tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25219869010428761582024-02-21T08:37:26.970-08:00The Activist<strong>Follow the Activist on</strong> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/liamtheactivist"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/twitter-b.png" alt="Follow liamtheactivist on Twitter"></a> <br> <strong>e-mail</strong> <a href="liamtheactivist@gmail.com">liamtheactivist@gmail.com</a>Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.comBlogger202125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-79624186107736574732013-04-21T14:05:00.001-07:002013-04-21T14:51:56.785-07:00How EU leaders sold out Burma<p>When David Cameron backed the suspension of EU sanctions on Burma in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17698526">April 2012</a>, he emphasised in no uncertain terms that they would return if President Thein Sein’s administration reneged on democratic reforms. Spelling out the difference between suspending the sanctions and lifting them completely he said that the EU’s stance would “<em>make it quite clear to those who are against reform that should they try to obstruct the way of the reformers, then sanctions could come back." </em></p> <p>One year on however, the Prime Minister has joined other EU leaders in a shock move to throw away their economic bargaining chip by <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/burmamyanmar/10006542/EU-to-lift-sanctions-against-Burma-permanently.html">scrapping sanctions permanently</a>, leaving <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/last-thing-burma-needs-is-shell.html">European businesses</a> free to fill government coffers regardless of political conditions or human rights violations.</p> <p>The decision has been met with anger from human rights groups who point out that the Burmese government not only continues to detain <a href="http://www.aappb.org/Updated__PP_list.html">hundreds of political prisoners</a>, but has recently carried out <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/mines-of-monywa-what-are-limits-of.html">violent crackdowns</a> on peaceful demonstrations and <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/burmas-airstrike-on-democracy.html">airstrikes on civilian villages in Kachin State</a>, where over 100,000 people have now been displaced by conflict.</p> <p>All the while, deadly communal violence against Burma’s Muslim<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnP1_2aaw5AXyfNokp3e-SFo-miBDOTE6bJpJbk2992-wQ22DVGQSCMBmmFXcVGy68W5zT7cfB-yVcIXUl_0Y4nLa0PThQE9dUOW9m2YnZMz2iyGcrEuXVn_0g8fOTt-H0-m1STKawqMp/s1600-h/Mosque%252520burnt%252520in%252520Burma%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Mosque burnt in Burma" border="0" alt="Mosque burnt in Burma" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ogRmRBicmLA/UXRUgWQQv9I/AAAAAAAAB7o/koYm5AtRgHw/Mosque%252520burnt%252520in%252520Burma_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="139"></a> population continues to spiral out of control. Mob killings began in Arakan State <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/burma-sectarianism-and-speculation.html">last June</a> and were recently replicated <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/01/burma-satellite-images-detail-destruction-meiktila">in the Northern town of Meiktila</a> where Mosques were burnt, scores of people were killed and hundreds were driven from their homes. A recent Human Rights Watch report noted that <em>“frequently the police did nothing to stop the violence against Muslims and in many cases joined with Buddhist mobs to attack predominantly Muslim villages.”</em></p> <p>However, rather than use the threat of reintroduced sanctions to pressure the Burmese government over prisoner amnesties, free speech, peace talks with Kachin rebels and protections for religious minorities, EU leaders are sending an absurd multi-million dollar message of support for the status quo. Particularly stomach churning is the betrayal of Aung San Suu Kyi by Cameron and his peers, who were quick <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2163370/David-Cameron-shelters-Aung-Suu-Kyi-summer-shower-broken-brolly.html">pose with the inspirational opposition leader for photo opportunities</a> but flagrantly ignored her pleas not to permanently lift sanctions.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-VNo0zmGzews/UXRUhM6wglI/AAAAAAAAB7w/JfgyglPGv54/s1600-h/Germany%252520opposes%252520Burma%252520arms%252520embargo%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Germany opposes Burma arms embargo" border="0" alt="Germany opposes Burma arms embargo" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qb2hd3aOlcU/UXRUhl0uKyI/AAAAAAAAB74/Td03ruucUUo/Germany%252520opposes%252520Burma%252520arms%252520embargo_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="139"></a>Germany it would appear, played the largest part in securing this sorry state of affairs. For though almost all member states now support the end of economic sanctions, the stage was set by Angela Merkel’s morally bankrupt administration seeking to trash the EU arms embargo on Burma, in-spite of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aDw9DaqJjZg">continuing military atrocities</a> including extrajudicial executions and gang rapes by government troops. Consequently, states that oppose selling weapons to fuel the abuses were forced into a compromise over economic sanctions, in order to save the arms embargo.</p> <p><strong><em>Things do not come much more ironic than the EU hanging Burmese democrats out to dry just six months after the bloc received a <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-devaluation-of-nobel-peace-prize.html">Nobel Peace Prize</a></em></strong><strong><em>. Yet for the political prisoners, the Kachin children in IDP camps and the Muslim civilians fearing for their lives, the irony will be trumped by the tragedy.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Nz_MG3zSz2A/UXRUjqB_BsI/AAAAAAAAB8A/FnHkMZM1gM0/s1600-h/EU%252520lifts%252520sanctions%252520on%252520Burma%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="EU lifts sanctions on Burma" border="0" alt="EU lifts sanctions on Burma" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PV_YudwrglY/UXRUlN-NsLI/AAAAAAAAB8I/5Sec6aN7tUE/EU%252520lifts%252520sanctions%252520on%252520Burma_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="457" height="312"></a></p> <p> </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:47a805a5-86db-4beb-8493-c984f51c02f7" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EU" rel="tag">EU</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/European+Union" rel="tag">European Union</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sanctions" rel="tag">Sanctions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/arms+embargo" rel="tag">arms embargo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burmese" rel="tag">Burmese</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/government" rel="tag">government</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thein+Sein" rel="tag">Thein Sein</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/President" rel="tag">President</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/David+Cameron" rel="tag">David Cameron</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/William+Hague" rel="tag">William Hague</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Angela+Merkel" rel="tag">Angela Merkel</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aung+San+Suu+Kyi" rel="tag">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/National+League+for+Democracy" rel="tag">National League for Democracy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/NLD" rel="tag">NLD</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin" rel="tag">Kachin</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/civil+war" rel="tag">civil war</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/KIA" rel="tag">KIA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin+Independence+Army" rel="tag">Kachin Independence Army</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/KIO" rel="tag">KIO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin+Independence+Organisation" rel="tag">Kachin Independence Organisation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/communal+violence" rel="tag">communal violence</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Muslims" rel="tag">Muslims</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Muslim" rel="tag">Muslim</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Islam" rel="tag">Islam</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mosque" rel="tag">Mosque</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rakhine" rel="tag">Rakhine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Meiktila" rel="tag">Meiktila</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/persecution" rel="tag">persecution</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Letpaduang" rel="tag">Letpaduang</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/copper+mine" rel="tag">copper mine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/protest" rel="tag">protest</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nobel+Peace+Prize" rel="tag">Nobel Peace Prize</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-57081299701152769102013-02-17T11:26:00.001-08:002013-02-17T23:20:01.359-08:005 reasons why we should welcome Bulgarian and Romanian immigration<p>Over recent weeks, UK politics has become increasingly dominated by excited rhetoric and angry exchanges over the predicted <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9863532/Estimates-of-possible-Romania-and-Bulgaria-influx-may-never-be-published-minister-signals.html">“influx”</a> of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens when transitional immigration controls expire at the end of 2013.</p> <p>Yet public fears stoked by the tabloid press are based on a gross misunderstanding of how immigration affects the UK. Rather than a panicked and prejudiced response, we should be looking at the facts and welcoming freer movement from Bulgaria and Romania with open arms:</p> <p><strong>1 Immigrants make a significant economic contribution to the UK…</strong></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-EUNzYoVGW5Q/USEuuyNoOiI/AAAAAAAAB5I/g5zXB2iU4_g/s1600-h/Romanian%252520Bulgarian%252520workers%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Romanian Bulgarian workers" border="0" alt="Romanian Bulgarian workers" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-svkE9SWF5Po/USEuvgAZZiI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/6eXukV9ao9s/Romanian%252520Bulgarian%252520workers_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="160"></a>Despite the hyperbole about immigrants milking the welfare state, they actually make a <a href="http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2013/02/07/comment-busting-myths-of-romanian-and-bulgarian-immigration">net contribution to the UK economy</a>; constituting 13% of the total tax-paying workforce and just 6.5% of total benefit recipients. Furthermore, there is absolutely no empirical evidence that immigration reduces job opportunities for UK-born workers, with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research <a href="www.niesr.ac.uk/pdf/090112_163827.pdf">robustly debunking</a> accusations from the anti-immigration lobby as late as 2012. </p> <p><strong>2 …and bring invaluable skills</strong></p> <p>Going beyond the economic figures, millions of immigrants have brought crucial experience and expertise here. Few of those who bemoan immigration have any qualms about using the NHS, despite the fact the some 30% of its doctors and 40% of its nurses <a href="http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-118.html">were born overseas</a>. And whilst references to Mo Farah are becoming somewhat clichéd, it is hard to ignore the fact that a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/mo-farah-how-britains-athletics-hero-escaped-the-chaos-of-somalia-2037996.html">Somali immigrant</a> is one of Team GB’s greatest successes.</p> <p><strong>3 We enjoy sharing other people’s cultures</strong></p> <p>On March 17, thousands of British people with no personal connection to the<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-M_r3kK3Oigo/USEu65ON0xI/AAAAAAAAB5k/BVGi6tYGhu8/s1600-h/London%252520diversity%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="London diversity" border="0" alt="London diversity" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gwqMYXdfdME/USEu79lgA3I/AAAAAAAAB5s/WNsapF14kWI/London%252520diversity_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="173" height="244"></a> Emerald Isle will join London’s Irish community to celebrate St. Patrick’s day at a <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/events/st-patricks-day-parade-and-festival">huge open-air party in Trafalgar Square</a>. Hundreds of thousands more white British will join the West Indian community for the <a href="http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com/">Notting Hill Carnival</a> in summer. Its a far cry from the <em>‘No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish’</em> signs that appeared in shop windows when these communities first came to the UK, and is a brilliant illustration that once the initial fear of newcomers evaporates, people more-often-than-not enjoy sharing their cultures. </p> <p><strong>4. Migration is not a one-way street</strong></p> <p>The easing of restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian citizens’ access to the UK is not a stand-alone measure; it is part of a wider EU framework that allows people from any member state to live and work in another. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/default.stm">Millions of UK citizens</a> have taken advantage of this including more than 700 000 living in Spain, almost 300 000 living in the Republic of Ireland and more than 200 000 living in France. Tens of thousands have also set up in states that joined the EU during the last round of accessions before Bulgaria and Romania. </p> <p><strong>5. Our tolerant society is something to be proud of</strong></p> <p>Hysterical media and political commentary linking Bulgarian and Romanian immigration to <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4637926/Wave-of-Romanian-and-Bulgarian-immigrants-is-threatening-to-swamp-Britain.html">job losses</a>, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/feb/12/ukip-candidate-immigration-romanian-crime">crime</a> and even <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/feb/12/ukip-candidate-immigration-romanian-crime">social unrest</a> stands to stoke racism and undermine the commendable level of tolerance in contemporary UK society. Whilst extremist groups such as the <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/rise-of-edl.html">English Defence League</a> continually dredge up memories of 1980s racial tensions, UK society has by and large moved on. Compared to many other European states, race-related violence is rare and openly racist parties fare badly in elections. </p> <p><em>That is something to be proud of, not something to be jeopardised by ignorant scare-mongering about the Bulgarians and Romanians who will shortly be joining the long success story of UK immigrant communities.</em></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KXEuLJHNjY0/USEu8sWOWSI/AAAAAAAAB50/jQpnroet3N8/s1600-h/Welcome%252520Romanian%252520Bulgarian%252520immigrants%252520UK%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="Welcome Romanian Bulgarian immigrants UK" border="0" alt="Welcome Romanian Bulgarian immigrants UK" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-feMtNGfR6A4/USEu9Nua-HI/AAAAAAAAB58/pltmSqqMvHE/Welcome%252520Romanian%252520Bulgarian%252520immigrants%252520UK_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="402" height="278"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:8095bd36-ea4d-4fce-ac0f-d14982e6f1ab" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Romania" rel="tag">Romania</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bulgaria" rel="tag">Bulgaria</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Romanian" rel="tag">Romanian</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bulgarian" rel="tag">Bulgarian</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/United+Kingdom" rel="tag">United Kingdom</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Britain" rel="tag">Britain</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EU" rel="tag">EU</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/European+Union" rel="tag">European Union</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/immigration" rel="tag">immigration</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/immigrants" rel="tag">immigrants</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/communities" rel="tag">communities</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/racism" rel="tag">racism</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/welfare" rel="tag">welfare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/benefits" rel="tag">benefits</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/workers" rel="tag">workers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/work" rel="tag">work</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/jobs" rel="tag">jobs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/employment" rel="tag">employment</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/unemployment" rel="tag">unemployment</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/housing" rel="tag">housing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/crime" rel="tag">crime</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tabloids" rel="tag">tabloids</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tabloid+press" rel="tag">tabloid press</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/scaremongering" rel="tag">scaremongering</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UKIP" rel="tag">UKIP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK+Independence+Party" rel="tag">UK Independence Party</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EDL" rel="tag">EDL</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/English+Defence+League" rel="tag">English Defence League</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mo+Farah" rel="tag">Mo Farah</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Irish" rel="tag">Irish</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Polish" rel="tag">Polish</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/West+Indian" rel="tag">West Indian</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/St.+Patrick's+Day" rel="tag">St. Patrick's Day</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Notting+Hill" rel="tag">Notting Hill</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-18476410702584147002013-01-27T12:58:00.001-08:002013-01-27T13:03:33.082-08:00Taking Timbuktu<p><strong><em>Little more than two weeks after French troops began to assist the Malian army in a counter-offensive against Islamist rebels, they have </em></strong><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/27/mali-troops-enter-timbuktu"><strong><em>entered Goa and Timbuktu</em></strong></a> <strong><em>leaving just one major town left under the control of jihadists.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbsNeasxkGhbSuJT9ecUmeXo_gGtqMouSI22wVMiek-9pk8yejb60zlH25srn2yGMZcDTQbeD2lrmWDbM3BbHQfjfQRZLchlbCFl7fTVH90Z3s0fMPgYibpBebo4cftu2zSF5OaAWWHBm/s1600-h/French%252520troops%252520welcomed%252520in%252520Mali%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="French troops welcomed in Mali" border="0" alt="French troops welcomed in Mali" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-3jIaqNd6GZ0/UQWU9KmF_mI/AAAAAAAAB1w/BlTnKNx8ZAc/French%252520troops%252520welcomed%252520in%252520Mali_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="163"></a>To many this will come as a great relief. The scenes of devastation that troops are witnessing as they move through Timbuktu's historic streets bear testament to the wanton destruction that the Islamists brought to Northern Mali: thousands of beautiful ancient shrines, mosques, relics and churches have been <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/world/africa/mali-shrines/index.html">smashed and burnt</a> in an iconoclastic spree that reached every corner of the World Heritage Site. </p> <p>The human cost is even higher: many of the city’s residents have fallen victim to <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/maliintervention-beckons.html">fundamentalist purges and summary justice</a> including amputations, beatings, floggings and public executions. ‘Crimes’ ranging from smoking or playing music, to pre-marital sex or wearing the wrong kind of clothing, have all been cause for brutal treatment; though as in any system without due process even many of those who toed the line were rounded up and punished. </p> <p>Whilst the French have been <a href="http://blogs.channel4.com/lindsey-hilsum-on-international-affairs/mali-how-will-the-city-of-gao-welcome-the-french/1536">welcomed as liberators</a> however, the Malian troops they are clearing the way for may bring little relief to civilians in the North. Over the past week reports have remerged of significant human rights abuses by government forces including <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/01/201312455318869614.html">extrajudicial executions</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21200668">rape</a>, raising fears of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21200668">bloody reprisals against the region’s Tuareg population</a>. </p> <p>The grievances of the Tuareg have never been properly addressed by the central government and decades of armed rebellion have left a legacy of bitterness on both sides. It was a temporary alliance between secular Tuareg rebels and militant Islamists that first drove the army out of Northern Mali last year, leaving many troops now spoiling for revenge as they push back with French support.</p> <p>There is also a track record <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/world/africa/mali-army-riding-us-hopes-is-proving-no-match-for-militants.html?_r=0">abuse within the army’s ranks</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/world/africa/mali-army-riding-us-hopes-is-proving-no-match-for-militants.html?