If the United States of America or Britain is having elections they don't ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections they want observers.

I wrote some bad poetry that I published in North African journals but even as I withdrew into this reading I also led the life of a kind of young hooligan.

I'd say the best is when I was in Africa I saw a hippo in a house. Someone had a pet hippo. And they're meant to be one of the most dangerous animals on the planet and they had one that was sort of just wandering in and out of their house just sort of roaming about.

I have a pet lizard named Puff five goldfish - named Pinky Brain Jowels Pearl and Sandy an oscar fish named Chef two pacus an albino African frog named Whitey a bonsai tree four Venus flytraps a fruit fly farm and sea monkeys.

Well I think by any expectation South Africa has come a tremendously long way. We've seen a society that many people thought couldn't withstand a peaceful transition to democracy without a great deal of violence in fact make that transition and do it in relative peace and security.

But since independence Gabon is one of the few countries in Central Africa that enjoys peace and stability.

Sinn Fein has productively taken the example of South Africa and as we develop the peace process we continue to use examples from South Africa.

When I was in the Peace Corps I never made a phone call. I was in Central Africa I didn't make a phone call for two years. I was in Uganda for another four years and I didn't make a phone call. So for six years I didn't make a phone call but I wrote letters I wrote short stories I wrote books.

Many African leaders refuse to send their troops on peace keeping missions abroad because they probably need their armies to intimidate their own populations.

We have a vision of South Africa in which black and white shall live and work together as equals in conditions of peace and prosperity.