Describing itself as the 'biggest ever African / Caribbean Family Reunion' the Meet Me There event is taking place on Saturday 14th August at Trent Park, Cockfosters in London. Open from 10am till 10pm, the event features fashion shows, food stalls and a large range of musical performances. Tickets cost £5.00 and can be purchased on line.

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur shows no signs of abating at the same time as the national, regional and international politics of the conflict take on new dimensions.

Last week the UN finally agreed to a watered down resolution requiring the Government of Sudan to disarm and bring to justice the leaders of the Janjaweed militia that have been killing, maiming, raping and destroying the peoples of western Sudan. There is a deadline of 30 days. A stronger version of the UN resolution including the threat of imposition of sanctions had to be modified thanks to the combined opposition of China and Russia at the Security Council and also other dubious allies of the Sudan government in the General Assembly, principally Arab and Muslim states and their fellow travellers.

China's interest is quite clear. Its national oil company is the largest foreign investor in the new oil industry of Sudan. Russia is always cautious about UN intervention and censure against governments maltreating their own peoples. The Russian army has been committing atrocities in Chechnya for years without many cries from the UN or the usual self-appointed global policemen and guarantors of international peace and security.

The position of the Arab and Muslim countries is one informed by a herd instinct and a long historical misunderstanding of the basis of conflict in the Sudan. The herd instinct is further enhanced by the current global Islamophobia consequent to 9/11 and the criminalisation of every Muslim as an Al Qaeda suspect. The War against Afghanistan/ Iraq and the continuing tragedy of Iraq under the Anglo-American occupation has underpinned this 'need' for Muslims to stick together. Since Sudan is considered a Muslim country, therefore it must be supported against its enemies even if those 'enemies' happen to be the majority of her own citizens.

The racialist aspect of the Sudan conflict is one that sees the country as an Arab country therefore both North African and Middle East Arab states must express solidarity with it, right or wrong.

Both the religious and racial allies of Khartoum are wrong. Any Muslim should be outraged at what the NIF government has been doing in Sudan since 1989 when it came to power. Muslims must stop associating Islam with dictatorial regimes. In Darfur the Arab Militia, aided and abetted by the Khartoum government marauding through villages and towns and destroying people and property is supposedly Muslim. The peoples of Western Sudan that are victims of Khartoum and the Janjaweed are all Muslims too. So which kind of Islamism is this that kills fellow Muslims?

The Arabist view of Sudan is the most ridiculous. How many of these so-called Sudanese Arabs are really Arabs? The name of the country itself is a good give away: Balad al Sud. It means Land of the Blacks. Many are Arabised but not really Arabs and have taken to that identity as part of the power politics in the country and its unequal historical ties with Egypt and other Arab countries. In Darfur you will even find a significant part of the population to be of West African origin.

While identity, religion, race and other social factors may be part of the conflagration, the centre of it is power - unaccountable and illegitimate power exercised by a tiny oligarchy in the military, merchant families, hegemonic Muslim sects and clergy and their political infrastructure and networks. Darfur is for instance a victim of the split within the National Islamic Front personified by detained former spiritual leader of the organisation, Dr Hassan Al Turabi and his former protégé, General Omar Al Bashir, the President. Al Turabi's support is very strong in Darfur and because of that Darfur is enemy territory for the government.

What kind of intervention will work in Darfur? The American poodle in Britain, Mr. Tory Blair, is already talking about moral obligation to intervene and is reportedly considering sending British troops. This will not help in any way. Any direct British or American military intervention will not be helpful because it will muddy the waters given their bad record in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Supposedly Christian crusaders against allegedly Muslim soldiers again? Whose interest will this serve?

The Darfur crisis is a great opportunity for the new AU to show that it is really different from the old OAU. The Chairperson, Konare, has been upfront on the Darfur situation and he needs the support of Africa's leaders and the rest of the international community. The peace monitor group the AU has sent into Darfur is too small. And even smaller still are the 300 member troops that are supposed to guard them and also protect civilian victims. The mandate needs to be expanded to include peace keeping and peace enforcement including disarming, arresting and bringing to trial the perpetrators of the killings. The UN and other members of the international community who want to help should back the AU effort not to set up parallel initiatives.

