· May, 2009

Stories about War & Conflict from May, 2009

Taiwan: Chinese tourist arrested for spying

  31 May 2009

A Chinese businessman, visiting Taiwan as a tourist, was arrested for taking photos of a military facility in Taipei. The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato discusses the security implications. The Foreigner in Formosa comments on how he was released without bail.

Afghanistan: Aid Money Used Badly

Colla reviews the first report by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which noted that the military command overseeing $15bn in US military aid cannot be sure the money is being managed effectively.

Pakistan: Bomb Blasts In Peshawar

  29 May 2009

Chowrangi reports that four bombing incidents “hit Peshawar and rocked Pakistan on Thursday killing thirteen people and injuring more than 120 people”. Pak Tea House says that the fight against terror will only be won if Baitullah (Mullah) Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban chief is brought to justice.

UN Human Rights Council Backs Sri Lankan Government

  28 May 2009

Sepia Mutiny reports that the UN human rights council passed a resolution praising Sri Lanka's victory over the LTTE and refused calls to investigate allegations of war crimes by both sides in the fag end of the civil war. Human Rights Watch condemned the resolution.

Sri Lanka: Prabhakaran's DNA Matches With Son

  28 May 2009

Bailaman reports that DNA taken from the body of the LTTE leader Prabhakaran matches with his son Charles Anthony. This discovery by Sri Lankan Army medical experts is supposed to end all speculations over his death.

Japan and Korea: Nuclear test and missiles

  27 May 2009

Are you surprised that North Korea conducted another nuclear test? And fired more short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan? Ampontan made a list of surprises to comment on the new round of North Korea nuclear and missile test.

Pakistan: Another Suicide Attack In Lahore

  27 May 2009

Lahore Metblogs reports that 10 people have been killed and close to 100 people were injured as yet another suicide attack was launched in Lahore targeting a police building. Five Rupees predicts that this is the work of the Talibans in response to the Army offensive in North West Frontier...

India: Violence In Gurudwara

  26 May 2009

Amardeep at Sepia Mutiny discusses the backgrounds of the recent violence at a Sikh Gurdwara in Vienna, Austria and the subsequent Sikh sectarian violence in Punjab, India.

Pakistan: Healing The Wounds Of The Past

  25 May 2009

Action For A Progressive Pakistan apologizes to Bangladeshis for the atrocities committed by Pakistan army in 1971 and criticizes the Pakistan government: “We find it unconscionable that the Pakistani state has steadfastly refused to acknowledge these atrocities for the past 38 years, leave alone hold those responsible for them accountable...

Armenia: Nationalist Revisionism, Deception

Unzipped comments on the the appearance of election campaign posters for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) ahead of this weekend's municipal vote in Yerevan. The blog notes that the party appears to be pushing its position on relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey to voters and even uses photographs...

Russia: North Ossetia's Superstitious Law Enforcement

North Ossetian journalist Liza Valieva writes about an incident that could have prompted a lighthearted reaction had it not occurred in North Ossetia, an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation, whose people have seen much violence since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the Sept. 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis.

Pakistan: Don't Wear Western Clothes In Peshawar!

  25 May 2009

Chowrangi informs that “the men of Peshawar have been told to stop wearing the shirt and trousers and wear the shalwar kurta (Pakistan national dress) instead. This is to prevent any crazy Taliban type from attacking those who wear Western clothes (this has happened a few times in the past).”