PARIS, Jul 31 2024 (IPS) – As cheers from beach-volleyball fans fill the air at the Eiffel Tower Stadium on a steamy, sunny day, pedestrians just down the road are enjoying another kind of show: an outdoor exhibition of huge photographs gleaming on the metal railings of UNESCO headquarters.
Titled Cultures at the Games, the exhibition is among hundreds of artistic and cultural events taking place across France during the 2024 Olympic Games (hosted by the French capital July 26 to Aug. 11), and they’re being staged alongside the numerous athletic contests.
The events even have an umbrella name – the Cultural Olympiad – and include photography, painting, sculpture, fashion, and a host of attractions linking art and sport. Most are scheduled to run beyond the closing ceremony of the Games.
UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a “partner” in the Cultural Olympiad, arranging not only the usual meetings where bureaucrats give lofty speeches, but also showcasing a series of works to highlight diversity and inclusion.
Cultures at the Games, for instance, comprises some 140 photographs portraying memorable aspects of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics since 1924 and is presented in association with the Olympic Museum of Lausanne.
Images show how national delegations have transmitted their culture during these extravaganzas, and the pictures depict athletes such as Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, whose “lightning bolt” pose has become part of the Games’ folklore even as he has helped to make the green, gold and black colours of his country’s flag more recognizable.
Inside UNESCO’s Y-shaped building, meanwhile, a collection of panels focuses on how sport can “Change the Game”, a theme running across all of the organization’s “Olympiad” events. (At the “World Ministerial Meeting” that UNESCO hosted on July 24, just ahead of the Olympics, officials discussed gender equality, inclusion of people with disabilities, and protection of athletes, for example.)
A notable section of the indoor exhibition features historic photographs that pay tribute to athletes who sparked change through their achievements or activism. Here, one can view an iconic picture of American athlete Jesse Owens, the “spanner in the works that completely disrupted the Nazi propaganda machine set up during the 1936 Berlin Olympics,” according to the curators.
Owens won four medals at the Games, but “received no immediate (official) recognition from his own country” despite being welcomed as a hero by the public, as the exhibition notes. The racism in the United States meant that President Franklyn D. Roosevelt refused to congratulate him “for fear of losing votes in the Southern states.” The photo shows him standing on the podium in Berlin, while behind him another competitor gives a “Hitler salute”.
Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics, in Athletes who changed the world at UNESCO;
Athletes who changed the world equally features boxer Mohammad Ali, who in 1967 refused to fight in Vietnam and was stripped of his world championship title and banned from the ring for three years.
Perhaps the most famous image, however, is that of athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 games in Mexico City. They “removed their shoes and walked forward in socks to protest against the extreme poverty faced by African Americans,” as the caption reminds viewers. “With solemn faces, Smith and Carlos bowed their heads and raised their gloved black fists, aiming to raise global awareness about racial segregation in their country.”
A photo of Tommie Smith, in Athletes who changed the world at UNESCO
The exhibition outlines the long battles faced by women athletes as well, and it highlights the work of Alice Milliat who, as president of the French Women’s Sports Federation, “campaigned for women’s inclusion in Olympic sports”. She organized the first Women’s Olympic Games in Paris in 1922, bringing together five countries and 77 athletes.
Although Milliat “died in obscurity” in 1957, her “legacy endures today, with the Paris 2024 Games highlighting gender equality in sports, largely thanks to her visionary efforts,” says the photo caption.
Similarly, the exhibition spotlights the contributions of disabled athletes such as Ryadh Sallem, who was born without arms or legs, a victim of the Thalidomide medication that was prescribed to pregnant women in the 1950s and Sixties and caused deformities in children.
Sallem won 15 French championship titles in swimming and later turned to team sports such as wheelchair basketball and rugby. At UNESCO, his photograph is prominently displayed, along with the story of his hopes for the 2024 Paralympics and his mission to “promote a positive vision of disability”.
Elsewhere in the city, artists and museums are also paying tribute to Paralympic competitors, ahead of the Paralympic Games from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 in Paris.
On the fencing around the imposing Gare de l’Est (train station), colourful works by artist Lorenzo Mattoti show disabled athletes competing in a variety of sports, while the Panthéon is presenting the “Paralympic Stories: From Sporting Integration to Social Inclusion (1948-2024)”. This exposition relates the “history of Paralympism and the challenges of equality,” according to curators Anne Marcellini and Sylvain Ferez.
For fans of sculpture, Paris has a range of “Olympiad” works on view for free. In June, the city unveiled its official “sculpture olympique” or Olympic Statue, created by Los Angeles-based African-American artist Alison Saar, who cites inspiration from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.
The sculpture, located near the famed Champs Elysées avenue, depicts a seated African woman holding a flame in front of the Olympic rings, and it “embodies Olympic values of inclusivity and peace,” according to the office of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo.
When it was inaugurated on June 23, however, it sparked a flurry of hostile remarks from some far-right commentators on social media, who apparently felt threatened by the work.
Another statue of a woman, that of Venus de Milo or the mythical goddess Aphrodite, has been “reinterpreted” in six versions by artistic director Laurent Perbos to symbolise “feminine” sporting disciplines, including boxing, archery and surfing. The statues stand in front of the National Assembly, and the irony won’t be lost on most viewers: French women secured the right to vote only in 1944.
Of course, Paris wouldn’t be Paris without another particular artform. As the much-discussed Opening Ceremony of the Olympics showed, fashion is an integral part of these Games, and those who didn’t get enough of the array of sometimes questionable costumes can head for another dose with “La Mode en movement #2” (Fashion in Motion #2).
This exhibition at the Palais Galliera / Fashion Museum looks at the history of sports clothing from the 18th century, with a special focus on beachwear. Among the 250 pieces on display, viewers will surely gain tips on what to wear for beach volleyball.
Opponents of the East African Crude Oil pipeline protested American International Group’s continued support of the project. The protest was in New York in July. Credit: 350.org
ABUJA, Jul 30 2024 (IPS) – Following the recent Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Ivory Coast, a continent-wide campaign has emerged on social media challenging the tournament’s main sponsor, TotalEnergies, over its involvement in the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
EACOP, a massive 1,443-kilometer crude oil export pipeline, is designed to transport oil from Western Uganda’s oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. TotalEnergies, a major stakeholder in the project, will extract oil from the Tilenga field and export it to the Global North.
