Tibet has a better case for independence than Kosovo

Now this should put the cat amongst the pigeons, lol, I warned about this. The EU and USA's frankly stupid foreign policy will get it into major hypocritical and stupid situations. So, the writer, Paul Harris, is a barrister and was founding chairman of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor and he wrote this article. I quote:

Does Tibet have a right to self-determination under international law? There are strong legal grounds to show that it does and that this right is being denied by China. As the recent protests in Tibet and the disruptions to the Olympic torch relay have demonstrated, Tibet is an international problem crying out for a solution.

Tibet’s status has been given renewed topicality by the recent independence of Kosovo which has so far been recognised by 40 countries, including all of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations. If Kosovo has a right to self-determination, the right of Tibet is infinitely stronger. The catalogue of gross oppression, the second-class citizen status of Tibetans under Chinese rule and identity of Tibet as a country are all much clearer than in Kosovo’s case.

Hehehe, fun times ahead...

Technorati Tags: Kosovo,Tibet,China,Independence,EU,USA,Foreign Policy

And now the Comoros/Italy problem in Bolivia

I spoke about two problems before, two rich parts of a country, Italy and Comoros in this case, no longer want to subsidise poorer parts of their country. And with different results. Here's another example from Bolivia where Santa Cruz wants to have more autonomy over land use, taxes, decision making powers, and and and. Obviously the central government does not look upon it in the same way. Self Determination? Who will you support? Say you support the case of Kashmir, Scotland and say Palestine. Which way will you go? And why? If Santa Cruz says yes in a majority, will their vote hold?

Technorati Tags: Italy,Comoros,Bolivia,Self Determination,Freedom

Italy must be broken up

Curiously, we keep on seeing this fault line running for the past many years, the rich north of Italy refusing to pay for the south of Italy. Remember the Comoros Issue? It was a similar situation, that one part of the country is tired of paying for another part. Look at West Germany, so many times I have heard them moan about paying for the Ossies, the East German part, perhaps one of the world's greatest concentrated transfers of wealth ever known to mankind.

But here you go, read what Silvio Berlosconi's (the Italian PM) wife has to say about this topic. I quote:

Italy has never been well-suited to being a single country, and has never matured enough to become one. There is no longer any value in a unified Italy....This is a disillusioned country, even after Berlusconi's victory," she said. "The League expresses concrete demands from the most productive part of Italy, which is tired of dragging the rest of the country and does not find itself represented by the Left-wing."

This needs to be addressed carefully, and no, just because they are in the EU does not mean that separatist tendencies go away, just look at Scotland or the Basques.

Technorati Tags: Italy,Self Determination

An update on the Comoros issue

I wrote about the Comoros issue before. Nobody has been killed in the invasion and toppling of the rebel government. And as I predicted, nobody really gives a toss. And this is what throws up the hypocrisy of people. Just because it is a tiny island off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, it is not important. Hypocrisy galore. Would there be stop the war processions? Would people stand up for the right of self determination? As I said, hypocrisy galore.

But here's a good article on the impact of this intervention by the AU. I quote:

Should the AU have the responsibility to protect in defiance of the whims and self-interest of the regime, where clear human rights violations are taking place? Should it act, or simply react when called upon to do so? Should intervention only be considered when major conflict has already laid waste to peace and security? Has the Comoros intervention signalled a radical departure in the AU’s policy of intervention? Will pre-emption now form a critical component of African peacekeeping and conflict resolution?

And what happened to the rebel leader? Here's an eyewitness note. Oh! and France is involved neck deep in this mess. Not that this war seems to have impacted business and trade, investments are going on. The situation is a bit murkier than I first made out.

Comoros is involved with the Arab League and is thanking Libya and Sudan (holy cow, I can well see those two countries being the standard bearer of democracy and self determination...). Other countries also were involved in the invasion from Tanzania and Senegal. Mind you, the French and the Americans offered logistical help to the AU forces. Very murky indeed.

But, again, the silence on the part of the world is so curious.

Technorati Tags: Comoros,France,African Union,Africa,Indian Ocean,Arab League,Tanzania,Senegal,Sudan,Libya,Self Determination