HE Global African Civil Society Organisations (GACSO) on Tuesday urged the African Union to use its upcoming conference in Accra as a platform to end black slavery in Arab lands before the Continent embarks on the “United States of Africa” agenda.

“There is a vital need to think through the Black African interest, and negotiate in detail to secure its requirements, before agreeing to US-Africa proposal.

In a statement to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, GACSO explained that the US-Africa proposal was a cover UP for Arab colonialism and Arab expansionism in Black Africa.

It, therefore, urged Black African Presidents of the African Union (AU) to vote against it at the Accra Summit in July. “At the very least, they should vote to postpone any decision on it for five years so that a vigorous debate can be carried out by the people, so they can knowledgeably and democratically mandate their Presidents on what to do about it.

“We could take a lesson from the European Union process where key stages of the unification have been preceded by plebiscites in each member country.

“After it is signed, the Arabs would, predictably, treat any second thoughts and objections to details as treason".

The statement signed by a GACSO revolutionary Dr Chinweizu, said all of Black Africa was being wooed today by the promoters of the so-called US-Africa agenda that aimed to unite the entire continent, Blacks and Arabs together, under one federal state.

“Black Africans need to assess the pros and cons of the unification; debate it in the hamlets and chalets for every citizen to understand the hidden agenda, before the leaders take a decision on behalf of the larger population, who have no knowledge of the US-Africa agenda”, the statement stated.

GACSO debunked the argument of leading proponent of US-African proposal, President Mouammar Gadtahfi of Libya that African countries stood to gain potential economic benefits from the unification.

The GACSO described the assertion as invalid stressing that the “continental size is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for becoming an economic power.

“If it were so, Britain, Japan, Germany, France, let alone Switzerland and most of the European countries would be economic midgets; and the Asian tigers too. On the other hand, Antarctica and Australia, as continents, would be economic giants”.

The statement called on the current Black African governments not to repeat the mistake of past leaders, who in 1973, under the banner of the OAU lined up behind the Arabs on the oil embargo, in hopes of getting concessions on oil, without any pre-agreed quid pro quo, and got nothing after the Arabs had exploited African support.

GACSO also urged African leaders, civil society, media practitioners and the public to scrutinize the proposal for the AU to appoint a defence and trade minister and set up a continental army, which proponents of the US-Africa agenda considered as matters of priority.

“Defence is the last thing a sensible sovereign country surrenders. Note that after 50 years of their merger process, the EU states have yet to do that and appoint a Defence Minister. Yet proponents of US-Africa want the AU to start with that”.

According to GACSO the call for AU countries to compete to host the institutions of the AU/US-Africa was dubious.

“Clearly, the Arab countries, awash with oil money and with unlimited back-up from the rest of the oil-rich Arab League, will out-bite the poor Black countries, leading to Arab domination of the US-Africa; just as the UN is dominated by the gang of imperialist countries where its key institutions are located.

“If the formula for locating its key institutions is allowed, the US-Africa would become an instrument of Arab colonialism in Africa; and would entrench Arab power over Black Africa,” GACSO noted.

GACSO, therefore, called for serious study on Arab culture and other norms; Black African experiences with Arabs, “What are the promoters of this US-Africa promising it would do for Black Africa?

“Who are these promoters? And who exactly is sponsoring them? Who is the godfather of this their US-Africa? And what his motives are?

According to GACSO over the past 50 years Arabs had humiliated and enslaved Black Africans considering them as sub-human and questioned whether the US-Africa agenda was not a ploy to control Black Africans permanently.

The statement urged African leaders to scrutinize the US-Africa Agenda by looking at Arab treatment of blacks; enslavement; attitude of Arabs to Blacks in general and to Black Africans in particular; colour discrimination against blacks and the holding of blacks in automatic contempt.

The Global Africa Civil Society Organisation also kicked against the continuous enslavement of Mauritania and Sudanese Blacks by the Arabs.

*Source

 Daily Graphic -       Wednesday, June 27, 2007                       -          Page:  16