EU-DIGEST

Morocco: From Top-Down Reform to Democratic Transition?

In the three decades after it gained independence in 1956, Morocco was characterized by stability verging on stagnation. But during the 1990s, this North African monarchy embarked on a path of top-down reform. King Hassan II took the first steps down this path during the last years of his long reign, and his son Mohammed VI continued the process after ascending to the throne in 1999. The reform process has produced some significant changes in Morocco. Human rights conditions have improved. Past abuses have at least been partly acknowledged. A more progressive version of the Mudawwana, the code regulating marriage, divorce, child custody, and other aspects of family relations, has been enacted. The taboo on discussing corruption has been lifted, and there has been a degree of economic reform.The most important contribution to true democratic reform in Morocco that the United States and European countries could make would be to facilitate the transformation of the major secular parties through pressure on their leaderships. The United States is already trying to strengthen political parties in Morocco through the work being done by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the International Republican Institute, nongovernmental agencies tied to the two major U.S. political parties.

Labels: Democracy, Morocco

Croatia Is A Repressive Country

The world media, which have been following events in Croatia since the start of the so-called Facebook scandal, have also paid attention to the anti-government protest on December 5, organized by Facebook – a social network site. Creator of the “I bet I can find 5,000 people who dislike Sanader” group Niksa Klecak was arrested, along with some other activists who were putting up posters which announced the protests. If all goes as planned the Prime Minister will soon have a much bigger issue on their hands. For a country with less than 600,000 users on Facebook, mobilizing over 10 percent of the Facebook population would be more than an impressive feat. The country’s population is less than 5 million so if the protests materialize, this will be a historic event – Social Times writes, quoting sources from Canada media. Reuters reports that several thousand Croats demanded early elections on a Facebook organised protest, better health care and education - Anti-government protesters gathered in the city's main square called on Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to "go away" in response to his plea that Croats cut their spending in the face of the global financial crisis.

Labels: Croatia, Democracy

The difference between government-controlled media and corporate-controlled media - by Andrew Weeraratne

" I grew up in the Third World where the government controls the press. The good thing about a system like that is almost every citizen, save the dumbest, knows that the press is full of lies. They just read the news for entertainment. But in America things are way sophisticated. The government has no hand in controlling the press except a government that gives welfare to the corporations that control the press; in that situation such a government controls the press indirectly. And under a condition like that only the very insightful people would recognize the bias in the US major media to help out a handful of people in the country at the expense of the whole society. There was a time people enjoyed true freedom of press. But starting the 1980s it slowly stared decaying. This is disturbing since every corrupt and fascist regime in history first terminated freedom of speech as the first step towards their climb to fascism. This never happens in one swing but in gradual but steady steps. This has to be a concern not only of American citizens but also of all people. The USA has the power to blow up any part of the world in a matter of seconds with almost no opposition. Therefore, it is essential that the USA will continue to have sane and rational leaders who are not easily corruptible. One of the best ways to assure this is to have transparency and that comes only from a full and free press. So long live Internet journalists.

Labels: Democracy, Free Press

Visualize the Dow at 6,000 - by Mike Whitney

What we are seeing today in openly in America and in a more controlled form elsewhere in the financial markets is a hybridized version of capitalism, “Paulson’s Scatterbrain Capitalism,” a hodge-podge of taxpayer bailouts, government intervention and free market mumbo-jumbo supported by a corporate controlled press. It’s a toxic mix of off-balance sheets operations, over-the-counter “unregulated” derivatives, dark pool trading, opaque hedge funds, dodgy Enron-style accounting, and complex, hard-to-pronounce debt-instruments wrapped up into one, cheesy, unsustainable shell game, managed by Harvard-educated flim-flam men and backed by a 100 percent government guarantee. That’s the system we’re supporting with our tax dollars and that’s the system that is dragging us headlong to ruin. It ain’t capitalism, my friend. It’s a crooked system run by corporate carpetbaggers and banking scalawags who’ve shot the Golden Goose in hopes of keeping the larder at the cottage on the New Jersey coast chock-full of Dom Perignon and halibut fillets. They created this nightmare and they’ve doomed us all. As long as we prop up the existing system, the economy will continue to flounder, unemployment will continue to rise, foreclosures will continue to soar, banks will continue to be shuttered, and the wobbly old greenback will continue its inexorable march towards Pesoville.

