Transatlantic Times World

Today's World in Politics

TTIMES WORLD: Today's News Report

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Washington, DC, USA

Do you want to see more Articles?

Yes

Name

Military Rule by Democratic Structures Ghana Rawlings Approach - Ghana MILITARY DICTATOR Ghana: Rawlings used democratic structures to legitimise military rule Posted on Thursday, 27 May 2021 11:52 Jerry Rawlings, former President of the Republic of Ghana, speaks at the opening of the Africa Union Pledging conference on Drought and Famine for the Horn of Africa, at the Economic commission of Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Thursday 25 Aug, 2011.(AP Photo/Elias Asmare)/ The late Jerry Rawlings led two coups in Ghana before twice being elected president in multiparty polls. Whether you associate him with anti-imperialism, democracy or political violence, the fact is that he was able to retain military and popular control of Ghana for over 20 years. Rawlings took power in a military coup on 31 December 1981, deposing a government led by Hilla Limann. Rawlings immediately formed the Provisional National Defence Council. Military coups are relatively easy to stage. But sustaining them can prove difficult because they soon run out of political legitimacy, especially in the context of economic crisis. Rawlings did this by setting up structures that he described as the “highest form of democracy”. These included the People’s Defence Committees and Workers’ Defence Committees. Membership of the Defence Committees began with those who had participated in the overthrow of the government. It also included citizens who had been mobilised by the rhetoric of democratic participation and those who sought to gain political influence. There were also junior military officers and leftist “radical intellectuals” that Rawlings trusted. Rawlings used the Defence Committees to gain political support. They were also used to prevent widespread unrest, deter regime critics and legitimise his government. Essentially, they functioned as instruments of state power and legitimacy. This was against a background of political as well as economic crises. This is particularly important as the Provisional National Defence Council began to implement the first phase of its economic recovery programme in 1983. To gain deeper insights into how Rawlings built political legitimacy for his coup, we used the records of the National Reconciliation Commission. The commission was appointed by parliament in 2002 to investigate human rights abuses by governments between 1957 – independence year – and 1993. The period included Rawlings’ military rule. The records, which are held at the University of Ghana, provide a unique opportunity for understanding how Rawlings wielded power during military rule. These insights bring valuable new understanding to debates about his legacy. We argue that the Defence Committees were part of a broader strategy to affirm regime legitimacy and manage social as well as economic crises. They also provided opportunities for individuals and groups to benefit – materially and politically. At the same time, they served as platforms to challenge state policies This central tension in the committees – their role in delivering patronage on one hand, and on providing a check to state policies on the other – is the key to understanding the political power, longevity and legacy of Rawlings. Committees as instruments of power The Defence Committees were meant to decentralise political decision making to local committees in communities and workplaces. This was meant to create a new political order of direct democracy. In turn, direct democracy would make political leaders accountable. The practice, however, was different. The committees became pro-Rawlings networks of state surveillance and suppression. They were situated alongside other legal state mechanisms that were used to punish political dissent and acts of sedition. These included the National Co-ordinating Committee, policing, courts and the military. tittees themselves faced harassment, intimidation and coercion when they sought to withdraw their membership. Many were labelled traitors and were monitored closely. Local political disputes also played out within the Defence Committees. This sometimes escalated to political imprisonment and execution. The Defence Committees had the power to identify “counter-revolutionary” activities and individuals. They became mechanisms for perpetuating the abuse of human rights and political repression. The reconciliation commission archive records show that human rights abuses were remarkably high during the first four years of Rawlings’ ruling from 1979 to 1982. And over 67% of all human rights violations that occurred in Ghana in the review period happened under his government. That’s not to say that the Defence Committees didn’t sometimes function outside of the control of the Provisional National Defence Council. For example, they attacked the government for betraying its revolutionary principles after the release of the 1983 budget. It was viewed as highly controversial. What caused particular anger was that it showed Rawlings had accepted terms set down by the International Monetary Fund. This showed that, despite the intentions of