566 killed in Syria in six-day period Reply

What's Up World? (Foreign Affairs)

The violence in Syria continues with the bodies of at least 566 people who were killed over a six-day period were found on Sunday. This is the highest number of victims discovered on a single day since the war in Syria began in March of 2011.

Over the past six days, 3,000 government fighters flooded into the suburbs around Damascus killing at least 300 civilians and 150 members of the opposition group the Free Syrian Army.

An opposition group called the Local Coordination Committees (LCC) released this statement:

“The Local Coordination Committees holds the Syrian regime fully responsible for the brutal crimes committed against unarmed civilians, and calls on the UN Security Council to refer these crimes to the International Criminal Court as war crimes.”

Contrastingly, the Syrian government, who the LCC is saying murdered hundreds of civilians, maintained that government armed forces “inflicted heavy losses upon terrorists in the town of Jdiadet al-Fadi in the Damascus Countryside, injuring a number of them and killing others.” Notice they make no mention of killing civilians.

In February, the UN estimated that 70,000 people had been killed in the fighting.

CNN in reporting this included this statement:

“CNN cannot independently verify death tolls or other accounts of violence in Syria as the government severely restricts access by international journalists.”

The rebel fighters, attempting to oust President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, are said to have enjoyed tactical success over the past month, demonstrating their ability to challenge the government’s military dominance. The Russians, who have been supporting Assad’s government, have publicly admitted that a rebel victory is possible in Syria.

It has been very difficult to map the fighting going on in Syria since 2011 because very few international journalists are in the country. However, based on a detailed analysis of the rebels and the government regime, the think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) this map showing an assessment of the situation on the ground:

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The “Rebel-held” zones on the map are held by the rebel fighters under the leadership of the Free Syrian Army. ISW analyst said “The regime can go into rebel-held areas if they choose, but only at great cost,” because the rebel fighters are growing increasingly sophisticated and effective.

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This graphic shows the location of the refugee camps around Syria where civilians are fleeing to escape the violence. Hundreds of people have also been internally displaced.

Boston Updates Reply

Politics

In the early morning hours of Friday April 19 the two marathon bomber suspects, brothers Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar A. Tzarnaev, 19. Tamerlan was the suspect in the black hat and sunglasses in the surveillance video released by the FBI yesterday, and Dzhokhar was the suspect in the white hat.

At 10 p.m. Thursday night, the two suspects robbed a 7-Eleven in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After that, the suspects allegedly shot and killed an MIT police officer and proceeded to carjack a Mercedes SUV with a hostage inside the car. They then took the man’s debit card and stopped at 3 different ATMs attempting to withdraw money. After withdrawing around $800 from an ATM, the suspects let the man go. The police then discovered the suspects in the Mercedes and subsequently a car chase and shootout occurred. The suspects were reportedly shooting automatic weapons and throwing explosive devices out of their car at police officers. During this chase suspect #1, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was fatally wounded. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was then taken to Beth Israel Deavoness Medical around 1 a.m and died in the hospital. At 3:50 a.m. the Associated Press reported this major disturbance which occurred in Watertown, a suburb about 10 miles west of Boston, which occurred just hours after an MIT police officer was shot and killed on campus, most likely by the Tzarnaev brothers.

All MBTA service has been suspended until further notice and Boston police have alerted everyone to stay inside their homes. An MBTA officer was shot while chasing the two suspects in the stolen Mercedes from Cambridge to Watertown. The officer is in critical but stable condition.

The first suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had an explosive device strapped to him when he was shot and killed.

The two brothers are of Chechen origin but had been living in the United States since 2002. 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Massachusetts, and according to his classmates was sociable, friendly and fun to talk to with no indication that he might be capable of the terrorist act he committed. He was enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth which has now closed down its campus and ordered an evacuation of the students. Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s social media accounts might give some clues as to a possible jihadist connection. This photo gallery that was found with pictures of Tamerlan alludes to his possible disillusionment with American as well as his religious nature.

Police are now, wearing bullet-proof vests, going door-to-door around Watertown where Dzhokhar might be holed up.

JeffBaumanfilephoto

The man in this picture, 27-year-old Jeff Bauman, badly wounded in the marathon bombings, awoke in the hospital and asked for a pen and paper to write this message:

“bag, saw the guy, looked right at me.”

Bauman told FBI agents that he saw the suspect in the black cap, sunglasses, and black jacket, now identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, place the backpack that was filled with explosives at his feet. Two and a half minutes after he saw the man place the backpack down, the bag exploded. Bauman’s description reportedly helped investigators zero in on the suspects.

NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reported 4 hours ago that a third man has been arrested but has not yet been called a suspect.

Senate fails to pass bipartisan gun control bill Reply

Politics • Tags: , , ,

Yesterday (April 17) the Senate failed to pass a bipartisan bill that would expand background checks for gun buyers. The bill, titled the “Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013,” would have required background checks for all firearm sales, prohibit straw purchases of firearms, and expand the school safety grant program.

What the bill does:

- Prohibits straw purchases of firearms:

Straw purchases are when someone purchases a gun on behalf of another person and then gives that person the gun. Currently, straw purchases of firearms are only illegal if the gun is purchased at a federally licensed firearm dealership. Straw purchases of used guns, however, are not illegal unless that gun is used in a crime with the prior knowledge of the person buying it.

- Expand the school safety grant program:

The school safety grant program provides funding. training, and resources for helping schools prepare for emergencies, training school bus drivers in security and hardening school buildings’ vulnerability.

-Universal background checks:

The bill requires background checks for all people purchasing a gun including purchases made at gun shows, private sales. There are exceptions, however, in the case of certain transactions between family members and temporary transfers for hunting and sporting purposes.

- Prohibits gun registry:

The bill specifically prohibits a federal gun registry. The language in the bill says that the Justice Department “may not consolidate or centralize the records” on firearm sales or possession. In addition, anyone who tries to create a national gun registry would face up to 15 years imprisonment.

The argument against background checks:

There are a few argument that have been cited as reasons why we should not have universal background checks for gun purchases in the U.S., a measure that 91% of Americans support. Here are the arguments:

  • the federal government isn’t doing a good enough job now of enforcing the law already on the books
  • only a tiny fraction of people caught trying to buy a gun illegally are ever prosecuted
  • concern that the proposal would infringe on Second Amendment rights by imposing a burden on those buying and selling guns
  • proposed system would have not prevented Newtown or stop criminals
  • concern over possibility that expanded system could lead to a gun registry

The counter-argument to the argument that only a small fraction of people caught trying to buy guns illegally are ever prosecuted is that that’s missing the point. For example, if a 16-year-old goes into a liqour store and tries to use a fake I.D. to buy beer, and the store clerk says “sorry kid, that’s fake, get out of my store,” although the teenager did not get arrested, he did not get the beer. That is the counter-argument, that even though there are a small fraction prosecuted, the majority still do not get the gun which is the point.

The bill failed to pass in a 54-46 vote ( it would need 60 votes to pass because that is 3/5 majority in the Senate). The bill had 55 votes before Sen. Harry Reid, Democrat and Senate majority leader changed his vote to “no” because then he has the right to bring up the bill for a vote again in the future.

This legislation was championed by a Purple Pair, Sen. Joe Manchin III, a Democrat from West Virginia, and Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania. Three Republicans voted in favor of the background check compromise, Senators Susan Collins of Maine, John McCain of Arizona and Mark S. Kirk of Illinois. Four Democrats voted against it including Senators Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. All Democrats who voted no, except for Heidi Heitkamp, face difficult reelections in their very conservative states.

The National Rifle Association, who once supported the expansion of background checks, campaigned hard against this bill, including organizing phone calls, emails and letters to blanket Senators’ offices including an ad campaign. Sen. Joe Manchin III has an A rating from the NRA, meaning that he is solidly pro-gun based on his prior voting record. Senator Patrick Toomey also has an A rating from the NRA.

Boston Marathon: Piecing Together 1

Politics

On Monday, April 15, the great city of Boston endured a horrifying and atrocious bombing at the finish line of the Boston marathon on Boylston Street. Now classified as an “act of terror”, two bombs were detonated just before 3 p.m. near the 26.2 mile marker. The two bombs exploded within 12 seconds of each other and are reported to be about 50 to 100 yard apart. Three lives were taken, eight-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Kristle Campbell, and a Chinese citizen (possibly a graduate student at Boston University) whom the Chinese consulate is refusing to identify currently due to a family request. 183 people are now reported wounded including many who needed amputations. Boston hospitals who treated patients include Brigham and Women’s hospital, Boston Children’s hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Tufts Medical Center amongst others.

