Israel introduces “Palestinian Only” Bus Lines

Alex Hamasaki, Student InternLast Modified: 20:10 p.m. EDT, 5 March 2013

WEST BANK, Israel - The Israeli government announced today that it is introducing two segregated bus line in the occupied West Bank.

Aljazeera reports that the Transport Ministry in Israel called this move “an improvement in service.” The Transport Ministry also said that the new bus lines would “improve public transport services for Palestinian workers entering Israel,” and save Palestinians from being charged “exorbitant prices” by pirate buses.

The ministry claims, according to Haaretz, that “the new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians,” and that the buses will “contribute to the improvement of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as ones.”

For any of those unfamiliar with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the Israelis and Palestinians are currently engaged in a conflict over land rights. The “start date” of the conflict is argued heavily among scholars.

Both groups have historical, cultural, and religious claims upon the land the Arabs and Jews are fighting over. The following is an abbreviated history of the recent Israeli/Palestinian conflict; however, in the interest of expediency several major events have been omitted.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 by British Foreign Secretary Aruther James Balfour in a letter to the Zionist Federation’s President Lord Rothschild, declared that British would “view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national Jewish peoples.” There have been several other papers and agreements that altered British support of the Jewish peoples, such as the White Papers of 1922 by Winston Churchill. Eventually, British handed the problem of Israel/Palestine to the United Nations (UN) in 1947.

The UN implemented a plan to partition the British Mandate of Palestine into two separate states with “a special international regime for the city of Jerusalem.” Through the Camp David Accords, Israel agreed to give Palestinians more autonomy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Currently, Palestinians mostly occupy the West Bank and the Gaza strip, while Israelis occupy the rest of the territory. However, throughout the entire country, there are communities of Jews and Palestinians littered throughout the territory.

Both groups are currently vying for international sympathy in order to justify their claims toward the entire territory of the current Israel/Palestine. This recent event currently sways some sympathy toward the plight of the Palestinians.

According to the Guardian, the buses will run from the Eyal checkpoint by Qalqiliya across the border of the West Bank toward Tel Aviv. For passengers who have been granted permits by the army to enter Israel, they can only enter during the day to work. Further, Police spokesman Micky Rosenfield said that Palestinians returning to the West Bank would be searched for stolen property.

Although, Palestinian/Israeli relations are extremely complex and heavily influenced by regional and religious dynamics, this newly implemented plan to segregate Palestinian passengers is eerily reminiscent of Jim Crow laws.

The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy, with, starting in 1890, a "separate but equal" status for African Americans. The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. De jure segregation mainly applied to the Southern United States.

Human rights groups are fearful that Israeli police at the checkpoints in the West Bank will remove Palestinian passengers from the regular, non-segregated bus lines and order them to use the segregated bus lines, which could potentially inflame an already marginalized population. This newest legislation is incendiary at best, and racist at worst.

It remains to be seen if this suppression will spur passive resistance such as demonstrated by Rosa Parks, who in 1955 refused to sit in the 'Blacks Only' section of the bus. Her resistance and subsequent arrest led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and was a pivotal moment in the American Civil Rights Movement.

Though not a one-to-one comparison, nothing good can come from segregating people.

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Sources: Haaretz, Aljazeera, Inquisitr, Wikipedia

United Nations Accused of Cholera Outbreak Coverup

Alex Hamasaki, Student InternLast Modified: 23:41 p.m. EDT, 4 March 2013

On March 1, 2013, Aljazeera reported that the United Nations (UN) was accused of covering up the 2008 cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe. The UN dispute tribunal in Nairobi, Kenya, found that the UN did not inform the Robert Mugabe government of the potential for a cholera outbreak.

Aljazeera further reported that George Tadonki, the then head of the UN humanitarian office in Zimbabwe, warned his superiors of the potential outbreak, but no actions were taken.

Tadonki claims that he was fired in January 2009 in part because he “sounded the alarm about the cholera crisis.” Supposedly, the UN did not want to upset the government of Robert Mugabe, therefore did not warn the government of the upcoming outbreak. Tadonki pursued the issue, and the UN dispute tribunal in Nairobi ruled that he was unjustifiably removed from his job.

The UN dispute tribunal concluded that there should be disciplinary action taken against four senior UN officials, including the former humanitarian chief of the UN, John Holmes. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told Aljazeera that they intend to appeal the judgment.

Upon reading reports of this incident, I embarked on an effort to verify the Aljazeera news report. I was unable to located independent verification of Tadonki's assertions on any news sources. This seemed inconsistent and smacked of a coverup given the magnitude of this story both in terms of the adverse health impact, as well as the political ramifications of an organization as high-profile as the UN failure to live up to one of its core tenets.

