African leaders gather to discuss United States of Africa
June 29, 2007 (ACCRA) — Officially, heads of state attending the African Union summit this weekend will be discussing plans for a United States of Africa, a continental body that does away with national borders.
Unofficially, the key discussion will be about the things pulling Africa apart _ allegations of genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region and the brutal crackdown in Zimbabwe.
Protests have been banned until the final day of the three-day summit on Tuesday, and 2,000 policemen have already fanned out across this sea-facing capital. Protests planned include one calling for an end to the violence in Darfur and a second by Zimbabwean activists who traveled here to decry Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
On the sidelines of the summit, South African President Thabo Mbeki is expected to present a report on the progress of his attempt to mediate a solution in Zimbabwe. Earlier this year, Zimbabwe’s top opposition leader was hospitalized after police violently broke up a meeting he was attending.
The mediation sessions between Zimbabwe’s ruling party and opposition groups are being held in South Africa, and Mbeki is to brief delegates from his region during the summit on what, if any progress has been made, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad has said.
Darfur, where an estimated 200,000 people have died, was to be the focus of a teleconference address by Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on Saturday. Al-Bashir abruptly canceled his trip to Ghana following the death of a close adviser. Darfur’s problems are expected to be addressed by members of his government.
The main official agenda item is an idea first proposed four decades ago: a united Africa.
Nana Akufo-Addo, a Ghanaian who chairs the African Union’s executive council, dismissed criticism that the continental body should instead have devoted itself to pushing for an end to suffering in Darfur.
“In the last 20 to 30 years, we were a continent of disease and hunger with a debasing image and in some instances, as being in the dirtiest conditions. This Africa is the Africa we want to stop. How can we organize ourselves? … Many times and too often, we are afterthoughts some call us a scar on the conscience of the world. What can we do to remove that scar?”
Referring to the European Union and to the United States, he said Africa will be strengthened by coming together, and strength would allow it to better address its problems.
Although the idea of a borderless, continentwide entity has been accepted by most African countries, it’s remained no more than a slogan due to disputes on how to proceed.
A 2006 African Union report advocates achieving a United States of Africa by 2015. The report proposes that the AU, currently an organization aimed at promoting African unity, will be transformed into a government.
But some heads of state such as Libya’s Moammar Ghadafi are calling for an immediate formation of a new, pan-African government.
Alpha Oumar Konare, the departing chair of the African Union Commission, said that over the past five decades, numerous documents had been adopted calling for a pan-African body, but that individual states had failed to ratify them.
“What is the use in adopting so much text and not showing commitment to them?” he asked. “History will not forgive us if we don’t (take) action to move forward,” he said.