US senator cancels DRC visit
2006-08-24 08:46
Washington - Political rising star Barack Obama, the sole African-American in the United States senate, suffered a new hitch in his Africa tour after fierce fighting put paid to a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
An aide said on Wednesday that the Illinois democrat, the son of a Kenyan-born economist, was hastily rejigging the schedule for his two-week tour of the continent, after the US embassy in Kinshasa asked him to stay away as fierce factional violence raged.
Obama's spokesperson Tommy Vietor said: "There was a formal request from the US embassy in the DRC to suspend the visit because of violence in Kinshasa that has tied down embassy personnel and assets."
Vietor said that aides travelling with Obama in Africa were working on a schedule now being "radically reworked", adding that "the senator, who had already wound up a first stop in South Africa, could now go directly to Kenya".
Bloodshed in Darfur
Though violence had eased in Kinshasa, 16 people had been killed in heavy artillery clashes since Sunday between supporters of rival election candidates President Joseph Kabila and vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Obama's tour would also include stops in Rwanda and Chad. But, a planned visit to Sudan, meant to spotlight bloodshed in the strife-torn Darfur region, was also cancelled after authorities failed to issue visas to Obama and his party.
His arrival in Kenya was eagerly awaited, and Obama had pledged to highlight the country's battle with HIV/Aids.
In South Africa, Obama waded into the latest row over the government's policy on combating the pandemic, which had ravaged the continent and affected 5.5 million South Africans.
Traditional values, modern science conflict
Obama said: "There needs to be a sense of urgency and an almost clinical truth telling about Aids in this country for the problem to be solved.
"But, it has to be addressed in an unambiguous fashion. There should not be a contradiction or conflict between traditional values and modern science."
Obama's criticisms came days after Stephen Lewis, the United Nations special envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa, used a major conference on the epidemic in Toronto to lambaste the government of SA President Thabo Mbeki.
SA Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang advocated a quirky diet to fight HIV, which included beetroot, garlic and lemons, and Mbeki came under fire several years ago after questioning the link between HIV/Aids.
Political expectations exploded for Obama after an impassioned speech at the 2004 democratic convention, and he was seen as a possible future presidential candidate.