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rnmmm 2A NEWS^e C^tlottt $ot Thursday, August 11, 2005 Africans firm on UN veto By Thalif Deen ISTEIWAVONAl. PRESS SERVICE UNITED NATIONS - The 53-nation African Union (AU), the largest single regional group at the United Nations, is exercising its polit ical dout by refusing to back down on its demand for two permanent seats in the U.N. Security Council — but with hard-to-get veto powers. With its unyielding stand, reinforced at a second summit meeting of African nations in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa last week, the AU has undermined an intense bid by the Group of Four, namely Germany, Japan, India and Brazil, for new permanent seats minus the veto. All four countries, co-spon- sors of a resolution for the expansion of the 15-member Security Coimcil, dropped their demand for vetoes hop ing it would help them over come strong opposition from some or most of the five veto- wielding permanent mem bers (P-5): the United States, France, Britain, diina and Russia. The P-5 have been accused of wanting to hold onto their veto powers while denying the same powers to newcom- But with the AU sticking to its guns, the proposal to add new veto-less permanent members to the Security Council has come to a virtual dead aid — once again. A draft resolution intro duced by the AU says the new permanent members should be accorded %Tthe same pre- n^atives and privileges as those of the current pOTma- nent members, including the ri^t to veto.%0 The resolution followed a decision taken at the first AU summit meeting of heads of state in Libya in eaiiy July ‘Tlie AU should continue to demand veto power,” says Bill Fletcho' Jr, president of the Washington-based TVansAfiica Forum, a non governmental or ganiz ation (NGO) that is also a centre for activism focusing on condi tions in the Afiican world He pointed out that the AU represents nearly one billion people %('who have little if no voice at the ^obal table.%o “Eitha* participation in the Security Cbundl means the same for all participants, or it should be treated as a farce,” Fletcher told IPS. Last month, one U.S. news paper quoted unnamed U.S. administration officials as saying that the United States is opposed to giving new members veto powers “out of concern that it might para lyze the Security Cbuncdl” and also dilute U.S. powa* at the United Nations. “What is the point of Security Ck)uncal reform if it leaves the fundamental power structures intact? The argument for expansion must not only be linked to equitable representation but also to for mal power,%o Kwame Akonor, director of the Afiican Development Institute, told IPS. “The fact is that the veto power (of the Security Cbuncdl) still is a key instru ment of international poli tics,%c he said %pThe Afiican Union should therefore not compromise on its demands for immediate veto rights for any new permanent council members.” “Akonor also pointed out that it is quite clear that the AU has neither P-5 support nor the two-thirds majority needed to sustain its position but sacrificing this principle (in any reform discussions) is a dedaration by Afiica of its willingness to remain a silent non-actor in world politics. “The point cannot be overemphasized, especially if we bear in mind the fact that over half of the Security Council’s current agenda deals withAfiica,%&he added. At a press briefing last month, U.N. Secretary- (jeneral Kofi Annan described as %utopian%fc attempts to either abolish tiie existing vetoes or create new perma nent seats with veto powCTS. “It is utopian to think we can do it. Many member states would want to do that, but it is not possible. And they are not willing to create addi tional vetoes (either),” he added. ‘What-is important, Annan argued, is to have effective representation on the Security (Doundl, and to make it more democratic, to ensure that voices of other regions are heard. “And I think that sort of change would not only make the decisions of the Council much more acceptable gener ally but also the Council itself wiU gain in greater Intima cy And I think that is enou^ of an achievanent for us to be able to move forward and not insist that if we cannot with draw the (existing) veto fi^m the other Five, we keep the status quo. That is the option,” he said. Bill Pace, general secretary of the World Federalist Movement, says that the expansion of the Security Council is an important goal %cto revitalize the Council’s representivity and legitima cy” “My organization, however, fiercely opposes adding more vetoes or more permanent members to the Council. Permanent membership has resulted in dysfunction and ineptitude. As the world becomes more democratic, this imperial anachronism must be ^carded,%o he added. According to an AfiicEin diplomat, the Addis Ababa summit rejected a proposal by Nig^a, the current AU chair, %con the need to show more