Kim the bully
Re: License to il, Oct. 19
In an age where sovereignty is constantly invoked by authoritarian regimes to justify non-intervention by the world in the face of human rights violations and genocidal actions, it’s a little shocking to find a student from such an intellectually stimulating university doing the dirty work for them. Sovereignty, as the UN has clarified, entails not a right to rule in whatever heinous fashion, but a “responsibility to protect” the citizenry of one’s own state. Kim Jong-il has run North Korea into mass starvation and deprivation, rendered every person a property of the state, and created a highly-policed society that regularly employs torture against dissidents.
Even ignoring the perfectly legitimate security worries in the tense Asian region, the statement that Kim is entitled to a highly dangerous weapon that further entrenches his military power and augments his ability to misrule is an outrage on moral grounds alone. The North Korean people are tired of being enslaved, poor, hungry, and tortured. Taking legalisms outside of context won’t justify the continuation of such suffering.
Joshua Xiong
Bao’s fan club
Re: Fixing Toronto’s trash dilemma, Oct. 19
Kudos to Jane Bao for a well-written piece.
Mary Thring
Raising their voices
Some of us have observed a pattern that seems to repeat itself from century to century. Words of shock and remembrance are spread across countries, but only after millions have been killed. The 20th century opened with the mass murder of the Armenians, which was followed by the Holocaust and the Bosnian, Albanian, and Cambodian genocides. We closed the last century with Rwanda and are opening the 21st century with half a million deaths already in Darfur. Maybe ten years later we will add another name and another number to our list of genocides and talk about the horrors that no one stopped.
But why wait until then, and not attempt something now? During the week of November 1, a number of U of T student groups will be holding events and discussion panels addressing the issue of genocide. On November 9 we will hold an action day to voice our opinion about the events occurring in Darfur. Let us remind you of some of the horrors of the last century. Listen, remember, and most of all, act. It is not too late yet. The schedule of events for Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week can be found at www.awarenessweek.com.
Arusyak Karapetyan
