Utter Balderdash

A review of Rwanda - the new scramble for Africa by Robin Philpot.

 I rarely review books that I find inaccurate and absurd, but this one fits both adjectives.  Ostensibly it is a relook at events in Rwanda that led up to the genocide and some of what happened afterward, but from the beginning the theory is that the United States and other western powers, especially the U.K. and Belgium, plotted and conspired to replace the Habyarimana regime with the RPF and thus to render central Africa part of a greater Anglo-American sphere of influence.  Philpot bases this conclusion on the observation that the international community never responded forcefully enough to the invasion of Rwanda by Ugandan RPA mutineers.  He judged the lack of a stinging rebuke and action to reverse the situation proof that the U.S. sponsored and approved the invasion.  Secondly, he cited as proof of conspiracy the fact that Habyarimana was hamstrung and sidelined during the Arusha negotiations and afterwards by what he judged were western manipulations of Habyarimana plus endorsements of RPF objectives.  Thirdly, Philpot believed the fact that no credible international investigation was ever mounted into the assassination of presidents Habyarimana and Ntayarmira when their plane was shot down on April 6, 1994, proved collusion.  Further proof of conspiracy arose from the U.S. recalcitrance to provide for an adequate UN peace keeping operation both prior to April 1994 and afterwards when genocide was in full swing.

 I took particular umbrage from the assertions in the book that the United States was actively engaged in the Rwanda/Ugandan/ Burundian invasion of Zaire in 1996. I was the U.S. ambassador in Rwanda at that time and I know Philpot’s allegations are just not true.

Philpot sprinkled his book with quotations from Boutros Ghali, Faustin Twagiramungu and others who had axes to grind, and did so after the fact.  In addition to excoriating the United States, Philpot saved special venom for the Canadians involved in Rwandan issues, especially MG Romeo Dallaire and Louise Arbor, who became head of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.  Repeatedly calling Canada  a lackey of the U.S. Philpot took his countrymen to task for their actions regarding Rwanda, but also for not being sufficiently sympathetic to Quebecois sensitivities.  Of course, Philpot extrapolated from the African conspiracy he detailed to similar conspiracies regarding Syria, Libya and elsewhere.

In conclusion, the historical record is fairly clear about who did what and why.  To his discredit Philpot seized upon the what but invented his own why.  Sadly,  in the end Philpot’s conclusions are inherently racist  because of his basic premise that Africans were not competent enough to organize their own politics, fights, disagreements and wars, therefore the guiding hand must be external, i.e. American.  

I do not recommend that anyone read this book.

More Woe for the Central African Republic

This blog was also posted on the blog of the Woodrow Wilson Center in December 2013

Often lost in the whirl of stories about conflict and misery in Africa is the tragic situation that continues to unroll in the Central African Republic. There the state has slid downhill for a decade into ineffectiveness and turmoil. So much so that today the CAR is arguably the continent’s leading failed state.  It is a distinction that no one would seek, least of all the citizens of the nation, most all of whom are victims of ineptitude, lassitude, violence and neglect.  Rule of law is feeble in the CAR. Bandit gangs of thugs, linked to the rebel movement Seleka that put current leader Michel Djotodia in power have looted their way from east  to west, including pillaging the capital city of Bangui.  Their latest predations in the northwest, home areas both to ousted president Bozize and his predecessor Patasse, have taken an especially vicious turn resulting in massacres of entire villages.  Hundreds of  thousands of people are on the run crowding into makeshift camps where food, sanitation and security are minimal.   Violence is driven by tribalism, political hatreds, vengeance and religion.  The religious element is pernicious because when predominately Moslem Seleka fighters confront largely Christian communities and meet resistance the specter of more widespread religious conflict grows.  Indeed it is this threat that has aroused the international community to greater awareness.   In recent weeks both UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and French Foreign Minister Fabius have each decried the growing tide of violence, which Fabius described as “on the verge of genocide.” They promised a vigorous response.

