The Ivory Coast, end to the violence?

Gbagbo surrenders! He will now hopefully be held accountable for the human rights atrocities committed in the Ivory Coast. However the likely hood of president Ouattara being held accountable for violence is slim.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivory-coasts-gbagbo-must-be-held-to-account-for-atrocities-rights-group/

A copy of my first facebook note in a long time:

Okay so my profile picture is not the best picture of me which has ever been taken, as I am yelling to someone off to the side of the photo, and I may not be one of these 'youth' who are voting, as our signs stipulate, BUT I believe in the message being portrayed. All over the world there are people currently fighting and dying for the right to democratic governance, the right to have a say in the rule of their nation. I heard a statistic the other day that today Canada is 69th in the world in terms of peacekeeping. We have denied UN requests to send peacekeepers to the Congo four times. As well, although Canada aided in instigating the Millennium Development Goals, we have ceased to make any attempt to fulfilled this commitment. This is not the Canada I feel like I live in, this tight-fisted, uncharitable, corporate run country. Something must change, I want to see the Canada I was taught to believe in.

There is one way we can change this, by starting to hold our government accountable for it's actions, by asserting our democratic right to vote. Currently, if the Canadian government does something citizens disapprove of, it is irrelevant, what are we going to do about it? In 2006, 64.7% of the population voted. In 2008, it was 59.1%.

Are you disillusioned by the Democratic process in North America? Do something about it. Are you sick of rhetoric? Do something about it. It doesn't have to be this way, change is possible, and the best way we can instigate change at this moment in history is to vote. I don't care how you vote, so long as you exercise this right.

The following is a quote from one of my hero's, Tony Benn:

"Keeping people hopeless and pessimistic - see I think there are two ways in which people are controlled - first of all frighten people and secondly demoralize them. An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern...People in debt become hopeless and hopeless people don’t vote. They always say that that everyone should vote but I think that if the poor in Britain or the United States turned out and voted for people that represented their interests there would be a real democratic revolution"

April 4th

No longer is Ouattara a victim in the conflict between his party and incumbent presidential candidate Gbagbo, but has begun inflicting extreme violence in an effort to oust Gbagbo. Massacres in the West of the Ivory Coast have left up to 1000 people dead, sparking the UN to call on the warring factions not to attack civilians. Although the UN has removed non-essential staff from regions where they have been targeted, "France has ordered more troops into Ivory Coast to protect civilians as forces backing presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara prepared a "lightning" assault to remove Laurent Gbagbo from power". About 250 children have been displaced and are living in the forests.

At the very least I find it encouraging that the number of French troops will be increased, although UN troops being removed from certain locations is eerily reminiscent of the way violence was allowed to continue in Rwanda right before the infamous genocide. Why is violence labelled as genocide particularly heinous compared to other forms of violence? What makes it more evil and worthy of action or at least horror then the 5 million dead in the Congo? How far does violence need to escalate in the Ivory Coast before intervention is acceptable? And what form does that intervention take?


http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/dont-target-civilians-un-tells-ivory-coasts-warring-sides/
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-evacuates-staff-after-attacks-in-ivory-coast/

March 26th, survey results

https://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=MbIA1qFbkOL2SGQldJnkGFMBpVC3qX48GRX1cVCoQr4_3d

Click the link above to view the results of my survey on conflict minerals and whether students at McMaster University would pay more for items produced conflict mineral free.
Unsurprisingly, most say they would, but cite price as their biggest consideration when purchasing electronics. These two factors are at odds with each other.

Consider writing your representative on a regular basis

Mr. Harper,

I ask that you and Canada would take a firmer stance on the issue of
Darfur. Violence continues to be perpetuated while the world watches.
The Enough Project, an advocacy group in the US, has confirmed that
satellites have taken images of villages which have been burned to the
ground. It is unacceptable for Canada to maintain a passive stance on
the issues in that region, in the DRC and in the Ivory Coast.
Please consider renewing Canada's image as an international peace
keeper, and add legitimacy to ideas like Responsibility to Protect.
images of villages in Darfur:
http://satsentinel.org/sites/default/files/SSP2-Final.pdf

Respectfully,

Natasha Hovey

For Canada:
pm@pm.gc.ca

March 8th - the situation becomes more alarming

"Ivory Coast rebels have seized a third town in the country's west, forces loyal to incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo said, while at least six people have died in violence around the main city Abidjan. U.S. President Barack Obama said he has authorized up to $12.6 million in aid to assist refugees from unrest in the Ivory Coast. An 8,000-strong United Nations force is trying to keep a stand-off between Ivory Coast's rival presidential claimants, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, from tipping into a civil war". The Human Rights Commission has formally opposed the extreme violence in the Ivory Coast.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/pro-gbagbo-forces-say-rebels-take-ivory-coast-town/
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-sets-126-mln-in-aid-for-ivory-coast-refugees/
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92130

March 3rd

Seven women have been killed in peaceful protests against Gbagbo, incumbent leader of the Ivory Coast. This brings the total to 365 dead since the elections in November, which were meant to unify the country. Some believe this number is much higher. 70,000 have crossed into Liberia, with approximately 200,000 displaced. Although Gbagbo has retained the loyalty of much of the security forces, Ouattara has the support of the international community and is protected by U.N. troops. Thus both sides are at an impasse, with neither willing to relent.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/ivorian-forces-kill-six-women-at-pro-ouattara-rally/