<P>Dear friends</P>
<P>I know there is a diplomatic language to describe what happened in Zimbabwe. But I wonder if CS has to enter into these considerations. So, please, let's call a cat a cat ! And a "neither free nor fair election" a bad election and an attempts against basic civil rights !</P>
<P>Moreover, what is the credibility of "mutual gouvernance assessment" enshrined in NEPAD ? No doubt it is at the same level as are its promises in the domains of infrastructure and ICT, namely "unpredictable". At the best.</P>
<P>Best regards</P>
<P>Jean-Louis Fullsack</P>
<P>CSDPTT France <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #ff0000 2px solid">> Message du 06/04/05 14:23<BR>> De : "CIVICUS" <ERIC@CIVICUS.ORG><BR>> A : "wsis" <WSIS@LISTS.SN.APC.ORG><BR>> Copie à : <BR>> Objet : [WSIS CS-Plenary] [WSIS THETHA] What does democracy really mean today?<BR>> <BR>>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG>FROM THE DESK OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL</STRONG> </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><BR>> <FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG>What does democracy really mean today?<BR>> </STRONG><EM>By Kumi Naidoo, CIVICUS Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer<BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"></EM><BR style="mso-special-character: line-break"></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial size=2>In the aftermath of the controversial Zimbabwean elections held on 31 March 2005, questions abound about what constitutes a free and fair election. The South African government delegation said the election was free but not necessarily fair. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) took a similar view with media and other</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial size=2>observers saying the election was neither free nor fair. <BR>> <BR>> The African Union has reserved judgment pending further investigation into allegations raised by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of problems with voters rolls and more wide-scale vote rigging. It is worth reflecting not only on what constitutes a free and fair election but on what constitutes democracy more broadly.<BR>> <BR>> Read the full message at </FONT><A href="http://www.civicus.org/new/content/deskofthesecretarygeneral11.htm"><FONT face=Arial size=2>www.civicus.org/new/content/deskofthesecretarygeneral11.htm</FONT></A></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best regards, <BR>> Eric<BR>> </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>-----------------------------------------------------------------<BR>> Eric Muragana<BR>> Communications Associate <BR>> CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation<BR>> 24 Gwigwi Mrwebi Street ( former Pim) corner Quinn St., Newtown<BR>> 2001 Johannesburg, South Africa<BR>> Tel: +27 11 833-5959 ext no. 136<BR>> Fax: +27 11 833-7997<BR>> Skype: muragana<BR>> Cell: +27 83 758-1032<BR>> <BR>> <STRONG>Join CIVICUS.</STRONG> Visit </FONT><A href="http://www.civicus.org/" target=_blank><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face=Arial size=2>www.civicus.org</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR>> -----------------------------------------------------------------</FONT></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>