 Blame for the catastrophe can be parceled out internally, regionally and internationally. First internally, the central government has been so inept and corrupt during the past decade that citizens longed for the days of Bokassa’s empire, when at least one could travel safely and send the kids to school.  Similarly, the promise of democracy, accountability and progress generated by free elections in 1993 was never realized.  Nascent institutions never developed. New President Patasse reverted to cronyism and tribal politics to rule.   Then violence from a collapsing Democratic Republic of the Congo spilled across the border accentuating internal divisions and leading to Francois Bozize’s coup d’etat in 2003. Bozize’s hold on power was tenuous and the government’s authority continued to erode.   By the late 2000s the combination of economic decline, an ineffective, bankrupt and corrupt central government, and nationwide insecurity rendered Bozize vulnerable.   In efforts to shore up his position, Bozize appointed a prime minister from the main line opposition and cut a deal for integration into the power structure with a political/rebel coalition from the east dubbed Seleka, a deal he repeatedly reneged upon.   Thus feeling betrayed, Seleka  recruited, mobilized and marched to Bangui where it took power in March 2013.  Rebel chief Michel Djotodia, a Moslem from the northeast, became chief of state. 

Historically African leaders have adopted hands-off policies towards their neighbors, but a regional consortium of states, led by Gabon, has maintained a small military force in CAR for years.  Authorized by the OAU/AU and recognized by the UN, it was particularly helpful in quelling violence during the early 2000s in Bangui, nonetheless,  the force never had the heft  - politically or militarily - to legitimize government or referee squabbles, so essentially it just extended the crises.   Just as conflict and fighters spilled over from the Congo, troubles in Sudan and Chad (not to mention the Lord’s Resistance Army from Uganda) also impacted upon the CAR.  A portion of Seleka combatants are former Darfurian or Chadian militiamen, now mercenaries. They are Moslem and foreign and as such have little sympathy or empathy for Christian villagers.

The Central African Republic, formerly the territory of Ubangi-Chari, was a French colony. Over the years France assumed responsibilities for the land, including peace and security.  French soldiers were based in the CAR and French advisors patronizingly financed and oversaw government operations.  The French/Central African relationship began to fray, however, when Ange Patasse was elected president in 1993.  Central Africans wanted to stand on their own and France was reconsidering and reducing its responsibilities throughout Africa.  Thus during the turbulent last twenty years in the CAR, France - while always present in some form or other - exerted much less influence and exercised little control.  Other powers, especially the United States, essentially pursued policies of neglect.  They trusted neighboring governments and the United Nations to handle problems.   However, the problems were too big for the resources and the commitments available, so the CAR stagnated and slipped inevitably into the vortex of violence where it now resides.

 So what happens next?  Chief of State, Michel Djotodia is not recognized as “president” by his neighbors, but only as a caretaker pending a 2015 election (never count an incumbent out, but Djotodia, a Moslem from a minority eastern tribe could never win a free and fair election).  Meanwhile he says he has disbanded Seleka, therefore diffusing even further what control he might have over its combatants and leaving unchecked the reign of terror in the northwest.  His government, although headed by reputable lawyer Nicolas Tiangaye, is constrained by lack of resources. Its writ rarely writes.

Pursuant to United nations Security Council discussions in late November,  a bigger more powerful Peace Keeping force will be assembled for the CAR. Meanwhile France has increased its troop presence to 1200 in the capital, one hopes in anticipation of participation in the UN force. But if nothing else the increase sends a message to Djotodia, Seleka and the nation that the international community will again engage.  It is encouraging to see French leadership again regarding the CAR.  As for the U.S., its policy of minimal involvement continues apace.  Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa, Ambassador Robert Jackson told the Congress on November 19 that the U.S. would provide assistance to the African Union force, would maintain humanitarian operations and would continue to cooperate with France, the UN and the African Union in pushing for reduction in violence and re-establishment of security.   That is diplomatic speak for not much.   Even though the U.S. has interests in protecting Americans, re-establishing regional stability and security, promoting democracy and human rights and capturing Lord’s Resistance Army chief Joseph Kony,  the U.S. embassy in Bangui is closed and not expected to re-open.

