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Updated March 23, 2017 10:03:35

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has condemned the deadly terrorist attack outside London's Houses of Parliament, declaring it an "attack on parliaments, freedom and democracy everywhere".

Extra police will patrol Parliament House in Canberra today after the attack, which left at least five people including the attacker dead, and another 40 injured.

The suspected terrorist used a car to mow down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing a police officer outside the Houses of Parliament.

"Almost every element of our parliamentary tradition here in Australia is modelled on that of the Houses of Parliament in London the birthplace of our great, free, parliamentary democracy," Mr Turnbull said.

"This is an assault on every democracy, every parliament, every free nation."

Security chiefs including Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin have briefed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"The AFP Commissioner has confirmed there will be an increase in the police present at Parliament House here in Canberra today," Mr Turnbull said.

"That is an appropriate response.

"It indicates the care and the caution that is taken by our security agencies in keeping us safe.

"We will continue to monitor the situation very closely."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said his thoughts were with "Australia's oldest friend, the United Kingdom".

"Our sympathy goes out to the victims, in particular the policeman who died in the line of duty and those others who were slain.

"The terrorists should know, whenever they are, they will never divide this country."

Mr Turnbull has also spoken with head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Duncan Lewis, and Australia's High Commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is visiting Parliament today as he begins a five-day visit to Australia.

Heavily armed AFP officers already guard Parliament House 24 hours a day.

A fence is also being constructed on Capital Hill to restrict public access to Parliament's roof.

Australia's terrorism threat remains at "probable".

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, terrorism, law-crime-and-justice, australia, united-kingdom

First posted March 23, 2017 09:54:38

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London attack: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull condemns assault on 'freedom and democracy everywhere' - ABC Online

By Alicia Wallace

As the general election of 2017 - date still unknown - draws near, conversations about democracy are being ignited, but largely limited to one of its functions.

The low rate of voter registration has led the Bahamian people to frame the act of voting as the only form of participation in democracy available to citizens.

While it is a direct action and right afforded to us through democracy, voting is not the only benefit of democracy. Additionally, the creation and maintenance of the political system is not the only function of democracy.

Democracy is a concept, system, and practice that we, as citizens of The Bahamas, need to understand. Many believe it to be limited to elections and voting, but it reaches far beyond such events.

Democracy has four main functions, three of which are often ignored while it is reduced to the first. While it is important to understand the theory of democracy, it is at least as critical to recognise all of its functions and put it into practice more fully and intentionally.

A democratic political system allows people to choose their leaders in regular, free elections.

Free, fair elections require a neutral administrating body to ensure fair treatment of all parties and candidates, allowance for individuals to monitor voting and the counting of votes and independent tribunals to hear disputes.

Beyond that, it allows the people to hold representatives accountable for their actions and inaction while in office. Democracy recognises the sovereignty of the people as government authority is subject to the peoples consent. Political power is only temporary while the power of the people is lasting and flows to their representatives at their will.

For this reason, those elected are to consult with their constituents to ascertain their needs and opinions to enable accurate representation. Through the democratic system, voters have the right to observe the conduct of government business, criticise elected representatives, launch and support campaigns, vote secretly and be free of intimidation as they participate.

Like its benefits, the democratic burden does not fall solely on governments and political leaders to maintain, strengthen, and exercise it.

The onus is on citizens to be informed of national issues, observe the behaviour of elected and appointed officials, voice their concerns and challenge decisions imposed upon and ideas put to them.

While voting is an important exercise and a right afforded to citizens by the democratic political system, citizens are called to participate in public discussions. The voice of the people must be heard, and serve as a guide for political representatives who are to act in the interest of their constituents.

Participation is not synonymous with spectatorship. To fully participate in public life, citizens must be informed - and this often requires personal effort. Politically-driven narratives seldom give a full picture, and the media is not always capable, for many reasons, of delivering balanced reports. It is necessary to look at multiple news sources, ask questions and engage in conversations with people of varied persuasions. Democracy enables the people to actively participate through:

Questions. Accept nothing as fact without evidence. Investigate claims and try to find multiple sources.

