My interest in democratization came when, in the course of my continuing research in Southeast Asia, the region was hit by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. In the maelstrom that followed, mass demonstrations both forced the resignation of General Suharto after 31 years in Indonesia, and provoked a political stand-off in Malaysia between the country’s long-serving Prime Minister Mahathir and his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim. Watching events unfold, my work slowly moved away from questions of economic management to analyze and explain why reform succeeded in one country but not in another.

Fast forward eight years. I had moved to the School of Oriental and African Studies where Suu Kyi herself had been studying for a PhD when she returned to Burma during the student uprising in 1988 that would see her assume the mantle of democracy activist. Within the space of the 12 months I was at SOAS, Southeast Asia was catapulted into the global media spotlight first by the coup in Thailand and then by the uprising in Burma led by the country’s Buddhist monks. Both events brought with them numerous opportunities for comment both on the TV news as well as radio for which I was lucky to be in the proverbial right place at the right time. By now, though my own work was firmly focused on questions of democratic transition and while I continued to primarily specialize on Malaysia, the media work I had done on Thailand and Burma meant that I was more cognizant of the historical backgrounds of both those countries. I had also become personally inspired by Aung San Suu Kyi’s story having read her Letters from Burma and Freedom from Fear as well as several of the biographies that have been written.

Less than a year after moving to the SOAS, I saw a job listing in The Chronicle of Higher Education for the Aung San Suu Kyi Endowed Chair in Asian Democracy at the University of Louisville and decided to apply for the post. The rest as they say is history. I can honestly say that at no point in my own personal journey did I ever expect that one day I would have the opportunity to meet ‘The Lady’ (as she is affectionately known in Burma) nor that Burma would have begun the dramatic changes we have seen in the past year and a half. It is rare, as an academic that in the cloistered halls of university campuses, that you actually witness the events and get to meet directly the people about whom you derive causal explanations for change. That I will is both an honor and a privilege.

AUTHOR: Dr. Jason Abbott
URL: http://profjabbott.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu

INTRODUCTION

The discourse on non -western cultural expression, its ontology and its fundaments are consistently hijacked by proponents of what I call Eurocommunists; leftist forces in and outside Western academia in fact challenged proponents of capitalism and Western culture nothing more, nothing less. The silence of non-western scholarship in this discourse became cloaked by writers such as V.S. Naipaul, Gabriel Garcia Marques and Wole Soyinka, all writers of the non-fictional, fictional, criticizing and challenging colonialism, imperialism, modernity and “Eurocentricism”.

The absence of credible and good quality scholarship to identify and describe characteristics and patterns of the decolonial and the transitional, the tryst of reform and re-institutionalization gave rise to intellectual fallacy and bias. Indeed, the accusatory tone that works when writing from the premise of artistic freedom, leads to academic abominality.

One of the biggest problems is that today eurocommunism still determines scholarship, specifically in the discourse on cultural dominance, capitalism and imperialism. But do these propositions hold true in the contemporary, determined by other social cultural and technological realities? How can we place these conceptions of the previous century in today’s reality in a world that is reshaped by miscegenation and crossing over of idea and culture?

PRABAL GURUNG, JASON WU, RETU BERI AND THE NEW GLOBAL AESTHETIC

The fashion industry is a clear exemplification of our changing world, of a changing aesthetics and new elites. No longer is fashion determined in Paris, Milan or London. Today’s fashion is determined by the street and global trending and than picked up by the fashion industry.

A new generation of fashion designers emerging from every corner of this globe, setting new trend of what is hip and contemporary, are indeed a sign of the times, ZEITGEIST, but also the symbol of a new weltanshauung, a transforming world no longer revolving around Europe and the North, a new Avant Garde supported by new cultural, political and social elites in various parts of the world.

Fashion is the most prolific sign of the zeitgeist; the crossing over of music and cuisine is a trend that has been developing for a longer period of time, kindled by migratory waves and the demand of Diasporic communities in Europe and the USA.

Indeed these developments symbolize transformation, the acceptance of a new aesthetic that is typically ignored by eurocommunists and proponents of cultural dominance.

Their consistent criticism, denouncing modernity and modernization in fact diametrically opposes the idea of a newly emerging Avant Garde, grounded by a new global and social reality.

MIDDLE CLASSES, POLITICAL PROTEST AND SELF-EFFICACY

The pessimistic stance of the Eurocommunists, who consistently argue the existence of a dominant culture, paraphrase the ideas of scholars such as Frank and Gramsci. This problematic and rather controversial position is oftentimes embraced by laypeople and self-proclaimed academics, whose ideas and perceptions are grounded in what I call experiments of the imagination. To establish a working link between unmet wants and needs and the available resources, one cannot rely on the fictional for credible answers. The nature of conflict that arises if needs and wants are unmet is in fact socio-psychological exercise, objectified by measurements instead of perception.The aptness to organize and aggregate demand can only manifest itself under the strictest of conditions: without the colloquially put “full belly”, a roof over ones head and a steady job, one cannot become neither a political nor a renaissance men. The hierarchy of needs explains why transitional societies oftentimes lack good quality political parties, technical expertise and affable leadership. The universality of the hierarchy of needs also explains uneven global economic and political trending, because poverty is no longer an intricate part longer part of the South. Today the world is a mosaic of fast-growing centers and peripheries scattered over the different continents. The economic crisis taught the world that more than ever, opportunity and self-efficacy are no longer beholden to the western world, but to those strong enough to escape existing spatial interpersonal and gender inequalities (Perrons 2009).

These new economic and social realities call for a different outlook on the relevance of the middle classes and political organization. Eurocommunists have always defied the notion of a strong middle class, apt to challenge the political leadership to demand change and transformation. The relevance of mass parties, eloquently described by seminal scholars such as Giovanni Sartori, their aggregative powers, that helped organize the masses at the beginning of the 20th century, is never recognized by the Eurocommunists, who consistently propose a radical solution to end economic and social disparities. The irony is that a more moderate solution tends to have positive effect on democratization, governance and trust. The skips and bouts of democratization in many developing societies are in fact responsible for ever increasing economic and social disparities, since societies continue to linger on the threshold of either democratic consolidation or breakdown. In such an uncertain environment, economic progress remains at large, and economic disparities become even more challenging to overcome as time passes by.

