[labo22]

Certainly not, because we didn't elect them and thy are not accountable to us, who would tell them stop the rhetorics and mind your dirty business of double-standard, the occasional lip services are not working in long-term for both the western countries and the developing rich natural resource countries,

Niger is one the largest uranium producing country, the must-have energy around the world, the western countries were quietly consuming the uranium and didn't bother to speak out when president Mamadou Tandja was violating the constitution, the situation here in Djibouti it is similar, unfortunately we are heading the same directions, no reaction so far from the western countries as long as their interest are taken care. This is how the western countries their institutions like UN reacted the news of military coup which ousted president Mamadou Tandja according to AFP;

The United States called for a "speedy return to democracy". What kind of democracy , I think what the US means they need another poppet quickly who can look after their interest isn't it ?

Former colonial ruler France demanded fresh elections "in the coming months". Well here is another hypocrisy, election without proper procedure and backing constitution is not a democracy perhaps it's a second class of democracy that we don't know, if the French government believes democracy as they say they wouldn't tolerate the irresponsible behaviour of Mamadou Tandja and IOG

This is how the AU reacted "We have condemned the coup and imposed sanctions on Niger: Niger is suspended from all activities of the AU," said Mull Sebujja Katende, who presides over the AU's peace and security council.

AU is an organization infested with similar tyrants, what kind of advice are you expecting a ruler like IOG who is determined to follow the same path like Mamadou Tandja of Niger?.

"The AU has called for Niger to revert to the constitution that was in place before Tandja's controversial referendum" what a group of morons, were where they when Mamadou Tandja was raping the constitution ? and What are they doing now, there is fresh similar circumstance unfolding right in front of their eyes,and lips are tight, we say speak up for Djiboutian people now or forever.....

Finally the UN said the familiar statements that we have heard again and again

"we condemns the coup d'etat that took place in Niger" and "appeals for calm and for the respect of the rule of law and of the human rights of all Nigerians," Ban's office said

Africa marks 50 years of independence, unfortunately it never had true leaders, but there are a lot of proxy rulers of the former and new colonialist.

The following link are related topic
http://www.djibnet.c...tenir-pour-iog/

Peace-on-earth

Ce message a été modifié par labo22 - 10 mars 2010 - 08:11 .

[king(1)]

“Africa and the West” these are really two different worlds. We mean by the West Western Europe and North America. Africa is still going through some of rebirth; major changes are taking in every corner of the Continent. The old ways of life is disappearing; that life used to depend on livestock agriculture and fishing. After the appearance of what we call “National States” in 60s of 20th century, Africa began to witness the collapse of Traditional Institutions. Instead, new administrations were created and those who were educated or trained became new players in Modern Africa.

These new leaders were minorities in their communities. But everything was in their hands (Power, money, knowledge…etc) the majority of Africans were merely second-class citizens. They were disdained and generally called “Badaw or badawi!” which means “An ignorant person that takes care of animals” or “Qodti!” that means “A stupid dirty person who cultivates land!” …etc

On the other hand, the number of the elite or western-forged new leaders dramatically increased. They started fighting over power and money. Everyone tried to take a lion’s share of what Hadrawi (A Somali poet and philosopher) called “Hal la qalay!” “A slaughtered she-camel!” Which means “Somalia was similar to a she-camel that was killed by a group of beasts. Every beast wanted to get the biggest share!” This is a good example for what is going on all over Africa.

People are hungry everywhere in Africa. Diseases are annually eliminating millions of lives, and great masses are suffering whereas politicians are wrestling in Politics.
Djibouti is on the same train. The question who is to blame?
It is not definitely ordinary Djiboutians. It is not also the West. It is our Politicians and history will tell us how they can lead the country to have a better future or go down the road to zero like Somalia.


Peace First.

[king(1)]

Un monde inégal !

The term « the Third World » was definitely coined by the West. It implicitly refers to those poor and underdeveloped countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. I am not really sure if there is a second world but I have the feeling that waves of Globalization have shaped a new and different world in which peoples as well as nations are divided into rich and poor.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are becoming poorer day after day.
The West behaves like they were masters. The World Bank, IMF and Humanitarian institutions are their weapons to humiliate Africa. Take Somalia for example. How much did the West donate to restore peace and stability in that country?

When we compare it to Afghanistan on which they spent billions of dollars for the last 7 years, Somalia is still waiting for a better hand in everything. It needs a second chance to get up and come back to life.

It seems to me that the Western leaders are not serious when it comes to Africa’s internal affairs. The only thing that they often talk of is Democracy (good governance, transparency in elections…etc!)
I might be wrong but I think it is essential to create a suitable atmosphere for this. I mean people are in dire need of peace and bread. This is something basic and necessary for a decent life.

