Busy Day

• My new favorite place: Zimbabwe! President Mugabe signed a law allowing police (read: state-sanctioned ZANU-PF thugs) into polling booths, raising further concerns about the ruling party’s plans to adhere to fair election practices. (What is, “They aren’t going to at all?”) Meanwhile, the Deputy ‘Information’ Minister, in response to a report on pre-election violence and intimidation, said that Human Rights Watch “should be ashamed of itself,” adding that these reports are “becoming a joke.” I suppose that the delusional power-hungry types are easily amused—aided, no doubt, but their complete lack of accountability. I can only hope that I (and everyone else in the human rights-respecting world) will on day be able to say, “Who’s laughing now?”
• The Chadian army conducted multiple cross-border raids in the northwestern region of the Central African Republic (CAR) in recent weeks. Since January 2008, Human Rights Watch documented at least 5 raids, and accuses the army of killing civilians, stealing cattle, and burning villages. The report notes that it is unclear whether or not these raids were coordinated with CAR authorities, as has been the case in the past.
• The government of Nepal is joining China in the repression of Tibetan protesters. Human Rights Watch condemned the arbitrary arrest, detention, and excessive use of force of Tibetan activists and journalists living in Nepal. In other Nepalese news, the UN voiced concerns over a possible resurgence of violence related to the country’s upcoming elections, after the murder of a candidate. Over 13,000 people were killed in a 10-year civil war that ended in 2006.
• The UN warned Kenya that it will not provide support to the proposed Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), or any other institution, if it provides a blanket amnesty for the violence committed in the aftermath of the December 2007 elections. The UN otherwise supports the TJRC as a method of “national healing” (shudder—I hate that phrase), but believes that it should make recommendations for criminal prosecutions.
• A Ghanaian woman was removed from a hospital in the UK, where she was undergoing cancer treatment, when her visa expired. She died today. Her friends and family raised over £70,000 for the treatment, which was unavailable in her home country. I feel bad for her two kids, whose father already passed away.
• South Africa: “We’ll kill the Somalians if they come back.” *Sigh*