media. All these actions have succeeded in plunging those African countries affected into chaos and instability which has inadvertently led to underdevelopment. But, that’s not all, a new revelation has come to light that France did not only seek to control the economy of African countries but also to control the military.
Did you know that aside from the ridiculous act of France forcing its 14 former colonies to keep their money in its Central bank, France also has the exclusive right to supply military equipment and training to the African military by deploying troops and intervening in African countries to defend France’s interests? Exclusive is the keyword. And remember Burkina Faso is part of those 14 African countries. The word exclusive means that If Burkina Faso or any of the other 14 African countries want to get military weapons, they would need to seek the permission of France first. Can you imagine that? A supposed independent nation needs the permission of another nation before it can get weapons to outfit that military. How then is that nation independent? If France wants to get weapons would it need the approval of the USA? Of course not, but this is what has been happening to Francophone Africa until countries like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger decided to break free.
In an exclusive interview with Sputnik Africa, the Burkinabe Defense Minister Kassoum Coulibaly confirmed this fact saying that “Burkina Faso used to rely on its traditional partners, who imposed their conditions on the country in terms of what military equipment to buy and from whom. According to the minister, Burkina Faso has a lot of military equipment acquired under unfavorable conditions imposed by its former partners. “We often bought very expensive equipment under these conditions. We have a lot of tanks that were purchased mainly because we were tied, very tied, to a partner who imposed on us what to take,” he explained.

If you are probably thinking why didn’t Burkina Faso decide to buy from other countries since France imposed conditions on them? Well according to Coulibaly, Burkina Faso couldn’t easily acquire Russian weapons because it had to get a sort of approval from its traditional partners. So, this means if France says no, then they simply cannot get weapons. How atrocious?
Thankfully, for Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali this practice by France has ended because as soon as the coup occurred one of the first things that happened was to end the defense agreement with France which gave France exclusive rights to supply military weapons, training of African soldiers and deploying French soldiers to the country. Once the defence pact ended the next thing that happened was the withdrawal of French troops from these countries. And

now Burkina Faso has the choice to to buy any kind of weapon from whoever they want to buy it from without needing any other countries’ approval.
Burkina Faso’s Defence Minister stressed this fact in his interview with Sputnik Africa saying that as of now, the country is free to choose its partners in all areas of cooperation, including military. He pointed out that Burkina Faso wants to provide its defense and security forces with the most efficient weapons and at the lowest cost. “But now that we have this freedom to make our choice, we will make the best choice possible. I won’t say what equipment, but there are already orders in progress [from Russia], that’s for sure,” he elaborated.
The minister further emphasized that Burkina Faso is committed to maintaining its sovereignty, ensuring that “it works with whom it wants and pays for equipment where it wants.” He noted that the country’s main priority in this area is to acquire equipment at a good price and with a guaranteed after-sales service so that it can be used for as long as possible. Speaking of military cooperation with Russia, the minister said that the cooperation is developing dynamically, and is expected to become even more open and direct.
He noted that Burkina Faso had always used Russian weapons and explained that as new weapons are developed in Russia, it is vital to guarantee that this new equipment “fits into the range of products we had because there are often problems with changing calibers.” However, Burkina Faso is not looking for particularly modern military equipment, but rather values weapons that have proven to be effective on the ground, he noted. He emphasised the robustness of Russian helicopters, stating that “if there is a problem, maintenance is ensured very easily.” This explains African countries’ current willingness to buy Russian helicopters and other military weapons, he says.
Ibrahim Traore also confirmed the military relationship with Russia, telling Sputnik Africa that military-technical cooperation between Russia and his country is developing “very well,” noting that Burkina Faso can always rely on the range of Russian weapons available for purchase to strengthen its armed forces in the fight against terrorism.
It’s certainly a wonderful development to hear that Burkina Faso has broken free militarily from France. Interestingly, the defense pact that gave France exclusive right to the military of the 14 African countries has been in operation since the independence of these countries and not one leader stood up to try and end this agreement except the coup leaders of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. France has truly lost and it’s no wonder they are trying to retaliate against these three countries. Regardless, we hope that African countries will continue to stand against any form of colonialism by the West.
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