February 5, 2011
February 2, 2011
African Union Statement on Sudan
We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), meeting at our 16th Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 30 to 31 January 2011, are mindful of the vital importance of this critical moment of Sudan’s national history.
1. We congratulate the people of Sudan on the successful achievement of the principal pillar of the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan. This success confirms the commitment of the Sudanese people and their leaders never to return to war, and hitherto to resolve any differences that may arise exclusively by peaceful means.
2. We hail the courage, vision and steadfastness of the Government of Sudan (GoS), under the leadership of President Omar Hassan al Bashir and First Vice President and President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Salva Kiir Mayardit, which has made possible this momentous achievement. Our continent stands shoulder to shoulder, equally with these two national leaders, as they fulfill their historic responsibilities.
3. We commend the people of southern Sudan, whose choice has been clearly, freely and credibly expressed in the referendum. The African Union looks forward to solemnly accepting the outcome of the referendum as soon as it is formally proclaimed by the competent authorities, and calls upon all States to do so, and to extend such assistance and cooperation as may be required for South Sudan to achieve the development that its long-suffering people deserve.
4. We extend our solidarity and that of the entire continent to the people of northern Sudan, who have taken the unprecedented and generous step of accepting self-determination for their brethren. Africa legitimately looks forward to the complete normalization of relations between the international community and the Republic of Sudan, to ensure that all the peoples of Sudan can enjoy peace, dignity, democracy and development. In this respect, we call upon Sudan’s creditors around the world to expeditiously and comprehensively relieve the country’s external debt, ensuring that Sudan’s special circumstances receive special treatment.
5. In that spirit, and noting the personal and unwavering commitment of President Al Bashir to sustaining peace between northern and southern Sudan and do all he can for the early resolution of the crisis in Darfur, we, once again, call upon the United Nations Security Council immediately to invoke Article 16 of the Rome Statute and suspend any actions against President Al Bashir by the International Criminal Court. In responding to this call, the Security Council would be acting in accordance with its responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security and would greatly facilitate the ongoing efforts by the AU to help the Sudanese parties achieve lasting peace, security, justice and reconciliation.
6. In its fifty five years as an independent nation, Sudan has faced exceptional challenges, inherited from its colonial past. Recognizing the unique nature of its national question, the Sudanese leaders resolved, in 2005, to grant the right of self-determination to the people of southern Sudan.
7. Drawing inspiration from Resolution 1514(XV) on the Declaration on the Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, whose 50th anniversary has just been celebrated by the international community, we value and uphold the right of self-determination of peoples under colonial rule, which was indeed duly exercised by our own nations to achieve independence, and which continue to be relevant to the peoples of the non-self-governing territories listed as such by the United Nations General Assembly.
8. We acknowledge that Sudan represents an exceptional case, which, in no way, calls into question the sacrosanct principle of respect of borders inherited at the accession of African countries to independence. We reaffirm our determination to ensure full respect of this principle and to forge ahead with our agenda of integration and greater unity among our countries, as foreseen by the founding fathers of the OAU and as enshrined in the AU Constitutive Act. We welcome and support the commitment made by the leaders of Sudan to respect the will of the people in Southern Sudan and, should the latter vote for separation, to establish two viable states, mutually supportive, at peace with one another, and cooperating in the fields of economics, security and international relations. We emphasize that, in such a case, northern and southern Sudan will be equally African nations. The separation of southern Sudan, in no way, dilutes the African identity of northern Sudan. Both entities will move forward in the Sudanese tradition of building strength from diversity.
9. Sudan has the utmost importance to the African continent. It spans the diversity of our continent, bringing our peoples together in a great melting pot. The achievement of peace, democracy and development in northern and southern Sudan promises to help lift the entire continent. Sudan’s ability to overcome the formidable obstacles in its path stands as a testament to Africa’s capacity to resolve its conflicts and achieve our common goals. Conversely, Africa cannot afford to see Sudan again plunge into turmoil.
