blackascoal
The Force is With Me
JOHANNESBURG — Police fired rubber bullets and a stun grenade into a crowd of hundreds of protesters before President Obama arrived at the University of Johannesburg on Saturday.
The crowd quickly scattered as police officers walked up the street pushing protesters away with shot guns.
"I feel my rights are being infringed," said 24-year-old Bilaal Qibr, who was at the protest. "We can't protest anymore. Personally, I feel like this is an extension of the U.S."
Protests have been planned at the university over Obama's visit and the news that he was to receive an honorary doctorate Saturday.
"They don't believe Obama deserves that award. The U.S. position and its relationship with Israel has created a problem," said Levy Masete, president of the Student Representative Council. "The students say, 'Stop the oppression in Palestine,' and you want to honor this man who is making this oppression possible."
Obama dismissed suggestions that he was only investing personal capital on Africa's economy now as a response to the increased focus on the continent by China, India, Brazil and others. He called on Africans to make sure that countries seeking an economic foothold on the continent are making a "good deal for Africa."
"If somebody says they want to come build something here, are they hiring African workers?" Obama said. "If somebody says that they want to help you develop your natural resources, how much of the money is staying in Africa? If they say that they're very interested in a certain industry, is the manufacturing and value-added done in Africa?"
Some students wanted to ask Obama the same questions.
"He's here for our African resources," said Nomagugu Hloma, 19, a student at what she called the "sell out" university. "Hands off our gold, oil, diamonds and land," she said.
South Africa's biggest trade union, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) also said they would be protesting, while the Muslim Lawyers Association called for the president's arrest for war crimes.
"I'm disappointed with President Obama," said Putase Tseki, the COSATU chairman of Gauteng province in Johannesburg. "He promised he would (change) his foreign policy, he was going to resolve Palestine and close Guantanamo. I would say I was positive four years ago, but now I don't know."
The "feeling of being let down" helped stem the protests, says William Beinart, an African studies professor at Britain's University of Oxford.
"High hopes were held for Barack Obama and his impact on Africa, and there has been some disappointment that he has not made a huge effort to increase aid," Beinart says. "(COSATU) is using the opportunity of Barack Obama's visit to make a point about corporate responsibility."
Even in Pretoria, blocks away from the hospital where former South African president Nelson Mandela has remained with a lung infection, students set up protests against U.S. policies on drones and the Middle East on Friday — a stark contrast to the excitement that greeted the president in Senegal, the first stop on his trip.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/06/29/obama-south-africa/2475133/
