So yes,they took him away..another one we can practice our singing for..gone to soon..
why do i sympathies one may ask?well,it certainly is not because he was the most lovable fellow during his time alive,nor is it because his death was in the most barbaric of circumstances..it has to do more with the death of a dream..not colonels,but my own..i am coming out of the closet here..i am one of those who was impassioned by the idea of one Africa,under one democratic government ,to lead the dark continent into what would be its most glorious light..but alas with colonels death,well there goes my own..
i established a group during my high school days,apologies for using common facebook parlance,but indeed i did..it was a group that aimed at building a generation of lads and lasses who shared a vision like my own..
i called the group YACUA..Young Africans in Collaboration for the Unification of Africa..catchy neh?very!...but that idea never left my mind till now,i never thought to formally engage my peers and hear their opinion on this grave African concern...
perhaps i am not the sort of fellow with the kind of guts to lay brazen ideas forward and move them to greater heights,but then again,who really is?oh yes,there was that one guy wasn't there...he imagined an Africa of immense power and wealth,one that would rival Europe and America,tower over Asia and ultimately be the global super power ad infinitum...
he saw and moved this motion staunchly even getting African leaders to endorse that doctrine at some forum or other at one point in time or the other..
sadly though that document seemeth to be lost now doesn't it?well that was Azania'z leader...a nut case,a hero,a villain ,a terrorist ultimately,a man with a plan.....but.....hey they shot that guy didn't they?right side of his head..through his temple,dooooosh....bye bye gadaffi...
what happens to mine and gadaffis dream now?surely both of us cannot be so completely crazy as to want the same thing albeit through different means and methods...
well this has to be the beginning doesn't it?and not the end for myn and colonels dream,thoe if i do want to help pursue this motion i may have to dissociate my self with the late,i really do not wish to do that..sniff...lol!
so in honour of the lates' dream ,which is my dream because i thought of it when i was younger.(sic) we ,meaning me,shall boldly push forward this African dream...which for Africa,to be honest,is our last hope against those menacing and monstrous imperialists and neo colonialists that scare us at night and turn our dreams into nightmares...mwahahahaha...things that go bump in the night
well ,rest in peace colonel..i wont miss you,not many people will,but ....but....nope,nothing good to say to you colonel,but they shouldn't have killed you,imagine the furore you where going to raise in the Hague when they let you out of the Hotel and on to the witness stand..oh my..!!how i wish you would have lived to do that!i bet you would have conducted your own defence huh?lectured the judges on the glory of Sirte and our dreams of Azania..anyway colonel..byedee bye bye...
we wont forgive NATO for what they did though...they killed you brother leader and killed my dream...
*who were we kidding though?unity is someone else's calling..me and you brother leader where put on this earth to cause noise...
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Libya and Rwanda:Humanitarian Intervention Unleashed
It was in April of 1994 when the mountains and valleys of Rwanda became a killing zone.When the world sat and watched as the last massive Genocide of the 20th Century took place and left a million lives destroyed in its wake.What happened in Rwanda was a catastrophic failure in securing International Peace and in the protection of international Human Rights by the United Nations.Yet,this was the moment for the UN to act,an opportunity for the world body to assert itself as more than just a discussion forum,a chance for it to save a million lives and maintain world order.Needless to say,this opportunity the UN disasterously squandered,much to the detriment of a million of Rwandans.
The question that many asked and still ask is why was Rwanda left to burn?How could a million people die in 3 months as the world looked on and the UN DID VIRTUALLY NOTHING??Did they not see the carnage as it erupted?Did,if they saw it not have the resources to act to prevent it or did they simply not care about a tiny African country with no exploitable wealth?Did they expect the belligerent Internal forces in Rwanda to deal with the explosive situation themselves or where they flumoxed at the thought of interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state?
Did they believe that state sovereignty was more important than the Human Rights that they had so fervently propagated before?
I ask the latter question because five months ago the UN Security Council,through Resolution 1973 authorised an armed millitary intervention in Libya on humanitarian grounds.They gave NATO the authority to take any necessary measures to protect the civillian population from its sovereign ruler,the erstwhile Colonel Muamar Gaddaffi.
