mackaycartoons

Graeme MacKay's Editorial Cartoon Archive

  • Archives
  • Kings & Queens
  • Prime Ministers
  • Sharing
  • Special Features
  • The Boutique
  • Who?
  • Presidents

Prince Charles

Thursday June 23, 2022

June 23, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 23, 2022

Rwanda is a brutal, repressive regime. Holding the Commonwealth summit there is a sham

Back when I was a reporter based in Africa in the 1990s, there were two organisations whose meetings regularly took place amid widespread media indifference: the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the Commonwealth.

August 12, 2005

There were solid reasons for our lack of enthusiasm. Such get-togethers were strong on pomp and rigmarole, but the interesting decisions usually took place behind closed doors. Both organisations were widely seen as little more than dictators’ clubs, attuned to the interests of ruling elites while aloof from the millions of citizens they nominally represented.

The Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in Kigali, Rwanda this week will do nothing to challenge those assumptions.

Held in a country primed to receive Britain’s unwanted migrants – a deal that even Prince Charles, who will be chairing for the first time, apparently regards as “appalling” – the meeting will highlight the weaknesses of the organisation on which Britain is pinning its hopes of future global relevance.

In the run-up to the EU referendum, Brexiters talked up the benefits of ditching the EU in favour of a market that – thanks to the vastness of Britain’s defunct empire – holds 2.5 billion consumers, a third of the global population. And, since Brexit, it is true that free-trade agreements have been signed with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, while a host of other deals are being negotiated with members of the 54-nation association.

September 25, 2012

But the Commonwealth, like the EU, aims to be more than a trading bloc. Supporters talk about a “values-based organisation”. Its nominal belief in individual liberty, the democratic process, the rule of law and the importance of civil society were enshrined in both the Harare Declaration in 1991 and a Commonwealth charter adopted in 2012. Rwanda’s hosting of Chogm exposes a gaping hole where delivery should be.

Kigali will certainly look fantastic. The city where Hutu militiamen once hacked Tutsi families to death at roadblocks has been transformed into a gleaming conference hub. The flowerbeds have been meticulously weeded, every kerb will have been freshly painted, there won’t be a homeless person in sight.

But the explanation for that latter detail – before important get-togethers, the government relocates homeless people to “transit centres” for “reeducation” – highlights why the choice of Rwanda sends out nothing but worrying signals about where the Commonwealth is heading.

Rwanda is one the most repressive nations in Africa. It may be a “donor darling” whose oft-vaunted development indicators impress outsiders, but it is also a claustrophobic police state premised on violence. The president, Paul Kagame, routinely wins elections with more than 90% of the vote. The Rwandan government muzzles the press and human rights activists and opposition leaders are killed or jailed, or simply “disappear”.

October 8, 2013

Kagame not only has a terrible human rights record at home, he has for decades cynically exported instability to Africa’s great lakes region. Whatever the truth about the 1994 downing of a plane carrying two African presidents – former colleagues have publicly accused Kagame of ordering the attack that triggered the genocide, which he denies – Kagame certainly created and armed the rebel movement that toppled the president of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko. It went on to slaughter tens of thousands of Hutu refugees in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). His troops hoovered up diamonds, coltan, gold, timber and coffee, which were then passed off as Rwandan produce – in what Jim Freedman, who worked on a UN Group of Experts report on DRC mineral resources, described to me as “a national money-making effort”.

Ten years ago, western donors cut aid to Rwanda because of its obvious support for M23, a rebel movement terrorising eastern DRC. Shockingly, M23 has been on the rampage again in the buildup to Chogm. Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and Boris Johnson will be toasting Kagame’s statesmanship less than a day’s drive from a region where this proxy force and Congolese army units are blasting away at one another, sending tens of thousands of villagers fleeing for their lives.

September 6, 2019

Rwanda’s appetite for intervention is not limited to its neighbours. Permanently insecure, Kagame has overseen a regime that hunted down former generals, spy chiefs and advisers who fled into exile. His intelligence services’ assassinations and attempted hits have been staged not only in Africa but in the west. The US group Freedom House last week described Rwanda as “one of the most prolific perpetrators of transnational repression in the world”.