Darfur is Africa's problem and the AU must show the leadership. One symbolic action that will show Khartoum that Africa means 'Never again' to genocide is to stop Khartoum from hosting the next AU summit as planned. How can we confer such diplomatic and political legitimacy on a government that is killing its own citizens?

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa ([email protected] or [email][email protected])

* Please send comments to [email protected]

Friday 13th August sees the opening of the official Festival Eritrea in Washington DC at the Renaissance Hotel. The event takes place over three days and for the first time the celebration will be held in three separate venues to encompass the three neighbourly Eritrean communities of Virginia, Maryland and Washington.

The African Film Festival in New York City has oppened. Held in partnership with the Ft. Greene Parks Conservancy, home of a thriving African diaspora art scene, the films are today and next Thursday, 12th August. Three films are being shown, each preceded by live African music. All events take place at the Fort Green Park.

The main objective of the workshop is to analyse the role that the diaspora plays in peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction in Congo-DRC. The workshop invites papers in English and French that combine empirical and theoretical perspectives on these topics from Economics, Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Migration Studies and related areas.

Last week, along with a group of about 40 (mostly Africans in Britain) I was a guest at a very beautiful stately guest house, Cumberland Lodge, amidst the luscious green of the picturesque English country side near the Windsor Castle, one of the many palaces of the English crown dotted across the United Kingdom. It is not far from London, if the Lagos -like traffic congestion allows you, but it is a very different and serene place, away from the concrete jungle and human automatons that London is fast becoming.

We were joking among ourselves with some of the other Africans in our group that these Basungus really do not know what a village is. There is electricity, pipe borne water, telephone (though the mobile connection was epileptic, maybe deliberately so to preserve the quiet atmosphere), good tarred roads, some of them connecting just fields or a few houses. There is even internet service for God's sake. With all these in Africa it qualifies to be the nation's capital! Anyway wealth and poverty like urban and rural divide, are merely relative.

But our purpose for invading the tranquil 'village' was not tourism but a consultative meeting of Africans in Britain under the auspices of the Royal Africa Society (RAS). The aim was to find ways and means of making Africans living in the United Kingdom to dialogue among themselves, build some consensus and devise strategies to make themselves more effective players in the affairs of their host community, Britain. People came from different walks of life and originally from different regions of Africa: business, academia, media, NGO and others.

The immediate background to the meeting (and sponsors of the gathering) is the Blair Commission for Africa. It was part of its consultation with different African constituencies. However both the RAS (under its new Africaphile Director, Richard Dowden ) and Africans working with it were clear that the meeting was about wider issues of Africans in Britain. To the extent that the Blair Commission came into it, it is merely as a strategic entry point for Africans in Britain to influence British policy towards Africa.

If the sole object of the meeting was about Blair's commission I doubt if many of the Africans there would have bothered at all. I know I wouldn't have. This because my view of the commission has been clear from the start. I do not think that we need another report on Africa's condition, we have enough gory details around. What Africa needs is not another bonanza for consultants and bureaucrats to feed off our misery but action to remedy the situation. Africa does not need new promises but fulfilment of old ones both those we made to ourselves and the ones others made to us.

I do not think that the Blair commission will make any difference to Africa in spite of the plenty of good will that it may generate because of Blair's presidency of both the European Union and the G8 in 2005. It is clear that Blair wants to showcase Africa but at a time when his international credibility (as a result of his reactionary cheering of Bush and amoral lack of remorse) is in tatters. Who will listen to him? Even if they do how many will believe him?

But in spite of my reservations I see the British joint presidency of these key multilateral institutions as providing opportunity for engagement by a number of civil society activists in Britain. The first beneficiaries of this will be the big British international NGOs in the broad development, humanitarian and conflict resolution lobbies. Their activities and priorities are often shaped by humanitarian emergencies (on which they feed) and the policies of the day so they will make extra miles from Blair's showcasing of Africa.

