KIMBERLY RIVERA: PICKING ON HER IS NOT THE ANSWER

August 30, 2012 Kimberly Rivera, defected to Canada in February 2007 to avoid having to return to Iraq where she had been serving as a private in the US Army. She is the first female to have done so, although tens of thousands of men had done the same during the Vietnam War. They were welcomed there and were eventually granted amnesty by President Jimmy Carter. The 30-year-old Mrs Rivera's attempts, however, have failed and she has been ordered to leave the country with her family by September 20, 2012. This, despite the fact that she has been in Canada for over five and a half years and that two of her four children were born there. If she returns to the US, she will be face a court martial, dishonorable discharge and a prison sentence.

It is not difficult to understand why the Armed Forces of the United States, or any country for that matter, would not want its personnel to desert. Many people would be happy to be a soldier if they knew that they could just walk away the minute things started to get tough. That would jeopardise national security and the safety of those who stayed behind to honour their commitments. Demonising people like Kimberly Rivera, however, does not seem like a satisfactory solution, either, even though it may be an effective deterrent. After all, people change and so do situations. Besides, when two countries go to war, they cannot both be right; and if one is wrong, then every soldier has a 50% chance of committing an injustice. The Iraq War, with so many people opposed to it, is a case in point.

So what should be done? Here are a few suggestions:

• Contracts could be shorter, with steeply incremental pay and final bonuses

• There could be more flexibility with regards to assignments

• There could be enhanced payments and benefits for danger zones (such as diplomats get)

• Risks could be reduced by supplying military personnel with better protective equipment

• Protocols, like the Geneva Conventions, must be created that will make all killing and grievous bodily harm illegal: for soldiers as well as civilians

This last point is not naive idealism. Non-aggression agreements have existed from time immemorial. They need to be made more robust, more binding and more enduring. Indeed the first step should be the declaration of the absolute sacredness of life. Yes, we may always get the rouge fool who would wish to start a war and not play by the book, but international treaties should ensure that by so doing, these people are exposed. By taking a step back form civilisation they will be pitting the whole of civilisation against them. So they and their followers will be dealt with like any band of criminals are treated within a state: they will be apprehended as humanely as possible and punished accordingly as criminals.

RACHEL CORRIE STRUCK DOWN AND STRUCK OFF

August 29, 2012

The District Court in Haifa, yesterday, declared no wrongdoing in the case of Rachel Corrie and claimed that her death should be attributed to her own negligence. No surprises there. Similar incidents involving foreigners killed by Israeli military personnel have been dismissed as being unfounded: James Miller, Tom Hurndall, Iain Hook, Tristan Anderson, Harald Fischer, Raffaele Ciriello... Not to mention the volumes of Palestinian casualties. As well as this you have those who managed to survive their ordeal, like Caoimhe Butterly and Brian Avery.

Rachel Corrie was only 23 when she was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in 2003. She had been protesting against the demolition of Palestinian houses, by boldly and conspicuously standing in front of the homes she was trying to protect. But this was not Tiananmen Square and the vehicle just kept on going. The scene in Avatar springs to mind: "They'll move..." Well she didn't. Perhaps it was a misplaced trust, or maybe she just did not make it in time. The Jerusalem Post's version is that she as kneeling and the driver just did not see her:

"At the time, the bulldozer was clearing brush near the Rafah border crossing to prevent illegal weapons smuggling by terrorists from Egypt."

She may have been young and naive, but it is unlikely she would have been risking her life for "brush"!

It also describes her as a radical who travelled to Gaza to "directly participate in the hostilities between Israel and Palestinian combatants". I expect she must have been fairly radical to have the courage to stand up for her cause; but directly participating in hostilities would indicate she was holding a gun, not a megaphone. At the end of the day, what the judge and elements of the press are saying is that "She is not one of us, she is expendable". That is where they are very wrong. People like Rachel Corrie speak to our conscience. Injustice should not bury her twice.

TUTU SENDS BLAIR A POIGNANT MESSAGE

August 28, 2012

When one of the wisest men on earth refuses to associate with you, should take note. Most people would. But no, not you Tony Blair. You fight back with your empty words and carry on, undaunted.

Nobel Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has pulled out of the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit that is due to be held on 30 August 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa, because he feels it would be inappropriate for him to appear on the same platform with the former British Prime Minister, who with George W. Bush, was responsible for the illegal invasion of Iraq.

Archbishop Tutu with the Dalai Lama in 2004

The summit aims to bring some of the most accomplished individuals in business and leadership together so that they may share their insight and expertise. Speakers at past events have included Al Gore, Sir Richard Branson and Chris Anderson. This year's theme will be Leadership and will see visionaries like Sir Terry Leahy and Garry Kasparov on the podium.

Archbishop Tutu's Office explained his motives for pulling out in no uncertain terms:

"Ultimately, the archbishop is of the view that Mr Blair's decision to support the United States' military invasion of Iraq, on the basis of unproven allegations of the existence in Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, was morally indefensible.

"The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit has leadership as its theme. Morality and leadership are indivisible.

"In this context, it would be inappropriate and untenable for the archbishop to share a platform with Mr Blair."

Ouch!

And how did Tony Blare's office respond?

First it was pointed out that they were not actually going to be "sharing a platform". Very literal, for someone who is usually so apt at stretching words. I do not think that the Archbishop meant that he would be sitting on your lap, Mr Blair!

Next came a typical Blairism: "disagreement is part of a healthy democracy." Wonderful! That's it then. No such thing as right and wrong. Only healthy disagreement. One might as well say: "I'm terribly sorry if you disapprove of my decision to obliterate half the world. I quite understand. Our disagreement is a testimony to the robustness of our democracy... We should be proud!"

But his last point is the best:

"As for the morality of that decision we have recently had both the memorial of the Halabja massacre where thousands of people were murdered in one day by Saddam's use of chemical weapons; and that of the Iran-Iraq war where casualties numbered up to a million including many killed by chemical weapons.

"So these decisions are never easy morally or politically."

I say, Mr Blair, where were you when those atrocities were being committed? Sipping your tea while watching Coronation Street? The Halabja massacre was in 1988: you blitzed Iraq in 2003. Yes 2003, after you had made sure you lured it into a state of disarmament first. And what a fine message you have given to other national leaders! Is it any wonder why the likes of North Korea and Iran are ignoring calls to disarm?

