by S. da Silva – BASICS Issue #18
For a government that has shut down (“prorogued”) its Parliament twice in just over a year, the Conservatives haven’t a shred of moral authority to be preaching democracy to the world. Yet, this is exactly what Canadian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Peter Kent was did on his recent visit to Venezuela.
Kent indicated that he was concerned with the Chávez government’s decision to temporarily suspend the broadcasting license of a number of TV channels for breaching broadcasting laws. Kent said that “democratic space within Venezuela has been shrinking… Canada is very concerned about the rights of all Venezuelans to participate in the democratic process.” It’s not inconsequential that one of these stations, RCTV, played a critical role in supporting the 2002 coup against Chávez.
by Derek Rosin – BASICS Issue #18
Like many sports fans, I get excited for the Olympics. They’re a chance for us to see great athletes at their best. Power, grace, speed, finesse, the physical and mental efforts of people who have trained years to excel at their sports – the result is often something that reminds me of great art – an almost magical exposition of human capability. Well, that’s the dream anyway. Unfortunately, the Olympics take place in a context that far too often drags the potential of sport through the mud.
This was apparent right from the opening ceremonies in Vancouver. Despite some impressive moments, the four-hour show was mostly a tacky display of Canadian national chauvinism.
by Minnalkodi Sivan – BASICS Issue #18
A nine-year-old Tamil girl was hospitalized after being raped by three Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldiers. A man who protested the rape was later found dead in a nearby lake and soldiers went door-to-door threatening villagers who started to protest. Reports indicate that the mother filed a complaint. But given systemic impunity of Tamil women’s sexual offenders, chances are this grade 5 student will never receive justice…
49 Tamil women detained in the concentration camps were arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Department and taken to Boosa camp – a detention center notorious for torture, rape, murder and disappearances. Nothing is known of their whereabouts ever since…
Jeremias de Castero – BASICS Issue #18
Over the past two decades, February has developed into an important month in Venezuela’s history, as Venezuelans celebrate the anniversary of the official beginning of the “Bolivarian Revolution” – now in its eleventh year.
They are also celebrating the twenty-first anniversary of the Caracazo, the popular rebellion in Caracas on February 27, 1989, which marked a real turning point in the emergence of the power of the people in Venezuela’s recent history.
And of course, they are celebrating the emergence of their popular leader, Hugo Chávez Frías.
J.D. Benjamin – BASICS Issue#18
On February 6, the Armed Forces of the Philippines deployed a full battalion of 300 fully armed soldiers to raid a doctor’s farmhouse in Morong, Rizal and arrest 43 people attending a training session for rural community health care workers. Since their arrest, the health care workers have been subjected to harsh questioning, handcuffed and blindfolded for extended periods, subjected to sleep deprivation and sexual abuse, and given limited access to lawyers and family members.
The military accuses the health care workers of being members of the New People’s Army health department. While the revolutionary guerrilla army, led by the Communist Party of the Philippines, does run health clinics and missions to help the rural poor, relatives and colleagues of the Morong 43 have denied that the health care workers are members of the New People’s Army.
by Derek Rosin – BASICS Issue #18
On February 13th, US-led NATO forces attacked the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Southern Afghanistan.
Marjah is the name of a cluster of villages in Helmand province. The people who live there are farmers, very poor people who for centuries have grown crops in their arid valley by drawing water from the Helmand river. Their poverty is a major reason why so many were unable to flee before NATO launched their attack – the largest since the invasion in 2001.
Unequal access to polling stations in Toronto-Centre Provincial By-Election
by Farshad Azadian – BASICS Issue #18
The provincial by-election held in the Toronto Centre riding this past February provides a glimpse into the huge power imbalances that make for an unequal election system, placing obstacles in front of poor and working class people, and in effect, denying them real democracy.
Toronto Centre is one of the most class-mixed ridings. Huge housing projects lay within the boundaries of the riding in neighbourhoods such as St. Jamestown, Regent Park, The Esplanade and Moss Park. These housing districts are home to mostly working class people – often recent immigrants – as well as a large number of individuals with disabilities and the elderly.
by S. da Silva – BASICS Issue #18
So the David Miller camp in City Hall is finished. With Giambrone’s sexual indiscretions blown up in the media into a full out public debate, and with public calls for him to step down as TTC Commissioner coming from all quarters, the only NDP’er in municipal politics that had a shot at being the next Mayor had his knees blown out before the race even got started. But let’s be honest with ourselves: What has this NDP-oriented City Hall really done for working-class Toronto? More damage than good.
by Tyler Kendall, Farshad Azadian & Solomon Muyoboke – BASICS Issue #18
Over the past several months, youth in the Esplanade area (a downtown eastside community in Toronto) have faced a string of harassment, threats, physical assaults and wrongful arrests at the hands of 51 Division and TAVIS Unit police.
This violence has been a regular pattern in our community for some time, but now police are taking an aggressive stance towards members of the Esplanade Community Youth Group.
This past February 15, Tyler, a youth activist on the Esplanade, was assaulted in his building by police officers. Walking in the hallway, he noticed some individuals in his stairway. Thinking they were metro housing staff, he approached the stairway to mention repairs that were needed for his unit. Once having opened the stairway door, 51 Division police dragged him in. Refusing to answer the excessive and unjustified questioning of the police (as was his right), the police responded by attempting to throw him head first down the stairway. He wrapped his leg around the railing to avoid being thrown down, at which point police began kicking the back of leg. They then pushed him against the wall and proceeded to give him a beating, striking blows to his face and ribs.
by Kabir Joshi-Vijayan – BASICS Issue #18
“Natural Disaster: a disaster caused by natural forces rather than by human action, e.g. an earthquake”
-MSN Encarta
Within 18 hours of notification 8 ,000 US paratroopers parachuted, docked and landed in Haiti seizing its national airport.
Within two weeks, over 20,000 heavily armed American troops had arrived, securing key locations and taking complete control of the nation’s borders, ports, airspace and waters – and the US embassy began to make statements on behalf of the country’s government.
