An editorial published on Tuesday by the New York Times commends the approval of the so-called Matthew Shepard Act by the House of Representatives, after a strong show of support from the public. The bill passed 249 to 175 in the House, and the editorial hopes that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid will bring a vote about in the Senate quickly. The bill is named after Matthew Shepard, a 21 year-old student at the University of Wyoming, who was tortured and murdered in 1998 for being gay. His death motivated many across the country to pursue legislation that would extend the hate-crime designation to include homosexuals. The bill has been a long time coming, and was stalled two years ago when President Bush threatened to veto it. The bill would provide more funding to state and local authorities in order to prosecute hate-crimes. There is still a holdout minority in the house, led by the outspoken Virginia Foxx, the Republican representative from none other than North Carolina, who are strongly opposed to the bill. Mrs. Foxx called Shepard’s death a “hoax” and refused to acknowledge that he was a target because he was gay.

In Sierra Leone, judges decided to rule against acquitting former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor on war crimes charges. Mr. Taylor’s acquittal trial is set to begin at the end of next month. The judges, while making it clear that a conviction was not guaranteed, said that the prosecution had enough evidence to support accusations against Mr. Taylor. He has currently pleaded not guilty to a total of eleven charges. It is estimated that somewhere around 250,000 people died in the wars between Liberia and the Sierra Leone. Lawyers for Mr. Taylor have said that the charges should be dropped because there is no evidence to prove that he planned any atrocities before they occurred. Taylor has been on trial at the International Criminal Court in the Hauge since 2007.

All across the globe, Mexican citizens are feeling the stigma associated with the fears of the H1N1 virus, otherwise known as Swine Flu. Although it is popular belief that the disease originated in Mexico, Mexican officials dispute that claim. They say that the disease actually began in Southern California. Some people in the United States and other countries have begun to refer to the disease as the “Mexican Flu”. In China, officials have quarantined a significant number of healthy Mexicans and Mexican travelers. One man was found to have the disease and the rest of the people on his flight were immediately quarantined. The Mexican government has accused China of improperly handling its citizens. Chile has also refused a request from Mexican sports teams for the Chileans to host two games in their country. Mexican officials have condemned that actions of China and other countries saying that their methods are outdated and fueled by an ignorance of the situation.

This victory has been a long time coming for the homosexual community. In the years after Matthew Shepard’s murder, thousands of people have advocated for hate crimes laws to extend to cover homosexuals. There will always be holdouts to massive changes, such as this one, but the nation as a whole is beginning to realize the importance of this issue. Not only has this bill been passed in the House (and hopefully soon in the Senate), but multiple states have now begun to approve legislation for gay marriage. The approval of the Matthew Shepard Act is a great step forward for our nation as a whole.

We can only hope that the judges in the Sierra Leone continue to be as hard on Mr. Taylor as they have been up to this point. He is a hardened criminal, and it appears that the prosecution has significant evidence against him. His defense attorneys do not have much ground to stand on when claiming that none of his actions were premeditated. I remain strongly convinced that Mr. Taylor’s appeal will fail in June and he will get the punishment he deserves. This trial is important for the whole of Africa. The continent needs to demonstrate that justice can prevail and a miscarriage of that could prove disastrous.

Regardless of whether Swine Flu originated in Mexico, Mexican citizens deserve to be treated the same way as all other travelers. In today’s interdependent world, citizens from every nation were probably in Mexico City at the time of the outbreak. Those people deserve as much attention as Mexicans. Healthy Mexicans should not be bothered, especially by such arcane methods as quarantine. I understand that the Chinese are concerned that a possible repeat of the SARS epidemic, but, as recent reports have shown, the disease is not thought to be as deadly as once predicted. We must all be careful of stigma.

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised with the experience I had during the Model U.N simulation. I was hesitant at first, mostly because I didn’t know what to expect and wasn’t sure if I was well prepared, but I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to participate.

