More on democracy flowering (Bolivia & Colombia)

First of all, readers probably know by now that Bolivia’s President (Mesa) has resigned. Readers probably remember that Mesa was not elected, but put in power in an agreement after the previous president, Sanchez de Lozada, was ousted. Mesa was ousted for doing the same sorts of things Sanchez de Lozada did – giving the country’s poorly distributed resources away to multinationals with little benefit to the country’s majority. Mesa was ousted in much the same way – people power. For some good context, see this article by Webber and Spronk.

Now on Colombia’s flowering of democracy, which readers are less likely to know about already. Again the communities of Northern Cauca in Colombia have shown the way. They organized a clean, people’s plebescite in 5 municipalities in Northern Cauca. These municipalities are characterized by their structures of participatory democracy, ecologically sane development, and cultural and political autonomy. With those disclaimers, it is still an impressive showing. Of a total population in these 5 communities of 171942 people, and an electoral population of 68448, 51330 people voted. Of those, 50305 voted no to the FTA with the US, and 691 voted yes.

The people’s plebescite on FTAA in 2002 in Brazil had 10 million people voting and had a major impact on Brazil’s stance in negotiations. If Northern Cauca’s example ignites a national process, something could change in Colombia. All this is happening in the midst of major massacres and assassinations, like the one in San Jose de Apartado, which was done by the Colombian army itself, with impunity, just weeks ago. The media could have had a field day – spinning this the exact same way as they spun the Lebanon, Ukraine, or Iraq elections. Courage in the midst of terror. Assertion of democratic will in spite of the worst kinds of abuses. But… no.

Come to think of it, about Lebanon, how are they spinning the pro-Syria rally in Lebanon, organized by Hizbollah?

MAS DEL 98% DIJO NO AL TLC EN LA CONSULTA POPULAR DEL
CAUCA
[ 03/07/2005] [ Fuente: COORDINACION CONSULTA ] [
Autor: COORDINACION GENERAL CONSULTA POPULAR TLC]

Hablan los hechos y caminamos la palabra. El pueblo de los 5 municipios del Cauca, acudió masivamente a las urnas y en una elección sin precedentes por su transparencia, organización impecable, contenido y participación, decidió que rechaza la negociación y firma del tratado de libre comercio entre Colombia y los Estados Unidos. Presentamos un resúmen de los datos con el 98% del escrutinio.

De la excepcional jornada del domingo 6 de marzo, convocada por las organizaciones populares que conforman el Congreso Itinerante de los Pueblos en el Oriente Caucano debe resaltase:

1. Votaron 51,330 personas en los municipios de Inzá, Páez, Silvia, Caldono, Jambaló y Toribío. Sobre la base de una población electoral máxima registrada de 68,448 personas en los 6 municipios, se esperaba, en los cálculos más optimistas, que votaran unas 40,000, lo cual habría estado por encima de la participación electoral histórica en estos municipios. La votación en las elecciones para los actuales alcaldes municipales fué de 39,900 personas después de costosas y largas campañas.

2. El 89,51% de quienes votaron eran mayores de 18 años, para un total de 45,943 votos. 5,387 jóvenes entre 14 y 17 años votaron en urnas separadas, es decir un 10,49% de participación.

3. A nivel de cada municipio, este rotundo NO AL TLC quedó discriminado así:

PAEZ:
Población Total: 29385, Población Electoral: 14000,
Votos NO: 8871, Votos SI: 146. TOTAL: 9194.

INZÁ:
Población Total: 22000, Población Electoral: 10000 ,
Votos NO: 7399, Votos SI: 213. TOTAL: 7705

CALDONO
Población Total: 32500, Población Electoral: 11000 ,
Votos NO: 7555, Votos SI: 46. TOTAL: 7667

SILVIA
Población Total: 41236, Población Electoral:15281,
Votos NO: 8809, Votos SI:79. TOTAL:8907

JAMBALO
Población Total:14148, Población Electoral: 7000,
Votos NO:6028, Votos SI: 66. TOTAL: 6121

TORIBIO
Población Total: 32673, Población Electoral: 11167,
Votos NO: 11721, Votos SI: 141, TOTAL: 11913

CONSOLIDADO:
Población Total: 171942, Población Electoral: 68448,
Votos NO: 50305, Votos SI: 691. Total: 51330.

4. La transparencia y legitimidad de este proceso de consulta diseñado por las organizaciones campesinas e indígenas fue verificada por veedores y veedoras nacionales e internacionales de los más diversos sectores incluyendo representantes de la iglesia, partidos políticos, organizaciones no gubernamentales y de derechos humanos, movimientos sociales, organizaciones de mujeres y ambientalistas, sindicatos, académicos e investigadores, periodistas, senadores y representantes a la cámara. Además de verificar todo el proceso de votación y escrutinio, los veedores y veedoras firmaron las actas finales certificando la veracidad y transparencia de los resultados.

LOS HECHOS HAN HABLADO Y EL PUEBLO DEL ORIENTE CAUCANO HA DECIDIDO QUE NO QUIERE LAS NEGOCIACIONES Y FIRMA DEL TRATADO DEL LIBRE COMERCIO PARA COLOMBIA, COMO SE VIENEN REALIZANDO CON LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS.

