Lisbon - Trinkets, Trade Deals, Silent Winks and Secret Handshakes

At the end of the Africa-Europe talks in Lisbon, President of Senegal had this to say concerning the much touted agreements between "equals" (E.P.A.'s)

“It’s clear that Africa rejects the E.P.A.’s,” President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal said at a news conference, claiming the support of the president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki. “We are not talking any more about E.P.A.’s; we’ve rejected them.” [nytimes]

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Reading this statement gives me renewed hope that Africa is on her way to recovery. It doesn't surprise me that Mbeki himself didn't have the testicular wherewithal to say this himself, leaving it instead to his Senegalese counterpart to do the honours alone. To his credit, he IS making headway in as much as the British experiment with independent Zimbabwe is being made to flounder. It is time our leaders acted provocatively. Their statements need to court controversy, instead of secret winks in board rooms. The electorate need to be involved in the dialogue. Hearing our leaders make statements abroad and face the music when they do so, will be the first step in raising public awareness to issues such as these. I am doubtful if the Senegalese president's statement will make the domestic papers (in Azania), and even if it does, it will not capture the audience as much as the same statement would have, had it been made by Mbeki himself. To his further "credit", Mbeki does face significant domestic pressure. This pressure comes as part of the package, being a "leader" with the kind permission of his zionist benefactors. He can only continue his engagements in Harare, due to the more or less independent security team that comes with the office of president. He and his cabinet are some of the few who can engage in foreign affairs in this way and get away with their lives. I continue to wonder if even they know the dangers posed to them by the gangsters who effectively run the stock exchanges in Johannesburg and Tel Aviv.

Concerning the Lisbon affair, it is obvious to anyone who is not a pathetic victim of the pro zionist African Nationalist propaganda machine, that we are not equals to the one's who effectively run our economy from London, New York and other neo-colonial economic centers.

There can be no freedom without equality. And no deals between a master and slave can be equitable. Equality begins with genuine autonomy. And sadly, such autonomy can only come after open conflict and when the nation can defend itself from military attack. It would place African people in good stead to strengthen trade partnerships with friendly governments, as well as to acquire military capabilities of the their own and to secure reliable international alliances of the kind that would offer military support if we are attacked by Europe or America. These are the prerequisites to signing any deals with gangsters. Who goes to gang land unarmed is a fool.

It would be better if no deals were signed to begin with. Sanctions are in effect an open arrangement that display the real undercurrents to our dealings with thugs. Sanctions are a blessing; free trade deals are a curse. By disguising their true purposes, FTA/EPA's, lull the public into acquiescence, whereas hostile policies like sanctions, promote domestic policies that confront the enemy and deal with the situation by the horns. Of course, such a domestic situation will be complex to begin with. We see open conflict in Zimbabwe. There are some who will be misled into partnerships, believing as they do, the promises made to them by a middle class elite who lead the way in such deals. Even the current situation of the tip toeing regime in Pretoria is testimony to the nature of this dynamic. I would argue that Zimbabweans are more fortunate than Azanians, due to the fact that they are more mature and politically organised than their southern brothers. Not least of all, it is far safer to walk the streets of Harare than it is to walk in Johannesburg by day.