As Colombia approaches presidential elections next year, the US decision to decertify the country in the war on drugs plays into the hands of its allies on the political right, writes NICK MacWILLIAM
Blessed are the peacemakers
BOB NEWLAND welcomes the acquittal of Eta-member-turned-peace-negotiator Josu Urrutikoetxea, who was facing terrorism charges in a French court despite a supposed guarantee of immunity
Peace negotiator Josu Urrutikoetxea
The move against alleged PKK members that sparked outrage as a community centre in north London was raided last year has now come to trial, writes TONY BURKE, but in the meantime, the peace process abroad has changed the situation almost entirely
A new report points a way to overcome complacent framing of climate issues, ‘by sparking a wider public reckoning with climate realities,’ and reconnecting with working-class people. IAN SINCLAIR reports
We cannot understand today’s world without understanding the rise of China – and we cannot understand China without understanding how it was shaped by the second world war, writes JENNY CLEGG
NICK WRIGHT reports from Italy, where 80 cities saw Gaza strikes as unions paralysed transport and massive crowds clashed with police in Milan — but France is also kicking off, and Westminster, in a very different way, is facing a crisis of legitimacy too
Escalating anti-China rhetoric from the West has a clear purpose – to manufacture consent for the new cold war, and potentially a hot one, argues CARLOS MARTINEZ
IN A landmark case for the Basque independence movement, Josu Urrutikoetxea, Basque activist and peace negotiator, was acquitted of all charges following his trial at the 16th Anti-Terrorist Correctional Chamber in Paris.
Urrutikoetxea’s prosecution for “criminal association with a terrorist aim” arose from his role as a peace negotiator during talks between Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Eta) and the Spanish government.
These ended one of the bloodiest conflicts in 20th-century Europe and led to Eta’s voluntary dissolution. It is the first time that charges against a Basque militant have been dismissed.
This outcome was not simply a personal victory for Urrutikoetxea, welcome though that is. It emphasises the importance of peace negotiators in bringing about the end to conflict and for them to be granted and retain immunity for their work.
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