From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 12:54 PM Subject: [Ugandacom] Africa's Unity - as necessary as ever
"In promoting their industry and the economy as a whole African states are coming up against difficulties arising from their inadequately developed transport and communication system." p. 183 "Economic Geography of the World", K. Spidchenko Africans across the globe, in Africa, and in the African Diaspora, are victimized with impunity by the contemporary racist political economy systems dominating the world. We are slaughtered as if we were mere pests by our exploiters and tormentors; we are cheated daily: the value of our work, of our creativity is routinely and systematically stolen by the brazen criminals who occupy the ornate seats of capitalist power. In many instances much of the dirty work is done by fellow Africans in the employ of the racists. This is not a new phenomena, and it is not a phenomena peculiar to Africans. So-called "Sioux police" restrained the great Warrior Crazy Horse as the white (i.e., European) US Calvary personnel stabbed him repeatedly, and after his death, proceeded to slice his corpse in half. Privileged inmates, acting as foremen in NAZI German concentration camps, killed vast numbers of camp internees, as one Jewish survivor observed, these men did all the killing and the SS only watched, and made wagers on which internee the foremen would choose to kill next. (from the documentary The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich). In pre-independence India, Indians under command the British occupiers beat and routinely killed other Indians at the British behest. Dr. Nkrumah details in a graphically precise manner the role of barbaricAfrican henchmen in the employ of the Belgians in the rape, murder and exploitation of the people of the Congo in his book, Challenge of the Congo, and the Transatlant ic slave trade had its share of African collaborators. Today we see that the circumstances throughout much of Africa has not changed one iota, in the East, in the Horn, in the West, in Central Africa, in the South; conscious and unconscious agents of racist imperialism -- neocolonialism, are gleefully massacring, abusing and raping African men, women and children. In countries such as the US and UK 'high profile" quislings such as Gen. Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Lady Valerie Amos, are chief apologists for the crimes of these two states and the system they promulgate. They say nothing about the fact that Africans, including those of us who are citizens of these countries and legal immigrants alike, are routinely murdered by the military, police, individual racists and racist groups in these countries; even as these sellout elements speak loudly in defense and praise of their masters in every conceivable fora. Likewise, too many of the leaders of African states are complicit with the imperialist world in attacks on progres sive Africa, and indeed the rest of the world. In their actions and inaction, these leaders are no different than the Colin Powells, the "Condi" Rices, the Valerie Amos(es) of the world. However, there is always an alternative side to every equation. The vitality of Pan-Africanism, despite all the attempts to derail its momentum, spells the doom of this system of neocolonial barbarism. To properly understand the advances and setbacks in the contemporary struggle for Pan-Africanism, it is useful to look at the views of some of the major actors. To that end I have inserted extracts from recently published views of four influential personalities, although I do not necessarily agree with every prescription or perspective attributed to these individuals, they do represent major tendencies and thus should be analyzed by every one of us who is serious about reversing the terrible state we find ourselves in today. The first entry is from Libya. In his speech to the African Airline Association meeting in Libya Colonel Ghadafi emphasized once again the need for Pan-Africanism: "Due to the Leader's keen interest to consolidate African unity after the establishment of the African Union. And in order to unify all African institutions, to serve the goals of all Africans. And further to his call on 2.2.2002 to the people of the continent in which he called on the Africans to move within the continent without passports or visa, and not to observe the boundaries made by colonialism to divide the people of the Africa. The Leader of the revolution attended Monday morning the inaugural session of the 35th Annual General Assembly of the Association of African Airline Companies. The leader was accorded a warm welcome, taking pride in his role in the unity of Africa." ... "The Leader expressed his happiness that the Africans have the capacity and the will to form such organization in air transport, and their consistency in convening annual meetings of AFRAA, since 35 years ago when it was founded. This he said also applies to the keen interest to convene African summits in time since 1963 without delay. The Leader explained that this thing characterizes the African continent, that it has a will, and live and consistency. The Leader noted that such African resolve and will is unparalleled in other continents. He pointed out the European Union itself which has made long fast strides at various levels, but it did not move on collective bases, in the beginning... It began by a small group of countries, then other countries joined it gradually. The Leader stressed that Africans alone who move collectively, and ever since the establishment of the OAU in 1963. And all its institutions likewise move collectively, contrary to Arab organizations. Even t he Arab League started to stumble, besides there are no regular Arab summits." /Jamahiriya news agency/ "The Leader attends a meeting", Tripoli/ 8 Al Kanoon/ Janahttp://www.jamahiriyanews.com/displayNews.php?lang=en&day=mon&tim=pm Let us go further and examine the views of COMESA Secretary General Erastus Mwencha: "THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) says the African Union (AU) should take a lead in providing economic leadership to the continent if Africa is to catch up with the rest of the world. Comesa secretary general Erastus Mwencha said the AU should rise to the occasion urgently and link the continent to the