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The bombs have now been identified as pressure cookers. Pressure cookers, normally heated on stove tops, use pressured steam to speed up the cooking of things like lentils or chickpeas. A pressure cooker can be turned into a bomb by placing an explosive inside it, and when the explosive is triggered, the pressure cooker, always made of metal, explodes simultaneously creating a spray of shrapnel. The reason terrorists favor using pressure cookers to make bombs is because it has a tight-fitting lid, allowing the bomb maker to pack in shrapnel and explosives maximizing the potential for injuries and casualties. Pressure cooker bombs are common in South Asia and were used in:

  • the Mumbai train blasts of 2006 in which more than 100 people were killed
  • The Delhi bombings in 2005
  • March 2010 in Pakistan in a blast that killed six people
  • 2010 Times Square attempted bombing
  • to target Western troops in Afghanistan

In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security issued an alert warning that terrorists were beginning to use pressure cookers to make homemade bombs. Many times they are filled with gunpowder, ball bearings or nails and are remotely detonated. The pressure cookers used in the Boston bombings bore the marking “6L” meaning they could hold six liters. This is significant because pressure cookers in the U.S. are usually measured in quarts, not liters indicating that these pressure cookers might not be from the United States.

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Reuters: Part of pressure cooker with black vinyl from backpack

The lid to a pressure cooker, probably used in the bombings, was found on a roof near the scene of the explosion. The FBI has revealed that the bombs detonated in Boston were packed with nails and ball bearings and the pressure cookers were carried to the scene in nylon backpacks. Investigators also found part of a circuit board which would have been used to detonate the devices. The explosives themselves are reported to have been small, initial tests showing no C-4 or other high-grade explosive material.

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Reuters: Piece of circuit board possibly used to detonate the bombs

Around the same time the two bombs went off at the Marathon finish line, 3.5 miles southeast of Copley Square a fire and possible explosion occurred at the JFK Presidential Library. An investigation quickly commenced to determine whether the events at the Library were related to the marathon explosions. Shortly before 3 p.m., a fire broke out at the JFK Library in an area of the building that contains offices, a classroom, and some archival material. No injuries were reported and everyone evacuated the building safely. Boston police Commissioner Edward F. Davis stated after hours of investigation of the site that “The preliminary investigation indicates the JFK incident may not have been an explosion, it may have been a fire.” Davis also called the area where the bombs were detonated “the most complex crime scene that we’ve dealt with in the history of our department.”

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CBS News

Authorities in Boston have located and dismantled at least one other explosive device in a hotel also on Boylston Street near the bomb site. So far, there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack by any outside terrorist group., and so far investigators have found no foreign terrorist connection to the bombings. Sen. Saxy Chambliss (R-GA) the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said “There are a lot of things that are surrounding this that would give an indication that it may have been a domestic terrorist, but that just can’t be assumed.”

Disaster experts said, following this tragedy, that the first responders including doctors, cops and other emergency personnel  required nothing less than battlefield-like savvy. Injuries included amputated limbs, massive blood loss, open fractures, and shrapnel wounds with victims ranging from age 3 to adults in their mid-60s. The crews had to use battlefield strategies to treat the wounded and transport the most seriously injured to hospitals as quickly as possible.

Amidst the devastation of this tragedy, people exhibited immense strength as they helped victims of the bombings. 52-year-old Carlos Arredondo, the father of a 20-year-old Marine who was killed in combat in Iraq,was at the marathon handing out American flags to spectators. Arredondo helped National Guard troops after the explosion, using part of his clothing to make a tourniquet to control the blood loss in a victim. Dr. Vivek Shah was a runner in the marathon, less than 50 yards away from completing the 26.2 mile run when the first bomb exploded. He immediately rushed over to the scene and began to help the wounded.  The immediacy of the emergency response personnel was incredible, shown in the fact that within the first 15 minutes, 15 patients were already at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and seven operating rooms were immediately cleared for surgery.
An anonymous hero, only known as “Tyler”, helped Northeastern University student who was wounded by shrapnel. After she was carried into the medical tent she was hysterical and Tyler helped calm her down. He told her he was an Army sergeant, an Afghanistan vet, and helped to calm her down by showing her his own shrapnel scar from his time in Afghanistan. Governor Deval Patrick is currently helping the victim to locate Tyler so she can thank him.

Massachusetts Suffolk County DA Dan Conley said after the attack “Moments like these, terrible as they are, don’t show our weakness; they show our strength.”

Obama’s budget proposal broken down Reply

Politics

President Obama released his budget proposal to Congress today (April 10) that combines a mixture of investments in infrastructure, education and research with deficit reduction through tax increases and spending cuts. Something, however, about this proposal is new: for the first time the President included changes to Medicare and Social Security which is a clear bargaining chip offered to Republicans designed to get them to come to the big Purple table of compromise.

