Scores of left leaning organisations from across the world have come together to demand an end to what they believe to be imperialism and are demanding the reversal of the effects of colonialism in many parts of the globe that remain impoversihed.
The sixty or so organisations that identify as “progressive Pan-Africanists” from 32 nations, including the USA and Brazil, convened online on May 29th for a conference organised by the Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF), Ghana Socialist Movement, and Pan Africanism Today under the central theme: preparing for the 80th anniversary of the landmark Fifth Pan-African Congress held in Manchester in 1945.
Albie Walls (All-African People’s Revolutionary Party), the moderator and first speaker, underscored the Manchester Congress’s unparalleled historical weight. He declared it not only set the decolonisation and anti-imperialist agenda for decades but also achieved unmatched scale, organisation, and ideological coherence. Walls concluded by stressing the urgent need for “clear steps leading to the unification of progressive Africa.
“This is the first major gathering of political leaders unified against slavery and racism. Diagne pinpointed the Sahel region as a current neocolonialism hotspot.
“Since the early 2010s,” he noted, “we witness a resurgence of patriotism and desire for true sovereignty,” reflecting a deep understanding of neocolonialism’s damage.
He criticised ECOWAS for straying from its original peace and democracy mission, urging Ghana’s new government to steer it back on course, and echoed rising calls for African unity against external military interventions, particularly by NATO and Western powers,” said Roland Diagne of the the Senegalese organisation FERNET.
Kwesi Pratt Jr. (PPF Organising Committee) focused on strategy for the 80th-anniversary commemoration. He advocated forming a dedicated committee, with PPF and Pan Africanism Today leading, to organise a significant an event – potentially a full congress. Pratt emphasised analysing the 1945 goals:
“What was achieved, what remains, and the path forward. He proposed specialised PPF commissions: Trade unions (regarded as key for social struggle), women’s rights groups and youth engagement are crucial going forward as they are structures linking mass organisations and political parties were deemed vital for mobilisation,” Pratt Junior what needed to be done by the global left if its campaigns are to gain momentum and rebut what the conference identified as a neo-colonial agenda expressed through many conservative governments across the world that are presiding over inequality.
Pratt raised critical questions about political power in Africa: “Who wields political power, does it serve African peoples, and how can progressive parties gain it,” he said questioning power dynamics on the African continent.
He voiced strong concern over NATO’s military presence, especially in the Sahel States Alliance (which includes Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigel), calling it a threat to sovereignty. Quoting Kwame Nkrumah, he urged: “We need to build Africa without bombs.”
Albie Walls who delivered a closing address at the meeting outlined steps he said the groups will be embarking on going forward.
“Assembling a central organising committee and planning a follow-up meeting to coordinate anniversary preparations and future collaborative efforts,” he said.
The orginisers said the conference demonstrated a resurgent of organised progressive Pan-African movement actively strategising to honour its history and confront contemporary challenges to sovereignty and unity.
In the USA has the Democratic Party, naturally a centre right liberal movement has earned the reputation of being “the left” and it until recently when the American Communist Party which held its first conference recently came to the fore. ACP has since become a leaing voice of the left and has mounted campaign against the Donald Trump administration.