At an improvised press conference last week, US President George Bush gave what might have been the most comical performance of his eight-year presidency. Looking like the skipper on the flight-deck of the Hindenburg, Bush tried his best to reassure the public that “all’s well” with the economy and that everyone’s deposits were perfectly safe in the rapidly disintegrating US banking system.

Labels: Democracy, Free Press, US Economy

Why does Europe tolerate that overseas workers are mistreated in Saudi Arabia

A group of Filipino overseas workers allegedly maltreated by their employers in Saudi Arabia have sought the help of ABS-CBN's The Filipino Channel and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh for abuse and unfair employment practices. Group members said they were not paid salaries for four months. In addition, their driver’s licenses and residence permits were withheld for almost a year. Their employer also ordered their dormitory's air-conditioning units turned off from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., forcing them to endure the heat in Riyadh. They also complained about the poor condition of their mess hall. Note EU-Digest: the reason is simple - Europe and the rest of the world tolerates that there is no democracy in Saudi Arabia or freedom of religion - OIL

Labels: Democracy, freedom of religion, Saudi Arabia

US Presidential elections - The Twisted mind of US democracy

A Rand Corporation report has revealed that 300,000 US veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. A further 320,000 have brain damage of a physical kind. These are startling statistics even in the context of a "major debacle", as the Pentagon's National Defence University calls the Iraq enterprise. A major debacle for the US military, for US foreign policy in the Middle East and for the effort to curtail terrorism; with the cost estimated (by the Noble prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz) to exceed $US3 trillion, a potential economic debacle; and a debacle for Iraq, where somewhere between 100,000 and a million people have died and 2 million have left the country. Rand Corporation did not count how many Iraqis suffer stress disorder or brain damage. We might think that something in the US presidential election would reflect this state of affairs.

The three remaining candidates all claim firm positions on Iraq: John McCain wants to stay, even for 100 years; Hillary Clinton wants to withdraw slowly; Barack Obama wants to start withdrawing brigades at once. Of course, they often mention the war. Yet it would be possible to follow the past month of the campaign and think the war was going tolerably well and that what the candidates thought about it did not matter much.

Labels: Democracy, US, US elections

Democracy also includes freedom of speech and worship - "The Netherlands,Democracy, Geert Wilders and Fitna

If you want to know why Geert Wilders is allowed to say whatever he wants to say in the Netherlands just click on this link.

Labels: Democracy, EU, Fitna, Geert Wilders, The Netherlands

US Pres. Elections: Election polls show Americans are bigots- US Press controls the Public - by Tony L

If you believe what the media has been telling us about this election, African-American voters are voting a certain way, Latinos are voting another, and Women, White Men, and Older People are voting in clumps based on what they feel will be best for each of their various groups. In fact, turn on your tv right now. Go to CNN, Fox, or MSNBC... (even NPR!), and you will see that 90% of the coverage on this election is all about what percentage of a certain segregated group of the population is voting this way or that.

The TV and Radio networks are at least in part responsible for these results. The Media has this great opportunity, now more than ever, to do America a service by focusing on educating the voting population on the very important decision American voters are about to make: Who will be the next President of the United States of America? Write the networks and complain about this indecent and sensationalist reporting. Just maybe someone will have the concience to change it.

Labels: Democracy, Media, Press, US elections

For the complete report from the Sun-Sentinel.com click on this link

Cuba - Castro's fate remains in question -- Can EU Capitalize on change of power? - by Ray Sanchez

Most Cuba watchers think Castro may be setting the stage for his retirement as president of the Council of State, the island's top governing body, which he has led since its creation in the mid-1970s. Members of the National Assembly will select the council's members in March. They caution, however, that Castro has always done things on his terms. Will parliament again name Fidel Castro president of the nation's highest governing body and chief of state later this month, despite his long public absence, or will he assume more of an advisory role? Will brother Raúl be named Cuba's new president? Or will a younger generation take over? The answers lie in a process that rivals a papal selection, rife with speculation and cloaked in secrecy. When the 614-member assembly meets on Feb. 24, its main order of business will be to select members and officers of the Council of State, the island's highest governing body.Cuba watchers have identified three likely post-Castro successors: Carlos Lage, Cuba's 56-year-old vice president and a former physician; Felipe Perez Roque, the 42-year-old foreign minister; and National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón, 70. Among the three Lage seems the person to watch because he is acceptable to multiple circles within the leadership – in the military, in the party, with the Raúlistas." Dan Erikson, an expert on Cuba at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington. He said many of Cuba's top leaders would no doubt like to see a formal transfer of power to a younger generation, while Fidel Castro takes on a more ceremonial role. Lage is credited with engineering and implementing the limited reforms that restarted Cuba's economy after the Soviet collapse. The programs included legalizing the dollar, creating small private enterprises and agricultural cooperatives, and increasing foreign investment and tourism. Although Fidel Castro reversed many of the reforms in 2003, Lage is viewed favorably among foreign businessmen in Cuba as a pragmatist open to economic change.

