WORLD & NATION
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
Stories by Alex Miller
Graphic by Bree Shepard
SUDAN
Fighting between Southern
Sudan's army and a rebel faction
HAS LEFT MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE
DEAD and a month-long cease
fire in January shattered.
According to MSNBC, con
trol over the town of Fangak
has been passed between
government troops and those
loyal to former Southern army
commander George Athor. In
what is soon to be the world's
newest country, Athor's revolt is
the result of a lost election for gov
ernor of Jbnglei, one of the largest
of Southern Sudan's 10 states.
Vn.
UNITED
STATES
"We want New York City to be
THE SAFEST CITY IN THE WORLD TO
HAVE SEX," Dr. Monica Sweeney, the
city's assistant health commissioner,
told Reuters News. The city's health
department released a smart-phone
application that provides information on
the nearest free condom distributor. In the
last five years, the city has given out an aver
age of 3 million free condoms every month.
The smartphone application is the newest
part of New York's safe sex program, and is
available on both the iPhone and Android
phones.
The Chevron Corporation
WAS FINED $8 BILLION by an Ecuadorean Judge
for environmental damages inflicted upon the South
•"►American nation's northern jungle. According to NPR,
the fine is the newest development in a 17-year-old
dispute over contamination from an operation that took
place from 1972 through 1990. While the Ecuadorean
plaintiffs are seeking reparations for "the cleanup of
soil, subterranean water, health, (and) indigenous com
munities," Chevron officials contend that Texaco's
cleanup was successful and that the operation's partner,
the state oil company Petroecoador, continued polluting
after Texaco pulled out.
Former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is not alone in
FLEEING a politically unsettled Tunisia, as thousands of citizens are
also fleeing the country to escape the political uncertainty. According
to NPR, 4,000 arrived illegally to Italy's southern islands in one week
alone. The island of Lampedusa, a mere 75 miles from the North
African nation, has received most of the immigrants, who are being
contained in fenced-in soccer stadiums. Those involved in the exodus
are risking fines and prison time, as a law that was imposed by Ben Ali
and is still in effect prohibits emigration to Europe.
Rapa Nui occupy government buildings and hotel to protest eviction from land
By Brandy Mitchell
Staff Writer
For the last six months, the Rapa
Nui clan — an indigenous people
who have lived on Easter Island for
centuries — have occupied various
government buildings and the
Hotel Hanga Roa, a luxury hotel
costing $800 per night.
Officials had previously
completed two raids, removing the
indigenous protesters from all of
the buildings except the hotel, and
on Feb. 6, the remaining protestors
were removed and charged with
trespassing.
The protest revolves around
plans to further develop Easter
Island, in addition to conflicts over
the land where the Hotel Hanga
Roa is built and tourism profits.
According to the Herald Sun,
Marisol Hito — a Rapa Nui native
— claims the land was loaned to
the Chilean government in 1970.
The lease term was to be 20 years,
during which time a hotel was to
be developed in an effort to create
revenue for the locals living on
Easter Island. Faleomavaega and Akaka have
However, in the 1990's, the hotel also written to Secretary of State
was sold to the Scheiss family, Hillary Clinton requesting that she
a powerful investment group, stand up for the Rapa Nui.
'(The Chilean government needs
to) make every effort to conduct
a dialogue in good faith with
according to the BBC
In 2008, Chile signed the
international indigenous peoples
treaty requiring
compensation to be
paid by governments
to indigenous peoples,
according to Today
Online.
Twenty Rapa Nui
clan members — men,
women, and children
— were injured in
December 2010, when
authorities attempted
to clear protesters from
a building using pellet
guns.
The protest
has received attention from representatives of the Rapa Nui
Congressman Eni Faleomavaega people to solve, as soon as possible,
of American Somoa and Senator the real underlying problems that
Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii, who explain the current situation," said
Twenty Rapa Nui dan members-men,
women, and children - were injured
in December 2010, when authorities
attempted to clear protesters from a
building using pellet guns.
sent letters to Chilean President
Sebastian Pinera discussing their
concern about the situation.
"Utterly irregular and illegal,"
said Rapa Nui lawyer Rodrigo
Gomez regarding the eviction to
BBC News.
According to The Canadian
Press, Judge Norah Bahamondes
has suspended the trespassing
charges against the clan
until the land dispute
has been settled.
"This decision makes
us proud," said Hito
to The Santiago Times.
"It has shown that
the raids and abuses
were unjustified and
that the government,
(President Sebastian)
Pinera, (Interior Minister
Rodrigo) Hinzpeter,
in addition to the
prosecution, turned
against us and in favor
of the powerful without waiting for
the establishment of who is the true
owner of the land."
Schiess is willing to move forward
the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the in proving that she owns the land.
Rights of Indigenous People James claiming its private ownership was
Anaya to BBC News in January. grandfathered in under a 1979 law
that limited ownership of land to
native islanders.
The Rapa Nui are not the only
indigenous people in Latin America
who are pursuing land claims, but
often the cases are difficult to win.
"In many Latin American
countries it is hard for the
indigenous peoples to find enough
support to pursue land claims,"
said Part-Time Lecturer in Foreign
Languages Edith Lebrato Shepherd.
As to when the land issue will
be resolved, Rapa Nui lawyer
Rodrigo Gomez had the following
comment for Radio New Zealand
International:
"We are not able to know about
that because the court has its own
timing. So we couldn't say, but (we
expect it to sit) during the next six
months."
While it is uncertain how long
it will take for the courts to decide
who the legal owner of the land
is, Hito advised that they are not
givingup.
"This is just the beginning, we
will go to the very end," said Hito
to the Radio Cooperativa.