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Post by amadain on Jun 8, 2012 5:23:21 GMT 3
Malawi will host the next AU Summit (what did the last summit achieve by the way?) but unfortunately for Dictator Bashir of Sudan, if he steps foot in Malawi he may be arrested for crimes against humanity and shipped off to the dreaded Hague. Forward-thinking President Joyce Banda of Malawi has warned him not to come. She never directly threatened him, but she basically stated that if he entered Malawi she would be obliged to order his arrest. Now Bashir is demanding that the AU Summit be moved to dictator-friendly Ethiopia (Kenya would also be suitable) since the South Sudan border conflict is a top priority. Interesting stuff, especially considering that the Arab Spring of Libya was the top priority of last years AU summit, and we all know what happened thereafter - NATO bombed the crap out of Ghaddafi's forces while the AU stood by like an ignored child. It makes one question the merit of these AU Summits, and the AU in general. Meanwhile, IMF has recently green-lighted a $175million loan to Malawi. Coincidence? Hmmm. Links: Sudan's Bashir demands AU summit moves from MalawiMalawi: IMF set to give $157m loan after Banda reformsThe Ocampo 4 should take notes from this chain of events and try to figure out which countries are safe to holiday in. |
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Post by kamalet on Jun 8, 2012 8:23:24 GMT 3
The only concern that I have with this Banda lady is that the move to arrest Bashir is not premised on her belief for justice for the people of Darfur....but the fear of being denied foreign aid if she allows him in!!!
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Post by tnk on Jun 8, 2012 8:38:23 GMT 3
The only concern that I have with this Banda lady is that the move to arrest Bashir is not premised on her belief for justice for the people of Darfur....but the fear of being denied foreign aid if she allows him in!!! she is president of malawi she is free to do what is in the best interests of (the people of ) malawi quite a contrast to our own here who does only whats in the interest of a handful |
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Post by kamalet on Jun 8, 2012 9:26:38 GMT 3
The only concern that I have with this Banda lady is that the move to arrest Bashir is not premised on her belief for justice for the people of Darfur....but the fear of being denied foreign aid if she allows him in!!! she is president of malawi she is free to do what is in the best interests of (the people of ) malawi quite a contrast to our own here who does only whats in the interest of a handful You completely miss the point! I was aware also that Kibaki was president of Kenya and could do what he wanted in the interests of Kenya - and as to whether that is dumb or not is not want we are discussing here. In the Kenya case the issue was the people of Darfur...in the Malawi case it is selfish economic interest! Decolonise your mind bwana! |
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Post by mzee on Jun 8, 2012 9:35:43 GMT 3
Whatever reason she has given, what is clear is that she is going to arrest Bashir not because she dislikes him but due to the dictators criminal record. What she has done has never been done before in Africa by all the male presidents the country has had. I wonder if kibaki will send a shuttle mission to change AU venue.
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Post by kamalet on Jun 8, 2012 9:40:40 GMT 3
Whatever reason she has given, what is clear is that she is going to arrest Bashir not because she dislikes him but due to the dictators criminal record. What she has done has never been done before in Africa by all the male presidents the country has had. I wonder if kibaki will send a shuttle mission to change AU venue. Mzee This not about Kibaki (so stop your obsession!)....it is about Mrs. Banda |
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Post by mzee on Jun 8, 2012 10:27:28 GMT 3
Whatever reason she has given, what is clear is that she is going to arrest Bashir not because she dislikes him but due to the dictators criminal record. What she has done has never been done before in Africa by all the male presidents the country has had. I wonder if kibaki will send a shuttle mission to change AU venue. Mzee This not about Kibaki (so stop your obsession!)....it is about Mrs. Banda Kamale, I'm not obsessed but when you claim that the reason she wants to arrest Bashir is because of aid then you are taking us for idiots. She clearly stated that she would do the arrest then added that her country has already lost aid for not arresting the man. The reason why I bring in kibaki is because of his obsession of frustrating the ICC. Plus we know that he is Bashirs buddy. Let the lady do what men have failed to do. |
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Post by tnk on Jun 8, 2012 11:12:22 GMT 3
she is president of malawi she is free to do what is in the best interests of (the people of ) malawi quite a contrast to our own here who does only whats in the interest of a handful You completely miss the point! I was aware also that Kibaki was president of Kenya and could do what he wanted in the interests of Kenya - and as to whether that is dumb or not is not want we are discussing here. In the Kenya case the issue was the people of Darfur...in the Malawi case it is selfish economic interest! Decolonise your mind bwana! malawi did give sudan an option to send a delegate to the summit (ABB - anyone but bashir) www.malawivoice.com/2012/06/04/president-joyce-banda-says-omar-al-bashir-will-be-arrested-if-he-attends-african-union-conference-63852/and 2. there is nothing like "economic selfish interest" when a president makes a decision for the good or that positvely impacts economic welfare of his/her country. that is precisely their job. |
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Post by phil on Jun 8, 2012 11:29:23 GMT 3
The only concern that I have with this Banda lady is that the move to arrest Bashir is not premised on her belief for justice for the people of Darfur....but the fear of being denied foreign aid if she allows him in!!! Nothing can rank above the interests of citizens in any country. Welcome to the real world Bw. Kamalet. As a faithfull Kibaki follower, a president with these kind of policies will concern you and will trouble fugitives like Bashir. Let's hope in 2013, Kenyans will be wise enough to see through Bashir-like thuggery make the right choices between reformers and anti-reformers. The difference is like day and night! |
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Post by kamalet on Jun 8, 2012 11:30:49 GMT 3