world economic agenda as Africa could not afford to remain behind." "Mr Mwencha was speaking when he addressed the Lusaka Press Club at a working breakfast at Hotel-Intercontinental in Lusaka at the weekend." "He said unlike the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) that had a political inclination in its operations, the AU should be a vehicle through which Africa should be able to integrate itself into the fast growing and challenging global market." "The United States of America (USA) recently announced the formation of the Western Hemisphere Free Trade Area which would have 34 member countries with a projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$14 trillion." "At the same time, there were other trading blocks in Asia with at least US$5 billion GDP and all those had severe implications on African trade systems if the continent did not forge ahead as a single economic unit." ""The implication of all these is that if we are for instance exporting to the US which is already in FTA arrangements with other countries with similar African products, then Africa's market will disappear." ""Hence African integration is a matter of urgency to grow and survive economically in this hostile global trade environment," Mr Mwencha said." "He said while economic groupings like Comesa were recording economic growth, they were too little to impact positively on the continent." "But it would be quiet different in an economically integrated Africa. Mr Mwencha said most of the recorded growths were from trade related activities but Africa had potential with all its abundant resources." "Provide Leadership, Comesa Urges Africa Union" http://allafrica.com/stories/200312080659.html and the views of the current Chair of the AU, Pres. Chissano: "He took his country as a case in point in which, after the colonial ruler (s) left, the Africans themselves took to destroy what had been built such as the roads and bridges in their civil wars that took 16 years to end. The roads and bridges they were now talking of rebuilding were all destroyed by the Mozambican themselves, he said. He gave a host of other examples where civil wars had caused destruction of the countries, namely Namibia, Nigeria with the Biafra war, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Sudan, among others. Besides, aggression from neighbouring countries also facilitated Africa's destruction, he said. President Chissano said the reason why Africa continued to destroy itself is that the people are not yet prepared to leave selfishness but are self- centered with no solidarity to rally them together in unity." "Said the President: "We need to build the sense of solidarity among ourselves as the people of Africa, to rebuild our hearts."" "Referring to the Assembly logo, which depicted hands of two people holding bricks in the rebuilding of Africa, President Chissano said it was a sign the Church needed to "mobilize each one of us to come together with bricks - which are the hearts of each of us." ""Each must bring a brick to build Africa and its families," he said. "Then the wars of destruction will stop. And then we will start talking about Come and BUILD." He said the Church has been all along in partnership with the state in the transformation of the continent and at no one time were the two apart. Reflecting the mooservices for all, and in improving education to become appropriate for Africa's development agenda." "President Chissano underscored the close link between peace and development, saying one could not talk about development if there was no peace. Wars undermines development policies, observed the Mozambican leader" ... "President Chissano called upon Africans to preserve their indigenous knowledge and use it in the development of the continent, acknowledging that culture was essential part in the development process. He observed that many of Africa's problems were as a result of people abandoning their culture and copying others. He said Africa's culture was that of peace and that the "Church should be in the forefront to see that our culture is not lost."" "In the same breath, he called upon the Church to embrace the Christian religion within the context of Africa's culture but added that those cultural practices that are harmful must be discarded." "Giving his own experience as a Catholic, he said he could not understand a word in the Church's worship when it was done in Latin, a culture brought by the missionaries. He blamed Africans for sticking to such cultures without changing them over a period. He observed that it was the same with Islam where Muslims refused to translate the Koran into other languages, only praying in Arabic. He implored Africans not to confuse "our cultures, which are full of values," but added that wrong things should not be preserved in the name of culture." "Chair of African Union Delivers Keynote at AACC Opening" http://allafrica.com/stories/200311250644.html and finally those of South Africa's Pres. Mbeki: In his book Does America need a Foreign Policy?, Henry Kissinger writes: "African countries have a high propensity for civil war. And if tribal and ethnic loyalties extend across national frontiers, as they do in an extraordinarily large number of cases, civil wars turn into international wars. In this manner, what started as a civil war in Zaire - abetted by the Western powers in the name of democracy - has led to the disintegration of much of the central authority. Now renamed Congo, the country has become an arena for the competition of other African states..." Later, he goes on to write that "the (African) continent is a tragedy: it is also a challenge. Africa's variety inhibits concerted action: the scope of its crises nevertheless demands a significant response. The idealism of the American people- its Wilsonian commitment and its basic decency - is being tested here, as well as its practical creativity. Realism should illuminate America's understanding of the underlying problems. But without the moral commitment of the American people and the international community, Africa's tragedy will turn into the festering disaster of our age." But commenting about the United States and the international community to which Kissinger referred, Ngugi wa Thiongo in his book: Writers in Politics says: "And really we cannot expect that those who benefit from our crippled positions will come and say unto us: throw off those crutches and walk. On the contrary, when we complain too much, they are more likely to give us golden ones and want to replace those made of wood. But surely, it is unto us to have the will to say: away with all crutches of whatever make or model. We have to summon the collective will to decide that, if we shake hands with others in whatever forms of cooperative ventures and exchange, it will be on the basis of our standing on our two feet, however wobbly, rather than firmly leaning on any crutches. But what have we done as opposed to what has been done to us? What lessons have we really learnt from our ancestors who fought so resolutely against slavery and colonialism? Ngugi says: "We have actually made a mockery of the gift (of independence). At a glance, our post independence period has seen the devaluation of our African unity and pan-Africanism, the devaluation of intellect and intellectual achievement, and worst of all, the devaluation of African lives. This situation raises the inevitable question: what gift shall we, the living, bequeath to the unborn? What Africa shall we hand over to the future?" These are two diametrically opposed approaches to the future of our continent. According to Dr Kissinger, we as Africans can do nothing to ensure that our continent ceases to be what he calls a tragedy. Rather, we should rely on the idealism and moral commitment of the American people and the rest of the international community to take us out of our misery. None of us could ever accept this proposition. However poor we may be, we will never lose pride in ourselves as Africans and human beings. The task we face is to respond to the critical remarks made by Ngugi wa Thiongo. I think we must accept that in good measure we have made a mockery of the gift of independence. I also think we must accept that we have allowed the devaluation of intellect and intellectual achievement and worst of all, the devaluation of African lives. We must therefore answer the question honestly- what gift shall we, the living, bequeath to the unborn.? What Africa shall we hand over to the future? In this regard, I believe that we should first of all make a determination that we shall be our own liberators from poverty and underdevelopment, from dictatorship and tyranny, from war and instability. We must together take the decision that we shall determine our future. Secondly, we must reaffirm the fundamental truth that as Africans, we share a common destiny. This means that we cannot but be concerned about one another. It means that we must recognise the reality that none of us can prosper in peace if our African neighbour is weighed down by misery. It also means that we must understand that what each one of us does has an impact on the other. Thus should we respond to Ngugi's cry that we have devalued African unity and pan-Africanism. Henry Kissinger has described our continent as a tragedy because of what we and others have done to the peoples of our continent. He says it is a tragedy because we have had a history of military coups and dictatorships. He says it is a tragedy because we have waged the most merciless wars against one another, including the commission of the crime of genocide, as though African lives were worth nothing. He says that Africa's tragedy will turn into the festering disaster of our age because he sees a continent that is steadily getting more and more impoverished. Because we have failed ourselves in the past, he has come to the conclusion that we will never succeed in future unless those who benefit from our crippled positions extend a helping hand to us, enabling us to walk. Our own experience must therefore, tell us what we need to do. It is clear that we have to order our political and constitutional systems so that, as a historic document of our liberation struggle puts it, the people shall govern. We have to act together to ensure that our continent becomes a continent of democracy and human rights. This has nothing to do with prescriptions handed down to us by those richer and more powerful than ourselves. The struggle for democracy is a struggle to enable every African to play a role in deciding the future of our countries and continent. It is driven by the commitment we must all make to respect and promote the dignity of all Africans. We have to ensure that we end the scourge of war on our continent. In this regard, because of our interdependence and indeed, because we share a common destiny; we have to agree that we cannot be ruled by a doctrine of absolute sovereignty. We should not allow the fact of the independence of each one of our countries to turn us into spectators when crimes against the people are being committed. It is true that each of our governments derives its mandate and legitimacy from its electorate. This would seem to suggest that everybody else should therefore stay out of the business of each of our states. But again, if we are to deny the perspe ctive projected by Dr Kissinger, that we will turn into the festering disaster of our age, we will have to proceed from the position that we are each, our brothers and sisters keeper. We must act to end poverty and underdevelopment on our continent. What this requires first of all, is that we must think for ourselves. We should never allow this situation again that others prescribe for us what we should do. We must elaborate our own development programmes and take responsibility for their success. This must include ensuring that our states have the capacity to play a developmental role, from the local to the national sphere of government. We have to inculcate a different ethos among the public servants informed by the principle expressed in our country as the People First. I know that this is easier said than done. But critically important in this regard is the fact that the political leadership must itself lead by example. In this context, it is also vitally important that we fight and defeat the scourge of corruption. We cannot speak of African renewal and allow the situation to persist that some among us abuse their positions of authority and power to steal from our countries and the masses of our people. So long as we allow this to continue, so long will the victory over poverty and underdevelopment elude us. It is perfectly clear that our continent is not entirely bereft of the human and material resources we need to address the challenge of poverty and underdevelopment. Accordingly, it cannot be true that there is nothing we can do to promote our own development. Rather than wait for the helping hand of another, we have to draw on our capacities for self reliance; self reliance in the design of our development programmes, self reliance in their implementation, self reliance in ensuring that they benefit the poor. This by no means implies that we repudiate mutually beneficial partnerships with others. What it means is that we should not, even mentally, turn ourselves into slavish dependents of foreign aid. I am certain that we all agree with everything I have said so far. The challenge is determining what we should do together to disappoint the prediction that we will turn into the festering disaster of our age. I genuinely believe that we have taken the first steps towards the renaissance of our continent. I am convinced that if we sustain the initiatives represented by the African Union and its development programme NEPAD, as we must, we will advance towards meeting the goals I have already stated. A central point to keep in mind in this regard is that both of these initiatives have been ratified, confirmed and accepted by all African countries. They, therefore, constitute a pledge we have made to one another that we will act together to reaffirm African unity and pan-Africanism, and promote the common goal of a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Africa. The African Union was established on the basis of the Constitutive Act. This law was approved by all our parliaments and therefore, has the force of any other law. The Union is proceeding to elaborate and approve a protocol that will enable the establishment of an African Court of Justice. It must surely be one of the tasks of this court to ensure that all of us implement and respect the Constitutive Act which was approved by our parliaments. To illustrate the importance of this matter, let us cite some of the objectives of the Union spelt out in the Constitutive Act. It says that among others, the Union shall: "Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent; Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; Promote and protect human and people's rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and other relevant human rights instruments." The Principles contained in the Act include such provisions as: "Promotion of gender equality; Respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance; Promotion of social justice to ensure balanced economic development; Respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities; Condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of government". All of us have accepted that these are legal and binding obligations on all of us singly and collectively. The seriousness of our intention to ensure that we live up to our commitments is not only reflected in the decision to establish the African Court of Justice. It is also reflected in the provision within the Constitutive Act for the imposition of sanctions. The relevant article reads as follows: "Furthermore, any Member-State that fails to comply with the decision and policies of the Union may be subjected to other sanctions, (other than denial of the right to participate in the proceedings of the Union) such as the denial of transport and communications links with other Member-States, and other measures of a political and economic nature to be determined by the Assembly." But I also believe that we have to make certain that our peoples are mobilised to ensure that the Union honours its commitments. It is therefore very important that we should do everything possible to popularise the Union and sensitise the masses of our people to the new opportunities that have emerged which signal that nobody will ever be abandoned again to suffer in silence from a domestic tyrant. The'Pan-African parliament originally provided for in the Abuja Treaty, and incorporated in the Constitutive Act, is scheduled to have its first session in February in Addis Ababa. We look forward to the work of this continental body of our elected representatives itself to play a critical role as a guardian of the Constitutive Act, the Charter on the Human and People's Rights and other instruments that relate to freedom and democracy for the people of our continent. We will all have to ensure that the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the Union is convened as soon as possible, the preparatory work having been completed. This ECOSOCC will be composed of different social and professional groups of the Member-States of the Union, the so called civil society. This will give the opportunity to this important voice of our people to impact directly on the decision that the Union will take affecting the future of our continent. Of greatest importance, the Act observes that "the scourge of conflicts in Africa constitutes a major impediment to the socio-economic development of the continent and of the need to promote peace, security and stability as a prerequisite for the implementation of our development integration agenda." In this regard, and given the importance of this matter, the Principles contained in the Constitutive Act include: "Prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among Member- States of the Union; The right of Member-States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security; The right of the Union to intervene in a Member-State as pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity." In this regard, perhaps responding to Ngugi's denunciation that we have devalued African lives, the Union has taken a formal decision reflected in law, that none of our countries, relative to the Union, enjoys unlimited sovereignty and is therefore free to do with its people what it wishes. The Protocol that will be approved to establish the Peace and Security Council contains provisions for an early warning system. This is natural, given the attention the Union is currently paying to the matter of peace, security and stability. However, this also has implications with regard to national sovereignty. The early warning system will be instituted to create the possibility for the African Union to intervene in situations where it feels that there is a threat to peace and security. It is therefore, an important part of a system of preventive interventions that we need, to ensure that tensions in any one of our countries do not necessarily escalate into conflict. However, this means that the Union will have the duty and possibility to make determinations about what we might consider to be domestic matters but which the Union might see as a potential source of problems about which it should be concerned. As independent states, we have developed in the context of a largely unbridled respect for the notion of national sovereignty. We must therefore, foresee somewhat of a struggle to ensure that the approach adopted by the African Union towards African integration and unity, wins the day. But clearly, this will not be an easy struggle. Of course, the second major development with regard to the first steps we have taken towards the renewal of our continent is the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The critical point we must emphasise in this regard is that this is a partnership in the first instance among the Africans themselves. It has to be a partnership within countries and a partnership among countries, in pursuit of the agreed development goals. This comes back to the point we made earlier about the need for us to ensure that the masses of our people are mobilised to participate in the process of change. The development we seek to achieve should not treat the people as mere beneficiaries of such progress as we will make, but as actors, to bring about that progress. Indeed, this progress may not be possible without their participation. But as we have said, this must also be a partnership among our countries. It is obvious that the regional economic communities such as ECOWAS, are important instruments to help us cement this inter-African partnerships. Necessarily therefore, we have to pay the greatest attention to strengthening them because without them, it would never be possible to achieve the goal of African economic integration. However, the reality with regard to this matter is that the regional economic communities are at different levels of development. Nevertheless, all of them require one kind of intervention or another. The third leg of this partnership obviously relates to the rest of the world outside our continent. We are in the fortunate situation that now and perhaps for the first time, the rest of the world has accepted that we have a right and duty to determine our own path of development. Therefore, the international community as a whole has accepted the NEPAD programme, including its priorities. The NEPAD structure has also been accepted by the international community as a legitimate interlocutor, truly representative of the developmental aspirations of the peoples of our continent. That the international community has also accepted that we must redefine the relations especially between ourselves and the developed world. As we had to, we have said that the relationship of donor and recipient must become a thing of the past. It must be replaced by the partnership of which we have spoken, which must both respect our right to determine our future and impose a common obligation on our partners to implement what they would have agreed, and be mutually accountable to one another. These positions have been agreed. But of course, the taste of the pudding is in the eating. Practice will tell the extent to which all of us have internalised the concept of the new partnership. It would not surprise any one of us if that practise confirms the saying that old habits die hard. But we too will have to overcome any habit in terms of which we might have become accustomed to being the recipients of the magnanimity of others. As a token of our seriousness to ensure that our development programmes succeed, we instituted the African Peer Review Mechanism. This will enable us voluntarily to assess one another's progress with regard to the matters that are fundamental to the achievement of our development goals. I refer here to the questions of good political, economic and corporate governance. This peer review system is not intended to serve as an instrument for exclusion or punishment. We are fully aware of the reality that these matters of good governance require time and resources. The intention of the peer review mechanism is to supply the formation and establish the systems which would make it possible for us as African countries to advise and support one another as we build the institutions and systems that would make it possible for us to achieve the goals set by the African Union. From all of this, it is clear that we shall have to pay the greatest attention to the strengthening of the continental structures of both the African Union and NEPAD. I am certain that of critical importance in this regard, we would be well advised to ensure that we finance these structures ourselves. It will not do that for the viability of these important institutions we depend on donor support. Ngugi wa Thiongo asked the questions what gift shall we, the living, bequeath to the unborn? What Africa shall we hand over to the future? Henry Kissinger answered that we had no possibility to redefine ourselves other than a continent that is a tragedy. If we do the things we have said we will do, we will say to Ngugi wa Thiongo that the Africa that we will hand over will no longer be an Africa of dictators, of war, of poverty, and of petrified masses, terrified of the power that should serve their interests. If we do the things we said we will do, we will show Dr Kissinger that rather than being the festering disaster of our age, Africa, the cradle of humanity, will emerge as the hope of all humanity. How Africans Can Deliver Africa, By Thabo Mbeki http://allafrica.com/stories/200312080319.html In closing I would like to remind you that the favorite tactic of our tormentors since the days of the Romans has been "Divide et impera" ; divide and conquer. Our motto should be unite and live free. Roy Walker [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/TTwplB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> **********Keep Hope Alive!!!************* Win upto =N=150,000.00 ... 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