At the same time they are building up the climate for military intervention Africa, the European racist states are crying crocodile about the socio-economic state of Africa and then turning around and using this state of crisis, a state of crisis that is the direct consequence of their colonialism and neo-colonialism plundering of Africa, as a rationale for seizing control of the overall planning for Africa's development. See for example the Labour Party's government so-called Africa Commission's plan for Africa's development that will be submitted to the G8 -- a plan that will be written by people like the European singer Bob Geldolf and a Canadian politician; with the imput one supposes of people like South Africa's Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and others. This kind of arrogance shows the true nature of the so-called partnership between the colonialist/neo-colonialist countries and Africa, touted by the majority of the leaders of the AU. So much for NEPAD.
The whole thing is a cynical farce at the expense of the suffering peoples of Africa. Just look at a few excerpts from today's news.
The AP and ABC ran a story with the following excerpt:
"...Blair acknowledged that Africa likely will still need outside help.
"There will be times when Africa cannot stop a conflict on its own," he said, suggesting a EU rapid-reaction force being set up could respond to a crisis in Africa if African peacekeepers fail to stem future problems. The EU force could be on the ground and ready to go in 10 days, he said." Blair Calls for Action on Crises in Africa
The Associated Press
The Bloomberg organization published a similar article from which these excerpts where extracted:
"U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair called for the European Union to develop the capability to deploy troops to Africa within 10 days by next year, part of plans to fight poverty, disease and war in the region. "
"The troops would step in to defuse conflicts such as the clashes in Sudan and the Congo until the United Nations and African Union could deploy forces. In the last 50 years, there have been 186 coups and 26 wars in Africa, with more than seven million people killed, the UN says. "
"
``I want Africa to be the top priority for the European Union's new rapidly deployable battle groups and to get them operational, initially, as soon as possible in 2005,'' Blair said in a speech in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. "
"Blair said he's concerned that the West risks terrorist attacks if it fails to bring more stability to African nations. More than 300 million Africans and 46 percent of the population south of the Sahara Desert live on less than $1 a day and less than half of children complete primary school. Africa is the only continent to become poorer in the last 25 years. "
"
``Poverty and instability leads to weak states, which can become havens for terrorists and other criminals,'' Blair said. Even before the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., ``al-Qaeda had bases in Africa. They still do, hiding in places where they can go undisturbed by weak governments while they plan their next attack.''
"
`Unfortunate Time'
"Blair's plan for putting EU reaction forces into Africa ``comes at an unfortunate time when the government is disbanding regiments and getting rid of manpower and capability,'' said Nicholas Soames, the opposition Conservative Party spokesman on U.K. defense issues. ``It is a task too far.'"
"The rapid reaction units from the EU would have about 1,500 troops contributed from the bloc's member nations. "
"The EU, which in 1999 decided to establish a joint rapid reaction force, has to date put troops into action once, in March 2003 when it sent a peacekeeping force of about 350 EU troops to Macedonia. Last month, ministers from France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and Spain agreed to establish a ``European Gendarmerie Force'' that could be deployed by next year at the earliest. "
"On a three-day swing through Africa, Blair said leaders of the region along with the West need to draw up a plan for fighting poverty, disease, corruption and war in the region that the Group of Eight industrial nations could back next year. "
"Draft Plan"
"In February, Blair tapped the Commission for Africa including pop musician Bob Geldof, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to draw up a plan for the region. It will be presented to the G-8 in March.
Blair also pledged to boost funding for an Africa Union force by 25 percent to 20 million pounds ($35.6 million) and to press the Group of Eight nations to relieve the debts of oil-rich Nigeria."
``With that report, the time for excuses will be over,'' Blair said. ``The world, inside Africa and outside Africa, will know just what the problems are but also the solutions.''
U.K.'s Blair Calls for EU Force for Africa Clashes (Update2) Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) --
The Guardian ran the following on the Conservatice Party position, note the threat to Zimbabwe:
"The Conservatives today called for greater military commitment to Africa, with British forces implementing a no fly zone in the Darfur region of Sudan and, if necessary, backing UN monitors in Zimbabwe....Speaking during the foreign affairs debate at the party conference in Bournemouth, Mr Ancram said one of the first actions of a Tory government would be to get a UN security council resolution to send monitors and observers into Zimbabwe.