I finally found the original report, Tadonki v. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Case number NDT/NBI/2009/36, on the United Nations Dispute Tribunal website. Published on February 26, 2013, the report suggested that the failure of the UNCHA to renew Tadonki’s contract was “unlawful,” and that the UNCHA ignored humanitarian values in their dealings with Tadonki. Further, the UN report said on page 304 of their report, the Applicant being Tadonki:

308. Even ASG [Assistant Secretary-General] Bragg had testified that there were problems with the RC/HC and Mr. Mukhtar and that the UNCT was weak so that by January 2009 deaths from cholera had reached the thousands. In spite of this, the Tribunal finds that whenever something went wrong in Zimbabwe at the material time, the blame was laid at the door of the Applicant. It appeared that while he achieved some positive results no credit was given to him. In fact, ASG Bragg told the Tribunal that the achievements made by the Applicant in Zimbabwe were nothing extraordinary because it was his job. Management listened to rumours from all quarters instead of objectively assessing the situation and the performance of the Applicant.

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Published: 4 March 2013 (Page 2 of 2)

309. The matter of the Applicant’s said interpersonal relationships with some of those in the humanitarian community in Zimbabwe at the material time and the criticisms of him by these people or groups constituted the singular issue that informed his removal by OCHA. The critical question is: what was the Applicant doing wrong? Principal among his wrongdoing is that by the time he had spent one month in the country, he had published an early warning ˗ suggesting that the UNCT, which had been operating before he came on the scene was ill prepared for an impending humanitarian crisis. In spite of the fact that no one could successfully counter his prediction, he appeared to have stepped on some big toes by stating the obvious. Thus the Applicant, a new-comer, had attempted to upset the applecart in a situation where, clearly, humanitarian considerations only played second fiddle to political issues.

There are several inconsistencies in the initial two paragraphs alone. First of all, this is unlike any UN report I’ve ever read. As a previous member of Model UN, we read several UN reports, none of which were this informal.

Second, the tribunal in Nairobi claims, “whenever something went wrong in Zimbabwe at the material time, the blame was laid at the door of the Applicant.” Ignoring informalities, the suggestion that “whenever something went wrong” is extremely ambiguous, and the tribunal could hence claim that the UN blamed Tandonki for anything including actions he had no control over.

Third, the report leaves me unclear to why the UN didn’t want to upset the corrupt government of Mugabe. Mugabe is responsible for a multitude of human rights violations during the time that Mr. Tandoki was stationed there. If the UN was attempting to cover up the outbreak, then we have an example of a serious violation of human rights.

This an ultimate lack of transparency for the UN, which was established in part to encourage transparency. Further, this suggests that the UN is in collusion with Mugabe. One can speculate that the UN nations did not want to upset Mugabe because they wanted to remain in Zimbabwe to continue humanitarian operations. Hence, attempting to move Tadonki to the OCHA Regional Office in Johannesburg to take the position of Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer in order to cover up the cholera outbreak. Further, if the UN was ill prepared as this report suggested, then what exactly is our money doing?

This leaves me at another set of problems. Was the government of Kenya involved in the tribunal’s decision to find the UN guilty of covering up a cholera outbreak? Kenya and Zimbabwe have a long history of conflict, and further considering the strangely informal wording of the report, I am left suspicious. Further, I was unable to find any concrete information about the Nairobi dispute tribunal itself.

Perhaps this is just the tale of the disgruntled employee. Angry that the OCHA was not going to renew his contract, Tadonki made up the tale that the UN was covering up the cholera outbreak. When the tribunal in Kenya caught wind of this story, Kenya was eager to find a reason to prosecute their long-term enemy, and thus produced this report.

Ultimately, I am unable to ascertain what really happened in Zimbabwe in 2008. Is the UN caught up in a conspiracy of colluding with a corrupt government to cover up a cholera outbreak warning? Is Tadonki just upset that he got fired, and Kenya wanted to find a chance to stick it to their enemy? These are all questions that should have been asked in advance of publicizing this story, but regardless of the internal machinations of this organization, the internecine intrigue between Kenya and Zimbabwe, the ultimate victims are the Zimbabwean people who continue to suffer from lack of access to basic necessities such as clean water.

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Sources: Aljazeera; Tadonki v. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Case number NDT/NBI/2009/36

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Scant Support in Taipei for Liu Xiaobo Release

Sam Hargadine, ContributorLast Modified: 11:51 a.m. EDT, 1 March 2013

CHINA - The Taipei Times reported Thursday that several human rights activists from Mainland China have formally petitioned the Taiwanese President to assist in the release of Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel laureate.

Liu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his work criticizing one party rule in China. He was unable to collect his prize due to his current eleven-year prison sentence.

In Taipei, exiled Chinese are pressuring the island’s democratically elected President, Ma Ying-jeou, who they say ought to file grievance with Beijing over the treatment of Liu.

Wang Dan, a petitioner, stated: “As a nation that stands behind universal values of human rights, I hope that Taiwanese will not forget their obligations to help promote human rights protection around the world, including in China.”

Wang later asserted that it would be unwise for the Taiwanese people to ignore Liu Xiaobo’s plight because it could harm cross-strait exchanges if China “remains a superpower in human rights violations.”

The opposition party in Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), emphasizes differences with the mainland and flirts with the idea of declaring independence from China. They have taken to the petition and are also pressuring the current President to make an official statement of support for Liu.

