Onlookers gather around a destroyed car at the site of a bomb blast at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Nigeria, Christmas day. The explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass. Sunday Aghaeze/AP

Deborah Lutterbeck of Reuters reported on December 25, 2011, “A series of Christmas Day bomb attacks targeting churches in Nigeria has killed at least 27 people. The Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the bombings. Boko Haram, which wants to impose Islamic sharia law across the country split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims, has escalated its tactics this year and increased the sophistication of the explosives it uses. Rights groups say more than 250 people have been killed by Boko Haram since July 2010.”

These attacks are reported to have happened at the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State; in Jos, Plateau State; and in Damaturu, Yobe State. The death toll is now reported at 39.

Calling it “an act of blind hatred”, the Vatican was swift to react. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi condemned these killings, saying to Reuters, “We are close to the suffering of the Nigerian Church and the entire Nigerian people so tried by terrorist violence, even in these days that should be of joy and peace.“

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity said, “These acts of violence against innocent citizens are an unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom… Nigerians must stand as one to condemn them.” He also promised Nigerians, “I want to reassure all Nigerians that Government will not relent in its determination to bring to justice all the perpetrators of today’s acts of violence and all others before now.“

The White House has pledged to support Nigeria in tracking down the perpetrators, “We have been in contact with Nigerian officials about what initially appear to be terrorist acts and pledge to assist them in bringing those responsible to justice.“

From the United Kingdom, “These are cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer to celebrate a day which symbolises harmony and goodwill towards others … I offer my condolences to the bereaved and injured,” said British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Italy’s Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi, “I express my strongest condemnation of these vile attacks … Italy, which has always been at the forefront in the defence of freedom of religion and the promotion of dialogue and tolerance between religions, will continue to do the utmost … so that in Nigeria like elsewhere the principles of co-existence between religions and respect for freedom of religion are actively respected and defended.”

Meanwhile, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France was also quick to speak out, “France addresses its condolences to the authorities and people of Nigeria and expresses its solidarity in their fight against terrorism and for the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law throughout Nigeria.”

Germany reacted through its Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, “Even on Christmas Day, the world is not spared from cowardice and the fear of terrorism … Tolerance … and the willingness to resolve conflicts through peaceful means are not just the message of the Christian holiday of Christmas and other religions of the world. They can also be the key to peace, freedom and prosperity of entire regions.”

Amongst these, organizations like the American Jewish Committee (AJC) were quick to react as well, “AJC, which for over a century has been profoundly committed to defending religious freedom, condemns these despicable attacks on Christian worshipers gathered to celebrate their holy day of Christmas … All people of goodwill, and especially all religious leaders of goodwill, should stand together in full solidarity with the victims and in unambiguous opposition to those who would kill and maim in the name of their own perverted faith… We pray for the full recovery of the injured … and for the arrest and prosecution, to the full extent of the law in Nigeria, of those who planned and implemented these hate-filled, anti-Christian terrorist attacks,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris in a news wire release.

Swift condemnation came in from The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the United State’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. “We condemn the unconscionable and inexcusable attacks on Nigerian churches and offer sincere condolences to the loved ones of those killed or injured. Only a strong demonstration of interfaith unity will show those behind the attacks that they will never achieve their goal of dividing society along religious lines.“

After a Tuesday meeting with President Goodluck, Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III – Nigeria’s top spiritual leader of Muslims,  told journalists, “I want to assure all Nigerians that there is no conflict between Muslims and Christians or Islam and Christianity. It is a conflict between evil people and good people … The good people are more than the evil ones. So the good people must come together to defeat the evil ones.“

Dunia agrees with the president of the Nigerian Senate, David Mark, as he condemned these devastating attacks in strong words, “This is absurd and totally intolerable … this is not part of our culture or way of life.”

We stand together with the rest of the world in denouncing terrorism and all forms of religious extremism.

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A Dunia Magazine Article

Photo by The U.S. Army

Under the cover of darkness on Sunday December 18, 2001, the last convoy of U.S. soldiers quietly rolled out of Iraq, across the borders into neighboring Kuwait, marking the end of a nearly 9 year War in Iraq.

An Agenda of War

In January of 2002 a few months after the 9/11 attacks, in his State of the Union address it was obvious to those who listened closely that President George W. Bush was gearing up for war. He made it clear his administration would be focusing on Iraq which he labelled “the axis of evil”; Saddam Hussein was accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction.

In fact, his administration would make a case for war to the United Nations based on Central Intelligence Agency reports containing assertions that “Saddam Hussein was intent on reconstituting nuclear weapons programs, had not properly accounted for Iraqi biological weapons and chemical weapons material in violation of UN sanctions, and that some Iraqi missiles had a range greater than allowed by the UN sanctions.”