This said, Archbishop Tutu's decision does not tarnish the other attendees, nor does it question their motives. He has made his point and others may wish to make theirs in other ways. No one, for instance, could doubt the integrity of the great Garry Kasparov, whose passion for justice saw him arrested, once again, on August 17, 2012. Who knows: he may even inspire Tony Blair...

Kasparov, with raised hand, protesting in Saint Petersburg on June, 9 2007.

A SAD DAY FOR AFGHANISTAN AND A BAD DAY FOR TRUTH

August 27, 2012

What a horrible day for Afghanistan:

• Ten Afghan soldiers killed at their checkpoint by Taliban insurgents
• Two American soldiers murdered by Afghan service personnel after a dispute
• Two women and 15 men slaughtered in unclear circumstances

The last tragedy is were truth also suffered. The first reports claimed that the 17 people were beaten and beheaded for having dared to attend a mixed-gender party with music and dancing. That innocent people should be executed for attempting to enjoy themselves in harmless ways would make most people's blood boil; and perhaps that is exactly what the initial reports meant to do. Gradually, however, it emerged that there were no decapitations at all and that the deaths may have resulted from a local feud. Still tragic, but a very different story nonetheless.

What exactly happened is not yet clear, nor why it was reported the way it was. For all we know, the misunderstanding may have been genuine and it may have nothing to do with truth being the first casualty of war. But this is highly unlikely when the two stories are so opposing, with the only constant being the number of people killed. So the obvious conclusion is that the press is being fed anti-Taliban propaganda or generating it. Fabrication of this sort would not only be unethical, it would also be counter-productive, in as much as it would undermine the already established truth. Should we start doubting that the Taliban harboured Bin Laden? Or that they blew-up the Buddhas of Bamiyan?

Some of the Taliban have committed and still are committing atrocities. Inventing stories just gives them more room to hide.

DOES YELTSIN DESERVE HIS AWARD?

August 26, 2012

Tomorrow, the late Boris Yeltsin, first president of the Russian Federation, will receive the Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Vytis, the highest possible decoration that is bestowed by Lithuania. The Grand Cross will be presented by President Dalia Grybauskaite to Mr Yeltsin's widow, Naina Yeltsina, at a grand ceremony at the Presidential Palace in the capital Vilnius.

Many would argue that when Mr Yeltsin took the helm from Mikhail Gorbachev, he steered the country rather recklessly. Indeed no one expected that the break-up of the Soviet Union and the consolidation of the Russian Federation would be plain sailing, but by the time Mr Yeltsin resigned in favour of Mr Vladimir Putin at the end of 1999, it was widely accepted that things could have been done a lot better. The privatisation programmes, for instance, were careless and they left the doors wide opened for the nation's wealth to be hijacked by a small group of oligarchs and Mafia-like operatives. His vice president, Alexander Rutskoy, denounced his reforms as "economic genocide", while Mr Gorbachev had this to say about his former ally, in his book On My Country and the World:

"By no means was it accidental that at a summit of the CIS, held in Kishinev in the fall of 1997, all the participants critizised Russia and its leadership for the Commonwealth's state of paralysis. President Yeltsin even acknowledged that the criticism was justified: after all, for years he had been chairman of the Council of Heads of State, but during that time nothing ever moved from dead centre."

It would be unfair, however, to deny Mr Yeltsin his due. "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones" (Shakespeare). Mr Yeltsin certainly did help Lithuania and the other Baltic countries towards their new statehood after the fall of the Soviet Union and his support was not without risks to his career. So this honour is not out of place and it is a just as much a credit to the Lithuanian people as it is to the late President Yeltsin.

MOROCCO SHOULD LET THE SAHRAWI ARAB REPUBLIC BE

August 25, 2012

Twelve activists imprisoned by Moroccan authorities for three years for their involvement in clashes that resulted in the death of seven people last year, are on a 48 hour hunger strike. The prisoners, from the disputed Western Sahara region, are protesting against the conditions of their detention. Their hunger strike is planned to coincide with a visit from the the US based Robert F. Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights.

The battles in Western Sahara have been raging since Moroccan and Mauritanian forces moved in to fill in the gap left with the withdrawal of Spanish from the territory in 1975. Mauritania withdrew in 1979 and Morocco then seized most of the southern territory too. Morocco is willing to grant semi-autonomy to the region which it considers part of its territory, while the Algerian backed Sahrawi Polisario Front is demanding self-determination and has declared the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in the limited parts of the territory it manages to control. Despite a United Nations sponsored ceasefire agreement in 1991, the situation is strained, with both parties seeking international recognition.

Polisaro is not doing too badly. SADR has received formal recognition from 82 states and has been granted membership to the African Union. Morocco is not doing badly either, particularly if, as they say, possession is nine-tenths of the law. But the status quo is not particularly helpful to any one. Polisaro has nowhere to go, but Morocco can easily withdraw gracefully. Would it not be better to have a friendly neighbour and ally, than a semi-autonomous region that is always going to resent you and may be prone to cause trouble?

IF ISRAEL ATTACKS IRAN, 2012 MAY REALLY BE UPON US!

August 24, 2012

Last week we had a leaked document outlining Israeli plans for an attack on Iran that was intended to be used by Prime Minister Netanyahu to reassure his cabinet that the attack would go "smoothly". The document, revealed by Richard Silverstein, an American journalist, claimed that Israeli casualties would be kept to a minimum. Of course minimum is a relative term; and what about the civilian casualties on the other side? Not to mention the military losses...

Now, British author and historian Michael Burleigh, is predicting that an attack is immanent, as Israel shows signs that it has run out of patience.

An attack within the next two months would give Israel the upper hand in as much as it would force Obama to support it, or risk losing the elections that are due in early November. If he did lose, we all know what Mr Mitt Romney would do. Also to Israel's advantage is the fact that many of the Arab neighbours who could have posed a threat, are too busy with their own internal problems to risk getting involved.

What Israel is forgetting, however, is that wars never do go "smoothly"; no, not even those that are won in six days. The consequences linger. Have they really reached a point of no return, where further dialogue would be meaningless? Surely not, especially when there is so much that can go wrong. What if the USA did decide to help? And what then, if China, or Russia, or both, decided to butt in? We take so much for granted and so easily forget how things can suddenly go up in smoke. Besides, if Iran did get the bomb, it does not necessarily mean that it would use it. A nuclear Iran would more probably create the balance of power that is now missing in the Middle East. It would make such impending wars a lot less likely.

