Category: Politics & government

That’s me; drawn by Azwan. Sigh…

It seems that Human has never quenched his thirst for blood.

In the recent weeks, the relationship between India and Pakistan is deteriorating with both countries starting to test their nuclear weapons as an act of intimidation. This latest development has prompted the world to stand on its toes for a war between those two countries could be the first nuclear war in Human’s history.

The South Asia subcontinent does not need another event to destabilize the region. If war is going to be conceived as an option, it is only fair to say that the whole subcontinent will be having its own World War. This notion is not too absurd as South Asia is mainly consisted of Pakistan and India while Sri Lanka itself is having its own internal conflict from time to time. On the western horizon, Afghanistan is already in chaos.

The flashpoint of this crisis is Kashmir, a Moslem state under the Indian rule. The Kashmiri separatists want an end to Indian superiority and they are receiving aids from Pakistan. Pakistan act is understandable as India did the same when East Pakistan wanted to form Bangladesh.

Never in the world has a nuclear war is seen as a possibility except during the Cuba Crisis where the USSR was caught red-handed by the United States transporting nuclear warhead to Cuba’s shore.

Fortunately for the world community, both sides have agreed to not use their nuclear capabilities on each other. The informal agreement is a “thank God” phrase for the United Nations because a nuclear war will bring a catastrophic result to the world. Worse, the environment will be at stake. Kashmir, which is a paradise will be turned into a wasteland and the Ganges River will be polluted, no more a sacred place for the Hindus. Human should be thankful if a conventional war will be fought between those two foes. The Ganges will only be turned red instead of being polluted.

A nuclear war, once a science fiction, today’s possibility.

Nevertheless, I personally think that a war will not be fought between India and Pakistan. Their words are merely words although they do have the vertebra to back their words. They had tested their Agnis and Ghauris for years but it ended with nothing but war of words and a few exchange of bullets up in the mountainous area of Kashmir. If you don’t trust me, that’s because we are humans and humans tend to disagree with each other. The Tower of Babel was never completed due to the same reason.

Even so, let’s just hope that I am right. I believe none of us would be glad to see another Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To be more accurate, most of us would want to see New Delhi and Islamabad still standing after this crisis ends.

Read this for a related post.

Aaa… it’s raining in Ann Arbor. A refreshing spring rain…

I’ve never thought a spring break would be this boring. Ann Arbor seems like a cowboy town even when the Sun shines the day brilliantly. My only hope is that I won’t rot in my room.

However, I just received my first copy of National Geographic Magazine yesterday. After about six months of its absence from my life, I welcome the magazine with an overjoyed heart. Its arrival is a goodly-timed arrival. No other time would be most suitable for it. If it had reached me later, certainly my only activity will be hibernation.
Oh how I remember its distinct smell, its distinct yellow border design, its interesting articles and its magnificent photographs. It reminds me of my younger days. It reminds me how innocent I was when I was small. It brings back sweet memories and usually, memory tells, when I was small, I would just stare at the front page, tantalized. Remembering that vivid memory, I tried to savor the front cover which features diamonds on a strawberry but what caught my eyes this time was not the red-monopolized photograph of the strawberry but rather, an article entitled “Danube River: Harmony and Discord”.

I know what the Danube is from listening to Johann Strauss’ classic – Blue Danube. Feeling interested, I skipped all of the other sections and immediately was amazed by a picture featuring the ruins of the Freedom Bridge, a bridge that once ran across the Danube in Novi Sad before it was bombed by NATO a few years ago.

Yugoslavia is the home of the Slovakian culture, the Russia’s closest ally. It’s also the home of Slobodan Milosevic who currently is being tried in the International Court of Justice at The Hague, The Netherlands.

The breaking up of Yugoslavia was the worst event in Europe’s recent history. Through the process of secession, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Kosovo were born, leaving Yugoslavia’s only member, Serbia’s naked in the open field. Embarrassed and torn apart, Serbia decided that the other states secession from Yugoslavia is unjustified and must be prevented. Thus, the Balkans War was initiated by Serbian leader named Slobodan Milosevic. Under his command, Serbia sent troops to Bosnia and Croatia but the Bosnians and the Croats fought back with the help of the world community. The war closed its curtain with Serbia announced as the loser. Serbia was shaken and left weakened by the result of the war. During this period of grimness, Kosovo sought a chance for independence and won. Kosovan win did not come easy as the Serb tried hard to deny the independence of Kosovo. Fortunately for Kosovo, the West sees the fall of Yugoslavia as the final victory against the Slovak. The West aided the Kosovas. The Russian too realized this and tried hopelessly to help their ally. In the end, the Kosovo and the world won but nationalism received its major blow.

Back in The Hague, Milosevic is not being charged of genocide. Milosevic is not being tried because of crime against humanity but he is simply being tried because he was just trying to defend his homeland from chaos. Of course, the world community says that Slobodan Milosevic is a monster but if we look more closely, we will find that his struggle is justified and sacred. He was fighting in the name of nationalism.

The media of the West has highlighted the fight for independence as holy but it is true only if one is being invaded by an antagonist. The Afghans War was a war for independence but the Balkans War was not. The Balkans War was a fight for perseverance of a nation. The Balkans War has a lot of similarities with the American Civil War. If Slobodan Milosevic is guilty as charged, then Abraham Lincoln should be tried for committing a crime against humanity and Margerat Thatcher should be jailed for refusing the independence of Northern Ireland. The South was only fighting for its independence. The Irish is only fighting for their independence.

Therefore, I plead to the world for Slobodan Milosevic’s innocence. He was merely defending his homeland. He was just trying to preserve the integrity of the once proud Yugoslavia.