Fear of China pushes EU nations to act

France President Emmanuel Macron, in his speech at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda on May 27, said, “Only those who went through that night can perhaps forgive, and in doing so give the gift of forgiveness.” By saying so, he recognised France’s complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which 8,00,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. A day later, Germany apologised to Namibia over the colonial-era genocide against the people of the Herero and Nama tribes. Germany promised Namibia reparations worth €1.1 billion— It took five years to conclude these talks.

The apologies and the promises of reparations to the African nations by their former colonisers could be dubbed as a watershed moment in the continent’s history— closing a dark chapter of the historical injustices of slavery, genocide, colonialism and dependency politics. But this could be misleading. There is an “unseen force” in Africa which is challenging the West’s monopoly over the continent’s markets and this is driving a behavioural change in Europe’s interactions with Africa This unseen force is China, which is content with the lack of spotlight received so far.

China is the second-largest importer of African goods— the first being the European Union. Beijing has invested in high-value infrastructure projects in all African nations except Swaziland and these include a high-speed railway project in Kenya, the headquarters of the African Union, parliament buildings and mining projects— The Chinese are ubiquitous in the continent. Its soft power too has increased over time. There are over 54 Confucius centres in the African nations and many schools have incorporating Mandarin in their curriculum. China is in Africa for the long haul.

After a free trade area was enabled this year, there are more players in Africa and the nations there have the freedom to choose who they do business with. This has enabled the African nations to hold their former masters accountable for rampant economic, ecological and physical abuse that their forefathers suffered. The Chinese never lets them forget this. Beijing does not fail to highlight the abusive practices of European nations in Africa in the past, while it conducts business with the African countries. This has driven the European Union nations to better their ties with the African nations by public statements of apology, constituting fact-finding committees and giving reparations— this will be the new norm in Europe’s interaction with Africa.

Before his speech at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Macron acknowledged the torture and killing of Algerian freedom fighter Ali Boumendjel. The killing was earlier covered up as a suicide. Algeria over time has increased its diplomatic engagements with China, apart from being a part of China’s belt and road initiative. Algiers is the third-largest recipient of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in Africa. Considering Algeria’s proximity to Southern Europe and Algeria being the origin of the central extension of the trans-Mediterranean corridor from Europe to Southern Africa, the country is crucial for Europe.

In the near future, we could see Macron offering similar apologies or recognise the crimes committed in Senegal (Thiaroye massacre), Madagascar, Cameroon, Chad and Morocco. We could also see Germany extending its apologies to Tanzania and Burundi. Geopolitics aside, this could be the start of a new wave of holding the European nations accountable and responsible for their crimes committed in Africa. The victims could be offered justice by reparations and stripping the titles of the murders and by adding an ounce of truth in the popular culture.

With regards to geopolitics, this not-so-sudden apology train chugging along Africa is not pulled by the engines of ethics and morality. If it was so, it would’ve been done in the 18th century. Rather the apology train is driven by core national interests and the fear of China dominating Europe’s African peripheries.

The dragon’s rise in Africa is a bittersweet one. On one hand, it is forcing open discourse of holding European nations accountable for their historical injustices, on the other, the strings attached with each Chinese deal comes with a dear price such as isolating Taiwan (only 3 African countries recognise Taiwan) or voting in favour of China in the United Nations. African nations must make the choice between a so-called reformed colonizer and an adventurist genie.

(The writer is a final year masters student from the University of Hyderabad)