Month: January 2008

Benazir Bhutto, 1988

Who Killed Benazir Bhutto? Looking Back on a Life in Politics

Nafisa Hoodbhoy January 31, 2008 Nafisa Hoodbhoy

Benazir Bhutto, 1988
On the morning of December 27, a simple e-mail alert to my cell phone confirmed my worst fears for the indomitable and courageous woman leader I knew as a former reporter covering politics in Pakistan: `BB Killed'. It did not matter that Benazir Bhutto, campaigning to return to power for a third time, would have merely stayed a symbolic leader. Her tragic murder has cut short the dream for Pakistan's impoverished millions and increased their sense of desperation.

Zapatista women enter the auditorium in a single file

“We Learn As We Go” – Zapatista Women Share Their Experiences

Hilary Klein January 30, 2008 Hilary Klein

Zapatista women enter encuentro
On December 29 - 31 women from all five Zapatista Caracoles (centers of resistance) gathered in the community of La Garrucha, Chiapas to meet with women who had come from all around the world to hear their stories of struggling, organizing, and participating in the Zapatista movement, and to share their own experiences. It was the Tercer Encuentro de los Pueblos Zapatistas con los Pueblos del Mundo - the Third Encounter/Gathering between Zapatista Peoples and Peoples of the World.

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Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Void

Will Baxter January 29, 2008 Will Baxter

Wife with late husband's photo
Outside the Bishop's residence about a hundred Tamil women are crying and wailing, many of them clutching copies of death certificates or missing person's reports to their chests. Crumpled up in their fists are photocopies of ID cards belonging to their husbands, their sons, their fathers-all murdered, abducted, or officially classified in a log somewhere as 'missing.' These women have all come here with the same intention: to try and gain an audience with the visiting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, to tell their story and to plead for justice. In Jaffna, when someone disappears, they unfortunately have a way of never turning up again. Making the atrocities known is often the only solace these women can have.

Activists in Australia March with Aboriginal Flag

Australian Government Intervenes in Aboriginal Communities

Mneesha Gellman and Josh Dankoff January 24, 2008 Mneesha Gellman and Josh Dankoff

Activists in Australia March with Aboriginal Flag
On July 1st, 2007, Australia's Federal government sent police and military personnel into Aboriginal communities in northern Australia to combat high levels of child sexual abuse. Policing combined with alcohol bans and welfare restrictions constitute a short-sighted intervention that ignores the root causes of social dysfunction among historically oppressed people.

Police Confront 7th Asia-Europe Meeting Protesters

The Politics of Sustained Civil Unrest in Europe

John Horvath January 22, 2008 John Horvath

Police at 7th Asia-Europe Meeting Protest
The extreme right National Party of the Czech Republic recently announced the setup of a National Guard paramilitary group that will serve at rallies and in the case of major disasters. The National Party cited the "police inability to secure calm, order and security to the public" and "fear for the behavior of minorities and immigrants" as reasons to set up the guard. To what extent is the threat of right-wing extremism in Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union exaggerated?