· December, 2006

Stories about War & Conflict from December, 2006

Ethiopia/Somalia: Ethiopia at war

  25 December 2006

“So we are at war. We are no longer “technically” at war, or swapping challenges and insults, or officially providing training support to somebody else's army,” writes Meskel Square from Ethiopia.

D.R of Congo: gorrilas at risk

  23 December 2006

Congo Rangers blog reports about the danger facing gorrilas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, “Unfortunately the risk to the gorillas isn’t just from stray bullets, but also from rockets and grenades… the Congolese army clearly mean business, but unfortunately they are up against a well trained and well equipped...

Burundi: permanent solution to violence

  23 December 2006

“But to the Burundians I know, the idea that “peace and reconciliation” could be achieved while killers remain in power is a cruel joke. The difficult, messy truth is that democracy alone is not enough. Only by ensuring that Burundi's war criminals are prosecuted under international law, can we hope...

Somali-Ethiopia conflict looms over Ethiopian blogosphere

  23 December 2006

War and rumours of war dominated the Ethiopian blogosphere this week as reports came in of bloody clashes between Ethiopian and Islamist troops in northern Somalia. Accounts of the conflict from the mainstream media have so far been fragmentary and often contradictory. GlobalVoices’ own Ethan Zuckerman summed up the confusion...

Nepal: Going home

  22 December 2006

United We Blog! on the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Nepal. “However, most of the IDPs were disappointed over the government’s indifference. Following the beginning of the peace process, a total of 500 IDPs from the Rajhena camps have returned home.”

Serbia: Finding Karadzic and Mladic

  20 December 2006

Finding Karadzic writes about a Belgrade paper's attempt to help find Karadzic and Mladic: “Belgrade's Glas Javnosti has just outed the top 99 aiders and abettors of Karadzic and Mladic. Such a move will doubtlessly put more pressure on these cronies, most of whom are not well known public figures....

Iran:Holocaust Seminar and its Costs

  20 December 2006

Abtahi, a reformist politician, writes about Holocaust seminar in Iran.The blogger says :what is the reasoning behind the idea that the Iranian nation should pay for a historical research on a topic that has got nothing to do with Iran?It is really cruel that the people around the world consider...

Sri Lanka: One Soldier

  20 December 2006

Manshark's Random Rants on soldiers in Sri Lanka. “In reality then, doesn’t that one soldier, that one person who died forever, or in bits and pieces as he was de-limbed, therefore remain to me forever nameless? Faceless?”

Lebanon: Hassan Nassrallah

  19 December 2006

The secretary general of Hezbollah S H Nassrallah and his speech that was directed to the demonstrators partaking in the sit-in protest in Beirut was the subject of many posts in the Lebanese blogs this week. And as usual, the opinions are as diverse as the political point of views...

Bangladesh: Remembering genocide and celebrating victory day

  18 December 2006

Some days are very special for a nation. 16th December is one such day for Bangladesh. Drishtipat Blog remembers the independence of Bangladesh 35 years ago. Time magazine December 20, 1971 named it “the bloody birth of Bangladesh“. For those who do not know why it is called so, Mash...

The Saudis are Still Talking

  18 December 2006

In this week's roundup: Human Rights Watch's recent visit to Saudi Arabia, a recent poll showing Saudi Arabia to be the fifth least corrupt country in the world, Turki Al-Faisal's resignation from being Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, and much more. Rasheed has done a great job covering...

Sudan: should South Sudan separate?

  18 December 2006

Black Cush writes about the case for South Sudan to form a separate state, “South Sudan has the most untapped resource, in both human and natural. The vast oil reserves in the South could give its economy might that can rival South Africa in growth. There are also other minerals...

A First Round-Up of the Sudanese Blogosphere

  16 December 2006

Today in the Sudanese blogosphere, we notice a variety of opinions on different topics. Black Kush from South Sudan has 2 posts entitled “How Egypt is woeing South Sudan” where you’ll find an interesting exchange between him and an Egyptian. It was no surprise when the news came out that...

Chile: “Gay spies, murder and Henry Kissinger”

  14 December 2006

A body of documents discovered by Chilean investigative journalist Monica Gonzalez, was recently made public by the U.S. National Security Archive and is now publically available at the UNIACC university in Santiago, Chile, writes Tomás Dinges. “In addition to providing judicially relevant information on Operation Condor and Operation Colombo it...

Uganda's IT Scene and More

  14 December 2006

While only 0.6 percent of Uganda's population are internet users, there is increasing evidence that both Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity is increasing, and that it is increasing in ways that are useful and relevent to local communities. On OpenDemocracy.net, Patricia Daniels provides an overview of this continent wide...

Russia: Caucasus Hatreds, and Peace

  13 December 2006

The First Chechen War began twelve years ago, in December 1994; the Second Chechen War followed five years later. Still, Chechnya remains part of the Russian Federation. Timur Aliev – LJ user timur_aliev, a native of Grozny, an ethnic Chechen, a journalist, editor-in-chief of The Chechen Society newspaper, the Chechnya...

Ukraine: WWII

  13 December 2006

Ukraine List posts “four perspectives on World War II (The Great Patriotic War) from Ukraine. One is from a French priest, another is from a film director, yet another is from a cave explorer, and the last is of an amateur archaeologist.”

Poland: Martial Law Remembered

  13 December 2006

The beatroot writes what the martial law in Poland felt – and tasted – like: “Martial Law, Poland, December 13, 1981 […] tasted like plastic. There is an evocative free gift with this week’s edition of Newsweek Polska. It’s a little box of chocolates. Inside the period looking box are...