Page 116 – Toward Freedom

Puerto Ricans Demonstrate How to Oust a Corrupt Leader

Sonali Kolhatkar July 29, 2019 Sonali Kolhatkar

The movement that forced Ricardo Rosselló to step down as governor of Puerto Rico is one of the largest in the island’s history. It unified people across the ideological and political spectrum toward a common purpose: ending the governor’s corrupt regime. On Monday, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in San Juan to demand “Ricky Renuncia.”

Traveling to her native Puerto Rico to witness what was unfolding, political activist and journalist Rosa Clemente told me in an interview that rumors had spread on Monday that Rosselló was readying his resignation. But then, she said, “He doubled down again by giving a horrific interview on Fox News, and that made especially young people more angry and agitated and ready to stay in the streets.” Rosselló told Fox News’ Shepard Smith that while he wouldn’t seek re-election, he also would not resign on the same day that half a million of the island’s people were demanding he step down. read more

Kenyan Indigenous Communities Renew Push for Recognition Ahead of Census

Shadrack Kavilu July 24, 2019 Shadrack Kavilu

Kenya’s indigenous and minority communities are petitioning the government to recognize them independently as indigenous people ahead of the forthcoming national population and housing census slated for August of this year. The move could see some of the country’s indigenous people who are yet to be recognized as independent tribes added to the list of 43 Kenyan tribes.

Between Sacred Waters and Natural Capital: Resistance to Hydroelectric Dams in Mongolia

Lital Khaikin July 24, 2019 Lital Khaikin

Major hydroelectric projects in Mongolia continue to demonstrate a lack of transparency, accountability for transboundary environmental impacts, and a resistance toward meaningful consultation with impacted communities.

Guatemala’s Anti-Landlord, Indigenous Feminists: “Healing is Political”

Frauke Decoodt July 22, 2019 Frauke Decoodt

Indigenous feminists in Guatemala encourage women to speak out against male violence, and to heal and defend themselves as they defend their ancestral territory.

Who Killed Oscar and Valeria: The Inconvenient History of the Refugee Crisis

Ramzy Baroud July 22, 2019 Ramzy Baroud

The haunting image of the bodies of Salvadoran father, Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his daughter, Valeria, who were washed ashore at a riverbank on the Mexico-US border cannot be understood separately from El Salvador’s painful past.

Professors and Students Unite to Oppose Cuts to Lebanon’s Only Public University

J.M. Kassem July 22, 2019 J.M. Kassem

Source: Waging Nonviolence

Over the last month and a half, a strike by faculty and student-led sit-ins and demonstrations against austerity measures effectively shut down Lebanese University, Lebanon’s only public university.

Regular protests — drawing hundreds of students, faculty members and organizations from different schools, cities and political affiliations — took place in downtown Beirut.

On June 18, students, joined by supporters from independent clubs, demonstrated in front of the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Learning, marching from there to the headquarters of the League of Lebanese University Full Time Professors, a state-led organization in a neighborhood south of Beirut. read more