BAN KI-MOON PRESSURED BY US AND ISRAEL OVER IRAN SUMMIT

August 23, 2012

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Iran for the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement to be held on 26-31 August. Non-aligned nations comprise two-thirds of all U.N. member states and it would be remiss of Mr Ban if he chose to ignore the event. Nevertheless, the USA and Israel are urging the Secretary General to boycott the event. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland complained that:

"Iran is going to manipulate this opportunity and the attendees to try to deflect attention from its own failings."

So? Is not that what most nations do? And certainly the US and Israel would be no exceptions. Seasoned politicians are aware of this and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is one of the best there is. Avoiding dialogue because one or more of the parties will try to get the upper hand would be like avoiding a marathon because other competitors are going to try to out race you. Boycotting the event would not only smack of arrogance or defeatism, it would also mean missing a golden opportunity for rapprochement with the government in Tehran.

Mr Ban's spokesperson emphasised this positive aspect from the UN headquarters in New York yesterday :

"The Secretary-General looks forward to the Summit as an opportunity to work with the participating Heads of State and Government, including the host country, towards solutions on issues that are central to the global agenda including follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference on sustainable development, disarmament, conflict prevention, and support for countries in Transition.”

If the US and Israel wish to sit in their ivory towers, they should at least let others get on with their jobs.

PRESIDENT YAHYA JAMMEH GOES FROM BAD TO WORSE

August 22, 2012

It is traditional for heads of state to announce pardons on special occasions, so last Sunday, to mark the happy occasion of Eid-al-Fitr, the Gambian President Yahya Jammeh made his special announcement:

"All those guilty of serious crimes and condemned will face the full force of the law. All punishments prescribed by law will be maintained in the country to ensure that criminals get what they deserve."

And the president means to carry out these executions within a month. Thus ended a 27-year amnesty for criminals and no doubt the occasional political prisoner. Maybe Mr Jammeh wants to make room for other citizens he does not like, such as homosexuals, who can get up to seven years if caught breaking the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 2005, and of course journalists. Only last week, his security forces raided and shut down the Gambian community radio station Taranga FM in Banjul.

Human rights organisations are outraged at his track record of oppression, yet, notwithstanding, he receives awards and accolades from foreign institutions:

• 2004: Honorary Doctorate by the St. Mary's College of Maryland
• 2008: Honorary Doctorate and Professorship from Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica
• 2012: Doctor of Social Sciences (Honoris Causa)” by the USA based Norman Academy in collaboration with the University of Boake - Ivory Coast
• 2012: Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan

I would also like to recommend an award for His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh Naasiru Deen, but I doubt that he would accept it.

DOM MINTOFF AND THE END OF AN ERA IN MALTA

August 21, 2012

The iconic Maltese politician, Dom Mintoff, died yesterday at the age of 96. He was the first Socialist Prime Minister of Malta, serving from 1955 to 1958 (before Malta's independence from Britain in 1964) and then again, from 1971 to 1984. He was a legend in his own time because of his maverick, uncompromising, but somewhat tempered approach to politics. These, and like qualities, endowed him with formidable charisma, as well as powerful enemies; prime amongst them: the Catholic Church. As a child I remember stumbling over a plot in the Malta's monumental Addolorata Cemetery which contained the remains of those who had defied the Church's instructions and voted for Mr Mintoff in the 1960s. The assumption was they they would have been condemned to eternal damnation... The irony is that Dom Mintoff had contemplated becoming a priest himself and had spent some time in the St. Stanislaus Kostka Seminary before choosing to study Architecture and Engineering at the universities of Malta and Oxford. He then move into politics and founded the Malta Labour Party.

Dom Mintoff: third row up and third from the right.

He certainly did knock the authority of the Catholic Church in Malta down a peg or two, but they were not his only targets. He severed ties with NATO and in 1979 he closed all British military basis on the Island, having already distanced himself from Britain by declaring the archipelago a republic on 13 December 1974. Despite the loss of revenue from these sources, he made alliances with other countries such as China and Libya and therefore still managed to introduce programmes of social reforms that significantly improved the welfare of the less privileged in Malta and Gozo.

In some ways Dom Mintoff embodied the modern colonial and post colonial spirit of a dying age. Much of Malta, such as Sliema, has been wrecked by greedy developers; it is barely the same place. But it is not yet too late to save the symbiosis between the past and the present and there are still many gems to be found. But drinking our gin and tonics on the veranda, with the Redifusion whispering Beatles songs in the background and mustachioed brigadiers speculating on Mintoff's next bit of folly, is well and truly gone.

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." L. P. Hartley.

SOMALIA STIRS; SOMALILAND STRIDES

August 20, 2012

The spotlight was on Somalia today as 215 members of Parliament were sworn in by the chief justice in a lacklustre ceremony in the capital Mogadishu. Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed attended, as did the UN Special Representative Augustine Mahiga. The UN had hoped for the nomination of 275 members and a new President, but this is the best the 135 elders entrusted with the task and the Technical Selection Committee overseeing it could come up with so far. The event is meant to mark the beginning of the changeover from the caretaker Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which has been in power for eight years, to a more independent and representative administration. The problem is that despite UN support, the TFG is enveloped by Al-Shabaab and it has only just managed to keep these Al-Qaeda inspired forces at bay from its limited hold (see map).

Meanwhile, in the north, Somaliland has been plodding along quite acceptably ever since it declared its independence following the fall of President Mohamed Siad Barre and the start of the civil war in 1991. Unfortunately it remains unrecognised, notwithstanding having good trade relations with a number of countries and having received positive signs from a few, such as Ethiopia and Wales.

Would it not make sense for the international community to focus more of its money and efforts to strengthen Somaliland to a point where its success could spill over and support its troubled neighbour? It had, after all, a very different history from the south for many years following the carving up of the area by the British and Italians in the late 19th and early 20th century. Somaliland was British Somaliland and it could quite easily be Somaliland, the sovereign state, and a much needed source of strength for the Horn of Africa.

Somaliland flag

JULIAN ASSANGE: BRITAIN PREPARED TO TRAMPLE THE VIENNA CONVENTION.

August 19, 2012

This afternoon Julian Assange read out his long awaited for Statement at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. All in all it appeared to be quite a subdued event. There were none of the clichés one might have been hoping for: the electric atmosphere, the overwhelming sense of camaraderie, the nail-biting tension... It was one or two notches up from the excitement you would get when the loudspeaker announces a platform alteration at Victoria Station. True, the police presence was significant, but standing in a row and they did, they could have almost been mistaken for Carroll’s little oysters:

“Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat...”

