cc The repression of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is akin to the worst forms of apartheid, says Ronnie Kasrils, South Africa’s former minister of intelligence. He says parallels can be drawn between Israeli occupation and apartheid,not just in the treatment of those who suffer, but also in the need for international solidarity in the support for change.

cc President Dadis Camara of Guinea is an example of militariat rule in West Africa, writes Jibrin Ibrahim, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development. Camara has been avoiding elections, with claims for the need to challenge drug networks and end corruption, but, says Ibrahim, this is an agenda to legitimise his rule. The drug networks, Ibrahim suggests, are closely linked to a military ruling class that is kept in place by the state’s high expenditure on the military and its exclusion of ordinary people from politics.

Following the South African brokerage of a power-sharing deal between Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Zanu (PF) Patrick Bond explores whether, in the face of myriad threats to the country’s democracy, the wishes of the Zimbabwean people – as expressed in the People’s Charter adopted at a convention in February – could prevail. As South Africa and the African Development Bank join the Bretton Woods Institutions in calls for Tsvangirai to repay Mugabe’s odious debts, and South African firms hover in the wings to buy up the country’s assets for a song, what is at stake says Bond, is who will win the new economic chimurenga (liberation war) being waged in Zimbabwe. This article was presented at seminars in February, prior to the introduction of the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme and revised 2009 Budget.

cc Ethiopia has no independent judiciary, no free press, no civil society, and individual liberties have been severely curtailed, so why isn’t Meles Zenawi a persona non grata in the international community, asks human rights activist Mitmita. Birtukan Mideksa, a former judge who was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005, is just one of many people jailed for exercising their fundamental rights, in this case the freedom of speech, says Mitmita. Mideksa is in solitary confinement in Kaliti Prison for allegedly violating the terms of a government pardon granted to her in 2007. The accusations are based on her failure to retract statements made in a speech that she was released from prison through a politically negotiated settlement rather than a formal legal pardon. Western failure to condemn abuses by Zenawi’s government for the sake of their own strategic interests, says Mitmita, comes at the expense of the rights of ordinary Ethiopians.

cc Nine claimants in the Mau Mau reparations case share testimonials of the experiences they endured while incarcerated by British colonial authorities during the Kenyan struggle for independence in the 1950s.

cc With Zimbabwe in the grip of an economic freefall, Richard Kamidza analyses the country's financial woes and the failure of multiple macroeconomic strategies to revitalise the economy. The collapse of public infrastructure facilities and utilities along with persistent, entrenched difficulties within the education system are just some of the pressing problems the country faces, which combined with its chronic inability to satisfy its population's food needs add up to the most serious humanitarian crisis the country has faced. In light of Zimbabwe's decade-long failure to effectively revitalise its economy through domestic resources, Kamidza argues that the country will indisputably require a financial package backed by other regional and international players, a package that will call upon civil society groups to collectively offer effective monitoring of both the use of economic resources and the move towards genuine political transition.

cc Though Ethiopia is an ancient civilisation rich in indigenous culture and strong religious traditions, Solomon Gebre-Selassie suggests the security of the country is in jeopardy owing to the corruption surrounding national elections and politics. Gebre-Selassie traces the recent history of Ethiopia’s struggle for democratisation and social justice. Beginning with the nation’s conflicting elite groups and the separation of Eritrea from Ethiopia, the author examines how various parties and policies have impeded democracy. With particular emphasis on the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the affiliated Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Force (EPRDF), Gebre-Selassie seeks to uncover the root of Ethiopia’s political issues while simultaneously acknowledging the success of the opposition in its quest for a democratic society.

cc Mirjam de Bruijn explores the rise of Chad’s global visibility, with a particular focus on the exploitation of the country’s oil reserves and the conflict in neighbouring Darfur. Through an intimate account provided by Nakar Djindil, a Chadian academic and nutritionist, de Bruijn examines the impact of conflict and instability upon the livelihoods of Chad’s citizens. As a result of a system of governance enforced through violence and oppression, the health and psychological well-being of Chad’s people is perpetually threatened. Having personally witnessed attacks and their aftermath, Djindil affirms the severity of President Idriss Déby’s irresponsible and reckless actions. Fear permeates Chadian society, with the country’s citizens facing internal displacement due to the demolition of homes and land, as well as inadequate nutrition caused by soaring food prices and minimal access to cooking supplies.

cc The US terms of engagement for participation in the Durban Review Conference (DRC), a follow-up to the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerances (WCAR), constitute 'a major setback to the international movement to eliminate racism, xenophobia, colonialism, and imperialism' says activist Kali Akuno. He argues that the Obama administration's revisions to clauses on issues including reparations for the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the genocide of indigenous people in the western hemisphere will simply preserve the status quo ante of race, power and exploitation on a global scale.

