Stories about War & Conflict from July, 2010
Mali, Mauritania: Hostage Michel Germaneau Killed in Failed Raid as Tension Rises
A French-Mauritanian raid to free French aid worker Michel Germaneau inside Malian territory has raised tension [Fr] between the two nations, Diaspora Sahauri blog reports. The 78-year-old engineer Germaneau was killed after the failed attempt to free him.
Sri Lanka: The Black July of 1983
D. B. S. Jeyaraj remembers the Black July of 1983 when anti-Tamil attacks were carried out by Sinhala mobs in different cities of Sri Lanka.
Philippines: Oplan Bantay Laya and Counterinsurgency
Kapirasong Kritika writes a book review of Oplan Bantay Laya: The US-Arroyo Campaign of Terror and Counterinsurgency in the Philippines. Oplan Bantay Laya is a counterinsurgency program alleged by critics and human rights groups as the blueprint behind more than 1,000 extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations committed between...
Serbia: ICJ Rules Kosovo’s Independence Legal
On July 22, the International Court of Justice ruled that the declaration of independence of Kosovo did not violate international law. Sinisa Boljanovic reviews Serbian bloggers' reactions to the ruling.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Moving the conversation forward
Le Retour (in 3 Parts), a blog by a Canadian-Armenian resident in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, comments on the three recent guest entries posted on The Caucasian Knot, the blog of Global Voices’ Caucasus regional editor, and summarized here. The blog looks forward to more conversations between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
Pakistan: Perceptions And Accountability
Kiss My Roti says that the perceptions of “terrorism” and militant violence in Pakistan is shaping the social, political and cultural response to it by the Pakistanis. The blogger asserts the need for “a paradigm shift in narratives from assigning blame to accepting responsibility”.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Bloggers build dialogue
Although a recent conference held earlier this month highlighted some of the shortcomings and dangers of using new and social media in conflict resolution, there is no doubt that online tools have moved in to fill a gap left vacant by a usually politically polarized and propagandist media in the South Caucasus.
Russia: “Why Did They Kill Yuri Volkov?”
The murder of a TV journalist and football fan Yuri Volkov in the centre of Moscow on July 10, 2010, became a widely discussed event in the Russian blogosphere. A complicated topic, dealing with hostile ethnic stereotypes, crime, police corruption and Russian subcultures, has generated nearly 7,000 comments, tweets and blog posts.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: There is only humanity…
Ianyan makes a guest post on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as part of a series of entries using new and social media to bring the two sides closer together. The blogger says that these new tools have...
Sri Lanka: A Militarized State
Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca comments: “Sri Lanka is a militarized state and a generation is growing up thinking that this is normal.”
Russia: Staying power of penalism
Streetwise Professor discusses how the Russian dedovshchina – penalism during military service – tradition has changed into an ever greater system of anarchy and arbitrariness.
Colombia: Twitter Reactions to the Colombian Bicentennial and its Google Doodle
On July 20, Colombia celebrates 200 years of the declaration of independence and the start of the wars which ended August 7, 1819, when the then New Granada achieved its definitive independence from Spain. Colombian Twitter users reacted to the bicentennial celebration, including the Google Doodle chosen for the day.
Russia-US-EU: Great game revisited
Katinka Barysch at openDemocracy publishes an extensive analysis of relations between Russia and the West in former soviet space, in a Great Game revisited.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Thoughts on the ‘other’
Global Chaos makes a guest post on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as part of a series of entries using new and social media to bring the two sides closer together. The blog says that it is difficult...
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Sometime in my lifetime
Scary Azeri makes a guest post on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as part of a series of entries using new and social media to bring the two sides closer together. Noting the popularity of her own posts...
South Korea:Water Subdued, May As Tensions
The annual torrential rain swept over the country and brought a faint hope on the Inter-Korean relations. South Korea's Yonhap reported that as North Korea had informed South prior to it's dam water release into the Imjin River that flows to its Southern neighbor, experts are carefully deciphering it as...
India: From Stone Pelting In Kashmir Streets To Facebook Protests
Indian administered Kashmir valleys are boiling over tensions and rage against Indian security forces over killing of a number of young protesters. An SMS ban ensued to stop rumors and Kashmiri youths are increasingly relying on social media tools to share news and carry on with their protests amidst crack down on them.
Nigeria: More violence in Maza, near Jos
Carmen McCain reports fresh killings near Jos, a city still recovering from deadly riots earlier in the year. “It is with a sick feeling in my stomach that I post this. One of my friends, Godfrey Saeed Selbar… called me around 11:51am this morning, telling me that there had been...
Brazil: “Paulista” Separatism in a State with 42 Million Inhabitants
A curious map of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, was featured on blog Strange Maps. The blogger gives some background on the “Paulista” separatist movements in that state, which he describes as the West’s Most Populous Sub-Nation.
Poland-Lithuania-Belarus: Grünwald 600 years
Belarus Digest writes about celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the battle of Grünwald, when troops from Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus defeated the Order of the Teutonic knights – a major turn in the medieval regional balance of power.
Caucasus: Blogs and Bullets
Last week, on 8 July, a half-day conference, Blogs and Bullets: Evaluating the Impact of New Media on Conflict was held at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington D.C. Co-sponsored by George Washington University, it included panelists from the U.S. State Department, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Facebook, eBay, and Global Voices Online.
