| Bombings Cast Doubt on Elusive Peace by Miguel Flores | Spain's Uncertain Future by Amer Rehman | |
| Chilean Trade vs. American Gridlock by Christel Fonzo-Eberhard | Tragedy in Dunblane by Mya Thazin Win | |
| A New Soviet Union? by Dongwook Kim | Asian Prostitution: Only Our Men to Blame by Lisa Hasday |
Bombings
Cast Doubt on Elusive Peace
by Miguel Flores
The February bus bombings in the State of Israel have more than set back the peace process. The Islamic militant group Hamaas determination stop the peace process has sparked outraged among the world community. The bus bombings that have killed several people, including a former Yale student, has left many Israelis feeling insecure wondering of their safety. Although the bus line continues to operate with arm guards on board many of the buses and along the routes, there is still concern that buses will be continued targets since previous attacks still occurred even with protection. At an international conference held in Cairo to promote discussions of terrorist activity among world leaders, pressured Yasir Arafaht to find the culprits of the attacks and promote more negotiations with the groups.
However, there is still disagreement among nations in the region on how to deal with terrorist. While countries like Egypt and U.S. blame Iran for sponsoring terrorist groups, Iran’s allies like Syria have shown much support. These conflicting allegiances make it difficult to come up with cohesive plans to combat terrorism. Internally Israel has cracked down by arresting more than two hundred members of the Hamaas group. Palestinians have protested angrily because many during the times of crisis were blocked from going to work in Israel from the West Bank. (Upcoming Israeli elections are expected to be divisive since they may be a referendum on how to deal with peace process).
Groups such as Hamaas are willing to risk their lives and take innocent civilians with them for their extremist causes. Many governments will find there is a need for more intelligence to find these groups before they do any more damage. Although countries like Israel and its Arab neighbors are moving closer to peace each day, extremist are willing to stop at nothing to derail progress. World leaders, especially in the U.S., must come up with plans to deal with these groups militarily or financially to make them stop their campaigns. By putting finding measure sooner security can be restored to Israel and other regions in the world.
Chilean
Trade vs. American Gridlock
by Christel Fonzo-Eberhard
(The Writer is a student at Southern Connecticut State
University)
Negotiations to include Chile as the fourth member of the relatively new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), have regretably ended. Chile was the first of the South American countries invited to the free-trade alliance. Had negotiations gone well, President Clinton’s goal of the largest hemispheric free-trade pact by the year 2005 would have been realized. The problem was not the country itself, but political gridlock and rhetoric between the White House and Capitol Hill.
The problem originates with the issue of fast-track negotiating authority. Fast-track authority permits the administration to freely and fully negotiate a trade pact and bring it to Congress, which must vote up or down; no amendments allowed. The blame falls on the Republicans and the Democrats. The administration insists on adding provisions that would include labor and environmental issues in the fast-track legislation. Many Congress members, on the other hand, do not believe labor and environmental issues should be an impediment to fast-track extension unless they are directly connected to trade.
Chile has a decade long trend that boasts a 6 percent annual growth and hopes to see 6.5 percent for this year, making it the fastest growing economy in Latin America. Its annual inflation rate is admirable and declining at 8.9 percent, and its exports grew at an excess of 25 percent in 1995. Foreign reserves are high and are rising at $14.8 million.
Chile’s inclusion in NAFTA would have been ideal on many fronts. The country is far away enough to prevent transference of the labor force. Chile has relatively low import tariffs, and its exports do not conflict with American exports.
In a shrinking globe with unequal players where the new world order is trade, the United States should learn to recognize who at least has the potential of being a competitive player. Domestic squabbles should not deflect international affairs especially when they concern such volatile issues as trade. Sadly, the ideal circumstances surrounding Chile’s economy, ascension to NAFTA is now a moot point of contention.
A New
Soviet Union?
by Dongwook Kim
On March 23, the leaders of Russia and Belarus agreed to form a union state, despite the fact that the state would not actually merge the two governments. This plan has been discussed and eagerly sought, particularly in Belarus. The main reason for the enactment of the plan, however, is election-year politics in Russia. This decision, regardless of what its consequences might be for both countries, is indeed the first real step toward the creation of a new union with Russia at its center. In fact, Russia’s lower house of Parliament, which is controlled by the Communist Party, voted to denounce the 1991 accord that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Even though most former republics of the Soviet Union are still against the idea of forming any kind of a collective entity, the union state between Russia and Belarus could very well be expanded to include more republics, depending upon the final form. Some prospective candidates for the expanded state are Ukraine and Kazhakstan due to their large Slavic populations.
Reuniting the fallen Soviet empire has already emerged as a critical theme of the presidential election in Russia, and the Communists have been enormously successful at playing on the anger and humiliation many Russians feel about the once-mighty country. There have been many discussions of customs unions and common borders. But those discussions have taken on new meaning as the Communists surge in popularity, and Mr. Yeltsin must find a way of appealing to voters who want to see Russia restored to power in order to win re-election.
Spain's
Uncertain Future
by Amer Rehman
In March, Spain’s general elections had an indecisive result. Jose Maria Anzar, conservative leader of the People’s Party, won by a narrow margin. Mr. Anzar faces many obstacles in establishing his new government.