Following the assassinations on 1 March of Guinea-Bissau’s President João ‘Nino’ Vieira and military chief General Batista Tagmé Na Wai, the Goree Institute’s Waly Ndiaye analyses some of the underlying causes of the country’s troubled history since its independence in 1974, and asks whether the deaths of these two men – whose personal rivalry helped tear apart political life – have created an opportunity to build Guinea-Bissau into a modern state.

cc In an interview with Pambazuka News, CODESRIA researcher Carlos Cardoso analyses events leading up to the assassinations of both Guinea-Bissau’s military chief General Tagme Na Wai and President Nino Vieira within hours of each other on 1 March, and charts out his thoughts on what lies ahead for the country.

cc Fearing for her life, South African activist Maureen Msisi is calling for support in the face of a petition from bond homeowners for her removal from Protea South, where she campaigns for fellow residents of informal settlements. Msisi’s efforts to ensure that residents can chose whether or not to be relocated elsewhere have put her in conflict with local government and middle-class homeowners in the area, who want to see all informal settlements eradicated. The petition alleges that Msisi is ‘promoting violence, only represents foreigners, and is blocking development in the area’. Msisi’s son, Bongani Xezwi, believes that her removal would not stop people from organising and fighting for their rights, but that without her community leadership abilities, chaos and aggression would be more likely.

cc Following the Pope’s discouraging comments in Cameroon over the use of condoms in relation to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Nathan Geffen and Rebecca Hodes of Treatment Action Campaign charge that such papal views are misguided and fly in the face of evidence around the efficacy of both condom use and sex education for adolescents.

cc A just world is a noble goal, but in a ‘power-asymmetrical’ world in which richer nations mete out inappropriate measures for developing countries – from sanctions to arrest warrants – international rather than home-grown attempts to deliver justice can themselves easily become unjust, cautions Vikas Nath. The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recent issue of an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, for example, is widely seen across the African Union as likely to inflame rather than resolve the Darfur conflict. Nath underlines that each of the existing 13 arrest warrants issued by the ICC have been solely for citizens of four African countries, despite the perpetrating of crimes against humanity in Iraq, Gaza, Colombia and the Caucasus region, and concludes that solutions native to the African continent represent a far more appropriate means of resolving conflict.

cc The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) issue of an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir is a gamble with the future of Sudan, says Alex de Waal. De Waal cautions that with this warrant, the ICC – with its objective of representing principles upon which no compromise is possible – threatens to unravel eight years of efforts to accommodate diverse and distrustful people, all with the capacity to return Sudan to war. De Waal argues that there is little evidence for the effectiveness of arrest warrants in triggering regime change, and notes that since Bashir is not a one-man dictatorship, replacing him with one of his colleagues would not represent democratic transformation for the country.

cc Following a recent Tanzanian parliamentary session in which the minister of justice and constitutional affairs sanctioned a review of the Sexual Offences Special Provision Act (SOSPA) – with the intention of reducing the sentences of perpetrators – Salma Maoulidi examines the prevalence of gender-based violence and its impact upon women. Though a legitimate and profound issue, gender-based violence is rarely reported, and minimal action is taken against sexual offences at both the unofficial and official levels. Through a study Maoulidi conducted in Zanzibar, the author affirms that gender-based violence is frequently perceived as a moral rather than a legal crime, thus making prosecution difficult. Maoulidi is concerned with the influence which public officials and other figures of authority have in drafting and passing laws related to gender-based violence, and suggests that the minister did women and their struggle against sexual offences a disservice through his harmful and reckless remarks.

cc Exploring the Mau Mau reparations case and Kenya’s subsequent decades-long struggle with the politicisation of land, Leigh Brownhill advocates the importance of social reparations and individual compensation for atrocities committed under British colonial policies, programmes, soldiers and settlers. British land reform policies implemented to punish the Mau Mau ultimately contributed to the impoverishment and social inequality of wide segments of Kenyan society. Although Brownhill believes that individual reparations for Mau Mau survivors and their families are necessary and appropriate – particularly with regard to Kenyan women continuing to carry the burden imposed by British counter-insurgency – she argues a more inclusive, social reparations-based approach will curb inequality in a way faithful to original Mau Mau principles.

cc Many lessons can be drawn from the historic 2008 elections in Ghana, writes Mawuli Dake. Different campaign strategies yielded diverse results, and voters are now looking more at politicians’ character and conduct when choosing their preferences rather than mere appearances or the provision of gifts, Dake maintains. Ghana went through three contentious rounds of voting, which resulted in the opposition’s victory and the transfer of power from one government to another without a single loss of life. This is a positive not just for Ghana, Dake suggests, but for the whole of west Africa.

© Contrasting governments' public willingness to show revulsion to the practice of torture with their reluctance to offer redress for their own pasts, Nicole K. Parshall discusses the actions of the British colonial authorities during the suppression of the Mau Mau movement in 1950s Kenya. While acknowledging that the need for truth and reconciliation around state-perpetrated atrocities has seen increasing recognition in recent years around the world, Parshall argues that the reluctance of the UK government to face up to its past actions represents a clear example of not practising what you preach.

Women farmers from five continents marked International Women’s Day (8 March) with a declaration reaffirming their willingness to take action to change ‘the capitalist and patriarchal world that gives priority to the market’s interests instead of the rights of people’. In the statement, the Via Campesina Women’s International Committee said it would work towards a just and equal world which recognises the worth and rights of each human being, and where women’s rights – from the right to life with dignity and without violence to respect of sexual and human rights – are human rights. They also highlighted the importance of food sovereignty and respect for biodiversity, undermined among other things by corporate interests.