Rwanda wants to join the British Commonwealth

[Harold F. Schiffman]

The language of trust

Britain has shown support in Africa where France is still seen as a bully,
so it's not surprising that Rwanda wants to join the Commonwealth.

Jean-Roger Kaseki

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a former Belgian colony. It should
have been a country where people could have spoken either Flemish, French
or German. But instead, the language chosen by Belgian colonialists in
Congo was French. This happened because the Belgium constitution of 1831
guaranteed linguistic liberty, but French became the only official
language in Belgium. Soon after Belgium's independence, intellectuals in
the Flemish urban centres began to advance language grievances.

The 19th century Flemish movement was an urban-based phenomenon. But the
intransigence of the French-speaking elite radicalised the movement. Under
this pressure, language policy in Belgium evolved gradually. The first
series of language laws adopted in the late 19th century imposed
asymmetrical bilingualism. The most significant measure was the
legislation in 1898 that made Dutch an official language on an equal
footing with French.

The contemporary Belgian federation has just 10 million inhabitants
divided over three regions: the Flemish region (58%), the Walloon region
(32.6%) and Brussels (9.4%). The three official languages are Dutch (56%),
French (43.5%) and German (0.5%). Since the early 1900s, the Flemish
(Flanders: Dutch-speaking) and Walloon (Wallonia: French-speaking) region
have been virtually unilingual, while Brussels has evolved from a town
that spoke predominantly Flemish dialects to a primarily French-speaking
city after the second world war.

That is why Congo, Rwanda and Burundi are Francophone countries - because
Belgium was their former colonial power.

When France decided to set up an organisation that would regroup all its
former colonies - the France-Africa Summit - Congo, Rwanda and Burundi
joined the club as Francophone countries. Ever since, the France-Africa
Summit has opened the door for non-Francophone African countries to join
the conference and countries such as Mozambique, Angola and Guinea Bissau
have already joined the club.

The 24th conference of heads of state of Africa and France was held in
Cannes on February 15 and 16. At this conference, Rwanda was not present
following the cut of diplomatic ties between France and Rwanda in the wake
of allegations made by the French anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguire
accusing the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, and some of his close allies
of shooting down the plane that killed President Juvenal Habyarimana and
triggered the genocide that claimed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

At this conference, the general topic was Africa and international
balance. It is vital to discuss the need to include Africa more in global
issues and to promote its current dynamism, successes and its future
projects.

Despite the crises, this continent is on a promising growth trajectory
that must be amplified and followed up properly. However, partnership
between France and Africa was debated and there were three sub-topics:

 Raw materials in Africa: natural, agricultural and mining resources
(cotton manufacturing pipeline, ore etc). It was asked how Africa is
involved and how it acts in these areas, and how it deals with the
exploitation of its raw materials. A discussion thread about producing,
selling and processing in Africa was planned.

 Africa's place and influence in the world. This was to be discussed from
two angles, mainly a) the continent's place in international organisations
and b) its positioning in the south-south dialogue, bearing in mind that
China is increasing its relations with Africa to boost its trade potential
and its economy. Africa is now at the centre of the world's attention with
its increased relations with China and India, the EU and even the US,
which is planning to set up military bases in Africa to hunt down
terrorists.

 Africa and the information society. Several questions were up for
discussion. How is Africa perceived from the outside? What image do
Africans want to project of themselves? How are national oppositions
expressed? What can be done to put an end to traditional stereotypes?

To answer these fundamental questions, the dilemma is that France has been
perceived by most African countries as Africa's policeman. There is also
the issue of trust in partnership. How can it work if there is no trust
from African countries? This is not the first conference between France
and Africa. So, why is France seen as a bully and colonialist in Africa?

It is because France propped up dictators such as the late president,
Mobutu Sese Seko, who plundered and crippled Congo and President Bokassa
in the Central African Republic. France is now paying the price for
promoting dictatorship instead of good governance and democracy in Africa.
That is why trust is a big hurdle between France and Africa.

The UK has shown leadership as we face global challenges. Revitalising the
global agenda on poverty, climate change, trade and the Middle East are
vital, as we live in an interconnected world. From international
terrorism, the threats of climate change, the risk of nuclear
proliferation and pressure on natural resources and killer diseases,
through to protectionism and poverty, the UK needs to continue to play a
leading role with its allies in a global response, working within
reformed, effective, multilateral organisations.

This is trustworthy and I am not surprised to learn that Rwanda is
applying to become a Commonwealth country. Perhaps Congo should do the
same.

With British leadership, democracy is taking root and so many of these
conflicts have been resolved. The commitment of African and international
organisations is bearing fruit, for example in Liberia, in Sierra Leone,
in the Great Lakes region of Africa; in halting the war between Ethiopia
and Eritrea and conflict in Somalia; in southern Sudan in Darfur. Most
importantly free elections held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
not so long ago set the seal on the reconciliation of a nation. Yes, I
strongly agree that Congo should become a Commonwealth country. That is
the way forward as Congo needs help.

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jeanroger_kaseki/2007/02/congo_to_become_a_member_of_th.html

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