53 Nations Inaugurate New Continental Union
SOUTH AFRICA
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In a blur of streaking fighter jets, and with Zulu dancers and parachuting soldiers, African leaders launched the 53-member African Union, an ambitious body that seeks to pull their beleaguered continent out of poverty and conflict.
“Africans have a common and a shared destiny. Together we must redefine this destiny for a better life for all the people of this continent,” South African President Thabo Mbeki, the union’s chairman, told thousands at the kickoff in Durban, South Africa.
Critics, however, question whether the new body will be another toothless bureaucracy like its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity.
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