Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) Good governance: Africa's shield from neo-colonialism

COMMENT - More subservient thinking from the MDC.

Good governance: Africa's shield from neo-colonialism
by Kudzai Mtero
15/04/2011 00:00:00

MILITARY intervention in Libya by Western countries and more recently the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has been criticised on various levels in different circles, but the overt and harshest criticism has emerged from African countries who view the current aerial bombardment as a form of neo-colonialism.

The Western forces currently in Libya have been accused of being in the country merely for the hidden agenda of regime change, therefore gaining access to the country’s abundant oil resources. Protecting civilians from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s army has been used as an excuse for achieving the aforementioned goal, critics of the action argue.

President Robert Mugabe recently labelled NATO’s actions another example of the West’s fixation with African nations’ resources. South Africa’s ANC Youth League (ANCYL) strongly criticised its government’s support for United Nations resolution 1973 (2011) which allows for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya, but has been used by western countries to openly aid the rebels.

Away from Libya, France and the United Nations’ military actions in the Ivory Coast are also under scrutiny. France has been accused of ne-colonialism and Russia has warned that the United Nations’ aggressive actions leading to the ouster of President Laurent Gbagbo “set a dangerous precedent”.

Questions have been raised about France’s motive in its heavy military engagement in Ivory Coast, and what exactly they have been promised by Alassane Ouattara in return for their support.

It is unfortunate that powerful Western nations, particularly America, Britain and France, currently appear to have ulterior motives such as financial gain wherever they use force or don’t use it. These Western nations have a challenge to prove to the rest of the world that they do not get involved militarily only in nations that are rich in natural resources particularly oil, but in fact they uphold the principles of democracy equally for all nations, from Bahrain through Yemen to Zimbabwe.

Proving that they are not only about financial gain but genuinely care about human rights of everyone would make developing nations, especially African nations, less suspicious of military intervention. This would also avoid situations such as is currently developing whereby Nigeria, Gabon and especially South Africa are being accused of irresponsibly using their temporary seats on the United Nations’ Security Council to “vote with imperialists”, and therefore selling out fellow Africans, as is the case with the recently held vote for UN resolution 1973 on Libya.

The African leaders and institutions that are critical of foreign military intervention in Africa are to some extent justified in their criticism but they need to understand that Africa’s former colonisers will have difficulties in finding excuses to meddle in the continent’s affairs if they as African leaders wholeheartedly adhere to democratic principles.

[Because if they behave like good boys, they won't be punished? Tell that to Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, or for that matter former western puppets like Manuel Noriega, Idi Amin, Mobutu Sese Seko, etc. There is some seriously subservient ideation going on in the MDC, the Sellout Party. Western foreing policy is determined by the direct financial and strategic interests of the corporations and especially the banking families who own them. - MrK]

African multilateral institutions and regional bodies such as SADC, ECOWAS and the African Union should be doing more to ensure that their member states internally consolidate the basics of democracy. These organisations should also be proactive and more effective in handling situations of political crisis or human rights abuses on the continent. This will limit the interference of Western countries in issues that concern African member states.

Kudzai Mtero can be contacted on e-mail: kaymtero@gmail.com

Labels: MDC, NEOCOLONIALISM

posted by MrK @ 5:28 PM