Suffer Little Children: Remembering Beslan

On September, 1, 2004, 32 Chechen militants stormed School No. 1 in the North Ossetian town of Beslan and held 1,100 pupils, their relatives, and teachers hostage for three days. The militants demanded the withdrawal of federal forces from Chechnya. In the end, 331 of the hostages died, including 186 children, after a rescue attempt by Russian security forces.

Survivors and relatives of those killed are still angry over unanswered questions about the actions of Russian security forces during the siege, and then-President Vladimir Putin's response to the tragedy. Many believe the authorities have covered up what really happened.

Officials say the hostage takers started the massacre by setting off a bomb inside the school, but many in Beslan say the soldiers provoked the battle by firing a rocket-propelled grenade at the school, causing the roof to collapse and sparking a fierce blaze.

A number of witnesses also say they saw tanks fire on the school. Independent investigators have denounced what they say was a botched rescue operation.

Yury Savelyev, an explosives expert and State Duma deputy, published a report confirming the battle was triggered by soldiers firing grenades from a building across from the school.

Survivors and victims' families remain embittered because only one person, Nur-Pashi Kulayev, was convicted. Three local policemen implicated in the event were also given amnesty. ''We are absolutely convinced that [government officials] want to forget Beslan,'' Ella Kesayeva, who lost two nephews in the tragedy, told RFE/RL. ''The authorities don't want to hear or know anything about Beslan.''

''I have the impression that we will never know the whole truth, just like with [the deadly 2002 Moscow theater seige at] Dubrovka,'' Caucasus analyst Aleksei Malashenko told RFE/RL. ''In the end, interpretations that suit the authorities will be offered, because there has been practically no open, independent investigation. Everything was under control.''

Survivors are not alone in distrusting the official version of events in Beslan.

A 2007 poll published by Russia's Levada Center found that only 8 percent of respondents believe the government had told the whole truth.

Tragedy at Beslan Copyright (c) 2009. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Chechnya Terrorism Beslan

Zimbabwe: "Quiet diplomacy" fallen by the wayside

"Quiet diplomacy", the mantra used by former South African president Thabo Mbeki in his dealings with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, appears to have fallen by the wayside and been replaced with a more no-nonsense approach.

The two-day visit on 27 and 28 August by South African President Jacob Zuma to the country's troubled northern neighbour was characterized by a marked difference in style. Mbeki, appointed as mediator by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to resolve Zimbabwe's economic and political crisis, was seen by analysts as indulging Mugabe; Zuma was more direct.

After opening Zimbabwe's 99th agricultural show in the capital, Harare, Zuma dismissed statements ahead of his visit by Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, that his presence was only ceremonial. Mbeki was not part of the visit.

"I visited Zimbabwe in my capacity as President of South Africa, as well as in my capacity as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, both of which are guarantors of the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

The agreement was signed in September 2008 by Mugabe's ZANU-PF, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and now Prime Minister, and Arthur Mutambara, leader of an MDC faction, which facilitated the formation of a unity government in February 2009.

"I decided to use the opportunity of opening the Harare Agricultural Show to meet the esteemed leaders of political parties to ascertain progress with regards to the implementation of the Global Political Agreement," Zuma said. He held closed-door discussions with Mugabe and Tsvangirai.

The progress of the unity government has been tortured. ZANU-PF has stalled on implementing some aspects of the GPA, among them the appointment without consultation of the reserve bank governor and the attorney general, and Mugabe's refusal to swear in provincial governors, or a white former commercial farmer, Roy Bennett, as deputy minister of agriculture.

"For this [economic recovery] to happen, it is absolutely necessary that the Global Political Agreement be fully implemented without delay," Zuma said.

ZANU-PF has complained that the MDC has not done enough to convince Western countries to lift sanctions imposed mainly against the ZANU-PF elite. The US and Britain, the former colonial power, have said sanctions would be lifted once there was respect for human rights and democracy.

"We are aware that some economic development partners and donor countries have put some benchmarks to be met before they can extend assistance, and currently only offer humanitarian assistance," Zuma said in his speech at the agricultural show.

