On Darfur: They came out and said it…FINALLY!

At the annual meeting of the International Criminal Court’s member states in The Hague, chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, stated that the Court had sufficient evidence to identify perpetrators of the atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region. He also said that the Court had “reasonable grounds to believe” that crimes against humanity were committed. The Court identified the following atrocities: “rape, torture, willful murder, sexual and inhumane violent acts, extra-judicial killings and the forcible transfer and prosecution of civilians.”

Moreno-Ocampo’s investigators interviewed judges, prosecutors, Sudanese investigators, a top Sudanese military official, and a senior political official. 600 potential witnesses were screened and 100 in-depth interviews were conducted. “To define the truth is important, and to define the responsibility is important, to prevent it from reoccurring.”

Last week in Ethiopia a tentative agreement was reached to boost the 7,000 member African Union force with 10,000 more UN troops. Sudan, who has opposed deployment of UN troops, has asked for a delay until Wednesday. A senior US official stated that the Sudanese government fears that UN troops “will discover more evidence. What they don’t realize is that there is more than enough evidence now.” Andrew Natsios, a US presidential special envoy to Sudan said, “There is no doubt that the Janjaweed and those who are committing atrocities are an extension of the Sudanese military.”

For those following the situation in Darfur, many of these findings are not new; however, this is a significant step in sending help to the area. Now that the international community is not turning a blind eye to Darfur, some progress can be made to put a stop to the genocide. In regards to the case in Rwanda, Clinton stated after the genocide was over that the US could have sent about 5-10,000 troops that probably could have saved about 400,000 people! I feel the same would be true in Darfur. Even a relatively small effort on the part of the US would be capable of saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Hopefully this statement by the ICC will spur some action by the international community before it’s too late…

Remembering

Thousands of Ukrainians gathered in Kiev this Saturday to remember the millions that died under Stalin's rule. In 1932-33, some 33,000 people died every day of starvation. The Ukrainian Parliament is asking the world to recognize Stalin's systematic starvation as a genocide against the Ukrainian people. Starvation was a tactic that Stalin devised in order to force the Ukrainian peasants to turn over their private farms and become part of the collective farmland that the USSR was developing.
The Russian government has refrained from labeling this event as genocide and have been referring to the incident as a tragedy. They claim that Stalin's campaign did not specifically target Ukrainians.
So far ten nations, including the United States, have recognized the starvation of the Ukrainian people as a genocide.

Blair to stop short of apology for British role in slavery

Blair apologizes for Britain’s role in the slave trade. (I am assuming the massive slave trade by the East Indian Trading Company). There is an advisory committee that will determine “how Britain should acknowledge its historical responsibility”. I think this is a little weird and way to late. Maybe it might shed light on modern slave trade and hopefully prevent future slave trading.

Iran and Syria helping to rearm Hizballah

I smell another war in the mist. Iran is smuggling weapons through Syria to re-arm Hizballah. Western diplomats in Beirut says that the weapon estimates are low and that in actuality the weapons smuggled across the board come close to 20,00 short-range missiles (the estimates are around 3,00 missiles). Now if that’s not frightening enough just read this….

“Moreover, Obaid says, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) are using the Iranian embassies in Damascus and Beirut as command and control centers -- an allegation that was also confirmed to TIME by Israeli military sources. Obaid says there appear to be direct communications links between the Iranians and Hizballah, via Hizballah officers working inside the Iranian embassy in Beirut, and Iranian officers in the field with Hizballah fighters”

No wonder why the UN can’t stop the smuggling of arms across the boarder. The article brings up the point that it might be Iran’s attempt to expand Shi’ite influence throughout the Middle-East. Just for the icing on the cake Hizballah broke the UN cease fire and the Lebanese government wants to bring a few Syrians to a UN tribunal court for trying to blow up a few cabinet members. Does not look good for the credibility of UN law

More trouble in Iraq

More horrific violence coming out of Iraq this week, it's the highest death toll from violence between the two major sects of Islam. Shiite militia members took a large number of sunnis and burned them alive. Here's the worst part: Iraqi soldiers stood nearby and watched as these militia members torched human beings. This leads to the big question: is the US presence in Iraq actually doing any good in the area? It seems to a lot of people like the US invasion has lead to a lot more harm than good. Is this just the struggles of a nation that's recently achieved freedom, or violence brought on by the US's removal of a the keystone that held the country together. I'm in no way supporting Saddam, but it seems like things get worse on a day to day basis over there.

