The News
The Kyrgyzstan crisis: Past causes, present consequences and future course
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 24 June 2010 15:11
By Najam Abbas
The Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan was recently gripped by bloody violence that resulted in an estimated 2,000 deaths; several thousand people were wounded, several thousand more were turned into refugees, and several hundred houses were burnt during the violence. The fighting seemed to have been between clans, involved criminals, and, eventually, pitted ethnic communities against each other in the southern towns of Osh and Jalalabad close to the borders with neighbouring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. A number of factors combined to play their part in aggravating the situation to such a level. This article will trace the roots of the friction, examine the consequences of the current flare-up, and will look at the possible course of action for the future of Kyrgyzstan, its political leadership, neighbouring states and regional powers.
International reactions to Israel's raid on aid flotilla
- Details
- Created on Thursday, 03 June 2010 20:18
By Ashwin Pienaar
On Thursday 3 June 2010, South Africa announced it would be recalling its ambassador to Israel, following the latter's raid on a flotilla of ships carrying aid to Gaza. The incident, which took place in international waters early on Monday, 31 May 2010, left nine activists dead and over 30 wounded.
In a media conference held in Pretoria on Thursday 3 June, South Africa's Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ebrahim Ebrahim, announced that, "the recall of Ambassador Ismail Coovadia is to show our strongest condemnation of the attack. This recent Israeli aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region. The South African government also joins the international community in its call for the siege of Gaza to be immediately lifted." Ebrahim added that the siege had brought "untold hardships" to the ordinary people of Gaza, making their lives "nightmarish".
War crimes in Gaza, says UN Goldstone Commission
- Details
- Created on Sunday, 20 September 2009 04:00
By Afro-Middle East Centre
The United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission on the Israeli attacks on Gaza from December 2008 to January 2009 has slammed Israel for committing serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, saying that these may amount to crimes against humanity.
The 575-page report (6.8MB) by the four-person mission, headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, was released on 15 September 2009, and a presentation to the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva is scheduled for 29 September.
The four members of the mission were appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council in April 209, with a mandate to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might have been committed before, during and after Israel's "Operation Cast Lead" in Gaza.
Erdogan delivers ferocious speech to Turkish parliament after Israel's flotilla raid
- Details
- Created on Wednesday, 02 June 2010 12:09
By Afro-Middle East Centre
On Tuesday, 1 June 2010, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a ferocious speech in Turkey's parliament, condemning Israel for its attack on a flotilla of aid ships bound for Gaza, early on Monday 31 May 2010. Between 9 and 16 activists and aid workers - mostly Turkish - were killed in the raid in an act that has seen widespread international criticism for Israel's excessive use of force. South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) added its voice to a chorus of international condemnation for the acts leading to the deaths of civilians, issuing a demarche to the Israeli ambassador in South Africa.
Past Event: Norman Finkelstein's speaking tour in Johannesburg
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 18 August 2009 16:24
By Afro-Middle East Centre
The Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC) successfully co-hosted Professor Norman Finkelstein's speaking tour in Johannesburg, three of which were co-hosted by the Centre for the Study of Democracy based at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), and one with the University of Witwatersrand's (WITS) School of Social Sciences.
A son of survivors of the Nazi holocaust in the mid-20th Century, Finklestein is an outspoken critic of Israel's policies towards the Palestinian people, and has repeatedly questioned the abuse of the holocaust and the misuse of Anti-Semitism for Zionist objectives.
More Articles...