Despite this, President Ma is unlikely to act. He did not formally receive the petitioners when they delivered their appeal to the Presidential Office. Additionally, Ma’s democratic mandate largely rests on Taiwan’s desire for peaceful and profitable relations with the mainland. Antagonizing Beijing on this subject will do little to help that aim.

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When Christine Lagarde Talks, Everyone Listens

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 01:14 AM EDT, 27 September 2012

WASHINGTON, DC - Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund, Managing Director is arguably the most powerful woman in global finance next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel is noted for her role in trying to resolve the Eurozone debt crisis, as leader of Europe's biggest and most robust economy. Merkel has also been named by Forbes magazine as the most powerful woman in the world.

Since the global economic slowdown, various countries have struggled to retire debt in the face of increased jobless rates, volatile financial markets, and decreased GDP.

Therefore, when Lagarde announced that the IMF is set to cut its forecast for global growth next month, the news was greeted with trepidation by the United States and other governments including China.

At issue is the growing lack of confidence in the ability of European policymakers to attack head on the crisis affecting the Euro Zone, as well as an increased unwillingness by countries with strong economic growth and low debt, like Germany, to support the bailout of countries that refuse to implement effective austerity measures.

In fact, the S&P 500 fell for a fifth straight trading day on Wednesday as protests in Spain and Greece over euro zone austerity measures raised fresh concerns over Europe's ability to get its debt crisis under control. The possibility of countries with stronger economies defecting from the euro zone in favor of a return to their national currency also contributes to continued market instability.

When Lagarde announced that the IMF is cutting its global growth projection for 2013 to 3.9 percent although it left its 2012 forecast at 3.5 percent in July 2012, it was widely viewed as a lack of confidence in Europe's ability to resolve the euro zone crisis.

In particular it was viewed as a tacit indictment of government officials inability to effectively address the economic downturn in their respective countries. The failure of these countries to implement austerity measures to reduce their debt has adversely affected the economies in the rest of the world.

In fact, Lagarde stated that she believes the euro zone crisis poses the greatest risk to the world economy followed by the looming U.S. fiscal cliff which she believes also presents a "serious threat."

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Published: 27 September 2012 (Page 2 of 2)

"We continue to project a gradual recovery, but global growth will likely be a bit weaker than we had anticipated even in July, and our forecast has trended downward over the last 12 months," Christine Lagarde said.

"Markets briefly rallied after the European Central Bank's decision to launch a conditional bond-buying program for troubled states. ECB President Mario Draghi introduced a program to buy European nations' debt on a potentially unlimited scale — with major conditions. The most important at the moment is that a country must formally request the assistance and agree to financial conditions from the international lenders." (Source: Seattle Times)

This model is similar to the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program which was enacted by President George W. Bush in 2008. The TARP program purchased assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen the financial sector and stave off a severe financial downturn unseen since the Great Depression. However, it remains to be seen if the ECB’s approach will prevent the euro zone from slipping into deeper recession.

Lagarde said that the IMF supports Europe moving to a banking union which will prevent nations from being dragged down by sickly banks. The euro zone is currently weighed down by the faltering economies of Portugal, Greece, and Spain; and in the case of the latter, Lagarde believes that it appears headed toward a bailout like the one that Ireland received after rescuing its banks.

Despite this, Legarde does support the idea of giving Spain and Portugal more time to implement budget and other reforms. But she also expressed caution and was wary of Italy and France, two of Europe’s biggest economies, sincerity in charting a path to substantive economic and budget reforms.

Lagarde said structural reforms and fiscal adjustments are going to be unavoidable in crisis-hit euro zone countries, and that continued austerity measures must be more steadfastly enforced as a prerequisite for receiving future bailout funds.

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Gina Rinehart's Delusion of Class Envy

Gina Rinehart (Cropped), Photo by Panorama Mercantil

UNITED STATES - The 2012 Presidential election one of the candidates has been labeled as out of touch plutocrat, a perception reinforced by his numerous faux pas, gaffes, and seeming inability to connect with voters.

The perception held by the public and the media is that Mitt Romney desires to become president for the sole purpose of advancing tax policies and legislation that will benefit the rich to the detriment of the middle class. These assertions have been vigorously denounced by other wealthy Americans who have subsequently accused the public of class envy.Though they claim to be beneficent and caring about the lower and middle classes, this proclaimed sentiment belies what many believe to be the truth. This feeling was evidenced in a statement made by Mitt Romney in May 2012 to wealthy donors attending a $50,000 a plate fundraising event.

Unbeknownst to Romney, he was caught on video expounding upon his view that 47% of working and lower-class Americans were in their predicament because they lacked both drive and a sound work ethic.

This, despite the fact that he and other wealthy individuals like him inherited their wealth. Lest global citizens think that Mr. Romney is an aberrant case of an extremely wealthy individual who can’t or won’t sympathize with those who were not born with the same privileges and advantages, Gina Rinehart proves this assumption wrong.