            The part that I enjoyed the most was being able to write action orders for whatever our group wanted to do. It was fun to devise clever methods for attaining the items we wanted and pursuing our country’s national interests. I even had fun actually writing up the action orders. They allowed us to be as subversive as we wanted to, and to come up with actions that our country might actually take. The other part of the simulation that I enjoyed was the meetings we held with other countries. The debates and discussions I had with delegates from other countries definitely made the whole experience more engaging.

            I feel that the research that I did, both on Iran and my particular ministry (the ministry of intelligence), prepared me well for the simulation. That being said, if the other ministers in my group had not done their research, we would have been in serious trouble. The fact that everyone did his or her research was of great benefit to us. I would say that all of us relied on the research we performed to help us make decisions and write action orders at some point during the simulation. We were also greatly helped by the fact that our chair was extremely knowledgeable about the country and was quite enthusiastic throughout the process. The only part I wish I knew more about was how the actual simulation was run. It is easy to pick up the procedure once you start, but not knowing caused some apprehension beforehand.

            The action we took that I am most proud of was the action orders we wrote to attain nuclear capabilities. First, we reached out to the Chinese, who didn’t openly support our nuclear endeavor, but provided us with a shield from Western countries. Then, we devised many different ways to procure nuclear arms. I think, when it was all said and done, that we came up with four or five different ways to become nuclear, and we were shut down until the last one. We had to resort to finding a random nuclear warhead in the desert, but we were persistent in our attempts, and it paid off.

            The one thing I wish we had done more was to prepare ourselves to both attack and respond to attacks. We were so focused on gaining nuclear capability that we neglected our military responsibilities and left ourselves vulnerable to attack. We had a defense measure in place, but by the time we used it, it was to late to protect ourselves. We didn’t expect to be attacked, honestly, because we did not take direct military action against any country, nor were we openly hostile to any country. If we had prepared ourselves more fully militarily, we could have won the simulation.

            I very pleased that I had the opportunity to participate in this years’ Model U.N. simulation. I had a great time, and I feel like I learned much about the Middle East. I really hope that I have the opportunity to participate again n

In Tehran, the female Iranian-American journalist who was captured and imprisoned by the Iranian government has successfully completed a week of fasting. Roxana Sabari was sentenced to 8 years in prison after she was found guilty of spying for the U.S. government in Washington. Sabari began to fast to protest her sentencing and secure her release. Her father has recently said that she has lost ten pounds already. After having her press card revoked in 2006, Ms. Saberi was originally arrested for buying a bottle of wine, which is against the law in Tehran. Eventually, the charges escalated to spying for the U.S. Sabari’s family has secured the most prominent human rights lawyer in Iran for her appeal, and both President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s top judiciary official have urged an investigation and fair appeal. This case has increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran just when it seemed their relationship might be thawing out.

In Hungary, attacks against the ethnic group Roma, more commonly known as gypsies, have increased at an alarming rate. Within the past year, at least seven Roma have been killed, plus around thirty attacks involving Molotov cocktails have occurred. In February, a Roma man and his four-year-old son were killed outside their home outside of Budapest. It is reported that many of these attacks are carried out by military or police personnel, and have no motivation other than that the victims are Roma. There is a long-standing stereotype that all Roma are petty thieves and criminals. Authorities believe attacks have increased because of this stereotype, in conjunction with the rise in unemployment and economic turmoil. Violence has also increased in the Czech Republic. As of now, Hungarian police have chosen not to name ethnicity as a motivation for the attacks, and have at times maintained the attacks are occurring between warring factions of Roma.

According to the United Nations, an average of seventy civilians have been killed per day in the civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and the rebel Tamil Tigers. The government currently has the rebels pinned in a small portion of land, and are pushing to eliminate the group entirely. They rejected a cease-fire agreement on Sunday because they want a full surrender. The U.N. estimates that anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 civilians are still trapped in the narrow portion of the land the rebels still claim. The Red Cross and the U.N. are greatly concerned about the lack of humanitarian aid flowing into the area. There are very little medical supplies and water, plus no food has been received for over three weeks. It is reported that the rebels are forcing civilians to take up arms against the government and are now even recruiting children as young as twelve. A total of 6,432 civilians have died in the fighting during the past three months.

