I learned about the apparent end of the Sri Lankan military's long-running war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in this Reuters report. I also learned that, coinciding with the military victory, the Sri Lankan stock market had lept to a seven-month high. This is interesting information, to be sure, and has been part of an odd trend that I have noticed, in which reports of the Sri Lankan military campaign also consistently detail the ascent of the country's stock market. But what this particular Reuters article did not tell me was that, despite the "end" of the war, there are still hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan civilians languishing in camps, displaced by fighting, abused by LTTE civilian-shield tactics, and now at the crux of the problems facing the new, allegedly post-LTTE Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan government likes to portray its offensives as "rescuing" these civilians. No doubt many did not feel safe in an area full of LTTE guerillas willing to sacrifice the very lives they purported to protect. But, in addition to the "normal" privations of displaced persons that these civilians are now facing, a couple disturbing factors make their plight all the more dangerous.
Well, not for the war crimes he has been indicted for committing during a particularly ravaging attack on an AU-protected camp, but for agreeing to show up at The Hague for trial. This sets a positive precedent for others in Sudan indicted by the ICC, such as, um, that president guy. But even though this may put Bashir in an awkward position -- he opposes both the ICC and the Darfuri rebels -- don't expect his plane to veer out his much-traveled regional orbit toward the Netherlands any time soon. He has developed quite a knack for talking out of both sides of his mouth, so I fully expect him to find a way to condemn both the rebels' war crimes and the court trying them, without so much as a flinch of hypocrisy.
(And as Kevin Jon Heller notes, it is unfortunate that the first trial involves Darfur rebels, and not government forces; but it will be that much more unfortunate if the only trials to go forward are ones that involve rebels, and not those responsible for creating the bleak environment that Darfur has been reduced to.)
The lowest order of threat to the [Transitional Federal Government], the Somali people, the region, and the United States is actually the security item enjoying the greatest attention right now-piracy. Even so, the continued epidemic of piracy off the Somali coast is a problem and a test of the capacity of the TFG to extend its authority. Proposals to provide external assistance to the TFG for the establishment of a coast guard are premature, do not reflect the security priorities of the Somali people, and are unlikely to work. Indeed, training up coast guard officers could easily produce unintended consequences, as that new skill set will be more valuable in the piracy sector than in the public sector, producing defections from the coast guard. A more appropriate approach for the TFG will be to tackle piracy onshore. That will require time, funds, and extensive negotiations. External actors will have only limited roles to play in this internal Somali process.
Antipiracy measures would attract much greater support among Somalis if those efforts were accompanied by international action to end illegal fishing off Somalia's coast. Like the shabaab during the Ethiopian occupation, pirates have managed to cloak their criminal agenda beneath a veil of Somali nationalism. Although illegal fishing has undoubtedly decreased due to the effectiveness of Somali pirates, international commercial fishing boats have for years violated Somalia's territorial integrity and severely disrupted local Somali livelihoods. [emphasis mine]
Less so: a potential new blockbuster, starring Samuel L. Jackson as too-busy-to-even-watch-movies-about-himself pirate negotiator Andrew Mwangura. Mwangura, who has been the go-to source for journos as the piracy saga has unfolded over the past year, pleads humility, but I seem to recall questions emerging last summer about just exactly what went on in his contacts with pirates.
At any rate, I'm sure that the Samuel L. Jackson flick won't go into the nuances of how to support Somalia's government and rule of law without upsetting the delicate balance in this fragile country. That's what our smart friends at Enough are for -- and, while arguably less sexy, these measures will do a lot more for saving lives and restoring stability than an opportunistic Hollywood ever could.
Jackson, it's worth mentioning, does bring some negotiating cred to the role:
On the shelling of a hospital in Sri Lanka -- and the death of 45 civilians -- the Sri Lankan government had this to say:
"Giving credence and acceptance to this LTTE-inspired piece of 'news', would wittingly or unwittingly aid the terrorist organisation to save itself at the hour of its impending demise," a government statement said.
