African Union Discusses Africa’s Problems and their Solution

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African Union Discusses Africa’s Problems and their Solution

The AU Determined to Accelerate African Renewal

African Union Decision on Somalia

From January 28-30, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, home to the headquarters of the African Union, hosted meetings of the NEPAD Heads of State Implementation Committee, the African Peer Review Forum of Heads of State and Government, and the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

One of the most pressing problems discussed at the African Union summit was been the situation in Somalia, instability in the Horn of Africa and the ever present interference of the big powers that is the main factor creating the continent’s problems and preventing their resolution. In recent weeks, the media has been full of reports about continuing political instability in Somalia, the intervention of the government of the neighbouring country of Ethiopia and the bombing raids and other military activity carried out by US imperialism in Somalia. One feature of the reports has been the presentation of Ethiopia, one of the world’s poorest countries, as the proxy of US imperialism in the Horn of Africa. According to this view, US imperialism has developed a new model of intervention to be used in Africa and elsewhere, and as a result the government of Ethiopia has been vilified.

But the situation in the Horn of Africa does not entirely lend itself to such an explanation which glosses over the problems in the region. For one thing, it has to be remembered that Somalia has essentially been stateless for the last 16 years, largely a result of the contention of the US and the Soviet Union in the region during the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years great efforts have been made be the Somali people and by neighbouring countries to re-establish a government in that country. Ethiopia has been one of the major supporters of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) established in 2004, which has been trying to exert its authority over the entire country, unite the people of Somalia and disarm the many existing militias, many of which have been externally encouraged and financed. It has been a difficult task and one not aided by outside interference, both from neighbouring countries and from the US.

Nevertheless, the TFG is recognised by the UN, the African Union (AU), and IGAD (the Intergovernmental Authority on Development – comprising the East African states of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda) as the only legitimate government of the country. Not only has Ethiopia been the main supporter of the TFG, it has also become concerned at the "terrorist" activities of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which had established itself as a rival centre of power in Somalia, declared a "jihad" against Ethiopia, made border incursions into Ethiopian territory, supported separatist organisations in the Ogaden and elsewhere in Ethiopia, and most importantly was believed both by the UN and Ethiopia to be backed by Eritrea, contrary to UN sanctions. Ethiopia considers Eritrea to have been a major force for instability in the region, having attacked all its neighbours and been to war with Ethiopia. The two governments have not yet resolved their border and other differences. In recent days, the President of Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf, has accused the Eritrean government of sending its troops to destabilise the country and trying to organise a coup to overthrow the TFG.

Ethiopia has not only been the major backer of the TFG since 2004 but has also sent "military advisers" to train and support its forces, indeed Ethiopia also played a key role in the process which led to the formation of the TFG. Last year the TFG entered in to talks with the UIC in an attempt to resolve the political crisis in Somalia. The Ethiopian government also held talks with the UIC in order to avert war, while the US, for its part, had backed local Somali militias, encouraging them to defeat the UIC by military means. The Ethiopian government declared that it has no opposition to the UIC as such but only to that part of its leadership which was engaged in hostile "terrorist" activities in league with Eritrea and others. Unfortunately, the UIC continued with its military attacks on the TFG and its threats of jihad against Ethiopia and actually infiltrated into Ethiopian territory. Because of this activity and after exhausting other avenues Ethiopia, together with the TFG and other Somalis took military action as a means of self-defence.

As is now clear, the military action taken by Ethiopia and the TFG was swift, mainly took place outside major cities and was targeted at sections of the UIC leadership rather than the rank and file. As promised at the time, the Ethiopian army has already started to leave the country, stressing that its security is a task for the Somalis themselves as well as an AU led "stabilisation force", IGASOM, to assist the TFG. The composition of this force was discussed at the AU summit but already Uganda, Malawi, Burundi and Nigeria have promised troops and other countries, including Libya, have promised other forms of support. Although it is planned that this force will be deployed in weeks, no firm date has been set and meanwhile Ethiopia continues with plans to evacuate its troops, despite pleas from some AU members that its forces should not do so. Ethiopia’s role in Somalia was widely supported at the AU summit.

As to the role of the US imperialism, it is clear that it gives itself the right to launch military attacks wherever it pleases in the world on the basis that "might makes right". Certainly it would be impossible for the TFG to order the US not to invade its territory.

Ethiopia’s position, as stated by Prime Minister Zenawi, is that it did not act in concert with the US. Zenawi distanced himself from the US after the first air strike, stating that such actions pose dangers to civilians. However, he acknowledged that the US army had provided Ethiopia with some military intelligence. It now seems to be well established that the US initially opposed Ethiopia’s military involvement in Somalia, but was forced to adjust its position when Ethiopia maintained its right to act in self-defence.

