ONLY AFRICAN JUSTICE IS RIGHT!! SAY DAILY OBSERVER JOKERS. BY WATCHMAN.
 
The jokers and elementary school grade writers at The Gambia's Daily observer are at it again. Previously, the Watchman deemed this so called newspaper such a travesty of journalistic conscience that it was barely mentioned on other commentaries. There is an editorial they penned; however, that deserves some scrutiny and lots of laughs. Titled "Tell Them to Go Shove It" and recently cross posted at the All Africa website, this comedy of words launches a rather clumsy assault on global attempts to prosecute African war criminals. It also pivots to defend the "justice" ministers who had gathered like a pack of wolves at Addis Ababa to condemn internationally hailed efforts to indict African Human Rights scofflaws. Here's one interesting excerpt:

"Those arrogant French Judges shouldn't be blamed much, for they were blinded by their ignorance of the changing situation in African awareness. They were indeed motivated by previous cases, where Africans connived with their neo-colonialist masters to undermine other Africans. The message for them, however, is that Africa can never be re-colonized. As the conference of Ministers demands, all eyes are on the African Commission. This act of insolence must be stemmed".

To hear the Daily Observer tell it, only the African brand of "justice" is legit. It is interesting to note that whenever African "leaders" have come under intense pressure and scrutiny to thwart their gross flouting of Human Rights, they have reached out for that most supercilious of cop outs in pushing back: neo-colonialism. Like Robert Mugabe, African goons, aided by their sycophant presses, have accused the West of sovereign infringement in matters of elections and democracy. The tragedy of this charade is the fact that manipulated citizens in some of these repressed states easily fall for it. One can go into the many ways the West and opposition parties can counter these nefarious schemes but it would perhaps be best to challenge these buffoons to do the following:

First, if only African "justice" should be the single criterion on matters of rights, why not extend the rule to FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in Africa? The World Investment Report 2007 Transnational Corporations, Extractive Industries and Development, produced by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), revealed that foreign direct investment (FDI) into Africa doubled between 2004 and 2006 to 36 billion Dollars. Despite the fact that Africa is still lagging behind in the global share of FDI, this was a record amount compared to years before. It also reflects the faith investors have in the continent's potential despite the sins of its wayward rulers who no doubt benefit from their commercial activities. If these African governments don't want outsiders to judge their grossly erroneous mishaps on Human Rights, they should also reject the influx of Western money into their state coffers and business societies. Let's apply some consistency here. Also it would show self-respect on their part to rebuff the deeds of agencies like the IMF and Red Cross because since they are dominated by the West, there is a tendency they could be "neo-colonialist."

Next, these African "resistance" governments should protest the presence of peace keepers supplied by world bodies such as the UN in areas of the continent that have been ravaged by their counterparts, like Liberia and Democratic Republic of Congo. It can be easily noted that previous African hotspots that are now experiencing relative peace are under the auspices of the UN especially in these abovementioned nations. Other peace keeping operations under the supervision of African Union forces in nations like Somalia and Sudan (Darfur) are doing abysmally. If African "justice"  (or lack thereof) is the best and not worthy of constructive criticism, shouldn't it be evident in the way African peace keepers who are so adept at matters concerning Human Rights etc,  execute the tasks of minimizing violence in their fellow African entities? If African governments reject and denounce intrusive "neo-colonial" pretensions to "justice", they should ask the UN to leave and allow an African version of military intervention on matters of governance that they have botched again and again. One only wonders how long it will take before they beg for sustenance from the global community after embarking on that path to catastrophe. By the way why is it these same African leaders and their "justice" ministers always make a bee line for their Western counterparts at international symposia, mug for the camera and proceed to effusively praise them? Isn't this "neo-colonialist" and "insolent", to use the ill chosen dictum of the Daily Observer?

Last, these outraged African "justice" ministers should goad their respective nations to boycott international events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. They are dominated by Western sponsors, most of the medals are won by the powerful and industrial states that hail from Europe and North America and by the way when was the last time the Olympics were held in Africa? The rules of all the sports have their roots in the West. Shouldn't there be an African rules based type of football/soccer? Isn't this "neo-colonialism" and "imperialism"? I don't see African "justice" ministers protesting the running of the Olympic torch from global city to global city like the pro-Tibetan dissidents, who are fed up with a local version of "justice" (Chinese to be exact) and want the world to notice. Why didn't Yahya Jammeh, proprietor of the high school newspaper that is the Daily Observer, protest when his spouse traveled to the US to give birth and once coveted US citizenship for his daughter? This is actual "neo-colonial" behavior isn't it? What type of "justice" is the president doing to his local hospital, the RVTH, when he disrespects their abilities and flees to a rich Western state to deliver his offspring?

It's easy to know what response the elves and dwarfs at The Daily Observer will give in defense of their ever watchful master: some "neo-colonialisms" are more equal than others.
The author can be contacted at Gambiaswatchman@gmail.com.