Expressing concern about the inadvertent bombing of a civilian hospital in no way provides succor for Tamil Tiger rebels. The torturous logic of claiming that even investigating this "news" would amount to terrorist sympathies encapsulates exactly what is most problematic with the Sri Lankan government's last-ditch offensive against the Tigers. It's not only that the military has not been taking civilian presence sufficiently into account (yes, inexcusable rebel tactics notwithstanding); it's that it isn't even willing to let the press report that civilian casualties might be happening under its watch.
Satellites may be able to tell the truth about bombings, but this makes China's and Russia's continued unwillingness to raise this "internal matter" at the Security Council even more frustrating.
(image of displaced Sri Lankans, from flickr user trokilinochchi under a Creative Commons license)
British Foriegn Minister David Miliband co-hosted a meeting at the Security Council yesterday on the crisis in Sri Lanka. The gathering, though, was not technically a meeting of the Security Council because Russia and China have opposed any formal Council discussions on the issue, claiming it is a matter internal to Sri Lanka. Still, as you can see below, three members of the Security Council brought their star power to New York to draw attention to the crisis there.
David Miliband is followed by Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger and a very agitated Bernard Kouchner.
Incidentally, I'm off to a roundtable with David Miliband in a couple of hours. You can watch it online via The Washington Note. I do wonder if any other journalist in attendance has Sri Lanka on the mind. I'm doubtful. I'll try my best to sneak in a question, though.
An international peacekeeper has been shot dead in Sudan's Darfur region, in an apparent bid to steal his car, the joint UN-African Union mission said.
He was shot outside his home on Thursday night in the south Darfur town of Nyala as he was parking his car, Unamid officials said.
The situation in Darfur degenerated for a reason, to be sure, and those responsible for creating and perpetuating this state of anarchy will have to be held accountable. But the reality is, this kind of opportunistic banditry is what is going on in Darfur right now, and efforts should be focused on ensuring that the people of Darfur -- let alone those who risk their lives protecting them -- be protected from this kind of wanton violence.
(image of UNAMID peacekeepers at a funeral, June 2008, from United Nations Photo)
The Irish Defence Minister has officially banned recreational soccer football for the 400 Irish troops stationed in Chad as part of the UN mission there.
Defence Minister Willie O'Dea said the decision was made for health and safety reasons. "The reality in Chad is that the ground is extremely hard. Some of the sports are played out on open ground and when people fall, it tends to have a much greater impact on their bodies than falling in a field in Ireland, where the ground is not nearly as hard," he told the Dáil.
(Not to worry -- "indoor judo" is still acceptable, according to the Irish defence brass.)
The ground is not too hard -- or more importantly, not yet too muddy -- for Chadian rebels to attempt, in fits and starts, their annual assault on the capital, N'djamena. Naturally, the latest fighting -- in which Chadian rebels were most likely supported by the Sudanese government -- occurred just days after Chad and Sudan pledged to halt violence against one another for what seems like the umpteenth time.
Chad's government says it has repelled the attacks -- and the rebels insist they are still moving toward N'djamena. The rebels' gambit seems a little desperate this time around, but the UN has rightly voiced concern about the impact of both the rebel violence and Chad's reprisal bombings on the country's stability and the situation of the 300,000 refugees in the east.
In case the fighting gets too close, it's good to know that at least the Irish peacekeepers can still practice their judo.
(image of Irish peacekeepers, from flickr user EDWARD DULLARD)
I have a piece up on The New Republic's website arguing that the Obama administration's response to the Sri Lanka crisis augurs well for the place of human rights in American foreign policy.
Over the past four months an estimated 6,500 ethnic-Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka have died at the hands of their own government. Tens of thousands more have been injured. Unlike humanitarian crises in places like Darfur, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this outbreak of violence occurred almost entirely during President Obama's first 100 days. It is the first man-made humanitarian crisis of the Obama era. So far, the Obama administration's response to the crisis in Sri Lanka is encouraging to those who believe that human rights--in name and deed--should enjoy a prominent place in American foreign policy.