Note EU-Digest: Cuban university students, in a rare public challenge to authorities, openly criticized government restrictions on access to the Internet, hotels and travel abroad. Their criticism in a video circulated this week comes as more Cubans begin to speak out about the shortcomings of Cuba's socialist system, a debate encouraged by acting President Raul Castro since taking over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro in 2006.

The EU has taken some positive and constructive steps in moving this dialog along. French Francis Wurtz, leading a delegation from the Confederal Group of the European United Left of the EU parliament, spoke out against any European Union (EU) sanction to Cuba. "We are for a constructive position and frank exchange of opinions on all issues between the 27 nations of the EU and Cuba," the legislator told the Cuban Granma newspaper.

In Cuba the European ambassador said real change in Cuba would only come when presidential power was handed over to a younger leader, such as Vice President Carlos Lage, the architect of reforms that opened up Cuba to foreign investment and tourism in the 1990s. “Raul will not move while Fidel is around. There are too many vested interests in the political bureaucracy,” he said.

In the Czech Republic the foreign minister recently pledged his country's support to Cuban dissidents, saying that the number of political prisoners in Cuba remains enormously high. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg made the remarks after meeting in Prague with Cuban dissident Hector Palacios, who was released from Cuban prison in 2006 for health reasons and has been undergoing treatment in Spain. Schwarzenberg himself was expelled from Cuba three years ago, forced to board a plane to Paris one day before a mass dissident assembly that he had planned to attend. At the time Schwarzenber was a member of the upper chamber of Czech parliament, the Senate. Schwarzenberg said: ""I hope that in the near future, in a year or two, Cuba will become a free country with the help of the European Union". Palacios through an interpreter responded, "The Cuban opposition has strengthened ... and the regime of Fidel Castro has been weakened due to his incurable disease, which opens a huge space for changes."

Schwarzenberg has been holding talks with his Spanish counterpart as well as other foreign ministers in the EU toward making a "joint effort" to help change happen in Cuba.

It is certain that change will happen in Cuba sooner or later. The EU can play a major role in this process. It is able to be a counterforce to the radical and irresponsible conservative hard-liners outside Cuba, which seek revenge and upheaval rather than a peaceful and gradual change towards economic independence and democracy in Cuba.

Labels: Castro, Cuba, Democracy, EU, Lage

Democracy has another martyr. Now we wait to see whether its enemies will have the ultimate triumph. Will parliamentary rule be restored in Pakistan? Or will the country collapse into the most terrifying sort of rogue state - a nuclear-empowered one - or simply subside back into its familiar condition as a hell's kitchen of tribal corruption and safe haven for resting terrorists? Somehow we must get past the hideous obstacle of George Bush, whose bizarre misjudgments nearly succeeded in discrediting the whole concept of liberal interventionism: there is a sound reason why, in spite of Mr Bush, no serious contender for the White House (or for Downing Street, for that matter) will actually renounce the principle of free-world intervention. Every responsible member of the political class is aware that the West actually has no choice. Its values are not simply being challenged in a global struggle for territory and influence as they were during the Cold War. They are under positive threat of destruction from a fluid alliance of Islamist fundamentalists, feudal warlords and corrupt dictators, all of whom see the spread of democracy as a viral threat to their survival.

The appeasement argument then generally takes on a patronisingly racist dimension: "Democracy is fine for Europeans and their New World descendants, but there are many peoples in the world who are just not ready for self-government. They actually prefer being governed by a strong dictator even if he is corrupt." So, I ask, if these benighted populations are so bovine and content under their dictatorships, why do they flee to our borders in such numbers that we are sinking under the responsibility of accommodating them? And if life under a tinpot tyrant has its consolations, how come so few people are attracted to it? Why are there not crowds of clamouring migrants going in the other direction to enjoy the charms of a voteless, voiceless existence?