Here is the President’s proposal broken down.

  • spending: $66 billion over 10 years in federal government spending given to the states to help make prekindergarten available for all children, something that the President outlined in his state of the union address. In essence reiterating the well known slogan that “Smoking is whack!”, the $66 billion would be paid for by higher taxes on tobacco products.
  • spending: $166 billion over 10 years for repair and construction of roads and rails to start an infrastructure bank to provide seed money for public works. The money would also go to aid states to keep teachers and first responders on payrolls and provide job training money.
  • spending cuts: $1.2 trillion over 10 years in across-the-board cuts
  • reduce deficits: the plan would reduce deficits by more than $600 billion over 10 years by some additional tax increases on the wealthy and some corporations.
  • taxes: $583 in new revenue over 10 years from two main sources: making it so that the wealthiest Americans are limited by the tax deductions they can take to 28%, and the “Buffett Rule” which would require people with annual income of over $1 million to pay at least 30% in income taxes.
  • other revenue: the proposal includes proposed reform of Social Security and Medicare that would save money.

Totals: The President’s budget would amount to a total of $1.8 trillion in savings over 10 years, and $2.6 trillion in spending cuts reducing the deficit to more than $4.3 trillion.

 

Syrian opposition: a guide Reply

What's Up World? (Foreign Affairs)

Secretary of State John Kerry is in London today meeting with the Syrian opposition. Who exactly is the Syrian opposition? Purple Politics has created a guide informing you about the most prominent groups who are members of the Syrian opposition:

1) National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces

On November 11, 2012, Syrian opposition forces met in Doha, Qatar in hopes to recognize the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the country’s sole legitimate representative. Why is it important to formally recognize a single group as the “real” opposition group? Because then it becomes easier for outside countries and groups to send them financial and military aid and plan for the transition should they actually succeed in toppling the Assad regime.

The leaders of this group are Moaz al-Khalib who was chosen as the National Coalition’s first president. Khalib is a Sunni Muslim cleric who was once the imam of a major mosque in Damascus. Riad Seif, a veteran anti-Assad dissident, and Suhair al-Atassi, the descendent of a famous political family who also in the past has held one of the last open political discussion groups in Damascus, were elected vice-presidents of the National Coalition.

The National Coalition called for rebel and political opposition factions to unite under the Coalition’s leadership framework to “end Syrian’s suffering and transition Syria to a democratic, civil, pluralistic, strong and stable state.”

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were the first to recognize the National Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people followed by France, the UK, EU, and U.S. The following month, 100 countries followed suit in recognizing the National Coalition. Iran, China, and Russia were not included as they have backed President Assad.

The National Coalition is dedicated to upholding these principles:

- absolute indepdence for Syria

- preservation of the unity of the Syrian people

-overthrowing the Syrian regime, dismantling the security forces, and holding responsible parties accountable for crimes against the Syrian people

-uphold their commitment for a civil, democratic Syria

The National Coalition has the support of the rebel Supreme Military Council and the Free Syrian Army, but does not include the National Co-ordination Committee which represents the the oppositions groups who reject violence and want to negotiate with the Assad regime, something the National Coalition is vehemently opposed to. The Al-Nusra front, an Al Qaeda branch operating in Syria, is also not included in the National Coalition. The Al-Nusra front, the most aggressive and arguable the most successful rebel fighters in Syria, recently pledged allegiane to the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The National Coalition faced many problems and on March 24, 2013, Khalib (the president of the Coalition) resigned due to foreign powers placing too many condition on the aid to opposition and armed rebel groups.

The National Coalition has failed to assert overall control over Syria’s rebel groups including jihadist groups who have refused to recognize the coalition’s supremacy.

2. Syrian National Council (SNC)

The Syrian National council is a coalition of opposition groups formed in 2011. The SNC offered a credible alternative to the Syrian government and has served as a point of contact for the international community.

The president of the SNC, George Sabra, is a Christian and veteran dissident. The SNC is committed to these principles:

- working to overthrow the regime using all legal means

- affirming national unity among all component of Syrian society and rejecting all calls for ethnic strife

- remaining non-violent

- rejecting foreign military intervention

The SNC supports a democratic Syria, a “parliamentary republic with sovereignty of the people.” The SNC is dominated by Syria’s majority Sunni Muslim community.The SNC has had difficulty working with the Free Syrian Army, however, the two groups have agreed to co-ordinate their operations.