Environmentalists argue that the project threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people and the region’s fragile ecosystems. The Ugandan and Tanzanian governments have dismissed these concerns, asserting that the pipeline is essential for bolstering their economies.
Many of these campaigners, particularly environmentalists, have faced harassment and arrest.
One of them, Stephen Kwikiriza, an employee of Uganda’s Environment Governance Institute (EGI), a non-profit organization, was reportedly abducted and beaten by the Ugandan armed forces in Kampala on June 4, 2024.
After being questioned, he was abandoned hundreds of miles from the capital, highlighting the latest episode in the crackdown on environmentalists in Uganda.
TotalEnergies, through their press officer, François Sinecan, emphatically denied that the company had anything to do with the harassment of environmentalists, or was involved in legitimizing the company through sponsorship.
Sportswashing
Critics argue that TotalEnergies is exploiting Uganda and Tanzania for their oil, even as it faces numerous legal battles due to its role in the climate crisis and refusal to take responsibility.
They worry that TotalEnergies is using AFCON, the continent’s biggest football tournament, and its global viewership to enhance its image while profiting from climate-wrecking fossil fuel extraction across Africa.
“AFCON is one of the ways they [TotalEnergies] are using to legitimize their existence. They have to use the sports arena. They seem to say, ‘Look at what we are doing in Africa, and in your communities, it is to your benefit.’ Every time you look at the logo of TotalEnergies, you might be convinced that this is a big corporation that should invest [in Africa], when in actuality, they are destroying our existence,” Nkurunziza Alphonse, the Ugandan Coordinator of the Students Against EACOP Uganda, told IPS.
Alphonse was arrested in October 2022 when he led a group of students to the EU embassy in Kampala to deliver a petition against EACOP. But he is not the only student to be arrested and harassed in recent times.
On December 15 last year, Bwete Abdul Aziiz, a co-founder of the Justice Movement Uganda and a student at Kyambogo University in Kampala, rallied 50 students, including members of the movement, to protest and deliver a petition to the Ugandan parliament against the EACOP.
However, the students did not reach their destination as the police dispersed the protest and arrested Abdul Aziiz, along with three other students who are members of the movement.
“Before we were taken to the Central Police Station in Kampala, where we spent four days, we were held in an enclosed space for about an hour where the police threatened us to stop fighting the government. I was kicked in the ribs by a police officer, and other colleagues were slapped,” Abdul Aziiz told IPS.
However, Sinecan, TotalEnergies press officer, denied claims of sportwashing and involvement in the arrests of climate activists.
“Africa is part of the DNA of TotalEnergies, which has been present on the continent for ninety years and has never ceased to develop its activities and strengthen its local roots. The company employs 10,000 men and women in more than 40 African countries, working across the entire energy production and distribution chain. Every day, nearly 4 million customers visit the 4,700 service stations in the TotalEnergies network in Africa,” Sinecan told IPS.
He added that TotalEnergies “will not tolerate any threat or attack against those who peacefully defend and promote human rights.”
“TotalEnergies has a history of engaging directly with all members of civil society, including NGOs involved in human rights issues. To this end, the company’s commitments include quarterly meetings, stakeholder dialogue, bilateral meetings, webinars on keynote topics identified by NGOs and responses to questions and concerns raised by all project stakeholders,” said Sinecan.
However, activists that IPS spoke to do not agree.
Bhekhumuzi Bhebhe, Campaigns Lead at Power Shift Africa, in a statement sent to IPS said, “Investing millions in sportswashing while undercompensating displaced households exposes a profound deceit by the French multinational. It also highlights the glaring disconnect between corporate sponsorship and genuine social responsibility.”
But the French oil giant denied claims of undercompensating displaced households, telling IPS that “as with all other aspects of the project, TotalEnergies stringently complies with local regulations and international standards (IFC).”
Football and Climate Change
The 2023 AFCON was postponed to 2024 due to adverse weather conditions, leading critics to argue that the tournament underscored the impacts of the climate crisis, for which TotalEnergies and other oil majors are largely responsible.
Richard Heede of the Climate Accountability Project has described EACOP as a mid-sized carbon bomb. The pipeline is projected to become operational by 2025 and once completed, it is expected to contribute approximately 34 million tons of carbon emissions annually for around 25 years.
Baraka Lenga, Greenfaith Tanzania coordinator, considers this a climate disaster.
“For capitalists and businessmen, EACOP implies making billions of dollars. TotalEnergies does not care about human rights but about money. In Tanzania, over 70 percent of citizens depend on agriculture, yet instead of being concerned about the negative impacts of EACOP, TotalEnergies is focused on profit,” Lenga said.
Alagoa Morris, an environmental expert and human rights activist in Nigeria, told IPS that African governments allow oil giants to exploit communities in the continent to maintain support from the Global North, where the majority of these oil firms are based. He says this has also led to numerous oil spills in the continent.
Last year, the Nigerian government confirmed the loss of 3,000 barrels of crude oil in TotalEnergies’ spill in the oil-rich Niger-Delta region, which is already one of the most polluted areas on the planet due to frequent oil spills.
“African governments are complicit in the exploitation of the continent’s oil resources because the wealth generated from oil is then used to fuel the lust for power and wealth of a few individuals, perpetuating a cycle of corruption and environmental degradation,” Morris said.
Renewable Energies?
To do away with fossil fuels by mid-century, world leaders during cop28 held at UAE last year, pledged to keep investing in renewable energies. However, with a projected population of about 2.5 billion in 2050, many African leaders doubt that renewable energy can adequately substitute for energy obtained from fossil fuels required to produce power for a rapidly growing population in Africa.
Seyifunmi Adebote, an environmental policy expert in Nigeria, believes Africa must embrace renewable energy but according to him, “many countries on the continent lack the infrastructure to transition to renewable energy in the short run.”
Despite accusations of investing in fossil fuels, TotalEnergies told IPS that it has “dedicated USD 5 billion to renewable and low-carbon energies and will dedicate another USD 5 billion in 2024. This is the second year in a row that TotalEnergies has invested more in low-carbon energies than in new hydrocarbon projects.
