---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pambazuka Editor <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Apr 14, 2011 at 9:55 PM Subject: Pambazuka News 525: Popular uprisings and imperialist invasions To: pambazuka-news <[email protected]>
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 525: POPULAR UPRISINGS AND IMPERIALIST INVASIONS The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839 CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Announcements, 3. Comment & analysis, 4. Advocacy & campaigns, 5. Pan-African Postcard, 6. Books & arts, 7. Cartoons /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1 Features LIBYA MUST NOT BE PARTITIONED Horace Campbell The debates raging at the highest levels of the US National Security establishment and NATO over the military ‘stalemate’ in Libya conceal an even more competitive effort on the ground in Libya, by petroleum interests keen to divide up the territory to ensure access to the country’s vast oil resources, writes Horace Campbell. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72590 ****** THE LIES BEHIND THE WEST'S WAR ON LIBYA Jean-Paul Pougala Africans should think about the real reasons why western countries are waging war on Libya, writes Jean-Paul Pougala, in an analysis that traces the country’s role in shaping the African Union and the development of the continent. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72575 ****** SWAZILAND: MSWATI, YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN... Sokari Ekine Hundreds of Swazis have been arrested after they took to the streets on 12 and 13 April, to demonstrate against the monarchy. Swaziland’s King Mswati has presided over a ‘system of governance’ that protest organisers say has left the country’s ‘people divided, poor and powerless’. Sokari Ekine reports on southern Africa’s first uprising and provides updates on the situation in Djibouti, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Côte d'Ivoire and Libya. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72563 ****** SWAZILAND'S BRUTAL CLAMPDOWN REVEALS TRUE FACE OF MSWATI REGIME Peter Kenworthy Africa Contact's Peter Kenworthy tracked the 'April 12 Swazi Uprising', providing a series of updates as events unfolded. While the government has branded the protests a 'failure', Kenworthy notes that now 'all ordinary Swazis … have seen the true face of the regime, if they hadn’t seen it already'. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72593 ****** NIGERIA: TRUE POWER ‘LIES IN THE SHADOWS’ Sokari Ekine Nigeria’s elections got off to a bad start, postponed by the electoral commission chairman after some citizens had already cast their votes. Is it just incompetence, or are there more sinister forces at play, asks Sokari Ekine. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72561 ****** OIL POLITICS: CHARGE THEM WITH MANSLAUGHTER Nnimmo Bassey ‘People who have suffered the impact of unjust practices and those who have been victims of abuse from corporate impunity will heave a sigh of relief the day directors of such companies are brought to court from behind their corporate shields,’ writes Nnimmo Bassey, amidst talk that ‘top guns at BP’ may be charged with manslaughter over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72584 ****** WEST MAKES CÔTE D'IVOIRE SAFE FOR COCOA CHOCOLATE SOLDIERS Kalundi Serumaga Given Côte d'Ivoire’s history, 'Alassane Ouattara’s entry into State House… will no more prove a cure than Laurent Gbagbo’s presidency ever was,’ writes Kalundi Serumaga. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72587 ****** HAITI: JOYOUS VICTORY IN A BITTER TIME Before and after Aristide's return Robert Roth Robert Roth describes Haiti’s joy at the return of Jean-Bertrand Aristide after seven years in exile, despite the ‘bitter taste’ left by country’s ‘dismal elections’. ‘So many, in and outside of Haiti, had worked for this moment. Not because Aristide is a savior or can solve all the problems in Haiti. This was a basic issue of justice and self-determination. A democratically elected president had been illegally removed from office and banished from his homeland – and the majority of Haitians never accepted his removal. They wanted him home.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72588 ****** THE RECONSTRUCTION OF HAITI: A RECORD OF FAILURE Colette Lespinasse Last March, donors pledged billions of US dollars for the reconstruction of Haiti, after an earthquake devastated the country. But a year later, a group of 40 Haitian organisations finds that ‘nothing significant has really been undertaken’. Instead Haitian players have been excluded from strategic decision-making and the ‘millions of people affected directly or indirectly by the earthquake continue to face the consequences in destitution, and with no support whatsoever.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72566 ****** UPRISINGS, REVOLUTION AND DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA Firoze Manji Firoze Manji, founder and editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News, explores the ongoing uprisings, imperialism’s new outreach, and the possibilities of revolution and democracy in Africa ( http://bit.ly/gk4Zmp ) [audio]. He talked with AfrobeatRadio’s Samar al-Balushi and Wuyi Jacobs during his visit to New York to attend the recently concluded Left Forum. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72565 ****** INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIMES: WHOSE TRUTH? WHOSE JUSTICE? Jeanne M. Woods The international criminal justice project is gaining momentum but ‘do we even agree on what kind of justice we are asking for?’ asks Jeanne M. Woods. ‘If Africa is ever to determine its own destiny, Africa must build its own institutions, tailored to its own history and realities, as slow and as painful a process as this might be.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72556 ****** THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE GLOBAL SYSTEM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR AFRICA Dani Wadada Nabudere Through the eyes of protestors who have filled the streets of North African protests, what might a new society look like? Dani Wadada Nabudere, drawing on the meaning of social network use and principles of Ubuntu, explores. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72529 ****** MOZAMBIQUE: WILL NEW MEASURES CURB POPULAR ANGER? Alcino Moiana The Mozambican government has just introduced new subsidies to cushion the blow of rising food prices. But will they be enough to deflate popular protests? Alcino Moiana thinks not. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72551 ****** WHO IS A NON-RACIAL SOUTH AFRICAN? Vishwas Satgar Vishwas Satgar examines the concept of non-racialism in South Africa, calling for a radical and people-centred non-racial nationalism. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72546 ****** ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’ AND ‘YOUTH EMPOWERMENT’ IN AN AFRICAN CONTEXT Eyob Balcha The theme of the next African Union general assembly, scheduled for June 2011, is ‘Accelerating Youth Empowerment for a Sustainable Development’. But how far do existing development policies and programmes at national and continental level take into account the ‘multiple realities that African youth are living in?’ asks Eyob Balcha. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72592 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2 Announcements UK EVENT: THE ASSASSINATION OF PATRICE LUMUMBA 50 years on, what future for the Congo? Jubilee Debt Campaign, Pambazuka News & Tipping Point Film Fund Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the south of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity. Join us for a short documentary film: ‘Assassination: Colonial Style – Patrice Lumumba, an African Tragedy’, followed by a discussion with Firoze Manji from Pambazuka News and Vava Tampa from Save the Congo. Where? Human Rights Action Centre, New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA When? 7-9.30pm, Monday 18th April Entry is free http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/Announce/72560 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3 Comment & analysis SOCIAL MEDIA: WEAPONS OF CHOICE FOR THE NIGERIAN REVOLUTION Rosemary Ajayi Young people have the opportunity to play an active role in monitoring and documenting Nigeria's elections for the first time in history, thanks to social media. Rosemary Ajayi looks at how Nigerians are using their new tools to participate. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/72597 ****** ETHIOPIA: THE ART OF WAR BY MASS DISTRACTION Another war with Eritrea? A water war with Egypt? Alemayehu G. Mariam deconstructs Meles Zenawi's latest war talk. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/72528 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4 Advocacy & campaigns BOLIVIA ENSHRINES NATURAL WORLD'S RIGHTS WITH EQUAL STATUS FOR MOTHER EARTH John Vidal 'Bolivia is set to pass the world's first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans. The Law of Mother Earth, now agreed by politicians and grassroots social groups, redefines the country's rich mineral deposits as "blessings" and is expected to lead to radical new conservation and social measures to reduce pollution and control industry,' reports The Guardian's John Vidal. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/72594 ****** MEMORANDUM ON ACCESS TO CLEAN AND SAFE SANITATION SERVICES IN THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN To be delivered to Cape Town Mayor, Dan Plato on 27 April 2011 'As activists, health professionals, technicians, researchers, lawyers and other individuals and organisations concerned about the adverse consequences of inadequate and poorly maintained sanitation services, we hereby commit to working with local government to ensure that every person living in the City of Cape Town has their right to Basic Sanitation realised.' http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/72517 ****** PALESTINE: FAITH UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES OF GROSS INJUSTICE Kairos Southern Africa Palestinian Christians came together to launch the ‘Palestine Kairos Document’ on 4 April, ‘a testimony of faith in relation to their experience under the occupation of Israel.’ Christians from Southern Africa issued the following statement in response, which calls for ‘an inclusive and just peace where the dignity and equality of all the inhabitants are upheld.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/72558 ****** CANCEL TREATIES WITH ERITREAN DICTATOR ISEYAS AFEWERKI Appeal to the Italian government Comitato per la solidarietà con i popoli del nord Africa in rivolta As scores of Eritreans drown trying to cross the Mediterranean in the hope of a better life in Europe, a new campaign is highlighting Italy’s complicity in the deaths of migrants, both through its support for dictator Iseyas Afewerki and through its agreements with Gaddafi to prevent the free movement of refugees across the sea. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/72567 ****** OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ON THE CRISIS IN LIBYA National Conference of Black Lawyers Barack Obama has ‘no lawful basis for commencing a military campaign’ in Libya, the National Conference of Black Lawyers has said in an open letter to the US president. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/72569 ****** VIOLATIONS AND ABUSES OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN MALAWI International colloquium for Thandika Mkandawire postponed CODESRIA CODESRIA has postponed a colloquium to celebrate the life and works of Malawian academic, Thandika Mkandawire, following ‘gross violations of academic freedom’ at proposed venue, the University of Malawi. CODESRIA says that it will not hold the meeting until ‘our Malawian colleagues feel less threatened in the exercise of their rights as scholars and the enjoyment of the freedom of research and expression, without fear of being persecuted because of their ideas.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/72577 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5 Pan-African Postcard HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE SARKOZY? H. Nanjala Nyabola The French approach to Libya and Côte d'Ivoire shows little understand of the mood of the African people and is more about a futile search for global influence, writes H. Nanjala Nyabola. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/72525 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6 Books & arts WILL THE EAGLE SOAR?: A NIGERIAN TELEVISION CLASSIC? Okello Oculi Okello Oculi writes about a Nigerian documentary series featuring inspiring stories from African women. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/72526 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7 Cartoons GBAGBO SWEARS BEFORE THE COURTS... Gado ...with some confusion over what's expected. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/72595 ****** FROM GBAGBO TO MUGBAGBE Gado Lessons for one president from another... http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/72596 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 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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