In the wake of the failure to get any sort of agreement in Copenhagen, African countries are reportedly very angry that no legally binding treaty has been agreed. It appears also that China was the main culprit in preventing a real deal being made.
So isn't it odd that African nations, who have readily accepted Chinese grants for building stadiums and "showpiece" buildings in return for access to the natural resources these countries have, are moaning.
If they are so very angry, we can assume that these African nations will sever their links with China ? Of course not. Africa is angry because they expected more. But will a one party dicatorship who murder thousand of their own population each year ever give a damn about anyone other than themselves ? Of course not.
Africa should be careful where they make friends.
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
7/01/2008
The "brush it under the carpet" solution - Africa's answer to everything
It really does make your blood boil to hear the appeasing friends of despots who make up the African Union trying to urge the MDC to form a government of national unity with Robert Mugabe.
This is typical of Africa's answer to such problems before, most notably when President Kibaki stole the election in Kenya, leading his opposite number to be forced in to a government of national unity and become Prime Minister. Interestingly, Prime Minister Odinga of Kenya is the only leader on the African continent who seems prepared to openly criticise the elections in Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe directly, which tells us much about the way he feels after himself being cheated out of victory and seeing hundreds of his activists and supporters killed in post election violence.
The question for the AU is why should the MDC go in with Mugabe ? MDC activists have been tortured, stolen from, beaten, raped, their children have been tortured or had bones broken (including children as young as 11 months old) and on top of that scores have been murdered, but given all this brutality, the AU still expects the MDC to forgive and forget ?
Let's not forget, if Mugabe stays in power, even in a government of national unity, he will expect sanctions to be lifted, he will expect a welcome throughout the world and he will be allowed to get away with all that he has done.
Forget even the brutality towards the MDC. Let us not forget that under Mugabe Zimbabwe's average life expectancy has fallen to just 37 for women and 35 for men. These levels are similar to those suffered 150 years ago in Victorian Britain. It was not okay then, and it is not okay now. Mugabe is a murderer of hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been cut short, and Africa's attempts to simply "sweep it under the carpet" is a desperately poor solution from a continent that ought to start showing real leadership.
This is typical of Africa's answer to such problems before, most notably when President Kibaki stole the election in Kenya, leading his opposite number to be forced in to a government of national unity and become Prime Minister. Interestingly, Prime Minister Odinga of Kenya is the only leader on the African continent who seems prepared to openly criticise the elections in Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe directly, which tells us much about the way he feels after himself being cheated out of victory and seeing hundreds of his activists and supporters killed in post election violence.
The question for the AU is why should the MDC go in with Mugabe ? MDC activists have been tortured, stolen from, beaten, raped, their children have been tortured or had bones broken (including children as young as 11 months old) and on top of that scores have been murdered, but given all this brutality, the AU still expects the MDC to forgive and forget ?
Let's not forget, if Mugabe stays in power, even in a government of national unity, he will expect sanctions to be lifted, he will expect a welcome throughout the world and he will be allowed to get away with all that he has done.
Forget even the brutality towards the MDC. Let us not forget that under Mugabe Zimbabwe's average life expectancy has fallen to just 37 for women and 35 for men. These levels are similar to those suffered 150 years ago in Victorian Britain. It was not okay then, and it is not okay now. Mugabe is a murderer of hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been cut short, and Africa's attempts to simply "sweep it under the carpet" is a desperately poor solution from a continent that ought to start showing real leadership.
2/08/2008
Imagine the furore in Africa if a we had done this
Ghana, hosts of the African Nations Cup Football tournament (I refuse to call it the African Cup of nations as that is a direct translation from French), have made a massive gaffe, it appears, by producing posters and promotional material featuring South Africa's old apartheid era flag, which was scrapped in 1994.
Can you imagine the fuss in Africa if we had done this by mistake.
Can you imagine the fuss in Africa if we had done this by mistake.
1/17/2008
Is there an organisation that has achieved less and is more useless than the African Union ?
I know all regions want their own club to be part of. We have NAFTA, The EU, SEATO, and I am sure I am doing a disservice by missing many more. But of all of them, is their an organisation as wholly useless as the African Union.
Whenever there is a conflict, a coup, a civil war, indeed, any sort of trouble in Africa, Africans demand an African solution, at which point the Africa union is rolled out. However in each and every case they turn up, they have some meetings, they might send a few peacekeepers, but in truth nothing is solved or put right. Indeed the last time a civil war was properly dealt with was by the British in Sierra Leone, and that was in great part down to UK special forces (don't mention they were there) and a large amount of British Army training and supplying.
The African Union have in recent years sent peacekeepers to Darfur, Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, and in all these cases, the war has continued. When it comes to dodgy elections the African Union has intervened in Togo, Kenya and Zimbabwe , to mention but three, and in all cases the illegally elected winner of the elections has remained in office.
The other issue that should be gripping the attention of the African Union have similarly met with little success. HIV/AIDS, which is a catastrophic disease for much of Africa is hardly being addressed by the AU. When so many African leaders still fail to acknowledge the spread of AIDS by blood, it is clear the AU has had little impact.
At the moment we can read about African union attempts to sort out the crisis in Kenya. I wouldn't hold out much hope though for Kenya. If the African Union's record is anything to go by, the illegally elected leader of Kenya will hold a position within the AU within a few years.
Whenever there is a conflict, a coup, a civil war, indeed, any sort of trouble in Africa, Africans demand an African solution, at which point the Africa union is rolled out. However in each and every case they turn up, they have some meetings, they might send a few peacekeepers, but in truth nothing is solved or put right. Indeed the last time a civil war was properly dealt with was by the British in Sierra Leone, and that was in great part down to UK special forces (don't mention they were there) and a large amount of British Army training and supplying.
The African Union have in recent years sent peacekeepers to Darfur, Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, and in all these cases, the war has continued. When it comes to dodgy elections the African Union has intervened in Togo, Kenya and Zimbabwe , to mention but three, and in all cases the illegally elected winner of the elections has remained in office.
The other issue that should be gripping the attention of the African Union have similarly met with little success. HIV/AIDS, which is a catastrophic disease for much of Africa is hardly being addressed by the AU. When so many African leaders still fail to acknowledge the spread of AIDS by blood, it is clear the AU has had little impact.
At the moment we can read about African union attempts to sort out the crisis in Kenya. I wouldn't hold out much hope though for Kenya. If the African Union's record is anything to go by, the illegally elected leader of Kenya will hold a position within the AU within a few years.
1/03/2008
Did the US provoke the Kenyan crisis ?
It was interesting to hear the views of an expert on Kenyan politics on Radio Five on the way home from work this evening talking about the role of the US in Kenya. he made the point that the US favoured strongly President Kibaki and had been quick to congratulate him on his success despite wide spread fears about the validity of the results. Now, with the crisis growing, the USA, aware that they may not be dealing with President Kibaki if he is toppled, are desperately trying to back track.
The question is did the tacit support of the USA embolden Kibaki to commit wlectoral fraud knowing that the USA was going to throw its weight behind him ?
Kenya has a small but significant Muslim population who have been radicalised to some extent by fundamentalist groups allied to Bin Ladin. The USA, therefore takes a keen interest in Kenya in a way it would never have done 10 years ago.
But like the cold war years, America, it seems, is not afraid to see democracy usurped if it means its friends are the winners, even if the people do not want them.
George Bush is keen to lecture the world on democracy, but he has got to learn that a true democracy does not always provide the result you want. America, in this case, may have involuntarily provoked the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, maybe more, in post election violence in Kenya. Will George Bush care ? If they are not American (and white, if you look at his reaction to New Orleans), then it seems he won't care in the slightest.
The question is did the tacit support of the USA embolden Kibaki to commit wlectoral fraud knowing that the USA was going to throw its weight behind him ?
Kenya has a small but significant Muslim population who have been radicalised to some extent by fundamentalist groups allied to Bin Ladin. The USA, therefore takes a keen interest in Kenya in a way it would never have done 10 years ago.
But like the cold war years, America, it seems, is not afraid to see democracy usurped if it means its friends are the winners, even if the people do not want them.
George Bush is keen to lecture the world on democracy, but he has got to learn that a true democracy does not always provide the result you want. America, in this case, may have involuntarily provoked the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, maybe more, in post election violence in Kenya. Will George Bush care ? If they are not American (and white, if you look at his reaction to New Orleans), then it seems he won't care in the slightest.
1/04/2007
What Gordon Brown proposes, the World Bank opposes
I just noticed that Gordon Brown today called for "worldwide free education". Read it HERE.
All well and good, but the World Bank, when it assesses a country in debt crisis, imposes as part of Structural Adjustment Plans (SAPs), cuts in spending on schools, an end to free education and healthcare and many other harsh impositions. The aim of these SAP's is to ensure that these countries are able to free up capital. However, the effect is to keep their population ill, lower the average age and ensure the population grows up more uneducated.
So Gordon Brown, kind words need to be matched by deeds. Tackle the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to do what you propose.
11/13/2006
Norman Lamb proved right over Tanzania ATC concerns
Five years ago Norman Lamb, Lib Dem MP for North Norfolk was raising concerns about why a debt ridden county like Tanzania where a sizeable part of the population was starving, was spending millions of pounds on a military air traffic control system, the specifications of which were far too high for the countries own needs.At the time, Norman asked why £28 million was being spent on this and why it was personally approved by Tony Blair. Now The Times and The Telegraph highlight corruption claims regarding this deal.
The Telegraph reports that The MOD and Fraud squad are "looking into allegations that BAE paid "backhanders" to Tanzania's government for the £28m military air traffic control system".
Whilst the Times quotes Norman Lamb as saying "It is extraordinary that this should get the Prime Minister’s support given his stated commitment to Africa and it is a relief that we may now get to the truth of how this export ever took place.”
If this is what Labour's much vaunted ethical foreign policy was all about, then it stinks. Well done Norman Lamb for getting answers to some important questions.
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