Fw: June 1998 Le Monde Diplomatique

Tue, 9 Jun 1998 15:46:04 +0200
Austrian Embassy (austria@it.com.pl)

----------
> From: Le Monde diplomatique <dispatch@london.monde-diplomatique.fr>
> To: English edition dispatch <dispatch@london.monde-diplomatique.fr>
> Subject: June 1998
> Date: Dienstag, 09. Juni 1998 14:28
>
> LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE
> _________________________________________________________________
>
> Le Monde diplomatique
>
> english edition
>
> June 1998
>
> edited by Wendy Kristianasen
>
>
>
> LEADER
>
> Giant corporations, dwarf states *
>
> by Ignacio Ramonet
>
> The power of the state is in retreat before an onslaught of giant
> corporates, fuelled by a frenzy of privatisation. The recent
> mega-mergers confirm the process of globalisation is beyond the
> control of governments, but should citizens accept it?
> http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/06/01leader.html
>
> Translated by Ed Emery
>
>
>
> THIRTY FIVE YEARS OF COMPLICITY
>
> Indonesia, master card in Washington's hand
>
> by Noam Chomsky
>
> The Asian crisis has claimed its first victim - apart from the
> millions of workers now unemployed - General Suharto. President for
> over thirty years, he had a monopoly of power based on emoluments
> and corruption. Finally, he proved unable to carry out the reforms
> demanded by the International Monetary Fund or to stop the riots.
> On 21 May 1998 he resigned. His successor, Jusuf Habibie, has given
> some signs of change with the announcement of elections, the
> release of political prisoners and changes at the top of the army.
> But will the country get the thorough-going change it needs?
>
> Original text in English
>
>
>
> Between the finance markets and the army
>
> by Françoise Cayrac-Blanchard
>
> Now that the dictator has resigned and been replaced by Mr Habibie,
> whether the transition is towards a "constitutional" or "people's
> power" model of democracy, the army is sure to play a decisive
> role, even if it decides to take a back seat.
>
> Translated by Ed Emery
>
>
>
> NO OPTION BUT COOPERATION, DESPITE CONFLICTING INTERESTS
>
> Russia and America at odds in the Gulf *
>
> by Alain Gresh
>
> On a visit to Israel at the end of May, a United States Congress
> delegation led by Republican Newt Gingrich and Democrat Richard
> Gephardt confirmed its support for Binyamin Netanyahu's hard line
> and its opposition to any attempt by Washington to put pressure on
> Israel. But the Israeli-Palestinian deadlock is complicating US
> strategy in the Gulf. Unable to mobilise its Arab allies against
> Iraq, America is also encountering reticence on the part of the
> European countries and running up against an increasingly
> independent Russia.
> http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/06/04gresh1.html
>
> Translated by Barry Smerin
>
> The Iran factor
>
> by Alain Gresh
>
> Iran continues to preoccupy both Russia, with which it has close
> relations, and the United States. Encouraged by President Khatami's
> call for a "dialogue of civilisations", Washington is dropping
> proceedings against Gazprom, Total and Petronas which have signed
> an agreement with Iran to develop a large gas field. The Iran-Libya
> Sanctions Act (Ilsa), adopted by Congress in 1996, had met with
> stiff resistance throughout the world, nowhere more so than in
> Europe. Washington's new approach towards Iran is all the more
> important as President Khatami has limited room for manoeuvre.
>
> Translated by Wendy Kristianasen
>
>
>
> WILL THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS DO ANY BETTER THAN THE RIGHT IN GERMANY?
>
> Elections offer brief respite from crisis *
>
> by Mathias Greffrath
>
> In Germany, the Christian Democrats are in danger of losing the
> election on 27 September and Chancellor Helmut Kohl, in power since
> 1982, may have to step down. Opinion polls at the end of May gave
> Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder a clear lead. But the Germans are
> not exactly thrilled by the alternative on offer. The trouble is
> that the Social Democrat candidate has not put the real choice
> between different kinds of society at the heart of his campaign.
> http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/06/06germany.html
>
> Translated by Barbara Wilson
>
>
>
> WORKING HOURS AND THE FIRST STRIKE IN A DECADE
>
> Bolt from the blue in Denmark
>
> by Hubert Prolongeau
>
> Denmark is being shaken by an unprecedented social movement. For
> the first time since 1961, the workers' rejection of the biannual
> agreement between the blue-collar trade unions and the employers
> gave way to a two-week wildcat strike and the government was forced
> to intervene. At issue is the length of the working week, opening
> an important debate on the future of prosperous societies.
