Re: To Brother Moses Ebe Ochonu (Ivory Coast in mind)
Cornelius Hamelberg
Dear Moses,
During the holidays in December 1968, I was in Abidjan for the very
first time on a trip from Freetown to Accra by road in a Renault R16 -
with two Americans and Orlando Marville a Barbadian who worked for
UNESCO, at the wheel. It was a four day trip. Abidjan struck me as
being something of a French City then, a change from sleepy Freetown
with its Austin mini-minors, and from Monrovia with its Oldsmobiles
and Cadillacs and much talk about LAMCO, Firestone Rubber & the dollah
….
This letter to you is taking this particular slant, because not too
long ago, you were wrongfully accused of being “anti- Muslim” which I
know that you are not. That of course does not mean to say that you
have lost your critical faculties and the ability to be objective
about all the atrocities being committed in the name of Islam. Or that
there is no religious dimension to the stalemate in the Ivory Coast.
I’m an amateur in these matters and as you have always struck me as
being very knowledgeable and insightful when you decide to go into the
fray, I should like to be acquainted with your perspectives at our USA
- Africa Forum where the discussion of the Ivory Coast stalemate is
grounded for the moment. Your comments are always original, never
pedestrian, yes, always edifying. I speak not with a silver tongue.
Last week I talked to the ex-wife of my Ivorian friend (he’s a Kru man
- like George Weah) whilst his ex-wife is the same tribe as Gbagbo. I
used to buy most of my African music CDs and DVDs and some African
foodstuffs & condiments at their store. Last week, I met her in
downtown Stockholm and the words “Côte d'Ivoire” had hardly left my
lips when she launched into an all out attack on Alassane Ouattara who
she says wants to sell out (and to sell the newly discovered oil etc)
to foreign interests and that his claims are being shamefully
supported by some of the uncle tom African presidents who are
currently parading in Abidjan, as the good guys, the democrats, the
democratically elected, the shining examples and not at all
corrupt….you bet….
I’ve just talked to one of my friends who is the same tribe as
Ouattara (Jola or Jolla or Dioula as spelled in the Ivory Coast.
Dioula/ Jola, like Yaya Jammeh the president of the Gambia) – the Jola
are a sub-tribe of the Mandinka/ Mandingo. The Jola until recently
resisted Islamization and were mostly faithful adherents of
traditional African religions or Christian. Jammeh was a Christian who
converted to Islam – and as most true converts, in true faith is now
shining the light of Islam with some zeal. He was recently curing aids
with the help of the Quran and some special herbs.
Ouattara too is a Muslim What is interesting here is that looking at
the map of the region it’s easy to understand that he must have a lot
of support coming in through those porous borders, into the Ivory
Coast, especially in the North which is densely populated by the
Mandinkas, Jola, and is nearly 99% Muslim:
http://cpj.org/reports/2000/04/map.php
Like the Ivory Coast’s first president Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Laurent
Gbagbo is also Christian, but Protestant whereas Houphouët-Boigny was
Catholic and famously built a Cathedral in his home town, a cathedral
that is even bigger than St. Peters’ in Rome:
http://goafrica.about.com/od/peopleandculture/p/basilica.htm
My Jola Ivorian friend is Christian, was raised in Sweden but still
has a strong connection to his ancestral homeland and has emphasised
the following points which I think we should bear in mind, in this
discussion:
He says that Gbagbo is socialist and that’s why some of the impies
(imperialists) in the West don’t like him that much. That he’s keen on
doing business with China and Russia who are also very interested in
the Ivory Coast’s oil. That China now has strong relations with 53
countries in Africa and seems to be taking over the whole continent.
He also mentions what I think is the key to solving the impasse:
namely that seven election areas were disqualified - in the North,
because of alleged MASSIVE BALLOT FRAUD.
In my opinion, although it will be difficult to do so just now, since
it’s reported that so many people are fleeing to Burkina Faso – but if
by-elections could be held in these seven disqualified areas, then
there could be a re-count of the total votes cast and perhaps then
with the blessings of the Ivory Coast Constitutional Council, whoever
is declared winner will then be allowed to become the de jure
President of the Ivory Coast.
At the moment I’m surprised that throughout this turbulence we have
heard precious little from ( a good friend of one of my Ivorian
friends) someone of the stature of Amara Essy who was not too long
ago the Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity - and
speaks both French, English and Arabic, fluently.
