Book Description

Following decades of feeble struggles in the quest of attaining sustainable democratic governance architectures across Africa, the book argues that amidst challenges posed by military coups, ethnicity, rent seeking and patronage as an anecdote to political instability, West Africa has made reasonable progress with six (6) countries characterized as fully democratic, Five (5) countries in the Final Phase, and Four (5) countries characterized as hybrid regimes. Whilst this reasoning is based on the current realities of political transformations in the sub-region, it attributes political instability in the sub-region to failed policies of the first post – colonial leaders and their pluralist-coercive multiparty totalitarian rule, institutional failures, coups, conflicts and civil wars as daunting challenges to democracy in the sub-region. Consequently it combines scholarly literature to realities of the sub-regions political trajectories, bringing to light current democratic successes and challenges ahead.

A copy of the Book could be found at www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de

AI Index: AFR 27/005/2010

22 July 2010

Gambian President Yaya Jammeh is called to Action

“Freedom Day” in The Gambia is a travesty

As Gambia celebrates its national holiday today, called “Freedom Day” by President Yahya Jammeh, hundreds of activists representing over eighty seven non-governmental organisations participated in protests and other activities in fourteen countries. On this “Day of Action,” activists in 14 different countries worldwide will draw attention to the appalling human rights record of President Yahya Jammeh’s government in The Gambia.

Naming Gambia’s national holiday ‘Freedom Day’ is a shameful travesty: President Yahya Jammeh’s government has cracked down on political freedom and commits widespread human rights violations with total impunity. Freedom remains an illusion for most Gambians, who live in fear of arbitrary arrest, torture, incommunicado detention, unfair trials, rape, disappearance, and extra-judicial executions.

Unfair trials and prison conditions

Hundreds were incarcerated and held incommunicado in appalling conditions after waves of arrests in November of 2009 and in March 2010. Only eight have been tried, in a so-called treason trial where they are accused of fomenting a coup. The eight men were accused of procuring arms, equipment, and mercenaries to stage a coup against President Yahya Jammeh’s government. Judge Emmanuel Amadi found them guilty of treason and sentenced them all to death last week.

The trial violated a host of international fair trial standards. Detainees had little or no access to their lawyers or even their families. Sources indicate that the accused have been tortured, while others were pressured to provide false testimony at the trial, under threat of imprisonment and torture. The government persecuted those who refused to give false testimony, allegedly going to far as to make death threats.

Conditions in Gambian prisons, especially in Mile 2 Central Prison and other secret detention centres, military barracks, secret quarters in police stations, police stations in remote areas, and warehouses are appalling. They amount to a violation of the right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment.

Arbitrary detentions

Gambia’s human rights situation deteriorated after 1994, when Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh came to power and banned all political parties or political activities. Since March 2006, when President Jammeh claimed to have uncovered an attempted coup plot, the situation has gotten steadily worse.

Members of the President’s own personal protection guard – who are under his direct control – carry out the most egregious abuses, as do certain units in the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) often referred to as green boys, ninjas, or drug boys. However, the army and police also commit serious human rights violations.

The security services routinely detain people without charge (during which time they are often tortured or ill-treated), or unlawfully imprisons them after unfair trials. Several individuals are known to have disappeared, died in custody, or died shortly after release – and unconfirmed allegations of additional deaths have been impossible to corroborate due to the government’s refusal to provide any information on their cases.

Journalists at serious risk

Freedom of expression is severely limited: journalists are arbitrarily arrested if suspected of leaking critical information or writing stories unfavourable to the authorities. Newspapers have been closed down or had their websites hacked into. Journalists and members of the opposition are harassed, threatened, and unlawfully killed.

Two cases involving Gambian journalists have been brought to the attention of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice since 2006. One case concerns Daily Observer journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh – a victim of enforced disappearance for three years despite the Court’s ruling that he be released and damages be paid to his family.

In another case, former editor of TheIndependent newspaper Musa Saidykhan alleges he was tortured by the NIA in 2006. Moreover, the 2004 murder of Deydra Hydara, former editor of The Pointnewspaper, who was allegedly killed by government operatives, has never been solved. Since 1994, at least 27 journalists have left The Gambia in fear for their lives.

President Yahya Jammeh has also expelled the Unicef envoy, threatened to kill human rights defenders, warned that he will cut off the heads of all gays in Gambia, and announced that he will start executing those sentenced to death in order to counter rising crime.