Labels: Democracy, Terrorism

Is Russia Democratic? - (Maybe even more so than the US)- by Justin Raimondo

The Russian system is far more democratic than, say, the American system, where a party that gets 7 percent – or even 10 or 20 percent – is by no means guaranteed a single seat in Congress. That is, if they even manage to get on the ballot. Parties other than the state-sanctioned and state-subsidized Democrats and Republicans face almost impossible hurdles to achieve ballot status – and, even if they do, these "third" parties operate at a tremendous disadvantage not only legally, but in terms of being taken seriously by the "mainstream" media. Is this any better than in Russia? One could make a convincing case that it is far worse. What would we have thought if Putin had sent observers to, say, Florida, where the drama of the "hanging chads" and the intricacies of the Electoral College denied the White House to the candidate who got the most votes? It's outrageous – especially when we're giving full military, political, and diplomatic support to real dictators like Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, who is now in the process of setting up a hereditary "presidency" and has taken to locking up bloggers for violating political and cultural "norms." And what about Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who is beating the crap out of his opponents in the streets of Islamabad, arresting the Supreme Court, and installing himself as "president" of Pakistan in a procedure that is a cruel mockery of democracy? The difference is that dictator like Musharraf, Mubarak, King Abdullah and some other dictators meet the "pro-American" test, which consists of kowtowing to Washington when it comes to the conduct of foreign affairs, and particularly when it comes to providing full access to American economic and military interests.

Labels: Democracy, EU, Putin, Russia, USA

Chavez loses referendum and bid to rule until 2050 - by Rory Carrol

Voters narrowly rejected the proposed constitutional changes in yesterday's vote, an unprecedented defeat for a leader accustomed to landslides. After a night of political drama, election officials announced the opposition had won 51% and the government 49%, a result that slammed the brakes on Chávez's self-styled revolution.The rebuff will oblige Chávez to stand down when his term ends in 2013 rather than continuing to run for office until 2050 as he had hoped. It will also embolden the opposition and open fissures within his movement now that he has shown to be politically mortal.Three months ago an opposition victory seemed unthinkable, but a loose coalition of students, small political parties and the Catholic church gained traction. Olivia Goumbri of the Government funded Information office said: "The fact that we see that an effort Chavez proposed has not gone through, I think really is a testament to the amount of democratic processes that are going on in Venezuela".

Note EU-Digest: Chavez lost fair and square. To his benefit must be said that he did not manipulate or contest the election results. The elections were reviewed by some 100 electoral observers from 39 countries in Latin America, Europe and the US, plus hundreds of Venezuelan observers, the National Electoral Council said. EU-trade with Venezuela grew by 46.9 % last year to € 6.4 billion. The high growth was mainly due to a strong - 73.3 % - increase of imports from Venezuela.

Labels: Chavez, Democracy, EU, Venezuela

"Putin who is immensely popular in Russia can count on overwhelming victory in elections"- by Geert Groot Koerkamp

President Vladimir Putin addressed thousands of supporters of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party less than two weeks before the Russian parliamentary elections of 2 December. The party is expected to win a landslide victory. His supporters see the elections as a referendum on President Putin, whose second and final term ends in March. They hope that he continues to rule the country. This should not prove difficult, since a Putin ally is expected to win the presidency.

The opinion polls promise good news for Mr Putin. The polls show that the only party besides United Russia which will get enough votes to pass the seven percent threshold is the Communist Party. Semyon Trofimov, a member of the new pro-Putin movement, says that many Russians believe Mr Putin will guarantee stability. “As an average citizen and father of two sons I want to see my children grow up without war, any sort of calamities or racial hatred. I believe that at the moment the only person who can achieve this is Vladimir Putin.”

Note EU-Digest: The EU has all to gain from standing behind Mr. Putin who is solidly supported at home by the Russian people. He has gained respect by bringing stability to a country during extremely difficult times, as it transformed from a totalitarian communist state to a pro-free enterprise democracy. Russia today is a democracy in its own right and respects religious freedom. The Internet is not censored (like in China); there is a free press; Russia has signed the Kyoto treaty; and is one of the most important trading partners of the EU. Europe will not benefit from mingling in Russia's internal political affairs, but instead should help them in further developing their government institutions, support technology transfer and increase trade. Europe certainly does not need to get involved in another cold war with Russia. .

