Africa in Review 2021: Continuing Pandemic Highlights Public Health Crisis

By Abayomi Azikiwe 

Dec 30, 20210

From the lack of vaccines to the discovery of the Omicron variant, the continent is struggling to recalibrate its developmental trajectory

A gathering entitled “1st International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA)” took place during mid-December organized by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC) based at the African Union (AU) headquarters located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the longstanding problems related to the lack of public health infrastructure on the continent of Africa and its resultant social consequences.

In late November of 2021, scientists in the Republic of South Africa detected the Omicron variant of coronavirus. South Africa has been on the frontline in the battle to contain the pandemic since the country has more confirmed cases than any other state on the continent.

Statistics from the final days of 2021, indicate that South Africa has detected 3.4 million COVID cases while more than 90,000 people have succumbed to the disease. The population of South Africa is rapidly approaching 60 million.

The overall number of coronavirus cases in Africa stands at 8.6 million with 222,000 deaths reported from the disease. These figures, like those in other geo-political regions of the world could very well be underestimated. The lack of testing, particularly in developing countries, could conceal the magnitude of the public health crisis on the continent and internationally.

In specific reference to South Africa, instead of being applauded for its scientific discovery, the western capitalist countries led by the United States, immediately imposed a travel ban on South Africa and seven of its neighbors. It was reported that the Omicron variant sample was taken from someone in Botswana which shares a border with South Africa. However, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi, Eswatini and Mozambique were included in the sweeping and apparently arbitrary measure.

The travel ban was issued during the holiday season when countries in Southern Africa rely on tourism to bolster their foreign exchange earnings. After announcing the ban due to the appearance of Omicron, the decision by the administration of President Joe Biden and other western leaders, came under intense criticism. Charges of racism and double standards came from a myriad of sources both within and outside the African continent. The ban was lifted in late December of 2021.

Omicron has been noted as substantially more transmissible than the dreaded Delta variant which has resulted in the hospitalizations and deaths of millions of people internationally. Since the advent of the pandemic in early 2020, there have been approximately 284 million known infections and more than 5.4 million deaths.

There are far more detected cases in the U.S. than any other country where 53.3 million infections and in excess of 820, 000 deaths have been devastating to the economic and social stability of the population. The presence of Omicron has only accelerated the number of infections prompting disruptions in the labor force, industrial supply chains, educational services, among other issues.

In Africa the economic impact has been substantial since in several of the most advanced states restrictions on gatherings, schooling and travel rendered millions idle. The decline in domestic and world trade has posed challenges to the AU member-states making the recent CPHIA summit quite timely.

The three-day conference was addressed by scientists, medical practitioners, businesspeople, government officials and social scientists. After the conclusion of the event, a statement was issued which read in part that: “Over 140 African policymakers, scientists, public health experts, data experts, and civil society representatives presented the latest learnings and research from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the actions needed to better guard against current and future health crises…. The opening ceremony was followed by a plenary discussion on the epidemiology of SARS-COV-2. This included a presentation by Prof. Salim Abdool Karim, Director of the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), who is among those leading research into the Omicron variant. Explaining the variant’s trajectory in South Africa, he emphasized the need to continue trusting and implementing strong public health interventions. ‘There is no need to panic. We’ve dealt with variants before, including those with immune escape. Closing borders has almost no benefit. Public health systems work, public interventions like masks and social distancing work. Let’s use them,’ said Prof. Karim. Other presenters featured included Prof. Penny Moore, Virologist, University of Witwatersrand, and Prof. Ibrahim Abubakar, Dean, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London.” (https://africacdc.org/news-item/first-international-conference-on-public-health-in-africa-closes-with-urgent-call-for-a-new-public-health-order/)

Plans for Vaccine Manufacturing in Africa

There has been much discussion emanating from the African continent through the ACDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) on the question of vaccine inequality. Some have gone as far as to categorize the disparities as “vaccine apartheid.”

The fact that only 10% of eligible Africans living on the continent have been fully vaccinated illustrates clearly the international division of healthcare access. These grim statistics has drawn sharp comments as well from the Director Generals of both the ACDC, Dr. John Nkengasong, as well as Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the WHO. Both of these institutions find it unconscionable that western states are providing widespread availability to boosters, while most Africans have not had even one dose of the numerous vaccines available.

There are other medicines which are used to treat COVID that are not accessible to most people in Africa and other developing states. However, there are operations underway in Africa where coronavirus vaccines are being produced in partnership with international institutions.

Even prior to the advent of COVID-19 two years ago, the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) was formed. Its mission is described on its website as being: “Looking beyond the provision of vaccines in emergency situations the AVMI will coordinate efforts of African vaccine manufacturers and other interested parties, who have a vision to see Africa produce its own vaccines and biologicals for both routine and emergency situations. Working with governments, regional bodies, NGO’s, the private sector, academic institutions, and relevant key opinion leaders AVMI aims to create, through partnerships, an environment on the African continent, which is conducive to the emergence, development and sustainability of vaccine and biological manufacturers that meet global quality standards.” (https://www.avmi-africa.org/about-us/who-we-are/)

In July it was announced that Pfizer and BioNTech would collaborate with South Africa’s Biovac Institute to “fill and finish” the production process of COVID-19 vaccines for shipment to other African states. According to Reuters: “The agreement comes as Pfizer and BioNTech try to sway World Trade Organization (WTO) members from supporting a waiver on some intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. It will make Biovac – a joint venture between the South African government and private sector partners – one of the few companies in Africa processing and distributing COVID-19 shots, and the first to do so using the mRNA technology.” (https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizerbiontech-strike-south-africa-covid-19-manufacturing-deal-with-biovac-2021-07-21/)

Egypt is working in conjunction with the People’s Republic of China in its vaccine manufacturing and distribution project. China has developed its own coronavirus vaccines which are being shared with numerous African states. The process of manufacturing is essential in closing the gap between the continent and other geo-political regions.

Xinhua news agency in China says of the joint project with Egypt that: “The vaccines are being produced by Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) as per an agreement signed in April with Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac. ‘Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to the global need of vaccines, we prepared ‘Factory 60’ inside one of the factories and production lines of VACSERA to produce COVID-19 vaccines in partnership with China’s Sinovac,’ said Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed in a recent tour inside VACSERA factory in Agouza district of Giza province near downtown Cairo. The minister pointed out that the Sinovac production line inside VACSERA factory in Agouza can meet the local needs of vaccines with a production capacity of 200 million doses annually.” (http://www.news.cn/english/africa/2021-09/07/c_1310173667.htm)

These joint operations related to COVID-19 vaccination production are being planned or are already underway in other states such as Senegal, Morocco and Algeria. Nonetheless, the demand for vaccines of all types along with adequate pharmaceutical and medical equipment require greater cooperation among African states in regard to the acquisition and manufacturing of these products. (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01048-1)

In the medium and long-terms, the manufacturing of healthcare necessities combined with scientific medical research will require the socialization of production. The last two years has revealed further that the 1.3 billion people on the continent cannot afford to wait for the charitable contributions of the West and other geo-political regions of the world.

Moreover, the democratization of healthcare resources on a global scale entails a protracted political struggle against world capitalism. Consequently, a united Africa will be in a much better position to acquire what is essential to effectively compete within international community.

Sudanese Masses Pressure Military Regime to Relinquish Power

December 29, 2021

Western-backed regime faces the resignation of interim prime minister amid continuing demonstrations throughout the country

By Abayomi Azikiwe Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Political Analysis

Since the October 25 coup by the military in the oil-rich state of Sudan, the democratic movement has held protests almost on a daily basis.

Interim Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, a technocrat with extensive ties to international finance capital, was overthrown during the late October putsch only to be reinstalled in a secret agreement with the Transitional Military Council (TMC) led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan which excluded the main opposition parties and mass formations which have guided the revolutionary movement since December of 2018.

Over the last three years, former longtime President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, was overthrown in an April 2019 coup led by the TMC which was designed to thwart a people’s takeover which would have inevitably involved a vanguard role for the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC). The FFC grew out of an alliance with the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA), the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, along with dozens of other opposition forces from various political spectrums including the Communist Party (SCP). 

