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THIRD WORLD RESURGENCE #198/199 (Feb/Mar 2007) This issue’s contents:
Debt-relief
countries can make use of more policy space Some 100 developing countries have been struggling for nearly three decades to free themselves from the crushing burden of external debt which has foreclosed any possibility of their embarking on genuine national economic development. Whilst IMF and World Bank debt workout programmes have in reality kept these countries firmly on the debt treadmill, the recent series of debt cancellations under the 1999 enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the 2005 Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative have opened up the prospect of some 40 or so eligible countries freeing themselves irrevocably from debt. However, as Celine Tan warns in this article, if these countries hope to enjoy the policy space thereby opened up, they must be on guard against moves by the IMF and World Bank to reassert, in one form or another, their policy leverage over them. Zambian
debt case highlights new threat to debt-relief countries A legal suit in a London court against Zambia has brought to light a growing problem of indebted developing countries whose multilateral debts have been cancelled facing claims from so-called 'vulture funds' that exploit poor countries. Rich
nations prodded on 'illegitimate' lending Industrialised countries that knowingly lent billions of dollars in 'irresponsible' debts to corrupt and dictatorial regimes in poor nations should cancel the debts and reconsider their harmful policies, a new study says. US
cancels Liberia's debt, but billions pending A campaign to cancel Liberia's debts, much of which was contracted by the country's earlier undemocratic regime, has had only limited success. Debt:
The repudiation option A new report by the international aid organisation Christian Aid weighs up the debt-repudiation option of Southern governments. Ecuador:
A new perspective on external debt With the rise of Rafael Correa to the presidency, moves are afoot to institutionalise the investigation, treatment and control of Ecuador's debt.
Cuba's
green revolution: Threat of a good example In their 2006 report, Living Planet, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Global Footprint Network have singled out Cuba as the only country to have achieved sustainable development. The
fleecing of South Africa's heritage: Biopiracy or lawful acquisition? Two recent cases of dubious acquisitions of South Africa's endemic medicinal plant species by Western corporations underscore the need for the South African government to provide meaningful protection and safeguards for the country's traditional knowledge and natural heritage.
WHO
board adopts draft smallpox resolution Discussions on a draft resolution on the destruction of smallpox virus stocks by both the US and Russia revealed continuing deep divergences among members of the World Health Organisation's Executive Board when it met in January despite several drafting sessions aimed at ironing out the differences.
South-East
Asia and the vision of an ASEAN Economic Community The 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has brought forward the planned deadline for the establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community from its original date of 2020 to 2015. But how feasible is this target date? Alexander C Chandra considers the prospects. The
'war on terror' and the appropriation of development The 'war on terror' has resulted in the majority of UN member states formulating counter-terror measures that threaten to undermine development.
A
model challenge for Ghana's current rulers Ghana recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence from British colonial rule. It was Kwame Nkrumah who led this successful struggle which did so much to accelerate the process of liberation in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. In this evaluation of his triumphs and failures, Yao Graham reminds us that 50 years on, Ghana has still not overcome the transformational challenges that Nkrumah identified. KL
War Crimes Commission to probe Bush, Blair, Howard In early February, the Perdana Global Peace Organisation headed by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad organised an international conference 'Expose War Crimes, Criminalise War' in Kuala Lumpur. A significant outcome of this conference was the decision to establish a War Crimes Commission tasked to investigate cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity neglected by established institutions and the setting up of a pro-tem committee to establish a Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal to hear the cases submitted by the Commission. Martin Khor reports. 737
US military bases = global empire With more than 2,500,000 US personnel serving across the planet and military bases spread across each continent, it's time to face up to the fact that American democracy has spawned a global empire, says Chalmers Johnson. Israel:
another inconvenient truth As reports resurfaced in March of war crimes committed by Israeli troops against Egyptian and Palestinian prisoners during the 1967 Middle East War, they forced the cancellation of a scheduled visit to Egypt by an Israeli minister implicated in the crimes. But any likelihood that the re-emergence of these hushed-up reports may yet serve to reopen the issue of Israel's attack on the US spyship USS Liberty, which was probably a witness to these war crimes, seems to be somewhat remote. Israel's
purging of Palestinian Christians Israel has been pursuing policies designed to encourage the exodus of Christian Palestinians from the Holy Land. A Palestine without its native Christians - who once constituted a significant proportion of the population and have long been intimately involved in the Palestinian national struggle - suits Israel's strategic needs as it will be easier to persuade the West that the Jewish state is facing a monolithic enemy, fanatical Islam. More
troops, and more violence Violence and bombings have only increased after the 'surge' of 21,500 US troops in Iraq.
Philippine
government must restore accountability for extrajudicial killings -
UN Special Rapporteur The national and international outcry against the continuing spate of extrajudicial killings targetting social activists and trade union leaders in the Philippines finally forced President Gloria Arroyo to both establish a commission (the Melo Commission) and permit UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitary executions Philip Alston to investigate these crimes. Both these investigations confirmed the Philippine military's involvement in these killings. We publish below extracts from the statement by Professor Alston on his mission's preliminary findings and a comment by Antonio Tujan Jr. on the outcome of these investigations.
The
feminisation of working poverty While more women than ever before are working, a persistent gap in status, job security, wages and education between men and women is contributing to the 'feminisation of working poverty', according to a new report by the International Labour Office (ILO).
Asserting
spaces for civil society engagement in ASEAN South-East Asian civil society has in recent years turned its eye on the region's inter-governmental institution to seek more citizens' involvement. Neth Dano charts the progress in opening up the space for civil society in ASEAN.
Climate
change and the poor The fictitious unity of a whole world in a common endeavour to heal the abuse of the planet not only elides historic and contemporary injustices, but also prepares the ground for future ones, says Jeremy Seabrook. For subscription and enquiries: THIRD WORLD NETWORK Tel: 60-4-2266728/2266159; Fax: 60-4-2264505; Email: twnet@po.jaring.my
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