Continued….For their part, the AES stated that the lifting of sanctions comes too little too late. Burkina Faso’s transitional leader, Ibrahim Traore, recently lambasted ECOWAS, reminding its leaders that power cuts to Niger resulted in countless and needless deaths in Nigerien hospitals, thus.

The withdrawal of the AES from ECOWAS will have far reaching economic consequences for the latter organization. In that vein, there’s no surprise as to why spirited attempts are being made to welcome the trio back into the club. The three AES countries comprise roughly half of ECOWAS in land size, and are well-endowed in terms of resources such as gold, oil, livestock and uranium. France, the former settler colonial power in the region, has and, in some ways, continues to be the biggest beneficiaries of these resources.

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KENYA BIDS FAREWELL TO KELVIN KIPTUM

Kelvin Kiptum, the 24-year-old marathon world record holder who recently died in a car accident, was laid to rest during a state funeral on 23 February in Kenya. Among the thousands of mourners who attended the emotional send-off were Kenya’s president, William Ruto, and Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, the international governing body for several sports.

At the Chicago (USA) marathon in 2023, Kiptum clocked a record 2:00:35 hours, becoming the first man to run the marathon under 2 hours and 1 minute. His next major competition would have been at the Olympic Marathon in July-August 2024 in Paris, France.

The athlete died alongside his Rwandan coach, Gervais Hakizimana, on 11 February. The 36-year-old was buried on 21 February in his home country.

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U.S. AIR FORCE SERVICEMAN SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE OUTSIDE ISRAELI EMBASSY

WARNING: Graphic images

This video might distress some viewers because it shows a US Air Force serviceman about to set himself on fire on 25 February in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, in protest of Tel Aviv’s military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Independent journalist Talia Jane said 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell’s loved ones provided her with the video, which she posted on the platform formerly known as Twitter. It shows Bushnell walking to the embassy as he condemned the US government’s ‘complicity’ in Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians. The latter part of the original video showed a blurred image of Bushnell as his body went up in flames while he shouted, ‘Free Palestine.’ Jane reported on X that Bushnell succumbed to his injuries on the same day.

Continued…..She also posted quotes from his friends. One person referred to as Xylem, who worked with Bushnell to support homeless people in San Antonio, Texas, described him as ‘one of the most principled comrades I’ve ever known.’

The US government has provided the most military, financial and political support to Israel than to any other country since World War II. Between the start of the 7 October escalation and late December, the US had sent Israel more than 230 aeroplanes and 20 ships containing weapons. Further, every year since 2019, the United States has sent $3.8 billion in aid to Israel. Since October, US legislative houses have considered additional aid packages totalling about $32 billion. Meanwhile, Washington has vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

The assault on the besieged enclave has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians since it began on 7 October. About 70 per cent of casualties are women and children, while estimates on the amount of destroyed buildings range between 30 per cent to 70 per cent.

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BIDEN TO HOST RUTO ON STATE VISIT

US President Joe Biden will host Kenyan President William Ruto for a state visit on 23 May.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the visit will mark the 60th anniversary of US-Kenya diplomatic relations and ‘celebrate a partnership that is delivering for the people’ of both countries while affirming ‘our strategic partnership.’ A state dinner will honour Ruto and Kenyan First Lady Rachel Ruto.

The White House has hosted state visits for Kenyan leaders twice: In February 1980 for President Daniel Moi and again in October 2003 for President Mwai Kibaki.

Continued….Ruto said the upcoming visit would be ‘one of a kind’ and called it a sign that Kenya will ‘go places.’ Going to Haiti may count as one, given that high-ranking Kenyan and Haitian officials recently met in Washington to hash out a memorandum of understanding on deploying police forces from the East African nation.

Washington has pledged to support the deployment with $200 million, pending congressional approval. Last month, Kenya’s High Court ruled it unconstitutional. However, Ruto has vowed to challenge the ruling and insisted the deployment will proceed.

Ruto’s delight at being invited to the White House reminds us of the late revolutionary Mozambican leader Samora Machel’s quote: ‘If one day you hear whites speak well of me, know that I have betrayed you.’

What do you make of Ruto’s upcoming state visit? Let us know in the comments.

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Rwanda accuses the DRC of funding a Congo-based, mainly Hutu rebel group that includes fighters who were involved in the 1994 genocide. And this recent post from what looks like a Rwandan government-run Instagram page gives the impression that Rwanda has adopted a defensive posture amid renewed genocidal threats to Tutsis.

But there is another narrative. Kinshasa has long accused Kigali of plundering its resources by supporting the M23 rebel group in the east of the DRC.

