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Africa

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    Neoliberalism, the Left and Revolution in South Africa: An Interview with Trevor Ngwame Left Turn February 14, 2003
      Trevor Ngwame, a key South African activist in the anti-capitalist movement internationally, has helped found and lead two organizations: the Anti-Privatization Forum (APF) and the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee (SECC). Both organizations are part of a constellation of new social movements which have grown into the main opposition to the African National Congress (ANC) government’s neo-liberal policies. The growth and success of these social movements has been met with increased repression by the state. In April, 2002, Trevor along with 86 others were arrested and are being tried for simply marching on the residence of the ANC Mayor of Johannesburg to protest electricity and water cut-offs, evictions and privatization.
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    Anti-Racist Strategies: Review of "Dispatches From Durban" Dan Vea February 14, 2003

    Dispatches From Durban: Firsthand Commentaries on the World Conference Against Racism and Post-September 11 Movement Strategies By Eric Mann Frontlines Press, 2002 In this book, Michael Mann brings his experience as a grassroots organizer to the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR). He looks at both the triumphs and failures of the conference, and its implications for both global and local organizing, emphasizing the role of anti-racist activists in the US. His book can be considered many things other than an historical document, among them a strategy guide which puts an emphasis on the nascent reparations movement and its importance in combating racism and imperialism in both the local and global arena, particularly in Palestine.

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    Afghanistan: Lies, Near Lies, and Horrible Truths Pranjal Tiwari February 14, 2003

    At the recent conference in Bonn, the Afghan envoy for the UN Secretary General, Lakhdar Brahimi, warned the estimated 700,000-strong private armies that still exist inside Afghanistan: “This is a message...to all those, whoever they may be, inside Afghanistan and outside Afghanistan, who see their interest in the continuation of the problem, rather than in its solution, that they had better reconsider their position.” But behind this gloss of an Afghanistan “liberated” by US violence, a recent, important Human Rights Watch (HRW) report described the present-day situation in the country as an “enduring system of ‘fiefdoms’…reinforced by the policies of the US and other international actors.” This report, and other brave accounts, d

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    A New Gang in the Neighborhood: The Collusions of Neoliberalism and Colonialism in Africa Valentine Eben November 01, 2007
      The US is following the leadership of hundreds of years of European colonialism in Africa, using the cover of a worldwide “war on terror” as a smokescreen to assert military dominance in the region, while using sophisticated tools like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to achieve economic dominance. For US activists, it is important to understand the role of European colonialism in Africa as the US brings its own model to the continent. Below, Valentine Eben brings us a short summary of recent European—and especially French—colonialism in Africa.

    Rwandan genocide The year is 1994.

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    Cameroon for Sale! Kangsen Feka Wakai November 01, 2007
      Neoliberal “reforms,” exported to Africa from the US and Europe, have accelerated poverty and helped to ensure domination by the global north. Kangsen Feka Wakai gives one example of the way these policies have worked on the ground.

    The government of Cameroon recently embarked on a transnational campaign touting itself in western eco-politico circles as the Gulf of Guinea’s economic and political success story. Its recent “attainment of the HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) completion point,” exhaustively promoted by the government in investor circles, has been the basis for this expensive campaign.

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    Western Sahara: a “hidden” colony By Jacob Mundy November 01, 2005
      Western Sahara is not exactly on the front pages of newspapers—despite being Africa’s last colony. The continued occupation by Morocco with western acquiesces and the exploitation of their resources have pushed the Saharans to rebel.

    The city of Al-’Ayun is normally very quiet, eerily so. The intensity of the desert’s sun and the panoptic eye of the Moroccan security apparatus make for an oppressive environment. Locals, whether native activists or Moroccan settlers, often speak in hushed whispers, especially when the conversation turns towards the political, towards the subjects of independence and occupation. Walking the streets, it is often difficult to believe that this is the site of one of Africa’s oldest conflicts.

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    Demonstrating Democracy in Afghanistan Pranjal Tiwari February 01, 2005
      The corporate media in the US fondly use the term ‘election season’ to build up to that grandest of spectacles which takes place once every four years. This year, flanking the domestic main event, we have seen — so we are told — free and fair elections taking place to finally express the will of the ‘newly liberated’ people of the world, in areas such as Afghanistan. Indeed, if we were to believe the words of power, we should be giddy with joy to find ourselves inundated with stories of democracy and freedom bestowed upon others from above by our benevolent rulers.

    Looking at the facts, however, gives a perhaps more sobering picture.

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    War and Reaction in Ethiopia Jordan Flaherty January 01, 0001

    Awasa, Ethiopia "The United States is Ethiopia's best friend in the world," more than one Ethiopian has told me in recent days. On this point, there seems to be much agreement. However, conversations this week from Moyale, on the Southern border with Kenya, to the capital city of Addis Ababa, have revealed mixed reactions to Ethiopia's recent invasion of neighboring Somalia. In the first days of the invasion, many expressed hesitancy, especially in the south of the country, where many people know or are related to Somalis. "My wife is Somali," one merchant in Moyale told me. "Of course I don't think we should be fighting them." Few people here believed Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi when he said this week that this war was not inspired by the US.

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