Alternatives International

Project Briefings November 2011

2011-10-31T15:15:53Z

Each of the nine member organizations of the Alternatives International federation is constantly at work on a variety of projects to improve social, economic and environmental justice in their respective countries and to create international solidarity. Every month, the AIJ publishes the Project Briefing which features a summary of interesting projects from various members. Read on to stay connected!

Institut Terrazul - Fortaleza, Brazil

Brazil will host the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012. The conference aims to secure renewed political commitment to sustainable development, to assess progress in implementation of previously agreed commitments, and to address new issues. Its themes are “a green economy within the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication,” and “the institutional framework for sustainable development.” Policy suggestions put forth include public procurement contracts and the need to include specifications for labour and environmental sustainability standards; generating new funds through a financial transaction tax (with such funds being earmarked for environmental goods and services, social protection, poverty eradication and climate change mitigation and adaptation); recognition of the monetary value of ecosystem services within their national accounting systems; developing ways of measuring national welfare, going beyond Gross Domestic Product; and catalyzing a transformation in the poorest countries.
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Alternatives Espaces Citoyens – Niamey, Niger

As a follow-up to the October 2010 Thematic Forum on the right to food and food sovereignty in the Sahel, Alternatives Espaces Citoyens (AEC) recently released a comprehensive report on the subject. The publication “Combattre la faim au Sahel” is a summary of the forum's conclusions and key recommendations to improve food security in the region. After facing two major food crises in the past decade, Niger's food supply and agriculture industry are at their most vulnerable. Rather than adopt this pessimistic point of view in the report, AEC seeks to highlight the enormous potential for agricultural and pastoral activities in the Sahel. As such, properly managing the region's human and natural resources can improve food security over the long term. Today, raising awareness about food insecurity and engaging political actors and social activists in the fight against hunger are both fundamental to achieving the long run improvements that Nigeriens are demanding. Ultimately, through the Thematic Forum and the report, AEC demonstrates the immediate need for legislation on the right to food in Niger.
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Alternative Information Center –Jerusalem, Israel

On September 15, AICafe held a discussion on European views regarding the Palestinian September Initiatives. The discussion also examined the issue of Water in Palestine. The event was led by Luisa Morgantini, former President of the EU-Parliament and Chairperson of the Delegation for Relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council. Morgantini was in Palestine for an initiative on the Right of Water with the Italian Committe for the World Water Contract.
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Alternatives Asia – New Delhi, India

Alternatives Asia works with Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi (BGVS), an Indian NGO focused on local literacy. Through its continuing education program, BGVS provides a platform to address people's needs regarding information, their livelihood and governance. A panchayat resource group of 8 to 10 people provides the support to integrate these efforts and aims to bridge the economic and social divide in the population. The group targets economic divides by integrating government schemes pertinent to the conditions of its region of operation. It targets the social divide by organizing cultural festivals and group activities. BGVS also provides group classes to increase local basic and computer literacy.
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Initiative pour un autre monde (IPAM) – Paris, France

IPAM is advertising for the Human Rights Film Festival of the Quartier Latin, to take place September 29th-Octiber 4th. This event is organized by Amnesty Paris, the Parisian branch of Amnesty International, which aims to put Human Rights on screen for one week in Paris. The festival aims to draw focus on the interactions between cinematography and human rights through both full-length and short films.

Also advertised by IPAM is the conference entitled “La France en situation postcoloniale?” This is a two day conference organized in reaction to the release of the article “La France en situation Postcoloniale?” which was censured in May of 2010 by the Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration and its journal Hommes et migrations. The conference will be held from September 30th to October 1st, at the École Normale Supérieure.
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Alternatives Montreal — Montreal, Canada

Alternatives is collaborating the Council of Canadians and a number of Québec and First Nations organizations, student and labour groups, to organize a major conference in Montréal, October 21-22, 2011. INDIGNEZ-VOUS! HOPE IN RESISTANCE. This initiative was inspired by the title of Stephane Hessel's recent book “Indignez-vous! Mr. Hessel has been invited (not confirmed) to talk about the “Indignant” movement his book has sparked in Europe. The movement is an expression of outrage, particularly on the part of youth, against the growing gap between the very rich and the very poor. People are coming together to defend democratic rights and to protect the environment in the face of the complicity of politicians and the economic elite.

The conference will explore how we can work together as civil society movements in Canada, Québec, and the First Nations to create positive alternatives to a system that makes profits more important than people and the planet.
On the agenda is a public forum Friday evening, October 21, and a full day of plenary panels on Saturday, October 22. The opening panel on Saturday will explore how social movements will work with progressive politicians in Québec and the rest of Canada. Other panels will focus on the protection of our water and environment, strengthening our public health care system, and the threats posed by new trade and security agreements to democracy, public services and civil liberties. The closing panel will feature movement-building campaigns and concrete ways we can work in solidarity.
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Forum des Alternatives Maroc (FMAS) – Rabat, Morocco

The Forum des Alternatives Maroc held its 5th meeting on “Community Media for Citizen Information” that took place September 24-25. This meeting, organized by the civil society portal Maghreb-Machrek E-JOUSSOUR of the FMAS, hosted a series of debates around the promotion and development of community media in Morocco. As a six-part series of conferences, the discussions focused on the reform of the communications sector to guarantee freedom of expression and to put into place a legislative framework to guarantee the existence of community media. Participants also discussed challenges and hopes around information and communication as it relates to civil society.
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Teacher Creativity Center - Ramallah, Palestine

In preparation for the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN, The Arab Campaign for Education for All and the Arab Network for Education on Human Rights and Citizenship (ANHUR) launched the one million educator's signature for full recognition of State of Palestine petition.

