Africa: Clinton Gets Irritated in Congo When Asked About Husband Bill
By Janine Zacharia
(Bloomberg) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed irritation today in the Democratic Republic of Congo when she was asked what her husband, former President Bill Clinton, thought about a Chinese deal with the African nation.
“You want me to tell you what my husband thinks?” Clinton responded to a question, posed through a translator, from a university student at a town hall meeting in the capital, Kinshasa. “My husband is not secretary of state. I am. If you want my opinion I’ll tell you my opinion. I’m not going to be channeling my husband.”
An aide to Clinton said State Department officials on the trip listened later to a tape of the question and determined it had been translated correctly. Afterward, the student approached Clinton and apologized, said the aide, who discussed the matter on the condition of anonymity.
China has proposed a $9 billion loan for infrastructure improvements in Congo in exchange for control of 10 million metric tons of copper and 600 million tons of cobalt.
The International Monetary Fund said in May that Congo wouldn’t qualify for $10 billion in debt relief until the offer is altered so the Congolese government is no longer the guarantor for the Chinese loan. The IMF wants to avoid burdening Congo with further debt.
The start of Clinton’s seven-country trip to Africa was overshadowed last week as her husband flew to North Korea, met with dictator Kim Jong Il, and won the release of two U.S. journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been detained for more than four months.
To contact the reporter on this story: Janine Zacharia in Kinshasa, Congo, at jzacharia@bloomberg.net
(bloomberg.com)
Tags: CONGO