“It’s disappointing because in Europe, when people take up arms to defend their homeland, we call them patriots. Our grandfathers were deported to save Europe. It wasn’t with their consent, it was against their will. But on their return we remember well that at Thiaroye, when they wanted to claim their basic rights, they were massacred. It doesn’t matter. When we, the people, decide to defend ourselves, we are called militias. But that’s not the problem. The problem is to see African heads of state who bring nothing to these peoples who are fighting, but who sing the same songs as the imperialists, calling us militias, calling us men who don’t respect human rights. What human rights are we talking about? We take offence at this, and it’s shameful. We African heads of state must stop behaving like puppets who dance every time the imperialists pull the strings. Glory to our peoples, Dignity to our people, Victory to our people, Fatherland or death, we shall conquer” - Ibrahim Traore