· April, 2009

Stories about War & Conflict from April, 2009

Sri Lanka: The Pros And Cons Of International Attention

  24 April 2009

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are holding on to to just a sliver of land in the north of Sri Lanka, but the United Nations is estimating that 50,000 people are still trapped in the warzone. As fighting surges in the final throes, concerns for civilians is growing and calls for international attention and understanding abound on the Internet and in the streets of cities around the world, such as London, Berlin and Paris.

Sri Lanka: An Appeal To The International Community

  23 April 2009

Indi.ca criticizes the international media coverage of the civil war in Sri Lanka: “the ‘International Community’ and international media are far too quick to offer solutions without looking at the situation.” The blogger opines that “the best thing the international community could do is call on the LTTE to surrender...

MENA: Reflections on Durban II

  22 April 2009

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech, and the way European Union representatives reacted to it at the United Nations Conference on Racism in Geneva (Durban II), has stirred debates among bloggers across the Middle East. Eman AbdElRahman sums up reactions in this post.

Liberia: What is the truth about arms discovery?

  22 April 2009

Natlyn discusses the “arms discovery” saga in Liberia: What seems to be a very serious lack of coordination among government ministries continues to hang dark cloud rather than clarity over Wednesday’s discovery of arms (or shells) in the suburb of Jacob’s Town in Paynesville as evidenced by two different versions...

Rwanda: The unresolved FDLR issue

  22 April 2009

Last January the conflict in North Kivu shifted once again with the arrest of CNDP rebel group leader Laurent Nkunda in Rwanda and the entry of the Rwandan national army (RDF) into the DR Congo to root out the FDLR rebel group in joint operations with the national Congolese army (FARDC). As Rebecca Feeley of the Enough Said blog explains, the Congolese Minister of Defense, Charles Mwando Nsimba, even went so far as to say that the FDLR threat had been “neutralized.”

Sri Lanka: Lamenting On The War

  21 April 2009

Sri Lankan blogger Mathawaada, who blogs at A Collision Of Ideas, laments on the civil war hearing the news that the LTTE rebels are finally being defeated militarily: “Ah…this war. Yes, this war is older than me, just like anyone in their early twenties I also grew up with it....

Pakistan: Terror Has A New Name

  20 April 2009

Faisal K. at Deadpan Thoughts realizes: “not a day goes by without some sort of threat in Pakistan to its citizens by these mysterious men we have come to know loosely as the Taliban.”

Lebanon: Activists Experiment with Social Media

The use of social media tools such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and mobile technology has become increasingly popular in activism and advocacy work worldwide in recent years. In Lebanon, a group called Social Media Exchange teaches activists how to utilise social media to promote their work and reach a wider audience. Mohammmad Azraq digs into the Lebanese social networking and online scene to find out more.

Sri Lanka: Winning Back The Tamil Diaspora

  20 April 2009

The Whackstar's Lair opines that the Sri Lankan people should stop considering the Tamil diaspora as the enemy. Because: “EELAM is right here, but it’s called Sri Lanka, and people of different races live here together. ‘Come home’ is what the government and all of us need to say to...

Jamaica: Perspective on Pirates

  20 April 2009

Jamaica-based blogger Annie Paul happened to be reading a manuscript about pirates at a time when “the pirates of Somalia were rousing international consternation by capturing a US ship and holding its crew hostage” – and she shares an alternative perspective on this age-old profession.