"Equality of Freedom in Europe and
Africa" Is a Cover for Relations of Exploitation
On the second day of the EU-Africa summit in Cairo, the
Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, made an intervention stating that
"democracy and human rights are now essential conditions for economic
development" and "free markets require free people".
According to Robin Cook, the Eurocentric values of the big
powers, enshrined in the Paris Charter of 1990, are universal values that
should be adopted by the countries of Africa too. What is being expressed here
is the demand of the monopolies and financial oligarchy not only in Britain,
but throughout the world, that every country must have a free market economy, a
multi-party system and what are called human rights based on an outdated notion
of democracy, based on the defence of private property.
Robin Cook alleges that the problems of poverty,
indebtedness and instability which ravage the African continent can be solved
in this manner. He said: "If we want a successful economy, we must each
build a free society which: provides universal access to education; ensures the
freedom of its people to express their enterprise and their views; guarantees
equality of opportunity to both men and women; and respects the independence
and transparency of the judiciary, which is the best basis to attract inward
investment. We must recognise that the political renaissance of Africa provides
the best foundation for the economic renaissance of Africa."
Robin Cook did not mention the fact that it is the legacy of
colonialism, increasing globalisation and the continued exploitation of Africa
and intervention in its affairs by Britain and the other big powers which
prevent African countries from developing on their own independent path.
Instead, in his intervention he attempted to put forward a typical "Third
Way" approach to the growing disparity between the countries of the EU and
of Africa, an attempt to present globalisation with a "human face",
where there can allegedly be international co-operation between poor and rich
countries and "economic development through aid, debt relief and
trade".
The Foreign Secretary has the aim of further developing the
enslaving aid and trade relations that Britain has with the countries of Africa
which benefit the monopolies and financial oligarchy in Britain have kept the
broad masses of the peoples of Africa in abject poverty for so long. Although
the British government has said it will cancel bilateral debt for Africa’s
33 states with Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) status, only two countries
are currently affected, Uganda and Mozambique, since to qualify for this
status, countries have to summit themselves to the dictat of the IMF/World Bank
for at least six years. At the same time, it is attempting to further the
unequal and exploitative relations that have given rise to such debt in the
first place.
Robin Cook’s contention that "free trade must
also be fair trade" is at much as odds with objective reality as his
attempt to persuade those attending the summit that "we come here as
equals". There be no equality between rich and poor countries, nor between
the exploiters and the exploited, while "free trade", a "free
market-economy", and "equality of freedom in Europe and Africa"
are slogans that cannot cover up the reality of globalisation, which bring
benefits only to a handful of multinational companies and widens the gap
between rich and poor.