Ms. Rinehart is an Australian mining tycoon who inherited a fortune which is now worth $19 billion and is considered the world’s richest woman. She also claims class envy as the reason why commoners dislike her. However, public derision of Rinehart stems from her 30 August 2012 statement to Amy Coopes, a reporter for AFP in which she advised people of lesser means on how to become one of the uber-wealthy.

"If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain," she said in a magazine piece. "Do something to make more money yourself -- spend less time drinking or smoking and socializing, and more time working."

Today, speaking at the Sydney Mining Club, Rinehart reiterated her opinion about those less fortunate than her. In her speech she asserted that the mining industry in Australia cannot compete with nations that are willing to pay workers less than $2 a day for their sweat and labor, and therefore, Australian businesses should be allowed to lower employee salaries to match or beat this amount.

Rinehart has been urging Australian lawmakers to cut the minimum wage, ostensibly to prevent these jobs from being outsourced, but in reality it is because she doesn’t want to pay a living wage or benefits afforded most employees in industrialized nations, preferring to use the labor of immigrants from nations with emerging economies.

Like the American public, the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard didn't buy Rinehart’s specious and self-serving argument. The truth of her position is much like other rapacious plutocrats, corporate raiders, and venture capitalists who believe that the poor should be grateful for any job even if they are paid little or nothing.

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The Arab Spring Withers | Al-Qaeda Opportunism

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 12:44 PM EDT, 13 September 2012

SANAA, Yemen – The coordinated murders of Christopher Stevens, U.S. Ambassador to Libya, and three other diplomats on the anniversary of 9/11 is troubling.

It also alludes to an intelligent design behind the attack by well-armed, militarized marauders whom some suspect may be loosely aligned with al-Qaeda.

The difference between the Cairo and Benghazi attacks are stark. Cairo seems to be a spontaneous outburst by protesters who were upset with a despicable anti-Islamic video posted on YouTube under several titles, including "Innocence of Muslims," whereas the objective of the protests in Benghazi appear to have provided cover for a military operation with an objective to kill Americans.

In both confrontations demonstrators blamed the United States for the film in which the Prophet Mohammad is depicted in terms seen as blasphemous by Muslims even though it was vociferously denounced by Washington.

Today, unrest spread across the region in response to the video. Most notably, hundreds of Yemeni demonstrators stormed the U.S. embassy compound in Sanaa also under the pretext of protesting the film, resulting in clashes with embassy security forces who fired in the air in an attempt to disperse the crowd. The protesters, many of them young men, briefly retreated during the firing but quickly returned.

The protesters pelted the embassy security officers with stones and also ‘set fire to at least five cars just before they breached the heavily fortified compound. Riot control forces finally used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the demonstrators. (Source: Reuters)

Although, only one protester died, at least 15 people were wounded. The U.S. State Department confirmed that all of the embassy personnel are safe. Reportedly, at least 12 people were arrested in the wake of the riot. The attack against the U.S. embassies in Benghazi, Cairo, and now Sanaa, elicited worries about the continued safety of American diplomatic personnel across the Middle East.

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Published: 13 September 2012 (Page 2 of 2)

As in Egypt yesterday, it was reported that Yemeni security forces were slow to intervene as the crowd began to march upon the embassy holding 'God is Greatest' signs and placards.

Today, after a call with President Obama, the president of Egypt Mohamed Morsi finally issued a tepid statement in response to the assault of the U.S. embassy in Cairo. Many view his statement as too little, too late.

By contrast, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi of Yemen offered an immediate "personal apology" to President Barack Obama for the murder of American diplomats and the storming of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, and promised a swift investigation.

Because Yemen is home of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is viewed by Washington as the most dangerous branch of the militant network established by Osama bin Laden,' this attack and the one in Libya are viewed with extreme caution.(Source: Reuters)

The success of the Arab Spring is quickly descending into a ‘winter of discontent’ because newly elected governments are ruling without mandates and are in the inevitable position of trying to coalesce numerous factions with differing objectives into a functioning democracy, as daunting a task as herding cats.

These fissures in Arab Spring governments have allowed the opportunistic and fluid tentacles of al-Qaeda to infiltrate and sabotage the efforts of these Middle Eastern countries’ to embrace Democracy.

As more information becomes available, many are considering the possibility that these attacks are not isolated events, but coordinated efforts to destabilize nations like Libya and Yemen which successfully accomplished regime change and formed valuable alliances with the United States.

Because the Yemeni ousted Ali Abdullah Saleh last year, President Barak Obama committed to provide $345 million in security, humanitarian and development assistance this year, over double last year's aid.

In light of current events, the U.S. Congress in conjunction with President Obama is evaluating continued aid to Yemen, but more specifically the average $2 billion in foreign assistance that the U.S. provides Egypt is also on the table for reevaluation. President Morsi’s government has not given any indication that it desires to continue the strong alliance the U.S. enjoyed with his predecessor, the former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

In response to this outright attack of U.S. diplomats and the potential danger to all American citizens in the region, President Barack Obama has dispatched two destroyers to the region and vowed to hunt down and bring to justice the perpetrators who murdered Ambassador Steven and 3 other Americans.