Labels: Democracy, Elections, EU, Putin, Russia

One Cold War Was Enough: Russia Needs Our Help, Not Our Condemnation

Trying to understand Russia through the prism of the British and American news media these days can be a real headache. On one hand, if you’ve read the business pages of The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times lately, you would learn that Russia is now one of the world’s leading emerging markets, and the Russian economy has grown at an average annual rate of 7% since 2000. On the other hand, if you turn to the headlines or the editorial pages, you will read that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been busy crushing democracy and reviving the Soviet Union.

While Americans are constantly having their eyes opened to the possibilities for growth and economic freedom in the People’s Republic of China, a far more free and open society in Russia is judged more harshly in the Western news media. Why is this? Is it because the shelves at Wal-Marts across America are not stocked with goods from Russia? Or is it simply because, as some cynical Russians imply, there is one American and European expectation for people who “look like us”, and another for others (Asians, Africans, and Arabs) who don’t? Or could it be that American perceptions of Russia are still formed by a combination of stereotypes left over from the Cold War and more recent images of Russia in the Nineties as the Wild East -- an exotic backwater whose main exports were supposedly mail order brides and ruthless mafias?

Stop obsessing about the Kremlin and start concentrating on promoting more trade, entrepreneurship, and genuine philanthropy between our two countries at the grassroots and corporate levels. If the US can do this with China, a country that does not respect religious freedom and which actively censors the Internet, why can’t the US do it with Russia, whose government does not do either of these things?

Labels: Democracy, Elections, Putin, Russia

Russia - Opposition suppressed: Putin Rival Kasparov Beaten And Arrested

Kremlin opponents clashed with riot police after a rally where the former chess champion was forced to the ground and beaten. In court two of the riot police swore that the had direct orders to arrest Kasparov. The Moscow court Convicted Kasparov and sentenced him to five days in jail. He was charged for organizing an unsanctioned procession "of at least 1,500 people directed against President Vladimir Putin," and chanting anti-government slogans.

Kasparov has said that he plans to run for the presidency next March, many of the opposition parties in his coalition, including his United Civic Front, have not been allowed to register in the coming election.

Labels: Democracy, Elections, Putin, Russia

EU Beacon of hope for Belarus - Belarusian opposition activists march through Minsk calling for closer ties to Europe

Thousands of Belarusian opposition activists shouting "freedom" marched through the center of the capital Sunday to pressure authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to move Belarus closer to Europe. "We want to live by the laws of Europe, not by the laws of dictatorship," opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich told about 5,000 people who had gathered on a square near the Academy of Sciences for what was called the European March.

"We will be protesting like this until we win and until we are free," he told the crowd.

Labels: Belarus, Democracy, EU

Turkey: Muslim Democracy in Action - by Jackson Diehl

The notion that democracy and Islam are fundamentally incompatible is about to get a resounding rebuke, just at the moment it is threatening to congeal as conventional wisdom in Washington. Barring a last-minute surprise -- such as a military coup -- a liberal and pro-Western politician named Abdullah Gul will be elected president of Turkey by the country's parliament tomorrow. Gul speaks fluent English and has been a steady if somewhat quiet friend of the United States during more than four years as foreign minister. He also identifies himself as a religious Muslim in a country with an 85-year history of militant secularism. His wife wears a headscarf, which is banned from public offices, universities and -- until now -- the president's Cankaya Palace in Ankara.

Labels: Democracy, EU, Musllim, Turkey

The Swiss cantonal system: A Model Democracy - by Frances Kendall

The concepts of devolution of power, local autonomy, and participatory democracy have produced the world's most peaceful and prosperous country. Of course, Switzerland, with its compulsory military service, state controlled monetary system, railroad and telephone services, and taxation, is not a pure libertarian society – but for those interested in reining in out-of-control governments in other parts of the world, there are large parts of the Swiss cantonal system that are worthy of emulation.

Switzerland is considered by many to be the most democratic country in the world. It is also one of the world's most successful nations in economic terms. The Swiss people have the highest per-capita incomes in the world, and Switzerland is consistently rated among the top ten nations in terms of quality of life.

