Pan Africanism. The consciousness in the necessity of a solidarity between black people because of the inextricability of their destinies and their indissoluble tie to Africa. A Pan Africanist is a person who displays a full commitment, demonstrated by their daily action, to the effort to restore the full sovereignty and repair the dignity of black people badly damaged by slavery and all forms of colonialism. The strategical goal of Pan Africanism is the African Renaissance.
Pan African Federalism: Pan African Federalism rests of two pillars. The first one is the understanding and belief that only the political unification of All the Sovereign African States can lead to the restoration of the full sovereignty of African people and the beginning of the process for the reparation of their dignity. The second pillar, the acceptance for this political union to be viable federalism, must be the mode of organization of the management of Sovereignty.
Pan African Federalist Movement: The coalition of individuals and organizations who are committed to Pan African Federalism.
The Link between Pan Africanism and Pan African Federalism is that the Strategic Goal of Pan African Federalism, the birth of Federal Union of the African States and people, the United African States, is the sine qua non condition for the beginning of a sustainable march towards the African Renaissance.
PAFM International Preparatory Committee (IPC) General Secretary, Joomaay Ndongo Faye writes in Understanding Neocolonialism (2022):
"Neocolonialism is an enhanced form of imperialist control. It requires much less investment from the imperial power and is less repulsive in the common eyes of the colonized. It does not require the costly military occupation which is a constant eyesore to the colonized. The relationship is founded on agreements based on international laws, ratified treaties, between the imperialist and the neo colony even though their terms are ridiculously in favor of the imperialist. These legally binding agreements between independent nations are very difficult to revoke even though their inhumane terms and conditions are accepted by the neo colony through intimidations and coercive methods. It takes a State with the right type of Sovereignty to Revoke them. A United African States will, without a doubt, have that type of Sovereign Power. . . .
The following systemic defects of a Country are what makes it vulnerable to neocolonialism:
Its non-viability which is either due to their size or to the destruction of their social capital. This non-viability is not the result of chance but of a plan well concocted and executed marvelously by the former colonizers. . . .
Its deficiency in sovereignty which is a consequence of their non-viability. Many people confuse independence, which is the recognition of the right to exist on the world stage, with sovereignty, which is a combination of the freedom to choose one's policies (independence) and the Wherewithal to implement those policies regardless of any outside entity's opinion on them (Positive Sovereignty).
Its vulnerability, this is the inability to protect itself from any form of illegal domestic and foreign aggression. It is a direct consequence of their non-viability and their lack of full sovereignty. The political instability of the African States on the Continent of Africa and in the Caribbean Islands because of the repetitive coups-d’états and post-electoral riots are some of the most visible symptoms of this structural deficiency of these states. The capacity of a foreign power to mingle in its domestic affairs is another symptom of vulnerability. The USA’s repeated aggressions on Haiti and the NATO removal of Khadafi are undeniable proofs of the vulnerability of those African States. . . .
In order to end neocolonialism, one must find means and ways in which these objective realities which create vulnerability to neocolonialism can be gotten rid of. Neocolonialism is a system. No amount of reform can make it work for the neo colonized. No form of condemnation can end it. No endeavor through any Court of justice can end it. Only the organized effort of its victims can put an end to it through a Revolution which does not have to be violent as explained above." [emphasis added]
The PAFM teaches that sovereignty is the liberty to choose one’s policy and the wherewithal to implement them. Not to be confused with independence which is a recognition by international laws of the right to exist as self-determining entity. When independence (the liberty to choose one’s policies and to operate legally on the international scene) is not accompanied by the true wherewithal to implement those policies, it is called a Negative Sovereignty. Positive sovereignty is when both the right to choose policies and the ability to implement them are acquired.
The Understanding the PAFM leadership training document states,
"The Pan African Federalist Movement is the one and only focal point group designed to create the conditions for the recovery of the full Sovereignty of African People and the reparation of their Dignity badly damaged by slavery, colonialism and Apartheid.
The sole focus of the PAFM is to seek for means and ways by which the political unification of the African States can be accelerated. Of those means three are at the center of its activities:
Gather the African individuals and organizations who believe in the Pan African Federalist Cause at a Congress that will decide on how to accelerate the political unification process of the Sovereign African States. This gathering is called the First Pan African Federalist Congress.