CONCLUSION

The fight that occurred within western academia between the proponents of capitalism and modernization and the eurocommunists has nothing to do with the people in the developing world. The loud nein so often uttered by anti modernists had no bearing in the reality then and has certainly no bearing with today’s fast advancing world, determined by internet technology and consumerism. People want their needs and wants met, whether they live in North America or in Cameron. The new centers of the world have ushered in new economic and political realities that defy ideas of South-South solidarity and Western style imperialism. China today rivals the former colonial powers in its hunger for raw materials and natural resources, trampling upon the rights of the local people as it scavenges the globe to quench its thirst. But it seems that China’s role as the new predator hegemon is overlooked, overshadowed by antiquated ideas on North-South dichotomies and non-alignment. Lack of analyses on the controversial role of China strengthens my hypothesis that the debate was not about the fate of the people in the Third World, it was about dialetic, about thetical-antithetical, the ideological divide that determined the western world between 1945-1989.

The new Avant Garde brought on by Prabal Gurung and others has not reached the doors of the Academia, because people have yet to accept that times are changing, that dominant cultures today are no longer, and that the theory of the dominant culture is debunked by the empirical, taken over by crossing over and miscegenation , Diasporic preferences and street style. Dominant cultures, have become the classics, the Picasso’s and the Mozart’s, the blueprints and the Canvases on which new Epistemics will build.

AUTHOR: Natascha Adama
URL: http://natascha23.blogspot.com
E-MAIL: nataliapestova23 [@] yahoo.com

CONTENTS

1. TIPNIS consultation extended after community resistance
The MAS government has extended the consultation in the TIPNIS for an extra two months after delays in reaching isolated communities in the region. The new deadline will be 7 November, after the government rejected calls by some MAS deputies to keep the process open-ended.

According to the Ministry of Public Works, 32 out of 69 communities had been consulted by the end of the original August deadline. Minister of Government Carlos Romero blamed the delay primarily on weather conditions, as low water levels had made it difficult for the consultation brigades to travel by river in the region. However, many communities continue to refuse to cooperate with the consultation, which has also impeded the process. Following a meeting between local community leaders and CIDOB, the lowland indigenous people’s confederation, twenty communities in the north of TIPNIS announced they will peacefully resist the consultation.

In La Paz, the Justice Tribunal threw out a legal challenge against the consultation made by the indigenous leader Fernando Vargas. Vargas had launched an appeal directed against state ministers, authorities in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), arguing that the judicial ruling on the consultation should have been made in front of a public audience, as required by the Constitution.

Finally, the indigenous magistrate Gualberto Cusi, a member of the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal, has withdrawn charges he made against the government, which he had accused of political interference in an earlier case challenging the legality of the consulta law.

2. Freedom of expression concerns as government takes legal action against newspapers
Two newspapers and a Catholic news agency have been charged by the government with ‘disseminating and inciting racism or discrimination’, prompting media in Bolivia and international watchdogs to express concern for freedom of expression. Agencia de Noticias Fides (ANF), El Diario and Página Siete were accused by the government of distorting the meaning of President Morales’s comments on differences between east and west Bolivia in a way that could provoke regional confrontation.

During a speech on food security in Tiwanaku, ANF reported Morales as saying that ‘In the east of Bolivia, where there is production all year round, I would say that it is only a lack of will that makes us poor or not have food. In the Altiplano, it’s different. If there is frost, if there is no rain or if there is hail, then there is no food. But in the east, we only go hungry because of laziness’. The two newspapers later picked up the story under headlines ‘Evo accuses eastern Bolivians of laziness’ and ‘Morales thinks the east is lazy’. The government then brought charges against all three media under the Law against Racism and Discrimination, which was sanctioned in 2010 despite considerable protest from press groups about its possible effect on free speech.

Press groups demonstrated against the charges in La Paz and in other cities, The National Association of Journalists (ANP) has argued that if there has been distortion of the president’s words, then the matter is covered under the Press Law. This would mean that the issue would be dealt with by newspaper editors through a self-regulatory mechanism, rather than being treated as a criminal matter. The ANP’s position has been supported by the international press freedom NGO, Reporters Without Borders, while the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists has also urged the MAS government to drop the lawsuit.

3. Protests over illegal coca plantations and ‘ecological’ military deployment
Consensus has been reached between the government and coca growers (cocaleros) in the Yungas de Vandiola region following protests over the eradication of crops. Cocaleros imposed a blockade at Epizana, blocking transport on the old Cochabamba-Santa Cruz road, while reports suggested that several people were injured in clashes with the authorities. Government Minister Carlos Romero denied there had been any confrontation.

Following talks between community leaders from Machu Yungas and the vice-minister for social defence and controlled substances, Felipe Cáceres, it was agreed that 42 catos (a traditional measurement equalling around 40m2) planted by recent arrivals to the area could be eradicated by the government. Local leader Mario Torrico said that the coca growers who are to lose their plantations would be given help in growing fruit as a substitute.

There was further anger at government plans to send in three hundred soldiers to the Carrasco National Park to prevent further illegal plantations once the programme of eradication had been completed. The Juan Maraza ‘ecological regiment’ will also to be deployed in other protected areas, including the TIPNIS, to prevent illegal logging and drug-trafficking.

4. Tensions mount over Colquiri mine
Tensions are mounting in a three-way conflict between the government and two groups of miners in Colquiri, following the nationalisation of the site in June. After the Swiss-owned commodities giant Glencore had its licence revoked by the government, the majority of the mine was given to the state Mining Corporation (Comibol), but a section (the Rosario seam) was awarded to the 26th February Cooperative. Salaried miners insist the mine belongs wholly to Comibol, and have prevented the cooperative from working its concession. Over eighty soldiers and twenty police have been deployed to prevent a deterioration of the situation, while vice-minister for mining Freddy Beltrán has called for tripartite discussions to overcome the tensions.

Comibol has offered to absorb those who work for the cooperative into its ranks as a solution, and many have already taken up the offer. Héctor Córdova, president of Comibol, has said his organisation has the capacity to hire the remaining cooperativistas, but said he needed consensus between all those involved before taking this step. Meanwhile, the cooperativistas are threatening to bring large numbers of their people to La Paz to make their point heard.

