Pambazuka News 621: Issues in Kenyan election, Benin's looted bronzes and Western Sahara
Pambazuka News 621: Issues in Kenyan election, Benin's looted bronzes and Western Sahara
© A WWhen refugees turn out to vote and when they raise their voices in participatory meetings or in their homes to criticise their government, they show how much they value the possibility for democratic participation.
The conflict in the Western Sahara is inadequately represented by terms such as ‘stagnated’, ‘frozen’ and ‘locked’, which contribute to obscure the reality that this conflict represents the continuation of French, US and Spanish colonial practices in Africa.
The University of Oxford is pleased to announce five scholarships for candidates from developing African Commonwealth countries to study for the part-time Masters in International Human Rights Law, starting September 2013.
The scholarships are jointly funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and provide course and college fees over two years, return air travel from the scholar’s home country and a stipend to cover living costs.
For further information, please visit our and choose Fees and Funding for details of the scholarships.mm
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The University of Oxford is pleased to announce five scholarships for candidates from developing African Commonwealth countries to study for the part-time Masters in International Human Rights Law, starting September 2013.
The scholarships are jointly funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and provide course and college fees over two years, return air travel from the scholar’s home country and a stipend to cover living costs.
For further information, please visit our and choose Fees and Funding for details of the scholarships.
We're looking for a Campaigner to contribute to our campaign against human rights violations in North Africa. Working at the International Secretariat, you will contribute to a range of projects, including Amnesty International's response to the momentous changes in North Africa witnessed in 2011 and 2012. You will act as a focal point, providing advice and support to our worldwide membership, including devising campaigning strategies, preparing written and other campaigning materials and providing research support.
Rather than continuing to operate on an exclusive basis, the LGBT movement in Uganda should strive to nurture a multivariate movement for social justice, creating a multi-normative society for their safety and the peaceful coexistence of future generations
In view of the under-achievement record of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), global policy makers have set out on a search for a more veritable replacement ahead of its 2015 expiration date
There are many interesting metaphors of food in the African political discourse to express the changing dynamics of power
Various technological measures required by law to protect the integrity of Kenya’s elections failed massively in the recent polls. But the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission proceeded with tallying the result. IEBC must explain to Kenyans what happened
Sex work is criminalized in South Africa, and sex workers face routine harassment, intimidation, and even abuse from police.
One organization is helping them gain the legal skills they need to fight back.
Please take a moment to view a about the Women’s Legal Centre, a grantee of the Open Society Foundations based in South Africa that provides legal services by and for sex workers.
The statements fuel public prejudice against LGBTI individuals and contradict the very preamble of a draft constitution that the PM is seemingly promoting
Network for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity puts forward five propositions that would give concrete form to the Premier’s claim that ‘government exists to make people’s lives better’
The Benin Plan of Action is no plan of action and does not deal with restitution of the looted Benin bronzes. After 50 years Africans must demand a concrete time frame within which the artefacts are to be returned as a condition for participating in future meetings
‘Chávez holds a useful mirror against which to assess the extent to which the ANC, the South African Communist Party and other African national liberation movements have long abandoned any hope, belief in, and commitment to socialism given their active political agency to maintain and reproduce capitalism’
This book is highly recommended to people who know nothing about Camfranglais and who wish to one day visit Cameroon. It really is a must read.
Hugo Chavez may have helped to inspire social democratic revolutions across South America in preference to the fruitless decades of violent armed struggles
The great Bolivarian is gone – which means the U.S. will soon escalate its destabilization campaign against his country. ‘Washington hopes that Venezuelan socialism cannot survive without Chávez.’ But the U.S. cannot roll back the movement that Chávez did so much to ignite, ‘the dark awakening in the barrios, favelas, rural villages and native highlands of the continent.’
The UN Security Council Resolution 2093 adopted in Somalia on 6 March 2013 is critically examined for its achievements, opportunities and the challenges that remain for nation building to gain permanence in the country
Unlike the elections of 2007, the recent elections in Kenya avoided massive bloodshed and gave victory to the Jubilee Coalition. An analysis of the significance of the elections is given and it is argued that political power cannot be monopolized by one section of the capitalist class
In a number of ways, the American counterterrorism doctrine, which is a part of a long-time transnational destabilization of the Sahara-Sahel, has helped create the current conflict in the region
Kenyans turned out in historic numbers to vote in the recent election. Although there was no violence as had been feared, the exercise was no evidence of a self-confident and mature society. It was dominated by deep fear and mistrust.