Discussion. Share your thoughts and ideas with other people. Engage with people who do not look like you, have the same background as you, or think the same way as you. The purpose is not to win, or be on the side of popular opinion. Enter conversations with gaining new perspective as your goal.

Challenges. Do not settle for less than you deserve. Make demands of your representatives. Hold them accountable for their actions, demand transparency and insist upon regular reporting to and consultation with the people.

Mobilisation. Be prepared to work together, as citizens, to find common ground, make a plan and take action. Your power is strengthened with activated along with that of your fellow Bahamians.

Participation includes joining political campaigns, protesting, petitioning, organising within communities and running for political office. Involvement in civil society organisations is another way to be an active citizen, and can allow for informal education and mobilisation around specific interests and causes.

Human rights are inherent to all people, regardless of gender, race, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, language or any other identity marker.

They are interdependent, indivisible and interrelated. Human rights are promoted and protected by international law, and the standard has been set by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, the UDHR protects against discrimination, slavery, torture, and unfair detainment, and affirms the right to life, freedom of movement, equality before the law, right to trial, right to privacy and right to nationality.

International law grants every citizen human rights that cannot be denied. Citizens are free to speak, practice their religions, associate with people and organisations, assemble, travel and engage in a number of other acts. In a democracy, citizens have these basic rights that cannot be denied.

Democracy is subject to a set of laws. These laws exist for the protection of citizens rights, to maintain order in the country and to limit the power of the peoples representatives.

This function exists to ensure that rule is not subject to the whims of an individual or group of individuals. Because of the rule of law, all citizens are equal, none being above the law, regardless of position. It allows for fair and impartial decision-making by independent courts, separate from the government, which is meant to limit the power of representatives.

The people of The Bahamas can only benefit when democracy functions properly, being exercised by the citizens to whom it extends specific rights.

One right afforded to us through democracy is the casting of a ballot in the next general election. To exercise that right, we must take proof of Bahamian citizenship to register to vote. This is an important exercise that enables us to choose our constituency representatives and, by extension, the leadership of the country. It is not, however, the only way to participate in our democracy, and to suggest such is both dishonest and disempowering to the Bahamian people.

Let us encourage one another to exercise the right to vote, but include the other functions of democracy and methods of participation in our conversations for balance, comprehensiveness and strengthening of people power.

Alicia Wallace is a womens rights activist and public educator. She produces The Culture RUSH - a monthly newsletter fusing pop culture, social justice and personal reflection - and tweets as @_AliciaAudrey. Contact her at culturerush@aliciaawallace.com. She will be writing fortnightly in The Tribune on Wednesdays.

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Culture Clash: People Power And The True Functions Of Democracy - Bahamas Tribune

By Timothy M. Gill By Timothy M. Gill March 20 at 5:00 AM

How will the Trump administration relate to Russia? Many inquiring minds want to know. Much of the news media has focused on whether President Trump will eliminate U.S.economic sanctionson Russia. But heres something else that could have a big effect on U.S.-Russia relations: Will Trump modify U.S. democracy programs?

The origins of U.S. democracy programs

Since the 1980s, several U.S. government agencies have been dedicated to helping build democracy around the world, by delivering financial and technical support for government institutions, political parties and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The U.S. agencies in question include the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) within the State Department; and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its associated groups, including the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). Before these groups came on the scene, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ran these kinds of efforts.

These programs are highly controversial.

[Why Russia is far less threatening than it seems]

Supporters contend that these groups often keep democratic hope alive in states with authoritarian governments. But some academic critics and foreign government leaders argue that these agencies back political parties and NGOs that champion neoliberal economic policies and U.S. national security interests. Other critics assert that sometimes agencies like USAID and the NED support organizations and actors that have sought to overthrow sometimes violently existing governments, such as in Bolivia, Georgia, Ukraine and Venezuela.