Cooperativistas have also seized part of the San Vicente mine, Potosí department, demanding employment. Although the mine is owned by Comibol, it is managed by the Canada-based Pan-American Silver Cooperation, which apparently has been limiting job opportunities to local miners. Conflicts in the mining sector have continued to trouble the Morales government in recent weeks, including a dispute over the Mallku Qhota mine that resulted in its nationalisation.

5. MAS plans to eradicate extreme poverty by 2025 Bicentenary
In a speech given at the Plurinational Legislative Assembly to mark the 187th anniversary of Bolivian independence, President Morales set out the challenges facing the country which he hoped would be overcome by the time of the bicentennial celebrations in 2025.

Morales, who was recently nominated by MAS as its presidential candidate for the 2014 elections, said his government would work to eradicate extreme poverty by 2025, and ensure that everyone in Bolivia had access to electricity, drinking water, sewerage and telephones. Morales also said that he hoped Bolivia would become self-sufficient in food production during the same period. The president stressed that his government had successfully met previous targets contained in the 2006-2011 National Development Plan, although he accepted failings in terms of tackling corruption and undertaking a programme of reforestation.

Analysts have reacted with scepticism to Morales’s targets. The former president of the Central Bank, Armando Méndez, suggested that even if Bolivia were to achieve annual growth rates of 10% (around twice the current figure) it would take twenty-five years to eradicate extreme poverty. Javier Gómez, the director of the Bolivian think tank CEDLA (Centre for Labour and Agrarian Development Studies) argued that if the government wanted to reduce poverty, it must do more in terms of job creation. Gómez also said that more must be done to reduce economic dependency on natural resources.

6. Sacha Llorenti named as ambassador to the UN amid questioning
Former minister Sacha Llorenti has been controversially appointed as Bolivia’s ambassador to the United Nations, replacing Rafael Archondo. The move has been criticised by indigenous groups, human rights organisations and opposition politicians due to Llorenti’s alleged role in events during the march against the proposed TIPNIS road in September 2011.

Llorenti resigned as minister of government following a violent police intervention against the march in Chaparina, Beni, but denies ordering police to use force against the protesters. Llorenti’s appointment to the UN came soon after he was excluded by the Public Prosecutor’s Office from its inquiry into the Chaparina events, raising fears that no-one will be held responsible for the repression. Ombudsman Rolando Villena criticised the prosecutor’s decision, suggesting it could create a climate of impunity in Bolivia.

7. National census to take place
The government has announced that a national census will be conducted on Wednesday 21 November this year, with two additional days scheduled for rural areas. Planning and Development Minister Viviana Caro said the information gathered on population and housing would help improve government policies. More than thirty institutions will cooperate under the umbrella organisation La Ruta del Censo to undertake the work and around 230,000 census takers will work across the country to collect data.

Some controversy has arisen over the type of information the government has decided to collect in the census. The ethnic category of mestizo will not be included in list of options for self-identification, with the government arguing that the racial dimension of the word is potentially discriminatory. The census will also not collect information on either religion or sexual orientation. Caro insisted that while the government strongly supported human rights in those areas, but the information was not relevant for public policy. Religious groups and sexual equality campaigners criticised the decision.

AUTHOR: Bolivia Information Forum
URL: http://www.boliviainfoforum.org.uk/
E-MAIL: enquiries [at] boliviainfoforum.org.uk

Adri Nieuwhof: Have you read the Breaking the Silence report with testimonies about the abuse of Palestinian children by Israeli soldiers? What was your first impression when you read it?

Rifat Kassis: As an organization working in the field, and as one that works to monitor and document Israeli violations of Palestinian children’s rights, the information revealed by the Breaking the Silence report is not news to me. But my first impression was — as I often reflect during my work with DCI-Palestine — that these practises do not just affect Palestinian children. Rather, they also affect the Israeli soldiers themselves, as well as Israeli society at large: at the end of the day, these soldiers will return home and deal with their own children or their own siblings as changed men and women. They will invariably be affected by their roles in the occupation, and they may display their consequences in a number of ways: they may be more violent in dealing with their children, for example, or they may find themselves behaving in two distinct and contrary ways, which may affect their overall psychological wellbeing.



AN:  Are the practises described by Breaking the Silence in line with the data and observations of DCI-Palestine?

RK: Yes. At DCI-Palestine, we usually document and report the accounts of the children themselves, whether they were eyewitnesses or victims. The testimonies revealed by Breaking the Silence support the stories that children tell us.

Almost all children inform DCI-Palestine that the Israeli soldiers try to terrify and intimidate Palestinian children in order to prevent them from participating in any activity against Israel, or in order to intimidate them during arrest and transfer to prepare them for the interrogation stage. Others have informed us that soldiers kick or otherwise mistreat them out of boredom, wanting to “have some fun.” I’m also thinking of one young boy’s account: upon being transported to a military camp, this boy was headbutted and punched by the soldier who received him; handcuffed, blindfolded, and put out in the yard, at which point other soldiers came to punch and spit at him; and intimidated him with a gun during his interrogation. “Can we shoot him?” one soldier asked another. “Yes, shoot him,” the other replied. “He’s an animal.” Then a third said, “Don’t. We’ll execute him in Ofer [a military prison].” According to our documentation, almost all children arrested by the Israeli army are exposed to at least one form of ill-treatment. 

Further, between 2004 and 2011, DCI-Palestine and other organisations documented the cases of 17 Palestinian children being used as human shields by Israeli forces.

To me, the Breaking the Silence report completes the reports we carry out by adding the stories of the perpetrators, which we usually can’t obtain. These accounts lend credibility to our reports, which represent the narrative of the victims.

AN: The report is based on testimonies of 30 soldiers. How do you assess the information they gave? Do you think the practises they report are common?

RK: I think that these practises are not simply the arbitrary acts of a few soldiers who don’t abide by the rules. They are part and parcel of the ideology of the state and the Israeli army. This argument is supported by the fact that the Israeli authorities rarely opened investigations on these allegations. And when cases do come to light, the state reaction is mild to the point of evasive, negligent. For example, when two Israeli soldiers were convicted for using a nine-year-old boy as a human shield during the offensive on Gaza — they forced him at gunpoint to search for explosives — the Israeli military court merely demoted their ranks and gave them three-month suspensions for “inappropriate conduct.” So, again, the abuse of Palestinian children’s rights is not only common, but also systemically carried out and institutionally protected. It is by no means incidental.


