Servant of the People in Kyiv

Chapter 141: Tricking the French (2)

On November 9, Sankara had the Ministry of Foreign Affairs send a note to France, not only producing evidence that Alan Deschamps incited the rebellion in Burkina Faso, but also strongly protesting Alan Deschamps' appointment as ambassador and demanding that France replace its ambassador to Burkina Faso before continuing the dialogue.

So France has been urging and blaming Alan Deschamps for messing things up. If it were not for the fear that Alan Deschamps would be desperate and reveal that Mitterrand was also involved, it would have recalled him long ago.

However, the fact that he has not been replaced yet does not mean that he will not be replaced in the future. As long as Sankara remains firm in his attitude, Alan Deschamps' political future and fate are destined to be bleak.

At this time, many international news reports were reporting on the information released by Burkina Faso. The world also knew that the French ambassador and Ivorian President Boigny colluded to overthrow the regimes of other countries. Socialist countries would not miss the opportunity to strike hard when the situation was bad, and they reported and publicized it with great fanfare.

France remained silent, while the United States and Britain also reported the incident objectively.

France, which already had a bad reputation internationally because of World War II, has made a big move in front of the people of the world this time. You say that as an old capitalist empire, it is normal for you to want to deal with a disobedient former colonial country. Other capitalist empires do this, and even socialist empires will deal with disobedient little brothers from time to time.

But you failed to deal with the little brother, and instead you were dealt with by him. This is really embarrassing.

At this time, it is not very important whether the confiscated French assets can be recovered. After all, it is not only Burkina Faso that has done this. The key point is the French expatriates who were arrested and criticized during the Great Revolution and the Great Movement. The personal safety and freedom of these people must be guaranteed. If France cannot allow 223 citizens to return home unharmed, it will really lose all its face.

By that time, how can France still lead its African, Pacific and South American brothers, and how can it have the nerve to sit in the United Nations as one of the Five Elders?

Therefore, French expatriates must be brought back to the country, and they must be brought back alive or without any injuries. This is related to France's face and status.

In order not to anger Sankara and at the same time prevent the situation from getting out of control and even developing to the brink of war, France did not dare to take any action. It could only hope to establish a dialogue with Sankara through diplomatic means and to get the person back through negotiations. If possible, the confiscated assets were also wanted.

However, Sankara was unwilling to deal with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, let alone the French ambassador, Alan Deschamps.

As the days passed without any progress in rescuing the overseas Chinese, French President Mitterrand became angry and prepared to follow Sankara's wishes and replace Ambassador Alan Deschamps, who had made an enemy of him, with a new ambassador to negotiate.

However, before the order signed by him was issued, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Alan Deschamps had negotiated with Sankara through the relationship between the two Soviets and had made Sankara agree to France's proposal to pay a ransom for the person.

In Alan Deschamps' report, Sankara's request for ransom was not his subjective act, but an initiative proposed by the French ambassador in order to rescue French expatriates, to which Sankara reluctantly agreed.

Mitterrand was relieved when he learned about it. There had been a lot of criticism of him recently in the country. There were right-wingers in Congress who thought he was weak and could be bullied, and that he was embarrassing himself internationally, and there were left-wingers who felt that as the leader of a big country, he had sent a diplomatic ambassador to murder the leader of a small country with a historical connection with France, which was damaging to France's image and contrary to the spirit of France's founding.

In short, because of the news released by Burkina Faso, France lost face internationally and Mitterrand also lost his reputation at home.

The next presidential election is in half a year. Mitterrand wanted to continue running for another term, but now this accident has happened. His support rate has plummeted and he is not so confident that he can be re-elected next year.

At this time, if something unexpected happens to the French expatriates, he will not have to consider re-election, and may even resign.

Therefore, when Mitterrand learned that Sankara was willing to use the expatriates to repay the debt, he agreed, and his resentment towards Alan Deschamps also dissipated a lot.

However, after learning that Sankara wanted more than 4 million US dollars, Mitterrand still got angry. The money was not a lot, but if he gave it to Sankara, Mitterrand would definitely be called a traitor at home, and his re-election next year would definitely be in vain.

Therefore, Mitterrand directly instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Alan Deschamps to talk to Sankara again and to reach a more reasonable result.

After receiving instructions, Alan Deschamps found Haniyev again. Because he was Mitterrand's trusted official, he knew what Mitterrand was worried about.