Witch hunts

In March 2009, a state-sponsored witch-hunt led to approximately 1,000 people being snatched from their villages and taken to secret detention centres by “witch hunters.” Amnesty International reported that after being kidnapped, they were forced to drink hallucinogenic concoctions in secret detention centres, and tortured to confess to witchcraft. The liquid they were forced to drink appeared to lead to kidney problems and to at least six deaths from kidney failure. A well-known opposition leader, Halifa Sallah, criticised the government’s ‘witchcraft’ accusationsinthe main opposition newspaper in Gambia. He was detained, charged with treason and held in Mile 2 Central Prison. After significant outside pressure, all charges were dropped and he was released.

Migrants at risk

Migrants and visitors are also subject to unlawful arrests, torture and ill-treatment by security forces. In July 2005 a group of 50 foreigners, including 44 Ghanaians, was reportedly killed by members of the Gambia security forces. A report carried out jointly by ECOWAS and the UN determined that rogue security forces were responsible. So far, the Gambian government has not taken any steps to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The death penalty

The death penalty is the ultimate violation of human rights. It violates the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Gambia has explicitly accepted obligations in regard to these rights in the international and regional human rights treaties which it has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

Action

The undersigned civil society groups join together and call on The Gambia to:

• Stop human rights violations and comply with obligations under the African Charter with regard to the right to liberty, freedom from torture, right to fair trial, freedom of expression and of association;
• Take immediate measures to improve the human rights situation in the Gambia;
• End incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances, and ensure that security personnel who engage in these practices are brought to justice in fair trials;
• Investigate all allegations of torture and extrajudicial executions;
• Grant access to all prisoners;
• End the harassment and intimidation of independent media institutions;
• Stop politically motivated trials of people peacefully exercising their freedom of expression, association and assembly;
• Establish an independent and international commission of inquiry to investigate the whereabouts and fate of victims of enforced disappearance and ensure that those responsible for these human rights violations are brought to justice in fair trials;
• Establish an independent and international commission of inquiry to investigate the poisoning and killing of people suspected of being witches, and ensure that those responsible for these human rights violations are brought to justice in fair trials;
• Establish an adequately resourced independent human rights commission;
• Publicly acknowledge the importance and valuable work undertaken by human rights defenders;
• Ensure the rule of law and comply with court decisions, including determinations made by the ECOWAS court.
• To immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty as provided by UN General Assembly resolution 62/149, adopted on 18 December 2007 and resolution 63/168 adopted on 18 December 2008;
• To commute without delay all death sentences to terms of imprisonment;
• To ensure rigorous compliance in all death penalty cases with international standards for fair trial

END/

In Gambia fear rules, not freedom. On 22 July, people from across the world are joining together to take action to call on the Gambian government to uphold its people’s basic rights and freedoms.

The day of action coincides with the national Gambian holiday called “Freedom Day”, celebrated since President Yahya Jammeh came into power in 1994. However, there is no freedom in the Gambia. Instead, it has a massive record of human rights violations.

Human rights violations are perpetrated by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), army and police against real and perceived opponents of the government on a routine basis. Once people are in custody of the government, they are susceptible to a whole range of human rights violations including unlawful detention, torture, unfair trials, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings.

Last year, President Jammeh threatened to kill anyone who wanted to destabilize the country. Specifically, he threatened human rights defenders and those working with them, emphasizing that their security and personal safety would not be guaranteed by the government of the Gambia.

On 22 July, activists and members of the public will be taking part in demonstrations, lobbying and press conferences in 14 countries and 19 cities.

Be one of them, take action to :

1.  Stop human rights violations and comply with obligations under the African Charter with regard to the right to liberty, freedom from torture, right to fair trial, freedom of expression and association;

2. Allow doctors, lawyers and relatives of detainees access to prisons and other places of detention;

3. End incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances, and ensure that security personnel who engage in these practices are brought to justice in fair trials;

4. End the harassment of journalists and media organizations

Join the campaign, sign Amnesty International’s petition below urging the Gambian government to Stop the Rule of Fear and Start the Rule of Law.  If you don’t want your full name to be displayed, please sign with your first name and the first letter of your surname. e.g Ndey Ceassay , sign as Ndey C.

Please circulate this page to your friends, families and networks.

Image: People protest outside the Gambia High Commission in London in July 2009, against the lack of freedom for people living in the Gambia © Amnesty International

Please sign petition at http://www.amnesty.org/en/stop-rule-fear-gambia

By Mariama Keita and Mohamed Keita/CPJ Africa Program

Transitional leader Sekouba Konaté casts his vote in June's historic elections in Guinea. (Reuters)

Guinea’s historic presidential elections and new constitution are changing the media landscape in the West African country. Since last month, the military-led Transitional National Council has passed two new laws decriminalizing defamation and created a new media regulatory body.

