{US President Tuesday chided African leaders for being a threat to democracy by clinging on to power.}
President Obama noted that most African leaders sought to stay in power for life while defining democracy only by conducting peaceful elections.
Using himself as an example, the US leader said under no circumstances could he contemplate extending his reign after the end of his second term.
“Today, Africa’s democratic progress is also at risk from leaders who refuse to step aside when their terms end. I have to be honest with you—I just don’t understand this. I am in my second term. Under our constitution, I cannot run again. There’s still so much I want to get done to keep America moving forward, but the law is the law and no one is above it, not even presidents,” he said.
He further said nations could only realise their full potential if they were democratic and respected and protected the rights of their people.
The dignity
“The bottom line is that when citizens cannot exercise their rights, the world has a responsibility to speak out, and America will, even if it is sometimes uncomfortable—and even when it’s directed toward our friends,” said President Obama.
Earlier Monday, the US leader had faulted the Ethiopian human rights record even though he commended Addis Ababa’s role in the fight against terrorism in the region.
“…I believe that Ethiopia cannot unleash the full potential of its people if it jails journalists or restricts legitimate opposition groups from participating in the campaign process. And, to his credit, the Prime Minister acknowledged that more work will need to be done if Ethiopia is to be a full-fledged and sustainable democracy,” President Obama said in his address to the African Union in Addis Ababa.
President Obama who later flew out from Addis Ababa, ending his regional visit, stressed that Africans, like people everywhere, deserved the dignity of being in control of their own lives.
“We all know what the ingredients of real democracy are. They include free and fair elections, freedom of speech and the press, freedom of assembly. These rights are universal. They’re written into African constitutions,” he said quoting The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
{{Africa Review}}
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