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&&q=Amara+Essy
I haven’t put my cards on the table yet, but what says my Brother
Moses Ebe Ochonu?
On Jan 8, 11:00 pm, Cornelius Hamelberg <corneliushamelb...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Dear Moses,
>
> During the holidays in December 1968.I was first in Abidjan for the
> very first time on a trip from Freetown to Accra by road in a Renault
> R16 - with two Americans and Orlando Marville a Barbadian who worked
> for UNESCO at the wheel. It was a four day trip. Abidjan struck me as
> being something of a French City then, a change from sleepy Freetown
> with its Austin mini minors, and from Monrovia with its Oldsmobile and
> Cadillacs and much talk about LAMCO, Firestone Rubber & the dollah ….
>
> This letter to you is taking this particular slant, because not too
> long ago, you were wrongfully accused of being “anti- Muslim” which I
> know that you are not. That of course does not mean to say that you
> have lost your critical faculties and the ability to be objective
> about all the atrocities being committed in the name of Islam. Or that
> there is no religious dimension to the stalemate in the Ivory Coast.
>
> I’m an amateur in these matters and as you have always struck me as
> being very knowledgeable and insightful when you decide to go into the
> fray, I should like to be acquainted with your perspectives at our USA
> - Africa Forum where the discussion of the Ivory Coast stalemate is
> grounded for the moment. Your comments are always original, never
> pedestrian, yes, always edifying. I speak not with a silver tongue.
>
> Last week I talked to the ex-wife of my Ivorian friend (he’s a Kru man
> - like George Weah) whilst his ex-wife is the same tribe as Gbagbo. I
> used to buy most of my African music CDs and DVDs and some African
> foodstuffs & condiments at their store. Last week, I met her in
> downtown Stockholm and the words “Côte d'Ivoire” had hardly left my
> lips when she launched into an all out attack on Alassane Ouattara who
> she says wants to sell out (and to sell the newly discovered oil etc)
> to foreign interests and that his claims are being shamefully
> supported by some of the uncle tom African presidents who are
> currently parading in Abidjan, as the good guys, democrats,
> democratically elected, the shining examples and not at all
> corrupt….you bet….
>
> I’ve just talked to one of my friends who is the same tribe as
> Ouattara (Jola or Jolla or Dioula as spelled in the Ivory Coast.
> Dioua/ Jola, like Yaya Jammeh the president of the Gambia) – the Jola
> are a sub-tribe of the Mandinka/ Mandingo. The Jola until recently
> resisted Islamization and were mostly faithful adherents of
> traditional African religions or Christian. Jammeh was a Christian who
> concerted to Islam – and as most true converts, in true faith is now
> shining the light of Islam with some zeal. He was recently curing aids
> with the help of the Quran and some special herbs.
>
> Ouattara too is a Muslim What is interesting is that looking at the
> map of the region it’s easy to understand that he must have a lot of
> support coming in through those porous borders, into the Ivory Coast,
> especially in the North which is densely populated by the Mandinkas,
> Jola, and nearly 99% Muslim:
>
> http://cpj.org/reports/2000/04/map.php
>
> Like the Ivory Coast’s first president Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Laurent
> Gbagbo is also Christian, but Protestant whereas Houphouët-Boigny was
> Catholic and famously built a Cathedral in his home town, a cathedral
> that is even bigger than St. Peters’ in Rome:http://goafrica.about.com/od/peopleandculture/p/basilica.htm
>
> My Jola Ivorian friend is Christian, was raised in Sweden but still
> has a strong connection to his ancestral land and appears has
> emphasised the following points which I think we should bear in mind,
> in this discussion:
>
> He says that Gbagbo is socialist and that’s why some of the impies
> (imperialists) in the West don’t like him that much. That he’s keen on
> doing business with China and Russia who are also very interested in
> the Ivory Coast’s oil. That China now has strong relations with 53
> countries in Africa and seems to be taking over the continent.
>
> He also mentions what I think is the key to solving the impasse:
> namely that the seven election areas were disqualified - in the North,
> because of alleged MASSIVE BALLOT FRAUD.