Pambazuka News 619: International Women's Day, mourning Chavez and China in Africa
Pambazuka News 619: International Women's Day, mourning Chavez and China in Africa
Victim protection is a critical response measure, but women need to address systemic issues. They need to challenge systems that undermine their ability to participate in decision making and their control over resources
‘Rather than conduct a genuine comparative study, HRW sees what it wants to see and thus again fosters the entirely predictable result of feeding anti-Chinese sentiment in Zambia’
Phyllis Naidoo (January 5, 1928 - Feb 13, 2013) was an extra-ordinary South African freedom fighter for whom politics meant total commitment to humanity. After ANC came to power she was deeply disappointed by betrayal of the struggle
Following the deeply destructive experience of colonialism, Africans must rethink their approach to modernization. Notably, they must engage in a serious critical review of the prevailing colonial model and creatively find grassroots forms of modernization
With a toothless official opposition, Sierra Leone seems to be slowly slipping back into a one-party state. President Koroma hasn’t locked up his critics, but he is adept at undermining democracy by cannibalizing the opposition through state-induced defections
In honour of International Women’ Day (8 March), a global examination of the problems and issues facing women in the last few years is presented. In order for these issues to be eradicated, progressive women need to work alongside progressive men for a better world
Sobukwe was an indefatigable Pan-Africanist, theoretician and revolutionary humanist who selflessly dedicated his life to one thing only — the liberation of humanity and, in particular, the liberation of black people
While Woodson is the Father of Black History, he is not the ‘founder’ of Black History Month per se. That distinction belongs to The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc
A new constitution that sets and sustains a foundation for democratic governance and provides for a balanced distribution of power is the solution to the governance and developmental challenges of the Liberian state
Archbishop Ndungane urges particularly men and boys to say enough is enough, and to give dignity back to South Africa’s women and girls
Although Ugandan laws are clear that everyone has a right to dignity and safety, increasing numbers of rape and defilement are being reported
'I’ve interviewed too many women who live in constant fear of getting shot or raped, often by the very people charged with protecting them'
The regime in Khartoum is killing its own people through bombardment, starvation, detention and torture. Someone needs to stop this tragedy, now.
Rwandan refugees in South Africa make a presentation on cessation clause to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs
'The pretense that everyone is wrong about Rwanda’s involvement with M23 except President Kagame, Tony Blair and Howard Buffet is in itself a symptom of the corrupting power of money and unchallenged political influence'
We're looking for a Campaigner to contribute to our campaign against human rights violations in North Africa. Working at the International Secretariat, you will contribute to a range of projects, including Amnesty International's response to the momentous changes in North Africa witnessed in 2011 and 2012. You will act as a focal point, providing advice and support to our worldwide membership, including devising campaigning strategies, preparing written and other campaigning materials and providing research support.
Contrary to the claims of critics, China’s partnership with Africa is based on sincere friendship, equality and mutual respect for the sovereignty through non-interference in domestic affairs and the offer of loans and grants
The death of President Chavez is a big loss not only to Venezuelans but also to everyone who believes in the essential struggle to create a just society for all. But his revolution, 21st century socialism as he called it, will live on
The US insists on greater attention and response to the crisis in the DRC. However, it appears that the Obama administration continues to operate on the notion that ‘quiet diplomacy’ is the best way forward when it comes to holding its allies Rwanda and Uganda accountable for their role in destabilizing the country
Through the legal case of Oscar Pistorious there is a powerful and dangerous interplay of race, class and gender. It is time that all crimes against women are dealt the seriousness they deserve.
The political economy of care centres on the unpaid work of African women in socially reproducing workers as well as caring for the sick in society. Social mobilization and policy actions to overcome the crisis of reproduction is necessary to address this unpaid work that is vital for the perpetuation of neoliberal capitalism.
