Iceland, the silent revolution whose media, google included, do not speak or very little!
Notice to amateurs (our policies that lack ideas ...)!
1)
Since Saturday November 27, Iceland has a Constituent Assembly consisting of 25 single citizens elected by their peers. His goal: to completely rewrite the constitution of 1944 by drawing in particular the lessons of the financial crisis which, in 2008, hit the country with full force.
Since this crisis, which is far from over, Iceland has seen a number of rather dramatic changes, starting with the nationalization of the three major banks, followed by the resignation of the right-wing government under popular pressure. The 2009 legislative elections brought to power a coalition of left-wing parties formed by the Alliance (a group of parties made up of Social Democrats, Feminists and former Communists) and the Left Greens Movement. This was a first for Iceland, as was the appointment of a woman, Johanna Sigurdardottir, as Prime Minister.
Soon, the new government is facing a thorny problem: the settlement in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of a debt of 3,5 billion euros following the bankruptcy of Icesave, an online bank whose operations were mainly tours to these two countries. Under the pressure of the European Union, which the Social Democrats would like to join, the government is passing a law in January 2010 allowing this refund, which would, for each Icelander, to spend eight years a sum of about 100 euros per month. But the President of the Republic refuses to ratify the law, whose text is then submitted to a referendum. At more than 93%, Icelanders vote against the repayment of debt (6 March), and since the problem remains unresolved.
It is in this context that Iceland decides to modify its constitution, which in fact was never really drafted: when in 1944 the republic had been proclaimed, it was enough to copy in outline the constitution from Denmark, a country for which Iceland had been dependent for several decades, simply replacing the term "king" with that of "president of the republic". It is therefore a new constitution that we must write entirely, and for that we have decided to trust the sovereign people. First, there was a call for nominations (everyone could run except national elected representatives, provided they were eighteen years old and had the support of at least thirty people). 522 citizens. It was among them that the constitutive 25 were elected.
The latter will begin to meet in mid-February and will return copies before the summer. Among the most common proposals are the separation of church and state, the nationalization of all natural resources, and a clear separation of executive and legislative powers.
Admittedly, Iceland is only a small country of about 320 000 inhabitants. However, it gives a great lesson in democracy to the great states including France: let us think that, in our country, the constitutional reform of 2008 was entirely drafted at the Elysee, and that the parliamentarians adopted it only two voice after being subjected for weeks to intolerable pressure from the head of state.
http://www.cadtm.org/Quand-l-Islande-reinvente-la
2)
When Iceland reinvents democracy
the Constituent Assembly was elected in November
One day, a few months ago, an Englishman passing through Paris, met at the Lady Long Solo bookstore, alerted us to the revolution in Iceland. What revolution? We do not hear about it anywhere. A quick google search gives nothing at all, today, neither by associating the word "revolution", nor even "crisis", where one only finds details on the financial crisis, actually at the origin of this revolution, which took place in 2008, in this country of just over 300 000 inhabitants, ranked second in the world on the human development index, the HDI, behind Norway, on the eve of this crisis, in 2006.
Faced with the sudden bankruptcy of the banking system, the people went down the street. Never seen in the land of hot water jeysers. The right had immediately given way to the left. And, to begin with, the banks had been nationalized. Our English informant had heard about it for the legislative projects of total freedom for the internet, such as English sites thought to shelter there. Moreover, he insisted on speaking of a real revolution, without being able to describe it more, but surprised that one had never heard of it.
Looking stubbornly, we ended up seeing images of the presidential palace besieged by a crowd that would be described here without hesitation as anarcho-autonomous. In addition to the black flags, one could guess in the crowd a strong component of citizenship type ecologist. And it was understood that the poor unfortunate cop, all alone in front of the presidential palace, must have quickly surrendered to the pressure of the crowd. This one, nevertheless pacific, only used pots and other noisy objects, according to the Argentine method of the cacerolazo, which knew to be very profitable also there.
The president had packed up. A new government was established. But, some time later, it had the bad idea to propose the repayment of the debt of the banks vis-à-vis Denmark or Great Britain. The people are down on the street again. A referendum on the issue was imposed by popular will, and a small majority of 93% rejected the agreement provided by the gentile rulers.
Among the information gleaned, this striking image of the agora in the hot public baths, where the people assemble every morning to debate how to remake the world.
Consecration of this revolution, the election of a Constituent Assembly on November 27 2010, event may be greater than the night of August 4 1789 which was voted the abolition of privileges, which we would not have without the overview the vigilance of Truks in bulk, of our friend B.Bec, of the Gers, relaying the CADTM, or of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who finds there a similarity with his own constitutionalist theses, but does not seem to see further than the end of his anti-capitalist nose.
Wonder of misinformation. An event as great as a real democratic revolution, such as has never been seen in Europe, can happen without the press, or google, making it possible to know anything about it. Certainly at the time of the anti-democratic consolidation that most European countries live, the Icelandic example does not really make the case for our police regimes, which again show their ability to rigorously lock the collective consciousness.
We would certainly like to know more about this Icelandic revolution. For months now, Paris has been waking up dreaming of teleporting its editorial staff for an in-depth report to the country of whale hunters and utopians. To be immersed in the hot baths of the democratic revolution certainly makes you want, especially seen from the heart of our safe winter.
It is necessary to imagine 25 "simple citizens" who go floor on the ideal constitution. The breath of humanity should be restrained. Where we will probably see that it is not difficult to do better than all the figures of pseudo-democracies that have emerged so far on five continents.
This article would like a call to who would have more information on this extraordinary Icelandic story. You can write to me at: michelsitbon@gmail.com, and I will relay with pleasure. A dossier on the Icelandic revolution tries to gather articles that can be found on the subject.
Tags (Tags): Iceland Justice Liberties Media Politics Revolutions
http://www.parisseveille.info/quand-l-i ... ,2643.html