Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Sudan & the AU: A fitting end to the "East-African" affair

I salute J. Pronk - Koffi Annan's right-hand man in the Sudan - for spearheading succesful efforts to bar Khartoum from leading the African Union at this moment in time. 
Up to and until yesterday, Khartoum was still boasting about the "unanimous" backing it had received from ALL East African states for its candidature.
After all, it was said, this was to have been East Africa's chance to lead the AU. 
The Idi Amin skeleton as well as other political and human rights realities in the Sudan should have awakened these unnamed East African nations and Khartoum's Northern supporters from their conveniently self-induced slumber.   
I find it particularly disturbing that Nairobi had reportedly pledged its support for Khartoum's candidature; inconceivable even for a strategy to contain anyone (consider the always not-too-succesful attempt by some Kenyan head-teachers to "change" their errant students by bribing them with leadership responsibilities). 
What national interest were we defending / pursuing by backing Omar El-Bashir when:
1.  Darfur's hungry, wounded and dying are still blaming him for their abject conditions?
2.  Tchad faces possible instability from militia forces that are reportedly backed by Khartoum?
3.  The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA Khartoum signed with the South remains nothing but a beautiful document thus far with less to write home about? 
4.  The LRA continues to wreck havoc in Northern Uganda and S. Sudan, reportedly backed by Khartoum? 
A few months ago a dear friend of mine succumbed to a deadly LRA attack - I shivered each moment I heard Khartoum was headed to African supremacy with such an event so fresh in my mind.       
Preliminary reports suggest that the rest of Africa united against the Eastern and Northern alliance:  What regional interest were Kampala, Dodoma and Nairobi pursuing for their people?
P.S:  Amazing, isn't it, that Nairobi could recall its ambassador to Khartoum for reportedly helping Sudan invite Mwingi North MP Kalonzo Musyoka to the AU meeting (alongside Kibaki) yet it couldn't move an inch while Darfur burned.  We, alongside much of Africa, left that to the Bush administration and religious conservatives in the US.  "Non-interference in each other's internal affairs" indeed.  Never mind that Musyoka probably should have been in Khartoum, given his involvement in several regional peace processes (the CPA included).  That's kumalizana gone too far.


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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jesse

I'm glad too that this ridiculous circus ended. I'm not very happy though about the alternative, Congo is barely different from the Sudan. I was particularly disgusted that our Government came out strongly supporting the Sudan; the only African country to do so openly. What's wrong with our diplomacy!! Is our foreign service really worth writing home about? Some people might want to squirm in front of the Sudan to grant their cronies those potential lucrative business opportunities but, please, spare Kenyans from such international ridicule. Tuju is a DISGRACE!

1/24/2006 08:34:00 pm  
Blogger Kenyananalyst said...

Jikz -

You should know that I don't endorse Congo whole-heartedly either; Dennis Sassou Nguesso is only different in name (though there are those who argue that Brazzavile is lesser of the two evils).

My differences with Khartoum are both diplomatic (at a policy level, as illustrated by the regime's human rights' record) as well as personal.

Personal because a dear buddy of mine was killed by the LRA in S. Sudan some time back.

The buddy passed on just a few months into family life - leaving a young, grieving family behind.

For that, I won't go easy on anyone who will try to make a little Heaven down here for Kony or anyone who - directly or indirectly - supports him (read Bashir et al).

That will also apply to Nairobi - if they continue playing ball with Khartoum over this.

After all, foreign policies should be about national interests, and national interests should be about people.

P.S: This is in no way a blind endorsement of M7's politics of war in Uganda in so far as the LRA issue is concerned.

1/24/2006 08:47:00 pm  

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