New Monbiot

The latest from George Monbiot:

Deny the British empire's crimes? No, we ignore them

That isn't democratic

The Guardian reports:

Egypt's election commission disqualified 10 presidential hopefuls, including the country's ex-spy chief and key Islamists, from running in a surprise decision that threatened to upend the already tumultuous race.

This is terrible news for democracy in Egpyt and across the entire Middle East. It reminds me of the disqualifying of candidates in Iran and we know what a sham their elections are.

The article also states:

Many observers had been looking to Saturday's announcement for a decision about whether Abu Ismail ... would be disqualified over the question of whether his late mother had dual Egyptian-US citizenship. A new election law bars an individual from running if the candidate, the candidate's spouse or parents hold any citizenship other than Egyptian.

This part is truly incredible. The idea that the citizenship status of your parent's or spouse beggars belief and is a real impediment to democratic participation. Unfortunately it appears that the promise of the Arab Spring is being slowly whittled away in Egypt.

Mali part Zwei

I heard from Adama in Mali a few days ago. He is based in Bamako, the capital of Mali, where he says that everything is okay. He also tells me that the coup is very popular in Bamako and that the coup is the result of bad governance by the government. He is hoping for a new government very soon that can deal with the uprising in Northen Mali.

On Saturday however the coup leaders agreed to give up power. So it appears democracy will return to Mali soon. This resignation appears to have been triggered by the crippling sanctions imposed on Mali in the wake of the coup and potentially more importantly, the escalation of the conflict in the North almost directly related to the coup.

Mali

Back in late 2009 I lived in a run down hostel just off Brick Lane in the East End of London. I was there for three weeks and during this time I shared a room with three others. One of these three was a Malian by the name of Adama. He had recently completed a masters degree in France and was coming to the end of six months in London where he was improving his English. He had been living in the hostel for that entire time and had not seen his girlfriend and daughter in over two years.

I was searching for a job at the time and in the evenings we would often spend time discussing our countries, what they were like to live in and the political situation. One of the possibilities Adama was considering upon his return to Mail was entering politics.

So it was disappointing to hear today that on the 22nd of March there was a coup in Mali. With junior army officers overthrowing the democratically elected government. Mali is a complex country with more than a few problems but it was seen as a reasonably stable democracy in West Africa.

Unfortunately but not unsurprisingly the New Zealand media has given very little coverage to the coup. Luckily the Guardian is here, providing this piece from Andy Morgan:

Mali's reputation as a beacon of democracy and stability in west Africa was extinguished late on Wednesday night, when a group of young army officers stormed the presidential palace in the capital Bamako and announced that they were suspending the constitution and taking power....

If I hear anything from Adama I will let you know.

Kony 2012

I'm sure everyone is aware by now of the Kony 2012 viral video. Below is a link to a great blog by Ethan Zuckerman examining the campaign.

Unpacking Kony 2012