| Black Activists Decry G-8 Summit's
“Hollow Commitments” to Help Africa
Date: Monday, July 11, 2005
By: Michael H. Cottman
Black American activists dismissed last week's G-8 summit in Scotland as long on rhetoric and short on substantial, long-term assistance for impoverished African nations.
"The G-8 produced an uneven result," Bill Fletcher Jr., president of TransAfrica Forum, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Monday. "On the one hand, a commitment was made to double aid to Africa by 2010. That is very important. Nevertheless, the Bush administration has not changed its position on refusing to increase U.S. assistance."
"The struggle certainly continues," Fletcher said. "It is obvious that without continued pressure on the G-8, there will be nothing more than rhetoric."
Last week, the White House and leaders of the world's richest countries said they created an "historic commitment" to assist Africa in bolstering its economic development.
"Our primary focus in Africa is going to be to focus efforts on solving people's problems," President George W. Bush said last week. "They've got a problem in HIV/AIDS, and we're leading the world when it comes to contributions."
According to the White House, Bush proposed about $674 million of additional resources to respond to humanitarian emergencies in Africa. The U.S., the White House says, has already provided nearly $1.4 billion this fiscal year for humanitarian needs in Africa, some through the United Nations and some directly to non-governmental organizations providing relief in emergency settings.
Bush also pledged $1.2 billion to help Africa eradicate a myriad of deadly diseases, including AIDS and malaria.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) told BlackAmericaWeb.com Monday the G-8 should be commended for putting Africa on the agenda, but she posed one essential question. "Will promises made be promised kept?" she asked. "Pledges of those dollars must be made swiftly. Any delay will not be of any value. The G-8 will not be successful until people at the bottom of the boats are lifted."
Africa Action called the G-8 summit a "stunning failure to deliver on the promised debt cancellation, trade reforms and development assistance" for poor African countries.
"This G-8 plan is inadequate and a contemptuous response to African demands for justice," Salih Booker, executive director of Africa Action, said in a statement last week. "It is an unapologetic confirmation of the global apartheid system in which the most impoverished continent bankrolls the development of the rich world."
"Their announcement to increase aid to Africa is the greatest hoax of our time," Booker added. "While they trumpet minuscule increases in development assistance, they continue to extract billions of dollars a year in debt repayments from countries excluded from this diminutive debt deal."
The president's critics argue that Bush often talks about funding ambitious initiatives, but does not follow through with the necessary funding. Experts on African affairs say Bush's $50 million education initiative, for example, is a pittance for a continent of 800 million people, 54 countries and 3-1/2 times the size of the United States.
Celebrity musicians showed their support for Africa by participating in Live 8 earlier this month. Promoters described Live 8 as the largest music event since Live Aid 20 years ago. Dozens of the world's biggest pop acts performed at eight concerts around the world on July 2 to put pressure on leaders at the G-8 summit to do more to alleviate poverty in Africa.
Hundreds of thousands of fans packed concerts and listened to artists like Mariah Carey, Madonna, U2, REM, Elton John and Robbie Williams in London and Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Destiny's Child, Jay-Z and actor Will Smith in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, activists have stepped up their criticism of the G-8.
"Our disappointment with this G-8 statement cannot be more profound," said Marie Clarke Brill, director of Public Education & Mobilization at Africa Action.
"Summit after summit, the G-8 has made hollow commitments to reducing poverty in Africa," she said. "The G-8 leaves African countries with few options, save the repudiation of their illegitimate debt."
"The fact that the G-8 paid scant attention to both the HIV/AIDS crisis, which poses the greatest threat to Africa's development, and the genocide in Darfur illustrates the superficial nature of their response to Africa's peace and development challenges," Brill said.
Britain has already secured agreement to wipe $40 billion in debt from 18 of the world's poorest countries -- including 14 in Africa -- on the condition that certain democratic and economic benchmarks are met. The G-8 comprises the world's seven richest countries -- the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Italy -- and Russia.
The deal will save the initial 18 countries about $1.5 billion annually that may now be used for health care, education and anti-poverty programs. Zambia has already announced that it will use millions of dollars freed up by debt cancellation to provide AIDS drugs for 100,000 HIV-positive people by the end of this year.
Fletcher said the Bush administration should treat the atrocities in Africa with the same seriousness as the war on terror.
"While our hearts must go out to those killed and wounded in the London terrorist attacks," Fletcher told BlackAmericaWeb.com , " Africa lives through the terror that began hundreds of years ago with the slave trade, followed by colonialism and neo-colonialism. Western Europe and North America, by and large, refuse to accept responsibility for the need to repair the damage that they themselves carried out on the continent."
"The crisis facing Africa," he added, "is the real terror that the G-8 must confront."
Jackson Lee said America has long ignored Africa, both in debt reduction and in business partnerships regarding trade subsidies. She said some African countries are now reporting 100 percent return on investments.
"This is an opportunity for public and private partnerships to really help Africa grow," Jackson Lee said. "This is a time for African-Americans to come together around Africa for investments. Africa can be a wonderful partner for America."
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