However, the massacre of demonstrators during June 2019 prompted a more engaged intervention by the African Union (AU) based in neighboring Ethiopia, where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sought to mediate the conflict. In several months the Sovereign Council was created ostensibly designed as a transitional body that within three years would result in a multi-party election creating a parliament and presidency through direct selection by the electorate.

However, the entire process has been derailed largely at the aegis of imperialist forces seeking to dominate the current and future situation inside the country. Under the previous administration of President Donald J. Trump, Prime Minister Hamdok was compelled to acknowledge the so-called “Abraham Accord” which is designed to expand the diplomatic recognition of the state of Israel in Africa and West Asia while undermining international solidarity with the Palestinian people. This measure has not been fully implemented diplomatically although there are reports of at least two exchanges of delegations between Khartoum and Tel Aviv.

These maneuvers by Washington and its allies have not pacified the FFC and other popular forces who have remained in the streets. Even the armed opposition groupings from the Darfur region of Sudan and the border areas of the now partitioned Republic of South Sudan, who signed on to the November 21 post-coup arrangements, are still within a highly precarious situation in their relationship with the military leadership. 

The latest round of demonstrations could only be suppressed by the deployment of the police, paramilitary units and the army. At a December 24 public rally called by the FFC, unnamed individuals set off teargas in the crowd in the effort to disrupt the meeting.

December 25 was marked by renewed mass demonstrations demanding the immediate resignation of Hamdok and the military from the reigns of state power. Actions were held in the three major cities surrounding the capital of Khartoum, Khartoum North and the twin-city of Omdurman. Additional protests extended to the east of the country around Port Sudan where organizations have put forward their own unique set of demands for the military regime.

Sudan Tribune reported on the level of repression carried out by the security forces saying: “The Sudanese government closed main streets leading to the Republican Place in Khartoum, shut down internet services, and deployed troops on the bridges linking the three towns of the capital Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman. Five days after the last protests of December 19, the demonstrators again made their target the presidential palace which is the premises of the military-dominated Sovereign Council. In spite of the massive deployment of joint security forces including the police, the army and the Rapid Support Forces, the protesters marched towards the Palace chanting slogans to denounce the coup d’etat of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.” (https://sudantribune.com/article253411/)

What has been notable in the demonstrations for democratic transformation since 2018 is the high level of participation of women in the revolutionary movement. Many have moved to the front of the actions challenging the discrimination and marginalization prevalent in Sudanese society. These women have been met with harsh repression where sexual assault has been utilized has a means to driving women off the streets. These attempts to suppress women through brutal attacks have not worked and instead has prompted manifestations by women exposing the crimes being committed by the military and the entire security apparatus.

The same above-mentioned report by Sudan Tribune emphasizes: “[W]omen participated in Saturday’s (Dec. 25) protest to show they were not intimated by the sexual violence and rape by the security forces on 19 December. The police used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse the protests in the streets near the Republican Palace. Nonetheless, they failed to stop the demonstrators. The security authorities in Khartoum on Friday (Dec. 24) announced the closure of the bridges and streets leading to the sovereign and strategic sites…. ‘The people are stronger, and it is impossible to go back,’ they also chanted to voice their determination to continue the protests that started immediately after the first hours of the coup on October 25.”

Sudan and Regional Stability in the Horn of Africa

Meanwhile in neighboring Ethiopia, the U.S. is attempting to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The State Department and corporate media outlets based in the West have sought to create an atmosphere where the administration in Addis Ababa is considered brutal and illegitimate. 

In line with this approach by Washington, the Sudanese military junta has sided with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels fighting the elected government in Addis Ababa and other centers of authority throughout the Horn of Africa state. With the TPLF rebels in retreat, returning to their bases in the Tigray province by clearing out areas within the Afar and Amhara regions of the country, the Sudanese military regime is being placed in an even more unstable position. 

Funding from the U.S., the Gulf Monarchies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates along with Tel Aviv is contingent upon Gen. al-Burhan’s compliance with the imperatives of western imperialism. The mass democratic movement in Sudan, if it is to seize power, will inevitably be forced to shift the overall foreign policy of the country. Absent of fundamental changes in domestic and foreign policies, the nation of Sudan will remain subject to the manipulation by the capitalist centers of the West and their surrogates throughout Africa and West Asia.

During mid-to-late December, numerous news articles have appeared suggesting that the reinstalled interim Prime Minister Hamdok is threatening to resign from his tenuous post as head of the second iteration of the Sovereign Council. If Hamdok leaves, which the U.S., UN and the Gulf Monarchies do not want to happen, the military will be weakened even further politically. The lack of a political underpinning for the TMC is causing the armed forces to utilize heightened levels of repression against the democratic movement.

Sudan and the International Situation

With the ascendancy of the current U.S. President Joe Biden in January 2021, the foreign policy of the State Department and the Pentagon has not shifted in its substance towards the African continent. The Trump administration sought to prop up the military regime in Sudan and the same approach continues under Biden.

As Trump was hostile towards the present government in Ethiopia, so is the Biden administration. The U.S. fears a genuinely revolutionary democratic Africa where the foreign policy of the post-independence states is based upon the interests of the majority of workers, farmers, youth and other popular strata within these developing countries. 

After two decades of direct occupation of Afghanistan, the U.S. was forced to leave in humiliating defeat during August 2021. The military adventures in the West Asian and African states of Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen are facing a similar fate as to the outcome of Afghanistan in Central Asia. Trillions in U.S. currency has been spent on these occupations and proxy wars while the national infrastructure of the urban, suburban and rural areas is in rapid decline.

Of course, the failure of imperialist war is paid for by the workers and oppressed in the U.S. struggling against rising impoverishment, racist bigotry, national oppression, gender discrimination, environmental degradation, among other social ills. Consequently, the antiwar and anti-imperialist struggle is essential in the efforts to overturn capitalist exploitation and national oppression.   

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Featured on Press TV News Review: A Political Stalemate in Somalia Halts Elections

Watch this worldwide satellite network television segment News Review featuring Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. 

To view this segment, go to this link: Somalia's PM accuses president of 'coup attempt' after suspension over corruption allegation | Urmedium

Azikiwe discusses the current political stalemate in the Horn of Africa state of Somalia and the role of the United States in the continuing dependency and underdevelopment of the geo-strategically located and resource-rich country. 

The report aired live on Mon. Dec. 27, 2021.

Pan-African Journal: Special Worldwide Radio Broadcast for Sun. Dec. 26, 2021--Hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor

Listen to the Sun. Dec. 26, 2021 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire.

To hear the podcast of the program, go to the following URL: Pan-African Journal: Special Worldwide Radio Broadcast 12/26 by Pan African Radio Network | Politics (blogtalkradio.com) 

The program features our PANW report with dispatches on the announcement by the Ethiopian government that it has arrested suspects in a plot to destabilize the Horn of Africa state; there were more than one hundred people injured during recent protests in the Republic of Sudan which demanded an immediate transition to civilian democratic rule; Mozambique civilians are requesting additional support from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the fight to end the insurgency in Cabo Delgado; and South African Anglican Bishop-emeritus, Desmond Tutu, has died in the Republic of South Africa. 

In the second hour we look back on two major stories of 2021: the centenary of the Tulsa Massacre and the attempts to destabilize the government of Ethiopia. 

Finally, we review some of the most pressing and burning issues taking place on the African continent."

Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast for Sat. Dec. 25, 2021--Hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor

Listen to the Sat. Dec. 25, 2021 edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. 

To hear the podcast of this episode, go to this link: Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast 12/25 by Pan African Radio Network | Politics (blogtalkradio.com) 

The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the statement by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on the military decision to not enter the Tigray province of the Horn of Africa state; mass organizations continue to demonstrate for democracy in the Republic of Sudan; there was a bomb explosion at a restaurant in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and the travel ban imposed by the United States against eight Southern African nations will be lifted by the end of the year. In the second hour we look further into the situation in Ethiopia with briefings and analysis from government officials and journalists. 