The best possible outcome in the next few months would be insertion of a French supported Chapter VII UN Peace Keeping operation with a mandate to pacify the nation.  Should security be achieved, the next step would be to revive competent government from Bangui outwards and thus begin the agonizing process of reconstruction and advancement.  Accomplishment of these objectives has to be a partnership among all the parties - domestic and international alike.  Sierra Leone and Liberia provide examples of how failed states can be resurrected.  The Central African Republic now needs that opportunity.   

Despair, Hope, Perseverance - AIDS in Uganda

Following is a piece I wrote about the impact of AIDS in Uganda during the late 1980s when I was posted there.  A version of this article appears in the December 2013 edition of the Foreign Service Journal.

AIDS cut a wide swath through Uganda in the late 1980s.  Newspapers were replete with notices advising  death  “after a short illness,” but everyone knew the code.   The disease struck down those in the prime of life, many from the burgeoning middle class. Despite the presence of dozens of medical researchers from around the globe focusing on the malady, no cure was available and there was little knowledge on how to retard the inevitably lethal progress of the disease.  There was, however, knowledge about how AIDS was hetro-sexually transmitted and a growing conviction that if peoples’ sexual practices changed then the rate of infection in society at large could be diminished. To that end President Yoweri  Museveni and his government team undertook to campaign publically about the ravages of AIDS.  They promoted condom use - there was a television clip of the minister of health in the city market demonstrating condom use by putting one on a banana.  The slogan “zero grazing” resonated with the populace who understood the metaphor of a cow tied to a post who could then only eat in a circle, a zero. The cow-to-post linkage symbolized connection to a single partner while the zero reienforced the idea of not straying into other pastures.  There were many other efforts to deal honestly and effectively with the scourge and a growing network of counseling centers for those infected and their families.  Indeed, part of Uganda’s successful endeavor to curtail the spread of AIDS was to diminish the shame attached to its sexually transmitted origins.

Still against this backdrop AIDS continued to take a toll.  Local employees of the U.S. government convinced the embassy administrative officer to rework their benefits package so that upon the death of an employee his male relatives (in accordance with tribal custom) could not seize remittances to the detriment of his spouse and children.  This change was unfortunately necessary as during the last three years of the 1980s, at least seven FSNs died along with a dozen local guards. All organizations were hard hit.  The colonel in charge of training for the army confided to me that he had to have ten soldiers tested for AIDS in order to find two non-infected and thus eligible for US  training.  While he was on leave, however, a subordinate falsified records and subsequently two Ugandan soldiers died of the disease while in the states.  Along with several embassy personnel I joined the Mountain Club of Uganda that grouped rock climbing and hiking enthusiasts.  We mounted expeditions to nearby rock faces and to the Mountains of the Moon. Over half of the members were twenty-something Makerere University graduate students.  Sadly, over the next decade virtually all of them died from AIDS.

Yet hope always flourished.  East African newspapers made much of the discovery of an AIDS cure dubbed Kenron by a Kenyan scientist and took the opportunity to proudly proclaim that Africa too was in the forefront of science.  Because further trials proved the remedy marginally useful, the story faded away.  Similarly one day Kampala’s New Vision newspaper headlined that a woman in Masaka - about sixty miles south of Kampala - had found that eating the clay from her backyard had cured her daughter of “slims.”  Thus began a rush to the site, hundreds of persons converged and shortly turned her yard into a deep pit.  I asked several well placed, well educated contacts about the allegation and expected to find them skeptical, but they too were believers.  “Eating it might work and if not, it’s just dirt. I am going this afternoon.”   Of course, it did not work and that story soon faded away as well.

What did work, however, was the effort to teach about AIDS, removal of the sexual stigma, the use of condoms and changed sexual behavior.  Combined, these approaches reduced the infection rate and held the line until anti-retroviral medicines were available.   Today Uganda remains afflicted by AIDS, but in the context of thirty years experience is coping with the scourge.  Now Ugandan society is thriving and its economy prospering.  Thinking back makes you wonder what might have been if those tens of thousands of citizens had not been struck down early in life?

 

Revelations and Confessions about Rwanda

My review of Healing a Nation - A Testimony by Dr. Theogene Rudasingwa,  Create Space Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston, SC, 2013.