We can take it as read that very few of these ugly facts will be aired during Chogm, so skilled has Kagame proved at making himself useful abroad. For years he traded a willingness to dispatch Rwandan peacekeepers to conflict zones for international respect as “Africa’s policeman” – a deeply ironic bargain, given his simultaneous support for militias destabilising the DRC. Now his readiness to accept the west’s unwanted migrants – Denmark may soon be striking a similar deal to Britain’s – wins him a new free pass.

Last year, at a UN human rights conference in Geneva, British officials robustly called out Rwanda on its record of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture. Once the asylum-seekers deal was signed the tone abruptly changed, with Johnson praising Rwanda as “one of the safest destinations in Africa”, while Priti Patel talked admiringly of a country where refugees could “prosper and thrive”.

June 10, 2022

A Commonwealth that took its own charter seriously would have reached out to those who have been domestically silenced: jailed bloggers and citizen journalists, for example. An international coalition of 24 human rights and journalist groups has formally called on heads of government to press for detainees to be freed and for guarantees that Rwandan media and civil society will be allowed to work freely during and after Chogm.

But the Hutu opposition leader, Victoire Ingabire, whose jailing prevented her running in presidential elections, has seen her requests to attend the civil society events running alongside the main meetings stubbornly ignored. “It seems the people at the Commonwealth are collaborating with the government of Rwanda to exclude me,” she said. Chogm in Kigali, it seems, will faithfully reflect its unaccountable, exclusionary host state.

Thanks to Covid, which forced Chogm to be twice postponed, the Commonwealth actually had two years in which it could have credibly announced an alternative venue to Kigali. But that would have required something approaching a backbone. As it is, the organisation has certainly shown itself to be a “values-based” organisation; they just aren’t the values many of its billions of citizens share. (Michela Wrong – The Guardian) 

 

Posted in: International Tagged: Boris Yeltsin, Commonwealth, dictatorship, diplomacy, International, Justin Trudeau, Paul Kagame, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Rwanda

Saturday October 30, 2021

November 1, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 30, 2021

COP26 climate talks off to an ominous start after weak G20 leaders’ meeting

It was in the city of Glasgow that Scottish engineer James Watt improved the workings of the steam engine and, unwittingly, kicked off the Industrial Revolution. Never could he have imagined that humans would burn so much coal, oil and gas over the next two centuries that they would imperil the very climate that has allowed for their existence.

June 6, 2007

More than 120 leaders will speak Monday in the very same city to begin the COP26 climate talks, where they will set the tone for two weeks of negotiations that can either end with a plan to rapidly decarbonize the planet, or make watery statements to delay what the science shows is needed, possibly pushing it off until it’s too late. Climate leaders and experts are calling it the world’s last best chance to address the climate crisis.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government is hosting the talks, will warn Monday that humanity has run down the clock on climate change.

“It’s one minute to midnight, and we need to act now,” he will say in an opening speech, according to remarks sent to journalists.

“We have to move from talk and debate and discussion to concerted, real-world action on coal, cars, cash and trees. Not more hopes and targets and aspirations, valuable though they are, but clear commitments and concrete timetables for change.”

The G20 leaders’ meeting that ended in Rome on Sunday suggests that leaders are finally listening to the science, but they still lack the political unity to make the ambitious decisions required to meet the moment.

August 13, 2021

The latest UN climate science report published in August made clear what needs to happen — deep, sustained cuts to greenhouse gas emissions over this decade to have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above levels before industrialization. Even with all the newly announced pledges, the world is still on track for 2.7 degrees of heating.

Global warming beyond 1.5 degrees will bring worsening impacts of the climate crisis. But the positive news is that the 1.5 limit is entirely in our reach. The UN report showed that by mid-century, the world needs to reach net zero — where greenhouse gas emissions are no greater than the amount removed from the atmosphere — and warming can be stopped in its tracks.

All of this scientific language was in the G20 leaders’ communiqué, including an acknowledgment that to meet net zero by mid-century, many member nations will need to lift their emissions-reductions pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), over this decade. (CNN) 

 

Posted in: Canada, International, USA Tagged: 2021-36, Canada, climate change, COP 26, Emmanuel Macron, France, green room, Grim reaper, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Prince Charles, speech, UK, United Nations, USA

Thursday, May 22, 2014

May 21, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Thursday, May 22, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, May 22, 2014

Prince Charles likens Vladimir Putin to Hitler, woman says

The royal visit to Canada has made headlines in Britain’s Daily Mail and other British media for what has been reported as a remark in which Prince Charles likened Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler when talking to a woman who lost relatives in the Holocaust.Tuesday April 29, 2014

The Daily Mail says Charles made the comment during a visit Monday to the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax.

