The Togo football club will not participate in the Africa Cup in Angola after FLEC rebels attacked and killed several members of their team. FLEC is based in the oil-rich Cabinda region.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Courtesy of the Zimbabwe Herald
THE attack on the Togo national soccer team in Angola that left three people dead was a blatant act of terrorism, which should be condemned worldwide.
Yet condemnation of the attack has been muted in Western capitals and in the global media they control.
There has been an attempt to downplay the attack by the so-called Forces for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda-Military Position (FLEC-PM) as if it is justified.
The leader of this group, Rodgrigues Mingas, could gloat at the attack from the safety of France and the host country did not seem alarmed at all.
And yet these are the same countries that claim to be waging a war against terrorism.
In what way is this attack different from the attempt by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a passenger plane minutes before it landed in the United States with 297 people on board? Are they not both terrorist attacks? Is this a suggestion that black blood is cheap?
Instead we have a strange reaction from London and Paris.
We have football coaches like Hull City’s Phil Brown wanting Premier League players at the African Cup of Nations recalled to England.
With 31 Premier League players at Afcon and about 40 from France this would paralyse the tournament and grant victory to the terrorists.
It would be enough incentive for other terrorist groups to repeat these acts of cowardice and brutality elsewhere.
We are glad both the Confederation of African Football and Fifa have stood firm and insisted the tournament must go ahead.
Wanting the players recalled to their leagues in Europe is really not out of fear for their safety but selfishly wanting their services at the expense of their countries. It has not been easy to get players released from these leagues to play at Afcon. Granted, these European clubs pay huge salaries to these players and would be denied their services for a month.
But when they signed them they knew they would have to lose them to Afcon for a month every two years.
That is their contribution to the development of African football from which the leagues are benefiting. The skills of the likes of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Samuel Eto’o and Yaya Toure were honed at such tournaments.
Another unfortunate inference to come out of Europe has been the suggestion that the incident in Angola casts doubts on the ability of South Africa to host the World Cup, as if to suggest that Angola and South Africa are one country; that Africa is one big country and not a collection of 53 sovereign states.
South Africa has been quick to dismiss this unfortunate conclusion.
"We regard what happened in Angola as an isolated terrorist incident. It should be treated as such," said 2010 local organising committee spokesman, Rich Mkondo.
"No impact on South Africa. South Africa is not Angola."
Danny Jordaan, the CEO of the 2010 World Cup, put it more poignantly when he asked: "Why are people suddenly applying double standards? When there are terrorist attacks in Europe, do we hear about the 2012 Olympics being under threat?
No. Angola and South Africa are two separate geographical areas, two separate countries. Besides, the African Nations Cup is not the World Cup."
If anything, the Angola incident should have the effect of sharpening South Africa’s security planning.
It is clear there are those who would not want to see Africa covered in glory.
The whole Sadc region should put its security systems on full alert and help both Angola and South Africa successfully host these two major tournaments.
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