This country’s progression toward embracing democracy makes it hard to believe that the “Guinean Massacre” occurred less than a year ago. On September 28, 2009, military soldiers violently dispersed a banned opposition rally at a stadium in the capital Conakry, killing dozens of people and assaulting at least a dozen journalists covering the gathering. Nasser Diallo, a reporter with Conakry private station Radio Nostalgie, managed to escape death on that tragic day and has continued broadcasting from exile. “This new law is a huge relief for me,” said Diallo, who broadcasts a radio show on Blogtalkradio from a mini studio in his Brooklyn home. “Its entry into force will give us a hope of having an independent press.”

The new press laws replaces a 1991 press code that infamously allowed, among other things, dead people to be plaintiffs in defamation lawsuits against journalists accused of causing outrage to their memory.

In lieu of prison sentences, journalists now face fines, ranging from 500,000 to 20 million Guinean francs (US$100 to US$4,000). “The paradox is that the fines are so high that journalists think they prefer prison,” said Boubacar Algassimou Diallo, political editor of the private weekly Le Lynx, the largest circulation newspaper in the country. He explained that printing costs could account for as much as 67 percent of the budget of producing a newspaper, let alone pay a fine. “When you say 5 million Guinean francs (US$975), a journalist prefers to go to prison for three days. He knows that once in prison, with the pressure of Media Foundation of West Africa, CPJ, and Reporters Without Borders, he will be released,” he added.

In a special report released this week—“Guinea: Journalists are the Forgotten Victims of Violence”—London-based anticensorship organization Article 19 expressed concern that the new law upholds “a number of restrictions incompatible with international standards and good practice” such as “offenses of libel against the Head of State, slander and false report.”

Notwithstanding, for the first time, the press law includes provisions recognizing the country’s growing electronic media: More than 20 news websites (often based abroad) have correspondents in Guinea. “Online media is filling the gap of information resulting from the absence of private dailies. They are inevitable,” according to Diallo of Le Lynx. Under the new law, online journalists will be entitled to press cards so long as they can show a master’s diploma in journalism or two years of professional experience, explained Amadou Tham Camara, who heads the Guinean Association of Online Press (AGUIPEL). The new law requires all news sites to register with the new media regulatory agency and identify their local correspondents, who will act as their legal representatives, he told CPJ. The agency will have the power to order the suspension or ban of websites after repeated offenses.

Abdoulaye Diallo, New York bureau chief of Guinéenews, a leading independent news site based in Canada, participated in the drafting of the new legislation, welcomed the law creating a new media regulatory agency known as HAC. “It essentially provides guarantees for the body to become more independent from state/government control by providing more representation and control over media and press to private news organizations and corporations,” he wrote in an e-mail.

The online platforms have opened the doors for Guineans all over the world to participate in the electoral process and influence the debates at home. On Election Day in New York for instance, the nonprofit organization Alliance Guinea enlisted volunteers at Columbia University to sift through thousands of text and e-mail messages reporting voting incidents in Guinea. The reports were collected through crisis reporting platform Ushahidi. Alliance Guinea co-founder Jennifer Swift-Morgan, told CPJ via e-mail that their efforts included regular TV and radio spots “encouraging everyday people to be active in monitoring the elections themselves and texting in what they see” before, during, and after the polls. In Conakry, Diallo of Le Lynx pointed out that the Ushahidi citizen reporting initiative faced the challenge of verifying the credibility of the reports it received. Swift-Morgan said they collected several hundred useful messages that were mapped and shared with the electoral commission CENI as well as national and international media tracking the elections.

As the international community praises Guinea for having a successful democratic election, the country awaits a scheduled runoff on July 18. The Supreme Court has to make a decision regarding recent allegations of politicians manipulating the counting of votes to confirm the accuracy of the numbers of the two leading candidates. Earlier this month, AGUIPEL suspended the membership of Guinee24 news website on the grounds that it violated electoral regulations by publishing undocumented polls favoring candidate Alpha Condé, Camara told CPJ.

Mariama Keita is an intern in CPJ’s Africa program. Mohamed Keita is CPJ’s Africa advocacy coordinator.
Source: CPJ

Champions Spain touch down in Madrid

Spain’s victorious World Cup squad have landed in Madrid amid scenes of joyous celebration in the country’s capital.

A sizeable crowd chanted and car horns sounded as skipper Iker Casillas, carrying the trophy, led the team down the steps of the plane.

