EERSTE RIVER, CAPE TOWN, 26 NOVEMBER 2004 - Sophie Fourie, of 27 Palmiet Street, Eerste River, faces arrest today because she refuses to leave the house that has been her home for 8 years. Mrs Fourie and her 3 children were evicted on the 2nd of November this year, after losing a long and drawn out court battle. The Eersteriver community moved her back into the house, and the next day she was arrested for tresspassing. Having nowhere else to go, she had to move back into the house, and yesterday the police informed her that she would be arrested again if she was in the house today. That would certainly mean being set to jail.

Yet, as Sophie says: "Ek het geen blyplek nie, ek is van de Doorns, en all my mense bly op plase. Die boere laat nie meer mense toe op die plase nie." (I'm from De Doorns, and all my people live on farms. The farmers won't let more people move onto the farms). ABSA bank and the Magistrates and High Courts have been informed in great detail of this reality, yet since 2001 they have hounded the Fourie family, who had been paying rent to ABSA to stay in the house since 1998. "My kinders lewe in vrees. Ek is tevrede om tronk toe te op rede van my kinders." (My children live in fear. I am ready to go to jail for the sake of my children) says Sophie.

A community organisation, the Eerste River People against Unlawful Evictions, has been formed to support families like the Fouries who are facing eviction. Their spokesperson, Patrick Wales, earlier this morning vowed to support Sophie Fourie if and when she should be arrested. For more information, Sophie Fourie can be contacted at 021 904 9756 or phone Tersia at 083 464 1445.

Protest against Pre-paid Meters in Johannesburg

16. November 2004: Hundreds of people from a diversity of backgrounds came together today to protest the installation of pre-paid water meters in Soweto and other townships. The march was organized by the coalition Organizations Against Prepaid Water that included amongst others the Anti-Privatisation Forum, the Community Independent Development Forum, Independent Baptists, Jubilee, SOPA, PAC, the Coalition Against Water Privatisation and taxi associations.

Gathering at Mary Fitzgerald Square, itself an emblem of the Johannesburg Development Agency’s neoliberal city restructuring, the protestors made their way to the Civic Centre to deliver a memorandum to Mayor Amos Masondo. The memorandum listed a host of grievances about pre-paid meters, most importantly the fact that pre-paid meters allow Johannesburg Water (JW), and companies like it, to implement the harshest form of “cost recovery” – automatic self-disconnection. Once the 6kl of free water run out, which according to one elderly protester it does before mid-month for her 8-person household, water credit needs to be paid for in advance. For pensioners like her, whose meager pension has to support the entire household, this means an additional and often insurmountable burden. It is for this reason that the memorandum charged JW and the Council with specifically targeting the poor. If, as JW argues, the water meters are so successful, “why not install them also in white residential areas?”, the protestors asked. Unsurprisingly, the Mayor could not be found to answer this question or the 10 demands listed in the memorandum.

But with or without the mayor’s presence, the large protest was a powerful reminder that the roll-out of pre-paid meters in Soweto and beyond will continue to be resisted and opposed. The fact that more organizations than ever before joined the march shows that there is wide agreement on the fact that the commodification of basic services is robbing us of our commons. As one protestor put it “next thing you know they’re asking us to buy chips to turn the sun on and off”. Water, the protestors shouted, belongs to everyone. And even the cops policing the march were overheard saying “No, no, these people are right. Water is a gift, one shouldn’t pay for it”. view pictures read memorandum

KHAYELITSHA, CAPE TOWN, 22 OCTOBER 2004 - The 'Case of the 5', a case of intimidation and contempt of court laid against 5 Anti-Eviction Campaign activists (Max Nyanyana, Fonky Goboza, McDonald Ngaba, Nceba Sithole and Zikelelo Qqamane) in 2002, was withdrawn by the state in Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court today.