3. National Co-ordination Committee (NCC)

Also formed in 2011, the NCC consists of 13 left-leaning political parties, Kurdish political parties, and independent political and youth activitists. The leader of the NCC is opposition figure Hussein Abdul Azim. the NCC, unlike the Syrian National Council, supports dialogue with the Assad regime only on the condition of the withdrawal of the military from the streets and the end of attacks on peaceful protestors. The NCC is also opposed to any foreign intervention and prefers sanctions to increase pressure on Assad.

4. Free Syrian Army (FSA)

The FSA, also formed in 2011, was founded by deserters of the Syrian army and led by Riyad al-Assad, a former air force colonel. The group said it will work hand in hand with the people to achieve freedom and topple the regime. The FSA claims to have up to 40,000 soldiers however some analysts believe the number is closer to 10,000. The army is made up of mostly Sunni Muslims however its leadership is mainly Alawite. Several Western powers have pledged to provide millions of dollars in non-lethal aid to the FSA, including communications and intelligence support.

The UN Human Rights Council announced that it had documented instances of gross human rights violations committed by members of various FSA groups including torture and arbitrary executions.

Watch PBS Frontline’s program on Syria Behind the Lines

Big week for Congress Reply

Politics • Tags: , ,

Returning from the two week recess, Congress returns to Washington this week to resume deal-making and talks on three major issues: gun control, immigration reform and the national budget.

Gun Control:

- Senators Joe Manchin III (D-WV) and Patrick Toomey (R–PA) have been trying to compromise on gun control legislation which would expand federal background checks for people purchasing firearms. Both senators have been discussing a possible compromise on expanding background checks by mandating that gun purchases at gun shows and online would require a background check. This would also be coupled with keeping a record of some kind that would make it more possible for law enforcement officials to track criminal gun use. This is a compromise because the expansion of the background checks is less than what Democrats want, and the record-keeping provision is something that gun-rights advocates do not want.

Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) were very close to a deal on gun control legislation but talks fell through because Senator Coburn did not support the record-keeping provision that goes along with the background checks. Instead, Coburn’s vision is for an online gun-check “portal” that would allow rural firearms buyers to get pre-clearance to purchase a gun but would not leave a record of the transaction. How would we enforce gun checks? Coburn says the fear of sting operations and stiff penalties, very similar to the way restaurants and liquor stores are policed to not sell alcohol to underaged people.

The families of Sandy Hook victims will travel to Washington for meetings with Senators on Tuesday-Thursday.

Immigration:

- The Gang of 8, a bipartisan group of senators made up of 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans, hope to unveil legislation soon that does a few things:

  • strengthens border security
  • establishes a new guest-worker program from foreign workers that creates a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said that if the Gang of 8 does not show signs of reaching an agreement on immigration in the next week or two, his committee (the Judiciary Committee) would begin a more formal legislative process.

Budget:

- President Obama will release a budget proposal on Wednesday that will add a third set of tax-and-spending plans. So far there have been two other proposals, a Republican one which has passed the Republican-dominated House, and a Democratic one that has passed the Democratic-majority Senate. Hopefully, this will reinvigorate talks to try and find common ground and reach a deal on the budget and deficit that will also include important reforms on programs such as Social Security and Medicare as well as simplifying the tax code.

Margaret Thatcher dies at age 87 1

Politics • Tags: ,

 

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Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Prime Minister to Britain from 1979-1990, was also the first and only woman Prime Minister as well as the longest serving Prime Minister. Born Margaret Roberts, she was a member of England’s Conservative Party and a good friend and ally of President Ronald Reagan.

Born the daughter of a grocer, Thatcher came from a modest background but was always proud of where she came from. She went to Oxford and delved into politics from a young age giving her first political speech at 20.

Thatcher’s brand of conservatism could be defined by common sense budgeting of the national economy, encouragement of home ownership and entrepreneurial capitalism.

Nicknamed the “Iron Lady” by the Soviet press after a speech she made in 1976 declaring that Russians are “bent on world dominance.” Thatcher played a key role in ending the Cold War by approving of Mikhail Gorbachev as a leader saying “I like Mr. Gorbachev, we can do business together.” However after the collapse of Soviet Union, Thatcher actually argued against the reunification of East and West Germany because she thought that allowing countries created after World War II to reunite would be destabilizing to Europe.