The players then had a siesta before meeting Spain’s royal family and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

More than one million fans are expected to line the streets for an open-top bus parade starting at 1800 BST.

The parade will end about two hours later at the esplanade near the Puente del Rey, where the festivities are expected to continue officially until midnight.

Many fans made the trip to Barajas Airport to greet the returning heroes from South Africa.

The flight landed at 1338 local time with Spanish flags flying from the cockpit windows and two fire engines making a guard of honour with their jet streams.

JONATHAN STEVENSON BLOG Iniesta might not say much but when he does people listen

The plane was emblazoned with the words ‘Campeones’ (Champions) and ‘Orgullosos de nuestra seleccion’ (Proud of our squad).

Casillas, who was in floods of tears after the final whistle in Johannesburg on Sunday night, again appeared to be on the verge of crying as he led his team across the tarmac to a waiting coach.

They were taken to a nearby hotel to eat and rest before heading to the Royal Palace for a reception with the Spanish royal family, and then to the Moncloa Palace to be greeted by the prime minister.

European champions Spain won the World Cup for the first time in their history thanks to Andres Iniesta’s extra-time winner against the Netherlands at the Soccer City Stadium.

Highlights – Netherlands 0-1 Spain

SOURCE: The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
July 06, 2010

President Obama at The Blue Room Balcony of the White House on July 4, 2010

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, everybody. (Applause.) On behalf of Michelle and myself, and the girls — and Bo — welcome to the White House. And Happy Fourth of July. (Applause.)

All across our great country today, folks are coming together, decked out in their red and white and blue, firing up the grill, having a good time with family — just like here today. Now, of course, I’ll admit that the backyard is a little bigger here. (Laughter.) But it’s the same spirit. And Michelle and I couldn’t imagine a better way to celebrate America’s birthday than with America’s extraordinary men and women in uniform —- and your families. (Applause.)

Now, we decided to let you leave your uniforms at home. (Applause.) Although I have to say I met a young corporal here who was wearing a black suit. And I said, “Man, it’s hot here.” He said, “I’m sorry, sir, I know you’re my Commander-in-Chief, but my grandma told me I had to wear a suit.” (Laughter.) I can’t — you can’t argue with grandma. (Laughter.)

But we do want all of you to relax and have some fun today. And that also goes for the leaders who are joining us here today, including Deputy Secretary of Defense Bill Lynn; the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jim “Hoss” Cartwright; Navy Secretary Ray Mabus; Air Force Secretary Mike Donley; Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp; and the many outstanding senior enlisted officers who are here today. (Applause.)

I want to acknowledge that my Vice President, Joe Biden, and his wonderful wife, Dr. Jill Biden, aren’t with us because they’re spending the Fourth of July with our troops in Iraq. (Applause.) And I would add that because of the honor and heroism of our troops, we are poised to end our combat mission in Iraq this summer —- on schedule. That’s thanks to so many of you. (Applause.)

Now, this is the day when we celebrate the very essence of America —- and the spirit –

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Bring the boys home!

THE PRESIDENT: They’re coming. (Laughter.) This is the day when we celebrate the very essence of America and the spirit that has defined us as a people and as a nation for more than two centuries. Even now, all these years later, we still look in awe at the small band of patriots who stood up and risked everything, and defied an empire to declare “that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.”

We’re amazed at the debt to a founding generation that gave their blood to give meaning to those words, pledging to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. And we celebrate the principles that are timeless —- tenets first declared by men of property and wealth, but which gave rise to what Lincoln called a “new birth of freedom” in America: civil rights and voting rights, workers’ rights and women’s rights, and the rights of every American.

And on this day that is uniquely American, we’re reminded that our Declaration, our example, made us a beacon to the world, not only inspiring people to demand their own freedom — from Latin American to Africa, from Europe to Asia — but even now, in this time, these ideals still light the world.

Two hundred and thirty-four years later, the words are just as bold, just as revolutionary, as they were when they were first pronounced: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

These are not simply words on aging parchment. They are the principles that define us as a nation, the values we cherish as a people, and the ideals we strive for as a society, even as we know that we constantly have to work in order to perfect our union, and that work is never truly done.

The Founders understood this. There in that hall in Philadelphia, as they debated the Declaration, John Adams wrote to his beloved Abigail. He predicted that independence would be celebrated “from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever.” But he added, “I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this declaration and support and defend these states.”

So today we also celebrate all of you —- the men and women of our Armed Forces who defend this country we love. We salute the United States Army —- (applause) — including a soldier who served on more than 150 combat missions in Afghanistan, and after losing most of his arm in an IED attack, recently completed a grueling 26-mile run, inspiring all who know him, and all of us —- that’s Staff Sergeant Gabriel Garcia. Gabriel. (Applause.)