Our condolences go out to the families of these victims, while we reassert our belief that religious intolerance leads not to peace but to increased violence.

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Brazilian Gold Miners Massacre Yanomami Indians

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 00:51 AM EDT, 31 August 2012

CARACAS, Venezuela — In a scene that evoked the horrors of the 1993 massacre in an Amazonas village called Haximú in which 16 Yanomami were murdered, Venezuelan authorities are now investigating the July 2012 massacre of approximately 80 residents of a village called Irotatheri.

This is the third confirmed incident in which illegal miners have murdered Yanomami Indians in pursuit of gold. The Venezuelan authorities reported in 2010 that four people in an indigenous community died after drinking water contaminated by miners.

The Yanomami have often had to contend with Brazilian gold miners, known in Portuguese as garimpeiros, who for years have crossed into Venezuela and torn up the forest, leaving pits of water laced with mercury. (Source: Associated Press)

This latest encroachment and violence was reported by villagers from Hokomawe who walked for 15 days to relay information of the massacre to authorities in Puerto Ayacucho, the capital of Amazonas State in southern Venezuela.

The Yanomami are a peaceful people and one of the largest indigenous groups of people who live deep in the Amazon jungle.  Also known as the Horonami, the group is well-known because they have been the subject of numerous anthropological studies, the first of which was published in the late 1960s. This book has subsequently become required reading for anthropology, sociology, and ethnography university students.

The Yanomami maintain a traditional way of life deep in the jungle. Their village, Irotatheri, sits along the upper reaches of the Ocamo River. The three surviving members of the village were hunting when they heard the report of gunfire and the sound of a helicopter flying overhead.

Because of increased negative interactions with the illegal Brazilian miners who use helicopters to transport supplies, equipment, and gold, the hunters hurried back to the village to protect their loved ones. Upon their arrival they were horrified to discover the burned and charred remains of family and friends.

It has been alleged that this wasn’t just about the continued encroachment by illegal gold miners, but according to the three surviving members’ account, the miners attacked in retaliation because some men in the community had been "rescuing Yanomami women" who were possibly being sexually abused and imprisoned by the miners.  Source: New York Times

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President Obama Hosts Ramadan Iftar Dinner

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 22:22 PM EDT, 10 August 2012

White House Table Setting, Photo by Luigi Crespo

Tonight President Barak Obama is hosting his fourth Iftar dinner at the White House to honor Muslims celebrating Ramadan. It is a tradition begun under President Bill Clinton and maintained by President George Bush during his eight-year presidency.

The dinner will be presented in the State Dining Room to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar is universally observed by over one billion Muslims who fast from sunup to sundown.

Ramadan is the third "pillar" or religious obligation of Islam. During this holiday adherents learn self-control through fasting which some describe as an emptying of attachments to the physical and thus empowers their spiritual nature to grow closer to God.  In addition to prayer and study, Muslims also engage in giving charity, purifying behavior, and doing good deeds.

According to the White House, the invited guests for the evening “include elected officials, religious and grassroots leaders in the Muslim American community, and leaders of diverse faiths and members of the diplomatic corps.” (Source: CNN)

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Boko Haram Massacres Nigerian Worshippers

KOGI, Nigeria - On Sunday, 5 August 2012, in Oak Creek, a town in America in the Midwest State of Wisconsin, Wade Michael Page attacked a Sikh temple killing 6 people before being shot and killed.

On Monday, 6 August 2012, in an eerily similar attack half-way across the world, another house of worship was attacked and 19 people were killed, including the pastor of the church by radical Islamist extremist.

Killing people based upon religion, or rather one's interpretation of religion is detestable. As is killing people based upon race, sex, political views or sexual orientation. This post provides insight into this deadly phenomena which seems to be proliferating.

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Kofi Annan Resigns as Syrian Envoy in Disgust

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 00:04 AM EDT, 3 August 2012

GENEVA, Switzerland – Human Rights groups, the U.N. Security Council, as well as the U.S., Israel, Russia, and China have been closely following the civil war in Syria. After the recent attack by a suicide bomber who targeted the National Security headquarters in central Damascus killing Syria’s Defense Minister General Daoud Rajha and President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, observers prognosticated the imminent demise of the Assad government. (Source: The Journal.ie)

Instead of the desired effect of forcing Assad to abdicate, he has retreated to an undisclosed location and continues to wage a brutal war to repress the rebels who are intent on forcing him from power. Emboldened by the continued support of Russia and China who have consistently blocked U.N. Security Council efforts to initiate sanctions or military intervention, Assad continues to hold power.

Kofi Annan was asked to negotiate an end to 17 months of executions, torture, repression as well as a plethora of human rights violations. It would turn out to be an untenable task, but he accepted the challenge with dignity and professionalism. A negotiated peace agreement would have been the optimal resolution because an abrupt departure of the Assad regime would be disastrous for the region.