NATO subsequently enforced a No-fly zone as authorised by the security council and began bombardment of,initially,millitary targets necessary to prevent the flight of the Libyan air force.This however later expanded to include any millitary target of their choice ,then even later still,to include the bombardment of civillian compounds of the Gadaffi family and known affiliates.Immediately after the latter event,opposition to resolution 1973 grew exponentially.The first questions raised where whether NATO had been authorised to carry out all the millitary excursions it was now conducting.Then they moved to whether the specific targetting of Gadaffi was mandated.Ultimately though ,the greater question of the day,that remained and indeed remains unanswered is the question of sovereignty.
Was it legitimate under International Law in this case, to intervene militarily in the affairs of a sovereign state on Humanitarian grounds?Did NATO go beyond the parameteres of a legitimate intervention and engineer an invasion for regime change?
At the epicenter of all these questions,insinuations and inferences raised so far lies one of the most challenging contemporary problems in International Law today..how to determine when Human rights violations,alleged or actual,warrant the over throw of the doctrine of sovereignty and the initiation of Humanitarian Intervention.
There exists no International LEGAL framework that determines when the need for such intervention arises and there are no Treaties to govern such intervention.The UN security Council,acting under its chapter VII powers has sole discretion as to when and how intervention can take place...the results are appalling...with the above countries as example.
Both Libya and Rwanda have suffered,albeit differently, due to the non regulation of Humanitarian intervention:
For Rwanda, one million People paid the price of delay with their lives,as the UN argued whether a Genocide was present or not;whether the violence was at a high enough threshold or not and who if the former were to be answered in the positive should intervene to stop the butchering.
For Libya,or a part of its citizens thereof who still support Gadaffi ,they have suffered from an unusual alacrity by the UN in ordering Intervention.Resulting in their streets being bombarded and foreign forces now dictating the future of their country.
The result for International Law though is that State practice of non intervention,embedded in it since The Peace of Westphalia is significantly being altered.Decisions to intervene are made politically and with bare regard to the situation on the ground,infact,decisions to intervene or not are made more on geo-political grounds,than on reason of morality and the conscience of man kind or human rights protection as is averred by its instigaters..the big powers give great idealistic justifications for their actions,yet on face value,is it not seen as being about gain?about gain..of any sorts...no gain in Rwanda?so no intervention...lots of oil in Libya?so lets intervene and tell the world we are doing it for democracy....a great friend of mine who currently Prosecutes at the ICC,drew my attention to the following legend that he saw ascribed to a certain trophy and it reads
"...be nice to America...or we will bring democracy to your country."
That is intervention,the UN way...
It is therefore proposed that an independent International Tribunal be established to govern and determine all aspects of humanitarian Intervention.Mainly so that it may decide in an impartial and expedient manner when intervention should be allowed and how it is to be executed.This body must set out clear rules on Intervention and must be binding on all the members of the United Nations including the five permanent members.
This treaty body must outline the parameters of state sovereignty and must build an authoritative structure for determining where and when sovreinity can be undermined legally.
Of-course this is a controversial proposition,that some veto wielding members of the security council will surely oppose and that will be at best difficult to implement,but in the circumstances and in light of past carnage in Rwanda and current chaos in Libya,the alternative are unpalatable...Moreover international revolution takes time to gain acceptance,yet at the end reason always over comes might and power..after all the resistance to the ICC was immense,yet do we not see its presence today..?
The question that many asked and still ask is why was Rwanda left to burn?How could a million people die in 3 months as the world looked on and the UN DID VIRTUALLY NOTHING??Did they not see the carnage as it erupted?Did,if they saw it not have the resources to act to prevent it or did they simply not care about a tiny African country with no exploitable wealth?Did they expect the belligerent Internal forces in Rwanda to deal with the explosive situation themselves or where they flumoxed at the thought of interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state?