Finally, we listen to a briefing from the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General, Dr. John Nkengasong, on the public health situation on the continent.

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Interviewed on Press TV: Vaccines Inequality Continues amid Pandemic

Watch this worldwide satellite television network program entitled News Review featuring Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, discussing the growing vaccine inequality internationally. 

To view this interview, go to the following link: Vaccine Inequality: Not enough jabs in developing countries | Urmedium

Abayomi Azikiwe notes that the phenomenon of structural deficiencies in developing states can severely hamper distribution. 

This combined with the unequal access to vaccines and other medicines will only serve to prolong the pandemic. The segment aired live on Wed. Dec. 22, 2021.

Ethiopian Offensive Prompts Retreat by Western-backed Rebels

December 22, 2021

Armed opposition grouping announces withdrawal from Amhara and Afar provinces of the Horn of Africa state

By Abayomi Azikiwe Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Analytical Review

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has returned from the frontline in the battle to halt the advances of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

TPLF rebels launched an attack on the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) during early November of 2020 triggering a conflict which has resulted in the deaths of thousands and the displacement of several million people inside the country and in neighboring Sudan.

Abiy, who was elected to a full term of office in 2021, had already declared a unilateral ceasefire in June. Nonetheless, the TPLF continued the conflict by sending its rebel forces into the Amhara and Afar populated areas of Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia, a vast country of over 115 million people, the second most populous state on the African continent, is composed of numerous ethnic groups and nationalities. Since the ascendancy of the Abiy administration in the aftermath of a national uprising against the TPLF-led Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) regime in the early months of 2018, the prime minister has sought to unite the country under the political banner of the Prosperity Party (PP). 

The TPLF grouping which maintained control of the Tigray province after 2018 in the north of the country has consistently refused to participate in efforts aimed at building national unity in Ethiopia and Pan-African solidarity throughout the Horn of Africa region. The rebels held provincial elections in 2020 despite the call by the central government in Addis Ababa to postpone voting across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Obviously, the central government was taken unawares after its forces were attacked in the Tigray provincial capital of Mekelle. In the first few months of the war, the ENDF retook Mekelle and other areas of the province prior to announcing a unilateral ceasefire in June for the purposes of allowing humanitarian assistance and the agricultural production of the farmers.

In recent weeks, after the prime minister visited the frontline, the character of the conflict has shifted once again. The Ethiopian military has been able to retake land from the TPLF in the most contested areas of the country.

United States media outlets apparently working in collaboration with the State Department and the Pentagon, began to spread misinformation about the purported “imminent collapse” of the Abiy government in Addis Ababa in November. These reports were contradicted by the Ethiopian government along with visitors to the country who repeatedly stated that the capital city was calm even with the prime minister’s declaration of a state of emergency.

The claims of mass starvation, sexual assault and accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide flourished within the western governmental and corporate press agencies. The Ethiopian administration of Prime Minister Abiy was identified by the U.S. and its allies as the perpetuator of these crimes. However, the government denied these allegations saying the charges were solely being leveled by the TPLF and its supporters to further isolate Addis Ababa.

Eyewitness reports related to the war crimes committed by the TPLF’s Defense Forces (TDF) went largely ignored by the western media. TPLF forces took trucks and other equipment sent to the area for humanitarian purposes. The Abiy government accused elements working within the United Nations framework in Ethiopia as being collaborators with the rebels. In the modification of their allegations of war crimes committed by the central government, in recent weeks the western-backed agencies are now saying that abuses have occurred on both sides of the conflict. The prime minister and his government have categorically rejected any accommodation of the TPLF and its demands which often solidarizes with imperialist interests in the Horn of Africa.

An Ethiopian-oriented news agency, Borkena.com, reported on the recent situation on the battlefront noting that: “Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces retreated to the Tigray region of Ethiopia after facing devastating military defeats in the Afar and Amhara regions of Ethiopia over the past three weeks.  Six prominent TPLF military generals whose names are still undisclosed were killed in the Kasagita Front in the Afar region of Ethiopia, as reported by local Ethiopian sources about three weeks ago. After losing a fortified military stronghold in the areas, whose objective was said to be to cut off the supply route to Djibouti and hold Ethiopia in a choke position, losing battles became pervasive in the areas it controlled.  In a span of less than two weeks, TPLF was forced to leave cities after cities in the western, Eastern and Wollo front in the center. Shewarobit, Debre Sina, Ataye, Kemissie, Kombolcham Batie, Dessie, Haik, Wuchale, Wurgehsa, Mersa, Woldia and Kobo were freed from TPLF forces one after the other.” (https://borkena.com/2021/12/20/tplf-forces-retreat-to-tigray-after-devastating-loss-leader-begs-for-peace/)

The Role of the U.S. and United Nations in the Conflict

Under the previous administration of President Donald J. Trump, threats against Addis Ababa were made related to the construction and operations of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project (GERD). The project, which is the largest hydroelectric plant in Africa, has been planned for years by the Ethiopian government to enhance its own internal power supply and to assist other states within the broader region known as the Nile Basin Initiative. (https://www.nilebasin.org/)

Neighboring Egypt has sought to sabotage the GERD under the guise that it will severely curtail access to the waters of the Blue Nile which is shared by both countries. The current arrangements imposed by British imperialism during the early 20th century favors Egypt, its then colonial subject. Ethiopia, although occupied by the Italian fascist forces between 1936-1941, has never been subjected to direct colonial control by European powers.

Trump had urged Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to “blow up” the GERD after Ethiopia rejected a deal imposed by Washington. The statement was made to Sudanese interim Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok during 2020, at the time of Khartoum’s illegal “recognition” of the State of Israel. 

Unfortunately, the United Nations humanitarian agencies have taken a position similar to the U.S. in regard to the war. Ethiopia has set strict limits on access to conflict areas which have been utilized by certain UN agencies to make accusations against the government in Addis Ababa. 

However, what has created even more tension is the declaration by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to conduct an investigation into the claims of war crimes since November of 2020 in the north of Ethiopia. The government in Addis Ababa has rejected the plans for an investigation saying it will not cooperate since these issues are internal matters.

A press briefing was held on December 21 in Addis Ababa featuring the spokeswoman for Prime Minister Billene Seyoum who addressed the announcement by the UNHRC. Borkena.com in an article on the briefing emphasized: “Ethiopia says the resolution was politically motivated. Politically motivated because it discredited the efforts by the Ethiopian government to investigate rights abuses in the Tigray region. Earlier this year, the Ethiopian government martial court looked into cases of violations by members of the Ethiopian Defense Forces. Those who were found to be guilty were punished in accordance with the martial court. In regard to claims of genocide in Tigray by the TPLF surrogates and some state actors tacitly supporting the designated terrorist group, a joint investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Commission and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission ruled that there was no genocide in Tigray. The press secretary on Tuesday (Dec. 21) reflected a view that the UN Human Rights Council should stop practices that sound as partisanship and consider the importance of investigating rights abuses in the Afar and Amhara regions of Ethiopia where the TPLF carried out multiples of atrocities during the months of occupation in parts of these regions.” (https://borkena.com/2021/12/21/ethiopia-says-human-rights-council-decision-does-not-carry-weight/)

The attacks on Ethiopia have generated mass demonstrations domestically and internationally known as #NoMore. Thousands of Diasporic Ethiopians and Eritreans have held joint demonstrations across the world including the U.S. These actions intensified after the announcement of sanctions by Washington against Ethiopia. In addition, a leaked videotape of a secret meeting involving the U.S., UK, European Union and TPLF officials where plans were being discussed for the imposition of a new government after the removal of Prime Minister Abiy. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e5YCWC3bpk)

These developments illustrate clearly the real aims and objectives of the war being waged against the Ethiopian government. Anti-imperialists throughout the world, specific to the western capitalist states, must be in solidarity with the Ethiopian people in these attempts to destabilize and overthrow the legitimate administration inside the country.  

Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast for Sun. Dec. 19, 2021--Hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor

Listen to the Sun. Dec. 19, 2021 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire.