“Since 2020, we have been resolutely committed to our transition strategy, which is based on two pillars: gas and electricity. Gas and low-carbon electricity are at the heart of tomorrow’s energy system. Gas is an essential transitional energy to support the rise of intermittent renewable energies and replace coal in power generation. In electricity, we are already one of the world’s biggest solar and wind power developers, which should put us in the top 5 worldwide in this sector by 2030.”
Victory In Sight
The fate of EACOP is uncertain after several financial institutions, including previous supporters of TotalEnergies, announced they would no longer back the project due to global environmental protests.
European lawmakers have also condemned and called for its delay.
For the Ugandan-based Alphonse, this marks a significant victory in the fight against EACOP, as the lack of financiers could lead to the project being suspended.
“This is the time African countries should move away from fossil fuels. Oil is destroying our continent,” he said.
Jul 30 2024 (IPS) – CIVICUS discusses the upcoming Summit of the Future with Renzo Pomi, who represents Amnesty International at the United Nations (UN) in New York.
Renzo Pomi
In September, world leaders will gather at the UN World Summit of the Future to adopt the Pact for the Future. Ahead of the summit, civil society, academia and the private sector have contributed to the pact’s zero draft. Civil society sees the process as an opportunity to strengthen commitments on the environment, human rights and social justice, and CIVICUS advocates for the inclusion of language on the protection and expansion of civic space. But much work remains to be done before, during and after the summit to ensure ambitious commitments are adopted and then realised.
How did the Summit of the Future come about?
In September 2021, the UN Secretary-General released a report, ‘Our Common Agenda’, outlining global challenges and proposing a summit for world leaders to address them. Originally scheduled for September 2023, the summit was postponed due to a lack of consensus and will now take place in September 2024. Just before the opening of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, world leaders will gather in New York to discuss the future and adopt by consensus an action-oriented document, the Pact for the Future.
The pact and its two annexes – the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations – will be the summit’s main outcome. It aims to address our global challenges through commitments in five thematic areas: sustainable development and financing for development, international peace and security, science, technology and innovation, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance. The pact will address a wide range of challenges facing humanity and the international system, and will seek to make intergovernmental institutions such as the UN more fit for the purpose they were created for.
What has the process towards the draft pact been like, and what role has civil society played in it?
The drafting process has been largely a state-owned and state-exclusive process. Germany and Namibia have co-facilitated the negotiations and presented the zero draft in January and subsequent revisions in May and July 2024.
Civil society participation has been very limited. We rely mostly on friendly states for information, as we are not in the room when negotiations take place. After each draft was released, we were invited to submit our recommendations and participate in virtual consultations to discuss the content. But, while we value these opportunities, nothing replaces the chance to be actively involved in negotiations. When you hold a virtual meeting like this, what you get is a series of hasty statements, not a real dialogue. As a result, we’ve had to lobby states to champion our issues, and it’s unclear whether our views will be reflected in the pact.
While the co-facilitators are often blamed for this, the truth is that the process was agreed by all states. The UN Charter recognises civil society as an important stakeholder, as does the Secretary-General, but many states believe the UN should be exclusively state-run and civil society shouldn’t have a place in discussing important issues.
Further, relations between civil society and the UN in New York are particularly strained compared to Geneva, where there is a more established tradition of including civil society in discussions. And the UN’s financial crisis means there’s no investment in hybrid meetings, which allow civil society organisations (CSOs) that can’t afford to travel to have a voice in meetings.
What did you advocate should be including in the pact?
We made two submissions, one before the zero draft was circulated and the other commenting on it. We analysed the whole document and focused on ensuring that a human rights perspective was adopted in every measure. Our proposals covered issues from Security Council reform to increased civil society participation in the UN.
We have long argued that Security Council permanent members should refrain from vetoing or blocking credible resolutions on serious violations such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Unfortunately, this proposal is not accurately reflected on the draft. States may at the end agree to expand the Security Council, but otherwise most of the language simply reaffirms existing commitments, such as Article 27.3 of the Charter, which prevents states involved in conflicts voting on related resolutions but is currently ignored.
We also highlighted that CSOs face several barriers to engaging with the UN. The Economic and Social Council’s NGO Committee, which reviews applications for consultative status, often acts as a gatekeeper, unfairly denying access to CSOs that challenge the positions of particular states. We have proposed dismantling this committee and setting up an independent expert mechanism to assess applications on the basis of merit rather than political considerations. However, this proposal is unlikely to be included in the pact’s final draft.
How much real impact do you think the pact will have?
We hope some of our recommendations will be included in the pact, but the geopolitical climate suggests many will not. The Secretary-General has correctly identified the challenges, but he has underestimated the difficulty of reaching consensus on meaningful commitments. International cooperation is now almost non-existent. Today’s context resembles the Cold War, where there was no room for agreement on even basic issues. In the current circumstances, it was unrealistic for the Secretary-General to think he could launch such a massive undertaking and get an action-oriented document with real commitments for reform adopted.
It is said that even in the worst moments you have to push for the best. We may not get actionable commitments, but we may still get some good language and a minimum common denominator every country can agree on.
For the pact to have a real impact, global civil society needs to push for the strongest possible commitments and their implementation. In 2005, a similar summit ended with a decision to create the Human Rights Council in place of the discredited Commission on Human Rights. Now it’s very difficult to foresee getting commitments this specific, and as we approach the summit, proposals are being watered down. Civil society will have to be very creative in finding ways to use the watered-down language to demand change.
What’s next for civil society ahead of the summit?
In the days leading up to the summit, Summit of the Future Action Days will allow civil society, states and UN bodies to propose side events. Getting selected is very difficult, as requirements include sponsorship by two member states and one UN entity, and support by a coalition or network of CSOs. As a result, only a few side events will be approved.
As the summit approaches, civil society should focus on reviewing the second revision of the pact and identifying advocacy opportunities. Chances to advance our agenda will become more limited as September approaches. States will struggle to reach consensus on a final document and there will be no space to reopen closed discussions.
Once the pact is adopted, civil society will need to continue to push for critical issues and stay vigilant in monitoring its implementation.
This interview was conducted as part of the ENSURED Horizon research project funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
March for rights in Asunción, capital of Paraguay. Credit Patricia López
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay, Jul 29 2024 (IPS) – In a move that has aroused national and international concern, the Paraguayan Senate has given preliminary approval to a controversial bill that imposes strict controls on NGOs in a case of ‘bureaucratic criminalisation’.
