Friday, May 9. m4

SCARLET AND BLACK

 

Page Seven

Anku Investigates Ghana's Non-Alignment Foreign Policy

By Vince Anku

Some Americans believe that
small nations must either be
for them or against them. This
is not true. Ghanaians contend
that neither power block is per-
manently right and so they
cannot irrevocably belong to
either camp. Ghanaians wish to
live peaceably with all coun—
tries irrespective of their polit-
ical ideology. To this and Ghana
a nonvalignment policy. Ghana
adopts a non-alignment policy.
Ghana has not invented non-
alignment policy. "Thomas Jef-
ferson, a great American,
advocated non-alignment pol-
icy of America some 174]
years ago. He said inconnection
with American foreign policy,
‘Peace, commerce, and honest
friendship with all nations, en-
tangling alliances with none.’ ”
(Nkrumah's radio address.
Dec, 22, 1961)

Defendng Nkrumah’s “Afri-
can Socialism” against un-
founded charges of Commu-
nism, St. Clair Drake of Chica—
go made some pertinent re-
marks. Drake was a professor
of sociology in Ghana for some
two and one-half years. He is
now the director of the African
Studies Program at Roosevelt
University. He argued that

 

Ghanas foreign policy, not her
socialistic orientation, is a
more valid criterion for accu-
sation.

“. . . At the U. N. Ghana has
always voted against the Rus-
sian idea of a trolka to replace
the Secretary General, but it
also votes for admission of Red
China. It has repeatedly re<
buked both sides for dragging
heels on the banning of nuclear
tests.

During the Cuban crisis,
Ghana delegates expressed
sympathetic understanding in
the United States’ fears, but op-
posed an invasion of Cuba. It
did not go along with Cuba‘s
attempt to have a renewed Se-
curity Council debate on the is-
sue. There is absolutely no
substance at all to Senator
Dodd's charge that Nkrumah
has “consistently supported the
Soviet Union and Cuba in the
U. N.” ‘ .

Americans who object to the
policy of ‘positive nonalign—
ment,’ African socialism, the
one party state, and militant
Pan-Africanism, have a tend-
ency to label all of these orien-
tations ‘Communism’ as do
Ghanaians who prefer other
political styles. This simply
confuses the issue.

The crucial question from

 

the American foreign policy
standpoint is not whether the
Ghanian government is author-
itarian the United States sup-
ports the governments of Li-
beria and various other African
authoritarian states — nor
whether it is socialistic — the
United States helped to finance
Clement Attlee’s Labour gov-
ernment and Tito’s Commun-
ism—Pan-Africanism is not a
Communistic movement and is
no menace to the United
States.

The relevant questions are:
‘Does Ghana have an independ-
ent foreign policy not tied to
that of the U. S. S. R. or Chi-
na?’ and 'ls it likely to keep
that orientation?‘ A careful
study of Ghana and its leader
might produce a positive an-
swer to both questions. . . ."
(New York Times, July 30, 1963,
23:4)

A short while ago, speaking
on the tenth anniversary of
"Positive Action," a non-Vio-
lent-movement for independ-
ence, President Nkrumah made
a similar remark:

“I must emphasize that our
party’s foreign policy contin-
ues to be based upon positive
neutralism and non—alignment.
We are convinced that by our
policy of non-alignment we are

 

able to speak our minds, frank-
ly and without fear and favour
on issues as they arise. Our
positive stands are based on
our own convictions, complete-
1y uninfluenced by any of the
power blocs. We believe that
we could help bridge the unfor»
tunate and undesirable gap be-
tween the so-called East and
West bloc by not aligning our-
selves with either side. . . . We
hold the view that as to the
issues between them, neither
bloc can claim to be perma—
nently ,right or permanently
wrong. We should be free to
take our stand without previ-
ously committing ourselves to
any bloc on any matters which
affect the peace, progress,
and indeed, the destiny of Af-
rica. We believe that it would
be suicidal to involve our
selves in the disputes of the
great powers by taking sides.
We will continue to cultivate
and maintain friendly relations
with all counuies.”

Ghana is thus able to put for-
ward unbiased proposals for
the settlement of specific is-
sues. Ghana's policy on three
specific issues—China’s admis-
sion to the U. N., the nuclear
disarmament, and the Middle
East problem—which current-

 

ly affect World Peace can
serve as examples of Ghanian
thinking.

As regards the Middle East,
Ghana is concerned with the
long range problem of the de-
pressed masses of me Arab
countries, and the short range
problem of the Arab-Israel ten-
sion. At the 1960 General As-
sembly of the U. N. President
Nkrumah bluntly stated one‘ of
the most important underlying
conflicts in the Middle East.
He urged Western powers to
stop exploiting the oil resources
of the Middle East, for “as long
as these powers continue to ex«
ploit the oil resources of thl
Middle East on a competitive
basis, the friction resulting
from a clash of the economic
and commercial interests is
bound to endanger the peace of
mankind." Without favouring
either Israel or the Arab States.
Ghana asked the United Nan
tions to set up a committee to
study and develop political man
chinery which would make it
impossible either for Israel to
attack the Arab states or fot
the Arab States to attack
lsrael. The committee should

ANKU—
Cont. on Page 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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