Qaddafi’s election as AU chairman gets mixed reactions in Ethiopia
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi (right) attends the
opening of the African heads of state summit in
Addis Ababa, February 2. Kadhafi was elected
chairman of the African Union at the summit of
the 53-nation bloc. (AFP/Simon Maina)
08 February, 2009
APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) - The election of the Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi as chairman of the African Union during the just ended AU summit in Addis Ababa has been received here with mixed reactions.
While some people welcome it, many others also recall how he was once lobbying to have the AU headquarters moved to Libya.
Dr. Belete Mitiku, a teacher at the Addis Ababa College said Qaddafi’s election as chairman of the AU will be an opportunity for him to continue lobbying for a union government for Africa.
“I think this man will give much of his time during his chairmanship to talk about a union government, which is still far from a reality. I don’t really understand why President Qaddafi is still insisting for immediate launch of a union government for Africa,” said Mitiku.
According to him, the union government will take a long way, and there are so many things to be done before a union government can be achieved.
“Countries in Europe passed a long journey to establish the European Union. Before establishing the EU, each of the countries under took various activities for that. There are still some countries waiting to fulfill the criteria for membership of the EU. When we come to Africa, I do not see any preparations for a union government,” Mitiku added.
Like Mitiku, artist Fikre Mengistu believes that Africa is s till far away from achieving a union government.
“Take the conflicts, the diseases, and the electoral process in Africa. There are many issues which should be done at national level before talking about a union government for Africa. This is unthinkable in my life time,” said Mengistu.
He indicated that the election of President Qaddafi will further complicate the issues that need to be addressed at continental level.
“President Qaddafi will continue to talk about a union government during his chairmanship while the issued to be addressed are about how to fight diseases in Africa, to promote democracy and good governance, and several other issues,” said Mengistu.
According to him, President Qaddafi should give priority to Africa’s current political and social problems than to talk about a union government.
“If he think that his country has enough money to invest for a union government in Africa, he should use it to help bring democracy in Africa and in fighting diseases that are killing thousands people daily in the continent, like HI/AIDS, malaria, TB and others,” said Mengistu.
He believes that each member state of the AU should undertake various activities before discussing about a union government.
“We heard during the summit in Addis Ababa that the leaders were busy discussing about Qaddafi’s vision of a union government. This is a waste of time. Why don’t they give enough time to how to make peace and stability prevail in Africa? There were leaders at the summit with over 20 years in power, which should be avoided in Africa,” he added.
Selamawit Tarekegn, a foreign relations and language student at the Addis Ababa University on her part told APA that the election of President Qaddafi as chairman of the AU will help African leaders to think of unity.
“I believe that Africa needs unity to fight foreign interference. Foreign interference in Africa’s internal problems is one of the major problems the continent is facing, we need unity to fight that,” said Tarekegn.
She indicated that Qaddafi’s chairmanship will help African leaders to think of unity and to tackle the continent’s problems.
“What I am afraid of is that this union government for Africa will take a long time to become a reality. But I believe we should start the steps for that journey,” she added.
It is to be recalled that following President Qaddafi’s election as AU chairman, he gave much of his time to talking about a union government. There were some West African countries that were supporting Qaddafi’s initiatives like Senegal.
But countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda persisted on gradual integration rather than a union government.
However, all the leaders at the summit in Addis Ababa agreed to transform the AU commission into the AU authority, which is believed to be a move towards more integration in Africa.