novelnext Chapter 97 Africa is Africa for Africans
Chapter 97 Africa is Africa for Africans
Chapter 97 Africa is Africa for Africans
During the time of the colonel, Libya secretly initiated a nuclear program and attempted to acquire nuclear weapons.
After the outbreak of the Iraq War in 2003, Libya was forced by the international situation to abandon its nuclear program and accept inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency in exchange for the normalization of international relations.
Like Libya, Persia made the same choice in order to rejoin the international community.
Unfortunately, the cooperation between Libya and Persia did not bring national security to either country.
On the contrary, India, Pakistan, and North Korea, which have persisted in maintaining nuclear weapons despite international pressure, have at least to some extent ensured their national security.
Limited by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and its Additional Protocols, Libya is prohibited from developing nuclear weapons, but it has the right to peacefully use nuclear energy.
The Libyan government is in talks with East Asian companies regarding the Zawiya nuclear power plant project.
Libya will need to build at least four nuclear power plants in the future to meet the electricity needs of Libya and neighboring countries.
Since the Chad government still harbored unrealistic fantasies about war, Qin Rui was in no hurry and let Musa fight at his own pace.
This is based on practical considerations of Libya's national interests.
This is also the collective will of the Arab League.
Qin Rui was surprised by the enthusiasm that the Arab League had shown for the "tribal wars".
The Arab League not only provided Libya with full financial support, but when Saddam Hussein visited Riyadh, Crown Prince Shah proactively told him that Libya should make any requests, and the Arab League would use all its resources and do everything possible to meet Libya's needs.
To be fair, the Crown Prince's attitude did make Qin Rui feel a bit of "brotherly" affection.
It's only a little bit.
Compared to the cold-blooded ruthlessness of East Asia, the Crown Prince's attitude greatly increased Qin Rui's goodwill, but it also made Qin Rui more wary.
To paraphrase Churchill's overused quote: There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies between nations, only permanent interests.
True brothers won't stand idly by when their brother is being beaten.
Qin Rui has not forgotten how the Arab League took advantage of Libya's misfortune when the coalition forces bombed it.
Although the Arab League also has its own difficulties.
But as I said before, Qin Rui could understand, but he couldn't accept it.
The day after Barry was assassinated in the street, the Guinean government announced that, based on the illegal activities of foreign companies in Guinea, it would revoke their bauxite mining rights and nationalize all bauxite mines within Guinea.
The Guinean government also released a list of crimes committed by foreign companies operating in Guinea.
Foreign companies in Guinea are rife with tax evasion, smuggling, bribery, worker abuse, and predatory exploitation of Guinea's mineral resources.
Furthermore, they employ militants in an attempt to overthrow the Guinean government.
The illegal actions of foreign companies in Guinea not only seriously violated the rights and obligations stipulated in the contract, but also violated Guinean law.
While nationalizing bauxite mines, the Guinean government arrested thousands of Guineans who had ties to foreign companies in Guinea and is holding them legally accountable.
This group includes not only managers, supervisors, and thugs employed by foreign companies in Guinea, but also, and more importantly, Guinean government officials who collude with foreign companies, harm Guinean interests, and betray their own country.
Then, a shockingly absurd scene finally unfolded.
Almost all officials in charge of the former and current governments of Guinea, except for the deceased former president Lansana Condé, current president Alpha Condé, and defense minister Lansana Camara, have been arrested.
After the prime minister was imprisoned for accepting huge bribes, Condé appointed Souma as the prime minister of Guinea.
At the same time, Cissé was appointed as foreign minister.
Despite the Guinean government's overwhelming evidence, mineral resource development companies, led by Total, vehemently denied the allegations.
The day after the Guinean government nationalized its bauxite mines, Total filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice against the Guinean government for its illegal actions, demanding that the Guinean government return the rights to develop the mineral resources and compensate the relevant companies for the losses incurred.
The Guinean government has also filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice, demanding that Total and other related companies compensate Guinea for the losses caused.
These kinds of lawsuits are usually protracted, and it's normal for them to drag on for eight or ten years.
Before the legal battle was settled, the Guinean government nationalized the bauxite mines within its borders and immediately put out bidding for mining rights.
The West African Mineral Resources Development Company, jointly established by Cyrenaica Investment Company, ExxonMobil, and Chinalco, successfully won the bid.
Having secured bauxite and iron ore, the Guinean government finally set its sights on the French military presence in Guinea.
France deployed a 400-strong peacekeeping force to Guinea after the 09 coup in Guinea, citing the need to maintain stability and prevent a serious humanitarian disaster.
Now that the political situation in Guinea has stabilized, France has no reason to continue stationing troops there, and the Guinean government's demand for the withdrawal of French troops is reasonable.
The Guinean government's legitimate demands have received support at the United Nations from countries including the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Russia, and a large number of Arab League countries.