Cultural Relativism at its worst

Human Rights -- Human Wrongs

I know about realpolitik. I know about oil. I know about keeping the Middle East stable. But if you're not viscerally offended by the idea of a U.S. official flying to Saudi Arabia to apologize to King Abdullah for punishing a rapist, there's something wrong with you.

Chinese official admits torture

We've seen it all over the world, and now it seems to be happening in China; officials torturing suspects in order to get confessions. What is especially interesting in this case is that someone actually admitted that these acts were being done. Wow! This is a refreshing change. Someone in the Chinese government took responsibility and admitted the truth. Only after this will China be able to correct these corrupt policies. I find it horrifying that confessions obtained through the use of torture are still being used in courts. It is absolutly inexcusable to put the wrong person to death. Now that Wang Zhenchuan has admitted the abuses, what is to be done? Who will investigate? Will anyone investigate? Should the ICC get involved?

UCLA UCPD use tazer gun on Iranian-American Student

Since we have been discussing torture off late in class, I feel that this issue is very relevant to our understanding of Human Rights. Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23, a student at UCLA did not show ID to campus police, while working in one of the university's libraries. The police then used a tazer gun on him. The excruciating video of this incident can be viewed on youtube. The link to it is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3GstYOIc0I

I could not watch the whole thing. You can clearly hear the student say that he would leave, but the police continue to abuse him. What was even more shocking was the number of students who just stood there. Yes, there were some who asked the police for their badge numbers. They yelled at the police and the police just seemed to yell back.

The video is long--over six minutes. I could not watch the whole thing. It was just too painful.

'Evil' teen sentenced to life in prison for hate crime

With all the debate over whether there are evil people or just people that commit evil acts, I found this article particularly interesting. The article tells the story of 18 year-old David Henry Tuck from Houston, Texas who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. He received this sentence after severely beating and sodomizing a Hispanic boy during a party while shouting “white power.” The boy nearly died during his three-month stay at the hospital. The prosecutor referred to Tuck as an “evil person” that would not be able to be rehabilitated. The defense posed questions as to whether or not Tuck’s white-supremacist views come from the influence of his skinhead older brother who is also in jail. This was not the first incident of violence for Tuck and perhaps he truly is an “evil person” and not just one that commits evil acts. Is it possible for someone who commits evil acts to change or stop such violent acts?

Iran joining the nuclear club

So Iran wants to keep their nukes. The President of Iran has come out and declared that Iran will be nearing the last stage of its nuclear research and production. What will this mean for the US, the world, and the U. N. who again is having its resolutions trampled on and ignored?

There are many questions to be asked about Iran's "need" for nuclear power plants. Why does a nation with its own large oil reserves so badly need nuclear power plants? Why would they want nuclear power, which has now been recognized as problematic, prime targets for terrorism, and creates environmental disasters with its waste? Also, why would Iran be so intent on creating another form of power, that is so controversial that both the US and UN are upset about. Not to mention Israel which has a history of destroying the nuclear aspirations of hostile nations (i.e. Iraq under Saddam, where Israel attacked a reactor with jets and destroyed it after other nations were unwilling to stop Iraq).

There are two possible reasons why Iran is so willing to create nuclear power. One may be that they want to obtain nuclear power simply for nationalistic bragging rights. They may use it as a symbol of their defiance and independence. It would be a sign to the world that Iran can achieve anything and takes orders from no one.

Much more likely though is that Iran wants to create a nuclear arms program. Why else is it so important that they obtain nuclear power. Why else would it be so important to ignore the world and do as they please. A nuclear Iran would be a counter weight to Israel in the region. It would also legitimize them in the eyes of many of the world’s nations. It would give them a pulpit to speak to the world. It would also sway the power of the Muslim countries from Saudi Arabia to Iran.

No matte what happens, Iran, in my opinion should not be allowed to become a nuclear power. If that means stricter sanctions, a blockade, or more direct action, I don't know, but a nuclear Iran is something to worry about.