Arcadia Foundation

The trial of Roy Bennett has seemingly been a symbol of the frustratingly slow judicial system in Zimbabwe. The political quagmire has hampered progress in the nation, but all eyes have unwaveringly remained on the persecution of the MDC Minister. It began in October has been frequently delayed. Now, Judge Chinembiri Bhunu said today he cannot rule on an application to dismiss charges against Bennett until May 10.

Bennett has pleaded not guilty to weapons and insurgency charges that could carry the death penalty.

And the beat goes on, as it were - Authorities in Zimbabwe just slapped Bennett, a top aide to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, with charges of breaching grain laws as the verdict in his treason trial was postponed.

Police summoned Bennett, a white Zimbabwean and former tobacco farmer, to appear in court next week to answer charges of being in possession in 2001 of 92 tonnes of maize that he did not declare to authorities.

Interesting, as many international human rights activists believe his trial is a reflection of the persecution of white farmers under the Mugabe regime, an initiative which has beleaguered Zimbabwe, stifling foreign investment and promoting the perpetuation of sanctions.

Read Full Paper

A jailed judge “tweets” to her followers from prison. The director of an opposition TV station uses Twitter to denounce a conspiracy to oust him.

It seems Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s opponents have leveraged the internet, still relatively open at present time, more specifically utilizing Twitter and other social networking sites to open up a new flank in a decade-long campaign against the self-proclaimed socialist revolutionary.  Today, when more and more individuals and groups are having conversations and making decisions online, his opponents are in many ways retroactively reaching out  to accuse Chavez of silencing critical media and attacking free speech.

The closing down of a popular private television network initially triggered street protests rallied by #freevenezuela messages that became the fourth most commented “trending topic” on Twitter worldwide for February.

Read Full Paper

As Sudan approaches its first multiparty election since 1986, President Omar al-Bashir warned international election observers to tread lightly after the U.S.-based Carter Center suggested delaying the elections to address the many logistical problems which, if left unfixed, may severely hamper turnout.

Opposition presidential candidate Mubarak al-Fadil interpreted the threat as a sign that Bashir is nervous, and perhaps Mr. al-Fadil is correct in that assumption. There is also a growing belief that war could ensue should the referendum process not go smoothly.

The events of today may lead to unrest and instability before the election even commences. South Sudanese authorities arrested and beat seven members of the only party running a candidate against the region’s president in April, a senior party member stated.

Read Full Paper

Julius Malema, leader of the youth wing of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress, will visit Zimbabwe this week to hold political rallies, the Herald reported, citing Indigenization Minister Saviour Kasukuwere.

Often depicted by newspaper cartoonists wearing nappies, Mr Malema is an example of the new ANC elite. Described as a “tenderpreneur” by the local media, his lifestyle – he has three homes and a fleet of luxury vehicles – comes under regular scrutiny as do his alleged financial links to companies which have been awarded lucrative government contracts. However, he has never been subject to a police investigation and no allegations of corruption have been proved against him. In fact, it is his lesser-known singing career  however, that has stirred up the most controversy. This is because the songs themselves call for white citizens to be killed.

Despite this, the trip will supposedly “strengthen relations” between Zimbabwe and South Africa, the Harare-based newspaper said. Malema will also meet with members of President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), it said.

This meeting of the minds, between a man who is accused and most likely guilty of stirring up his followers to attack white farmers in South Africa and a leader accused of doing the same in Zimbabwe is particularly dangerous. It is also an unwanted reminder of the past as South Africa tries to portray a successful, modern image in the run-up to this year’s World Cup, held in Africa for the first time.

Read Full Paper

Myanmar’s upcoming elections will certainly steal the spotlight at the upcoming 16th ASEAN Summit in Vietnam, as regional leaders no doubt will try to steer clear of the junta’s clear and present agenda to avoid further humiliation.

The 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will convene in Hanoi from April 8 to April 9 with an agenda many officials claim will range from economic integration to the much-needed political reforms in Myanmar.  The goal of course is to push the junta to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to take part in the country’s elections.

