cwr ON EAST AFRICA If she can look up to you shell never look down on herself. <& 1965, The Coca-Cola Company JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1988 AMERICA'S VOLUME 33, NUMBER 1 LEADING MAGAZINE cBFRICfl ON AFRICA A Publication of the (REPORT African-American Institute Letters to the Editor Update The Editor: Andre Astrow African-American Institute Chairman Uganda Randolph Nugent Ending the Rule of the Gun 14 President By Catharine Watson Donald B. Easum Interview with President Yoweri Museveni IK By Margaret A. Novicki and Marline Dennis Kenya Publisher The Dynamics of Discontent 22 Frank E. Ferrari By Lindsey Hilsum Editor-in-Chief Dealing with Dissent Margaret A. Novicki Tanzania Interview with President Ali Hassan Mwinyi Managing Editor 27 Alana Lee By Margaret A. Novicki Acting Managing Editor Politics After Dodoma 30 Daphne Topouzis By Philip Smith Assistant Editor Burkina Special Report Andre Astrow A Revolution Derailed 33 Editorial Assistant By Ernest Harsch W. LaBier Jones Ethiopia On Famine's Brink 40 Art Director By Patrick Moser Joseph Pomar Advertising Director Eritrea: The Food Weapon 44 Barbara Spence Manonelie, Inc. By Michael Yellin (718) 773-9869. 756-9244 Sudan Contributing Editor Prospects for Peace? 45 Michael Maren By Robert M. Press Interns Somalia Joy Assefa Judith Surkis What Price Political Prisoners? 48 By Richard Greenfield Comoros Africa Reporl (ISSN 0001-9836), a non- 52 partisan magazine of African affairs, is The Politics of Isolation published bimonthly and is scheduled By Michael Griffin to appear at the beginning of each date period ai 833 United Nations Plaza. Education New York, N.Y. 10017. Editorial corre- Innocents Abroad 56 spondence and adverdsing inquiries 1 should be addressed lo Africa Report. Another Famine: By Colleen Lowe Morna at the above address. Subscription Page 40 rates: Individuals: U.S.A. $24. Canada Letter from Harare $30. air rate overseas $48 Institutions: U.S.A. $31, Canada $37, air rate over- A City on the Front Lines of War 59 seas $55. Second-ctass postage paid By Andreiv Mcldrum at New York, N.Y. and al additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: If this Culture magazine is undeliverable, please send notice to Africa Report at the A Jewe! in the Smithsonian's Crown 62 above address. Telephone: (212) 949- By Howard French 5666. Copyright c. 1988 by the African- American Institute, Inc. "Sarafina!": The Music of Liberation 65 U.S.A. Newsstand Distribution by FOUR STAR News Distributors. Inc , By Daphne Topouzis 3117 12!h Street. Long Island Cily. New York 11106. Books 67 Photo Credit: The cover pho- tograph was taken in eastern Uganda by Catharine Watson. Mbaqanga Magic 1987 Index 68 Page 65 Decolonizing the Western Sahara to the process of decolonization and the about 200, 000 soldiers, and according to illegal occupation of the territory which observers, Morocco spends about $3.8 To the Editor: are the underlying issues in the Western million just for the daily maintenance of Thank you for your informative ar- Saharan conflict. As long as Morocco its trmps. ticle, "Africa's Forgotten War," by Jon continues to skirt the major issues and Third, by building such "walls," the Marks (September-October 1987). We the obstacles are not removed, it is hard Moroccan military has become a fixed are pleased with the balanced coverage to conceive of a lasting solution to the target for the Sahrawi army, allowing of the Western Saharan war from both conflict. the latter to attack anytime, anywhere. sides of the conflict and welcome the Last, the "wall strategy" is an expensive reversal of Morocco's policy of prohibit- Madjid Abdullah one, therefore leaving the advantage to ing visits by the press and other officials Office of the Sahrawi Republic the liberation movement since the latter to the territory. This demonstrates an Washington, D.C. opts for war of attrition. act of goodwill on the part of the Moroc- By reading the article, I see many cans to resolve the conflict. To the Editor: similarities between South Africa and Recently, the Moroccan government As a regular reader of your magazine, Morocco. Both regimes are challenging allowed a UN technical mission to visit allow me to congratulate you for the ob- the international community by refusing the occupied territory in preparation for jectivity with which you cover African to implement United Nations and OAU a cease-fire and referendum as man- events. resolutions. Like any other occupying dated by UN and OAU resolutions. This force, they deny the reality and the contrasts with the experience of the wishes of their peoples. They believe Swedish UN ambassador, Olof Ryd- that the use offeree is the best and only beck, who was declared persona non way to solve conflicts. And South Africa grata when he led a similar mission to T