AN: How do you assess the impact of the abuse of children on families? What do you see in your day-to-day dealings with protecting the rights of Palestinian children?

RK: The impact of the abuse on children varies from child to child. It depends on the child’s age, on what exactly happened to him, and on the support that he received from his family. In general terms, though, almost all children experiencing these kinds of trauma are deeply affected. In the same way, families are affected, too. The absence of a child, the constant awareness that he is in prison and being subjected to ill-treatment there, puts an even heavier burden on families and how they try to cope with it. To summarize this burden, I will quote a mother of three children in or formerly in detention as interviewed in a report conducted by Save the Children Sweden and YMCA: “It’s epidemic; they come and take our children away in order to break us emotionally. And that affects a whole society, a whole people — I think none of us recovered from the trauma of our children being taken away from us.” 



AN: Is there anything you would like to say to the soldiers who testified?

RK: It is very important to speak up about these abusive practices and to reveal the truth about the occupation. What’s even more important, of course, is that soldiers refrain from abusing and mistreating children in the first place.

Sharing this information is important for the wellbeing of the soldiers themselves — including those who witnessed destructive practises and were unable to put an end to them. These accounts could be an important part of our future “truth and reconciliation” era, where the perpetrators reveal such information as a first step toward reparation and rehabilitation on the long road to justice.

The Israeli society and the international community should be aware of what the Israeli soldiers do in the OPT  [occupied Palestinian territory] and how the occupation destroys Palestinian lives — but it’s also crucial to remember, as Uri Avnery once said, how it corrupts the Israelis themselves. When it comes to occupation, no one emerges unharmed.


AN: What needs to be done to end the abuse?

RK: There must be accountability. The international community must work to stop Israel’s impunity. Israel must respect its obligations under international law. Both victims and perpetrators must speak about these abuses and make them known to the public — so that the public, then, can truly and effectively engage with putting pressure on Israel to abide by international law. BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] actions are one of the most direct and important measures the international community can take toward stopping these oppressive practices and bringing about a just peace in our region.


First published at Electronic Intifada.

AUTHOR: Adri Nieuwhof
URL: http://www.samora.org
E-MAIL: a.nieuwhof [at] samora.org

‘It can last from three days to sometimes longer and wakes you up in the mornings,’ he told me.
I found the sounds beautifully haunting and you can hear them for yourself here.
I don’t know how far away this particular funeral is that I can hear now. It sounds close but then the music always sounds near when it is in fact very far away.
I shall be sad to leave Battambang. I have had an interesting if not catastrophic visit but then it would not be typical of me if there wasn’t some catastrophes involved. My most reason catastrophe involved a bamboo train. My aim had been to visit the countryside while here. Battambang is the capital city of Battambang province in northwestern Cambodia.

Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is well-known for being the leading rice-producing province of the country. The city is situated by the Sangkae River, a tranquil, small body of water that winds its way through Battambang Province providing its nice picturesque setting. I spent some time researching it online and read that a visit to the countryside was something not to be missed. I asked at reception and a tuk tuk driver was arranged. He arrived ten minutes early and introduced himself as Dang and spoke English with a Cambodian/North England accent. I asked him if he had been to England. He looked surprised.
‘No, but I learnt at school and from British people who come here.’
I guessed he must have spent a long time with a Northerner. I smiled and complimented him on his English.

‘I’d like to go into the country,’ I tell him.
He looks thoughtful.
‘Ah, country. You go on bamboo train?’
I had looked at the bamboo train online and thought it looked interesting if just a touch uncomfortable. I turn to the owner of the resort and ask if she can explain that I want to go into the countryside to take pictures. She understands and a long chat in Khmer ensues. Finally she says.
‘We think Bamboo train is good way to see country.’
I’ve been bamboozled. The bamboo train it is then.
‘Come on Lynda,’ smiles Dang.
So I head off for yet another experience. Although as yet I had no idea just how much of an experience it was going to be.
The Cambodian people are the friendliest I have ever met. The children call out to you as you pass by in your tuk tuk and the adults always smile at you. Most tuk tuk drivers are exceptionally helpful and friendly and many are great tour guides. Dang turned out to be one of those. He points out the river explaining that this time last year it was totally flooded.
‘Very bad,’ he smiles. ‘Now I take you to Bamboo train’

So, off I go to the train. Obviously I am expecting a train. Something similar to the train I may board back home in Oxford. How silly am I?
We arrive at the station after driving down very bumpy roads.
‘Very bumpy,’ I say. I am so innocent. I have no idea that the bumpy roads are nothing compared to the bumpy ride of the bamboo train.
Dang just smiles.
I look around for my train.
‘The train not here yet?’ I ask.
He points to what looks like a water raft.
‘Here bamboo train,’ he says gaily and another man throws a large cushion onto it for me. Oh, good heavens, they can’t possibly expect me to go on that. But, oh yes they do.

Dang explains that the journey will last one hour. I try to visualise myself sitting on this train for one hour but it just doesn’t happen.
‘I come with you?’ Dang asks.
This seems a good idea. I climb onto the train, take a deep breath and off we go. I shall never complain a tuk tuk ride is bumpy again. At one point my handbag jumped up several inches and almost left the train but for Dangs quick reflexes. As I cling onto my bag and camera Dang gives me some background on the bamboo train.
The bamboo train is one of the world’s all-time classic rail journeys. The train clicks and clacks along warped, misaligned rails and bridges left by the French.
Each bamboo train – known in Khmer as a norry (nori) – consists of a 3m-long wood frame, covered lengthwise with slats made of ultra-light bamboo, that rests on two barbell-like bogies, the aft one connected by fan belts to a 6HP gasoline engine. Pile on 10 or 15 people or up to three tonnes of rice, crank it up and you can cruise along at about 15km/h to 20km. What to do when two trains going opposite directions meet. In the case of bamboo trains, the answer is simple: one car is quickly disassembled and set on the ground beside the tracks so the other can pass. The rule is that whichever car has fewer passengers has to cede priority.

I would dismally remember this on my return as a monsoon raged about us.
Once I became adjusted to the train I actually found my ride quite exhilarating. Thirty minutes later we stop at a village and climb off. It is here that I hear very loud, haunting music and ask Dang where it is coming from.
‘It is a funeral,’ he tells me and shakes his head. ‘I do not like it.’
I find the music deeply moving and he attempts to translate the words for me. We walk amongst the villagers who bombard me with gifts made from reeds. One ties a home made bracelet to my wrist.

