Peaceniks in Print

In today's Christian Science Monitor you'll find a letter to the editor from our very own Diana about the Russo-Georgia War.

Check it out!

Speaking of the Olympics and Human Rights

Andrea made the point earlier this week that perhaps by allowing the Olympics to take place in a less than "free and democratic" country, we may well help promote the respect for human rights and the rule of law by casting such a massive spotlight on the host country. In light of recent events, it's worth pointing out that Sochi, Russia has been selected as the host of the winter Olympics in 2014.

If you click the city's name above, you'll note that Sochi is quite close to the (never on Google, contrary to speculation) Georgian region of Abkhazia, one of two main battle zones in the past week's war. Also worth mentioning is the tradition of declaring an "Olympic truce" every two years during the summer and winter games.

Take a wild guess as to two of the most egregious violators of the Olympic truce during the 2008 games. That's right, Georgia and Russia. And yet, Russia is slated to host the games in 2014, within spitting distance from Georgia.

It's one thing to use the Olympics as a way to nudge less progressive regimes into the fold of international legal norms, but it's quite another to allow the games to go forward in a country that has flagrantly violated the very basic tenets of Olympism. (Granted, one could argue that Salt Lake City shouldn't have hosted the 2002 games and that London shouldn't host the 2012 games because of the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively, during those events or when those countries were selected as hosts.)

So does this mean that Sochi is scrapped and we go back to the drawing board for 2014? It probably should, especially if the IOC wants to polish up the tarnish laid upon its image as a result of the Beijing games and all the mess that has come with them. Chances are though, convenience will trump ethics, and everything will go right along as planned.

Why Russia? Why?

So Russia has gone to war with Georgia. Already three days of intense fighting have gone by with the threat of it spreading, meanwhile Bush and Putin are enjoying the Olympics – this irony makes me want to vomit. Russia has been building up troops along the Georgian border for months and the reaction in the West has been that of complacency. "Oh, this is just is Russia and Georgia up to their normal Spring thaw" routine of irritating each other they have quite the history of doing this. Remember the diplomatic row where Georgia arrested Russian peacekeepers for spying or Russia banning Georgian water and wine -- however this time the situation has completely melted and there has been no real international reaction. There have been UN Security Council statements, NATO statements, OSCE statements, etc. But have we learned nothing about making statements? They hold no weight without some pressure behind them. What pressure could the UNSC, NATO or the OSCE have to put on Russia?

I wish I could answer this question. I would like to think that global isolation would work but Russia has plenty of oil money to buy friends. Negotiation to give independence to Abkhazia and South Ossetia might be an option but I don't think that is why Russia would go to war (though it might be a side effect). There is something more they want. The word on the street is that Russia is pushing to be the empire it has always wanted to be in Eastern Europe but will war with Georgia accomplish this goal?