Thats certainly what many foreign governments fear. Since the success of some of the color revolutions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, several governments have tried to stop U.S. democracy assistance programs in their countries. In 2003, the Belarusan government prohibited foreign funding for political organizations in the country; it continues to pass legislation in that vein, such as prohibiting NGOs from holding funds in foreign banks. In 2010, Venezuela after accusing several NGOs of taking U.S. funding to overthrow the Chvez government also passed legislation criminalizing foreign funding for political parties and politically oriented NGOs. And in 2013, Bolivia expelled USAID from the country.

Putin doesnt like U.S. democracy programs, either

You can count Russian President Vladimir Putin as an opponent of U.S. democracy programs that fund civil society groups, especially within Russia.

[Like Trump, Putin issued lots of executive orders early on. They mostly didnt work.]

And the Duma has taken action. In 2006, it passed laws criminalizing NGOs that threaten Russian national sovereignty and its unique character. In 2012, it passed laws declaring that NGOs that receive foreign funding are foreign agents, a term that was last used during the days of the Soviet Union.

Amnesty International has reported that 148 groups have received this designation over the past four years. As a result, these groups have faced heightened intimidation from the Russian government, as well as tarnished reputations. They alsoremain subject to stricter registration requirements and have found the acquisition of foreign funding much more difficult. Some groups have even shut down.

[Trumps news conferences look a lot like Putins. Should you worry?]

Not long after the passage of this legislation, the government also expelled USAID from the country. And in 2015, Putin banned the NED from the country and prohibited NGOs from receiving any funding from the group.

The United States has continued democracy programs despite local prohibitions.

Nevertheless, USAID and the NED have continued to fund organizations, even where thats against the local countrys laws. In Venezuela, for example, the United Stateshas openly continued funding civil society organizations, even listing that in its annual budgets, albeit without naming recipients.

USAID and the NED are undoubtedly keeping their plans in the country secret. However, the NED and its leaders continue to openly counter Russian ideological efforts throughout Eurasia. For instance, when NED President Carl Gershmantestified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in June 2016, he said that one of the NEDs five main focuses includes pushing back against an information offensive by Russia and other authoritarian regimes.

Through various actions, Putin has made it clear how much he despises these programs and sees them as interfering with Russian sovereignty. Russia Today, for instance, regularly runs critiques of these efforts. So will he raise this issue with the Trump administration?

Trump could scale back U.S. democracy programs in Russia.

But how will Trump respond?

Trumps budget plans to cut funding for the State Department and USAID. He has said that he will strengthen U.S. ties with Russia. As part of his America First agenda, will he eliminate U.S. democracy programs?

Thats very difficult to predict. Both Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have a history of praise and involvement with Russia. Tillerson, for instance, tried to start several oil ventures in Russia, which were eventually blocked by U.S. economic sanctions. But the democracy and development community within the U.S. government will certainly push to continue its efforts in Russia and the broader Eurasia region.

The most important decision in U.S.-Russia relations remains, of course, whether to continue sanctions. But watch this as well: Will U.S. democracy-promoting organizations be allowed to continue working with civil society groups in Russia and its neighbors? If not, that will be a clear signal of changed relations between the two powers.

Timothy M. Gill is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research at Tulane University, and his research examines U.S. democracy promotion efforts in Venezuela.

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Putin is waiting to see whether Trump will fund pro-democracy programs - Washington Post

The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Judge Neil Gorsuchs nomination to the Supreme Court got underway today, and one thing is already clear: As this process unfolds, Democrats need to hammer away at Gorsuch to reveal his views on judicial independence. Doing this requires a focus on President Trumps unprecedented attacks on the judiciaryand, more generally, his relentless undermining of our democracy.

Trumps authoritarian tendencies demand this approach, and the stakes are extraordinarily high. Trumps attacks on the judiciary, for instance, are so far outside the mainstream of normal presidentialbehavior that it would be malpractice for Democrats to fail to make this a subplot. In other words, the Democratic opposition to Gorsuch must be based on far more than his judicial philosophy and history.