10. In that spirit, we welcome and endorse the commitment of the Government of Sudan to resolve the conflict in Darfur, by supporting and participating in the Darfur Political Process, which will build on the outcome of the Doha peace process. The AU calls upon the Darfur armed movements to participate immediately in the Doha peace talks, so as to achieve a ceasefire and lay the foundations for an inclusive and holistic peace agreement for Darfur.
11. We call upon the Sudanese parties to resolve speedily the remaining issues in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, including a settlement of the question of Abyei, the convening of Popular Consultations in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States, and the demarcation of the common border and resolution of the status of disputed areas. We urge the parties to proceed rapidly to agree on post-referendum issues, including citizenship, security, a soft border, and all questions relating to economics and natural resources.
12. We express Africa’s solidarity with the entire Sudanese people, and welcome equally North and South Sudan and the emerging post-referendum situation, as building blocks for the ongoing project of African integration. Having achieved peace, the Sudanese people are now able fully to participate as effective actors and beneficiaries in the common African endeavor of shared prosperity and continental unity.
Flames of Revolution: Egypt Part 1
Rami Abdoch is a blogger, writer and Anthropology/Sociology major at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. He has given me permission to repost this from his blog It's an excellent piece analyzing the current crisis in Egypt:
Here is an excerpt:
Tunisia’s revolt, dubbed by some as the “Jasmine Revolution,” was apparently sparked by a young man named Mohamed Bouazizi setting himself on fire, feeling hopeless at his potential in life. His fruit stand was seized because he did not have a permit, even though he had a university degree. It is difficult to imagine the ethos and proverbial lock felt in the heart and mind of a person that would lead him to do such a horrendous thing to himself. Afterward, some 3 or 4 individuals from both Egypt and Tunisia did the same to themselves, seemingly without knowledge of this initial incidence. A mere coincidence? These incidents spread via the internet, ballooning into the week long protests in Tunisia that caused president Ben Ali to be deposed. My sense is that the people of Egypt, filled with hope after seeing the Ben Ali ousted, took that hope and began mass-scale protests in Egypt. This spurred the Egyptian government to shutdown the Internet completely to slow the mobilization of its people and protests, as social media was the driving force behind Tunisia’s revolt, largely as a result of tech-savvy youth. The importance of social media cannot be underscored enough. Youth quickly got to work on posters, slogans, and organized rallies, primarily via Twitter and Facebook. The majority of Tunisia’s population is under 30, which is also the case in Egypt. The fervor of a young population in tandem with social media mobilization has enabled these movements to spread at tremendous speed. Also, both countries’ citizens have largely the same misgivings, primarily economic. Egyptians thought to themselves: “If Tunisians can do it, we can do it” Thus, the ripple effect of revolution. Carpe diem, Middle East style.
Check it out! Read more...
January 31, 2011
January 22, 2011
Book Review: The Sultan's Shadow
Many scholars in the academy, as well as their aspiring graduate students, bemoan the lack of attention paid to the particular subjects they study. Their field of speciality, often the rarefied territory of a few other scholars around the world, never seems to impede upon the popular consciousness in a way that is satisfying to their critical mind. Yet historians are apt to be highly critical of those popular accounts which do make it to major publishing houses as reflecting superficial understandings and canards of historical innacuracy, reductive in their intent. This is especially the case in histories of the Middle East and Africa, where the stories told to a popular audience frequently reflect the moral anxieties of a Western audience and the exotic projections of their wildest fantasies.
Christine Bird's latest book has all the elements of Orientalist fantasy-- the East African slave trade, illicit romance, harem life, wild political intrigue, and swashbuckling pirates. Yet Bird manages to tie the various stories of the rise and fall of the Busaidi family in the Indian Ocean into a coherent narrative that incorporates academic analysis (via her Notes) and an engaging narrative. Additionally she vividly sketches her characters in animated descriptions which conjure imaginative mental portraits from the disparate pieces of the past. I found myself irresistibly drawn to her sensitive characterization of Seyyid Said, the intrepid first ruler of the Arab-Omani dominion in Zanzibar, and Salme Said, his restless orphaned daughter who pays a steep price for her decision to elope from Zanzibar with a German merchant.
