COUPS IN MAURITANIA, GUINEA BISSAU AND MADAGASCAR
As parts of Africa seemed to be returning to the era of government change by coup d’etat, President Kikwete reiterated his strong objections, upholding the stand he has been taking during his one year as Chairman of the AU. He said he differed emphatically from the newly elected AU Chairman, Col. Muammar Gaddafi and the Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who had presented a request that membership of Mauritania and Guinea Bissau be restored to the AU.

Kikwete spoke even more strongly against the coup in Madagascar. With the support of many heads of state and to widespread applause of other members at the UN Conference Centre Economic Committee for Africa (UNCC-ECA) in Addis Ababa, he requested his fellow leaders in Africa to be honest when discussing important issues about African development. President Wade had defended his call to allow military governments in AU, saying that the Guinea coup was being supported by the people. President Kikwete said: “It is very simple for the army to organise people into the streets and make them sing praises. You can do anything when you have a gun, and I know that because I was once in the army….If you want to become a President, first resign from the army, as I did” he said. – Guardian.

AND THE SUDAN
President Kikwete, together with other African heads of state has condemned the action of the International Criminal Court in indicting Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir for war crimes. Their fear is that arresting Al-Bashir could worsen the situation in Darfur.

However, former Tanzanian Foreign Minister Dr Asha Rose Migira, who is now the Deputy Secretary General of the UN in New York, does not agree. According to the East African she told the media in Dar es Salaam that the UN recognised and respected the decisions of the Court as a legally instituted authority. “President Al-Bashir must cooperate with the court” she said.