Iran must handle Ms. Sabari’s appeal very delicately. The unjust treatment of an American citizen could cause serious outrage in the United States and would significantly increase strain on an already burdened relationship. It seems that the charges against Sabari are trumped up, as buying a bottle of wine somehow turned to a charge of treason overnight. It almost looks as if the Iranian government was looking for any excuse to arrest and try her. There is no question that the law is the law, and she was caught breaking it, but treason is going too far.

The global recession has people panicking and looking for a scapegoat. In Hungary, and it s neighboring countries, it seems that the Roma have become the popular target. One must remember that the Roma were persecuted along with the Jews during the Holocaust. Because it seems that the government has a hand in some of the attacks, or at least certain agencies do, there needs to be some external pressure. There is no just motivation for the attacks, and are getting increasingly worse. Someone needs to exert control of the mobs, and if the Hungarian government won’t do it, the international community should.

It is understandable, that the Sri Lankan government wants the total destruction of the Tamil Tigers, but to what lengths are they willing to go. Is the civilian sacrifice worth it? If the fight continues on for much longer, there could be serious discontent and unhappiness from the civilian population. The government should consider this cease-fire and aim for the disarmament of the group in treaty talks. 6,432 civilian deaths in three months is unacceptable no matter what the cause.

In a resurrection of last year’s “waterboarding” fiasco, the Justice Department has recently publicized documents that describe “brutal interrogation methods” used by the CIA on terror suspects. In response, President Obama issued a statement saying that the men and women involved at the CIA will not be prosecuted for their roles in the so-called illegal torture. Some of the methods, which were approved by the Bush administration in 2002, included keeping victims awake for long time periods and putting them inside a dark box filled with items to fuel their fears, such as insects. According to the article, some of the techniques detailed in the reports are ones that Japanese officials were prosecuted for after World War II. For some time the Obama administration has been divided over the release of the documents, but, obviously, they eventually were due in some part to the lawsuit filed by the ACLU. The release of the documents indicated that President Obama has sided with the proponents of full disclosure from the CIA and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) almost immediately issued a statement calling for an official inquiry that would “offer immunity in return for candid testimony.” Senator Leahy would like a full investigation of the events.

Around two weeks ago, a Spanish court announced that it would pursue charges against six former Bush administration officials, who are now commonly known as the “Bush Six”. The six officials first appeared in a book written by British barrister named Philippe Sands entitled Torture Team. The six men are: former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Douglas Feith; former Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales; former Justice Department lawyer, John Yoo; former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, David Addington; the former Pentagon general counsel, William Haynes; and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee. The charges are to be leveled by Spain because of the alleged torture of five Spanish citizens at Guantanamo Bay. Sands spent two years travelling the United States, interviewing some of the accused, as well as human-rights officials to compile research for his book. In an interview, “Feith called [the] book ‘wildly inaccurate’.” It is difficult to know what will be the next course of action, but the Obama administration may have to move in the near future. The article believes that the administration will either have to extradite the officials to Spain, or open its own investigation. Sands says he supports Obama, and believes he “will [do] the right thing.”

Also in Spain, it has been reported that the leader of the Basque separatist group ETA has been arrested. Jurdan Martitegi Lisazo was arrested in southern France during a joint raid by French and Spanish police units. All in all, nine militants in both Spain and France were captured, and police believe they were plotting an attack in Spain. Martitegi is believed to be the chief military and operations leader of the ETA, and is the fourth such individual arrested since May 2008. The ETA has killed well over 500 people in its fifty years of operations, and these arrests are believed to have put the group on its last legs. The group is designated by the State Department and the European Union as a terrorist organization.

I fear a resurrection of the “waterboarding” fiasco because it so bitterly drives the country apart. Partisanship is already at the highest levels it has ever been, so the last thing the country needs is the resurfacing of torture accusations. However, the U.S. must now be quite vigilant in policing human rights abuses within its own borders if it wants the rest of the world to do the same. So the, if these men truly deserve a trial, I believe that the Obama administration should allow it to happen or should conduct one itself. We cannot expect others to follow our lead if we do not set a great example. I personally do not believe that these men deserve to go to trial for their actions and be charged with crimes against humanity. They made terrible mistakes in their former positions, ones that I certainly would not approve of. Certain things need to stay behind closed doors.