More is at stake here than Gorsuchs allegiance to the ideology of the Heritage Foundation or the Federalist Society. One would expect any Republican president to nominate an anti-abortion, pro-business, originalist jurist to the Supreme Court, and Democrats are right to question Gorsuch on these and many other aspects of hisjudicial philosophy. But Trump is not an ideological conservative who has given a great deal of thought to constitutional originalism.

Rather, Trump views the judiciary as a tool for his own financial and political ends. And thats why the politics around the Gorsuch nomination are new and dangerous.

Trump has a long history of assailing federal judges, first using his bully pulpit as a candidate and now using his power as president, to subvert the separation of powers that undergird our democracy. It is clear from his public statements that the president wants a judiciary that doesnt question him, his motives, his edicts or his power.

Some Democrats today did make these issues front and center. For instance, as Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) told Gorsuch this morning,I need to know that you can be an independent check and balance on the administration that has nominated you, and on any administration that follows it.

And Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) laid a robust groundwork for compelling Gorsuch to be explicit in stating his independence not only from Trumps political manipulations, but also from his assault on the separation of powers. Blumenthal caustically called out Trumps campaign of vicious and relentless attacks on the credibility and capacity of our judiciary to serve as a check on lawless executive action, adding that the presidenthas shaken the foundation of respect for judicial rulings. Without respect for judges, and their independence, Blumenthal went on, our democracy cannot function.

Blumenthal then pointedly told Gorsuch:You have a special responsibility here this week, to advocate and defend the independence of our judiciary against those kinds of attacks. Given the looming constitutional crisis arising out of the FBI investigation into Russias interference in our election, which we now know is focused on the possibility of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, he added, the independence of the judiciary [is] more important than ever and your defense of it is critical.

In questioning Gorsuch later this week, Democrats should follow this lead and be explicit and direct, placing Trumps long string of attacks on the judiciary front and center. As a candidate, Trumpvilifiedthe federal judge presiding over the fraud case brought by former students of Trump University, saying he was unable to be impartial because he was (variously, in Trumps own words) Spanish, Hispanic and Mexican.

Since becoming president, Trump has launched an offensive against the judiciary over rulings blocking his executive orders banning refugees and migrants from Muslim-majority countries. He uses Twitter and campaign speeches to erode one of the very foundations of our democracy an independent judiciary as a check on executive overreach. These attacks energize his base while undermining the Constitution.

Whats more, Trump dangled nomination promisesas a kind of quid pro quo to win over a skeptical but crucial Republican voting bloc. Last June, when Trump was struggling to win over the leadership of the religious right, Trump promised approximately athousand evangelical leaders that he would pick pro-life justices, according to audio of his remarks that wasleaked to the media. Admitting that he had not been on this side of the issue until very recently, Trump made clear that his primary aim in picking judges was horse-trading for his own electoral benefit.

Trumps other efforts to undermine our democracy such as his repeated claims that millions voted illegally in our election, via voter fraud also deserve an airing out in this context. Those vote-fraud comments suggest a major national crackdown on voting rights might be in the works. And as Ari Berman reports, Gorsuch could be the deciding vote on whether to weaken the remaining sections of the [Voting Rights Act] and whether to uphold discriminatory voter-ID laws and redistricting plans. So it is crucial that Gorsuch be compelled to offer his views of Trumps unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, as well as his views on the scope of the Voting Rights Act.

Trumps extensive assaults on our democracy make the Gorsuch hearings unlike any others in recent memory. And just as Senator Blumenthal did today, Democrats should treat them as such.

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Democrats must make the Gorsuch hearings about Trump's contempt for our democracy - Washington Post (blog)

Observer

Democracy Has Existed in the Americas Longer Than We Thought Observer The theory that democratic societies existed in pre-colonial Mesoamerica was first introduced by anthropologist Richard Blanton, of Indiana's Purdue University, in a 1996 essay he co-authored for Current Anthropology, after excavating at several sites ...

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Democracy Has Existed in the Americas Longer Than We Thought - Observer