Another set of actors will be African organisations who are a bit visible in Britain and could engage in more guilt tripping of their fellow middle class liberals and thereby gain more resources and/or recognition as a result of the Africa euphoria during Blair's dual presidency. Even African journalists and British journalists with a focus on Africa will find that they are in more demand.

But if thoughtfully and strategically worked out the greatest potential of the Blair Commission could be to renew the so far untapped (beyond individual remittances) potential of the huge African Diaspora in the United Kingdom to become effective players at various policy levels. They have been around for a long time. They are in Britain but many do not feel part of it. Consequently the British government makes policies about Africa with little or no input from this constituency. And worse still African governments relate to the British government as if they do not have people in Britain.

The way some of these Diaspora organisations behave may also make one doubt where their feet are, whether in Africa and Britain. Some of them think because they are in the Diaspora they know best, the same arrogant attitudes they criticise Europeans about. Others think they should have the first and last say on any thing related to Africa and Africans without any mandate to do so from anybody. Still many take British government or NGO money and proclaim their independence! Another miserable lot proclaim revolution in Africa without the slightest idea of the conditions our peoples live in and are confronting. These kinds of posturing must stop.

Imagine the insult of Blair calling African leaders to advise him on Africa. Would an African leader set up a commission on Europe and ask European Presidents and Prime Ministers to serve in it? In the unlikely event that they say yes would you imagine such European leaders arriving in such an African capital without previous briefings from his or her own nationals and the EU intelligence, business , media, diplomatic, NGO and other sources. Would they be in Africa without meeting their nationals who are in that country? Yet this is what is happening with the Blair commission.

To the best of my knowledge Bob Geldof , with all his outbursts and outlandish ways, has been the only commissioner actively seeking engagement of Africans in the work of the commission. He has a track record of speaking truth to power internationally on global poverty, debt and suffering of the third world but Africa in particular. He often robs people the wrong way and sometimes comes across as crying more than the bereaved. He is also too hopeful about the Commission but at least he offers an entry point.

Africans in the Diaspora must learn not to throw the baby away with the birth water. They must engage as British residents and citizens, but more than that work in concert with African groups in Africa to engage the African leaders and others participating in the commission. If they wish to shave our head it should not be behind our backs.

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa ([email protected] or [email][email protected])

* Please send comments to [email protected]

A clampdown on illegal immigration to the UK is causing serious problems for a popular North-East cultural festival. Organisers of the 28th Alnwick International Music Festival fear they could be left with a big hole in the year's programme if difficulties in obtaining visas force overseas groups to pull out. Amongst the groups due to perform but still without a visa are Sogo from Ghana. The festival is planned for 7th to 14th August.

Ghanaweb have announced that they will be broadcasting Ghanafest 2004 live on the Internet on July 31st. The festival is the largest African cultural event in North America and is being held in Washington Park, Chicago.

Race for Sanctions is the story of the successful attempt by African Americans to influence U.S. policy toward South Africa. It reviews the first efforts to impose sanctions against apartheid in 1946, and follows the black organizations and movements fighting apartheid in the United States through to the 1994 elections in South Africa.

A new progressive weekly radio magazine that showcases the resources of the African Continent and its Diaspora has been launched in Washington DC by WPFW 89.3 FM Pacifica Radio. The show is on air each Sunday from 9 till 10pm and seeks to 'provide resources for putting ideas into action and to encourage participation in the progressive development of Africa.'

Perhaps not unexpectedly my interim report on the then concluding 3rd ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union, generated a stream of private responses. Many of them were very positive towards the AU but very cautious about its prospects especially given the human and material challenges needed for the new organisation to deliver on its noble objectives. Others queried the basis of my optimism and accused me of being too optimistic. I can only respond with that famous quote: “Pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will”.

While hindsight may dictate caution to us, foresight should inspire us to keep our eyes on the prize. Africa is changing and will continue to change for the better, in our life times.