The French finally tasted the bitterness of isolation.
Haishan was surprised.
It is reasonable for the US and China, as countries with vested interests, to support the Guinean government.
The Arab League's support for Guinea can also be explained.
But what does Britain and Russia have to do with this?
Qin Rui was not surprised.
Imperialism is not a monolithic entity; its divisions far outweigh its cooperation, and it is fraught with contradictions on many issues. Even if it can reach an agreement on certain issues, such as launching military action against Libya, it is only a temporary measure.
The conflict between Britain and France has a long history, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a "blood feud," which is irreconcilable.
While Russia is taking sides, the key is to expand Russia's influence in West Africa.
The actions of Britain and Russia perfectly illustrate the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
That's why they say the world is a giant makeshift operation.
Following Barry's assassination, negotiations regarding the development of the Simandou iron ore mine stalled.
Suma resumed negotiations immediately upon assuming the premiership.
Souma abandoned Bari's nonsensical development plan and agreed to build the railway according to Chinalco's plan, but requested that Guinean workers be employed as much as possible to provide job opportunities for Guineans.
Souma also suggested that after the railway is completed, Guineans should be employed as much as possible to participate in the railway operation, and Guinean workers should be trained to improve their working skills.
Cyrenaica Investment Company, ExxonMobil, and Chinalco readily accepted these demands.
The key issue is which country the railway is built in.
The key is attitude.
Barry saw the railway as a goldmine and used every means to exploit it.
Souma not only sees the railway as a rare opportunity to improve Guinea's transportation, but also hopes that it will bring more revenue to the Guinean government and provide more job opportunities for Guineans.
Since Suma was so cooperative, Chinalco reciprocated by offering to build a hospital in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.
Suma then suggested that Chinalco, through its resources, should secure a national medical aid team and, at the same time, train medical personnel for Guinea through the East Asian Medical College.
As one of the world's most underdeveloped countries, Guinea is plagued by common infectious diseases, including malaria, cholera, Ebola, yellow fever, typhoid fever, AIDS, and tuberculosis, which seriously threaten the health and safety of Guineans.
The Guinean government is not currently able to provide near-free healthcare and education to all its citizens like Libya has.
However, if the Guinean government truly uses the revenue from bauxite and iron ore mining to improve the health of its citizens, Guinea's sanitation situation can be greatly improved in a short period of time.
Whether governing a country is difficult or not depends on the self-positioning of the leadership.
The $7 million paid by Rio Tinto to the Guinean government was not used to improve people's livelihoods or repay foreign debt. The Guinean government claimed it would build an Olympic center in Conakry.
Unfortunately, the money was spent before construction on the Olympic Center even began.
As for where the money went, even President Condé couldn't say.
One of these payments was made to the French government as peacekeeping expenses for French troops in Guinea.
Since Chinalco was so generous, Cyrenaica Investment Company was not to be outdone, donating $500 million to Conakry University to improve its teaching standards.
Since both Chinalco and Cyrenaica have made their statements, ExxonMobil has also donated $1000 million worth of food and medicine to Guinea.
Qin Rui was surprised; Mobil had never been this generous in Libya before.
ExxonMobil was so generous because the $1000 million was originally part of ExxonMobil's public relations budget for Guinea.
Qin Rui was very angry.
Don't Libyan political figures deserve ExxonMobil's public relations efforts?
"If Mobil wants to do public relations, it needs to have people worth doing public relations with."
Hai Shan wasn't angry. Money didn't mean much to Qin Rui or the people he exchanged from the system.
The biggest bug in the system is that the people Qin Rui redeemed from the system are infertile and cannot reproduce.
Since they cannot reproduce, there is no need to accumulate wealth for their descendants; money is meaningless to them.
However, this situation has improved to some extent.
Qin Rui selected several students from almost every researcher he redeemed from the system. He not only took them under his wing and personally taught them, but also took care of their daily lives, treating them almost like his own children.
Most of the former Numidian Brigade soldiers adopted children, and some married soldiers chose in vitro fertilization so that even if they did not have offspring themselves, their spouses would still have support in their old age.
Of the three presidents who took office after the formation of the new Libyan government, Jalil, who served the longest term, did not serve for more than six months.
Even if ExxonMobil needs to engage in public relations, it will only do so if there are people worth investing in.
Mobil has been quite generous to Libya; otherwise, it wouldn't have invested in the Sirte oil field.
In the list of donors received by the Guinean government, in addition to Cyrenaica, ExxonMobil, and Chinalco, several Japanese companies caught Qin Rui's attention.
Since the coup in Guinea, the Japanese government and Japanese companies have donated supplies to Guinea several times, totaling approximately US$600 million.
The Japanese government and businesses are undoubtedly after the mineral resources within Guinea.
Qin Rui had nothing to say; Africa belongs to Africans and should not be interfered with by countries outside the region.