The helicopter hovering above gave the scene a touch of gravitas, but it muffled the preliminary speeches as it did so. You would have managed to glean just enough to know that you were missing some very worthwhile introductions.

Then Julian Assange appeared at a balcony that was just above street level. With so many people out for his blood, he could have been forgiven if he had chosen to speak from a turret, wearing chainmail. But there he was smartly dressed and a stone’s throw away from the public.

His opening lines soon dispelled any notion that this was just an ordinary event:

"I am here because I cannot be there, with you. But thank you for coming. Thank you for your resolve; for your generosity of spirit.

"On Wednesday night after a threat was sent to this embassy and the police descended on the building, you came out in the middle of the night to watch over it and you brought the world’s eyes with you.

"Inside the embassy, after dark, I could hear teams of police swarming into the building through the internal fire escape.

"But I knew that there would be witnesses. And that is because of you.

"If the UK did not throw away the Vienna Conventions the other night, it is because the world was watching. And the world was watching because you were watching."

The fact that the government of the United Kingdom came so close to flouting the "inviolable" 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is proof enough, if proof were needed, that this is more than a story about a allegations about sexual misconduct. Undermining the convention puts diplomats at risk all over the world. It is the most reckless political decision since the invasion of Iraq. How could the government be so irresponsible? And how could the opposition let those involved get away with it? Clearly, when it comes to the United States of America there is no right or left in British politics: only poodles.

For the most part, the rest of Julian Assange's speech was simple and to the point. He thanked all those there were to thank, particularly Ecuador and other supportive Latin American countries; he mentioned the plight of other whistleblowers, such as Bradley Manning, John Kirakou and Thomas Drake; and he spoke of the need to resist oppression and intimidation.

“There is unity in the oppression; there must be absolute unity and determination in the response.”

And then it was all over. But not for him, not by any means.

Assange wanted by Interpol

THE "PUTINITE" ORTHODOX CHURCH

August 18, 2012

The Russian Orthodox Church is right behind President Vladimir Putin, to the point of betraying a large proportion of Russians. One would think that after decades of communist rule, the hierarchy would cringe at anything reminiscent of state oppression, but no, Patriarch Kirill actually called Russia's leader: "God's miracle". If Kirill thinks that that is the best God can do, then I suggest he should read up on the definition of blasphemy. Pussy Riot's "punk prayer" may have been in poor taste, but at least its message was simple enough: we want our short-lived freedom back.

Now that the trio: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, have been sentenced to two years in prison for their anti-Putin antics in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow last February, two top clerics have said that they forgive the young women. The Abbott of the Sretensky Monastery, Tikhon Shevkunov, announced on state television today that: "We did forgive them from the very start; but such actions should be cut short by society and the authorities."

Archpriest Maxim Kozlov added:

"We are simply praying and hoping that these young women and all these people shouting in front of the court building, committing sacrilegious acts, not only in Russia but in other countries, realize that their acts are awful. And despite this the church is asking for mercy within the limits of law."

What is awful, is depriving these young women of their freedom for two years. Is the meaning of life that cheap to these "Putinites" that they consider it acceptable to abuse people in this way? Have they no sense of proportion? If time is a precious gift from God, then desecrating it in this way must surely be the real sacrilege.

CSANAD SZEGEDI'S ACTAEON MOMENT

August 17, 2012

Csanad Szegedi was the champion of the far right in Hungary, complete with the swagger and anti-Semitic rhetoric. He was prominent in the Jobbik Party, with its neo-Nazi connotations and he is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He was unassailable really, like a hunter with his dogs; Acteon thirsting for his game...

Oops! No it was not a bare, bathing Diana he stumbled upon, but his own naked history. The encounter was equally karmic and he was turned into his prey.

After the Second World War, many Jewish survivors kept their identity secret for fear of further persecutions. So it was one hell of a surprise when Csanad Szegedi recently discovered that his grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. The 30-year-old politician disclosed his background in June and since then he has apologised profusely to the Jewish community. He has also been spending time with Rabbi Schlomo Koves in order to learn more about his roots. Now he is planning a trip to the Auschwitz extermination camps where many of his relatives died.

Mr Szegedi has already had to quit his party and he is being pressured to resign as MEP. It is yet to be seen how deep the fangs will go, but the chances are that they will go for the jugular.

Is it not sad, though, that so many of us need a slap on the face to be able to empathise? And is it not sadder still that most times that slap is nowhere to be seen?

TUNISIA DEBATES LAW THAT WOULD CRIMINALISE OFFENCES AGAINST SACRED VALUES

August 16, 2012

On the 17 December 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old Tunisian graduate, turned street merchant, set himself on fire. He was protesting at his rough treatment by officials who confiscated his goods, because he did not have a licence. This event ignited the Tunisian revolution which lead to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011, after 23 years in power. It was also the catalyst that sparked the revolutions that spread eastwards, toppling other long standing Heads of State as they swept along. When elections were held in Tunisia on 23 October 2011, the Islamist Nahda party won the largest share of seats, but it hastily reassured moderates and secularist that it was not planning to impose Sharia Law, although its new constitution did declare that the President's religion would have to be Islam.

Ennahda group at the Tunisian Constituent Assembly

Less than a year later, there are more worrying signs. A Draft Law is being debated that would make it a criminal offence to offend religious values through "words, images or acts".

Agnes Callamard, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, an organisation established in 1987 that campaigns against censorship, raised serious concerns about the proposed legislation:

"If adopted, the Draft Law will represent a serious setback to the democratic transition in Tunisia. It will be a huge blow to Tunisians, who suffered enormously from censorship and restrictions on their freedom of speech under Ben Ali’s regime. We urge the Tunisian Parliament to reject it and to respect, protect and fulfil hard-fought freedoms for all Tunisians."

Apart from imposing unfair restrictions on freedom of speech, the vagueness of the proposed law would inhibit any open dialogue on religion for fear of legal reprisals. Besides, it would contravene the spirit of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

TWO TIBETANS BURN THEMSELVES TO DEATH IN PROTEST

August 15, 2012

On Monday, another two Tibetans burned themselves to death in protest against the Chinese occupation of Tibet, bringing the total number of people who self-immolated to around 50, since the latest wave of unrest began in 2008.