The landscape has become increasingly hostile to the activities of civil society organisations, with several laws representing a rollback of historically defended fundamental rights.
‘Additional bureaucratic hurdles”: the effects of new legislation
Non-profit organisations in the country have to deal with a variety of formalities and ongoing procedures before various public bodies. The proposed legislation, promoted by the ruling Colorado Party, now introduces additional registrations for all NGOs and strict reporting requirements. Under the pretext of improving transparency and accountability, the legislation represents a significant threat to democracy and the operational freedom of civil society in Paraguay.
Controversial elements of the bill include a new mandatory registration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance – which would be the law’s implementing authority – for all organisations receiving public or private funds of national or international origin, detailed reporting of all activities, detailed semi-annual financial reports, and severe penalties for non-compliance, including heavy fines and the possibility of dissolution of NGOs. Critics argue that these ‘legal-political arrangements’ are disproportionate and serve more to intimidate and control NGOs than to promote real accountability.
March for rights in Asunción, capital of Paraguay. Credit Patricia López
What civil society says
The passage of this bill comes in a broader context of growing authoritarianism in Paraguay. Since the 2023 elections, there have been several concerns about the ruling party’s consolidation of power and its impact on democratic institutions. The media, opposition parties and civil society organisations have faced increasing pressures, raising fears of a regression to the authoritarian practices of the past.
Monica Centron, Executive Coordinator of the national NGO platform, POJOAJU, emphasises the broader implications of such legislation for democracy: ‘This law threatens the fundamental rights enshrined in our constitution. It undermines the role of civil society in holding government accountable and promoting social justice. NGOs promote transparency and accountability, we have legislation that obliges us to account for our actions such as the Civil Code, reports to Seprelad (Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Asset Laundering), the Treasury Attorney’s Office, banks, the National Directorate of Tax Revenue, among others’.
Raúl Monte Domecq, from POJOAJU’s coordination team, highlighted the possible adverse effects for smaller NGOs: ‘The administrative burdens and the threat of severe sanctions could lead many smaller organisations to close down. This will have a devastating impact on the communities they serve, particularly the most vulnerable’.
‘It must be understood that we have adopted for our Republic a Social State of Law and as a form of government representative, participatory and pluralist democracy, as enshrined in the National Constitution. The paths of dialogue and consultation, and not the opposite, are necessary requirements for the strengthening of our still incipient process of democratisation,’ says Gladys Casaccia, also a member of the POJOAJU Coordination team.
A threat to democratic principles
The bill has faced strong opposition from various sectors, including religious leaders, civil society organisations and international human rights bodies.
Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Americas director, said that ‘this bill subjects civil society organisations to arbitrary and abusive state control, without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves. It puts human rights defenders and the communities they serve at significant risk’.
Cardinal Adalberto Martinez, has urged the Senate to delay the bill, which will be discussed in less than 2 weeks from now, and initiate a dialogue with the affected sectors. ‘This bill could have serious consequences for our representative, participatory and pluralistic democratic system,’ he warned, emphasising the need for inclusive discussions.
This legislative measure also follows a worrying trend observed in other countries where governments have introduced restrictive laws to curb the influence and operations of civil society. By limiting access to international funding and imposing strict oversight, these laws effectively weaken civil society’s ability to operate independently and advocate for human rights and democratic governance.
Call for action
In light of these developments, POJOAJU and other civil society organisations call for urgent action:
• Postponement and dialogue: they urge the government to halt the legislative process and engage in meaningful consultations with civil society to review the draft law. • Protection of rights: They demand that any new regulatory framework respect constitutional rights and international human rights standards, ensuring that it promotes genuine transparency without undermining the independence of civil society. • International solidarity: Civil society and governments are also being urged to call for dialogue with the Paraguayan government to reconsider this draft law in law. The stakes are high, not only for Paraguay, but also for the precedent it could set in the region.
Mónica Centrón, POJOAJU, Isabella Camargo and Bibbi Abruzzini, Forus
This article is written by the Forus network in partnership with POJOAJU. For more on the “bureocratic criminalisation” of civil society, consult Abong’s report detailing the context in Brazil under Bolsanaro’s presidency here.
Members of the indigenous guard of the native community of Puerto Nuevo, of the Amazonian Kakataibo people, located in the central-eastern jungle of Peru. Credit: Courtesy of Marcelo Odicio
LIMA, Jul 26 2024 (IPS) – The invasion of lands inhabited by Amazon indigenous communities is growing in Peru, due to drug trafficking mafias that are expanding coca crops to produce and export cocaine, while deforestation and insecurity for the native populations and their advocates are increasing
“Drug trafficking is not a myth or something new in this area, and we are the ones who defend our right to live in peace in our land,” said Kakataibo indigenous leader Marcelo Odicio, from the municipality of Aguaytía, capital of the province of Padre Abad, in the Amazonian department of Ucayali.
“We are the ones who pay the consequences, we are visible to criminals, we are branded as informers, but I will continue to defend our rights. Along with the indigenous guard we will ensure that the autonomy of our territory is respected,” Marcelo Odicio.
Of the 33 million inhabitants of the South American country, around 800,000 belong to 51 Amazonian indigenous peoples. Overall, 96.4% of the indigenous population is Quechua and Aymara, six million of whom live in the Andean areas, while the Amazonian jungle peoples account for the remaining 3.6%.
The Peruvian government is constantly criticised for failing to meet the needs and demands of this population, who suffer multiple disadvantages in health, education, income generation and access to opportunities, as well as the growing impact of drug trafficking, illegal logging and mining.
A clear example of this is the situation of the Kakataibo people in two of their native communities, Puerto Nuevo and Sinchi Roca, in the border between the departments of Huánuco and Ucayali, in the central-eastern Peruvian jungle region.
For years they have been reporting and resisting the presence of invaders who cut down the forests for illegal purposes, while the government pays no heed and takes no action.
The most recent threat has led them to deploy their indigenous guard to defend themselves against new groups of outsiders who, through videos, have proclaimed their decision to occupy the territories over which the Kakataibo people have ancestral rights, which are backed by titles granted by the departmental authorities.
Six Kakataibo leaders who defended their lands and way of life were murdered in recent years. The latest was Mariano Isacama, whose body was found by the indigenous guard on Sunday 14 July after being missing for weeks.