This podcast of the full program can be found here: Pan-African Journal: Special Worldwide Radio Broadcast 12/19 by Pan African Radio Network | Politics (blogtalkradio.com) 

The program features a PANW report with dispatches on the continuing efforts by the Ethiopian government to defend the country against imperialist threats from the United States; Sudanese youth and workers demonstrated in the thousands against the military regime which is consolidating its authority since the coup earlier this year; the World Health Organization (WHO) is still pointing out the vaccine inequality prevailing internationally surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic; and the Congo-Brazzaville President Denis Sassou Nguesso has gone into quarantine after possibly being exposed to the coronavirus. 

In the second hour we look again at the issues involving political prisoners in the U.S. in the aftermath of the recent transition of Russell Maroon Shoatz. 

This episode focuses on the ongoing struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. 

Finally, we review some of the important questions involving Africa and the world.

Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast for Sat. Dec. 18, 2021--Hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor

Listen to the Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire.

To hear the program go to the following URL: Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast 12/18 by Pan African Radio Network | Politics (blogtalkradio.com) 

The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the recent visit of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to Turkey amid efforts to contain a rebel insurgency attacking the Horn of Africa state; Sudanese Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) were tear gassed at their first public meeting held since the recent military coup; Zimbabwe has issued directives on new identity documents including passports; and two French nationals have been arrested in connection with an attempted coup in Madagascar. 

In the second hour we look at the life, times and contributions of recently transitioned political prisoner and revolutionary activist Russell Maroon Shoatz through excerpts of a book he published several years ago. 

Finally, we examine some of the most pressing and burning issues taking place in Africa and the world.

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Interviewed on Press TV Spotlight: United States Proxy War in Yemen Continues

Watch this interview over worldwide satellite television network news program called "Spotlight" featuring Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, discussing the nearly seven years war in Yemen.

To view this interview just go to the following link: Yemeni forces take control of key positions on border with Saudi Arabia | Urmedium 

The United States and its allies in the region are waging a war against the Popular Committees which have sought the liberation of the entire country, the most underdeveloped in West Asia. 

The segment aired live on Thurs. Dec. 16, 2021.

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Quoted in Article: 71% of Americans Support Biden's 'Travel Apartheid’ against Africa'

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 9:21 PM

Press TV

A new poll shows a vast majority of people in the United States support President Joe Biden's ban on travel imposed on eight countries in southern Africa, which the United Nations has denounced as “travel apartheid.”

According to the new Hill-HarrisX poll, released on Tuesday, 71 percent of registered voters said they approve of the Biden administration's decision to restrict travelers from the African countries, while 29 percent of respondents said they disapprove.  

Seventy-eight percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Democrats, and 82 percent of independents support Biden's travel ban to contain the highly contagious omicron variant of coronavirus.

The Biden administration implemented the ban to restrict travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi.

The administration said that the measure was taken out of an abundance of caution in light of the new variant.

The decision sparked an immediate backlash from the international community and public health experts, who say it is ineffective and punitive against African countries.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called the US response “travel apartheid.”

He said that travel restrictions imposed over COVID-19 that isolate any one country or region as "not only deeply unfair and punitive - they are ineffective."

Guterres stated that the only way to reduce the risk of transmission while allowing for travel and economic engagement was to repeatedly test travelers, "together with other appropriate and truly effective measures,” according to Reuters.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was "deeply concerning" that African countries are being "penalized" with travel restrictions after detecting and reporting the omicron variant.

Republican Senator Rand Paul on Sunday slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci’s “authoritarianism” and American travel restrictions on the African countries, saying that “the travel bans aren't going to work” to prevent the variant from spreading.

He also said that “restrictions on our liberties” were not science-based, but “based on whims.”

African American writer and journalist Abayomi Azikiwe said,” This ban was not based on science since there was no evidence that the variant originated in South Africa. Rather than applaud the scientific discovery, the people of the region have been punished. Unfortunately, the media coverage of the appearance of Omicron has enhanced the already existing fears about the transmissibility of the disease.”

“The United States remains the epicenter of the other variants such as Delta. The medical spokesman for the administration of President Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said maybe the ban can be lifted soon. Although no word has been given from the president. Cases of the virus are going up rapidly in sections of the country including the Midwest and Northeast. The disease must be battled with adequate vaccinations, safety protocols and medicines,” he commented to Press TV.

“The travel bans on 8 Southern African states is further damaging the economies of the region. This will impact imports from the US and the European Union. Support for the travel ban in the US is being fueled by the nature of the reporting in the corporate and government-controlled media,” he stated.

Republican Senator Rand Paul has slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci’s “authoritarianism” and American travel restrictions against other countries to contain the spread of omicron.

Dr. Fauci has said the United States will “hopefully” be able to lift its travel ban on African countries “in a quite reasonable period of time.”

In an interview with CNN last week, Fauci said that the US was re-evaluating the travel ban, a week after he said the ban would give the US time to prepare for the highly contagious omicron variant of coronavirus.

The White House chief medical adviser said some early data about the omicron data is “a bit encouraging,” and added that now the travel ban could be lifted.

Africa-China Relations Could Serve as Bulwark against Imperialist Hegemony

By Abayomi Azikiwe 

Dec 13, 2021

Over six decades there has been growing cooperation between two major geo-political regions and centers of economic power

Note: These remarks were prepared and delivered in part for a webinar held on Sunday December 12 entitled “China/Africa Relations: Challenges of Cooperation and Development.” The event was sponsored by the International Manifesto Group and the Group for Research and Initiative for the Liberation of Africa (GRILA). According to the promotional language for the webinar, the “discussion presented both African and Chinese viewpoints, focusing on the reciprocal contributions made by China and Africa in recent decades to each other’s economic and cultural development. It also addressed the task faced by Africa of optimizing this relationship.” Other participants were Ameth Lo of GRILA; John Ridell, founding director of the Comintern Publishing Project; Danny Haiphong, journalist with Black Agenda Report (BAR); Barry Sautman, professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Huang Chang, associate of the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences; Kristin Plys, professor of sociology at the University of Toronto; Pablo Idahosa, professor of African Studies at York University; and Yan Hairong, teacher at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. (https://internationalmanifesto.org/)

(https://www.grila.org/index_grila.php?gri=acc&lang=en)

A ministerial summit of the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held on November 29-30 in Dakar, Senegal reinforced the continuing bonds between Beijing and the 55-member African Union (AU).

FOCAC was formed in 2000 during an important period which was marked by several years of substantial economic growth on the continent of Africa and in the People’s Republic of China.

Concurrently, over the same last two decades, the United States, Britain, the European Union (EU) countries and their allies globally, have been embroiled in numerous imperialist interventions resulting in destabilization, military interventions, proxy wars and the expansion of the presence of Pentagon and NATO forces throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. These imperialist endeavors aimed at maintaining the political and economic domination of the world’s population has created enormous difficulties for peoples globally including the working class, nationally oppressed and impoverished living within the western capitalist countries.

Successive administrations in the U.S. and Britain have turned away, even rhetorically, from the notions of multilateralism, reliance on the United Nations to resolve tensions and conflicts as well, creating the conditions for widespread displacement internationally. The migration crisis in North Africa, the Mediterranean extending into Southern, Central and Western Europe, is a direct result of a series of wars and their aftermaths in Libya, Mali, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, to name the most well-known and devastating.

The 21st century has witnessed U.S.-instigated regime change in numerous states while the socialist states such as the PRC, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Cuba, Venezuela, etc., have not embarked upon any destabilization efforts let alone invasions into other sovereign states. Due to socialist economic planning and their advancement of the notions of international cooperation and peace even among states with varying social systems, there has been tremendous progress in the areas of international solidarity. The Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) grouping is a manifestation of the role of Beijing, Moscow and Pretoria along with the other states which have varied in regard to their political orientation in recent years. These new alliances are perceived as a threat to the role of the U.S., Britain and the EU since they are not participant-members and cannot directly impact the agendas and goals established by FOCAC and BRICS.

