Recent Discussion on Africa

Here is the transcript of a recent online discussion on Africa, led by Douglas Farah, former West Africa bureau chief for The Washington Post. China is going to be a key player in the continent over the coming years. Given that their only consideration seems to be to feed their resource-starved economy, their presence may actually worsen the human rights situation in several countries:

... There are some efforts to get at the money of dictators, but they are underfunded, not a priority and rely greatly on international cooperation. The U.S. is not the only country that ignores Africa. most of Europe does too, except to protect direct national investments. If France and Belgium and others are not willing to go after the money, it will not work and does not work.

... There were several free and fair elections that Mugabe won, no question. But his decision to throttle the opposition when he ran the risk of losing power, coupled with his decision to destroy the nation's economy and establish a police state cannot be blamed on colonialism or anything other than the decisions of a leader determined to hang on to power at all costs. The West has committed innumerable mistakes in Africa, without a doubt. But leaders like Mugabe who seek to perpetuate themselves in power and use force to do so must take responsiblity for their actions.

... China does pose a huge problem for that reason-they will buy, bribe and corrupt whomever they can to get to the resources they want. As scant as U.S. and European efforts have been to deal with corruption, the Chinese government has none. That is a problem that will strengthen the big men and set democracy back even further

Farah also wrote an excellent article for Washington Post magazine. I'm not particularly informed when it comes to the African continent and I found both the article and the online discussion particularly illuminating:

... Some of the worst include Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, who has pillaged his country since 1979; Omar Bongo, who has ruled Gabon since Lyndon Johnson was president; Robert Mugabe's kleptocracy in Zimbabwe; and the teetering dictatorship of Idriss Deby in Chad.

But when the Bush administration speaks of spreading democracy around the world, these petty and cruel tyrants, who make Saddam Hussein seem tolerant, are not condemned. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just days ago called Obiang a "good friend" while being photographed beaming at his side during his visit to her office. This is the same Obiang whose regime her own department routinely denounces for its macabre brutality.

There are historic reasons that this tragic style of leadership has prospered. Among them are the legacy of colonialism and the Cold War perceived imperative of supporting anyone who was the enemy of your enemy. In sub-Saharan Africa, these dictators were U.S. allies against Soviet- and Libyan-backed regimes. But independence for most of the nations came more than 50 years ago. The Cold War is long over. The regimes survive today because of their ruthlessness, international indifference, their control of vital resources or a combination of these factors.

... Obiang seized power by murdering his predecessor and uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema. Obiang was Macias's chief of police and ran the notorious Black Beach prison, where Macias reportedly showed up to execute prisoners by smashing their heads with concrete poles. Now Obiang runs a police state of his own, surrounded by Moroccan bodyguards because he doesn't trust anyone, even his own family.

He survives in part because his tiny country pumps 350,000 barrels of oil a day and has reserves of 1.2 billion barrels, along with 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. As a result, oil companies and governments are willing to support a regime that has long since silenced the press, driven almost a third of its population of 540,000 into exile and crushed any hint of dissent.

In recent months Obiang has been making overtures, through the offer of oil deals, to the leader of one of Africa's most astonishing stories of failure--Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. In recent years Mugabe, who took office in 1980 as a national hero, has gradually strangled his nation's political life and economy. He now controls the closest thing the region has to the Disneyland for terrorists and transnational criminal groups that Taylor created in Liberia.

Under Mugabe's despotic rule, Zimbabwe, long a net exporter of food with a vital economy and functional health and educational facilities, teeters on the edge of starvation. The nation has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world.

In the meantime, Mugabe and his inner circle have stashed millions of dollars outside the country, much of it acquired by renting the nation's armed forces to fight in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.