I look uncertainly up at the sky as dark clouds float dangerously towards us.
‘Do you think it will rain?’ I ask Dang.
He however does not profess to be the weather man.
‘I don’t think so but I don’t know.’ he answers.
At that moment the wind comes up so suddenly that we are almost thrown off out feet. The men in charge of my train indicate we should begin making our way back. I am relieved. I wait patiently but nervously as they prepare my train.

I am now keenly aware that I am a solo traveller and that any oncoming train will expect me to disembark, have my train removed from the rails and allow them to pass. This is fine and I am very happy to do this except as we begin our journey back the winds grow stronger and the rain begins to pelt down on me. This really could only happen to me. I quickly pull my cardigan off and try to decide which I should protect the most, myself or my camera. Dang looks at me apologetically and I smile although I feel far from happy. The wind is so fierce that I have to duck constantly to stop the overhanging branches whipping me in the face. And then horror of horrors, I see an oncoming train. I want to cry. Dang nudges me softly.
‘We need to get off train.’
The words I had dreading hearing. My slacks are now stuck to my legs and any hope I had of maintaining some kind of decorum is gone in a flash when I see my cotton top is stuck to me also. I look like an entrant for a wet t-shirt competition. Not quite how one should present oneself while in Cambodia. Within minutes my cardigan is drenched and so is my camera. I slide off the bamboo train feeling quite miserable but not as miserable as poor Dang who looks quite guilty.
‘I’m sorry Lynda,’ he says offering to hold the sopping wet camera.
We wave happily to the Chinese people who pass us on their train and climb back onto ours to continue the wet journey back.

The arrival back at the station (which isn’t a station as such, more a muddy area full of motorbikes) produces such a sense of relief that I almost cry until I see how muddy it is. Visions of myself slipping and sliding to the tuk tuk torment me. I mean, why me?
Luckily Dang helps me and I make it to safety.

At last, I think. We can go back to the hotel. I can dry off and have some dinner. Except… Dang’s tuk tuk is soaked and he can’t get it to start. Oh, no. I shall be stranded here forever. Okay, a bit extreme but I feel highly embarrassed dripping away in front of all these Cambodian men. They obviously take pity on me for several of them attempt to start the tuk tuk. Until finally amidst a cloud of grey smoke, it starts. I let out a long sigh and climb in.
I’m all for adventures but this is taking things too far.

AUTHOR: Lynda Renham-Cook
URL: http://www.renham.co.uk
E-MAIL: lynda [at] renham.co.uk

They believe that geckos are relations that have died and been reborn to look after their children but if you hear a gecko cry four times in a row it means something bad will happen in the family, possibly death. Listen to the gecko cry here. Annoying isn’t it 

I’m feeling exhausted and the day has barely begun. I feel a headache looming and realise I have no painkillers on me plus I have forgotten my umbrella. I couldn’t be more disorganised if I tried. It is the rainy season and the last thing I need is to be caught out yet again. I have already been caught in two downpours. I never learn.
‘You want Provincial hospital,’ the tuk tuk driver asks.
‘No, I want the children’s hospital,’ I say finally finding the scrap of paper I need which I thrust towards him.
Several other tuk tuk drivers are now descending on me having realised that my driver has no idea where I want to go.
‘Ah, yes. I take you,’ he says on seeing the paper.
I resist the impulse to scratch the mosquito bites that are now irritating me like mad. I am also perspiring profusely and it has only been fifteen minutes since my shower. I feel hot and the insect repellent makes me feel sticky. Dengue fever is rife in Cambodia at the moment and I am constantly advised to cover myself in repellent although I have been bitten so many times that I am beginning to think it is a total waste of time and money. If I don’t go home with dengue fever it will be nothing short of a miracle. But no matter how many bites I have or how hot it becomes there is something about Cambodia that draws me back like a magnet and I know before I even leave that I will return as soon as I can. My tuk tuk driver weaves his way in and out of the morning traffic. Cyclists cut across us and motorbikes carrying whole families shoot past us. The pungent smell of cooking spices assault me and my head seems to throb more.
‘Can we stop at a pharmacy,’ I shout above the traffic noise.
‘Yes, Mam, we do that.’
At the pharmacy I try to explain that I have a headache and need something for the tension in my neck. It is like walking into a Doctor’s dispensary. Whatever you need they have. I am offered high dose codeine for my pain. I refuse, attempting to explain I want something to ease the muscle pain. She offers me Valium and then a stronger dose of Codeine. At least I know which pharmacy to come to if I want to get high later. Again I refuse and I spot some tiger balm and attempt to explain that I want something similar to this to put on my neck. She finally gives me several cool patches to place on my neck. I ask for aspirin and end up with Advil. Still it is better than nothing. I buy a face cleanser and rush back to my tuk tuk driver. It seems in Cambodia any drug is available if you don’t mind taking the risk. I’m not sure the Advil will work but I take it anyway.

We arrive at the hospital and I am stunned to see hundreds of families with crying babies already queuing at the entrance. They stare hopefully at me as I alight from my tuk tuk and walk through the gates. Many of the children are clasping stale pieces of bread or suckling at their mother’s breasts. The security guard tells me they have been there since six am. I follow the guard to the admin office feeling hundreds of eyes on me. We pass a makeshift ward, a play area which has quickly been transformed. Mattresses cover the floor and men and women lay quietly on them. These patients have been moved to make space for a dengue Fever ward. The rainy season has caused a large outbreak of the fever and already Cambodia has reported 4,434 dengue fever cases in the first five months of this year. From January to May 2012, the disease killed 21 children. In adults the fever is uncomfortable but not fatal but in young children, especially those already malnourished the fever can be fatal. The admin lady tells me she will take me to the CB offices. I have no idea what CB is.

I am struggling to control my annoyance at the organisation of these people. I have been here almost ten days and still they have not decided what is it they want me to do. It is now considered that CBHEP (Capacity Building and Health Education Program) has greater need of me. As time goes on I am beginning to understand that organisation is not the Cambodian people’s best quality. At least it is lovely and cool here though and I am grateful for that. In the offices of CBHEP an Italian volunteer bombards me with information that I feel my head spin even more. ‘Do not worry if everything seems confusing, there is plenty of time,’ he tells me. ‘In the meantime can you please work on our nutritional programme and update another document on CB?’

