---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pambazuka Editor <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 7:40 PM Subject: Pambazuka News 539: Defining citizenship, nation and the state To: pambazuka-news <[email protected]>
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 539: DEFINING CITIZENSHIP, NATION AND THE STATE The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839 CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Advocacy & campaigns, 3. Pan-African Postcard, 4. Books & arts, 5. Letters & Opinions, 6. Highlights French edition, 7. Cartoons /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1 Features BEYOND THE GENOCIDAL CONCEPT OF TRIBAL HOMELANDS On the East African Federation Mahmood Mamdani 'East Africa has two post-colonial traditions of citizenship', writes Mahmood Mamdani: territorial and ethnic. If the region is to have a political federation, it will need to be based on a common citizenship, he argues: 'Which one will it be?' http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74912 ****** SOUTH SUDAN AND THE MEANING OF INDEPENDENCE Horace Campell ‘The new tasks of building a society to meet the needs of the people in the South Sudan must be conducted in a manner that puts the interests and wellbeing of the ordinary people above everything else,’ says Horace Campbell. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74916 ****** GENOCIDAL ACTIONS BY GOVERNMENT OF SUDAN MUST BE STOPPED Explo Nani-Kofi The situation in Sudan ‘demands solidarity and action from all peace-loving people and human right activists,’ writes Explo Nani-Kofi, in a call for readers everywhere to take whatever action they can to stop the government’s genocidal actions. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74880 ****** SOUTH SUDAN: BITTERSWEET INDEPENDENCE Dibussi Tande Independence celebrations in Juba, discrimination against civil servants of southern origin by the Sudanese government, the Arab world’s troubled relationship with South Sudan, secession in the DRC and criticisms of the Caine Prize for African Writing feature in this week’s review of African blogs, compiled by Dibussi Tande. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74890 ****** SOUTH SUDAN: AFRICA’S NEWEST STATE SHOULD SUSTAIN THE DREAM Aloys Habimana South Sudan’s independence is ‘a dream come true’ for the country’s people, but ‘to avoid turning that dream into a nightmare, the new nation’s leadership will need to adopt a line of governance that reflects greater commitment to human rights, public freedoms and justice for all,’ cautions Aloys Habimana. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74881 ****** THE CIA'S SECRET SITES IN SOMALIA Jeremy Scahill Renditions, an underground prison and a new CIA base are elements of an intensifying US war, according to a Nation ( http://www.thenation.com ) investigation in Mogadishu, by Jeremy Scahill. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74900 ****** SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: AFRICA AND DEVELOPMENT Yash Tandon Matthew Newsome speaks to policy maker, professor, author and activist,Yash Tandon, about kleptocratic capitalism, African sovereignty and the challenges to creating a fair and sustainable society. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74914 ****** ON THE AFRICAN AWAKENINGS Winds of change, governance deficits and the way forward for Africa Firoze Manji The social unrest that has swept through Africa in 2011 has its roots in the stripping of African economies by international finance, argues Pambazuka News editor-in-chief Firoze Manji, in a speech delivered for the Beyond Juba Distinguished Lecture on 22 June. Now is the time to map out a path towards emancipation, he writes. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74882 ****** AFRICAN POLITICAL UNITY MUST BE MORE SELECTIVE A blueprint for change William Gumede Political unity across much of African has proven to be a question of ‘glorified clubs of leadership chums’ protecting one another through regional institutions, writes William Gumede. With the rise of new emerging powers in the world, Africa needs a new ‘revamped’ African Union involving member countries who meet appropriate standards around democracy and economic governance, Gumede argues. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74902 ****** HOW FREE IS THE FREE PRESS? An interview with Chaacha Mwita Ron Singer and Chaacha Mwita Chaacha Mwita, former managing editor of The Standard in Kenya, and Ron Singer discuss the state of freedom of the press in Kenya, Mwita's newspaper’s experience of a raid during the 2007–08 election and the behaviour of particular elements of the press during the post-election period. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74896 ****** THE SALT THAT LOST ITS SAVOUR: NEWS OF THE WORLD Cameron Duodu At the time of a bid for a majority stake in BSkyB, the revelations of phone hacking and subsequent closure of the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World have rocked the British body politic, writes Cameron Duodu. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74918 ****** WHY EGYPT WASN’T WAITING FOR WIKILEAKS TO IGNITE A REVOLUTION Nancy Messieh Claims that internet-based tools where behind the Egyptian revolution have angered activists. Nancy Messieh explains why. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74887 ****** EXISTENTIAL THREATS IN THE CARIBBEAN Democratising politics, regionalising governance Norman Girvan Norman Girvan examines the politics of the Caribbean through the life of CLR James, the influential Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, socialist theorist and essayist. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74888 ****** SANTIAGO’S FESTIVAL OF FIRE Cubans hug up their Caribbean culture Attending Santiago de Cuba’s Festival of Fire to deliver a lecture on CLR James at a colloquium on Pan-Africanism in the Caribbean, Norman Girvan finds that ‘culture is to Cubans what shopping is to Americans’. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74898 ****** FROM ‘HOW COULD’ TO ‘HOW SHOULD’: THE POSSIBILITY OF TRILATERAL COOPERATION Li Anshan Through reference to the history of Chinese medical assistance across the African continent, Li Anshan considers the differences in approaches and understandings behind Western and Chinese ‘aid’ and the scope for potential trilateral (West–China–Africa) cooperation. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74884 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2 Advocacy & campaigns FIRST EVER AFRICAN ROAD CONVOY TO GAZA South African Relief Agency (SARA) In its on-going efforts to provide support and assistance to the long-suffering people of Palestine, the South African Relief Agency (S.A.R.A) in conjunction with communities and other organisations has embarked on another humanitarian relief mission to Gaza. The mission is scheduled to depart from Durban and will travel overland through Africa to Gaza. The primary objective of the mission is to answer the call of the Palestinian people to conscientise the African continent and to break the immoral and illegal siege of Gaza and show solidarity with the beleaguered people in Occupied Palestine. More details are available from the www.sarelief.net ( http://www.sarelief.net/?page_id=12 ) website. ****** AN OPEN LETTER TO JACOB ZUMA Unemployed People’s Movement ‘A failed municipality wants to give the freedom of Grahamstown to a failed president,’ writes South Africa’s Unemployed People’s Movement, as Makana Muncipality awards Jacob Zuma the freedom of the city on 14 July. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74904 ****** SWAZI POLITICAL PRISONER MAXWELL DLAMINI SUFFERS STROKE, DENIED TREATMENT Africa Contact Student leader and Swazi political prisoner Maxwell Dlamini has suffered what his family described as a possible mild stroke yesterday but was apparently denied proper treatment. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74878 ****** A NEW NATION: NEW NATIONALISM AND FREEDOM WITH EMPOWERING PEACE Independence Day statement Southern Sudan Civil Society Taskforce (SSCSTF) Marking South Sudan’s independence on 9 July, SSCSTF’s statement highlights the challenges the new nation faces and calls on citizens, organisations, politicians and political parties to sign up to a set of principles to end internal conflict. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74889 ****** SIGN ON LETTER TO THE UN: THE RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION Organisations are invited to sign an open letter calling on the United Nations and Member States to advance the human right to water and sanitation, including by taking a stand against the abuses of transnational corporations and safeguarding themselves from corporate influence. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74910 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3 Pan-African Postcard NOT HAVING DOESN’T EQUATE TO NOT BEING H. Nanjala Nyabola When will aid agencies ‘develop a system of asking for assistance that does not involve dehumanising African people, especially children,’ asks H. Nanjala Nyabola. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/74879 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4 Books & arts THE TROUBLE WITH THE CAINE PRIZE Saratu Abiola ‘One of the most depressing things about being from an African country, and I suspect it is the same for being from any post-colonial society, is the need to seek validation abroad or by Western standards. You can be the best writer ever, but if a bunch of white guys in academies don't see it, you're not.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/74903 ****** VERBAL VENDETTA: CAMEROON’S CONTRADICTIONS Review of ‘Paradise of Idiots’ by Peter Wuteh Vakunta David T. Scheler The book-length poem ‘Paradise of Idiots’ by Peter Wuteh Vakunta is a powerful wake-up call for the Cameroonian people, writes David T. Scheler, ‘in an exceptionally scintillating version of the political/poetic art form’. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/74874 ****** THE FIASCO OF POLITICAL MACHINATIONS Review of Christopher Mlalazi's ‘Cell 4072’ Ndumiso Mnkandla Christopher Mlalazi’s work is a ‘reflection of the long suffering and the struggles’ of Zimbabwean people ‘living in a disintegrating society’, writes Ndumiso Mnkandla. ‘In the spirit of Ubuntu let the fight for social justice and human rights through creative writing begin.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/74885 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5 Letters & Opinions THANKS FOR SHARING OUR STORY Response to 'Green Thursday in the life of the nation of Senegal' Arame Tall Thanks so much for sharing our story with the world. Our Pambazuka article – http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74461 – was picked up on AllAfrica and all major international outlets on Africa news, and many friends throughout the world have told me they found out about the Senegalese revolution through your website. Thanks for allowing our voices to be heard and our story to be told in our own words. We are beyond grateful for this. I'll keep writing as the struggle continues. ****** AN 'EYE-OPENER’ FROM YASH TANDON Response to ‘Kleptocratic capitalism: Challenges of the green economy for sustainable Africa’ Barbara Wachaga This is one article ( http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74507 ) that has refused to stop resonating with me... Quite an eye opener and a continuous clarification of just how skewed motives and decisions, purportedly for the good of the people, in reality really are. Well put across. Thank you for this. ****** LAND GRABS ALARMING Response to 'Understanding land investment deals in Africa' Aman Abebe I read your article – http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74664 – and found it very interesting and alarming – profits and land grab seems to be the intention. From my understanding in Ethiopia many of the deals were land leases for large commercial farmers to produce crops using modern methods and increase food production, either for export or local consumption. The worrying impact for me is the nature, length and detail of the leases that are agreed between the sovereign government and investors and what they leave behind once the lease is up. If that can be researched it might give insight as to who gains the most overall. I look forward to reading more in-depth analysis on the subject. ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6 Highlights French edition PAMBAZUKA NEWS 197: AFRICAN UPRISINGS RESPONDING TO 'THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE' THE REVOLUTIONS FROM TUNIS TO OUAGADOUGOU: OR IS IT THE RESPONSE OF AFRICAN MASSES TO 'THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE'? (TINA) Guy Marious Sagna According to Jan Tibergen, '908 years is enough' to see the 'remedies' of the World Bank aimed at curing our countries of their social evils under structural adjustment. '908 years' is the response in 2011 of African masses from Tunis to Ouagadougou via Cairo – 'it is more than we can wait for. It is too much!' http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/74830 ****** FACED WITH THE CHALLENGE OF THE DEMOCRATIC JOKE: INVENTING THE DEMOCRACY OF TOMORROW Samir Amin In the wake of what he terms a 'democratic joke', Samir Amin raises a crucial question: ' Give up on elections?' The answer is no, but this begs for a new interrogation: 'How to associate new, rich and inventive forms of democratisation, which enable the making of an election a practice other than that conceived by conservative forces?' Such is the challenge, according to Amin. http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/74822 ****** THE UNIVERSALIST ALTERNATIVE: COMPLETE AND AUTHENTIC DEMOCRATISATION AND THE SOCIALIST PERSPECTIVE Samir Amin To establish a true democracy amounts to dismantling one system of values in order to create another, which, according to Samir Amin, 'requires mobilisation, organisation, a choice of actions, strategic vision, a sense of tact and the politisation of struggles' – and to note that a society cannot be transformed without the destruction of the system in place. http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/74823 ****** FORMER MOROCCAN POLITICAL PRISONERS CONTINUE THE STRUGGLE Naridah Khalid Former Moroccan political prisoners are taking the European Union to task, which recently granted their country an 'advanced status' without actually respecting the criteria on human rights necessary for this status. In this letter the former political prisoners explain how they continue their struggle for their social rehabilitation after years of detention and torture. http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/74825 ****** ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7 Cartoons CHRISTINE LAGARDE AT THE IMF Gado As Christine Lagarde takes charge at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gado ponders whether policies will be consensual. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/74869 ****** SOUTH SUDAN'S 'CLEAN SLATE' Gado What does a 'clean slate' mean for South Sudan, wonders Gado. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/74870 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 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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