>
> In my opinion, although it will be difficult to do so just now, since
> it’s reported that so many people are fleeing to Burkina Faso – but if
> by-elections could be held in these seven disqualified areas, then
> there could be a re-count of the total votes cast and perhaps then
> with the blessings of the Ivory Coast Constitutional Council, who ever
> is declared winner will then be allowed to become the de jure
> President of the Ivory Coast.
>
> At the moment I’m surprised that throughout this turbulence we have
> heard precious little from ( a good friend of one of my Ivorian
> friends) someone of the stature of Amara Essy who was not too long
> ago the Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity - and
> speaks both French, English and Arabic, fluently.
>
> http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&=&q=...
>
> I haven’t put my cards on the table yet, but what says my Brother
> Moses Ebe Ochonu?
Emeagwali, Gloria (History)
by-elections could be held in these seven disqualified areas, then
there could be a re-count of the total votes cast and perhaps then
with the blessings of the Ivory Coast Constitutional Council, who ever
is declared winner will then be allowed to become the de jure
I see you believe in the tooth fairy .......and Santa Claus too.
Gloria Emeagwali
www.africahistory.net
________________________________________
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Cornelius Hamelberg [cornelius...@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 5:00 PM
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - To Brother Moses Ebe Ochonu (Ivory Coast in mind)
Dear Moses,
http://cpj.org/reports/2000/04/map.php
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&=&q=Amara+Essy
I haven’t put my cards on the table yet, but what says my Brother
Moses Ebe Ochonu?
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsub...@googlegroups.com
Moses Ebe Ochonu
That said, I believe that the military solution would be messy and should not be hurried. Mr. Ouattara is talking naively about commandos dropping in from the sky, taking out Gbagbo with military precision and paving the way for him to claim his electoral victory in the presidential palace. I am disappointed at the childish naivety of Ouattara. It tells me that he is so desperate to be president that he's not even willing to maturely reflect on the complications of a military action against Gbagbo. Even the famed Israeli commandos and the US special forces will have a hard time carrying out such a fantastical mission. It will be no summer picnic. The military option is thus plagued with many unknowns, many of them potentially catastrophic not just for Ivory Coast but for its neighbors. Personally, I would give the sanctions time to work. I also do believe that the most significant action against Gbagbo so far is the decision of the West African Central Bank to deny him access to his country's deposits there. It will start to bite soon. Together with the sustained pressure and the sanctions, it will force Gbagbo to consider exit options that he previously rejected.
Oh, by the way, I would not put too much stock on the isolated testimonies of individual Ivorians who may or may not like Gbagbo. After all, our own Abacha had his own fanatical supporters even at the height of his repressive exploits. Some of them even went to town to reintroduce the winner of the 1993 election, MKO Abiola, to Nigerians and the world as a traitor and foreign agent. Sounds familiar?
There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.
---Mohandas Gandhi
kenneth harrow
i agree with much of moses's statement here, except perhaps his opposition to power sharing.
there are alternatives to power sharing that entail simply fighting to retain power. i can think of two or three in the great lakes region. does anyone here pay attention to the numbers of people who died in burundi since 1990, all so as to refuse a powersharing arrangement. about 300,000.� and when that arrangement finally was crafted, followed by elections, and now again most recently, with elections about as screwed up as anywhere else, the massive killings stopped.
now, to the western press 300,000 dead africans was so insignificant that it barely caused a ripple anywhere; and when the rwandan genocide then followed, burundi disappeared off the charts. but that is the number, and possibly a low number of those who died in the 1990s cataclysm of the refusal to share power in that small country of maybe 7-8 million people.
we can all hold our noses at the power sharing in kenya and zimbabwe--or at least, i hold my nose. but i also thank god that these two countries did not resolve their failed electoral processes with full scale wars. can you imagine how many would have died if the opposition parties, which had won the elections, in those countries returned to full scale war?? it would have made burundi look like peanuts.
the french gave us the lesson after the revolution of 1789 when the purists of the revolution sought to cleanse the body politic of those who would compromise in 1791, with the reign of terror.
politics have to involve some measure of compromise if that is the price of avoiding violence.
and as i said before, violence in defensive situations is totally legitimate. but formal political absolutes should not be the ultimate basis for political actions.
