PRAGUE: Does an intellectual — by virtue of his efforts to get beneath the surface of things, to grasp relations, causes, and effects, to recognize individual items as part of larger entities, and thus to derive a deeper awareness of and (...)
PRAGUE: The shattering earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 have wrought devastating physical damage — aggravated by the threat of a nuclear disaster — across the country's northeastern coastal areas, and have rekindled grave fears (...)
PRAGUE: On Nov. 7, when Burma's first general election for almost two decades is to be held, a well-rehearsed script will play out. The country's ruling generals will twist what is meant to be a democratic process, whereby the people get to express (...)
PRAGUE: The death of Eduard Chuvashov, a judge killed in cold blood on April 12 in Moscow, is another in a long and growing list of murders perpetrated on those in Russia who try to seek justice for the victims of crimes — an essential task for the (...)
PRAGUE: The arrest of Oswaldo Álvarez Paz, a former president of Venezuela's Chamber of Deputies, governor of the Venezuelan state of Zulia, and presidential candidate, should concern the entire world because it demonstrates just how far President (...)
PRAGUE: On Christmas Day last year, one of China's best-known human rights activists, the writer and university professor Liu Xiaobo, was condemned to 11 years in prison. Liu is one of the main drafters of Charter 08, a petition inspired by (...)
PRAGUE: One of the fundamental pillars of Europe's political architecture is a strong and enduring belief in the universal validity of equal, universal, and inalienable human rights. At the core of this is a belief in the rights of human beings to a (...)
PRAGUE: On April 8, two Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak, were sentenced to death by the Municipal Intermediate People's Court in Lhasa. Both men were convicted of committing arson that caused death against Chinese owned businesses. Another two (...)
AMMAN: Wasted time is always to be regretted. But in the Middle East, wasting time is also dangerous. Another year has now passed with little progress in bridging the divide between Palestinians and Israelis. The current air strikes on Gaza, and (...)
PRAGUE: The global financial crisis may be grabbing all the headlines, but resolving it should not be allowed to crowd out other vital issues. In the Middle East, for example, Israelis and Palestinians - as well as many others around the world - are (...)
PRAGUE - The enormous suffering of the Burmese people caused by the recent cyclone, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths, deserves the sympathy of the entire world. But more than sympathy is needed, because the Burmese military junta's (...)
The recent events in Tibet and adjoining provinces are causes for deep concern. Indeed, the dispersal of a peaceful protest march organized by Tibetan monks, which led to a wave of unrest that was brutally suppressed by the Chinese military and (...)
PRAGUE: In the coming days - perhaps even hours - the destiny of Burma (also known as Myanmar), and the fates of over fifty million Burmese, will be decided. Today's crisis has been brewing for many years. But nobody knew with any precision just (...)
The critical conditions that continue to prevail in Darfur are causing immense suffering to its people. Both sides of the conflict - the government of Sudan and its allied forces, as well as all the opposition groups in Darfur - must understand that (...)