This campaign comes as an initiative by the Teacher Creativity Center, a member in the Arab Campaign for Education and the Arab Network for Education on Human Rights and Citizenship (ANHUR), which are two local Arab networks containing hundreds of educational institutions in the Arab world.

The statement of the campaign considered the decision of the Palestinian leadership to approach the United Nations will provide the State of Palestine with a legal status and new international legitimacy; in addition to ending the despicable occupation over the Palestinian people.
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European Immigration: A Colonial Legacy?

Lili Eskinazi — 2011-10-31T05:57:13Z

Illegal immigrants represent the world's newest class of criminals: Locked up in detention centers that are equivalent to prisons awaiting their deportation date. And for what? Having the audacity to challenge their life circumstances.

The distinction between legal and illegal immigrant has become commonplace in both legislative and popular lexicon. This dialectic has been constructed to keep the privileged in and all others out. Far from some manifestation of justice, we do not have to dig so deep beneath the modern immigration system to arrive at its oppressive colonial roots.

Modernity redefined the movement of people in a profound way. Colonizers claimed the ultimate right to freedom of movement and the power to define and restrict the movement of the colonized. We don't have to look further than the forced displacement of indigenous peoples onto reservations in what is now the U.S. and Canada or the slave trade that forcibly relocated Africans to the Americas to be exploited for their labor. Fast-forward to today, whether it is along the Mexico-U.S. border, or the Mediterranean sea that separates Africa from Europe, Northern countries are increasingly using their dominating power to limit and define the rules of immigration: Who, how many, for what reason, when, and where.

The European model provides a striking example of the colonial legacy in that the pattern of immigration is South to North, largely from former colony to former Metropole. The modern-day European immigration system is neo-colonial in two main ways: First, the immigration apparatus is a moneymaking industry for European corporations; and second, it allows Europe to exert its control on Southern governments to restrict “illegal” immigration at their borders.

Frontex: A Lucrative Industry

The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union—Frontex for short—was established in 2004 and became operational in 2005. Its main function is to provide a pan European model of Integrated Border Management to fortify the external borders of the Shengen zone so as to keep the zone “safe” for free movement internally.

The official Frontex website self defines its role as follows: “Within this [the Shengen zone] context, Frontex's responsibility is essentially simple, though in practice daunting: To ensure that the EU's external borders remain permeable and efficient for bona fide travelers, while being an effective barrier to cross-border crime.” The distinction is clear: legitimate traveler versus cross-border criminal, read: illegal immigrant.

Frontex controls 42,672 km of external sea borders and 8,826 km of land borders made up of the 25 member-country Schengen free-movement area (including a number of non-EU states). Since its implementation in 2005, Frontex's budget has ballooned to nearly 14 times its original figure: from 6, 280, 202 EUR in 2005 to 87,917,000 EUR in 2010. Funding for Frontex essentially comes from the so-called “community,” or Schengen member countries.

According to the Frontex Annual General Report for 2010, from the operational budget of 64.9 million EUR, 46% of the available funds were allocated for sea operations. There is a note that this expenditure is inflated due to the high cost of equipment such as offshore vessels and patrolling aircrafts. The European companies contracted by Frontex—or by extension through member countries' militaries—for the supply side of this high cost equipment must be rolling in the dough. Just as the colonial model controlled the movement and labour of the colonized for the economic gain of colonial powers, the modern-day immigration system funds a whole European industry that makes a buck on the backs of undesired migrants.

Delocalization of Control

In addition to making money for European corporations, the modern-day immigration system is an avenue for Europe to extend an arm of control over its Southern neighbors. What we see is a situation where Maghrebian governments are complicit with EU immigration policy and act as gatekeepers in the service of Europe to restrict migration at the source: their own borders. Bi-lateral agreements as well as readmission agreements between European nations and countries of origin for many migrants to Europe are legislative examples of this control.

For instance, the Treaty on Friendship, Partnership, and Cooperation between Italy and Libya is a bi-lateral agreement signed in 2008. The most significant part of the treaty for our purposes is the immigration chapter. In it is stipulated that Italy will provide Libya with boats to patrol approximately 2000 km of the Libyan coast. Under the agreement Libyan land borders are to be controlled by a satellite detection system financed jointly by Italy and the EU.[1] Under this scheme, not only does the EU patrol its own borders, but extends its power of border control to its Southern neighbors, (not) coincidentally many countries formerly colonized by EU member states. These actions call into question the EU's respect for the UN Convention on the Law of the sea, granting a country control of waters within 24 nautical miles of their own land borders.

Readmission agreements, too, force government complicity with EU immigration policy. Under these agreements, signatory states commit themselves to readmit nationals and those who transited on their soil before being apprehended in an irregular situation on the soil of another State. The European Council in its “Proposal for a comprehensive plan to combat illegal immigration and trafficking of human beings” in February 2002 sated: “…before the negotiation of any readmission agreement, the interests of the European Union and of the Member states should be taken into account.”[2] Thus, readmission agreements prioritize European interests over compliance with the rules of international law and consideration for human rights and should provoke serious concern for the well being of refugees and asylum seekers.

As one example, the bilateral agreement between Italy and Tunisia dates back to 1998, and stipulates cooperation for information sharing aimed at a speedier deportation process. The agreement also included Italian funding for the building of detention centers in Tunisia and an Italian commitment to training the Tunisian police force.

