World

Japan's Military Dilemma

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Japanese activists turned out in the thousands last week to oppose changes to the nation’s pacifist constitution. At issue is the so-called Article 9, a charter which severely restricts the activity of the Japanese military, and which has been targeted for updating as the nation’s international role has changed in recent years. According to the Associated Press, thousands of activists gathered outside of Tokyo last week for a peace conference centered around the issue. A statement by the organizers of the event said, “We believe that Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution constitutes a world-class model for peace and should be protected as a global treasure for future generations,” according to the Associated Press. Imposed after Japan’s defeat in World War II, the charter states, “The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.”

Democracy & Civics

For Cold War Brits, the Day After was a Tea-Time Nightmare

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A wry old anti-nuclear slogan used to say “One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day.” If you’re British, and the nuclear bomb manages to ruin your afternoon tea, well, then you’ve really got a problem. Or so one might conclude from the release last week of declassified Cold War-era documents that found British officials worrying about what a nuclear war would do to food supplies. The BBC quoted one document from 1955 as saying the government must be “completely ready to maintain supplies of food to the people of these islands, sufficient in volume to keep them in good heart and health from the onset of a thermonuclear attack on this country.” But, the document stated, the kind of rationing that existed in World War II would be “fatally deficient” in keeping the British people fed in the case of a nuclear war.

World

More Deaths Alleged at Myanmar Pipeline

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Alleged human rights abuses by soldiers guarding a Burmese pipeline have revived old questions about pipeline co-owner Chevron’s relationship with the military dictatorship that hosts it. The activist group EarthRights International says it has interviewed villagers near the Yadana Pipeline who claim government troops working for Chevron have killed local residents, and used others as slave labor. The pipeline brings in $969 million annually for the Myanmar junta. Marco Simons, the EarthRights legal director, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Chevron has a “moral responsibility” to shut down the pipeline, pressuring the dictatorship to end the abuses. Chevron, however, says the charges are unfounded.

Democracy & Civics

Yemen Steps, Uneasy, From Past to Future

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Yemen — the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, bordered by Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea — is opening up culturally as the Internet and wireless technologies knock down barriers to communication. Yet water shortages, civil war, semi-autonomous tribal militias, drug trafficking, an al Qaeda presence and state-owned media add up to an uncertain future. Most recently, the Yemen Post reported that a Pakistani ship carrying ten tons of drugs, including hashish, heroin and “pills,” was intercepted by the Yemeni Coast Guard. Yemen has become a “transit country” for drug smuggling into the Persian Gulf region, according to the newspaper. Terrorism and civil strife also abound, according to a string of articles from the Associated Press.

Democracy & Civics

Cultivating Change in Lebanon

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Caught between warring militias and Israeli reprisal, Lebanon’s farmers have a hardscrabble life that is only exacerbated by the threat of unexploded munitions littering the fields, forests and mountain slopes. Radio Netherlands reports that support for rural communities is “scant,” and blamed a “clannish and corrupt” government of elites for their plight. Enter Rami Zurayk, a professor at the American University in Beirut, whose small aid group Land and People provides technical assistance, marketing support and more to rural communities in need. This includes programs to shift from chemical fertilizers to banana-leaf compost, and financial aid to purchase a mechanical shredder vital for the composting process. Land and People also helped a women’s baking cooperative market its goods, and supports soapmaking operations using wild berries in the bombed-out village of Ayta al Shaab.

World

Uneasy France Steps up NATO Role

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Playing for a larger role in NATO, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said his country will send 700 or more troops to Afghanistan — but the move has spurred harsh criticism at home. During last week’s NATO summit in Bucharest, Sarkozy also said that France will seek a return to the military command structure of NATO, a position it has not held since the 1960s, when then- President Charles de Gaulle pulled out. Socialist opposition leader Jean-Marc Ayrault said the mission in Afghanistan “makes no sense and has no goal” and warned that France is heading for another Vietnam, according to news reports. Some opposition lawmakers even called for a no-confidence vote or a vote of censure against Sarkozy. Polls show that 68 percent of the French public is opposed to sending more troops to Afghanistan, with only 15 percent supporting the idea, according to news reports.

Democracy & Civics

The Ends of the Internet?

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How shall the Internet come to an end? Let us count the ways. GigaOm.com, an online media service focusing on emerging technology, outlined 10 specific ways in which the Internet as we know it could conclude. These include everything from hostile lawyers and the end of net neutrality, to technical problems, such as a hacker-assisted virus that disrupts the “self-healing” mechanism of Internet routers. And what about all those spam emails?

World

Rwandan President Disputes Spanish Indictments

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A Spanish judge has issued indictments against 40 Rwandan Army officers — and the nation’s president, Paul Kagame — over the slaying of four Spaniards working for Doctors Without Borders between 1990 and 2002. Kagame was the commanding officer for all 40 officers, and the general of the ultimately victorious rebel forces during Rwanda’s civil war and culminating genocide. Speaking a news conference, Kagame angrily declared that the indictments “mean nothing,” and said the judge, Fernando Andreou Merelles of the Spanish Central Instruction Court, should “go to hell.” Source:
“Rwanda: Kagame Tells Spanish Judge ‘Go to Hell’ Over Summons”
The Nation (Kenya), April 2, 2008

Democracy & Civics

"Avoidable" Gaza Deaths Follow Medical Travel Bans

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The World Health Organization said preventable deaths almost doubled in the Gaza Strip between 2006 and 2007, following the Hamas takeover and a corresponding ban by Israel on most cross-border travel. The number of travel permits denied to sick Gazans seeking medical care in Israel more than quadrupled, from 8.5 percent in December 2006 to 36 percent one year later. Israel said it was concerned about suicide bombers using health issues as a cover story, while critics said the policy amounts to collective punishment of the Palestinian population for rocket launches against Israel by Hamas militants. Medical care in Palestinian territories is in decline due to shortages in equipment, pharmaceuticals and trained personnel. An Israeli defense official told Reuters that tight control of Gaza’s borders has not caused unnecessary deaths, but a WHO spokesman said 100 Gazan patients have died since June after being denied travel permits.

Democracy & Civics

New Reparations Call for Philippine "Comfort Women"

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The Philippine legislature is considering a new resolution to ask for apologies from Japan, as well as financial reparations, for “comfort women” held captive by occupying Japanese forces during World War II. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the resolution was unanimously passed by a legislative committee, but was met with dismay by the Department of Foreign Affairs, which stated that financial reparations were already dealt with in two previous treaties, in 1951 and 1996. However, an official said the government had no opposition to private claims of “sexual slavery” sought against Japan. Proponents of the measure also stated that the terms of Japan’s surrender required it to maintain “continuing compliance with modern human rights law.” Source:
“House panel OKs resolution on comfort women”
Daily Inquirer (Philippines), March 11, 2008