_r=0">desertions are frequent</a> boding ill for discipline particularly if, as expected, the jihadists begin a protracted guerrilla campaign rather than simply meting away. Furthermore, the continued military interference in government since <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sanogos-folly.html">overthrowing the democratically elected President</a> and handing power to a weak transitional administration, has given officers a certain degree of impunity. </p> <p>This leaves a dilemma for the French government, which will be keen to withdraw troops as quickly as possible once the bulk of the fighting is over but will be reluctant to leave a vengeful and ill-disciplined government force running amok against the Tuareg civilian population. <strong><em>Already the Pentagon has moved to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21195371">distance itself</a> from the support that America provided to the Malian army…for <b>François Hollande and the French troops who facilitated the liberation of Timbuktu that will not be so easy. </b></em></strong></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_FqrwR732oI/UQWWHCVEcSI/AAAAAAAAB2M/yY-9EkOlIaA/s1600-h/French%252520troops%252520in%252520Mali%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="French troops in Mali" border="0" alt="French troops in Mali" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Mw8hZ_u8Kgg/UQWWI-cxtWI/AAAAAAAAB2U/cm0pqJd50cc/French%252520troops%252520in%252520Mali_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="441" height="288"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4c2c3079-b306-41ee-a905-9f8af8dccfbd" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Malian" rel="tag">Malian</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mali" rel="tag">Mali</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Islamists" rel="tag">Islamists</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/coup" rel="tag">coup</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Timbuktu" rel="tag">Timbuktu</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/shrines" rel="tag">shrines</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/human+rights" rel="tag">human rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/flogging" rel="tag">flogging</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stoning" rel="tag">stoning</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ambutations" rel="tag">ambutations</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/abuses" rel="tag">abuses</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/intervention" rel="tag">intervention</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ECOWAS" rel="tag">ECOWAS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Economic+Community+of+West+African+States" rel="tag">Economic Community of West African States</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tuareg" rel="tag">Tuareg</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Azawad" rel="tag">Azawad</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/al-Qaeda+in+the+Islamic+Maghreb" rel="tag">al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AQIM" rel="tag">AQIM</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ansar+Dine" rel="tag">Ansar Dine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Movement+for+Oneness+and+Jihad+in+West+Africa" rel="tag">Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Iyad+Ag+Ghaly" rel="tag">Iyad Ag Ghaly</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yahya+Abu+Hammam" rel="tag">Yahya Abu Hammam</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Boko+Haram" rel="tag">Boko Haram</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/France" rel="tag">France</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/planes" rel="tag">planes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bombings" rel="tag">bombings</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/RAF" rel="tag">RAF</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/C17" rel="tag">C17</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hollande" rel="tag">Hollande</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cameron" rel="tag">Cameron</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/USA" rel="tag">USA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pentagon" rel="tag">Pentagon</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/training" rel="tag">training</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/flights" rel="tag">flights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/army+abuses" rel="tag">army abuses</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-29954590182769790962013-01-20T14:36:00.001-08:002013-01-20T14:42:56.311-08:00Algeria: after the dust has settled<p><strong><em>Following the barbaric murder of civilian oil workers in Algeria by Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s jihadist militia, David Cameron has <a href="http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/update-by-the-prime-minister-about-algeria/">called for the world to come together</a> in order to confront <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/546e45d6-6316-11e2-8497-00144feab49a.html#axzz2IXpsIiZi">the growing threat from violent Islamist groups across North Africa.</a></em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdSqZdUnNx6VwRS725j4ozlr8C0FPvH09q6qwCITQ7zk4TPguP5fm01xX3xDws3-LH_KONNNxYBjV1XBQs0-_RTmxixL-Joz1nLShHKPt1qh4RTr1p4L8G2hQ-d6B-WsNLTw75fgEnwM6/s1600-h/Algeria%252520hostages%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Algeria hostages" border="0" alt="Algeria hostages" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xpMRu5mKI_o/UPxxUbE0gUI/AAAAAAAABzo/E5KY4NlXrb0/Algeria%252520hostages_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a>These sentiments, which have been echoed by leaders all over the world are perfectly understandable; recent years have seen an ominous resurgence in armed Islamist outfits throughout the Sahel and surrounding regions, including a large number falling under the banner of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Nonetheless, any practical steps flowing from such statements must be part of a coherent response that takes account of all nuances and local circumstances, rather than a knee-jerk reaction to the brutality that unfolded at the In Amenas gas field.</p> <p>Talk of a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/pm-signals-support-for-antiterror-action-in-north-africa-8458172.html"><em>“robust security response”</em> to <em>“hunt down” </em>terrorists</a> could easily backfire, as recent history in Iraq and Afghanistan has shown only too well. That is not to say the UK and other international powers should completely refrain from efforts to defeat fanatics like Belmokhtar, but this must never be allowed to happen in a manner that alienates the people of North Africa or ultimately acts as a recruiting tool for extremists as so many ‘Western’ interventions have before.</p> <p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/20/french-forces-advance-northern-mali">France’s decision to put troops on the ground in Mali</a>, ostensibly one of the reasons for Belmokhtar’s offensive, was seemingly necessary due to the speed Ansar Dine’s advance on the capital and delays in deployment of troops from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). However, a <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/maliintervention-then-what.html">number of questions</a> now hang over the next step, not least concerning the broader political instability in Mali and the role of secular armed Tuareg groups who have alternately supported and fought against the multitude of Islamist militias at various points over the past year. Whilst French deployment has brought welcome immediate relief therefore, it could yet turn disastrous if the wrong decisions are made on these issues.</p> <p>Similarly, in Algeria the situation is far from a clear-cut case of helping the<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0kXNvNTHYxQ/UPxxVy5EZvI/AAAAAAAABzw/AUQ-4RFlPJw/s1600-h/People%252520missing%252520from%252520Algerian%252520Civil%252520War%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="People missing from Algerian Civil War" border="0" alt="People missing from Algerian Civil War" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UcvwO7_Vs08/UPxxW8W1xXI/AAAAAAAABz0/JAPgl6wo_K0/People%252520missing%252520from%252520Algerian%252520Civil%252520War_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="168"></a> government to defeat violent jihadists. Algerian politics is still heavily influenced by the 1990s civil war that began with a military coup following the electoral victory of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), and subsequently developed into a multi-faceted conflict between the army and various Islamist militias at the cost of more than 150 000 lives. <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/2010/11/2010118122224407570.html">Endless questions remain about responsibility for many of the worst atrocities</a> committed during the war, with the only certainty being that no side fought without recourse to massacres and torture.</p> <p>This raises another issue around Cameron’s <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/pm-signals-support-for-antiterror-action-in-north-africa-8458172.html">pledge to <em>“thicken ties”</em></a> with governments in affected nations: in many cases their responses to terrorism are simply unjustifiable. One only needs to look to Nigeria, where the <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/nigeria-boko-haram-crisis.html">abhorrent and bloody insurgency by jihadist militia Boko Haram</a> has been met with callous state actions including <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=nigeria%20human%20rights%20boko%20haram%20suspects&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hrw.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Freports%2Fnigeria1012_brochure_LOW.pdf&ei=l238UKj9K8Kx0AXW4oDoDA&usg=AFQjCNEFEPO-pUDRQHm7BCR6AvaAy1NH-A&bvm=bv.41248874,d.d2k">torture, secret detention and extrajudicial killings</a>. <em>‘Local solutions to local problems’</em> is a worthy aspiration, but when those local solutions involve severe human rights abuses, it is rarely advisable or productive to throw support behind them.</p> <p>Perhaps one of the most critical factors at risk of being eclipsed amidst the focus on tackling the African jihadist threat, is the <a href="http://reliefweb.int/disaster/ot-2011-000205-ner">dire humanitarian situation</a> still affecting millions of people across the Sahel. A combination of drought and food prices has resulted in rapidly escalating food insecurity, malnutrition and disease over recent years; and whilst stabilising regional conflict zones is important to tackling this, it should never be forgotten that poverty and desperation themselves create fertile ground for extremism. Aid and development initiatives to address the crisis should not be side-lined in the rush to take military action against extremists in the region.</p> <p><strong><em>The threat to North Africa is clear and the involvement of the international community is important; but rushed, unwelcome or ill -conceived support will be no help at all.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWVs8dsiI4RHmNY6qwrCNADnoNcIpm4ZtAsK9CXzU9aRKK_kND0o8xPwPcScno0BTcgTNNWXazq61s7usFhW1wos-m9VFG3gd65YT-02S4usJtcOqzAy7wGaa70uvFROBN3X0EYoWcRo1/s1600-h/Ansar%252520Dine%252520fighters%25255B3%25255D.gif"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Ansar Dine fighters" border="0" alt="Ansar Dine fighters" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqbq2nMUYYTIBMM5EBejOZKLeNeiw0NaGeDlYKYsEbVhR0R0C9zoxMI3q9S43ywBj7CNjAaLSlZRlIIAk1yFhQoa_kJolSOgcZbUXMRHATq9ZaKtc0ifFLcDA4FEobLnc0NPKYKZsj4RVc/?imgmax=800" width="367" height="297"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:21169556-c3d3-49b2-b792-94c2cafa1a39" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Algeria" rel="tag">Algeria</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hostage" rel="tag">hostage</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/oil" rel="tag">oil</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/BP" rel="tag">BP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/In+Amenas" rel="tag">In Amenas</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/North+Africa" rel="tag">North Africa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mokhtar+Belmokhtar" rel="tag">Mokhtar Belmokhtar</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Al-Qaeda" rel="tag">Al-Qaeda</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Al-Qaeda+in+the+Islamic+Maghreb" rel="tag">Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ansar+Dine+and+the+Movement+for+Oneness+and+Jihad+in+West+Africa" rel="tag">Ansar Dine and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Malian" rel="tag">Malian</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Northern+Mali" rel="tag">Northern Mali</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mali" rel="tag">Mali</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/France" rel="tag">France</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/internvention" rel="tag">internvention</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cameron" rel="tag">Cameron</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Boko+Haram" rel="tag">Boko Haram</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nigeria" rel="tag">Nigeria</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Economic+Community+of+West+African+States" rel="tag">Economic Community of West African States</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ECOWAS" rel="tag">ECOWAS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tuareg" rel="tag">Tuareg</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/rebels" rel="tag">rebels</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/David+Cameron" rel="tag">David Cameron</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-91503156579343247252013-01-13T15:01:00.001-08:002013-01-13T15:09:44.370-08:00Mali–intervention, then what?<p><strong><em>International intervention against the alliance of Islamist groups in control of Northern Mali has been </em></strong><a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/maliintervention-beckons.html"><strong><em>inevitable for some time</em></strong></a><strong><em>, yet the acceleration of action by the country’s former colonial ruler has taken many by surprise. </em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qLSrWNeLHIoQDUoqBQCw8mdjJHag_S19E53N2eRKrPB8CFzq1VanHty1mP3thhFvsrR-dOs2BMTYd7TR-ZsnARrqFPywn5dxhSw5zPozMrgCY0xIridf5qTSZmazAHgynR_XfpdiHMpg/s1600-h/French%252520intervention%252520against%252520rebels%252520in%252520Northern%252520Mali%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="French intervention against rebels in Northern Mali" border="0" alt="French intervention against rebels in Northern Mali" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJCIntbvGNBhvRDuurCxs2PbqGPYICp-amrctLQfPmzpPjLaPar1pjnAY_gdpHqnL6g3Og3E2l37s0h9G_B5PknYrWDyJodjUngqETD9KGhMDcG1M-NuxmVJZDPm-3aOzbSRFS_CE0bST/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="185"></a>It was a sudden push South towards the capital by Ansar Dine, one of largest rebel militias, that spurred France <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21004040">with logistical UK backing</a> to rapidly <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/mali/9799034/French-forces-halt-al-Qaeda-advance-in-Mali.html#">deploy troops</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21002918">launch bombing raids</a> this week, before the main African-led intervention had even begun.</p> <p>That decision it would seem, was a necessary evil. If Ansar Dine and its associated groups had seized control of more territory they would naturally become harder to displace. That would not be in anyone’s interest, least of all those forced to endure the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/12/world/africa/mali-women-lists/index.html">arbitrary round-ups</a> of anyone deemed to have violated the militias’ warped version of Islam, and the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19053442">public executions</a> that often follow. </p> <p>Of course the primary concern for the French and other European governments is not necessarily those horrendous human rights abuses, but rather the spectre of an Islamist stronghold in North Africa that could threaten their national interests or ultimately their own citizens. The French force it appears, has seen off any chance of rebel advances South in the immediate future, apparently buying time for the main intervention force led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to find its feet.</p> <p>Still, necessary as it may have been, the speed and scale of France’s involvement could yet generate painful side-affects. The presence of European forces at the forefront of the intervention will be an easy recruiting factor for the kind of foreign Jihadists who have been <a href="http://dawn.com/2012/10/22/foreign-jihadists-pour-into-northern-mali-2/">pouring into the North since last year</a>, whilst the <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/french-plane-bomb-rebel-positions-in-mali/1583004.html">heavy use of airpower</a> increases the risk of civilian causalities. </p> <p>And despite Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius’ throwaway remark <em>“stopping the terrorists, that's done", </em>the French government would do well to heed the law of un-intended consequences; after all it was the removal of Colonel Gaddafi, following extensive international intervention, that <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/malis-chaos-deepens.html">fuelled Mali’s rebellion</a> in the first place.</p> <p><em>Most importantly, all of the states committing to this intervention must be prepared to play the long-game; for as the situation is Somalia has shown time and time again, such forays are never simple and require political and well as military will to produce any lasting solution.</em></p> <p>For one thing, the plight of the Tuareg people must be addressed if peace is to be found. Whilst the current international focus is understandably on Ansar Dine and their ilk, it was secular Tuareg rebels angry at the Malian government’s treatment of their people , who allied with the Islamists last year thus providing a spring-board to their position today. Such groups retain considerable arms and followers, giving them a key stake in what happens next. </p> <p>Similarly, the role of the army in Malian politics must be curtailed. A <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sanogos-folly.html">military coup last year</a> was intended to remedy shortcomings against the Northern insurgency but had precisely the opposite effect by creating widespread instability and allowing the rebels to advance. Despite a formal handover to an interim civilian President, coup-leader Amadou Sanogo continues to interfere in the running of the country, casting continuing doubt on stability post-intervention.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3fX8BvTAsERwHJKicnfyT5v27NUTUFgXXbmUd03MUNxnso54MIZWgshYduO0fQb6s7NPwVQlx0ZgcfUpCWf360n54BU83PrO6bH_98ojbgzZs8Xs3k3qvpx_aKpv_oZ7f4nUL9-pFwhv/s1600-h/Foreign%252520Jihadists%252520in%252520Northern%252520Mali%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Foreign Jihadists in Northern Mali" border="0" alt="Foreign Jihadists in Northern Mali" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVJaGD9FEC6Mebm2XCrfecyd5n4sEDJZbX1RhDO6FHw9CqCWZeSHyfNuTKUbyB6A1_A_oSf4TnegI9eUJz9j6ynYHBrb4XCFtZOtek7yFTBi_suYdufNkaVAB8y7ggCLCxzNKqESIqMWT/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a>And as always, the wider regional picture must also be taken into account. Jihadists from countries including Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Senegal and the Ivory Coast are all reported to have arrived in rebel-held towns; many via the network of Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM). Members of Nigeria’s brutal <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/nigeria-boko-haram-crisis.html">Boko Haram</a> have also been sighted. Whilst French bombing raids may remove the immediate threat from rebel strongholds, only an on-going regional security effort can have any hope of preventing small foreign insurgent groups from de-railing Mali’s future.</p> <p><strong><em>Overall, international intervention stands to liberate thousands of people suffering under the brutality of Islamist control in Northern Mali and to bring some degree of stability to a nation in unprecedented turmoil…but it is only the start.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6R-PJRLHvPF3JPrLBrg4moP_vrKlQEIEKFBphB22Sd5IAcNMACPZt-wpAedbL_nhxqeGsOTK5yLU8GHjYzueqqOllofT1-DVBHOlpmG1oAv6M61QFYjHfNbRRpAxzb43coHLTmXmYkc38/s1600-h/French%252520intervention%252520in%252520Mali%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="French intervention in Mali" border="0" alt="French intervention in Mali" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ip9CZKF62QQ/UPM8xQKYbuI/AAAAAAAAByA/1toTlej3mCY/French%252520intervention%252520in%252520Mali_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="454" height="313"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:7606d666-5a33-429c-8293-ff1e56bcf910" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mali" rel="tag">Mali</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Malian" rel="tag">Malian</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Islamists" rel="tag">Islamists</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/coup" rel="tag">coup</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Timbuktu" rel="tag">Timbuktu</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/shrines" rel="tag">shrines</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/human+rights" rel="tag">human rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/flogging" rel="tag">flogging</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stoning" rel="tag">stoning</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ambutations" rel="tag">ambutations</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/abuses" rel="tag">abuses</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/intervention" rel="tag">intervention</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ECOWAS" rel="tag">ECOWAS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Economic+Community+of+West+African+States" rel="tag">Economic Community of West African States</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tuareg" rel="tag">Tuareg</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Azawad" rel="tag">Azawad</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/al-Qaeda+in+the+Islamic+Maghreb" rel="tag">al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AQIM" rel="tag">AQIM</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ansar+Dine" rel="tag">Ansar Dine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Movement+for+Oneness+and+Jihad+in+West+Africa" rel="tag">Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Iyad+Ag+Ghaly" rel="tag">Iyad Ag Ghaly</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yahya+Abu+Hammam" rel="tag">Yahya Abu Hammam</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Boko+Haram" rel="tag">Boko Haram</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/France" rel="tag">France</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/planes" rel="tag">planes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bombings" rel="tag">bombings</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/RAF" rel="tag">RAF</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/C17" rel="tag">C17</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hollande" rel="tag">Hollande</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cameron" rel="tag">Cameron</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-66175362574732986832013-01-06T13:38:00.001-08:002013-01-06T14:28:10.790-08:00Justice in Delhi<p><strong><em>The eyes of the world will be on Delhi tomorrow, as six men go on trial for the barbaric rape and murder that has shaken India to its core.