The News Review:
- In Sierra Leone, a new kind of court
- UN vows to battle arms smuggling
- Daily Times – Site Edition
- UK working holiday visas to be overhauled
In Sierra Leone, a new kind of court
International Herald Tribune – Jun 12, 2004
Now, there is Sierra Leone. Then, there were Rwanda and Yugoslavia. Now, there is Sierra Leone.
UN vows to battle arms smuggling
Independent Online – Jun 12, 2004
Their most likely destination is eastern neighbour Ivory Coast, a former beacon of stability for the restive region that has been ensnared by conflict for the past 20 months and is seen as teetering on the verge of war, amid renewed reports of clashes on its western border. Ivory Coast’s President Laurent Gbagbo is widely believed to have backed rebels in the war against Liberian president Charles Taylor in exchange for their help in quelling a rebellion in western Ivory Coast. Taylor is also under indictment by a UN-backed war crimes court for having played a major role in the decade of war in Sierra Leone that ended in 2001. He fled into exile in Nigeria last August, evading the indictment, as a reward for stepping down and ending 14 years of war in Liberia. Reports from both countries suggest the militant networks crossing the Liberia-Ivory Coast border are activating again. Humanitarian aid officials say a new prefect has been installed by the Gbagbo government in the border town of Guiglo who is sympathetic to the Liberian rebels. UN officials acknowledge that weapons are almost certainly being stockpiled in Ivory Coast, “returning to where they came from,” one told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Daily Times – Site Edition
Daily Times – Jun 12, 2004
But outsiders will inevitably bear the lions share of the budget for the tribunal. The current estimate $50 million over three years has shocked donor governments. But this compares favourably with the Special Court in Sierra Leone (more than $70 million over three years), and the $100 million spent annually on the international courts for Rwanda and Yugoslavia. The price is appropriate. The United States and other western governments fuelled Cambodias civil war in the 1970s, then lent the Khmer Rouge legitimacy in the 1980s by insisting that they continue to occupy Cambodias seat at the UN. If the Khmer Rouge trials are to proceed, donor countries must see the Extraordinary Chambers as a prudent investment toward a stable and productive Cambodia. Given how long it has taken to get this far, donors must act quickly to come up with the necessary funds.
UK working holiday visas to be overhauled
The Age – Jun 12, 2004
10 Downing Street confirmed this week that it is shortly to announce changes to the way the working holiday scheme functions. This followed the publication of a leaked cabinet memo in the Sunday Telegraph alluding to fears that it could be open to abuse, particularly (and here’s the politically ticklish bit), from “New Commonwealth” countries – which include India, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. “Basically, ‘New Commonwealth’ means ‘Black Commonwealth’,” says London migration agent Dele Adedeji, a Nigerian whose countrymen are only just beginning to learn about the scheme.