The AU is more open than the old OAU. The quality of current leaders may not be equal to the array of icons and inspiring leaders of the anti colonial nationalist era. “The founding fathers” as we call them (unfortunately, all fathers) were leaders thrown up by specific historical circumstances where both their desires and those of the masses were organically linked in the united goal of ridding the continent and its peoples of colonial domination. Whatever method they chose that goal was paramount.

The current leaders are not that lucky. Even those among them who had come from revolutionary, militant pro-people, liberation or anti dictatorship backgrounds and struggles soon made peace with the hegemonic forces of anti-people doctrines and ideology fostered on the world by the IMF/World Bank and now sanctified by the WTO and unbridled exploitation through rapacious globalisation.

It is amazing how previously left leaning so called “new leaders of Africa” have become the new darlings of the Washington twin vultures. While they still sometimes mouth progressive political vocabulary they have become extremist neo liberals in their economic policies. Thus instead of ending hunger, deprivation and eradicating poverty, they are content to “alleviate poverty” through participatory poverty alleviation crap policies in which consultants are the major beneficiaries!

Instead of the old demands for genuinely democratic governance in which the people are both the object and subject of development, today we aspire for “Good Governance” i.e., government without politics! It means running the economy as if the people do not matter and wanting a non-political government of experts! So the progressive African leader of today is at best a political equivalent of a successful Bank Manager. They aspire to run competent states, deliver on macro economic policies dictated by imperialism and trusting somehow that growth will ultimately lead to development for their underdeveloped countries. That is why they cannot be as ambitious, daring and pro active as the immediate post independence leaders.That is why even the best of them are often not loved but either respected or feared or both.

What is evidently emerging even in this essentially conservative governance agenda is the extreme limitation placed by the forces of globalisation on the ability of each of these states to experience growth beyond a very lowly placed ceiling. While they may experience macro economic “miracles” their peoples remain untouched by the wand in their “micro” existence. This is an objective situation that is propelling the new push for deeper regional integration. Most of the states have realized that they cannot, and have no chance of going it alone.

Even those who had thought of themselves as “chosen few” favourites of the West, soon realize they are as dispensable as their predecessors of the cold war period and even more quickly so today.

There is also a shared realisation that as Africans whether ruler or ruled we need to take responsibility for our destiny. Many issues that would have been conveniently swept under the carpet are now discussed openly and action sought to correct them. The continuing growth and confidence of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), of which NGOs are a critical part, and the general opening up of democratic space across the continent is making many things possible and we are beginning to dream again even if there are flashes of recent nightmares.

Maybe as I approach middle age I am becoming more reformist but I see incremental changes and possibilities.

For instance just a few years ago it would have been impossible for Mr. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, to deliver the kind of speech he delivered to our heads of state and government last week. He told them bluntly that they should stop derailing the forward march of their people for democratic development by tinkering with their constitutions to prolong personal rule of some leaders.

There were no talks of “interference in the internal affairs” of a sovereign member state as would have been the stand only a few years ago. There were no calls for apology or threats of walkouts. Instead the outgoing chairperson, Chissano, of Mozambique, picked on the theme in a friendly way and told his fellow leaders that it was time to do the honourable thing and respect the constitution of their various countries.

He also showed what can be done by using his chairmanship to inaugurate Swahili as a working language of the AU . It was recognised so but no serious attempt had previously been made to make it effective. The city of Addis Ababa, through its energetic mayor, Ato Akbede, renewed its commitment as hosts to the OAU/AU by giving land to all African embassies and also renaming avenues after individual countries. It was also gratifying to arrive in Addis without visas and be received through special immigration booths proudly welcoming you as AU guests.

One hopes that this will not just remain a one off arrangement just for conferences but a permanent good practice that should spread across Africa so that we stop being “others” on our own continent.

As we reviewed the last Summit with my two good friends and colleagues, Abdul Mohammed and Alex De Waal, we all felt there was something missing. We could not put our hands to it immediately. There were no great passions or roaring speeches to be remembered for decades. But there was a lot of sobriety in articulating the issues and course of action. If that means that Africa is moving from pompous words to serious action not many Africans will complain about not having inspiring leaders at the moment. The dearth of truly inspiring leaders is not confined to Africa. Mandela is virtually a lonely figure in that patented club globally.