The newspaper reports museum volunteer Marienne Ferguson as saying her Jewish family fled to Canada from Poland when she was young, but that other relatives failed to flee before the German army arrived in Gdansk in 1939.

It quotes Ferguson as saying she told Charles about her family background and how she came to Canada, and that Charles then said to her: “‘And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler,'” referring to the annexation of Crimea in Ukraine.

The BBC reached Ferguson in Halifax. She told the British media outlet that it was “just a little remark. I didn’t think it was going to make such a big uproar.”

Headlines in the United Kingdom have accused the unelected heir to the throne of inappropriately wading in to international politics.

Speaking to the BBC, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg defended the prince over his comments, saying it was “clearly a private conversation.”

A spokesperson from Clarence House, the press office for the Royal Family, told CBC News it does not comment on private conversations.

“But we would like to stress that The Prince of Wales would not seek to make a public political statement during a private conversation,” read a statement from Clarence House.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the Prime Minister’s Office won’t comment on remarks made during a private conversation.

“That said, we have been clear that the Putin regime’s illegal occupation of Ukraine and its persistent military aggression are a return to Soviet-style tactics and cannot be tolerated,” spokesman Jason MacDonald said in an email.

“We will continue to work with our allies to apply pressure on Russia until they de-escalate.”

Tensions have grown between Putin and the West since Russia’s annexation of Crimea earlier this year.

Prince Charles is due to meet the Russian president for D-Day anniversary commemorations next month.

Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall leave Canada from 17 Wing Canadian Forces Base in Winnipeg on Wednesday night. (Source: CBC News)

 

Posted in: Canada, International Tagged: Adolph Hitler, Crimea, Editorial Cartoon, Monarchy, Polo, Prince Charles, Royals, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vladimir Putin

Thursday April 26, 2001

April 26, 2001 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 26, 2001

Prince Charles in Canada

Prince Sausage Fingers

He may have been greeted by a disinfectant mat at the airport but there was nothing antiseptic about the welcome the Prince of Wales received Wednesday from throngs of Canadian fans. At least 2,000 noisy well-wishers lined the walkabout route Prince Charles took in downtown Ottawa leading to the National War Memorial as he began a five-day royal visit to Canada.

Clasping outstretched hands and smiling broadly, the prince had collected flowers, a box of Girl Guide cookies, a brown teddy bear and a pair of hand-knit grey socks from an adoring public before he even reached his first official event of the tour.

”It is marvellous to be back again,” the 52-year-old prince later told a reception at the Museum of Civilization across the Ottawa River in Hull, Que.

”I look forward to several days here with all of you. I’ve had such a wonderfully warm welcome already. It’s made me feel better after a seven-hour flight, I can assure you.’’ (Canadian Press)

 

Posted in: Canada, International Tagged: BSE, Canada, Great Britain, International, Jean Chretien, Mad Cow disease, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Royal tour, royalty, saran wrap, Sheila Copps, UK

Click on dates to expand

Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

Social Media Connections

Link to our Facebook Page
Link to our Flickr Page
Link to our Pinterest Page
Link to our Twitter Page
Link to our Website Page
  • HOME
  • Sharing
  • The Boutique
  • The Hamilton Spectator
  • Artizans Syndicate
  • Association of Canadian Cartoonists
  • Wes Tyrell
  • Martin Rowson
  • Guy Bado’s Blog
  • You Might be From Hamilton if…
  • MacKay’s Most Viral Cartoon
  • Intellectual Property Thief Donkeys
  • National Newswatch
  • Young Doug Ford

MacKay’s Virtual Gallery

Brand New Designs!

Your one-stop-MacKay-shop…

T-shirts, hoodies, clocks, duvet covers, mugs, stickers, notebooks, smart phone cases and scarfs

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
Follow Graeme's board My Own Cartoon Favourites on Pinterest.

Archives

Copyright © 2016 mackaycartoons.net

Powered by Wordpess and Alpha.

 

Loading Comments...