"The achievement of an effective recovery is also dependent on the removal of sanctions and other measures that hold back economic development."

A senior ZANU-PF official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "We are a party with a long history of negotiating and we have certainly worn down the MDC - of course, we cannot negotiate ourselves out of power."

However, a senior MDC official, who declined to be identified, told IRIN: "Zuma did get some concessions from Mugabe that certain provisions of the coalition deal would have been implemented by the time the [SADC] summit is held. Very soon there will be some developments."

SADC summit

A two-day SADC summit begins on 7 September in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. "This will provide an opportunity to review progress in the implementation of the agreement, and for the countries of Southern Africa to reaffirm their commitment to assisting Zimbabwe," Zuma said.

"At the same time, we have called on all parties inZimbabwe to work together to remove any remaining obstacles to the implementation of the agreement. The parties are agreed on the need to speed up implementation and to find lasting solutions to the current points of disagreements. The important factor is that there was commitment among all parties, which make the movement forward possible," he pointed out.

Human Rights Watch, a global watchdog, noted in a report released on 31 August, False Dawn: The Zimbabwe Power-Sharing Government's Failure to Deliver Human Rights Improvements, "There is mounting evidence that the new government is failing or unwilling to end serious human rights violations, restore the rule of law, institute fundamental rights reforms, and chart a new political direction for the country."

The report also noted that "ZANU-PF retains control of all senior ministries, including the Ministries of Defence, Justice, State Security, and Foreign Affairs; and it co-chairs Home Affairs. The party therefore wields significantly more power than the MDC in the government, and is unwilling to institute human rights and governance reforms."

Georgette Gagnon, Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: "The region's leaders [at the SADC summit] need to press Zimbabwe openly and publicly for human rights reforms to prevent the country from backsliding into state-sponsored violence and chaos."

Disclaimer:This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States.

Photo: Copyright IRIN

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Zimbabwe South Africa ZANU-PF Robert Mugabe Jacob Zuma Morgan Tsvangirai MDC

Environment: Cargo ship spill threatens Madagascar

Radio Netherlands - A Turkish ship which got into difficulties off the south coast of Madagascar has shed diesel, oil and phosphate. The Gulser Ana had 39,000 tonnes of phosphate on board.

The Madagascan newspaper L'Express reports that at least 383,000 litres of diesel, 7000 litres of oil and waste water, and part of the phosphate have already leaked into the sea.

For the last couple of days, oil and dead fish have been washed up on Madagascar's southern coast, near Cap Sainte Marie. The coastline, an important site for turtles, has been a protected area for decades.

The reason the ship got into difficulties is not yet known. Its crew members have been taken off the stricken vessel.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Turkey Madagascar Environment Pollution

Child Trafficking: Every year about 18,000 victims are brought to the U.S. for the purposes of labor and sex trafficking

Children At Risk - Human Trafficking is modern day slavery. It is the second largest criminal industry in the world and yields an estimated $9 billion in profit each year. Human Trafficking is a high-profit, low-risk endeavor for traffickers and often carries penalties far less severe than that of drug trafficking. For that reason, there is now an international and domestic market the trade of human beings.

Every year about 18,000 victims are brought to the U.S. for the purposes of labor and sex trafficking. About 80% are woman and children.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Human Trafficking Child Trafficking Child Abuse Child Exploitation Child labour Child soldiersChildren

Racial Issues: Racial tension Between Hurricane Katrina evacuees and Houston community

Two breeches in the Florida Street levee, looking toward the Mississippi River, are shown Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina moved through the area.

Four years ago a flood caused by Hurricane Katrina devastated much of New Orleans. Thousands of evacuees took up residence in other cities, most notably Houston, Texas. While the city was praised for its efforts to host the evacuees, not all went smoothly. A new study shows that many Houstonians resented the newcomers.

When Jason Shelton came to Houston from Ohio a year after Hurricane Katrina, he was surprised by some of the things he heard from fellow African Americans when referring to the mostly black 150,000 evacuees from New Orleans who had sought refuge in Houston.

While in Ohio black people expressed solidarity with the evacuees and their plight and applauded Houston's efforts to help them, Shelton found many African-American Houstonians expressed hostility towards the newcomers.

