A Personal Note to Mr. Alpha Konare: So, Whatever Happened to the AU?
Fully a month after the first massacres at Mercato, I sent the following letter to the editors of a well know Addis publication expressing my frustration at the deafening silence of the new AU which proclaims itself to be the guardian of good governance in Africa. I was first surprised when the publication thought the issue I raised not worthy of publication on its pages. That was before I learned that the once well connected pub, a darling of the diplomatic community in Addis, knew something better. Unknown to me, you and your staff were not just quiet but were actually busy drafting a most glowing commendation to the Ethiopian authorities for the manner they conducted themselves during and after the election of May 15.
Although, it has now been more than 6 months since I put these words to paper, I believe that they are worthy of sharing with you and posting in the most public of places if for no other reason that to shame you personally and the AU. After all the central tenet of the AU-NEPAD peer review system is the notion that political leaders would be too ashamed to engage in their usual ways if they knew the world was looking. As the saying goes, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. A little shame might nudge the AU to think more clearly next time another sycophant massacres his people.
So, Whatever Happened to the AU?
It was only three years ago that the heads of states and governments of Africa adopted the AU charter with much hoopla and fanfare. The leaders spoke eloquently about the birth of a new African supra-state organization which will be guided by the experiences of the past and the urgent needs of the future. The leaders said that experience has shown that the number one problem of Africa had been the absence of good governance and that the way forward requires that that problem be resolved first and foremost. So, the leaders pronounced a peer review system that will prevent political leaders from going on a rampage against their own people. They spoke of an of active AU which will closely monitor developments in every member state and step in with appropriate remedy before minor problems build up to be major ones.
You and your colleagues were caucusing in Sirte, Libya as those heart wrenching pictures from Addis that popped up all over the media were piling up. All the reports from the summit seem to suggest that you have yet to drop those noble pronouncements from the AU charter. So, we the people must ask you whether you ever heard of the little problem in Ethiopia. Now I can understand if the you did not realize that there was genocide going on in Darfur until after thousands had perished. After all Darfur is in the middle of the Sahara, away from all of the beach side or high mountain capitals you dudes like to hangout. But none of the Addis massacres was more than 5 kilo meters from your fine offices. Even those in Bahir Dar and Gondar, and Awassa and Ambo and Jimma and Dire Dawa are no more than a few hours away – by car. One of the flash points, the Technical College, was actually just a few hundred meters from your HQ. So, what happened to you? Why were you silent? Were all the declarations in Durban just talk?
I have read the call of your offices for the victim to be quiet and take it for peace's sake. I am sure if you were to respond to me in person, you will speak of working behind the scenes and of quiet diplomacy. More than anything else, what the African people would really like is to see is those governments who turn on their own people be publicly ridiculed by their peers. What is a peer review good for if the findings are not published for all the world to see and cheer the good guys and jeer the bad ones? Why do you need to wait for the five year cycle to come to conduct a review when a government is butchering its own people right in front your eyes? I know that if half as many people as died in Addis died in an interstate skirmish, you would be out there issuing declarations of restraints on all sides, because that is a safe statement to make. In Durban in 2002 you gave the impression that the AU was no longer interested in playing it safe and was determined to take the bull by the horn. The AU charter and the NEPAD protocols gave us so much hope only to be dashed at the Mercato in Addis.
Although, it has now been more than 6 months since I put these words to paper, I believe that they are worthy of sharing with you and posting in the most public of places if for no other reason that to shame you personally and the AU. After all the central tenet of the AU-NEPAD peer review system is the notion that political leaders would be too ashamed to engage in their usual ways if they knew the world was looking. As the saying goes, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. A little shame might nudge the AU to think more clearly next time another sycophant massacres his people.
So, Whatever Happened to the AU?
It was only three years ago that the heads of states and governments of Africa adopted the AU charter with much hoopla and fanfare. The leaders spoke eloquently about the birth of a new African supra-state organization which will be guided by the experiences of the past and the urgent needs of the future. The leaders said that experience has shown that the number one problem of Africa had been the absence of good governance and that the way forward requires that that problem be resolved first and foremost. So, the leaders pronounced a peer review system that will prevent political leaders from going on a rampage against their own people. They spoke of an of active AU which will closely monitor developments in every member state and step in with appropriate remedy before minor problems build up to be major ones.
You and your colleagues were caucusing in Sirte, Libya as those heart wrenching pictures from Addis that popped up all over the media were piling up. All the reports from the summit seem to suggest that you have yet to drop those noble pronouncements from the AU charter. So, we the people must ask you whether you ever heard of the little problem in Ethiopia. Now I can understand if the you did not realize that there was genocide going on in Darfur until after thousands had perished. After all Darfur is in the middle of the Sahara, away from all of the beach side or high mountain capitals you dudes like to hangout. But none of the Addis massacres was more than 5 kilo meters from your fine offices. Even those in Bahir Dar and Gondar, and Awassa and Ambo and Jimma and Dire Dawa are no more than a few hours away – by car. One of the flash points, the Technical College, was actually just a few hundred meters from your HQ. So, what happened to you? Why were you silent? Were all the declarations in Durban just talk?
I have read the call of your offices for the victim to be quiet and take it for peace's sake. I am sure if you were to respond to me in person, you will speak of working behind the scenes and of quiet diplomacy. More than anything else, what the African people would really like is to see is those governments who turn on their own people be publicly ridiculed by their peers. What is a peer review good for if the findings are not published for all the world to see and cheer the good guys and jeer the bad ones? Why do you need to wait for the five year cycle to come to conduct a review when a government is butchering its own people right in front your eyes? I know that if half as many people as died in Addis died in an interstate skirmish, you would be out there issuing declarations of restraints on all sides, because that is a safe statement to make. In Durban in 2002 you gave the impression that the AU was no longer interested in playing it safe and was determined to take the bull by the horn. The AU charter and the NEPAD protocols gave us so much hope only to be dashed at the Mercato in Addis.
posted by eth4life | 8:13 PM
1 Comments:
Let's see, back a government into a corner by manipulating a few and expect it not to respond. Hmmm sure must be greater thing since sliced bread. Perhaps you can also sell us a bridge (or two?) in Brooklyn. Peaceful demonstrations do not include anarchy.
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