Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Wednesday, February 27
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Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Wednesday, February 27 - Video
JOHANNESBURG (AP) "How can you describe falling in love?"
That is how retired archbishop Desmond Tutu this week recalled voting in South Africa's first all-race elections on April 27, 1994, an exultant moment when the nation's majority blacks and other oppressed groups broke the shackles of white rule.
But as South Africa marks the 20th anniversary of multiracial democracy on Sunday, the achievements and soaring expectations of what was dubbed a "rainbow nation" have been tempered by a different inequality the yawning gulf between rich and poor.
This uneven narrative will shape elections on May 7 likely to see the ruling African National Congress which led the fight against apartheid and has dominated politics since its demise return to power with a smaller majority, reflecting a growing discontent with the party.
One election candidate is Julius Malema, the expelled head of the ANC's youth league and now leader of an upstart party that wants to redistribute wealth. Malema, who wears a red beret on the campaign trail, has criticized the government as elitist, saying real freedom will only come when the poor own a fair share of the land.
Despite notable gaps in service, South Africa has delivered housing, water and electricity to millions since 1994 and boasts a widely admired constitution and an active civil society, but struggles with high unemployment, one of the world's highest rates of violent crime and is still working through issues of race and identity.
"It's nice to celebrate that we are here," said Gundo Mmbi, a student at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. But she said the 20th anniversary of democracy is also a time to reflect on the need for change in South Africa, citing "really crazy" corruption and a lack of opportunity for the poor.
"It's not just about your color anymore," she said "Discrimination has gone beyond."
South African officials will highlight gains of the last 20 years on Sunday at the Union Buildings, a government complex in Pretoria that was once the seat of white power. The government is launching a slick television ad that depicts neatly stacked shipping containers on a pier to symbolize South Africa's international trade, housing developments, gleaming infrastructure such as the high-speed Gautrain transit system, and SKA, an international project to build a radio telescope, based in South Africa and Australia, that will observe the sky.
It all falls under the official slogan: "South Africa A Better Place to live in."
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South African Democracy Marks 20th Anniversary
A bilateral U.S.-Georgia working group on democracy and governance under the strategic partnership charter between the two countries met on April 25 in Tbilisi to discuss Georgias democratic reforms.
Democracy working group is one of those four inter-agency bilateral groups, which were established to address priority areas of the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Charter, signed in January, 2009. Other priority areas of cooperation identified by the charter are defense and security, economic and people-to-people relations.
The working group on democracy said in a joint statement after the meeting that the expansion of directly elected positions at the local level, involving introduction of direct election of mayors of eleven more cities and heads of all the municipalities in the upcoming June 15 local elections, as well as the October 2013 presidential election and judicial reforms resulting in the election of a new High Council of Justice are among the recent positive steps demonstrating the continuing consolidation of Georgia's democracy.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Thomas O. Melia; USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Paige Alexander and Department of Justice's Regional Director for Eurasia Catherine Newcombe were among the U.S. delegation. During the visit the delegation held series of meetings in Tbilisi with the Georgian leadership, civil society and opposition representatives.
The Georgian delegation at the democracy working group meeting was led by First Deputy Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani and Deputy Minister of Justice Gocha Lordkipanidze, and it also included other officials from the government, as well as representatives from the parliamentary majority and minority groups; the judiciary and the prosecutors office.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia stressed on the Georgian delegations inclusiveness and said that it reflects a degree of interesting political maturity in Georgias democratic system. The Working Group discussed Georgia's efforts to further strengthen democratic institutions, checks and balances, human rights for all, political pluralism and electoral processes, media freedom and access, rule of law and judicial independence, government accountability and due process, with a view toward Georgia's achievement of its European and Euro-Atlantic integration goals, the joint statement said.
It said that Georgia's plans to cultivate a competitive electoral environment ahead of its local elections and its work to balance national security interests and civil liberties were also discussed a reference was apparently made to a package of bills to limit governments capabilities of carrying out unrestricted surveillance, which is lobbied by civil society groups and supported by some GD lawmakers, but opposed by the Interior Ministry.
The Working Group underscored continuing U.S. support for Georgia's democratic development, at a time when events in the region pose challenges, the statement reads.
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U.S-Georgia Democracy Working Group Meets in Tbilisi
The Internet has brought about opportunities for citizens to get involved in democracy and policymaking. Is there real appetite for e-democracy and online participation, or is it outweighed by reluctance or apathy, Jan Malinowski asks.
Jan Malinowski is the head of the information society department at the Council of Europe. This opinion represents the authors personal views on the subject.
Participation in decision-shaping and making in respect of the Internet has been at the heart of Internet governance debates. It come back on stage in the wake of Edward Snowdens revelations about mass surveillance and, more recently, following the decision a few weeks ago of the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to initiate a handover process in respect of the oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to the multi-stakeholder community.
There is now unprecedented activity around Internet governance: NetMundial (in Sao Paulo this week), Freedom Online Coalition (FOC, Tallinn next week), High-Level Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and Governance Mechanisms sponsored by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (HLP, Dubai in May), Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG, Chaired by Carl Bildt), European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG, Berlin in June), Internet Governance Forum (IGF, Istanbul in September), and much more.
Thousands of keen participants in these events hope to influence the future of decision making in respect of the Internet. They include representatives of civil society, business, governments and international organisations. This interest is understandable given the Internets public service value and the importance it has in peoples everyday lives. Governance on the Internet is as important as governance of the Internet.
There are many examples of opportunities for participation brought about by the Internet: Arab springs and Internet-enabled expression of dissent; increased transparency and accountability in public and private sectors; crowd-inspired and crowd-sourced activities; collaborative creation and new commons.
However, there are many unanswered questions and doubts about a global village, new orders and whether we are on a path to improved democracy and participation. Global could be the result of aggregating distinct constituencies and bringing participation to people. There is growing appetite for transparency and accountability at both local and global levels, Internet governance being just one among many areas of legitimate interest.
Fundamental to this discussion are threats and obstacles. Is there real appetite for democracy and participation, or is it outweighed by reluctance or apathy? Are human rights eroded by a shift away from governments, which nevertheless remain responsible for human rights under international law? Are all players prepared to undergo public scrutiny? Some support tools, platforms and applications designed to bring to account other governments and administrations, but themselves resist scrutiny.
What about the new power brokers? The fourth estatethe mediais a known good-evil, but there may be a fifth estate in the form of the new technology superpowers and big data controllers. Increased power comes with greater responsibility. Will big data, dragnet, predictive analysis be tamed for democracy or will decision makers play into the hands of new (or old) despots?
There is a need to learn from the past in order to overcome current turbulence. The raison dtre of human rights, and of the emergence of democracy, was to challenge absolute power by asserting individual rights. The goal was to gain the right to participate in public affairs and matters of general interest. There are also lessons to draw from man-made crises and catastrophes stemming from poor governance or bad management, and from failed uprisings and transitions that regressed to illiberal regimes.
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What's next for e-democracy?
Sociocracy Vs Democracy 1
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By: New School Permaculture
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Sociocracy Vs Democracy 1 - Video