"These people are coming here and they are messing up our way of life," said Jason Shelton. "The gettings are good here in Houston and they are bringing things down here and they are making us look bad.' And I found that really fascinating."

Shelton had come to Houston to do Sociology research at Rice University, so he decided to focus on the evacuees and their acceptance or non-acceptance by the community at large and by various racial groups in particular.

After two years of conducting surveys and analyzing data, Shelton, who is now at the University of Texas in Arlington, has published a report, along with co-author M. Nicole Coleman, titled "After the Storm: How Race, Class, and Immigration Concerns Influenced Beliefs about the Katrina Evacuees."

What the study shows is that hostility towards the hurricane evacuees remained strong for about a year and then started to subside in the African-American community, largely because of efforts by black leaders to foster a more charitable attitude towards the "brothers and sisters from New Orleans." But Shelton says ill will towards the evacuees remained strong among Whites.

Shelton found that much of the antipathy towards evacuees was based on the idea that they were "outsiders," people who had come to take advantage of either government assistance or job opportunities to the detriment of people already in Houston.

He says White attitudes tracked closely with views on immigration. Those who expressed concerns about the city being flooded by immigrants also expressed dismay over the influx of evacuees, even though they were mostly natural-born U.S. citizens.

Jason Shelton says such reactions to outsiders are based on how people identify themselves in a community, group, class, religion or race and the threat they see posed by people from outside. He cites the example of tensions that have flared in some parts of the country between blacks and Hispanics, which are often based on competition for employment.

"African Americans, maybe not all of us, but some us, look at Latinos and say, 'Hey, if they would not take lower wages maybe we would have those jobs," he said.

As for the Katrina evacuees who remain in Houston, Shelton says there is evidence that they are now losing their image as outsiders and finding their own place in the community.

"For the folks who are there now, the evacuees who have stayed, they have probably taken on some sense of identity about being a Houstonian, which is probably the reason why they are still there," said Shelton. "They are probably working in the city, they are probably part of the life of the city and they are beginning to blend in. That is the community element."

Shelton says the age-old human problem of in-group and out-group hostility is likely to continue, but he still thinks people are capable of seeing beyond their divisions and finding ways to accept one another.

"I do not know how we solve this dilemma beyond just letting life continue to naturally unfold and we get into a deeper sense of community where we do begin to realize that we are all in this together," he said. "We do have to coexist and we are all Americans at the end of the day."

Jason Shelton and M. Nicole Coleman's study of the Katrina evacuees in Houston appears in the September issue of Social Science Quarterly.

By Greg Flakus
Published with the permission of Voice of America

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Racial Issues Houston Katrina

Economy: 'Stock Shock' goes to Washington

When a humble and dedicated U.S. postal worker was pushed into early retirement by the recent economic meltdown, he had no idea he would end up on the White House radar.

In late 2008, Richard Keane Jr., deprived of his postal income, but still determined to put his daughter through college decided to take his chances in the stock market. While he didn't lose his shirt, he felt buffeted by the wild gyrations of the market and out-gunned by techniques of market professionals such as flash trading and short selling. He decided to do something about it.

Soon he found himself chosen to be the narrator of the movie "Stock Shock" after filmmakers decided his story epitomized the impact of market manipulation on the average American investor. Teaming up with filmmakers to expose the unfair advantages of industrial traders, Richard began reaching out to government agencies. "I sent out over 50 letters to the news media and government officials demanding the truth be told," he says.

As the movie premiered it generated a buzz across the internet attracting 30,000 twitter followers and fan sites. It's brought together thousands of struggling investors who lost money during the recent crash.

In a grassroots movement, many viewers began sending their DVDs with letters to the SEC. Richard sent his letter to President Obama. Richard never expected a call back. "I got the phone call on August 19, 2009 from the office of the President of the United States," Richard remembers with pride. "I told them it was great that the SEC and President Obama were taking action to make sweeping changes in the financial world."

