Former Chadian president Hissène Habré has been sentenced to life in prison by a special court set up in Senegal by the African Union. Habré was charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture in July of 2013 after his arrest in Senegal. Habré ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990 and allegedly came to power with the help of the US Central Intelligence Agency. His rule was marked by horrific crimes, including rape, sexual slavery and ordering killings.
Relatives of Habre’s Victims at the Trial
NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly finished a three-day meeting in Albania and issued a declaration “to provide reassurance to those allies who feel their security is under threat, focusing on the eastern and southern flanks of the alliance.” Poland, the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia), and Turkey have been pressuring NATO to take a stronger stance against perceived Russian assertiveness. The Russians, on the other hand, assert that it is NATO that is acting provocatively. This cycle of mutual suspicion has been building ever since NATO intervened in Bosnia in 1994 against Serbia, a Russian ally, despite efforts to attain an equilibrium in military power in Europe in 1997 in the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation signed in Paris, France. Unless this cycle is broken, a new Cold War is inevitable.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a speech yesterday in which he stated that “no Muslim family can understand and accept” birth control and family planning. The statement enraged many women in Turkey who consider Erdogan’s views to be straight out of the “Middle Ages.” Turkey’s population is one of the fastest growing populations in the region, and it is significantly higher than many European states–a real consideration as the European Union considers Turkish accession to the Union.
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