</em></strong></p> <p>Unprecedented public anger at the evil act has manifested itself in street protests across the country; those <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_m_jjFD8BhBxf5AdFtEG3cdylijhKUbeyfaGSc1uDx_5SnCLUmlzou40dEQsr4FJ-agYwzcpgfNOgCNpJNw0DMbUdKyqXNPbhV-COHUTDi6cYQSlBWQlypCkjJVIdWqKKx2U4VlWdsk8b/s1600-h/Delhi%252520gang%252520rape%252520execution%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="India Gang Rape" border="0" alt="India Gang Rape" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-JqfvhNoVj2g/UOnuzqPghmI/AAAAAAAABwA/5ARkkkZtgo8/Delhi%252520gang%252520rape%252520execution_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="192" height="170"></a>marching are directing their rage not only at the accused but at the cultural, political and law enforcement systems that have consistently failed to protect women from abuse.</p> <p>It now appears inevitable that the protestors’ efforts will change India for better, at least to some extent. Chauvinistic media portrayal of women, shortcomings in the way that police handle rape cases, silence over domestic abuse and a host of other horrendous norms have been thrust into the spotlight, with politicians vowing to take action.</p> <p>However, recent developments threaten a more ominous outcome when it comes to India’s justice system. There is now a growing demand for the accused to face the death penalty, a rarely-used last resort in Indian law .Prior to the only surviving perpetrator of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks being <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/21/mumbai-terror-attacks-gunman-hanged">hanged amidst scenes of celebration last year</a>, no one had been put to death in India since 2004. As Ananth Guruswamy, head of Amnesty International India pointed out <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/03/opinion/india-rape-amnesty/index.html">in a brave article this week</a>, executing these six men will detract attention from the underlying problems of sexual violence in Indian society whilst squandering a vital chance for the country to confine the death penalty to its history. </p> <p>Furthermore, and perhaps even more worrying than the sentence itself, is the context in which the trial will be taking place. Senior parliamentarians have <a href="http://world.time.com/2012/12/26/india-after-new-delhi-gangrape-should-the-culprits-be-executed/">publicly called for hangings</a>, a <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/effectiveness_questioned_of_indias_fast_track_courts_seeking_justice_for_rape_victims/1578020.html">fast-track court</a> has been set up despite the poor track record of such ventures, and lawyers following the <a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/delhi-gangrape-judges-suggest-lawyers-boycott-for-speedy-trial/1052091/0">urging of top judges</a> have decided en-masse to <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/487933/indian-lawyers-refuse-to-defend-gang-rape-accused/">refuse their services to the defence</a>. </p> <p>It is a key principle of democracy that no matter how heinous a crime, even one as barbaric as this, politicians must not interfere with the judicial process; corners must not be cut in establishing a verdict; and those standing trial must be entitled to adequate representation. Chief Justice Altamas Kabir has been amongst a minority warning that <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/world/mob-rule-not-the-answer-as-india-seethes-over-gang-rape-20130106-2cb2u.html"><em>“a swift trial should not be at the cost of a fair trial”</em></a><em>, </em>yet such voices are being drowned out amid <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/31/india-gang-rape-victim-family-demands-execution-hanged_n_2388732.html">widespread (and understandable) public demands</a> for retribution at the gallows.</p> <p><strong><em>It will be a disaster if India’s politicians and judiciary undermine the justice system in order to quell anger on the streets, not least because the precedent of doing so could ultimately lead to miscarriages of justice in the future. Giving a fair trial to people who have brutally ended a young woman’s life will be painfully uncomfortable- but it is essential.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-E-qJxT3ZtUc/UOnu1jxsk7I/AAAAAAAABvo/3UT4mdtMBoE/s1600-h/India%252520gange%252520rape%252520execution%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="India gange rape execution" border="0" alt="India gange rape execution" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ERz5SB_LzqE/UOnu3NG5MXI/AAAAAAAABvs/Vj7EA-8nzUI/India%252520gange%252520rape%252520execution_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="312" height="184"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:29849bd0-1331-4f4b-9be8-175ed74d8db4" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/India" rel="tag">India</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Delhi" rel="tag">Delhi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gang+rape" rel="tag">gang rape</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/rape" rel="tag">rape</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/murder" rel="tag">murder</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/protests" rel="tag">protests</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/death+penalty" rel="tag">death penalty</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/execution" rel="tag">execution</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/women" rel="tag">women</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/women's+rights" rel="tag">women's rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Amnesty+International" rel="tag">Amnesty International</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/trial" rel="tag">trial</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/fast-track+court" rel="tag">fast-track court</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/defence" rel="tag">defence</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/lawyer" rel="tag">lawyer</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/boycott" rel="tag">boycott</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/judge" rel="tag">judge</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Altamas+Kabir" rel="tag">Altamas Kabir</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/bus" rel="tag">bus</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sushma+Swaraj" rel="tag">Sushma Swaraj</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hang" rel="tag">hang</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/hanged" rel="tag">hanged</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mohammad+Ajmal+Amir+Kasab" rel="tag">Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mumbia" rel="tag">Mumbia</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gunman" rel="tag">gunman</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mob+justice" rel="tag">mob justice</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-25470906997828766002013-01-03T16:06:00.001-08:002013-01-03T16:15:54.068-08:00Burma’s airstrike on democracy<p><strong><em>The Burmese government airstrikes on Kachin State over the past week are the latest escalation in a one-sided conflict that drags the country’s reform process further into disrepute and raises fresh questions about how the international community should deal with President Thein Sein.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SAjNEZDkkcU/UOYc8KmQ6oI/AAAAAAAABs4/MdTRMAly258/s1600-h/Airstrike%252520on%252520Kachin%252520State%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Airstrike on Kachin State" border="0" alt="Airstrike on Kachin State" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-lQKuc9j0n8A/UOYc9fW4_CI/AAAAAAAABs8/GBja5QnEs4M/Airstrike%252520on%252520Kachin%252520State_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="181"></a>It was mid-2011 when government troops broke their 17 year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA); a defensive rebel group which despite its name seeks autonomy and human rights for Kachin State rather than secession from Burma. The precise motivations behind the initial ceasefire violation remain murky, but are widely regarded as stemming from the government’s business interests in exploiting natural resources from Kachin State, and the KIA’s refusal to disarm without a political solution to end the decades-long marginalisation of the Kachin people.</p> <p>Regardless of the driving force, over the following eighteen months well resourced Burmese troops have relentlessly pounded the ill equipped KIA and their allies in the All Burma Student’s Democratic Front (ABSDF). They have also <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/burmas-hidden-horrors.html">brutalised Kachin civilians</a>, more than 50 000 of whom have fled to squalid IDP camps to escape the rapes, torture and extrajudicial killings. Reports from human rights groups on the ground reflect the very worst days of Burma’s various military dictatorships, with troops hacking the limbs of suspected rebels, drunkenly abusing women and destroying entire villages seemingly at random. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiG-pwDm41-H62m2yp8F_hv89tBNCgX5llAcljBseOVGbUYXlpEJ1UmeYZb4igS6aQ_HVzmIbSNWV7lOlbB9UnvrAUU_cIXqQI7fPMvTUlgf2p_PyHaPWA9v8m1tgb4JNKvl8NGPz24Qg8/s1600-h/Kachin%252520civilian%252520injured%252520by%252520Burma%252520army%252520shelling%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Kachin civilian injured by Burma army shelling" border="0" alt="Kachin civilian injured by Burma army shelling" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gPYooi_VEDs/UOYc_rIsmtI/AAAAAAAABtQ/OIW79iHMUl8/Kachin%252520civilian%252520injured%252520by%252520Burma%252520army%252520shelling_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="163"></a></p> <p>The attacks by military aircraft and helicopter gunships over the past week added a horrendous new element to the violence, with shocking <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20896639">video footage</a> from the Free Burma Rangers <a href="http://www.dvb.no/news/international-community-condemns-kachin-airstrikes/25475">sparking strong international condemnation</a>. However, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/kachin-rebels-myanmar-allege-air-attacks-18124994">the offensive has not eased</a> and fears abound that a ‘final assault’ on the KIA headquarters at Laiza may be imminent.</p> <p>This perhaps provides the biggest blow yet to the reformist credentials of Thein Sein’s administration, which had already been sullied by <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/burma-sectarianism-and-speculation.html">the army’s apparent role in stoking sectarian violence against Rohingya Muslims</a>, and the <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/mines-of-monywa-what-are-limits-of.html">violent dispersal of protestors at Letpadaung copper mine</a>. The International Crisis Group - due to present the President with its Pursuit of Peace Award in New York, and the UK <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xhRs9Hs4D1M/UOYdAxCR1QI/AAAAAAAABtY/1dp5cpSjzt0/s1600-h/President%252520Thein%252520Sein%252520Burma%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="President Thein Sein Burma" border="0" alt="President Thein Sein Burma" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyQNhH9hWaBtXJjMOo5aXUp5yh1_H9cznLxMWbNTA3dKp1XFjkTl96YsrizluqLmRe-Gv3UhU33BK83nUCFZx-TUdQAqixmqzkFUV92H0yuGn38cMWRV4j2xrFWB9D11vlMLbetVPWKsS/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="196"></a>government – set to welcome him on an historic state visit, will both now be considering whether such moves were overly premature. <em>After all, heaping such respect upon any other leader so closely associated with pogroms, crackdowns and all-out warfare against ethnic minority groups would be almost unthinkable.</em></p> <p>Yet there is another possibility regarding the situation in Kachin State which raises a whole new set of concerns; namely that the President is not actually in control of the situation at all. Whilst his government has now <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/world/asia/myanmar-military-admits-air-raids-on-kachin-rebels.html?_r=0">acknowledged the airstrikes</a>, initial reports were <a href="http://www.mizzima.com/special/kachin-battle-report/8666-naypyitaw-denies-air-strikes-on-kachins.html">met with confusion and denial</a> based upon conflicting messages from the front line. It is all too reminiscent of earlier stages in the conflict when the army <a href="http://kachinlandnews.com/?p=22198">seemingly ignored orders from Thein Sein to cease its offensive</a>. <em>An army acting out of government control –one key indicator of a failed state, may present an even larger problem for Burma than a President with a dubious commitment to reform. Whilst international and political pressure can be brought to bear on a head of state, it is far harder to influence faceless military officers who may hold the real power.</em> </p> <p>Finally as is so often the case in South East Asia, the influence of the Chinese dictatorship must also be taken into account. It is widely recognised that <a href="http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Can-the-Kachin-survive-wars-escalation-by-Myanmar--30197192.html">the offensive against Kachin State could not have taken place without approval from Beijing</a>. Burmese <a href="http://asiancorrespondent.com/67969/which-part-does-china-play-in-burma%E2%80%99s-civil-war/">ground troops</a> and <a href="http://asiancorrespondent.com/94619/burma-using-chinese-airspace-as-fighting-nears-kachin-hq/">aircrafts</a> have launched attacks from the Chinese side of the Kachin-China border, whilst the Chinese government has remained uncharacteristically quiet about <a href="http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/22883">shells straying into its territory</a>. </p> <p>This is of course to be expected: the vast majority of natural resources stripped from Kachin State are either directly extracted by Chinese firms or sold to China by Burmese government proxies.The Chinese government would therefore like nothing better than to see the Kachin resistance destroyed; yet it remains unclear whether Beijing is encouraging Thein Sein to crush the KIA, supporting his own ambitions to subdue Kachin State, or undermining his authority by dealing directly with officers in the Burmese army. </p> <p><em><strong>When asked last year where Burma’s democratic transition was on a scale of one to ten, Aung San Suu Kyi replied “we’re approaching one”…it is becoming ever more apparent just how right she was.</strong> </em></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78es7AmNsPuBArDOurOqL4ipNP8aVghxc42AT9ILIpeBxnwJn1CMZMxv77z_-DPvyGGMm5v_fk40vEN94P6zZCrj609TdxkYDx7DVLZB7mn-CKp-YIylLt-4vooeFQTg4VjZqluF_G1_Q/s1600-h/Kachin%252520child%252520protesting%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Kachin child protesting" border="0" alt="Kachin child protesting" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-QFigKrgP6L0/UOYdFVxuGYI/AAAAAAAABts/nk2PqEdCRX4/Kachin%252520child%252520protesting_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="170"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:8de55ab6-123f-40d7-8205-4acee547c188" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin" rel="tag">Kachin</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin+State" rel="tag">Kachin State</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin+Independence+Organisation" rel="tag">Kachin Independence Organisation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/KIO" rel="tag">KIO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin+Indepdence+Army" rel="tag">Kachin Indepdence Army</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/KIA" rel="tag">KIA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/All+Burma+Student's+Democractic+Front" rel="tag">All Burma Student's Democractic Front</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ABSDF" rel="tag">ABSDF</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/airstrike" rel="tag">airstrike</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Laiza" rel="tag">Laiza</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/China" rel="tag">China</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Beijing" rel="tag">Beijing</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/CCP" rel="tag">CCP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thein+Sein" rel="tag">Thein Sein</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/President" rel="tag">President</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/USDP" rel="tag">USDP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aung+San+Suu+Kyi" rel="tag">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/NLD" rel="tag">NLD</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-47944596315578402382012-12-10T12:36:00.001-08:002012-12-10T12:45:41.863-08:00Mines of Monywa- what are the limits of Burma’s reform?<p><em><strong>Over recent weeks, events around the Letpadaung copper mine near Monywa have sent shockwaves through Burma’s fragile reform process.</strong></em><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ZNPHq8j9oQU/UMZHsX0jycI/AAAAAAAABqc/pBzaOKqGwW0/s1600-h/Burmese%252520police%252520attack%252520mine%252520protest%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Burmese police attack mine protest" border="0" alt="Burmese police attack mine protest" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-nfLno0LY90w/UMZHtXXdklI/AAAAAAAABqk/dvzg_iPo8SQ/Burmese%252520police%252520attack%252520mine%252520protest_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="295" height="174"></a> For months local people including Buddhist monks, had been demonstrating against the environmental damage and land seizures associated with the operation- a joint venture between a Chinese company and another owned by the Burmese military. Then, in the early hours of 29 November, riot police swarmed into the protest-camps, setting them on fire and <a href="http://www.mizzima.com/gallery/photo-essay/8472-riot-police-violently-suppress-monywa-copper-mine-protests-80-injured.html">injuring dozens of civilians</a>. </p> <p>In the ensuing days, a number of those who had escaped hospitalisation were <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20586818">held on charges of illegal demonstration</a>, whilst across the country prominent activists such as <a href="http://www.mizzima.com/news/prisoner-watch/8539-campaign-calls-for-candlelit-vigils-for-u-gambira.html">U-Gambira</a> were rounded up in an apparent attempt to stem the spread of <a href="http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/20813">solidarity protests</a>.</p> <p>The whole incident reflects the continuing <a href="http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/8517-monywa-crackdown-due-to-a-lack-of-rule-of-law-says-local-mp.html">absence of rule of law</a> in Burma; which alongside the <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/burmas-hidden-horrors.html">military abuses in Kachin state</a> and the <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/burma-sectarianism-and-speculation.html">state-sponsored sectarian violence in Arakan state</a>, presents a stark reminder that the worldwide embrace of President Thein Sein’s administration may have been somewhat over-enthusiastic. </p> <p>The President was last month recognised alongside Aung San Suu Kyi as Foreign Policy Magazine’s <a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/26/the_fp_100_global_thinkers">top political thinker of 2012</a>. And having recently visited Washington at the invitation of Barak Obama, he will return to the US next year to receive the International Crisis Group’s eminent <a href="http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/19845">In Pursuit of Peace Award</a> at a lavish ceremony in New York. The ex-general will also be jet-setting to London, as part of a rapidly blossoming friendship that this week saw the first UK trade delegation to arrive in Rangoon for decades.</p> <p><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1ZxAKtMChT6T3J3HnbqEr3CwC8gHCKGAwcOq77yT3OMmxjEuYbvMcpJaNWH3BuUenG8fIs0jrU4QvPjAqp_OWA2-ED5lbcRwafRE4H4oBnXih3P2oqU6GY31ZrP3sm1mbJn4BeK7QpQH/s1600-h/Monks%252520attacked%252520Monywa%252520Burma%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Monks attacked Monywa Burma" border="0" alt="Monks attacked Monywa Burma" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhemd0dVCkp0acUbw2wzxooRzL99VeciYD6lgQ-hjWeu0AvUKGDu3wNx_sbGufYiIM4rzUdiA7SsV0uP14D46gZdhAPcNTQsgTg_UQHRtWhWE-r7hPpLHMQk72-SPfiXZU-8tG2FAlXp8/?imgmax=800" width="248" height="167"></a>In the wake of events around Monywa, more people than ever are quite rightly questioning whether this is all a bit lavish for the boss of an administration that protects its environmentally disastrous money-making operations by crushing dissent with fire-bombs, tear gas and waves of arbitrary arrests</em>. </p> <p>They are right of course, yet at the same time it would be naive to overlook aspects of the saga that demonstrate just how far Burma has come. For whilst images of burnt monks on hospital beds naturally stir up memories of the crackdown against the Saffron Revolution in 2007, the differences between the two situations could not be more significant. </p> <p>Back then the military regime massacred people on the streets without even a cursory nod to due process; but following the violence of 29 November Thein Sein’s administration set up a <a href="http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/8515-suu-kyi-chairs-first-monywa-inquiry-meeting.html">commission of inquiry</a> and placed none other than Aung San <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-t_ItPrBzNEg/UMZHwD6N02I/AAAAAAAABq8/xNro3BYJKfo/s1600-h/Aung%252520San%252520Suu%252520Kyi%252520in%252520Monywa%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Aung San Suu Kyi in Monywa" border="0" alt="Aung San Suu Kyi in Monywa" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--iBCpjOyua0/UMZHwwhPw8I/AAAAAAAABrA/wQYXQsSSx-Q/Aung%252520San%252520Suu%252520Kyi%252520in%252520Monywa_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a>Suu Kyi in the Chair. The authorities also <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20650576">heeded her request for a formal apology</a>, undoubtedly in part out of fear that solidarity protests would escalate, but nonetheless illustrating a more conciliatory approach to the propaganda and lies of five years ago. The overall situation is therefore not so much a clear-cut illustration that nothing has changed, but rather a continuation of the complex and messy governance that has characterised the reform process so far. </p> <p>The cold hard fact remains that Burma is nowhere near democracy and the abuses taking place across the country on a daily basis should be judged against basic human rights norms, not merely in comparison to the more flagrant violations of previous governments. This means that Thein Sein must be held to account for the attacks on protestors and the ethnic pogroms in Burma, not sycophantically lauded as a reformist hero just because he is less tyrannical than his genocidal predecessors.