I fight back the urge to tell him that in fact there isn’t plenty of time and that ten days have already been wasted. Although I did manage a wonderful trip to Battembang, so their loss was my gain. Instead I return his grin and allow myself to be given another visit of the hospital and assure them the work will be done that afternoon. I leave and walk to The Peace Café which is becoming my favourite place to rest.They offer cooking lessons in Khmer and I begin to wonder if I have time to do this. I check my dollars while drinking my peanut butter yum yum. I cannot recommend this café enough. If you ever visit Siem Reap be sure to look them up. They also hold yoga and meditation classes. The temptation to attend one of these has been overwhelming but there is so much to do here that it is impossible to fit everything in. Do visit here for a drink I can assure you that you will not regret it.

Annoyingly I find that one twenty-dollar bill has a small tear in it. Here in Cambodia no shop or restaurant will accept a note with even a small rip in it. I now have to hope that I can maybe get the guy at the local supermarket to take it. So far he has been very good with me and has offered to change a few torn ones for me. But I’m aware there is a limit to how often I can ask.

My daughter in law phones and tells me she has booked me into the hairdressers for the next day. I am to have my hair straightened. I have always wanted this done in England but it was always far too expensive. The excitement of finally having some work to do coupled with the anticipation of visiting Mekong quilts and having my hair done, quickly wakes me up. In irritation I had felt with the hospital staff quickly passes.
There is no doubt about it. I love this country called Cambodia.

Links:
The Peace Cafe
Mekong Quilts
Angkor hospital for children

AUTHOR: Lynda Renham-Cook
URL: http://www.renham.co.uk
E-MAIL: lynda [at] renham.co.uk

1. TIPNIS consultation begins
Consultation with communities that live in the TIPNIS national park and indigenous territory began on 29 July, to decide whether they accept or reject the plans to build a road through the park. Consultations will be carried out with each of the communities in the area during the next three weeks. Previously a second indigenous march within a year had reached La Paz to protest against the road project, but after 14 days in the capital they decided to return to the TIPNIS to oppose the consultation. The leaders of the march say the consultation process is flawed because it is not ‘prior’ as a contract was signed in 2008; they also argue that the government is not acting in ‘good faith’ since it wants the project to go ahead.

The first community to be consulted was the Oromomo, which voted in favour of the road and also asked for economic compensation for the parts of the road that pass through their territory. Subsequently, the community of San Miguelito voted to reject the road. The consultations are expected to continue up to 25 August, with the final results due to be announced on 6 September.

The leaders of the IX indigenous march, who oppose the consultation, have appealed to the Constitutional Court in an attempt to stop the process from proceeding. They argue that the government is not complying with a previous ruling of the Court that instructed the government to reach agreement with the indigenous communities of the TIPNIS before moving forward with the consultation process.

There were also criticisms of the form of the consultation, which refers to the question of intangibility, meaning a ‘no’ vote would also affect other economic activities that the local population carry out in the park. Amnesty International issued a public declaration criticising this aspect of the consultation. Amnesty also expressed concern about compliance with the Constitutional Court ruling.

2. Mallku Qhota: government nationalises mining concession
The dispute over the mining concession in the area of Mallku Qhota intensified at the end of June and in early July as the community took engineers from the mining company and a police officer hostage, and one community member died in subsequent confrontations. The government announced that it will nationalise the mine, which appears to have quelled the conflict.

The hostages were taken by the community to pressure for the freedom of Cancio Rojas, a local leader, and for the government to expel the company which controls the mining concession there – Compañía Minera Mallku Khota, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining firm, South American Silver.

Following the taking of hostages, police were sent to the area where they clashed with members of the local population. One community member died and several others were injured. Several policemen suffered injuries because of the dynamite and stones hurled at them by the protesters.

The government and community resumed dialogue following these clashes. Negotiations held between President Morales and indigenous leaders led to an agreement to nationalise the mine – which contains large deposits of silver as well as indium and gallium (valuable metals used in electronic components). The community has been divided over whether to expel the company.

In a subsequent press conference, Vice-president Álvaro García Linera said that the Bolivian state has sufficient “economic strength” to carry out exploration, exploitation and processing of the minerals in Mallku Qhota, and that South American Silver would be compensated for the investments it had made prior to the nationalisation. On 2 August the nationalisation was formally approved, with the state company, COMIBOL, taking over the running of the mine.

3. Indian steel company Jindal abandons Mutún project
The Indian company Jindal Steel & Power has announced that it will leave Bolivia after it failed to meet conditions required by the Bolivian government. The company had entered into a joint venture with the a state mining company in 2007 in which it would produce iron ore and subsequently steel from the large El Mutún deposit in Santa Cruz, but the agreed investment did not materialise.

The company announced it would leave the country after the Bolivians asked it to deposit a further guarantee of $18 million. Jindal had accused the government of failing to comply with agreed conditions, principally in the supply of natural gas for the production of iron and steel.

The relationship has ended in acrimony as the Bolivian government accused the company of speculative practices and initiated judicial proceedings against executives. Jindal announced it would launch a case for damages against the Bolivian state, and Bolivia responded with a counter-claim against the company for non-compliance with its investment contract.

Following the exit of Jindal, the government announced it would put the venture out to tender once again, with 13 international investors already having apparently expressed an interest in the project. Meanwhile, the president of the state mining company Empresa Siderúrgica del Mutún (ESM), which was set up to work on 50% of the Mutún deposit, announced that it expects to produce 2 million tonnes of iron ore for export in 2013 and to produce up to 400,000 tonnes of steel for internal demand by 2015.

4. Santa Cruz governor faces suspension
Rubén Costas, the governor of Santa Cruz, risks suspension on account of accusations by the public prosecutor’s office of misusing state funds. On July 27, the departmental assembly in Santa Cruz decided to shelve the accusation, but lawyers argue that the assembly is duty bound to suspend Costas under the Law of Autonomies. Costas is accused of using 10 million Bolivianos to organise an illegal referendum on departmental autonomy in 2008. Attempts to mobilise support for Costas on the streets of Santa Cruz have failed to elicit a strong public response. The Comité Pro Santa Cruz (CPSC), once the most powerful civic committee in Bolivia has lost much of its influence in recent years. The powerful economic groups in Santa Cruz now look askance at an institution that helped foment violence on the streets; the CPSC allegedly even lacks the cash to pay its own monthly wage bill.

