OPENING ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT MOBUTU TO THE EMERGENCY KINSHASA SUMMIT OF THE OAU
My fellow African nations of the OAU,
Every meeting of the Organisation of African Unity is a cause for celebration, of how far we have come. In the few years since the founding of the OAU, Africa has seen many more nations liberated and gaining independence - so many, that 38 nations are now represented here, with more eagerly awaiting their chance to join the African community of nations.
And indeed, the Organisation's short history since 1963 has seen great strides taken in a hundred different fields - from agriculture to medicine, from forestry to fishing. Africa, and African man, has been waking up to his destiny. But I have not called this extraordinary summit for discussion of the matters normally so important to us; the racist regimes still carved from southern Africa, or the foreign powers seeking our resources for their own gain.
The information from Buenos Aires will have shocked you all to the core, as it has me. That such a UFO could arrive unannounced - whether the superpowers had warning is conjecture - is a cause for alarm, and many of you will know the fear it has caused. First Contact. And in their wake, this "
Posadism" - with alien guns, alien rule, and alien terror brought to Latin America. Though the UFO claims to come in peace, with it has come war.
We Africans suffered once - and still do - from contact with a Europe and a white man bent on conquest. Then, we were divided, and our resources easily taken. Then, we were easily misled, and played against one another. The OAU's founding charter is a vow to our ancestors and our children to never again allow this to happen. But we must still consider - if war will come to the globe, and if this Posadist ideology gains ground - then Africa, sweet Africa, will suffer, coveted by all.
Thus our task must be to decide on our response collectively. This does not stop us from acting individually; we are an association of free and sovereign countries. But we must consider the danger of doing nothing. As the proverb says:
the absent are always wrong. We must work to improve Africa's capacity to defend herself, or else risk apocalypse.
I have therefore brought to the table several motions. First, and most controversial; that we as an organisation tentatively and temporarily call for a ceasefire across the continent, from the liberation wars in the south, to the civil wars further north. But, this is contingent on anti-apartheid forces being unmolested and unattacked; and on all parties in civil conflicts accepting the ceasefire; and said ceasefire being monitored by Africans.
This is difficult for all of us to do; but the fact that the United States even countenance withdrawal from Vietnam is a marker of how times have changed; and we shall also as an organisation, never accept racism or colonialism as the status quo save as a temporary ceasefire. At the least, in the case of civil conflicts within the OAU - it is worth the attempt - for it would show up any alien infiltration attempts as an alarm bell.
Secondly, I would call for member nations to look to learn as much as we can of these aliens, through participation in the UN mission to the UFO, and the funding of UFO studies in several educational establishments in North, West, Central and East Africa. These shall provide a framework to assess First Contact, and advice African society on the nature of our visitors, working with this emerging field across the world.
Thirdly, I would call for us all to prepare our infrastructure for the kind of shock to the world trade economy that the Second World War caused. I already have my own government looking at ways to improve food production and storage in case of any further disruption - and able to provide aid, if needed, across the continent. Equally important is the improvement of intra-OAU transport links - airports, rail lines, roads and rivers must be readied.
Fourthly, and finally, I would call for the OAU to coordinate our militaries in observation and response to any UFO incident upon our own shores. Should Africa be victim to alien equipped rebels - or, the Almighty forbid, a second UFO - then we must be ready and able to respond. We must train our militaries for the fight; we must train our recon forces to spot any suspicious UFO activity or technology; we must even, brothers, be open to the possibility of OAU peacekeepers being trained - elite units which can be deployed in the face of alien aggression, if necessary.
These are four very great points - and perhaps easily ignored in less trying times. I raise them here as chairperson and as host, with the knowledge that this organisation is vital to Africa. For there to be
an Africa, and an OAU, for the future, we must look past our differences - and look to ready Africa for a First Contact none of us can truly guess at.