· February, 2007

Stories about International Relations from February, 2007

Ukraine: Tymoshenko in D.C.

  28 February 2007

LaurenceJarvikOnline shares his impressions of Yulia Tymoshenko, who was in Washington, D.C., this week: “She described her nation as ‘in crisis’–and took a number of hostile questions about her legal problems from Russian-speakers in the audience. Tymoshenko handled them with grace and aplomb, didn't bristle, smiled even. She's definitely a...

The Balkans: Bloggers Discuss the ICJ Verdict

  28 February 2007

On Monday, after nearly ten months of deliberation, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre was an act of genocide, but that the pattern of the atrocities committed by Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-1995 war (which claimed more than 100,000 lives) was “too broad” to...

Egypt: Mossad Spy Update

  28 February 2007

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia continues to follow news on an Egyptian-Canadian accused of spying for the Mossad here. “He wasn't spying for Israel despite the fact that he went to the Israeli Embassy , knew the three other wanted Mossad officers and considered them as friends and was going to Israel...

  28 February 2007

The Voice of Somaliland Diaspora-Ottawa writes about the foreign occupation of Somalia and “hatemonger websites”: Overall, it is clear that the foreign occupation and possible recolinization of Somalia has dawned on the so-called leaders of “Transitional Federal Government” (TFG)—a euphemism of “Tigre Founded Government” (TFG) as well as their shadowy...

Madagascar: Expulsions in France questioned

  28 February 2007

(courtesy of sarkostique) Stemming from ongoing racial tensions and amplified by the riots of last summer, fear of immigrants led the French ministry of homeland security to crack down on illegal immigration. Immigrants of Malagasy origins were also affected by the new emphasis on expelling any immigrants without proper accreditation....

Indonesia: Citizen Diplomat

  28 February 2007

Maverick Indonesia blogs about meeting an Indonesian diplomat and his ideas of a citizen diplomat. “But most important is what Aula calls the second track diplomacy. Any Indonesian can be the ambassador of the country, through interactions with people from other countries. Thus, every Indonesian must understand the nation’s foreign...

Guatemala, El Salvador: A Web of Corruption and Murder

  27 February 2007

“The recent case of the open assassination of three prominent Salvadoran politicians and their driver in Guatemala provides a dramatic snapshot. It's shone a light on the criminal justice system in Guatemala; and the state of relations between El Salvador and Guatemala.” writes Patrick Hall. Tim Muth has also been...

China: Government study tours questioned

  27 February 2007

Somewhat related to this recent post, Sichuan province Writer's Association member and Strong China blogger Li Hongzhi looks at a recent decision from the organizational department of the provincial Communist Party which limits government leaders’ training trips abroad. Chinese teachers go abroad to experience and learn, as do liberal intellectuals...

India: Quattrocchi in Argentina

  27 February 2007

Varnam on the politics played to avoid extraditing a man who could end up ruining the reputation of some very important people. “Remember Ottavio Quattrocchi? The middle man for Bofors who represented Snamprogetti and big pal of ex-dead-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi? He was arrested in Argentina on Feb 6th and...

Sri Lanka: Saddam and the Sri Lankans

  27 February 2007

True Sri Lankan on what appears to be a lot of silence regarding the execution of Sri Lankans. “When Saddam Hussein was hanged there were massive protests in Sri Lanka organised by certain sections of the muslim community but a few days ago 4 Sri Lankans were beheaded and then...

Tunisia, France: How To Wash the Dirty Laundry At Home

  27 February 2007

Mouwaten Tounsi deplores (Fr) that ex-Tunisian diplomat Khaled Ben Saïd is being judged in France for torture. He would have liked Ben Saïd judged in Tunisia. He proposes a reconciliation-based justice. The process would focus on indemnification of torture victims by the government rather than on prosecution of officials who...

Korea and Japan: nationalism

  26 February 2007

James from Japan Probe collects a few youtube video on Japanese T.V programs (with English subtitles) about the tensions between South Korea and Japan. The video seems to suggest that anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea is related with the nationalistic education.

Guyana: Exodus and integration

  26 February 2007

MediaCritic sees the “exodus” of Guyanese to other Caribbean territories as “likely to result in is a skewering of national identities and push those voices that trumpet and cling to narrow parochial inclinations into the background. With the inevitable cross-nationality marriages, dual-citizenships and other multi-national personalities single nation nationalistic fervor...

Lebanon: Academia, Agriculture and Construction

  26 February 2007

Let us begin this week’s roundup of the Lebanese blogosphere with non–political posts. Let us start from a post about two Lebanese salads that are used as appetizers during meals: Skylark shows us (Fr) how to prepare Fattush and Tabboule, which are two delicious Lebanese salads that are usually found...