5. Cristina Fernández visits Bolivia to negotiate gas deal
Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner made a flying visit to Cochabamba where she met with Evo Morales to sign new contracts guaranteeing Bolivian gas exports for the next 15 years. Also discussed were future deals by which Argentina would purchase butane, propane and/or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Bolivia.

Fernández and Morales also signed agreements in the areas of education and culture. Both countries agreed to recognise each other’s university degrees and they set up initiatives to share knowledge and experience to increase digital inclusion.

6. The Bolivian economy grew 5.17% in 2011
According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) Bolivia’s GDP grew 5.17% in 2011. This was 1.04% more than the growth registered for 2010. The departments with the highest levels of economic growth were La Paz (6.02%), Santa Cruz (5.58%) and Tarija (6.34%). Bolivia’s finance minister, Luis Arce Catacora, commented that Bolivia’s high economic growth was the result of income redistribution policies, which increased internal demand. At the same time, foreign reserves have hit a new high of $12.7 billion, equivalent to 55% of GDP. Both Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s have recently upgraded Bolivia’s credit rating. Despite declining mineral prices, Bolivia’s exports in the first half of 2012 were up 25% on the same period last year.

AUTHOR: Bolivia Information Forum
URL: http://www.boliviainfoforum.org.uk/
E-MAIL: enquiries [at] boliviainfoforum.org.uk

Equatoguinean Teodoro President Obiang and African Union Chairman Jean Ping at the African Union Summit in Malabo. Photo from Embassy of Equatorial Guinea

2011 was a tumultuous year for the African continent with revolutions, attempted coups and violent political crises. Unfortunately the union of 53 African states that has as its mission to help strengthen regional peace and development has proved its own shortcomings in dealing with these situations.

The African Union, created in 1999 after the dissolution of the Organisation of the African Unity, was unable to solve the Côte d’Ivoire post-electoral crisis, offered late support to popular movements of the Arab Spring, and its position on Libya was primarily determined by the late Colonel Gaddafi’s influence on the organisation.

All this has led many African citizens to distrust whether the Union is really able to fulfill its mission [fr]. This much is clear studying critical blogs from commentators across the region. On the blog Cry Me An Onion, Patrick-Bernard is unequivocal in his post “Let’s Get Rid Of The African Union“:

In light of the events in Tunisia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Kenya, Madagascar, RDC, Libya and many more in Africa an institution that should be boycotted and toppled down to the ground is the African Union. The embarrassing Ali Baba gang of 53 thieves is useless in solving any or all the conflicts in Africa or finding any unifying consensus. (…)

In the unfolding crisis in Mali, the organisation currently appears to be faring no batter. Although worrying reports are coming from the Northern part of the country, now ruled by Islamist group Ansar Dine, the African Union failed to mobilise the United Nations Security Council to back a military intervention with troops from the countries of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS). On a France-based blog of a Touareg association, Temoust.org [fr], it is explained:

(…) sur le dossier du Mali, les arguments avancés par Ramtane Lamamra (photo), le Commissaire de l’Union africaine pour la paix et la sécurité, pour un soutien de l’ONU à une intervention militaire dans ce pays n’ont pas convaincu les 15 membres du Conseil de sécurité. (…) L’UA reste très imprécise ; combien de soldats seront envoyés sur place, à combien se chiffre cette opération, quelle sera la mission de cette force militaire ?

Limited Means

In spite of this assessment, it is important for the 1 billion inhabitants of the 53 African member states to be represented and see their interests protected by a strong, inclusive regional organisation, in a globalised world. Such ambition requires means which the organisation currently lacks.

In 2012, the budget proposal presented by the African Union Commission reached $274 million USD. It is a pittance compared to the 147 billion EUR of the European Union. Moreover, even such a budget is likely not to be secured by the organisation, since only 5 among the 53 member states [fr] actually pay their annual contributions (Libya, Egypt, South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria).

Furthermore, according to African Union Chairman Jean Ping himself in 2010, 77% [fr] of the operational budget, which serves to implement and sustain programs such as military force deployments, come from foreign counterparts, like the European Union. Knowing this one can understands how limited the pan-African organisation’s breathing space is.

As the continent continues to suffer from strife, it appears unlikely in spite of noble goals that the African Union will offer much respite.

First published at Global Voices.

AUTHOR: Julie Owono
URL: http://bantupolitics.blogspot.com/
E-MAIL: info [at] www.NL-Aid.org

UNPFII logo

Feminist researcher Bina D’Costa and I were recently discussing a range of obstacles faced by the Jumma [1] women’s movement as well as all indigenous women’s movement today. D’Costa observed that one of the challenges that confront women’s political activism and rights based movements is to forge meaningful alliances and re-build linkages with indigenous human rights and women’s groups that the latter could also embrace as their own. Although in recent years a lot of mainstream Bengali women’s rights activists have spoken out about violence against indigenous women, there are still some communities, like the tea plantation workers and Saotal and Khasi women, whose issues have only been very sparsely addressed. And this is reflected in a lot of the national and international reporting on women’s rights.

The other side of this is of course how the indigenous leadership, including women leaders, has persistently failed to include women’s voices in high level forums. This year, despite the increasing number of cases of violence against women and girls in the indigenous areas in Dinajpur and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, there were no indigenous women representing at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). Also, of course the debate is much larger than the Forum itself. It is just a symptom of the crisis in the women’s movement, a crisis that plagues all nationalist or even issue-based movements. It reminds me about how some men, demonstrating for their own democratic rights at Tahrir Square during the ‘Arab Spring’, had swooped on women journalists and sexually assaulted them, about how, questions about race and gender marginalization continue to be raised at present in America’s Occupy Wall Street movement.

Kalpana, a feminist activist had recognized the sexual/gendered politics within her own community much earlier, as Meghna Guhathakurta observes in her article ‘Kalpana’s lasting contribution’ (New Age, June 12, 2008). Guhathakurta writes, “…in most nationalist or ethnic movements the gender question becomes a subtext to the larger ‘national’ one.”