</p> <p>However, despite the on-going abuses activists should resist the temptation of completely writing-off this administration’s reformist credentials. In just a few short years Aung San Suu Kyi has gone from being a political prisoner held in near total isolation, to chairing an inquiry into the government’s behaviour in front of both Burmese and international media. Developments like that were previously unthinkable and there are undoubtedly many people waiting in the wings of the government who would like to take Burma back there. <strong><em>Balancing scrutiny and encouragement of the more reform-minded elements will be hard, but it is essential.</em></strong></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:bbf58a14-cf06-425d-8e9b-b027c4c961c3" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Monywa" rel="tag">Monywa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Letpadaung" rel="tag">Letpadaung</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/copper+mine" rel="tag">copper mine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/monks" rel="tag">monks</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/protest" rel="tag">protest</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/crackdown" rel="tag">crackdown</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tear+gas" rel="tag">tear gas</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/fire+bombs" rel="tag">fire bombs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thein+Sein" rel="tag">Thein Sein</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aung+San+Suu+Kyi" rel="tag">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/International+Crisis+Group" rel="tag">International Crisis Group</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ICG" rel="tag">ICG</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Foreign+Policy+Magazine" rel="tag">Foreign Policy Magazine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/U-Gambira" rel="tag">U-Gambira</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Arakan" rel="tag">Arakan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rakhine" rel="tag">Rakhine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rohingya" rel="tag">Rohingya</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin" rel="tag">Kachin</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/USA" rel="tag">USA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Barak+Obama" rel="tag">Barak Obama</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hugo+Swire" rel="tag">Hugo Swire</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-8631753535902420272012-11-11T14:04:00.001-08:002012-11-11T14:11:16.105-08:00Burma’s earthquake- a tragedy and a test<p><em><strong>Details of the earthquake that struck Burma on Sunday morning are still sketchy</strong></em>. Various initial <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/quake-leaves-up-to-12-feared-dead-in-burma-8305014.html">death tolls</a> are relatively low (between four and twelve) but the true extent of damage is likely to be far worse; at 6.8 magnitude it is larger <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUs18uu-NxLWKuNCp1C4a3nz1cSSheWrCwirPBTgA9MmZPLO67IQHU1KANwTGV1PmnDNxGM-ARUdydddWR6Q5jnWgiN2B6um8Pk1r_mF92KigeHbT-KuoQeqgfX857chZBU-FE9Li87Xxd/s1600-h/Burma%252520earthquake%252520November%2525202012%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Burma earthquake November 2012" border="0" alt="Burma earthquake November 2012" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3yXx9NdrdSs/UKAgvBM4DvI/AAAAAAAABn8/vl9AHvR97lo/Burma%252520earthquake%252520November%2525202012_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="139"></a>than the quake that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17113574">devastated Christchurch last year</a>, and Burma’s emergency infrastructure is nowhere near that of New Zealand’s. Ominously the epicentre lies near to Mandaly, a city of over one million people second only in size to Rangoon. Tremors were felt as far away and Bangkok and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20285901">at least two strong aftershocks</a> have been reported.</p> <p>As things pan out in the comings hours and days the earthquake may represent the biggest test yet for President Thein Sein’s reformist USDP government. Just over four years ago, when Cyclone Nargis decimated Burma’s Irrawaddy Delta region, the military government in which Thein Sein served, <a href="http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/burma/about-burma/about-burma/cyclone-nargis-main">covered up early warnings then flagrantly lied about the scale of the disaster once it hit</a>.</p> <p>As the floods, death and disease spread, they exacerbated the problem further <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/27/regime-blocked-aid-to-burma-cyclone-victims">by physically blocking</a> the delivery of relief, <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/aid-agencies-struggling-as-rescue-workers-expelled-from-burma/story-e6frf7jo-1111116288534">expelling</a> aid workers and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2008/may/12/cyclonenargisreliefefforti">seizing a</a> large<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_X2Bo-Ts3YgZqQbBVEb4XJCNpGX-S_Iky3rCDIjwWkXYA-j7pBdWi7PTKyd3gtL-UukefvH1SVFA7s5xK-wJ_1enD8aAho8x3OzTZ8CSaKlAbVXtN58JDFc21jN3ViI7KT0CyuqOqFoe/s1600-h/Cyclone%252520Nargis%252520relief%252520blocked%252520by%252520government%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Cyclone Nargis relief blocked by government" border="0" alt="Cyclone Nargis relief blocked by government" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-6Kr7XDW1ipE/UKAgxj0lvNI/AAAAAAAABoI/bruq4j044E4/Cyclone%252520Nargis%252520relief%252520blocked%252520by%252520government_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="154"></a> proportion of any assistance that was able to get through. In a fit of paranoia and callousness the regime <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7435188.stm">refused entry foreign to boats full of food and medical supplies</a>, leaving the international community to seriously consider flying <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7396313.stm">unauthorised military aid drops</a> to the desperate population.</p> <p><em><strong>Of the 140 000 who died, many were direct victims of the regime’s actions: a </strong></em><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/burmamyanmar/4839404/Burma-cyclone-response-was-crime-against-humanity.html"><em><strong>Crime Against Humanity</strong></em></a><em><strong> in most eyes.</strong></em> </p> <p>The response to Sunday’s earthquake then, is a chance for Thein Sein’s new administration to prove that things have really changed. Accurate information about the impact, dedication of resources towards relief and unhindered access for external agencies are nothing short of essential if the President is to prove that his is a government serious about taking Burma forward.</p> <p>Two years into the reform process serious doubts continue to linger about its authenticity. Despite significant political prisoner releases, fair by-elections and the easing of censorship, several familiar dictatorial traits remain. The <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/burmas-hidden-horrors.html">ongoing military attacks against civilians in Kachin State</a>, the <a href="http://www.aappb.org/Updated__PP_list.html">238 political prisoners</a> still behind bars, and the <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/burma-sectarianism-and-speculation.html">abhorrent sectarian attacks</a> stirred up by the government in Arakan State have led many commentators both inside and outside Burma to question just how much things have really progressed.</p> <p><strong><em>The official response to this natural disaster may go some way to providing an answer.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbeFdzThFjnT2OdxQfl6lg3l2KVuU8-gVNwIVSUeE_1Tv9uMFQGOQcyMhUFsyt8PorNzsKJ8vG3tjmQfcS0m1LUj0H82GzasEs3dX0fWY-ihItAzr8zwziSftAma9qReYlo375RKqBRBJ/s1600-h/President%252520Thein%252520Sein%252520Burma%252520earthquake%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="President Thein Sein Burma earthquake" border="0" alt="President Thein Sein Burma earthquake" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JzOLkGz83tM/UKAgzzUyDoI/AAAAAAAABoc/3Dk3dR4cLaY/President%252520Thein%252520Sein%252520Burma%252520earthquake_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="196"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:45d06180-ff7a-4131-a538-c65f168f54ef" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Myanmar" rel="tag">Myanmar</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/earthquake" rel="tag">earthquake</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cyclone" rel="tag">cyclone</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nargis" rel="tag">Nargis</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/government" rel="tag">government</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/regime" rel="tag">regime</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/USDP" rel="tag">USDP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/aid" rel="tag">aid</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/relief" rel="tag">relief</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blocked" rel="tag">blocked</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Crime+Against+humanity" rel="tag">Crime Against humanity</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/November" rel="tag">November</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/2012" rel="tag">2012</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-78831724512938476162012-10-30T16:04:00.001-07:002012-10-30T16:07:40.976-07:00Yudhoyono- the tyrant who came to tea<p><em>Buckingham Palace has played host to some pretty unscrupulous characters over the years including Vladimir Putin, Hu Jintao and even Robert Mugabe.</em> This week the odorous list is extended to include Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is not only staying as a guest of Her Majesty but is being <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/29/sby-receive-honor-uk-queen.html">personally presented with a prestigious British Knighthood.</a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6rkPweDuhyphenhyphenHXbma6jp6MFNRJNj72irwVXF8HlZ1qG1_dJeQwUyTj4X3G12sH0rOfGWKqXuZzNsHYAxxYSAEpbral0146v7aaXbsrWyPaLoGQaCyfvCtNRrWgQOjjxOyKdTKGyfddUCEJ/s1600-h/Prisoners%252520in%252520West%252520Papua%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Prisoners in West Papua" border="0" alt="Prisoners in West Papua" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kA0x78yMhFM/UJBc0joR9BI/AAAAAAAABl0/onGYdGZtY_4/Prisoners%252520in%252520West%252520Papua_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="143"></a>Such a warm welcome for the tyrant will be a bitter blow to those languishing under his rule, not least the people of occupied West Papua who <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/unlikely-hero.html">harboured such high hopes of British support</a> when David Cameron entered Downing Street in 2010. Having previously met with their inspirational independence leader Benny Wenda, many Papuans hoped that Cameron would take a stand against the Indonesian occupation of their country. Instead the Prime Minister remained silent as Yudhoyono’s troops continued to <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/brutality-in-paradise.html">brutally torture their countrymen</a> and <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/message-from-indonesiano-democracy-here.html">open fire on demonstrations with live ammunition</a>.</p> <p>Whilst Yudhoyono resides and dines in luxury at Buckingham Palace, one of the most prominent figures in the West Papuan struggle <a href="http://action.amnesty.org.uk/ea-campaign/action.retrievestaticpage.do?ea_static_page_id=1048">Filep Karma</a>,will remain locked in a squalid cell, serving a sentence for nothing more that raising the banned West Papuan flag. Filep has been frequently denied medical treatment and has been recognised around the world as a prisoner of conscience, yet Yudhoyono sees fit to keep him and others incarcerated for daring to peacefully challenge Indonesia’s colonialist whims.</p> <p>Back in Indonesia itself, hundreds of thousands more suffer under <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/indonesia-and-echoes-of-nazis.html">repulsive state discrimination</a>. Ahmadi Muslims and Christians frequently face <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/yudhoyono-is-to-blame.html">brutal mob attacks</a>, spurred on by government hate-speech and met with <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/indonesia-ludicrous-sentences-and.html">ludicrously weak sentences</a> for <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqU6dUSKOA_UkS3cwNs_ywML6YgnsuVEae-4F3pF-ZJsyPCT34AWhXC_iqqQIGISPvwT_s3TBPv5o7G9ahJOsKb0fxXIZUdo8cAKIDXYx3gEI6zj5i78gROaBTHc-I4g5oIfRXcTTqOFua/s1600-h/Indonesia%252520anti%252520Ahmadi%252520mob%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Indonesia anti Ahmadi mob" border="0" alt="Indonesia anti Ahmadi mob" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TjsVnMoTcqQ/UJBc2_mtSZI/AAAAAAAABmI/jZ2GraSS3ts/Indonesia%252520anti%252520Ahmadi%252520mob_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="160"></a>the perpetrators. Recently, in the first case of its kind, a 30 year old citizen named Alex Aan was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/opinion/indonesias-rising-religious-intolerance.html?_r=0">imprisoned for professing his atheism on facebook</a>. Indonesia-watchers point to such developments as evidence of increasing government hostility against freedom of belief and an on-going erosion of human rights.</p> <p>This trend <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/camerons-asian-confusion.html">appeared lost on David Cameron</a> in April this year, when during a trade visit to Indonesia he somewhat baffling claimed that Yudhoyono’s clique <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/9199212/David-Cameron-Indonesia-is-a-model-democracy-for-Muslims.html"><em>”neither compromises people's security nor their ability to practise their religion"</em></a><em>. </em>Unfortunately such sycophancy is likely to be repeated this week when the two leaders meet again, in between royal engagements. <em> </em></p> <p><em><strong>It is time for the UK and the rest of the international community to get tough on Yudhoyono – tea at the palace and a knighthood is not the way to do it.</strong></em></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-hP2TPPthB10/UJBc3xtaO3I/AAAAAAAABmQ/_UgJTzDYXWI/s1600-h/Yudhoyono%252520and%252520Cameron%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Yudhoyono and Cameron" border="0" alt="Yudhoyono and Cameron" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicx21grkMLQWnAMw5CWGcGb55xYoBUHzWifJGjgytfOwN7-PKpEeGxQcGeQcrWW3B4dx4RigxTkY4RILIf4DTqSEraYFGCpGrQjHXe6piwg6R18o5lKmmjajihZ2Y2Ghi8rNBrqK8vEv7B/?imgmax=800" width="332" height="208"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c8c72e60-9eed-4a3f-b89a-954113447dfe" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Susilo+Bambang+Yudhoyono" rel="tag">Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yudhoyono" rel="tag">Yudhoyono</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Indonesia" rel="tag">Indonesia</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/visit" rel="tag">visit</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Britain" rel="tag">Britain</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Buckingham+Palace" rel="tag">Buckingham Palace</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/knighthood" rel="tag">knighthood</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Queen" rel="tag">Queen</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/West+Papua" rel="tag">West Papua</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ahmadyyia" rel="tag">Ahmadyyia</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ahmadis" rel="tag">Ahmadis</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Christians" rel="tag">Christians</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/atheism" rel="tag">atheism</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/atheist" rel="tag">atheist</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/prisoners" rel="tag">prisoners</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Alex+Aan" rel="tag">Alex Aan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Benny+Wenda" rel="tag">Benny Wenda</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Filep+Karma" rel="tag">Filep Karma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/David+Cameron" rel="tag">David Cameron</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sectarianism" rel="tag">sectarianism</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/persecution" rel="tag">persecution</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/occupation" rel="tag">occupation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/dictatorship" rel="tag">dictatorship</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-14591999775387193142012-10-21T15:19:00.001-07:002012-10-21T15:19:45.993-07:00Mali–intervention beckons<p><em>In crisis-hit Northern Mali it almost certain the international military intervention is just around the corner – and for many of its citizens this cannot come soon enough.</em></p> <p>It has been some ten months since a <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sanogos-folly.html">counter-productive military coup</a> destabilised the country and allowed a loose alliance of nationalist Tuareg and Islamist rebels to take control of territory equivalent in size to France. Since then the military has handed over to a shaky civilian administration, whilst the rebels’ marriage of convenience has broken down, with the Islamist groups coming out on top.</p> <p>The consequences for ordinary Northerners have been catastrophic, following the<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUBnlbI7Yo3UZ6lzOneTbxxt-Ce8ItwZ2X1Fh304GLE1gnhLyGTyPSTcJcD64JuEYmi5yvDkPAE7rzSppEM91viNYsMUa5AFvrf6rE2xD89Ha8d_WatKI1N6GQS9KLrVdY8De5_JMCFGU/s1600-h/Sharia%252520law%252520in%252520Mali%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Sharia law in Mali" border="0" alt="Sharia law in Mali" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-aL9ImOB-U64/UIR065FWWZI/AAAAAAAABjk/XihYHWvLpmc/Sharia%252520law%252520in%252520Mali_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="218" height="169"></a> imposition of a brutally harsh interpretation of Sharia Law across the region. Those accused of robbery have had their <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/81a3478e-fbe9-11e1-af33-00144feabdc0.html#axzz29y2GFZ3G">limbs hacked off</a>, couples found having sex outside of wedlock have been <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19053442">stoned to death</a> and other ‘offenders’ are regularly flogged, all publicly before terrified crowds.</p> <p>Yet things are set to get far worse: already the rebels are <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/12/world/africa/mali-women-lists/index.html">making lists of unmarried mothers</a>, raising fears of mass-executions. And all the while they are regularly <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/world/africa/mali-shrines/index.html">destroying beautiful ancient shrines</a>, on the basis that they do not fit with their own warped version of Islam. As for the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/sep/28/sahel-chronic-hunger-crisis-solutions">on-going food crisis</a>, rebel activity is both hampering relief in Mali itself and exacerbating shortages in neighbouring states by driving huge flows of refugees over the borders. </p> <p>These abuses have played a part in the increasingly urgent international response, which in recent weeks has seen a UN resolution <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20005606">laying the groundwork for intervention</a> and the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) begin to draw up a military strategy. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ltKu8KnsBG8/UIR07yxDmYI/AAAAAAAABjs/QRd83rRVTJk/s1600-h/Islamist%252520militia%252520in%252520Mali%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Islamist militia in Mali" border="0" alt="Islamist militia in Mali" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-GyGrGiArGuM/UIR09ORN6fI/AAAAAAAABj0/wYXN881yXtU/Islamist%252520militia%252520in%252520Mali_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="155"></a>Beyond human rights, an even more pressing concern for many states is the continental or even global implications of a new base of power for radical Islamist groups, especially given that <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/foreign-jihadists-pour-into-northern-mali/story-fn3dxix6-1226500381278">vast numbers of foreign Jihadists</a> have flocked to the area bolstering al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the local incarnation of the international network. With al-Shabab <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/19/somalia-peace-football-endgame?newsfeed=true">on the back-foot</a> in Somalia and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20018670">moderate successes </a>against Boko Haram in Nigeria, any consolidation of power by the rebels would present a major set-back to the struggle against violent Islamism in Africa, which is seen as a key battleground in the broader global picture. For this reason states across the world are keen to line-up behind the imminent ECOWAS intervention, with France in particular already <a href="http://www.rnw.nl/africa/bulletin/fight-against-mali-islamists-will-be-difficult-france">promising practical logistical support.</a> </p> <p>However whilst it brings wider support for intervention, the international-jihadist context of the crisis also threatens to make this long and bloody affair. Furthermore, whilst the Tuareg nationalist militias have no love for the Islamists and may even play some role in deposing them, they will be disinclined to allow the Malian state to reassert its authority in the territory they regard as Azawad. On top of all this, friction remains between Mali’s weak government and assertive military, with the possibility of a future coup still lingering. ECOWAS troops may then ultimately find themselves caught between a jihad, a secessionist conflict and a national power struggle.</p> <p><strong><em>Right now- for the sake of those suffering under the rebels and for the wider region, ECOWAS intervention seems the only viable option…but it won’t be an easy one.