If this was unacceptable to Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, enforcement by British troops could not be ruled out, his press aides confirmed. Earlier Alan Duncan, the new shadow international development secretary, criticised Mr Blair's current trip to Africa, accusing him of posing in "stunts and photo-ops [that] don't feed the world's poor".He called for an increase in the African Union force in the Sudan, with a pledge to provide logistical support and even policing a no-fly zone..."
Tories back intervention in Africa
Matthew Tempest, political correspondent, in Bournemouth
Wednesday October 6, 2004
This military aspect of neo-colonialism is accompanied by penetration at other levels for example the cocoa production, Africa is responsible for over 70 percent of the world's cocoa. But the real power are entities such as American Cocoa Research Institute (ACRI), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
CABI Bioscience, Association of the Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries of the European Union (CAOBISCO), Cocoa Merchantsâ Association of America, Inc.(CMAA). the Federation of Cocoa Commerce (FCC), Anecacao, Chocolate Manufacturers Association, National Confectioners Association
And processing / commodity holdinig companies such as:
ADM Cocoa, Blommer Chocolate Company, Buhler Inc., Cargill, Ferrara Pan Candy Company, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., Goldenberg Candy Company, Guittard Chocolate Company, Hershey Foods Corporation, Jelly Belly Candy Company, Kraft, Machu Picchu Coffee Trading S.A.C., Mars Incorporated, Nestle, Quality Candies, R.C. Purdy Chocolates Ltd., See's Candies, Inc., Starbucks Coffee Company, Toms Confectionery Group and World's Finest Chocolate, Inc.
The big commercial banks control the financing and the large scale commodity markets control all aspects of the actual trading and pricing. These trading giants include names such as: London International Financial Futures & Options Exchange,
New York Board of Trade, Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, Bloomberg LP,
Reuters Commodity, Energy, and Financial Futures, Dow Jones & Company,
E D & F Man Cocoa, and Comdaq. Recently the IMF and the World Bank forced most of the African cocoa producers to stop giving the growers a guaranteed fixed price as a condition for their so-called assistance to these countries, I believe that Ghana is the one African producer that rejected this particular Bretton Woods institutions demand. (A point for the Kuofor government.)
Arrayed against these forces, what hope is there for the primary producer, the African men and women in places such as Ghana and Ivory Coast. Remember how the Europeans destroyed the cocoa trade of Ghana during Nkrumah's CPP government administration so as to reduce revolutionary Ghana's foreign reserves and give the February traitors, Ankrah and Company, the cover for their criminal coup. Even after the coup, Ankrah had to constantly beg the US to reduce its pressure on cocoa prices. So the African grower, in a continent that to this day still refuses to unite in the face of these aggregations of power, has no chance at all.
This kind of neo-colonialism, that is the military, economic and financial domination of Africa, is supplemented by other avenues of control. For example there is something called the World Congress for Software Quality (WCSQ), which is designed to disseminate the latest information and innovation in the world of software development. Guess who represents Africa in this organization...you guessed right the Europeans, namely the European Organization for Quality, EOQ Software Committee.
Then there are organizations such as The African Society, the product of America's National Summit on Africa, which lists its objective as educating people in America about Africa and African people, building bridges of understanding and partnership, and to facilitate the Continent's social development and political transition to more open, democratic societies. Now this is quite a stated agenda for a country that has yet to practice democracy itself nor given it's African citizens equal rights after hundreds and hundreds of years, as Pres. Mugabe so rightfully pointed out in his recent Address to the UN.
This "The Africa Society" group has some interesting personalities associated with it, Daivd Rockefeller, Lawrence Eagleburger, AndrewYoung, ChevronTexaco's VP for Government Relations, Phillip T. Cavannaugh, Dr. Herschelle Challenor, Diplomacy Senior Fellow, Bureau for Africa USAID, Dr. Ali Mazrui, Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, Mora McLean, President Africa America Institute,
Ingrid Saunders-Jones, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, The Coca-Cola Company, Nancy Kassebaum-Baker, Jack Kemp among others.
Anyone who still doubts the dangers to Africa that neo-colonialism represents just doesn't want to see the truth. Either we unite or perish; it is as simple as that.
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