Obama warns African leaders who refuse to step down
US stands with Africa against terror, he says
AFP
AFP, ADDIS ABABA: Barack Obama on Tuesday condemned African leaders who refuse to give up power and urged the continent to end the cancer of corruption, in the first ever address to the African Union by a US president.
But Obama said the rest of the world also needed to change its approach to Africa by boosting fair trade and not just providing aid handouts, and vowed that the United States stood with the region to defeat terrorism and end conflict.
The speech marked the end of a short tour that has seen Obama visit Kenya, his fathers birthplace, and Ethiopia, from where he flew out on Air Force One after the speech.
Both are key security allies in the fight against Somalias Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab militants, but they were also challenged on concerns over democracy, human rights and graft.
Africas democratic progress is also at risk when leaders refuse to step aside when their terms end, Obama said, drawing huge applause and cheers from some sections of the audience in the AUs Nelson Mandela hall.
No one should be president for life, he said, explaining that he was personally relishing handing over office in 18 months.
Now let me be honest with you: I do not understand this. I am in my second term... I love my work, but under our constitution, I cannot run again. I actually think Im a pretty good president, I think if I ran again I could win, but I cant, he said.
And, Ill be honest with you, Im looking forward to life after being president. I wont have such a big security detail all the time, it means I can take a walk, it means I can spend time with my family.
The point is I dont understand why people want to stay so long. Especially when theyve got a lot of money, he said, drawing another huge cheer from the hall -- packed with diplomats but also many civil society activists.
Obamas keynote speech also went further on endemic and institutionalised graft, something he also pressed on in Kenya over the weekend.
Nothing will unlock Africas economic potential more than ending the cancer of corruption, Obama said, before speaking at length of the need for growth to be unlocked by ending discrimination and sexual violence against women and girls.
Obama singled out Burundis President Pierre Nkurunziza -- whose successful bid for a third term provoked weeks of unrest in the small central African nation -- as an example of the dangers of trying to stay put and risking instability and strife.
At the same time, Obama said the world needed to recognise Africas extraordinary progress, and outlined how American businesses were increasing US trade with the continent.
A half century into this independence era, it is long past time to put aside old stereotypes of an Africa forever mired in poverty and conflict, the president said.
He also said that the US stood with Africa to defeat terrorism and end conflict, warning that the continents progress will depend on security and peace.
As Africa stands against terror and conflict, I want you to know the United States stands with you, Obama said in a speech to the African Union, highlighting threats ranging from Somalias Shebab, Boko Haram in Nigeria, insurgents in Mali and Tunisia, and the Uganda-led Lords Resistance Army rebels in central Africa.
Obama said the United States was backing AU military efforts and saluting the brave African peacekeepers battling militants.