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa ([email protected] or [email][email protected])

* Please send comments to [email protected]

"I still remember with a heavy heart at the Labour camp in Nuremberg where as a very qualified worker, I was paid 15 cigarettes a week. Can you imagine that? It was indeed a very tense moment for me," said William. The other survivor on the panel, Théodore Michael, who came all the way from Germany for the event, said he was born in Berlin where his parents settled following their migration from their homeland, Tanganyika. He said he naturalised as German at the end of the Second World War. Théodore was reacting to a question from the audience as to why he considers himself a German when his true origin is Tanganyika.

The Secretariat of the Global Pan African Movement condemns, deplores, and abhors the continued wanton loss of life, destruction and despoliation in the Darfur province of Sudan. The Global Pan African Movement welcomes the measures announced by the African Union towards a speedy control, reversal and resolution of this tragic situation. The Global Pan African Movement calls on the Government of Sudan to urgently do all in its power to control, restrain and disarm marauding millitias in Darfur. The Sudanese people urgently need and deserve a just, democratic, prosperous, and lasting peace.

The 2004 Respect concert - a free anti-racist and multicultural festival for London, is taking place on Saturday 17th July from 12.00 to 8.30 pm in Victoria Park, E3. The event attracted over 100,000 people last year, and even more are expected this year.

The National Council of Ghanaian Associations (NCOGA) has announced that 'the Mother of all Picnics' will take place on 7th August at Croton-On-Hudson Park in New York. The event is being held in conjunction with Ghana Airways and Western Union and is the largest gathering of Ghanaians anywhere in the world. NCOGA invites Ghanaians and all friends of Ghana to this event which they promise will be better than ever, featuring such events as 'Ghanaian Idol' and the popular Ghanaian show, 'Agoro', hosted by kofi Dontoh.

In recognition of his significant contribution to the image of Ghana in the UK, Mr Isaac Osei, Ghana's High Commissioner to the UK, was presented with the 2004 'Person of the Year' award at the 4th Ghana Professional Achievers Awards (GPA) ceremony in London. The awards scheme exists to honour exceptional performers in various enterprises in a bid to further excellence in the Ghanaian and African Communities.

The Third Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union has concluded its deliberations at the UN Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, the Head Quarters of the Union.

The Assembly is the highest decision -making body of the Union. Since the inauguration of the Union in 2002 the Summit has become an indication of the level of commitment of the leaders to the renewed enthusiasm for African Integration and Pan-Africanism. Most member states were represented by their Presidents, Prime Ministers or Heads of State. There were also many CSOs from Africa, the Diaspora and international organisations in attendance and also numerous advocacy and other parallel events on the back of the Summit.

In the past military coups and military dictators dominated the politics of Africa summits of the old OAU. In 1980, Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of Liberia did not even think twice before assassinating the serving Chair of the OAU, William Tubman, and promptly demanding to take Liberia's seat at the Lagos Emergency Summit. General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown by the Nigerian Army while handing over the Chair of the Organization to one Field Marshall Alhaji Dr Idi Amin Dada, self proclaimed Conqueror of the British Empire, in Kampala in 1975.

As the leaders feared insurgencies and military putsch in their countries many sat tight at home not bothering to attend OAU summits. They accumulated contributions due to the organization with reckless abandon. Until the Cairo Summit of 1993 the OAU did not even have a policy to sanction erring members. At that Summit The OAU began to name and shame failing states. The most dramatic effect of this policy was felt at the Durban Summit when the media got hold of the full list of non-paying states. This practice has now been codified in the new Constitutive Act of the Union. There are various sanctions against states that do not pay their dues such as withholding their rights to participate at AU meetings, voting on policy issues, etc. This has improved the efficiency of the payments even if black holes still exist in the funding of the organization especially with its new expansive institutions and noble ambitions.

