By: Al Jazeera, November 13, 2009
Riot police in Nepal have used tear gas and batons to break up a protest by tens of thousands of Maoists. The protesters had blockaded the entrance to the prime minister’s office and other government buildings in the capital, Kathmandu, on Thursday. The Maoists, led by the former prime minister Prachanda, have said that the president had undermined the supremacy of the civilian government in stopping them from acting.
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India: Women farmers stand against climate change
By: Belen Bogado, Global Voices Online, November 10, 2009
A group of women in India have demonstrated that despite the existing gender inequity and their low economic status, they can become a powerful resource to tackle climate change and reduce the emissions that cause it. In India, the most vulnerable populations to climate change- impoverished communities and women- are being affected first, and the most.
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Gender in Afghanistan: Pragmatic activism
By: Deniz Kandiyoti, Open Democracy, November 2, 2009
There are at least three distinct strands of discourse on gender and women’s rights in Afghanistan. The first manifests itself in debates among Northern feminists and public intellectuals- many of whom have little or no prior exposure to Afghanistan- speaking to each other “through” Afghan women. These debates are primarily anchored in the moral anxieties generated by the events of September 11, 2001 and the ensuing “war on terror”.
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SOUTHEAST ASIA
Burma: US leaders may interact with Burmese at Singapore Summit
By: David Gollust, VOA, November 12, 2009 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she or President Barack Obama might meet Burmese leaders in the context of a U.S.-ASEAN summit Sunday in Singapore. The Obama administration is pressing Burmese military leaders to release detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and hold free, fair and credible elections next year. Read full article… Burma: Women arrested for holding Buddhist prayer services for Suu Kyi Artist denounces Burmese abuses Burma: Obama to Appeal for Suu Kyi’s Release at ASEAN Summit Dealing with a regime like Vietnam’s is risky Indonesia: Facebook people power |
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EUROPE
UK: Soldier arrested over anti-war demonstration
By: The Telegraph, November 11, 2009 Lance Corporal Joe Glenton led a protest in London last month against the continued presence of British troops in Afghanistan. He was already facing a court martial but according to the Stop the War Coalition the new charges carry a maximum of 10 years imprisonment. The anti-war group called for the soldier’s release and accused the Ministry of Defence of trying to stop his freedom of speech. Read full article… Ireland: 70,000 people bring Dublin to standstill in day of protest Former dissident recalls the unexpected revolution in Czechoslovakia Russia: ‘YouTube’ whistleblower arrives in Moscow as scandal deepens |
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MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA
Iran ignores pleas, hangs Kurdish activist
By: Borzou Daragahi, Sydney Morning Herald, November 13, 2009 Iran has executed a Kurdish political activist charged with being an “enemy of God”, his lawyer said, ignoring pleas from international human rights groups for his death sentence to be revoked. Ehsan Fattahian, 27, was hanged on Wednesday November 11. Mowjcamp, an opposition website, cited a lawyer, Mohammad Mostafai, as saying there was no evidence that Fattahian had engaged in violence, as charged. Read full article… Opposition papers protest Tunisia ‘clampdown’ Iran: I never feared death- The plight of Ehsan Fattahian Iran denounces Oxford scholarship An Iranian couple’s revolution Iran’s opposition steers challenge toward the top West Bank: Abbas slams Israel on settlements at mass Arafat rally West Bank: The separation wall falls (again) Egypt: Movement demands international bodies monitor elections Egypt: Kefaya pulls out of campaign against inheritance of power Egypt opposition versus the government Syria: Fear of Damascus regime stymies protest
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OCEANIA
Tonga civil society to explain proposed reforms
By: RNZI, November 10, 2009 Tonga’s civil society forum has held talks with the government about helping the people grasp political reforms that could form the basis of an election in 12 months. The Constitutional and Electoral Commission’s final report details how the country could become more democratic, with a majority of the Legislative Assembly elected by the people, the King’s powers cut and the Privy Council removed from the executive. The Commission suggests a single transferable vote and makes other changes to the electoral system but says it won’t work if the people do not understand or accept. Read full article… Tonga king ‘should relinquish powers’ Fiji badly served by censorship |
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Digital natives with a cause?