From bloggers, to activist investors, to government officials, "Stock Shock" has become the new rallying cry for change on Wall Street. Since its release the SEC has settled its first case against naked short sellers.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams I would be in a Hollywood movie telling the world about stock market corruption," says a shocked Richard, " I'm no star, but as the narrator of the movie, I am the voice of victimized military veterans, police officers, firefighters, teachers and the rest of the working class people of the world."

Director, Sandra Mohr says she made the movie to empower small investors and give them a voice. Stock Shock is available on DVD at Amazon.com and www.stockshockmovie.com.

Source Mohr Productions, Inc.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Economy Wal Street Stock Shock Barack Obama Stock Market Investing NYSE

Sri Lanka: Why the west attacks Sri Lanka

By: Chula Cumaranatunge
Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

I am surprised to read the comments made by Erik Solheim, (photo) 54 year old Norwegian politician, who is a member of the socialist left party and Minister for Environment and Development Corporation, on the strength of a video clip aired on a television channel in Britain.

Mr. Solheim who came to Sri Lanka as the peace facilitator seems now to have changed his role and appears to be the facilitator of a long perished LTTE interest. We must not forget the claims made by Karuna in 2007 that Solheim gifted TVs and large sums of money to the LTTE which was also confirmed by Mr. Falk Rune Rovik of a Norwegian organization called "Norwegians against Terrorism". Perhaps it would be better Mr. Solheim who was a Graduate of the University of Oslo in 1980 in History and Political Studies should study his own countries history before going around the world telling how other people should behave in a war and after a war.

Mr. Solheim should concentrate and organize compensation for the human right violations of 12,000 children of Norwegian mothers and German soldier fathers. Compensation law suits running into millions due to the charges of human right violations are still to be settled. These children were called "Kriegsbarna" or "Lebensborna" and were classified as retarded and were shut away in mental institutions due to the bizarre theory that their mothers should be mad to have a child from a German and by this definition the child should be sub-normal. Although recently Norwegian prime minister publically apologized for the way they were treated, their case for compensation is now being heard at European commission of human rights in Strassburg. Anni-Fried "Frida" Lyngstad, one of the female singers of the pop-group "ABBA" is probably one of the most famous of these children born to a German soldier father and a Norwegian mother. To escape the mistreatment in Norway, her grandmother took young Frida and escaped to Sweden. Norway should be ashamed the way the Norwegians treated her own children after the war, before going around telling other countries how to behave in war and after a war.

In my opinion hectoring of western liberal politicians and media stemmed from their sense of cultural superiority and inability to accept that a small country like Sri Lanka could organize itself contrary to their own views to eradicate terrorism from the Island, although most of the Western pundits and their media earlier claimed it was an impossible task to achieve. All the western countries who are having their own share of terrorist problems who believe themselves to be universally superior are now having great difficulty of adjusting themselves to the reality that our armed forces they long despised and dismissed with contempt as decadent, feeble, corrupt and inept, managed to completely destroy terrorism, they themselves have not been able to do so.

In fact these western societies have so long been successful because of a certain geopolitical good fortune and abundance of resources and the availability of capital and technology. It is this sense of cultural superiority which has lead to western media picking on Sri Lanka and beat us up as authoritarian, dictatorial, over-ruled, over-restricted and stifling of human rights. This is all because we have not complied with their ideas of how we should govern ourselves. We should be aware that we cannot ill-afford to let others experiment with our lives in this small island. Western politicians and media have these ideas and theories extracted from their experiences. But they have not been successfully transplanted to any other non Anglo-Saxon society although they have ruled many countries during the colonial era. Even in the western societies there is wide spread poverty, crime and violence. Children kill each other with guns and knives, neighborhoods are insecure, old people feel forgotten and families are falling apart. So-called "free western media" attack the integrity and character of their leaders with impunity, drag down all those in authority and blame everyone but themselves.

