[Imc-africa] Banning the BBC in Kenya

[sphinx]

Thanks Zoe for the story.
Yet I wish to point out that the problems between Kenya and Britain are very
typical of some of the problems we?ve and we'll be seeing in the years ahead
in lots of countries in Africa. It is an extreme version of it that 
started the
war in Ivory Coast and is at the core of the French Coordinated genocide in
Rwanda. The name of the problem is monopoly rights for contracts AT GUN POINT.
What happened was, as the struggle for independence intensified in 
Africa a lot
of former colonialist decided to offer deals with some of the independent
movements in exchange for them to stop the terror that they raining on the
Africans in an attempt to stop the independent movement. With the unset of the
cool war some of these new independent African states were threatened 
they will
be classified as potential communists countries and thus targeted for economic
blockage if they appeal these deals.  Thus many of the African governments let
this excessive exploitation continue.  So you had for example in Ivory Coast
the French had a no-bid contract to supply most of the government 
corporations,
the army and the ministry of equipment and infrastructure. What that means is
the governments of Ivory Coast MUST buy all supplies for offices from 
papers to
computers, service cars and other heavy equipment only from the French, 
even if
there be other companies from different countries that offer better 
quality and
at cheaper cost.
Britain had made somewhat similar deals with the Kenyatta government on the
verge of the independence of Kenya; though not as invasive as the French deal
in Ivory Coast.
Britain has insisted past Kenyan governments respect the deal or they 
will throw
the human rights accusation on them and make similar threads of running them
down like they have done to Mugabe. With the cold war gone and the Kenyan
democratically elected government having nothing to worry about their human
rights records as well as determine to bring in development, the government
decided to ditch the deal. Since then the British have gone on the offensive
attacking the Kenyan government every time the opportunity showed up in an
attempt to intimidate them into thinking over the deal. In a very 
unprecedented
manner The British Ambassador to Kenya went on the offensive attacking 
his host
government about corruption and all kinds of things and yet unable to
substantiate on his accusations.
The Kenyan government opened the no-bid contract that were for Britain 
only for
the best bidder; which brought in companies from all over the world; China,
Indonesia, Eastern European and others.
The BBC has hardly delved into the motivation of the persistent British 
attacks
on this Kenyan government.  Haven seen what has happened to Mugabe (though he
has his own issues ), the Kenyan government seems determined to stand-up to
what they see as outright attempts at intimidation.

For more information on the last games the imperialist and playing in Africa,
read the New African : http://www.africasia.co.uk/newafrican/

Sphinx

Quoting Zoe Sullivan <zoe_sullivan at hotmail.com>:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm passing on this link just to give people a sense of some of the context
> for the media work that we will be doing in Kenya. The Kenyan government is
> threatening to bar BBC broadcasts in the country unless Kenyan broadcasts by
> the KBC (Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation) can be aired in London.
>
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6155142.stm
>
> Zoe
>
> We are the ones we have waited for.
>
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