With specific reference to the structures and objectives of FOCAC, the website for the grouping says the following: “The FOCAC follow-up mechanisms are built at three levels: The Ministerial Conference is held every three years; the Senior Officials Follow-up Meeting and the Senior Officials Preparatory Meeting for the Ministerial Conference are held respectively in the year and a few days before the Ministerial Conference is held; and the consultations between the African Diplomatic Corps in China and the Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee are held at least twice a year. The Ministerial Conference and the Senior Officials Meeting are held alternately in China and an African country, with China and the African host being co-chairs presiding over the meetings and taking lead in implementing the outcomes of the meetings. The Ministerial Conference is attended by foreign ministers and ministers in charge of international economic cooperation, and the Senior Officials Meeting by director-general level officials of the competent departments of China and African countries.” (http://www.focac.org/eng/ltjj_3/ltjz/)

At the recent 8th Ministerial meeting of FOCAC in Senegal a myriad of issues were discussed including trade, investment, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic along with the distribution and manufacturing of vaccines. The gathering coincided with the publication of a White Paper by the Chinese government on the China-Africa cooperation.

This event was marked by a keynote address from President Xi Jinping who evaluated the work of FOCAC over the previous twenty-one years and emphasized that the involvement of Beijing on the continent was not conducted in competition with the U.S. or any other country. Xi announced new projects aimed at assisting Africa in curtailing the impact of the pandemic by building capacity on the continent to produce and deliver medicines including vaccines.

The Chinese president spoke to the summit via video-link. His presentation was widely covered in the state media in China.

Over the period since 2000, China has built 80 large-scale electricity projects, 130 medical facilities, 45 stadiums, 170 schools, numerous rail lines and transport services, the new AU headquarters, to only name a few. In addition, there have been 160,000 Africans trained by Chinese educators and technicians both on the continent and in Asia.

Within the White Paper entitled “China and Africa in the New Era”, issued for the FOCAC Conference, it says that: “China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for the 12 years since 2009. The proportion of Africa’s trade with China in the continent’s total external trade has continued to rise. In 2020, the figure exceeded 21 percent. The structure of China-Africa trade is improving. There has been a marked increase in technology in China’s exports to Africa, with the export of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products now accounting for more than 50 percent of the total. China has increased its imports of non-resource products from Africa and offered zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of taxable items exported to China by the 33 least-developed countries in Africa, with the goal of helping more African agricultural and manufactured goods gain access to the Chinese market. China’s imports in services from Africa have been growing at an average annual rate of 20 percent since 2017, creating close to 400,000 jobs for the continent every year. In recent years, China’s imports of agricultural products from Africa have also risen, and China has emerged as the second largest destination for Africa’s agricultural exports. China and Africa have seen booming trade in new business models including cross-border e-commerce. Cooperation under the Silk Road E-commerce initiative has advanced. China has built a mechanism for e-commerce cooperation with Rwanda, and Chinese businesses have been active in investing in overseas order fulfillment centers. High-quality and special products from Africa are now directly available to the Chinese market via e-commerce platforms. The China-Mauritius free trade agreement (FTA), which became effective on January 1, 2021, was the first FTA between China and an African country. It has injected new vitality into China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.” (http://www.news.cn/english/2021-11/26/c_1310333813.htm)

This conference obviously has reinforced the existing trajectory of growth in mutual cooperation between Beijing and the overwhelming majority of independent African states with the exception of the Monarchy in Eswatini (Swaziland). Of course, there is an internal struggle taking place in Swaziland over whether the country will be governed democratically or not. The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) and its allies are playing a leading role in the democratic movement which has gained considerable attention and support from world communist organizations, labor and anti-imperialist groupings around the world.

State Department Deploys Blinken in Failed Attempt to Weaken FOCAC Conference

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited three African states during mid-November in advance of the FOCAC Conference. Blinken traveled to Kenya, Senegal, the location of the FOCAC Conference, and Nigeria, the most populous state on the continent.

Objectively, no serious observer could argue that the foreign policy of the current President Joe Biden differs fundamentally from his predecessor, Donald J. Trump, in reference to the AU member-states. This lack of even a slight shift in policy towards Africa is reflected in the current conflict in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia where Washington is backing a rebel group, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which previously was the leading force in the country’s government prior to 2018. The TPLF has maintained close links with the U.S. since in 1991 under the-then administration of President George W.H. Bush, Sr. It was the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen, who declared the TPLF and the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) as the official government in 1991.

Over the next 27 years until 2018, when the EPRDF government collapsed due to an internal uprising which drew mass support, this tendency has collaborated with the U.S. in various military operations across the East Africa region. Since the taking of power by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his election earlier in the year, the U.S. under Trump and Biden have waged campaigns to undermine the government and install armed opposition groups.

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), founded under the administration of President George W. Bush, Jr. in 2008, has been maintained and strengthened by every successive regime in Washington. Biden withdrew Pentagon troops from Afghanistan in August after a two decades-long disastrous occupation, however, there are many other geo-political regions of the world where the U.S. is escalating its military presence.

China is a central focus of imperialism in the Asia Pacific region where Beijing is promoting its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The plans for an alternative economic and trading system includes the African continent as well. Blinken’s visit to three African countries where he sought to place the U.S. at the center of discussions over the future of the continent and the world, did not generate much interest.

Coinciding with the U.S. chief envoy’s trip to Africa, the talking points claiming “Chinese debt traps” surfaced in the corporate media. Both Chinese and African officials dismissed such characterizations of relations between the two entities.

Nonetheless, the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other financial institutions have entangled post-colonial African states hampering national planning, regional and continental collaboration, and integration. Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closing down of economies, the rates of joblessness and poverty have accelerated. A recent travel ban initiated by the U.S. and other western governments directed at several Southern African Development Community (SADC), has been condemned as unjustified and damaging to the gross domestic product of these impacted countries.

Global Times noted in an article: “Even today, the U.S. has still failed to win much trust from African countries, as one of the major purposes of Blinken’s African trip was to get rid of the traumatic effect former U.S. President Donald Trump made to the continent during his term. A recent report by well-known African pollster Afrobarometer shows that China ranks first in terms of external influence in Africa, with 63 percent of Africans saying the economic and political influence of China in their country is ‘somewhat positive’ or ‘very positive,’ and 66 percent perceiving China’s economic and political influence in Africa as positive.” (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1240021.shtml)

Democracy: The U.S. vs. China

There was also a White Paper issued in China explaining the concepts of democratic governance embodied within the program of the Communist Party distinguishing its definition from what prevails in the U.S. The U.S. promotes itself as the citadel of world democracy placing human rights as a cornerstone of its foreign policy. This White Paper is entitled “China: Democracy That Works,” which suggests that the western form of democracy has extreme deficiencies.

The worsening economic conditions in the U.S. has served to inflame already existing social contradictions within the society. The country was founded on the seizure of the lands of the indigenous people, their forced removal and mass extermination. Today the indigenous are largely relegated to reservations where many have been subjected to dangerous intrusions into their territories by multinational energy corporations that poison the soil and water sources.

As far as the descendants of African people are concerned, even though the Civil War ended 156 years ago after nearly two-and-one-half centuries of enslavement under Spain, Britain, France and the Netherlands, there is widespread state-sponsored racism across the country where people are often impeded, harassed, arrested, prosecuted, falsely imprisoned and even killed by law-enforcement personnel.

Today, some 56 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Supreme Court along with state legislative structures are working feverishly to deny people the right to cast ballots for the candidates of their choice. Impoverishment is highly correlated with color and national origin, meaning that the problem of racism is institutional.

The U.S. Congress has failed to pass legislation which would reestablish the right to universal suffrage. At the same time, the right to housing, reproductive rights, justice in policing and freedom from unwarranted institutional racism remain elusive within the political system led by the politicians in Washington who are underpinned by Wall Street and the Pentagon.