All western societies believe media should be allowed to broadcast and publish what they choose, however irresponsible or bias its action might seem. The logic of its case is that whenever the media is completely free the market place of ideas would sort the irresponsible from the responsible and reward the latter. Far from weeding out the irresponsible from the responsible reporting, market place of reporting could cause havoc in a society which is having problems of terrorism and crime. I am reminded that inspite of all the terrorist killings done by Bin Laden and his cohorts, one of the international television channels based in Doha became the mouth piece of Bin Laden by broadcasting unauthenticated tapes of terrorist leaders which was rebroadcasted by all other western media channels. Many years ago the mass media used to report on aeroplane hi jacking and how easy and successful hijacking can be. There would not have been so many hi jacking as the pilot association said, if media would have reported that all high jacking to be failures and block out reporting on all the hijacking successors.

It is obvious western media in their eagerness to fault and check our leaders and our armed forces as well as its drive to boost its viewers and its sales is whipping up a public controversy and political intrigue has again over stepped the acceptable media standards by broadcasting unauthenticated video clips. Such media reporting in Britain with its desire to titillate and satisfy the craving of an ever jaded population have tarnished the British monarchy and have destroyed the family lives of the members of the royal family, degraded the members of her parliament and the ministers with stories of sleaze and sexual peccadillos. They have downgraded their courts and made them look less than fair. They have demoralized their police force, even the church of England no longer has that same aura of authority and wisdom.

Despite western media and politicians barrage against Sri Lanka our country must assert itself the right to be ourselves. We have to chart our own course, regardless of the critizisms and innuendos this might draw from the liberal western politicians, their institutions and their media which sought to fashion our societies in their own image.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Sri Lanka LTTE Terrorism Norway Erik Solheim Norwegians against Terrorism

WWII: Poland believed it could defeat Germany

Poland wanted to believe it could defeat Germany, even though the intelligence they were being supplied with suggested something very different, believes WWII historian Professor Richard Overy.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Poland Germany WWII

Sport: Caster Semenya given new house

Pravda - The authorities of Limpopo, a province in South Africa, and a local real estate developer decided to give a new house to the 800m gold medalist at World Athletics Championship, Caster Semenya.

Semenya became the world’s 800-meter run champion during the World Athletics Championship which took place in Berlin on August 15-23. However, The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) cast doubts on the gender of the South African athlete due to her build, deep voice and her man-like style of running.

However, special tests, which were subsequently conducted, revealed that the level of testosterone, the male hormone, in Semenya’s blood exceeded the norms three times but did not overcome the limits for women’s sports competitions.

The authorities of Limpopo decided to build a new house for the world champ after they had been left dissatisfied with her present living conditions. Caster Semenya’s family of seven will soon move from their hut of mud to a new house in the village of Masehlong.

Semenya - the world's new 800-meter champion - returned home to the village of Ga-Masehlong, where houses are of mud or concrete, and roofed with thatch or tin. Here, residents refused to let questions about her gender dampen their celebrations of her Aug. 19 victory in Germany. Villagers broke into song as Semenya arrived, and children swarmed around her with cheers, The Associated Press reports.

Semenya herself seemed happy and relaxed after the last 10 days of controversy surrounding her gender, breaking into a dance as she walked through the village where she lived until she was 13 years old.

Dressed in a black T-shirt and jacket and dark jeans, Semenya said little during two hours of speeches and songs in her praise. At one point, her 7-month-old niece Gauta was passed to her, and she sat cuddling the child on her lap.

"I don't know what to say," Semenya told the crowd of villagers toward the end of the ceremony. "But I'm very happy. Thank you."

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

South Africa Gender Issues Sport Athletics Caster Semenya

Defense: Angola, China to boost military ties

China and Angola have agreed to further military ties.

Xinhua reports Chen Bingde (photo) Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, said that since China and Angola forged diplomatic ties 26 years ago, their relations have developed rapidly, with pragmatic and productive cooperation on politics, economy, and culture as well as close collaboration in the international affairs.

Chen made the remarks when meeting here with Francisco Pereira Furtado, Chief of Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces.

Chen said, China appreciated Angola's adherence to the one-China policy and its consistent support to China in the issue of human rights.

China attached great importance to its military ties with Angola, Chen said, adding that China was willing to work with Angola to promote friendly cooperation between the two armed forces.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Angola China Bilateral Cooperation Defense

Turkmenistan: Turkmenistan to build navy base in Caspian

PanARMENIAN.Net President of Turkmenistan Gurbangulu Berdimuhamedov tasked all the law-enforcement ministries to organize a reliable protection of the Caspian Sea borders from attacks by the smugglers and terrorist groups.