By: Nishant Shah, The Centre for Internet and Society, November 12, 2009 The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore and Hivos have assessed the state of knowledge on the potential impact of youth for social transformation and political engagement in the South. This report ‘Digital Natives with a Cause?’ charts scholarship and practice of youth and technology and informs further research and intervention within diverse contexts and cultures. Read full article…
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Guinea: La junte propose un gouvernement d’ouverture avec Dadis au pouvoir
By: Jeune Afrique, November 12, 2009 Les délégués de la junte au pouvoir à Conakry ont remis mercredi au président burkinabè Blaise Compaoré, médiateur dans la crise guinéenne, leurs propositions pour la “formation d’un gouvernement d’ouverture” et le maintien du capitaine Camara à la présidence. A Ouagadougou, les émissaires du pouvoir ont remis au médiateur mercredi soir un document synthétisant leur position, a constaté l’AFP. Read full article… UK: De manifestants écologistes à ‘extrémistes domestiques’ Un journaliste agressé au Kurdistan, des journaux poursuivis Cuba: Yoani Sanchez y las Damas de Blanco- la proxima mujer y el ultimo caudillo |
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Reflections on a decade of civic revolutions in Latin America
By: Antonio Gonzalez and Miguel Tinker Salas, The Nation, October 8, 2009 In country after country since 1998, Latin Americans have freely elected left or progressive presidents, beginning with Hugo Chávez’s election in Venezuela. From 2002 to 2009, left or center-left candidates have won the presidency in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. Contrary to the US media’s frequent depictions, Latin America is home to vibrant democratic societies in which organized citizens press for social changes against political elites, an openly hostile corporate media and traditional oligarchs who still control most economic activity. Read full article… China’s west side story- Uighurs vs Han Pakistan: Women vs Taliban
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By: Craig Zelizer, PCDN, November 10, 2009
The flagship programme of the Institute is the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship Programme (ATLP), whereby each year 20-23 high potential individuals from across sub-Saharan Africa are awarded the prestige Archbishop Tutu Fellowship, following a rigorous competitive selection process. The Awards are aimed at the cream of the continent’s future leaders, as indicated by the demanding selection criteria below, specifically targeting the next generation of Africa’s leaders in all sectors of society, between the ages of 25 and 39.
For more information…
Upcoming protests: International days of action
By: Protest Net, November 2009
March 8: Int. Women’s Strike; March 15: Day Against Police Brutality; April 17: International Day of Farmers Struggle; May 1: May Day: International Workers Day; October 19: International Media Democracy Day
For more information…
Western Sahara: Arrest of Aminatou Haidar [full text of announcement]
By: CODESA, November 13, 2009
In the context of the fierce campaign launched by the Moroccan State against the Saharawi defenders of human rights due to their political views on the issue of Western Sahara demanding self-determination right for the Saharawi people and demanding the respect for international legitimacy; the Moroccan authorities arrested at around half past noon today November 13, 2009 and thus abducted the former defender and the Sahrawi human rights “Aminatou Haidar”, the President of the Collective of the Human Rights Defenders known as CODESA . Aminatou Haidar is the “Robert Kennedy” Human Rights prize-winning of the year 2008, and recently she also won the recent Civil Courage Prize for the year 2009 awarded to her in United States of America.
“Aminatou Haidar” was arrested and abducted at Laayoune airport / Western Sahara immediately after getting out of the plane which as she was coming from Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Her family reported that they were waiting outside the airport and that they were hindered from meeting her or seeing her. The whole airport was surrounded by secret services and by different police and intelligence agents. The family “Aminatou Haidar,” had to wait for an hour at least, but to no avail especially that all the passengers got off the plane and left the airport except for their daughter Amiantou and two Spanish journalists who were taking photos of Amiantou Haidar when she was getting out of the plane at the airport in question and subjected to harassment and arrest by the officers and agents of the Moroccan police. The family does not know the details of the arrest and remain ignorant of anything about the fate of their daughter, who was arrested and detained in mysterious circumstances and without any legal justification. The Executive Office of the Collective of defenders of Sahrawi human rights defender CODESA fears for the fate of The Sahrawi of human rights “Aminatou Haidar” especially in this vicious and systematic attack of the Moroccan State against the Saharawi defenders of human rights, which culminated in the speech of the King of Morocco, “Mohammed VI” on 06 November 2009, where he confirmed dealing strictly with the “enemies of the territorial integrity” in reference to the defenders of Sahrawi human rights and citizens and supporters of self-determination for the Saharawi people and those who refused the autonomy plan.