In his interview with IPS, Odicio, president of the Native Federation of Kakataibo Communities (Fenacoka), lamented the authorities’ failure to find Isacama. The leader from the native community of Puerto Azul had been threatened by people linked to drug trafficking, suspects the federation.
Marcelo Odicio, president of the Native Federation of Kakataibo Communities, headquartered in the town of Aguaytía, in the department of Ucayal, in the Peruvian Amazon. Credit: Inforegión
During a press conference in Lima on 17 July, the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (Aidesep), that brings together 109 federations representing 2,439 native communities, deplored the government’s indifference in the situation of the disappeared and murdered leader, which brings to 35 the number of Amazonian indigenous people murdered between 2023 and 2024.
Aidesep declared the territory of the Amazonian indigenous peoples under emergency and called for self-defence and protection mechanisms against what they called “unpunished violence unleashed by drug trafficking, mining and illegal logging under the protection of authorities complicit in neglect, inaction and corruption.”
Lack of vision for the Amazon
The province of Aguaytía, where the municipality of Padre de Abad is located and where the Kakataibo live, among other indigenous peoples, will account for 4.3% of the area under coca leaf cultivation by 2023, around 4,019 hectares, according to the latest report by the government’s National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (Devida).
It is the sixth largest production area of this crop in the country.
The report highlights that Peru reduced illicit coca crops by just over 2% between 2022 and 2023, from 95,008 to 92,784 hectares, thus halting the trend of permanent expansion over the last seven years.
These figures are called into question by Ricardo Soberón, an expert on drug policy, security and Amazonia.
Ricardo Soberón, a renowned Peruvian expert on drug policy, Amazonia and security. Credit: Walter Hupiú / IPS
“The latest World Drug Report indicates that we have gone from 22 to 23 million cocaine users, and that the golden triangle in Burma, the triple border of Argentina-Paraguay-Brazil and the Amazonian trapezoid are privileged areas for production and export,” Soberón told IPS.
The latter holds “Putumayo and Yaguas, areas that according to Devida have reduced the 2,000 hectares under cultivation. I don’t believe it,” he said.
Soberón added another element that discredits the conclusions of the Devida report: the government’s behaviour.
“There is no air interdiction in the Amazonian trapezoid, the non-lethal interdiction agreement with the United States will be operational in 2025. On the other hand, there are complaints against the anti-drug police in Loreto, the department where Putumayo and Yaguas are located, for their links with Brazilian mafias,” he explained.
He believes there was an attempt to whitewash “a government that is completely isolated”, referring to the administration led since December 2022 by interim president Dina Boluarte, with minimal levels of approval and questioned over a series of democratic setbacks.
Soberón, director of Devida in 2011-2012 and 2021-2022, has constantly warned that the government, at different levels, has not incorporated the indigenous agenda in its policies against illegalities in their ancestral areas.
This, he said, despite the growing pressure on their peoples and lands from “the largest illegal extractive economies in the world: drug trafficking, logging and gold mining,” the main causes of deforestation, loss of biodiversity and territorial dispossession.
Soberón argued that, given the magnitude of cocaine trafficking in the world, major trafficking groups need coca crop reserves, and Peruvian territory is fit for it. He deplored the minimal strategic vision among political, economic, commercial and social players in the Amazon.
Based on previous research, he says that the Cauca-Nariño bridge in southern Colombia, Putumayo in Peru, and parts of Brazil, form the Amazonian trapezoid: a fluid transit area not only for cocaine, but also for arms, supplies and gold.
Hence the great flow of cocaine in the area, for trafficking and distribution to the United States and other markets, which makes the jungle-like indigenous territories of the Peruvian Amazon attractive for coca crops and cocaine laboratories.
Soberón stresses it is possible to reconcile anti-drug policy with the protection of the Amazon, for example by promoting the citizen social pacts that he himself developed as a pilot project during his term in office.
It is a matter, he said, of turning the social players, such as the indigenous peoples, into decision-makers. But this requires a clear political will, which is not seen in the current Devida administration.
Mariano Isacama (left), a Kakataibo indigenous leader who disappeared and was murdered after allegedly receiving threats from people linked to drug traffickers. Next to him, the president of the indigenous organisation Orau, Magno López. Credit: Courtesy of Marcelo Odicio
“We will not stand idly by”
Odicio, the president of Fenacoka, knows that the increased presence of invaders in their territories is aimed at planting pasture and coca leaf, an activity that destroys their forests. They have even installed maceration ponds near the communities.
When invaders arrive, they cut down the trees, burn them, raise cattle, take possession of the land and then demand the right to title, he explained. “After the anti-forestry law, they feel strong and say they have a right to the land, when it is not the case,” he said.
He refers to the reform of the Forestry and Wildlife Act No. 29763, in force since December 2023, which further weakens the security of indigenous peoples over their land rights and opens the door to legal and illegal extractive activities.
The leader, who has a wife and two young children, knows that the role of defender exposes him. “We are the ones who pay the consequences, we are visible to criminals, we are branded as informers, but I will continue to defend our rights. Along with the indigenous guard we will ensure that the autonomy of our territory is respected,” he stressed.
In the native community of Puerto Nuevo there are 200 Kakataibo families, with 500 more in Sinchi Roca. They live from the sustainable use of their forest resources, who are at risk from illegal activities. “We just want to live in peace, but we will defend ourselves because we cannot stand idly by if they do not respect our autonomy”, he said.
The African National Congress (ANC) has acted like “they’re powerful players on the African stage”, but South Africa “really irritates most” other African countries because “they’re always sticking their noses in everywhere”. So says the former Director of African Studies at the U.S. Army War College, retired Colonel Chris Wyatt, who witnessed the intense dislike for Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma after she was “forced on” the African Union as chairperson. “She went up there and her arrogance…and the distaste people had for her was pretty palpable when I was in Addis Ababa. She was less popular than syphilis.” Commenting on this year’s spate of deaths of SANDF soldiers in the DRC, he says: “They’re like lambs sent to the slaughter. They’re being sent there with insufficient resources, improper medevac, no air support, insufficient logistics. It’s something that South Africa should not be involved in, but it’s all part of the egotistical foreign policy of the African National Congress…” He warns that the SA force is going to find itself “increasingly vulnerable to M23 and about a hundred other rebel groups who have all their own agendas and most of its criminal”. Colonel Wyatt also dissects the “war” between the DRC and Rwanda and explains why President Paul Kagame’s welcome mat in the US is “wearing thin”.
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Highlights from the interview
In an interview with Chris Steyn, retired Colonel Chris Wyatt discussed South Africa’s extensive involvement in various African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, and the DRC. Wyatt questioned the benefits South Africa gains from these engagements, suggesting that the country’s involvement seems to be more about the ANC’s desire to project itself as a significant player on the African stage rather than any tangible gains.
Wyatt highlighted the substantial financial and human costs, mentioning that the South African government has budgeted over 2 billion rand for operations in the DRC, with 900 million rand spent in six months. He argued that this expenditure does not benefit ordinary South Africans, who face numerous domestic challenges, including inadequate educational resources and infrastructure.
Furthermore, Wyatt criticized South Africa’s military presence in the DRC, noting that replacing UN troops with South African forces has left them vulnerable to various rebel groups. He emphasized that the conflict in the DRC is complex and deeply rooted, and South Africa’s involvement is unlikely to bring about significant change.
Wyatt concluded by asserting that South Africa should focus on addressing its internal issues and improving the lives of its citizens rather than engaging in costly and arguably ineffective foreign interventions.
Extended transcript of the interview ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
00:00:11:15 – 00:00:25:17 Chris Steyn: Nearly a dozen South African National Defense Force soldiers have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year. We speak to retired Colonel Chris Wyatt, the former director of African studies at the US Army War College. Welcome, Colonel.
00:00:25:22 – 00:00:39:14 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, thank you, Chris. It’s a pleasure to be back. And what an interesting topic. Once again, we seem to… I really appreciate the topics you keep asking me to talk about. They’re all fascinating. And this one, talking about the South African Defense Force in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I think it’s a timely topic to discuss.
00:00:39:16 – 00:00:55:15 Chris Steyn: Well, I would like to know, as I’m sure you have a very good idea. What is South Africa really doing there? Why is it in South Africa’s interest to be there and have its soldiers slaughtered without logistical support?
00:00:55:17 – 00:01:12:06 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, it’s a fair question. Why is South Africa in the DRC? Now, I’m not going to say this is the case, but I’m going to give an example of why others have been there just to frame this. So we go back to when the government in the 1990s was overthrown, with the movement coming out of the east, they moved across the country.
00:01:12:06 – 00:01:36:22 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Laurent Kabila came across and there was all kinds of devastation. He took over, overthrew the government, and became in charge of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that’s not democratic. It’s not really a republic, but it is the Congo, we’ll give it that. So, he took over. And then the conflict after Rwanda’s genocide spilled over and stayed in the east, in Kivu in particular.
00:01:36:22 – 00:01:58:02 Colonel Chris Wyatt: That part of the eastern part of the country. And that conflict was fueled for a long time. So we wound up getting a bunch of different countries that sent military deployments there, like Namibia. Namibia sent troops to the Congo, Zimbabwe sent troops to the Congo, and others. But those two in particular, the reason they sent troops there wasn’t to stabilize the government, although that was the claim.
00:01:58:04 – 00:02:24:05 Colonel Chris Wyatt: The real reason they were there is that they were profiting from profiteering. The Namibian Defense Forces and Zimbabwe Defense Force were deeply involved in illicit extraction of minerals and diamonds and other things and making a fortune off it. And frankly, in his waning years, the later years of his time, 37 years in power in Zimbabwe, that’s how Mugabe was paying off his generals to keep them content and prevent what eventually became a bloodless coup in 2017 when he was pushed aside.
00:02:24:10 – 00:02:39:17 Colonel Chris Wyatt: But in the years before that, there was no money left because they pilfered the country and they couldn’t even pay soldiers’ salaries. So one way to take care of it was to let them go to the Congo, ostensibly for peacekeeping, but really for pilfering of minerals. And Namibia did the exact same thing. Now, I’m not making any claim that South Africans are doing that.
00:02:39:18 – 00:03:10:07 Colonel Chris Wyatt: I don’t believe that’s what’s going on. There is and there has been throughout the history of South African Defense Force, SANDF troops in the Congo, incidences of criminal activity, soldiers selling their weapons, soldiers running prostitution rings, human slavery, things like that, selling uniforms, selling the rations and things like that meant for troops to local guerrillas and others. That does take place, and unfortunately, that does take place with a lot of militaries on so-called peacekeeping missions, which really are less about peace and more about presence.
00:03:10:09 – 00:03:30:00 Colonel Chris Wyatt: But the South African Defense Force has a long history in the DRC. They’ve been there for two decades. And, the question is why? And then we had two United Nations missions. We had MONUC, MONUSCO, and after two plus decades of United Nations participation in the eastern Congo, there isn’t peace. In fact, it’s just as deadly as it’s been for the past two decades.
00:03:30:02 – 00:03:48:21 Colonel Chris Wyatt: So those forces have been withdrawing this year. Last year in December, the Southern African Development Community said, hey, we’re going to send a mission. Of course, South Africa is a major player in SADC, so they decided to send 5,000 troops from SADC to replace 20,000 troops from the U.N. I’m not good at math, but I think that’s a ratio of 4 to 1 in the wrong direction.
00:03:48:23 – 00:04:10:20 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Maybe you should have sent 80,000 troops from somewhere instead of 5,000, but 5,000 troops… the commitment for South Africa is 2,900. To my knowledge, they haven’t achieved that yet. In no small measure because the SANDF is overcommitted. They have responsibilities all over, from guarding Eskom facilities against sabotage—that’s not a job for the military, but that’s something they’ve been doing—to also being involved in the election, playing a role there.
00:04:10:20 – 00:04:33:11 Colonel Chris Wyatt: And that’s not something the military is supposed to be doing in elections. That’s pretty crazy. And then, of course, a mission that’s often overlooked, and I don’t know the current status of it because of the opaque nature of the Department of Defense in South Africa, they aren’t forthcoming on this publicly the way they used to be. But traditionally, South Africa’s army has had up to seven rifle companies patrolling the border with Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland.
00:04:33:11 – 00:04:54:18 Colonel Chris Wyatt: Or Eswatini, to deter illegal immigration. But with the vast influx of illegal immigrants, you have to wonder if they are even on the border anymore. And when you have seven companies of infantry on the border, you have to realize in a proper military, that means you have 21 companies engaged, because seven companies are on operations, seven companies are rehearsing, preparing, getting ready and moving to the location.
00:04:54:18 – 00:05:13:17 Colonel Chris Wyatt: And seven are in rest, on holiday, taking a break, that sort of thing. So that’s a huge commitment from the infantry battalions in South Africa, with three companies per battalion. That’s a lot of battalions. I don’t know that they’re doing that at this point. But the point is that the South African Defense Force is overstretched, overburdened, under-resourced, and, well, we’ll get into this in a moment.
00:05:13:17 – 00:05:31:00 Colonel Chris Wyatt: But they don’t even have the resources to do what they’re being asked to do in the Congo. So your comment earlier that if you use the word slaughter, I think you said slaughter. If you did not use the word slaughter, they’re like lambs sent to the slaughter. They’re being sent there with insufficient resources, improper medevac, no air support, insufficient logistics.
00:05:31:00 – 00:05:53:00 Colonel Chris Wyatt: The South African government has to pay contractors to fly Russian aircraft to send resources up there. It’s something that South Africa should not be involved in. But it’s all part of the egotistical foreign policy of the African National Congress, all started by Nelson Mandela, you know, interfering in other African countries’ business. Of course, they have no problem complaining about America or China or someone else interfering in African countries’ business.
00:05:53:04 – 00:06:12:00
Colonel Chris Wyatt: But South Africa has its nose everywhere: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, DRC, the list goes on and on, including the Central African Republic. So yeah, that’s why they are there. I guess we’ll get to that in a second here. I’ll give you a chance to get back in here. It’s your program. But why are they there?
00:06:12:02 – 00:06:16:21
Colonel Chris Wyatt: What’s the squeeze? What are you getting? What’s the juice you’re getting for the squeeze? And I don’t think South Africa is getting much.
00:06:16:23 – 00:06:24:05
Chris Steyn: I was going to ask you that. What is the cost versus the gain of South Africa’s involvement? They must be getting something.
00:06:24:11 – 00:06:39:17
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, the only thing I could possibly see they’re getting—I mean, again, I’m not going to make the accusation of getting anything like minerals because I don’t see any evidence of that, but I have seen it with others in the past—the only thing I possibly see is the ANC puffing their chests up like they’re world actors and powerful players on the African stage.
00:06:39:17 – 00:06:55:06
Colonel Chris Wyatt: But South Africa really irritates most other African countries. Chris, I’ve lived all over the continent. I’ve dealt with Africans in West Africa, North Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, South Africa, living in all these places, including working at the African Union. My last assignment in Africa in uniform was at the African Union, and my experience was that most Africans from other countries were not happy about South Africa.
00:06:55:06 – 00:07:16:20
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Remember, this was the time that the South Africans broke the mold about the Secretary for the African Union. The OAU and the African Union traditionally had always been led by not a regional hegemon: never Nigeria, never Algeria, never Kenya, never South Africa, all the way up until Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was forced on the African Union. Her arrogance and the distaste people had for her were palpable. When I was in Addis Ababa, she was less popular than syphilis. I mean, she was never invited to anything unless they were forced to invite her for official purposes.
00:07:16:22 – 00:07:34:21
Colonel Chris Wyatt: South Africa really irritates a lot of people across the continent. They’re always sticking their nose everywhere. So what are they getting out of this? It’s a good question. They’re not getting minerals. So it has to be the self-fulfilling prophecy of the ANC that they’re important, that they matter. Look, make no mistake, the conflict in the DRC is horrendous.
00:07:34:23 – 00:07:53:05
Colonel Chris Wyatt: But it’s decades old, and you’re replacing 20,000 UN troops with proper equipment, in many cases, with South African troops, Malawian troops who work really hard, by the way. And who’s the other one? There’s a third country that’s sending troops, and they’re sending them there with only 5,000 total. They’re not even at full strength now, and they’re only there on a short-term basis.
00:07:53:07 – 00:08:13:15
Colonel Chris Wyatt: They’re supposed to withdraw by December. Well, the Congo is not going to be the land of milk and honey in December. That’s not going to end the conflict there. So what’s the purpose of it? It’s a stopgap measure because the East African Community has withdrawn their forces. The UN has been asked to leave, and the Security Council said, fine, we’ve had enough for two decades, so it doesn’t make any sense.
00:08:13:17 – 00:08:30:14
Colonel Chris Wyatt: With the withdrawal of the EAC and the handoff to SADC, which has gone very poorly, and on top of that, the United Nations pulling out at the same time, the South African forces are going to find themselves increasingly vulnerable to M23 and about 100 other rebel groups who have all their own agendas. And most of it’s criminal. It’s not a good look.
00:08:30:14 – 00:09:02:13
Colonel Chris Wyatt: It’s not a good thing. Lives are being wasted unnecessarily—not just South African lives, but civilian lives—because the South Africans have been accused of targeting civilians in one of the attacks about 30 km from Goma earlier this year. It’s a real mess, and I don’t see what they get out of it. That’s the human cost.
00:09:02:14 – 00:09:20:20
Colonel Chris Wyatt: I mean, the South African government has budgeted over 2 billion rand for this operation, and they will spend over 900 million rand in the six months ending in December. So I really don’t see what they’re getting out of it. It’s not in the interest of South Africans. How does it further your interest? You’ve got kids in school who don’t have textbooks, who are using pit latrines.
00:09:21:02 – 00:09:40:12
Colonel Chris Wyatt: You’ve got a mess in South Africa. You know, it’s time to focus on South Africa—make South Africa great again, or for once, or first, whatever the case is. But make South Africa great and let the DRC be handled. This is, in my view, Chris, a joke by SADC. SADC has had a number of interventions in the past, and this might be the motivation for why South Africa is doing it.
00:09:40:14 – 00:09:56:09
Colonel Chris Wyatt: They’ve had a number of interventions in the Comoros. They’ve gone there repeatedly. They went into Lesotho back in the 1990s in Operation Boleas. That didn’t go particularly well for the South African forces, but it was new then after they amalgamated all the forces. So, you know, they’ve done a few of these interventions, and some have gone well.