The arrest of another senior ETA member is great new for Spain and the Basque region. The ETA has long terrorized the area and killed civilians at will. It is encouraging to see the Spanish police making such progress, and hopefully the group can be eliminated within the near future, or at least shift its focus away from military tactics.

A report out of Zimbabwe published in the New York Times claims that ranking officials within the ZANU-PF party, the party of President Robert Mugabe, are using blackmail and violence to gain amnesty from prosecution for human rights abuses. Now that Zimbabwe has a power sharing government and the Movement for Democratic Change (M.D.C.) has established itself as a major player in the country, senior Mugabe aides are concerned that they will be tried for the atrocities they committed to solidify Mr. Mugabe’s hold on power. According to sources inside the ZANU-PF party, senior officials are even attempting to implicate opposition leaders in plots to overthrow Mugabe and use it as blackmail to get them to quit or as leverage in negotiations. The current Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, allegedly said before the new government took office that “his party wanted amnesty” in order for the power-sharing agreement to work. Of course, when official talks are given and questions are raised about abductions or death threats, the ZANU-PF leaders play coy, thereby staying non-committal. In turn, the leaders of the M.D.C. have responded by saying that “[they’d] rather rot in hell than agree to anything like that.”

In Peru, former president Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for his role in human rights abuses committed during his ten-year rule. The most public event of these abuses was the murder of twenty-five civilians by a military death squad in 1992. Mr. Fujimori was president during Peru’s costly war with the Maoist Shining Path rebels. The judges have said that they are pleased with the verdict and about half of the country agrees. Fujimori still holds significant support and was even planning a return to power in 2005 before he was extradited to Chile. Similarly, his daughter is a presidential candidate in the upcoming election and has said that if she wins the presidency, her father will be pardoned. In 2000, Fujimori was sentenced to six years in prison for order an illegal search, which caused him to flee to Japan and effectively ended his hold on power. Throughout the trails, Mr. Fujimori has maintained his innocence and blames the charges on the fact that he governed during a civil war. He also is set to stand trial for two corruption charges and will appeal his sentence.

In Cambodia, it seems that the long awaited trials of the most senior Khmer Rouge officials will be put on hold again. On Wednesday, U.N. officials failed to reach an agreement with Cambodian officials over investigating internal corruption and the United Nations Development Program, which is funding the trial, will withhold the money until the problem is solved. Questions have arisen concerning corruption of the tribunal staff responsible for the trials. According to the article, it also appears that the trials have a certain aura of government manipulation that has displeased the United Nations. The U.N. cites the fact that two senior Cambodian officials, one of them the Prime Minister, are unwilling to expand the number of defendants tried as evidence of government control. It seems that that the U.N, and Cambodian officials have not developed a sense of trust with one another, so the money will be withheld until it is clear that Cambodian officials have made a sincere effort to address the allegations of corruption.

The reports from Zimbabwe and Cambodia are particularly disturbing to me because of the great advances both countries have made in recent times. For the first time since 1985, the opposition in Zimbabwe has had some voice in the government, but that power it is threatened by the corrupt leaders of the ZANU-PF. The opposition may not be easily broken, but when their families are threatened or they are tortured, that could readily change. Mr. Mugabe’s administration is adept and experienced at eliminating opposition, and that is what seriously concerns me. No amount of external pressure on Mugabe will do any good if the opposition is too afraid to pursue change.

Furthermore, it is disappointing to see such an important trial in Cambodia go awry because of internal corruption. Thirty years ago, Cambodians were tortured and murdered by a fanatical government, and its leaders must be tried. One would think that the Cambodian government wants this trial to happen as much as any other nation. The government needs to do everything in its power to allow these trials to continue.