At issue among other things are the security of chemical weapons and the uncertainty of the type of governance the Sunnis majority would implement should they rise to power. A non-negotiated transition of power will almost certainly upset the delicate balance of power in the region. This morning a talk show host observed that this is a case where the ‘enemy of my enemy does not is not necessarily mean they will remain friends once they have achieved their goal.”

Hence the reticent of the U.S. to provide the rebels with weaponry despite their request for assistance and the obvious benefits that these arms could provide in terms of achieving the aim of deposing Assad. Into this quagmire Mr. Annan, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former U.N. secretary-general waded and despite his best efforts he became stuck.

On one side he had to contend with permanent Security Council members, whose actions belied their words. They talked about the need to address the gross human rights violations occurring in Syria and the necessity of protecting its civilian citizens, while on the other they carefully weighed economic, political, and strategic considerations which subsequently trumped the former.

According to Reuters, when Mr. Annan announced his resignation as Syria's peace envoy on Thursday, in a rare display of emotion, he explained how he was stymied in his efforts to bring the parties together to achieve even a temporary cease-fire. His inability to successfully bridge the gap between Assad and the rebels was complicated by “world powers, as well as the Syrian government's intransigence, the growing militancy of Syrian rebels and a divided Security Council that failed to forcefully back his effort.

Since he took  the position six months ago, Russia and China have twice used their veto power to block strong Western- and Arab-backed action against President Bashar Assad's regime.”

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India's President Pranab Mukherjee Inaugurated

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 21:40 PM EDT, 25 July 2012

NEW DELHI, India – Today, President Shri Pranab Mukherjee, 76, was sworn into office in a resplendent ceremony held in the Central Hall of Parliament. He replaces Pratibha Patil, India’s first woman president, and will serve a five-year term.

Millions of people across India watched as President Mukherjee was sworn in followed by a 21-gun salute accompanied by applause from lawmakers and top military brass. Mr. Mukherjee's presidency has been warmly received with the hope and expectancy befitting a dedicated public servant who has been charged with navigating the country to greater prosperity.

His acceptance speech was peppered with the usual platitudes – specifically, commitments to end hunger, implement development programs, and create opportunities for young Indians to embrace entrepreneurship and thus improve their economic situation.

Each of these are laudable goals, but in a country with nearly 1.3 billion inhabitants according to a 2011 World Bank survey, this is a gargantuan and complex undertaking that would in all likelihood take years if not decades of concerted effort to ameliorate.

However, Mr. Mukherjee has the benefit of heading a nation that has the fastest growing economy in the world. According to a Morgan Stanley report, India is poised to accelerate its growth rate to 9-9.5% over 2013-15, driven by a sterling demographic dividend, continuing structural reform and globalization.”

Mr. Mukherjee  is a veteran government official who has served as foreign minister, defense minister and finance minister, the latter twice. Each of these roles recommends him to the position to which he has been elected, but his position as defense minister provides insight into the portion of his speech in which he spoke about terrorism.

He stated that, “We are in the midst of a fourth world war; the third was the Cold War, but it was very warm in Asia, Africa and Latin America till it ended in the early 1990s. The war against terrorism is the fourth. India has been on the front line of this war long before many others recognized its vicious depth or consequences." (Source: Hindustan Times)

This commitment to sustaining the strong relationship between India, its allies, and the U.S., with which it shares an extensive cultural, strategic, military, and economic relationship, is vital to successfully combating the ongoing fight against extremism in Asia and beyond.

If Mr. Mukherjee’s government successfully holds the line against the ‘barbarians at the gates,’ he may indeed have the time and requisite focus to resolve the complex issues of eradicating hunger and elevating people from the lowest levels of society, but for today, India is rejoicing in the election of their 13^th president.

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Ghana Mourns President John Atta Mills

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 11:35 PM EDT, 24 July 2012

ACCRA, Ghana — Beloved Ghanaian President John Atta Mills died in a military hospital located in the capital of Accra on 24 July 2012.

Mills governed the country from 2009 to 2012 and had planned to run for a second term on 7 December 2012.

President Mills is the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office, and immediately following the announcement of his passing, Vice President John Dramani Mahama was sworn in to finish the remaining five months of Mills' term.

Mills was a seasoned political official serving in various capacities within the Ghanaian government after a 25-year tenure as a law professor at the University of Ghana. Shortly before becoming president he served as vice president of President J.J. Rawlings who was widely regarded as a military dictator.

The 2009 election was Mills’ third run for the highest office in the nation, and though the election was extremely close, independent observers praised the process as free and fair which resulted in a peaceful transition of power. Under Mills’ leadership Ghana experienced strong economic gains to become one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.

According to Reuters, Mills reiterated his commitment to political stability during a visit with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in March. Many Ghanaians are devasted by the loss of this pragmatic leader who recognized that success is not so much about power as it is about peace and mutual benefit.

”When there is no peace, it is not the leaders who suffer; it is the ordinary people who have elected us into office. So we have a big challenge, and we know that some of our friends in Africa are looking up to us, and we dare not fail them." (President John Atta Mills)

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Kremlin Hammers NGO Activists

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 01:42 AM EDT, 22 July 2012

Tensions between Washington and the Kremlin have escalated over the past eighteen months largely because Russia has aligned with China to defeat the United Nations Security Council’s efforts to institute punitive sanctions against Syria.