Global Times reports on the China White Paper emphasizing: “The publication of the document has challenged the U.S. and the West’s monopolistic definition of democracy, marking the further clarification of human beings’ various practices of democracy. China’s economic and social construction continues to make world-renowned achievements, people’s comprehensive rights are also continuously improving. China has also achieved results that have embarrassed the West in the fight against the sudden COVID-19 outbreak, protecting people’s lives in a most effective way. The whole process of people’s democracy proposed by China has a strong realistic foundation and basis. It will not be a short-lived slogan but will continue to unfold with the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and form a demonstration of democratic construction outside of the West.” (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202112/1240638.shtml)

Therefore, under existing conditions internationally, the U.S. cannot reasonably say it is the paramount example of democratic governance. As the people of color communities rapidly become a collective majority by the mid-21st century, the undemocratic practices reflected in the neo-fascist movements gaining ground inside the country will continue to pose a challenge to the working class and oppressed.

Internationalism in the 21st Century

China and Africa have similarities in their historical development being post-colonial geo-political countries and regions seeking to reaffirm their places within the international community of nations and peoples. China under socialist construction has moved within a reachable distance to surpass the U.S. in economic status.

The main difference is that the U.S. built its wealth on the expropriation of indigenous land and the enslavement of Africans. During the mid-19th century, Mexico had huge swaths of its territory stolen by Washington under the guise of “manifest destiny.”

In the present period, the people of Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean are being blocked, incarcerated in federal detention facilities and deported from the U.S. on a routine basis. Here again, the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration are being extended under Biden. The continued enactment of Title 42 under the Biden regime where migrants fleeing economic distress and human rights violations can be expelled due to there being a public health crisis in the U.S. This measure was specifically designed to deny migrants from Haiti the right to stay within the country despite the role of U.S. imperialism in the isolation and exploitation of Haiti since the early 19th century.

People in North America must not be misled into taking a hostile position towards China in the burgeoning conflict between Washington and Beijing. The role of FOCAC and other structures guiding China-Africa cooperation should be studied as a model for greater international solidarity among working and oppressed people across the globe.

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Speaks at Webinar on Africa-China Relations

Watch this presentation by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, at a webinar presenting various views on the nature and character of Africa-China relations.

The link to Azikiwe's talk can be found at the following URL: Africa-China Relations: Abayomi Azikiwe - YouTube 

Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, was one of the panelists. The event was organized by the International Manifesto Group and the Group for Research and Initiatives for the Liberation of Africa (GRILA). 

Participants were from various countries including China, Canada and the United States. 

Abayomi Azikiwe spoke on the recently held 8th Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China and Africa Relations (FOCAC) held in Senegal; the November visit of U.S. Secretary State visit to three African states; the differing views on democracy within the People's Republic of China and the U.S.; along with the notion of international solidarity in regard to Africa and China. 

The webinar was held on Sun. Dec. 12, 2021 and was streamed live throughout the globe.

Pan-African Journal: Special Worldwide Radio Broadcast for Sun. Dec. 12, 2021--Hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor

Listen to the Sun. Dec. 12, 2021 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. 

To hear the podcast of this program just click on the following URL: Pan-African Journal: Special Worldwide Radio Broadcast | Listen Notes

The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the Ethiopian government's announcement that it is inviting international human rights organizations to visit the Amhara and Afar provinces of the Horn of Africa state; Sudan has denied involvement in supporting the armed opposition groups in Ethiopia; Libya says it is prepared to hold elections at the end of this month in the troubled North African state; and Egypt has unearthed historic sites which shed light on the ancient history of the country. 

In the second hour we examine the current situation in Ethiopia with interviews on the character of the opposition and the advances being made by the government on the battlefront. 

Finally, we review some of the important issues impacting Africa and the world.

Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast for Sat. Dec. 11, 2021--Hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor

Listen to the Sat. Dec. 11, 2021 edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. 

To hear the podcast of this episode, go to this website: Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast - Pan-African Journal (podcast) | Listen Notes

The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the European Union (EU) announcement that it is launching its own international project to compete with the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); South African physicians are saying that most cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant are of a milder nature; the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed has echoed a long-standing demand for the continent to have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council; and some South Sudanese business leaders have been targeted for sanctions by the United States. 

In the second hour we listen to a briefing from the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director General, Dr. John Nkengasong, on the status of the pandemic and vaccination rollouts. 

Finally, we review some of the most pressing and burning issues on the continent and around the world.

Malcolm X Assassination Review Responsible for the Exoneration of Two Men Years After the 1960s Murder Trial

By Abayomi Azikiwe 

Dec 9, 2021

Daughter of revolutionary leader born after his death dies in her Brooklyn home

Malcolm X, also known as Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was assassinated on February 21, 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in New York City.

There were three people arrested, tried and convicted in his murder yet two men have always maintained that they were not guilty in the crime.

During November 2021, the two defendants who served more than twenty years in prison were exonerated by the prosecutor’s office in New York. The third defendant in the case, Talmadge Hayer, also known as Thomas Hagan (now known as Mujahid Abdul Halim), confessed to the murder of Malcolm X although he refused in the 1966 murder trial to reveal the names of the others involved in the assassination squad.

Later during the early 1980s, Talmadge Hayer (Halim) gave up the names of at least four other people who were involved in the gunning down of Malcolm X in 1965. Halim, was released after serving more than 45 years and the other two, Norman Butler (now known as Muhammad Aziz, who is still alive, and Thomas Johnson (later known as Khalil Islam), who is deceased, were declared by New York prosecutors as not being involved in the actual shooting death of Malcolm X on that fateful day in the winter of 1965.

Although the prosecutors have now declared along with the courts that Butler and Johnson were not in the Audubon Ballroom when Malcolm was killed, the question remains as to why after 56 years the actual assassins were not brought to justice? Apparently, the names of the actual killers who accompanied Hayer were known to the New York police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the immediate aftermath of the assassination due to informant reports and eyewitness accounts.

The FBI and the New York Police Department through its Bureau of Security Services (BOSS) engaged in consistent surveillance of Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam, the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), and any other grouping in which Malcolm was associated. At least one BOSS agent was present at the time of the assassination. Gene Roberts had infiltrated the OAAU and routinely reported back to the NYPD about the activities of the organization.

A recent report on the exoneration of Aziz and Islam indicated that several FBI informants were present in the venue where Malcolm X was slain. After the shooting on February 21, 1965, the emergency services did not appear at the scene, necessitating the followers of Malcolm X and the OAAU to go to the hospital located across the street from the Audubon to retrieve a stretcher to transport the revolutionary leader to the emergency room. He was admitted as “John Doe” and a medical spokesperson said they were not able to revive him after sustaining several gunshot wounds to the chest and other areas of his body.

Halim, who was captured at the scene by Malcolm X’s adherents, was released from detention in 2010. He has maintained a low profile since his parole while the actual assassins, which were reported to have been from the Newark Mosque, remained free until their deaths.

Role of the U.S. Government in the Assassination

The real question which was not answered through the exoneration of two of the defendants, is why did the NYPD and the FBI not follow-up on the information provided by their own informants present in the Audubon Ballroom and other witnesses? What is known is that these law-enforcement agencies had conducted widespread surveillance, wiretapping and other forms of spying on Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam both before and after the split between the two entities during late 1963 and early 1964. (https://vault.fbi.gov/malcolm-little-malcolm-x)

After the establishment of the MMI and the OAAU during the spring and summer of 1964, the tracking of Malcolm X and the NOI continued. From April 1964 to the end of his life, Malcolm X had traveled extensively in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. He had visited over a dozen countries where he met with government leaders, religious figures and grassroots communities in all of the countries where he traveled.

Malcolm X believed during the time, as reflected in his writings and speeches, that he was followed by the intelligence services of the U.S. government. De-classified documents from the U.S. administration reveal that his activities were closely monitored by not only the FBI. The State Department, military intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were involved in attempts to undermine the efforts of Malcolm X as he sought international support for the liberation struggle of African American in the U.S.