In honor of International Women’s Day the achievements of some remarkable African women in politics, business and literature are celebrated in defiance of the stereotypical depictions of African women
Pambazuka News 618: Special Issue: Western Sahara - Africa's last colony revisited
Pambazuka News 618: Special Issue: Western Sahara - Africa's last colony revisited
Many people may take for granted being the citizen of a free, sovereign nation. But for someone who was born in a refugee camp and has only heard about her occupied homeland, the question of citizenship stirs up very strong feelings.
Education is every child’s right. But for Saharawi children, getting an education may require making tremendous sacrifices, including prolonged separation from family and loss of culture and language.
This short narrative of the diminishing optimism of several Saharawi fishermen casting their rods in the seas of the Western Sahara illustrates how the Moroccan authorities and EU fishing agreements have pillaged the seas and denied these fishermen not only hope but a livelihood
Reflecting on her life as a refugee in the Tindouf camps Fatimetu contemplates how the Saharawi people are wholly dependent on humanitarian aid whilst Morocco exploits the wealth of the Western Sahara. For all Saharawis it is an independent homeland that they seek.
In this personal account refugee Senia Bachir Abderahman reflects on her own educational sojourn in Algeria and Norway, the cultural beauty of the El-melhfa fabric as well as those Cubaraui who left their homeland to study in Cuba and returned with considerable skills to help the Saharawis in their struggle for freedom
© MohammedIn this interview with Mohammed El Baykam, a fisherman and the spokesman of the fisheries association in Dakhla, Western Sahara, his uncompromising determination to expose the plunder of European Union trawlers and those of the Moroccan authorities shows how his resistance has denied him gainful employment
In this letter to the President of the UN Security Council, Seoul Peace Prize Laureate Suzanne Scholte urges the Council to prevail upon the King of Morocco to overturn the draconian sentences recently handed down to 24 Sahrawi activists
Setting up a music project in the Saharawi refugee camps in south-west Algeria may not seem to some an obvious priority for a population that relies largely on humanitarian aid for its survival. Yet that is precisely what London-based arts and human rights charity Sandblast has been hard at work doing since early 2010.
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cc C P [/urlThe Saharawi case represents a unique example of women’s inclusion in state-building for an Islamic government-in-exile.
Despite wide international recognition, Western Sahara still remains under occupation because of a complex web of geopolitical and strategic interests of neighbouring countries and their Western allies
The continental body, which admitted Western Sahara to its membership in 1982, has consistently defended the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence. But Morocco has always proved to be cunning.
The Moroccan regime goes into appalling lengths to dehumanize Saharawi school children, even promoting drug use among them to break their resistance. But many of the children are increasingly politically conscious
‘After examining every available legal argument to support Morocco’s presence in the territory we have come to the conclusion that Morocco cannot claim a legal right to the territory on the basis of any historic relationship it had with the territory prior to its colonization by Spain.’
Music and poetry have been key elements in Saharawi culture since nomadic times, when they were efficient ways of transmitting news and stories, providing entertainment and establishing links among the tribes. After Spain abandoned Western Sahara and Morocco and Mauritania invaded the territory in 1975, music became the voice of the revolution. It played an essential role in the formation and establishment of the new Saharawi Republic and the reshaping of the society. Music, thus, was used by the Saharawis to foster social change.
There is little hope for a genuine referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people. Their international supporters and the UN General Assembly should now work towards universal recognition and acceptance of the statehood of Western Sahara.
In introducing this second special issue on the occupied Western Sahara in Pambazuka News, Malainin Lakhal argues that it is ‘a subject that should concern all Africans, and all actors who know that Africa can never rise up as a Union or as a future power unless it jointly struggles for its freedom from poverty, ignorance, re-colonisation, foreign exploitation, internal rivalry, and lack of communication between all its peoples and elite.’
There are horrendous human rights violations in Western Sahara perpetrated by agents of the Moroccan authorities. But the UN mission has neither mandate nor capacity to monitor and document the violations.
Morocco is working in cahoots with the European Union to pillage Western Sahara’s fish despite opposition from the European people. The plunder is a crime under international law.
© KonstantinaThe latest trial has yet again stunned the world with regard to Morocco’s persistent audacity to blatantly defy international law, digging itself deeper into a geo-politically embarrassing legal ditch of its own making.
