Troops accused of pedophilia, rape and prostitution. Offences videotaped.

[redrumloa]

UN: 150 Sex Abuse Charges in Congo Peacekeeping (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20041123/wl_nm/congo_un_sex_dc)

The UN's idea of Peacekeeping is pedophilia, rape and prostitution? :pissed:

[Speelgoedmannetje]

Yes, Red, the UN is a bunch of paedophile communists.

[redrumloa]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
Yes, Red, the UN is a bunch of paedophile communists.

Trying to minimize horrific crimes? I don't know about communist, but they certainly are criminally sexually deviant.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

Red, the UN is investigating these crimes, not trying to cover it up like your government likes to do when it's involved or caused such.

[redrumloa]

Right Speelgoedmannetje you keep believing that. Be apologetic for the French and bash the US.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

redrumloa wrote:
bash the US.

(from the link)
ahem:

The United Nations mission in the Congo has some 10,800 peacekeepers and some 60 civilian staff, led by American diplomat William Lacy Swing.
:-P

[Wilse]

@Eyso:

Touche.

[Glaucus]

Red, you're starting to get as annoying as Fade and smerf!

- Mike

[Glaucus]

An Okinawan Short Story (http://www.jpri.org/publications/critiques/critique_VI_12.html)
by Shun Medoruma

In the run-up to the G-8 Summit Meeting to be held July 21-23, 2000, in Nago, Okinawa, JPRI intends to publish occasional articles bringing non-Japanese readers up-to-date on developments there. The following short story, called to our attention and translated by Steve Rabson, is part of this effort.

Shun Medoruma (b. 1960) is the pen name of an Okinawan writer. In 1997, he won Japan's most prestigious literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, for his story "Droplets" (forthcoming in an English translation by Michael Molasky in an anthology of post-World War II Okinawan fiction). The story below, "Hope," was first published in the evening edition of the Asahi Shimbun, June 26, 1999.

Medoruma has published a number of caustic--and often very funny--essays and interviews about the forthcoming Nago summit. In truth, of course, he is deadly serious, as this story suggests. Scholars from Okinawa and mainland Japan have called it "the first post-colonial work of Okinawan literature."

Americans are likely to be shocked by Medoruma's subject matter and tone, but they should recall the real-life context that brought forth this piece of fiction. On September 4, 1995, a 12-year-old elementary school girl was abducted, forced into a rented car, then bound, beaten, and raped by two American marines and a sailor. This incident caused wide-spread protests against the American military bases throughout Okinawa and the rest of Japan.

Although the American military tried to portray the incident as an isolated, unfortunate occurrence, it was--in fact--one in a long series of outrages committed by American troops in Okinawa. Bases in Okinawa (Kichi Okinawa), published in Japanese by Ryukyu Shimpo-sha in 1996, lists a long series of crimes. Some typical examples include:

September 9, 1955: a 6-year-old girl is kidnapped in Ishikawa City, raped, and murdered. A U.S. sergeant stationed at Kadena Air Base is convicted of the crime and sentenced to death. But in December he is transferred to the U.S. where his sentence is reduced.

June 30, 1959: 17 elementary school children are killed and 107 injured in the crash, explosion, and fire of a jet fighter inside Miyamori Elementary School in Ishikawa. The school, private homes, the city hall, and other buildings are destroyed.

May 20, 1966: the driver of a taxi for U.S. forces is murdered in Naha, his throat cut.

July 24, 1967: another taxi driver is stabbed to death by a soldier in Urasoe Village.

May 30, 1970: a high school girl on her way home from school in Gushikawa is knifed by a soldier and seriously wounded in an attempted rape.

May 28, 1973: a woman is gang-raped by ten soldiers in Koza.

October 23, 1974: A woman is raped and murdered by a marine in Nago City.

April 19, 1975: a middle school girl is raped by a marine in Kin.

June 14, 1991: a man is murdered by a marine in Koza city park.

June 20, 1991: a man is murdered by a marine in downtown Koza.

April 11, 1993: a man is murdered by a marine in Kin business district.

Kin is the small town adjacent to Camp Hansen, and was also the site of the 1995 abduction and rape. Koza is the town next door to Kadena Air Force Base. Nago, where the G-8 Summit will be held, is also home to Camp Schwab, which the U.S. military now plans to enlarge in the process of reducing its base at Futenma, as promised by President Clinton in April, 1996. If this sounds a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, read Medoruma. JPRI Staff

- Mike

[Wilse]

Indeed.
Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
(can't quite remember who said that now... :-D)

[redrumloa]

You guys are a real work of art. 150 cases, in one country, in a short period of time, and yet you still try to make this an anti-american thread :-?

[cecilia]

Wilse wrote:
Indeed.
Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
(can't quite remember who said that now... :-D)Samuel Johnson, April 7, 1775

also: (http://www.samueljohnson.com/patrioti.html)

In the first (1755) and fourth (1773) editions of his Dictionary, Johnson defines "patriot" as "One whose ruling passion is the love of his country." In the fourth edition, Johnson adds: "It is sometimes used for a factious disturber of the government."

[GadgetMaster]

Who cares if it's an American or a European or whatever.

The crime is sick.

It {bleep}ing sick {bleep}s with guns raping and killing innocent gun-less weak people.

What a {bleep}ing terrible {bleep}ing world we live in.

{bleep}s !!!!!

Why are they getting away with it????

[Glaucus]

redrumloa wrote:
You guys are a real work of art. 150 cases, in one country, in a short period of time, and yet you still try to make this an anti-american thread :-? Anti-American? Not really, I was simply pointing out that it's not just a UN thing, like you were trying to suggest. By your tone you seemed to imply that the UN is somehow fundamentally evil and tolerates such behaviour. I pointed out that the UN is not the only organization who's members have performed such horrible acts.

I know you don't like the UN Red, but this example you've provided is pretty silly.

- Mike

[redrumloa]

I know you don't like the UN Red, but this example you've provided is pretty silly.

Silly?!? This is dispicable crimes! You like the UN, and no americans were involves so it is O-K with you that there is a HUGE pattern of violent crime? There was an absolute fevered pitch in the CH about the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, which PALES in comparison.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

That's because Abu Ghraib was according US policy. These crimes in the Congo is NOT UN policy, and they take actions against this. And I think we should be really critical about the measures taken. The Hague comes to mind.

[GadgetMaster]

redrumloa wrote:
There was an absolute fevered pitch in the CH about the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, which PALES in comparison.

But because the "other side" has committed greater crimes does not justify even one instance of abuse.

I just don't get your line of thinking.

[Wilse]

Jim, all joking aside, you're beginning to worry me.
You seem to be getting more paranoid and 'smerf-like' with every
passing week.

If that sounds harsh, I apologise but it does appear that way.

[Glaucus]

redrumloa wrote:
I know you don't like the UN Red, but this example you've provided is pretty silly.

Silly?!? This is dispicable crimes! You like the UN, and no americans were involves so it is O-K with you that there is a HUGE pattern of violent crime? There was an absolute fevered pitch in the CH about the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, which PALES in comparison.No, absolutely not. But the UN didn't invade a nation either. The UN peace keepers are actually invited in, and can be tossed out as well.

If you're point was simply that rape and pedophelia is bad, we'd all agree. However, right off the bat you decided to politicize the issue, and that's why you're getting resistance here. I'm sure if it was Americans who committed these crimes you wouldn't have posted this article here. And in fact, I don't mind that you did post it here, it's just that you use it to bash the UN, yet you offer no rational as to why the UN is directly responsible:

The UN's idea of Peacekeeping is pedophilia, rape and prostitution?You can't honestly believe the UN condones these activities, do you? By your initial post, it almost seems as if you do.

- Mike

[Karlos]

GadgetMaster wrote:

redrumloa wrote:
There was an absolute fevered pitch in the CH about the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal, which PALES in comparison.

But because the "other side" has committed greater crimes does not justify even one instance of abuse.

I just don't get your line of thinking.

Quite. Rape and torture is rape and torture. A single instance should not be tolerated, it is not something you should compare by quantity, especially in a "well side X is worse because they abused this many people". Both are equally repulsive for behaving in such a fasion at all.

[Glaucus]

And here's a bit of an update for ya Red:

UN Congo peacekeepers guilty of sex abuse (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/20/content_393323.htm)

"I am afraid there is clear evidence that acts of gross misconduct have taken place," said Annan, who is in Tanzania attending a summit on Africa's Great Lakes region. "This is a shameful thing for the United Nations to have to say, and I am absolutely outraged by it."

Annan issued a statement on Friday in Dar es Salaam after receiving a briefing on an investigation into the charges.

He said the allegations concerned a small number of U.N. personnel and promised to speed up the investigations and hold those involved accountable.

"I have long made it clear that my attitude to sexual exploitation and abuse is one of zero tolerance, without exception, and I am determined to implement this policy in the most transparent manner," he said.

- Mike