This is a long one, please read all the way to the very end.
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 10:24:35 -0500
> From: Africa Action <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: USA/Africa: Anti-War Statements, 1
>
> AFRICA ACTION
> Africa Policy E-Journal
> March 7, 2003 (030307)
>
> USA/Africa: Anti-War Statements, 1
> (Reposted from sources cited below)
>
> This posting contains a press release from Africa Action and
> TransAfrica Forum, the texts of letters from Africa Action,
> TransAfrica Forum, African American leaders, and the Advocacy
> Network for Africa, as well as a statement from the Angola Peace
> Network. Other postings today contain excerpts from an interview
> with the outgoing Nigerian ambassador to the United States
> and a background report from the Association of Concerned Africa
> Scholars on U.S. military programs in sub-Saharan Africa.
>
> +++++++++++++++++end summary/introduction+++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> March 7, 2003
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> Contact: Africa Action 202/546 7961
>
> TransAfrica Forum 202/223 1960 Ext. 113
>
> African American Leaders & Africa advocacy groups call on African
> Members of UN Security Council to Vote Against War
>
> Letters to African Ambassadors warn of devastating consequences  of
> war for Africa;  Urge support for peaceful resolution to current
> crisis
>
> Friday, March 7, 2003 (Washington, DC)  -  Africa Action today
> joined with TransAfrica Forum and other key Africa advocacy
> organizations in sending letters to the Ambassadors of the African
> countries on the United Nations (UN) Security Council, urging them
> to oppose U.S.-led moves toward war against Iraq.  Signatories to
> the letters also include such prominent individuals as Danny
> Glover,  Mary Francis Berry,  Joseph E. Lowery, Walter Mosley &
> Sylvia Hill.
>
> The letters to the Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives of
> Guinea, Cameroon and Angola warn that a war in the Middle East
> will have devastating economic and political consequences for
> Africa.   They urge the African states to stand firm against
> pressure  from the U.S. and Britain, and to promote a course that
> will  encourage a peaceful resolution of this international
> dispute.
>
> In a letter initiated by Africa Action and TranAfrica Forum,
> signatories declared that war against Iraq would be "unwelcome and
> unwarranted."  They note that, "At least 81% of African-Americans
> oppose the planned war...(and) around the globe, millions of people
> have stood up in opposition to this planned aggression."
>
> The letter emphasizes that, "Africa, in particular, would suffer
> significantly from the global economic consequences of war at a
> time when Africans are facing the truly greatest global threat to
> human security, namely the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  This should be  the
> scourge receiving the attention and resources that have been
> devoted instead to debating and designing interventions against
> Iraq."
>
> In a separate letter initiated by the Advocacy Network for Africa
> (ADNA), a national network of more than 200 Africa-focused
> organizations of which Africa Action is a member, endorsers affirm
> their solidarity with the people of Guinea, Cameroon and Angola,
> asserting that "a policy of pre-emptive war violates the principles
> upon which the United Nations was founded, and it will create a
> dangerous precedent."
>
> The letter continues: "We are convinced that your governments'
> having the courage to stand for peace will not only contribute to
> a  peaceful resolution in this case, it will also strengthen
> African voices  in international forums in the future."
>
> The letters were endorsed by dozens of organizations and activists
> from across the U.S.   The text of the letters and the full list of
> signatories of the first letter are included below.
>
> --
>
> March 7, 2003
>
> To the Governments of Guinea, Cameroon and Angola
>
> Dear President Lansana Conte, President Paul Biya, and President
> Jose Eduardo dos Santos:
>
> As African-American leaders and activists we urgently call upon
> your  governments to stand firm against the efforts by the United
> States,  Britain and Spain to undermine the work of the United
> Nations'  weapons inspectors now working in Iraq and to initiate a
> war against  Iraq.
>
> We understand that your respective governments are under
> considerable pressure from the United States and Britain to support
> their resolution designed to authorize war with Iraq.  We believe
> that  this would be a terrible mistake.  The USA and Britain are
> committed to commencing a war that breaks all international laws
> and precedent.  It is a war that is not based on a real threat to
> Iraq's  neighbors or to other countries.  Indeed none of Iraq's
> neighbors  have made a call for an international military
> mobilization against the  Baathist regime in Iraq.
>
> As you may know, there is considerable opposition within the USA
> to the planned war.  At least 81% of African Americans oppose the
> planned war.  Support within the rest of the country for war is
> extremely limited, with answers to polling questions varying
> dramatically depending on how the questions are phrased.  And, as
> you certainly know, around the globe, millions of people have stood
> up in opposition to this planned war.