Evidence presented by the UN suggests that Ugandan and Rwandan-backed rebel factions, including M23, control strategic smuggling networks running from mines in eastern Congo into Rwanda and Uganda - from where they are exported into the world’s supply chains. This would explain how Rwanda has become one of the world’s biggest coltan exporters, despite having few producing mines of its own.

Continued….Congo's potential, like most of Africa's, is immense. It is extraordinarily rich in natural resources, which has led to exploitation rather than wealth for Congolese people. The country has everything that the rest of the planet needs for the future - one of the highest reserves of mineral ore, thousands of square kilometers of fertile land and the second-largest rainforest in the world. However, competition for resources and influence in DRC has also heightened long-standing national rivalries in the Great Lakes Region.

So is Rwanda's alleged involvement in the Congo really about self-defence, like the pro-Rwanda Instagram account wants us to believe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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VIJAY PRASHAD ON CONGO

A city of two million is under threat of seizure by armed rebels, with thousands abandoning their homes for fear of the genocidal violence that may be unleashed, yet the world’s media - barely bats an eyelid.

As Indian scholar and Marxist intellectual Vijay Prashad points out in this video plea, it’s shocking how the people of Goma - and of eastern DRC generally - are simply being left to their fate. Other conflicts like Ukraine and Gaza grab headlines and mobilise political will, but the Congolese conflict - into its third decade - fails to move Western audiences, never mind the 7 million internally displaced, the 6 million killed, the fact that half the population has no access to clean water and more still none to electricity.

Continued….The ongoing conflict has been dubbed ‘Africa’s World War.’ It’s seen the pillage of Congo’s precious resources, such as coltan, gold, copper, timber, diamonds and cobalt (which is used in batteries for global tech giants like Apple and Tesla). Could that be why the conflict is so under-reported?

The plight of Congo should not be forgotten. Please share Prashad’s video plea. Africa and the world rise up!

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BLACK HAIR? NO EDUCATION FOR YOU!

A court in Texas has ruled that a local high school was within the law by excluding a Black student for not cutting his hair, as per school rules. Barbers Hill high school actually sued Darryl George, a junior there, to make their point. He claims that by law his hairstyle should not be discriminated against - citing the recently-passed Crown Act, which protects certain styles and textures, such as Afros, locs, Bantu knots and twists. George has locs which he wears up and twisted. But the school argued in court that hair length is not covered by the law and won.

What do you think of a Black youth’s education being denied in this way?

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PT. 2: ASSANGE IN DANGER & PUTIN ON WSJ REPORTER

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing 175 years in a US maximum security prison. His crime? Doing precisely what Western establishments were demanding former FOX News host Tucker Carlson do in his recent interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin: Ask the tough questions and speak truth to power.

African Stream journalists delved into Carlson’s sit-down with Putin, discussing how it exposes Western double standards when it comes to press freedom. While accusing Putin of wrongfully jailing a US journalist, they conveniently ignore calls to free Assange, who exposed US and UK war crimes through leaks.

Continued…..Assange, 52 and in poor health, made a last-ditch attempt to appeal an extradition to the United States through a two-day hearing held 20-21 February 2024 at the UK High Court in London. If the appeal fails, the Australian citizen would be the first publisher to be tried under the US Espionage Act.

Watch the entire reaction video on our YouTube channel. If you support Assange, let us know why in the comments.

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IS ISRAEL A DEMOCRACY OR THEOCRACY ?

During an interview on BBC HARDtalk, renowned Egyptian-American comedian, Bassem Youssef, questions Zionism and the notion that Jews are God’s chosen people. While calling out these religious-political ideas being deployed as justification for Israelis to steal Palestinian land and build their own settlements, he also discusses the paradox of Israel’s very identity, on one hand describing itself as a secular state and on the other a religious Jewish one.

In the UK and US, a lot has been made of the protest chant “from the river to the sea.” Critics describe it as being “anti-semitic” and pro-Hamas. However, Youssef explains why it is not Islamic-inspired at all. In fact, the mantra was coined by the right-wing Israeli Likud Party who claimed the land between the Mediterranean sea and the Jordan river as part of the Jewish state of Israel. Give it a thought and let us know your thoughts

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FRANCE BACKS MOROCCO CLAIM ON WESTERN SAHARA

Three years after the US government recognised Moroccan claims over Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco normalising—or accepting—relations with Israel, France is following suit.

French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné was in Rabat, where he announced his country’s support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara. This undermines a United Nations resolution that calls for a referendum to decide the territory’s fate. That could be independence, autonomy or integration with Morocco. So far, a referendum has yet to be held.