It is silly to talk of democracy when they are not safe or have no enough food or when they don’t even know the fundamental principles of democratic elections because their life is based on tribal or ethnic solidarity.

You cannot harvest fruits from a tree that you planted today in the morning. It is the same for democracy, you cannot establish a good democracy in this region unless you show that you really care for them and help peoples live in peace and get their daily bread to feed themselves as well as their children.


Peace First.

[labo22]

OCCIDENT, it’s the part of the world lying west of the Orient. It is largely inhabited by Christians, a powerful sub tribe of the Hypocrites, whose principal industries are murder and cheating, which they are pleased to call "war" and "commerce.”. Source: Devil's Dictionary, King don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to demonize the west in any shape or form. But I think it’s up the west to proof it the otherwise.

This day-and-age such a definition of the term "Western" is not necessarily tied to the geographic sense of the word. A geographically Western nation such as Cuba is sometimes not considered politically Western due to its general rejection of liberal democracy, freedom of the press, and personal liberty. Conversely, some Eastern nations, for example, Japan, India, Israel, Taiwan, and South Korea, could be considered politically Western, due to their adoption of indigenous liberal democratic political institutions similar in structure to those of the traditionally Western nations.

A world without U.S. primacy will be a world with more violence and disorder and less democracy and economic growth than a world where the United States continues to have more influence than any other country in shaping global affairs. The sustained international primacy of the United States is central to the welfare and security of Americans and to the future of freedom, democracy, open economies, and international order in the world. That is the general believe, but the reality on ground is much deferent, particularly to this part of the world.

Hypocrisy, double standards, and "but nots" are the price of Universalist pretensions. Democracy is promoted, but not if it brings Islamic fundamentalists to power; nonproliferation is preached for Iran and Iraq, but not for Israel; free trade is the elixir of economic growth, but not for agriculture; human rights are an issue for China, but not with Saudi Arabia; aggression against oil-owning Kuwaitis is massively repulsed, but not against non-oil-owning Bosnians, when Djiboutian people cry for democracy and respect of the constitution the west with its military presence turn blind eyes. Double standards in practice are the unavoidable price of universal standards of principle.

The U.S has an ignominious history of association with dictators. The U.S. State Department sees Guelleh as a friendly dictator – one of the likes of Mobutu Sese Seko, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Jean Claude Duvalier, General Samuel Doe, Ferdinand Marcos, General Augustino Pinochet, and Pol Pot. It is no secret that America has always been friendly to the world's most notorious repressive dictators, tyrants and corrupt puppet-presidents. A U.S. State Department official recently described Guelleh as a “client of convenience”. Despite United States indifference to the devil that gripped the tiny one- city-state of Djibouti, "the U.S. State Department has criticized the regime for "limiting citizens' rights to change their government" and for creating a climate in which opposition parties and media are intimidated into "self-censorship."

Going to Nitty-gritty the discussion “Hal la qalay!” in this is the constitution of the Republic; it’s easier to talk after math “qalalaasihi buu ninba qurup.....”The beast is there obviously, it’s physical incomparable to the rest of the beasts out there, ironically empowered by US thus creating supper monster in Djiboutian standard, riding armoured vehicle like Michael Dukakis ill-fated campaign.

“It is silly to talk of democracy when they are not safe or have no enough food or when they don’t even know the fundamental principles of democratic elections because their life is based on tribal or ethnic solidarity”

Although you raised many good issues but I’m afraid you view is disturbing, you don’t need to judge nations base on pure perception, you need to encourage them to help themselves develop a good system of democracy, just help them as much as you can to develop what is already there “Unité-égalité-paix” otherwise you could be seen as these who quietly advocates for the neo-colonialist system, their method to use the rulers like IOG and their ultimate goal is to rule forever on long leash and take the maximum advantage. For instance extracting uranium from Niger, dumping the nuclear waste off the coast of Somalia, using Djibouti to service war-ships.....

Ref. The Clash of Civilizations

Peace-on-earth

Ce message a été modifié par labo22 - 15 mars 2010 - 07:53 .

[king(1)]

the social structure of djiboutian people and the conflicting environment that surrounds our country are obstacles that prevent us moving progressively to democracy. let me give an example for this, imagine that your cousin was running for presidency side by side with other candidates, who would you vote for?
I am sure your answer will be "I would vote for the best one that he had the best program?"

You would say this because you don't want to sound like a tribalist and you want to save your face before those people you want to send messages to help the opposition topple the regime and have the power. I mean those Wesrterners that you accuse of having double-standards when they deal with African countries.

