A fake coup and the never-ending 'Chinese Invasion'

This is Africa comments on the arrest of sixteen Burundian soldiers for allegedly plotting to destabilize the country:

'While the dust has settled on the coup that wasn’t, opposition leaders here in Burundi are wondering if it’s just a matter of time before the other shoe falls.

'FRODEBU spokesman Pancrace Cimbaye, speaking to AFP, said, “We think the government is trying to create a chaotic situation, enabling it to sweep aside all the politicians in its way.”
MSD’s Alexis Sinduhije, who I spoke to on Sunday, and who has recently been accused by the government of plotting a rebellion in the Rubuvu National Park (an accusation that was dismantled at length in the local newspaper, Iwacu), said simply, “We are waiting.”

'AFP reported on Sunday that Friday night’s security sweep netted 16 conspirators who have been charged with plotting to “destabilize” the country. The arrests took place with great fanfare on a public beach here in Bujumbura, played out in front of cameras for the state-run TV station. (According to a man I spoke to today, at least one conspirator tried to swim to safety.) Burundians might not be able to stage a coup like they used to, but they sure know how to stage the disruption of a coup’s planning.'

The Chia Report complains that Cameroon is fast becoming a Chinese province due to the massive influx of Chinese goods and migrants into the country:

'A general consensus among the cross section of Cameroonians - especially the disenfranchised, economically dwarfed and disenchanted – is that the influx of Chinese and Chinese products on every street corner is overwhelming. Most people you talk to do not know how many Chinese there are, just that it is not commonsensical to have Chinese immigrants competing for jobs in the unregulated sector of the economy – such as frying puff-puff and street hawking everything in-between… In retail like in wholesale, the working poor can hardly compete with the experience, resources and resourcefulness of the Chinese…

'If Africans stand by and watch on as the Chinese Yuan floods their shores, it will not be long before I am fighting to preserve my grandfather’s tomb from a Chinese immigrant laying claim to the land. Africans will fall in the category of endangered species needing protection in our own backyard. This is not new in World History. Caucasians did same to Native Indians in the United States. The Indians are now found in special “Settlements” in New Mexico and some other Mid-Western States. This is not the fate we want for Africa. But when Chinese architecture begins to be the hallmark of our environments, we have to hit pause and go back to the drawing board.'

Denford Magora's Zimbabwe Blog assesses the Zimbabwe unity government on its first anniversary and concludes that President Mugabe now has Morgan Tsvangirai in a corner:

'In February 2009, Morgan Tsvangirai threw Robert Mugabe a lifeline, thereby assuring the loser of Zimbabwe's last credible presidential poll a continued stay in office.

Now Mugabe is using the very same lifeline given to him by Morgan Tsvangirai to strangle the MDC-Tsvangirai leader. Tsvangirai is feeling the heat… Zimbabwe's government-owned press and even newspapers in neighbouring countries have now openly turned against Tsvangirai, in stark contrast to the fake respect he has been accorded since he got into government. Local media says it is now time for Tsvangirai "to come clean on sanctions". Opinion pieces with dubious bylines in the same media is lambasting the MDC-T president for being dishonest and all efforts are being made to turn the population against Tsvangirai and the MDC for "causing the suffering of Zimbabweans" by calling for sanctions…

Mugabe is where he is today because Tsvangirai did not press home his advantage in March 2008, when he out-polled the veteran Zimbabwe president. Instead, he threw it all away and blamed everybody but himself for capitulating, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...'

Faustine’s Bazara argues that the African Union has lost its bearings and is no longer relevant:

'Could someone tell me in a simple language just one useful outcome from the recent heads of states meeting of the African Union?

'The African continent is faced with a number of challenges including governance issues, flawed elections, self-imposed despots, wars, hunger and poor health to mention just a few.

'I had expected heads of states would seriously discuss what they should do as a continent to address some of the challenges that I have outlined above. I had expected that they would discuss measures that would promote trade and bring peace and prosperity to the continent.

'In the current form, The AU has failed to do all these. It is seen by many of us as another African leaders’ get-together party and with plenty of photo op. They meet every year to party, feast and then shake hands with pledges to meet again next year.

'To the international community, the AU has become irrelevant and it will need to work very hard to change this perception. The AU has no one else to blame except itself and this is very sad indeed.'

Tgoose responds a recent article by Andry Rajoelina, leader of the transitional regime in Madagascar which appeared in the Wall Street Journal in which he blamed the international community for the country’s economic problems and for its transition problems:

'Regardless as to whether or not Andry Rajoelina’s intent was to transition the government quickly, the fact is that he had gained his new powers from the use of military force and not via political means. Therefore it would go without saying that the international community would not support him and his efforts because by doing so, they would be endorsing the coup d’etat itself…

'I am not surprised that Andry Rajoelina would take this almost sulky stance insinuating that he does not comprehend why the international community is reacting the way it is to his coup. Sanctions, restrictions and condemnation are the only tools that the international community has to push a country in the direction that it wants (generally toward a democratic solution) and are typically the only thing that forces change in a country aside from some form of military intervention. He alone is responsible for the current “economic chaos” as he puts it, and if he were truly concerned about his country he would have stepped aside, or agreed to whatever the AU/SADC were proposing.

'Unfortunately for the people of Madagascar, the principle of “consensual and inclusive” talks are clashing with Andry Rajoelina’s principles and the international community is well aware of the Malagasy reality, but cannot relent as this would also be endorsing the coup.'

Scribbles from the Den reviews the history of 'Sovereign Expenditures' ('that is, spending on defense, international diplomacy, government offices and forms of conspicuous consumption by state elites') in Africa in the last two decades:

'In the past quarter of a century, most African states have been under one form of internationally-imposed austerity program or the other (SAP, HIPC Initiative, etc.) which allowed Breton Woods institutions to virtually dictate economic policies to these African countries…

'The policies of the donor institutions resulted in significant cutbacks on social services and development projects. However, while the general population suffered under the weight of these austerity programs which virtually dismantled existing social safety nets that protected the most vulnerable in society, the state’s top elites remained virtually untouched by the crisis as they expanded the patrimonial state and rent-seeking practices. Thus, even at the height of the financial crisis of the l980 and 1990s, African regimes and elites were able to create opaque financial silos from where funds were extracted at their discretion to shore up their lavish lifestyles, promote rent-seeking practices, and consolidate political power while development goals were abandoned and basic social services left to rot.

'The ruling elite did this by creating no-go zones that fell under the heading of Sovereignty expenditures'.

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* Dibussi Tande, a writer and activist from Cameroon, produces the blog Scribbles from the Den.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at Pambazuka News.