AFRO-NETS> The strategy of the isolated fortress

[Christian Labadie <CLabadie@t-online.de>]

The strategy of the isolated fortress
-------------------------------------

I am reproducing (under fair use) this SABC article (US urges Rwanda 
leader to attend Congo talks) to show how we may soon observe a shift 
of focus from the concerning issues of AIDS drugs to a geopolitical 
debate on Africa. 

I encourage to read the study of Claude Raffestin (geopolitique et 
histoire, ISBN 2-228-88901-6) that spans the literature from 1853 
with the essay of Arthur de Gobineau on the "Inegalite des races hu-
maines" appeared before the works of Darwin up to the most recent 
geopolitical works of Yves Lacoste who inspired the European approach 
in the Balkans. This heritage secures a vision of the world that is 
passe and that sparked one of the worst genocide of history in 
Rwanda. Although young moralists are starting to reflect on the re-
cent genocides using the notions of remorse and pangs of conscience 
(Martine Lucchesi, le remords, ISBN 2-86260-915-3) following the 
steps of Bergson and Jankelevitch, unfortunately the ideas of "Le-
bensraum" and "geopolitics" are still continuing to inspire a new 
generation of strategic and diplomatic analysts. 

The world public is passively accepting that those conflicts are a 
matter of destiny and nothing can stop them, without realising that 
the replication of old ideas that came from the semantic and social 
consequences of the abolition of slavery in the XVIII and XIX centu-
ries may be the very root of those conflicts. 

During the gulf war every good US citizen thought that they were go-
ing for a good cause, and today most of them would accept that West-
ern countries were only after oil. In the Balkans, except for the re-
markable and courageous work of dedicated journalists such as CNN 
Christiane Amanpour, the public rarely realises that the very essence 
of that conflict was that Russians felt unfair that NATO remained af-
ter the collapse of the Berlin Wall. It was mostly the pact for peace 
(PfP) that outraged Russia as it systematically standardised military 
structures of countries in Eastern Europe (shopping country by coun-
try) and placing them under the control of a US military command 
within the NATO. This has been coined by Dr. Pouvreau the syndrome of 
the "isolated fortress" (les russes et la securite europeenne, ISBN 
2-7384-7011-4). 

In essence, the move of the Bush administration is a desperate way to 
address Africa on a terrain where he knows the rules and excels in 
using them. Africa must expect that diplomats will come in cohorts 
trying to act as spin doctors to avoid a collaboration surrounding 
the more fundamental question of AIDS treatments and affordable 
drugs.

It would only take one senior African to tell Bush: "Yes Africa has 
local conflicts and the US offer to help is appreciated, but yet Af-
rica has a more urgent agenda for which the US go-ahead is desper-
ately awaited: Africa needs to produce its own generic drugs and to 
start undertaking research on AIDS without fearing economic sanctions 
from the US at the WTO."

Christian Labadie
mailto:CLabadie@t-online.de 
http://nucwww.chem.sunysb.edu/prevges/prevges.html

see also 
http://nucwww.chem.sunysb.edu/clabadie/JRSwartz.html

--
SABC News -- http://www.sabcnews.com/SABCnews

US urges Rwanda leader to attend Congo talks February 13, 2001, 06:50 
AM

The United States has urged Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president, to 
drop his opposition to holding a summit on the Democratic Republic of 
Congo (DRC) in Zambia after his refusal to go there stalled efforts 
to revive Congo's six-nation peace deal last night.

Richard Boucher, a state department spokesperson, said the United 
States was disappointed at Kagame's decision not to attend the summit 
that Zambia has delayed to Thursday from Tuesday because of the Rwan-
dan leader's refusal to travel to Lusaka.

Boucher spoke just 10 days after ice-breaking talks in Washington be-
tween Kagame and his rival, Congo's new President Joseph Kabila, had 
raised hopes of a revival of a deal signed in 1999 but repeatedly 
violated by all sides.

Kagame told reporters on Sunday he could not travel to Zambia and ac-
cused its President Frederick Chiluba of partiality. Kagame's objec-
tions also relate to recent fighting along Congo's south-eastern bor-
der, where Rwandan troops and their rebel allies forced government 
troops to flee into Zambia.

Rwanda asked for the arrest of the fleeing troops, saying they in-
cluded senior commanders in Rwanda's genocide of 1994.

But the commanders were instead returned to Congo, "thus simply recy-
cling the problem," Kagame said.

Boucher expressed hope another venue could be found for the talks 
that aim to end a 30-month conflict pitting Rwandan and Ugandan-
backed rebels against the government of Congo, which is backed by 
Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia.

"Now we do understand that President Kagame said that he would attend 
the summit if it were held else where and that there are efforts un-
derway to see the summit rescheduled," Boucher said.

Possible alternatives are Pretoria in South Africa, the Mozambique 
capital of Maputo, or New York, analysts say.

--
* Kagame decision a blow to Powell

Kagame's decision was a blow to US Secretary of State Colin Powell 
who has pledged to maintain his country's outreach to Africa. By con-
trast President George W. Bush said during his election campaign that 
Africa did not "fit into" US strategic interests, though other Repub-
licans have said since that he only meant this in a narrow, military 
sense.

"The secretary has been involved in the question of the Congo and has 
continued to be kept up to date," Boucher said. "He hasn't personally 
talked to President Kagame or Kabila since he met with them but I 
would say that we are disappointed with President Kagame's refusal to 
attend this important summit," he added.

Boucher said: "We would urge President Kagame to reconsider his deci-
sion and not miss this important opportunity for moving the peace 
process forward."

Kagame and Kabila were in the United States earlier this month to at-
tend an annual prayer breakfast with many other international leaders 
including Bush and Powell.

The two African leaders were introduced at the breakfast and met 
later, adding to the impression Kabila was serious about kick-
starting the peace process after being thrust into the role with the 
assassination of his father in January.

Boucher said the issue of the two men attending a summit had not come 
up when they met Powell separately.

But he added, "Clearly the secretary encouraged both of them to par-
ticipate in the Lusaka peace process and to make that process work, 
including getting together." - Reuters 

--
Article printout courtesy of the South African Broadcasting Corpora-
tion. Copyright c 2001 SABC.

Source: 
http://www.sabcnews.com/SABCnews/Article/print_whole_story/0,1093,11015,00.html

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