Bush had successfully paved the path for a war that would be go down in the history books as controversial, tragic, wasteful and unnecessary – his mission, to set-up a free, stable, and prosperous liberal democracy; a Western-style democracy which would serve as a model of freedom for other countries in the Middle East.

In March of 2002, the first US drones would strike Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s regime would fall a few weeks after, and the dictator captured in December 2003.

It would become clear to the world during the ensuing months and years of trying to contain a chaotic and fractionated Iraq that this war had been based on fabrications – not a trace of warheads, chemicals, or incriminating documents supporting the existence or plans for weapons of mass destruction by the Iraqi government would ever be found, leading the international community to conclude that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) had never existed in Iraq.

In a 2006 press conference in which President Bush admitted Iraq had no WMDs and ‘nothing to do with 9/11′, he also said, “the main reason we went into Iraq at the time was we thought he had weapons of mass destruction. It turns out he didn’t, but he had the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction. But I also talked about the human suffering in Iraq, and I also talked the need to advance a freedom agenda.“

The Price

Saddam Hussein’s links to Al-Qa’ida: nonexistent; Saddam Hussein’s links to the 9/11 attacks: none; therefore, Saddam Hussein clearly had not appeared to pose a direct threat to the U.S. Handed over to Iraqi authorities in 2004, the former dictator was tried, found guilty and convicted of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the 1982 murder of 148 Iraqi Shi’ite in Dujail after a failed assassination attempt. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and executed on December 30, 2006, marking an end to over 2 decades of iron-fist rule.

With Saddam gone, the ordeal of the people of Iraq is yet to subside. Divided internally along sectarian lines, Iraq is still a long way from recovering and healing, the damage to individuals, families, the community and the country at large continuing to unfold into untold proportions.

The war has led to the loss of an estimated 100,000 Iraqi lives. Families have been fractured, and tens of thousands of  children left destitute and hopeless; children like the popular, beloved 7 year old shoe-shine boy Hassan, discovered by Allied forces, his face blackened by streaks of polish from his grimy hands, forced to sleep in a mosque after his father, and mother were killed when a bomb was dropped on their shanty home.

An estimated 86,000 widows now left behind , unsure of what the future holds, reported to be receiving assistance from the Iraqi government’s Ministry of Social Affairs, in a society where women now outnumber men.

The United Nations in July reported that an estimated 1.3 million people have been displaced since the war, 467,565 of them destitute and living in extremely poor conditions in 382 settlements countrywide.  Elizabeth Pilgrim elaborates further in a report titled: Iraqi Refugees: Still There, “Millions of Iraqis have fled their communities as a result of violence and insecurity in the eight years since the United States invaded Iraq. Together with most of those displaced by the Saddam Hussein regime, these Iraqis live in uncertain conditions throughout the Middle East. The governments of the region have generally allowed them to remain but haven’t recognized them as refugees nor given them formal residency rights. Not yet persuaded that it’s safe to return to their country, they live in limbo. Some hope for resettlement to another country, some seek asylum in Europe. But most are just waiting. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provides some assistance to them and host governments, but agrees with the refugees that the time is not right to promote their large-scale return.“

Another worrisome aspect of the war is the rise in human trafficking, forced prostitution and rising forced involuntary labor servitude as the government is unable to exercise adequate control in these areas.Violence against women is an epidermic few are talking about. In a report ‘Conspiracy of Near Silence Violence Against Iraqi Women’, authors Nadje Al-Ali and Nicola Pratt write, “Though Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and MADRE have published field reports, this violence remains one of the least studied aspects of post-invasion Iraq. It is under-reported as well, due to the stigma, the fear of retribution and poor mechanisms of official documentation.“

An economy that once boomed is now deteriorating and failing, as summed up in the following words written in the Daily Star: Lebanon News, “Gone are the days before the Gulf war of 1991 when Iraq had a more diversified economy, so that the country was responsible for roughly 80 percent of the global trade in dates. At present, agriculture only comprises some 10 percent of GDP. Despite an $80 million plan by the Agriculture Ministry to revitalize date production, efforts have gone nowhere. Successive droughts, poor water quality, and the rising costs of fertilizers and pest control mean that output has decreased to 50 kilograms per date palm, compared with 150-200 kilograms in 1990.“

Welcome Home

4,500 American lives lost, 32,000 injured and 800 billion dollars in cost to American taxpayers (U.S. Treasury) later, the Iraq War has officially ended. “I would describe our troops as having succeeded in the mission of giving to the Iraqis their country in a way that gives them a chance for a successful future,” President Obama said in an interview with Barbara Walters recently.

As Americans welcome their sons, daughters, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters home, we are forced to recognize just how much of a loss/loss situation war can be; it’s devastating effects far reaching and paralyzing. The price has been high on both sides.