Berdimuhamedov decided to establish a naval base in the Caspian section of the country by 2015, which will be supplied with modern monitoring equipment and ships with missiles on board. Also, an order was signed to establish a naval training institute in the town of Turkmenbashi.

“Turkmenistan, preserving constant neutrality, does not intend to use the naval base to solve territorial issues,” Interfax cited Berdimuhamedov as saying.

Turkmenistan borders with Azerbaijan on the Caspian. Territorial disputes around oilfields were circulating between the states. In 2009, the issue was submitted to international justice for consideration. The issue could impede EU’s plans for Nabucco pipeline construction, which Turkmenistan intended to join upon cessation of gas supplies to Russia in April 2009.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Turkmenistan Nabucco Pipeline

Lebanon: Germany takes control of UN fleet in Lebanon

Germany took the helm of United Nations peacekeeping’s first-ever maritime task force (MTF), which was deployed off the coast of Lebanon in 2006 to curtail arms smuggling following that year’s war Israel-Hizbollah war.

The naval force, part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has been deployed on the request of the Lebanese Government to help the country’s navy secure territorial waters and help prevent the unauthorized entry of arms and other materials by sea into the Middle Eastern nation.

“Through its monitoring activities, the MTF has not only been playing a critical deterrence role, warding off all attempts at illegal arms trafficking,” said UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Claudio Graziano at the handover ceremony from Italy to Germany. “It has also contributed to a safe environment for commercial ships travelling to and from Lebanon.”

Since the start of operations in October 2006, the Force has hailed some 27,000 ships and referred nearly 400 suspicious vessels to Lebanese authorities for further inspection.

Thirteen countries – Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Turkey – have contributed naval units to the MTF.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Israel Hezbollah UNIFIL Lebanon Middle East Middle East Conflict

Corruption: Videotape evidence of judge in Chevron Ecuador case demonstrates erosion of rule of law

Lisa A. Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, has spoken out against videos implicating an Ecuadorian judge presiding over the environmental lawsuit against Chevron.

Judge Juan Nunez, the key legal figure in the Chevron Ecuador environmental damage case, is captured in a video shown here explaining that he plans to rule against the oil giant and for an award of $27 billion "more or less". The judge explains that the verdict will happen and that Chevron will be blocked from filing an appeal of his ruling.

Ms. Rickard said, "The video evidence released today in the Chevron case in Ecuador showing what appears to be gross judicial misconduct, direct interference by the Ecuadorian government, and multi-million dollar bribery is extremely troubling, and calls into serious question the ability for U.S. companies to continue doing business in countries like Ecuador where the rule of law has been so degraded.

"Chevron has alerted authorities both in Ecuador and in the United States, and both governments should investigate this evidence in a serious and expeditious manner.

"Further, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce believes that Congress should consider this matter when it evaluates the status of U.S.-Ecuadorian trade preferences as part of the Andean Trade Preferences Act renewal next January. These trade preferences are a privilege, not a right, and Congress should consider the larger pattern of disregard for the rule of law when it decides whether to extend them to Ecuador yet again."

"Perhaps the most fundamental ingredient in fair trade between nations is a strong, impartial judicial system founded upon the rule of law. In this case and other recent cases, we are seeing an increasing erosion of the rule of law involving mass action, plaintiff-lawyer-driven civil lawsuits.

"Failure to take this latest evidence of corruption seriously will only increase their incidences, and will lead to further strain on global commerce and free trade."

Source: U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Ecuador Corruption Chevron

Yemen: Yemen summons Iran ambassador over support for rebels

According to reports SABA news agency, Yemen's attitude towards Iran is cooling.

Yemen summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest against Iran's support for the Houthi rebels in the north. Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told the Iranian envoy that if Iran continues to back the rebels in Saada this may force Yemen to take "serious diplomatic decisions" over the Yemeni-Iranian ties.

He also complained about the Iranian media coverage of the conflict.

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits

Yemen Iran Bilateral Relations Houthi rebels