Continued….Morocco occupies more than 80 per cent of Western Sahara, with the Polisario Front-led Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic controlling the rest. After colonial power Spain exited in 1975, 350,000 Moroccan civilians marched across the border to later illegally settle in the disputed territory. After this ‘Green March,’ Rabat invaded Western Sahara.

Under Occupied Western Sahara’s sands lie phosphate, crucial for fertiliser production. Thus, Morocco controls 75 per cent of the global phosphate reserve. Meanwhile, Western Sahara’s 1,110-kilometre coast contains plentiful fish and offshore oil and gas resources. Western renewable energy companies, such as Siemens and Enel, and the Moroccan king’s energy company, Nareva, already operate wind farms there.

Given the African Union remains silent, how do you think the Sahrawi people—and all Africans—should address this issue? Let us know in the comments.

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PRO-PALESTINE ACTIVISTS MEMORIALISE AARON BUSHNELL

Pro-Palestine activists burned an Israeli flag on 26 February outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, USA, while playing the final audio recording of US airman Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire at the same spot to protest the US-backed Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip.

One activist said, ‘This is in solidarity with Aaron, who burned his body. At the very least, we can burn the Z*onist flag.’

Bushnell, 25, said he would be ‘no longer complicit in genocide’ before proceeding to set himself alight, describing it as an ‘extreme act of protest.’ This is not the first instance in which self-immolation has been used as a form of protest. In 1963, Buddhist monks set themselves on fire to protest the US-backed South Vietnamese government.

Continued….In 1965, three US anti-war activists did the same in Detroit, New York and Washington to protest the US war on Vietnam. Decades later, Tunisian fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation sparked the Arab Spring, a wave of uprisings in Arab states in the early 2010s.

On 26 January, the International Court of Justice said Tel Aviv’s acts were plausibly genocidal. But, it stopped short of ordering an immediate ceasefire, which South Africa had sought in bringing the case. Meanwhile, Israel has continued its operation to allegedly root out H*m*s militants from the Gaza Strip. Since the 7 October escalation in the 75-year conflict, the United States has supplied Israel with munitions, including large ‘bunker buster’ bombs designed to penetrate hardened structures and underground targets. The attacks have killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians and displaced 1.9 million, accounting for 80 per cent of the enclave’s population.

What do you think of Bushnell’s self-immolation? Let us know in the comments.

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On 27 February 1978, South African freedom fighter and pan-African intellectual, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe passed away. By the time of his death he had made a profound and lasting impression on the struggle against apartheid.

Sobukwe was born on 5 December 1924, in a Black township on the outskirts of the town of Graaff-Reinet in today’s Eastern Cape province. After a childhood marked by academic excellence, he enrolled at Fort Hare University in 1947, an institution whose alumni included many anti-colonial icons such Robert Mugabe, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela.

Like many before him, it was at Fort Hare that Sobukwe's revolutionary flame was lit. Becoming a key figure on the university political scene, he’d serve as the president of the Students Representative Council and Secretary in the newly-formed African National Congress Youth League.

Continued….After University, Sobukwe briefly taught as a high school teacher before landing a job in the African Studies department at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg.

In 1958, Sobukwe led members of the ANC who, disgruntled by the party’s “liberal-left-multiracialist’ policies, ceded from the organization and formed the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC).

On 21 March 1960, Sobukwe led thousands of citizens in a march to Orlando police station in Soweto in protest against the so-called “pass law”, which restricted the movement of Black people. In the aftermath of the demonstrations, Sobukwe was arrested and later sentenced to a three year prison term.

After completing the prison sentence, Sobukwe was again detained under the so-called General Law Amendment Act which allowed apartheid authorities to prolong the imprisonment of any political prisoner indefinitely. The law became infamously known as the ‘Sobukwe clause.’

In 1969, Sobukwe was released from prison and subsequently banished to Kimberly in the Northern Cape province where he was placed under 12-hour house arrest and restricted from engaging in political activities.

While in Kimberly he fell ill with lung cancer. Restrictions imposed on his movement complicated his attempts to receive timely medical care. He succumbed to the disease on 27 February 1978.

PT. 2: GRENADA’S REVOLUTIONARY SCHOOLS

In part two of African Stream’s series on Grenada’s revolution, we continue looking at how transforming education helped shape the socio-political landscape from 1979 to 1983.

In 1980, all teachers met to analyse education, leading to a new curriculum and sparking the revolution’s other programmes: The National In-Service Teacher Education Programme (STEP) and the Community School-Day Programme (CSDP).

If you want to hear more about Grenada’s revolutionary process, drop us a comment.

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