ADNA Update: 011101
Message from: Society of Missionaries of Africa
For contact information see also:
http://www.africapolicy.org/adna
AFRICA UPDATE
Perhaps you noticed that we went back to the title of "update" and dropped
the "roundup" part. We thought having these Texans around was going to be
fun, but their version of rounding up, smoking out, etc., is getting old
fast. So we're back to updating again.
As usual there is a mixture of good and bad news from the continent this
past month. We had to dig a little deeper to find it, as Africa has pretty
much disappeared off of the pages of the Washington Post and the New York
Times, not to mention the Topeka Capital Journal. They couldn't ignore the
big goings on here in DC where Africa Trade Ministers from 36 countries
came to meet with US officials. Called the U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade
and Economic Cooperation Forum, this meeting was mandated by last year's
AGOA legislation. Positive statistics presented by the government touting
the effects of AGOA were disputed by many in our coalition and even by the
BBC. Those leaders are continuing their meetings in Philadelphia with the
Corporate Council on Africa as we go to cyberpress.
Earlier in the month President Wade of Senegal gathered a group of 10
African heads of state and 18 representatives of other African countries to
discuss an antiterrorism pact. A draft "Dakar Declaration" was crafted by
defense, interior and foreign ministers and experts from those countries.
The pact never came to be because of disagreement on the form that such a
continent-wide pact could take. Experts suggested naming a 'continental
coordinator.' Critics noted that Africa already has a convention against
terrorism drafted in 1999, after the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es
Salaam. It's so hard to stay off the bandwagon, though, and who knows what
the benefits may be of appearing to cooperate with Washington. President
Wade had already gone out of his way the week before to reject the call for
an Islamic Jihad. In his country which is 95% Muslim, he declared that
Senegal was a "nation of tolerance" and Islam a "religion of peace."
The New African Initiative, the economic program adopted last July at the
annual OAU summit, got a boost this month when the European Union threw its
weight behind it. During a one-day summit in Brussels a joint communique
was issued which strongly supports the initiative and steps were begun to
take it further through both human resource and financial support. From
next year a regular dialogue would be developed on the NAI between the EU
and African countries as it takes further shape.
As usual Nigeria was one of the big newsmakers of the month. Unfortunately
it was not producing the kind of good news that most of us would like.
Nineteen Nigerian soldiers were killed and mutilated in a Tiv area near the
border of Taraba State. The reaction by the military was brutal. Several
locations were attacked and over a few days regular forces opened fire on
civilians. Buildings were destroyed and many lives lost. As usual estimates
of deaths are wide-ranging, anywhere from about 200 to 500. President
Obasanjo seemed to make things worse when complaints of military excesses
were met with a cold statement of support for the armed forces. ("Soldiers
are trained to kill, and if deployed that is what they will do." .... OK,
but to their own citizens??) MISNA reports about 300 thousand displaced
people in Benue State, fleeing their homes for fear of military reprisals.
Some have likened this incident to the destruction of the village of Odi
early in Obasanjo's tenure. Others have seen this as a very dangerous power
game in the lead up to next year's presidential elections.
Nigeria's oil trials and tribulations took a new turn when Shell decided to
sue two Niger Delta communities for damages and lost production resulting
from an attack in late September. It is the first such action by a
multinational company against a community. The suit calls for $25 million
in damages as well as more than $800,000 per day in lost production since
the 27 September attack. Shell states that it had been "very sensitive to
the welfare and well-being of host communities." Some may wish to disagree
with that assessment. In fact there is vehement disagreement with that.
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth alleges that the explosion
on 27 September was caused by the ineptitude of Shell's staff and the
decrepit state of the facility. A testy situation in the Delta region seems
to have just been made worse by this unprecedented lawsuit brought by Shell.
Since we're in West Africa let's thank Mayor Guiliani for dropping out of
the group that wants to change rules or constitutions in order to stay in
power. That leaves room then for Lansana Conté, the President of Guinea,
who has said that he would support a referendum to change the constitution
to allow him a third term in office. Can't get enough of that guy, I guess.
The opposition party has come out against this proposal which was made
during the country's 43rd independence anniversary. I don't want to spoil
the party, so I'll stay....
