“The letter was signed by more than 200 prominent Africans, including ANC national executive member Jesse Duarte, political analyst Willie Esterhuyse of the University of Stellenbosch, former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils, lawyer Christine Qunta, former deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad, former minister in the presidency Essop Pahad, Sam Moyo of the African Institute […]
Geography Archives: Africa
Countries in the continent of Africa
AU Calls for Inclusive Transitional Government in Libya
Note that the African Union, bucking the imperialist pressures, refused to recognize the rebel Transitional National Council as the sole legitimate representative of Libya. — Ed. The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 291st meeting held on 26 August 2011, at the level of the Heads of State and […]
Libyan Rebels’ Pyrrhic Victory
Victor Nieto is a cartoonist in Venezuela. His cartoons frequently appear in Aporrea and Rebelión among other sites. Cf. “Speaking from outside Britain, a senior official told me that — after the fall of the Qaddafi regime — NATO air patrols and a no-fly zone would certainly have to remain in place as a deterrent […]
Labor’s Defeat in Wisconsin and the Specter of 2012
On March 9, 2011 Republicans at the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin approved Governor Scott Walker’s bill ending most collective bargaining rights for union-organized state employees. The capitol had been occupied for over a month by unionists, students, and their supporters who were opposed to the bill. This was the first mass labor upsurge of […]
Social Origins of the Tent Protests in Israel
It started in mid-July, when Dafni Leef, a Tel Aviv filmmaker, was met with a hike in her rent that she couldn’t afford to pay. Instead of moving to a new apartment, she moved to a tent on Rothschild Boulevard, the city’s sleekest thoroughfare, and set up a Facebook event calling for her compatriots to […]
Riots by Design: Resisting the London Olympics
In April 2010 I found myself in Montreal for an academic conference. It was my first time there, and as I am wont to do in such a new place, I looked up used bookstores and otherwise roamed around the city. In one such English-language bookstore in the city center I asked the owner if […]
Memorandum on Libya Handed to British Consul-General in Cape Town by SACP and Allies
12th August 2011 The British Consul-General The British Consulate Riebeeck Street, CAPE TOWN Cc: All Media Houses Dear Sir, We, the leadership and members of the following organisations the SACP, ANC, COSATU, SANCO, ANCYL, YCL, ANCWL, MJC and PASOP and all democrats and peace loving peoples of the African continent, demand that you convey […]
Libya — Lather, Rinse, Repeat — Syria: Liberal Imperialism and the Refusal to Learn
Two of my favorite quotes come into play here, one by the English poet, Alexander Pope, who explained that “some people will never learn anything . . . because they understand everything too soon,” and George Bernard Shaw, much more resigned and ironic in stating that “we learn from experience that men never learn anything […]
Middle East News Roundup: Arab Spring, Royal Summer, Islamist Autumn
Egypt Amin Saikal (ABC, 29 July 2011): “The Islamist parties [in Egypt] now stand a good chance to win an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections in November, and also contest successfully the presidential election. . . . According to an Aljazeera public opinion survey, released on July 7, 2011, nearly 50 per cent of […]
Justice for Palestine: A Call to Action from Indigenous and Women of Color Feminists
Between June 14 and June 23, 2011, a delegation of 11 scholars, activists, and artists visited occupied Palestine. As indigenous and women of color feminists involved in multiple social justice struggles, we sought to affirm our association with the growing international movement for a free Palestine. We wanted to see for ourselves the conditions under […]
Shashe Declaration: 1st Encounter of Agroecology Trainers in Africa Region 1
We are 47 people from 22 organizations in 18 countries (Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Angola, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Central African Republic, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Portugal, USA, France, and Germany). We are farmers and staff representing member organizations of La Via Campesina, along with allies from other farmer […]
South African Trade Unions and ANC Youth League Protest against NATO Bombings of Libya
NUMSA and other COSATU workers, ANC Youth League President Julius Malema, and members of the South African Communist Party gathered outside the United States Embassy in Pretoria, Gauteng to demonstrate against the NATO bombings of Libya. “South Africa should not have voted for that resolution,” said Malema, referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1973 […]
COSATU Calls on Workers to Join Protest March against Bombing of Libya
COSATU has called on all workers to join the march organised by NUMSA to the Embassies of the US, Britain and France tomorrow, 6th July, 2011 starting at 10 am. The aim of the march is to protest the bombings led by the forces of imperialism as represented by the countries above against the people […]
On Attempts to Undermine the Democratic Revolutionary Course of Swaziland’s Transition
Now that Swaziland is on the verge of far-reaching change, with the Tinkhundla system teetering on the brink of collapse, we are seeing a scramble by reactionary forces to try to take the initiative in the name of the pro-democracy movement and set the agenda for Swaziland’s future. These forces, which have received backing […]
Public Spending on Education in India
The failure of the Indian state more than six decades after Independence to provide universal access to quality schooling and to ensure equal access to higher education among all socio-economic groups and across gender and region must surely rank among the more dismal and significant failures of the development project in the country. It is […]
June 27: Demonstrate against US/NATO Attacks on Libya
The United National Antiwar Committee (UNAC) calls for demonstrations on June 27 against the US/NATO attacks on Libya. June 27 is the date that the NATO mandate expires and their new mandate comes into effect. The United National Antiwar Committee was founded at a conference of 800 in Albany, NY in July 2010. For […]
Second Class Citizens: Gender, Energy and Climate Change in South Africa
Excerpt: Forty percent of South Africa’s 48 million people are poor, and more than half of poor people are female. Official unemployment figures hover at around 25%, but since this statistics does not count those who have given up looking for work, real unemployment may be double this. South Africa is, by world standards, […]
The Palestinian Authority’s Historic Mistake — and Opportunity
No one knows the precise plans of the Palestinian Authority vis-a-vis September: will Mahmoud Abbas declare a Palestinian state within recognized borders and ask that it be admitted as a full member of the UN — or not? Perhaps Abbas himself does not know. Now political leaders often make decisions alone or in consultation with […]
Path to Solve Climate Talks: Be Clear about Targets and Honour Commitments
13 June 2011 BONN — Today, Ambassador Pablo Solon of the Plurinational State of Bolivia addressed reporters at the UN climate talks in Germany. Ambassador Solon outlined a clear plan, based on submissions from other countries and civil society, on how to move the talks forward in 2011. “The key issue at these talks […]
Agrarian Distress and Land Acquisition
The recent agitation by farmers in Uttar Pradesh against cropland acquisition for non-agricultural purposes is only the latest in a long series of protests by farmers and rural communities, which started a decade ago in different parts of the country and which gathered momentum over the past five years and coalesced in some areas into […]
