(2 Feb 2009) SHOTLIST
AUDIO AS INCOMING
1. Top shot, pan left of opening session of African Union Summit
2. Various of Moammar Gadhafi, president of Libya
3. Mid shot of Sudanese delegation, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir on right
4. Gadhafi being presented with ceremonial gavel marking his leadership of the African Union
5. Summit panel, from left to right UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, chairman of the AU Commission Jean Ping, Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzanian president and outgoing chairman of the African Union, and unidentified official
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Moammar Gadhafi, president of Libya:
“I think the coming time will be a time of serious work and a time of action, and not words.”
7. Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Moammar Gadhafi, president of Libya:
“I dream about a united Africa.”
9. Delegates applauding
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzanian president and outgoing chairman of the African Union (Arab League chief Amr Moussa sitting on far right)
“We are looking forward and committed to strengthening the excellent relations which exist between African and the United States of America. The assembly welcomes the administration of President Obama, which opens a new chapter for America, for Africa and indeed for the entire world.”
11. Delegates applauding
12. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at news conference
13. Reporters taking notes
14. SOUNDBITE (English) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
“While I have welcomed the decision of Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC to join this national unity government, I still believe that it this an imperfect situation. I have urged President Mugabe to build upon this new development of this situation and try to make progress as soon as possible so that they can ensure the fuller democracy and freedom.”
15. Cameramen
16. SOUNDBITE (English) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
“I urge maximum restraint on President Bashir and have urged the JEM (Justice and Equality Movement) rebels to withdraw from the city (Mujaheria) to protect innocent civilians. UN peacekeeping forces in the city are there to protect the 15-thousand IDPs – internally displaced persons – as per our mandate. We will continue to do our duty there, despite calls for the UN withdrawal by the Sudanese government.”
STORYLINE:
Moammar Gadhafi of Libya was elected on Monday as leader of the African Union, a position long sought by the eccentric dictator pushing his oil-rich nation into the international mainstream after years of isolation.
Some African leaders offered tepid praise for the choice of Gadhafi, who grabbed power in a 1969 coup.
Rights groups called him a poor model for Africa at a time when democratic gains are being reversed in countries such as Mauritania and Guinea.
Once ostracised by the West for sponsoring terrorism, Gadhafi has been trying to increase Libya’s presence on the global stage and its regional influence – mediating African conflicts, sponsoring efforts to spread Islam on the continent and pushing for the creation of a single African government.
He attended the session dressed in a gold-embroidered green robe and flanked by seven extravagantly dressed men who said they are the “traditional kings of Africa.”
Gadhafi told about 20 of his fellow heads of state that that he would work to unite the continent into “the United States of Africa.”
Gadhafi arrived at the summit on Sunday with the seven men, one carrying a 4-foot gold staff, and caused a stir when security officials did not admit them because each delegation gets only four floor passes.
“I think the coming time will be a time of serious work and a time of action and not words,” he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also attended the summit in Ethiopia.
political prisoners.
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