In other election news voters in Gambia reelected President Yahya Jammeh
for a second five-year term. A week later the authorities in Gambia closed
down the country's main private radio station in what looked like a
crackdown on the opposition and the media. The station was told it was
being closed because its income tax had not been paid in full.... At least
they had a reason. Or could it have been the fact that Citizen FM had tried
to broadcast early election results against the government's wishes and was
eventually barred from doing so?
Côte d'Ivoire is slowly digesting the spasm of violence surrounding its
election last year. The Forum of Reconciliation which was established got
down to the nitty gritty this month as the secretary general of the RDR
demanded official recognition of the nationality and the political
eligibility of former Prime Minister Allassane Ouattara. The Forum also
heard from the youth movements, notably the students' federation which
invited 'foreigners' to not get mixed up in Ivorian politics. Some
observers feel that the forum has consisted mainly of the defense of
regional and group (political) interests. They fear that in its present
form it may only exacerbate regional sensibilities of all stripes. On the
brighter side, President Gbagbo said he would mobilize his ECOWAS peers
towards a West Africa summit on forest conservation. This concerns
principally the Taï National Park which is one of the last remaining
portions of the vast primary forest that once stretched across present day
Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Only 100 elephants remain
today compared to some 1800 in 1979. Also, efforts by ministers from Côte
d'Ivoire seem to be bearing fruit. Last May a group went to London to tell
the UK government that without higher prices nothing could prevent
poverty-stricken cocoa farmers from using forced labor. Early this month
chocolate producers and US members of Congress agreed to a four year plan
that is intended to bring in global standards and independent monitoring
where child labor is, or has been, rife. That should allow cocoa grown
without exploitative practices to be labeled as such. They also plan to set
up a foundation to manage that scheme.
In Sierra Leone there is mainly better news and it concerns disarmament.
The UN reports that since the beginning of the year 24,100 combatants
belonging to the RUF and pro-government militias have given up their arms.
Of those, 3,300 were child soldiers. Once again the Africans give the
example to the rest of the world and the IRA, which also announced it would
disarm, seems to have understood the lesson.
On the other hand, Liberia is incensed that the UN thinks that they are
getting around the arms embargo imposed on them. An independent panel
dealing with Liberian sanctions has recommended that the Security Council
extend the arms embargo and rough diamond sanctions on the country.
Apparently a steady flow of weapons has continued to enter the country,
paid for by timber production and Liberia's maritime registry among other
things. The panel did, however, suggest lifting the order to ground
Liberian aircraft because progress had been made in addressing
irregularities among its registered aircraft.
Burundi made a few strides in its efforts to restore political stability
and to move forward. South African forces were given the go-ahead to come
into Burundi to protect Burundian politicians returning from exile. In
total there will eventually be 700 South Africans protecting the
institutions and the politicians. The number of portfolios to be held by
different political parties was decided by transition leaders in
mid-October. As of November 1 the transition begins with President Buyoya
serving as President for the next 18 months at which time he will change
places with his vice-president, who is not in a "secure location."
Rwanda and Uganda have made several efforts at rapprochement this month
with meetings being held between defense ministers in Kabale and then
between Presidents Museveni and Kagame. Mutual suspicion has clouded the
relationship ever since fighting between their forces broke out last year
in Kisangani. Recently Museveni called Rwanda a 'hostile nation' and Rwanda
accused Uganda of massing troops on its borders. The two Presidents will
meet in London on November 6 to continue the dialogue under the patronage
of the British.
Ups and downs in the peace process in Congo have kept everyone guessing.
The UN is proceeding cautiously in its deployment of peacekeepers. Koffi
Annan proposed a ceiling of 5500 men by next year, with a new head quarters
in Kindu. This extension is meant to supervise the retreat of foreign
forces, the disarmament of foreign guerillas and their reconversion to
civilian life. A scheduled inter-Congolese dialogue meeting in Addis Ababa
took place but was snubbed by President Kabila. There was much confusion
about the number of delegates that were to attend, the amount of money
allocated, etc. Apparently some good informal contacts were made but not
much done officially. South Africa has accepted to host the next session in
November. President Kabila reiterated this week his support of the peace
process. Funding seems to be one of the major obstacles to the continuation
of the dialogue. Meanwhile fighting continues in North Kivu and some other
regions.
