Archive - Dec 2011

• North Koreans face transition as leadership pledges to resist change
• Local fisherfolk in Nigeria call for accountability after massive Shell oil spill
• In Senegal, opposition figures, civil rights groups targeted ahead of elections
• Washington DC’s Occupy the Vote pushes for political representation
• Occupy Detroit protesters focus on housing rights and larger role for communities of color

• Massive new protests in Syria
• UN troops deployed in South Sudan
• Memo reveals Pakistan feared army coup after Bin Laden raid
• Severe cyclone leaves 33 dead in India
• Court upholds immunity for telecoms companies who helped government spy
• Vital money transfer service to Somalia cut off

In the wake of the funeral for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, North Korea said the world should not expect change in its leadership style or policies. In the first formal policy message since Kim Jong Il’s death earlier this month, North Korea condemned South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak and affirmed the leadership of Kim Jong Un, who was officially declared supreme leader yesterday in a ceremony in Pyongyang. We’re joined by Christine Ahn, executive director of the Korea Policy Institute. She's been to North Korea several times.

Oil is now washing ashore in some coastal communities in Nigeria, a week after the country recorded its worst oil spill in more than a decade. Over a million gallons of oil were spilled into the ocean 75 miles off the coast from a deepwater oil field operated by the Anglo Dutch company, shell.  Satellite images showed the spill initially covered more than 350 square miles, an area the size of Dallas, Texas. Shell is the largest oil producer in the country and has been accused of arming militias to protect pipelines and contributing to massive environmental destruction.

In Senegal, a leading opposition figure has been arrested on murder charges following a deadly clash at a political rally. Barthelemy Dias is a youth party leader and a district mayor in Dakar. The incident comes as civil rights groups and political opposition leaders have been targeted with violence in the lead up to a Presidential election in February 2012. One of those who has been threatened and attacked is Alioune Tine, head of the group African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights.

In Washington, advocates for DC statehood are stepping up their campaign, bolstered by members of the Occupy Movement. Hunger strikers with the group Occupy the Vote are trying to raise awareness about the lack of political representation for DC. Twenty-nine-year-old Adrian Parsons has now gone 23 days without food, and says he won’t eat until he sees a real change as a result of their campaign. FSRN’s Alice Ollstein reports from Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington DC, where activists gathered.

As Occupy encampments across the country are being evicted, protesters are increasingly working with local residents to combat foreclosure and take over vacant buildings. The efforts could signal a new phase of post-encampment organizing in the Occupy movement. FSRN’s Michael Lawson reports from Detroit.