Good news from Africa! Somalia, or at least its capital, is at last free of the warlords who have kept it in conflict for 20 years. Mogadishu is now united, free of thuggery and barbarism. All—unbelievably—thanks to the US. How? The state department has pursued a pragmatic policy, keeping in touch with all parties and trying to support the peace process that elected Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed, one of Somalia's long-standing warlords. Unfortunately, despite a lifetime's record of violence, Abdulahi Yusuf failed to subdue the other warlords and so was unable to establish himself in Mogadishu or to form a truly national government.
The Pentagon, which runs US Africa policy these days, decided there were al Qaeda types lurking in Mogadishu, and that Somalia—the place they abandoned to chaos in 1993—might become a "haven for terrorists." They claimed the Union of Islamic Courts—a loose religious coalition that has offered Somalis their only unifying principle other than their Somali-ness—was protecting these terrorists. So the Pentagon started paying and, some say, supplying weapons to the nastiest gangsters they could find: namely Mohammed Afrah Qanyere, Musa Sudi Yalahow and Omar Mohamoud, known as "Finish." They called these warlords the "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism." Their mission was to wipe out the Islamic Courts.
The effect? To unite Somalis for the first time in 30 years against a common enemy. Within a few days Somalis from all over the country rallied to Mogadishu to defeat the American-backed alliance. On 6th June the warlords were crushed. At last the capital is under one authority, free from the arbitrary violence of petulant thugs. Is there a danger of a Taleban government in Somalia? No—Somalis don't take orders from anyone, least of all religious fanatics. So Uncle Sam has achieved at a stroke what diplomats and aid workers have spent 20 years trying and failing to do.
Africans respect their elders
At the recent World Economic Forum meeting in Cape Town, panellists in the workshop on leadership were supposed to speak for up to ten minutes to allow plenty of time for questions. But after 20 minutes, Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique, was still going strong. People were beginning to cough politely. The moderator, Maanda Manyatshe, managing director of MTN, a South African communications company, tried to catch his eye but Chissano plodded presidentially on. When Manyatshe finally interjected, the former president sweetly interpreted it as an indication to switch to another topic and set off again.
In Africa a man cannot interrupt his elders. Chissano is 66, Manyatshe not yet 50. Manyatshe may run one of South Africa's biggest companies but he is a mere boy beside the former president. The precedence of age is one of Africa's greatest strengths, binding societies together, but it also means that younger leaders have to show respect and bide their time. It is one aspect of the relationship between Zimbabwe and South Africa. Thabo Mbeki, 20 years Robert Mugabe's junior, cannot tell him what to do. The age factor also holds up what we westerners call development. In rural areas, old men control the land and own the wealth—mainly in the form of cows. They are more answerable to their ancestors than to the demands of a modern economy. No wonder bright young Africans flee to the towns.
The trouble with the ICC in Africa
On 12th June in a clearing in the bush in the Garamba national park in northeast Congo, talks began between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)—the appalling movement that has wrecked northern Uganda for the past 20 years—and the new rulers of south Sudan. The Ugandan government has encouraged peace talks in the past but bad faith has prevented them developing. These stand more chance of success because they are taking place with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the rebel movement that fought the Sudan government for 20 years but now rules the south of the country as part of that government. One of the first demands of the LRA—best known for cannibalism—was for computers.
The top LRA rebel commanders have all been indicted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity. Their guilt is not in doubt but it means that instead of talking to them, Riek Machar, vice-president of south Sudan, is supposed to arrest them. Thabo Mbeki drew attention to the conflicting demands of peace and justice last week. "There is a genuine problem," he said. "[It] blocks the possibility of a peaceful settlement…"
The same problem bedevils the peace talks in Darfur. Several Sudanese generals are believed to be on the, as yet undisclosed, ICC wanted list. But none of the Darfurian rebels are. That encourages the rebels to push the government harder. On 15th May, a deal worked out over a year's negotiation was signed by the government and one small faction of the rebels. The leader of the largest group of rebels, Abdul Wahid Mohamed al Nur, refused to sign. Meanwhile the battles and atrocities continue and millions are forced to live in camps.
It is unlikely that Sudan will survive. The deal that ended the north-south war allows for a referendum by 2011 which will almost certainly result in a massive vote for independence, not least because the rebel movement that fought for 20 years, the SPLA, now controls the region.