The leader of Spain’s largest party took only 37.5 percent of the votes and cannot form a government by himself. Trying to form a coalition does not seem to be an easy solution when Spain’s political parties and factions are stirring the pot. If Mr. Anzar finally manages to form a government, it is quite certain that he will not be able to reform the country’s economy and rejuvenate Spain.
The support of Jordi Pujol, head of Catalonia for close to 20 years, appears essential for Mr. Anzar to establish his rule. Mr. Anzar is already offering to make deals regarding taxes in Catalonia. Though the two leaders may agree on certain economic matters, it is unlikely that the two will come together on constitutional issues. It seems that Mr. Pujol has no intention of supporting certain conservative policies of the People’s Party and wishes to remain free of the unpopularity for the radical right.
It is still possible that Felipe Gonzalez and his socialist party may come together to form a coalition against Mr. Anzar, denying him the working majority he needs. In fact the socialists may even present a ruling alternative. However this is not likely. Without a working majority, it will be difficult at best for Mr. Anzar to pass new legislation and make economic reforms. Negotiations will result in the establishment of a very weak government which will be unable to improve the economic conditions in Spain.
No matter who proves to be the strongest leader in the next few months, Spain will be the loser. The nation is in dire need of a leader who has the betterment of Spain as the focus of his agenda. Such a leader needs to be unwavering and must not succumb to the demands of opposing politicians.
Tragedy
in Dunblane
by Mya Thazin Win
On March 17, 1996, at 9:30 in the morning, people all over Britain stopped everything they were doing and paused in silence in memory of the children who were murdered exactly four days earlier. On March 13 In the little Scottish town of Dunblane, 16 five- and six-year old kindergartners and their teacher, Gwenne Mayor, 44, were killed. A deranged gunman emptied four handguns into them as they screamed and cowered in the gymnasium of the Dunblane Primary School. For the residents of this quiet town, the enormity of the massacre and the image of the gunman Thomas Watt Hamilton, 43, methodically shooting innocent victims were almost too much to bear. So great was the community’s anguish that local police directed all the media personnel who had descended on the town — hundreds of newspaper and television reporters from around the world — to leave and let the grieving go on in peace.
For the 13 young survivors of Mrs. Mayor’s class, the trauma was worsened because it happened during their daily routine in a place where they felt completely secure. Hamilton first shot Gwenne Mayor, while she tried to shield her students. He then shot the children who were sitting in a circle and chased down those who were trying to run away. Two other teachers and 12 children were wounded, three critically, before Hamilton took one of the four handguns he had brought with him, put the barrel in his mouth and killed himself.
No one knew what drove Hamilton to go on a shooting rampage, but by all accounts, Hamilton was odd. His interests appeared to be youth leadership, but his attempts to organize boys’ clubs ended when parents withdrew their sons after hearing of Hamilton’s abnormal interest in the boys’ bodies. In the aftermath of the massacre, many people angrily demanded to know how a man with Hamilton’s background could have qualified for a gun permit, which is difficult to obtain in Scotland.
The greatest concern, however, is for the children. Hopefully, the children’s natural resilience will help ease the shock. Unfortunately, Dublane will never be the same and, as Ron Taylor, the school’s headmaster, explains, "Evil visited us yesterday. We don’t know why, we don’t understand it, and I guess we never will."
Asian
Prostitution: Only Our Men to Blame
by Lisa Hasday
Dr. Gavin A.M. Scott, a Briton who has practiced medicine in Cambodia since 1992, still cannot understand why he was forced to spend five months in a Phnom Penh prison last year on rape charges after paying five teen-age boys to have sex with him.
"It was basically a case against homosexuality," Dr. Scott explained to the New York Times. "But it was misrepresented as a case about child sex, which it was not."
Dr. Scott is just one of many Westerners, including Americans, who have helped sustain the child prostitution trade in Cambodia, India, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and other Asian countries. Indeed, some Westerners have done far more to publicize and promote Asian brothels. A recent item posted on the Internet informed sex tourists that in Cambodia "a six-year-old is available for US$3."
Western customers claim there is nothing wrong with their behavior, which at home would be condemned as child molestation and rape. They stress that prostitution is a lucrative and relatively pleasant occupation for young people in Asia. In addition, they note that the age of consent in much of the world is 14 or 16, and reason that there is therefore nothing wrong with people of such an age engaging in sexual acts.
These excuses not only skirt the real problems facing Asian youth, but they also unfairly displace blame by emphasizing that child prostitution in Asia is merely the product of non-Western cultural mores.
Yes, a Chinese superstition holds that sex with a virgin helps make a man young again, but the fact remains that widespread Western participation in the child sex trade in Asia has done much to contribute to the growing numbers of girls and boys, aged 17 and younger, who are engaged in prostitution there—a number estimated at over a million.
Fortunately, some Asian governments are beginning to prosecute Westerners, like Dr. Scott, who are caught having sex with minors. However, those arrested are usually only fined (or made to pay bribes) and deported. Prison sentences are extremely rare.
Asian governments must become more diligent in arresting and penalizing Westerners who participate in child prostitution in their countries. Leaving the jurisdiction of Western governments should not free people to rape children. Forcing a child to have sex is morally reprehensible—wherever it happens.