Blatant violence against peacefully protesting Saharawis, official propaganda that misrepresents the situation in the occupied territory and blockage of independent external observers are just a few of the many dirty tactics employed by Morocco in Western Sahara. How long will this be allowed to go on?
Morocco, which militarily controls Western Sahara since its occupation in 1975, is trying to present a false image of the situation in Western Sahara, taking advantage of the military siege and the media blockade imposed on the region.
The book gives a credible history and analysis of the ways in which the Sahrawis, from Spanish colonial times to the present, have come to see themselves and have coped with the often-wrenching changes to their environment
Pambazuka News 617: The scourge of violence: Kenya, Mali, South Africa and Haiti
Pambazuka News 617: The scourge of violence: Kenya, Mali, South Africa and Haiti
Despite wide international recognition, Western Sahara still remains under occupation because of a complex web of geopolitical and strategic interests of neighbouring countries and their Western allies
Several British MP’s have joined prominent campaigners including film director Ken Loach in condemning the sentencing of 24 Saharawi activists by a military tribunal in Morocco at the weekend. In a letter published in the Guardian newspaper, the Members of Parliament describe the sentences, most of which ranged from 20 years to life imprisonment as “a travesty of justice”.
There are rising fears that Mungiki is regrouping to possibly unleash another orgy of deadly violence should their preferred candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta, lose the presidential contest.
The southern African nation is now peaceful and petro-dollars are pouring in. Yet the greatest beneficiaries are the United States, Great Britain and Portugal, the evil triad that laboured in vain to abort the Angolan dream
The Protocol makes a strong and unequivocal statement about the equal value and importance of all human rights and the need for strengthened legal protection of economic, social and cultural rights in particular
This assassination aims at silencing voices fighting for dignity, freedom and social justice; it aims to create a climate of fear and hatred and to push Tunisia towards a cycle of violence
International NGOs would not be allowed to settle and activate in Egypt without prior authorisation. Receiving foreign government funding, directly or indirectly, would be flatly prohibited
Our country is reeling with shock at the ongoing rape and violence against women, rich women and poor women, white women and black women, by men of all races and classes. And our country is reeling in shock at the levels of corruption. The trial of the Mpsiane's in KwaZulu-Natal has shown just how extreme the situation has become in terms of government corruption. But we are also reeling in shock from the corruption scandals around MTN, the construction cartel and other big corporates that have even go so far as to fix the price of bread.
We would have expected a decent President to announce special courts to deal with rape and violence against women. We would have expected a decent President to announce special courts to deal with corruption. Instead we get special courts for protesters!
Zuma is more like Ben Ali or Mubarak than a true representative of the people. His conduct in his own rape trial was shocking. No one could ever say that he is a leader that has the moral authority to take a stand against corruption. He has militarised the police and said nothing when poor people's movements are openly repressed by the police and the ANC. Now he pretends that violence is coming from protesters when we all know that in most cases it is the police that bring violence into the equation. There is a very long list of protesters that have been killed by the police since 2000. In fact the number stands at more than 70! What kind of democracy is this where the police can kill more than 70 protesters?
CONTACT
Ayanda Kota 078 625 6462 (Spokesperson, UPM Eastern Cape)
Motsi Khokhoma 073 490 76 23 (Spokesperson, UPM Free State)
Africa Contact strongly condemns the harsh and unjust sentences given February 17 by a Moroccan military court to 24 Saharawis - Western Sahara's indigenous population - just for demanding the right to live in their own country without Moroccan occupation and discrimination
Days to the March 4 elections a gang purporting to act in the interest of Jubilee Coalition presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta threatens the Supreme Court president, who also complains of harassment by the all-powerful Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, Francis Kimemia
South African women are regularly confronted with systemic sexual harassment, violence, and murder as the recent cases of Shrien Dewani, Anene Booysen and Reeva Steenkamp illustrate. Sustainable development will be unobtainable when women and children are brutalized by violence and any other form of gender based discrimination of which the state has a duty to prevent.
