Stories about War & Conflict from April, 2006
East Timor: Update from the streets
Things have quietened down in Dili, the East Timor capital. Blogger at Dili-gence drives around the streets of central Dili to look at the damage. A largely peaceful protest by sacked soldiers turned violent on Friday when gangs of unemployed youths joined in started looting.
Sri Lankan: Who was it?
Nittewa on figuring out whose bodies were found in Avissawella and Mulleriyawa, and some ideas on who they couldn't have been.
Riots and panic in East Timor
Violence broke out in East Timor's capital Dili earlier today. Dili-gence says The usual press outlets have already reported 2 dead and 21 injured. We received a phone call from a Timorese in the current hot area Comorro. People are scared and people have seen smoke rising from the general...
Palestine: Confused!
Lucy Widaad has a serious question for you: “Can you guys help me make a list of things we can do here in Palestine to help progress the peace process… How can we demonstrate that we do not want occupation any longer without resorting to violence?”
Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome
Iraqi bloggers pose something of puzzle for the mainstream media. The quality of the writing is good and bloggers sometimes have better news than their own reporters. But how do you use it? Some have the right idea and report what the bloggers are saying. This Associated Press article was...
DRC: UDPS Predicts “Electoral Comedy”, “Terror”
UDPS Liege discourages (FR) the Congolese from taking part in the upcoming “electoral comedy” unless of course certain conditions are met. They predict that “Joseph Kabila will be elected on the first round with 72%. He will be protected by European Union and MONUC [UN Mission to the DR of...
Kenya: African artifacts in the West
Mama's Junkyard comments on a recent piece in the UK Guardian which argues in favour of Western countries keeping artifacts that belong to African countries. One justification given is ” In many instances, national treasures are better off outside their countries of origin – better cared for, receiving more attention,...
Sudan: Child soldiers return home
Sudan Watch reports on the return of child soldiers to their homes in the south of the country – the return has been organised by UNICEF
Chad: Sudan backs rebels
Passion of the Present points to a Reuters report that claims the Sudanese government are backing the rebels in Chad who wish to overthrow President Idriss Deby.
Uganda: War in the North
Uganda-CAN posts an interview with Geoffrey Oryema, the founder and director of the Acholi Youth Leadership Program (AYLP) in Gulu. The AYLP was set up to provide support to young people affected by 20 years of war.
Slovenia: “Death to Fascism”
Slovenians commemorate their country's resistance to fascist occupation, writes Michael of The Glory of Carniola: “It's hard to imagine what this country would look like had that fight been lost. I suppose it wouldn't even be a country at all; just a memory.”
Sri Lanka: Apathy
After the bomb explosion in Colombo Azrael's Word comments on the current state of apathy in Sri Lanka.
China: American expansion discouraged
Sun Bin blogger gives some economic-model advice to the United States in response to their perceived China-containing intentions: “You will lose…The US has to kickbox also in Middle East, S. America, Europe, Russia and Africa. The US could then be dragged into exhaustion like the Soviet Empire. This is not...
Nigeria: technology and violence
Chippla writes on terrorism, technology and violence using Bin Laden, Nigerian militants and the Kenyan Mau Mau uprising and the ANC struggle against apartheid as examples of how “one mans terrorist is another man's freedome fighter”
Sudan: genocide
Weichegud!ET Politics comments on Darfur, Rwanda and the failure of the West and Africa to act – in the case of Darfur we have been warned over and over yet still nothing happens. We as Africans also need to take responsibility…”Excuse me. 400,000 people have died. When do we start...
Uganda: Two countries
Black Star Journal points to an IRIN report on Uganda entitled “One country, Different realities”..
Bloggers react to Colombo bomblast
Reports of the recent bomb explosion in Colombo trickled in to the Sri Lankan blogosphere today, with veteran political blog Nittewa being the first to pick up the story. Meanwhile, new comer Moju threw up a thread that got some discussion going, and although this as usual quickly degenerated in...
Afghanistan:US & Taliban
AfghanLord reports on recent Taliban attacks: Suicide bombing and attacks around the country especially in the south against international and American forces embarrassed those involved in the country, especially the US.
China: America's oil foe
China Confidential‘s Confidential Reporter continues to make the case that China and the United States are locked in a race to the bottom of the world's oil barrel. “Like a player in a modern version of the Great Game—the classic contest between the British empire and Czarist Russia for mastery...
Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: US Army Bases
A Flickr photoset prompts Mad Bull to satisfy his curiosity – whetted years ago in Lit. class — about the presence of US army bases in Trinidad and Jamaica.
Japan: China's military buildup
In Hostile Maneuvers, Reloaded, Curzon at Coming Anarchy traces increases in Chinese military spending since the 1990s in the context of Japan's ratification of the American Missile Defense Plan.
