AFRICA NEWS DIGEST
Zimbabwe Allies Defeat British-Sponsored EU Resolution for UN Human Rights Probe
A British-sponsored European Union resolution calling for an investigation into human rights violations in Zimbabwe was thrown out before debate by a UN human rights forum in Geneva April 19. According to the April 20 edition of Harare-based newspaper the Herald, the Nigerian delegation rallied support from 14 African, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries to thwart the EU's call for a UN investigation at the 58th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. Voting in favor of Zimbabwe were Algeria, Bahrain, Burundi, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, South Africa, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Zambia, Cuba, Thailand, India, Indonesia, China, and Syria.
When the issue was introduced by the EU, debate temporarily stopped as commissioners and delegates decided on the way forward. Nigeria then introduced a "no-action motion," arguing that the EU's move was politically motivated, as it had failed to take into account the root causes of Zimbabwe's human rights problems. Nigeria argued that any debate on human rights which failed to take into account the issue of land and land redistributionthe dominant theme in Zimbabwean politics todaywas not only completely out of context, but counterproductive.
A week later, according to the April 27 issue of the Herald, Zambian President and current African Union chairman Levy Mwanawasa, visting in Zimbabwe, declared that the West can't teach what they don't know.
"We have nothing to learn from them," Mwanawasa insisted. "We taught them democracy. We were denied our right to liberate ourselves; therefore we fought. We understand democracy more than them." The Zambian President was giving a joint press conference with President Mugabe. Mwanawasa said that contrary to media reports, Zimbabwe is a peaceful country, demonized by the West.
EU Increases Pressure on South African Leaders on Zimbabwe Issue
According to the April 18 Financial Gazette, the European Union is ratcheting up the pressure on Southern African leaders who have rallied behind Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe. The EU is sending a team that will tell the leaders to act on Mugabe, or risk losing vital economic and development aid. Sources at the EU's Brussels headquarters said April 17 that EU leaders were angry because regional leaders such as South Africa's Thabo Mbeki had not only endorsed the legitimacy of Mugabe's reelection, they had also criticized the EU's position, which insists that Zimbabwe must uphold democracy and the rule of law. "The focus is no longer just on Zimbabwe," a senior EU official told the Financial Gazette by telephone from Brussels. "The team will seek clarification from southern African leaders if we [EU] and them still have the same understanding of the EU/ACP agreement. Another important point the team will seek to establish from regional leaders will be whether NEPAD will work if they are going to allow such things as what happened in Zimbabwe." (NEPAD is the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development.)
The EU arm-twisting mission is expected in the region in three weeks.
Kenyan Government: IMF's Structural Adjustment Programs Not for Africa
"The Kenyan government termed as unrealistic structural adjustment programs imposed on African countries by the World Bank and IMF," reports the East African Standard, based in Nairobi. "Labor Minister Joseph Ngutu said SAPs have grounded 15 African economies, and brought about retrenchment of young workers, besides killing employment due to collapse of private companies. 'The IMF and World Bank policies appear to show no sensitivity to the peculiar underdeveloped nature of the diverse economies and as a result, the prescriptions [given] have had the effect of threatening their very survival,' he said."
Notes the Standard: The minister's statement is a protest by the government against the IMF/WB policies which have not been backed by sound financial assistance to Kenya during the past 20 years. Ngutu's speech was delivered during an international labor conference in Nairobi, held under the auspices of Public Service International (PSI) and drawing participation from trade-union representatives from the African continent and the Arab world.
Ngutu said that Kenya had taken bold moves to implement all programs imposed by the IMF/WB, despite protest from critics and key stakeholders. "The economy was liberalized as price controls were removed, the trade regime liberalized, the financial sector reformed, stringent monetary and fiscal policies pursued and the mechanisms for privatization of state enterprises put into place," he said. He said the policies, however, were good only in ideal situations, and had had disastrous consequences for Kenya's economy.
|