Photo credit for "Africa" graphic, above: © 2005 Jennifer Lewis
AFRICAN LEADERS DISCUSS PLAN TO UNITE CONTINENT UNDER SINGLE FEDERAL SYSTEM
LIBYAN LEADER MUAMMAR QADHAFI PROPOSES CREATING 'UNITED STATES OF AFRICA' UNDER SINGLE GOV'T
1 July 2007
Libyan president Muammar Qadhafi is not the first to propose uniting the continent under a single government, but his proposal is bold from any perspective. At the African Union summit in Accra, the capital of Ghana, Qadhafi has proposed that African heads of state should begin the process of integrating the diverse governments and systems under one central, democratic government.
His week-long tour of west Africa has included stops in Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast, and at each stop he has called for the creation of a 'United States of Africa'. Qadhafi has said the continent must "unite or die", in order to compete with other wealthy or highly populous regions, such as the US, the EU, China and India.
There were many positive reactions, and the proposal is not really a radical departure from existing plans for the African Union, but South Africa and Uganda warn that gradual integration, beginning with market structures and then a single currency, would be a wiser way forward.
The continent's population of 900 million is expected to grow, and the looming specter of major civil wars, food shortages, genocide as well as sectarian and resource-driven conflict, mean that creating a stable federal union would be a long-term task no matter the foundational plan or set timetables.
Some believe that integration would be a way to help reduce the possibility of bloody armed conflict, as well as a means to reach more stable agricultural, environmental and human-rights policies. Desertification and climate change are expected to intensify many of the existing resource crises now facing African nations, and a continental "domestic" strategy could be useful for delivering assistance where it is needed.
But the pressures of the globalized system have raised doubts about the effectiveness of large, over-arching international structures, leading some to speculate that they can only function if they in fact cede power to local actors. It is not clear what level of local control would exist within Qadhafi's US of Africa. [s]
MORE AFRICA NEWS:
This week, Zimbabwe's supreme court ordered the government to provide the detained opposition leader with legal counsel, access to family and aid groups, and immediate medical treatment. His wife described his condition as being unable to walk or see. The government denied him treatment for several days, and he is now in hospital with a cracked skull. [Full Story]
FIRST JUDGES, NOW LAWYERS ON STRIKE AGAINST GOV'T AGGRESSION IN UGANDA
On 1 March 2007, Ugandan security forces under the control of President Yoweni Museveni stormed the offices of the High Court, assaulted civilians, lawyers and judges, and re-arrested 6 suspects that had only just been granted bail. The action showed not only disrespect for the peaceful process of adjudication, but also for the legal independence of the judiciary in making its rulings. [Full Story]
DARFUR REFUGEE CRISIS WORSENS, STABILIZATION FORCE NEEDED
The peace agreement signed between the main rebel faction in Darfur and the Khartoum government last May was tenuous at best from the outset, and seems in serious jeopardy of failing. The desperate situation in Darfur is now deteriorating, as violence against civilians not only continues but appears to be escalating, and foreign forces remain ineffectual. [Full Story]
WAR TO UNDERMINE SOMALI FOOD, AID SUPPLIES
After Ethiopia admitted to placing at least four thousand ground troops into Somalia, to aid the powerless 'transitional government' based in Baidoa, it became apparent that full-blown war had broken out between Somalia's neighbor and the militia of the Union of Islamic Courts, governing most of the country since early June. Now, aid groups say the fighting will disrupt efforts to get food and other aid to the millions of poor Somalis in need in the anarchic political and economic situation. [Full Story]