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Le Monde diplomatique
-----------------------------------------------------
March 2001
WE ARE THE FORGOTTEN HEART OF THIS COUNTRY, THE DIGNITY OF REBELLION
Marcos marches on Mexico City *
by our special correspondent IGNACIO RAMONET
For the first time Subcomandante Marcos, head of the Zapatista
National Liberation Army (EZLN), has come out into the open. On
Sunday 11 March a crowd of more than 100,000 greeted his triumphal
arrival in Mexico City. Still wearing his famous black balaclava,
on 24 February he and his Zapatour had left the Lacandona forest in
Chiapas for a non-confrontational march and had travelled more than
3,000 km through 12 of Mexico's poorest states.
Translated by Ed Emery
Seven years of Zapatismo
<http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2001/03/02zapatismo>
SMALL FORGOTTEN CONFLICTS
Places of no importance *
by PIERRE CONESA
Violent rioting in the Indonesian part of Borneo, civil war in
Burundi, massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo, continued
fighting in Afghanistan - all over the world, small forgotten
conflicts claim innumerable victims, unseen by the media and of no
concern to the 'civilised' world. With the end of the cold war and
the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the West has lost interest
in all the 'grey' areas, and controlling them is no longer an
economic or strategic priority.
Translated by Harry Forster
Fin de siècle gloom *
GILBERT ACHCAR
Translated by Harry Forster
AFRICAN MANIPULATIONS: A BOOK BY PIERRE PÉAN
Tainted evidence of Libyan terrorism *
by PIERRE PÉAN
On 21 December 1988 a Pan Am Boeing 747 disintegrated over
Lockerbie (Scotland) killing 259 people. On 19 September 1989 a UTA
(French airlines) DC-10 exploded in mid-air killing 170. The trial
in The Hague of two Libyans accused in the Lockerbie incident has
just ended in a controversial verdict. One of the accused was
released, the other sentenced to life imprisonment. With respect to
the UTA incident, the French Supreme Court of Appeal is expected to
issue a ruling on the request to bring proceedings against
President Gadafy. However, at the beginning of the investigations
into the two bombings, evidence initially pointed to various
Palestinian groups, as well as to Syria and Iran. Scientific
analysis of the UTA wreckage showed that the bomb technology
matched that used by a Palestinian terrorist organisation.
In summer 1990, following the outbreak of the Gulf crisis and the
decision by Syria and Iran to join the anti-Iraq coalition, the
United States, joined by the French examining magistrate,
Jean-Louis Bruguière, decided to abandon those leads and
concentrate on Libyan responsibility instead. In pursuing Libyan
involvement the investigators had to rely on extremely fragile
testimony by a Congolese national, Bernard Yanga, in Brazzaville
who has links with his country's security services. Following are
excerpts from Pierre Péan's new book.
Translated by Luke Sandford
IVORY COAST IN POLITICAL CRISIS
Stormy weather in west Africa *
by PHILIPPE LEYMARIE
Colonel Gadafy's grand project for African union, designed to solve
all the continent's ills, was on the agenda at the Sirte (Libya)
meeting on 1-2 March. Meanwhile a series of mediators have tried to
win renewed support for the Lusaka agreement to restore stability
to the 'ailing heart' of Africa following the assassination of
Congo president Laurent Kabila. West Africa is haunted by the
Liberian and Sierra-Leone nightmares. Now a succession of military
coups has overwhelmed Ivory Coast, France's former showcase colony,
opening the way for rampant nationalism and the risk of a
north-south split. This terrifies a number of states in the area.
Translated by Harry Forster
As it ever was *
Ph. L.
Translated by Harry Forster
BETWEEN NATIONAL LIBERATION AND STATE-BUILDING
A new intifada, a new strategy *
by NADINE PICADOU
After various internal convulsions the Labour Party has agreed to
work with Ariel Sharon. This capitulation reinforces the political
impasse, made worse by the new US secretary of state's tour of the
region and the message that Washington's priority is now Iraq and
not Israeli-Palestinian peace. During all this the repression of
the West Bank and Gaza has continued, and Palestinian society is
now organising itself in very different ways from those of the
previous intifada (1987-93).
Translated by Wendy Kristianasen
Islamising the language *
N. P.
Translated by Wendy Kristianasen
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Broken bodies, shattered minds
To mark International Women's Day on 8 March, Amnesty International
has published a powerful report on violence against women. These
extracts from the report show that brutality mainly takes place in
the home and that governments are doing little to protect the
victims or punish the guilty.
<http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2001/03/10gender>
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ON THE CAMPUS
For sale: US academic integrity
by IBRAHIM WARDE
Private enterprise is much taken with education, especially the
universities. In the United States the race to get hold of academic
disciplines that bring in the money has already increased conflicts
of interest between research and business. Under cover of a
'marketplace of ideas', the logic of the market could turn
academics into entrepreneurs and endanger the unity of our
universities.
<http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2001/03/11academic>
Original text in English
THE POLITICS OF GOLD-PROSPECTING
Sustainable development in French Guiana *
by our special correspondent MAURICE LEMOINE
Violent rioting shook Cayenne last November, fuelled by poor social
conditions. Now a pro-independence party of the left is calling for
a radical change in Guiana's legal status. Whether or not the
French government or the local politicians are capable of making
the right decisions, the country will have to adopt a development
model.
Translated by Julie Stoker
GLOBAL STRATEGIES FOR PEOPLE'S HEALTH
Fighting medical apartheid
by our special correspondent PHILIPPE DEMENET
Brazil is having remarkable success in its fight against Aids. The
free distribution of drugs has halved the annual death rate in four
years. In early February the United States challenged that policy
before the WTO in defence of the patents held by its pharmaceutical
industry. At the same time the Indian company Cipla was offering
Médecins sans frontières generics at knock-down prices. The
medicines war has begun, and the countries of the South are
prepared for battle.
<http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2001/03/13health>
Translated by Malcolm Greenwood
_________________________________________________________________
(*) Star-marked articles are available to paid subscribers only.
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