𝐁𝐢𝐳a𝐢𝐧 𝐫é𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐮 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧!

During the French President’s visit this week, the issue of our sovereignty over Tromelin must be raised . We have always maintained that any agreement on the co-management of the island with France should not prejudice our claim of sovereignty.

𝑨 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 …..

Extracts from Lalit’s post “Macron visits Republic of Mauritius this week – in context of all dangers”

“While France still illegally occupies the Mauritian Island Tromelin, President Macron is paying a visit to Mauritius. The visit comes at a time when France is in political tail-spin and economic doldrums, while its armed forces have been unceremoniously booted out of four or five countries in West Africa, one after the other….When France has found itself without a foreign policy, it has suddenly remembered its old former, former colony, Mauritius. “What can we do there?” As usual, there are people in the State here, not to mention in the upper classes, that are grovelling Francophiles. …..

To jump to the end of British rule, in the 1960’s, there was a lot of PMSD-led agitation against Independence, funded by the sugar oligarchs and supported by sections of the Press and Church. The agitation included an element of coincidental agitation around a “Plan B” to separate Rodrigues from Mauritius in the case of Independence. France was supposed to be behind it all, as it were, lying in wait to grab Rodrigues, and add Rodrigues to its Reunion garrison colony, the Comoros that they sent mercenaries to attempt to steal in whole but only succeeded in part (Mayotte) and that was illegal, Madagascar’s Iles Eparses that is now known to have oil and gas reserves, and of course Tromelin that France has continued to colonize, even decades after Mitterand’s electoral program said Tromelin is Mauritian and France would withdraw. When Macron was last due to visit in April, LALIT drew attention to the French bosses’ association torpedoing a plan to negotiate over “co-gestion” of Tromelin.* Curiously, when Macron did not come, himself, he was represented, horror of horrors, by France’s Minister of Colonies, Ministère de la France d'Outre-mer, not their Foreign Affairs Minister! The bad smell of French colonialism still comes out like this kind of silent “bourde”…..

Anyway, nothing came of the “Plan B” around Independence. But the agitation was there…..the “Plan B” had also never really disappeared altogether. It has instead remained like a recurrent bad smell.”

𝑨 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 …

Extracts from the same Lalit’s article:

"All this to say, France was influential in Mauritian politics, and still considers Mauritius a sort-of “dependence” of some kind, a special little Francophone toy that from time to time, France recalls and attempts to valorize.

Last time a French President visited, it was Francois Mitterand in 1990, and there was a peaceful demonstration at what is now the Trianon Roundabout that was violently suppressed by the Police, who moved in, grabbed pancartes and generally shoved people around. The police also got manhandled. It was a dark moment for democracy.

Now, in 2024-25, while Diego Garcia is being sold off to the UK-USA first by the Jugnauth regime and now by the Ramgoolam-Bérenger-Subron-Duval one, the Republic of Mauritius’ territorial integrity is being ripped apart. This time it is not just by the imperialist colonizers but with the consent of the now-much-hated Mauritian leaders in the dratted alliance voted in 60-0 just one year ago."

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒆, 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒐

Extract from today’s l’express:

"Dans une déclaration au Parlement en 2008, le Premier ministre Ramgoolam avait précisé que la question de souveraineté était distincte de l’idée de cogestion. C'est ce qu’il explique au nouveau président français, Nicolas Sarkozy. Pour les Mauriciens, la cogestion ne s'applique qu'à l'exploitation en commun des ressources marines de leurs eaux territoriales. Lors d'une réunion du Parlement, Paul Bérenger, alors leader de l’opposition, avait demandé au Premier ministre de bien faire comprendre aux autorités françaises que «cogestion ou pas cogestion, il n'est pas question que cela ait un impact sur notre revendication de souveraineté."

Surely , Ton Paulo va être à la hauteur de nos espoirs !

𝑬𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒏𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒑𝒖 𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒓 𝒌𝒊 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏 𝒗𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒏? 𝑬𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝑳𝒂 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒑𝒖 𝒌𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚é 𝒌𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒕𝒖𝒓 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏?