From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS: GABON: FRANCO-AFRICAN SUMMIT BEGINS
Date: 13 Oct 92 03:48:48 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.
Originator: barnhart@gagme

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Europe, western
Title: GABON: FRANCO-AFRICAN SUMMIT BEGINS WITHOUT ITS KEY PLAYER


banjul, oct 5 (ips/peter da costa) -- french-speaking africa's
biennial pow-wow with its former colonial ruler opens in gabon
monday with the absence of french president francois mitterrand.

mitterrand failed to show in the capital libreville after
doctors monitoring his recovery from recent prostate surgery
said the journey to the western african country would be too
exhausting for the still-frail 75-year-old president.

at best a talking shop useful for firming up bilateral
contacts between attending leaders, the franco-african summit
has never been strong on agendas, neither has it yielded
resolutions that go beyond vague hints and nuances of future
french policy to africa.

small wonder mitterrand's absence -- the first time in its
nearly two decades of history a french leader has not turned up
-- provided the major talking point on the meeting's eve.

the no-show is a major disappointment for gabon's
presidential strongman omar bongo, who lobbied heavily to host
the gathering and spent millions of dollars setting the stage
for what is now a drama without its leading actor.

bongo -- who capitulated to multipartyism in late 1990 only
after presiding over almost a quarter of a century of one-party
rule -- had hoped mitterrand's presence would provide political
support at a time he is facing criticism over the perceived
manipulation of the democratisation process.

it was bongo's recognition in 1991 that the multi-party
''wind from the east is shaking the coconut trees'' that
provided the backdrop to the last franco-african summit at la
baule, a sleepy breton seaside resort -- where delegations from
33 countries assembled to seek reassurances africa would not be
abandoned by france.

mitterrand's la baule speech on the need for political reform
was a watershed setting out the parameters of franco-african
relations for the 1990s. it introduced the novel issue of
reform as a condition for aid.

france -- so often the agent of bolstering africa's dictators
-- wanted to see good governance and pluralism in its former
colonies.

devaluation of the african cfa franc (tagged to its french
cousin since the late 1940s at a parity of 50 cfa to 1 ff)
threatened to be an issue at la baule. but instead mitterrand
repeated his assurance there would be no radical tinkering with
the franc zone. (more/ips)


gabon:

libreville provides another forum for the devaluation debate
-- especially in light of the current european exchange rate
mechanism crisis and the french public's thumbs-up last month to
ratifying maastricht (the final act toward a single europe).

some economists, among them gallic afro-pessimists, argue the
cfa is grossly overvalued. they say a devaluation would make
francophone africa's exports more competitive while reducing its
predisposition toward expensive luxury imports.

african leaders argue a strong currency is needed to speed
development.

if anything of substance comes out of libreville, it may be
another french initiative on debt relief. a market leader in
debt cancellation, mitterrand announced at la baule future aid
to countries with per capita incomes of less than 500 dollars
would in future get french assistance in the form of grants, as
opposed to loans.

foremost among the issues, such as they are, is the
french military's steady distancing itself from ruling
dictatorships it all too often helped sustain.

while reinforcing its 'epervier' force from 1,200 to 1,800 in
the face of chadian rebel idriss deby's 1990 invasion, it did
little to save outgoing despot hissene habre.

in gabon itself, the violent unrest which followed
lightning-quick elections in late 1990 (widely held to have been
rigged) led to bongo invoking his military pact with france.
paratroopers duly arrived, ostensibly to protect 20,000 french
residents in the country.

but change has already set in. mitterrand opened a pandora's
box at labaule, catalysing the chain of sovereign national
conferences either leading to multiparty polls or prompting --
as in togo and zaire -- strongarm survivalist tactics from
entrenched dictators.

since then coconuts have fallen in every francophone african
country. beginning with benin, the domino effect has spread to
togo, cote d'ivoire, gabon, cameroon, niger, mauritania and
zaire among others. even nominally multiparty countries like
senegal have had to re-examine their committment to democracy.

african leaders may elicit promises of technical help with
keeping democracy alive as well as new committments to helping
sustain their fragile economies.

at the end of the day, however, little in libreville will
change the perception -- held by a growing band of african
intellectuals -- that the franco-african summit is nothing more
than a gathering of subjects playing court to their this-time
absent dauphin. (end/ips/pdc/oa/92)