This is a difficult book to characterize.  It is in part a memoir of Rudasingwa’s life, but it also contains meditations on scripture, political and economic treatises, a scathing critique of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and  exposés of Rwandan Patriotic Front lies and fallacies.  The author, born again both religiously and politically, concludes with a program for action designed as the sub-title states for “Waging and Winning a Peaceful Revolution to Unite and Heal a Broken Rwanda”.

Rudasingwa begins by recounting his childhood and youth as a Tutsi refugee in Uganda.  His family headed by his widowed mother Coletta Bamususire, to whom the book is dedicated, was poor and barely scraped by, but Mama insisted on cleanliness, order and education.  Her kids went to school no matter what and at least two of them, Theogene and his brother Gerald, ended up with university educations.  Life for rural refugees was hard not just because of poverty, but also because being refugees they had little acceptance in Uganda at large.  They were always outsiders.

Some Rwandan Tutsi refugees, including current president Kagame, joined Ugandan firebrand Yoweri Museveni  in his struggle for power in Uganda in the mid-eighties.  However, even as they were helping Museveni succeed, Rwandan Tutsi were also organizing their own return to Rwanda.  Emboldened and empowered by their role in Uganda’s National Resistance Army, Rwandan refugees under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema deserted from Uganda and invaded Rwanda in 1990.

Rudasingwa was not yet part of that movement.  He was pursuing a medical degree at Makarere University in Kampala, but became enamored of revolutionary thinking.  He became an atheist and a self described Marxist.   His medical studies lapsed as he studied and meditated on how Africa should free itself from external bondage.  Finally, he had to choose - join the action with the Rwandan Patriotic Front or mold away as an eccentric critic.  He opted to join and became a foot soldier and a medic on the front lines.

From there he was tapped by Major General Kagame, who assumed command after General Rwigyema was killed, to undertake a series of diplomatic missions.  (Given some of the revelations later in the book I was disappointed that Rudasingwa offered no opinions on how Rwigyema, Bayingana, or Bunyenyezi died).   For Rudasingwa one thing led to another as he became more entrenched in the RPF/RPA quest, culminating as a member of the RPF team in Arusha that negotiated the peace accords. 

The most startling revelation in the book is Rudasingwa’s discussion of the shooting down of President Habyarimana’s plane by the RPA, the incident that sparked the genocide.  Rudasingwa acknowledges that he was part of the RPF conspiracy regarding this event that overtly blamed the genocidaires for the action.  The discussion of this comes late in the book when Rudasingwa is reciting the bill of particulars against Kagame.  I was disappointed that Rudasingwa offered no discussion of what Kagame expected as a result of this action, or if Kagame expressed any regret at the scale of violence that ensued. 

Chronologically, Rudasingwa describes his activities as the Secretary General of the RPF in post-genocide Rwanda, then his tour as ambassador to the United States.   In both capacities he was still a believer in the revolutionary cause of empowering the Tutsi and ending the philosophy of genocide.  As ambassador from Rwanda he found the intricacies of maneuvering in Washington to be complex. He said he shamelessly played the guilt card that blamed America for non-action while a million Rwandans died.  This had some effect in generating sympathy and support.

Returning to Rwanda in 1999 Dr. Rudasingwa resumed duties as Secretary General of the RPF and later was assigned as director general of the president’s office.   Throughout the latter phases of his career Rudasingwa admitted to growing scruples about  RPF power  and how Kagame wielded it - concerns about his predilection for violence,  real or character assassination of opponents,  sly backstabbing of anyone who differed from his narrowly defined pathway.   Rudasingwa devotes a full chapter to a description of how the Kagame government operated and maintained control through fear and intimidation. Rudasingwa reported his objections to the political path that vested all power in the RPF at the expense of opening the system to all citizens, Hutu included.  He got particularly upset with the intrigue that characterized Kagame’s style. This became more acute as his stock was falling and he tried to extricate himself from the vortex.