The protesters were in their early twenties: one, Lungtok was a monk and medical student, while the other Tashi, had been a confrere at the same monastery, but had left the order. They set fire to themselves in the main street of Ngaba (Sichuan Province) which, because of its association with these immolations, has become known as "the path of martyrs".

The Chinese authorities have cracked down on the demonstrations that followed and have referred to the self-immolations as "barbaric terrorist acts" incited by separatist propaganda from the Dalai Lama and his foreign allies.

Tibet has been under Chinese rule since 1950, after which China negotiated a Seventeen Point Agreement with the current Dalai Lama who had just been enthroned. This granted the area some autonomy, but proved unsatisfactory, leading to the 1959 rebellion and the Dalai Lama's departure and setting up of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Thousands of monasteries were then destroyed and tens of thousands of Tibetans killed as China consolidated its rule. The resentment is therefore understandable, as are the self-immolations. But as the Dalai Lama himself states:

"In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."

Let's hope the Chinese government learns something too.

YES I CAN! SAUDI ARABIA TARGETS ICANN...

August 14, 2012

The government of Saudi Arabia, it would seem, has nothing better to do than send letters of complaint to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). So far the count has topped 160!

The crusade concerns ICANN's intention to issue hundreds of new Top-Level Domains (TLD). The TLD is the suffix at the end of the Domain address such as .com, .net or .co.uk.

Some of Saudi Arabia's objections make sense. It objects to the Vatican's intention to use .catholic, for instance, because it points out that the meaning of catholic is much wider than that used by the Catholic Church. It has also objected to .islam for similar reasons. Still, whether or not we put a dot before Islam or Catholic, people will always find ways of misappropriating those terms. God is perhaps one of the most usurped words of all (although I am not aware of .god being on the table as yet). If Saudi Arabia thinks that avoiding these suffixes will limit confusion and abuse, its point is valid enough, but attacking so many others, borders on the puritanical and the ridiculous.

Top-Level Domains in the firing line include: .pub, .gay and .tattoo. I am a vegetarian, so let us ban .sausage, .milk for all the vegans and of course .anything for all the nihilists. This sort of mentality will result in reducing everything to a naked full stop.

POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCES

August 13, 2012

The Olympics are over and the medal-count brought no big surprises. The more populated a country is, the more athletes it has to choose from, so its chances are higher; while the richer it is, the better the facilities, the opportunities and the health factors are. Finally, competitors from the host country always have the home advantage: acquaintance with climate, altitude and venue, not having to cope with the added stress and fatigue of travel, having most of the audience on their side and so on. The UK won 18 more medals than it did at the 2008 Olympics at Beijing; China won 37 more than it did at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and the picture is generally the same for the other host nations.

Here are the top ten winning countries with their population and GDP figures:

Having said this, however, none of it would explain why Hungary, with less than a third of the population of Canada's 34,887,000 and less than half its GDP of $40,541 should have ranked 9th compared to Canada's position at 36. And besides, at the end of the day, it is individuals who win, thanks to their skill, determination and strength; and yes the support of their country and perhaps a little bit of luck. Being too analytical is bad sportsmanship. Games are meant to be enjoyed and these certainly were, which is a credit and an honour to all who were involved.

The only sad note, apart from the few who tried to bend or break the rules, is that 14 Olympic participants or delegates have gone missing: four from the Democratic Republic of Congo, seven from Cameroon and three from Cote D'Ivoire. This is a reminder that behind the fanfare, we live in a very disparate world. Choosing to defect is not a decision people take lightly. These are no Nureyevs who will be welcomed with open arms. They may be in hiding for a long time to come and end up sent home "in disgrace" at the end of their ordeals anyway.

May the force be with them!

"CLIMATE IS WHAT WE EXPECT, WEATHER IS WHAT WE GET." MARK TWAIN

August 12, 2012

So far, the unusually intense rainy season in Sudan has already killed 32 people and left thousands homeless. Crops and livestock have been devastated. In the Philippines the situation is no better with at least 85 fatalities, as freaky monsoon rains battered the island of Luzon, flooding much of the capital Manila. Meanwhile, fire-fighters are struggling to cope with wild fires in the Spanish Canary Islands of La Gomera and Tenerife. Thousands have had to flee their homes in a situation exacerbated by unusually high temperatures. A similar scenario is taking place near Mount Athos in Greece.

We have been hearing so much about this extreme and bizarre weather lately that it would not be surprising if we should became immune to it. So we plod on as if nothing happened while the planet groans before our very eyes. The problem is that many people are more concerned about exploiting the present to care too much about the future. They would have us believe that climate has always been temperamental and that therefore we should not make a fuss. True, climate varies through the ages, but it would be foolish to be too complacent. Here are some extracts from the Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2012: Summary for Policymakers), by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

"It is very likely that there has been an overall decrease in the number of cold days and nights, and an overall increase in the number of warm days and nights, at the global scale, that is, for most land areas with sufficient data. It is likely that these changes have also occurred at the continental scale in North America, Europe, and Australia. There is medium confidence in a warming trend in daily temperature extremes in much of Asia. Confidence in observed trends in daily temperature extremes in Africa and South America generally varies from low to medium depending on the region. In many (but not all) regions over the globe with sufficient data, there is medium confidence that the length or number of warm spells or heat waves has increased.

"There have been statistically significant trends in the number of heavy precipitation events in some regions. It is likely that more of these regions have experienced increases than decreases, although there are strong regional and subregional variations in these trends...

"There is evidence that some extremes have changed as a result of anthropogenic influences, including increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. It is likely that anthropogenic influences have led to warming of extreme daily minimum and maximum temperatures at the global scale. There is medium confidence that anthropogenic influences have contributed to intensification of extreme precipitation at the global scale. It is likely that there has been an anthropogenic influence on increasing extreme coastal high water due to an increase in mean sea level. The uncertainties in the historical tropical cyclone records, the incomplete understanding of the physical mechanisms linking tropical cyclone metrics to climate change, and the degree of tropical cyclone variability provide only low confidence for the attribution of any detectable changes in tropical cyclone activity to anthropogenic influences. Attribution of single extreme events to anthropogenic climate change is challenging...

"Models project substantial warming in temperature extremes by the end of the 21st century. It is virtually certain that increases in the frequency and magnitude of warm daily temperature extremes and decreases in cold extremes will occur in the 21st century at the global scale. It is very likely that the length, frequency, and/or intensity of warm spells or heat waves will increase over most land areas. Based on the A1B and A2 emissions scenarios, a 1-in-20 year hottest day is likely to become a 1-in-2 year event by the end of the 21st century in most regions, except in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is likely to become a 1-in-5 year event...