The case started in September 2002, when Max Ntanyana and Nceba Sithole were arrested along with other striking workers at their (then) workplace at the Zandvliet Water Treatment Plant. The two Mandela Park Anti-Eviction Campaign activists were held on charges which were part of a campaign of repressing orchestrated by the police and major banks against the Anti-Eviction Campaign. Max was held for nearly a month in the dungeon of Pollsmoor Prison while the state tried to refuse him bail. The harsh bail conditions that the 5 activists were placed under resulted in Max spending another 3 months in prison when he was arrested in February 2003 for breaking bail conditions.

Over the course of nearly 30 court appearances the state's case unravelled, till today's victory when all charges against the 5 activists were withdrawn. The more than 2 years of this court case makes it the longest running political trial in recent South African history.

With the end of this trial, the activists are also freed from restrictive bail conditions that restricted their movement, banned them from meetings, and banned them from associating with other activists.

The campaign of state repression which saw charges being laid against hundreds of Anti-Eviction Campaign activists over the past 2 years will hopefully now come to an end. Two more cases against Anti-Eviction Campaign activists are coming to court in the next weeks, and it is hoped that these cases (which both date from 2003) will also be withdrawn.

SOUTH AFRICA, 18 October 2004 - The arrival this week in South Africa of the Isaeli Deputy Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, is being protested by Palestine solidarity groups and organisations supporting their call to isolate Israel. The Israeli deputy will be accompanied by Israeli business representatives who are in the country to secure investments and further consolidate the close trade relations that South Africa first hatched with Israel under Apartheid

BLOEMFONTEIN, 8 OCTOBER 2004 - The Constitutional Court of South Africa has limited the circumstances in which poor people's houses may be sold to pay for their debts. In a judgement involving two poor women from Prince Albert in the Western Cape, the court ordered that Magistrate's Courts have to review the circumstances involved in applications for sale in execution.

The case decided by the Court involved two women, Mrs Jafta and Ms van Rooyen. Mrs Jafta borrowed R250, and when she couldn't pay her debt her house was sold for R5000 (the lawyers fees plus interest had escalated her debt to R7000). Ms van Rooyen borrowed R190 to buy vegetables, and lost her house when it was sold for R1000 to pay the debt. Both houses were RDP subsidy houses, so the two women were left unable to get housing assistance a second time.

The judgement of the Court ruled that in future magistrates will have to look at the size of the debt, and consider whether there are other ways for the debts to be repaid, before allowing houses to be sold via sale in execution. One wonders whether Mrs Jafta and Ms van Rooyen would have been helped by this judgement, however, since the poor in South Africa have nowhere to turn to get legal assistance in civil cases (and the only lawyers in Prince Albert were already acting against the two women).

The Magistrate's Courts have also consistently acted against poor people in eviction cases which they are forced to judge, so one wonders if they will be any more "compassionate" in cases involving debts. Any limitation on the impact of sale in execution against poor people is, however, a good thing.

JOHANNESBURG, 7 OCTOBER 2004 - Burning tyres and police repression returned on Tuesday, 5 October, to Soweto. Residents of Phiri, Dlamini and Chiawelo defied Johannesburg Water and local government councillors by blocking Old Potch road in support of their demand to stop the installation of prepaid water meters.

Ten people were randomly arrested to break up the blockade and detained in Moroka Police Station overnight. They face charges of public violence in Protea magistrate's court on Friday, 8 October.

Johannesburg Water claims they have the support of residents in their plan to commodify water under Operation Gcina'Amanzi. Read the research report on prepaid meters in Phiri that contradicts the water company's claims.

SIERRA LEONE, 7 OCTOBER 2004 - Prominent lesbian activist, FannyAnn Eddy, was murdered while working late in the offices of SLLAGA (Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association) at the end of last week in what many fear was a homophobic hate crime.

Eddy, 30, was found dead on the morning of September 29. While she was working alone in the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association’s offices the previous night, her assailant or assailants apparently broke in to the premises and killed her.

FannyAnn Eddy had founded the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association in 2002. The group provided social and psychological support to a fearful and underground community. Eddy herself, however, was a visible and courageous figure, lobbying government ministers to address the health and human rights needs of queer people.

