---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 00:24:32 EDT From: [log in to unmask] Reply-To: [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask] Subject: [AfricaMatters] African solutions don't exist, says former top US official Sunday Times South Africa 10/22/2000 African solutions don't exist, says former top US official JOHN GROBLER in Windhoek and BOBBY JORDAN in Johannesburg THE US's former top Africa official has launched a remarkable attack on the continent's leadership, saying the idea that Africa can solve its own problems is a "fatuous illusion" that causes wars. Chester Crocker, the former US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, made the comments in an interview with the Sunday Times after an investment conference in Namibia. Crocker, who brokered the withdrawal of 50 000 Cuban troops from Angola in the late '80s, said: "We have this illusion, in my country in particular, and I think it is a fatuous illusion, that there is such a thing as an African solution to African problems. "The centre of Africa is a very dark place at the moment and it is getting worse and worse." He did not criticise South Africa. Crocker is now a research professor at Georgetown University in Washington and chairs the US Institute of Peace. He was scathing about African leaders who accused the West of following a secret imperialist agenda to take control of the Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral wealth. He described Congo as a "geopolitical version of a free lunch", adding that African leaders were involved in the war to serve their own interests. "The agendas you are referring to are the agendas of neighbours . . . and it is not a pretty picture." In this regard, he sharply criticized the notions that there were "good and bad guys" in the D.R.C., as well as that the world should leave Africa to solve its own problems. A Foreign Affairs spokesman, Ronnie Mamoepa, described Crocker's comments as "unfortunate". "Africa is endowed with a new leadership crop . . . who are more than capable of producing African solutions to African problems, and who are proud of their history, their culture and their dignity," he said. -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eGroups eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9698/14/_/192352/_/972447892/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> To the extent possible, please keep postings concise. Our archives are at : http://www.egroups.com/group/us-afr-network . To Post a message, send it to [log in to unmask] . Tell others to subscribe by sending a blank message to [log in to unmask] . To Unsubscribe, send a blank message 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 You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------