"Extreme events will have greater impacts on sectors with closer links to climate, such as water, agriculture and food security, forestry, health, and tourism. For example, while it is not currently possible to reliably project specific changes at the catchment scale, there is high confidence that changes in climate have the potential to seriously affect water management systems. However, climate change is in many instances only one of the drivers of future changes, and is not necessarily the most important driver at the local scale. Climate-related extremes are also expected to produce large impacts on infrastructure, although detailed analysis of potential and projected damages are limited to a few countries, infrastructure types, and sectors..."

And so on... Perhaps it is time we took a closer look in order to see whether there is anything we can do to save the weather.

LANDMINES: DEATH, DESTRUCTION AND THE SHAME OF SO MANY NATIONS

August 11, 2012. Anyone who has played Pass the Parcel would know that it is not generally the person who first receives the package who ends up exposing it and winning the prize. The chances would diminish proportionally to the number of participants. Anyone wishing to give a specific person a unique or valuable gift would be a fool if they opted for the game as a means of doing so. What the American, Russian and Chinese authorities are doing, by refusing to sign the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning mines, is more than foolish: it is downright criminal. The same can be said of the other thirty-one countries that have not signed it and two others that have signed but not ratified it.

States party to the Ottawa Treaty (in blue)

Yesterday a six-year-old boy was blown-up by a landmine in Bosnia-Herzegovina as he was collecting wood with his father in a forest in central Bosnia. His father was injured, but has survived the blast. The Bosnian War ended in 1995 and since then, Bosnia's Mine Action Centre reports that 1,674 people have been killed or injured by mines. The global situation is equally disturbing. The NATO Website states that:

"Mines hamper reconstruction, delivery of developmental aid and kill both people and livestock years after conflicts cease. In the late 1990s, landmines caused 15,000 to 20,000 casualties a year. While that number has decreased in recent years due to a treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, there is still not one region in the world that is totally unaffected by mines."

The last assertion is not quite accurate, as many countries, including Rwanda, Burundi and Honduras have been declared mine-free, while many never had a problem with them in the first place. Unless NATO is speaking about emotional impact, which is certainly hard to ignore. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1997 for its efforts in promoting the Ottawa Treaty (Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on their Destruction) describe the situation even more poignantly:

"Antipersonnel landmines still maim and kill ordinary people every day. They blow off their victims' legs, feet, toes and hands. They fire shrapnel into their faces and bodies. They kill.

The vast majority of victims are civilians and not soldiers. Year after year, Landmine Monitor has reported that civilians account for 70 to 85 percent of casualties. This is not just during a conflict – most of the countries where casualties are reported are at peace."

Time Magazine 1993 Cover Story

And sadly, children's innocence and curiosity make them particularly vulnerable to the threat, so that many of the victims are just like this little boy: collateral to the machinations of scheming politicians.

GAUSS, JUST ANTHER VIRUS?

August 10, 2012

All we would need is a really destructive and virulent computer virus and we could be in checkmate. So far it has been a bit like the killing of a host of ever increasingly strong monsters standing row. No sooner is a monster downed, than another, stronger one, takes its place. Flame and Stuxnet are good examples of this tug of war.

Now Kaspersky Lab which creates antivirus software, has provided details on "Gauss" a malware targeting users in the Middle East, including Israel (so that counts them out!). Its aim purpose is to steal personal information including banking details, which it could use to devastating effects.

So what would happen if the monster became a Hydra? You chop one head off and several more spout out. Our whole future could be at mercy of some idiot with the skill and the will to undermine so much! There is no easy answer, but putting people like Gary McKinnon to good use, rather than hound them to the brink, would be a good start. Haven't these people seen Catch Me If You Can!

UK-US EXTRADITION: 10 EXAMPLES

August 9, 2012

Early this morning, Australian actor, Robert Hughes, was arrested in London, England, on charges relating to sexual assault. The alleged the crimes are thought to have happened between 1985 and 1990, some, while he was the star of the Australian sitcom Hey Dad. The Australian police are already calling for him to be extradited.

Extradition in the UK is governed by the Extradition Act 2003 which covers rendition protocols within the European Union (category 1) and guidelines concerning other nations the UK has individual treaties with (category 2), such as Russia, the US and Australia (see map). The UK-US treaty covered by the Act has been widely criticised for being too harsh and for favouring American over British interests.

Blue: Category 1Red: Category 2

There have been a number of high profile cases in Britain lately, like that of Abu Qatada, whose extradition had been delayed pending appeals and the receipt of guarantees that he would not be tortured if returned to Jordan, where he faces terror charges. The most controversial, however, have been those regarding the USA. Here are some notable examples:

• The NatWest Three: Giles Darby, David Bermingham and Gary Mulgrew were indicted in Houston , Texas, for profiting from transactions to the detriment of their employer, the National Westminster Bank. They were extradited in 2006, but were not sentenced until 2008. They were given 37 months, but were allowed to serve some of that in Britain.

• Gary McKinnon is still fighting his extradition to the US were he could face up to 70 years in jail for hacking into US military and NASA computers between February 2001 and March 2002 and adding insult to injury by calling their security “crap”. He was indicted in November 2002 by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia. Mr McKinnon (46) has been diagnosed with Asperger’s and severe depression at the prospect of being rendered to the US. He claims that he was looking for (and found) evidence of a cover-up of UFO activity and reverse engendering from alien technologies.

• Babar Ahmed was first arrested and tortured in 2003 for involvement in websites supporting Chechen and Afghan insurgents. He has been in custody since August 2004 despite never having been charged in Britain and the US not producing evidence to support its terrorism claim. His appeals have failed and he is likely to be deported soon.

• Abu Hamza al-Masri has been wanted in the US since 2004 for allegedly being involved in the setting up of an Al-Qaeda terrorist training camp in Oregon USA. His last appeal failed in April 2012. Delays hinged on doubts that he would be treated humanely in America.

• Alex Stone is a blind computer science graduate from south London who was wrongly accused of physically abusing his girlfriend’s child in the US. Despite there not having been a shred of evidence against him, he was extradited in 2005. He was in jail for six and a half months before being released because of a complete lack of evidence against him and much evidence to the contrary.

• Ian Norris was extradited to the US in March 2010 for alleged price fixing, which was not even a crime in the UK at the time. He received an 18-month prison sentence.

• Wojciech Chodan (74) and Jeffrey Tesler (63) were extradited to the US in 2010 after having been charged in 2009 with bribing foreign officials to obtain business. They were only sentenced in February 2012. Mr Chodan received a year’s probation and a $20,000 fine, while Mr Tesler was handed a 21 month prison sentence. They argued in vain that none of their misconduct was US related.

• Richard O’Dwyer is a 24-year-old young man wanted in the US since May 2011 for alleged copyright infringement linked to TVShack.net, a website he had founded. This could cost him 10 years in prison, if he were to be extradited. A recent poll by YouGov suggests that only 9% of the UK population consider that the extradition would be warrented.

• Christopher Tappin is a retired business man who is accused by the US government of preparing to sell oxide batteries that can be used in the manufacture of missiles to Iran, a charge he vehemently denies. A federal arrest warrant by a grand jury in Texas was issued in 2007 and he was extradited in February 2012 without any evidence. He is likely to spend months if not years in jail awaiting trial.

• Julian Assange: see blog dated 29.07.12.

Every case has its own hardships, but generally they include being away from loved ones and support networks, not being able to access witnesses, having to cope with exorbitant costs, fear of the unknown and having to cope with a sinister system that works on the assumption that man was made for the law, rather than the other way round.

TONGO, QWABE...

August 8, 2012

When, in November 2010, the beautiful Anni Dewani was found murdered while on honeymoon in South Africa, everyone's heart went out to her husband Shrien Dewani. As the case began to unfold, however, Mr Dewani appeared to become increasingly involved in the killing. He was alleged to have paid a taxi driver, Zola Tongo, $2,100 to arrange the murder and make it look like a carjacking. Mr Tongo was sentenced to 18 years and now one of the two men accused of actually carrying out the murder, Mziwamadoda Qwabe, has pleaded guilty and has received a 25 year sentence. The trial of his alleged accomplice, Xolile Mngeni, may start on Monday.

Mr Dewani, a British citizen, denied any involvement in the murder of his Swedish wife and was allowed to leave South Africa for the United Kingdom. He was subsequently arrested, but in March, a British High Court ruled that owing to his distressed mental state it would be "unjust and oppressive" to extradite him to South Africa.

If the alleged crime involved annoying the American government, by hacking or leaking documents, for instance, Mr Dewani would have probably been given a rougher time. As it stands, the South African courts may have a long wait, despite the weight of all their evidence.

So what is the ugly truth about extradition in Britain? I will have to write about this next...

BODOLAND NO-GO LAND

August 7, 2012

The Kokrajhar region of the North-East Indian state of Assam is still in the grip of ethnic violence, as another three people were killed on Monday night. The hostilities between the Bodo Tribesmen and immigrant Bengali Muslims have been smouldering and flaring for years and they erupted again on July 19, 2012, when the murder of four Bodo men led to an orgy of violence and destruction against immigrant settlements. Of the 71 reported dead, 59 were Muslim settlers, while another 400,000 of them were driven to relief camps as their villages were burnt down.

Kokrajhar is the capital of the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD) administered by the Bodoland Territorial Council that was formed in 2003 after an agreement with the government in Assam, following a struggle for independence. The Bodo, who are predominantly Hindu, have been accused of trying to ethnically cleanse the area from Muslim settlers from Bangladesh.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has allied himself to the Bodo and is allegedly too enmeshed to be able to take decisive action to stop the onslaught against the immigrant population, while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit on July 28 did little to heal the rift. The Bodo militants, for their part, are keen to promote Bodo hegemony, as they currently only constitute one-third of the population in Bodoland (the rest consisting of Assamese and Bangladeshi immigrants).

Rama was an exile for 14 years. I wonder if he would have been welcomed if he would have stopped by.

LAKE NYASA BOILS UP TENSION BETWEEN TANZANIA AND MALAWI

August 6, 2012

It would only seem fair that the demarcation line of Lake Nyasa, or lake Malawi as it is also called, should lie in the middle of the three nations surrounding it: Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi, and the 1884 Berlin Conference confirmed as much. The Heligoland Treaty between Germany and Britain in 1890, however, left the British in Nyasaland in control of what was Tanganyika's part of the lake. When, in 1914, the British took Tanganyika over from Germany, they still placed the whole of Tanganyika's portion of the the lake under the jurisdiction of Nyasaland (Malawi). This did not cause too much of a problem, as Tanzania's fishing rights were more less respected.

However the Oil Demon has now raised its ugly head and is bringing these two neighbours to the brink of war. Yesterday the government in Tanzania issued a strong warning to Malawi urging it to stop all gas and oil prospecting activities on what they consider their portion of the lake. The problem is that Malawi has already signed contracts with oil companies who are eager to start drilling and it is unlikely to hold back for long.

This is a disgrace. Apart from Tanzania's territorial rights, the lake, which the third largest in Africa, is one of the most bio-diverse freshwater habitats in the world. So much so, that last year Mozambique's government declared it should be a protected nature reserve. Suggestions that the dispute should be taken to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as the Court has already resolved some difficult claims of a similar nature between Libya and Chad, for instance, or Cameroon and Nigeria, only address part of the crisis. Equally pressing is the issue that Malawi has to abort any plans to exploit the waters for oil or gas extraction.

Lake Malawi National Park, at the southern end of Lake Malawi, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and is described thus on the UNESCO Website:

"Located at the southern end of the great expanse of Lake Malawi, with its deep, clear waters and mountain backdrop, the national park is home to many hundreds of fish species, nearly all endemic. Its importance for the study of evolution is comparable to that of the finches of the Galapagos Islands."

Polluting any part of the lake would be a catastrophe that cannot be allowed to happen.

CURIOSITY AND THE GOOSE

August 5, 2012

Tomorrow morning at 05.31 GMT the rover Curiosity is due to land on Mars' Gale Crater that is thought to have once contained water and possibly the right conditions for the development of life. Its mission is to delve into the surface and transmit data back to the Control Centre in California which will be able to analyse the information in order to ascertain whether primitive life existed on the Red Planet. The mission can be followed on the NASA Website which has just confirmed:

"Curiosity remains in good health with all systems operating as expected."

