What Is Africa’s Problem

18. Most of Africa Kept Quiet ...

EIGHTEEN Most of Africa Kept Quiet ... I must state that Ugandans were unhappy and felt a deep sense of betrayal that most of Africa kept silent while tyrants killed them. The reason for not condemning such massive crimes has, supposedly, been the desire not to interfere in the internal affairs of a member state, in accordance with the charters of the OAUand the United Nations. We do not accept this reasoning because in the same charters, there are explicit laws that enunciate the sanctity and inviolability of human life. The United Nations Charter reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims in Article 3 that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person. Our own OAU Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights in Article 4 clearly stipulates that human beings are inviolable and that every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and integrity of his person. Tyranny is Color-Blind While we accept and recognize the validity of the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of a member state, we strongly hold that this should not be used as a cloak to shield genocide from just censure . African silence in the face of such gross abuses, we should realize, produces results prejudicial to our just goals. In particular, tolerance or Speech at OAU Summit, AddisAbaba,July 29,1986. 150 Most of Africa Kept Quiet... 151 indifference to such tyranny encourages instability in the state concerned, thereby detracting from a rational commitment to socioeconomic development , whose precondition is peace and stability. It also tends to undermine our moral authority to condemn the excess of others, especially South Africa's racist regime. Tyranny is colorblind and should be no less reprehensible because it is perpetrated by one of our kind. It wasbecause of our deep commitment to the sanctity of the lives of our people that we waged a people's struggle in Uganda, under the banner of FRONASA and later the National ResistanceMovement . For the first time now, our people have real hope and faith in building a worthwhile future. African Backwardness While Uganda has had its own particular problems, it is nevertheless part and parcel of the general African condition, which is characterized by underdevelopment and backwardness in the various fields, namely economic, political, and social. It is crucial that in order to formulate and implement effective programs and solutions, we must first understand the framework in which we, as a continent, operate. We must understand how our past history continues to influence our present. Only then can we plan realistically and effectively for our future. Our state of backwardness is neither deniable , nor accidental. Consider the facts: Africa has the highest infant mortality rate in the world at 120for every 1,000 live births; the lowest life expectancy, 34 years on average; and while our population growth is the highest in the world at over 3 percent per annum, our food production increases only by 1.5 percent. False Start in Africa The penetration, subjugation, and exploitation of Africa by European powers over a period of four hundred yearshas been directly and largely responsible for the present dismal state of our socioeconomic conditions . This European dominance was characterized by the massive exploitation of our resources. More tragically, the domination was characterized by the plunder of human resources in the form of slaves. In the process, Africa lost over 150 million souls. This robbed Africa of 152 Most of Africa Kept Quiet... much of the innovative element that would have played a crucial role in the technological and economic advancement of the continent. As Rene Dumont points out in his False Start in Africa, the damaging effects of the slave trade went much further. It undermined the cohesion of many societies. It undermined the evolution toward state formation and helped to dismantle those that had come into being, for example the Kingdom of the Congo. Remember that this evolution was pivotal, in other continents, in galvanizing peoples into more viable entities . We should not forget that the state that came to be known as Germany at the beginning of the century was not consolidated until 1870, when the German principalities were united by Bismarck.Likewise Italy was not unified until 1860. Hand in hand with the disintegration of the nascent states that had emerged, a very...