Eddy and  Saiks,
Here is another view of the African Union from an anarchist journal. The writer
mentions Gambia where he writes:
 "As regards the continental parliament, the following example will give
us an insight into what it will be doing. In Gambia the average worker
earns about 600 Dalasis a month. A member of parliament gets 7000
Dalasis a month hough most of the decisions taken in all parliaments
the world over are anti-working class. Therefore a Gambian in an
all-African parliament will undoubtedly received more than what they
are getting now. All at the expense of the poor masses."

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:              Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:58:08 +0200
Subject:                Fwd: AINFOS: The African Union: The Case of the
Decorated Donkey
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From:                   "Dapamda" <[log in to unmask]>

Message sent from: [log in to unmask]

 ________________________________________________
      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
            http://www.ainfos.ca/
 ________________________________________________

given the militaristic masturbation that attended the launch of the
african union yesterday and given that most newspapers slavishly
reported the creation of this vehicle for neoliberalism as a "new
dawn" for the continent's people - when anyone with sense who looked
at that gathering of thugs, dictators, wealthy parasites and
mass-murderers should have an idea of exactly what the african union's
main tasks will be: the continued exploitation of the african people,
here is an article from the latest zabalaza african anarchist journal.
you can find further materials on-line at:

http://www.zabalaza.net

red & black regards
- michael (bikisha media collective - a south african anarcho-communist
project)

THE OAU

Created in 1963 ostensibly to address problems of the people of the
continent, the OAU ended up only serving the selfish interests of
African Heads of State, their foreign ministers and the staff of the
secretariat in Addis Ababa like Salim Ahmed Salim. The masses of the
African people still wallow in poverty and disease, die in senseless
wars whilst illiteracy and ignorance are on the increase. The
toothless bulldog that was the OAU looked on helplessly.

These leaders were able to see the hopelessness of the body. What they
failed to discern, however, is the reasons for its uselessness. If
they did, they would not have deceived themselves in renaming it as
AU. The OAU could not stand the test of time for one main reason. The
reason was because it was founded on the basis of money. Member States
were to contribute money to run the affairs of the organisation. The
resources of every country are controlled by a few very wealthy
individuals. Even military regimes are not free from the influence of
the owners of capital. Thus, having been formed with the resources of
the rich, what else could the OAU do if not working in the interest of
the owners of capital and not the poor masses? Is it not the one who
pays the piper who calls the tune?

The OAU would not, for instance, take firm measures on the numerous
conflicts and wars in Africa because wars are a matter of big
business. Producers and distributors of arms and weapons make
super-profits in war situations. Part of the money they make is used
to sponsor governments' contributions to the OAU. So, how can the OAU
bite the finger that feeds it? In other words, the OAU was a reformist
organisation, seeking to work within a world system which puts profits
first and people second. Nothing can ever go on for the benefit of
humankind as long as money is around. Only those who own capital can
be free from want for they have the purchasing power.

AND THE AU?

The AU is to be modelled on the European Union and is the brainchild
of Col. Gadhafi, the life-president (or dictator?) of Libya. Reports
have it that he has already given one million US dollars to fund the
transformation. It is therefore not surprising that at the summit he
was seen by the other Heads of State as the boss. In fact he
reportedly (and surely on the basis of his cash) wanted the house to
maintain Salim Ahmed Salim, the outgoing secretary-general, in the
seat to effect the transformation.

Another VIP ("Very Ignorant Personality") at the summit was the
outgoing chairman General Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo. A ruthless
military dictator who took power in 1967 and has since been on top
there. Then there was the host, President Frederick Chiluba, who
reneged on his promise to abide by the constitutional demands to step
down at the end of his second term. It was only through mass protests
and resignations by his party's bigwigs that it appears he will now
back down. And even only three days before the summit his former close
ally was assassinated and it is rumoured that the government had a
hand in it.

This throws some light on the nature of the people promoting and
ushering in the AU. We are told that this time a central bank, a
parliament and a court will be established. The idea of an African
Central Bank is a novelty, even though we have seen the African
Development Bank based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Like any other bank,
the ADB and the one to be set up by the AU have one purpose - to
create profits for the shareholders who part-own the company.

As regards the continental parliament, the following example will give
us an insight into what it will be doing. In Gambia the average worker
earns about 600 Dalasis a month. A member of parliament gets 7000
Dalasis a month hough most of the decisions taken in all parliaments
the world over are anti-working class. Therefore a Gambian in an
all-African parliament will undoubtedly received more than what they
are getting now. All at the expense of the poor masses.

Finally, who is an African court of justice going to try? Even those
in The Hague and Arusha (Tanzania) have not done anything to the
benefit of the people of the world. So what is the farce being staged?
Where parliaments and courts are institutions of oppression under the
profit system, banks are the places from where all evil transactions
are carried out with the intention of defrauding the masses. No wonder
that the Heads of State said they were turning the OAU into a "larger
trading bloc".

WHICH WAY FOR AFRICA?

The operations of the AU can be predicted by considering the main
programme the leaders discussed at the summit on the way forward for
Africa. It was a plan called "The African Initiative" which is a
merger of "The Millennium African Recovery Programme" (MAP) championed
by Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and "Omega Plan" spearheaded by
Abdoulie Wade of Senegal. The two main points of the Initiative are
that democracy be consolidated and that the West should increase
investment in Africa.

In our money-dominated world of today democracy can only mean the
right of the rich to dictate to the poor. In the same vein increasing
investment in Africa means pumping in more money to reap more profits.
Investors are in search of profits, they are not humanitarians seeking
to help the poor. The call for democracy and investment which the AU
will implement means that governments should hold down the masses so
that the rich can pillage and plunder without any hindrance.

Consciousness has many stages. The lowest stage is centred on people
who think only about themselves. Selfishness. Others are a step
higher. They are concerned only about their family. Then, there are
those who check only their tribe mates, tribalists. Then there are the
many nationalists defending their national flags no matter what. We
also have the so-called Pan-Africanists, the pax romana, the white
supremacists, etc. But the highest stage of consciousness has to do
with those who are internationalists. These are socialists who are not
limited by space. They see every issue from a global perspective.
Therefore whether it is ECOWAS, OAU, AU, Commonwealth, name it, no
problem can ever be solved unless the money system is booted out and a
moneyless system put in place where every one has free access to any
product or service. It is only then that Africans and humankind as a
whole will be free from want.

--- Suhuyini, Ghana.

Note from the Editors on "The Case of the Decorated Donkey": Suhuyini
reports on the African Union - the brainchild of Col. Gadhafi - and in
whose interests it can be expected to operate. This article has been
reproduced from the Socialist Standard (October 2001), the monthly
journal of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. The SPGB is NOT an
anarchist organisation, but the article is good and critical. However,
the first part of the article makes the mistake of saying that the OAU
was there to address people's concerns - which is in fact not the
case. The OAU was a bourgeois institution set up primarily to look
after the interests of the new rulers after decolonisation. This was
also the response after Nkrumah was toppled in Ghana and other
countries (or rulers) saw the same threat to themselves. There wasn't
the people's interests at heart even in the beginning.


               ----  provided by  infoPool News Service  ----


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