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTusdTupJkyKxFhPb3a5dD4PkHgjQr4cx8Ph0tDkcBKmo6_2wAWSBcQjbnKW6szIzEYrOcEVLILPlFg8mBsDN4INvycJxhxSg3Re837pNzUiYENPFaY2JzgLVpDsyqpixRcmpvi1c83iRo/s1600-h/Mali%252520Islamists%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Mali Islamists" border="0" alt="Mali Islamists" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-O-mfZuDe2lA/UIR0_nR2EcI/AAAAAAAABkE/5M4udrb9-PI/Mali%252520Islamists_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="388" height="252"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b61e7b58-b3b0-4b9b-8ca5-ffc8623e6099" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mali" rel="tag">Mali</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Malian" rel="tag">Malian</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Islamists" rel="tag">Islamists</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/coup" rel="tag">coup</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Timbuktu" rel="tag">Timbuktu</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/shrines" rel="tag">shrines</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/human+rights" rel="tag">human rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/flogging" rel="tag">flogging</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/stoning" rel="tag">stoning</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ambutations" rel="tag">ambutations</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/abuses" rel="tag">abuses</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/intervention" rel="tag">intervention</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/ECOWAS" rel="tag">ECOWAS</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Economic+Community+of+West+African+States" rel="tag">Economic Community of West African States</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tuareg" rel="tag">Tuareg</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Azawad" rel="tag">Azawad</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/al-Qaeda+in+the+Islamic+Maghreb" rel="tag">al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AQIM" rel="tag">AQIM</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ansar+Dine" rel="tag">Ansar Dine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Movement+for+Oneness+and+Jihad+in+West+Africa" rel="tag">Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Iyad+Ag+Ghaly" rel="tag">Iyad Ag Ghaly</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yahya+Abu+Hammam" rel="tag">Yahya Abu Hammam</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-43662191459195586652012-10-18T15:45:00.001-07:002012-10-18T15:45:29.313-07:00The Security Council’s African crisis<p>On 1 January 2013 South Africa will relinquish control of the African seat on the UN Security Council. <em>For human rights activists around the world it’s presence won’t be missed.</em></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6H_-iF3ITv1IqS58QqghKRjWB5Cl4Ub85liyZmPPWK6YwE4Nu7YBP8Z761tcbumEBKlbw-TGYv8lMLbyEYetWGdhalvOpoxpoWNEGhUe4F0vbywCG2Z2LlghVW8ZgTrLQS1AuMYktvZS-/s1600-h/UN%252520Security%252520Council%252520South%252520Africa%252520Rwanda%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="UN-SYRIA/" border="0" alt="UN-SYRIA/" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16f6pQhCDwghjKxrVL2Ysyovb3-N8qTorNt-rPToJr6NT7LHeZ54pwcUNAX8ue3zP68mIk6yBIC0vcwSf_XWXtGdFvp184iVS9BbtsxhjO6_NpSZ9yFdcpTwFgpOvb19TeUtdwn7DgBt9/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="158"></a>Perhaps prior to the collapse of Apartheid, the prospect of an ANC man sitting at the table and influencing international response to conflict and humanitarian situations across the globe, would have been the ultimate dream. The reality however has been both sordid and abusive.</p> <p>For <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/anc-problem-deeper-than-chinas.html">South Africa has consistently used its position to back oppressors</a>; from blocking condemnation of ethnic cleansing in Burma, to undermining pressure on Bashar al-Assad as he butchers his own people. Closer to home, successive ANC administrations have supported Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe and the indicted War Criminal Omar al-Bashir in Sudan. And when it comes to China and its occupied territories, the decision to deny the Dalai Lama a visa on two separate occasions aptly spelt out the South African government’s unfortunate stance.</p> <p>It is little wonder therefore that leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have openly criticised the state’s leaders for facilitating and protecting the kind of tyranny they once suffered themselves. <em><strong>Unfortunately, South Africa’s replacement on the council – Rwanda, is unlikely to improve matters.</strong></em></p> <p>Paul Kagame’s RPF regime is widely accorded <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/standing-up-to-saviour.html">international sympathy</a>, stemming from its role in halting the 1994 genocide, and Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo has <a href="http://www.gov.rw/The-United-Nations-General-Assembly-this-morning-elected-Rwanda-to-one-of-five-rotational-seats-on-the-UN-Security-Council-for-the-term-2013-14">suggested that the slaughter will allow Rwanda to bring a “unique perspective” on conflict</a> to the council However, the RPF’s <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/hand-of-kagame.html">appalling record on human rights</a> and perhaps more significantly on <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/reigning-in-rwanda.html">backing brutal rebel groups in the neighbouring DRC</a>, is already raising serious concerns about how Rwandan influence will be used in practice. </p> <p>Most pressing is a report leaked just twenty-four hours before Rwanda was elected<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqlLZzTCyNNWJhoHSnE3uv1a4-5KjKfrd_n2lD6x8qB2Fzy4PKUP-7WvYbj73vHFiC3oFkDUZwqY8U1dOPyvw0-TvFHjueKuj8btqmcpCF1sNVKqDNqpODsIuevEtjoZqaSjzDUtMI3UU/s1600-h/M23%252520Rebels%252520supported%252520by%252520Rwanda%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="M23 Rebels supported by Rwanda" border="0" alt="M23 Rebels supported by Rwanda" align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-waWXRdoK6yo/UICGh3r_TpI/AAAAAAAABh4/bdZ4mB82vxo/M23%252520Rebels%252520supported%252520by%252520Rwanda_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a> to the seat, confirming that not only equipment and support but <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19998195"><em>direct orders</em></a> are being given by Kagame’s officials to Bosco Ntaganda’s notorious M23 Rebels. This group is currently destabilising swathes of the DRC through an orgy of massacres, rapes and child soldier recruitment. Now Human Rights Watch has voiced fears that Rwanda’s new position will simply allow the RPF to prevent any sanctions that it may have faced as a result of.its involvement.</p> <p><em><strong>The end of South Africa’s poor showing at the council is no bad thing…but the new set up is unlikely to be any better at all.</strong></em></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:5d85191f-2022-4c8b-9d0b-85923d9a69eb" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bosco+Ntaganda" rel="tag">Bosco Ntaganda</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/M23" rel="tag">M23</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rwanda" rel="tag">Rwanda</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rwanda+Patriotic+Front" rel="tag">Rwanda Patriotic Front</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/RPF" rel="tag">RPF</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Paul+Kagame" rel="tag">Paul Kagame</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/South+Africa" rel="tag">South Africa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tibet" rel="tag">Tibet</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sudan" rel="tag">Sudan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bashar+al-Assad" rel="tag">Bashar al-Assad</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Omar+al-Bashir" rel="tag">Omar al-Bashir</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UN" rel="tag">UN</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/United+Nations" rel="tag">United Nations</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UNSC" rel="tag">UNSC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/United+Nations+Security+Council" rel="tag">United Nations Security Council</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/DRC" rel="tag">DRC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Democratic+Republic+of+Congongo" rel="tag">Democratic Republic of Congongo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Human+rights" rel="tag">Human rights</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-39899071183676918682012-10-14T08:58:00.001-07:002012-10-14T09:05:05.622-07:00Sexuality, deportation and persecution<p>Back in 2010 David Cameron promised to end the UK’s <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/labours-lgbt-shame.html">shameful practice under Labour</a>, of deporting gay asylum seekers to states where they had <em>“well-founded fear of persecution”</em> on the basis of their sexuality. Sadly that <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/land-of-hate-and-glory.html">did not happen</a> – not in practice anyway; and this week a 28 year-old Nigerian nursing student by the name of Ola Ayelokun became the latest victim of an asylum system that has dramatically fallen behind domestic LGBT rights legislation. </p> <p>Despite <a href="http://www.allout.org/Call_Theresa">a huge public outcry</a> and <a href="http://www.lgbtory.co.uk/news/conservative-mp-intervenes-case-gay-nigerian">intervention from within the Conservative party</a>, Ola was <a href="http://www.allout.org/en/actions/asylum_in_the_uk">put on a plane back to Nigeria</a>, where the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gay-nigerian-fears-he-will-be-killed-if-he-is-forced-to-return-8198385.html">penalty for homosexual activity is fourteen years imprisonment</a> and the government has been consistently criticised for failing to prevent widespread homophobic attacks. Ola’s summary of the situation was at<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4RBh3fpgBks/UHrhCEWgZ5I/AAAAAAAABgo/-Sg0A4HbHDQ/s1600-h/LGBT%252520rights%252520Nigeria%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="LGBT rights Nigeria" border="0" alt="LGBT rights Nigeria" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-kp0t62sTYGw/UHrhDbe-cZI/AAAAAAAABgs/3V3Uwsubx7Q/LGBT%252520rights%252520Nigeria_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="217" height="168"></a> once simple and heart-breaking: <em>“I am very afraid they are going to kill me in Nigeria."</em> </p> <p>The crux of the problem that has led us to this point is not necessarily a dismissive attitude towards LGBT rights on the government’s part; after all, Cameron’s administration is actively trying to build on Labour’s advances in equality legislation and has threatened to <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/commonwealth-nations-to-have-aid-cut-for-gay-rights-abuses-6255009.html">cut aid to those countries persecuting their gay citizens</a>. Nor is there any top-level policy failing when it comes to protecting LGBT asylum seekers; they are formally entitled to remain here on the basis of homophobic persecution in their home state. <em>Rather the failing is a procedural one that neither Labour nor the coalition have ever tackled head-on.</em></p> <p>In short there are <a href="http://www.allout.org/en/actions/asylum_in_the_uk">currently no guidelines</a> for courts dealing with these kind of cases, which effectively leaves the outcome resting on the judge’s interpretation of somebody’s sexuality. As a result we are faced with numerous situation’s like Ola’s, where lack of understanding, adherence to stereotypes, or simple prejudice has caused a judge to determine that the asylum seeker is actually not gay at all and can therefore be sent home without danger.</p> <p>This of course not only leaves the judge in charge of a decision that they may be utterly unqualified to make, but also puts the emphasis of the determination in completely the wrong place as Ola’s lawyer pointed out: <em>"with respect to the…judges here, it is not what they believe to be his sexuality that is important. It is what is believed by those people who persecute and prosecute people in Nigeria for being gay that counts."</em></p> <p>The solution it appears, would be relatively straightforward; a number of other European countries have already put in place guidelines for judges in order to prevent travesties such as Ola’s deportation, and LGBT rights groups are now <a href="http://www.allout.org/en/actions/asylum_in_the_uk">calling on the UK government to do the same</a>. <strong><em>That is not only a sensible course of action, but an essential one if we are to stop any more innocent people being sent home to face persecution – or worse.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-1GsTsZkzjGU/UHrhEQOp8yI/AAAAAAAABg4/yvgGRPQfVyQ/s1600-h/Ola%252520Ayelokun%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Ola Ayelokun" border="0" alt="Ola Ayelokun" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-k3TlZU-7gR0/UHrhFWsxICI/AAAAAAAABhA/nDkLXjsxpMM/Ola%252520Ayelokun_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="318" height="186"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:5f79c762-daa0-4a25-a25c-579760019306" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ola+Ayelokun" rel="tag">Ola Ayelokun</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/deporation" rel="tag">deporation</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nigeria" rel="tag">Nigeria</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/persecution" rel="tag">persecution</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/LGBT" rel="tag">LGBT</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/LGBT+Rights" rel="tag">LGBT Rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/LGBTI" rel="tag">LGBTI</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gay+rights" rel="tag">gay rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Theresa+May" rel="tag">Theresa May</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/David+Cameron" rel="tag">David Cameron</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Labour" rel="tag">Labour</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Conservatives" rel="tag">Conservatives</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-19327866673425314762012-10-13T05:42:00.001-07:002012-10-13T05:48:50.462-07:00The devaluation of Nobel Peace Prize?<p>Two hundred and thirty-one people and organisations were nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, widely heralded as one of the most prestigious honours in global politics.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RY7UpQLlUpk/UHlhh_SC0bI/AAAAAAAABfc/nY7WKodCTt8/s1600-h/Svetlana%252520Gannushkina%252520Nobel%252520Peace%252520Prize%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Svetlana Gannushkina Nobel Peace Prize" border="0" alt="Svetlana Gannushkina Nobel Peace Prize" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOmEEfJfGifDkiDns3GzpIX416Pt9hoDHpk2xjovaOCnQX2bP9QR0Ds8NpVuMcmhPaIM_Q8RrGInkczk0nMQiFkk1RKCobRXSLsi3LYHWhyHk86DSHaGJqV6jzQOU_tJs8cSy9VGFIqic/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="139"></a>Among them was <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/human-rights-defender-russia-svetlana-alekseevna-gannushkina-20081209">Svetlana Gannushkina</a>, a veteran Russian human rights activist whose tireless work for displaced people including many thousands of Chechens, has made her an enemy of Vladimir Putin’s autocratic regime.</p> <p>Across the Belarusian border <a href="http://www.demotix.com/news/1486109/ales-belyatsky-laureate-2012-lech-walesa-award#media-1486102">Ales Belyatsky</a>, laureate of the 2012 Lech Walesa Award, was in the running for his work supporting political prisoners under the Lukashenko dictatorship. Belyatsky is currently serving a four and a half year sentence himself, following a show-trial condemned around the world. </p> <p>Among the Arab Spring activists nominated was <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/10/2011106222117687872.html">Lina Ben Mhenni</a>, whose blog during the Tunisian revolution was in many situations the only source of information being relayed to the outside world. This of course came at great risk to her own life.</p> <p><em>Everyone will have their own view on who the Prize should have gone too.</em> Perhaps <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19908409">Malala Yousafzai</a>, the fourteen year old girl who took a stand against the Pakistani Taliban by demanding education for women and was barbarically shot in the head as a result. Or maybe it should have been awarded en-masse to the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/10/2012104124018341950.html">young Somali reporters</a> working in one of the world’s most dangerous territories to shine a spotlight on its strife.</p> <p>Another option for a collective award would have been those involved in Burma’s historic and seismic reform process; including Aung San Suu Kyi, President Thein Sein, and significant foreign players such as Hilary Clinton and William Hague.</p> <p><em>Yet the five-person committee responsible for selecting this year’s laureate did not regard any of these as worthy candidates. </em>Rather they selected a regional body better known for its economic crisis than its contribution to world peace: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19921072">the European Union</a>. </p> <p>The rationale: that there has not been a major European conflict since the early forerunners of the EU were formed in the wake of World War II, holds some weight. But whether this is actually <em>because </em>of the EU’s existence is very questionable. Furthermore, the body did little to prevent or halt ethnic cleansing in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/11/srebrenica-massacre-victims-laid-rest">Bosnia</a> and<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-L1-e73VuXtU/UHlhkPU2JQI/AAAAAAAABfo/GSpQzLHi_AA/s1600-h/Srebrenica%252520European%252520Union%252520Nobel%252520Peace%252520Prize%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Srebrenica European Union Nobel Peace Prize" border="0" alt="Srebrenica European Union Nobel Peace Prize" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vdTFb-_W5r4/UHlhlPsY-OI/AAAAAAAABf0/63C_2d1LFBA/Srebrenica%252520European%252520Union%252520Nobel%252520Peace%252520Prize_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="185" height="189"></a> <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=9&sqi=2&ved=0CGYQFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.osce.org%2Fkosovo%2F68569&ei=Jlx5UP_QKaOp0QXW7YGAAw&usg=AFQjCNGNcASQV71htdSt9bqR8s-xRO_UeQ">Kosovo</a> as the East of Europe disintegrated into conflict during the 1990s. Rather it was the UN, NATO and individual states who stepped into the breach as the Brussels bureaucrats floundered helplessly at the side-lines.</p> <p>Yet such a bizarre and unjustified choice is not without recent precedent. In 2009 <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8298580.stm">Barak Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize</a>, his nomination coming after just twelve days in office. Shambolically his award came at the expense of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19883387">Morgan Tsvangirai</a>, the Zimbabwean Prime Minister who has done more than almost any other to advance human rights and democracy in his country; and <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDkQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amnesty.org%2Fen%2Fnews-and-updates%2Fnews%2Fchinese-activist-gets-jail-sentence-20080403&ei=qV15UIz1Eq-a0QWO2ICoBw&usg=AFQjCNF3X0K2pFPtIxpur_p-0MDoS0pcQg">Hu Jia</a>, the then political-prisoner who selflessly stood up for rule of law in China.</p> <p><em>There is a genuine danger that if such inane choices of laureate continue, the Nobel Peace Prize will be increasingly devalued. Whilst the vast majority of recipients are those who have made a genuine difference, usually at great personal sacrifice, it would be a tragic day when the shabby figures of Obama and the EU characterise the award above the inspirational forms of Suu Kyi and Ramos-Horta.</em> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfUjytZa5KXmuoe6ktKR4c1lewuvZeEgVvC2pdcjYU6aaAV37zW16MV7ywcQ4A41P4xB0wB4STKK78uNEwUAIdicawXKwCGGFdmsK1X7iedjSUp8BteScvr34QreEfu-IxF9uYWqWw09e/s1600-h/Is%252520the%252520Nobel%252520Peace%252520Prize%252520being%252520devalued%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Is the Nobel Peace Prize being devalued" border="0" alt="Is the Nobel Peace Prize being devalued" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mlh5IXaLIhs/UHlhnpVfGhI/AAAAAAAABgE/o9YolMujXLw/Is%252520the%252520Nobel%252520Peace%252520Prize%252520being%252520devalued_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="254" height="255"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:db523b51-e94c-4d2e-9387-d9353460e5aa" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nobel+Peace+Prize" rel="tag">Nobel Peace Prize</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EU" rel="tag">EU</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/European+Union" rel="tag">European Union</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bosnia" rel="tag">Bosnia</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kosovo" rel="tag">Kosovo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Srebrenica" rel="tag">Srebrenica</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Barak+Obama" rel="tag">Barak Obama</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Morgan+Tsvangirai" rel="tag">Morgan Tsvangirai</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aung+San+Suu+Kyi" rel="tag">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ramos-Horta" rel="tag">Ramos-Horta</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ales+Belyatsky" rel="tag">Ales Belyatsky</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Somalia" rel="tag">Somalia</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/journalists" rel="tag">journalists</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thein+Sein" rel="tag">Thein Sein</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/William+Hague" rel="tag">William Hague</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hilary+Clinton" rel="tag">Hilary Clinton</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Svetlana+Gannushkina" rel="tag">Svetlana Gannushkina</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Belaurs" rel="tag">Belaurs</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Russia" rel="tag">Russia</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Putin" rel="tag">Putin</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lukashenko" rel="tag">Lukashenko</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Malala+Yousafzai" rel="tag">Malala Yousafzai</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pakistan" rel="tag">Pakistan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Taliban" rel="tag">Taliban</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Chechnya" rel="tag">Chechnya</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-24290494676585025352012-09-06T16:26:00.001-07:002012-09-06T16:40:12.367-07:00How a murder rocked a region<p><em>The abusive nature of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s regime, was dramatically </em><a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/eurovision-and-terror-behind-music.html"><em>thrust into the international spotlight</em></a><em> ahead of the country hosting the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this year.