The standoff recalls the stance of the U.S. and USSR during the Cold War era which lasted from 1947-1991. During this period the United States, NATO, and other nations joined together in opposition of communist Soviet Union, its allies and satellite states.

Despite the fact that Russia enacted democratic governance in 1993 its election cycles continue to be plagued with accusations of corruption. Now, with the approval of a new law which labels non-governmental organizations receiving financial support from abroad as “foreign agents,” Russia is poised on the precipice of totalitarianism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a law which will tighten controls on civil rights groups funded from abroad, the his press office said on Saturday, a step opponents say is part of a campaign to suppress dissent.

The law, which was cleared by the upper house of parliament earlier in July, will force non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaging in “political activity” to register with the Justice Ministry as “foreign agents” and to file a report to officials every quarter. (Source: Forbes)

Opponents of the law believe that President Putin signed the bill with the full knowledge that its real intent is to silence organizations and individuals critical of his leadership. Though the law broadly applies to all NGOs, it specifically targets NGOs engaging in political activities.

Less than a month prior, President Putin signed another 'undemocratic' bill which prohibits people participating in unauthorized demonstrations, and in the case where these demonstrations were organized by an NGO or other organization, huge fines can be levied.

Many Russian NGOs have stated that they will not comply with new law, and according to reports, the Moscow Helsinki Group leader Lyudmila Alexeyeva said her group will turn down foreign funding in an attempt to work around the law.

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African Union Elects First Woman Commission | Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 00:58 AM EDT, 16 July 2012

After much debate and contention, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former South African Minister of Home Affairs was chosen as the new leader of the African Union (AU). Dlamini-Zuma is replacing incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon who has been the head of the 54-member Commission since 2008.

Dlamini-Zuma's ascendance was hard-won as there was stiff competition for the chairmanship. The ex-wife of South Africa's President Jacob Zuma proved to be a tough competitor and was rewarded with the honor of being elected as the AU's first female leader.

The newly built AU headquarters was funded by China as a gift from Beijing which continues to expand its influence in Africa. Located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the inauguration of the new building occurred in January 2012.

Since the AU’s auspicious start, it has suffered some setbacks, particularly with regard to its lack of diplomatic leadership during the Libya and Ivory Coast conflicts. The election process exposed internal rivalries between French-speaking countries that backed Ping and mostly English-speaking countries that favored Dlamini-Zuma.

In addition to division between Francophone and Anglophone countries, Nigeria and Kenya, two of the largest members of the AU reportedly expressed reservations about South Africa having so much power while some smaller nations felt that their issues and concerns wouldn’t receive equal consideration.

According to Reuters Dlamini-Zuma won after three rounds of voting at this weekend's summit. She received a final vote of confidence of 37, which provided her with the 60 percent majority required to be elected for a four-year term.

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The Butcher of Bosnia's End Game | Ratko Mladić

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 19:07 PM EDT, 12 July 2012

Srebrenica Massacre Skull, Photo by Adam Jones, Ph.D

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladić has once again found a way to delay his trial in which he has been charged with 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims.

Upon the conclusion of his current adjudication, he is scheduled to be tried for ordering other Serbian atrocities throughout Bosnia’s 1992-95 war that left 100,000 dead.

On 12 June 2012, Mladić was rushed from The Hague courtroom to a hospital after complaining of feeling unwell. After several delays the first witnesses just began to testify this week in against the 70-year-old former general, which makes his sudden illness suspicious and to outward appearances cowardly.

Apparently, the Butcher of Bosnia had the stomach to order his troops to commit mass murder while he watched, but seems unable to face the verbal accusations of his accusers. Though he was sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure, the accommodations that he has and is yet receiving does not seem warranted given the heinous nature of his crimes, especially since his victims were not afforded the luxury of having their executions delayed.

Presiding Judge Alphon Orie suspended the trial and called for a medic after Mladić held his head down and ran his hands through his hair while complaining of feeling ill. Remarkably, he was able to “compose himself” as he was taken from the court to the hospital for tests.

Mladić evaded capture for 16 years until his arrest in Serbia last year. He has since undergone minor surgery for a hernia and has suffered from other ailments such as kidney stones and pneumonia which are common given his advanced age.

The reticence of the court to continue with the proceedings because of Mladić’s claims of illness is understandable given its prior experience in the trial of Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic who died of a heart attack in his cell in 2006. His death resulted in a premature end to his genocide case.

However, justice and closure for Mladić's victims is far more pressing and should be given equal weight when deciding to postpone his trial yet again. If even a hint of subterfuge on his part is suspected, and though it is politically incorrect, sometimes death during due process can bring a sense of closure that delayed justice cannot.