California was also in the spotlight on July 1, 2012, this time for banning foie gras. The two events are not as unconnected as may appear. Imagine the thrill, if Curiosity came up with proof that some Martian micro-organisms existed, or still exist in water trapped beneath the surface. The discovery would cause a furore. And yet, here are these evolved and graceful birds who are bound and force-fed for nine days to three weeks, so that their livers swell to ten times the natural size. When the geese or ducks are at the point of death they are killed and their livers used to make the "delicacy". French president, Francois Hollande rallied to support of the farmers and defended the practice. Just as well he has nothing to do with the mission to Mars: should any life form be discovered, he would no doubt be wondering how to transform it into a culinary delight!

MAURITANIA IN A SEA OF TROUBLES

August 4, 2012

Mauritania is facing a rough time as it struggles to keep afloat amidst a sea of troubles. Despite Mauritania's steadily growing economy linked to the success of its manufacturing and mining industry, it ranks towards the bottom of the Human Development Index, at 159 out of 187 countries with comparable data. The nation's main problems include corruption, unemployment (at about 33% of the work force) and human rights violations. When it comes to human rights, slavery is one of the most serious issues and it involves descendants of black Africans who had been abducted and forced into slavery, continuing to serve Semitic Mauritanians in servile conditions. It is estimated that about 20% of Mauritania's population of over 3,000,000 live under these conditions, irrespective of repeated laws banning the practice. As well as these problems, Mauritania is also having to cope with Islamic fundamentalists with links to Al-Qaeda operating within its borders and the shock waves following the coup and disruption in Mali.

Now an opposition bloc composed of ten political parties has signed a charter calling for the removal of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz as a prerequisite to any possible negotiations on resolving the country's crisis. The president was involved in two coups, the first in 2005 that deposed President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya and the second on 2008 that put him in power after ousting President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. President Abdel Aziz legitimised his authority in an election in July 2009 which gave him a five-year term in office and he is unlikely to relinquish power lightly, especially when his fight against terrorism has earned him powerful allies abroad. Perhaps its time these allies demonstrated a more holistic approach to their support for Mauritania that involves focussing on human rights and defeating corruption.

CLINTON TARGETS KONY AND HOMOPHOBES IN UGANDA

August 3, 2012

Today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Uganda as part of her African tour. As expected she spoke about the need to hunt down the Ugandan warlord and leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Joseph Kony; perhaps less expected was her outspoken and unconditional support of the gay rights movement in Uganda. The first issue is crucial to Uganda's national security, the second is essential for Uganda's integrity.

Joseph Kony, who was indicted in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, continues to kill, rape and pillage. On top of this he is responsible for the abduction of young children who are then forced to become sex slaves or soldiers. His influence had started in 1986, when he became a leader of a premillennialist group in Acholiland, but he turned to military rebellion after the overthrow of Acholi President Tito Okello by Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Army (NRA) during the Ugandan Bush War (1981–1986). Since then, his religious eccentricity has only been matched by his extreme violence that extends to the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR). This last country has been in the spotlight since April because of the Kony-style murder of 13 miners for which a 24-year-old British man, David Simpson, his Swedish boss, Eric Mararv and 11 of local employees were arrested. That case continues, while Kony merrily continues his slaughter hidden from view.

David Simpson

Homophobia, though, Uganda's other curse, is almost exulted. This, despite the persecution of homosexuals and the brutal murder of gay activist David Cato last year. The government wanted to pass a law which actually prescribed the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", but is now pursuing a less extreme version following internal and international condemnation and threats from donor countries like Britain to withdraw their funding. Part of the problem was exacerbated by U.S. evangelical preachers who fuelled the hatred and persecution. Hillary Clinton's stance, therefore, may have been enhanced by a sense of responsibility. She praised activists and presented a coalition of Ugandan rights groups with the State Department's 2011 Human Rights Defender Award.

"It is critical for all Ugandans, the government and citizens alike," she said, "to speak out against discrimination, harassment, and intimidation of anyone. That's true no matter where they come from, what they believe, or whom they love".

In October 2010 Rolling Stone published photographs of gay Ugandans, including David Kato, under the banner: "Hang Them!"

President Yoweri Museveni would do well to take note and dedicate himself to the service of all his people and the elimination of the type of fanaticism that breeds the likes of homophobes as well as Konys.

SUDDENLY THIS SUMMER, TURTLES GET AN EASIER RIDE

August 2, 2012

Last month started off as bad news for the world's endangered sea turtle populations. On the weekend of July 7 and 8, thousands of leatherback hatchlings were crushed to death on the Grande Riviere coast in the north of Trinidad Island, Trinidad and Tobago, when government workers used heavy machinery to redirect the river that was threatening nearby property. Excavations devastated a kilometre long area that is considered third most significant sea turtle nesting site in the world. Then on the 16th July a burst pipe in the Cayman Turtle Farm, which is a conservation facility for green sea turtles in the West Bay district of the Cayman Islands, and this led to the death of another 300 or so when the water supply had to be turned off.

As August approached the tide was turning. The first piece of good news is that the L'Oreal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt, has sold D'Arros Island and some surrounding islets in the Seychelles archipelago to a marine conservation group linked to the Save Our Seas Foundation.

In a statement on its website, the Foundation declared that:

"In agreement with the Seychelles government, the Island of D’Arros will become a natural reserve, and will be protected according to the applicable standards for such unique areas in the world... It will in particular preserve the breeding grounds present on the islands and further foster the protection of its turtles."

Equally welcome is the success of a hatching project managed by the Thai Navy Sea Turtle Conservation Centre that has now released nearly 1,000 green and hawksbill turtles into the ocean.

Anyone who watched and heard Katherine Hepburn deliver her outstanding monologue on these little creatures in the film Suddenly Last Summer, cannot remain unmoved by their struggle, which is so reminiscent of our own.

GOLDEN DAWN MAKES LIGHT OF SUFFERING

August 1, 2012

With unemployment in Greece hitting 22.5% of the workforce, a political party has decided to do some thing about it and is distributing provisions outside the parliament building in Athens. One must be pretty desperate to queue up for handouts, but sometimes one just has to swallow one's pride and survive. At least there is a caring soul on the other side of that queue keen to ease your plight. So it is your turn at last and as you reach out you are handed a generous portion of... racial abuse. "You are not Greek: then you are not welcome. Go away." And just in case you looked Hellenic, your identity card was checked. You guessed: the party in question is Greece's Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn. Who else could mock people in need so callously?

Well actually, a lot of governments do exactly the same. Benefits are dished out robotically, but heaven help you if one of the ticks on that form is missing. "You do not meet the criteria: you are not entitled to anything. Go away."

We had better beware, for sadly, it is not only the Neo-Nazis who are losing their sense of humanity.