‘It Sits On Your Conscience’
What is it with Africa? Not only do we turn on each other, but we blame the outside. This is a cancer from within that we need to fix.
More than a decade ago, when he was head of peacekeeping for the United Nations, Kofi Annan oversaw the blue helmets who failed to prevent the massacre in Srebenica and the slaughter of Tutsis in Rwanda. Those twin tragedies have tarnished his reputation ever since, even after two terms as secretary-general. Now retired, Annan has been asked to mediate in Kenya, where tribal killings that began after a disputed presidential election on Dec. 27 continue to rage. He spoke with NEWSWEEK's Scott Johnson about the talks, which showed some progress at the end of the week, and the shadow of those past crises. Excerpts:
Johnson:
Where do the Kenya talks stand?
Annan: We're now at the critical item of resolving the political crisis. The two sides have stated their cases. The government side feels they won [the election] fair and square. The opposition thinks the government stole it fair and square. My problem is to bridge that difference.
How much do Rwanda and Bosnia weigh on you personally?
We are racing against the clock. The longer this goes on, the more killings go on, the more revenge killings you're going to see in reaction. If you're not careful you could have serious problems on your hands. We need to come up with a proposal to ensure we don't come back to this every five years.
Once again you
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re dealing with the maelstrom of ethnic cleansing.
Whether it's genocide or ethnic cleansing, it always starts with the humiliation of one individual. Some were very quick to blame me for Rwanda. [That] was rather painful and odd for most of us at the Secretariat because the member states knew more about what was going on in Rwanda than we did. But quite apart from that blame, as a human being it weighs on you. It sits on your conscience … Not on your conscience because you … you … you couldn't stop it as an individual, you couldn't. But yes, [the conflicts] molded me. Some crimes are so shameful that we cannot stand back. We should ask, what can each one of us do?
You
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ve said in the past that fratricidal wars are destroying Africa. Now it
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s happening here in Kenya.
So what is it with Africa? Yeah. I posed this question in Rwanda after the genocide: what is it in our society that makes us periodically turn on each other? Not only do we turn on each other, but then we blame the outside. I say this is a cancer from within that we need to fix.
And you were criticized for it.
I was criticized for it. But it is a fact. It's good to have the support of the international community and all that. But the root of the problem is here. We know what the problem is; we know what needs to be done.
What is the problem?
In Kenya, you have 42 ethnic groups. One needs to be very careful to let the people feel that the cloth of government is stretched to cover everybody, that nobody is left out or discriminated against in terms of economic well-being and resources, access to money and power. [Here] you have a constitutional structure that doesn't distribute power evenly. You have a very powerful presidency in an environment like this, where each group watches for what the other group is getting and what they are not getting.
You
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ve advocated the use of the Kenyan military. But there are ethnic divisions within the military.
I know. But what is the use of an army when it is not used to protect innocent civilians in harm's way? Obviously moving goods to markets to provide supplies and services is important, but what's the point if the people are dead?
What can the international community really do in this case?
It's important that the international community speaks with one voice. There are differences, but there is a convergence [of opinion]. They realize divisions between them will be exploited.
How has your thinking on this evolved?
Take Darfur—everybody knew the African Union didn't have capacity or the resources that were required, but they all went for the AU [peacekeeping mission], knowing the shortcomings, to be able to say we've done something. It is hypocritical. It's dishonest. And it's deceitful for those who are in the situation. In fact it may be better not to promise help that you know will not come.
You
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ve said it
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s difficult to understand African dictators today because they
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ve lost the ability to talk. Is that applicable here?
After independence, we got into a situation where men who hungered for power went into politics, and we created a situation of winner takes all. In many countries, people who want to make money go into business. In Africa, people who want to make money go into politics. It is very unhealthy. It's very profitable.
What about Kenya
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s leaders?
[Laughs] I think I've said enough.
Are you rooting for Barack Obama?
I have no horse in that race.
Given your experience with the Clinton administration and Rwanda, would you be worried about another Clinton administration?
I think Clinton of today is a different man than Clinton that didn't want to go to Rwanda. I suspect he's also learned. Of course, it's not Bill that is running. It's Hillary. And we don't know the team she will surround herself with. I'm confident that the reaction to a Rwanda-type situation would be quite different.
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Scott Johnson was named Africa Bureau Chief in April 2007, after serving two years as Baghdad Bureau Chief since the spring of 2004. In the summer of 2007, Johnson co-authored, with Sharon Begley, Newsweek's July cover story "Slaughter in the Jungle," about a spate of rare mountain gorilla killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has also been covering, for the magazine and Newsweek's Web site, the economic collapse of Zimbabwe, health initiatives across the continent and the rise of China in Africa.
Prior to coming to Africa, Johnson worked on assignment in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. He was on assignment in Iraq during the invasion and returned several times during 2002 and 2003 to report on the post-invasion occupation. During his two years as Baghdad bureau chief, Johnson covered the rise of Iraq's sectarian war, the trial and execution of Saddam Hussein and the American military's attempt to quell the insurgency in places like Ramadi and Baghdad. He contributed exclusive reporting on the growth of death squads in Baghdad, Iran's growing influence in Iraq and American military and political developments in Baghdad.
Before coming to Iraq, Johnson covered the war in Afghanistan from October 2001 to April 2002, reporting on the fall of the Taliban from the front lines of Kunduz and Taloqan. Later on, Johnson traveled across Afghanistan reporting on the hunt for Al Qaeda and the resurgence of the Taliban as American forces drew down its presence. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, Johnson has done exclusive war reporting, often under fire and in the most dangerous situations. In Iraq, he covered the hunt for Saddam Hussein with exclusive access to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 4th Infantry Division. He also contributed extensive exclusive reporting early in 2003 on the nascent Iraqi insurgency from Fallujah.
In between posts to Baghdad, Johnson was provisionally based in Mexico City from 2002 to 2006. When not covering the war, Johnson reported on political and economic developments across Latin America. In 2002 he authored a Newsweek International cover story on the rise of China in Mexico. In 2004 he received an Overseas Press Club Honorable Mention for "Best Reporting in any Medium on Latin America" for "Latin America Lags Behind," about economic trends across the hemisphere. In Latin America, Johnson also covered violence along the U.S-Mexico border, the creation of Mexico's freedom of information act and an experimental drug treatment center in Peru.
Previously, Johnson reported for Newsweek out of Paris, France, since October 1998. During that time, he has reported on many of the biggest stories to come out of the continent, including Europe's mad cow scare, the backlash against globalization, and Newsweek's military coverage of the Kosovo war out of southern Italy. He has also developed in-depth investigative pieces from Europe, and he contributed heavily to Newsweek's worldwide report on pedophilia and the Internet. He has also covered North Africa, covering terrorism pre-and-post 9/11.
Johnson is a frequent contributor to radio, most recently from Iraq where he has interviewed on NPR, The World and other national stations, and he has been seen on MSNBC, Fox and CNN. In addition to Newsweek, his writing has appeared in Le Courrier International and Letras Libres. Johnson was also part of the Iraq team that contributed to Newsweek's 2003 National Magazine Award.
Johnson is a 1996 graduate of the University of Washington, where he received double degrees in Comparative Literature and Comparative History of Ideas. Postgraduate work included Arabic language and Middle Eastern Studies in Fes, Morocco. He is a member of the Anglo-American Press Association in Paris.
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