The truth is that the AU cannot just survive on the formal membership dues of the states. There is no comparable multilateral institution that does. They rely heavily on the generous contribution of the richer member states who are willing to put their money where their mouth is. If Germany and other key EU countries, Japan , Canada and Scandinavian countries withdrew contributions from the UN the organisation would go bankrupt. We have seen the adverse effect of a reluctant and opportunistic US punitive relationship with the UN in the past two decades. The EU will not survive without the huge contributions of the key troika states: Britain, Germany and France.

Therefore the relatively richer countries of Africa have to put their money where their mouth is. Thus the most important item on the AU Summit agenda at the past meeting was the approval of ‘The Vision, Mission and Strategic Plan of the AU’ as put forward by the AU Chairperson, the indefatigable Alpha Konare.

It was accepted in principle but there are still concerns about the implementation including translating the plan into a popular mobilisation document accessible to the vast majority of Africans.

But the funding issue is what is occupying everybody's mind and rightly so. I think this is a red herring because I believe that the resources are there among African states to make it happen if they so wish. It is also defeatist to always put cash before strategic vision. If we agree on our vision and strategy we can now go about the logistical issues in a more coherent way.
There are debates about prioritisation and harmonisation. But the key issue for me is for us to look at more creative was of getting the necessary funds primarily from our own resources. For a start, all the rich states such as Nigeria, South Africa, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Botswana, Angola, DRC (when it gets its act together), etc must dig deeper into their pockets. Even a fraction of some of the looting by the Nigerian or Angolan military/ political elite will go a long way in helping the AU. We could also consider:

- A dollar tax for the AU on all airline tickets to and from Africa deductible at source in member countries.
- Oil producing states in Africa can pledge X barrels of crude oil per day to a Trust fund for the Union.
- Union tax on businesses and labour benefiting from the intra African liberalisation of trade, commerce, freedom of movement.
- Creatively finding ways in which both the historic and immigrant African Diaspora across the world can make contribution both in human and material terms to the AU.

There are countless other means through which the Union can be funded from African sources. After exhausting our internal and Diaspora sources then we could invite others who are genuinely interested in partnering with Africa to come and help in areas we have identified and on terms dictated by us.
It will require great sacrifice and new ways of doing things both at the governmental and civil society levels of our societies. But it can be done, needs to be done and has to be done. If not now, when and if not us, by whom?

The agreement on the strategic plan for me represents a good starting point to mobilise our different forces for this task. Anybody who wants to help us should do so under that plan and not initiate anything else. Africa needs fulfilment of past promises not new ones.

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa ([email protected] or [email][email protected])

* Please send comments to [email protected]

Dr Angus Hawkins, Vice-President of Kellogg College and Director of International Programme's at the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education, praised members of Diaspora organisations who had successfully completed a course on 'Fundraising and Resource Mobilisation' at an award ceremony at the African Diaspora and Development Day on Saturday 3rd July. Paying respect to the importance of the African Diaspora, Dr Hawkins said in his speech that it gave the University 'great pride to be able to contribute in a small way to the strengthening of the capacity of African Diaspora organisations to contribute to Africa's development.' The 18 week distance learning course is one of 8 developed in a partnership between Fahamu and the University. Whilst this is the first time a course has been delivered to Diaspora organisations, over 120 organisations in Africa have already benefitted from them.

Over 200 Africans and their organisations attended the third African Diaspora and Development Day in London's City Hall. The event was organised by africa21 (a consortium of nine African organisations) and focused on how Africans in the UK are promoting change both in the UK as well as in their regions of origin in Africa. Renowned West African gender activist, Yassine Fall, delivered the keynote address and numerous workshops enabled the participants to discuss key issues in depth, including the possible role for the diaspora in Tony Blair's new Commission on Africa. The Day also saw the official launch of African Voices for Africa's Development (ADVAD), a new coalition of African Diaspora organisations.

Figures released in the G8 summit show that Nigerians in the diaspora are sending home $12 billion annually - almost half of the total made by the country's largest export - oil ($30 billion). This follows last year's comments by Ghana's President, John Kufour, who thanked Ghanaians living abroad for sending home $1.3 billion - almost the same figure Ghana earned from its two biggest exports, Gold and Cocoa.