</em> </p> <p>This week Aliyev and his cronies are once again facing pressure from around the world after giving a hero’s welcome, a house, a hefty pay-cheque and a promotion to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixrhsJTazBHkZdojZD-o04CO46FF7_5K3-l5ooNGoKlbEK2xTr2TzLhhcKiGkHixfpe2DIK-OdaoK2hirOLULxb_6YihcfPVxOdhIf9_d53sZid7uUr2bjExonYWcWwnpbLsOa-xlYHphX/s1600-h/Ramil%252520Safarov%252520returns%252520to%252520Azerbaijan%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Ramil Safarov returns to Azerbaijan" border="0" alt="Ramil Safarov returns to Azerbaijan" align="right" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNA0lGN09dHgX68mBzivN2t27pkJ202RRxjaSEi-o3y_EDct8ReGKMmiP4ei8iz7yYX8bltXkdyr3Q6DqmSstujYRtA_JQ7qr-7XWkVjqNCyB337u_Y0244jG3QnvN82Xt-p-R1d5PmJP2/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a>Ramil Safarov- the Azerbaijani soldier who returned home from Hungary where he had been in jail since brutally murdering an Armenian eight years ago.</p> <p>Safarov had been taking part in an English language course in Budapest during 2004, when he entered the room of a sleeping Armenian attendee called Gurgen Margarjan and hacked him to death with an axe. Safarov claimed that the horrific act was revenge for the two countries war over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which ran from 1988-1994 killing over thirty thousand people and forcing more than a million to flee their homes.</p> <p>Tensions around Nagorno-Karabakh still run high. Sporadic clashes since the end of the war have frequently stoked fears of a return to full-scale conflict, with soldiers from both sides killed <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-06/clinton-warns-of-disastrous-fallout-as-armenians-azeris-clash">as recently as June this year.</a> Aliyev’s public praise and celebration of Safarov’s actions will only heighten these fears, particularly in light of Armernian President Serzh Sargsyan’s response that <em>“we are not afraid of killers, even if they enjoy the protection of the head of state.” </em><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19499151">NATO and the EU have been quick to register their concerns</a> about the affect of the incident on what was already a seemingly lifeless peace process.</p> <p>The Hungarian government, for its part, has also been deeply humiliated. Safarov was handed over <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21562199">on the condition that he would serve the remainder of his twenty-five year sentence in an Azerbaijani jail</a>, yet he has received freedom, substantial rewards and compensation for the eight years that he was incarcerated. Armenia <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10832318">swiftly cut all diplomatic ties to Hungary</a>, whilst opponents of the ruling administration aired claims that it was effectively paid off <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21562199">via the Azerbaijani purchase of Hungarian bonds</a>. </p> <p>Still, Hungary’s problems will pale into insignificance should the war of words between Armenia and Azerbaijan develop into something more serious…whcih it has every potential to. Ultimately the Aliyev regime’s jingoistic and provocative heralding of a cold-blooded murderer has raised the temperature in one of Europe’s most volatile regions. <strong><em>That, in the long run, could lead to far more bloodshed.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-dt9mlqWfbNA/UEkxGbV8DkI/AAAAAAAABew/mNAVgcADU9U/s1600-h/aliyev%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="aliyev" border="0" alt="aliyev" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-vGMZiTAsydY/UEkxHFD-eOI/AAAAAAAABe0/539CAkBCPiI/aliyev_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="294" height="182"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:34ba874a-c5bd-4b14-82cb-85be36e91c03" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Armenia" rel="tag">Armenia</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Azerbaijan" rel="tag">Azerbaijan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nagorno-Karabakhm+Ramil+Safarov" rel="tag">Nagorno-Karabakhm Ramil Safarov</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Gurgen+Margarjan" rel="tag">Gurgen Margarjan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Serzh+Sargsyan" rel="tag">Serzh Sargsyan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ilham+Aliyev" rel="tag">Ilham Aliyev</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hungary" rel="tag">Hungary</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/axe" rel="tag">axe</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/murder" rel="tag">murder</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/war" rel="tag">war</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/conflict" rel="tag">conflict</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/EU" rel="tag">EU</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/NATO" rel="tag">NATO</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-6246065281588307362012-08-23T14:24:00.001-07:002012-08-23T14:26:45.347-07:00Too much doubt…again<p><em>It has been almost a year since the State of Georgia </em><a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/troy-davisand-road-from-georgia.html"><em>put Troy Davis to death</em></a><em> against the back drop of three words that have scarred the conscience of the USA: </em><a href="http://www.naacp.org/pages/too-much-doubt"><em><strong>Too Much Doubt</strong></em></a><em><strong>.</strong></em></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9M59im-2_bY/UDafdMRCdiI/AAAAAAAABdk/AcVQtErwKSc/s1600-h/Troy%252520Davis%252520Protest%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Troy Davis Protest" border="0" alt="Troy Davis Protest" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGW3f5Bj7QCr3E8BIPdj1ou10IaOadXSIJ9dsSLNTQDCbD4WVK8frrCede1neOBXcmMm8G7eeEcgddIsXIRygZF1ze9I3otUHl56b5Jf0je_XuYiv4xAbq7XQ7Vwi43EtYoK7QLI2lBx-/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184"></a>Too much doubt because Troy’s conviction was based on <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/troy-davis-and-death-of-innocence.html">circumstantial evidence.</a> Too much doubt because of <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/troy-davis-and-death-of-innocence.html">police brutality against witnesses.</a> <em> Too much doubt over whether Troy was guilty to justify keeping him in jail without a re-trial…let alone taking his life.</em></p> <p>But the authorities went ahead and amidst the protests, desperate last minute appeals and thousands of individuals taking to the streets around the world, they strapped him to a table and killed him.</p> <p>And now, in a matter of months, the whole grotesque spectacle may be played out once again; this time in the state of Missouri. The man facing the long walk to the execution chamber is <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/death-on-bridge.html">Reggie Clemons</a>, accused of being an accomplice in the murder of two young women, who were pushed off a disused bridge in 1991. Yet like Troy Davis, enormous questions remain over whether he actually has blood on his hands at all. </p> <p>For one thing, there is not a shred of physical evidence linking Reggie to the crime. Then there is the horrendous <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/22/reggie-clemons-case-examining-the-evidence?newsfeed=true">litany of discrepancies</a> on which Reggie’s conviction was based. Proven incitement of the jury, a strong possibility of police brutality, improper dismissal of black jurors and contradictory witness statements, to name just a few aspects of this case, paint a picture of at best a vehemently unsound verdict and at worst a lynching contrived amongst the racial tensions of 1990s Missouri. That is certainly the view of the juror who said that <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/365258-1-clemens-clemency.html#document/p2/a58720">had she known the what she knew now, she would not have voted for the death penalty</a>. </p> <p>Yet in spite of the well documented failings of the legal system, Reggie has spent almost two decades on death row, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/23/reggie-clemons-interview-innocent?newsfeed=true">coming within days of execution before being granted a temporary reprieve</a>. Now his fate is about to be sealed: on 17 September a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/21/death-penalty-trial-reggie-clemons?intcmp=239">Special Master</a> appointed by the Supreme Court of Missouri will spend one week reviewing the case for a final time. The Special Master can free Reggie, commute his sentence to life in prison or uphold the death sentence.</p> <p>If it is the latter there will be no more chances: a date will be set, an execution chamber will be prepared and a man will be killed. <em><strong>A man over’s whose guilt there is simply too much doubt….again</strong></em>.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YUTyrt9k_L7p-4IC19B7nStg83RgPLv-Y8DNOxcGBPbOqYQwGKmhlmJKrl_lFRItdOtnA_IlstisUwpZ0qjdy4MlwEsaz5HK81BN8xTjGc0CS3DWZWQsqoBBQF2Iuq1sfd3DgFNjIAZD/s1600-h/Reggie%252520Clemons%252520too%252520much%252520doubt%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Reggie Clemons too much doubt" border="0" alt="Reggie Clemons too much doubt" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lnvhns33sPw/UDafegn8ugI/AAAAAAAABd8/2blpCERQfCE/Reggie%252520Clemons%252520too%252520much%252520doubt_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="236" height="294"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:d774931d-d43a-4e62-893a-9a991fc23f7f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Reggie+Clemons" rel="tag">Reggie Clemons</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Troy+Davis" rel="tag">Troy Davis</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kerry+sisters" rel="tag">Kerry sisters</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/too+much+doubt" rel="tag">too much doubt</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/execution" rel="tag">execution</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/death+penalty" rel="tag">death penalty</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/USA" rel="tag">USA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/%23toomuchdoubt" rel="tag">#toomuchdoubt</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/lethal+injection" rel="tag">lethal injection</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-1418924818336873672012-08-19T15:42:00.001-07:002012-08-19T15:42:28.097-07:00China’s protest politics<p>Political clashes over the uninhabited Senkaku / Diaoyu islands (the name differing whether you sympathise respectively with the Japanese or Chinese territorial claim) are nothing new. This weeks tit-for-tat flag stunts by activists from both sides are just the latest incidents in the ever-complex web of island sovereignty disputes between China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam.<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-IEJda998nAk/UDFruZIIgBI/AAAAAAAABcY/xZ7ezf7Nwq0/s1600-h/Japan%252520flag%252520Senkaku%252520Diaoyu%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Japan flag Senkaku Diaoyu" border="0" alt="Japan flag Senkaku Diaoyu" align="right" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvBzhWf14Eq8NO-ZweypJ4dWQH4nSUnNRXtiFZmqN5OwT8Eaj3ZawRw-2l83qDmPCCNjs2R0u9QfibdrQhxnL_FC39alBxXC_2-6NJqSjbzyFC3N5YxbFJire_eW4eBdiHtOnZJQwWqHNi/?imgmax=800" width="210" height="214"></a></p> <p>Historians, geographers and international lawyers can argue the various cases <em>ad infinitum, </em>whilst politicians around the world cautiously watch regional tensions rise. However, the response to the latest Senkaku / Diaoyu spat also casts an interesting light on domestic Chinese politics, which is equally as important as the foreign-relations dimension.</p> <p>Following the detention and deportation of Chinese activists who attempted the raise their flag on the islands and the subsequent <a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/08/19/world/19japan/19japan-popup.jpg">successful flag-raising</a> by Japanese nationalists, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19312226">significant anti-Japan protests</a> began to sweep through Eastern Chinese cities. Businesses and goods from Sushi bars to Japanese made police cars were destroyed, whilst demonstrators waved banners and yelled slogans, in some cases calling for a military occupation of the islands.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwU8G1ZxBLeJ5otVZ9dkzUbYjkP7KCXtRFK1cheweVXz-IT_dryFd9RLu-s3tJKPhyphenhyphenYVliNYqG_gnEhjVAahIPYiraEuQcnu3mKKvvb_0yJYjt6TsTqS1-o92eijxKzSjFgB_AI69qilB_/s1600-h/China%252520anti%252520Japan%252520protest%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="China anti Japan protest" border="0" alt="China anti Japan protest" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6YelIHflIFs/UDFrxSmAy7I/AAAAAAAABcs/vFeO4_lKfxo/China%252520anti%252520Japan%252520protest_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="148"></a>Unlike the vast majority of protests in China these were apparently <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19312226">held with police permission</a> and, despite some officers being pelted with missiles, nobody was arrested. In a further illustration of the contrast with other demonstrations, those attending were <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/08/china-japan-territorial-tensions-flare.html">able to share their videos and comments online</a> with relatively little censorship.</p> <p>Such exceptional disregard of the general repression meted out by security forces both on the street and on the web will come as little surprise to seasoned China-watchers. The CCP has long exploited deep-seated anti-Japanese sentiment to periodically bolster its own support whilst allowing citizens a degree of space to publicly vent anger. Fervent nationalism, a ‘common foe’ and limited freedom to protest helps to keep Chinese citizens from turning their anger against the government over issues such as <a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2012/08/19/chinas-currency-under-pressure-as-growth-slows/">the slowing economy</a> and high profile <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19312232">political scandal</a> currently facing the country. </p> <p><em>In the run-up to the </em><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19145310"><em>leadership-handover later this year</em></a><em>, a unified and patriotic citizenship focussing on the supposed “territorial aggression” of their neighbours rather than the shortcomings of their own politicians, could serve the Chinese elite rather well. </em></p> <p>However this is a dangerous game which may yet cause the government some serious problems. Allowing people onto the streets in this manner may act as a political ‘safety-valve’ to let off steam, but it may equally give a taste for dissent. Similarly the skills that people can gain form even the most fleeting of protest movements are easily transferable to other situations. </p> <p>Ultimately, whilst the CCP has previously been able to roll out anti-Japanese demonstrations then cut them off at an politically-suitable time, it may not always be so easy to put the protest-genie back in the bottle. <em>Thousands of people marching against Japanese territorial claims may encourage China’s leaders….a similar march over land rights, poverty or civil liberties would have a very different effect altogether</em><em>.</em></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YWNq2SMZa-k/UDFryefV3MI/AAAAAAAABc4/xRBwYsAodz8/s1600-h/China%252520anti%252520Japan%252520island%252520protest%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="China anti Japan island protest" border="0" alt="China anti Japan island protest" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-WqJDICe_PH4/UDFrz6tgtKI/AAAAAAAABdA/Hi3-aYJoS_g/China%252520anti%252520Japan%252520island%252520protest_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="354" height="245"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:644c3dc1-aece-4642-b7ee-9b2c1589eae9" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/China" rel="tag">China</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Japan" rel="tag">Japan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Senkaku" rel="tag">Senkaku</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Diaoyu" rel="tag">Diaoyu</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/island" rel="tag">island</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/dispute" rel="tag">dispute</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/flag" rel="tag">flag</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/protests" rel="tag">protests</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/nationalism" rel="tag">nationalism</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/territory" rel="tag">territory</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sovereignty" rel="tag">sovereignty</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/claims" rel="tag">claims</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/international+law" rel="tag">international law</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/leadership.+handover" rel="tag">leadership. handover</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Gu+Kailai" rel="tag">Gu Kailai</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bo+Xilai" rel="tag">Bo Xilai</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Xi+Jinping" rel="tag">Xi Jinping</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-32642436261371378462012-08-16T15:29:00.001-07:002012-08-16T15:52:24.754-07:00South Africa’s nightmare flashback<p><em><strong><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8qIUivbQfu4/UC10RifRgnI/AAAAAAAABbM/TB8atb1gUZw/s1600-h/South%252520Africa%252520mine%252520massacre%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="South Africa mine massacre" border="0" alt="South Africa mine massacre" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GGdau6w1HT4/UC10Soq1aHI/AAAAAAAABbU/Dro5wqaJecA/South%252520Africa%252520mine%252520massacre_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="285" height="168"></a>These scenes were not meant to blight South Africa ever again</strong>: police officers standing, guns raised, with more than a score of dead civilians lying on the ground in front of them.</em></p> <p><em>It was </em><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7ff81af2-e7b4-11e1-8686-00144feab49a.html#axzz23kC5MBda"><em>a tragic and shocking peak</em></a><em> in a week of violence….and its not over yet.</em> </p> <p>The immediate trigger was an industrial dispute at a platinum mine about forty miles from Johannesburg, pitting not only workers against bosses but complicated by sour relations between two rival unions. Clashes quickly escalated last weekend, with two security guards and some of the striking miners losing their lives. A heavy police deployment followed, but failed to prevent the gradual slide into chaos; as guns and machetes were drawn, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/violence-at-south-africa-mine-kills-9/2012/08/13/2e21df8c-e562-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.html">two officers were killed and around three miners shot dead</a>.</p> <p>That set the scene for Thursdays massacre. It is unclear exactly who fired first, a fact that is likely to take some time to establish, if ever. All that is known for sure is that as anger boiled over between police and miners, shots were exchanged until a volley from the police side, fired directly into the protesting crowd, left somewhere between twelve and eighteen dead.</p> <p><em>Tonight as outrage spreads across the country and the world, a tense standoff continues.</em></p> <p>No one can be in any doubt that the police were acting under extreme circumstances; this was no peaceful protest and reports from the ground suggest that pistols, grenades and even a gun seized from one of the murdered officers were fired towards police lines. However, <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/police-did-their-best-mthethwa-1.1364262">unapologetic statements from the office of Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa</a> that officers ‘<em>did their best’</em> against ‘<em>barbaric </em><em>hard-core criminals’ </em>simply appear as an attempt to justify a slaughter that was frankly unacceptable for any supposedly democratic police force to carry out.</p> <p>The officers involved should be suspended immediately pending a full investigation, with criminal charges swiftly brought where necessary. At the same time, the unions should urgently disarm striking miners on the ground and hand over those involved in earlier killings. Unions played a significant role in winning democratic rights for South Africans, but the<a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-lgVJQ3Bc4i0/UC10TVPtD9I/AAAAAAAABbc/S_QOJYsRcyQ/s1600-h/South%252520Africa%252520platinum%252520mine%252520violence%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="South Africa platinum mine violence" border="0" alt="South Africa platinum mine violence" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-m7JP4F8K4Q0/UC10U0NEzqI/AAAAAAAABbk/7nC1_K3H3hA/South%252520Africa%252520platinum%252520mine%252520violence_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="272" height="160"></a> freedom to strike and protest is now being undermined by images of machete wielding thugs murdering their own countrymen.</p> <p>Beyond this there is an critical need for the government of Jacob Zuma to address some of the underlying nationwide issues that sit behind both the strike and the response. <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/south-africa/report-2012">Amnesty International’s 2012 Report</a> underscored the massive inequality and rampant corruption that plagues South Africa, as well as the consistent excesses of force by the law enforcers throughout the country. <em>Unless these are tackled, the militant unions, violent protests and police atrocities that are tonight generating comparisons with the apartheid era, are likely to continue long into the future.</em></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_24j3G3VY5Q/UC10XgedtpI/AAAAAAAABbs/S1B5mSjFLos/s1600-h/Lonmin%252520Marikana%252520violence%25255B7%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Lonmin Marikana violence" border="0" alt="Lonmin Marikana violence" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_zk3MVgPDmc/UC10YiPzXCI/AAAAAAAABb0/ybmX83vrlKo/Lonmin%252520Marikana%252520violence_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="369" height="217"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:b49860a4-d1ec-4655-a1aa-6f7859ded262" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/South+Africa" rel="tag">South Africa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lonmin+Marikana" rel="tag">Lonmin Marikana</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/mine" rel="tag">mine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/massacre" rel="tag">massacre</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/strike" rel="tag">strike</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/violence" rel="tag">violence</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/trade+unions" rel="tag">trade unions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/police" rel="tag">police</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Jacob+Zuma" rel="tag">Jacob Zuma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nathi+Mthethwa" rel="tag">Nathi Mthethwa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Amnesty+International" rel="tag">Amnesty International</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/apartheid" rel="tag">apartheid</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-87541325299228530072012-08-08T14:30:00.001-07:002012-08-08T14:46:00.617-07:008888–the struggle goes on<p><em><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AzMJKf92mfs/UCLaSPDP81I/AAAAAAAABZ8/KXREyCT6jsM/s1600-h/8888%252520Uprising%252520Burma%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="8888 Uprising Burma" border="0" alt="8888 Uprising Burma" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--97ZJa5yrNM/UCLaS5gBFsI/AAAAAAAABaE/Y90F-LBrxxM/8888%252520Uprising%252520Burma_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="234" height="210"></a>8 August 1988 – the key date in the nationwide democratic uprising that catapulted Aung San Suu Kyi to prominence before being brutally crushed by Burma’s military regime, is commemorated with protests around the world every year.