In April she addressed the meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. “We face constant harassment and violence from neighbors and others,” she told the Commission. “Their homophobic attacks go unpunished by authorities, further encouraging their discriminatory and violent treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”

FannyAnn's murder graphically illustrates her words. Zachie Achmat of the Treatment Action Campaign has called her murder "a tragedy for all human rights activists in Africa. ... This is a particular tragedy for those of us working in HIV/AIDS. Without aclear rights-based approach to human sexuality and sexual orientation, we will not succeed in dealing with HIV prevention, care and treatment". FannyAnn is survived by her 9 year old son and her girlfriend in South Africa, and will be sorely missed by activists and individuals across the continent.

More info at Behind the Mask and Human Rights Watch.

CAPE TOWN, 1 OCTOBER 2004 - The October edition of the IndyMedia Cape Town collective's newsletter, Izwi ("The Voice) is now online here.

Workers retrenched from Samancor led a march on the seventh congress of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA. The union received a memorandum from the protestors that details the number of deaths among workers retrenched from the plant, owned by the multinational, Billiton. Corporate abuse subcontracted union connivance, as NUMSA agreed to the retrenchments at the same time that a company set up by its shopstewards there began managing labour for the plant. The Union nonetheless assured the retrenched workers of its working class solidarity but offered no seats at the congress to the Samancor Retrenched Workers' Crisis Committee.
The procession of coffins dispersed without event.
Read more...

THE EARTH, 18 SEPTEMBER 2004 - The UN Security Council resolution on Darfur has been widely criticised, with Human Rights Watch calling it "a historic failure" and the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa labelling it "weak".

Human Rights Watch specifically criticised the resolution for not imposing oil sanctions on Sudan. The human rights group also noted that the resolution fails to hold the Sudanese government responsibile for continuing atrocities in Darfur and also levelled criticism at security council members - Algeria, China, Pakistan and Russia - who chose to abstain from supporting the resolution.

The Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa, which recently organised protests in Johannesburg against the Sudanese government, pointed out that reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Islamic Relief show that Sudanese government is directly involved in the major humanitarian catastrophe happening in Darfur. The MYM pointed out that the Sudanese government has over the past four years simultaneously engaged in repression throughout the country and also spread propoganda to avoid criticism from the international community. Weak condemnation from the United Nations is unlikely to cause the government to change its policies and this doesn't help the people in Darfur and other people suffering under the repression of the Khartoum regime.

DURBAN, 16 SEPTEMBER 2004 - More than two hundred people who'd come to the University of KwaZulu-Natal for a free screeing and discussion of Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11, hosted by the Centre for Civil Society, were outraged to hear that that the University cancelled the screening at the last minute after the local distributor, United International Pictures, had approached the South African Federation Against Copyright Theft to exert legal pressure against the univeristy to force the sudden cancelation. The screening was scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and the letter forcing its cancellation was received at 4:25 p.m. The screeing has been arranged to enable general members of the public, including many from community organisations and social movements organising in poor communities in Durban, to see a film that reveals important aspects of the global power structure. Read the full press release
Read The Ironies of Intellectual Property

SOUTH AFRICA, 16 SEPTEMBER 2004 - The public servants' strike that took off after a deadlock in wage and benefit negotiations between their unions and government was reached, saw between 700-800 000 workers on the streets all over the country, according to newspaper reports. Workers are demanding a salary increase of 7 per cent across the board, and benefits such as medical aid for all public servants and access and equality in housing allowance. Government is refusing to back down from its 6 per cent offer, and insists that the next few years will see no real salary increases for public servants, only adjustments that will follow inflation increases.

In Cape Town, between 15-20 000 workers went to Parliament in a high-spirited and well-coordinated march. According to one activist in Durban, "A splendid, militant march in support of public service workers [took place] today here in Durban... The usual limp petition was backed up by a far more belligerent promise to strike on Monday and Tuesday next week if demands are not met. Seems like the union movement has found its spine again."

