Friday, November 26, 2004
Time to stop permissible lies about the past
Last week I took part in a television talk show filmed in the Crumlin Road Jail. The Victorian jail, built in 1846, is dank, cold and crumbling to the ground. It is one of the bleakest places in Belfast. In the last few decades it served as a holding centre for prisoners who were to be tried in the courthouse across the street. All political prisoners in Northern Ireland would have passed through there at some point. But on the night of the television broadcast the prison provided a dramatic and historic backdrop to a discussion on how Northern Ireland should deal with its troubled past. The lead in to the programme focused on South Africa. Much was said of our attempts to deal with the past as images of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission flashed on the screen. I was asked to follow this by reflecting on whether the South African model was appropriate for Northern Ireland. In a world of sound bites for television I could add little. My obvious starting point was to say that every context is different and a unique solution for Northern Ireland is needed. No matter what approach is taken, society will have to deal with the delicate question of the truth about past atrocities. Some moves are afoot in this regard. Click here for full article. .....
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Directory of Open Access Journals
The Directory of Open Access Journals service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals. They aim to cover all subjects and languages. There are now 1366 journals in the directory. Currently 334 journals are searchable on article level. As of today 61433 articles are included in the DOAJ service. Visit the site at: http://www.doaj.org/ .....
Chaos in Ivory Coast: Roots and Consequences
Dan Chirot sent me through a piece he recently wrote on the Ivory Coast. Thought I would post it; it is interesting and an area that seems to get little attention. IT begins: "Back in the fall of 2002, an attempted military coup had failed in Ivory Coast. But — instead of really giving up — the mostly northern army officers retreated and took control of the northern half of the country, while the government held on to the south. The south has most of the country’s wealth, including its lucrative cocoa and coffee plantations, as well as the port of Abidjan which — far beyond Ivory Coast — serves much of French-speaking West Africa. The French, with about 5,000 soldiers there, managed to stop the renewed government offensive in November 2004, which actually had no chance of succeeding. Unexpectedly, though, the Ivorian government ordered the French military base in Bouake — the rebel capital — to be bombed." Click here to read the rest. .....
Friday, November 19, 2004
Forget the war on terror, it’s morals that count…
I have just started to write a new column for Polity, this is first instalment on the US election. It begins: "It was a strange time to be in Boston in the midst of the US election. The tension was palpable and the support for Kerry-a native son of the city-pervasive. Right up until counting started the mood was optimistic. Early exit polls suggested a Kerry victory. But very soon it all started to turn for the Democrats. By 5:30am on election day, as I sat glued to the television abandoning my plans to observe the downtown Kerry “victory” rally, it was all but over. Bush was going to win. The following day the usually lively city seemed melancholic. Over breakfast, hotel patrons spoke openly about their disappointment. Some told me they were embarrassed to be an American. They felt isolated and that they were living in another universe to their Bush-supporting compatriots. That evening in a shop I greeted an attendant “Hi. How you doing?” His response: “I'm looking for a new country to live in,” his words indicative of the deep ruptures that now exist within the US. Click here, to read the rest of the article.
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Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Chile Issues Report on Pinochet Torture
Chile took a key step Wednesday toward confronting the grim legacy of abuses under the 1973-90 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, completing a lengthy report on torture and political imprisonment with testimonies from some 35,000 victims. For more information, click here. .....
Friday, November 12, 2004
SACP slams Mugabe
Frederica from Ubuntu Psychology pointed this article out in Business Day today. It starts "The South African Communist Party (SACP) has backed the Congress of South African Trade Unions' (Cosatu's) stand against Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's human rights violations. "It would be wrong for the South African government to act like a trade union, but it is equally wrong to expect Cosatu to act like government," SACP secretary-general Blade Nzimande said. The SACP's stance may widen the gap between the African National Congress (ANC) and its tripartite alliance partners, the SACP and Cosatu, on how to deal with Zimbabwe. It signals an attempt by the alliance partners to assert each group's right to comment on and approach sensitive issues according to the directive of their constituencies, instead of towing the line of the ruling party. Zimbabwe last month deported 13 unionists aligned to Cosatu who were on a fact-finding mission after a call for help by their counterparts and civil society structures in that country. This prompted the union to launch a blistering attack on Mugabe, comparing his tactics to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in wartime Germany. Click here for the rest of the article. .....
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Sorry Everybody
Well, this is interesting...a little initiative about the US election, see Sorry Everybody. .....
Monday, November 08, 2004
Live chat added to weblog...
Was surfing Rethabile Masilo's On Lesotho Blog and saw he was using a little live chat tool. So I added it to my blog, will see how it goes. .....
Thursday, November 04, 2004
OK, I was wrong...
OK, I was wrong in some of my earlier postings...Kerry is not going to be the new US President. All the initial exit poles were wrong. My optimism was misplaced. I am still in Boston and the city is in mourning. Last night I was in a shop and simply greeted a shop attendant saying "Hi. How you doing?". His response, "I'm looking for a new country to live in!". Says a lot, and it is important to realise at this time that 49% of North Americans are deeply distressed by this result (not to mention most of the rest of the world!)...that said, it is small comfort for what is to happen over the next four years...as someone else said to me this morning, "You ain't seen nothing yet...". .....
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Where is the South African TRC Report?
This is a quick response to Martin who recently asked me (in a comment on the last post) if the South African TRC Report is freely available. As far as I know, it is not. The publishers own it and a hard copy will cost you a good whack! This is RIDICULOUS considering that one of the TRC recommendations is that the report should be freely available. Bits are available on the web, like Volume 6, and Executive Summary. But it is not, for example, on the Official Website of the TRC, unless I just can't find it. (Not to mention that fact that the TRC website must be one of the most rubbish looking websites in the world). How crazy is all this! If it is there, hope someone can find it...either way, there is clearly not an easily accessible web link or dedicated site for this report as there should be. Aside from this, there are some people who have full electronic (illegal) copies of the report. These are freely available if such people are emailed...say no more...ps. I am still in Boston and feeling good for a Kerry victory...hope I am not misguided. .....
Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report
The final report of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is now available online. It can be downloaded from the ICTJ website, first item under the Noteworthy box. .....
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