The book's strongest passages are those dealing with the 18th century political history of Oman and those that describe Princess Salme's impressions of Germany. Sections on Livingstone, Stanley and Tippu Tip do little to add to our knowledge of these men; their stories have been told too many times for there to be much new in the telling. But Salme's "reverse ethnography" of Germany is sensitively handled by Bird and deserves closer attention by scholars; her tragic and ambiguous role in German imperial conquest is also well told. Having chosen to leave her home and reject her religion and cultural identity, Salme finds herself widowed and alone in Germany, facing the responsibility of caring for three children. Her courage in the face of adversity and her critical and perceptive critiques of German culture, her "reversal of the gaze" are moments when the narrative transcends the "good story" aspect of history and becomes a window to cultural alienation and the limits of perception.
From Salme's story, Bird perceptively brings out the dependence on foreign power that eventually undermines the independence of Zanzibar and the Busaidi monarchy. But this latter narrative, while admittedly more mundane in its aspects, is given a rushed page or two at the conclusion of the book. Thus a story which Bird spent a great deal of time setting up and executing hurtles too quickly to an abrupt and unsatisfying finish. A worthy, though flawed, introduction to Oman and Zanzibar for those interested in learning the basic story.
January 14, 2011
Pambazuka - The invention of the indigène
As Southern Sudanese go to the polls this week, it is worth considering their decision in light of its impact on the larger play of regional politics, especially in Uganda and the Congo. Make no mistake, the creation of a Southern Sudanese state, if it occurs, will have a profound impact on events further south. Here, political scientist and author Mahmood Mamdani reflects on the roots of the conflicts in Eastern Congo.
Pambazuka - The invention of the indigène
Pambazuka - Rising up: Looking for Bob Marley and Fela Kuti
"From African-American gospel music to the soul of James Brown, the reggae of Bob Marley and the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti, Alemayehu G. Mariam charts the rich history of protest music and the need for new battle songs to rally around"....
(AND THIS IS WHY WE LOVE PAMBAZUKA)
Pambazuka - Rising up: Looking for Bob Marley and Fela Kuti
December 31, 2010
Passing down Zanzibar's Musical Traditions (CNN)
"This music is something that reminds you of a lot of things. To know yourself, where you are coming from, which way you need to behave. For us music is not only for the joy, it is for education, social matters and politics," Matona said.
Taarab's precise origin is often debated but whether it be in Egypt or East Africa, Matona says the island's version is distinct.
"Although we play taarab it is not like the Egyptian because the way we speak is different, the way of our ideas, the way of our teaching. This taarab is from Zanzibar."
Check out the whole story on CNN
Read more...
December 17, 2010
Swahili Proverb of the Day #11
"Kamba inakatikia pabovu"
This means that there is rottenness in the rope; meaning, that when there is a weakness in the rope, all the blame will go to the weak person.
December 16, 2010
Pambazuka - Kenya’s new port: The end of Lamu's cultural heritage?
Pambazuka - Kenya’s new port: The end of Lamu's cultural heritage?
"Landing on Lamu Island is akin to taking a step back in history. One of the original settlements along the East African coast, the town has retained its rich stone architecture and traditional Swahili culture. Donkeys trot along one of the two main streets of the town, by the water's edge, laden with heavy sacks. In the town square, residents and visitors perch on stone benches drinking tea until late at night and listening to the local news on the radio. The town has few cars, the most prominent being the rusty three-wheel ambulance parked close to the town's donkey hospital. Hundreds of fishermen eke out a living at sea with their traditional boats."
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