ken
On 1/8/11 8:05 PM, Moses Ebe Ochonu wrote:
Cornelius, while I am concerned about the drumbeat of war and its accompanying incendiary rhetoric of removing Gbagbo "at all cost" I oppose any solution or resolution to the Ivorian crisis that involves Gbagbo remaining in power or sharing same with his rival Ouattara. My opposition to power sharing arrangements is well known. We already have terrible precedents in Kenya and Zimbabwe. We need not compound the problem with Ivory Coast. We willingly signed up for Western liberal democracy with a winner-takes-all clause. Let's abide by its protocols. I have my philosophical problems with that model, but until we adopt a less zero-sum model of democracy that results in more consensual outcomes, I cannot support a solution to electoral crisis that pretends that elections and votes--the very redeeming qualities of liberal democracy--do not matter. Besides, I know Africa enough to know that were power sharing impositions by incumbents allowed to become the continental paradigm, the victims would be ordinary Africans as incompetent and corrupt incumbents who should be electorally dismissed from their jobs would have a license to remain in power to pillage and tyrannize as they like. We can't have "democratic" outcomes that conduce to impunity and tyranny because it begs the question of why Africans sacrificed life, limb and effort to bring about more participatory, pluralist political systems in their countries in the first place.
That said, I believe that the military solution would be messy and should not be hurried. Mr. Ouattara is talking naively about commandos dropping in from the sky, taking out Gbagbo with military precision and paving the way for him to claim his electoral victory in the presidential palace. I am disappointed at the childish naivety of Ouattara. It tells me that he is so desperate to be president that he's not even willing to maturely reflect on the complications of a military action against Gbagbo. Even the famed Israeli commandos and the US special forces will have a hard time carrying out such a fantastical mission. It will be no summer picnic. The military option is thus plagued with many unknowns, many of them potentially catastrophic not just for Ivory Coast but for its neighbors. Personally, I would give the sanctions time to work. I also do believe that the most significant action against Gbagbo so far is the decision of the West African Central Bank to deny him access to his country's deposits there. It will start to bite soon. Together with the sustained pressure and the sanctions, it will force Gbagbo to consider exit options that he previously rejected.
Oh, by the way, I would not put too much stock on the isolated testimonies of individual Ivorians who may or may not like Gbagbo. After all, our own Abacha had his own fanatical supporters even at the height of his repressive exploits. Some of them even went to town to reintroduce the winner of the 1993 election, MKO Abiola, to Nigerians and the world as a traitor and foreign agent. Sounds familiar?
On Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 4:00 PM, Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Moses,
During the holidays in December 1968.I was first in Abidjan for the
very first time on a trip from Freetown to Accra by road in a Renault
R16 - with two Americans and Orlando Marville a Barbadian who worked
for UNESCO at the wheel. It was a four day trip. Abidjan struck me as
being something of a French City then, a change from sleepy Freetown
with its Austin mini minors, and from Monrovia with its Oldsmobile and
Cadillacs and much talk about LAMCO, Firestone Rubber & the dollah �.
This letter to you is taking this particular slant, because not too
long ago, you were wrongfully accused of being �anti- Muslim� which I
know that you are not. That of course does not mean to say that you
have lost your critical faculties and the ability to be objective
about all the atrocities being committed in the name of Islam. Or that
there is no religious dimension to the stalemate in the Ivory Coast.
�I�m an amateur in these matters and as you have always struck me as
being very knowledgeable and insightful when you decide to go into the
fray, I should like to be acquainted with your perspectives at our USA
- Africa Forum where the discussion of the Ivory Coast stalemate is
grounded for the moment. Your comments are always original, never
pedestrian, yes, always edifying. I speak not with a silver tongue.
Last week I talked to the ex-wife of my Ivorian friend (he�s a Kru man
- like George Weah) whilst his ex-wife is the same tribe as Gbagbo. I
used to buy most of my African music CDs and DVDs and some African
foodstuffs & condiments at their store. Last week, I met her in
downtown Stockholm and the words �C�te d'Ivoire� had hardly left my
lips when she launched into an all out attack on Alassane Ouattara who
she says wants to sell out (and to sell the newly discovered oil etc)
to foreign interests and that his claims are being shamefully
supported by some of the uncle tom African presidents who are
currently parading in Abidjan, as the good guys, democrats,
democratically elected, the shining examples and not at all
corrupt�.you bet�.
