Pambazuka News 83: We are all Palestinian!

Demba Moussa Dembélé, 2009-01-09

Demba Moussa Dembélé condemns the attacks carried by Israel on Gaza since December 27. He accuses Israel of failing to respect any accords that have been signed in the past while continuing to subject the population of Gaza to endless atrocities and crimes against humanity. He singles out the complicity of the United States and Europe in supporting Israeli actions, and failing to condemn what is going on, and calls for worldwide support and Solidarity for the people of Gaza.

Saving Guinea and Rethinking Africa
Hamadou Tidiane Sy, 2009-01-09

Recent events in Guinea bring about a need to rethink principles of sovereignty and non-interference, as espoused by the erstwhile Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the subsequent stance taken by its successor, the African Union (AU) in 2000, which emphasizes interdependence and more active engagement. Hamadou Sy blames the AU of duplicity in the case of Guinea, reacting now to condemn the coup while not having spoken out in 2003 when then president Conté changed the constitution. As demonstrated by the support of the Guniean people for the coup, there is a need for the continent’s institutions to reinvent themselves in order to serve, first and foremost, the African people.

Guinea: A Double-faceted Coup-d’Etat
Tidiane Kassé, 2009-01-09

Tidiane Kassé does a roundup of news and views about the recent coup in Guinea, which attest to the multiple and opposing views of the change in power. Coups-d’Etat on the continent dating back to the 60s have seen a slide away from democracy intro despotic and oppressive military rule. However, the Mali in 1991, Mauritania in 2005 and now Guinea, have bucked this trend, ushering new and more responsive regimes in these countries. This has stirred a debate between democratic purism that sees military rule as antithetical to its principles, and a more pragmatic view that takes into account the will and the welfare of the people.

Zimbabwe: Mugabe: the Renegade and the Scape-goat
Aminata Dramane Traoré, 2009-01-09

Aminata Dramane Traoré takes on the detractors of Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe. She takes issue with condemnation of Mugabe by the global powers who in her view have no moral standing to do this, accusing them of turning a blind eye their own crimes. She accuses them of throttling the economy of Zimbabwe and causing great suffering in the country, under the guise of pushing for democracy. Nothing in her view, can justify the humiliation of Mugabe and the suffering of his people.