Cosatu's general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi told strikers in Pretoria that "We are here to tell them that they are going to have the longest summer of their experience", directing his speech to the public service department, indicating that the protests will not stop until the unions' demands were met. Public service minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi was reportedly met with much righteous anger in Pretoria and was taken off the stage by police as protestors booed and threw soft drink bottles towards her as she repeated the government's "no work - no pay" mantra.

More strikes are expected on Monday and Tuesday if no agreement has been made before then.

More photos here and here.

ABUJA, NIGERIA, 15 SEPTEMBER 2004 - Peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebels from the western Sudanese region of Darfur collapsed today.

Negotiators from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) cited "strong differences" with the Khartoum regime over issues of security and disarmament. The Khartoum government - a military government since the 1989 coup - is responsible for arming the Janjaweed militias that have conducted a genocidal campaign of ethnic cleaning against farmers in the region since 2003.

The United Nations estimates that between 30 and 50 000 people have died since the SLM/JEM rebellion started in February 2003, and more than 1 million people have been displaced to refugee camps both within Darfur and in neighbouring Chad. Continued violence and inadaquate aid means that some 49% of those displaced are without food, 67% lack water, 88% lack shelter and 93% lack sanitation. As many as 300 000 might die from famine in the coming months if they do not get access to food aid.

The roots of the Darfur conflict lie in decades of neglect, as power has been centralised in Khartoum. The exploitation of oil reserves in the late 1990s (aided by the Canadian oil company Talisman) has contributed towards the Khartoum regime's grip on power. Labelling the conflict as between "Arabs" and "Africans" is misleading, although the racist Arabist ideology promoted by Khartoum (along with growing ecological crisis) has helped inflame tensions in Darfur. The solution to the Darfur conflict has to include disarming the Janjaweed and providing security for all residents of the reason, but thus far international pressure on Sudan has been very hesitant, and the Janjaweed continues their programme of rape and murder.

For background on the Darfur situation, read Alex de Waal's write-up in the London Review of Books.

Yesterday in New York City, 500,000 people marched in solidarity with the rest of the world, denouncing policies of the U.S. government from every possible angle. After a 6-hour long march, protesters did not just pack up their signs and go home. Various autonomous contingents sprawled out across the city, doing everything from a "kick the heads of state" soccer game in Central Park, to jail solidarity demonstrations for those arrested, to a relentless verbal assault campaign on Republican delegates trying to hide out in Broadway theaters. "Republican scum! Your time has come!" was a chant that could be heard up and down the avenues this afternoon.
for up to the minute coverage of the RNC protests visit NYCIMC
listen to live radio stream

MONDAY 30 AUGUST, BLOEMFONTEIN - LAUGH IT OFF PROMOTIONS appeared in the Supreme Court of Appeal today to challenge a Cape High Court judgement that their controversial "Black Labour; White Guilt" t-shirt bordered on hate speech and exploited SAB's "Carling Black Labour" trademark.

Laugh it Off used their constitutional right to free speech as a legal defense in response to an application of trademark infringement brought by SAB.

Five Appeal Court Judges heard 'Heads of Argument' from Laugh it Off's Senior Advocate Peter Hodes, SAB's Philip Ginsberg, as well as Gilbert Marcus appearing on behalf of the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), who were there as amicus curiae (friends of the court).

Arguments were largely confined to the realm of trademark law, with much of the focus on American case-law. These cases highlighted legal precedents involving the rights of artists and that of the brand. The link between the Black Label brand and labour exploitation was questioned by SAB, and the validity of Laugh it Off's social commentary was championed by Gilbert Marcus. more

Phiri, 29 July 2004: Hundreds of Phiri residents were joined in the Phiri Hall today to attend the launch of the research report produced by the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, The Struggle Against Silent Disconnections. As void of news as the newscasts on TV tonight were, at least the National Intelligence Agency thought the event important enough to monitor. Police too kept their weary eye on the convergence of residents who are so outraged by how their 'free' monthly supply of 6kl of water runs out after just 11 days, that one pensioner urged the burning of Johannesburg Water's site office.

read report on the launch