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Colombia: From guns to the ballot box — the FARC transforms itself into political party

Colombia’s communist army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), relaunched itself as a political party on September 1 at a concert for “reconciliation and peace” in Bolivar Square, Bogota.

The guerrilla movement, which fought one of the longest civil wars in history until agreeing to a ceasefire with the government last year, confirmed its new name the day before at the end of its five-day congress.

It is now known as the Revolutionary Alternative Forces of the Commons, which will allow it to retain the FARC acronym.

Who are the Rohingya?

Rohingya are an ethnic Muslim group who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar.

Many Rohingya came to Myanmar from what is now Bangladesh during the British colonial period (1820s to 1940s) to expand rice cultivation in Rakhine State.

About 1 million Rohingya live in Myanmar, mostly in Rakhine State, making up some 2% of the country’s population and about 30% of the state’s population.

Colombia: As FARC lays down arms, number of activists murdered rises

More than 100 community and social activists were assassinated in Colombia between January 1 and August 18 this year, according to a new report released by the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz). The report showed that a further 194 activists received death threats during this same time.

The report also found that 12 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were assassinated between April 14 and August 17, as were 11 relatives of FARC members.

Video: Celeste Liddle on Aborignbal women's rights and January 26

Celeste Liddle is the National Indigenous Officer for NTEU. She is speaking at the Resistance: Young Socialist Alliance's Radical Ideas Conference.

Equal Pay for early educators

Child care workers walked off the job at 3:20pm today to highlight the gender pay gap and to demand a fair pay rise. United Voice Queensland led the action involving workers from 20 child care centres in Queensland and 90 Australia wide.

Interview with Linda Revill (United Voice organiser). Also featured was Sharon Caddie (United Voice) reading a resolution calling on the federal government to fund a pay increase for child care workers.