After hearing his analysis, Haniyev and Potanin discussed it in Russian for a while. "Mitterrand is only asking for the quick return of French expatriates to appease the people, while also not giving Burkina Faso too much money directly. This would bring him into disrepute and even affect his re-election next year. And you, Ambassador Alan Deschamps, also want to make up for your mistakes, mend relations between Burkina Faso and France, and thus save your career, right?"

Allen Deschamps forced an unpleasant smile and said, "Yes, Mr. Haniyev, the people of Burkina Faso don't dare to meet me, and Sankara doesn't want to see me either. Only you can help us. How can you get Sankara to release the French expatriates? Can we negotiate the ransom?"

Haniyev smiled slightly. He and Potanin had already analyzed the French thoroughly. Now the French did not want to lose face, but also wanted their expatriates to return home, so they could only think of reducing the ransom. A smaller amount would at least be easier to negotiate.

However, Haniyev always pursues the best solution when doing things. After discussing with Potanin, he has come up with an optimal solution that will not only make the French accept it, but also make Sankara more satisfied, and also win more friendship from the French for himself and Potanin. It is a win-win situation.

"I'm afraid the ransom is too much to negotiate, but I have a better plan. I wonder if Your Excellency the Ambassador would like to know about it?"

Allen Deschamps, feeling worried, nodded quickly. "Please tell me. If you can help us, I will be deeply grateful. I will also tell the country about your kindness and generosity."

Haniyev chuckled and said, "Don't be generous, I don't have the money to pay your ransom.

Mr. Ambassador, I know what Sankara wants, and I also know what you and President Mitterrand want, so I think we can find a different way to solve the problem."

Chapter 142: Tricking the French (3)

Haniyev's deliberate mysteriousness ignited hope in Alan Deschamps' heart. The more he came into contact with Haniyev, the more he felt that this Soviet man was unfathomable. He could become Sankara's guest of honor, and he could make his and Boigny's plans fail in a casual conversation, cause Compaoré and others to be defeated, and even make Burkina Faso go crazy. His talent was extraordinary.

Allen Deschamps even believes that if Haniyev had been born a few decades earlier, he would have been a hundred times more powerful than Che Guevara and would have become a major threat to the United States.

Knowing how powerful Haniyev was, Alan Deschamps was quite confident in the plan he mentioned and felt that he had found a solution to rescue the expatriates and preserve France's face.

Seeing that Alan Deschamps still looked confused and excited, Haniyev explained, "You and Mitterrand are French, and Sankara is Burkina Faso. You are descendants of colonizers, and Sankara is the descendant of the colonized. You are a capitalist country, and Burkina Faso is a socialist country. There are five opposites between you two. Let me say this without any bias. Your natural opposition has made you always hope to eliminate Sankara and turn Burkina Faso into a controllable vassal state. Sankara has always hoped to be completely independent, to break away from French control and become prosperous and strong through his own efforts. Do you think I am right?"

Alan Deschamps nodded, and Haniyev continued, "Now your plan to overthrow the socialist regime by provoking internal conflicts among Burkina Faso's top leaders, leading to the Compaoré coup and the killing of Sankara, has failed. As a result, it has become known to the world, bringing shame to France. At this point, no matter how much ransom you offer, the Mitterrand government will be ridiculed and insulted by the French. This is an unchangeable fact. You have also been nailed to the pillar of shame, and Mitterrand's re-election next year is likely to be in vain. However, I have thought of the best way.

Since Sankara needs money, you can guess what he wants the ransom for..."

Deschamps said consciously: "Build the country and build bridges and roads?"

"clever!

Since the money you pay him will be used to build bridges and roads and develop industry, why don't you, France, directly provide money, manpower and technology to help Burkina Faso with some infrastructure and provide free aid. On the one hand, the ransom can be given to Burkina Faso in this form, and it can be done without anyone knowing. On the other hand, it can also let Sankara see France's sincerity.

The third and most important point is whether grant aid and support can achieve cultural output, promote French humanitarianism, and deepen exchanges and ties between the two countries, potentially compensating for the damage inflicted on Burkina Faso during your colonial period. Mitterrand's promotion of this cause can win the support of the French left and salvage his image. And you, my friend, by personally promoting this grant aid, you will have redeemed yourself. Future generations will regard you as a key figure in promoting friendly relations between Burkina Faso and France, saving not only your image in France but also that of the people of Burkina Faso. Decades from now, your status and image will be like Kissinger's in China..."