fl^dbility towards forging a unified Afiican stance on the expansion of Security Cbundl membership.” He said the proposal had called for abandoning the veto right for Afiica’s bid to get two permanent seats on the Security Council. According to one published report, the majority of AU member states, including Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Congo and Mali, rejected the proposal for a compromise stressing that the AU should d^nand two permanent seats for Afiica but wifh veto powers. CDurrently the 15-member Security Council has five per manent members and 10 elected manbers rotating on a geographical basis. The AU wants it expanded to 26 mem bers as against 25 by the Groiq> of 4. But the two groups remain sharply divided on the issue of veto power, threatening to bring the reform process to a standstill. Friendship Christian Academy Now Enrolling! 6 Weeks - Grade 3 'A BEKACurriculum (Develop students spiritually and academically) ’ Small Teacher/Student Ratio ’ Individual Attention • Modern Computer Facilities ’ Foreign Language Instruction ’ Music Instruction To Enroll Your Child Today, Contact; Friendship Baptist Church 221 West Bradley Ave. Gastonia, NC 28052 704-865-9016 www.friendshipgastonia.org Batteries not included For $40, you cki give The Charlotte Post to loved ones or friends. It’s news and information about Charlotte and the world from a black perspective. And you don’t have to look for an energy source. Call The Post at (704) 376-0496 extension 102 to order a subscription today. Charlotte’s plan for CIAA tourney Continued from page 1A Over the last six years, the third largest college basket ball tournament has been housed at the RBC Center in Raleigh. Charlotte offers a central location of the arena and clubs, bars and restaurants. Woman charged with fraud on farmers THEASSOCIMED PRESS JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - An Ohio woman has been charged with conspiring with two former Florida college administrators to collect $400,000 fi^m a settlement reached with black farmers who had wron^y been denied government loans. Kimberly Colston Woodruff, 43, was arrested last week at her home in Cblumbus. She pleaded not guilty to five finud and conspiracy counts before a federal magistrate Mcaiday in Jacksonville. Former Edward Waters College administrators Emma Okari Brooks and Daniel Anekwu have each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and face up to 10 years in prison. Woodruff, for- meriy of Tedlahassee, faces a maximum of 30 years in (xison if convicted. Assistant U.S. Attcaney John Sdortino said. Woodruff is accused of pos ing as Anekwu’s wife and using her name and others’ on false settlement applications to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, then splitting the profits with Brooks. Broc^' attorney has said a group from Arkansas that spoke at black churches * nationwide promoted the farm loan settlement as a legal way to get conq)ensated for past discriminaticm, even for those with only ancestral ties to farming. Uptown, which has had issues with crime lately, will be secure, McCrory said. After the Fourth of July Sky Show, a group of teenagers and police got into an alterca tion. And then there was the probl^n with cruisers dog ging Uptown streets on week end ni^ts. “Center city is safe today We’ve already made vast improvements,” McCfrory said. Those improvements indude adding more officers to patrol the streets, removing tree limbs that were blocking streetli^ts and changing the timiTTg on the traffic li^ts to make traffic move more smoothly Of the 120,000 fans ejqject- ed to att^:id the tournament, the mggority will be blade Lenny Springs, chainnan of the Charlotte organizing ccan- mittee, said “Fans that come to the CTAA tournament will be treated with the same respect and dignity as fans that come here for the ACC. Charlotte has a way of doing things right. ‘Tve said to the dty and coimty we’re going to do it right as it relates to this tour nament. It’s no secret that 99.9 percent of the folks com ing to (Charlotte are people of color,” Springs said. “We’re going to be working with the police department as it relates to community rela tions and sensitivity Leave here today assured that if Leimy Springs has anything to do with it, we’re going to work in partnership to get it ri^t.” Over 45,000 pairs of the hottest styles for men, women and kids from the best brands - all at up to 60% off retail! Open Tuesday - Sunday www.srishoes.com HOE Tyvob Road & South Boutevafd Chattotte.NC -704^527-1910 12% of the U.S. population is African American 35% of patients awaiting kidney transplants are African American lives will be saved if you do nothing LifeShare Of The Carolinas DONATE LIFE A Donate Uh Qniaflizabon 704-697-3303 Organ Donation WWW.Sharelrfecharlotte.com Only you have the power to save lives.
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