Sirte, Birth Place Of New African Unity Panafrican News Agency (Dakar) February 28, 2001 Posted to the web February 28, 2001 Paul Ejime Sirte, Libya African leaders are returning here 1st March with renewed determination to give vent to an idea whose time has come - that of African Union - as part of continuing efforts to cement continental unity and integration. Giving fillip to this idea, mooted by first generations of African leaders is the charismatic Libyan leader Col. Moammar Kadhafi, who in his usual generosity has deployed much resources to the realisation of this ideal. It began like a dream 17 months ago (September 1999) in this central Libyan city of Sirte, where the African Union's Constitutive Act was conceived. This was later adopted by the July 2000 OAU Summit in Lome the Togolese capital. The rest is now history, because after the signing of the Act by more than 44 of the 53 OAU Member-countries, Africans are now eagerly awaiting the ratification of the 33-Article Act, for the Union to become operational. It is not for nothing that Sirte has been chosen for this epoch event in the political history of Africa. The serene city of nomads, now home to some 500,000 people, and which is not far from the Gulf is Kadhafi's favourite. The fact that Sirte, some 450 km from Libyan capital Tripoli, occupies a special place in the heart of the leader of the 1969 Revolution is unmistakable, as evidenced from its excellent road network, inviting sea side atmosphere and the architecture of the buildings. As delegates make their way to Sirte from Tripoli for the 5th OAU extra-ordinary Summit on African Union or Sirte II, they would be welcomed by exhorting slogans on well-decorated streets lined with banners and portraits of African leaders. The roads lead to the Ouagadougou Complex Hall, named after the Burkina Faso capital where, in July 1998, the OAU's 34th Summit took the historic decision to end much of the 1992 UN embargo on Libya. The sanctions including land, sea and air embargo were slapped on Tripoli through a US-sponsored Resolution at the Security Council, following the 1988 downing of American Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270 people off the Scottish city of Lockerbie. So much has been said and written about the so-called Lockerbie affair, for which two Libyans faced trial in the Netherlands, resulting in life sentence for one while the other was acquitted, in a trial Tripoli has denounced as unjust and political conspiracy by the West. But this is only part of the story on the restive relations between Libya and Western countries especially the US. Top be sure, the Lockerbie affair, which featured in the preparatory meetings of Ambassadors accredited to the OAU and the Organisation's 73rd Council of Ministers meeting all in Tripoli, would doubtless engage the attention of African leaders at Sirte II. But the multi-million-dollar ultra-modern Ouagadougou Complex with a 6,464-seat capacity has enough room to absorb any heat from the deliberations as African leaders ponder the future of their marginalised continent. "A person in need is a slave in deed," reads one of the many slogans adorning the marble wall of the Complex's main Hall. Another reminds Africans that "African unity is an ideal for which our fathers and grandfathers struggled and suffered martyrdom," while yet another describes democracy as "popular rule and not popular expression." Apart from hosting international meetings, the huge Complex is venue for Libya's People's Popular Congress, under Kadhafi's Socialist system espoused in his Green Book. But as African leaders arrive for the 1-2 March Summit, the entire world is focusing on Ouagadougou Complex for a decision that could change the destiny of African and its peoples. **** President Compaore Off to Libya for OAU Summit Panafrican News Agency (Dakar) February 28, 2001 Posted to the web February 28, 2001 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso Wednesday left Ouagadougou for Sirte, Libya ahead of an extraordinary summit of OAU Heads of State billed there fore 1 and 2 March. A press release in Ouagadogou confirming Compaore's departure, recalled that the summit would focus on the quest for an African Union, with emphasis on a constituent act adopted at the 36th OAU summit that was hosted by Togo in July last year. **** Presidents Eyadema And Patasse Leave for Libya Panafrican News Agency (Dakar) February 28, 2001 Posted to the web February 28, 2001 Lome, Togo Togolese leader Gnassingbe Eyadema, who is also the current chairman of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), left Lome for Libya Wednesday to participate in the OAU's extraordinary summit of the African Union starting Thursday. Eyadema is travelling with his Central African Republic counterpart, President Ange-Felix Patasse, who arrived in the Togolese capital Tuesday. **** Mbeki Off to Libya for Sirte OAU Summit Panafrican News Agency (Dakar) February 28, 2001 Posted to the web February 28, 2001 Cape Town, South Africa President Thabo Mbeki Wednesday left Pretoria for Libya to attend the OAU's extra-ordinary summit of Heads of State and Government. The two-day summit focusing on the African Union (AU) begins in Sirte, Libya on Thursday. South Africa's Parliament Tuesday ratified the Act that lays the foundation for the establishment of the Union. The Act requires ratification by two-thirds of the OAU's 53 member states before it can be cleared for enactment. Besides launching the Union, the extraordinary summit would also be seeking to iron out some undecided issues, such as the date on which the Union becomes effective. The Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted during the Lome Summit of the OAU on 11 July 2000 with the understanding that it would only enter into force, replacing the 1963 OAU Charter, thirty days after ratification by two-thirds of member states. The Act makes provision for the Charter to remain in force for a transitional year. Seventeen members states had by mid-February ratified the act, including the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Principe, Saharawi Arab Republic, Senegal, Sudan, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Togo. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