The Libyan and Tunisian examples point to a phenomenon that Claire Rodier, coordinator of the Euro-African network, Migreurop, refers to as “delocalization” of control. This strategy, too, was born out of a certain brand of colonialism—for instance, that of French colonization in Algeria. With relatively few French settlers present in Algeria, the colonizing strategy relied in large part on the assimilation of Algerians to propagate French domination. Such is the current immigration strategy of Europe unto its Southern neighbors.

Sail up, Fight back: Boats4People

In the wake of the Arab spring, the death toll is rising: According to Fortress Europe, a blog maintained by Italian journalist Gabriele del Grande, 1,931 immigrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea in the first 7 months of 2011. Of these, 1,674 of have died in the Strait of Sicily, attempting to reach European shores, most notably the Italian island of Lampedusa. For its part, the UNHCR estimates that more than 2,000 people are missing at sea since February 2011.

While appalling numbers of migrants are dying at sea, Italy's southern island of Lampedusa—the primary entry point for African migrants to Europe—is overcapacity in its Centers for Identification and Expulsion (CIEs). Through joint operation Hermes, Frontex has increased deployment of its agents to the central Mediterranean region, at Italy's request.

The European Union's reaction is criminal: Rushing to aid Italy, which is drowning in immigrants, rather than mobilizing to save migrants who are drowning at sea. The European coastguard, Frontex agents, and the military coalition engaged in operations in Libya under NATO command are all at fault for turning a blind eye to boats in peril.

In May 2011, the Guardian reported that a boat carrying 72 passengers trying to reach Lampedusa was left adrift for 16 days in the Mediterranean Sea, despite contact being made with the Italian coastguard, a military helicopter, and a warship. All but 11 of those on board died of thirst and hunger due to the inaction of European and NATO authorities.

This is a blatant violation of international maritime law, which compels all vessels, including military units to assist those in distress at sea.

In reaction to the dire situation in the Mediterranean, migrants' rights activists from all over Europe have come together to propose a direct action project in solidarity with migrants. The Boats4People project aims to organize a flotilla that will leave from Rome in the Spring of 2012, and will travel towards the south of Tunisia via Sicily, Malta, Lampedusa, Tunis, Sfax and Ben Guardane.
According to the Migreurop website, the project's goal is to denounce the tragic and unnecessary deaths that are taking place in the Mediterranean. Organizers wish to exercise their right to access the maritime regions in which these shipwrecks are taking place as well as the Italian detention centers where migrants are being detained.

By inviting journalists, activists, artists, and politicians to take part, the main aim of the project is to raise awareness of the tragic situation and pressure governments to act.

Boats4People directly accuses state actors (border guards, Frontex, NATO) for failing to assist migrants, as they are compelled to do by the UN convention on the Law of the Sea and the Geneva Convention. The project is part of a movement that envisions a Europe that is in solidarity with migrants, rather than one that criminalizes and excludes them.

A Case for Migrants: Status for All

In a 2006 speech, EU commissioner Ferrero-Waldner described Europe's position on migration: “People planning to emigrate need to be encouraged to come legally… We are also tackling illegal immigration head-on by assisting our neighbours to improve their migration management.”[3]

What is perhaps not evident in this diplomatic speech is that Europe's gracious “neighborhood” policy, while seemingly encouraging of immigration, in fact serves as a tactic to limit and define migration by European standards of desirability. By legislating an extremely selective and inaccessible immigration process, European countries have crafted a legal framework to justify the inhumane exclusion of a majority of migrants.

People immigrate or migrate by force or by choice, and the distinction between the two is not so clear. Unlivable and violent situations of war, lack of economic opportunity, hopes for a better life, reuniting with family, or adventure (a motivation typically reserved for citizens of developed countries). People are often so desperate to migrate that they are willing to risk their lives and fall into debt to embark on a journey for which the outcome is far less than certain. The reasons for which many migrants are forced to leave their homes today (e.g., poverty) stem from histories of colonization and legacies of the neoliberal development model.

A ‘status for all' perspective calls for the freedom of circulation—for the recognition and respect of a person's human right to travel. An immigration system that privileges certain humans over others based on where they are born is a racist one that perpetuates the injustices of colonization rather than challenging them.

This dichotomy must be challenged, both on a theoretical level and through direct action. Denouncing the current state of injustice is necessary, but we need to simultaneously direct our energies to imagining and organizing creative alternatives to the normalized violence of the status quo.

[1] Ronzitti, Natalino. The Treaty on Friendship, Partnership, and Cooperation between Italy and Libya: New Prospects for Cooperation in the Mediterranean? Instituto Affari Internazionali, 2009.
[2] Charles, Claudia. Readmission Agreements of Blackmail to Deportations? Migreurop, 2009.
[3] Migration, External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy - Speech by EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner available at: http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/article_5604_en.htm

Photo courtesy of noborder network

Police Brutality in Canada: No Justice, No Peace!

Lili Eskinazi — 2011-10-31T05:53:16Z

This is a podcast about the October 22nd, 2011 March and Vigil for the Victims of Police Killings held in Montreal.

To listen, click here .

Photo courtesy of Lili Eskinazi

Montreal's Occupiers

Hiba Zayadin — 2011-10-30T23:20:26Z

It's been a little over two weeks since Montreal's Square Victoria was transformed into a tent city under the banner of Occupy Montreal, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street in New York City which started last month.

Employees, with their morning coffees in hand and their daily routine in mind, look out of the windows of the Montreal Stock Exchange, the World Trade Centre and Quebecor for a peak of the action taking place right under their noses.

In turn, the occupiers of Montreal's financial district creep out of their tents every morning, yawning and stretching, surrounded by those glass-draped buildings that represent exactly what they've set up camp to protest against - corporatocracy and the one per cent.

Protesters have decorated the statue of Queen Victoria that sits in the shadow of Montreal's Stock Exchange Tower. - (Jill Fowler)

Over 200 tents have been erected in the small square, which has been renamed the People's Square. - (Hiba Zayadin)

The protesters at Square Victoria, as well as those in New York, Amsterdam, Toronto and other cities around the world, have been continually criticized for not knowing what they want.

Although their demands are unfocused, the movement in Montreal has grown so large that there's talk of taking over a second park - I wouldn't put it past them, these people have impressive organizational skills.

In one week, they managed to get an Internet connection and two generators running. They also set up a kitchen, a make-shift clinic, and even a library!

A woman donates money to the People's Kitchen which offers mainly free food and drinks. -(Hiba Zayadin)

The protesters set up shop to store the various donations of warm clothes, books, and other items. People can come and take what they need. -(Jill Fowler)
–

Both the times I visited the encampment, I noticed one man towards whom everyone seemed to gravitate. This man was Peter Moore, clad in a red jacket and grey scarf, with his hair swept back into a ponytail. While most of the protesters spent their days vaguely discussing politics, governments, and the capitalist system, Moore barely seemed to converse; rather, he lectures.

“We have lost touch with our history, we shouldn't be the servants, we must be masters of our country,” he said to a group of people gathered around him. He talked about fractional reserve banking, taxes, private bankers, and national debt to anyone willing to listen.

Peter Moore addressing fellow protesters in French at Square Victoria. -(Hiba Zayadin)

As I made my way through the crowd, I couldn't help but overhear snippets of conversation, most of which were marked with a few key words such as capitalism, banking crises, and financial inequality. The occupiers all had voices and they're more than willing to speak out.

– (Hiba Zayadin)

One man expresses his frustration while another listens patiently. - (Jill Fowler)

Every day the protesters hold a general assembly at the centre of the square, where people gather to voice their concerns and make decisions about the most effective way to get the movement's message out. The approximately 400 campers spend their time talking politics and making their grievances, ideas and suggestions heard.

People gather for the Education workshop which takes place at 4 pm every day at the square. - (Hiba Zayadin)

The protesters make lots of signs in their free time. - (Jill Fowler)

Constantly, new signs adorn the Queen Victoria statue. - (Hiba Zayadin)

Every camper I talked to determinedly expressed his desire to stick it out to the end. “As long as it takes,” they all said in response to my nagging question, “How long will you be camping out for?” They don't seem to be in the least disturbed by the promise of cold weather ahead. They've got the determination, they've got the passion, they've sure got the organizational know-how needed to keep hundreds of camped-out protesters content, all they need now are tangible solutions and well-thought out ideas to present to the government, that is, they need someone to take over the reigns of the movement. For now, they organize workshops, they tend to the day-to-day operations of their tent city, and they play music to pass the time.

It's not all work and no play at the square. Some campers just want to play music and enjoy the company of strangers.
- (Hiba Zayadin)

What is Occupy Wall Street Actually About?

Liza Ponomarenko — 2011-10-30T23:05:45Z

The Tea Party has been protesting against the United States government overstepping its boundaries and Occupy Wall Street seems to be the left-wing response to the a common frustration. For the Occupy movement, though, the real problem is corporate America, which rejects government oversight, save for when they are in need of massive bailouts.

Occupy Wall Street protests, which are quickly spreading across America and the rest of the world, are fundamentally different from other grassroots protests, like the Tea Party Movement. Usually, at least in the United States, protests are centered on one policy issue, but Occupy Wall Street does not have just one.

People are frustrated with a broad spectrum of issues, as found in the interactive list on their website (http://occupywallst.org/) that details issues from the obscenely monetized nature of American Presidential elections to inflated university tuition rates and student debt to general lack of government regulation of the market.

This protest is about the fundamental infrastructure behind policy generation, and it is not mutually exclusive from other issues such as desirable levels of government intervention. There are Democrats, Republicans, Independents alike taking to the streets out of the frustration generated by the American government working for corporations and not for the people.

In the United States, six corporations control all major media coverage and access in print, on TV, and online: General Electric, Walt Disney, Viacom, News Corps, Time Warner, and CBS. Pfizer, Merck & Co., Johnson & Johnson, and a few others concentrate the pharmaceutical industry. Monsanto controls most of America's food production. These companies do whatever it takes to maintain profits; it is what they were designed to do. With this goal, the corporations lobby the government for their own interests, disregarding the best interests of the American public.

The American people have not been blind to this, but as jobs are becoming increasingly hard to obtain and secure in an economy that is stagnating, frustration is on the rise.

Occupy Wall Street is fundamentally a protest against the loss of primary interest in citizen welfare. The American government should be focused on working for its people and not the corporations that finance their campaigns. The system is failing; government, business, civil society are ultimately caught up in a system that is not primarily concerned with the welfare of its core constituency – the citizens.

Alternatives International Journal spoke with some people participating in the protests in New York City. Of these, a commonality of frustration emerged, despite the divergence of issues they were protesting against. Many talked about how good they felt to be part of something communal, describing the self-organizing efforts of performers, people giving out clean clothes, and food.

