Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are calling for the release of 130 prisoners from the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, ahead of the 19
th anniversary on Wednesday, June 4. HRW says the
Chinese government should release the wrongfully-detained activists to uphold its commitment to improve its human rights record before the Olympics in
Beijing. In other big-bad-China news, judges sanctioned attorneys who offered to defend Tibetan activists detained for their participation in protests earlier this year.
Election fun continues in Zimbabwe…and by “fun,” of course I mean violence, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and a general crackdown on all opposition to Mugabe and his government. ZANU-PF liberation-fighters-turned-lawless-thugs, the ‘war veterans,’ told civil servants that they’ll lose their jobs if they vote for the opposition. All operations of aid organization Care International have been suspended after the group was accused of campaigning for the opposition--an allegation they deny. Our good friend Bobby Mugabe is currently in Rome for a UN food summit, and is subject to international condemnation as a result. Mugabe even spoke at the summit, once again accusing Great Britain and the West of imperialist sabotage of Zimbabwe’s political and economic affairs (his favorite line of defense, it seems).
The Zimbabwe crisis is being cited by many otherwise disparate parties in South Africa as a key reason that President Thabo Mbeki should resign ahead of the end of his second presidential term, though there are certainly many other contributors to the “governance and leadership vacuum” in the country. The recent wave of xenophobic violence are also fueling the political discord, especially as civil society groups say they warned the government last year about the possibility of such violence.
The situation in Somalia looks increasingly dire, as the United Nations Security Council embarks on a 10-day, 5-nation tour to solicit support for its peace efforts. Frequent clashes between Islamic insurgents and Ethiopian troops, in the country to back the weak transitional government, are proving to be a major obstacle to peace and cease fire negotiations.
Uganda confirmed its continued presence in Darfur, despite the killing of one of its peacekeepers. For an assessment on the current situation in Sudan, and the implications of the conflicts in Abyei and Darfur, check out the Council on Foreign Relations report, “Sudan’s Interlocking Crises.”
The US accused the military in Burma of “criminal neglect,” as an estimated one million people still have not received assistance one month after Cyclone Nargis. US Naval ships, stocked with relief supplies but not yet allowed to dock and unload, will likely be withdrawn from the region soon. The leader of the junta said the affected areas would be fully opened to international relief workers, but the government is still restricting access 10 days later.
Finally, two things to keep an eye on: 1. War and conflict have an environmental toll as well as a human one--check out this article on elephants caught in the crossfire of Sri Lanka’s civil war; 2. Thailand is experiencing a bit of economic turmoil amid mounting anti-government demonstrations and rumors of a military coup.
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