Crowds Cheer Senegal Peace Deal

[NATO AIR]

another momentous US triumph in helping nations further along the road to peace, prosperity and freedom. credit pres. bush and the US gov't for paying "real" attention to africa (not just feeling their pain bubba), especially on seemingly minor conflicts like this one that ruin small nations like senegal.

pres. wade is a damn good leader, let's hope africa gets more men and women like him in charge in the coming years. they sorely need and deserve it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4135797.stm

Crowds cheer Senegal peace deal

President Wade has made peace a priority of his presidency
Senegal's government has signed a peace deal with separatist rebels in Casamance, ending one of West Africa's longest-running wars.
Thousands of people cheered as the interior minister and rebel leader put their names to a cease-fire pact.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who made peace a priority when he came to power in 2000, is expected to join the ceremony in Ziguinchor.

The signing took place in spite of concerns about rebel factional splits.

Building block

Some 3,000 spectators - many of whom wore pro-peace T-shirts - welcomed the signing by chanting and dancing.

Beginning of the end
Details of the agreement signed by rebel leader Father Diamacoune Senghor and Interior Minister Ousman Ngom have yet to be made public but the pact is believed to include details on disarmament and the reintegration of rebel fighters.

According to the BBC's West Africa correspondent, Andrew Simmons, the treaty is likely to be more of a building block than an immediate solution to the separatist sentiment.

At least three factions of the Casamance movement are known to oppose the move.

They believe the process is back to front - a peace deal being signed before full agreement on the political and economic future of the region, our correspondent says.

Tourist potential

Casamance is the south-western corner of Senegal yet it is physically separated by a legacy of colonial history - the former British colony of The Gambia.

The Senegalese army was accused of being heavy-handed
The 22-year-old rebellion was fuelled by complaints among Casamance's population that they were being marginalised by the more numerous Wollof people of northern Senegal.

The Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance launched a campaign of violence in 1982, killing some 3,500 people.

Its fighters are spread across the borders of The Gambia to the north and Guinea-Bissau in the south.

Casamance's white beaches were once a tropical haven for European tourists and its fertile land an important part of Senegal's agricultural output.

A lasting peace would see major international aid packages to rebuild villages, de-mine the countryside and revive tourism, agriculture and the fishing industry, our correspondent says.

Pres. Bush Met With Pres. Wade Earlier This Month And Has Encouraged Senegal On The Path To Peace (remember Senegal is where Pres. Bush made his historic apology to Africa for America's role in the slave trade)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200412070821.html
President Bush, Senegalese President Hold Talks At White House

United States Department of State (Washington, DC)

December 6, 2004
Posted to the web December 7, 2004

Charles W. Corey
Washington, DC

Wade slated to receive international democracy award

President Bush and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade held talks December 6 at the White House.

Speaking to reporters after emerging from his 30-minute meeting with President Bush, Wade said he thanked Bush for Senegal's eligibility for Millennium Challenge Account funding for 2005.

Additionally, Wade said he briefed Bush on Senegal's economy, noting it is doing "very well" in terms of macro-economic management and rate of economic growth; the latter he termed "the greatest in West Africa."

Progress is also being made in education, Wade said he told Bush, with Senegal spending 40 percent of its budget on education and training. Additionally, Wade said, both leaders discussed the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and a broad array of other regional issues.

Following talks at the White House, the Senegalese leader was to be honored by the National Democratic Institute at a gala dinner in Washington, where he was to accept the Institute's W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award for his role in advancing democracy.

Other recipients to be honored at the same dinner include Xanana Gusmao, president of East Timor; Zurab Zhavania, prime minister of Georgia; Corazon Aquino, former president of the Philippines; Jose Miguel Insulza, minister of the interior of Chile; Amat Al-Aleem Alsoswa, minister of human rights of Yemen; and Bronislaw Geremek, former foreign minister of Poland.

Senator Richard Lugar (Republican, Indiana) and Senator Joseph Biden (Democrat, Delaware) are also scheduled to receive awards for their longtime efforts to promote democracy worldwide.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

 

[Jumbletron]

Hi everyone.

If interested, here's one little video I put together about my 2 yrs in Senegal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thx,
Jumbletron

You can not post links until you you've reached a 15 post minimum.

 

[Moonglow]

Bush is still the president!?

 

[Ringel05]

Bush is still the president!?

Uuuummmm, look at the date of the original OP........

Jumbletron is spamming. (I reported it)