the state, the space for political participation created by the Defence Committees was sometimes uncontrollable. But by 1984 the committees were coming under increasing criticism for corruption. They were ultimately dissolved into the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution. These were even more tightly controlled by the state. The key to success Rawlings was able to sustain his success by framing the Provisional National Defence Council and its policies within the language of democracy and participation. This was exemplified in the Defence Committees. They functioned as tools to promote and defend the Provisional National Defence Council, providing legitimacy for Rawlings’ mandate and policies. However, they could not be totally controlled. Members were empowered to act in their own interests and could use the committees to organise and protest against the state. An important lesson is that participatory governance programmes initiated by autocratic regimes to manufacture legitimacy – or respond to crises – also have the potential to expand civic and political engagements in uncontrollable ways. What this suggests is that it’s important to understand the tensions around state-controlled structures set up as ways for people to participate. On the one hand, they provide openings for civic and political engagement. On the other, they legitimise political and economic interests. The archives on Rawlings’ rule make this clear. Paul Emiljanowicz, Lecturer, African History and Politics, McMaster University
How Will Buhari Die And We Won’t Know?— Obasanjo Queries Death Mongers Obasanjo said the rumour became popular through the abuse of the social media, expressing surprises that many Nigerians believed the lies. The former President explained in a video, how he was approached by a very important person, who asked him about the truth about Buhari’s rumoured death. According to him, the person told him that the information had gone viral on the social media. The former President and Head of State wondered how Buhari could have died and be replaced with someone from Sudan without him knowing about it. “Somebody came to me, a very high hub person, saying tell me about this talk of Buhari not being Buhari. “I said ‘do you believe them?’ He said, ‘well, it is in the social media’. I said ‘how will Buhari die and we will not know that Buhari has died and they will bring us somebody from Sudan to be Buhari?’ “It’s ridiculous to the extreme. But you have it in the social media and you see people believing it,” Obasanjo expressed concern. While accepting the fact that the social media is good, Obasanjo, however, regretted that it is being abused. He advocated teaching the youths and the children about the dangers inherent in abusing the social media. “Social media is good, but it can be abused. We have to train our youths and our children about the dangers of the social media,” he submitted. Obasanjo has been one of past leaders critical of Buhari’s unpopular policies and inactions, particularly on the surging challenges of insecurity and bad economy. As far back as October 2019, the former President expressed worries on the growing herdsmen-farmers’ crisis and asked Buhari to wade into the growing unrest. In an interview Obasanjo granted to the Wilson Centre Africa Programme, he had said, “When you have a situation where your own tribe is being accused of something, you must be able to look into it and make it transparently clear that the accusation is unfounded or if it is founded, you deal with it. “There have been herdsmen and farmers’ clashes. Now, herdsmen are mainly Fulani. Nothing had been done. Rather than doing something about it, what we are having is that we will create colonies – cattle colonies. “Where will you create colonies in Nigeria? Is it in my own part of the country that you will now make a colony? Who will give you land to create a colony within his state? So, these are specifics and I can go on and on. “There are many things that should have been done and that are not being done and there are many things that should not have been done but that are being done; that would have helped in the area of management.”
Saudi Arabia set to lift the ban on Qatar’s beIN Sports network Qatar Saudi Arabia set to lift the ban on Qatar’s beIN Sports network The move could mean Newcastle United’s stalled potential takeover by a Saudi-led consortium would be a step closer. Saudi Arabia will reportedly soon lift a four-year ban on the Qatar-based broadcaster beIN Sports broadcaster and has promised to close pirate websites. beIN holds the rights to broadcast the Premier League across the Middle East but Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition (GAC) suspended its channels in 2017 and “permanently canceled” the broadcaster’s license last year amid a bitter dispute between Riyadh and Doha, which was resolved in January. Cafes and restaurants in the Saudi capital Riyadh have already started using satellite dishes to show games on beIN Sports channels since the diplomatic rift was ended. It is understood that beIN has been approached by Saudi for them to settle related legal cases, including a $1bn investment arbitration. A court case, which has been brought by beIN under international arbitration rules and