I�ve just talked to one of my friends who is the same tribe as
Ouattara (Jola or Jolla or Dioula as spelled in the Ivory Coast.
Dioua/ Jola, like Yaya Jammeh the president of the Gambia) � the Jola
are a sub-tribe of the Mandinka/ Mandingo. The Jola until recently
resisted Islamization and were mostly faithful adherents of
traditional African religions or Christian. Jammeh was a Christian who
concerted to Islam � and as most true converts, in true faith is now
shining the light of Islam with some zeal. He was recently curing aids
with the help of the Quran and some special herbs.
Ouattara too is a Muslim What is interesting is that looking at the
map of the region �it�s easy to understand that he must have a lot of
support coming in through those porous borders, into the Ivory Coast,
especially in the North which is densely populated by the Mandinkas,
Jola, and nearly 99% Muslim:
http://cpj.org/reports/2000/04/map.php
Like the Ivory Coast�s first president F�lix Houphou�t-Boigny, Laurent
Gbagbo is also Christian, but Protestant whereas Houphou�t-Boigny was
Catholic and famously built a Cathedral in his home town, a cathedral
that is even bigger than St. Peters� in Rome:
http://goafrica.about.com/od/peopleandculture/p/basilica.htm
My Jola Ivorian friend is Christian, was raised in Sweden but still
has a strong connection to his ancestral land and appears has
emphasised the following points which I think we should bear in mind,
in this discussion:
He says that Gbagbo is socialist and that�s why some of the impies
(imperialists) in the West don�t like him that much. That he�s keen on
doing business with China and Russia who are also very interested in
the Ivory Coast�s oil. That China now has strong relations with 53
countries in Africa and seems to be taking over the continent.
He also mentions what I think is the key to solving the impasse:
namely that the seven election areas were disqualified - in the North,
because of alleged MASSIVE BALLOT FRAUD.
In my opinion, although it will be difficult to do so just now, since
it�s reported that so many people are fleeing to Burkina Faso � but if
by-elections could be held in these seven disqualified areas, then
there could be a re-count of the �total votes cast and perhaps then
with the blessings of the Ivory Coast Constitutional Council, who ever
is declared winner will then be allowed to become the de jure
President of the Ivory Coast.
At the moment I�m surprised that throughout this turbulence we have
heard precious little from ( a good friend of one of my Ivorian
friends) someone of the stature of Amara Essy �who was �not too long
ago the Secretary General of the �Organisation of African Unity �- and
speaks �both French, English and Arabic, fluently.
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&=&q=Amara+Essy
I haven�t put my cards on the table yet, but what says my Brother
Moses Ebe Ochonu?
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
� For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
� For previous archives, visit �http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
� To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
� To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
� unsub...@googlegroups.com
--
There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.
---Mohandas Gandhi
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsub...@googlegroups.com
-- kenneth w. harrow distinguished professor of english michigan state university department of english east lansing, mi 48824-1036 ph. 517 803 8839 har...@msu.edu
Emeagwali, Gloria (History)
encourage banditry and intimidation. Politician X engages in an orgy of killings with a view to
getting into power through intimidation. I recall Clinton's attempt at coddling one of the
rebels in the case of Sierra Leone through a power sharing agreement. By such a formula Taylor would be
sharing power with Liberia's Sirleaf right now, as we speak, and perpetrators of atrocities
would be strolling down the corridors of power. Keep an eye on the Lords Army in Uganda,
never mind their countless rape victims.
I also share the view that the new nation of South Sudan should be greeted positively when it
emerges. This is the ultimate price paid by the al-Beshir regime: a loss of one third of territory and
75% oil revenues. Ha ha ha.