>
> We believe that the U.S. and British effort to initiate a world war
> in  the Middle East is not only unwarranted and unwelcome, but also
> that it will have devastating economic and social consequences for
> the most impoverished and most vulnerable citizens and countries
> throughout the world.  Africa, in particular, would suffer
> significantly  from the global economic consequences of war at a
> time when  Africans are facing the truly greatest global threat to
> human security,  namely the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  This should be the
> scourge  receiving the attention and resources that have been
> devoted  instead to debating and designing interventions against
> Iraq.
>
> We hope that with Guinea taking over the Chairmanship of the
> Security Council this month, that the African members will provide
> the necessary leadership to avoid a war that will be especially
> antithetical to the interests of African and Arab peoples, and
> disastrous for the rest of the world.
>
> We hope that in the consideration of this matter that you decline
> to  support the US/British/Spanish initiative and will, instead,
> promote a  course that encourages the peaceful resolution of this
> international  dispute.
>
> Respectfully submitted by,
>
> Mary Frances Berry, University of Pennsylvania*
> Salih Booker, Executive Director, Africa Action
> Bill Fletcher, Jr., President, TransAfrica Forum
> Patricia Ford, Executive Vice President, Service Employees
> International Union*
> Danny Glover, Actor/Activist
> Richard Gordon Hatcher, President of National Civil Rights Hall of
> Fame; Valparaiso University School of Law*
> Sylvia Hill, University of the District of Columbia*
> Jesse L. Jackson, Founder and President, Rainbow/Push Coalition
> Joseph E. Lowery, Co-Founder and President Emeritus, SCLC;
> Chairman Emeritus Black Leadership Forum
> William Lucy, President, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
> Julianne Malveaux, Economist/Author
> Fred Mason, Maryland/DC AFL-CIO*
> Walter Mosley, Author
> Harold Rogers, International Affairs Director of the Foreign
> Affairs  Committee and Executive Board Member of the Coalition of
> Black  Trade Unionists
> Damu Smith, Founder, Black Voices for Peace
>
> (*--signifies for identification only)
> - - - - - - - -
> The Advocacy Network for Africa
> c/o The Washington Office on Africa
> 212 East Capitol Street -  Washington, D.C. 20003, U.S.A.
> Phone: 202/547-7503 -  Fax: 202/547-7505  -  E-Mail:  [log in to unmask]
>
> March 7, 2003
>
> Ambassador Mohamed Aly Thiam
> Embassy of the Republic of Guinea
> 2112 Leroy Place NW
> Washington, DC 20008
>
> Dear Ambassador Thiam:
>
> The Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA), originally founded in the
> late seventies as the anti-apartheid South Africa Working Group, is
> a network of 231 US-based human rights, religious, development-
> oriented and other organizations working with African colleagues
> and networks to address common concerns regarding US-Africa
> policy.  Thirty to forty representatives of these organizations
> meet  monthly in Washington to discuss current issues and to
> coordinate  common advocacy.  We share a passion for and a
> commitment to  political, social and economic justice for Africans
> and a more just  and mutually beneficial relationship between the
> US and African  countries.
>
> We come today to express our solidarity with the people of Guinea
> as decisions are reached regarding Security Council actions on the
> Iraqi question.  We believe, as do you, that peace should be given
> a  chance in Iraq.  We note approvingly the action of the African
> Union  meetings in Addis Ababa last month, where heads of state and
> government urged all parties to make sustained efforts to avoid the
> use of force and reaffirmed the central role of the United Nations
> and, particularly, the Security Council, in any action or
> initiative  aimed at maintaining and strengthening peace and
> international  security.
>
> Not only will a war against Iraq bring humanitarian catastrophe of
> great magnitude; it will also create reactions that no one can
> predict  or control.  It has the potential to threaten to
> destabilize African  countries politically, and it will affect
> African economies negatively.  At least 13 African countries lost
> 1% of their GDP due to spikes in  oil prices during the 1991 Gulf
> War, and there is no reason not to  expect similar difficulties
> now.  Moreover, a policy of pre-emptive  war violates the
> principles upon which the United Nations was  founded, and it will
> create a dangerous precedent.
>
> We therefore urge you to hold firm to those principles.  No doubt
> there are risks for Guinea should you challenge our government's
> preparations for pre-emptive war and thereby refuse to serve the
> narrow self-interest of our government.  We are convinced,
> however, that your government's having the courage to stand for
> peace will not only contribute to a peaceful resolution in this
> case, it  will also strengthen African voices in international
> forums in future.   Such an affirmation of our common humanity is
> the true sign of  Security Council relevance.
>
> Please accept this letter as a respectful expression of our
> concerns  and hopes.
>
> On behalf of my colleagues at ADNA, I am
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
> Leon P. Spencer Co-facilitator of ADNA and
>
> Executive Director  Washington Office on Africa
>
> Cc: Permanent Mission of the Republic of Guinea to the UN;
> Permanent Mission of the Republic of Angola to the UN; Permanent
> Mission of the Republic of Cameroon to the UN; Ambassador of the
> Republic of Angola; Ambassador of the Republic of Cameroon
>
> ************************************************************
> Angola Peace Network
>
> Declaration Against War in the World
>
> February 15, 2003
>
> [This statement was received from the Angolan Peace Network through
> AfricaFiles in Toronto (http://www.africafiles.org). Thanks to
> Thomas Brown for the translation from Portuguese.]
