Democracy & Civics

Court Dates and Coup Attempts for Turkey Secularists

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Political unrest and terrorism is causing problems for Turkey’s ruling party, which has staved off coup attempts as well as judicial efforts to remove it from power. Turkey’s highest court decided not to ban the government’s ruling party Wednesday for allegedly attempting to establish Islamist rule in country, the Turkish Press reported. The courts deliberations on the conduct of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) began Monday on the heels of a terrorist bombing in Istanbul that left 17 dead and hundreds more injured, al-Jazeera reported. The case highlights the schism between secular groups in Turkey and the ruling AKP, which draw support from devout Muslims with ties to the country’s Islamist movement. The party is accused of trying to introduce non-secular rule in Turkey while in power, a charge AKP officials denied.

Democracy & Civics

Pinochet's Ghost Still Haunts Chile

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General Augusto Pinochet is dead, but Chile continues to wrestle with the legacy of his 17 years of brutal military rule. Under the leadership of President Michelle Bachelet, who was herself jailed and tortured by the Pinochet regime, the elected government of Chile has launched a campaign to commemorate the Pinochet years with museums and the preservation of historic sites. Minister of National Properties Romy Schmidt told McClatchy Newspapers: “Our plan would involve practically all the police stations and military regiments in the country, which could get uncomfortable. But that would be a meaningful step because it would show the whole government was involved in the abuses.” The military and police forces are deeply implicated in investigations into human rights abuses under the old regime.

Democracy & Civics

A Toilet for Thai Transsexuals

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A secondary school in northeast Thailand recently built a toilet solely for its transsexual student population. According to the Telegraph, the Kampang School built the toilet for the 200 self-declared transsexuals — students with male anatomy but decidedly feminine characteristics. “These students want to be able to go in peace without fear of being watched, laughed at or groped,” school director Sitisak Sumontha told the newspaper. Thailand is famously accepting of sexual minorities, including transvestites, cross-dressers and people born with both male and female characteristics. Kampang School follows in the footsteps of a Chiang Mai technical college, who, in 2003, built a “Pink Lotus Bathroom” for its transgender students.

Democracy & Civics

Argentina: Saving the Family Farm

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A coalition of farm worker organizations, small farmers and native communities has rallied together in Argentina to focus attention on the government’s land-holding laws and local food policies. According to the Latin America Press, the National Campesino Front (FNC) was created in April to advocate for government policies that favor indigenous and farm communities over multinational corporations. At issue is the purchase of Argentinean land by corporations that cut down millions of acres of native forest in order to cultivate genetically modified soy — most of which is exported as animal feed. The country is now the world’s second-largest producer of biotech soy. Critics say that the policies that came with the push for soy have resulted in farmers being “kicked off” their land — and call for policies that support biodiversity, resource conservation and land reform.

Democracy & Civics

On the Run: Accused Balkan War Criminals Remain at Large

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A former Serbian leader accused of the massacre of thousands of Muslims in the mid-1990s has been apprehended, but several other accused war criminals remain at large. Radovan Karadzic’s arrest Monday leaves Bosnian army chief Ratko Mladic and the former president of Croatia’s Krajina province, Goran Hadzic, wanted for crimes related to the Balkans’ civil wars. Observers are saying Karadzic’s arrest will give new life to the hunt for Mladic, who is believed to have assumed a different identity and is living in Serbia, reported The Guardian. “There have been no sightings in the past five years or more,” a Serbian official said. “But obviously there is more optimism now that Mladic will be caught.

Democracy & Civics

Car Crash Data Must go Public, Court Rules

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The public will have access to previously secret government data about serious car accidents, a court ruled this week. The decision, by the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., found that the National Highway Safety Administration may not withhold so-called Early Warning data about serious accidents collected from manufacturers of automobiles, tires, child car seats and other related industries. The companies have been required to submit the data to the government since 2003, under the TREAD Act, which was inspired by problems with Ford Explorers bearing Firestone tires that resulted in one of the largest tire recalls ever conducted. But industry groups — notably the Rubber Manufacturers Association, a tiremaker trade organization — have fought to keep the information from the public, arguing that the data are proprietary. The advocacy group Public Citizen sued to have the data available under the Freedom of Information Act, and the decision Tuesday ruled in its favor.

Democracy & Civics

A Grassroots Water Grab in California

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The debate about water privatization is global, but many of the battles are local. One such struggle ended recently, when the mountain community of Felton, on California’s central coast, won control of its water supply from California America Water, a unit of international conglomerate Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Elektrizitaetswerk. According to the Press Banner, a local newspaper, the company settled out of court with the San Lorenzo Valley Water District to avoid an eminent domain trial. Felton residents were concerned over rising water rates and potential service disruptions, and formed an advocacy group, Felton Friends of Water, in October 2002. The group said their victory on June 5 has inspired them to help other municipalities struggling with similar issues.

Democracy & Civics

Monsanto Loses Canadian GMO Dispute

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In late March, Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser won a small victory against Monsanto Corporation after a decade-long legal engagement. His struggle began in 1997 when the company sued Schmeiser after the its genetically modified canola plants were discovered growing on Schmeiser’s property in Saskatchewan. Schmeiser said the modified canola was blown onto his property from a nearby farm, but Monsanto sued for $400,000, citing patent infringement and failure to pay technology fees. Schmeiser and his wife became international spokespeople for farmer’s rights and the fight against genetically modified crops — but in 2004, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled against the Schmeisers, reinforcing Monsanto’s patent, but waiving punitive damages. One year later, in 2005, Schmeiser found more of Monsanto’s plants on his farm, and after uprooting them billed Monsanto $660 for the labor.

Democracy & Civics

Zimbabwe Troubles May Bust Borders

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Zimbabwe’s controversial re-election of President Robert Mugabe is bringing new pressure on South Africa to resolve the conflict, and raising military tensions with neighboring Botswana. Leaders of the G-8 and several African nations scolded South African Prime Minister Thabo Mbeki at a meeting in Japan Tuesday, saying his efforts to mediate Zimbabwe’s political crisis are not working, the Mail & Guardian of South Africa reports. With violence against the Zimbabwean opposition escalating, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are pushing for harsher sanctions. However, some African leaders, including Mbeki, warned against sanctions they said could potentially destabilize Zimbabwe, resulting in civil war. At a press conference during the G-8 summit, Tanzanian president and African Union chairman Jakaya Kikwete and President Bush agreed to an additional meeting on the subject in August.

Democracy & Civics

Colombia's Disappeared Return to View

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Thousands of Colombians who have “disappeared” over the decades were commemorated in prose and pictures at a June conference in Bogota on political kidnappings, Inter Press Service reports. “Without a Trace,” a photography and short-story contest, debuted as part of the three-day International Seminar on Forced Disappearance, an event that drew human rights activists from Latin America, Europe and the United States. Columbian writer Jorge Eliecer Pardo was lauded for his story “No Names, No Faces, No Traces,” which one judge praised for both its subtlety and impact. “There are no obvious, straightforward words denouncing atrocities or morbid descriptions … there is respect for words and for what happened, which is much harder-hitting than a raw description,” he said.