This week the foreign ministers of the European Union are planning yet another meeting to discuss the plan action for resolution of the conflict between Russia and Georgia. As the world powers threaten to hold their breaths if Russia does not adhere to the cease-fire agreement, Putin is counting his Gazprom stocks and bonds. What is interesting about the international response to the crisis is that Western Europe finally admitted their vulnerability to Russia’s foreign interests. If it had not become clear from the Kosovo crisis or the Chechnya frozen conflict, the situation in Georgia made it pretty clear - Russia can do whatever they want, as long as the pipelines are still running. This time the media showed little courtesy and blatantly revealed Europe’s incapability to manage and/ or prevent conflicts, which combined with the Irish rejection of the European Constitution, raise serious concerns about the future of the EU. As much as the EU leaders have tried to reshape the image of the union of “economic giant, political dwarf, military worm”, the response (or lack thereof) to Russia’s imperial appetites, showed to the world that the EU is hardly the political actor it pretends to be. Well, we have to be understanding, asking Russia to remove its troops from Georgia, is not quite the same as imposing economic sanctions on third-world countries….
2 comments:
You go girl!
Friday, September 19, 2008
History of Human Rights in Georgia and Sudan
What are human rights? Human rights are basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled. Everyone is given the right to life, liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law. However, in Sudan and Georgia this is not necessarily the case. There are several conflicts that occur between the Sudanese and Georgia governments and rebel groups on a daily basis.
In Sudan and Georgia, not many people have access to human rights.
In Sudan, enslavement still exists and is encouraged by the Sudanese government. In the Darfur region, war is prevalent between Africa tribes and Arab groups over access to land. Last year, two armed African groups rebelled against the Khartoum regime. The government responded by giving military support to Arab militias. The Sudanese military planes are bombing villages after which Arab militaries rape and kill survivors. Sudan currently has 17,000 child soldiers fighting on the government side. Several hundred students were imprisoned as well after the members of the Justice and Equality Movement.
( http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/sudan_genocide)
A new humanitarian disaster is likely to take place now that the fighting is still in progress. History has shown that peace in the south is nearly impossible if fighting continues in the south. Famines in Sudan have occurred from the burning of homes and villages, grain, community structures, and the killing of children and women.
(www.hrw.org)
In Georgia, torture is a huge issue. However, there have been numerous reforms on the part of the government to decrease it. Human rights are guaranteed in Georgia by the constitution. Georgia proclaimed its total independence on April 6, 1991. Between 1992 and 1993, the government engaged in armed conflict with separatists. In 2002, Georgia's military was trained in antiterrorism measures. Work began on the Georgian section of the ambitious Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipelines that runs throuh Georgia. In 2005, the Georgian Orthodox church placed a considerable monopoly in Georgia. For this reason, minority groups found it hard to build places of worship.
A recent news briefing from CNN said that Georgian leaders blame Russia for the conflict that raged in South Ossetia in response to devastation in the city of Tskhinvali. Mikhail Gorbachev told CNN’s Larry King that Russia called extra troops into Georgia to stem violence. On August 7, 2008, fighting broke out after Georgian soldiers attacked South Ossetia. An enclave in Georiga that won de facto independence in the 1990s. Separtists in South Ossetia retaliated, and about a dozen troops and civilians died in the battles. Fighting between the two sides has been sporadic since Mikheil Saakashvili was elected president of Georgia in 2004 and sought to resume control over the region. Russia sent 150 tanks into South Ossetia on August 8 to support the region. In addition, on August 9, Russia intensified its involvement by moving troops into Abkhazia, another breakaway region, and launching airstrikes at Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. In Gori, Georgia, approximately 1,500 civilians were killed when Russia launched an air strike.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Georgia_country)
In Georgia and Sudan, the jihad is of great importance. Michael Rubin quotes The Wall Street Journal, saying, “The jihad is our way, and we will not abandon it and keep the banner high.” The jihad refers to those who "struggle in the way of God." People in both Georgia and Sudan continue to struggle to keep their human rights.
Posted by Katie Robertson at 6:58 PM 0 comments
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Sudan and Georgia
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History of Human Rights in Georgia and Sudan
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