The World Anti-imperialist Platform
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Amilcar Cabral, who made a remarkable contribution to African and the people’s history of the world. Influenced by African national liberation revolutionaries while studying in Portugal, he started the African nationalist movement and dedicated his upright life to the cause of African nation and people until he met his fate by the sword of enemies. He formed the revolutionary political party, named PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde), against the oppression of Portuguese imperialism and led the armed struggle to liberate Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, aimed for socialism and strove for realizing people’s sovereignty in the process of building a new society. For the genuine liberation of all Africa, he established the People’s Assembly and committed himself with tireless dedication to realize Pan-Africanism, the banner of unity of African people. This is why the African people remember Cabral as an eminent leader.
PAIGC under Cabral’s leadership left a distinct mark on African people’s history. PAIGC not only wisely guided the African people to end barbaric colonial domination and to rise up for national liberation, but also led the armed struggle to completely liberate themselves from Portuguese colonial domination. In the process of building a new society, it placed special emphasis on education to free the people from illiteracy, ignorance, and fear, establishing schools in the liberated areas and developing the education system. In order to liquidate the old remnants of colonialism, it raised the level of people’s awareness and national self-respect, and strengthened anti-imperialist resistance politically, economically, and culturally. Inheriting the ideas and ideology of Cabral, PAIGC has continued to move forward for the establishment of people’s sovereignty as the locomotive of the African national liberation revolution.
The spirit of Cabral is being practically manifested through the anti-imperialist struggles of the African people. The anti-imperialist struggle in the Sahel regionl, which has been in full swing since 2020, has resulted in the withdrawal of US and French troops from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The anti-imperialist forces in Africa are united in their struggle against the imperialist and treasonous forces that are viciously interfering with the right of self-determination, and the anti-imperialist front is expanding. The method of domination employed by the imperialist aggressor forces, which begins with military occupation and proceeds to political domination and economic plunder, demonstrates that the priority must be the withdrawal of imperialist military force in order to create a decisive opportunity for anti-imperialist national liberation. Above all, the anti-imperialist liberation struggle of the African people in this ongoing phase of World War 3 has significance for strengthening and expanding the anti-imperialist camp, and for striking a blow against the imperialist camp.
The spirit of Cabral is the ideology of self-reliant independence and the will of people’s liberation. It is not only just the African people’s goal, but also a common orientation for the oppressed and exploited people of the world to end the slave life forced upon them by the aggressors and the imperialist forces from the 16th century to a span of 500 years, and to live and develop as the true masters of society, nature, and their own destiny. The imperialist powers, which cannot survive even a single day without domination and plunder, are today forming an imperialist camp to provoke World War 3, which is the last desperate attempt to avert the general crisis in the imperialist states and pro-imperialist fascist countries. The people of the world who boldly took up anti-imperialist joint actions will surely overthrow imperialism and achieve global independence, genuine peace, and true democracy. The new world that Cabral wanted to build by practicing the people-centered idea—“living among the people, before the people, behind the people”—until the end of his life is not far off.
October 26th, 2024, Dakar in the Republic of Senegal