In a similar vein, D’Costa in her recent book Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia (Routledge, 2011) notes that “structural factors and strategic choices have shaped the outcomes of particular policies followed by women’s movements within the country.” Perhaps this is also true of the Jumma women’s movement.

Kalpana was ‘vanished’ 16 years ago on this day, a day before the national parliamentary elections. Her brother Kalicharan recognized the military officer Lieutenant Ferdous Kaiser Khan of Kojoichari Army camp who, accompanied by 7-8 others in plainclothes, came to their house at 1:30 in the morning, blindfolded her and her brothers, and took them away. Her brothers returned. Kalpana is still ‘missing’. Despite overwhelming evidence against the Army officers, numerous calls for justice from national and international human rights activists, and several layers of ‘investigations’, there has been no development.

Kalpana was the general secretary of the Hill Women’s Federation, a student at the Baghaichari Kachalang College. Friends who knew her talked about her outspoken protest against army occupation in the CHT. After her death, the discovery of her diary and letters exchanged with comrades of the movement revealed her single-minded determination to fight against Bengali colonialism through militarization. Sixteen years after her disappearance Raja Devasish Roy speaks to New Age about meeting her, about her life and the investigation of the case and the effect of her struggle, in life and ‘disappearance’, on the Jumma women’s movement of today.

Raja Devasish Roy is the chief of the Chakma Administrative Circle, an official body, and the traditional raja of the Chakma community. He’s also an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) for 2011-13. Barrister Devasish Roy is an advocate at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

HSA: In her life and in her disappearance, Kalpana Chakma has become an icon of the Jumma feminist movement. Her fights were not just against military oppression, but also the discrimination within the greater Jumma movement led by men. What do you think were the strongest areas in her struggle?

RDR: Three things, among others: (a) her deep insights into internal and externally-originated gender-based and other discrimination (b) her conviction, despite the odds, to struggle against the denial of the right of self-determination and against gender-based discrimination at the same time and (c) her moral courage to speak out and act based on those beliefs and convictions.

HSA: Please tell New Age readers a little about your interactions with her.

I met her only once, and briefly, at the house of the headman of her village in New Lalyaghona, which I was visiting, along with my (now late) wife and family, some months before her disappearance. She had joined the local people in welcoming our entourage and being hospitable to the guests.

HSA: How do you think her ideology and struggles are relevant to the Jumma women’s movement today?

Her courageous stand is a source of inspiration to Jumma women today to not give up the struggle, and to stay focused on the goal of ending discrimination against women, within their own society and overall, and of struggling for self-determination against racist and discriminatory forces.

HSA: I feel that the strength of the Jumma women is not the same as it was before the 1997 CHT ‘Peace’ Accord. This is reflected in the fact that the prevalence of sexual violence against Jumma women has grown, but there seems to be little in the way of retribution. Is it because of a crisis within the Jumma women’s movement or is it something else? What are your thoughts on this?

RDR: The Bangladeshi state is yet to learn to deal in context-specific ways with the pervasive discrimination practiced against Jummas and other indigenous peoples in general, and against Jumma women in particular. In combating sexual violence against indigenous women, there is a need for context-specific measures on prevention, deterrence, punishment and rehabilitation through legislative, judicial, executive and programmatic acts. Awareness-raising of communities is also essential. The aforesaid measures need to be informed by enquiry, assessment, analysis. The primary responsibility lies with the state. However, civil society as a whole shares this burden too. Jumma society as a whole has done little in this regard. Before the 1997 CHT Accord, women’s groups, such as the Hill Women’s Federation, had its own distinct identity, and relative autonomy, from regional political groups. This is no longer the case, both with regard to women’s organizations and those of students and youth. The Hill Women’s Federation – of which Kalpana was an office-bearer – in the case of both the Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS) and the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) are now little more than passive adjuncts to the aforesaid parties. Some of the women’s groups that are not affiliated with any political party have done admirable work. However, their work is limited to the urban centres, partly a result of insufficient support from national and regional political parties and human rights groups.

HSA: What do you think human rights activists generally and the Jumma women activists should do to put national and international pressure on the Government to solve the case of Kalpana Chakma’s disappearance? As a lawyer, what do you think are the legal loopholes and how can they be overcome?

RDR: The Bangladeshi state has not learnt to take effective measures against its errant security personnel when they have violated human rights, particularly if the matter concerns incidents in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Legally, there are no impediments to take punitive measures, as there is no limitation for such crimes, and security forces are not legally exempt from prosecution in such cases. If Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s assassination can be pursued decades after the event, so should it be in the case of crimes against others from humbler origins and acuter situations of disadvantage. And it can be so.

However, we cannot overlook the fact that the law is prevented from taking its own course on account of the lack of political support to end this culture of impunity, where members of the security forces and others are implicated. The intervention of the Supreme Court may be sought. The jurisdiction of the international human rights mechanisms can also be invoked, combined with media and other campaigns within and outside Bangladesh. I feel that a combined approach is necessary.

In the long run, I am confident that justice will prevail. For Kalpana, for Sagori, for Sujata, Alpana, Bishakha and countless others. We cannot and should not give up.

[1] The hill people identify themselves as ‘Jummas’ collectively, which refer to their use of shifting cultivation (Jhum cultivation).

AUTHOR: Hana Shams Ahmed
URL: http://hanashams.wordpress.com
E-MAIL: hana.shams.ahmed [at] gmail.com

Mexico came out at the bottom of the pack on the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI), released yesterday, garnering slot 135 out of a group of 158 countries. The GPI ranks nations on a scale of 1-5 based on 23 indicators associated with the absence of violence, with 5 being the least peaceful. Mexico garnered fives in “violent crime” and “deaths from internal conflict”. Other critical areas include fours in “political terror”, “homicides”, “access to weapons” and “perception of criminality”.

The world, and Latin America in particular, rose overall in peacefulness during the last year. Mexico is the notable exception, dropping from 105 out of 148 in 2010.

Mexico´s ranking comes as no surprise to people here. Most of the other countries in the lowest 15% are experiencing open conflict, with Somalia as the most violent country, followed by Afghanistan and Sudan. Mexico’s ranking reflects the degree to which its internal conflict cause by the war on drugs has risen in impact. 

The report concludes with this statement on the economic cost of violence: