Cuba severs ties with Panama
On August 27, Cuban authorities announced that country had severed diplomatic ties with Panama, in reaction to outgoing Panamanian [resident Mireya Moscoso's pardon to four Cuban terrorists. The four had been convicted of attempting to assassinate Cuban president Fidel Castro during a trip to Panama in 2000, and were suspected of involvement in a 1976 mid-air bombing of a Cubana Airlines plane that killed 73 people. US Secretary of State Colin Powell requested the pardon on a visit to Panama in November. The incoming Panamanian government, which takes office on August 30, has said it will endeavour to repairs relations with Cuba.
INDIA: Millions join strikes
On August 25, Business Day reported that 27 state-run banks, representing around 75% of India's lending institutions, were shut down by workers demanding a pay rise. While workers are demanding an 18% pay rise, the government is insisting it will pay only 14%. The strike came as a truckers' strike protesting new taxes entered its fourth day. The continuing strike has pulled 2.4 million trucks off the roads, significantly impacting on the economy.
BOTSWANA: Miners defy courts to strike
Workers at Botswana's four diamond mines have been on strike since August 23, demanding a pay rise of 10% from their employer Debswana, a joint venture between the government and De Beers. Debswana got the strike declared illegal on August 24, and sacked 400 miners. When the workers refused to go back, Debswana attempted to pursue further court orders. The strike has been triggered by workers' frustrations at the gap between their salaries and those of management. Miner Kolantsho Kolantsho told Agence France Presse that he earned 2500 pula (US$512) a month, compared to 18,000 pula for managers. The strike is estimated to have cost Debswana between 20 million pula and 30 million pula.
UNITED STATES: Radical lawyer tried for terrorism
Defence lawyer Lynne Stewart's trial has stepped-up pace in New York. Stewart has been charged with aiding terrorists, after acting for Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, currently serving a life sentence for sedition. The prosecution is alleging that Stewart broke regulations preventing her from passing messages from the Sheik to the outside world, in part because she released a public statement after discussing it with her client. Stewart, who in her 27 years as a lawyer has successfully defended members of the Weather Underground and the Black Liberation Front, believes she has been charged in order to create "a climate of fear and intimidation" for human rights' lawyers.
AFGHANISTAN: Karzai to meet with Taliban leader
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai announced on August 24 that he would shortly meet with former Taliban foreign minister Wakeel Ahmed Mutawakil. Karzai, installed by the US-led coalition that invaded Afghanistan ostensibly to overthrow the Taliban, has been eager to incorporate elements of that murderous and misogynist regime into any new government. He told Pakistan's August 24 Dawn newspaper, "I want our Taliban and our mullahs to come and [be in the parliament]. It is really unfair that the mullahs of our neighbours are getting voted in and our mullahs are getting blown up and are killing themselves and having a miserable life. They should also enjoy a good life."
ISRAEL: British journalist to be deported for 'naivety'
Freelance journalist Ewa Jasiewicz received a deportation order on August 25. Jasiewicz, whose work appears regularly in the British Red Pepper, was refused entry to Israel on August 11. A Tel Aviv district court overturned the ban, arguing she was not a security threat, but it was reinstated on appeal, when the judge ruled that, while not a security risk, Jasiewicz's "naivety" could be exploited by Palestinian militants. The decision was reached on the basis of evidence that Jasiewicz and her lawyer were denied access to. The British National Union of Journalists has strongly condemned the verdict.
UNITED STATES: Iraqi artist charges police with abuse
On April 27, Iraqi artist Haider Al Amery was driving home from working on a new mural in Minneapolis when he was stopped by the police. After being handcuffed, he was taken back to the police car and asked "where he was from". According to Al Amery, when he said "Iraq", a police officer punched him in the eye, then slammed his head into the car. Haider was then detained for an hour in the car, with no explanation. The police then took him to the Hennepin medical centre and released him with no charge. Al Amery has joined a community campaign against racist police brutality. To find out how you can help, visit <http://electroniciraq.net/news/1617.shtml>.
ARGENTINA: Piquetero leader arrested
Raul Castells, national leader of the Independent Movement of Pensioners and Unemployed Workers (MIJD), was arrested on August 25 in the province of Santa Fe. Castells is one of the most well-known figures of the unemployed piqueteros movement, the focal point of social protest since the December 2001 uprising that ousted four presidents in less than two weeks. He was arrested for his alleged involvement, along with other MIJD militants, in a casino occupation of a casino, which demanded money to help feed the unemployed protestors in returning for leaving. His arrest coincided with a day of mobilisations by various piquetero groups in Buenos Aires, demanding an expansion of unemployed labour-contract schemes, a reduction of the workday to six hours, the generation of real employment, and freedom for political prisoners.
NEW ZEALAND: Thousands protest for human rights
Two-thousand protesters turned up at New Zealand's parliament on August 23 to stand in defiance of a 6000-strong rally by Destiny, a Christian Maori group protesting the proposed Civil Unions Bill, which would allow a form of gay marriage. Loud and colourful, and chanting slogans of diversity and solidarity, the "Pride" protesters provided a sharp contrast to the black-clad Destiny marchers.
BRITAIN: Asylum seeker hunger strikes continue
On August 21, asylum-seeker Naseh Ghafor ended a 46-day hunger strike. An Iraqi Kurd, Ghafor's application for asylum was rejected by the British Home Office, despite several family members being killed under the Saddam Hussein regime. Ghafor has now applied for a temporary humanitarian visa. On August 27, two asylum seekers in a Scottish prison sewed their lips together in protest at being locked in a prison with criminals. Although confirming they are receiving medical care, the prison service did not release details of the mens' cases.
NIGERIA: Shell to pay $2 million in compensation
On August 24, the Nigerian Senate adopted a motion calling on Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell to pay $US1.5 billion ($A2.1 billion) compensation for damage caused by nearly 60 years of exploitation in the Niger Delta. The payment is for the Ijaw ethnic group "for the severe health hazards, economic hardship, injurious affection, avoidable deaths and sundry maladies" resulting from oil spills at Shell facilities. Shell has yet to respond.
From Green Left Weekly, September 1, 2004.
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