Haniyev knew that Alan Deschamps was a rare smart man, so he guided him to express his thoughts.

Allen Deschamps' eyes lit up, and he smiled and said, "Your idea is really great. Yes, instead of paying Sankara millions of dollars in ransom and letting the president bear the blame, it would be better for the French government to provide free aid to Burkina Faso to develop industry and build railways and roads. That way, even if it costs a few million dollars more, the parliamentarians won't say anything. Paying Burkina Faso dollars in compensation will not make the Burkinabe people have any good impression of France, but free aid will earn enough praise and goodwill.

Both are spent money, but the former is to buy suffering, while the latter is to buy a good reputation. Mr. Haniyev, you are really a brilliant man! "

Alan Deschamps said this and gave a thumbs up, his face full of admiration.

Haniyev chuckled and said, "We need to think about this matter in a different way, in a different way. Although you, France, have also spent money, the process and results are different. You must tell the outside world that this is to make up for previous mistakes and compensate for the mistakes made when France colonized Burkina Faso. You must provide free aid to Burkina Faso on humanitarian grounds. Moreover, you must not only help Burkina Faso with its construction free of charge, but also appeal to the United Nations for aid to Burkina Faso and coordinate the World Bank to allocate interest-free loans to Burkina Faso. In this way, Burkina Faso will definitely improve its relations with France, and we in the socialist camp can also focus on praising France. By then, your image in the international community will improve, and your reputation will be completely reversed..."

Perhaps by the time of next year's French presidential election, President Mitterrand will have become a 'light of humanity,' a 'contemporary sage.' With this reputation and influence, do you think there will be any problems with his re-election?"

"Of course there won't be any problem."

Alan Deschamps nodded excitedly and asked, "Then shall I report this idea of ​​yours to President Mitterrand now?"

"It's not my idea, it's your idea."

Haniyev shook his finger slightly and said, "You'd better try to get an aid project of 50 to 60 million francs. If it's too little, you won't be able to build anything decent. Only if France helps Burkina Faso build a few major projects that will last for hundreds of years can the world know about it."

The franc has been depreciating since 1985, and now the exchange rate with the US dollar has fallen below 1:9. Therefore, 40 to 50 million francs is about 5 to 6 million US dollars. It may not be a big deal for a big country, but for Burkina Faso, whose annual GDP is only 24 billion US dollars, it is definitely a sumptuous meal that it cannot even finish.

After hearing Haniyev's words, Allen Deschamps suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering that this matter concerned the president's face, and saying that it was most appropriate for him to think of it, so he said: "Yes, that's my idea. I will report it to the president now. Goodbye, two kind gentlemen."

After saying this, Alan Deschamps nodded slightly, then took his hat and coat and left the Soviet Embassy.

The method of exchanging free aid for ransom was the result of a discussion between Haniyev and Potanin. They believed that this method would allow French President Mitterrand to regain his face and money, and he would definitely accept it with pleasure, even if it meant giving Burkina Faso more money.

What Burkina Faso and Sankara are asking for is just more money to build this impoverished country. If France is willing to help Burkina Faso build several large projects free of charge, Sankara will definitely not ask for money, and will not mind helping France to establish its reputation internationally.

Chapter 143 Sankara's Ideal

Sankara is a pragmatist, a fact that both Haniyev and Potanin had long seen through.

So they were all sure that as long as France was willing to spend more money and manpower and material resources to help Burkina Faso build, Sankara would never ask for the so-called ransom, but would respectfully send the 223 French expatriates on the plane back to Paris.

Haniyev's proposal to replace ransom with free aid completely hit the mark of Mitterrand and Sankara. It was also the most suitable proposal for the three countries of Burkina Faso, France, the Soviet Union, and Mitterrand, Sankara, Haniyev, Potanin, and Alan Deschamps. It could be called a "win-win" situation.

On November 13, the win-win solution proposed by Haniyev and Alan Deschamps was unanimously praised by Sankara and Mitterrand. Alan Deschamps's cleverness not only saved the political careers of both of them, but would also help improve his own political reputation and mend the relationship between France and Brussels in the future. Mitterrand's resentment towards Deschamps instantly dissipated, and he began to urge him to negotiate a result with Sankara as soon as possible, based on which he could promote the approval of the aid project in France.

Sankara's original expectation was only 2 million US dollars. He planned to use the funds to build a comprehensive university and a medical university, as well as 100 primary and secondary schools and 100 hospitals.

