A Monumental Seed Of Change In Sirte Panafrican News Agency (Dakar) ANALYSIS March 13, 2001 Posted to the web March 14, 2001 Sidy Gaye Dakar, Senegal The true dimensions of momentous events in history are rarely perceived, analysed or interpreted from the onset. Between the middle and the end of the last century, no event resulting in changes in world geo-politics, had from the beginning, captured and retained the attention of even the most informed observers and analysts. The cases in point include the incident in Sarajevo, which, in the mid-century, literally set the entire planet ablaze, to Gorbachev's "Perestroika," which finally collapsed, in the early 90s, on the ruins of the Berlin Wall. There was also the 1954 Bandoeng Conference, the catalyst of the de-colonisation process, the constituent Organisation of African Unity Summit in 1963 and the 1985 Single European Act that gave birth to the European Union. The common denominator in these major events is the fact that their real impacts were only felt long after they had taken place. The African Union, whose Constitutive Act was proclaimed by the 5th extra-ordinary OAU Summit in Sirte, Libya, 1-2 March is no exception to this rule. And yet, there are abundant signs this time to prove that as soon as it was proclaimed, and until the people are effectively involved, this initiative by African leaders, is an event of far-reaching implications. Many consider it a generation's legacy, providing practical answers to the pressing needs of the time. Also, based on the process that generated and nurtured it, and most particularly the common determination, it is unequalled in Africa. With regard to the needs, this is not the first time that the Libyan leader Col. Moammar Kadhafi would deploy resources and energy to a unifying cause. >From the Machrek to the Maghreb and up to sub-Saharan Africa, there is not a single close or distant neighbour of Libya with which he had not tried such an experience. During his 30 years in power, though the methods may have differed from one period to another, this unifying ideal has been his creed, his motto, his raison d'etre. But most of his proceeding "marriages" had broken down before they had time to materialise. This could be attributed to the fact that Africa was craving for it, more than Libya itself. The OAU Secretariat was on the brink of hypertrophy, on the eve of the Algiers Summit in July 1999, when Kadhafi, for the first time, advocated the African Union. This idea was equalled only by the eagerness with which the Heads of State, Ministers, Ambassadors and even simple partners of the continent watched out for the functional restructuring of the pan-African administrative apparatus in the absence of the revision of the Organisation's founding Charter that has been under discussion for 11 years. With or without Kadhafi's initiative, it was subsequently obvious to all, that the original 1963 structure will find it difficult to resist, if in addition to its regional offices already too heavy to carry, it should be burdened with the structure of an Economic African Community as has been the case since the 1997 Harare meeting. There is also the inclusion of a continental Parliament at a later date, not to mention the new Conflict Prevention and Management Mechanisms, instituted at the Cairo Conference in 1993. Such a re-organisation had been long overdue since the end of the major liberation struggles and the dismantling of apartheid. These were two challenges to which the Organisation had devoted its entire energy since its creation. Confronted as it is with AIDS, civil war, the constraints of democratisation and social emancipation, the risks of marginalisation and the relegation of its traditional economic positions, Africa was naturally ready for the large-scale initiative advocated then by Kadhafi. But the Libyan initiative could also count on a second advantage -- the continent had obviously matured. This maturity, among other reasons, led the Heads of State meeting in Algeria to consider as sacred, the accession to power only through democratic means, and the rejection of coup d'etats, after a proposal at the Harare Summit two years earlier. This maturity never flagged throughout the 20 months of intense and difficult discussions, which at least tallies with the Libyan leader's initial projects. Contrary to the emotional divisions usually perceptible in the views expressed by some participants at these events, the Libyan proposals have always been subjected to passionate and critical but nonetheless constructive debates. The lengthy exchanges explain why the project initiated by the Libyan leader ended up being a project belonging to all those who contributed in its development at one point or another. Thus, it was not surprising that the Lome Summit in July 2000, unanimously approved the Union's Constitutive Act, now formally signed by all OAU member-States in less than seven months. It now awaits ratification by two or three more countries before coming into force. This performance is fully appreciated by all those who know that never in OAU's entire history, has a legal instrument of this nature been signed and ratified by so many member countries in such a short period. In its 37 years of existence, only 11 of the Organisation's 23 Treaties and Conventions duly signed by its member-States have entered into force. The Libyan Colonel only summarised the feat when he said, in Sirte on 2 March, "this is the beginning of a re-alignment of forces that has not been imposed by arms or State terror, but rather, by the people capable of creating life and not destroying it" visibly satisfied for having given so much and received so much. The period between the Ouagadougou Summit of July 1998 and the extra-ordinary Sirte Summit of 1-2 March 2001 has been a remarkable moment of achievement for Africa. Also, the fact that Africa succeeded, during this interval, to peacefully assert its will by efficiently fighting against the injustice (Lockerbie affair), which one of its members has been subjected to, should equally be perceived as a warning to all those who think the old order would remain forever unchanged. Of course, what was done in Algiers was the least difficult compared to Sirte. It only defined a take off plan approved by all. Figuratively speaking, for the plane, the crew, the air traffic controller and the passengers to remain determined, pretending that the flight will never take off just because the selected runway is not European or American, would have amounted to dubious resentment. It is now left to Kadhafi and his counterparts at the base of the new continental Organisation, to provide the means for the implementation of the new policies. These include financial and human resources, but above all, the means of communication, which were somewhat lacking for the agonising OAU. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright © 2001 Panafrican News Agency. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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