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Aimé Césaire: A Black Orpheus Puts Away His Lyre

Aimé Césaire
Aimé Césaire, the Matinique poet and political figure died on April 17, 2008 at 94. He had been mayor of the capital city, Fort-de-France for 56 years from 1945 to 2001, and a member of the French Parliament without a break from 1945 to 1993. First elected to Parliament as a member of the Communist Party, he had left the Party in 1956 when he felt that the Communist Party did not put anti-colonialism at the center of its efforts.

Photo from news.serbianunity.net

Kosovo and Serbia: Behind the Mask of Nationalism

Over the last two years the question of Kosovo's independence has totally dominated Serbian politics. During recent elections, politicians keenly used the controversy to their advantage, while neglecting to mention any social problems, such as the high unemployment rate, or rising cost of living within Serbia. Over the last decade, Serbia has seen a rapid transfer of socially owned companies into privately owned companies. It is the business tycoons, politicians and members of the bankruptcy courts that have all benefited from this change.

Photo from www.theage.com.au/

Phantom Republics: Front and Center After Kosovo Independence

The self-proclamation of independence by Kosovo may be the last act in the division of former Yugoslavia, or it may be one step in a new chain of territorial adjustments. There are calls in Republika Srpska, the Serb unit of the Bosnia-Herzegovina federation for its integration into Serbia. There have also been discussions among Serbs of the partition of Kosovo with the area north of the Ibar River joining Serbia.

Police Confront 7th Asia-Europe Meeting Protesters

The Politics of Sustained Civil Unrest in Europe

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?

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Hungary: The Radical Right and the Neo-Liberalist State

It's no longer raining in Budapest. Although the clouds of commotion which hung over the October 23rd anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution should have dissipated along with the official end to the ceremonies, they still hang heavy over the capital. Indeed, Friday, October 26th saw a new round of disturbances as groups of protesters blockaded traffic on two major bridges in the capital as well as on a major street. Still, all things considered, the anniversary commemorating the Hungarian Revolution passed off in a relatively peaceful manner this year.

Michael Servetus

Michael Servetus: To Kill a Man Does Not Defend an Idea

Servetus
At a time when there is increasing sectarian violence in Iraq, when the Baha'i are banned in Iran, when questions of belief are increasingly part of political debate, it is useful to mark the milestones on the long road to freedom of conscience. October 27, 1553 was such a milestone, for October 27th was the day Michael Servetus was burned at the stake on a hill outside the walls of the Republic of Geneva. His crimes were heresy and blasphemy.