Clinton says Africa must live up to democratic promise
Wed Aug 1, 2012 3:23pm GMT
* Clinton hails democracy, but notes challenges
* U.S. hopes to promote partnership, with eye on China
* Coup-hit Mali and Guinea-Bissau show alternate course
By Andrew Quinn
DAKAR, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged
Africa on Wednesday to recommit to democracy, declaring the "old ways of
governing" can no longer work on a continent boasting healthy economic
growth and an increasingly empowered citizenry.
Clinton, launching a seven-nation Africa tour, praised her hosts in Senegal
for overcoming tensions to hold elections in March that saw President Macky
Sall defeat long-time incumbent Abdoulaye Wade, reinforcing the country's
credentials as one of the most stable democracies in the continent.
But she said democracy was too often on the back foot in Africa despite
decades of economic progress.
"There are still too many Africans living under autocratic rulers who care
more about preserving their grip on power than promoting the welfare of
their citizens," Clinton said in a speech at Dakar's University of Cheikh
Anta Diop, noting that coups and power grabs had reduced the count of full
electoral democracies on the continent to 19 in 2012 from 24 in 2005.
"The old ways of governing are no longer acceptable. It is time for leaders
to accept accountability, treat their people with dignity, respect their
rights, and deliver economic opportunity. And if they will not, then it is
time for them to go," she said.
Constitutional order has been restored in Niger and Guinea following recent
coups, while Benin, Cape Verde, Liberia, Nigeria, Zambia and Togo have all
held credible elections over the past year.
But Clinton warned that sobering alternative paths were being taken by Mali
and Guinea-Bissau, saying the latter risked becoming "dependent" on Latin
American drug traffickers.
PROMOTING THE U.S., WITH AN EYE ON CHINA
Clinton's Africa trip, her fourth as the top U.S. diplomat, is aimed at
reinforcing Washington's message that open markets and constitutional
democracies provide the firmest foundation for Africa's future, U.S.
officials said.
She also hopes to promote the United States as an alternative to China's
economic and political influence, which has been growing fast as Beijing
aggressively courts African nations to win access to the continent's rich
cache of mineral, timber and oil resources.
Last month, in the latest in a string of aid and credit deals Beijing has
extended to Africa, Chinese President Hu Jintao offered $20 billion in loans
for the continent over the next three years, double the amount it pledged in
2009..
Clinton did not mention China by name, but noted that U.S. President Barack
Obama, in his landmark speech on Africa in Ghana in 2009, had pledged that
the United States would offer "partnership, not patronage".
"Throughout my trip across Africa this week, I will be talking about what
that means - about a model of sustainable partnership that adds value,
rather than extracts it," she said.
"The days of having outsiders come and extract the wealth of Africa for
themselves, leaving nothing or very little behind, should be over in the
21st century," she added.
Clinton said sustainable development was dependent on democratic progress,
and in absolute terms Africa's progress toward that goal was clear.
Regional bodies like the African Union and the ECOWAS community of West
African states have sought to take a firmer stance, suspending Madagascar,
Guinea-Bissau and Mali after coups. After initial divisions over a
post-election dispute in Ivory Coast they backed Alassane Ouattara after
incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power after losing a 2010 vote.
Mali's once stable democracy collapsed in a March coup that paved the way
for a military advance by northern separatists and al Qaeda-linked
Islamists.
"By some estimates, this could set back Mali's economic progress by nearly a
decade," Clinton said, confirming that urgent humanitarian aid would
continue but full ties, including a security partnership, remained on hold
until a democratically-elected government was in place.
Guinea-Bissau, which underwent a coup in April, is now suffering near
economic collapse and drug traffickers are filling the void, she said.
"Guinea-Bissau ... could become a totally dependent state on drug
traffickers from Latin America. What a terrible development," Clinton said,
saying the United States hoped to work with the country's West African
neighbours to set it back on the correct course. (Editing by David Lewis and
Jon Hemming)
C Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
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Received on Wed Aug 01 2012 - 16:22:56 EDT
