crisis of capitalism

The Caribbean

Cuba: investigate death of political prisoner

Several non-governmental organizations have demanded access to Cuban prisons, calling for international support following the death of a man imprisoned for participating in the July 2021 anti-government demonstrations on the island. Manuel de Jesús Guillén Esplugas, a member of the opposition Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), had been serving a sentence of six years in the Combinado del Este prison in Havana. Guillén Esplugas was among those arrested after participating in the protests that began on July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans, spurred by their dissatisfaction with living conditions, organized demonstrations against the regime for its handling of the economy and COVID-19 crisis, and repression of dissidents. (Image: Justicia11J)

The Caribbean

Guadeloupe: curfew following strike at power plant

The government of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe imposed a territory-wide curfew after a strike by workers at the central power plant shut down the island’s electricity supply. Amid ongoing complaints over salaries, workers at the Pointe Jarry facility entered the control room of the thermal plant and caused an emergency shutdown of the engines. After police secured the plant, the government requisitioned the employees needed to operate the power station through a prefectural decree. This ordered employees deemed essential to the operation of the station to return to work based on an “observed or foreseeable damage to good order, public health, tranquility and safety.” (Photo: Region Guadeloupe)

The Caribbean

Power outages persist in storm-wracked Cuba

The collapse of the electrical grid plunged the entire island of Cuba into darkness last week—a situation worsened by the arrival of Hurricane Oscar. The national blackout, which caused many families to lose most of the little food they had, sparked rare protests amid a broader economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and widespread shortages of medicine, food, and water. Power has now been restored in the capital, Havana, but many rural areas remain in the dark, while schools and workplaces across the country remain closed due to ongoing energy-saving measures. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

Iraq

Iraq: no justice five years after Tishreen protests

Amnesty International highlighted the failure of successive Iraqi governments to ensure justice, truth and reparation for the lethal crackdown on the 2019 Tishreen (October) protests. A new report reveals ongoing impunity five years after nationwide demonstrations that led to hundreds of deaths and disappearances, and thousands of injuries among the protesters. The Tishreen demonstrations, which began Oct. 1, 2019, saw hundreds of thousands of Iraqis taking to the streets to demand jobs, improved public services, and an end to government corruption. Amnesty found that they were met with “serious human rights violations and crimes under international law…including the excessive and unlawful use of lethal force by anti-riot police, counterterrorism forces and members of Popular Mobilization Units.” According to Amnesty’s analysis of information from Iraqi courts, out of 2,700 criminal investigations opened, only 10 arrest warrants have been issued against suspected perpetrators, and a mere seven convictions have been handed down. (Photo: JURIST)

The Caribbean

France deploys anti-riot police to Martinique

The French government deployed the special anti-riot police, the Republican Security Companies (CRS), to Martinique in response to ongoing protests over the rising cost of living on the French-ruled Caribbean island. The deployment marks the first time CRS units have been sent to Martinique since they were banned from the territory in December 1959, following violent protests in departmental capital Fort-de-France that drew widespread criticism over heavy-handed police intervention. (Map: PCL)

Africa

Nigeria: drop treason charges against protestors

Human Rights Watch released a statement condemning the treason charges leveled against protestors in Nigeria last month. A total of 124 people were arrested during the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria campaign in August, and 10 of those individuals have been charged with treason. The crime of treason can be punishable by death in the West African country. The protest campaign, initially planned to last 10 days, was cut short by violent repression that left at least 20 dead. Activists are now planning a new campaign under the hashtag #FearlessInOctober. (Image via Twitter)

Planet Watch

World war or world revolution?

In Episode 239 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg provides an overview of the protest waves and uprisings going on across the planet—in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, China, Serbia, Venezuela, and in Israel. This as worldwide protests in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza continue. Amid ongoing protests against Netanyahu in Israel, there have also been protests against Hamas in Gaza. Despite internal dangers and contradictions in all these upsurges, there is a sense that we could be approaching a revolutionary moment such as that seen in 2011—the year of the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street. And with the planet on an accelerating trajectory toward world war, the linking of these upsurges through conscious solidarity and the infusion of anti-war content to their demands is urgently mandated. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo via Twitter)

Africa

West Africa: dissidents detained, disappeared

Amnesty International urged Malian authorities to immediately release dissident Youssouf Daba Diawara and 11 other arbitrarily detained opposition politicians. According to the statement, Mali’s junta has been arbitrarily holding these political figures solely for exercising their civil rights. Diawara was forced from his car by armed men in Bamako and taken to the Gendarmerie’s Criminal Investigations Brigade. He was charged with “opposition to legitimate authority” for participating in a protest against power cuts and inflation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also expressed concern over the “disappearance” of activists in neighboring Guinea. Both Mali and Guinea have been led by military juntas since coups d’etat in 2020 and 2021, respectively. (Map: World Sites Atlas)

Greater Middle East

Arbitrary detentions amid Egypt protest wave

Egyptian security forces have detained 119 people, including at least one child, since the start of the month for participating in anti-government protests, Amnesty International reports. In recent weeks, frustrations over price hikes and power cuts have spurred demonstrations and calls for revolution against the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The arrests have spanned six governorates, with some prominent activists being detained in raids on their homes. Several detainees are in the hands of the elite Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP), where they are being investigated on dubious charges that include “joining a terrorist group, publishing false news, and misuse of social media.” (Photo via Twitter. Caption reads: “Protests now in Mursa Matrouh”)

Africa

Kenya backtracks on tax bill after deadly protests

Kenyan President William Ruto backtracked on a contentious tax-hiking finance bill, after street protests left at least 13 people dead and 150 injured as police opened fire with live ammunition. The youth-led protests were triggered by a range of proposed new taxes that critics say will increase the financial burden on families already struggling with rising prices. Before capitulating to protester demands, the government declared a “security emergency” and deployed the military to support the police—a move that technically requires parliamentary approval. Ruto claimed the protests had been infiltrated by organized criminals whose actions were “treasonous.” (Photo: Anthony Langat/The New Humanitarian)

South Asia

Uprising in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir

Three protesters were killed and six injured as Pakistani security forces fired on crowds during angry street demonstrations in Muzaffarabad, capital of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK). The paramilitary Rangers were mobilized to Muzaffarabad after a police officer was killed amid protests over high food, fuel and electricity prices. A “wheel-jam and shutter-down” strike had been called by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), but was called off as Islamabad agreed to a Rs 23 billion ($86 million) subsidy for the region. The new deadly violence erupted just as the Rangers were starting to withdraw from Muzaffarabad. A curfew remains in place in the city. (Photo of vigil for slain protesters via Twitter)

South Asia

Farmers’ march on Delhi met with repression

Amnesty International released a statement decrying the Indian government’s disproportionate restrictions on the right to peaceful protest instated to quell the “Dilli Chalo” (on to Delhi) farmers protest. In response to farmers’ cross-country mobilization to protest agricultural policies, Indian authorities imposed limitations on group gatherings, erected barricades along the route of the march, and used tear-gas and rubber bullets against the farmers. (Photo: Ravan Khosa via Wikimedia Commons)