</em></p> <p>Inside Burma itself however, such demonstrations have long been muted. Publicly remembering the thousands who gave their lives and liberty in an attempt to free their country was until recently, enough to land you in jail. </p> <p>This week things could not be more different; with the young pseudo-civilian government of President Thein Sein both <a href="http://www.irrawaddy.org/?slide=fallen-honored-but-work-not-yet-done">allowing and financing</a> rallies held by veterans of the uprising and other democrats. The events, which drew thousands of supporters, have generated a sense of optimism that the government may finally be moving towards <a href="http://www.rfa.org/english/news/burma/rallies-08082012154456.html">‘national reconciliation’</a> over the massacres. </p> <p>In some cases commentators have pointed to reports that Thein Sein, as a young army officer during the uprising, released captured protestors rather than arresting them. They hope that he may show similar compassion in his Presidential capacity over the coming months and years.</p> <p>However all is not well in Burma, and the government’s accommodation of a few commemoration rallies should not be allowed to disguise the fact that twenty-four years on, the human rights and freedoms that people demonstrated and died for are far from being realised. </p> <p>Perhaps the most obvious symbols of just how incomplete change has been, are the <a href="http://www.aappb.org/Updated_Confirmed_PP_list_1.html">hundreds of political prisons</a> who remain behind bars, many of them <a href="http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/reports/title/extreme-measures-torture-and-ill-treatment-in-burma-since-the-2010-election">facing torture and gross mistreatment</a>. Tellingly the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners stated in July: <em>“As no significant shift in the Government's policy towards political prisoners is in sight, the past month is once again marked by a contrast between an international rush to commend the limited political reforms underway …and the reality of continued human rights violations.”</em></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-iB0R9pUPB0s/UCLaT7IQimI/AAAAAAAABas/fcJofwb3E28/s1600-h/Rohingya%252520Refugees%252520in%252520Bangladesh%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh" border="0" alt="Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-f-Em-tIWPj8/UCLaUzoTkTI/AAAAAAAABaw/wY4ORpdPbcg/Rohingya%252520Refugees%252520in%252520Bangladesh_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="232" height="137"></a>Meanwhile tens of thousands of the long-persecuted minority Rohingya population are <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/07/bangladesh-persecuted-burmese-tribe-muslim?newsfeed=true">still suffering</a> in the fall-out of <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/burma-sectarianism-and-speculation.html">brutal communal violence</a>, which evidence from Human Rights Watch indicates was <a href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/07/31/government-could-have-stopped">fuelled by the government itself</a>. Those who evaded the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/201288114724103607.html">murderous mobs and soldiers</a> by escaping across the border into Bangladesh are now facing a dire humanitarian situation as the Bangladeshi government, in a shocking and open violation of international law, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19125916">obstructs aid agencies from delivering essential medical and food supplies</a>. </p> <p><em>In amidst such circumstances it is clear that whilst 8888 can now be commemorated, the goals set by those on the streets all those years ago are still a long way off. <strong>Some change has occurred and more may be imminent but the struggle must – and will – go on.</strong></em> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yKIopA48odM/UCLaVjRqdvI/AAAAAAAABaY/ivOUGlDFdo4/s1600-h/Never%252520Forget%2525208888%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Never Forget 8888" border="0" alt="Never Forget 8888" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSoBEs4gBi7-0HvssNjhQ1o9rSxLc6oWjxZ-JuGDLUbkn8UsmfdLCdvOCMZCykGDo79yd55Yo3gDRlVO0z6Wgaah2kVEcwhZQpKE8x1D-BSWJgNByzphlJkMJicvBMyJHG_-HLd1fBIHa/?imgmax=800" width="405" height="283"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3839c605-c7df-4608-b736-16e9323d2d5f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/8888" rel="tag">8888</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/88+Generation+Students+Group" rel="tag">88 Generation Students Group</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/8%2f8%2f88" rel="tag">8/8/88</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/uprising" rel="tag">uprising</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/protests" rel="tag">protests</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/human+rights" rel="tag">human rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rohingya" rel="tag">Rohingya</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/political+prisoners" rel="tag">political prisoners</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Arakan" rel="tag">Arakan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aung+San+Suu+Kyi" rel="tag">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thein+Sein" rel="tag">Thein Sein</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-37784128464477380272012-08-06T14:47:00.001-07:002012-08-06T14:47:17.991-07:00Pussy Riot in court- Russia on trial<p>As the trial of three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot enters its second week, the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/06/pussy-riot-trial-shame-russia">humiliation and degradation</a> continues unabated. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TcY_7-ucD6g/UCA7TtG6XYI/AAAAAAAABY0/rRqW8R7vUCI/s1600-h/Pussy%252520riot%252520trial%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pussy riot trial" border="0" alt="Pussy riot trial" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TqGVPo7Lmsg/UCA7UdbT7XI/AAAAAAAABY4/Igx8LNW97FI/Pussy%252520riot%252520trial_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="213" height="244"></a>On a daily basis the young women are woken up after around three hours of sleep in their cells, then spend the following three in a cramped prison van which takes them to court. There they are stripped naked and searched, then re-dressed and locked in a plastic cage as brazenly corrupt proceedings unfold. Complaints that Maria Alyokhina,Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich are being <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/495ca400-dfed-11e1-b81c-00144feab49a.html#axzz22ni1UBTs">deprived of food</a> have fallen on deaf ears, whilst the judge’s politically charged behaviour has been <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jvtQYCaDWfQGtvWRxkpFex0ujzRQ?docId=CNG.386652d9a0613864ad9f110c6b41963f.251">branded ‘surreal’ by external observers</a>.</p> <p>The outrageous events, which effectively amount to a grim combination of a show trial and a public torture session, are all the worse considering that the women’s only “crime” was to enter Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral in their trademark coloured dresses and balaclavas, then <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALS92big4TY">perform a song criticising Vladimir Putin and his clerical lackey Patriarch Kirill</a>.</p> <p>The actions hardly amount to the charge of <em>"hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" </em>levelled at Pussy Riot. Their performance did not attack Orthodox Christians nor their beliefs, but rather a dictatorial President and a Patriarch who has consistently <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/31/god-is-judging-pussy-riot">exploited his position to garner support for the Putin regime</a>.<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-qsl1cWMZGNE/UCA7VGYB2sI/AAAAAAAABY8/JMPVkwAtReg/s1600-h/Pussy%252520riot%252520Christ%252520the%252520Saviour%252520Cathedral%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pussy riot Christ the Saviour Cathedral" border="0" alt="Pussy riot Christ the Saviour Cathedral" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-tsIRsqmHLbI/UCA7WJaj_9I/AAAAAAAABZE/zbvG69FNghs/Pussy%252520riot%252520Christ%252520the%252520Saviour%252520Cathedral_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="139"></a></p> <p>The sight of a political performance in their Church may of course have been uncomfortable to some believers (though many are openly supportive of Pussy Riot); however the band has <a href="http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19082875">clearly apologised</a> for any offence caused. Furthermore, the seven year sentence that the women now face is grossly disproportionate to any judicial penalty that should be given solely for insulting a particular faith group.</p> <p>The painfully obvious truth is that this trial is nothing to do with religion and everything to do with Putin’s cronies seeking to bully, harass and silence some of his most popular critics. The consistently brutal response to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18405306">an opposition movement which refuses to be silenced</a>, has highlighted Putin’s utterly autocratic nature, something that was never in doubt but is today perhaps more visible than ever.</p> <p>The young women, undergoing physical and mental torture, facing the majority of a decade in prison for singing a song, are just the latest symbol of Russia’s ongoing slide into deeper authoritarianism. Putin may have won an election, but any credibility that comes from doing so rapidly dissolves upon the arrest of those who criticise the result. <strong><em>He has put his government and his country on trial – and been found guilty</em></strong>. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_znB1Mc1Y54/UCA7WwJTI9I/AAAAAAAABZM/d5lSrsXefDk/s1600-h/Pussy%252520riot%252520on%252520trial%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Pussy riot on trial" border="0" alt="Pussy riot on trial" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-IM8e0bB_nQI/UCA7ZJlKhuI/AAAAAAAABZc/uQf-rE6ILy8/Pussy%252520riot%252520on%252520trial_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="455" height="267"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:d01269d9-d145-4237-9a98-31311c100e93" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Russia" rel="tag">Russia</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Putin" rel="tag">Putin</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Pussy+Riot" rel="tag">Pussy Riot</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Maria+Alyokhina" rel="tag">Maria Alyokhina</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nadezhda+Tolokonnikova" rel="tag">Nadezhda Tolokonnikova</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Yekaterina+Samutsevich" rel="tag">Yekaterina Samutsevich</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/trial" rel="tag">trial</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Patriarch+Kirill" rel="tag">Patriarch Kirill</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Christ+the+Saviour" rel="tag">Christ the Saviour</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Punk+Prayer" rel="tag">Punk Prayer</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-54460491336459086082012-08-05T14:59:00.001-07:002012-08-05T15:01:54.647-07:00Book review: Burma–a nation at the crossroads<p><em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVdj_VRwAaTVTjVqtDFUUbJU2hyphenhyphenWR54xQNNAADteNj4AMai9JgWhkoFYSPbcAy23ALZi1R1EXnodGYxXUOnal33cCxLRWM9sIOlysGSekMPFACsQuU5wvxIKuqPBP-RaXgphvC-gxnZRc/s1600-h/Burma%252520a%252520nation%252520at%252520the%252520crossroads%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Burma a nation at the crossroads" border="0" alt="Burma a nation at the crossroads" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9SlphXEGyKg/UB7s2kSI_lI/AAAAAAAABYQ/-OdU47DQ5Xw/Burma%252520a%252520nation%252520at%252520the%252520crossroads_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="159" height="244"></a>After more the five decades of dictatorship Burma has reached an historic juncture, with a gradual democratisation and liberalisation process giving a glimmer of hope where none previously existed.</em> </p> <p>Yet things are not so simple as the headlines often suggest: <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/burmas-fragile-progress.html">political uncertainty</a>, <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/burma-sectarianism-and-speculation.html">ethnic tensions</a> and <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/last-thing-burma-needs-is-shell.html">external actors</a> mean that the chances of genuine and lasting progress fluctuate by the day. </p> <p>Given these constant changes there is a greater need than ever for a thorough and balanced analysis of the underlying issues. Enter Benedict Rogers, one of the UK’s most prominent Burma activists, with his third book: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burma-Nation-At-The-Crossroads/dp/1846043468"><em>Burma – a nation at the crossroads</em></a><em>. </em>In this fundamentally important work Rogers draws upon his years of experience to examine how Burma got to this point, the prospects for further progress and the obstacles that lie in the way.</p> <p>As any serious commentator must, Rogers extends his focus beyond Aung San San Suu Kyi, the mainstream opposition and the military-dominated government. Delving into Burma’s ethnic minority regions he discusses issues as diverse as the ingrained social prejudices against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya population, the widespread military rape in Kachin State and the crippling poverty blighting the Chin region. </p> <p>And whilst clear in his support for the democracy movement, he successfully avoids the simplistic <em>‘good vs evil’</em> narrative that so often shapes reporting on Burmese politics. <em>A Nation at the Crossroads </em>pulls no punches in describing the barbarity and corruption of the country’s leaders, but refrains from blaming them for all of Burma’s problems, highlighting the failings amongst democrats and others in society, particularly on minority issues.</p> <p>Perhaps most crucially of all Rogers clearly highlights how recent changes have not occurred in isolation, but are the direct and indirect results of various events and decisions over previous years. It is only by understanding these that activists and others following the situation in Burma can effectively make sense of what is now unfolding.</p> <p>Through his previous works: <em><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Land-Without-Evil-Stopping-Genocide/dp/082546059X">A Land Without Evil</a> </em>(focussing on the situation in Karen State) and <em><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Than-Shwe-Unmasking-Burmas-Tyrant/dp/9749511913/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344203591&sr=1-1">Unmasking Burma’s Tyrant</a> </em>(a biography of former dictator Than Shwe)<em> </em>Rogers has already made a significant contribution to academic commentary on Burma. <em>A Nation at the Crossroads</em>, may however be his most timely and essential piece yet.</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:2c7ab5e6-a1ff-49f6-a5be-d8d77d59ba60" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/a+nation+at+the+crossroads" rel="tag">a nation at the crossroads</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Benedict+Rogers" rel="tag">Benedict Rogers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rohingya" rel="tag">Rohingya</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kachin" rel="tag">Kachin</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Karen" rel="tag">Karen</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aung+San+Suu+Kyi" rel="tag">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/NLD" rel="tag">NLD</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/National+League+for+Democracy" rel="tag">National League for Democracy</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/democracy+movement" rel="tag">democracy movement</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Arakan" rel="tag">Arakan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sanctions" rel="tag">sanctions</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/dictatorship" rel="tag">dictatorship</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/democracy" rel="tag">democracy</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-58199807901576942422012-07-19T16:28:00.001-07:002012-07-19T16:44:43.509-07:00Arakan and the dangers of extremist exploitation<p>Earlier this week a coalition of organisations from around the world came together to warn that the <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/burma-sectarianism-and-speculation.html">horrendous communal conflict</a> blighting Burma’s Arakan State is rapidly evolving into <a href="http://www.mizzima.com/edop/commentary/7553-58-civil-groups-issue-statement-on-arakan-state-violence.html">a fresh wave of government-led violence</a> against the heavily persecuted Rohingya population.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-sCgFJt2mU6s/UAiZTwOgdkI/AAAAAAAABX4/-rR5r6pKJZ4/s1600-h/Violence%252520in%252520Arakan%252520State%2525202%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Violence in Arakan State 2" border="0" alt="Violence in Arakan State 2" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-d4D7MOaz66o/UAiZUSiH7lI/AAAAAAAABX8/LBkg13SvQB0/Violence%252520in%252520Arakan%252520State%2525202_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="185"></a>Whilst no one denies that members of both the (generally Buddhist) Rakhine community and the (generally Muslim) Rohingya community have been involved in sectarian killings over previous weeks, it is becoming ever more apparent that the government is using the chaos as an excuse to launch its own military assault against the Rohingya people, who have long been <a href="http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/news-stories/situation-in-rakhine-arakan-state-and-the-rule-of-law-statement-by-30-organ/142">denied citizenship</a> and subjected to <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/rohingyaswords-but-no-rights.html">some of the worst abuses</a> anywhere in the country. </p> <p>The present <a href="http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/7542-health-situation-in-arakan-state-desperate.html">humanitarian crisis</a>, which has left tens of thousands displaced, is being compounded by the Bangladeshi government’s <a href="http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=519934&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24">appalling refusal to accommodate Rohingya refugees</a> in clear violation of its international commitments. Meanwhile the political fall out continues to pose what many commentators regard to be <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/burma-sectarianism-and-speculation.html">the most serious risk to Burma’s reform process so far.</a></p> <p>Within this there is a particular danger, should the violence continue, of which all sides should be acutely aware: <em>namely the situation being exploited by foreign-based Islamist extremists as part of their own agenda. <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kn84hYkOOjg/UAiX_EKz7FI/AAAAAAAABXY/VODsasoWYLA/s1600-h/Islamist%252520protesters%252520Arakan%2525202%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Islamist protesters Arakan 2" border="0" alt="Islamist protesters Arakan 2" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Fg7PzuIlm20/UAiYAScE6EI/AAAAAAAABXg/6lT_GYgAQRw/Islamist%252520protesters%252520Arakan%2525202_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a></em></p> <p>Despite the severity of the persecution that the Rohingya population has faced throughout the decades, armed resistance has been distinctly limited and external involvement utterly minimal. Yet even a quick scour of the internet shows how various groups are currently trying to turn the present crisis into a quick recruitment drive. </p> <p>One extremist site carries <em>‘A call to every young Muslim to save the Muslims of Arakan’</em> , another ‘Jihadi’ youtube account hosts a video entitled <em>‘O Muslim of Bangladesh, Arakan is calling you’. </em>Meanwhile the Indian fundamentalist group <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/DJS-activists-protest-killings-in-Myanmar/articleshow/15049181.cms">Darsgah-e-Jihad-O-Shahadat</a> (roughly translated as ‘Centre for Holy War and Martyrdom’) and the Bangladeshi Islamist group <a href="http://www.demotix.com/news/1305276/jamaat-e-islami-protest-against-muslims-killings-burma#slide-1">Jamaat-e-Islami</a> have both taken to the streets in protest against the Burmese government. Anecdotal reports suggest <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEKctPYBhs38Uh7PWiulXkKRwYcDpqaBv2ot4wOHFlkHukfmS2oRU4T-pCzZdt-zW-JCmB8qG_yfwnwZOv9n9L9GGTSijG_RhyzcpdjnoTrKhxCTbXqC4HGk_i_Jawdtjf0LpLaWIrh1I/s1600-h/Islamist%252520protesters%252520Arakan%252520Bangladesh%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Islamist protesters Arakan Bangladesh" border="0" alt="Islamist protesters Arakan Bangladesh" align="right" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITMrnQ9BqJWOK6Pd_epsDXFnLBHwCgFqXrq9q1FPk9oS4cRbSLCb_RALqnQY0NjwbdzLec1SkKqOCsyRy4G11AD3-Zjf-6c8csoWeD9IB47sGT0bt6Kli8tWveuy_uLCdJdgGfnWcxl-W/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="132"></a>that extremist organisations in the UK are making similar attempts to gain support off the back of the unfolding conflict.</p> <p><em>This involvement will bring nothing but further hardship for the entire population of Arakan State</em>: it tarnishes perceptions of the predominantly peaceful Rohingya population, playing into the hands of those who seek to demonise them as Islamists and terrorists; it presents an unacceptable sense of threat to the predominantly peaceful Rakhine population, many of whom already fear for their safety; and it injects a violent and volatile element into Burmese politics at a pivotal point in the country’s incremental shift away from dictatorship.