Monthly Archives: October 2014

Uganda Military Support Hurts More Than Helps South Sudan

The agreement of the Uganda government to buy weapons and military hardware for the South Sudan government only serves to extend civil warfare and disadvantages citizens, and should thus cease.

Uganda recently signed an agreement with South Sudan’s government to buy military weapons to support the Sudan government. There is civil conflict between the state military and rebel accounts, for the South Sudan President Salva Kiir and the ex-vice president Riek Machar, who was accused of plotting a coup against the government. The current South Sudan Defense Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk claims that the additional arms are meant to “bolster security” and not supposed to violate the present cease-fire between the rebel and governmental army. On the other hand, the rebel spokesperson James Gatdet Dak describes the agreement between the Sudan government and Uganda as a Ugandan effort to encourage war.

This is not the first time Uganda has aided South Sudanese government in civil conflict. In December of 2013, Uganda also dispatched troops to President Kiir against Machar’s rebel army, which resulted in continued conflict. There is a precedent there, which demonstrates the lack of benefit for the state through continued military assistance. This military support from non-state actors such as Uganda undermine the South Sudan state through the provision of means used to extend disagreement between the South Sudan government and rebel opposition.

The continued provision of military aid from neighbouring countries only serves to extend the conflict. Uganda’s military support to the South Sudan government is also for the sake of economic and political self-interests, as a neighbouring country. Such political turmoil in South Sudan would allow Uganda more authority in the region as their contributions to the failing country increase. Meanwhile, an approximated 1.5 million people have been displaced from the conflicts, with more than 10,000 people killed from conflict. Nongovernmental organizations such as Oxfam have denounced the continued warfare, as it can lead to potential famine in South Sudan. While government militia and rebel groups fight for territorial control, meanwhile civilians are suffering in the state.

President Kiir has control over several towns and oil rich regions, but rebel militia still control territory. There have been numerous attempts to negotiate regional peace. The United States organized a cease-fire deal in May that quickly failed, and East African mediators also failed to organize the two sides to consent to power-sharing governmental authority. In September 2014, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power warned that continued warfare could lead to the United Nations imposing sanctions on South Sudan. The sanctions would serve to further cripple the internally conflicting state economically as well.

Overall, the Uganda government (and all other state governments) should stop providing military support towards the Sudanese civil conflicts. Such government supports serve to fuel reason for continued conflict, which meanwhile displaces and harms citizens, and non-state military support should cease.

The Reign of Social Media Influence: Hong Kong Occupy Movement Protests

In this current age of technology, social media is the ultimate weapon for protestors. It is the use of social media that enables the successful spread knowledge of the Hong Kong pro-democracy Occupy Movement worldwide, gaining international attention and increasing support, as well as successfully mobilizing citizens.

In 1997, the British Commonwealth relinquished control of Hong Kong, allowing China to take charge. However, as a crucial economic port for China, Hong Kong was allowed to remain semi-autonomous, as compared to the freedom-restricted mainland China. The framework is popularly known as the “one country, two systems” model. During the handover period between Beijing and London, there was an agreement to allow “universal suffrage for chief executive elections”, beginning in 2017. On August 31, Beijing announced that voters would indeed be able to select their leader (chief executive) in 2017, but that citizens would only be able to vote from China-approved candidates, namely only the fiercely loyal to China’s Communist reign would have the opportunity of appointment. Outraged citizens took charge, and by September 22, students at more than 20 universities and colleges initiated a boycott of classes and peaceful pro-democracy protests. Social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have enabled protesters to gain attention internationally, with countries such as the United States and United Kingdom criticizing China’s anti-democratic announcement.

Hong Kong protestors have been keeping the rest of the world well-informed through social media. Photos of the vast amount of protestors have gained public attention, with the phrases “Occupy Central” (the pro-democracy group) and “Umbrella Revolution” (as all the protestors have umbrellas to use as barricades, and weather protectors) have taken the Twitter sphere by storm, with more than 1.3 million tweets spreading about Hong Kong protests since September 26. The Chinese government is aggressively focused on censoring all media accessible to Chinese mainlanders to prevent any support or knowledge about the Hong Kong protests, and fundamentally to maintain governmental power. The government has gone so far as to block universal information spreading applications such as Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. Clever internet users just use alternate applications and continue to spread word of the protests.

On September 29, Hong Kong police tried to disperse crowds through the use of tear gas, pepper spray, and baton charges, although the protesters had been peaceful. Once news of this spread to social media, the international world was aghast. The United States Secretary of State John Kerry commented, urging the Chinese government to show restraint towards the pro-democracy protesters. In addition, the British deputy prime minister  also expressed concerns about protester-riot police conflicts. The use of social media effectively spread the message of government oppression, and Hong Kong police ceased their attacks. This must be credited in large part to social media, which allowed the world to see

International supporters of the cause continue to spread, with petitions for the ousting of China-approved chief executive C.Y. Leung, and yellow ribbons sprouting up, as yellow is the identifying colour of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. It is this effective and strategic use of social media to show the rest of the world what is happening in Hong Kong. In a predominantly pro-democratic world, this utilization of social media is what allows for increased support for the cause, as well as demonstrates the high degree of influence that social media has, particularly in the international world.