Since Sankara came to power, he has always attached the utmost importance to people's livelihood. If he does not answer the question of why he is in power, developing the economy will only serve the capitalists and reactionaries.

Before Sankara's successful military coup in 1983, only 6% of children in Burkina Faso, still called Upper Volta, could go to school, and the average illiteracy rate reached 98%, which means that for every 100 Volta people, less than 2 people could read and their cultural level was not high.

In terms of health, due to the infectious diseases and malnutrition that are prevalent in Africa, Burkina Faso also has the highest disease and mortality rates in West Africa, with only one hospital bed for every 1200 residents and only one doctor for every 48000 residents.

Although Sankara has only been in power for four years, he has still solved Burkina Faso's three biggest livelihood issues: food, schooling, and medical care.

The first was to adjust the agricultural structure. By means of land reform, encouraging grain planting, and importing fertilizers, food production was increased, allowing the people of Burkina Faso to escape famine for the first time in millions of years.

The second was to launch a nationwide literacy campaign and reduce tuition fees, which increased the children's enrollment rate to 18% and reduced the illiteracy rate to below 90%.

Third, 250 million infants and young children across the country were vaccinated, reducing the infant mortality rate by 6%.

In addition to these three major livelihood issues, Sankara also abolished the African custom of female genital mutilation, improved the status of women, and even allowed women to serve as government officials.

Sankara has done everything that socialism should do under the current conditions in Burkina Faso, but it is far from enough.

With the $2 million in compensation from France and the future profits from the gold mines invested by the Soviet Union, Sankara was confident that within the next five years, agriculture, education, and medical care would be further improved to the advanced level of socialist countries.

Sankara wanted to ensure that the people of the country could not only have enough to eat potatoes and corn, but also fruits, vegetables and meat.

Sankara wanted to raise the national literacy rate to 50% and the school enrollment rate for children to 80%.

Sankara wanted to ensure that all people in the country had access to medical care and to reduce the infant mortality rate to less than 5 per thousand.

There were so many things Sankara wanted to do, each of which was a big and difficult task, requiring a lot of money, time and energy.

Although 200 million US dollars is not enough to support all of Sankara's ideas, it can at least speed up his plan by two years, so he had decided in his mind that 200 million would not be any less.

But Haniyev gave him a surprise and exchanged the ransom for France's free aid to Burkina Faso. The aid funds even exceeded 500 million US dollars, and the project content could also be negotiated.

After learning the exact news, Sankara excitedly hugged Haniyev and Potanin.

"You two are truly helping me just like Engels supported Marx. France is one of the most powerful countries in the world. It's great that they can provide us with free aid. I can ask France to help me build two state-of-the-art universities in Ouagadougou, and the education team can also rely on France's support. In this way, in a few years, we will have the most advanced comprehensive university and medical university in Burkina Faso... and..."

Like a child showing off his toys, Sankara pointed his fingers and told Haniyev and the others about his plan. He couldn't help but feel excited that France's free aid could speed up the realization of his dream by several years.

It took half an hour for Sankara to calm down and then summoned Ambassador Alan Deschamps for the first time.

After two hours of detailed consultations, Sankara gave Alan Deschamps a list and said, "These are the projects we need France to build free of charge. Your Excellency, please inform President Mitterrand as soon as possible. If France agrees, we can sign the contract, and 223 French expatriates will be able to return to Paris for vacation."

Alan Deschamps accepted the list of projects handwritten by Sankara and nodded, saying, "Although these projects will likely cost more than expected, as long as President Sankara can forgive our previous mistakes and repair the relationship between France and Burkina Faso, I believe President Mitterrand will agree. Please wait for my good news."

Sankara smiled and nodded, then personally escorted Alan Deschamps to the door and ordered the Ministry of the Interior to send people to persuade the protesting crowd outside the French Embassy to retreat and then repair the French Embassy.

The Interior Ministry secretary had all left when Sankara suddenly shouted, "Don't forget to pay Alan Deschamps when you've finished repairing it."

Turning around and seeing Haniyev and Potanin smiling, Sankara shrugged and said, "Burkina Faso is too poor, as you know..."

Haniyev chuckled and said, "Comrade Sankara, you must remember how poor you are now, how you want to break a franc in half to spend it, because in a few years Burkina Faso will be rich..."

Sankara laughed and said, "I hope everything goes well."

"It will definitely go well."

Haniyev looked at the almost invisible Citroën and said, "Mitterrand will soon agree and instruct Deschamps to sign a free aid contract with you."