Congo's neighbor, Angola, is still plagued by fighting between the
government and UNITA. The UN refugee agency said earlier this month that
3500 Angolans had arrived in Zambia, fleeing the fighting. Of those, 60%
were children suffering from malnutrition. Each side in the conflict is
trying to consolidate positions before the rainy season. In spite of it all
the government still plans to hold elections next year.
America's new friend and ally, Sudan, has shown some signs of life or lack
of respect thereof. The bombing in the south of Sudan has continued even
after the country's post September 11 conversion to the antiterrorism
agenda. The SPLA accused the government of even using napalm in its bombing
on the nights of September 20-21. Sen. Danforth has taken up his position
Special Envoy. His senior aide and advisor, Robert Oakley, will be visiting
the country in September. Between the 12th and the 20th the SPLA attacked
three oil zones in the states of Al Wihda, Upper Nile and Bahr el-Ghazal.
They claim to have killed 400 soldiers and to have taken a great number of
arms and munitions. With allies like these who needs rogue states?
Somalia is easing its way back into the international picture. The prime
minister of the transitional government warned the UN Security Council that
his country 'could disintegrate and become a home for terrorist
organizations....' Was that news to him? He did lose a no-confidence vote
in the parliament. They are struggling to form a government and to afford
the country some semblance of stability. President Salat Hassan says his
government will hold talks with opposition leaders in an attempt to bring
them into the transitional administration. A new prime minister, he said,
will have 30 days to form a cabinet. President Moi of Kenya has undertaken
to mediate talks aimed at moving Somalia towards political reconciliation.
Election preparations continue in Zimbabwe where President Mugabe's
government was accused of amassing huge quantities of arms and ammunition.
Congo and Namibia are helping Zimbabwe to circumvent an international arms
embargo which was imposed because of the country's appalling human rights
record. October has seen an escalation in public frustration because of the
government's overt economic and political mismanagement. A recent
imposition of a price freeze on basic foodstuffs to avert 'economic
sabotage' by white entrepreneurs has spawned unprecedented food shortages.
Mugabe threatened then to take over all businesses that close down as a
result. Facing the threat of EU sanctions unless Harare can prove it is
serious about human rights and democracy, the foreign minister offered to
discuss the matter but said that they would not be dictated to by outsiders
and that they demanded respect.
As the AIDS crisis continues to grab headlines in South Africa, the
pandemic reached into another surprising domain. More than 100,000 census
takers in South Africa were given condoms in case "anyone is led into
temptation" during their work. The Free State census manager added, "The
condoms are for use." No comment.
In one bright spot, Mauritania voted this month. It has had a multiparty
system for 10 years but it has never functioned properly because the voting
system kept all but the biggest party from winning seats. That has now
changed and President Ould Taya does seem to be making good on his promise
to give the opposition parties a role in decision making. The ruling PRDS
party won 56 out of 81 seats and the French Foreign Ministry (did you think
I was going to say 'Legion'?) expressed satisfaction with the elections,
describing the exercise as "free and fair."
Mozambicans stopped on the 19th of October to remember their former
President, Samora Machel who died 15 years ago. His plane crashed into a
hillside in South Africa, presumably with the complicity of the then
apartheid government. Times have changed. Mozambique, after a long civil
war and though still economically poor, is a largely peaceful and
multiparty democracy. The elite of South Africa and Mozambique gathered in
a lavish affair to honor President Machel who offered a safe haven during
the apartheid years for many a South African dissident. Miriam Makeba
delighted the crowd with a rendition of "A Luta Continua." And so it does.
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When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and
love has always won. There have been tyrants and murders and for a time
they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall. Think of it, ALWAYS.
(Mahatma Gandhi)
Phil Reed, M.Afr.
Justice and Peace Office
Society of Missionaries of Africa, North American Province
1624 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009-1003
tel: 202-232-5154
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This message from Society of Missionaries of Africa is distributed through
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Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA) via IDEX
Nunu Kidane
Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA)
Communications Facilitator for IDEX
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San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel: (415) 824 8384
Fax: (415 824 8387
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