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12 Feb 2012 10:45

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World: Libyan rebels-turned-prison-guards exacting revenge on Gaddafi backers

  • They told us that they planned to shift control of a few prisons this week, but it has not happened. … The government has to take over the prisons one by one by negotiating with the people who run it. It is not uniformly or automatically done.
  • A United Nations official, based in Tripoli • Discussing the situation with Libyan prisons, where conditions in the post-Gaddafi era have gotten quite bad, as rebel-sympathizing prison runners are using the prisons to exact revenge on people who supported the former Libyan leader during the revolution. Prison owners have tried to tell a different story, but some humanitarian groups have stopped helping Libyan prisons due to torture allegations. The United Nations has complained about the problem for months, noting that the government should be in control of the prisons to ensure fair treatment, not former rebels. Roughly 8,500 detainees, many sub-Saharan Africans suspected of fighting for Gaddafi, are being held in detention centers nationwide. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Feb 2012 13:29

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World: Syria: Hillary Clinton says Russia was unwilling to budge on UN resolution

“I thought that there might be some ways to bridge, even at this last moment, a few of the concerns that the Russians had,” she told the Munich Security Conference. “I offered to work in a constructive manner to do so. That has not been possible.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Feb 2012 20:12

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World: Sec. of State Clinton makes case to UN on Syria

  • Every member of the Council has to make a decision: Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the Syrian people? Are you on the side of the Arab League? Are you on the side of the people of the Middle East and North Africa who have during this past year spoken out courageously and often for their rights? Or are you on the side of a brutal, dictatorial regime?
  • U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • Stating her case to the UN Security Council, on the matter of the violent turmoil that continues in Syria. Clinton is clearly arguing on somewhat simplistic moral grounds, trying to put more pressure on Russia, which has said they’ll veto a resolution if it mandates that Bashar al-Assad step down from power. In particular, memory of the NATO mission in Libya is likely in play — Russia approved a resolution to protect Libyan civilians, only to see it broaden into a mission to depose dictator Muammar Gaddafi, which they opposed. Consequently, they’re now unwilling to agree to a resolution that carries either the overt or implied goal of regime change. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2012 10:33

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World: Syria: Russia again favors Assad, bucks against United Nations resolution

  • The Western draft Security Council resolution on Syria does not lead to a search for compromise. Pushing this resolution is a path to civil war.
  • Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov • Criticizing a draft United Nations resolution which would ask Bashar al-Assad to step aside in Syria. Gatilov suggests the resolution would lead to military conflict in Syria — much like a similar resolution did in Libya. Russia, Syria’s largest ally in the current climate, has been the sticking point for the United Nations in handling the situation in Syria: Previously, they vetoed a UN Security Council attempt to condemn the crackdown in October, and they’ll likely veto the latest resolution. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jan 2012 00:23

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World: UN’s Ban Ki-moon gets tough against Assad’s handling of Syrian conflict

“Today, I say again to President Assad of Syria: Stop the violence, stop killing your people,” the UN Secretary General said Sunday. “The path of repression is a dead end.” There’s no misinterpreting that. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Dec 2011 11:08

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World: Syria, fearing UN intervention, finally caves to Arab League

  • This illustrates that the regime recognized they can’t completely turn their nose up at the Arab League and they actually do have some leverage over them. It doesn’t necessarily mean that if and when they do allow the observers in that they will give them the full, unrestricted access that they demand.
  • Economist Intelligence Unit analyst Chris Phillips • Discussing the decision by Syria to allow the Arab League to place monitors in the country — a move seen as an attempt by Syria to fend off United Nations intervention in the country. The UN totally has a reason to show up, too: Months of crackdowns on dissidents have led to thousands of deaths in the country, and Syria essentially ignored a prior agreement with the Arab League. The real question, of course, is whether Syria will follow through this time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 15:06

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World: Russia says criticism of its defense of Syria “immoral”

  • UN action on Syria blocked by Russia, China: It was just over a month ago that Syria claimed to accept a deal with the Arab League to halt attacks and killings of citizens (and allow free media observers into the country), before flaunting their violation of the deal the next day by killing eleven people. They’ve since talked about another deal with the League, similar to the terms of the last one, but it’s rather impossible to take that seriously at this point. Many UN states would like to recommend Syria to the International Criminal Court in the Hague for crimes against humanity, but Security Council members China and Russia refuse to issue any condemnation of the Assad government — Russia, further, has referred to western criticism of their defense of Syria as “immoral.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

22 Nov 2011 15:11

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World: UN passes resolution condemning Assad, Syria government

  • Some notable and important countries passed on sponsoring it, though. A committee in the United Nations has passed a non-binding resolution, which decries the gross human rights violations and widespread murder undertaken by the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Since the violent crackdowns began in March, the UN’s own estimates suggest that over 3,500 Syrians have been killed. The resolution, perhaps most significantly, passed with support from many Arab states; Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, and Kuwait were all co-sponsors. Of note voting against the resolution: UN Security Council members Russia and China. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Oct 2011 14:54

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World: UN Security Council votes to end Libyan no-fly zone

  • This marks a really important milestone in the transition in Libya. It marks the way from the military phase towards the formation of an inclusive government, the full participation of all sectors of society, and for the Libyan people to choose their own future.
  • British ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant • Speaking on the UN Security Council unanimously voting to end the no-fly zone that they had previously approved in Libyan skies. The no-fly zone will be lifted on October 31st, marking the official drawing down of NATO’s military involvement in the country. The Security Council also implored the new Libyan government “to refrain from reprisals” against foreign nationals and African immigrants who were targeted by the rebels as being supporters of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 May 2011 16:14

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World: NATO airstrikes rock Tripoli during the night

  • Witnesses claim Gaddafi’s compound was the target: Some have cried foul over NATO’s increased bombings against Gaddafi territories, saying that the mandate for civilian protection, but the U.N. resolution authorizing the no-fly zone uses a rather vague phrase in defining the mission. It states: “…to take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.” A pro-military force type might read that and say, “well, the civilians are in danger as long as Gaddafi is in power.” We’d likely agree with that. It is a bigger and bloodier mission than expected, however, and that may have consequences in public opinion and diplomacy. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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