A recent article in the New York Times says of the surveillance: “One F.B.I. report from Sept. 28, 1965, even contains a description of the man whom some experts on the assassination have concluded was probably the assassin who wielded a shotgun — William Bradley. That report gives a description of Mr. Bradley, who was 27 years old at the time, that matches the one given by a defense witness of the shooter who had a shotgun.” (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/18/nyregion/malcolm-x-convictions)

This same report continues by noting that: “’He had been a lieutenant in the Newark mosque and was known as a ‘strongman’ there,’ the F.B.I. report on Mr. Bradley said. ‘He was a machine gunner in the Marine Corps.’ At least one of the witnesses at the trial was an informant for the F.B.I., according to the documents cited in the motion. One document, dated Feb. 25, 1965, said the bureau had ordered its local offices not to disclose to the New York police the fact that any witnesses were federal informants. In addition, several F.B.I. reports indicated that, on the orders of the agency’s director, J. Edgar Hoover, informants were told not to disclose their relationship with the F.B.I. when talking to the New York police and prosecutors about the murder, according to a footnote in the motion. The Police Department documents include descriptions of undercover detectives having been present in the ballroom, at least one of whom was there at the time of the murder. The report may have been referring to Detective Gene Roberts, an undercover officer who, it later came out, was working as a member of Malcolm X’s security detail.”

These revelations since 1965 indicate clearly that a massive cover-up occurred in the aftermath of the assassination. Even Malcolm X said at his last speech at the Audubon on February 15, that the police were well aware of the criminal operations taking place inside the NOI because they had the organization thoroughly infiltrated. He revealed that several undercover police and informants out of guilt had come to him and confessed that they were working for the authorities. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AIcgxGKbGg)

Malcolm X’s Youngest Daughter Found Dead After the Recent Revelations

When Malcolm X was assassinated, his wife, Dr. Betty Shabazz, was expecting twins. They were born months after his death and grew up never knowing their father.

One of the twins, Malikah, was found dead in her Brooklyn apartment on November 22. Police have stated that the death did not appear to be the result of foul play. Malikah Shabazz was found unresponsive by her 24-year-old daughter, Bettih. There has not been any official cause of death announced since the time of her passing.

Malikah, 56, largely lived outside the limelight of the media and public appearances. Several of her other older sisters have become public figures in the theater and literary arenas through speaking engagements, performances and book publishing.

The death of Malikah Shabazz under unexplained circumstances just days after the exoneration of Aziz and Islam, continues the family tragedies which were spawned by the targeting and assassination of her father. Malcolm X sacrificed his life in order to advance the liberation struggles of African Americans and people throughout the globe. His legacy will continue to be a source of inspiration to working and oppressed people internationally.

We Need a Peoples’ Movement and Not the World Economic Forum

By Abayomi Azikiwe 

Dec 6, 2021

Detroit has long been a target of capitalist globalization and the mass exploitation of the workers and oppressed

Note: This presentation was written and delivered in part to the New York City People’s Forum during a webinar on the struggle against the opening of an office of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in downtown Detroit. Other panelists were Mike Shane of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition, Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellerman, retired pastor of the Episcopal Church of Detroit, Crystal Bernard, Michigan State University senior and member of the Poor People’s Campaign and moderator David Chung of the People’s Forum.

——————————————————————————————————–

Detroit, which remains a major industrial center in the sectors of automotive and other sources of production and services, is a focal point for the economic and social transformations of urban areas in the United States and internationally.

Since the 19th century, the city has been a location for various forms of manufacturing, mining and shipping.

Initially there was the strategic location linked to the Great Lakes and rivers which flow into them. The mining of copper during the mid-to-late 19th century which fueled migration eventually gave way to steam engine manufacturing for shipping and the timber trade.

By the early decades of the 20th century, the first assembly line within auto production was established by Henry Ford. The production of millions of automobiles within a matter of years, created the demand for jobs and the consequent suppression and division of labor.

Significant numbers of Africans were brought into Michigan and Detroit as enslaved persons and later through what became known as the Underground Railroad. The first urban rebellion in the city took place in 1833, when an African couple, the Blackburns, fled to the city from enslavement in Kentucky, taking refuge in Detroit.

When the Blackburns were faced with capture and re-enslavement, the African Americans in the city broke them from captivity, made threats to burn down the city and then transported the couple across the Detroit River to Canada. It was 1833 when African enslavement was abolished in the British crown territories. After this period, Canada became a destination point for thousands fleeing from the slave catchers fueled by the Fugitive Slave Acts.

We are saying this to note that the current efforts by modern-day exploitative interests are a continuation of policies of containment and repression. The opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) offices in Detroit inside the headquarters of the worst capitalist expropriators and abusers, Quicken Loans, Rocket Mortgage, and their various iterations, signals to the conscious elements in the city and nationally, that these interests are by no means done in furthering the aims of finance capital within metropolitan areas of the country.

The Housing Question in Detroit

One of the major issues which the Moratorium NOW! Coalition has been engaged is the burgeoning housing crisis in Detroit and throughout the southeast Michigan region. Although there are tens of thousands of abandoned structures and vacant land, these resources, which by right belong to the people of the city, are controlled largely by the Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA). The DLBA, which was chaired by Dan Gilbert of Rocket Mortgage, is the largest landowner in Detroit, a city more than 80% populated by Black, Brown and other people of color. What right do these people have to seize land destroyed as housing, commercial centers, community institutions, etc.? This land belongs to the people of the city and not the capitalist ruling class.

The forced removals of people in Detroit have been ongoing for more than a century. For the purpose of this discussion, we can begin in 1935, during the Great Depression and the New Deal of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt came to Detroit in 1935 to announce the construction of the Brewster Projects on the lower east side where tens of thousands of African Americans had settled as a result of the Great Migration.

This act on the part of the Roosevelt administration was viewed as being progressive since it was replacing what was considered “substandard housing”: lacking in-door plumbing, structural deterioration, overcrowding and other problems. There is a long and intricate history of the Brewster and other public housing complexes. Since 1935, there were the so-called Race Riots of June 1943, which occurred during World War II. The third major racial disturbance took place in 1943, 80 years after the 1863 Race Riot during the Civil War.

After the War, the City of Detroit developed and initiated its urban renewal plan which targeted the African American and other oppressed and working class communities. From the mid-1950s through the 1970s, the building of expressways and new upscale housing areas destroyed thousands of homes, apartments, flats, businesses, religious institutions, fraternal organizations, schools, etc.

Of course, by July 1967, the social combustion fueled by displacement, police brutality, de facto segregation, overcrowding in housing and schools exploded into what became the Great Rebellion. The actual violence lasted for six days, yet the aftermath between 1967-1973, was even more dynamic in regard to the efforts to reshape the city which had national and international dimensions.

Independent Political Thinking and Action

The city has been a source of independent and innovative political, social and cultural thinking particularly within the African American community. The Underground Railroad was not only an avenue of escape. It created the conditions for the establishment of African religious institutions, newspapers and new philosophical approaches in the U.S. and Canada to the eradication of the enslavement through mass struggle including emigration.

Mary Ann Shadd who emigrated to Canada after the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was the founder and editor of the Provincial Freeman. She was one of the first women who spoke publicly in the U.S. in defiance of social norms and even laws designed to silence half of the population.

Shadd was reported to have been the only woman to participate in the Colored Convention on Freeman as a speaker and theoretician. She wrote a study on the question of emigration as an avenue of resistance to encroaching enslavement of African people. (https://coloredconventions.org/emigration-debate/women-involvement/mary-ann-shadd/)

In the 20th century, many of the pioneering and impactful organizations were founded in city of Detroit including the Nation of Islam (NOI), Republic of New Africa (RNA), League of Revolutionary Black Workers LRBW), National Black Economic Development Conference (NBEDC), the Black Manifesto and many others. On a cultural level, Joe Von Battle of JVB Records and Barry Gordy, Jr. of Motown transformed the recording and distribution of urban music.

In 1973, the first African American Mayor Coleman A. Young, a former labor organizer and Leftist, was elected to head the city. Young served for two decades under conditions of increased disinvestment, capital and white flight to the suburbs and other regions of the country along with an ageing and deteriorating infrastructure. Despite these challenges, a struggle to end homelessness, unemployment, police repression and the privatization of education continued among mass organizations.

