US using Ebola to advance its imperialist agenda in Africa: Azikiwe The United States is using the epidemic of the Ebola virus to advance its imperialist agenda in West Africa, a civil rights activist and journalist in Detroit says. Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Tuesday while commenting on President Barack Obama’s announcement that the US military will be involved in tackling the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, arguing that it represents a serious national security concern. I believe this is just another means for the United States military intelligence’s deeper penetration of the African continent. Already the United States has military presence in Libya, in Sierra Leone, as well in the west African state of Nigeria, all of which have been... impacted by the epidemic of the Ebola virus,” Azikiwe said. The only way in which this disease can be tackled is through the proliferation of medical personnel, trained doctors, nurses, the development of the field hospitals and clinics, and it’s through this process that the disease can be arrested, he added. The reason why this disease is having such a traumatic impact on Africa... is the fact that there are not adequate healthcare facilities in these various countries -- adequate research facilities -- so this disease can be tackled both through research as well as through medical treatment, the civil rights activist noted. This treatment will be designed to contain a virus and also to eliminate it. But its not a military solution, its a medical solution, and the medical solution is definitely related to the lack of the development, the lack of resources inside the region, he stated. The Ebola cases that have been sent to the Unites States for treatment have gotten very positive results. That is directly related to the level of medical facilities and healthcare professionals [in the US] that can address this issue, Azikiwe said. But its not a military issue, its a medical issue, and the medical issue is definitely related to the question of development in West Africa. [T]his is the only way of which there will be a long-term solution for this crisis. The disease at this point is a threat for West Africa; but its also an international threat because theres no way it can be contained strictly in the West African region, he emphasized. He added that “there have been some cases in the northern region of Democratic Republic of Congo. Although they are claiming the outbreak is unrelated to the outbreak in West Africa, still we go back to the question of adequate medical facilities and adequate medical personnel.” “So this is the real solution and [regarding] AFRICOM - the United States Army Command for the Africa Region - these military intuitions are not established for the purposes of healthcare. They are established for the purpose of carrying out the United States imperialist foreign policy in Africa and this is just another mechanism for Barack Obama to move in that direction,” Azikiwe concluded.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 04:47:12 +0000
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