Africa press review
In the spotlight: Russia-Ukraine, the caution of Africa
Audio 03:21
The UN General Assembly has long applauded the vote on the resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine on March 2, 2022. © AP - Seth Wenig
By: Norbert Navarro
3 mins
Advertising
“
Africa remains cautious
”, points out, in France, the daily
Le Figaro
.
This was clearly shown by the vote, the day before yesterday at the United Nations, of the non-binding resolution calling for the withdrawal of the Russian army from Ukraine and condemning the placing of the Russian nuclear force in a combat position.
Out of 35 abstentionist countries, in fact, 17 are African, including Morocco and Algeria, but also Cameroon, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
Eritrea even voted against.
And
Jeune Afrique
tries to explain "why" such an abstention of Africans at the UN (François Soudan and I will come back to this, this Sunday on our antennas, in "
La Une de
Jeune Afrique").
However, caution does not mean indifference.
Humanitarian concern, first, after the African Union had denounced the "
mistreatment
" of African nationals in this theater of war.
Thus in Niger, the newspaper
Mourya
urges the African Union to "
put in place a system that will take care of all Africans
(wanting) to
leave
(from Ukraine),
instead of letting each country manage to organize the exit of its nationals.
Because, there are countries which do not make themselves heard, simply because they do not have the means to ensure the departure of their nationals
”, points out
Mourya.
Economic concern too.
Thus, in Senegal, the daily
24 Heures
reports that in several West African countries, in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Mali and Mauritania, "
the 50 kg bag of wheat flour has significantly increased as well as the liter of oil and the kilo of potatoes
".
Russia-Ukraine: Gbagbo's call for awareness
Concern also in Mali as in Côte d'Ivoire, in the face of the war in Ukraine.
But a concern that invites reflection.
In Mali, intending to draw " lessons for Africa
" from the war in Ukraine
, Malikilé wishes to emphasize what this Malian newspaper calls "
the cynicism and hypocrisy of Westerners
(...)
who support dictatorships in Africa and the Middle East
".
Malikilé urges Africa above all not to align itself, to keep "
its neutrality
", which makes it "
a potential facilitator
", and underlines that the West "
refuses to support Ukraine militarily, after having manipulated it against the Russia
”.
Thinking about war in Ukraine?
This is the invitation of Laurent Gbagbo, who yesterday received his membership card from the party, the PPA-CI, which he created last October.
Indeed encouraging his activists to “
think about
it”, the former Ivorian president warned that the Ukrainian crisis was going to have “
implications for Africa
”, reports the daily
Le Temps.
Deeply concerned by the seriousness of the situation, Laurent Gbagbo stresses that "
even if the war stops, the poison of distrust
(between the five permanent members of the Security Council)
is such that the resolutions at the UN will be more difficult to take
,” he warns.
"
War is when you believe it is far away, when it is close, said the former Ivorian president
(…)
Everyone is concerned
”, he warned, we can still read in the columns of the daily
Le Temps.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Newspaper
Russia
Ukraine
mali
Ivory Coast
UN