Build a grassroots Movement that will allow the majority of African people and organizations of Africans around the globe who believe in the fierce urgency to unite politically the African states to form a coalition which has the means and credibility to campaign for a United African States.
Put in place the embryo of the campaign machine that will carry the implementation of the Action plan that will be issued by the First Pan African Federalist Congress.
There are, however, fundamental principles that form the basis of the PAFM identity:
The PAFM is a Coalition based on individuals and organizations who see the need to unite all Sovereign African states around the world.
The PAFM is not a Pan African Coalition but a Federalist Coalition with a Pan African vision
The political unification of African states must go through the mandate of the popular masses, the sole owners of the sovereignty of the states that will join the Union
Faye writes in What Form of Union? (2014):
"For anyone who has a basic understanding of the complexity of power sharing in a democratic republic, a Unitarian State can not enjoy the necessary level of legitimacy which will allow it to efficiently rule an entity that will be as vast as and as culturally diverse as the United African States (UAS). The most serious issue that this form of Union poses is that cultural diversity, one of the riches of the African continent, will be in great jeopardy.This form of union will also by a threat to the respect of minority rights, and important ingredient for the viability of vast democratic political entities. Another serious problem for a Unitarian union is the differences in the levels of political development of the various African states. A unitary system, where member states are required to adopt the same constitution, therefore the same form of government, will seriously infringe on the States’ Rights. This infringement on the States Rights will certainly be a serious impediment to the acceptance by many African States of joining the union. Throughout history, the only times that a unitary system covering vast areas have been sustainable was when central power mostly used force to keep peace. A revisit of the Ghana and Mali empires shows that these empires were not unitary systems. . . . In a nutshell the Unitary System is foreign to most of the African cultures. The confusion between Pan Africanism and African Federalism has caused many to believe that Unity meant Uniformity. No plan to unite the African people shall tamper with the continent’s cultural diversity. . . . States that belong to a Federal Union can have different political Systems as long as the basic principles in which their constitutions are founded on do not violate the Federal Rights of the citizens of the Union.
The beauty with Federalism for the Case of Africa is that it is very flexible and can allow Countries at Different levels of political and economic development to manage together, and in a much more efficient way, the portions of their sovereignties they can't do by themselves (Macro-economic policies, Monetary Policies, Diplomacy, Security etc.). In such union one can have Kingdoms and Republics existing side by Side as full members. However, the Catch is that the powers of some of the African Republics and Kingdoms to violate the basic human rights of individual and groups will be curtailed. They will have to abide by the FEDERAL CITIZENS BILL OF RIGHTS and these Rights cannot be violated by any of the Constitutions or Laws of the Member States. The Other reason why Federalism will work well with Africa is that it will keep our cultural diversity as intact as possible."
Faye concludes in Understanding Neocolonialism,
"This unhinged Liberty of the African States to make policies which surrender some of the portions of their Sovereignty to another entity can be used to end neocolonialism. . . With regard to the organizations and individuals working to end neocolonialism through the political unification of African States, the great obstacle that they must imperatively overcome is their isolationist, going solo, attitude which fuels quarrels. It is to overcome this challenge that the Call for the First Pan African First Federalist Congress was launched from Dakar in 2015. The main objective of this congress is to create the optimal conditions for a reunion of Organizations and Individuals who are sincerely ready to campaign together for the acceleration of the Political Unification of African States. . . . Last but not least, let's talk about the African popular masses. . . . This work of raising the consciousness of the African popular masses can be done in record time by the millions of young Africans who are today desperately looking for a way outside the difficult condition neocolonialism has forced them into. The African Youth of today considers, in its overwhelming majority, the pioneers of Pan-African Federalism like Marcus Garvey, Nkrumah, Boganda, Lumumba, Modibo Keita, Senghor, Ben Barka, Cheikh Anta Diop, Thomas Sankara, Soboukwe, Gaddafi, and so many others as their IDOLS. This youth needs to be guided in this action by people who are incorruptible and experienced in campaigning for a cause. The PAFM is building a Campaign Machine made up of those people."
THIS IS THE SINE QUA NON OF THE PAN AFRICAN FEDERALIST MOVEMENT
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