Labels: Democracy, Economy, Europe, Switzerland

Czech Republic: Bush worships democracy, but he should study history - by Pat Buchanan

Last week, at Czermin Palace in Prague, George Bush delivered his latest epistle on democracy as mankind's salvation, as though he had learned nothing since ordering the invasion of Iraq -- to bring the blessings of democracy to Mesopotamia and the Middle East. President Bush began by paying tribute to the founding father of Czech democracy. "Nine decades ago, Tomas Masaryk proclaimed Czechoslovakia's independence based on the "ideals of democracy.'" Well, that may be what the Masaryk said, but it is not exactly what he did. In 1918, he did indeed proclaim the independence of Czechoslovakia, confirmed by the Allies at Paris. But inside the new Czechoslovakia, built on the "ideals of democracy," were 3 million dissident Germans who wished to remain with Austria and half a million Hungarians who wished to remain with Hungary. Many Catholic Slovaks had wanted to remain with Catholic Hungary. Against their will, all had been consigned to Masaryk's Czech-dominated nation.

Labels: Bush, Democracy, the Czech Republic

Europe's oppressive legacy - by Imre Kertesz

"It will be the very first task of the new Europe to hack out clear paths through the jungle of ideologies and fallacies. It is a typically twentieth-century phenomenon that politics and culture have become not just antagonistic but inimical to one another. In this terrible century of lost values everything that was once of value became ideological. The hour was struck for the political adventurers and leaders of the people who undertake to direct and later exploit the masses with the help of the apparatus of political parties cultivated by devious stratagems.It has become more obvious than ever before that there exist at least two Europes, in which shared history, the shared European experience, is reflected in at least two different ways. There is a general

belief that democracy is a political disposition, but if one thinks about it, democracy is in truth more a culture than a mere system—and here I am using the word culture in, as it were, its horticultural sense. The democracies of Western Europe came into being organically; democracy sprouted as a political system on the soil of a social culture, through a process of economic, political and behavioural necessities, successful revolutions or great social compromises. In Central and Eastern Europe, by contrast, the political structures were the first to be brought into being—insofar as they have been brought into being—and society must now undertake the gradual, wearisome and possibly painful task of assimilating to those structures."

Labels: Democracy, Europe

Serbia Approves Pro-Democracy Government - by Dusan Stojanovic

Serbia's parliament approved a new pro-democracy government Tuesday, overcoming efforts by anti-Western ultranationalists to derail the vote and force new elections.

The 133-106 endorsement of the coalition government came only a half hour before a midnight deadline to approve the government or call new elections. Parliamentary elections in January produced no clear winner, and months of bickering followed.

Labels: Democracy, Serbia

"Turkey in trouble: An APK viewpoint on Turkey's political environment"

Mr. Berzeg who is a lawyer writes in Todays Zaman: "The events in Turkey dating back to the 1960 military coup prove that the biggest obstacle in Turkey membership to the EU has been the lack of civil control over the military. If the same pattern continues in Turkey, not only will Turkey lose the right to become a member of the European Union, an endeavor of Turkey’s since 1856, it will also lose its stance as a party in the European political arena." Note EU-Digest: "Zaman Today is one of the Turkish newspapers favorable to the policies of the ruling APK political party which wants a stronger Muslim identification and a gradual breakup of the established secular foundation of the Turkish Republic. The secular foundation is guaranteed in the constitution of the country and supported by the majority of the Turkish population. However, political opposition parties seem unable to form a common front against the APK to avoid potential political turmoil and military intervention in Turkey. The only way out of this critical situation seems to be that a political compromise is reached between the APK and opposition parties by selecting a presidential candidate who can get bipartisan support. The EU should help the Turkish government in reaching such a compromise."

Labels: Democracy, EU, Military, Turkey

Oft elitist French elections try a town-hall style - by Susan Sachs

PARIS - The "judges" – among them a factory worker, a businessman, and a job-hunting college student – were seated under a canopy of television lights. At exactly 8:50 p.m., a throbbing soundtrack filled the studio. Everyone sat up straighter. Cameras rolled. From stage left, the petitioner – aka presidential candidate Ségolène Royal – strode to a podium.

She smiled and squared her shoulders. And for the next two hours, live on French television last Thursday night, she fielded questions from citizen-judges. Power to the people! Here was direct democracy in action.