The HUD Crisis of the 1970s

Some 50 years ago, the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) crisis gained national attention through an article published in the New York Times. The failure to implement the 1968 Fair Housing Act, ostensibly designed to eliminate discrimination in the sale and rental of properties, the federal government through benign neglect and inherent institutional racism extended the crisis which arose during Great Migration i.e., the National Housing Act of 1934 and the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. These Acts represented the federal rationalization of de jure and de facto residential segregation in the U.S.

According to the New York Times article of December 4, 1971: “A major scandal involving Federal mortgage programs in Detroit has left the Government the owner of thousands of decrepit homes and may cost up to $200‐million in Federal funds. The Federal programs inadvertently contributed to the decay of troubled neighborhoods, the victimization of the poor who expected homes and the enrichment of real estate speculators. The details of the scandal have been emerging for months in newspaper articles, in local investigations and, this week, in an investigation of the Legal and Monetary Affairs Subcommittee of the House Government Operations Committee, which held hearings here today. Similar troubles exist in other cities, but Detroit is believed to be the worst example of the perversion of a program aimed to help the poor. The program, to allow the Federal Housing Administration to help poor people, including welfare mothers, to buy homes, began in 1968.” (https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/04/archives/a-mortgage-scandal-in-detroit-could-cost-us-200million-us-may-lose.html)

Destroying the housing stock of a municipality does not only create a crisis of habitation. There is a huge impact on funding for municipal services, education and job creation. During the mid-to-late 1970s, a decline in credible housing was inherited by the Young administration and all residents of the city.

Consequently, there is a direct line between the depression-era construction of public housing, the 1943 race riot, the post-War urban renewal, the 1967 rebellion and its aftermath, leading into the HUD scandal and the continued loss of jobs and services. By the close of the 20th century, the city was poised for further destabilization and depopulation.

Foreclosure Crisis of the 2000s

After the purported deregulation of the financial industry in the years of the presidency of Bill Clinton, by the close of the 1990s, there was the proliferation of “first time mortgage and refinancing schemes” which had a deleterious effect on Detroit and other cities around the U.S. Although the racist practices reinforced by the FHA and HUD had escalated depopulation in the city, the beginning of the decade of the 2000s was still characterized by a majority of residential home ownership in Detroit. However, that would soon change with the deliberate targeting of homeowners for predatory lending schemes. Moreover, it was workers and impoverished which were forced by acts of Congress to bailout the banks, insurance companies and other corporations responsible for the theft of trillions in monetary resources and services.

The predatory lending practices in housing was also reflected in municipal financing. The fact of the rapid decline in populations and household incomes, drained the treasuries of the city making it prey to the financial institutions. Both the municipality and the communities became drowned in debt to the banks through usurious mortgage deals and monetary obligations designed to refinance payments to some of the same entities responsible for the housing losses.

These sources of profit-making for finance capital are directly related to the illegal imposition of emergency management and bankruptcy during the period of 2013-2014. Those who suffered the impact of these measures included the municipal retirees, active employees–who had negotiated pensions and other benefits reduced–along with community members who previously controlled Belle Isle, the Detroit Public Works and Lighting, the Art Institute, among other public institutions, seize by the State of Michigan and “authorities”. This paved the way for the ascendancy and false legitimacy of the Duggan administration and the usurpation of local control of municipal governance.

We Must Reject the WEF and All It Represents

Consequently, the People Against Corporate Theft (PACT) coalition has come into existence to emphasize the necessity of continuing the struggle against displacement, exploitation and oppression. The WEF has nothing to offer the people of Detroit, the U.S. and the globe other than the current crises of their making: environmental degradation, climate change, the privatization of municipal services and education, state repression, a housing shortage amid the COVID-19 pandemic and other social ills.

After 50 years, when the WEF was formed in Switzerland in 1971, the overall conditions of residents living within urban areas like Detroit have further deteriorated. The only alternative we have as the nationally oppressed, working class and poor is to organize against these adversaries.

Demands for quality housing, education and municipal services for all is key. The end of corporate welfare and the demonization of the workers and the poor is essential. We can only rely on ourselves to resolve these issues and create a society of genuine equality and empowerment for the emerging majority.

Pan-African Journal: Special Worldwide Radio Broadcast for Sun. Dec. 5, 2021--Hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor

Listen to the Sun. Dec. 5, 2021 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. 

To hear the podcast of this episode, go to the following link: Pan-African Journal: Special Worldwide Radio Broadcast | Listen Notes

The program features our regular PANW report with dispatches on the calls by the Ethiopian government for the United States embassy in Addis Ababa to halt the misinformation being spread about the Horn of Africa state; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that there is not a new surge in hospitalizations in recent days inside the country due to the new Omicron variant of COVID-19; U.S. infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Faucci has given an update on the public heallth situation; and the military junta in the Republic of Sudan has banned travel for a leading figure of the Popular Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC). 

In the second hour we examine some of the attacks being made on the 1619 Project founded by Nikole Hannah-Jones. Also, the South African Communist Party (SACP) has delivered a briefing on its recently held Central Committee plenary. Finally, we review some of the pressing and burning issues taking place in Africa and around the world.

Abayomi Azikiwe Interviewed by Ray Napoli on Pan-Africanism and the Global Crisis

Conversation with the acclaimed author, activist and editor of the Pan-African News Wire, Abayomi Azikiwe, about ongoing and recent US backed coups, regime change operations and other US and Western imperialist and colonial meddling across the continent of Africa.

To view this discussion in its entirety just go to the following URL: Abayomi Azikiwe discusses US backed coups, regime change, and other imperialist meddling in African - YouTube

Azikiwe responds to a myriad of questions about the situation on the African continent. He presents his views on the recent military interventions in West Africa. Also, he reviews other issues involving the security situation in the Horn of Africa and other regions. 

Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast for Sat. Dec. 4, 2021--Hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor

Listen to the Sat. Dec. 4, 2021 edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. 

To hear the podcast of this program go to this link: Pan-African Journal: Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast on Apple Podcasts

The program features our PANW report with dispatches on the claims by the Ethioipian government that it is making advances against the TPLF rebels; Sudanese mass organizations are continuing to reject calls from the outside of the country to accept a deal between the restored Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and military coup leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan; Egypt is reporting on the activities surrounding the opening of the Luxor Museum; and France is attempting fortify its relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

In the second hour we listen to a briefing from the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the status of the pandemic on the continent. 

Finally, we review some of the most pressing and burning issues taking place in Africa and globally.

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Interviewed on Press TV News Review: COVID-19 and Vaccine Inequality

Watch this worldwide satellite television network News Review segment featuring Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, discussing a recent International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) statement saying that the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is stark evidence of vaccine inequality around the world. 

To view this segment, go to the following URL: Sudanese once again hit streets to denounce last month's military takeover | Urmedium 

Abayomi Azikiwe is joined in the segment by Medical Ethicist Harriet Washington, author of the pioneering study entitled "Medical Apartheid." The program aired live on Fri. Dec. 3, 2021.

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Featured on Press TV Spotlight: Sudanese Demonstrations Continue Against Military Rule

Watch this worldwide satellite television news network segment of News Review featuring Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, discussing the current political struggle in the Republic of Sudan where a military junta backed by the Pentagon and its allies have thwarted the attempts by the masses within the oil-rich state to establish a revolutionary democratic dispensation. 

You can view the entire segment by clicking on the following link: Sudanese once again hit streets to denounce last month's military takeover | Urmedium

The report was aired live on Tues. Nov. 30, 2021. Promotional language for the program says: "Tens of thousands of Sudanese have once again hit the streets to denounce last month’s military takeover and a recent deal that saw Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok reinstated after his ouster in the coup. In the capital Khartoum, security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters who were marching toward the presidential palace. Protesters chanted slogans, calling on the military to go back to their barracks. Similar rallies were also held in other cities. Last month, the military seized power and detained Hamdok and several members of his cabinet despite a 2019 power-sharing deal with civilian leaders. But the military re-instated the premier in a deal they signed last week. Pro-democracy activists are opposed to any deal with the military, citing its deadly crackdown on protests. More than 40 protesters have been killed since the October 25 coup."