The Jakarta Post reports that pressure has mounted over the last few years specifically  for the military junta in Yangon to repeal electoral regulations prohibiting convicts to join political parties and run for office, and in turn allow Suu Kyi to take part in the polls. Many believe these regulations continue to be in place specifically because of the political threat the regime feels Suu Kyi poses.

Read Full Paper

Russian prisons have long resembled ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch’ – a mysterious, inhumane series of cramped cells, devoid of retribution and rehabilitation, filled only with danger and despair. Wrongfully accused, of which there are many both notables and unknowns, line the dorms, and many pass away from starvation, hypothermia or disease. The inmates are divided into barracks housing a hundred or so men without regard to the severity of their crimes. At night, a guard locks the door and walks away, leaving first-time offenders and people convicted of nonviolent crimes to fend for themselves in a crowd of gang members, hit men and other career criminals.

Beginning this year, however, the New York Times has reported that first-time offenders may no longer have to live in fear. In the first major effort to upgrade a prison system that has changed little since Stalin established it more than 70 years ago, career criminals will be separated from the general prison population and housed in new prisons with cellblocks, rather than barracks.

President Dmitri Medvedev is pushing the measure to first break up the culture of barracks life and then to do away with common inmate housing almost entirely.

Read Full Paper

Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Sri Lankan capital Tuesday to demand the immediate release of the country’s opposition leader, an ex-army chief facing a court-martial on charges including participating in politics while still in uniform. These charges have been called ‘baseless‘, as many feel they are trumped up from his running for office against the ruling regime.

The arrest of Gen. Sarath Fonseka has indeed been condemned by international human rights groups, many of which have accused the government of retaliation for Mr. Fonseka challenging President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his re-election bid. They say the government is trying to stifle the opposition before parliamentary elections on April 8 .

Fonseka is the leader of the opposition Democratic National Alliance, which organized Tuesday’s protest in Colombo, and is running for a seat in parliament despite his detention.

Read Full Paper

South African President Jacob Zuma stated that his recent talks with Zimbabwe’s feuding leaders were ‘fruitful‘, but gave little sign of a breakthrough in resolving issues straining the unity government.

“I am very encouraged by the spirit of cooperation displayed by the leaders and all the parties,” Zuma said after nearly three hours of round-table talks with Zimbabwe’s long-ruling President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.

But Zuma gave no indication of any breakthrough in easing tensions within the year-old unity government, saying only that the parties agreed to ‘keep working toward‘ goals set out months ago.

Read Full Paper

Two men who married each other in a traditional engagement ceremony in Malawi are faced with trial and years of imprisonment if found guilty of having a homosexual relationship.

The state, through police prosecutors, brought the two men to court soon after their engagement and asked the magistrate to determine that they are criminals for indulging in a homosexual relationship. A magistrate’s court in Malawi’s main commercial centre, Blantyre, on today ruled against two men, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza.

Blantyre chief resident magistrate, Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa, declared that Chimbalanga and Monjeza have a case to answer to. The couple is facing official charges of “gross indecency” for “having carnal knowledge against the order of nature“, offences under Malawi’s medeival-era penal code.

On March 16, Malawi’s main donors, including the UK government, Germany, African Development Bank (AfDB), Norway, the European Union and the World Bank, who operate under the Common Approach to Budget Support (CABS), warned Malawi against the prosecution of homosexuals. CABS provides up to 80 percent of Malawi’s development budget of 438 million dollars.

Read Full Paper

Freedom of the press in countries throughout the Western Hemisphere are facing serious threats from authoritarian governments, especially in Venezuela and communist-led Cuba, a group representing news media from across the Americas warned Sunday.

Many claim the Venezuelan repression stems for the regime’s inability to both sustain a viable economy and feed a starving citizenry, utilizing the media as tools to condemn the actions of makeshift scapegoats while the ‘revolution’ flounders.

Alejandro Aguirre, president of the Inter American Press Association, singled out Cuba and Venezuela as the region’s the worst offenders against press freedom.

“The most worrisome case continues to be the case of Cuba, where a dictatorship that has lasted nearly half a century has not allowed a minimum of freedom of expression or free press,” Aguirre said in a telephone interview from the Caribbean island of Aruba.

Read Full Paper