Gloria Emeagwali
________________________________
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of kenneth harrow [har...@msu.edu]
Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 10:18 PM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - To Brother Moses Ebe Ochonu (Ivory Coast in mind)
dear moses et al
i agree with much of moses's statement here, except perhaps his opposition to power sharing.
there are alternatives to power sharing that entail simply fighting to retain power. i can think of two or three in the great lakes region. does anyone here pay attention to the numbers of people who died in burundi since 1990, all so as to refuse a powersharing arrangement. about 300,000. and when that arrangement finally was crafted, followed by elections, and now again most recently, with elections about as screwed up as anywhere else, the massive killings stopped.
now, to the western press 300,000 dead africans was so insignificant that it barely caused a ripple anywhere; and when the rwandan genocide then followed, burundi disappeared off the charts. but that is the number, and possibly a low number of those who died in the 1990s cataclysm of the refusal to share power in that small country of maybe 7-8 million people.
we can all hold our noses at the power sharing in kenya and zimbabwe--or at least, i hold my nose. but i also thank god that these two countries did not resolve their failed electoral processes with full scale wars. can you imagine how many would have died if the opposition parties, which had won the elections, in those countries returned to full scale war?? it would have made burundi look like peanuts.
the french gave us the lesson after the revolution of 1789 when the purists of the revolution sought to cleanse the body politic of those who would compromise in 1791, with the reign of terror.
politics have to involve some measure of compromise if that is the price of avoiding violence.
and as i said before, violence in defensive situations is totally legitimate. but formal political absolutes should not be the ultimate basis for political actions.
ken
On 1/8/11 8:05 PM, Moses Ebe Ochonu wrote:
Cornelius, while I am concerned about the drumbeat of war and its accompanying incendiary rhetoric of removing Gbagbo "at all cost" I oppose any solution or resolution to the Ivorian crisis that involves Gbagbo remaining in power or sharing same with his rival Ouattara. My opposition to power sharing arrangements is well known. We already have terrible precedents in Kenya and Zimbabwe. We need not compound the problem with Ivory Coast. We willingly signed up for Western liberal democracy with a winner-takes-all clause. Let's abide by its protocols. I have my philosophical problems with that model, but until we adopt a less zero-sum model of democracy that results in more consensual outcomes, I cannot support a solution to electoral crisis that pretends that elections and votes--the very redeeming qualities of liberal democracy--do not matter. Besides, I know Africa enough to know that were power sharing impositions by incumbents allowed to become the continental paradigm, the victims would be ordinary Africans as incompetent and corrupt incumbents who should be electorally dismissed from their jobs would have a license to remain in power to pillage and tyrannize as they like. We can't have "democratic" outcomes that conduce to impunity and tyranny because it begs the question of why Africans sacrificed life, limb and effort to bring about more participatory, pluralist political systems in their countries in the first place.
That said, I believe that the military solution would be messy and should not be hurried. Mr. Ouattara is talking naively about commandos dropping in from the sky, taking out Gbagbo with military precision and paving the way for him to claim his electoral victory in the presidential palace. I am disappointed at the childish naivety of Ouattara. It tells me that he is so desperate to be president that he's not even willing to maturely reflect on the complications of a military action against Gbagbo. Even the famed Israeli commandos and the US special forces will have a hard time carrying out such a fantastical mission. It will be no summer picnic. The military option is thus plagued with many unknowns, many of them potentially catastrophic not just for Ivory Coast but for its neighbors. Personally, I would give the sanctions time to work. I also do believe that the most significant action against Gbagbo so far is the decision of the West African Central Bank to deny him access to his country's deposits there. It will start to bite soon. Together with the sustained pressure and the sanctions, it will force Gbagbo to consider exit options that he previously rejected.
Oh, by the way, I would not put too much stock on the isolated testimonies of individual Ivorians who may or may not like Gbagbo. After all, our own Abacha had his own fanatical supporters even at the height of his repressive exploits. Some of them even went to town to reintroduce the winner of the 1993 election, MKO Abiola, to Nigerians and the world as a traitor and foreign agent. Sounds familiar?
On Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 4:00 PM, Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com<mailto:cornelius...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Dear Moses,
During the holidays in December 1968.I was first in Abidjan for the
very first time on a trip from Freetown to Accra by road in a Renault
R16 - with two Americans and Orlando Marville a Barbadian who worked
for UNESCO at the wheel. It was a four day trip. Abidjan struck me as
being something of a French City then, a change from sleepy Freetown
with its Austin mini minors, and from Monrovia with its Oldsmobile and
Cadillacs and much talk about LAMCO, Firestone Rubber & the dollah ….
This letter to you is taking this particular slant, because not too
long ago, you were wrongfully accused of being “anti- Muslim” which I
know that you are not. That of course does not mean to say that you
have lost your critical faculties and the ability to be objective
about all the atrocities being committed in the name of Islam. Or that
there is no religious dimension to the stalemate in the Ivory Coast.
