---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pambazuka Editor <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 9:48 PM Subject: Pambazuka News 520: Côte d’Ivoire: On the brink of civil war To: [email protected]
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 520: CÔTE D’IVOIRE: ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839 CONTENTS: 1. Action alerts, 2. Announcements, 3. Features, 4. Comment & analysis, 5. Advocacy & campaigns, 6. Pan-African Postcard, 7. Books & arts, 8. Letters & Opinions, 9. African Writers’ Corner, 10. Highlights French edition, 11. Highlights Portuguese edition, 12. Cartoons /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1 Action alerts JOIN LONDON PROTEST TO SUPPORT ZIMBABWEAN ACTIVISTS ON TRIAL FOR TREASON Six socialist activists in Zimbabwe face the death penalty for watching a video about the revolt in Egypt. Munyaradzi Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo, Antonater Choto, Welcome Zimuto, Eddson Chakuma and Tatenda Mombeyarara are charged with treason. Treason is punishable by death. Please join the protest outside the Zimbabwean embassy this Friday 11 March, 12 noon – 1.30pm, Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, WC2R 0JR. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/action/71610 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2 Announcements NO LAND! NO HOUSE! NO VOTE! VOICES FROM SYMPHONY WAY In 2007 hundreds of families living in shacks across the new ‘integrated’ township of Delft in Cape Town were moved into houses they had been waiting for since the end of apartheid. But soon they were told that the move had been illegal and they were kicked out of their new homes. They built shacks next to the road opposite the housing project and organised themselves into the Symphony Way Anti-Eviction Campaign. Written toward the end of the struggle on the pavements, this anthology is testimony, poetry and an expression of the fight to bring about change. Hear an interview with Symphony Way residents ( http://fahamubooks.org/book/?GCOI=90638100888310&fa=complements ) on the Pambazuka Press website. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/Announce/71611 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3 Features CÔTE D’IVOIRE: THE LOGIC OF THE ABSURD? Pierre Sané The worst-case scenario for Côte d’Ivoire – outside of military intervention – seems to have been ruled out, but the West’s alternative strategy for ousting Laurent Gbagbo – economic and financial sanctions – will also destroy the country, argues Pierre Sané. Is it a question of ‘imposing Alassane Ouattara at all costs’, no matter what the true outcome of the election might have been? http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71588 ****** CÔTE D’IVOIRE: ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR Sokari Ekine The lack of media coverage on Côte d’Ivoire doesn't mean the situation has improved, writes Sokari Ekine, in this week’s review of protests across the continent, which also features Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and Zimbabwe. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71557 ****** OIL, DESPOTISM AND PHILANTHROPIC TOKENISM Nnimmo Bassey ‘Without doubt’, the crude oil business ‘is the stuff that oils the machinery of despotism’ and that ‘blinds the world to the bloods that flow on the streets as people fight for liberty’, writes Nnimmo Bassey. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71550 ****** SALUTING THE REVOLUTIONARY WOMEN OF EGYPT ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY Horace Campbell Honouring the struggles of women all over the world against patriarchy and oppression in the week of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, Horace Campbell focuses on the instrumental role of key women activists in the Egyptian protests. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71607 ****** THE ‘MUBARAKING’ OF GADDAFI, MALIKI, MUGABE AND OTHERS Patrick Bond Taking inspiration from the late South African anti-apartheid poet–activist Dennis Brutus’s verb-play, Patrick Bond discusses the ‘mubaraking’ currently faced by a number of dictatorships across Africa. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71572 ****** WESTERN SAHARA: 35 YEARS OF COLONISATION AND EXILE IS ENOUGH Peter Kenworthy Recognised and supported by an extensive range of governments and countries across the globe, Western Sahara’s colonisation and exploitation at the hands of Morocco must come to an end, writes Peter Kenworthy. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71578 ****** IMPERIAL DUPLICITY AND THE ‘COLOUR REVOLUTIONS’ Nicholas H. Tucker Who defines true liberation? Watch out for the role of the global elite in manipulating the outcome of the Middle East and North Africa revolutions, writes Nicholas H. Tucker. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71540 ****** SILENCING THE TOOLS OF REVOLUTION 2.0 Dibussi Tande Cameroon’s Biya regime has embarked on a ‘futile battle it will never win’, writes Dibussi Tande, following the government's attempt to silence digital activists by banning a mobile Twitter service. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71581 ****** TALKING ABOUT THE MARKET Samir Amin Beginning by praising the work of Rod Hill & Tony Myatt and Ha-Joon Chang, Samir Amin highlights the complete absence of adequate critical reflection across contemporary economics. ‘The true aim of the “science” of conventional economics’, he writes, ‘is simply to divest it of its political aspect and pretend it is something “neutral”, hence “objective”. The result is the annihilation of the capacity for critical thinking and reducing the citizen to being a mere spectator of history.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71606 ****** UN SECURITY COUNCIL AND LIBYA: COURTING MURDERERS Tim Murithi Has the UN Security Council cynically deflected its responsibility to the International Criminal Court through its referral of Muammar Gaddafi and his regime to the court? Tim Murithi critiques the decision. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71541 ****** THE CRISIS FOR US POLICY IN NORTH AFRICA Imperial anxieties Vijay Prashad ‘The slow US support for the uprising in Egypt, the cautious tone with Bahrain and Yemen, and the strident language against Libya are of a piece: The US is not driven by the popular upsurge but by its desire to control the events in north Africa and the Gulf to accord with the three pillars of its foreign policy in the Arab world, writes Vijay Prashad. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71608 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: THE HISTORY AND CHARACTER OF 'BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT' Dale McKinley Dale McKinley explains how black economic empowerment in South Africa has come to be associated with elite accumulation, corruption and extreme inequality. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71539 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4 Comment & analysis AFRICAN REFUGEES IN LIBYA: WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY? Nunu Kidane Why are Africa’s leading regional bodies not stepping up to protect and defend refugees and migrant workers in Libya, asks Nunu Kidane. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71569 ****** DISEMPOWERED VOICES: THE STATUS OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA EG Justice Equatorial Guinea must amend laws that hinder effective civil society mobilisation and activism inside the country, says a new report ( http://bit.ly/fl4 ) by advocacy group EG Justice. The report highlights ‘the gaps that exist between the government’s commitments to regional and international covenants that promote basic civil liberties'. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71558 ****** ETHIOPIA: DEFORM OR REFORM THE EPRDF? Elyas Mulu Kiros Capturing an online exchange between several young Ethiopians, Elyas Mulu Kiros wonders whether the country’s ruling EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front) party needs to be reformed or deformed. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71586 ****** FROM CRITICAL TROUBADOR TO THE POLITICS OF EMANCIPATION A tribute to Dennis Brutus Patrick Bond ‘The memory of Dennis Brutus will remain everywhere there is struggle against injustice,’ writes Patrick Bond, in a tribute to the late South African poet and freedom fighter, which was presented at the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy in February. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71562 ****** THE REVOLT OF SOUTH AFRICA’S UNTOUCHABLES Pedro Alexis Tabensky The ‘only existing alternative’ left to South Africa’s poor is to ‘take matters into their own hands’, writes Pedro Alexis Tabensky. And in ‘increasing numbers, and with increasing levels of sophistication, the poor are coming together, ganging up against the common foe responsible for their shameful predicament.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71559 ****** NGOLIBA: THE PLACE WHERE KENYATTA DUMPED SQUATTERS John Kamau John Kamau travels the Thika-Garissa highway in Kenya and finds a collapsed settlement scheme from nearly 50 years ago that showcases of 'the misuse of power, might and money'. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71570 ****** OIL, GAS, ALGERIA, LIBYA AND THE EMPIRE Sukant Chandan If Libya goes the way of Western interests, it will be next stop Algeria, says Sukant Chandan. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71571 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5 Advocacy & campaigns CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY FEMNET The centenary year theme for International Women’s Day, ‘Equal access to Education, Training and Science and Technology: Pathway to decent work for Women’, could not have come at a better time, says FEMNET, as ‘limited access to quality education and training opportunities continues to hinder women’s equal participation in decision making, leadership and in the economy.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71598 ****** EQUAL ACCESS: PATHWAY TO DECENT WORK FOR WOMEN Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe As part of a statement on International Women's Day, Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) underlines the importance of women's access to education and employment. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71568 ****** LIFE EXPECTANCY IS JUST 33.5 YEARS FOR ZIMBABWEAN WOMEN This and other facts on Women’s Day 2011 Sokwanele Marking International Women’s Day on 8 March, Sokwanele sets out some stark statistics about life in Zimbabwe. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71595 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: ISSUES CONFRONTING THE NATION South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU) Although the South African Municipal Workers' Union resolved to support the ANC in the forthcoming local elections at its last congress, ‘a number of recent developments have made the implementation of this resolution difficult to enforce’, it has said in a recent statement. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71592 ****** URGENT ACTION: CRACKDOWN ON ACTIVISTS IN ZIMBABWE Amnesty International Human rights and political activists in Zimbabwe are facing a major clampdown, with over 60 currently held in detention and many allegedly tortured, writes Amnesty International. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71609 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6 Pan-African Postcard THE (NOT-SO) CURIOUS CASE OF COLONEL GADDAFI H. Nanjala Nyabola Is Gaddafi crazy, as the Western media would have us believe, asks H. Nanjala Nyabola, or merely good at manipulating a deeply flawed system for his own benefit? http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/71567 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7 Books & arts ‘THE BOTTOM BILLION': DEFENDING NEOLIBERALIST SHOCK THERAPY Erik S. Reinert ‘Putting Paul Collier, the former chief economist of the World Bank and one of the architects of this folly, in charge of explaining what went wrong with globalisation is akin to putting Attila the Hun in charge of the Ministry of Roman Reconstruction,’ writes Erik S. Reinert in this review of 'The Bottom Billion'. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/71574 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 8 Letters & Opinions OPEN LETTER TO OUR BROTHER, PRESIDENT JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE Rainbow PUSH Coalition 'As people of faith, we know that the road to democracy and justice is not an easy one. These years of enforced exile have been painful – not only for you and your family, but for the people of Haiti. We join the call from all over the world for this exile to end,' writes the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/71565 ****** WHY WE OPPOSE THE ANTI-ICC CAMPAIGN Letter to the High Commissioner for India Kenyan Asian Forum In a letter to Sibabrata Tripathi, the High Commissioner for India, the Kenya Asian Forum (KAF) expresses its ‘deep concern regarding the spirited efforts being made by one of the Coalition partners in the Government of Kenya to have the UN Security Council defer International Criminal Court’s cases against six Kenyans suspected to be behind the 2007/8 Post Election Violence (PEV).’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/71601 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 9 African Writers’ Corner PETALS OF PRIDE Billene Seyoum Woldeyes Mama, don’t put me under the knife Give not to culture A slice of my precious life... http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/African_Writers/71560 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 10 Highlights French edition PAMBAZUKA NEWS 180 : CÔTE D'IVOIRE : L'ABSURDITÉ DES SANCTIONS ÉCONOMIQUES ET FINANCIÈRES Côte d’Ivoire : la logique de « l’absurde » ? ( http://pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/71499 ) Pierre Sané Togo : Atteintes au droit à l’information et répression ( http://pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/71503 ) Bernard Bokodjin Demande de réparations pour l'esclavage : Naïveté du vaincu ou diversion ? ( http://pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/71502 ) Bernard Founou-Thuigoua Libye : Que sont les centres de tri devenus ? ( http://pambazuka.org/fr/category/comment/71500 ) Amadou Amath http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/summaryfr/71561 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 11 Highlights Portuguese edition PAMBAZUKA NEWS 36: ELEIÇÕES EM CABO VERDE & BALANÇO DO FóRUM SOCIAL MUNDIAL Contusões e desafios da democracia em Cabo Verde ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt/category/features/71296 ) Redy Wilson Lima, Aquilino Varela, Quintino Tavares Poderá o Ocidente aprender? ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt/category/features/71302 ) Boaventura de Souza Santo FSM no Senegal termina afirmando importância geopolítica da África ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt/category/features/71300 ) Bia Barbosa Discurso do presidente Lula no FSM em Dacar ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt/category/features/71412 ) Lula Mudou Lula ou mudou o FSM? ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt/category/features/71305 ) Emir Sader ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 12 Cartoons AFRICAN UNION TO REPLACE GADDAFI Gado If Gaddafi goes, who's going to bankroll the African Union, wonders Gado. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/71563 ****** GADDAFI, KENYA AND THE ICC Gado Gado wonders if a bit of mutual support between Gaddafi and Kenya's leaders might arise. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/71564 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ Fahamu - Networks For Social Justice http://www.fahamu.org Pambazuka News is published by Fahamu Ltd. © Unless otherwise indicated, all materials published are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. 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