For those working in the humanitarian field the events of last week gave good opportunity for sarcasm and the realization that yet again unresolved and tense political situations can quickly develop into a war, whose casualties are, like usual, innocent civilians. Methods of warfare are still the same used in the old good days: bombing, tanks etc - the only difference is, that all parties to the conflict have websites….
The conflict in South-Ossetia once again shows the paralysis of the UN Security Council, since its very composition hinders every prospect for a joint statement regarding the situation in the Caucasus. Washington and London are on the side of Georgia, but they are cautious not to overtly confront the Russians because they need Russia in the crisis regarding Iran. France tries to mediate – with the emphasis on 'tries'. China has other concerns at the moment and Russia ignores everybody. On the positive sides, Russia and Georgia have agreed to open two humanitarian corridors in order to evacuate Georgian and Ossetian refugees and war wounded. Wow... its so refreshing sometime to see parties to a conflict agreeing to abide by IHL that when it happens you can hardly believe it.
In Mauritania, some sacked military officers took revenge. Last Coup in Mauritania took place in 2005 when the army, a backbone of every regime in Nouakchott, felt obliged to intervene to correct perceived political mistakes. On the positive side, here again, the coup leaders are trying to persuade the existing political parties to participate in the next presidential elections. So far, it appears that there are no humanitarian consequences to this change of regime. However, since things change quickly one never knows and next thing you know is that you are on an emergency mission. Reading trough the various statements made by UN, AU I could not help laughing at this one by Ruairi Patterson at Control Risks Group:
"Previous coups in Mauritania have been bloodless although this is against a democratically elected government... It may have more impact on the security environment than previous ones. In terms of economic policy, while it is too early to say anything definitive, I can't see it leading to a major reorientation. Foreign investment there is mainly oil and mining companies and a lot of them have seen this before. But it is disappointing and will not help sentiment towards Mauritania, which had been pretty positive up until around half way through last year.
"In terms of aid, it may imperil aid from foreign institutions at least in the short term. I can't see this going down very well with the European Union. It will depend in part on if and how quickly civilian power is restored. In terms of democratisation in the region it is disappointing but I can't see it making much difference in terms of sentiment towards other countries.
"There were rumours about two weeks ago that might be a coup in the offing. It was a bit of an open secret that two senior military commanders were fanning this split within the ruling party. In the last few days there had been rumours they had decided to pull back but the president's decision to dismiss two senior generals appears to have prompted the coup."
Good job, Ruairi, …did you have a late night out with your friends or were you just high…??.or maybe you have just been watching this world for too long as many of us and think it is the same old story all the times...
For those interested in working in the humanitarian field, I got a hint for you. Keep a watch on Ethiopia/Eritrea (unresolved border issue) and Eritrea and Djibouti (military build at the border).
When we fail to learn the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes...
Shit! I am late to see the falling star and make a wish for world peace..
