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Momodou
Denmark
11828 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Jun 2006 : 17:08:05
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U.S. POSES TO PROMOTE PEACE
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
The United States Ambassador to the Gambia, Joseph Stafford has indicated that his country is in the forefront of promoting international peace and stability.
Mr. Stafford made these remark on Wednesday at a seminar organized by the University of the Gambia at the Gambia Training and Multimedia Institute,(GTMI) on the theme United States Policy Towards Africa.
"United States is in the forefront of international and regional efforts to deal with conflicts in the region, and Darfur, in Sudan, is a case in point. We are the largest donor of assistance for the humanitarian and peace keeping efforts in Darfur. In 2004 alone, we provided around 900 million dollars worth of humanitarian aid. Since 2004, the US had provided more than 220 million dollars worth of assistance for the African Union peacekeeping operations in Darfur. Liberia is another country in which the US has played, and will continue to play, a major role in the international community's efforts on behalf of national reconciliation and construction," Mr. Stafford said.
He said that their initiatives to advance peace and stability are not confined to Sudan and Liberia alone but they work closely with the UN and AU to end the internal conflicts in Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the border disputes of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The ambassador said that supporting African countries' economic development is another priority. "United States Agency for International Development (USAID) plays the leading role for the US government in this area, and, here in the Gambia, we are supported by USAID's office for West Africa, which is based in Accra, Ghana," he said. Mr. Stafford said that USAID's activities in The Gambia include providing funds for a rice milling machine to serve villages in the North Bank Division, scholarships for girls, and seminars for the business community on how to go about exporting products duty-free, to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
He said: "Sometimes our commitment to promoting human rights and democracy causes controversy; sometimes people object that for us to raise issues in this area amounts to interference in other countries' internal affairs; sometimes people object that the US has no right to raise such issues because no country has a perfect human rights record, including the US itself.
"What about the argument that the US does have a perfect record itself on human rights and democracy and so is being hypocritical in raining these issues in other countries? Well, here's my answer. That's right. We're not perfect either, and, as in any open, democratic society, controversy and debate over all sorts of issues are common in the US. But we Americans are our own toughest critics, and we are constantly looking for ways to improve our own performance - and we are always open to discussion of our own human rights record with others," he concluded.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 42/2006, 1 June - 4 June, 200
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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serenata
Germany
1400 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jun 2006 : 13:35:36
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Sounds like on the whole the US government follows the old advertisement rule which says that you only have to repeat a message constantly, may it be the truth or a lie, until in the end everybody will believe you.
Sorry for them, but this time the trick will not work. Other messages about their 'peacekeeping' reach us at the same time, messages, for example, about the real motives for the Iraq war, messages about secret torturing, and reports on the behaviour of the US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan that disturb even the sometimes awfully naive 'patriotic' American population.
This is why I think that in his last passage Stafford is not all wrong: It seems as if at the moment the USA and the US press are going to wake up from a long coma and start to build a lively, self-critical, self regulating democracy again. My best wishes accompany them and the true American patriots who know and show that if there is dirt somewhere, the one who discovers and names is not the one to be responsible for the mess. |
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Janyanfara
Tanzania
1350 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jun 2006 : 19:31:14
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Hey,
Be aware of double standerd.The award had two sides!Am not accusing anyone but a wise man sees danger at a distance.
Mankajang |
Edited by - Janyanfara on 03 Jun 2006 19:31:43 |
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