etters to and Morocco are the only two African the disputed territory on behalf of then the countries which are not members of the Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim in OAU due to the incompatibility of their 1976. E ditor policies with the OAU charter. With regard to a UN-supervised ref- Mr. Marks refers to the "apparently erendum, Mr. Marks' article quotes widespread popular approval of the war King Hassan as saying that if the Sahra- within Morocco." This reminds me of a wis voted for independence, "We will be recent interview given by King Hassan the first to open an embassy in their The article, "Africa's Forgotten in which he said: "The only political pris- capital and offer help." Although Mo- War," by Jon Marks, illuminates the nat- oners we1 have in Morocco are the ones rocco seems prepared to compromise in ure of the presence of the Moroccans in who said that Sahara is not Moroccan." order to solve the problem and is offer- the Western Sahara, which is one of oc- In other words, disapproval means ing "some form of olive branch," the ob- cupation. In the article, there is mention prison. stacles to a fair and free referendum still of the Moroccan "wall strategy" as a As a poor Third World country, Mo- exist. United Nations Secretary-Gen- "success." On this point, I would like to rocco should use its resources for the eral Javier Perez de Cuellar referred to make the following observations: development of its people instead of car- the presence of Moroccan troops and First, history has proven that this rying out a colonial war at the end of the administration during the referendum as strategy always fails, as was the case in 20th century—a luxury it cannot afford. the major obstacles to a settlement. Vietnam, Algeria, etc. Second, since In the government of Morocco's let- the strategy of the "walls" began, Mo- ter in response to Mr. Marks' story in rocco has had to double its occupation Ruben Fraser your last issue, there was no reference army in the Western Sahara, now at Silver Spring, Maryland Africa Report welcomes comments from its readers on issues raised in the magazine and on matters relating to African political and economic development. For reasons of space, a contribution sent in the form of a letter to the editor stands a much greater chance of publication than one submitted as an article. Letters should be as brief as possible, normally between 100 and 400 words. The editor retains the right to abridge or otherwise alter letters for reasons of space or other editorial requirements. It is editorial policy to maintain a balance of views on controversial issues. All letters to the editor should bear the name and address of the sender. Requests for anonymity and non-divulgence will be respected, but such a requirement may render the letter less likely to be published. AFRICA REPORT • January-February 1988 N THE NEWS South African kidnap plot was until recently a major in the sanctions-busting operations—in remains shrouded in South African special forces. return for having helped to effec- mystery Frank Larsen was the key orga- tively neutralize the Seychellois On July 9. when British police nizer of the group in Britain, having opposition. first arrested Frank Larsen in the speni several years winning the In spite of the incriminating mate- lavatories of a central London hotel confidence of Seychellois opposi- rial brought together before the while on a routine homosexual sur- tion leader Pierre Ferrari, and hav- court. Attorney General Sir Patrick veillance operation, they had little ing convinced him that his merce- Mayhew suddenly decided to drop reason to suspect that they hadaeei- naries would help organize a Brit- the case against the four men in late dently stumbled across a bizarre ish-backed invasion to overthrow October, allegedly because of a lack and complex undercover affair that the Rene government. But as it of evidence. He attempted to dis- would later threaten to put Marga- turned out. Larsen and his accom- tance the British government from ret Thatcher's lory government plices were merely setting up the the plot by claiming that the docu- into real hot water. But after more Seychellois opposition, so thai once ments were forgeries and that none than six months of trying to untan- the ANC members had been kid- of the men worked for the British gle the convoluted tale—involving a napped, all suspicion would lead in security services. South African plot to kidnap promi- Iheirdirection. The police, however, admitted nent members of the African Na- that among the mass of forged docu- tional Congress and a scheme by ments Frank Larsen had in his pos- London-based exiles to overthrow session, there were some genuine Seychelles President Alherl Rene's ones, including some that were clas- government—embarrassing suspi- sified.