meaning, thanks for saying it. I have said it many times in this forum
that the problem is bigger than overthrowing one African (mis)ruler.
I am sure that the historians among us know that the ancient African
kigdoms were not ruled by a winner-takes-all 'democracy'. This democracy,
which leaves out a whole lot of the people who 'lose' the 'elections' may
not be optimal for multi-tribal, multi-clan, multi-state systems that
constitute modern African states. A bit of thinking can help us design a
more appropriate system.
The only certaintly after any African 'election' is a mass rebellion. Why
can't we see that this system we imported from our colonial masters is
causing more problems than the original problem it is supposed to
address-- the allocation of political power among the competing interests?
Kwaku Mensah, PhD
Chicago
On Thu, February 3, 2011 8:48 am, Ikhide wrote:
> Folks,
>
> Gbagbo is a jerk. Like practically every other misruler in Black Africa. I
> get
> that. But why is the world picking on him? Are we not yelling at the
> symptoms of
> a larger problem? Democracy as practiced in Black Africa today has been a
> plague
> on a truly dispossessed people, perhaps worse than the scourge of AIDS.
> This
> "democracy" was imported willy-nilly by our leaders, political and
> intellectual,
> the new masters of mimicry. The last time I checked Gbagbo is an
> intellectual.
> We are asking for external forces to be massed against Ivory Coast because
> it is
> a small country. That is just not right. Are there no other options to
> deal with
> this matter?
>
>
> If the soldiers take over from the resident termites in Aso Rock would the
> AU
> similarly mass soldiers against Nigeria? Why not send soldiers after
> Mubarak in
> Egypt? What about North Korea? What are we doing? Let me be blunt: Every
> day I
> wake up and pray for the end of whatever they are calling the yeye
> government in
> Nigeria. I will not cry in my beer if monkeys overthrow those assholes in
> power.
> Please leave Gbagbo alone. Our problems are worse than merely unseating an
> asshole with a PhD. This democracy is not working for us. It is actually
> killing
> us.
>
> - Ikhide
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Abdul Bangura <theai@earthlink.net>
> To: "USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com"
> <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
> Cc: leonenet <leonenet@lists.umbc.edu>
> Sent: Wed, February 2, 2011 12:48:05 PM
> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - War Criminal And Pervert Gbagbo
> Tells AU
> To Go To Hell
>
>
> I hope that the African (Dis)Union can finally get out of the way of
> ECOWAS to
> fulfill his mandate. Thank you, War Criminal and Pervert Gbagbo, for
> helping the
> AU see its folly.
> AU Mission in Ivory Coast Encounters Obstacles
> Scott Stearns | Dakar February 02, 2011
>
> Photo: AP
> Ivory Coast Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, attends a media conference at
> the
> Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, January 30, 2011.
> The prime minister for the U.N.-certified winner of Ivory Coast's
> presidential
> election says African Union mediation is the last chance for a peaceful
> resolution of the political crisis. The incumbent government says it will
> not
> accept any mediation that challenges the president's re-election.
>
> The African Union's latest effort to resolve the political crisis in Ivory
> Coast
> is having problems before it gets started.
>
> Members of the heads-of-state panel differ over the possible use of force
> to
> remove incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo supporters oppose the
> inclusion of the Burkina Faso president on the panel because he is an ally
> of
> Gbagbo's rival, Alassane Ouattara.
>
> Gbagbo's foreign minister says his government will not accept any finding
> that
> questions the legitimacy of the constitutional council annulling nearly 10
> percent of all ballots cast, which made Gbagbo the winner.
>
> Ivory Coast's Electoral Commission and the United Nations say results
> shows
> Ouattara winning, even if most of the contested votes are thrown out.
>
> Ouattara's prime minister, Guillaume Soro, says the African Union mission
> is the
> last chance for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
>
> Soro says the five heads of state will go to Ivory Coast to ask the
> elected
> president to explain the guarantees he will offer to the losing president.
> Soro
> says Ouattara has promised if Gbagbo agrees to leave power, Ouattara will
> accord
> him the status of a former president with all of its privileges.
>
> Having served as Gbagbo's prime minister for more than three years, Soro
> told
> VOA that he does not expect the incumbent president will abide by the
> decision
> of the African Union, because the alliance already recognizes Ouattara.
>
> "AU recognized Alassane Ouattara as the elected president of Cote
> d'Ivoire," he
> said. "And I think that it is a victory for democracy in Cote d'Ivoire.
> It is a
> victory of the people of Cote d'Ivoire."
>
> Human Rights Watch says Gbagbo allies are killing and raping Ouattara
> supporters
> in post-election violence. The United Nations says peacekeepers are being
> blocked from suspected mass grave sites.
>
> Soro says those responsible for that violence must be brought to justice.
>
> "The struggle for freedom and the fight for democracy is not easy," he
> said. "In
> the history of our continent, the struggle for freedom generally generates
> crimes and killings and everything."
>
> Both of Ivory Coast's competing governments went into the African Union
> summit
> hoping for decisive action against their rival. Instead, they got a panel
> of
> heads of state. Soro says he is not disappointed.
>
> "No, no, no. I am not disappointed. I am a fighter," said Soro. "When
> you
> fight for democracy you can not be disappointed."
>
> The leaders of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, South Africa, and Tanzania
> make
> up the African Union panel. They met Monday to outline their strategy and
> must
> now decide when to visit Abidjan and how to approach the country's rival
> presidents.--
>
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