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Belarus referendum marks progress toward dictatorship

By Renfrey Clarke MOSCOW — In a vote riddled with fraud, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on November 24 secured victory in a referendum aimed at allowing him to introduce a new, super-"presidential" constitution. Official figures claimed

Beanland under fire in anti-discrimination row

Beanland under fire in anti-discrimination row By Bill Mason BRISBANE — Queensland attorney-general and justice minister Denver Beanland has accused the sacked head of the joint federal-state Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission,

Loose cannons

Saw no point "The position of the Australian government is very well understood, and that may well explain why it wasn't raised." — Prime Menzies John Howard, pleased that Asian leaders at the APEC summit hadn't raised the issue of racism in

People for Racial Equality call rally

By Ben Reid MELBOURNE — A range of trade unions and community, Aboriginal, political and ethnic organisations have united to form People for Racial Equality and organise a "Take a Stand Against Racism" rally on December 8. The group originated

Writing white history

By Suneeta Peres da Costa Roland Barthes once referred to the process of writing history as the "compromise between freedom and remembrance". In Australia, we are presently experiencing the strength of this dialectic as it translates to a

Mass anti-APEC movement in the Philippines

By Dick Nichols The first three meetings of the leaders of the countries of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation held in Bogor (Indonesia), Osaka (Japan) and Vancouver (Canada) all went off with hardly any protest. But after last weeks meeting in

Report slams black health crisis

Report slams black health crisis By Bill Mason BRISBANE — The disastrous state of the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland has been underlined by a state government "status" report on health matters released on

The 'Holy Trinity' and the Third World

IMF/World Bank/WTO: The Free Market FiascoEdited by Eric Toussaint and Peter DruckerNotebooks for Study and Research No. 24/25International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE)1995. 116 pp., US$8.75Reviewed by Eva Cheng The Free Market Fiasco

Black deaths in custody increasing

By Lisa Macdonald Last year, 22 Aboriginal people died in custody — one and a half times the number reported in the previous year and the highest number since 1987. At least another 16 people have died so far this year. Over the last seven years,

Academics' pay campaign continues

Green Left Weekly's MARCUS GREVILLE spoke to National Tertiary Education and Industry Union member at the University of Sydney Dr DICK BRYAN about the state of the union's campaign for a 15% pay rise. Question: What do you think about the NTEU's

Public workers strike in Venezuela

Public workers strike in Venezuela Tens of thousands of public employees in Venezuela began a four-day national general strike on November 19 to demand payment of a 25% salary increase and transportation and food subsidies decreed by the government

French workers resist the austerity drive

By Sam Wainwright PARIS — From November 8 to 11, the Ligue Communiste Revolutionnaire (LCR), France's largest and most influential far left party, held its decision-making conference here. Green Left Weekly interviewed ALAIN KRIVINE, the