Mzee This not about Kibaki (so stop your obsession!)....it is about Mrs. Banda Kamale, I'm not obsessed but when you claim that the reason she wants to arrest Bashir is because of aid then you are taking us for idiots. She clearly stated that she would do the arrest then added that her country has already lost aid for not arresting the man. The reason why I bring in kibaki is because of his obsession of frustrating the ICC. Plus we know that he is Bashirs buddy. Let the lady do what men have failed to do. I think we are saying the same thing here. If Malawi was a rich country, then it would have no problem allowing Bashir as they would not care if there was no foreign aid coming to them! As they are a vulnerable country it becomes easier to get manipulated. Just how many dollars did Kenya as a country lose for hosting Bashir here? Zilch...only noise from so do gooders and nothing beyond that. And that noise was because Kenya did not show feelings for the dead in Darfur! That is not the cause that Malawi is chasing - only self preservation! |
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Post by kamalet on Jun 8, 2012 11:35:05 GMT 3
The only concern that I have with this Banda lady is that the move to arrest Bashir is not premised on her belief for justice for the people of Darfur....but the fear of being denied foreign aid if she allows him in!!! Nothing can rank above the interests of citizens in any country. Welcome to the real world Bw. Kamalet. As a faithfull Kibaki follower, a president with these kind of policies will concern you and will trouble fugitives like Bashir. Let's hope in 2013, Kenyans will be wise enough to see through Bashir-like thuggery make the right choices between reformers and anti-reformers. The difference is like day and night! Phil I keep telling you that you are a child of contradictions! How else can you welcome me to the world of self interest and when I promote it I am wrong? |
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Post by barmasaiengkeiyo on Jun 8, 2012 14:07:40 GMT 3
Kamalet, MOTIRLAIIIII.......you cannot mention Bashir and fail to mention Kibaki in the same sentence....birds of same feathers
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Post by kamalet on Jun 8, 2012 14:17:06 GMT 3
Kamalet, MOTIRLAIIIII.......you cannot mention Bashir and fail to mention Kibaki in the same sentence....birds of same feathers ...is Kibaki also a Hage fugitive?? Just consider that! |
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Post by job on Jun 8, 2012 16:54:01 GMT 3
Malawi Summit Cancelled!Both Malawi & feckless AU now seem to be in agreement. The summit won't be held in Malawi afterall. "After considering the interests of Malawians, I want to inform Malawians that the cabinet met today and decided it was not interested to accept the conditions by the African Union, therefore Malawi is not hosting the summit," the AFP news agency quotes Malawi's Vice-President Kumbo Kachali as telling journalists. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18364947
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Post by genius on Jun 8, 2012 18:10:40 GMT 3
So Malawi has allowed itself to be cowed by donors. Meanwhile AU is also a useless impunity agent. Both the Malawian government and the AU have come out of this looking very bad.
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Post by mzee on Jun 8, 2012 18:18:45 GMT 3
The Bashir guy must be the most powerful man in Africa.
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Post by OtishOtish on Jun 8, 2012 18:45:28 GMT 3
So Malawi has allowed itself to be cowed by donors. Meanwhile AU is also a useless impunity agent. Both the Malawian government and the AU have come out of this looking very bad. It hasn't allowed itself to be cowed; it has simply observed that a beggar is not in the same position as the person he or she is begging from. The alternative is to be really "tough" and "show them" they way Mugabe has done; looking at the state of Zimbabwe, I have my doubts about the wisdom of that approach. Taking off my Kenyan hat and putting on my Western-taxpayer one: It is bad enough that our money, that is meant to help, continually gets stolen, squandered, etc. We have to draw a line somewhere, and a good starting point is those who abuse human rights, those who support them, and those who turn a blind eye. I hope that our government will continue to apply pressure and send a clear message to others---that in some matters, our money must have strings attached. OK, back with the Kenyan hat. |
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Post by genius on Jun 8, 2012 19:10:42 GMT 3
Otish, I wonder if the same taxpayer is as vocal when his government employs unfair trade practices or engages in unjust wars in all corners of the world.
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Post by OtishOtish on Jun 8, 2012 19:24:32 GMT 3
Otish, I wonder if the same taxpayer is as vocal when his government employs unfair trade practices or engages in unjust wars in all corners of the world. Western-taxpayer hat back on. Yes, very much so. But it must be said that in the matter of trade, it is astonishing what the "developing countries" are willing to tolerate; so, sometimes, it just that we take what is given. Regions like Africa, for example, could have substantial clout in international trade affairs of they got their collective act together and used their enormous national resources as leverage. Of course, that what happen when robbing and slaughtering their citizens, as well as engaging in other assorted mayhem, are the priorities of African leaders. Nations tend to operate like individuals, in so far as self-interest comes first. Sitting back expecting the rest of the world to be "fair" and then being surprised and tearful when it isn't seems to be unproductive. Exactly which "unjust wars" did you have in mind, and on what basis do you consider them unjust? |
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Post by tnk on Jun 8, 2012 20:27:23 GMT 3
The Bashir guy must be the most powerful man in Africa. mzee thats one way of looking at it but then considering that gbagbo had some similar view about himself and of course the late ghadaffi the common thread running through this being the AU i would rather take the view that the AU is directionless since we have no follow up action on either ivory coast or libya and for that matter anywhere else, mali, somalia, etc where there are real fires to put out. there only agenda for the moment appears to be propping up the strong man |
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Post by nereah on Jun 9, 2012 20:00:17 GMT 3
and guess what? the administration of sister joyce banda has told african union that they can keep the dollars that would accrue from hosting heads of states summit.
i have heard some cynics claim that she is doing so with her eyes on the donors trough. so lets see which state is desperate to host a wanted fugitive. any suspicion?
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