The geography of slavery

Henry Louis Gates has a neat op-ed in the NY Times on the complexities of identifying the parties responsible for the horrible trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Gates refers to this database, where you find a treasure of maps on this subject, including the following map:

The topic of slavery is always like the topic of the Holocaust: every time I read something about these topics, I simply cannot understand how humans allowed these to happen. History is full of such atrocities, I suppose ... and, yet, even the President is so cautious about using the "genocide" word when he referred to the manner in which the Ottoman Turks practically wiped out a good chunk of the Armenians ...

The Armenian genocide: Another test of US' testicular fortitude?

The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted, by a narrow one-vote margin, on a non-binding resolution "condemning as genocide the mass killing of Armenians early in the last century by the Ottoman army."
Of course, as a reader of this blog you are fully aware that this is not the genocide that happened in 1994 in Rwanda.  Or the genocide carried out by the Nazis.  Or .... well, you get the point, which Samantha Power articulated in her book A problem from hell.

The Armenian genocide happened (yes, Turkey, it happened!) almost a hundred years ago and we still lack the testicular fortitude to take a stand on it.  The presidential candidate who was praised for her testicular fortitude, Hilalry Clinton, is now the Secretary of State.  So, what was her response?  Ahem, not much different from the previous secretaries who all lobbied against such a resolution!

“We do not believe that the full Congress will or should vote on that resolution and we have made that clear to all the parties involved,” Clinton said. 

So, you are thinking, but the candidate who beat Clinton in the primaries, Barack Obama, promised change.  In fact, the following is what he said two years ago: (ht)

I also share with Armenian Americans – so many of whom are descended from genocide survivors - a principled commitment to commemorating and ending genocide. That starts with acknowledging the tragic instances of genocide in world history. As a U.S. Senator, I have stood with the Armenian American community in calling for Turkey's acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide. Two years ago, I criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used the term "genocide" to describe Turkey's slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Genocide, sadly, persists to this day, and threatens our common security and common humanity. Tragically, we are witnessing in Sudan many of the same brutal tactics - displacement, starvation, and mass slaughter - that were used by the Ottoman authorities against defenseless Armenians back in 1915. I have visited Darfurian refugee camps, pushed for the deployment of a robust multinational force for Darfur, and urged divestment from companies doing business in Sudan. America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that President.

I guess elections are nothing but castrations...

Meanwhile, Turkey is already ticked off, and has begun a lobbying campaign.  The Turkish government has recalled its ambassador to the US for consultations, and

A Turkish government statement condemned the vote, saying, "“This decision, which could adversely affect our co-operation on a wide common agenda with the US, also regrettably attests to a lack of strategic vision.”

The Uighur-issue morphs into Chinese oil issue!!!

In an earlier post, I commented that China might be able to rid itself of Communist Party's choke-hold not via Tibet, or via some radical movements for democracy. Instead, I think it will be only through a successful Uighur revolution. Now, even if the Party does not get ousted, I certainly wish for an equal treatment of Uighurs--equal to how the Hans are treated.
In that post, I worried though that the Uighurs themselves will be shortchanged if al-Qaeda decides to make this a rallying cause. Well, al-Qaeda has fired that first shot:

China has warned its citizens in Algeria about possible attacks from al Qaeda in retribution for a Chinese government crackdown in the Muslim region of Xinjiang, and security has been tightened around Beijing's missions in the Philippines.

The Chinese embassy in Algeria on its web site urged all Chinese people and organisations to be more aware of safety precautions and to strengthen security measures "in consideration of the situation after the July 5 incident in Urumqi".

The warning came after London risk consultancy Stirling Assynt said in a report to clients that al Qaeda might target Chinese workers in northwest Africa, citing "chatter" after the July 5 ethnic riots in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

"China has been reminding overseas Chinese to pay attention to their safety and enhance self protection ... China will take any necessary measure to protect the safety of Chinese organisations and citizens overseas," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters on Tuesday when asked to comment on the report.

In the Philippines, which is battling a Muslim insurgency in its south, the government has ordered security to be tightened around the Chinese embassy and consulates, said Andres Caro, head of the national police directorate.

So, why does China have so much of an interest in North Africa for its citizens to be there you ask? Good question! What might Algeria, Sudan, and Libya have that China might need? The same thing that cynics contend drives American interest in the Middle East: OIL!!!

Let us then summarize the story thus far:
The Uighurs, who have a long history in Central Asia, and who are Muslims, have tried establishing their independence, but were absorbed into China, with an "autonomous" status--Xinjiang. And then in the name of promoting economic development, Beijing has been "Hannifying" Xinjiang so much so that the Han population is now about 45% in Xinjiang. There are extensive reports of how Uighurs are treated as second-class citizens in their own "autonomous" province. Every once in a while, as the Uighurs demand better treatment, China puts them down. And now, al-Qaeda is ready to target Han Chinese in North Africa, who are there primarily because of the Chinese economic demand for petroleum and natural gas.

So, is there anybody out there watching out for the Uighurs? US? UK? India? Russia? Oh yeah, the brave Turkey--yes, that same country which has a problem even talking about what happened to Armenians within their borders a hundred years ago.

What a crappy world this is, eh!