Africa has been demonized in the West for decades. To justify military intervention and imperialist expansion, Africa is today being depicted again as the scene of instability, violence and terrorism. The progressive forces for peace and social justice should mobilize against this planned remilitarization of the continent
In the context of the crisis in Mali, the US intends to deploy military drones in neighbouring Niger suggesting that Europe and the US have not learnt from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Another protracted war involving innocent Malians looks likely, unless a viable regional solution can be implemented.
The current struggles in Egypt and Tunisia must take into account the historical lessons of imperialist intervention and destabilization to create the conditions for genuine political and economic independence
Tax havens, rising debt-extortion, loans to African military dictators, capital flight, unfair trade prices, militarization of Africa through AFRICOM are the many ways in which the West’s war against African development continues. The recent crisis in Mali and Algeria are being used by the West to further its domination over Africa.
The problem with healthcare in Haiti is that there is no system, no structures, no plan - at least not one that has been implemented. The healthcare facilities are wholly inadequate
The latest court case represents a novel attempt by a regional tribunal to indirectly ensure that businesses carried out in Africa are socially conscious and responsible for the environment and economic as well as social development of the communities within which they operate
CIVICUS, the global civil society network, and the Ligue des Droits de la personne dans la région des Grandes Lacs (LDGL), warn about rising levels of harassment of civil society activists and journalists in Burundi. They urge the Government of Burundi to respect its constitutional and international law obligations on human rights.
Pambazuka News 616: Islamists, elections and how capitalism fuels AIDS
Pambazuka News 616: Islamists, elections and how capitalism fuels AIDS
Job Reference: INT5972
Job Title: Regional Media and Communications Coordinator
Contact email: [email][email protected]
Segregation exists in the employment practices and positioning of Africans within the World Bank as a result of racist institutional practice. Africans are muted in the Bank’s boardrooms, where strategic policies that have significant bearings on Africa are set and this needs to radically change
The World Bank and its Tribunal need to be held accountable for the systemic and prolonged violation of human rights of its employees of African descent – a crime condemned by a multitude of international human rights instruments. The Bank’s immunity towards these employees should be waived and they should be given another avenue to access justice.
The eradication of reactionary political Islam from Mali is the unavoidable necessary condition for reconstruction of the country. But it is not sufficient. And as things stand, the current war will be long, costly and painful and its outcome remains uncertain.
There is a growing consensus to establish a continental network of organised inhabitants that will solidify linkages between activist groups across Africa
The Ugandan government has been in the news recently over cases of grand corruption. There is a widely publicised campaign by civil society to clean up government. But what many may not know is that sections of civil are themselves not so clean
Obama’s message to Kenyans centred on the upcoming elections was received well by politicians on the campaign trail. But what many seem to have missed is the fact that the message was loaded with conditional political promises that isolated a particular candidate
The Head of Fundraising will be working closely with the ABN Secretariat to secure funding to enable the continuing work of ABN in accompanying African communities to rebuild their resilience against climate change and other external challenges.
The person will be working closely with the ABN Secretariat to support partners and communities develop and apply their skills in advocacy and that the work with communities is shared among network partners and allies.
Comrade Keke never compromised his politics. He was never a summer soldier. He was never a political turncoat. He has died with his vows for genuine liberation of Azania unbroken
Despite French military intervention and claims of success in fighting Islamist militias, the conflict in Mali is getting worse. There is also some evidence of imperialist propaganda about the course of events
Aids is a symptom of an unjust global order. Mass poverty leaves people with no option other than labour migration and transactional sex, which are the key drivers of HIV transmission in southern Africa
With political mobilization along ethnic lines going on in Kenya in the present campaigns, it looks likely that the winner of the closely contested presidential election on March 4 will be decided by the regions that do not have strong local parties
The savage murder of Chokri Belaid, one of Tunisia’s progressive political figures, brought over a million Tunisians onto the streets of Tunis and other cities for his funeral held on 6 February 2013. The General Workers Union(UGTT) called for a strike, the first in more than thirty years to coincide with the funeral. Tunisians ponder who will be next after such a political assassination?
