Election Challenger in Campaign Rally Airport Standoff
Link to article in English with more videos.
Seems the 31st Para (maroon berets) are more the culprits than the police and civil guard (both showing up slightly later in the video). Great press coverage on all those donations (police water canons and new PPE (in English :rolleyes:).
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Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo blocked incumbent President Joseph Kabila's main challenger on Saturday at the capital's international airport ahead of the country's presidential elections.
Congo isn't ready for democracy
As an African trained in Britain and conversant with the long history and benefits of a democratic culture, it sad for me to say that Congo (and most of Africa) isn't really ready for democracy.
I've lived through twelve years of democracy in Nigeria, and it hasn't really done us a lot of good (except lower the barriers for Western investment - which is mostly limited to the Oil and Gas industry, anyway). It hasn't really resulted in economic development, it has exacerbated our differences, it hasn't resulted in infrastructural development and has resulted in 40,000 dead and counting.
Most African politicians are "big men" with private armies of thugs (usually drawn from the same ethnic group). No one votes for issues, people merely line up behind the candidate from their ethnic group, if they are reluctant to do so, they are encouraged to do so by a few dollars or the goons encourage them to do so.
Is it really appropriate to insist on Western-style democracy in a country that barely has motorable roads, with a gdp per capita of $189 and very low literacy rates. As usual the Carter center will be there to look on (they oversaw the charade called the 2007 elections in Nigeria).
A Ghanaian intellectual once described Africa as having a colonial and a post-colonial problem. The colonial problem is inferiority complex, but the post-colonial problem is worse: hopelessness. Hopelessness stems from our experience since 1960 - i.e. the realisation that having been through so much since independence, we aren't really getting anywhere, and that our worst problems are our leaders and ourselves.
Election observers: a fine coalition endorses election
I earlier posted this question aimed mainly at Stan, to which he responded and now the latest posts, post-election make it more appropriate IMHO. I've changed EU for all external observers:
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To the local voter what value were the external Observers for a fair and democratic ballot?
What grand company all these observers keep - with each other - EU, SADC and the Carter Institute? All I'm sure "rubbing shoulders" in safe overnight shelter and comfortably paid.
Who pays for the Carter Institute election observers?
According to their owned Annual Report 2009-2010, including audited accounts, the Carter Institute has a variety of income sources, taking the top three categories in %:
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Corporations 66.7; Individuals 12.6 & Governmental 10.3
Regarding elections it said:
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Our election observation work in Sudan was made possible this year with support from Norway, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Nordem, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Nations Development Program. Election monitoring in Guinea was supported by the United States and Irish Aid.
Link:http://cartercenter.org/resources/pd...-report-10.pdf
I'm no accountant, but they do have large assets / investments too. The report does not make it clear, but I expect the election work is all government-funded, albeit not just Stan's USD taxes, but my UK pounds.