Finally, Rudasingwa did leave Rwanda and establish himself in the U.S.  As he acknowledges that in itself represented a complete turnabout from the Marxist convictions of his youth that equated America with evil imperialism.  He also found God.  Ultimately Rudasingwa wrote this book, both to relate what happened to him and to Rwanda, but also to put forward a program of action designed to change Rwanda.  Rudasingwa’s vision is a nation ruled by law - not fear - where all citizens are equal - not just the chosen few.  He hopes this can be achieved peacefully because he acknowledges that all government transitions in Rwanda to date have been violent. It is time to change and to change the process of change.  To this end, Rudasingwa and others have created a multi-ethnic coalition of like minded exiles called the Rwanda National Congress. The struggle continues.

Nairobi Heat

A review of Nairobi Heat by Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Melville House, Brooklyn, NY 2011. 

This book is a quick read crime/detective story along the lines of books by Dashiel Hammett. It is, however, for the most part ,set in Kenya.  The hero is a black Chicago cop who traces the perpetrators of a murder to Nairobi.  There he is befriended by a Kenyan cop and the two of them proceed to get shot at by legions of assailants as the plot unravels.  Of course, they shoot back. Bodies are lying about everywhere with apparently no consequences for shooters on either side.  The main plot is cleverly orchestrated involving Rwandan refugees, ruthless NGO personnel and conniving businessmen.  In some respects the plot is quite feasible. Additionally, there is a boy meets girl subplot. Throughout the story the Chicago cop mulls over his personal identity. How American or how African is he? (This theme probably reflects the author’s own quest as he, the author, is Kenyan, but raised in Chicago).

Although the author Mukoma Wa Ngugi, son of the famous Ngugi wa Thiongo, should know better, he manipulated climate and geography in order to suit the story.  Fiction writers can do that. In order to double entendre the title, he had the protagonist arrive at Nairobi’s airport in the early morning amidst sweltering heat.  Cognoscenti know that in the hours before dawn, Nairobi is anything but hot.  Later in the story, the cop team flees to western Kenya driving non-stop for eleven hours to a village near Busia, on the Ugandan border.  Even a country bus can make that trip in eleven hours, in a car it’s no more than six. 

The joy of this story is in the reading of it. It is fast paced and reality rarely intrudes.  The Kenyan setting is an added bonus.   

Firebrand to Politican to Statesman

Kenyan luminary Raila Odinga addressed a group at the WIlson Center in Washington, D.C. on June 18.  Coming off a lost presidential bid, Odinga took the high road.  Although he stated that he personally thought he won the elections (including the one in 2007), he said he opted not to contest the judicial confirmation of the results. He noted that such an appeal would be futile and only result in renewed violence.  Sometimes in order to foster democracy one has to accept the imperfections and move on. He noted that as AU special envoy to the Cote d’Ivoire, he had encouraged Gbagbo to do the same.

In his main address Odinga said that this century would be Africa’s.  Africa’s time had come. He foresaw better governance, more effective growth, involvement of youth, functioning democracy, some pooled sovereignty via regional associations and the acumen to manage global power shifts.  Food production, land use and health would be priorities.  AIDS and mega cities would be problems.

He then reviewed the goals established by the OAU fifty years ago:  decolonialization, liberation and peace.  Peace, he said, remains to be accomplished - not just peace from conflict, but peace from hunger, ignorance and deprivation.   However, Odinga noted an AU shortcoming as lack of commitment to social inclusiveness.  He criticized the organizations previous stance of embracing despots and non-interference in the internal affairs of states, noting that it was now moving more to a stance of “non-indifference” to internal issues. 

Turning to today’s issues, Odinga saw flickers of hope in Somalia and the Great Lakes, but was less sanguine about problems in Mali, Guinea Bissau and the Central African Republic.    

In response to questions Odinga praised parliamentary systems opining that perhaps they would serve Africa better than political systems with a heavy concentration of power in the presidency.  He stated that Kenya would be able to handle oil revenues in a positive fashion. He explained that Kenya’s success in engendering a middle class grew from its mixed economy, elimination of government marketing boards and efforts via “Kenyanization” to include more people in the modern economy.  He said that current legislation permitting indigenous NGOs to receive government funds would not inhibit their independence because no organization would be required to participate.  Finally, Odinga expressed the hope that the improving situation in Somalia would permit refugees currently in Kenya to return to their homeland, perhaps into IDP camps inside Somalia as a first step.

