[The following article is reprinted from the July 8-14 issue of Rouge, weekly newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR), French section of the Fourth International. The translation is by Intercontinental Press.]
An escalation that is as dangerous as it is contrary to the interests of the peoples. These words are not too strong to characterize the process France is plunging into by intervening in Chad. Our rulers have decided to get openly involved in supporting one of the two factions going at each other. In this they are fully taking upon themselves the tradition of the Fifth Republic, which has been to want Africa to be the game preserve of one of the foremost imperialist powers on the planet.
The whole gamut of neocolonial expeditions is being carried out today. They have established a veritable air bridge to furnish the authorities in Ndjamena with fifty tons per day of some of the most modern and sophisticated weapons.
"Civilian experts" have been sent in to "advise" Hissène Habré's forces. To avoid the problem of getting bogged down on the ground, Paris is transferring responsibility for ground action to African governments that are closely tied to it - first and foremost the government of Zaire. For example, Zaire's 31st Paratroop Brigade — which has been trained and led by French officers for years — has just landed in Chad's capital. This action cannot but remind one of the intervention in Zaire itself a few years ago by an inter-African force (including Senegalese and Moroccan troops in particular).
Furthermore, this whole operation is receiving logistical support from Washington. We now know that the Americans have stepped up their satellite surveillance of northern Chad and have been forwarding the information they gather to the French foreign ministry.
To justify their policies, our leaders argue that there is a Libyan threat in this area. The explanation does not stand up to an examination of the facts. In the final analysis, Tripoli is acting in the same manner as Paris. In recent years the two capitals have alternately sup-
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ported all the figures in this interminable "war of chiefs": Goukouni, Habré, and Kamoungue.
In reality, the Mitterrand government's commitment is dictated by a single consideration: to preserve at all costs the neocolonial agreements that tie Chad to France within the franc zone. Moreover, the Mitterrand government wants to prevent an upset of the fragile balance in this region, which would inevitably have repercussions on the stability of all the local oligarchies.
Within this context, and to the extent that they refuse to challenge our country's status as an imperialist power, the group in office can hardly escape military adventures. As Le Monde correctly noted on July 3: "The president of the Republic cannot help but be mindful of the tendency of certain heads of state to play off Washington against Paris. • If France lost its political credibility in the eyes of its African allies, it would also feel the economic repercussions of this setback on a continent where its influence remains considerable.
When they were not in power, the Socialist and Communist parties condemned the expeditions that President Giscard mounted on the other side of the Mediterranean. The [SP's] Projet socialiste itself asserted that "France must not snuff out the rights of peoples. " In resuming the practices of the previous regime, the government flouts one of the most fundamental rights of peoples: the right to take their own destiny in hand.
No working-class or democratic activist or organization can remain silent. We must forcefully demand an end to the direct and indirect interventions in Africa. We must demand the withdrawal of all the French expeditionary troops stationed in various countries on that continent. We must demand the cancellation of the military cooperation agreements that enable men like Hissène Habré to now call for the intervention of French soldiers in battle.
It is all the more necessary that we react and express the demand for a different policy because France's present commitment in Chad costs hundreds of millions. All this money profits only a corrupt clique, with an extremely limited base in the population, and some multinational firms.
The peoples of Chad, who are already victims of a conflict over which they have no control, will get no improvement in their conditions of existence from it.
As for the French workers, they will have to foot the bill, which will further worsen the effects of the austerity policy.