claimed more than $1bn in damages against Saudi Arabia, is still pending. The arbitration will be held in London. The ending of the ban would remove a key obstacle behind the collapsed takeover of English Premier League (EPL) football club Newcastle United by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF). Saudi Arabia’s ban was a key issue raised by critics of a proposed 305-million-pound ($414.4m) bid from the PIF, PCP Capital Partners, and Reuben Brothers to buy Newcastle United from British businessman Mike Ashley in April 2020. The proposed takeover collapsed last year with the consortium saying that the “prolonged process” and “global uncertainty” had “rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable”. Newcastle’s owner initiated legal proceedings against the Premier League earlier this year over the aborted takeover attempt that have been adjourned until early 2022. Thaw in Qatar-Saudi relations The lifting of the ban would follow a thaw in relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia after the kingdom along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha over a number of allegations including that it was too close to rival Iran – accusations that Qatar vehemently denied. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, was last month pictured with Qatar’s emir and the UAE national security adviser. Shortly afterward, a football friendly was announced between Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain and players from two top Saudi clubs in Riyadh next year. Last December, the EPL, and beIN announced a new rights deal worth a reported $500m for the Middle East and North Africa region that will run until 2025. British newspaper reports said 19 of the 20 EPL clubs supported the deal, with Newcastle the only club to vote against.
Pro-army protesters rally again in tense Sudan By AFP FILE PHOTO: A Sudanese flag. REUTERS/Umit Bektas<br /> Hundreds of pro-military Sudanese protesters rallied for a second day Sunday, aggravating what Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok called the “worst and most dangerous crisis” of the country’s precarious transition. The protesters rallying in Khartoum are demanding the dissolution of Sudan’s post-dictatorship interim government, saying it has “failed” them politically and economically. “The sit-in continues, we will not leave until the government is dismissed,” Ali Askouri, one of the organisers, told AFP. “We have officially asked the Sovereign Council,” the military-civilian body that oversees the transition, “not to interact with this government anymore,” he added. The protests come as Sudanese politics reels from divisions among the factions steering the rocky transition from three decades of iron-fisted rule by Omar al-Bashir. Bashir was ousted by the army in April 2019 in the face of mass protests driven by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), a civilian alliance that became a key plank of the transition. The latest demonstrations, left undisturbed by security forces, have been organised by a splinter faction of the FFC. Critics allege that these protests are being driven by members of the military and security forces, and involve counter-revolutionary sympathisers with the former regime. The protesters have converged on the presidential palace where the transitional authorities are based, shouting “One army, one people” and demanding “a military government”. Poverty stricken Sudan has undergone dramatic changes since the ouster of Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, where a conflict that began in 2003 killed 300,000 people. The United States removed Sudan from its state sponsors of terrorism blacklist in December 2020, eliminating a major hurdle to much-needed aid and investment. – ‘Scenario of a coup’ -But domestic support for the transitional government has waned in recent months amid a tough package of IMF-backed economic reforms, including the slashing of fuel subsidies and a managed float of the Sudanese pound. The latest developments come after the government said on September 21 it had thwarted a coup attempt which it blamed on both military officers and civilians linked to Bashir’s regime. On Friday, Hamdok warned that the transition is facing its “worst and most dangerous” crisis. Hamdok’s Minister of Finance Jibril Ibrahim on Saturday addressed the crowd demanding the resignation of the government. The mainstream faction of the FFC said the crisis “is engineered by some parties to overthrow the revolutionary forces… paving the way for the return of remnants of the previous regime”. Jaafar Hassan, spokesman for the FFC, called the pro-military sit-in “an episode in the scenario of a coup d’etat”. Its aim, he told AFP, was “to block the road to democracy because the participants in this sit-in are supporters of the former regime and foreign parties whose interests have been affected by the revolution”. The demonstration heightens tensions ahead of a rival rally planned for Thursday by the opposite side, to demand a full transfer of power to civilians. Hassan said the FFC organisers aim for “a demonstration of one million people … to show the world the position of the Sudanese people”.

Copyright © 2021 TTimes. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited