---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pambazuka Editor <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 12:25 PM Subject: Pambazuka News 521: African awakenings: The spread of resistance To: pambazuka-news <[email protected]>
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 521: AFRICAN AWAKENINGS: THE SPREAD OF RESISTANCE 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. Dakar World Social Forum 2011, 5. Comment & analysis, 6. Advocacy & campaigns, 7. Pan-African Postcard, 8. Obituaries, 9. Books & arts, 10. African Writers’ Corner, 11. Highlights French edition, 12. Cartoons /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1 Action alerts KENYA: ABDUCTION OF WITNESS OF EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS Release Political Prisoners Trust This is an urgent alert on the case of Kenneth Irungu, a witness in the case of extrajudicial killings of John Kamuri and Peter Irungu who were killed in Ruiru, Kenya, in December 2010. Kenneth Irungu witnessed the arrests of Kamuri and Irungu. One other witness has disappeared and another is in hiding. Kenneth Irungu was abducted today 11th March 2011 at around 13.00hrs in Muthurwa by three men in a Toyota Premio KBG 447R. We believe that, given the background to the case, he may be in the hands of the Kwe Kwe squad and is in grave danger. Please use any channel to bring this issue into light so as to exert pressure on the police to release him. ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2 Announcements OXFORD OPENS A NEW CHAPTER ON PAN-AFRICANISM Moshe Molefe The ‘Pan-Africanism for the New Generation’ conference at the University of Oxford marks a turning-point in the history of Pan-Africanism, writes Moshe Molefe. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/Announce/71762 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3 Features THE DEATH OF NIGERIAN PROGRESSIVE POLITICS? Ike Okonta Two weeks before Nigeria's election, Ike Okonta takes aim at progressive politics in Nigeria - or the lack thereof. He traces the crisis back to the rule of General Ibrahim Babangida in the 1980s, when universities were devastated by economic policy. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71763 ****** MADAGASCAR: THE 2009 CRISIS AND OUTSIDE INTERESTS Patrick Rakotomalala According to Patrick Rakotomalala, historians and political analysts will probably look at Madagascar’s two-year crisis from the standpoint of internal factors: a cyclical crisis characterised by power struggles between various political and economic interest groups obsessed with the conquest of power and its privileges. On top of this, there is the incapacity of successive governments to define and build a model of sustainable development that would free people from poverty and chronic under-development. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71794 ****** LIBYA, EGYPT, CAMEROON, CÔTE D’IVOIRE: CONFUSION REMAINS Sokari Ekine In this week’s round-up of social media activity around Africa, Sokari Ekine highlights reasons to oppose military intervention in Libya, the politics of a ‘no-fly zone’ and reports of torture of Egyptian activists at the hands of a military previously heralded as a champion of the people’s cause. She also focuses on the Cameroonian government’s Twitter crackdown, planned protests against Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and Côte d’Ivoire’s ongoing post-election crisis. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71800 ****** AWAKENING PROTESTS IN MOROCCO AND WESTERN SAHARA Konstantina Isidoros Since the current wave of Arab revolutions first ignited in Western Sahara in November 2010, February and March have seen a new upsurge in protests across Morocco and its illegal Occupied Territory of Western Sahara, writes Konstantina Isidoros. As the extraordinary events sweeping the Arab world bring down republic government figureheads, a new question is whether these social reset buttons will have the tenacity to tackle Arab monarchies. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71767 ****** BURKINA FASO: NO TO COMPAORÉ’S REPRESSION Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste Taking note of the people’s uprisings across North Africa, the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste of Burkina Faso denounces the repression of President Blaise Compaoré's regime. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71766 ****** TOGO: VIOLATING THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION Bernard Bokodjin ‘In a country where the opposition isn’t strong and structured enough to provide a counterweight to a repressive regime which flouts the principles of democracy and good governance, the media provides a rare space for some amount of freedom of expression. But now, the media have also become part of the Togolese regime’s blacklist,’ writes Bernard Bokodjin. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71811 ****** WHY GADDAFI'S OVERTHROW MAY BE BLOODY Correcting Western misunderstandings of Africa Jenn Jagire The West sees the Libyan uprising from a neocolonial and Eurocentric point of view, argues Jenn Jagire, and that is why it underestimates how much support Gaddafi still has. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71785 ****** WISCONSIN'S LESSONS FOR THE WORKING CLASS Horace Campbell Following protests by thousands of Wisconsin workers and their supporters in response to new legislation that bans collective bargaining by public sector workers, Horace Campbell places the struggles in the state in the wider social and political struggles in the US. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71798 ****** THE NIGERIAN YOUTH IS NO FOOL Khadija Sharife Nigerian environmental and human rights activist Nnimmo Bassey talks to The Africa Report's ( http://www.theafricareport.com/ ) Khadija Sharife about Nigeria's upcoming elections, the prospects for political change and whether Nigeria will go the way of North Africa. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71734 ****** NYERERE, NATIONALISM AND PAN-AFRICANISM Decisive moments in Nyerere’s intellectual and political thought Issa G. Shivji Julius Nyerere was among ‘the most articulate, intense and militant’ of the first generation of African nationalists. Issa Shivji traces the development of a Pan-Africanist philosopher-king and his struggle to live a more principled politics. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71793 ****** BEATITUDES FOR A CIVILISATION OF PEACE Sokari Ekine Rumours of Bertrand Aristide’s return to Haiti, government destruction of oil refineries in the Niger Delta and the realities of life in Somaliland are among the topics featured in this week’s round-up of the African blogosphere, compiled by Sokari Ekine. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71783 ****** KENYA: KIBAKI HAS ABUSED HIS OFFICE AS PRESIDENT Yash Pal Ghai In the wake of President Mwai Kibaki’s sustained, gross abuses of power while in office, Yash Pal Ghai calls for the Kenyan premier to be impeached. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71808 ****** THE PROBLEM WITH AFRICANS AND ARABS Elleni Centime Zeleke The North African revolts have seen Arab countries portrayed as somehow separate from the rest of Africa. Elleni Centime Zeleke critiques the trend and exposes in whose interests it works. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/71735 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4 Dakar World Social Forum 2011 MIGRANTS RIGHTS AT WSF DAKAR Colin Rajah Attending the World Assembly of Migrants at WSF Dakar, Colin Rajah is disappointed by the emphasis on ‘individual migrants, rather than movements and organizations’, the lack of global representation among participants, and the exclusion of key issues from the assembly’s final charter. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/Dakar2011/71789 ****** THE WSF SHOULD REMAIN WHAT IT IS… Yash Tandon The World Social Forum should remain true to its founding aim of being an open space that builds alternatives to neoliberalism, writes Yash Tandon. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/Dakar2011/71765 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5 Comment & analysis NATO'S INEVITABLE WAR Fidel Castro The ‘basic concern of the United States and NATO is not Libya, but the revolutionary wave being unleashed in the Arab world, something they would like to prevent at any cost,’ writes Fidel Castro. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71787 ****** THE FREE REPUBLIC OF EGYPT The Sandmonkey ‘We want our Country, Egypt, to be the best country it can be. One where we all can live and co-exist; one where the state is healthy and functions and all are represented and have rights. That’s what we always wanted and called for,’ writes Sandmonkey in a letter to Egyptians fearful about the impacts of continued protests. ‘If you don’t like something, change it. That was the lesson of the Jan25 revolution after all, you know?’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71809 ****** WHEN ‘CIVIL-SOCIETYISM’ FRONTS FOR BARBARISM Patrick Bond Patrick Bond rips through the liberal veneer of Saif al-Islam Gadaffi, highlighting the complicity of the London School of Economics in accepting money from Gadaffi. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71736 ****** AFTER DFID REVIEW: NAIROBI-BASED UN-HABITAT’S FORTUNES TO DECLINE Rasna Warah In the wake of the UK Department for International Development’s (DFID) decision not to award core funding to the Nairobi-based United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Rasna Warah considers the implications of the cuts. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71757 ****** THE MORAL HAZARD OF US POLICY IN AFRICA Part I Alemayehu G. Mariam Expressing his disappointment at US President Barack Obama’s unwillingness to criticise despotic African leaders in the same way he did as a senator, Alemayehu G. Mariam discusses the Obama administration’s policy towards Africa. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71758 ****** AFRICA RISING? Will popular rebellions spread south of the Sahara? William Gumede Many an African dictator is trembling in his boots following popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. But are the elements in place for rebellion to spread farther south, asks William Gumede. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71780 ****** NIGERIA’S ELECTIONS: CONCERN OVER PARTIES’ CONDUCT CISLAC CISLAC of Lagos ‘note with great concern the tendency of some political parties and politicians to flagrantly disregard the provisions of the Electoral Act in the run-off to the April 2011 elections’ in Nigeria. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71807 ****** KENYA: ARREST OF WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN HURUMA Ruth Mumbi Unable to raise bail, four human rights defenders were imprisoned for protesting at a local nursing home about the ‘unacceptably high maternal mortality rates.’ Ruth Mumbi shares her story, noting that she was jailed ‘not because I was a criminal but because I had stood my grounds for people's and women’s right to healthcare.