With the socio-cultural and economic fabric of Iraq so torn and damaged, how long will mending take, many are wondering. Others wonder, what would have happened if the resources, time and effort that went into this war had been pumped into the failing American economy and into a building a more meaningful world for future generations?

While some Iraqis view the American pull out to be premature, to others, today marks liberty from the “occupiers, neither invited not welcome” in their country. Across living rooms in America and other parts of the world, prayers are being offered for peace in Iraq and healing to families affected in both countries and elsewhere by this war.

We would like to conclude with the words of U.S. Army Warrant Officer John Jewell as the troops pulled out today, “My heart goes out to the Iraqis. The innocent always pay the bill.”

The decisions leaders make often have far reaching consequences.

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A Dunia Magazine article

On his Cain2012 campaign website, Herman Cain is described as the problem solver. The 65 year old business executive, syndicated columnist, radio show personality and U.S. presidential republican hopeful from Georgia entered the race for president in May 2011. His campaign began to see a surge in the polls in October with the announcement of his controversial 9-9-9 plan, which immediately had him leading the pack of often floundering Republican candidates. Like the others, his campaign would begin experiencing difficulties not long after. Allegations of sexual misconduct would begin to surface by the end of the month.

October 30, 2011, Politico reports that 2 women had filed complaints of sexual harassment by Cain while he was head of the National Restaurant Association, and had received money (one of the women identified as Karen Kraushaar, a communications official at the Treasury Department in the amount of $45,000).

November 7th, Chicago woman Sharon Bialek, a registered republican, represented by Gloria Allred would come forward with allegations of her own, this time of “inappropriate advances”.  In her story as told on national TV she told of how she had turned to Cain for help seeking a job recommendation after losing her job; they had arranged to meet in Washington D.C. While driving back from dinner, she recounts, “instead of going into the offices, he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals. He also grabbed my head and brought it toward his crotch. I was very, very surprised and very shocked. I said, what are you doing? You know I have a boyfriend. This isn’t what I came here for. Mr. Cain said, you want a job, right?” Bialek told reporters. She never received any help from Cain, although he had graciously provided her with an idea for “a stimulus package“.

Cain called these accusations false, referring to Bialek as a “troubled” woman, and warning the public of more accusations to come.

Well, that was certainly the case today when Atlanta-based business woman Ginger White came forward with claims of a 13 year long “on and off” relationship with Herman Cain. “I wanted to come out and give my side before it was thrown out there and made out to be something filthy. Which some people will look at and say, ‘well, that’s exactly what it is’ ” said White, a single mother of 2 on Fox 5 TV.

“It was pretty simple. It wasn’t complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship.”

White claims to have met Herman Cain in the late 1990s in Kentucky after a presentation he had made as President of the National Restaurant Association. Impressed, she’d gone up to him after, they’d shared a drink, he’d invited her up to his hotel room and then to Palm Springs … and so the affair began.

“He made it very intriguing. It was fun. It was something that took me away from my sort of humdrum life at the time. And it was exciting,” White continued.

“She says during the next 13 years, he would fly her to cities where he was speaking and he lavished her with gifts. They often stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead and dined at The Four Seasons restaurant. She says he never harassed her, never treated her poorly, and was the same man you see on the campaign trail,” reported Dale Russell of Atlanta’s Fox 5 I-Team.

Ginger White went on to reveal that their physical relationship had ended 8 months ago just before Cain announced his candidature, however, communication between them did not end.

To collaborate her story, she presented phone records, showing up to 61 calls to and from a 678-number which White claims to be Herman Cain’s private cell phone number. When the reporter sent a text to the number, they got a call back from Herman Cain who told them he knew Ginger White, but said these are more false allegations. She had his number because he was trying to help her financially. End of call.

White went on to say she was not surprised by the sexual allegations against Cain, but bothered by the way Cain fought back, attacking the women. “It bothered me that they were being demonized … that they were being treated as though they were automatically lying….I felt very bad for them. I wanted to come out and give my side…”

Ginger White is well aware of the media scrutiny and attacks by the Cain campaign that are sure to follow.

A look at her public records revealed a sexual harassment claim she had filed against an employer in 2001 (case was settled), a bankruptcy filed some 23 years ago, a lawsuit by a business partner filed against White some years ago, several eviction notices over the past years, the most recent this month. “I don’t think that makes me out to be a bad person,” White said of her eviction. “It makes me out to be one of the millions of people right now trying to keep a roof over their head.”

“…it [the interview] was something I felt at the end of the day was the right thing to do. Is it going to hurt a lot people? Yes. I’m sure I will be one of them.” Ginger White concluded.

Earlier today on CNN before FOX 5 aired this report, Cain broke the news about an impending accusation to Wolf Blitzer, describing “the woman” as an “acquaintance who I thought was a friend” and said his campaign was going to handle the charges “detail by detail, accusation by accusation.”