Labels: Democracy, Elections, France, Segolene Royal

Europe at 50 - Join The Debate - what story should Europe tell

Welcome. Join us in a debate about where Europe has come from and where it should be heading to. As the European Union approaches its ‘50th birthday’ — the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome — it seems to many of us that Europe has lost the plot. Europeans badly need a new story that we can tell in our different languages and idioms.

Timothy Garton Ash professor of European studies at Oxford University drafted a first proposal for a new way in which we could tell our story around six goals to which most Europeans aspire: Freedom, Peace, Law, Prosperity, Diversity and Solidarity.

You can read the English version in Prospect magazine by clicking on this link

Versions published in other European languages will be posted as soon as they appear.

This is only one writer’s first draft. The story is no good unless enough Europeans think it is pointing in the right direction. Please join in the debate. Feel free to use any European language you like. The discussion is completely free, but it will be followed by a group of our European students here at Oxford. We will remove anything that is downright obscene or constitutes incitement to hatred, and may tidy up the formatting, but otherwise we will leave posts exactly as they come.

Labels: Democracy, European Integration, European Unity, justice, prosperity

56.7% of audience at the Doha Debate in Quatar say Niqab veil hinders integration for Muslims

DOHA: A majority of the participants – 56. 7 per cent – voted for the motion “this House believes that Niqab (face veil) is a barrier to Muslim integration in the West” at the Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates yesterday. The topic triggered a heated debate, in the context of the controversy raging in the West about the face veil worn by a section of Muslim women.

H. H. Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Misned, the Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation and Dr Sheikha Abdullah Al Misned, president of the Qatar University, were present among the audience, along with several other dignitaries. The event was chaired by famous TV presenter Tim Sebastian.

Reem Maghribi, founder of Al Sharq, the premier English language British-Arab culture and lifestyle magazine,argued that wearing veil is not a requirement of Islam, but it has evolved from the custom. “Islam is a pragmatic religion and it does not ask Muslims to ignite fear among others,” she said. Note EU-Digest: " The Qatar Foundation’ is to be commended for hosting the Doha Debates"

Labels: Democracy

MOLDOVA: Why does the government violate religious freedom? - by Felix Corley

Despite a late February judgement by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg against the Moldovan government, for refusing to grant legal status to the True Orthodox Church, Vladislav Gribincea of the Chisinau-based Lawyers for Human Rights organisation is sceptical that it will improve the chances of religious minority communities gaining legal status. "The Bessarabian Church case at the ECHR back in 2001 also saw a large fine imposed on the government, but that didn't change the situation, as we see from the True Orthodox case," he told Forum 18 on 7 March. Gribincea states that the State Service for Religious Denominations headed by Serghei Yatsko, which reports directly to the government, "doesn't want to" register any other religious communities. "It needs political will to change this, and I don't think it is there."

Asked why the State Service is so obstructive, Gribincea responded: "The Russian Orthodox Church has very strong links with it, which obstructs the possibility to register alternative religious communities. I can find no other reason that can explain this attitude." Many other religious communities have independently told Forum 18 that the Moscow Patriarchate's political influence is the root cause of their legal status problems.

Labels: Democracy

Democracy - China pulls the plug on new cyber cafes

"China will not allow any new internet cafes to open this year, according to state mediareports. Xinhua News Agency said 14 government departments, including the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Information Industry, had issued a notice saying that "in 2007, local governments must not sanction the opening of new internet bars".

The Chinese government promotes internet use for education and business but tries to block its public from seeing material online that is deemed subversive or pornographic.

In January, President Hu Jintao ordered Chinese internet regulators to promote a "healthy online culture" to protect the government's stability."

Labels: Democracy

Not so free in Germany - by Joseph Quesnel

"I will forgo the pleasure of drinking German lager and eating sauerkraut for the foreseeable future and I ask freedom lovers to consider joining me. I am joining an international boycott of German goods because of that country's drift away from fundamental freedoms.

The most ominous example is the Busekros family. An online petition is calling for a boycott of German products due to their treatment. The horrendous crime of this family, and others across Germany, is they chose to homeschool their children, a right taken for granted here. Homeschooling is illegal there, and authorities seem out for blood.

The essence of a free state is the existence of pluralistic civil society where different choices are permitted. The German authorities apparently do not respect the convictions of religious communities which believe family ought to be the first teacher, not the omnipotent state. My parents considered homeschooling me out of concerns over the expunging of Christianity from public schools. I'm glad we did not live in Germany."

Labels: Democracy