Number 232, February 2001

In the South, democratic processes are often dictated and supervised by the North, even in partial satisfaction of conditions for political and economic cooperation. Failure to comply with Northern norms is seen as a justification for interventions. The following widely circulated message, by an anonymous author, reminds us that election fraud is not only a Third World occurence and invites us to question the media portrayal of electoral processes everywhere.

Gianna Urizio

Ariel Sharon led the militar which killed 69 civilians in the West Bank Village of Qibya and then, in 1982, as Israeli minister for defence he commanded the invasion of Lebanon and the massacre of 2,000 defenceless men, women and children in the refugee camps at Sabra and Shatila. He was held responsible and removed from office in 1983. This month though Israel voted for Ariel Sharon, of the right-wing Likud party, to be the Israel's prime minister. Many Arab voters boycotted the election and the turnout was low. Many people believe that this bodes ill for the peace process. As the region is on the threshold of a new era we reproduce here part of a diary from Gianna Urizio written recently in Israel/Palestine.

Pradip Thomas

The Platform for the Democratisation of Communication is lobbying the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, to open up their membership and deliberations to NGOs. The Platform for the Democratisation of Communication, an informal network of international media NGOs involved in media advocacy, was convened in November 1996 at a meeting held in London jointly organised by WACC and the MacBride Roundtable.

Los Placeres Community Radio, Valparaíso Chile. Radio centre for the diffusion of the Youth Theatre, Chile.

In a new book: "Popular Radio in the construction of citizenship", Carlos Camacho explores the experience of the Bolivian Association of Educational Radio (ERBOL) and the role of radio in democracy, education and citizen participation.

Terry Hermano

"People Power II" is what Filipinos called the recent upheaval that caused the downfall of their president Joseph Estrada, who had been accused in an impeachment trial of corruption and bribery, and culpable violation of the Constitution.

Sean  Hawkey

The recent earthquakes in El Salvador and India might be called "sexy" by some journalists. They provide sellable high-impact images of landscapes strewn with debris and faces of desperation and grief. They also give us the gripping drama of daring rescue teams working against the clock to save trapped and buried survivors before they die. Presenting the technical and political lessons learnt from previous disasters or educational programmes contributing to the prevention of disasters is far less "sexy", so sadly they get much less attention.