Citizenship (June 2008)

For a long time citizenship was just another word in the dictionary; neutral and not occupying a significant space in political and socio-economic discourses. However, with the rise of the contemporary nation state, citizenship has acquired new significance; constructing who belongs and who doesn’t, and who has access to certain political and socio-economic rights and privileges.

With the increasing focus on electoral multi-party democracy and the development of human rights discourses, the term has become emotive and highly contentious socially and politically the world over. As such, the term has found a place in debates on civic and political rights, economic justice, gender and women’s rights, to list just a few. It has become a critical determinant of the extent to which one can enjoy certain rights, especially within the framework of a nation state. Issues of discrimination and entitlement to services and to political participation and other rights become important.

An audit on citizenship and discrimination conducted by the Open Society Justice Initiative in 2004, made an important observation that “the advent of multi-party democracy in many African states in the 1990s heightened the political significance of distinguishing citizens from non-citizens, and led to a marked increase in attempts to denationalise political opponents or even entire ethnic and social groups.” Because of this, and especially in Africa, citizenship has become a source of tensions, in some cases resulting in serious socio-political and ethno-political conflicts, some of which have led to disastrous wars and genocides.

Articles are available in pdf format [approximate file sizes in square brackets].

"We have degrees in violence": a report on torture and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe (December 2007)

Since early 2007 Zimbabwe has been subject to an upsurge in political violence that has seriously undermined the democratic process and created a presumption that elections will not be free and fair. State-sponsored violence directed toward any individuals or groups who are perceived to be critical of President Robert Mugabe, his government or his policies, manifests a strategy to demobilise Zimbabweans from mounting or supporting an organised opposition campaign.

The international community and Southern African Development Community (SADC) have attempted to play a role in encouraging a democratic process by introducing South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, as mediator between the ruling and opposition parties. However, the international community remains ineffective in its efforts to stop state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe.

Available in pdf format [959KB].

Arms ship heads for Congo

The Times 8/5/2008
The cargo of Chinese arms destined for Zimbabwe is now heading for Congo Brazzaville, according the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union, where the union believes a further attempt will be made to unload the weapons ... The Durban-based inspectorate of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), which has been monitoring the cargo ship Au Yue Jiang, is itself flying to Brazzaville to make sure that the weapons are not off-loaded there. A Satawu statement issued today said that the union could confirm that the ship docked in the port of Lobito in Angola and off-loaded building materials only ... Satawu said it condemned the Chinese government and the ship owners China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco) for creating a false impression around the world that they had recalled the vessel. "This so-called recall was clearly only intended to deceive and remove the massive groundswell of political pressure ... "Both the Chinese government and Cosco have regrettably demonstrated that profiteering remains the overriding consideration over human solidarity and saving lives ... Satawu again called on all African governments and dock workers to refuse the vessel docking access and to refuse to handle the weapons with a view to ensuring that the vessel leaves African shores immediately ...

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi's parliament has been suspended while the government and opposition hold talks to avert a political crisis that threatens to derail international donor programmes, senior officials said on Friday. "Parliament has not met for three days now because of the talks and I have been asked to adjourn until next week," parliament speaker Louis Chimango told Reuters ... Chimango has come under pressure to resign for not expelling more than 70 MPs who defected to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The United Democratic Front (UDF) and Malawi Congress Party (MCP), which together form a majority in parliament, want to remove the defecting DPP lawmakers under a constitutional provision that bans parliamentarians from switching parties. Chimango's refusal to remove the MPs for three years has led to political uncertainty. The latest dispute may delay debate of the 2008/2009 budget ... The UDF representative at the talks, George Ntafu, said that unless the government agreed to implement the provision banning party defections, the talks would fail. If the ban takes effect, the opposition would have the two-thirds majority needed to impeach wa Mutharika, but opposition leaders say they do not plan to seek his removal ...