Uruguayan Parliment votes against amnesty law...and Lebanon?

In an impressive turn of events the Uruguayan parliment voted against the amnesty law that has been protecting the military officers who instaured a dictatorship in the country between 1973 and 1982. This vote comes in the context of an investigation concerning the assasination of the communist militant Nibia Sabalsgaray, hence a judge has asked the parliment to say a word about this amnesty law. The parliment voted that the articles concerning the law unconstitutional.

I find this vote important, since most countries after ending a dictatorship issue an amnesty law protecting those who violated human rights during this dark period, and this is often in the name of forgiveness and national unity. Thus this amnesty law dismisses the rights of the victims of the dictatorship, and infringes dangerous damages to the collective memory of the citizens of the country. Hence the victims suffer a double inustice: the first one is inflicted by the practices of the dictatorship (prison, torture, assassination), the second one is inflicted by the post-dictatorship regime which refuses to recognize their rights to see the criminals accounted and on trial, which is must in order for the victims to regain a part of justice and in order to heal the collective memory from the wounds of criminal regimes. Amnesty laws in favor mass murderers and dictators should never pass!

Reading the piece of information about Uruguay made me make the parallel witht the Lebanese context which is more dangerous and twisted. After the end of a 15 year-civil war during which massacres were committed, hundreds disappeared and thousands mutilated, those same warlords voted on an amnesty laws to protect themselves from any punishment. What is twisted about this vote, is that the same people who committed massacres, where also the legislators who passed the amnesty law! Thus denying the thousands of war victims the right to reparation, to see their victimizers on trial, to get recognition for the suffering inflicted upon them. Moreover, the collective memory of the lebanese society suffers amnesia: the war is vaguely mentionned in history textbooks, the same warlords are building peace in the country, the victims are following the criminals. The immediate victims of the civil war are the ones who disappeared, were killed or mutilated, nevertheless they are the only ones who are not benefiting from the peace building if it exists. No peace building could procede without giving justice to those people.

The Lebanese don't seem able or willing to revisit the civil war period, not even for repairing the injustice inflicted upon them by their current political leaders. Hence the internal conflicts of the country seem cyclical, and recurring. How can we avoid another civil war, when we don't recognize that it actually happened (there is a wide belief that it was the war of "others" on the Lebanese soil)? how can we prevent it if the same people who perpetuate it are leading the country to salvation? more importantly how can we avoid the war when it is absent from our collective memory, and when the victims are not recognized as such and are not given any sort of justice?

Neo-colonialism driving Madagascar to a civil war!

After nearly one month of confrontation between the supporters of the Malgasy president Ravalomanana and the mayor of the capital (Antananarivo) and leader of opposition Rajoelina, more then a hundred person died. On the 7nth of February 28 people were killed by the Presidential guard. Magascar is on the verge of a civil war! 

Here is the larger picture: Last July (2008) the South Korean firm Daewoo Logistics signed an agreement with the Malgasy government allowing it to exploit 1,3 million hectars of arable land for a period of 99 years in this African Island. The area represents nearly half of the cultivatible land of Madagascar but also half of Belgium! In this land Daewoo will cultivate palm oil and corn, the half of which will be exported to South Korea, and the remaining will be exported elsewhere, the local population shouldn't expect recieving much food. In return the Asian firm should invest $6 billion in infrastructure and provide employment for 71000 people.

                                              (Source: EIU)

This huge project comes in order to assure food security for South Korea by cultivating half of the Malgasy arable land, while 3.5% of the population of Madagascar benefits from Word Food Program! This program comes in aid to countries who are not able to feed their citizens, hence the Malgasy president leases tis land to Daewoo instead of feeding his people. Moreover, 70% of the poplutation lives under the poverty line, and 50% of children aged under 3 years suffer from food deficiency. Therefore instead of facing these difficulties, the president chooses to hand over the natural ressources to Korean multinational firms: in fact not only Daewoo is interested in Madagascar, but other Korean firms are exploiting other ressources in the island.

The Malgasy people are very attached to their land, hence seeing 1.3 million hectars stripped from them is not smething they could tolerate. This adds up to the authoritarian practices of the president, and to his ultraliberal economic vision (he is the owner of a large groupe, Tika, which is also involved in agro-business) in opening the country wide open to such investements. Therefore this triggered a contestation movement that demands the overthrow of the president and the abrogation of this agreement, the stubborness of the president and the determination of the opposition have triggered fears of civil war.

The agrarian neo-colonialism of Daewoo is not isolated: in fact many Asian and Arab golfe countries are interested in expoiting African arable lands in order to feed their populations. This practice cannot be called other than colonialism where the firms of those countries extract the African ressources in order to benefit the exploiting country's population and for exportation while many African populations are starving. The silence of the international community is not surprising, all what they care about is an investement environmnent and for their multinational firms to exploit the ressources of developing countries like in the good old days!

What is even more pitiful is that the countries who were exploited and colonized like China and South Korea are now taking the roles of the ex-colonial powers in Africa, the oppressed became the oppresser. Apparantly that this is a phase that every country should go through in order to obtain the capitalism diploma, otherwise its capitalism is incomplete!

Colonialism was never history, it is the present and the struggle will continue eventhough, in some cases, it is against the comrades fo yesterday...