Full Coverage: Democracy

31.03.2004 Amnesty International has criticised India for using excessive force during a protest march held by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons in the north Indian city of Srinagar, located in Jammu and Kashmir.

30.03.2004 'I share your dream of a Middle East replete with democracy and human rights for all,' writes a prominent Palestinian doctor to President Bush in Grassroots' Online Journal, 'but why not set a better example?'

29.03.2004

Iraq, Middle East

When the strategy for achieving democracy involves a foreign invasion, a brief period of chaos, and a long occupation--as has been the case in Iraq--the whole idea looks pretty unappealing, write two analysts from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace looking at Bush administration strategy in the Middle East.

29.03.2004 Deprived of the right to plaster public places with promotional posters, Sri Lanka's politicians have turned tech-savvy in their campaign for the April 2 parliamentary polls, inundating citizens with Short Message Services (SMSes) and electronic mails extolling their virtues.

29.03.2004 An NGO based in the east Indian state of Orissa has launched an awareness campaign on the right to information and electoral reforms in India.

29.03.2004 NGOs have been lobbying the UK government to commit to choosing the “best candidate regardless of nationality” to replace the IMF’s current managing director Horst Koehler on 2 April. NGOs, including Jubilee Debt Campaign, ActionAid, CAFOD, Oxfam and Save the Children, are calling for an end to the long-standing process of unquestioningly appointing a European head of the IMF while leaving the World Bank top post to an American.

29.03.2004 The much-awaited elections in Afghanistan have been postponed to September, because of growing insecurity and the UN's slow pace in registering voters.

26.03.2004 Comment enseigner aux enfants palestiniens les valeurs de respect, de démocratie et de justice alors que le peuple vit sous oppression ? Comment encourager les jeunes à continuer leurs études alors qu'un mur les empêche d'atteindre leurs établissements scolaires ? Comment les éducateurs peuvent-ils arriver à faire la promotion de la paix dans un contexte de violence inouïe ?

26.03.2004 As the date of South Africa's general election grows closer, the gloves are coming off in campaigning amongst political parties. On Apr. 14, the country will vote to elect a new president and parliament. This will be the third democratic election held in South Africa - and one that has gained special significance from the fact that it coincides with the demise of apartheid a decade ago.

26.03.2004 Post-colonial Namibia is a “democracy on paper”, but not a “democracy in reality”. Voter apathy and “jobs for comrades” are two factors challenging the new democracy. These were views expressed at a panel discussion on Namibia’s post-colonial political culture

From: New Era

24.03.2004 The vote of Sri Lanka's minority Indian Tamil community is likely to be sharply divided in the April 2 parliamentary polls because a young, pro-Tamil Tiger guerrilla political party has decided to contest alone this time, threatening the votebank of the community's main representative, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC).

23.03.2004 Nepalese student unions have united and joined with their parent political parties to form a third front to end the never-ending war and the stalemate between the government and Maoist rebels.

22.03.2004

Ariel Sharon © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep

Why, asks Uri Avnery of Israel's leading peace group Gush Shalom, do the Israeli and Spanish people have such differing takes on the functioning of democracy? When Spain decided that the prime minister held views antithetical to the majority of the people, they voted him out. But in Israel, where the same situation applies, nothing happens.

22.03.2004 Uncertainty and divisions loom in the days and weeks ahead in Taiwan, after mass demonstrations, fuelled by folktale-like speculations about the rigging of Saturday's presidential elections, turned into violent riots Sunday.

19.03.2004 The Sri Lankan Election Commissioner's decision to avoid locating polling booths inside regions controlled by the Tamil Tiger guerrillas is likely to affect the voting prospects of around 270,000 people, many of whom are unlikely to travel to distant ballot stations to vote.

17.03.2004 A statement issued today by the UK-based Haiti Support Group explores the peculiarities of the new government slated to be installed today--representing Haiti's tiny elite, and expresses concern over the appointment of a former Army General who wants to reconstitute Haiti's armed forces as Minister of Interior.

17.03.2004 The work on the draft of the new Serbian Constitution could start tomorrow, with the appointment of teh Committee for Constitutional Issues. However, it remains to be seen whether there is agreement on the provisions and solutions that should enter into the new Constitution.

15.03.2004

Sec'y of State Colin Powell © Radio Netherlands

The U.S. game-plan for unseating Haiti’s elected ruler can be attributed to two of Washington’s more flagrant ideologues--Roger Noriega at the State Department and Otto Reich, at the White House--writes long-time Latin America-watcher Larry Birns. But ultimate blame lies with Secretary of State Colin Powell, who “caved to their zealotry” and helped push Haiti’s government overboard without so much as a life raft.

12.03.2004 After the monitoring of the Parliamentary Elections 2002 amd the additional Local Elections in 2003, the Civic Association, Most announced its activities, in a press conference held at the NGO InfoCentre in Skopje, regarding the Early Presidential Elections in Macedonia.

12.03.2004 La victoire de Vladimir Poutine à l'issue de l'élection présidentielle russe du 14 mars prochain ne fait aucun doute. En 2000, Poutine n'était pas assuré d'obtenir les 50 % nécessaires pour l'emporter dès le premier tour. Cette fois-ci, seule l'ampleur de sa victoire - entre 70 et 85 % des suffrages - demeure inconnue. Comment peut-on anticiper un tel résultat ?