Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko criticizes Western push for gay rights in his Country and questions the rationale for the dominance of Foreign Military presence in Senegal

By Jabez Yakah

In a wide-ranging speech by Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Thursday, he touched on several issues such as the possibility of closing down the French military base in Senegal, the euro-backed CFA franc currency, the oil and gas deals, and the LGBTQ rights.

Prime Minister Sonko gained power when his presidential candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye won a decisive victory in Senegal’s elections in March. He is very well known for criticizing perceived overreach by France in its former colony.

At a joint conference with French left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon in Dakar, Sonko said, “More than 60 years after our independence … we must question the reasons why the French army for example still benefits from several military bases in our country, and the impact of this presence on our national sovereignty and our strategic autonomy. I reiterate here the desire of Senegal to have its own control, which is incompatible with the lasting presence of foreign military bases in Senegal … Many countries have promised defense agreements, but this does not justify the fact that a third of the Dakar region is now occupied by foreign garrisons.”

Meanwhile, the likes of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger (Senegal’s neighbors) have pushed out French troops, turning to Russia for help to fight the jihadist insurgencies in their territories, forming their own alliance in the process since they have turned away from the ECOWAS bloc after the bloc condemned their coups.

“We will not let go of our brothers in the Sahel and we will do everything necessary to strengthen the ties,” Sonko added.

Continuing, he established that Senegal would like a flexible currency pegged to at least two currencies to help absorb shocks and to support export competitiveness.

President Faye, during the election campaigns, pledged to abandon the CFA franc but later backed off his promise.

Senegal’s oil production is set to begin this year. Prime Minister Sonko promised to also renegotiate the oil and gas contracts.

Furthermore, he called on Western countries to show “restraint, respect, reciprocity and tolerance” on social matters including LGBTQ rights and gender equality. He said homosexuality had always existed in Senegal, but the country had “managed” it and would continue to do so according to its socio-cultural realities.

“Senegal and many other African countries cannot accept any truth in legalizing this phenomenon,” he added.

Source: www.france24.com , Pic by Adobe Stock