</p> <p><strong><em>Above all it reduces Arakan’s complex historical social, ethnic, religious and political issues into a crude propaganda tool. Restraint and dialogue will not come quickly or easily but they are the only solution to the current crisis; further violence will only empower the extremists – and that is the worst possible scenario for everyone.</em></strong></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:417111ba-4c55-47b9-8122-97065a18763a" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Arakan" rel="tag">Arakan</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/violence" rel="tag">violence</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rakhine" rel="tag">Rakhine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rohingya" rel="tag">Rohingya</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Darsgah-e-Jihad-O-Shahadat" rel="tag">Darsgah-e-Jihad-O-Shahadat</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Jamaat-e-Islami" rel="tag">Jamaat-e-Islami</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Islamism" rel="tag">Islamism</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/extremism" rel="tag">extremism</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/communal" rel="tag">communal</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sectarian" rel="tag">sectarian</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-6435374538803851492012-07-09T14:58:00.001-07:002012-07-09T14:58:21.788-07:00The last thing Burma needs is Shell<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-g2IEAUh3D7o/T_tT47p_TTI/AAAAAAAABWU/m4TqHjtfBp4/s1600-h/Burmese%252520troops%252520Arakan%252520State%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Burmese troops Arakan State" border="0" alt="Burmese troops Arakan State" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gtKH69rTm5w/T_tT5yvnc2I/AAAAAAAABWY/gR19b1NEMZk/Burmese%252520troops%252520Arakan%252520State_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164"></a>It has been hectic week in Burmese politics. Whilst <a href="http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/8683">Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s debut in parliament</a> was a cause for celebration, things elsewhere were far more ominous: the government <a href="http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/8563">locked up student activists</a> ahead of a key anniversary for the democracy movement, <a href="http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/8563">armed conflict dragged on in Kachin state</a> and police brutally cracked down on Muslim Rohingyas in a <a href="http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/7470-biased-police-response-to-sectarian-violence-in-arakan-hrw.html">brazenly sectarian response</a> to the communal violence blighting Arakan.</p> <p><em>In amidst all of this, a <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/british-businesses-head-to-burma-for-trade-delegation-7923378.html">British trade delegation</a> slipped in with surprisingly little media coverage.</em> </p> <p>British businesses had been explicitly prohibited from seeking deals in Burma during the commercial tour of Asia led by David Cameron in April (a welcome move not matched by <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/camerons-asian-confusion.html">his promotion of trade with the Yudhoyono regime in Indonesia</a>.) Back then he was in Burma for only one reason – to help the nation down the reformist path on which it has so tentatively begun.</p> <p>That is not to say of course, that foreign investment in Burma is necessarily a bad thing <em>per se</em>. Ms Suu Kyi herself has <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/in-a-rangoon-garden-cameron-stands-with-suu-kyi-and-offers-burma-a-fresh-start-7643985.html">welcomed the suspension of sanctions</a>, which have helped encourage President Thein Sein to continue his program of liberalisation process, and have arguably strengthened his hand against hardliners in the government. However, she has also stressed in no uncertain terms that <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/uk-myanmar-suukyi-idUKBRE85D17X20120614">any investment should be cautious and ethical</a>, particularly when it comes to the energy sector.</p> <p>That is hardly surprising: for more than a decade Total and Chevron have tapped into Burma’s oil and gas fields whilst bankrolling the regime, devastating the environment and <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2001962,00.html">generating a litany of human rights abuses</a> including reports of brutal acts by the soldiers drafted in to guard their assets, and the use of forced labour on their pipelines. </p> <p>Further maverick investment by big oil right now would be seriously irresponsible and could significantly damage Burma at a critical crossroads in the democratisation process. <em>And that is exactly why Royal Dutch Shell’s presence in this week’s trade delegation is so concerning.</em></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrBNnhqai6ee-DjX6qlKAa_RwtZVvtuEboKGWiiZkvmNbXZ5I5rAcqx19kfF9wCqcf_aHDTsv5LfqdFIJ_7uBsEK63SuaOKD-qzGbscMxc2wPRbWKdGsd0aHKzt1MNO0uHUwk_6GpBf4k/s1600-h/Shell%252520Clean%252520up%252520Nigeria%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Shell Clean up Nigeria" border="0" alt="Shell Clean up Nigeria" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-I4I015pX_TQ/T_tT8JGwbUI/AAAAAAAABWo/f-U9WE_IQ5A/Shell%252520Clean%252520up%252520Nigeria_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="174"></a>It has been more than sixteen years since <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/may/27/ken-saro-wiwa-shell-oil">Shell’s complicity in the execution of Nigerian environmentalist and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa</a>, yet after all this time the company continues to perpetuate <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/23/shell-nigeria-oil-spill-bigger">environmental degradation</a> and <a href="http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18292">human rights abuses</a> in the Niger Delta, whilst <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/sun-never-sets.html">consistently meddling in Nigerian politics</a>. Back in April, Amnesty International called the company to account after it emerged that officials had <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/shell-s-wildly-inaccurate-reporting-niger-delta-oil-spill-exposed-2012-04-23">lied about the impact</a> of a devastating seventy-two day oil spill, which Shell waited some ten weeks before even beginning to clear up. Tens of thousands may be affected through the pollution and contamination of their water and land.</p> <p>Such irresponsible practices in the pursuit of profit would go largely unchecked in Burma whilst the rule of law remains week, corruption remains rife and military proxies remain in ultimate control. The last thing Burma needs right now is for Shell to start filling government coffers whilst trashing the nation’s fragile environment and undermining the human rights of local people. Yet ever since there was even a hint of sanctions being relaxed, <a href="http://www.dvb.no/news/shell-must-not-pre-empt-burma-sanctions-uk/18811">the company has been chomping at the bit to dive in</a>.</p> <p><strong><em>Investment can be a hugely positive force for stability and development, but Burma’s government is nowhere near conclusively proving its intention nor its capacity to establish a transparent rights-based framework. Neither has Shell proved its corporate responsibility or the prioritisation of people over short-term financial gain. Until these things happen it must stay away.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwU3fsUGZzUkxjMsaN2qZOOG1I118Z5TZB5jSkOgp_53TWnX_9Aaqc2JE0c8kklfL6_0PsaNI24Y7OoNCFVSLZMOaO2uYzwen3BUOuUQjv_xR6MsOpxWFbhBr6bOMDumqa6Fs8UnfHeWMI/s1600-h/Shell%252520and%252520troops%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Shell and troops" border="0" alt="Shell and troops" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-CL6_4w1eaBA/T_tT-DO4TOI/AAAAAAAABW8/3vZOBZpVCTQ/Shell%252520and%252520troops_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="320" height="190"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a67b8038-455a-46bd-8358-b274d694ebf0" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Burma" rel="tag">Burma</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Shell" rel="tag">Shell</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Royal+Dutch+Shell" rel="tag">Royal Dutch Shell</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/oil" rel="tag">oil</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/investment" rel="tag">investment</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UK" rel="tag">UK</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/British" rel="tag">British</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/trade" rel="tag">trade</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/David+Cameron" rel="tag">David Cameron</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/environment" rel="tag">environment</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/human+rights" rel="tag">human rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nigeria" rel="tag">Nigeria</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Niger+Delta" rel="tag">Niger Delta</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ken+Saro+Wiwa" rel="tag">Ken Saro Wiwa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Amnesty+International" rel="tag">Amnesty International</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Aung+San+Suu+Kyi" rel="tag">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Thein+Sein" rel="tag">Thein Sein</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-72012416466110118292012-07-06T16:03:00.001-07:002012-07-06T16:15:50.413-07:00Time to stop courting Kagame<p><em><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-PdJbEp_wVFU/T_duqPjlRLI/AAAAAAAABVg/7oj3y8z8p-A/s1600-h/Ntaganda%252520troops%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Ntaganda troops" border="0" alt="Ntaganda troops" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pF2fdqBWJZw/T_duq9G6SKI/AAAAAAAABVo/xpMIqmA8tNI/Ntaganda%252520troops_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="162"></a>Instability and human rights abuses are nothing new in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s volatile East. Yet familiarity will not bring any comfort to those affected by the turbulent events of recent weeks, which hit new heights on Friday as troops loyal to rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18736142">sent hundreds of DRC soldiers fleeing into neighbouring Uganda,</a> killing a UN peacekeeper in the process.</em></p> <p>Ntaganda, an indicted war criminal, is infamous throughout the region and the world for the rapes, massacres and recruitment of child soldiers frequently undertaken by his men. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17689131">Comparisons to Joseph Kony</a> are by no means an exaggeration of his ruthlessness: Ntaganda is reported to have once overseen the butchering of some one hundred and fifty civilians in a single day. Those living under his control tonight have every reason to be fearful.</p> <p>Over the years Ntaganda’s loyalties have shifted, yet he has always retained strong ties with Rwandan rebel leader- turned president Paul Kagame and his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Ntaganda, also an ethnic Tutsi, served under Kagame when the RPF overthrew the genocidal Hutu government in 1994. In subsequent years he operated in the DRC, eventually integrating his force into the official army in 2009.</p> <p>In recent months however, Ntaganda has broken ranks and, accompanied by a band of approximately six hundred troops known as M23, has seized control of territory outside the town of Goma, displacing thousands of people in the process. Despite the chaos and human rights abuses unfolding, <a href="http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/26666">Kagame’s government has covertly provided a stream of weapons, recruits and equipment</a> to bolster Ntaganda’s position, increasing the prospect of an even more protracted and bloody conflict.</p> <p>Perhaps one of the most disturbing aspects of the current situation was the<a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xon8q9RYh5c/T_dur3VfrII/AAAAAAAABVs/5hLVUEeihmE/s1600-h/Kagame%252520with%252520Obamas%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Kagame with Obamas" border="0" alt="Kagame with Obamas" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-G2shbD-Vwc8/T_dusmEiYBI/AAAAAAAABV4/LqEXePUeppM/Kagame%252520with%252520Obamas_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="202"></a> revelation last month that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/20/rwanda-congo-conflict-blocked-us">the USA was blocking the release of a UN report detailing Rwanda’s involvement</a>. Yet such behaviour, whilst wholly unacceptable, is hardly surprising. Kagame has long exploited guilt over the international community’s utter failure to act during the Rwandan Genocide, in order to <a href="http://liam-theactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/standing-up-to-saviour.html">foster a healthy worldwide support base for his administration, despite its utterly abusive actions</a> both inside Rwanda and across the Congolese border.</p> <p><em>Now, with Ntaganda flexing his muscles further, using Rwandan troops and guns to fuel further conflict in the DRC, it is time for the USA and other Kagame-friendly states to put real pressure on the despotic President. <strong>Rwanda is expected to take a seat on the UN Security Council next year – a good starting point would be to block this at all costs, until Kagame ceases his support for one of Africa’s most brutal war criminals.</strong></em></p> <p><strong><em><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-pDJz7doD6pQ/T_dutjG4YvI/AAAAAAAABWA/wE-41w-sZf8/s1600-h/Bosco%252520Ntganda%2525202%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="Bosco Ntganda 2" border="0" alt="Bosco Ntganda 2" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-HVDd9XQR89U/T_duu2oe2LI/AAAAAAAABWE/P3DVv85gV04/Bosco%252520Ntganda%2525202_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="366" height="194"></a></em></strong></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:45bff69c-c3a2-4631-ae9c-9fd5c8c3b092" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rwanda" rel="tag">Rwanda</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Uganda" rel="tag">Uganda</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Democratic+Republic+of+Congo" rel="tag">Democratic Republic of Congo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/DRC" rel="tag">DRC</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Paul+Kagame" rel="tag">Paul Kagame</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bosco+Ntganda" rel="tag">Bosco Ntganda</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/M23" rel="tag">M23</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Rwanda+Patriotic+Front" rel="tag">Rwanda Patriotic Front</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/RPF" rel="tag">RPF</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Obama" rel="tag">Obama</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/UN" rel="tag">UN</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/peacekeepers" rel="tag">peacekeepers</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/security+Council" rel="tag">security Council</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/human+rights" rel="tag">human rights</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Joseph+Kony" rel="tag">Joseph Kony</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/rape" rel="tag">rape</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/murder" rel="tag">murder</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/massacres" rel="tag">massacres</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521986901042876158.post-54181282261927779472012-06-27T15:30:00.001-07:002012-06-27T15:30:21.649-07:00Mali’s chaos deepens<p><em>Months on from the outbreak of deadly political turbulence in Mali, the situation in the rebel-held North of the country appears to be worsening.</em></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcQVO3m0fxbTTgbACkuGXPrzvJq2FSHu-H1dKXb1wc1kiARzMrTzcV7MxOWV772D446mv_Ug3EBWgzVDyDy3Xcfbfa7815bkhmX9RBGa9BeniuR3jP6bCDcvCCVOhOR9JZyLWgYQa2iAU/s1600-h/MNLA%252520fighters%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="MNLA fighters" border="0" alt="MNLA fighters" align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxEeD9Y1Bb8DFrBe18HpkFoNKDsj4nH29KLo11Od69JiTKL7NYCDdz7r_rNHhBhrgDv-YWHixc4du_RLdoME49vWTWYiajzTKqGWAXYH-ewVbIGJSfsJCK7WCnSr6be9WNXXr_ZzS4tud/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="165"></a>As many predicted, the lose alliance between the secular Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and Al-Qaeda linked Islamist forces, has well and truly broken down, sparking a fresh front of violence.</p> <p>The MNLA had partaken in an uneasy marriage with Ansar Dine and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), in order to force government troops from Northern Mali in a rebellion the was given fresh impetus by arms and fighters flooding over the Libyan border after the fall of Gadaffi. However, whilst the MNLA’s goal is an independent state of Azawad, the Islamists seek to use territorial gains as a springboard to create an Islamic state <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/mali-islamists-want-sharia-not-independence-113002652.html">based on Sharia law</a> throughout the whole of the country. <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hBFw8aQMUwyILkE0faoge_v3a2Tw?docId=CNG.5a399b35f2fd7797cbca9a2f17c8ca72.5a1">Scores were killed this week</a> as the two ideologies diverged further and the MUJAO forcefully seized control of the town of Gao from the MNLA.</p> <p>These clashes came on top of <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/mali-rocked-by-new-wave-of-violence-1.1328365">protests from local citizens against the rebel occupation as a whole.</a> After a popular local councillor was killed, youths took to the streets where two were shot dead by rebel gunmen. It remains unclear exactly<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8DkRJTGrXuA/T-uJa2wcqOI/AAAAAAAABU8/ye1bpCkEmq4/s1600-h/Ansar%252520Dine%252520fighters%25255B2%25255D.gif"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Ansar Dine fighters" border="0" alt="Ansar Dine fighters" align="right" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5B9MiCAXOxkFGcgnWMhDGmylBFMAxC_PyXf8ayB-Xuj71FaDaioUdoA_MwUGFo6BlyLYitmYvA2m3i5pEuNsV8JpFCgQObI719ijxPBaUDXViXR4fHqJYWhsCMANRvsJ_pIqs0cwPgjX/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="193"></a> which group opened fire, but the killings have only fuelled resentment. Beyond this there is a particular anger in the areas where Sharia law has already been imposed – reports have emerged of women being forced to wear veils, cigarettes being banned and non-conformers being publicly flogged.</p> <p>To add an extra layer of uncertainty, a number of local militias some of whom may be acting as proxies for the shaky central government, have <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/mali-tuareg-opposition-rebels/1252817.html">joined together in a united front</a> against both the MNLA and the Islamists. Meanwhile the government itself has <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/mali-pm-in-burkina-faso-for-talks-on-northern-mali/1246214.html">refused to rule out further use of force by the regular army</a> and talk of a potential <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-18/business/sns-rt-africa-maliunl1e8hi84x-20120618_1_credible-objectives-ecowas-operation-west-african-afghanistan">ECOWAS/UN intervention</a> continues. </p> <p>Of course, the latter is driven at least in part by the domestic concerns of other ECOWAS members: refugees flooding into <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/02/20122794817189961.html">Niger</a> and <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201205291361.html">Burkina Faso</a> are overwhelming the famine-struck states’ limited resources, whilst the Nigerian government is understandably worried by the prospect of Islamist-controlled territory so nearby, as it <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18580312">struggles to battle to Boko Haram insurgency at home.</a> </p> <p><strong><em>This combination of rival rebel groups, proxy militias, restless citizens and strong regional interests creates a toxic political blend, which is unlikely to fade anytime soon.</em></strong></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimyQWAee5aDGZ8LniRSUhpWdrDXHxKPf2kbjTsOC_VyRvNVhXO3ZD8LqghYCnfFNlQBh0mWKJRAGd3jfO99s4OpveUi-IYQpN8M_A7EZvpKycQzgsOYaQlvd4qxQzFtyEp0ahOhyphenhyphenti-QTo/s1600-h/Mali%252520rebels%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Mali rebels" border="0" alt="Mali rebels" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwbmRnmYgu5C-wA5tKEIwI1tRBDMqXhrVSz7KZfutg7p71s8fEnXen_sek7yHdRjRj4t4rtwVDBhZcCmmfz_7S4lvIwAyONbcOApWtXg-BcaGD60FW6HWAvGTRFqi-VbGGdiAsfZSju_1/?imgmax=800" width="350" height="246"></a></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:433172fe-aa8e-40ca-9d46-53d6f4d9e247" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Al-Qaeda+in+the+Islamic+Maghreb" rel="tag">Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/National+Movement+for+the+Liberation+of+Azawad" rel="tag">National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/AIQM" rel="tag">AIQM</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/MNLA" rel="tag">MNLA</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sanogo" rel="tag">Sanogo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mali" rel="tag">Mali</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Malian" rel="tag">Malian</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/coup" rel="tag">coup</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/government" rel="tag">government</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/military" rel="tag">military</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/famine" rel="tag">famine</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sahel" rel="tag">Sahel</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Libya" rel="tag">Libya</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Tuareg" rel="tag">Tuareg</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/rebels" rel="tag">rebels</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/persecution" rel="tag">persecution</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Gadaffi" rel="tag">Gadaffi</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Sharia+Law" rel="tag">Sharia Law</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Nigeria" rel="tag">Nigeria</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Bukina+Faso" rel="tag">Bukina Faso</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/MUJAO" rel="tag">MUJAO</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ansar+Dine+and+the+Movement+for+Oneness+and+Jihad+in+West+Africa" rel="tag">Ansar Dine and the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa</a></div> Liamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14068093262242975009noreply@blogger.com0