World News Survey

Over the last few weeks I have started a few ambitious research projects, and finished none of them. To be honest the news of the last few weeks has kept me spinning in circles, too many things to think about, too many sad things to be able to pick just one. So, while I try and finish what I have started, I thought I would put together some food for thought — A World News Survey. 

Below, I have compiled a list of world events. It is easy for us to get so swept up in our national drama that we forget that we are just one piece of a bigger world. We are part of a bigger pattern of nationalism, tyranny, xenophobia, religious and racial persecution. As we go through them, I would like to express my appreciation for the reporters and news agencies that are covering these events worldwide for helping bring these issues into focus.

Ethnic Cleansing in Myanmar

Rohingya and Kaman Muslims in Myanmar have been suffering major human rights abuses at the hands of Myanmar’s security forces for years. The ethnic cleansing campaign began in August of 2017 and has led over 730,000 Muslims to flee to Bangladesh since then. Muslims are a minority in the majority Buddhist country and have been under siege since 2012 when 128,000 Muslims were confined in detention centers in Myanmar. These 128,000 people are still there 7 years later.

To add to the awfulness of this situation, a variety of high ranking Buddhist monks have joined the campaign against Muslims, calling them rapacious, violent and a threat to the Buddhist way of life. While Buddhism is generally a peaceful religion, Buddhist religious leaders have praised Myanmar’s military. One such monk, Ashin Wirathu, is quoted by the New York Times saying “only the military protects both our country and our religion”.

For more details on the human rights abuses and genocide of the Rohingya people, check out this report by the Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/burma

For more information one the involvement of the Buddhist monks, read this very well researched article by the New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/world/asia/buddhism-militant-rise.html

White Nationalism in Sweden

Another great piece of investigative journalism by the New York Times, “The Global Machine Behind the Rise of Far Right Nationalism” explores the connections between Western and Russian far right media groups and their role in the rising white nationalist movements in Europe. Focusing on Sweden, it follows the rise in popularity of the “Sweden Democrats”, a political party with deep historical ties to neo-nazism that captured 18% of the vote in the last election. Much of their popularity as come from their aggressive digital presence, helped along by Russian companies. Overall, a fascinating read and definitely prescient with regards to our own American situation.

Read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/10/world/europe/sweden-immigration-nationalism.html

Violence in Venezuela

While tensions have been running high in Venezuela for a while now, unrest has risen as President Maduro has started to take violent action against his own military. The killing of retired general Rafael Acosta on July 10th is just one in a long list of military officials detained and tortured under Maduro’s orders. This violence is in reaction to at least five attempts by factions of the military overthrow or assassinate the president. According to the New York Times the state media calls it “a continuous coup”. The Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy has documented 250 cases of military officers, relatives and activists being tortured since 2017. According to the NYT “few have been convicted of a crime and most have not even even been charged”.

Venezuela’s economy has crumbled during Maduro’s time in office. The country has lost two thirds of its gross domestic product and many Venezuelans are going hungry. The economic situation was made worse when the Trump administration backed the opposition forces and imposed sanctions on Venezuela. These sanctions have crippled the oil industry, a backbone of the Venezuelan economy.

To read more about how and why Maduro is torturing his own military officers, check out this article by the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/world/americas/venezuela-military-maduro.html

If you’re interested in reading about the United States’ role in the attempted “coup”, read this article from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/01/venezuela-crisis-maduro-claims-victory-over-deranged-us-backed-coup-attempt

Uncertainty in Kashmir

There is international concern over the decision by India to revoke Kashmir’s special status. Short back story, when Pakistan and India were finally decolonized and the British left, the area of Kashmir, which straddles northern Pakistan, northern India and a tiny bit of China, decided to remain apart from those three nations. Eventually, Kashmir got taken over and divided up between the countries. Kashmir is a majority Muslim region, and has remained so across all three countries. In India, they have maintained their own semi-sovereignty, able to make their own laws and not be totally ruled by the Indian government. That is the special status that was revoked on August 5th.

This is very concerning for a few reasons. 1) Before making the announcement, they sent a bunch of troops into Kashmir and then disabled the internet. That is probably the most suspicious thing they possibly could have done, just saying. 2) Kashmir has been a very militarized zone for a long time. Pakistan and India have been fighting over it basically as long as it has existed. Pakistan has promised to “stand with Kashmiris” and has voiced displeasure with India’s decision. There is the potential that the two nations could go to war over the area again, which would ultimately be a very bad thing for the civilians living there.

For a good overview on the background and current situation in Kashmir, take a look at this Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/08/05/india-revoked-kashmirs-special-status-heres-what-you-need-know-about-contested-province/

CICIG Shutdown in Guatemala

UPDATE: Since I drafted this, a winner has been declared in the elections in Guatemala. Alejandro Giammattei has been announced as the new President of Guatemala. Unclear so far how this will effect the CICIG — But I will keep following the news.

The CICIG, or International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, is a UN-backed group that has worked with prosecutors in Guatemala to investigate and prosecute systemic corruption. They’re a highly trusted organization in the country, according to reporting by Aljazeera. President Morales of Guatemala has been attempting to shut them down for a while now, after they began investigating him and his party for illegal campaign financing. Morales is up for reelection this election cycle. The primaries are underway to see who will run against him– Sandra Torres, a centrist, or Alejandro Giammattei, a right wing politician. Torres is also under investigation surrounding illegal campaign financing. Giammattei, who used to lead the country’s prison system, was prosecuted and stood trial for extrajudicial killings of inmates. Regardless of who wins the election, the future of CICIG does not look promising, considering their long history of investigating every candidate.

For more on the entire election picture, read this article by Aljazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/hope-change-guatemala-votes-presidential-run-190811154018098.html

For more on the CICIG, see this article by the Center for Strategic & International Studies: https://www.csis.org/analysis/democracy-peril-facts-cicig-guatemala

In Conclusion:

The world is a scary place right now. These are just a few examples of the violent and tyrannical acts taking place across our planet. Our own country is being rocked daily by gun violence, and growing racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. It is important to realize that these trends are international, that we are all connected. I hope you read these articles and recognize that there are many many scared people around the world. And if you ever meet them, I hope you are kind.

I promise that I will be back with more researched and analytical content soon. For now, I am buried in my research cave with a full 25 tabs open on my computer. As always, if you have questions or comments about this post or anything else, don’t hesitate to contact me at thecommonthieme@gmail.com.

Stay safe out there.