African
leaders are discussing violent conflicts that have forced people to flee their
homes. Thirty-four leaders from across the continent have traveled to the
Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa for the summit.
Opening the
22nd summit of the African Union (AU), Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
expressed concern over conflicts in South Sudan and the Central African
Republic (CAR). The UN estimates that South Sudan's monthlong conflict has left
3.7 million people without food security and displaced more than 700,000.
Sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in the neighboring CAR has
displaced nearly 1 million people since last spring.
"We
need to find urgent solutions to rescue these two sisterly countries from
falling into the abyss," Hailemariam said Thursday. "Failure to do so
will have serious implications for peace and security in the region and indeed
the whole continent."
The UN
accuses both sides of atrocities in South Sudan. A failed coup attempt in
December sparked the violence. An uneasy peace agreement has been signed.
Conflict in
CAR
The AU and
UN also called for action to end violence in CAR, which slid into conflict in
March after the overthrow of its president.
"Our
common objective is to end the violence between Muslim and Christian
communities," UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said. "We must
act without delay."
Often
accused of responding sluggishly toward crises, the AU, with members from 54 of
the continent's 55 states - only Morocco has not joined - appears to have taken
steps toward more robust action in the face of sudden outbreaks of violence.
Plans include keeping in place an AU standby force of troops ready to deploy
during emergency situations.
More
positive plans
The AU also
looked ahead on Thursday, toward a distant future of high-speed railways, a
common language, diplomatic clout, cutting-edge fashion and leadership in space
exploration. In a speech, AU chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma provided a foresight
of what Africa could look like in just 50 years' time, providing some welcome
distraction to an agenda dominated by conflict.
Written as
a message to a friend in 2063, Dlamini-Zuma spoke of a "grand
reality" where a new Confederation of African States had replaced the AU.
"At the beginning of the 21st century, we used to get irritated with
foreigners when they treated Africa as one country: As if we were not a
continent of over a billion people and 55 sovereign states!" she said.
"But the advancing global trend towards regional blocks, reminded us that
integration and unity is the only way for Africa to leverage its competitive
advantage."
She spoke
of a future Africa with "regional manufacturing hubs" in Congo,
Angola and Zambia, as well as "Silicon Valleys" in Rwanda, Egypt,
Nigeria and Kenya, and of equal access for women to education and business
ownership. The future Africa, Dlamini-Zuma said, would also lead the world in
renewable energy and leave its wars in the past. She also spoke of an African
Space Agency, a telecommunications infrastructure spanning the whole continent
and high-speed rail links between countries as exist in Europe.
mkg/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)
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".. Africa
Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.
Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.
In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit. …."
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