Comment:  Odinga was in fine form and quite comfortable in his new role as senior statesman for Africa.  Although  aware of Kenyan specific issues, he is also looking more widely at continental concerns.  He has already served the African Union as a special mediator for Cote d’Ivoire and will undoubtedly get other such assignments in the future.     

The End of Adventure - bashing around southern Africa

 

Following is my review of Paul Theroux’s The Last Train to Zona Verde - My Ultimate African Safari, Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, NY, 2013

Paul Theroux asserts that his recent journey through southern Africa, recounted in this book, is his last.  That is probably a good idea.  Theroux’s wonder and fascination with the realities of the third world have turned sour. He has been there and done that.  Enough of being crammed into dilapidated jalopies, bad food, hovels for hotels and hearing the cynicism of fellow travelers and/or those he encounters along the way.  To his credit Theroux does not mince words. His descriptions paint vivid pictures of the squalor of contemporary Africa, particularly the vast parts of the continent that stretch out beyond the high walls of diplomatic compounds or the carefully guarded game parks.

Theroux’s journey began in Cape Town where he was struck by the gap between rich and poor.  Astonishingly, the squalid townships that ring Cape Town have become tourist destinations themselves.   Visitors simply come to experience the poverty and the hubris of those affected.  The pervasiveness of poverty and the futility of those trapped in it became a theme of the book.  Indeed Theroux offers a voyeuristic window into the lives of the dispossessed.

Throughout the journal, Theroux recalls and meditates on observations writers have made over the eons about travel - about what it is, why one does it and for what effect?   He also ruminates about his role as a traveler. How is he viewed and what impact does he have?  An elderly white man traveling on a local bus in out of the way Africa cannot just be an observer. Inevitably he is drawn into the milieu of life around him.  While Theroux fretted over this dilemma of observation versus involvement, nonetheless he readily engaged.

The second part of the journey is into Namibia where there is much commentary about the excesses and failures of German rule, contemporary racism, and some interesting encounters with the !Kung/San people.  The !Kung/San are the Kalahari bushmen, the oldest inhabitants of Africa, and traditionally peaceful  hunter gatherers.  Although Theroux cited many scholarly texts about their lifestyle and culture, those individuals he found mostly remembered some of their culture rather than lived it.  Even though well intended outsiders - and even some !Kung/San as well - seek to preserve the vanishing way of life, Theroux concluded that it is already doomed.

 In another odd stop Theroux visited the safari camp where one can ride African elephants into the bush.  The elephants used for this purpose are mostly from European and American circuses and have been browbeaten into service.  Such a safari has the advantage of uniqueness, but the whole operation smacks of exploitation - not just of the animals, but of the whole idea of exclusive tourism.  Staying consistent Theroux also derided as reverse zoos the mass tourism as exemplified in Etosha Pan Park.

He ventured across Namibia’s northern border into the war devastated regions of southern Angola.  There Theroux found little of value.  Officials were rude and people mired in nothingness.  There was no indigenous economy, only an influx of hated Chinese.  A chance encounter with a traditional tribal rite during a bus breakdown offered only a glimpse into what values the community might have possessed.  The Angolan cities were even worse; cesspools of humanity, slums surrounding a collapsing core where the corrupt rich held off the despair of the masses.  Several brave intellectuals predicted that revolution must come, but most just wanted to leave.  Theroux’s criticism of German rule was harsh, but his excoriation of Portuguese colonialism and its legacies, including the current ruling class, was scabrous. 

Finally, Theroux had enough.   He (correctly) concluded that venturing further north through the bush, the zone verda - green zone-  of the title, would provide no new experiences, nor would visits to the mega cities of Kinshasa, Lagos and elsewhere.  So he went home.

What is the value of the book?  It is well written and does provide lots of descriptions and opinions on contemporary Africa that a reader is not likely to find elsewhere.  Well reasoned outspokenness certainly adds to understanding of places and peoples.  This book makes that contribution.