MOVIMIENTO DE TIERRAS

Decolonisation in French Africa was closely linked to the Free French realities of World War II and the post-war interpretation of these realities by both French and African leaders. While French West Africa (AOF) sided with Vichy France at the start of the war, French Equatorial Africa (AEF) rallied to de Gaulle. Brazzaville became the capital of Free France. Most Free French Forces were African conscripts who eventually participated in the liberation of metro- politan France.9 _{As in World War I, massive African conscription was obtained}

on the quid pro quo ‘blood for rights’. In the Brazzaville declaration of 1944, de Gaulle promised the colonial subjects more liberties after the war, notably the abolition of the indigénat, which would be replaced by a citizenship in a French Union, a promise kept during the slow but gradual process of decolonisation.10

The first elections where African candidates could present themselves to an African electorate were those for the Constitutional Assembly that drafted the constitution of the Fourth Republic and its colonial dependencies in October 1945.11 _{Soudan Français elected Fily Dabo Sissoko as its territorial represent-}

ative. The political process that saw the creation of the French Fourth Republic also restyled the colonial empire into the Union Française that came into being in October 1946. The indigénat was abolished, a principal demand of the African representatives, and replaced by a citizenship of the new French Union. The Overseas Territories could create their own assemblies, first called Conseils Généraux and later Assemblées Territoriales, with growing competencies over the decade to come. Its members were elected by a gradually expanding electo- rate. Along with the creation of territorial assemblies in this post-war decoloni- sation process came the freedom to create political parties.

In February 1956, the French overseas territories entered a new phase to- wards independence. First, the Loi Gaston Deferre that sought to clear the road for reform of the Union Française was adopted. These reforms took shape in the loi-cadre, adopted later that same month. The loi-cadre was in fact a frame- work for a series of laws, many of which were initiated by African senators, that provided internal autonomy to the colonies within the Union Française through

9 _{Mann, G. 2006.}

10 _{Ageron, C-R., ed., 1986. I here follow a more or less standard interpretation on the} effects of WWII on French decolonisation. For a more elaborate view on the ‘blood for rights’ and the subsequent creation of a historical discourse of debt, see Mann, G. 2006.

enlargement of the competencies of the territorial assemblies, the institution of universal (territorial) suffrage, and the decentralisation and africanization of the administration. The Assemblées Territoriales now held voting power over the territorial budget and internal economic and social policies. In the meantime, colonial subjects would acquire many of the rights of metropolitan citizens, al- though they never gained full French citizenship on the same basis as their metropolitan counterparts in the Union.

But while the demand for it grew stronger independence was still not reached. During his African tour in August 1958, de Gaulle proposed to reform the Union Française, together with the French Republic, which was nearing its fifth incarnation. The new Communauté Française would hold the same powers as the Union Française, but the former territories would formally become independent republics, with authority over most domains, with the notable ex- ceptions of foreign policy, defence and finance. A referendum on the consti- tution of the Fifth Republic, to be held in September 1958, would be decisive on the membership of the new republics. Voting in favour of the Communauté Française would mean a vote for continued partial dependency. A vote against the Communauté would mean direct independence. With the exception of Guinée, all territories opted for inclusion in the new Communauté Française. In November 1958, the colony Soudan Français was transformed into the Répu- blique Soudanaise, member republic of the Communauté Française, with its own Assembly and a ministerial cabinet presided over by the Governor, but manned by Soudanese politicians.

The creation of the Communauté Française and its adhering republics meant dissolution of the supra-territorial organisation of AOF, which many West African political leaders, in fact many West Africans in general, saw as a de- cisive setback.12 _{Daouda Gary-Tounkara has argued that the transfer of power}

from the federal structure of French West Africa to the various semi indepen- dent republics was seen by many of the federation’s inhabitants and leading politicians as a form of political divide and rule, as to many French West Africans, the federation had more political, social and economic meaning than its constituent territories.13 _{The dissolution of AOF was a disappointment for}

most who had hoped that their territories would remain united. Therefore, a new form of regional integration was looked for: a Francophone West African Fede- ration. The Union Soudanaise – Rassemblement Démocratique Africaine (US- RDA) took a leading role in its shaping.

Within the West Africa-wide RDA there were two visions on the form federalism should take. The first, advocated by the US-RDA under Modibo

12 _{Based on Gam, P. 1965. CHEAM 4022.} 13 _{Gary-Tounkara, D. 2008.}

Keita and the Senegalese PDS under Leopold Sedar Senghor, advocated a West African federation of states, independent from France. The Ivorian PDCI-RDA under Houphouët-Boigny opted for a West African federation associated to and in close collaboration with metropolitan France. In December 1958, the RDA organised a Federal Council in Bamako. Delegations from Soudan Français, Senegal, Dahomey (Benin) and Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) voted in favour of the independent federalist option. But Houphouët-Boigny had effectively lob- bied for his own form of federation with France. Shortly after the Bamako con- ference, Dahomey and Upper Volta opted out to join Houphouët’s Entente Africaine, leaving Soudan Français and Senegal alone on the road to federal independence.

In February 1959, Soudan Français and Senegal formed the Mali federation, within the Communauté Française. Both republics would preserve their legal existence as such, but a federal government and assembly were to be created in Dakar, holding power over supra-territorial affairs. In many respects, the federa- tion seemed a continuation of the federal structures of the AOF. The main goal of the federation was to achieve common independence form France. In April 1960, the federation leaders reached an agreement with France over its exist- ence as an independent federation outside the Communauté Française. The Mali Federation declared its independence on June 20 that year, but it proved to be short-lived. Conflicts arose over the political course of the Federation. Whereas the US-RDA under Modibo Keita adopted a rigid standpoint on Marxist Socialism as the basis of economic policy, Senghor’s African Socialism was far more moderate. Where the US-RDA took a stance against French foreign policy, notably on the Algerian war of liberation, Senghor’s PDS was more reconciliatory. Personal enmity between Keita and Senghor and a conflict over the presidency over the federation did the rest. The elections for the federal presidency were to be held on 27 August 1960, but on 20 August 1960, two months after its formal independence from France, and the start of its existence as an international sovereign federal state, Senegal left the Mali federation. Soudanese politicians in Dakar, including Modibo Keita, were arrested and put on the train to Bamako. In response, the Soudanese Government closed the borders and halted all transport to Senegal. On 22 September 1960, an extra- ordinary congress of the US-RDA in Bamako declared the independence of the Soudanese Republic under the name Republic of Mali. Mali as we now know it came into existence.