We salute the United States Navy -— (applause) — and a sailor who excels in a job few can imagine but for which all are grateful — a commander of an explosive ordinance disposal team in Iraq, his nerve and steady hand has diffused countless bombs and saved countless lives —- that’s Lieutenant Erich Frandrup. Where’s Erich? (Applause.)

We salute the United States Air Force —- (applause) — and an airman who during an attack on her vehicle in Iraq that left her seriously wounded, directed medics to help another wounded American first, and offered her own bandages to help save his life —- that’s Captain Wendy Kosek. (Applause.)

We salute the United States Marine Corps — (applause) — and a Marine who for his heroic actions in Afghanistan, exposing himself to enemy machine gunfire to help rescue his fellow Marines, was recognized with the Bronze Star for valor —- Staff Sergeant Jonathan Piel. (Applause.)

And we salute the United States Coast Guard —- (applause) — including a Coast Guardsman who commanded the first U.S. vessel to arrive in Haiti after the earthquake, helping to pave the way for the one of the most complex humanitarian efforts ever attempted -— Commander Diane Durham. (Applause.)

This is the spirit of which Adams spoke so long ago. You are the men and women who toil to defend these states. You are patriots, and you have earned your place among the greatest of generations.

Yet on this day we know that America’s journey is not sustained by those in uniform alone. It must be the calling and cause of every American. So let us ensure that our troops always have the support that they need to succeed in the missions we ask of them —- and that includes public support here at home.

Let us forge a national commitment to support our extraordinary military families, not just now, during war, but at every stage of your lives. (Applause.) And thanks to Michelle and Jill Biden for challenging us to do just that. (Applause.)

Let us resolve, as citizens, to carry on the improbable experiment that began more than 200 years ago; not simply declaring our principles, but living them here at home; not simply celebrating our union, but always working to perfect it.

And here in a still young century, let us renew our commitment to stand with those around the world who, like us, still believe in that simple yet revolutionary notion —- that we are all endowed by our Creator “with certain unalienable rights.”

So, happy Fourth of July, everybody. God bless all of you, and all our men and women in uniform and your families. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

And with that, let me turn it over to our outstanding United States Marine Band. (Applause.)

END
7:11 P.M. EDT

In Congress, July 4, 1776

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Drafting the Declaration of Independence (from left - Franklin, Adams, Jefferson)

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States.

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the Lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all aages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

JOHN HANCOCK.

New Hampshire – Josiah Bartlett, Wm. Whipple, Matthew Thorton.

Massachusetts-Bay – Saml. Adams, John Adams, Robt. Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry.

Rhode Island – Step. Hopkins, William Ellery.

Connecticut – Roger Sherman, Sam’el Huntington, Wm. Williams, Oliver Wolcott.

Georgia – Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, Geo. Walton.

Maryland – Samuel Chase, Wm. Paca, Thos. Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrolton

Virginia – George Whthe, Richard Henry Lee, Th. Jefferson, Benja. Harrison, Ths. Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.

New York – Wm. Floyd, Phil. Livingston, Frans. Lewis, Lewis Morris.

Pennsylvania – Robt. Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benja. Franklin, John Morton, Geo. Taylor, James Wilson, Geo. Ross.

Delaware – Caesar Rodney, Geo. Read, Tho. M’Kean.

North Carolina – Wm. Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.

South Carolina – Edward Rutledge, Thos. Heyward, Junr., Thomas Lynch, Junr., Arthur Middleton.

New Jersey – Richd. Stockton, Jno. Witherspoon, Fras. Hopkinson, John Hart, Abra. Clark.

Source: The American Revolution Home Page

Book Description

The measurement of the global balance of power focuses on the paradigm shift from the United States post-September 11th, 2001 preemptive doctrine of unilateralism to one of partnerships and corporations in a modern multilateral order. Although the challenge to the unilateral doctrine brought to light new actors on the global political and economical stage, American military myth remains to be superior and incontestable.

The book begins with a literature review and conceptualization of world orders using contemporary scholarly analysis. American hegemony in the post-September 11th, 2001 and the global response to the preemptive doctrine are pondered: the book theorized the emerging assertive Russia, the rising Iran, Latin American and African fronts, nuclear proliferation, and the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The book carefully analyzed the 2008 election of President Barack Obama and the subsequent redefinition of American foreign policy to one of partnerships and corporations as an anecdote to global security and economic prosperity. Finally the book provided theoretical and empirical implications of the new global order.

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