What do you think of these accusations/allegations?

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by Zuzeeko Abeng, LL.M

Saadi Gaddafi, third son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the ousted and slain long-time leader of Libya, has reportedly been granted asylum on “humanitarian grounds” by one of Libya’s neighbors – the Republic of Niger, a landlocked country in west Africa. In spite of being one of the poorest countries in the world, Niger seems to know something about human rights and the international law principle of not returning asylum seekers to countries where they might be persecuted, tortured or killed. The country’s decision announced last Friday November 11th to grant Saadi asylum points to a broken rule of law in a “liberated” Libya.

When opposition forces, backed by NATO, stormed Tripoli during the historic 2011 pro-democracy uprising in August, Muammar Gaddafi, members of his family and his close associates reportedly fled the city that fell without much resistance. As pressure mounted on the 42-year-old regime, several members of the Gaddafi family fled across Libya’s borders into neighboring countries.

Some Gaddafis, including Aisha (the only daughter of Muammar Gaddafi) and the strongman’s wife fled to Algeria. Saadi Gaddafi, a businessman and former professional soccer player fled south to Niger.

The authorities in Niger decided to grant Saadi asylum – less than a month after his father and brother were illegally killed by opposition fighters in Sirte. It is worth recalling that the murdered Gaddafis (father and son) were treated with disdain and dishonor even in death. Their bloodied bodies were displayed like trophies for a couple of days, in a meat store in Misrata – in violation of Islamic norms.

Saadi is wanted in Libya for alleged crimes committed during the infamous rule of his father, but it is unclear how he would be treated upon return to answer charges bought against him. The world witnessed the treatment received by two members of his family last month, in the hands of opposition fighters.

States are expected to cooperate with each other in bringing perpetrators of crimes to justice. In this vein, it is true that Niger was expected to cooperate with the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya and return Saadi to face justice for alleged crimes during the Gaddafi era. However, events in Sirte, Libya, on 20 October 2011, following the capture of Muammar Gaddafi, put the spot light on a broken rule of law in Libya and the NTC’s inability and/or unwillingness to the guarantee safety and humane treatment of wanted children of Gaddafi in post-Gaddafi Libya.

Disturbing images of the operation that ended an era in Libya shocked human rights groups, rights advocates and several across the world … including those with only an iota of respect for human life. Raw video footage from the scene revealed that Gaddafi was captured alive, beaten by an angry mob and killed without due process. Autopsy results later revealed the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound to the head. It remains unclear who pulled the trigger. Even more disturbing is the fact that many Libyans are not interested in calls for the killer to be brought to justice for acting outside the law. One of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, Muatassim Gaddafi, captured on the same day, was also killed in the custody of opposition forces.

According to human rights groups, many supporters of Gaddafi and black Africans accused of supporting the infamous regime have faced persecution, torture and summary executions by anti-Gaddafi forces. The perpetrators of atrocious crimes committed against supporters and perceived supporters of Muammar Gaddafi walk free in a liberated Libya, yet there are loud calls for Gaddafi loyalists to face justice. This double standard undermines ”national unity” and what justice is all about.

Drawing from events that led to the death of Muammar Gaddafi, it is reasonable to conclude that if returned to Libya as requested by the NTC, Saadi Gaddafi could face “vigilante justice” like his father, brother and other supporters of the deposed regime.

International human rights law demands that individuals seeking asylum with “well-grounded” fear of persecution, torture or any other form of degrading treatment in their country of origin should not be returned. This law protects every asylum seeker, including children of the most ruthless dictators.

Every individual has the right to equal protection of the law. After watching the gruesome treatment of his father and brother in Sirte on 20 October 2011, Saadi Gaddafi has “well-founded” fears of returning home and is entitled to protection by Niger. Asylum for Saadi on “humanitarian grounds” is therefore in the interest of human rights and in line with international law.

The killing of Muammar Gaddafi did not represent justice and the rule of law. It would have been great to see Gaddafi face his victims in a court of law.

The NTC should focus of building a legal system that works. Investigation and trial of those responsible for the unlawful killing of Muammar Gaddafi and Muatassim Gaddafi is a good place to start. Other crimes, well-documented by organizations like Human Rights Watch (HRW), committed during the 8-month-long conflict by forces loyal to Gaddafi and anti-Gaddafi fighters should also be impartially investigated. Perpetrators from both sides should bear the full weight of the law. Failure to show that a liberated Libya respects the rule of law would lead to asylum for many more individuals wanted for crimes committed during the dark years of the Gaddafi regime.

Zuzeeko blogs on www.zuzeeko.com where he tackles issues of fundamental human rights, law, politics, business, social trends and other issues that will get you thinking. He is also founder of Human Rights organization CIVITAS

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