Britain was involved in a short war against Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982 under Thatcher. Controversially, during this conflict a British submarine sank Argentina’s only cruiser leaving 358 Argentinians dead. This was controversial because the sinking of the cruiser happened outside of Britain’s declared exclusion zone.

Thatcher also helped eliminate many government subsidies to business (government funding to businesses) that lead to a sharp rise is unemployment, however she still won re-election in a landslide in 1983. She also brought the trade unions under control in a time when they “brought the country to its knees” by incessant strikes and walkouts. In 1979, public sector workers in England went on strikes for weeks, leading to trash piling high in cities and bodies being left unburied. Liverpool, the small town where the most famous music group of all time, the Beatles, hailed from, became a symbol of the chaos inflicted on the public by the unions. Even today, Liverpool’s citizens are anti-Thatcher exemplified when MSNBC’s Morning Joe’s host Joe Scarborough, a big fan of the Liverpool football (soccer) team,  changed his twitter picture to a picture of Margaret Thatcher and was immediately slammed by fellow Liverpool fans calling him a traitor. Thatcher’s economic policies helped weaken the unions. She also reduced the tax rate in Britain.

Thatcher was eventually brought down not by British voters, but by her own party. Three political giants, Nigel Lawson, Sir Geoffrey Howe and Michael Heseltine along with the unpopularity of the poll tax she instituted lead to her resignation. Many of Thatcher’s colleagues were concerned about her views on Europe, namely the fact that she did not want to adopt what would become the euro as Britain’s currency. She thought that the single currency would devastate Europe. Howe, one of her cabinet advisers, was staunchly opposed to her view on the single currency and wanted England to adopt the euro. Howe and Heseltine, who knew that if Thatcher was elected into office for a fourth term, their dreams of having the euro in England would die. Eventually, Thatcher resigned, pushed out by Howe’s aggressive campaigning against her.

In 2011, a movie starring Meryl Streep was made on the life of Margaret Thatcher called The Iron Lady. Streep won the academy award for best actress for her role.

Read more about the life of this game-changing woman here:

BBC: Ex-Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher dies, aged 87

CNN: Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female PM, dead at 87

NPR: Margaret Thatcher, Iron Lady, Dead at 87

NYT: Tributes Pour in for Margaret Thatcher

The Iron Lady movie review

Rwanda: On the road to recovery 1

East by West, What's Up World? (Foreign Affairs) • Tags:

Rwanda is a mountainous country located in Central Eastern Africa.

 

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A predominantly rural and agriculturally based country, it is neighbored by much larger countries such as Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. This region has suffered from a continuous stream of fighting. And yet, Rwanda rose to international status when it suffered what some might call the worst genocide in the post –World War II society.

More than 800,000 Rwandans were slaughtered in a mere 100 days. The conflict finds its roots in the racial dichotomy that has divided Rwandan society since colonial rule. The ethnic minority, known as the Tutsi, were supported by colonial powers and given the power to rule over the more rural and agriculturally based Hutu ethnic majority. With such support, the Tutsi minority created an elite socio-economic status that based their rule on higher education, a supposed closer ancestral link to Caucasians, and their past as pastoralists rather than sedentary agriculturalists. Such subjugation led to bitter resentment that culminated in a series of civil wars. However, it was not until 1994 that neighbor turned so brutally against neighbor.

Peace building efforts have utilized the Rwandan multi-level judicial system to bring truth and justice to the society. On an international level, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda adjudicates the most severe crimes by the leaders and those considered ‘master-minds’ of the genocide in neighboring Tanzania—a safer ground to foster more fair and secure trials. On the state level, the national courts of Rwanda also arbitrate cases of those accused of planning serious crimes, including rape. On the local level, gacaca courts, traditionally forums for airing out grievances, hear the testimony of those accused of complicity in the genocide and dole out punishment accordingly.

On the surface, the government-sponsored strategy seems to be working.  However, because the government has dictated so strictly the manner in which the reconciliation process must progress, members of Rwandan society do not feel involved in the procedures. One survivor explains, “This is government enforced reconciliation…the government pardoned the killers, not us”. The government has told society that the ‘perpetrators’, Hutus, are guilty. With this guilt declared, society is supposed to move forward.

The government’s refusal to acknowledge its own complicity in the genocide only fosters more distrust and ethnic division within society. So long as the Hutu majority is painted as the perpetrators and the Tutsi minority, the victims, true reconciliation will elude the Rwandan government. If the Rwandan government does not promptly change course and ensure the equality and equal representation of all of its citizens, it will once again experience ethnic warfare.