Pambazuka News 615: Fighting FGM, freeing Mali and the pursuit of justice
Pambazuka News 615: Fighting FGM, freeing Mali and the pursuit of justice
Journalist Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, who did not even publish any article based on his interview, was jailed for one year along with Lul Ali Isman, the young woman who had alleged she had been raped by members of the security forces
Many refugees and asylum seekers have complained about arbitrary arrest and harassment by security officers
Fahamu is carrying out a participatory budgeting project in two counties in Kenya. In Kwale at the Indian Ocean coast, citizens are in the process of drawing up budgets for their priorities in public spending
INTRODUCTION
This statement was delivered at a public education forum organized in response to a comment made Dr. Rinaldo Walcott who was one of the panelists at the event.
Rinaldo Walcott is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education. His areas of specialization are cultural studies and cultural theory; queer and gender theory, and transnational and diaspora studies. He is the author of Black like Who?: Writing Black Canada and the editor of Rude: Contemporary Black Canadian Cultural Criticism. (See )
THE STATEMENT
The Network for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity (NPAS) called this public education event because we believe that identity matters. As Afrikan people, our individual and collective identities are consequences of our history.
We cannot speak of Afrikan history without speaking of the ways in which the Western/colonial world has tried to interrupt it. For this reason, topics of enslavement and ongoing colonial violence remain heated discussions. Tonight, we encourage fruitful discussions on these things in relation to how we understand ourselves as Afrikan people. We also want to share NPAS’ vision of Afrikan identity and struggle.
We believe that as Afrikan people, our identities matter because they are shaped by rich naming practices, creation stories, ethics, relation to the land and traditions of liberatory struggle, resistance and celebration and revolution.
Our identities matter because they reach across the oceans and borders that separate us to find a global oneness. Our identities matter because out of diversities in sexuality, gender, gender identities, ethnicity, age, producer class status and ability. We remain a single people.
Our identities matter because they continue to survive and facilitate the lives and experiences, as well as organizations and liberatory strategies and tactics, which we build in opposition to and that imagine and move beyond the violence inflicted by enslavement, genocide, global colonialism or imperialism and capitalism.
Our identities matter because our history expresses a tendency towards and necessitates anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchal, anti-racist, anti-colonial and anti-heterosexist politics.
Lastly, our identities matter because, being shaped by the present world and the foundation of the past, they have equipped us with the insight, courage, inspiration and imagination necessary to create the liberated and just future.
NPAS asserts that our identity as Afrikan people informs our histories of liberatory struggle, resistance, survival and achievement. In the present stage of the struggle, we view the parallel institutions of enslavement and colonial genocide as running counter to our transformative conceptions of the world. These institutions have attempted to divide our people; to sever us from our Indigenous homelands and values; to make us ashamed of our Afrikaness ; and to instigate internal violence and rivalries.
But these institutions of domination have also offered us instructive lessons. From enslavement and genocide we’ve learned that a world shaped by white supremacy, labour theft and exploitation, sexual violence, environmental warfare, and state violence is one that seeks to destroy us and the broader humanity. Therefore, we stand in permanent opposition to this world. We continue to survive in spite of the forces that oppress us. We strive to recognize and resist all forms of oppression, including those in which we remain complicit.
We endeavour to root our identities within the legacy of revolutionary ancestors, histories, people, and ideologies. The preceding approach to liberation will ensure our active, careful[3], and successful resistance to and healing from colonialism, capitalism, white supremacist doctrine, and all forces of oppression that disconnect us from our personhood.
In short, if who we are is Afrikan people, then what we want is the full and complete emancipation of our people - a liberation that necessitates and entails the liberation of all peoples. This orientation is the foundation for both the Network for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity and the approach to Pan-Afrikanism through which we continue to organize, resist, and reaffirm our value as Afrikan people.
END NOTES
[1] Delivered at the “Who am I? What am I doing?: Identity, Pan-Afrikanism and White Domination” public forum at the University of Toronto (Canada) on January 19, 2013.
[2] Members of the working-class and peasantry and the revolutionary petty bourgeois who have committed Cabralian class suicide and become one with the people.
[3] Not simply in the sense of 'cautious/prudent', but also in the sense of 'with care' - it is absolutely indispensable that we strive to learn to care deeply enough about liberation to live for it, whether or not we're ready yet to talk about those things and people we're willing to die for. we'll die someday anyway, and until then there's work to do.