>
> Luanda
>
> February 15/03
>
>
> Inter-Church Committee for Peace in Angola.
> Luanda, Angola
>
> To: His Excellency Dr. Kofi Annan,
> Secretary-General, United Nations.
> Subject: Declaration Against War in the World
>
> Excellency:
>
> The world has today, February 15, 2003, marked the United Nations
> Day Against War, at a time when Angolans are experiencing the
> transition from a situation of war to one of peace, even though the
> armed conflict yet continues in one part of our national territory.
>
> Looking at the various conflicts in the world the Peace Network, as
> a living force in Angola civil society which struggled to bring
> about peace in Angola, notes with great pre-occupation that the
> world continues divided between those countries which as a result
> of their resources and their geo-strategic importance are of major
> importance to the super-powers and those, which given their small
> economic importance are not represented by the economic interests
> of the powers of this time.
>
> The imminent attack by the United States and its allies on Iraq and
> the war in the Middle East (between Palestinians and Israelies)
> today dominates the calendar of the United Nations and the
> international press, to the detriment of the long-standing
> conflicts in other parts of the globe, especially Africa, where
> wars never stop as a result of a lack of serious intervention and
> an investment of the resources and time, with a vision of finding
> ways conducive to the search for a genuine and lasting peace in
> these countries.
>
> In our African continent, of which Your Excellency is a beloved
> son, countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi,
> Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Somalia and Liberia, to name a few,
> continue to bleed because of the wars whose consequences are
> catastrophic, placing the people of these countries in a situation
> of total dependence and sub-human conditions. Sadly the connivance
> of the international community does not allow us to discern on the
> horizon an immediate end to these conflicts.
>
> As a people still emerging from a fratricidal war of 27 years, as
> well as the other wars which preceded it due to the resistance
> against Portuguese colonialism, Angolans know well the deathly
> results of any war. Thus we believe the justifications of a war,
> however objective, do not diminish the destructive character of
> war, nor diminish its immoral character.
>
> As agents of peace we are convinced that violence only generates
> more violence and for this reason we vehemently repudiate the
> attack which is being perpetrated against the sovereign state of
> Iraq, and call on the Security Council to use its power and mandate
> to promote world peace and stop the use of force against the
> martyred people of Iraq, since there has not been until now
> convincing reasons which justify such outrageous acts against a
> sovereign people.
>
> We repeat our appeal to the United Nations, as a legitimate
> representative of the aspirations of the world's people, to
> strengthen further this peace in the whole region of the Middle
> East, particularly for the people of Palestine and Israel who for
> 50 years have lived on the edge of an explosion.
>
> In face of the inherent pre-occupation for universal survival we
> cannot allow, on the part of anyone, that we be diverted from the
> great struggles of humanity today, namely: the fight against
> poverty, drugs and the traffic in children and the great epidemics
> such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as those
> efforts which are yet to be made for the establishment of
> governance which is just and participatory in this global village
> and respect, for all, of a international judicial order.
>
> We entreat the Permanent and Non-Permanent of the Security Council,
> especially those from Africa (Angola, Cameroon and Guinea) to
> re-affirm the commitment of the Organization of African Unity at
> its recent extraordinary assembly in its voting against any war
> effort.
>
> Luanda, February 15, 2003,
>
> For the Peace Network,
> Dr. Daniel Ntoni-Nzinga,
> Executive Secretary, COIEPA
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
>
> Date distributed (ymd): 030307
> Region: Continent-Wide
> Issue Areas: +political/rights+ +security/peace+ +US policy focus+
>
> ************************************************************
> The Africa Action E-Journal is a free information service
> provided by Africa Action, including both original
> commentary and reposted documents. Africa Action provides this
> information and analysis in order to promote U.S. and
> international policies toward Africa that advance economic,
> political and social justice and the full spectrum of
> human rights.
>
> Documents previously distributed in the e-journal are
> available on the Africa Action website:
> http://www.africaaction.org
> For additional background on this e-journal go to:
> http://www.africaaction.org/e-journal.htm
> To support Africa Action with your contribution go to:
> http://www.africaaction.org/join.htm
>
> To be added to or dropped from the e-journal subscription list,
> write to [log in to unmask] For more information about
> reposted material, please contact directly the source mentioned
> in the posting.
>
> Africa Action
> 1634 Eye St. NW, #810, Washington, DC 20006.
> Phone: 202-546-7961. Fax: 202-546-1545.
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> ************************************************************
>
>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~