Lastly, the sentencing of Alberto Fujimori can be taken two ways: as either a great victory or outrageous loss. The population of Peru is so divided on the issue that it could cause unrest, especially with his daughter running for president and guaranteeing him a pardon. I don’t think that there will be protests against his imprisonment, but there almost certainly will be against a pardon. The future could be bleak for the country. However, Fujimori deserves his punishment. The judges have made it known that Peru will not continue to tolerate human rights abuse. No instance, whether it be civil war or rebel attacks, should allow for the atrocities committed by Fujimori’s administration.

 

 

 

 

Despite the fact that there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest, Egypt welcomed Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, with open arms Wednesday. According to the charter of the International Criminal Court, which issued the warrant, any member is required to execute a warrant if the target sets foot in their country. Obviously, Egypt has not done that. The Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, made a statement saying that not only Egypt, but also the Arab and African communities reject the way the ICC has handled the situation in Darfur. The human rights group Amnesty International responded in turn by condemning the actions of Egypt and called for the arrest of Bashir. Shortly after the announcement was made the warrant had been issued, Bashir and the Sudanese government made the decision to expel 13 foreign aid organizations and the dissolve 3 local organizations. Violence has actually increased in the Darfur region since the announcement. Similarly, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number 2 of Al Qaeda, released of video claiming that the crisis in Sudan has been manufactured by the West in order to take over another Islamic land.

Last month, Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan dictator, was elected as the chairman of the African Union. This is a big step for Qaddafi and Libya who were formerly known for sponsoring terrorists and killing civilians. After Qaddafi agreed to give up on nuclear weapons, Libya’s relationship with the West has seen vast improvement. However, the Qaddafi has recently made statements blaming Israel for the crisis in Sudan and defending Somali pirates. Not only has he recently reverted back to his usual outlandish statements, but also the quality of life for Libyan citizens has barely seen any improvement. Freedom of speech and religion is still restricted throughout the country, and, although Libya has a wealth of oil, the citizens very rarely reap its reward. Also, many illegal immigrants have begun to pour into Libya hoping for a better life. They are treated horribly and are called “animals and slaves”. The situation is getting out of control and the Libyan citizens are largely unhappy with the amount of immigrants, which fuels the abuse.

A senior U.S. official, Stephen Blake, recently made a trip to Myanmar in order to discuss U.S. policy towards that country with its leaders. Blake, a diplomat from the State Department, met with the foreign minister and a few other officials, but did not meet with the leader of the military junta, Than Shwe. Shwe is known for being reclusive and rarely meets with anyone. The junta lost an election in 1990 but has refused to acknowledge the results and has fueled anger throughout the world. The U.S. has multiple sanctions on the country, and still refers to the country as Burma, a sign that it does not recognize the junta. Myanmar is known for its brutal human rights abuses, most recently in 2007 with the violent crackdown on Buddhist monks. According to the article, the regime has pledged to hold free and fair democratic elections by 2010. This is the first visit by a senior U.S. official to the new capital, Naypyidaw.

It bothers me that Egypt so openly taunts the ICC and other Western powers by refusing to arrest Omar al-Bashir. There is no doubt that the government of Sudan has committed atrocities and the ICC has done its research to pinpoint their architect. The members of the ICC have a commitment to uphold its charter, yet Egypt completely disregards it. They might disagree with the warrant, but they should not be so crude as to invite Bashir to a formal meeting and publicly denounce the organization of which it is a member.

I am happy for the progress that Libya has made since its years of sponsoring terrorism, but the U.S. and the rest of the world still needs to be wary of Qaddafi. He has shown time and again that he is unpredictable, and this relative peace may not last long. Not to mention, the country is still ranked among the worst in the world for human rights abuses and shows no signs of improvement. It may be one of the most stable African countries, but it still needs to make progress. Lest the world forget that Qaddafi is still an oppressive dictator and, at one point in time, openly sent his agents to kill civilians.

Finally, it is good news that the Burmese are willing to meet with American officials, especially in the new capital, but, again, the government must be wary. The junta has made no real steps toward democracy, but still insists that it will hold elections in 2010. If the crackdown in 2007 is any indication, I’d say that free and fair elections are not likely.

