3/12/97

ニエレレ元タンザニア大統領がガーナの独立40周年式典でザイールの人々にモブツ以後を今こそ考えようと提言したという記事です。国内のザンジバルの選挙の不正についてはなんら発言しなかった氏ですが、元大統領がここまではっきりとモブツ政権に対して批評を下せるには頼もしい。
マンデラが大統領になった日を即休日にした国の面目躍如です。パンアフリカニズムは死なず、と。久しぶりにうれしいニュースです。

LOOK BEYOND MOBUTU, NYERERE TELLS ZAIREANS
Former Tanzania leader, Julius Nyerere, has advised Zaireans to look at life beyond their ailing President. "The poor man is going," Nyerere said in Accra where he has been attending Ghana's 40 independence celebrations.
Nyerere said the era of the so-called "big men" of Africa was over. But he admitted that without them, there would have been no independence in Africa.
He described Zaire as Africa's tragedy and the issue now is not removing Mobutu but what would follow. "What Zaireans should be talking about is 'what kind of country are we going to have after Mobutu?," said Nyerere.
He described talk of removing Mobutu as nonsensical. "He was supported by the Americans and the French for a long time and no-one could remove him. Removing him now is not the issue because the poor man is going, so he is not all that important," declared Nyerere.

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Nyerere says Zaire must look beyond Mobutu
01:23 p.m. Mar 05, 1997 EST
ACCRA, March 5 (Reuter) - Former Tanzanian president and African elder statesman Julius Nyerere says Zaire and its people should be looking to life beyond their sick president Mobutu Sese Seko, adding ``the poor man is going.''
Nyerere, speaking in Ghana where he is attending celebrations marking 40 years of independence, told Reuters Africa Journal television in an interview that the days of the ``big man'' in African power politics were over.
But he added that without such men, there would have been no independence in the continent.
``Zaire is one of those tragedies of Africa,'' he said late on Tuesday after addressing several hundred guests at Accra's international conference centre on his vision of the continent.
Nyerere, who led Tanganyika through independence from Britain in 1961 and into union with Zanzibar as Tanzania in 1964 and beyond, said the issue in Zaire was not removing Mobutu from power but what would follow him.
``What Zaireans should be talking about is 'What kind of country are we going to have after Mobutu?''' he added, noting that it was ``nonsensical'' to talk about ousting him.
``He was supported by the Americans and the French for a long time and no-one could remove him. Removing him now is not the issue because the poor man is going, so he's not all that important,'' he said.
``The question now is What next? What kind of Zaire are we going to have after Mobutu? That is what leadership inside Zaire should be talking about.''
Mobutu, 66, seized power in Zaire in 1965 but is now in Europe where he had surgery for prostate cancer last August.
He spent four months receiving radiation and other treatment and resting but the revolt by Tutsi-led rebels in the east forced him to cut short his convalescence. He returned home in December to reshuffle the government and army leadership.
Since then he has returned twice to Europe and is currently at his villa in the South of France. Aides say his health is not a problem and describe subsequent tests as routine.
The rebels, shrugging off a much heralded government counter-offensive, have pushed steadily west and say they have Kisangani, the army's war zone headquarters, in their sights.
Their leader, Laurent Kabila, a veteran Mobutu foe, says Mobutu must go.
Nyerere, who ruled with a mix of socialism and self-reliance before retiring in 1985, has been closely involved in efforts to broker peace in Central Africa's volatile Great Lakes region, particularly Burundi.
He stressed that the unity of Zaire was crucial.
``We must not allow the future of Africa to be determined by those outside Africa,'' he added. ``This is 1997 not 1887 -- three years away from the 21st century. We must determine our own destiny. We've got to empower ourselves through unity to determine the fate of our continent.''
Asked whether the days of Africa's ``big men'' leaders were over, he replied: ``Yes, but the continent would not have been liberated without the so-called big man.''
He criticised corrupt African leaders. ``Today we have African leaders who have simply looted their countries and their countries have gone to the dogs,'' he said.
``We don't need those men today but we do need leadership. We need government that works and we need a hard core of people who are willing to work hard and contribute to their country's welfare.''
Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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