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/71812 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6 Advocacy & campaigns FAMILY CRIES FOUL OVER ACTIVIST'S WOES IN A UGANDAN JAIL Alex Kiprotich Human rights activist Al-Amin Kimathi is languishing in a Ugandan jail after being arrested for alleged involvement in the Kampala bombings. Kimathi had travelled to attend court hearings of other Kenyans who were arrested in Nairobi and whisked away in secrecy to Kampala. Alex Kiprotich reports on the Kenyan government’s failure to take up Kimathi’s case. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71804 ****** MASS RALLY AT VE INFORMAL SETTLEMENT Abahlali baseMjondolo On the 21 March 2011 Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape will have a mass rally at VE informal settlement at 10:00 till 13:00. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71759 ****** OPEN LETTER ON POLICE EXTORTION AND EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS We the undersigned organizations write to you over the existence of an extortion ring and an upsurge in extra-judicial killings perpetrated by members of the Kenya Police. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71805 ****** SOLIDARITY WITH ZIMBABWE'S TREASON TRIAL SIX CDL Solidarity Six Zimbabwean activists are on trial and may face the death penalty for watching a video about the revolts in Egypt. They had been detained since February 19 and suffered physical and mental abuse. Although released they now have to find US$12,000 bail. A global day of protest in solidarity with the six Zimbabwean activists takes place on 21 March 2011. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/71801 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7 Pan-African Postcard THE 'S' WORD: THE DEMISE OF THE DOCTRINE OF STABILITY IN AFRICA? H. Nanjala Nyabola Used as an excuse to prop up dicators across Africa, the doctrine of stability has produced instability rather than reducing it. It’s time for the international community to drop the idea, says H. Nanjala Nyabola. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/71778 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 8 Obituaries DIPPING OUR BANNERS FOR MAY BRUTUS 8 May 1929 – 12 March 2011 Tony Brutus May Brutus, wife of South African poet-activist Dennis, died suddenly on 12 March in London. ‘Those who knew May will remember a feisty, outspoken and awe-inspiring figure, speaking her mind on racism and injustice wherever she found it,’ writes her son, Tony Brutus. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/obituary/71790 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 9 Books & arts 'THE WITCHES OF GAMBAGA' Sokari Ekine Directed and narrated by Yaba Badoe and produced by Amina Mama, 'The Witches of Gambaga' is a sensitive, excellent film capturing the experiences of women accused of witchcraft in the village of Gambaga in northern Ghana, writes Sokari Ekine. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/71760 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 10 African Writers’ Corner BEFORE I SET MYSELF ON FIRE Chika Ezeanya Yes, I have struck the match, ready to light my cheap, blonde hair extensions. I am waiting for my sister to buy the kerosene to pour on myself. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/African_Writers/71733 ****** THE PATRIOTIC TRAITOR WHEEL Mimi Harriet Uwineza Criminal of innocence Ideal citizen in pain Grain sown in past Growing unhindered and strong Crushing all he loved... http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/African_Writers/71777 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 11 Highlights French edition PAMBAZUKA NEWS 181: MADAGASCAR : LES DESSOUS D'UNE CRISE QUI PERDURE Les implicites de la crise malgache de 2009 : enjeux géopolitiques et géostratégiques ( http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/71655 ) Patrick Rakotomalala Crise malgache de 2009 et intérêts exogènes ( http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/71656 ) Patrick Rakotomalala Crise malgache de 2009 : Des enjeux géostratégiques ? ( http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/71657 ) Patrick Rakotomalala Crise malgache de 2009 : Des enjeux économiques face à un potentiel minier alléchant… ( http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/71658 ) Patrick Rakotomalala ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 12 Cartoons AFRICA UNION AND THE NO-FLY ZONE The AU might not be able to impose a no-fly zone on Libya or Côte d’Ivoire, but there are other options. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/71814 ****** ENFORCING A NO-FLY ZONE AGAINST GADDAFI… Gado …is not as easy as you think! http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/71792 ****** GADDAFI FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS Gado Gaddafi remains firing on all cylinders, says Gado. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/71732 ****** ICC CASES TAKEN TO MARS Kenya takes shuttle diplomacy to another level. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/71806 ****** KENYA'S GRAND COALITION GOVERNMENT... Gado ...and its 'coat of arms'. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/71813 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 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. For further details see: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/about.php Pambazuka news can be viewed online: English language edition ( http://www.pambazuka.org/en ) Edição em língua Portuguesa ( http://www.pambazuka.org/pt ) Edition française ( http://www.pambazuka.org/fr ) RSS Feeds available at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/newsfeed.php Pambazuka News is published with the support of a number of funders, details of which can be obtained here ( http://www.pambazuka.org/en/about.php ) . 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