CABO VERDE LOOKS TOWARDS EUROPE

By Mario Soares and - - Reprint | | Print |

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LISBON, Jun 3 2008 (IPS) - The European Union, which has constantly expanded towards the East, should now turn its sights to the West and look positively on the desire of the government of Cape Verde to find a way of integrating with the European Union, writes Mario Soares, ex-prime minister and ex-president of Portugal. In this article,Soares writes that the archipelago is turning into a prime tourist destination with modern hotel facilities and an appealing climate even in winter, affable people, and high quality dance and folklore. It is not surprising that European tourists find Cape Verde enchanting. The current president, Pedro Pires, an outstanding anti-colonialist warrior, respected politician, and consummate negotiator, recently stated, \”I want my country to gradually grow closer to the European Union in order to find new ways to guarantee development and security.\”

Cape Verde is a sui generis country. An archipelago situated at the south of the North Atlantic at the junction of three continents – Africa, Europe, and South America – its ten islands were uninhabited when the Portuguese navigator Diego Gomes landed there in 1460. Its population is thus not originally or exclusively African but a mix of Africans, Portuguese, Jews, and other peoples crossing the Atlantic from every direction. As a consequence nothing in the EU treaties would prevent the incorporation of Cape Verde into the European family.

Together with Guinea-Bissau on the continent, Cape Verde won its independence from Portugal after the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, and the territories were united as a political entity. Shortly after, though, without great drama, Cape Verde realised that this union made little sense because the main link between the two was the political will of a single party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAISGC), which was created by the great pro-independence leader Amilcar Cabral once the Portuguese dictatorial regime of Salazar and Caetano refused to respond to his proposal to negotiate the country’s withdrawal from these two colonies.

Meanwhile, times changed. The newly-independent Cape Verde’s fight for survival was particularly difficult since it had the least (known) natural resources of any country in Africa, except for the extraordinary genius of its mestizo population. Cape Verde is the best governed, most politically stable, and most respected internationally of all of the ex-Portuguese colonies, with a solid rule of law.

The evolution of the archipelago is perfectly summed up by recent statements of the foreign minister of Cape Verde, Victor Manuel Barbosa Borges: “At the time we gained our independence, our rate of illiteracy was almost 70 percent; today it is 24 percent. Life expectancy was 50 years, to today’s 75-77. Infant mortality has dropped dramatically and is among the lowest in Africa. For this reason, since January of 2008, we are no longer one the least-advanced countries but are now considered part of the medium-developed group. That said, however, Cabo Verde is far from having resolved all of its problems.”

Cape Verde is the fourth archipelago of Macaronesia, a Greek name for this bio-geographic zone of the Atlantic Ocean which was thought to have a magical or religious character in Greco-Roman times. This area also includes the Azores, the Canary Islands, and Madeira. These three autonomous regions of Spain and Portugal have the status of peripheral European territories and as a result enjoy special benefits. Cape Verde lost the opportunity to be a member of this group -which is geologically unified and has undeniable geo-strategic value, because when it became independent it opted for an African identity.

The political leaders of Cape Verde are informed, serious, and well-educated people. For years they have been pursuing the idea of strengthening political ties with Europe, although there is no denying the difficulties that would be involved. A certain consensus has already emerged on this issue among the country’s political parties.

The archipelago is turning into a prime tourist destination with modern hotel facilities and an appealing climate even in winter, affable people, and high quality dance and folklore. It is not surprising that European tourists find Cape Verde enchanting.

The current president, Pedro Pires – an outstanding anti-colonialist warrior, respected politician, and consummate negotiator – recently stated, “I want my country to gradually grow closer to the European Union in order to find new ways to guarantee development and security.”

Portugal, brother country of Cape Verde and member of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries -which also includes Angola, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Santo Tome-Principe, and East Timor- have a duty to do all they can to ensure that Pires’ desire for closer ties with the Old Continent does not come to naught. The Cape Verde government has also expressed its interest in a relationship with NATO and although these days the organisation has drifted far from its initial objectives, the political winds that might sweep a black man to the presidency of the United States could well bring the potentiality for peace and progress to the Atlantic Sea, to use the expression of renowned Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)