A protester who wished to only be referred to as Joe, described Occupy Wall Street as a microcosm of what he thought America should be: community organization and localized redistribution systems. He commented on the police's disrespect for for the movement, resembling contempt. He had tried to speak to some of the officers who ignored him and told him to go home.

A key indicator of the validity and necessity of Occupy Wall Street was the fact that many Veterans were part of the protest, and joined in their uniforms. Those currently active in the government service sector are not allowed to protest as they cannot be politically partisan, but the veterans are clear regarding the reasons for being part of the Occupy Movement. They believe the government is failing to serve its citizens, regardless of political inclination.

The future of Occupy Wall Street is still uncertain, but some key facts that increase the likelihood of its influence in not only the upcoming US elections, but also in the fundamental course of the American political system. The people, the 99%, are tired of having the top 1% of the population controlling all wealth and resources.

It is a fact that big businesses such as Citigroup are making cutbacks despite making profits. It is a fact that most of the people responsible for the catastrophic mortgaged-back security crisis are still working for the same banks and still receiving big bonuses. With the Occupy Wall Street movement growing at an accelerating rate, it seems that Occupy Wall Street is here to stay.

Reconsidering Capital Punishment

Tamkinat Mirza — 2011-10-30T22:55:04Z

“I am innocent. The incident that happened that night is not my fault. I did not have a gun. All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth... I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight.” Troy Anthony Davis's death sentence was carried out on Sept 21, and these were some of his last words.

Davis was convicted of the murder of an off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail, in 1989—based on witness testaments. Since then, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted or substantially altered their testimonies, while some have admitted to being pressured into falsely testifying against Davis.

According to reports, one of the two witnesses who stuck to his testimony, Sylvester “Red” Coles, has been discovered to be the gunman involved in the MacPhail murder, based on recent evidence. Nine people have since signed affidavits implicating Coles.

There was never any physical evidence linking Davis to the event, and the murder weapon was not found.

After Davis' conviction, one juror told CNN news in an interview “If I knew then, what I know now, Troy Davis would not be on death row.” Despite this lack of evidence, and the reliance of the case on witness testimonies that have proven either false or highly suspect, the US Supreme court refused to hear his final appeal earlier in the year

Following Davis' execution, Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International, released a statement calling for the abolishment of the death penalty in the United States:

"The U.S. justice system was shaken to its core as Georgia executed a person who may well be innocent. Killing a man under this enormous cloud of doubt is horrific and amounts to a catastrophic failure of the justice system... Justice may be blind; but in this case, the justice system was blind to the facts. The state of Georgia has proven that the death penalty is too great a power to give to the government. Human institutions are prone to bias and error and cannot be entrusted with this God-like power. The death penalty is a human rights violation whether given to the guilty or the innocent, and it must be abolished.”

Numerous authorities have opposed Davis' execution, including the Pope; former FBI director William Sessions; former Republican congressman from Georgia, Bob Barr; and the former warden of Georgia's death row prison. Personalities such as filmmaker Michael Moore and comedian Dick Gregory have also publicly opposed the death penalty: Moore attempted to recall copies of his books from stores in Georgia in order to not “have any participation” with the state till it abolished capital punishment, while Gregory went on a hunger-strike to showcase his discontent.

In his eulogy, Edward Dubose, President of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), recounted Davis' plea for the people to “fight for every prisoner that is on death row in this country.” The matter extends beyond Davis' experience and exists on a much larger scale.
Davis stands as a symbol of the flaws of the United States' judicial system and its use of the death penalty, when it is nearly impossible to determine an individual's guilt without any room for error.

Numerous factors exist as biases leading to wrongful conviction. Among these are inadequate legal representation, misconduct of police and prosecution, perjured testimony and mistaken eyewitness testimony, racial prejudice, suppression or misinterpretation of mitigating evidence, and community or political pressure to solve a case.

Statistics show that local politics, the location of the crime and plea bargaining also affect the system: 82% of all executions since 1976 have taken place in the South, while the Northeast accounts for less than 1% of the executions.
According to Amnesty International, over 130 people have been released from death row in the United States since 1973, upon evidence of wrongful conviction.

Since 1977, the majority of death row defendants have been executed for killing white victims, although African-Americans make up about half of all homicide victims.

Such numbers highlight the existence of both errors in conviction and the presence of racism in courts.

To date, 139 countries have abolished the death penalty, recognizing it to be ineffective, costly and a human rights violation. However, the United States has yet to reach this realization, as 34 of the 50 states still have the death penalty. The country resumed executions in 1977 after nearly a decade, following a Supreme Court ruling. Over 1200 men and women have been on death row across the country since then. However, the annual number of executions has dropped by half from its peak of 98 in the late 90s.

Former US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens stated in 2008, after over three decades in the court, that he finds capital punishment immoral.
“I have relied on my own experience,” Stevens wrote, “in reaching the conclusion that the imposition of the death penalty represents the pointless and needless extinction of life with only marginal contributions to any discernible social or public purposes. [A punishment with] such negligible returns to the State is patently excessive and cruel.”

Stevens has since also expressed regret over his vote for the death penalty in Gregg v. Georgia, in 1977: “I think that we did not foresee how it would be interpreted. I think that was an incorrect decision,” he said.

Justice Harry Bluckman, who voted similarly in Gregg v. Georgia has also expressed his opinion that the United States' attempt at capital punishment had failed, as the justice system is incapable of always accurately determining which defendants deserve to die.

The death penalty has been defended in the past as providing a deterrent from homicide, yet, statistics do not confirm this. The murder rate in non-death penalty states in the US has remained consistently lower than the rates in states with the Death Penalty. Note also, that capital punishment will not be considered by those acting on the emotional impulses of rage or revenge, or those blinded by the influence of drugs or alcohol.

While the human costs associated with capital punishment have been enumerated above, the economic costs associated with it must also be taken into account. Recent cost studies have shown death penalty cases to be significantly more expensive than non-death penalty cases.

A 2003 legislative audit in Kansas found that the estimated cost associated with a death penalty case was 70% more than the cost of a comparable non-death penalty case. In Tennessee, death penalty trials cost an average of 48% more than the average cost of trials seeking life imprisonment. In Maryland, death penalty cases cost 3 times more than non-death penalty cases, about $3 million for one case. Similarly, the same system in California costs $137 annually, compared to an estimated $11.5 million without the death penalty.

These costs are incurred before and during the trial, not in post-conviction proceedings. Trials with the death penalty follow two phases: conviction and sentencing, and require extra time for special motions and jury selection, and face higher investigative expenses.

These heightened expenses divert resources from existing arms of the judicial system: crime control measures, mental health treatment, education, rehabilitation, services for victims and drug treatment programs.

In light of these realizations, alternatives to the death penalty are being sought by the people and an increasing number of governments worldwide. On September 22, over 1000 people gathered in New York City for a “Day of Outrage” to commemorate Troy Davis' execution, and to express their frustration with the current judicial system.

Along their march through Manhattan, the crowd gathered with the Occupy Wall Street movement, which was in its infancy. Perhaps this combination of two groups organized separately, each with their own conception of human rights violations that must be fixed, signifies something greater.

“I think we will be able to abolish the death penalty," Martina Correia, Troy Davis' older sister said in an interview, "I know we will be able to abolish the death penalty, because people all over the world are asking the question, why kill when there's doubt? And I want people to know that we're no longer going to accept that, not in our names.”

The death penalty is cruel, it is prone to unjustified killing, and it is draining resources that would be better diverted to other, more humane aspects of the justice system. Realization of these facts is on the rise and the people want change.

Selective Justice in the Tymoshenko Trial

2011-10-30T22:49:33Z

On October 11, 2011, former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, was found guilty of abuse of office and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. The Kiev court ruled against Tymoshenko's involvement in a controversial two-year old gas deal with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

The news of Tymoshenko's criminal trial and subsequent sentence made a considerable impression on an international scale; Ukraine now faces significant pressure from the European Union (EU) and several other international organisations, politicians, and diplomats to release the former prime minister.

Yulia Tymoshenko rose to global prominence during the 2004 Orange Revolution, rallying against the corruption present in post-Soviet Ukraine. Following the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, Tymoshenko was appointed the first female Prime Minister of Ukraine and was later re-elected. Prior to her political career, Tymoshenko led a decidedly successful career in the gas industry.

Since her unsuccessful bid for president in 2010, 12 criminal cases have been opened against Tymoshenko and several Ukrainian officials affiliated with her under the government of former Prime Minister and current President, Viktor Yanukovych. Of these 12 cases, the courts most actively pursued the claims against Tymoshenko's ‘abuse of office'. Old proceedings against Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine were reopened in an effort to exclude Tymoshenko and her former government from Ukraine's political front. Accused of exceeding her authority as prime minister by signing a 2009 gas deal with Russia, Tymoshenko's trial began on June 24, 2011.

In his ruling, Judge Rodion Kireyev sentenced the opposition leader to seven years in jail, a ban from political participation during her period of imprisonment, and a fine of approximately $188 million, lost by the state gas company as a result of the Ukraine-Russia gas deal.

The details of the case remain questionable at best. Article 365 of the Ukrainian criminal code, under which Tymoshenko was prosecuted, dates back to the Stalinist period of the 1930s. Whereas such cases are handled as political cases throughout the EU, the Kiev court handled Tymoshenko's trial as a criminal case. Moreover, prosecutor Lilya Frolova admitted that several documents in the investigation were dated April 31, a non-existent date.

Unable to participate in the coming 2012 parliamentary and 2015 presidential elections, Tymoshenko remains defiantly positive. “I will continue my fight for Ukraine, for its European future," she told reporters shortly before her sentencing on October 11, 2011.

Yet, a European future for Ukraine appears implausible given President Yanukovych's recent anti-democratic proceedings against Tymoshenko. " The president considers me to be his most dangerous political rival," said Tymoshenko in court. “This trial is a classic case of political lynching.” Western politicians and diplomats have since agreed; the EU criticised Tymoshenko's charges as "selective prosecution of political opponents," and Amnesty International dubbed the Tymoshenko trial "politically motivated".

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton remains reasonably apprehensive towards Ukraine's EU integration, in light of the Tymoshenko trial. "This [verdict] unfortunately confirms that justice is being applied selectively in politically motivated prosecutions of the leaders of the opposition and members of the former government,” Ashton said in a statement issued October 11, the day of the verdict. Such an approach to legal justice "risks having profound implications for the EU-Ukraine bilateral relationship,” she added.

Upon entering the presidential office in 2010, Viktor Yanukovych announced the importance of EU integration. However, under President Yanukovych's semi-democratic leadership, full European integration is neither plausible nor warranted. Significant effort must be made to protect and advance democratic values and the rule of law for all Ukrainian citizens, a feat unimaginable under the Yanukovych presidency.

The politically motivated nature of Tymoshenko's trial warrants significant international scrutiny and recrimination. The charges brought against Tymoshenko imply neither corruption nor misuse of funds on her part, but rather, they seek to sideline the former prime minister before the upcoming Ukrainian parliamentary and presidential elections.

The crux of the situation rests within the selective application of justice against one's political opponents — a charge for which Yanukovych must be held responsible.

The blatant disregard for democratic values and standards exhibited by Yanukovych and his government must carry serious consequences. This attitude conflicts both with Ukraine's future relations with the West, and with Ukraine's long-term democratic development. Rather than take an impartial stance on the matter, the EU and the international community at large must remain committed to addressing the democratic backsliding present in Yanukovych's Ukraine.

Bangladesh to Host This Year's South Asia Social Forum

Hiba Zayadin — 2011-10-30T22:46:00Z

This year's South Asia Social Forum (SASF) will kick-start on November 18 in Dhaka, Bangladesh for 5 days of meetings and workshops revolving around the issue of democracy.

The SASF is a part of the World Social Forum (WSF), which in itself is an annual meeting of civil society organizations aimed at developing and proposing viable ideas for an alternative future for the world. WSF aims for globalization that operates with a bottom-up process and stresses the local empowerment.

The main theme of this year's forum is "Democracy for Social Transformation in South Asia: Participation, Equity, Justice and Peace". Over 200 not-for-profit organizations and around 500 activists from all over the world will be attending the forum this November to make their ideas and suggestions heard.

Feroz Mehdi, one of the founding members of Alternatives International who has been largely working on projects related to South Asia, will be attending the SASF in Dhaka. According to him, “The social forum process is growing. In 2010 alone there were 19 national forums, 5 regional forums and 31 thematic forums all over the world involving an impressive number of organizations, networks and tens of thousands of people.”

Some of the issues that will be addressed at the Bangladesh forum include participatory democracy, human rights, fundamentalism, conflict and societal peace, food sovereignty, justice and development, media and cultural hegemony, and regional and trans-boundary issues.

For more information regarding the forum, visit the organization's website:
http://www.wsfsouthasiabd.org/

Photo credit: http://www.wsfsouthasiabd.org/

Syria Extends its Repression to Citizens Overseas

Marion Bauer — 2011-10-30T22:39:59Z

Following the debatable successes of the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, the popular demand across the Arab world was: More rights and freedoms! Thousands of Syrians followed suit and have taken to the streets with demands for justice.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responded swiftly and with more repression than was expected. Protesters were tortured and shot dead in the streets, with approximately 3000 Syrians dead. With the depth and the intensity of the repression, it is difficult to explain the lack of international response and involvement, especially so soon after the intervention of Libya.

The Syrian government has recently expanded its threats to Syrians abroad who have spoken out against the regime.

Malek Jandali is a 38-year-old pianist from Atlanta, Georgia, whose family has been targeted in Syria after his performance at a pro-reform demonstration in front of the White House in July 2011. In a statement, Jandali explained that his parents were beaten in their Syrian home before being locked in the bathroom while their home was raided. A note was left behind, stating that the attack was a direct result of their son's mockery of the Syrian government. Since the incident, Jandali's parents have left the country.

Alaa Basathneh, a 19-year-old student living in Chicago, organized the Syria Day of Rage. One of her friends was arrested and forced to divulge information about her. A few days later, she received a Facebook message threatening her safety upon her arrival at a Syrian airport.

Naima Darwish, a 30-year-old fashion designer from Chile, was threatened by Syrian embassy officials in Chile, after she created a Facebook page denouncing Syrian violence and calling for a protest in front of the embassy. Embassy officials arranged a meeting with Darwish, during which they discouraged her attempts and verbally insulted her.

Rabee al-Hayek, a 35-year-old engineer from France, protested at Place du Chatelet with several other Syrians. They were attacked by a group of pro-Bashar supporters, who the police could not arrest due to their diplomatic immunity.

These are simply a few examples of Syria's repression of freedom of speech that extends far beyond its borders. More than 30 individuals in eight countries (including Canada, France, Germany, Chile and Spain) have been victims of death threats, oral intimidation and physical attacks, and many have had relatives in Syria threatened or attacked. These cases are recorded in a report issued by Amnesty International.

The Syrian government's tactics exemplify the relentless efforts by authoritarian regimes in the Middle East to hang onto power. Dissent, even if peaceful, will not be tolerated if it threatens the regime. The repression of Syrians is now facing increasing international pressure. This pressure—largely through denouncement—instead of forcing the government to relax its policies and allow more democratic freedoms, has lead to increased repression.

With the lack of international intervention in Syria, it would not have been surprising to see the international community idly stand by as Syria increasingly targets its citizens abroad.

Surprisingly, US authorities have acted: They have arrested Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid, a man accused of spying on Syrian activists in the United States. He has been charged with six offenses including making false statements and serving as a foreign agent without registering.

Soueid reportedly met with Syrian President Assad in Damascus in June, outlining the importance repression of Syrians abroad holds for the regime. The Syrian embassy quickly spoke out against the charges stating that no civilian is serving the government and that Soueid's arrest was made as part of a global campaign to distort the international perspective on the Syrian government.

The repression of activists forces several governments to take actions by turning this issue into an international one. In the same vein, France has warned that it will crack down on Syria's actions. The government has promised increased police protection for Syrian activists along with continued investigations into the matter. The French government has made it clear that they will protect the rights of their citizens as well as prevent foreign acts of violence in their territory.

