Stories about War & Conflict from May, 2011
Mexico: Blogger Interviews Teacher Who Sang to Students During Shooting
Martha Rivera Alanis, the teacher who sang to her students during a shooting in Monterrey, México was given an award for her bravery. In an interview with Regioblogs [es], Martha describes what happened before, during and after the shooting. She explains she decided to sing to the children to try...
Côte d'Ivoire: Is Charles Blé Goudé alive ?
After weeks of uncertainty about his whereabouts, an alleged audio recording of Charles Blé Goudé [fr], the former Ivorian Minister of Youth under ousted president Laurent Gbagbo, has appeared in the Facebook group, “RESEAU MONDIAL FACEBOOKERS POUR GBAGBO” (Worldwide Network of Facebookers for Gbagbo). In the recording, posted by Cyrius...
Pakistan: Journalist Disappeared
Chowrangi reports that Journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, correspondent of Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI) in Pakistan, has disappeared recently in Islamabad. In 2006 he was kidnapped by Taliban militants while on duty and was later released.
Abkhazia: Sergei Bagapsh Dies
In Moscow's Shadows and Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog write about the implications of the death of Sergei Bagapsh, the president of the Republic of Abkhazia, on May 29.
Serbia: Mladic Arrest Update
Bill Kralovec of Bill's Blog and Kirk Johnson of Americans for Bosnia share thoughts on the arrest of Ratko Mladic; YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett is posting links to English-language media stories on the issue.
Mexico: ‘Información Cívica’ Summarizes Week in Civil Society
David Sasaki in Información Cívica explains they will “begin publishing weekly summaries of what Open Society Foundation partners in various countries around Latin America are sharing via their websites, blogs, and social media accounts.” Their first summary focuses on their partners in Mexico.
Mexico: Teacher Sings with Students During Shooting
The YouTube video showing a kindergarten teacher singing with her students to keep them calm during a shooting in Monterrey, Mexico has spread almost virally through the Spanish speaking countries.
Uganda: It Began With Words, Songs and Music
The women of Northern Uganda have been banding together in groups to support each other: “The Voice Project is an attempt to support these incredible women and the peace movement in Uganda, and an effort to see how far a voice can carry.”
Sudan: An Abyei Timeline: The Long Road to Khartoum’s Military Invasion
Following Sudan's military invasion of Abyei, Eric Reeves provides a schematic chronicle of events from 1905 to demonstrate, “(1) just how fully the National Islamic Front/National Congress Party regime calculated and prepared for its military invasion; (2) when de facto military control of Abyei was achieved; (3) what served as...
Germany, Ukraine: Implications of the Demjanjuk Ruling
Alexander J. Motyl writes at Ukraine's Orange Blues/World Affairs about the implications of the May 12 sentencing of John Demjanjuk “for being an accessory to the murder of 28,060 Jews in the Nazi concentration camp in Sobibor, in occupied Poland.”
Mexico: Gun Trafficking in the Southern Border
In Vivir México [es], Ximena Vega blogs about gun trafficking in Mexico's southern border, an issue that has been shadowed by the problems in the northern border with the United states.
Rwanda: Army Officer Refutes Claims of Arrest
Major Justus Majyambere, a Rwandan army officer who recently travelled to the US on official duty, has refuted claims of arrest: “Reports on some websites and blogs run by Rwandan exiles had insinuated that Major Majyambere had been arrested by US authorities over indictments issued in 2008 by a Spanish...
Ukraine: Proposal to Declare Crimean Tatar Deportation “Genocide”
Window on Eurasia reports on the Ukrainian Peoples Party's proposal to declare the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars by Stalin “an act of genocide and a crime against humanity.”
Serbia: More Reactions to the Arrest of Ratko Mladic
Richard Byrne of Balkans via Bohemia and Borut Peterlin react to the news of the arrest of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general wanted for war crimes, including the Srebrenica massacre. Sladjana Lazic of A Slice Of Serbian Politics and Viktor Marković (@Belgrade) report [en, sr] on small-scale protests in...
Serbia: Arrest of Ratko Mladic
Ratko Mladic, former Bosnian Serb military leader was arrested today by police in Serbia, the country's president, Boris Tadic, confirmed on national television. General Mladic has been on the run since 1995 facing charges of genocide for his role as Bosnian Serb military commander during the 1992-95 civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Cote d'Ivoire: Amnesty International Report on Post-Electoral Conflict
Amnesty International published a report about Cote d'Ivoire [fr, PDF] on May 25 in conclusion of a field survey: Looking back on 6 months of post-electoral violence. In this document [fr] the organisation warns that, “The conclusions of this report clearly show that all of the conflicting parties have committed...
Mexico: First Woman Drug Cartel Leader
A Mexican woman is believed to have become the head of the “Arellano Felix” Cartel, which operates in Tijuana, northern Mexico. Her name is Enedina Arellano Felix, and according to the blog Mundo Narco [es], Enedina is an “intelligent, mechanical and discrete woman in charge”.
Brazil/Palestine: Football Player Removed from Facebook and National Team
The blog Palestinian Field Negro denounces that the Facebook account of the Brazilian football player from Real Madrid (Spain), Marcelo Vieira, has been deleted due to his support of the Palestinian cause. Later on Marcelo was also cut from the Brazilian national team [pt].
Greece: A Lukewarm Reaction to Attacks on Immigrants
Greek blogger To Vytio (The Jerrycan) writes an elegiac post [el] on his return to Athens from a weekend trip, finding the city gripped in violence, fear, apathy and scary rhetoric. “Our mortal leap was the reaction to what happened in Athens against the immigrants. Lukewarm, blasé. With [right-wing extremists],...
India: The Death Of a Terrorist
“I find it difficult to conceive of a time in the future when terrorism will cease to exist,” comments Sourav Sengupta while sharing his reflections on the death of Osama Bin Laden.
Pakistan: Imran Khan's Sit In Protest
XYZ at Cafe Pyala has some thoughts on the two-day sit in (dharna ) protest by Pakistani politician Imran Khan to block NATO supply routes from the Karachi port. The goal of the protest is to raise voice against the continuing American drone strikes in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