Did they believe that state sovereignty was more important than the Human Rights that they had so fervently propagated before?
I ask the latter question because five months ago the UN Security Council,through Resolution 1973 authorised an armed millitary intervention in Libya on humanitarian grounds.They gave NATO the authority to take any necessary measures to protect the civillian population from its sovereign ruler,the erstwhile Colonel Muamar Gaddaffi.
NATO subsequently enforced a No-fly zone as authorised by the security council and began bombardment of,initially,millitary targets necessary to prevent the flight of the Libyan air force.This however later expanded to include any millitary target of their choice ,then even later still,to include the bombardment of civillian compounds of the Gadaffi family and known affiliates.Immediately after the latter event,opposition to resolution 1973 grew exponentially.The first questions raised where whether NATO had been authorised to carry out all the millitary excursions it was now conducting.Then they moved to whether the specific targetting of Gadaffi was mandated.Ultimately though ,the greater question of the day,that remained and indeed remains unanswered is the question of sovereignty.
Was it legitimate under International Law in this case, to intervene militarily in the affairs of a sovereign state on Humanitarian grounds?Did NATO go beyond the parameteres of a legitimate intervention and engineer an invasion for regime change?
At the epicenter of all these questions,insinuations and inferences raised so far lies one of the most challenging contemporary problems in International Law today..how to determine when Human rights violations,alleged or actual,warrant the over throw of the doctrine of sovereignty and the initiation of Humanitarian Intervention.
There exists no International LEGAL framework that determines when the need for such intervention arises and there are no Treaties to govern such intervention.The UN security Council,acting under its chapter VII powers has sole discretion as to when and how intervention can take place...the results are appalling...with the above countries as example.
Both Libya and Rwanda have suffered,albeit differently, due to the non regulation of Humanitarian intervention:
For Rwanda, one million People paid the price of delay with their lives,as the UN argued whether a Genocide was present or not;whether the violence was at a high enough threshold or not and who if the former were to be answered in the positive should intervene to stop the butchering.
For Libya,or a part of its citizens thereof who still support Gadaffi ,they have suffered from an unusual alacrity by the UN in ordering Intervention.Resulting in their streets being bombarded and foreign forces now dictating the future of their country.
The result for International Law though is that State practice of non intervention,embedded in it since The Peace of Westphalia is significantly being altered.Decisions to intervene are made politically and with bare regard to the situation on the ground,infact,decisions to intervene or not are made more on geo-political grounds,than on reason of morality and the conscience of man kind or human rights protection as is averred by its instigaters..the big powers give great idealistic justifications for their actions,yet on face value,is it not seen as being about gain?about gain..of any sorts...no gain in Rwanda?so no intervention...lots of oil in Libya?so lets intervene and tell the world we are doing it for democracy....a great friend of mine who currently Prosecutes at the ICC,drew my attention to the following legend that he saw ascribed to a certain trophy and it reads
"...be nice to America...or we will bring democracy to your country."
That is intervention,the UN way...
It is therefore proposed that an independent International Tribunal be established to govern and determine all aspects of humanitarian Intervention.Mainly so that it may decide in an impartial and expedient manner when intervention should be allowed and how it is to be executed.This body must set out clear rules on Intervention and must be binding on all the members of the United Nations including the five permanent members.
This treaty body must outline the parameters of state sovereignty and must build an authoritative structure for determining where and when sovreinity can be undermined legally.
Of-course this is a controversial proposition,that some veto wielding members of the security council will surely oppose and that will be at best difficult to implement,but in the circumstances and in light of past carnage in Rwanda and current chaos in Libya,the alternative are unpalatable...Moreover international revolution takes time to gain acceptance,yet at the end reason always over comes might and power..after all the resistance to the ICC was immense,yet do we not see its presence today..?
For Sunshine...The Eighteenth Sonnet
You truly are not what you are,
it is clear now for all do see.
you hide your heart behind a mask,
so that no one may see through thee.
Although each day i plead and ask,
i find there is no hope for me.
For none can help me with the task,
as they all look but dont percieve.