The US is certainly fishing in troubled waters and taking advantage of the unstable situation in Somalia and other parts of the Horn of Africa. Its forces are stationed in Djibouti and it attempts to exercise hegemony over the whole region both by military, economic and other means and using the so called "war on terror", as well as instability in the region as a pretext. It is clearly trying to re-establish itself in Somalia, following the debacle of 1994 when it was forced to leave the country. In recent days, it has claimed that so-called "Islamist militants" displaced from Somalia are regrouping in Eritrea and Yemen and has started to threaten the Eritrean government.

Since the defeat of the UIC, both the US and the EU have put pressure on the TFG to enter into negotiations with the UIC. The EU even threatened to withhold aid promised for the AU stabilisation force if its demands were not met. Although the TFG has protested strongly against such interference in its affairs, at the present time it appears that is has had to acquiesce. The Ethiopian government on the other hand has made no secret of its opposition to such interference and to the fact that the representatives of the big powers are withholding resources required to support the stabilisation of Somalia. It has encouraged the TFG to pursue its own strategy, relying on the Somali people. The President of the AU Commission, Alpha Konare, commenting on the proposed stabilisation force, stressed the need for African countries to rely on their own resources to solve Africa’s problems.

This is the conclusion which the peoples on the African continent have been drawing. They are striving to overcome not only the intractable problems which are the legacy of colonial rule, not least that of Britain, but the continuing material and cultural devastation which is the result of big power attempts to impose western-centred "solutions" on African peoples and governments. The fact is that it is indeed the continued interference of the big powers is the main factor creating Africa’s problems and preventing their resolution.

Extract from the article by South African President Thabo Mbeki, ANC Today, February 2-8, 2007

[…] Those of us who serve within the structures of the African Union, and daily bear the responsibility to respond to what the World Economic Forum described as the Promise of Africa, have a task to address Africa's actual and real challenges. To succeed in what we have to do, in the interest of the African masses, this means that we must separate prejudice and illusion from the hard and exciting reality of the actuality of the evolving African condition.

As a consequence of this, we celebrate the fact that for the first time ever, at the 2007 Addis Ababa AU Assembly, a united Africa had occasion to celebrate the fact that in 2010, our Continent would, for the first time, have the possibility to host the eminent global sports tournament, the FIFA Soccer World Cup. As a result, the assembled African Heads of State and Government had the possibility, for the first time, to listen to the Presidents of FIFA and CAF and, incidentally, a head of government from Trinidad and Tobago, who could speak for the African Diaspora in the Caribbean. They also launched the International Year of African Football.

We also celebrate the fact that the 2007 Addis Ababa AU Assembly took the positions it did, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the independence of Ghana. This will enable our Continent to engage in a critical assessment of what its independence from colonialism and apartheid has meant, and therefore what it should do to address the common aspirations that the African masses have shared for a long time, in favour of African unity and an African Renaissance.

We celebrate the fact that in Addis Ababa, Africa's political leaders took the decision to involve the African masses in deciding what needs to be done to achieve the purposes of the African Revolution, including the advance towards the realisation of the objective of African unity. We welcome the fact that in July, as decided in Addis Ababa, Africa's political leaders will meet in Ghana in a special two-day session solely to address this important issue.

We celebrate the fact that when it applauded President Obasanjo's valedictory address, the Assembly confirmed its determination to respect constitutional rule and the rule of law, as a result of which President Obasanjo would not seek to serve during a third term, which is prohibited by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Assembly also adopted the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, saying that it constituted "a major step towards the realisation of the democratic agenda of the Union."

We celebrate the fact that the 2007 Addis Ababa Assembly paid particular attention to the critical issue of Africa's involvement in the development of science and technology, resulting in the adoption of an African Indicative Plan focused on the development and application of science and technology to address our Continent's challenges, including mitigation of, and adaptation to climate change.

We celebrate the fact that, in Addis Ababa, Africa's political leaders reaffirmed their determination to mobilise all our resources successfully to accomplish the task to ensure security and stability in all our countries. This represents a binding commitment by all member states of the AU to contribute whatever they can towards the resolution of such conflicts as confront Sudan, Somalia, Côte d'Ivoire, Comoros, Guinean (Conakry), Chad and so on.

We celebrate the fact that the Assembly approved a budget that will provide substantial funds for the implementation of the programmes of the Union. In the past the Union depended on voluntary contributions by the member states and donations from the rest of the world to fund its programmes. This has seriously affected its capacity to advance the objectives spelt out in the Constitutive Act.

