South African Press Association - October 7, 2004

Addressing the second meeting of a commission he set up to develop ways of helping Africa, Blair called for "international attention to be turned into international action" in a bid to address the scale of the crisis facing the only continent to have grown poorer over the last 40 years.

"We know that poverty and instability leads to weak states which can become havens for terrorists and other criminals," Blair told the Africa Commission. "Even before 9/11, al-Qaeda had bases in Africa ... They still do, hiding in places where they can go undisturbed by weak governments, planning their next attacks which could be anywhere in the world, including Africa."

The commission is to spell out what Africa needs to develop and explain what held back the continent in the past. Its findings will come out in time for Britain's presidency of the Group of Eight industrialised nations next year and the presidency of the European Union later in the year.

The British leader said that "2005 is a year of decisions for Africa", calling for the world's spotlight to be turned on the continent.

"We cannot afford to stand by, because what happens in Africa affects us and will affect the rest of the world."

Blair pledged to make tackling Africa's problems a focal point of his country's G8 presidency. The commission is expected to address many of the most pressing issues facing the continent -- from the need for good governance, peace and fair trade to improving health care and education for Africans, Blair's office said.

The need for security on the continent is clear: In the past 50 years, 186 coups and 26 major wars have killed over seven million people and cost Africa $250-billion. Half a dozen African nations are still troubled by serious conflicts, the United Nations says.

Ending the continent's conflicts, however, is only one part of helping Africa, the only continent to have grown poorer in the past 25 years, the African Union says.

African countries are saddled with $305-billion in debts, and their products account for barely two percent of world trade. Investment in the continent has shrunk to $11-billion a year.

HIV complicates efforts to spur economic growth and development in Africa. More than 26 million Africans are infected with HIV and an estimated 15 million have died from Aids, including many people from the continent's relatively small educated and business class.

"What I am concerned about here is not just coming up with a set of proposals but making sure they are then tracked and followed through in their implementation," Blair told reporters in Ethiopia.

"This is no longer a question of donors and recipients, it's a questions of partnership -- partnership between equals."

Blair was to join Band Aid star Bob Geldof in Ethiopia for the Africa Commission meeting. The Irish rocker's fund-raising campaign 20 years ago raised millions in donations from around the world for the starving of Ethiopia.

Blair flew to Ethiopia from neighboring Sudan, where he pressed authorities to end violence in the country's troubled Darfur region. The United Nations says about 50 000 people have been killed in the area and some 1,4 million others have been forced to flee their homes to escape attacks by pro-government Arab militia.

Blair said on Wednesday that Sudan has accepted a five-point cease-fire plan.

The first point calls for a significant expansion of African Union forces in Darfur, where a few hundred AU soldiers have been monitoring a shaky cease-fire among two rebel groups, government troops and allied militia.

The other four points call for the government to identify the location of its troops and munitions in Darfur, to return its troops to barracks in conjunction with a similar withdrawal by rebel forces, to commit itself to reaching a comprehensive peace agreement with the rebels in Darfur and in southern Sudan by December 31, and abide by the humanitarian accords signed with the United Nations.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry issued a statement afterward saying Sudan was committed to "the leadership role and engagement of the African Union in addressing the situation in Darfur".

Originally a clash between African farmers and Arab nomads, the conflict has been inflamed by a counterinsurgency in which pro-government Arab militia have waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing against African villagers.

The government denies frequent allegations that it supports the Arab militia, the Janjaweed.

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