>
> Translated by Francisca Garvie
>
>
>
> DIVISIONS IN EUROPE OVER RELATIONS WITH THE SOUTH
>
> The Lomé Convention under threat
>
> by Anne-Marie Mouradian
>
> The Lomé Convention, which has been renewed and revised three times
> since 1975, has historically symbolised Europe's ambitions to
> establish new relations with the South. No more were these to be
> dominated by economic interests and power politics. Despite the
> modesty of its achievements, it is one of the last remaining means
> for protecting the world's poor countries from the full force of
> globalisation. But not for long. Europe is preparing to negotiate
> the fifth Convention, and international finance and trade
> organisations are insisting that it be brought into line with the
> rules of the new world economic order.
>
> Translated by Ed Emery
>
>
>
> THE WORLD'S BIGGEST DEMOCRACY SEARCHES FOR STABILITY
>
> India in the hands of the Hindu nationalists
>
> by Christophe Jaffrelot
>
> India's controversial nuclear testing has redirected attention to
> the subcontinent where the Indian People's Party (BJP), the biggest
> Hindu nationalist movement, emerged winners in this March's
> elections. The BJP has its roots in the Hindu nationalist movement
> that emerged in the 1920s, that sought to strengthen the Hindus in
> the face of the Muslim minority, and this allegiance still remains
> a constraint to the BJP. Some people have been pleasantly surprised
> by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's reassuring attitude
> towards Pakistan. But there is still rising Hindu nationalism - and
> those nuclear tests.
>
> Translated by Malcolm Greenwood
>
> Very political crimes in Bombay
>
> by Jeremy Seabrook
>
> Social collapse in Bombay has taken the form of a growing number of
> extra-judicial police killings. During the past three years there
> have been almost 150 deaths in what have come to be known as police
> "encounters". Here, in the state capital of Maharashtra and India's
> commercial heart, the distinction between crime and politics has
> become blurred.
>
> Original text in English
>
>
>
> THE WEST DISTANCES THE NEWLY-INDEPENDENT STATES FROM MOSCOW
>
> Transport and geostrategy in southern Russia
>
> by Jean Radvanyi
>
> "A 21st Century Silk Road" is what people are calling the project
> for a Eurasian corridor in Southern Russia, which has been launched
> by the European Union with the backing of the United States. Road
> and rail networks, ports, pipelines and an air corridor are
> providing access to the region's newly-independent states, but by
> routes which avoid Russia and Iran but increase the crucial role of
> Turkey. No holds are barred in this struggle to exploit natural
> resources.
>
> Translated by Pat Phillips
>
>
>
> INVISIBLE BUT REAL
>
> When immigration turns to slavery
>
> by Thierry Parisot
>
> The 150th anniversary of France's abolition of slavery was the
> occasion for many events marking the 19th century black slave
> trade. But the enslavement of human beings is just as much a
> reality today, affecting millions of women and children across the
> globe. As this exploitation starts to reach the heart of Western
> Europe, awareness of the phenomenon is slowly growing. The
> children's march was the first public demonstration.
>
> Translated by Malcolm Greenwood
>
> Organising against child labour *
>
> by Claire Brisset
>
> The facts about the world's child labourers are only now beginning
> to be understood for the international scandal and the economic
> folly that they are. A scandal, because it deprives millions of
> them of their childhood; and a folly, because it denies them any
> hope of education, and thus seriously undermines their countries'
> hopes of economic lift-off.
> http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1998/06/13slave2.html
>
> Translated by Ed Emery
>
> The Beirut slave trade
>
> by Marie Odile and Xavier Favre
>
> Virtual imprisonment and abuse, the hallmarks of slavery in an
> earlier time, are now the daily experience of thousands of Sri
> Lankan women (and others from Africa), employed as servants in
> today's Beirut. The authorities are turning a blind eye and the
> public at large is oblivious to this trade in human labour, which
> goes on behind the closed doors of the employment agencies and the
> employer families.
>
> Translated by Wendy Kristianasen
>
>
>
> (*) Star-marked articles are available to every reader. Other
> articles are available to paid subscribers only.
>
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>
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