As Haniyev expected, after Alan Deschamps informed Mitterrand of Sankara's request, the president, who was overwhelmed by negative public opinion at home and abroad, agreed immediately.

A rare smile appeared on Mitterrand's face. He hurriedly called together his cabinet and staff to discuss how to use this "good news" to restore his own and France's reputation.

Chapter 144 Everyone is happy

At 10:11 a.m. local time on November 15, French Ambassador to Burkina Faso Alain Deschamps signed a letter of intent for grant aid on behalf of the French President with Burkina Faso President Sankara.

At noon on the 15th, 223 French expatriates boarded a flight back home.

Agence France-Presse began to report internationally with great fanfare that French President Mitterrand was willing to help Burkina Faso build more than a dozen large projects, including schools, hospitals and cultural centers, free of charge in order to make up for the mistakes made during the years of colonization of Burkina Faso.

On the evening of the 15th, Burkina Faso President Sankara gave interviews to AFP, Reuters and TASS, highly praising the heroic act of French President Mitterrand and calling him another "true French leader" after Charles de Gaulle.

From the 15th to the 18th, a total of three days, both Western media and media from socialist countries such as the Soviet Union and China reported on the incident. Even if it was just fair and impartial reporting, with the words of the President of Burkina Faso, the image of the French President seemed to improve for a while.

For a time, Mitterrand's support rate in the country rose again. As an old left-wing country with Notre Dame de Paris, France has the largest number of white left-wing saints in Europe. Therefore, after the attitudes of Mitterrand and Sankara appeared, and the relationship between the two countries seemed to have been nominally repaired, many people in France were moved by Mitterrand.

There was only a little over a month between the outbreak of the Revolution and the restoration of normal diplomatic relations between France and Brussels, but there were endless changes during this period, and only the participants could experience the bitterness and sweetness of it.

Now, Burkina Faso has gained a more unified and cohesive government through the great revolution. Sankara not only saved his life and position and was not overthrown by the regime, but also has the political foundation to implement his will and has received future free project assistance from France.

France gained better diplomatic relations with Burkina Faso than before the Revolution, and had the opportunity to export culture and exert influence on Burkina Faso through aid projects. All expatriates returned home safely. Even though some assets were confiscated by Sankara, those assets were not important.

Because of Haniyev, an outstanding diplomat, the Soviet Union received unanimous praise from France and Burkina Faso, gained the deep friendship of Burkina Faso, and also made the French government owe it a favor.

In fact, the parties involved in the whole incident were Burkina Faso, France and the Soviet Union, but all three countries seemed to have benefited from it, so the only ones who suffered in the end were the reactionaries in Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire.

Because the reactionaries lost everything they had, Côte d'Ivoire became notorious in Africa because of President Boigny's involvement in overthrowing the Burkina Faso regime. Many African countries began to be wary of and even alienated Boigny, and the relationship between Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire reached a freezing point.

……

After learning about the changes in France from Alan Deschamps, Potanin didn't feel anything, but Haniyev, perceptive, caught another inspiration. He smiled and said, "Your Excellency, Ambassador, you're going back home to report on your work. Since there are so many upright people in Paris, I think you could bring some film and television works with you. They could be old photos of Burkina Faso people in the past, poorly dressed and starving. You could also look for photos of hospital patients and deceased children. If you can't find any, just stage some. These are all real events. Bringing these photos for exhibition would earn the sympathy of the vast left, earn President Mitterrand more praise, and add a touch of Madonna glory to the free aid."

Alan Deschamps couldn't hear the sarcasm in Haniyev's words. He could now be considered to have made meritorious service while serving his sentence, but that might not necessarily offset his sins. After some thought, he felt that Haniyev's proposal would please President Mitterrand. Even if he had to sit on the bench now, as long as Mitterrand was re-elected next year, his presence would guarantee him a promotion to a higher position after the limelight faded. He might even become an ambassador to the United States or the Soviet Union, and then a minister of a department upon his return...

The daydreamy Alan Deschamps thanked Haniyev excitedly, and then hurried to look for old photos.

Potanin walked into the living room with a glass of rum and asked, "Why is Alan Deschamps here again? Isn't that matter already settled? Why is he here again?"

"I asked him to come. I need to understand what the international community will say after the free aid is completed."

Potanin nodded. "He was so happy when he left just now. Did you tell him anything good?"

Haniyev smiled slightly and told the method he had proposed.