We celebrate the fact that the 2007 Addis Ababa Assembly attracted perhaps the largest number ever of representatives of important non-African countries and multilateral organisations, all of which sought to engage the AU in constructive dialogue. The presence and addresses of the UN SG, the SG of the Arab League, the President of the Palestine Authority, the Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey and Italy, the Presidents of FIFA and CAF, the CEOs of the ADB, FAO and UNESCO, senior representatives of the EU, the US, UK, French and Iranian governments, and so on, all confirmed that we have succeeded to place Africa among the leading items on the global agenda.

We celebrate the fact that during the few days of our presence in Addis Ababa, we witnessed the opening in the city the first ever campus outside our country of the University of South Africa (UNISA). This demonstrated Africa's commitment to put in place the building blocks we need to achieve the objective of African solidarity, integration and unity, specifically focused on using our national strengths to accelerate balanced and mutually beneficial development among our countries.

In this regard the Assembly accepted the report of the NEPAD Heads of State & Government Implementation Committee, which include a decision to undertake a comprehensive review of the functioning of the programme ahead of the June

G8 Summit Meeting in Germany, which will discuss its cooperation with Africa as one of its principal agenda items.

Significantly, the Assembly also accepted a proposal made by the African Ministers of Finance and Economic Affairs for the elaboration of an African Charter on Statistics. The Charter will be considered by the AU Executive Council (the Foreign Ministers) at its meeting in July. The decision of the Assembly said the Charter "will provide a lasting solution to issues related to the production of statistics on our Continent."

(Clearly the Continent needs accurate statistics precisely to measure the progress we are making in addressing our challenges. However, the decision to elaborate the African Charter on Statistics emphasises the point that much of what is presented as fact, concerning our Continent, is little more than guess work. Of course, this gives the possibility to all and sundry to characterise our Continent in any way they wish.)

The January 2007 Eighth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU confirmed that our Continent remains united in its determination to pursue the objectives fundamental to the African Renaissance. These include promoting African integration and unity, ensuring peace and stability, entrenching democracy and a culture of human rights, accelerating socio-economic development to address the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment, and ensuring that Africa takes its rightful place within the world community of nations.

As an expression of its commitment to achieve these objectives, the Assembly took important decisions to assess the effectiveness of the institutions of the African Union precisely to ensure that Africa realises the faster progress that it needs to achieve. The AU must ensure that it has the capacity to attain the important goals it has set itself. This is what the January 2007 Eighth Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly decided. With that, it conveyed an unequivocal message of hope to all the peoples of Africa.

The Assembly:

1. RECALLS its previous decisions and declarations concerning the situation in Somalia, particularly its decision adopted in Abuja, Nigeria, on 31 January 2005, and its declaration adopted in Banjul, the Gambia, on 2 July 2006;

2. RECALLS ALSO all the relevant decisions of the Peace and Security Council on Somalia and Resolution 1725 (2006) of the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted on 6 December 2006;

3. TAKES NOTE of the communiqué issued by the International Contact Group on Somalia which met in Nairobi, Kenya, on 5 January 2007;

4. NOTES WITH SATISFACTION the recent positive developments in Somalia which have resulted from Ethiopia's intervention upon the invitation of the legitimate Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, and which has created an unprecedented opportunity for lasting peace in the country;

5. WELCOMES the decision of Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia, and TAKES NOTE of the fact that Ethiopia has already started withdrawing its troops;

6. CALLS for an immediate deployment of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in accordance with the decision of the 69th meeting of the Peace and Security Council (PSC), and CALLS ON member States to contribute troops in order to avoid a security vacuum following the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia;

7. URGES the international community to provide financial, logistical and technical support for the deployment of AMISOM;

8. EXPRESSES CONCERN that many of the pledges by the donor community have not been honoured and CALLS ON the international community to disburse the funds without delay and without political preconditions;

9. ALSO CALLS on the member States and the AU partners to support the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) of Somalia to enable them to establish their authority in the country;

10. EXPRESSES ITS SUPPORT to the initiative of the TFG for an inclusive inter-Somali dialogue involving all stakeholders including political leaders, clan leaders, religious leaders, and representatives of the women, youth, business community and the civil society, which would ensure national reconciliation in Somalia;

11. APPEALS TO the international community to provide all the necessary support for post-conflict reconstruction in Somalia, and URGES the United Nations to lead this endeavour which is critical for sustainable peace in the country.

Jan 07