Thursday, August 31, 2006

Pyscho Nation

On Monday the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) likened Guatemala's candidacy for the temporary Latin American seat on the UN security council to New York serial killer Son of Sam applying for a place on the bench as a state appellate judge. "Most reasonable people would express serious reservations."

COHA asserts that Venezuela is "demonstrably more qualified" to fill the vacancy, and complained about the US government's disproportionate (that word again) rage against Hugo Chávez − relevantly in Damascus at the time − and his "picante" anti-Washington rhetoric. Yet if a bad human rights record disqualified a nation from the Security Council, it would be hard to argue the case for either China and possibly even the US of A itself.

Meanwhile Oscar Berger's goverment announced a two-week State of Prevention in five towns along Guatemala's much trafficked border with Mexico. This involves a suspension of the right to carry firearms and to hold demonstrations and meetings, combined with an expansion of the authorities' rights to conduct searches. They have also asked local news media "not incite rebellion because on previous occasions radio stations have urged people to resist the destruction of drug crops."

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