GOVERNMENT PAPER CRITICIZES U.S. POLICY ON

UNCLAS HARARE 002205 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT PAPER CRITICIZES U.S. POLICY ON AFRICA ¶1. Under the title "DRC has chance to develop" the government-controlled weekly "The Sunday News" dedicated its September 29 editorial to accusing the United States of triggering "the continuing strife in most parts of Africa," adding that the West has everything to benefit from an unstable Africa. "In a bid to loot natural resources from Africa as well as support its arms industry, the U.S. Government will use one hand to supply weapons to armed bandits while raising the other hand in the name of promoting peace and democracy," the editorial claims. Excerpts: ¶2. ". . .Through the legacy of the Cold War (1950 to 1989),the U.S. bears responsibility for the continuing strife in most parts of Africa. During the Cold War, the U.S. delivered weapons worth US$2 billion to the continent. While the U.S. ranks number one in global exports of arms of war, it comes last among industrialized nations providing non-military foreign aid to developing nations. Curiously, in 1997 - when the DRC conflict intensified - the U.S. Government devoted only 0.09 percent of gross national product to international development assistance, the lowest proportion of all developed countries. Pan- Africanists were hardly shocked when the Clinton administration employed divide and rule tactics by sidelining governments led by independence war heroes while striking up warm friendships with warlords in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, branding them `the new, progressive leaders of Africa.' But these same regimes sponsored and armed the rampaging bandits who invaded the DRC, slaughtered innocent civilians and pillaged diamonds. "So, in a bid to loot natural resources from Africa as well as support its arms industry, the U.S. Government will use one hand to supply weapons to armed bandits while raising the other hand in the name of promoting peace and democracy. Those who underestimate the dangerous nature of Western capitalism need only look at the ongoing warmongering against Iraq to understand the crude forces that govern international relations. President George W. Bush is waging war on the people of Iraq so that he can topple President Saddam Hussein, install a puppet in Baghdad and secure a cheap source of petroleum for the U.S. As Africans, we must ask ourselves why the Western powers assassinated the DRC's first and only democratically elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Africans must resist manipulation and stand up for their rights. SULLIVAN