I’m an amateur in these matters and as you have always struck me as
being very knowledgeable and insightful when you decide to go into the
fray, I should like to be acquainted with your perspectives at our USA
- Africa Forum where the discussion of the Ivory Coast stalemate is
grounded for the moment. Your comments are always original, never
pedestrian, yes, always edifying. I speak not with a silver tongue.
Last week I talked to the ex-wife of my Ivorian friend (he’s a Kru man
- like George Weah) whilst his ex-wife is the same tribe as Gbagbo. I
used to buy most of my African music CDs and DVDs and some African
foodstuffs & condiments at their store. Last week, I met her in
downtown Stockholm and the words “Côte d'Ivoire” had hardly left my
lips when she launched into an all out attack on Alassane Ouattara who
she says wants to sell out (and to sell the newly discovered oil etc)
to foreign interests and that his claims are being shamefully
supported by some of the uncle tom African presidents who are
currently parading in Abidjan, as the good guys, democrats,
democratically elected, the shining examples and not at all
corrupt….you bet….
I’ve just talked to one of my friends who is the same tribe as
Ouattara (Jola or Jolla or Dioula as spelled in the Ivory Coast.
Dioua/ Jola, like Yaya Jammeh the president of the Gambia) – the Jola
are a sub-tribe of the Mandinka/ Mandingo. The Jola until recently
resisted Islamization and were mostly faithful adherents of
traditional African religions or Christian. Jammeh was a Christian who
concerted to Islam – and as most true converts, in true faith is now
shining the light of Islam with some zeal. He was recently curing aids
with the help of the Quran and some special herbs.
Ouattara too is a Muslim What is interesting is that looking at the
map of the region it’s easy to understand that he must have a lot of
support coming in through those porous borders, into the Ivory Coast,
especially in the North which is densely populated by the Mandinkas,
Jola, and nearly 99% Muslim:
http://cpj.org/reports/2000/04/map.php
Like the Ivory Coast’s first president Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Laurent
Gbagbo is also Christian, but Protestant whereas Houphouët-Boigny was
Catholic and famously built a Cathedral in his home town, a cathedral
that is even bigger than St. Peters’ in Rome:
http://goafrica.about.com/od/peopleandculture/p/basilica.htm
My Jola Ivorian friend is Christian, was raised in Sweden but still
has a strong connection to his ancestral land and appears has
emphasised the following points which I think we should bear in mind,
in this discussion:
He says that Gbagbo is socialist and that’s why some of the impies
(imperialists) in the West don’t like him that much. That he’s keen on
doing business with China and Russia who are also very interested in
the Ivory Coast’s oil. That China now has strong relations with 53
countries in Africa and seems to be taking over the continent.
He also mentions what I think is the key to solving the impasse:
namely that the seven election areas were disqualified - in the North,
because of alleged MASSIVE BALLOT FRAUD.
In my opinion, although it will be difficult to do so just now, since
it’s reported that so many people are fleeing to Burkina Faso – but if
by-elections could be held in these seven disqualified areas, then
there could be a re-count of the total votes cast and perhaps then
with the blessings of the Ivory Coast Constitutional Council, who ever
is declared winner will then be allowed to become the de jure
President of the Ivory Coast.
At the moment I’m surprised that throughout this turbulence we have
heard precious little from ( a good friend of one of my Ivorian
friends) someone of the stature of Amara Essy who was not too long
ago the Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity - and
speaks both French, English and Arabic, fluently.
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&=&q=Amara+Essy
I haven’t put my cards on the table yet, but what says my Brother
Moses Ebe Ochonu?
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com<mailto:USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsub...@googlegroups.com<mailto:unsub...@googlegroups.com>
--
There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.
---Mohandas Gandhi
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com<mailto:USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsub...@googlegroups.com<mailto:unsub...@googlegroups.com>
--
kenneth w. harrow
distinguished professor of english
michigan state university
department of english
east lansing, mi 48824-1036
ph. 517 803 8839
har...@msu.edu<mailto:har...@msu.edu>
Pablo
Southern Sudan deserves all the support it can muster and should rightly receive. However, audiences before a performance often applaud, yet they still reserve judgement about what they are about to witness.
P.