Columnist Tonya Weathersbee
Links IMF’s Chief Arrest for Rape
to the Disregard for Africa
18May2011 Author: drjelks
written by Tonya Weathersbee
Weathersbee is a columnist for Jacksonville, Florida’s The Times-Union.
Source: BlackAmericaWeb
Semen, a cell phone and surveillance recordings could very well turn out to be the proof that puts Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is accused of sexually assaulting a West African chambermaid who came to clean his suite at the tony Sofitel Hotel in New York City, behind bars.
But the entire incident may also wind up being proof of something more symbolic and disturbing: That men like Strauss-Khan, who heads the International Monetary Fund, seem to be more inclined towards exploiting vulnerable people than they are towards helping them.
That goes for nations and individuals alike.
Here’s the story so far. Strauss-Khan, a man who was favored to become France’s next president and a man whose organization is supposed to help developing countries but ensnares them further in debt and misery, emerged naked from the shower and surprised the chambermaid, who thought the suite had been vacated.
She told authorities that she apologized and tried to leave, but he chased her down a hallway and pulled her into a bathroom, where she said he sodomized her and forced her to perform oral sex on him. She ultimately broke free and reported the incident to hotel staffers, who summoned the police.
Strauss-Khan was denied bail, and now sits in prison as he awaits a court hearing on Friday.
If he is ultimately found guilty, it could mean a few things.
It could mean that he simply is a pervert. Or it could mean that he felt free to treat the African maid in the same way that the IMF, as well as the French-led peacekeepers in the Ivory Coast and Congo, felt free to exploit Africans while purporting to help them.
It’s been that way for some time now.
According to Africa Action, a Washington, D.C. organization that has been around since 1953 trying to improve the plight of African countries and foster policies that spur their development, the World Bank and the IMF’s policies have hurt Africa. Over the years, the IMF has forced Africa to adopt structural adjustment programs in order to get badly needed loans.
But the conditions for the loans – such as privatization of basic services such as water – often undercut availability, lead to disease and misery and leave everyday Africans impoverished and struggling.
They also leave the countries more in debt.
Then in 2005, when the French were trying to quell a conflict in the Ivory Coast, a number of its soldiers began to see the country as a place to act out their crudest fantasies. Twelve soldiers were sentenced by a French military court for repeatedly robbing a bank, while four were accused of sexually abusing an Ivorian girl.
Then there’s Didier Bourguet, a senior United Nations official from France, who, during that same time, was supposed to be in Congo trying to help keep the peace, but instead used young Congolese girls for Internet sex porn. He took photos of himself having sex with the girls. In one photo, it was reported that a tear could be seen rolling down the cheek of one of his victims. Bourguet wasn’t the only UN official who sexually exploited African women and girls during that time – and the French certainly weren’t the only ones doing it. Peacekeepers from countries raped young African girls - many times after luring them with foodstuffs such as jam and peanut butter - and then forcing them to have sex. They did it because deep down inside, they saw these African females as objects and not humans. Therefore, their mission to protect them came second to their duty to act on their crudest impulses, using girls as young as 11 as if they were a piece of tissue or a toothpick.
Of course, Strauss-Khan is innocent until proven guilty. But so far, the incident makes me think about how, for the powerful people and countries of the world, all things African seem to be easy pickings. And how a West African woman who immigrated to the United States to work as a hotel chambermaid may not have traveled far enough to escape that fate.
>via theblackbottom.com
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Dominique Strauss-Kahn:
Ex-IMF boss wins New York bail
Strauss-Kahn lawyer William Taylor said the idea of his client skipping bail was "ludicrous"Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been granted bail by a judge in a New York court, after being formally charged with trying to rape a hotel maid.
Mr Strauss-Kahn had earlier resigned as the International Monetary Fund's boss.
His lawyers said he was honourable and would not try to abscond. Prosecutors said he had "incentive to flee".
Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus imposed $1m cash bail and said there must be 24-hour home detention, with an armed guard and electronic monitoring.
The judge said one armed guard must be deployed at all times, at Mr Strauss-Kahn's expense, and the defendant must surrender all travel documents. In addition to the $1m (£618,000) cash bail, a $5m insurance bond would also apply.
Mr Strauss-Kahn will spend a fourth night at the notorious Rikers Island prison on Thursday before the bail papers are signed.
He will appear in court again on 6 June, when he will formally enter a plea. He has denied all the accusations against him.
'Life of ease'Mr Strauss-Kahn's wife, Anne Sinclair, was in court for Thursday's hearing.
The Frenchman - who was not wearing handcuffs or shackles, but was flanked by four police officers - smiled at her as he entered the Manhattan courtroom.
The prosecution said the $1m bail offer was "unreasonable"
Mr Strauss-Kahn had been denied bail at an earlier hearing on Monday.
But defence lawyers said the prosecution's bail position was unfair and not consistent with the law.
The prosecution said Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, had left the alleged crime scene with "unusual haste" and that any bail arrangement would be insufficient.
The judge asked for details of Mr Strauss-Kahn's financial situation.
The defence said he had a net worth of roughly $2m and offered $1m bail.
Prosecutor John McConnell said this was "unreasonable", adding: "We are in possession right now of only one passport. We simply don't know what other documents he has access to or could get."
He said Mr Strauss-Kahn had the means to live "a life of ease and comfort" in parts of the world "beyond this country's jurisdiction".
But Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyer, William Taylor, said: "The prospect of Mr Strauss-Kahn teleporting himself to France and living there as an accused sex offender, fugitive, is ludicrous."
After the ruling, Mr Taylor said: "We want to express our pleasure that the judge has made this decision. It's great relief to the family to be able to have him with them."
Anne Sinclair arrives for the court hearing
Mr Strauss-Kahn has now been formally charged following a grand jury hearing, attended on Wednesday by his accuser, a 32-year-old originally from Guinea in west Africa.
The charges set out by the New York district attorney's office included four felony counts - two of criminal sexual acts, one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse - plus three misdemeanour offences, including unlawful imprisonment.
Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance said Mr Strauss-Kahn had been indicted on all the charges presented to the grand jury.
The incident allegedly took place at New York's Sofitel hotel on 14 May.
Mr Strauss-Kahn earlier announced his resignation from the IMF.
In a statement posted on the IMF website late on Wednesday, he said he had resigned with "infinite sadness" but wanted to "devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence".
His resignation has sparked debate about his successor.
Leading voices in Europe say another European should head the fund.
A number of figures have voiced support for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
>via: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13459753