Let me tell you this; in reality you belong to your tribe and from the bottom of youre heart, you hope that the president has to be from your tribe! you consider your clan to be the majority and you call the others to be minorities in Djibouti. This is not absolutely a democratic attitude to be frank with you.

Djibouti is surrounded by countries. There is a fragile peace in these countries. Yemen has joined the list now. this situation has really hurted Djiboutian economy for more than four decades and often put her security in jeopardy.
As I already noted there would never be a real democracy in East Africa unless all these factors are taken into consideration to help this region have q viable peace and then mobilize peoples to get aware of their constitutional rights in their countries an teach them how they can be positive in shaping their destiny and that of their children.

I am not talkative like you, Labo but I know well how things go in our region and this is why I am not optimistic when it comes to democracy and all that is related to it in our country.

To conclude,Democracy is an ideology; it is a way of life that people adopts after they have been taught its advatages. It cannot be forced on others particularly when these others live in misery, in an unsecure region.

Ce message a été modifié par king(1) - 18 mars 2010 - 11:01 .

[LeMainstream]

You absolutely right by saying in East Africa, a person will vote first for the one of his (her) tribe no matter how good or poor is his plan. If it’s not that case, there is a personal problem involved or a plot. Only less than 20% would vote for a candidate according to his (her) principle or value or plan.

The "I would vote for the best one that he had the best program?" is hypocrite. Personally, I believe it’s due to the level of education and the concept of democracy is foreign one. The level of maturity of our population is yet to be proven,but I also believe democracy baby-steps should be given a chance, I believe If the chance is given to another block and that block abuses the power definitely they will pay the price for the next time around, Djibouti has the good advantage from the rest of the surrounding countries, after all it is one city-state and it should be manageable in logistic-wise thus Djibouti can be the model of the region as we all know no block can form the majority.

The neighbouring countries shouldn't be put into account, if one is determined to excel in democracy there is no reason to look behind, one good example is N. Korea ans S. Korea, one is full fledgling democracy while the other remains a opressive regime side by side.

In Djibouti IOG institutionalized the tribalism and to find a job, you first go the minister close to you – In 1982 Dr Omar Osman Rabeh wrote in his book: La Nation Somali I "La tribu indispensable à l’intellectuel Somali" this is today reality. Somalia, we used to say "hadan majeerten ahay magacuuba ii deeq" back-in-days of Abdirashid A. Sharmarke which mean a lot. But it’s the role of leaders to pull the mass out from darkness of ignorance instead of using the tribalism for their advantage for quick short-term political gain.

Keep the faith.

[king(1)]

The word « Democracy » was misused before in this region. Somalia was called “Democratic Republic of Somalia” during Siad Barre’s military regime. In Southern Yemen, there was a communist state and the term “Democratic” was there in broad letters though this was a totalitarian system.
An autocratic, one-party system may claim that this is a democracy and people get lost in this; they don’t distinguish between what can be “Democratic” and what can be categorized as “Autocratic” in Politics.

I am saying this because I agree with you, Mainstream, on your words “The concept of democracy is foreign one!” though we are told from time to time that the principle of SHOURA in Islam has more or less its democratic roots in early Islamic State in Medina. After the death of Osman Ibn Affan the fourth Caliphate in 656, the Shoura has never been carried out to choose Muslim leaders; instead, there were always Emirs and kings who monopolized the power and manipulated the majority to maintain and protect their personal interests.

On the other hand, some of our traditions have much in common with Democracy. Take for example, the XEER Issa. It is based on the principle of equality and justice for all members of their community. It even goes beyond race, colour and religion when it declares “even the white man is an Issa; it is just God who has created him white!!” because in their world, all were equal in front of Law (Heer).

As I said early these traditions have been neglected by Western-educated elite who believed for a while Africa had nothing to give in terms of administration, state, law…etc they thought the West had magic solutions for problems that they would face in their Third World. Some of them went to the East in Moscow, Prague and Havana but it was worst…etc

Now, there are other players in the field “the Islamists” who have better opportunities to persuade Muslim societies because for these reasons:

1) Ordinary citizens are fed up with their old Westernized leaders and their fake promises.
2) Islamists have better contact with masses through mosques, charity organisations whereas others try to steer and lead them with a remote control from their palaces and chateaux.
3) The old leaders have failed to build economies or create job opportunities…etc and for this reason, the youth have two choices; to join to the Islamists or flee their homeland, heading to the North…that is what I call the Third Exodus from Africa! (the first was when Israelites escaped Egypt and the second was during Slavery Epoch)

It is all about having a better chance, a better economy and then people may pay attention to those who call them to democracy and try to understand and give a try to vote for someone who helps them get out of misery…till then, no support for losers whoever they are and from wherever they come!



Peace and Bread First!