News: The Dictator Daily

• A paper on Kosovo by the International Crisis Group calls for increased international coordination and a strong message to Serbia (and its Russian supporters) warning against attempts to spoil the new state.
• A new report by Amnesty International details the discrimination and hardships faced by HIV+ women living in rural South Africa.
• Guatemala’s first trial for forced disappearances during its Dirty War began last week. The conflict, which began in 1960, left 200,000 dead and 45,000 “disappeared”—an all-too-common tactic of Latin American dictatorships in the late-20^th century.
• China “thanks” India for detaining over 100 Tibetan refugees involved in anti-China protests. Given its recent rap sheet on human rights issues—see my post from last Thursday—I would think twice about doing anything for which China might be grateful. But I guess that’s just me.
• And there’s more! Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia is standing trial in Beijing for comments made in interviews with foreign media and on the internet.
• Only a select few media outlets will be allowed to cover the upcoming presidential elections in Zimbabwe. I’m thinking that this does not bode well for the prospects of anything “free and fair.”
• And finally…today’s Napoleon Award for Excellence in the Art of Petty Dictatorship goes to…Muammar Gadaffi! The Libyan dictator is urging Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to remain in power for life, arguing against multi-party democracy and presidential term limits. Awesome.