00:09:56:11 – 00:10:13:09
Colonel Chris Wyatt: So maybe SADC thinks it actually has some capability to pull this off. But SADC can never accomplish a mission if either South Africa, Botswana, or Angola are not involved. If you don’t get one of the three players involved, they can’t pull it off. And this time, South Africa is involved. So I don’t really know what the purpose of it was or why they’re there.
Colonel Chris Wyatt: I see no gain for ordinary South Africans. If you live in Alexandra, if you live in Kempton Park, if you live in Clifton, if you live in the Cape Flats, I see nothing for you in this, and I see nothing in this for South African soldiers. I feel for them.
00:10:28:22 – 00:10:44:17
Chris Steyn: Well, meanwhile, the rebels seem to be in a more powerful position than ever before, and there are fears that there is a war brewing between Rwanda and the DRC. I don’t know if you agree with that, Chris, that it’s likely.
00:10:44:18 – 00:11:03:19
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, arguably, there’s been a war with Rwanda in the DRC since the 1990s. Kagame has been supporting rebels in eastern Congo for decades and getting away with it. And there were times that the rebels slid back and forth. And of course, the whole reason for me being involved in the DRC ostensibly is because they chased the genocidaires into the DRC in 1994.
00:11:03:19 – 00:11:22:06
Colonel Chris Wyatt: And that’s true. That did happen. However, he’s been sticking his nose in the business here for a long time. Not exactly a democrat or, you know, a magnanimous leader or a benign leader. This is a man who just won reelection with 99.97% of the vote. Wow. I’ll tell you what, I like those odds. Let me run for president of Rwanda.
00:11:22:11 – 00:11:38:14
Colonel Chris Wyatt: That’s pretty good. It’s a country that a lot of people hold up as an example of doing very well because it’s orderly, it’s clean. It’s a place you can do business legitimately without massive corruption. And there aren’t a lot of places like that, unfortunately, across the continent of Africa. So it’s held up as a shining star in many respects.
00:11:38:14 – 00:11:56:20
Colonel Chris Wyatt: But when it comes to democracy, liberty, and freedoms, that’s not Rwanda. And a lot of people recognize that. Kagame’s welcome has been wearing thin for a decade. It’s getting increasingly thin here on this side of the Atlantic as people see him for the authoritarian ruler that he is. But you know what? In Africa and in many places around the world, people are okay with authoritarians.
00:11:56:22 – 00:12:24:02
Colonel Chris Wyatt: As long as the streets are clean, they have water, and they can feed their families, they like authoritarians. And many Rwandans love Paul Kagame. And to be fair to the man, he and his guerrilla movement are the ones that overthrew the genocidaires and ended the horrific situation because the world sat by and watched. I remember that I was on alert orders to go to Rwanda as the genocide was occurring, and we were stopped by the Clinton administration because they were worried that if it was declared a genocide, what would it do for the midterm elections?
00:12:24:02 – 00:12:39:13
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Shameful, people. But, yeah, Kagame is involved. Arguably, they’re in the war. Just because there aren’t Rwandan troops across the border tonight doesn’t mean they’re not part of the war. Just like America’s involved in Ukraine. We’re in the Ukraine war. There may not be American troops, but there’s whatever, $200 billion of American treasuries down there.
00:12:39:15 – 00:13:03:01
Chris Steyn: Judging by Kagame’s landslide victory, he’s even much more popular than his own party. And somehow he has seemed to have been able to get the best of both worlds. He defies the West when it comes to the DRC, but he maintains the support of the West. How does the US view him? You say support is waning a little on that side.
00:13:03:03 – 00:13:24:15
Colonel Chris Wyatt: Well, for a number of years, Kagame was viewed in a very good light in the foreign policy establishment, in the military, national security folks here in the U.S. Not just in the U.S., but also in Western Europe as well, and through many corners of Africa, because they ended the genocide. They had elections, they held their equivalent of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission with their local trials, which for the most part weren’t simply revenge trials.
00:13:24:15 – 00:13:42:11
Colonel Chris Wyatt: They actually tried people on a legitimate basis in these local community trials. So that set an example for the world to look at, and it seemed like they were on the right path. A lot of reasonable policies were put in place that were pro-business reforms. Corrupt officials were actually prosecuted and incarcerated for their actions.
00:13:42:13 – 00:14:01:03
Colonel Chris Wyatt: So everyone was kind of the darling for a while. But we could see, not too long after they took over, just like Uganda, that things were not going to go great. It’s big man politics. And that’s why his welcome mat is wearing thin here in the United States. But the problem is, with so much conflict, so much chaos in that part of Africa, any stability gets rewarded.
00:14:01:03 – 00:14:18:19
Colonel Chris Wyatt: And he got rewarded for what appeared to be a pro-democratic stance and for his pro free market capitalism. By and large, that really went over well for a long time. We saw the same thing with Yoweri Museveni, who came to power in 1986, by the way, with the help of Paul Kagame, who was part of the Ugandan rebels.
00:14:18:19 – 00:14:38:16
Colonel Chris Wyatt: People forget that if you go to their engineer base in the southwest part of the country, which is the home area of Yoweri Museveni, you’ll find a statue. And on that statue, dedicated to the fighters who led an abortive attack in which only three of them had firearms, they attacked an army base as rebels. It was, of course, Yoweri Museveni who led that mission, and Paul Kagame, who was this intelligence guy right there with them.
00:14:38:18 – 00:15:09:15
Colonel Chris Wyatt: So both of them got a free pass. But that all started to wear thin when Obama was president. Ironically, America’s first African-American president, Obama, got into a contest with Yoweri Museveni over homosexuality law, which exploded, and the relationship between the US and Museveni was poisoned and has never recovered with Uganda. Kagame is sitting in a boat now where he’s not because of homosexuality legislation, but because of the continuing conflict and this implausible 99% victory that a lot of people are beginning to question why we’re supporting him at all.
00:15:09:15 – 00:15:20:21
Colonel Chris Wyatt: And so that welcome mat is wearing thin. I don’t know how much longer it will last, but to be honest, you know, when the world’s on fire and one place isn’t, sometimes that’s enough just to get you the support that you need.
00:15:21:00 – 00:15:34:22
Chris Steyn: Thank you. That was retired Colonel Chris Wyatt speaking to BizNews about the SANDF’s involvement in the DRC, where almost a dozen soldiers have died this year. Thank you, Colonel. I’m Chris Steyn.
