Jan 24, 2005
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Dear Tingasiga: “We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in the entire world.” With those words, so eloquently uttered before a worldwide audience, George W. Bush started his second term as president of the United States. While the entire speech was full of statements that signaled a fundamental change in US foreign policy, the words that I found most appealing were his promises to take sides with those who sought reform and positive change in their countries. To democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile, Bush said: “America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.” To the leaders of governments with long habits of control, Bush said: “To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.” And to consolidate the Bush Doctrine, he stated that the new policy of the United States would be “to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” As an African, I heard him say that the United States under Bush would be actively engaged in Africa’s struggle for democracy. I heard him say that US-Africa relations under his second term would not be business as usual. If carried through, the Bush Doctrine should have a seismic effect on African politics and government. In Africa, he will find kindred spirits among the millions who demand the right to freely organize themselves; the right to enjoy a level playing field upon which to compete against those in control of state power; the right to choose their leaders in genuinely free and fair elections; the right to contribute to the development of their societies; the right to enjoy the rights and benefits of citizenship even when they disagree with the leaders and rulers; the right not to be penalized for exercising their freedom within the law. Of course my delight with Bush’s speech is tempered by a skepticism born of disappointment. This is not the first American president to commit himself to the struggle for freedom. Addressing the US Congress in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson delivered a speech that was remarkably similar to what Bush told Americans on January 20, 2005. Wilson said: "We insist upon security in prosecuting our self-chosen lines of national development. We do more than that. We demand it also for others. We do not confine our enthusiasm for individual liberty and free national development to the incident and movements of affairs which affect only ourselves. We feel it wherever there is a people that tries to walk in these difficult paths of independence and right." Thirty one years later, President Harry Truman re-committed America to the struggle for freedom around the world. Addressing a joint session of Congress in March 1947, Truman said: “It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” Nine years later, Russia invaded and subjugated Hungary while American stood by. 21 years later, Russia invaded Czechoslovakia while America stood by. Forty years after the Truman Doctrine was enunciated, America was still supporting the Apartheid regime in South Africa which had subjugated and dehumanized millions of Africans in that country. Fifty years after Truman’s speech, and nearly a decade after the end of the Cold War, America was still overtly or covertly supporting anti-democratic regimes in Africa. So President Bush must understand and bear with our skepticism. American leasers have seldom lived up to their pro-democracy rhetoric. Yet we have to be cautiously optimistic and give Bush the benefit of doubt. Perhaps the United States will behave differently this time. Perhaps Bush means business. The question is on whose side he will be. Will he be on the side of the political leaders and rulers of Africa, or will he be on the side of the people of Africa themselves, those who seek the same freedom that Americans take for granted today? Obviously we do not expect Bush and America to deliver democracy to Africa. They cannot do so and should not attempt to do so. The people of Africa who seek freedom must peacefully organize themselves into very active, brave and focused political organizations that transcend petty cleavages. Africans must be prepared to do precisely what the people of Ukraine did recently. When the rulers of Ukraine, assisted by the Russians, attempted to rob the people of their rights and their choice, Ukrainians took to the very cold streets of Kiev to peacefully claim their freedom. The Americans probably helped them, but the people freed themselves. The Africans must do the same. Bush will not wait long to prove the sincerity of his new mission. For example, Uganda already offers him two very clear choices. On the one hand is President Yoweri Museveni and his regime, criminalizing peaceful opponents and bent on changing the constitution in order to perpetuate his rule beyond 2006. On the other are political groups that seek peaceful change and genuine democratization in Uganda. He can give diplomatic cover to Uganda’s genuine reformers and democrats. He can provide them with direct financial support. He can fund organizations that offer civic education to Ugandans to enhance their social and political awareness and independent thinking. The US can, and should, state loudly that it will not support financially or otherwise any regime which manipulates the constitution and national institutions for the sole purpose of perpetuating the rule of a few. America should apply the same democratic standards to Uganda that it has already applied to, say, Zimbabwe. There cannot be two sets of rules for democracy. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] |
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