QUEDA PLANTEADA DESDE ESTA PALABRA DE LOS PUEBLOS DEL CAUCA LA CONVOCATORIA DE CONSULTA AL RESTO DEL PUEBLO COLOMBIANO PARA QUE DECIDA SI ESTÁ DE ACUERDO O NO CON LA NEGOCIACION Y FIRMA DEL TLC.

In case you didn’t think this blog celebrates democracy…

If you’re a regular visitor you know that this blog does not share in the general celebrations around the flowering of ‘democracy’ in the Israel-Occupied Palestinian Territories, nor in Lebanon, nor in Iraq, nor in Haiti, nor even in the Ukraine. Nor is this a place where the US is held up as the model of democracy.

Continue reading “In case you didn’t think this blog celebrates democracy…”

5 people killed in Alberta

The Canadian media are full of reports of 5 people killed in a shootout at a marijuana ‘grow-op’. 4 police officers conducting a raid were killed by a gunman, who himself was killed by return fire.

All deaths are tragedies. Murders are particularly horrible. Preventable murders are still worse. People affected, the families, should have time to mourn. And yet the deaths are already being used to justify policies that will produce more such deaths and compound the tragedies.

Continue reading “5 people killed in Alberta”

Democracy in Lebanon!

There seems to be an orgy of self-congratulation in the media about the arrival of democracy in Lebanon. How wonderful. It’s like the Ukraine.

Readers of this blog know the Ukraine situation was more complex than the people’s movement beating the Russian-backed authoritarian regime story declared in the West.

The situation in Lebanon seems to me to be more complex still.

I want to call your attention to a piece by Ghassan Makarem that you might have seen. That supplies some needed context.

Continue reading “Democracy in Lebanon!”

This weekend’s massacre in Haiti

There were several armed attacks in Haiti over the weekend in which people were massacred. Preliminary reports from the National Coalition for Haitian Rights, broadcast on Haitian Metropole radio on Feb 25: “Village de Dieu district, which caused the deaths of at least eight people by bullets, seven injuries and the destruction of three houses by fire….The NCHR notes that this massacre took place less than eight days after armed bandits, in complicity with the prison guards, facilitated an invasion and allowed 481 prisoners to escape (from the National Pentientiary on 19 February), most of whom are dangerous criminals who killed people and set fire to people’s homes.” I believe that the NCHR is a partisan and pro-coup group – funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, among others. But I don’t doubt that these people were killed, I just think they were probably Lavalas people and that the ‘armed bandits’ are the coup forces… this is a gambit used in murderous propaganda the world over, and was used for example in Venezuela in 2002 during the coup against Chavez: Bolivarians were killed and then ‘claimed’ by the opposition as victims of Chavez, when in fact they were victims of the opposition itself.

The jailbreak last week, which the NCHR mentions, was very strange. At first I thought it was the beginning of an armed struggle against the dictatorship, but I had good reason from the beginning to know I had thought wrong. Pro-Lavalas politicians were taken out of the prison – later it was discovered they were taken out at gunpoint. Yvon Neptune, the former Prime Minister, has been on hunger strike for several days now, demanding to at least have a trial. [As an aside: how can he have a fair or legitimate trial, since the government that jailed him and would be trying him is illegitimate?]

Following the massacre on Feb 25 was another massacre on the 26, reported by Radio Vision 2000 Port-au-Prince in Creole:


“The police carried out an operation today 25 February in Cameroun Base Bel Air , a stronghold of armed Lavalas pro-Aristide gangs. Some reports say that six bandits have allegedly lost their lives and also two Intervention and Maintenance of Order Company CIMO members, allegedly during exchanges of gunfire.

We must say that the Brazilian commander of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti Minustah has confirmed that an operation was carried out but he did not wish to give details on the number of victims. Minustah went to the scene after everything was over, according to Heleno Ribero. He says that members of the population were demonstrating against this intervention by the Haitian National Police PNH . Ribero answered the questions of Marie-Lucie Bonhomme.

Ribero – recording, in French The operation was not a joint operation. We were called after the police – pauses They called us because they were in difficulty. When we arrived there, the police were already in the process of leaving. The operation was already over. So, we did not participate jointly with the police.

So the death toll is around 20 for Thursday and Friday, some by ‘bandits’, others by the police (backed up by the United Nations with its Brazilian commander, thanks again for that to all those progressive Latin American governments), some identified as ‘innocent civilians’, others as ‘bandits’ themselves, depending on who killed them.

As I said, I don’t doubt that people were killed. But I do have doubts about whether the ‘bandits’ that were killed were really ‘bandits’. Heleno’s story sounds very convenient, as well. What a lucky thing for the UN to have been there to ‘back up’ the police, but not have been there when the actual killing happened.

Once upon a time there was an island called Haiti

On that island they had some elections. They chose someone to be their President. Then some people from some other countries decided to get rid of that President and pick a new one. Some of the people from the island disagreed – so they were killed.

Continue reading “Once upon a time there was an island called Haiti”

Mechanisms of Denial: Interviewing Ilan Pappe

http://www.zcommunications.org/mechanisms-of-denial-by-ilan-pappe

lan Pappe is a professor of History at Haifa University in Israel. He is an activist for Palestinian rights. He was in Toronto in February to give the keynote speech at ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ at the University of Toronto. He was interviewed by telephone on February 5, 2005.

Continue reading “Mechanisms of Denial: Interviewing Ilan Pappe”