A visa denial with international implications.

by Eze Eluchie

Can the United States or anyone country arrogate to itself the right to decide who can represent another member State of the United Nations at the UN or other international organizations?

With the decision by United States authorities to deny necessary entry visa to Mr. Hamid Aboutalebi, the chosen representative of the Republic of Iran to the United Nations, in clear violation of the United Nations charter, are we witnessing the nunc dimittis of the United Nations Organization? 

Delay in the issuance of entry visa to ICC-indictee and President of the Republic of Sudan had likewise posed an affront to the UN charter but was overtaken by events as the General Assembly session which President al-Bashir had sought to attend had conveniently lapsed by the time a decision on the visa application was made.

The issue here is the obligation of States to comply with international treaties which they signed unto. The United States is a global leader in demanding and ensuring the observance and compliance with the 'rule of law' and as such cannot be seen to be flouting express provisions of treaties it has entered into. Prior to consenting to having the Headquarters of the United Nations Organization on its soil, the US had undertaken to allow all State representatives to the UN access to its territory for UN businesses - the US thus ought to have allowed the Iranian diplomat access to the UN!   

There certainly are smarter ways to dealing with the issue of a diplomat you have to have on your soil without flouting international laws. You could for instance restrict the diplomat movement in such a way that he will pray and yearn to be sent back home.

Descent into breaching express provisions of international treaties is certainly not what is expected of a country the world has come to associate as a bastion of democracy and champion of hope. I sure do believe the US State Department is populated with entities that can churn out better ideas and advice.

We sure are living in very interesting times.

Picture: United nations Headquarters complex, New York, USA.

Remembering Rwanda, 20 years on.

by Eze Eluchie

When ship-loads of machetes and axes, far in excess of what could have been required for any reasonable purposes in the country started arriving the shores and ports of Rwanda, we pretended as if nothing was amiss;

When the Radio stations and other mess media outlets started spewing out messages of hate, vengeance and mass murder, we again pretended that all was well;

When the Belgian General in charge of the micro United Nations military contingent based in Kigali announced to the world that a pogrom of unimaginable proportions was imminent, his bosses at the United Nations and those who ought to have known better again opted to look the other way and pretend nothing was amiss.

When finally Rwanda erupted in an orgy of violence unprecedented in living memory, with close to a million souls hacked, dismembered, charred, slaughtered and gored within 100 days of blood-letting, our humanity depreciated irrevocably.

As we join the people of Rwanda to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, the question that should ordinarily agitate all discerning minds include: 
 1.  Is another Rwanda possible elsewhere.
2.  Are there already tell-tale signs of similar occurrences elsewhere? 
 3.  Are we again looking the other way as those tell-tale signals of mass-atrocities blossom?

The answers to the foregoing questions are, unfortunately, all in the positive.

Another genocide need not occur anywhere. Let us all ensure Never Again!

Picture: Burial site of some victims of the Rwanda genocide. source AP

Committing a crime against humanity.

by Eze Eluchie

The Death Sentence imposed on 528 members/supporters of the Egyptian Brotherhood Party after a 1-day sham trial during which Attorneys for the defendants were not allowed to act for their clients and the prosecution presented no evidence linking the accused persons, gives credence to the fact that the military dictators who have seized control of the ancient land of the Pharaohs appear to be losing their minds.

With the arraignment today, of other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood (inclusive of its spiritual guide, Mohammed Badie, and Saad al-Katatni, the chairman of the Brotherhoods’ Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), in a second batch comprising 683 accused persons, all of whom are likely to be equally sentenced to death, one can say without equivocation that the General al-Sisi junta is intent on annihilating the entirety of the leadership and membership of the Muslim Brotherhood

History and commonsense has severally proved that it is always better to have a known physical adversary than to push such adversaries underground and have to deal with ‘unknown enemies’

General al-Sisi and his gang are out to murder sleep - and as all who murder sleep have found out to their chagrin, they shall indeed sleep no more.

So unfortunate! One wonders if the nightmare called the General al-Sisi led junta would have been avoided if a coup had appropriately been referred to as a coup, when it took place?

http://ezeluchie.blogspot.com/2013/07/redefining-coup.html

As I have repeatedly stated in other fora and on this blog, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood party, during the period it held sway over the governance of Egypt, itself acted in a draconian undemocratic manner. Such display of poor leadership skills and inability to effectively manage the affairs of the state of Egypt when it was in charge, can in no way justify the actions of the General al-Sisi's junta against the Muslim Brotherhood.

If the Egyptian junta goes ahead and executes any of the persons it has condemned to death under this most draconian, illegitimate, unjust and unfair legal process, a crime against humanity under the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court  would have been consummated. 

In the event of the execution of any of the accused persons sentenced under the judgment in focus here, it will be appropriate to set in process the necessary mechanisms to investigate, prosecute and where found culpable punish, the leadership of the present junta ruling over Egypt and their agents linked to this international crime for crimes against humanity.

Picture: Anti-coup protests in Egypt.

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