Though the regime remains in power, Syrians both at home and abroad persist in their attempts to defend their rights and freedoms. The government's crackdown on activists abroad does indeed lend international legitimacy to the popular movement in Syria. Whether protesters will achieve a revolution, however, remains to be seen.

From Fossil Fuels to Ecosystem Services: Feeding a growing population

Geneviève Lavoie-Mathieu — 2011-10-30T22:38:48Z

With the current global economic crisis, the associated hike in food prices, and the imminent reality of one billion people facing food insecurity, how can we ensure the provision of a long-term food supply for a global population that has now reached seven billion people?

Some experts, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), argue that food production needs to increase by 70 per cent by 2050, whereas others argue that it is a matter of re-distribution, blaming a wasteful system where 30-50 per cent of food produced worldwide is thrown away, never consumed, or left to rot in fields. By the same process, not only food but water and energy go to waste as well.

We are facing two main challenges: We must find the means to provide a more equal and accessible supply of food to a growing world population; at the same time, we must aim to minimize waste and create solutions that do not result in damaging effects on both the climate and ecosystems.

A global UN study carried out between 2000 and 2005 has shown that the natural systems on which we all depend are now so critically stressed— through over-exploitation, invading species, and environmental pollutants—that they are losing their ability to supply benefits to our societies and secure human welfare in the form of 'ecosystem services'.

This degradation is critical, as human activity—like agriculture—relies on a number of ecosystem services such as water purification, natural pest control and maintenance of soil fertility. Part of the problem is also that traditional agriculture is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, through transport and the production of fertilisers and pesticides and therefore dependant on the energy prices, which are always fluctuating, and expected to increase.

Although organic agriculture - a practice that uses non-synthetic nutrient cycling processes, excludes or rarely use synthetic pesticides, and sustains or regenerates the soil quality, and optimizes animal and plant interactions - is no cure-all solution, it could constitute a useful approach. While opponents have often claimed that organic agriculture could not possibly produce enough food to feed the world's population, a recent study refutes these claims.

Published by scientists from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University in 2006, the study's estimates indicated that organic methods could provide enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without increasing the agricultural land base. In fact, the study revealed that yields in developing countries could increase dramatically, doubling or tripling in some cases by switching to organic farming.

Further studies have also proven that organic agriculture reduces the vulnerability of farmers to the negative effects of climate change and variability as it reduces input costs and increases the diversity of income sources. Production under organic agriculture systems is less prone to extreme weather conditions such as drought; this is due to the maintenance of nutrients and the increase of soil organic matter which stores more water than conventional cultivation.

An example of the benefits that can result from organic agriculture is Project Tigray in Ethiopia, initiated by the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) in association with the Bureau of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BoANR) of Tigray, in partnership with the Mekele University. This project began in 1995 in one of Ethiopia's most food insecure areas. The aim was to improve productivity and food security in a fast-growing and predominantly rural population while reinvigorating the environment. The results and data collected from the Tigray Project confirmed the claim that organic farming can yield up to three times as much food on individual farms in developing countries as low-intensive methods on the same land.

The Tigray project is proof that human activity, in particular agriculture, can actually support and enhance rather than disrupt the natural cycles that allow for the healthy functioning of the ecosystem as a whole. Farmers, development agents, and ISD staff have identified a number of positive effects including increased biological diversity, improved soil fertility, decreased incidence of weeds, whereby the seeds are killed when the compost heats up during the decomposition process, decreased vulnerability to drought, higher resistance to pests, and lower costs for farmers compared with buying artificial fertilisers.
The project also demonstrates that a little money can really go a long way when farmers take advantage of the free services that nature has to offer (e.g. composting, a varied crop rotation, inter-cropping of several different species of crops on one field and collection/storage of rainwater). The project is affordable, farmer-led, community-based, and builds on the local technologies and knowledge without creating relationships of dependency.

The project was particularly beneficial for women and women-headed families, who were given priority throughout the program. Effort was made to enhance the position of women in the communities by training and providing women with seeds and seedlings for plant nurseries, organizing study trips, and facilitating the purchasing of sheep, goats and cows in order to be more self-sufficient. As a result, local communities have been empowered, and have in turn developed legally-recognised bylaws to govern their land and other natural resource management activities.

The results of the project were so positive that the government has now adopted a similar approach as its main strategy for combating land degradation and poverty in Ethiopia. The successes of the project have led to its expansion to include many more communities in Tigray and in other parts of the country.

Access to and increased development of local markets, as well as local processing capabilities and export infrastructure are an important step in making organic agriculture a viable and beneficial strategy in the Global South. Wider recognition of the potential of organic agriculture is needed and further research must take into account different climatic conditions and approach each situation with cultural sensitivity.

Organic agriculture, with the aim to preserve natural nutrients and enhance biodiversity, can provide for seven billion people while maintaining and utilising the ecosystems services. More importantly, the project raised, probably for the first time, the question of paying farmers, not only for what they produce but for providing important ecosystem services such as maintaining biological diversity and absorbing greenhouse gases. The current devaluation of ecosystem services can at least partially explain present environmental problems in agriculture, as farmers have no incentives to protect ecosystems or use the services they provide in a sustainable way.

What would agriculture look like if farmers made their living not only on how much food they produce, but also based on how much their farming practice enhances nature?

Photo Credit: caseorganic