19 - 25 July 2001
Issue No.543
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 19 - 25 July 2001 Issue No.543 |
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On the lighter side
Maurice Guindi remembers some of his experiences while covering the erstwhile OAU for more than a decade
The scene was Africa Hall, headquarters of the Organisation of African Unity in Addis Ababa, and the occasion was the opening of a summit in the sixties. Delegates -- heads of state and government, special envoys, foreign ministers and other dignitaries -- had taken their seats. Reporters, photographers and cameramen were gathered at the entrance, and everybody was on their toes awaiting the arrival of Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie to inaugurate the proceedings. Then the trumpets sounded and a long motorcade rumbled up the ramp of Africa Hall and stopped at the wide, carpeted staircase leading into the building. An officer jumped from the front seat of a huge black Rolls Royce, opened the door for his imperial majesty, saluted and stood aside. Ethiopian guards lining the staircase clicked their heels and stood at attention. The next moment was an anti-climax, staggering and comic. Instead of the bearded, diminutive emperor emerging from the car, a tiny Chihuahua jumped out and hopped up the stairs whinning and yelling. The poor thing as evidently disturbed by all the pomp and circumstance around it. Guards rushed to catch the lap-dog as the emperor slowly stepped from the car and up the stairs, smiling and perfectly composed.
From top: Nasser and Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah; Nasser and Tanzania's first president Julius Nyerere; Nasser and Guinea's firt pressident Ahmed Sekou Toure. The three leaders were among Nasser's closest political and ideological associates in Africa
That was one of a long array of memorable scenes that brightened up my days as I covered the OAU regularly from the mid-sixties to the late seventies.
One striking thing about the OAU was the meticulous regularity with which it convened -- one summit and two ministerial sessions annually. Its performance may have been less impressive although its founding fathers included such leaders as Gamal Abdel-Nasser of Egypt, Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, Tanzania's Julius Nyerere and Zambia's Kenneth Kaunda. Among the hottest issues the OAU grappled with in its early days was the Unilateral Declaration of Independence issued by white supremacist Prime Minister Ian Smith to entrench racist control. OAU members were enraged and pondered a tough response.
This brings me to another memorable episode in which I was personally involved. On the first day of a ministerial meeting on Rhodesia, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad tabled a draft resolution at the morning session and the delegates decided to study it and return in the evening to debate it. With other journalists I waited in the lobby to chat up delegates. I knew from an interpreter present about Riad's proposal but that was all. I had no idea about the content. I asked the foreign minister of a French-speaking country in southern Africa about the highlights of the draft. To my surprise, he said he had the text and asked if I would like to see the English or French version. English, I replied in total disbelief. On his orders, his secretary opened his briefcase and handed me the English text then and there, as delegates and reporters milled about.
I ran to the press centre and filed a story which was picked up by BBC and other radios. Riad happened to tune in on BBC and heard it. He made a very strong protest at the beginning of the evening session. Other delegates chimed in, blaming the secretariat for the leak. There was a stormy exchange of charges and counter- charges. Secretary-General Diallo Telli of Guinea criticised delegates who, he said, were wont to leave their papers and briefcases behind in restaurants and bars after eating and drinking. The Ethiopian foreign minister ordered an investigation and my telexed story was traced. Ethiopian security officers questioned me about my source. When I refused to name him, I was threatened with expulsion from the conference and Ethiopia. I stood my ground and had the support of my fellow journalists who, in turn, threatened to walk out if I were expelled. I never heard from Ethiopian security again and we carried on with our job.
I shall never forget the race among journalists to obtain confidential OAU documents -- political and economic reports, draft resolutions and other records. This baffled and infuriated secretariat officials and Ethiopian security officers. The cat-and-mouse game was rendered more exciting because the documents had different colours for English, Arabic and French -- the OAU working languages -- and journalists made a point of covering them with thick white paper.
Our reasoning went like this: it was our duty to seek information by all means and it was up to security and secretariat officials to stop leaks at the source. More often than not, journalists had the upper hand.
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