OAU summit opens divided over Libyan call for African Union
by Peter Cunliffe-Jones
LOME, July 10 (AFP) - African leaders opened the Organisation of African
Unity summit on Monday in the absence of several countries and divided over
a
call from Libya's Moamer Kadhafi for an African political and economic
union.
Four countries -- Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, and
Zimbabwe -- are boycotting the meeting in the Togolese capital after claims
in
a UN report, reiterated by Luanda Monday, that Togo's President Gnassingbe
Eyadema has been supporting the Angolan rebel movement UNITA in return for
a
share in its so-called 'blood diamonds'.
Despite the presence of more than 30 African other heads of state and
government, the man who stole the show Monday was Kadhafi who helped Togo
to
finance the summit and wants to use it to win support for his plan for a
grand
African Union, diplomats said.
Kadhafi arrived first at the summit venue to welcome delegates for the
official opening at midday Monday, waving to the large crowd attending the
ceremony from his open-topped bullet-proof limousine.
Several minutes behind him came a bus carrying the other leaders:
Eyadema,
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo and
others.
Kadhafi has called for a union with broad powers and its own parliament
and
leader, eventually replacing leaders of Africa's 53 sovereign states and
the
different sub-regional organisations.
Those still voicing support include Togo and several other small west
African countries with close links to the Khadafi regime. Strong resistance
comes from several powerful countries on the continent including Egypt,
Kenya,
Nigeria and South Africa.
Speaking shortly after the meeting opened, Annan voiced support for the
idea of some sort of economic union to control the trading in oil and
diamonds
that is seen as being behind many of the conflicts on the continent.
Africa is the only region of the world where the number of armed
conflicts
are increasing and 33 of the world's 48 least developed countries are on
the
continent, the Ghanaian-born official noted.
"This is not something others have done to us. It is something we have
done
to ourselves," he said. "We have mismanaged our affairs for decades and we
are
suffering the accumulated effects," he added.
"The rhetoric of African renaissaince is greeted with scepticism or even
derision today," he said.
There are many problems, including the sweeping HIV/AIDS pandemic, he
went
on.
"Last year alone, this disease killed more Africans than all the
conflicts
on the continent," he said.
After several hours of mainly closed-door debate Monday, the delegates
attended a gala dinner late Monday and were expected to meet again Tuesday
to
discuss the AIDS crisis sweeping the continent, renew calls for debt
relief,
and consider the renewed conflict in Sierra Leone.
But several of Africa's on-going wars are off the agenda, particularly
following the decision of DRC leader Laurent Kabila to boycott the summit.
The summit is also expected to discuss the situation in the Comoros
Islands
and Ivory Coast, where mutinous soldiers recently caused panic and where
tension remains high.
Leaders of the Comoros Islands and Ivory Coast have not attended the
gathering, following a decision reached last year to ban any leader whose
government was brought to power by a military coup.
The summit is scheduled to end on Wednesday.
Sidi Sanneh
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