Tue, 14 Apr 1998 12:54:24 +0200 (MET DST) Tue, 14 Apr 1998 12:54:04 +0200 (MET DST) Reply-To: From: "Austrian Embassy" To: Subject: The superb new issue of Le Monde Diplomatique April 1998 Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 09:51:20 +0200 This will be of interest to all of you Kind regards Arno Tausch ---------- > From: Le Monde diplomatique > To: English edition > Subject: April 1998 > Date: Samstag, 11. April 1998 20:00 > > LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE > _________________________________________________________________ > > Le Monde diplomatique > > english edition > > April 1998 > > edited by Wendy Kristianasen > > > > LEADER > > Neo-fascism * > > by Ignacio Ramonet > > Much has been written about the crisis of the left which followed > the events that brought the post-war period to a close. But not > enough has been said about a similar collapse of the right. In > France, there has been a failure of policies leading to a massive > loss of confidence and an explosion of social ills. With the > dangerous results that were seen on 20 March. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/04/01leader.htm > > Translated by Ed Emery > > > > A HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AFTER FRANCE ABOLISHED SLAVERY > > The impact of the slave trade on Africa > > by Elikia M'Bokolo > > On 27 April 1848 Victor Schoelcher, the French under-secretary of > state for the colonies, signed a decree abolishing slavery. To > force the decision through, he had warned of the danger of a > general uprising if nothing was done. Resistance by the slaves > themselves was thus of capital importance in the French > government's decision, and freedom, when it came, was due more to > Africa's own efforts than to a sudden burst of humanitarian feeling > on the part of the slave traders. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/02africa.htm > > Translated by Barry Smerin > > > > Let the colonies perish... > > by Marcel Manville > > The enslavement of thirty million Africans and their transportation > to the Americas over a period of three hundred years need to be > recognised as the earliest crimes against humanity. Despite the > abolition of slavery, in France's remaining dependencies the > problems remain - as they do in the rest of the third world. It is > time to speak out, claim the right to national sovereignty and > emerge from a shadow world consigned to the margins of history. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/03slave.htm > > Translated by Barbara Wilson > > > > SPORT AS A TOUCHSTONE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE > > A third half for Iranian football > > by Christian Bromberger > > The adventures of Iran's national football team on its way to > qualifying for the World Cup have provoked some very public > reactions in a society normally characterised by its silences. > Watching the games and reading the commentators, it became apparent > that crucial issues were being played out: the aspiration to > alternative lifestyles, Iran's re-entry into the society of > nations, the debate on cultural openness versus "invasion", and the > place of women in Iranian society. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/04iran.htm > > Translated by Ed Emery > > > > BEHIND THE FACADE OF RECONSTRUCTION > > The "Lebanese miracle" in danger > > by Georges Corm > > Who is gaining from the reconstruction of Beirut? For nearly six > years now, most Lebanese have been urged to rally round a > "unifying" theme - the renaissance of their capital - and forget > their own vital needs. But the promised miracle has become a > mirage. From one end of the country to the other, life is growing > increasingly difficult and inequalities ever more glaring. In their > quest for an elusive peace in the region, Europe and the United > States have chosen to ignore the seriousness of the discontent, > continuing instead to dream of "their" Lebanon. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/05liban.htm > > Translated by Malcolm Greenwood > > > > IMMIGRATION, INTEGRATION AND EXPLOITATION > > Unemployment hits Southeast Asian migrant workers * > > by Solomon Kane and Laurent Passicousset > > The South East Asian crisis has made victims of several million > immigrant workers. They are the first to pay the price of > mismanagement by the governments that invited them and of the > carelessness of the companies that employed them. Yet the countries > of the region continue to compete with each other to export > unskilled labour and increase their foreign currency revenues. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/04/06asia.htm > > Translated by Malcolm Greenwood > > > > Europe's Muslims find a place for themselves > > by Tariq Ramadan > > Immigrants are welcome when their labour is needed but find > themselves rejected as soon as the effects of an economic crisis > are felt. However, there are signs that we are on the way to > witnessing a real integration of the Muslims living in Europe. Now > in their third generation, Muslim communities have taken important > steps to adjust to changing circumstances, ready to make a positive > contribution to the new Europe. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/07islam.htm > > Translated by Ed Emery > > > > SEEN FROM THE UNITED STATES > > France, an unforgivable exception * > > by Thomas C. Frank > > The US press boasts of the importance it gives to the facts. Yet > the media's treatment of international affairs often serves merely > to demonstrate the benefits of the American way of life and the > head-in-the-sand nature of those who refuse to follow it, notably > France. The left's electoral victory and the government's refusal > to follow in the footsteps of Washington's would-be Gulf warriers > have added to the media's complaints about this most vexatious > nation. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/04/08frank.htm > > Original text in English > > > > DEMOCRATIC DEVOLUTION IN THE UK > > Scotland's quiet revolution > > by Philip Schlesinger > > Under Tony Blair's New Labour, Scottish devolution is under way, > spelling an end to centralist decision-making in the United > Kingdom. In accordance with the September 1997 referendum, Scotland > is to have home rule. Nearly three hundred years after the > abolition of the last Scottish parliament, the country will again > have its own elected legislative authority. Within Europe, Scotland > will have an identity as specific as, for instance, Catalonia or > Bavaria. But there is no knowing if this stage will be Scotland's > last. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/09scot.htm > > Original text in English > > > > A DOUBLE CRISIS > > Bloodshed and bargaining in Kosovo > > by Jean-Arnault Derens and Sébastien Nouvel > > The elections of 22 March 1998 have seen the crisis in Kosovo enter > a new phase. Although the elections were "illegal" and many had > called for them to be boycotted, there was a huge turnout. Ibrahim > Rugova was re-elected "president" and his Democratic Alliance of > Kosovo (DAK) gained a majority in "parliament". This outcome is in > keeping with the negotiations that Serbia is apparently willing to > embark on. However, fresh outbreaks of violence and the extreme > right's involvement in the Belgrade government leave a question > mark over the future. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/10kosovo.htm > > From integration to rebellion * > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/04/11koso2.htm > > Translated by Julie Stoker > > > > VISIONS OF A NEW SOCIETY > > Jobs: it's all only make-believe * > > by Anne-Cecile Robert > > The United States and United Kingdom are constantly praising the > advantages of work flexibility, claiming that it creates jobs, > while, they say, the rigid continental European system "prefers" > unemployment. Looked at more closely, however, the British approach > is less than exemplary. Quite apart from often fudging the figures > and ignoring demographic data, it represents a severe step > backwards in terms of wages and social welfare. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/04/12robert.htm > > Translated by Francisca Garvie > > > > WHEN INTERNATIONALISM MEANT SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION STRUGGLES > > Henri Curiel, citizen of the third world > > by Gilles Perrault > > Twenty years ago Henri Curiel was gunned down at his Paris home. > Born in Egypt, Curiel helped to found the Egyptian communist > movement. Exiled by King Farouk in 1950, he came to France, where > he devoted his life to helping third-world liberation movements and > furthering the cause of peace between Israel, the Arab countries > and the Palestinians. His lasting achievement was to have invented > a new form of internationalism suited to the momentous anticolonial > struggles that have marked the second half of the twentieth > century. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/13curiel.htm > > Translated by Barry Smerin > > > > The silent idealist > > by Uri Avnery > > A personal recollection of working with Henri Curiel from the late > 1950s. Committed to the Algerian national movement, the two men > dreamed up an Israeli-Algerian connection based on winning the > support of the local Jewish community for the Algerian freedom > fighters. Failure to win Israeli backing put paid to the idea. But > Curiel went on to facilitate the first secret contacts between > Israelis and Palestinians. > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1998/04/14curiel2.htm > > Original text in English > > > > > > (*) Star-marked articles are available to every reader. Other > articles ar available to paid subscribers only. > > Yearly subscription fee: 24 US $ (Institutions 48 US $). > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > > For more information on our English edition, please visit > > http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/ > > To subscribe to our free "dispatch" mailing-list, send an > (empty) e-mail to: > dispatch-on@london.monde-diplomatique.fr > > To unsubscribe from this list, send an (empty) e-mail to: > dispatch-off@london.monde-diplomatique.fr > > >