July 21, 2010

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Whole Show Blow-by-Blow

Today's guest host was Jim Brown.

It's Wednesday July 21st.

The Afghan military is planning to take over all security operations from NATO by 2014.

Currently, the Taliban is planning to take over everything, six months after that.

This is The Current.

Afghanistan's Future - Jaweed Ludin

We started this segment with a clip from Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaking at the close of a major international conference in Kabul yesterday. Representatives of 70 donor countries gathered to discuss Afghanistan's future. And what they agreed on could very well nibe a turning point.

With Karzai's government assuming significant control over Afghanistan's budget and administration, the withdrawal of the international community is now within sight. But is Afghanistan ready to go it alone? Jaweed Ludin is Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada. He joined us from Ottawa.

Articles: Leaders Renew Vows of Support for Afghanistan / Afghan troops 'overrated' by US

Afghanistan's Future - Nipa Banerjee

While this may be a heady moment for the Karzai government, the course decided at yesterday's conference is worrisome to some people who know Afghanistan intimately.

Nipa Banerjee worked for the Canadian International Development Agency for more than 30 years, including a stint as the head of CIDA in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2006. She's now a professor in the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa. And today we reached Nipa Banerjee in Kabul.

We should note we did try to get the Canadian government's position on the outcome of the International Conference in Kabul this week. We requested interviews with Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda. Neither was available.

PART TWO

Uganda Justice

We started this segment with a CBC report of the military overthrow of Ugandan president Milton Obote in January, 1971. The man who took charge of those jubilant masses was the Commander of the army, Idi Amin.

But what began as a popular coup d'etat would devolve into eight years of madness and murder. As we continue to look at Africa in the years since independence, we turn to Uganda - which, like many of its neighbours, quickly saw its high hopes for sovereignty give way to political turbulence and tyranny. Few leaders were more tyrannical than Amin.

Hundreds of thousands of ugandans were killed during his reign of terror. And most of those atrocities went unpunished. But Duncan Laki wasn't ready to let his father's killers get off that easy. Unlike many Ugandans who lost relatives to Amin's regime, Duncan was able to bring the men he believes were behind his father's murder to court. His story is recounted in Andrew Rice's book The Teeth May Smile But the Heart Does Not Forget: Murder and Memory in Uganda. Andrew Rice and Duncan Laki were both in our New York studio.

Throughout the summer, we will be bringing you more stories highlighting how Africa has changed in the years since independence.

Music Bridge

Artist: Steve Dawson
Cd: We Belong to the Gold Coast
Cut: 1, We Belong to the Gold Coast
Label: Black Hen
Spine: BHCD 0030

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