Le Monde diplomatique
english edition
December, 1997
(edited by Wendy Kristianasen)
Subject: December 1997: "Disarming the markets"
Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 18:25:31 +0100
From: Le Monde diplomatique
<dispatch@Monde-diplomatique.fr>
LEADER
Disarming the markets
by Ignacio Ramonet *
The storm that has hit the money markets in Asia and affected the
rest of the world is part of a wider danger. That is financial
globalisation, which has become a law unto itself with its own
powers, embodied
by institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank,
the OECD and the World Trade Organisation. Together, they
threaten
the power base of real states in the real world.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1997/12/leader.html
Translated by Barbara Wilson
FROM THE GULF TO KURDISTAN
Winds of war ruffle the Middle East
by Alain Gresh
Violence in Egypt, fighting in Kurdistan, risk of conflagration
in
Iraq and the peace process in deep coma, this is scarcely the new
order promised after the Gulf war. American double standards - a
continued blockade on Iraq but failure to put pressure on Israel
-
are causing frustrations which are leading to the search for new
alignments. The military alliance between Turkey and Israel is
being countered by a common Arab front led by Syria, Saudi Arabia
and Egypt. Here, our special correspondent examines at first-hand
the aims and fears of Israel, Syria and Turkey, and their
implications for the region.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/mideast.html
Translated by Wendy Kristianasen
FROM THE BUSH TO THE TELEVISION STUDIO
A trump card for Turkey's Kurdish guerrillas
by Michel Verrier
The PKK, after thirteen years of fighting and thousands of lives
lost on both sides, declares itself ready for a cease-fire on the
basis of a federation with Turkey - a proposal unacceptable to
Ankara. Meanwhile, it operates secretly in southern Turkey but
openly in its bases in northern Iraq, where it engages with Iraqi
Kurdish movements. It also has women soldiers and its own TV
station...
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/pkk.html
Translated by Malcolm Greenwood
FORMER GULF WAR ALLIES DIVIDED
A setback for America's anti-Saddam crusade
by Paul-Marie de La Gorce
The UNSCOM inspectors have finally returned to Baghdad. This was
largely due to the efforts of the Russian foreign minister, with
the backing of France. It was a rebuff for Washington's
anti-Saddam
crusade, usefully conjured up at a moment when its Middle East
policy is in disarray in the absence of any move in the
"peace
process". But Washington still remains unwilling to consider
any
compromise that would lift sanctions on Iraq and relieve the
suffering of the civilian population. The deadlock remains, and
with it the danger of a new flare-up.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/iraq.html
Translated by Barry Smerin
AS WORLD MARKETS CAREER WILDLY
Southeast Asia feels the chill
by Philip Golub
Yesterday, everyone was singing the praises of Asia's emerging
countries. But after the hurricane which has been sweeping its
financial markets, the Southeast Asia bubble has burst with a
vengeance. The debacle of the past months now puts into question
the development paradigm that has driven emerging third world
countries into a precarious modernity.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/asiafin.html
Adapted from original English text
The aftermath
by Christian de Brie
Southeast Asia: a capitalist's heaven until disaster struck. The
lessons to be learned? None, according to the gurus. What goes up
must come down. If Southeast Asia is now doing badly, it is
because
it was doing too well before. Or so they say...
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/finan.html
Translated by Barbara Wilson
TWO WAYS OF IMPROVING AMERICAN LIFE
Intellectuals and workers close ranks
by Eric Alterman *
Given up for dead a year ago, the American unions are
rediscovering
their strength with a string of recent victories. But the
material
conditions of the poorest of the workers has not improved,
despite
the sustained growth of the economy. Now, intellectuals are
trying
to rekindle the relations they had with the unions at the time of
Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and support them in asking for
justice and not just charity.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1997/12/usunions.html
Adapted from original English text
The fine art of giving
by Ibrahim Warde
The economic boom and astronomic incomes of top businessmen have
put philanthropy back on the agenda in the United States. Bill
Gates is coming up with $200m from his own pocket and as much
again
from his Microsoft empire. Ted Turner of CNN has capped this with
a
pledge of $1 billion to the United Nations. In his own words,
"the
more good I do, the more the money has come in". And,
indeed, the
motives for munificence are various. Giving has become a fine
art.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/usphilan.html
Translated by Barry Smerin
EXPERIMENTING WITH POWER
Pragmatic rule in Congo-Kinshasa
by Colette Braeckman
Peace has been restored
by an almost unknown army and the new
Kinshasa regime is trying to put the country back on its feet
after
thirty years under Mobutu. The economy is still paralysed and the
transition hard for an impoverished people, eager for democracy.
But, little by little, by trial and error, life is returning to
normal.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/africa.html
Translated by Lorna Dale
Mission impossible
by Robert Garreton *
The UN Commission on Human Rights is facing problems with its
investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kinshasa has
already blocked two previous missions led by Roberto Garreton,
the
Commission' special rapporteur, who has written several reports
on
Africa, and, in particular, a damning report on the atrocities
during the Congo-Zaire liberation war. Here, he reports on the
obstacles he faced.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/1997/12/garreton.html
Translated by Lorna Dale
ARGENTINA'S OPPOSITION UNITES
Are Menem's days numbered?
by Carlos Gabetta
The ruling party's defeat in the partial legislative elections on
26 October was a clear sign of the voters' rejection of the
Peronist rule of Carlos Menem. The economy is in less good shape
than a superficial glance at the figures might suggest. And
corruption at the highest level is endemic. As witnessed by the
government's measures to subvert the system of justice to its own
ends. The choice for today's voters is between republican order
and
mafia-infested chaos.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/argentina.html
Translated by Karen Wilkin
FIGHTING THE DRIED-MILK MULTINATIONALS
The bottle that kills
by Claire Brisset
One and a half million newborn babies die every year from the
wrong
kind of feeding. Despite the risks, and an international code
designed to stamp out abusive commercial practices, the
dried-milk
companies continue to use their powers of persuasion to get women
to give up breast-feeding and buy their products. Particularly in
the third world, where this is frequently an issue of life and
death...
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/milk.html
Translated by Francisca Garvie
TEN YEARS OF RESEARCH INTO THE 1947-49 WAR
The expulsion of the Palestinians re-examined
by Dominique Vidal
Fifty years ago the UN decided to partition Palestine into two
states, one Arab, one Jewish. The ensuing Arab-Israeli war ended
with Israel expanding its share of the land by a third, while
what
remained to the Arabs was occupied by Egypt and Jordan. Several
thousand Palestinians fled their homes, becoming the refugees at
the heart of the conflict. Israel has always denied that they
were
expelled, either forcibly or as a matter of policy. Israel's
"new
historians" have been re-examining that denial and have put
an end
to a number of myths.
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/inside/1997/12/palestine.html
Translated by Ed Emery
(*) Star-marked articles are
available to every reader. Other
articles are available to paid subscribers only.
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