THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED
Aljazeera, CNN, BBC, Reuters, France 24 and other media agencies referred to Egyptian protest action as a revolution. Broadcast programming was thrown out of the window. Motion cameras rolled and got affixed permanently on Cairo’s Tahrir Square to capture historic moment, as the world’s eyes were glued on televised revolution.
Interestingly, United Nations and African Union enthusiasm was incomparable to their Ivory Coast reaction. Western governments encouraged protesters to entertain themselves with songs in Tahrir Square. This was because their demands did not threaten economic power relations in Egypt. Class power relations, ethnic stratum and colonial bonds remain intact. Structures of imperialism are terrified to televise unfolding contradictions in Ivory Coast because the people of Ivory Coast are threatening the foundation of imperial interests hence Sarkozy is spitting fire. Ban Ki-moon will not talk orderly transition but war in Ivory Coast contrary to his peace mandate.
Protesters in Egypt were merely demanding slave wage jobs and minor constitutional reforms. They were seeking removal of the individual, Hosni Mubarak. They did not want to uproot the institutional foundations of their oppression. They accepted Mubarak’s right hand man and his former head of intelligence, Omar Suleiman. Suleiman held daily telephonic conference with Zionists state agencies. Protesters naively called for American trained and commanded military to supervise Suleiman. The military immediately affirmed the status quo by instructing the previous cabinet to do its work.
The Zionist and American securocrats have long anticipated revolution in Western Asia and North Africa hence the appetite to attack Iran. Securocrats saw Iran as big brother of Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas hence part of the so called “axis of evil”. Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Iranian agenda is dangerous to Zionism and American interest. Televising the protest on minute by minute was tactically intended to take a wind out of agenda driven leadership by romanticizing American trusted military.
American parrot UN did not disappoint by repeating Obama’s orderly transition statement on Egypt. Orderly transition means there should be no demand for self-determination. Ban Ki-moon then called for military action against the people of Ivory Coast. UN sanctioned military action, France supervised financial sabotage and EU driven economic restrictions are designed to suppress people’s demand for right to self-determination. Egypt saw protest action and Ivory Coast is seeing defiance action. The defiant Ivory Coast can only measure its revolutionary success through its ability to declare its sovereignty.
Sovereignty is exercising social, economic and political control. People of Ivory Coast have no control. Control of Ivory Coast is held by France through colonial pact. Colonial pact gives France right to determine monetary policy, authority to invest 85% of country’s revenue as its own treasury money, first right of refusal on Ivory Coast’s mineral resources to French companies and ring-fencing of Government contract for French companies. France is even clandestinely deciding on Ivory Coast political leadership.
People of Ivory Coast are determined to set themselves free of French imperialism, which is the mentality that got Thomas Sankara killed by France and Blaise Compaore. The siege on Golf Hotel, seizure of branch of reserve bank, nationalization of four imperialist bank infrastructures and action against Western diplomats are evidence of that determination.
Revolution is fundamental change. There is fundamental change in Ivory Coast while the status quo remains in Egypt and Tunisia. Real revolution will not be instantaneous neither will it be televised.
By Sbusiso Xaba