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Thomas Lubanga, Congolese War Lord Convicted

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 17:10 PM EDT, 10 July 2012

Thomas Lubanga, Congolese Warlord, Photo by ICC-CPI

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Six years after the government of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) handed Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, over to The Hague for trial, and three years after the start of his trial, Lubanga has finally been received a verdict of 14 years in prison.

He now holds the dubious honor of being the first person to be taken into custody by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was created a decade ago to address war crimes in places where local courts are unable or unwilling to act.

Fellow warlord, Charles Taylor, 64, former Liberian President was also convicted earlier this year by The Special Court for Sierra Leone, in The Hague. He was found guilty of 11 counts of war crimes, including murder, rape, and sexual slavery. In the court of public opinion, Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, Taylor, Lubanga, and Bosco Ntaganda all stand accused of conscripting children into his marauding armies. However, to date only Taylor and Lubanga have been captured and sentenced for conscripting children under the age of 15 to fight in their armies.

In the conflict torn countries – Uganda, DRC, Liberia and Sierra Leone, these children were more than just child soldiers, they were victims of extreme child abuse, who were brutalized and forced to torture and kill innocent citizens, as well as participate in the rape of women who could have been their mothers and grandmothers. Dissent was not an option as failure to participate resulted in their immediate execution.

In the Lubanga’s six year absence, the civil war that has utterly decimated the country continues to rage across the central African nation. Thousands of civilians have been raped and butchered at the hands of his co-accused, Bosco Ntaganda, another militia leader who is now a general in the Congolese army in the North Kivu area of eastern Congo.

In the video below Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, was criticizing for his handling of the case, for not including the sexual violence charges as part of the case, and for omitting numerous other war crimes allegedly committed by Lubanga and his compatriots.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYLZKPkjO40]                                                                                                                                                     Prosecutors had sought 30 years in prison for Lubanga but given the diluted charges which did not adequately demonstrate “any aggravating circumstances” plus his cooperation with the court, resulted in a sentence which will only require him to serve 8 years in jail because of time served.  Lubanga who is 51 will be freed before his 60th birthday.

Lubanga's case this year has brought increasing pressure for the arrest of his much more infamous partner in crime, renegade Congolese army Gen. Bosco Ntaganda. Ntaganda had moved on from being a militia leader in Ituri to being the No. 2 leader in a tribal-based rebellion in 2006, when the ICC indicted both men for war crimes involving child soldiers.

Ntaganda and others have accused the court of racism in pursuing Africans, and especially Congolese. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir remains on the court's agenda along with Ntaganda and two other Congolese warlords. Congo's back-to-back civil wars that drew in soldiers from a half dozen nations killed an estimated 5 million people — more lives than any conflict since World War II. (Source: Associated Press)

Initially, the March verdict was hailed by human rights group as a victory, but today’s news was greeted with disappointment. Though other tribunals have been created throughout history to punish atrocities from specific conflicts, such as the Nuremberg trial in 1946 of Karl Doenitz, Lubanga's case may have set a precedent of leniency since he is the first person to be convicted and sentenced directly by the ICC.

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Video Captures Taliban Executing Woman

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban has reasserted its hold on the Afghan people and is exacting horrific punishment against those whom they have accused of moral turpitude. As in prior years when the Taliban's power was at its height, the predominant victims of their extrajudicial sentencing continue to be women.

Recently, Afghans officials have confirmed the veracity of a video circulating the internet which depicts a woman being executed by a Taliban who shot her in the back of her head then continued firing into her dead body several more times. Even more disturbing, the video captured both Taliban and villages watching and cheering.

The execution occurred on 23 June 2012 in the Shinwari district of Parwan Province which is located in central Afghanistan. The province is roughly an hour from Kabul, and the video is reminiscent of the public executions that occurred in packed stadiums during the Taliban's bloody five-year reign from 1996 – 2001.

The video below was apparently taken by one of the witnesses of the execution. It is believed that one of the Taliban captured the bloody incident with his cell phone hence the poor quality.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                There has been speculation that the woman was in a relationship with some of the Taliban. Given the utter lack of freedom Afghan women possess in every area of their lives, it is ludicrous to think that this woman could have willingly engaged in a consensual relationship with not one but two men in addition to her husband.

Reuters news agency reported that the “Taliban members can be heard saying that the executioner is the woman’s husband, though Afghan officials offered conflicting accounts of what transpired in the village, Qol-i-Heer.

Colonel Masjidi said the woman’s real husband was a member of a village militia that had slain a local Taliban leader. The 20 year old woman, named Najiba was executed in revenge on trumped up charges of adultery, he said.”

Adultery is a common accusation leveled against women by extreme Islamists. It is particularly effective because it is a charge against which the woman is powerless to defend herself and confers upon her an automatic death sentence. She can expect little to no sympathy for her plight because everyone in the community, men and women alike, either tacitly or openly support her execution.

In the video, “One of the Taliban says the Koran prohibits adultery. Killing the woman is ‘God’s order and decree,’ he says. ‘If the issue was avenging deaths, we would beg for her amnesty. But in this case, God says, ‘You should finish her. It’s the order of God, and now it is her husband’s work to punish her.” (Source: Reuters)



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