 

Iranian Intelligence

      Iranian intelligence today is kept tightly under wraps. No one outside of the Iranian government knows specifically what the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security or VEVAK does. The intelligence community in Iran is one of the most feared organizations because of its tendency to eliminate any and all of its opponents. To fully understand Iranian intelligence today, one must first examine its beginnings.

            The first real intelligence agency documented by the government was known as SAVAK and is the predecessor to VEVAK. VEVAK was meant to be a continuation of SAVAK, but no one in positive whether this is the case. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi formed SAVAK in 1957 with the primary duty of eliminating threats to the Shah. The CIA supported the organization when the Shah was reinstated in 1953. Basically, SAVAK became a tool for eliminating the opponents of the regime through brutal methods. Over the years it became one of the most, if not the most, hated organizations in all of Iran. SAVAK was eliminated in 1979 and replaced with VEVAK in the early 1980s. However, it has not been seen that VEVAK has deviated from the brutal tactics of SAVAK.

            The minister of Intelligence is currently Gholam-Hussein Mohseni and he has served the whole term under president Mahmud Ahmadinejad. VEVAK is now known for quickly silencing any critic of the government. Opponents seem to disappear or are easily assassinated. VEVAK is under the control of Grand Ayatollah Khameini.

            The interests of Iranian intelligence are unknown, as are the interests of many state intelligence communities. However, one is able to easily speculate the important issues. There are four main issues that the government of Iran pursues: nuclear productivity, Islamic law (Sharia), Oil, and Arab dominance/Israeli destruction.

            The first topic is the one most widely seen in the news today. Although the government of Iran swears that it is seeking to produce nuclear technology for the sole purpose of energy, the state is under heavy suspicion of seeking the capability to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has been sanctioned by the U.S. and the U.N. many times but continues to pursue a nuclear agenda. Although already a strong country, the power of nuclear weapons would propel Iran further into the spotlight. Naturally, the intelligence community in Iran is most likely seeking any sort of technological advance it can find. There have been recent news articles pertaining to the sale of U.S. nuclear technology to the Iranians, and it has been reported and is highly likely that VEVAK and the other intelligence agencies were involved.

            The Iranian government also has a strong interest in preserving the Sharia within its borders. In the past few years, there have been some outspoken critics of the government. The calls have been for an end to Islamic law by the critics because of the suppression of human rights that goes along with it. However, the government has seen this as a ploy by the West to get Iranian citizens to modernize and has chosen to have them eliminated. Any citizen educated in the United States or who has had contact with the West is under heavy suspicion. Allegedly, VEVAK has carried out the arrest, torture, and executions of the critics in the name of Islamic law.

            Oil was a huge part of Ahmadinejad’s campaign for the presidency. He promised that every Iranian would see some sort of profit from oil come to their home. However, this has not happened and more criticism of the government has begun because of that. Again, although it is not necessarily supposed to, the task of silencing critics falls to the intelligence community. Also, because of VEVAK’s place as the ministry of national security, it is responsible for doing what it can to ensure the success of Iranian oil. Whether they coerce other states through covert means or use other deceitful tactics to ensure that success is unknown, but it is clear that oil is a major priority.

            Lastly, Iran is an extremely outspoken opponent of Israel, and, in turn, is a proponent of Arab dominance in the Middle East. Allegedly, the government supplies the terrorist organization (so designated by the U.S. and other Western powers) Hezbollah with arms and other means to “liberate” the Palestinians and destroy Israel. Ahamdinejad and former Grand Ayatollah Khomeini have both publicly suggested that Israel should be “wiped off the face of the map”. While Iran does not see itself as dealing with terrorists, much of the world thinks that to be the case, so many of the dealings are covert or under the table. Any effort to end Zionism and the Israeli regime is most likely performed by the intelligence community.

            As one can see, the Iranians, naturally, keep information about their intelligence community tightly under wraps. However, from examining the government and what it perceives to be national security issues, it is relatively easy to discern what VEVAK does. The organization is no longer supported by the CIA, as the U.S. has no diplomatic ties with Iran, and is a hated organization within the state because of its retaliation against government opponents. There is no question though that the intelligence community plays a large role in the execution of governmental duties, both above and under the table.