The African Union has wisely avoided the embarrassment of having Sudan chair its current summit and head the organization for the next two years. This is not only because Sudan is one of the world’s worst regimes, but also because one of the most critical issues for the AU in 2006-07 will be halting genocide in Darfur and protecting civilians from militias backed by Khartoum.But the final outcome is hardly good news either. The replacement is Congo-Brazzaville. Although the country is making progress after a recent internal conflict, it is hardly a showcase for the ‘new Africa’ that the AU is supposed to represent. Indeed, the new AU chairman, Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso has been president since 1979 (except for a brief period 1992-97) and is of the old-style Big Man mode – who solidified his power partly through an armed gang known as the ‘Cobras’.Just as worrying, the BBC is reporting that the AU compromise includes a split of the term, allowing Sudan to take over the chairmanship next year. This may have been a face-saving ploy to get the Sudanese to back down during a summit in its own capital, but it hardly installs confidence. The AU was supposed to be different than the old OAU, but so far it is hard to tell much difference.
