Day: March 12, 2013

Anarchism and the Arab uprisings

The Supreme Court denied certiorari in the case of Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, a Yemeni who has been held as an "enemy combatant" at Guantánamo since 2002. Al-Alwi was captured in Pakistan in late 2001, and the government concluded that he had fought in Afghanistan as part of a Qaeda-commanded unit. Al-Alwi denied this unsuccessfully during his original round of habeas corpus proceedings, and in 2015 initiated a new habeas case arguing that the nature of US involvement in Afghanistan had changed such that the use of military detention is no longer justified under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit disagreed, and the Supreme Court has now declined to review the appellate court's conclusion. (Photo via Jurist)

Central America

Honduras: 200-km march protests ‘model cities,’ mining law

Hundreds of campesinos marched from the northern town of La Barca to protest new laws expanding mining and enabling the creation of autonomous “model cities.”

Southern Cone

Chile: hydro projects threaten sacred Mapuche sites

Plans for a major hydroelectric plant in southern Chile have been stalled by environmental concerns and oppostion from Mapuche communities fearing the loss of sacred sites.

Mexico

Mexico: dissident teachers march against “reform”

Teachers marched and held strikes in much of southern Mexico to protest both the former teachers union head and the government that arrested her last month for corruption.

Southern Cone

Argentina: Menem smuggling acquittal overturned

On their second try, prosecutors won a conviction of ex-president Carlos Menem for arms smuggling during the 1990s, but as a senator he will probably not face jail time.

ANARCHISM AND THE ARAB UPRISINGS

Agents of El Salvador's Fiscalía, backed up by police troops, raided seven non-governmental organizations, ostensibly on the grounds of investigating "corruption." The Salvadoran popular movement describes the raids as the latest in an escalating campaign of political persecution by President Nayib Bukele against voices critical of the regime. Among the groups targeted were Las Mélidas, a long-standing women's rights organization, and PRO-VIDA, a humanitarian association that works in areas of healthcare, ecology, and strengthening of democratic institutions. In a statement following the raids, a representative of Las Mélidas condemned them as "unjustified" and meant to "criminalize" the group's initiatives, which include literacy, violence prevention, sexual health campaigns, and other programs serving the country's most marginalized women. (Photo via Twitter)