But how could one so beautiful,
with a heart so worth admiring
hide love through eyes so sadness full,
Yet this poem she is inspiring?
Perhaps she does not see and does not know,
That her true beauty lies within her soul...
it is clear now for all do see.
you hide your heart behind a mask,
so that no one may see through thee.
Although each day i plead and ask,
i find there is no hope for me.
For none can help me with the task,
as they all look but dont percieve.
But how could one so beautiful,
with a heart so worth admiring
hide love through eyes so sadness full,
Yet this poem she is inspiring?
Perhaps she does not see and does not know,
That her true beauty lies within her soul...
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
when i dwert...
when i die,give an honest eulogy of me,
let the mourners at my grave side know that i made you smile,
tell them that i made you cry.
tell them that i told you lies,
sometimes to solicit a laugh,
sometimes to just make you feel better.
let them know that i lived for me,
let them know that i sometimes grieved
when things did not go my way.
tell them my friends were not many,
but my enemies were few
tell them that most of the time i could not tell the difference.
tell them about my smile,
how it warmed you up for a while,
even when i had just done something really stupid.
tell them i was a flirt and that my thoughts where oft filled with dirt...!
let them know i made you happy,
that i loved you like no other,
cherished your every thought
and remembered most of what you told me,
in those long winding conversation in the middle of the night.
tell them i was your friend,
that i listened to not what your mouth poured
but what your mind thought
what your heart felt
what your soul yearned for.
let them know i knew you.
tell them that though i never thought i would die,
i never thought i was alive unless i was staring in your eyes.
tell all those who gather that we shared the best of times,
that i was there in your moment of grief,
that i often watched you fall asleep
and mumble nonsensities in your sleep.
tell them that i never judged you unreasonably
and that i loved you unconditionally,
that you were my brother and my friend.
let them know that you will miss how we would
lie to those we could use for our
personal fun and jokes!
tell them how we sat up and listened to the radio,
thinking of nothing,
laughing at everything...
..wondering if our lives would ever amount to anything.
let them know we drank the drinks.
commented on the same links
and liked the same chicks..!
tell them the truth my brother,my sister,my lover,my friend,my ex,my booty call..
tell them you will miss me always
and forget me never.
tell them the truth.
when i am gone.
when i am gone.
when i have dwert.
tell them the truth..
....about Batanai Norman Tuwe.
let the mourners at my grave side know that i made you smile,
tell them that i made you cry.
tell them that i told you lies,
sometimes to solicit a laugh,
sometimes to just make you feel better.
let them know that i lived for me,
let them know that i sometimes grieved
when things did not go my way.
tell them my friends were not many,
but my enemies were few
tell them that most of the time i could not tell the difference.
tell them about my smile,
how it warmed you up for a while,
even when i had just done something really stupid.
tell them i was a flirt and that my thoughts where oft filled with dirt...!
let them know i made you happy,
that i loved you like no other,
cherished your every thought
and remembered most of what you told me,
in those long winding conversation in the middle of the night.
tell them i was your friend,
that i listened to not what your mouth poured
but what your mind thought
what your heart felt
what your soul yearned for.
let them know i knew you.
tell them that though i never thought i would die,
i never thought i was alive unless i was staring in your eyes.
tell all those who gather that we shared the best of times,
that i was there in your moment of grief,
that i often watched you fall asleep
and mumble nonsensities in your sleep.
tell them that i never judged you unreasonably
and that i loved you unconditionally,
that you were my brother and my friend.
let them know that you will miss how we would
lie to those we could use for our
personal fun and jokes!
tell them how we sat up and listened to the radio,
thinking of nothing,
laughing at everything...
..wondering if our lives would ever amount to anything.
let them know we drank the drinks.
commented on the same links
and liked the same chicks..!
tell them the truth my brother,my sister,my lover,my friend,my ex,my booty call..
tell them you will miss me always
and forget me never.
tell them the truth.
when i am gone.
when i am gone.
when i have dwert.
tell them the truth..
....about Batanai Norman Tuwe.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)