CONTENTS: 1. Features , 2. Advocacy & campaigns 3. J obs & announcements
Features
Reflections on African Liberation Day 2016
Inspired by the victories of the past, a new generation of freedom fighters is rising to carry on the struggle for liberation of the Pan-African world from the stranglehold of capitalism. A new rallying call is going out against the destruction of black lives. As the eminent Pan-Africanist Tajudeen Abdul Raheem used to say, there is always something to be done.
Pan-Africanism as it once was dreamed is dead. In its place—instead of a transnational framework of solidarity deployed to give heart and direction to Africans during the independence and self-determination struggles—we have something that rallies to the defence of rich, powerful men but remains painfully silent about the suffering of the poor and dispossessed.
The response to the Brazilian coup shows that the BRICS powers are not a real alternative to US imperialism. On May 12, Brazil’s democratic government, led by the Workers’ Party (PT), was the victim of a coup . What will the other BRICS countries (Russia, India, China, and South Africa) do?
An interview with historian Michel Cahen for the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Southern Africa
The problem in Mozambique is the winner-takes-all politics. If it is possible even to imagine that the president can be from the ruling party FRELIMO and the provincial governors from other parties and vice-versa; if it is accepted that national unity is not necessarily the same as national homogeneity; if the armed opposition RENAMO’s social base is allocated its share of national resources, and the situation of the majority of Mozambicans improves, the country’s conflict will be resolved.
Since 100 prostitutes in Lyon, France, occupied a church in 1975 to protest police abuse over 40 years ago, sex workers across the globe have been organizing for their rights to work and to live free from violence and discrimination.
What is required is a non-sectarian political party of the working class that could go beyond unionism to defend the aspirations of the entire social class, not only those few with full-time employment. So, the leftists ought to clearly distinguish between unionism and activism if the working class is going to become a class-for-itself.
Prof Adu Boahen who joined his ancestors ten years ago, left a worthy legacy to all Ghanaians, especially with regard to what must concern them most – living in freedom as proud citizens; a people able to choose their own governments, and prepared to be unsparing and vocal in their critical evaluation of the performance of those governments, once elected.
It is difficult to fault Chido Onumah’s contention in his new book. It’s no longer news that in Nigeria there is deep and widespread frustration with the conduct of federalism which is easily linked to a federal architecture that is responsible for the multi-dimensional crises of poor governance, ethno-political conflict and socio-economic underdevelopment that the country has been contending with for about five decades now.
Advocacy & campaigns
Kenya’s decision to close down refugee camps hosting hundreds of thousands of people from neighbouring countries is ill advised as it violates international law. What is more, the move will not solve the security challenge posed by Al Shabaab militants. Forcefully returning the refugees to Somalia will aid recruitment into terrorist ranks.
Jobs & announcements
In November 2016 we will launch Amnesty’s second Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the subject of refugee and migrant rights to educate and empower audiences in the 25 to 35 age range to take action on the human rights issues associated with Amnesty’s Global Campaign on People on the Move. The 3-4 week course, requiring 2-3 hours of participants’ time per week, will be launched in November in Spanish, French and English.
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