SpareTariq Aziz

Tariq Aziz is known as the international face of Saddam Hussein's regime. In the first place, the legality of the war in iraq has been called to question for had Saddam not lost the war Tariq would not have been declared a criminal by Iraq. Secondly, Saddam Hussein has paid the ultimate price for attrocities commited during his reign and this should be sufficient for closure and reconcilliation in Iraq. In this respect, taking another life will tantamount to State savagery and will serve no useful purpose other than revenge by the incumbent regime. The state execution of Saddam should be enough as penalty for the wrongdoings of the the regime as a whole and further state executions should be halted. I call on the Iraqi Government to spare the life of Tariq Aziz. He has already been sentenced to 22 years in jail and this should be enough as a lesson to the frail old man The USA was wrong to have repartriated Tariq Aziz. He ought to have been given political asyllum judging by the peaceful manner he gave himself up to USA.

Rescue of Chilean Miners

Bravo to the people of Chile. The rescue of the 33 Miners is not just a success for the Chilean Nation but an achievement for the whole of humanity. This is a testimony to the potentials of the human race if we all join hands and work for common good rather than focus energies on negative things like wars and bitter struggles between various groupings, nations,races,religious sects,and other beliefs. The world would be a better place if we all come together as one and fight disease, hunger, poverty, natural disasters and limitations against various other natural barriers by focusing on positve aspects of science and technology.

Release Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Peace Laureate.

Congratulations Liu. The award of the Nobel Peace Price to Liu Xiaobo could be turned into a win-win scenario for both sides of the divide. For Human Rights Activists it's already a great day and for the Chinese Government, a smart move would be to release Liu Xiaobo for this would sway world opinion and improve Beijing's image abroad. So think Beijing. Think!

Xenophobia in South Africa

In an inteview aired on SABC Sports, the General Secretary of FIFA, Jerome Valcke confirmed and regretted being able to bring only 50,000 neighbouring Africans to the World Cup in South Africa.This may have been in part due to failure of FIFA in certain aspects of the administration but in consolation to him I would say this was mainly because of the xenophobic attitude exhibited by South Africans in recent times leading up to the event. Most African States,especially the so called frontline states stuck up their necks in support of the freedom fighters against the apartheid regime incurring heavy casualties and making sacrifices but rather than showing gratitude the South Africans pay back with xenophobia.It is no surprise therefore that very few Africans made any effort to go physically to events of the World Cup festivities. What justification can the Black People of South Africa have against apartheid if they themselves are  intolerant and engage in discrimination against economically and politically displaced brothers and sisters from neighbouring countries.