Young Diplomats

A decade has passed since the Danemark’s newspaper Jyllands-Posten,  published 12 drawings depicting the prophet Mohammed in various versions. This triggered Denmark’s biggest diplomatic crisis with the Arab world to date. Now 10 years later the Mohammed drawings are still as controversial in Denmark as in the rest of the world.

On September 30, 2005 Jyllands-Posten releases a page with 12 different images of the prophet Mohammed accompanied by a text stating that the freedom of speech is under pressure. This event has come to be known as the Mohammed Cartoons Crisis, or in Danish Mohammed Krisen. Flemming Rose, the cultural editor of Jyllands-Posten at the time,  claimed that self-censorship is dominating in Denmark and other Western democracies when it comes to Islam. This had previously been exemplified when one Danish comedian had admitted that he was avoiding mocking Islam the same way he was mocking Christianity due to fear. Another writer also  had come to the spotlight because he had problems finding someone willing to draw Mohammed for his children’s book about the life of Mohammed. As a result, Flemming Rose invited cartoonists to draw Mohammed the way they perceived him in order to test if self-censorship was dominating the Danish society and to see if the fears were based on realistic dangers. He got his answer. Other than himself being subject to ongoing death threats as well as some of the cartoonists, the Danish regime faced boycotts from the Middle East. Denmark had its embassies in Indonesia, Syria and its consulate in Beirut attacked, while there were attempts on its representations in Afghanistan and Iran during the following months. Twelve days after the release of the drawings, eleven ambassadors from different Muslim countries wrote an official letter to Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister at the time, demanding an official apology. Despite Denmark expressing its regrets of the insult the drawings had made to Muslims it was hesitant in apologising for the drawings stating that the Danish regime does not control the Danish media. Eventually four months after the drawings Denmark finally apologises following escalating threats on Danes and accelerating demonstrations with Danish flags being burnt. Nevertheless, this did not prevent Jyllands-posten in re-publishing the drawings a few months after as well as various other Danish and international news outlets, Charlie Hebdo being one of them.

Today, 10 years later Danes differ on whether this day should be celebrated by reprinting the drawings or whether it is time to move on. The chief editor of the leading Danish newspaper ’Politikken’ states that Jyllands-Posten is obviously not to blame for violence and terror.  However if the intentions for publishing the Mohammed drawings were to encourage more freedom of speech then they have failed. Today it is easier to spot the losers rather than the winners.  Pointing out the terrorisation Jylland-Posten continues to deal with as well as ongoing death threats to Flemming Rose, the one in charge of printing them in the first place. Zenia Stampe, another Danish politician stated that the time has come to realise the irrelevancy of the Mohammed drawings claiming that we need to find other ways to fight for freedom of speech. Still, other Danish politicians chose to share some of the Mohammed drawings on their Facebook wall on this significant day,  stating the relevancy of the drawings in the fight for freedom of speech. One of them was politician Joachim B. Olsen which wrote that if religious fanatics would have avoided using violence in reply to the drawings,  then the drawings would have been forgotten. Now the drawings have become a symbol in the battle between freedom and totalitarianism.

It seems like Jyllands-Posten itself did a compromise on this significant ten year “anniversary” day as it chose to reprint the original text to the drawings with the head line ‘Mohammed’s Face’ but left the 12 spaces empty where the images had originally been placed. This leaves one to wonder whether Jyllands-Posten is indeed realizing who the losers have been in the attempt to fight self-censorship relating to Islam, or whether this is a progressive move in the fight for freedom of speech. Jørn Mikkelsen, editor-in-chief at Jyllands-posten declares that Jyllands-Posten will no longer print new Mohammed drawings or reprint the old ones due to its intense situation it has been under. Admitting the need to prioritise security this time, he states that it hurts every time and it feels like an attack on journalistic integrity but there is no other way around it, declaring that this in itself demonstrates how threatened the freedom of speech is today in an open society such as Denmark. Acknowledging that the issue of self-censorship can no longer be demonstrated by drawing Mohammed he insists that the debate of freedom of speech will continue by other means.

According to a Gallup poll more than half of the Danish people support the Muhammed drawings but only 1 in 4 think that the drawings should be reprinted. Reasons for opposing reprinting the drawings stems partially from fear of further attacks and terrorism while others think it being an unnecessary act of provocation, says Jytte Klausen, author of the book ‘The Cartoons that Shook the World’. Flemming Rose, on the other hand, says in a recent interview with the newspaper ‘Politikken’, that we should not judge people for being honest about their fears regarding their right of expression which includes having the right to draw Mohammed. The problem is when the media claims that it is avoiding printing the images because there is no need to offend anyone. That is when the debate on freedom of speech becomes insincere. He claims that tolerance and freedom are two sides of the same coins. Tolerance means that you have the right to say anything that will insult a lot of people without it resulting in people killing each other.

Has the time come to reconsider the meaning of having the absolute right to offend through expression or should we reinstate that right? Given the wide attention the issue of self-censorship in Europe has gotten following the printing of the Mohammed drawings and given the violent incidents in reaction to such events, the last being the deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo, should we call this significant day 10 years after an anniversary or a tragedy?   

 Súsanna Jógvansdóttir Christiansen is an expert of the Scandinavian Political Landscapes. She is specialized in the fields of Diplomacy and Security. She holds a MA in Security and diplomacy from one of the best University in the Middle East.

It has been not only one, but three. The system borders and European asylum system is about to collapse. Tens of thousands of people are wandering between Greece and the Balkans waiting to find a country that will accept them as refugees. A country like Syria, which was a crucial element in the system of balance of power in the Middle East is slowly disappearing. Therefore Europe is Facing Three Simulatenous Crisis

Europe has historically been built from crisis to crisis, as the orthodox doctrine of Europeanism says. But this doctrine is now subjected to a test of extreme tension, because it is facing not only one crisis but rather three clustered altogether, precisely in a moment in which there are barely left instruments for each Nation State to act independently from the EU umbrella, while there’s neither a glimpse of common instruments to solve these various problems jointly through the EU institutions.

The three crises are chained in time and space like beads on a rosary: Syria first, then the masses of refugees and finally the implosion of the system of European borders. And the three put into question the Europeans and their institutions regarding their responsibilities: the disappearance of a neighboring country, which translates into a devastating geopolitical chaos; at the fate of thousands of refugees, which are being rejected in countries like Hungary and do not get protection in other countries; and the closeness to the collapse of the Schengen system and the return to the system prior to the free movement of persons in the single market of 1993.

The European reaction to the triple crisis is being partial and, definitively insufficient. Although Germany is ready to support up to one million refugees this year, the interior ministers of the EU have not been able to overcome the lower figure of 40,000 initially proposed. The entire roots and infrastructure of the current asylum policy in Europe, which leaves the initiative of decision to each State, no longer serves, and will take a long time to achieve the minimum consensus for its reconstruction. Europe is currently faced with a problem of abundant dialogue on problem-solving, but a lack of actual problem-solving actions. In fact the root problems of the refugees could be solve by creating safe areas in Syria to allow return of refugees, and further putting an end to Assad’s dictatorship and carrying a stabilization-process in the region. All of which require, in the first place, a European foreign and defense common policy. However, such a policy is rather known by its absence and the military means too.

On Wednesday, the 16^th of September, Yemen’s Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and seven of his ministers have returned to Aden, the second largest city of Yemen, in an attempt to restore the credibility of the government in exile in Saudi Arabia since last March. President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, however, remains in Riyadh, currently carrying out a campaign aiming to put himself back into power. Such a campaign appears to be further fracturing the already divided Yemenite society along a range of political matters. The country has clearly become new  war zone between the Saudi and the Iranian.

This exile government was formed by President Hadi, who was put into jail by the rebels in Yemen when they seized control in September 2014, until January 2015. Hadi managed to escape to Saudi Arabia, and now he pushes for the reestablishment of his government in Yemen.

This political situation has turned Yemen into a theater play in which two big players pull the strings of two political puppets. This means that there is an ongoing game for influence between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are competing in a race for placing into power a convenient leader: President Hadi or his Huthi rival, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, respectively.

The absence of Hadi in Yemen is being leading the Aden inhabitants to a situation of unrest and to an increased demand for the government to take responsibility for the rebuilding of the infrastructure in the city and the payment of wages to civil servants. In addition, the people have been complaining about the mismanagement of several ministers of Hadi, who had let the Huthi take over a significant part of the country. The lack of public services, the presence of militants in the outskirts of the city—which are associated to Al-Qaida militants—, and several other issues have also been at the center of the complaints.

Within this abovementioned game of power, there’s an additional crucial element to account for: Al-Qaida’s role in the fight. For instance, an explosive dynamic has been put into motion in Yemen. In which, the Arab forces that are trying to oust the Huthi have been relying upon their fellow society, but also upon Al-Qaida affiliates, in order to achieve their objective. Why upon Al-Qaida? Because Al-Qaida has shown to be quite wary of the separatist desires of the Huthi. Such explosive mix will be tested in the coming weeks, before the battle for the capital, Sanaa.

To conclude, these tensions for power are the explanation for the several attacks that Saudi Arabia and its coalition have conducted around the city of Sana in order to achieve the control over it. As such, a recent ground operation has been conducted by Saudi Arabia, as a continuation of the ongoing efforts since August. The offensive closes the door to the last attempt to find a negotiated solution to the conflict by the UN mediator, while raising the level of alert for the humanitarian situation.

For more informations about this proxy war please consult the following video :

As elections came closer, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered a 72-hour closure of his nation’s border with Colombia after three Venezuelan soldiers were shot and injured in a mysterious skirmich . This was followed by a massive deportation of illegal Colombian citizens. 1,000 Colombians living in Táchira State (North-West of Venezuela)  were rounded up and deported. At the same time, 6,000 more left on their own will, tearing families apart and resulting in a Humanitarian crisis that several NGOs have deplored.

Maduro has imitated Chavez principle of blaming the country’s problems on external enemies. This time, Venezuelan problems are not being blamed on the always evil Empire of the United States, but in neighbor Colombia. Maduro took this opportunity to blame the country’s economic crisis on the Colombian government and the illegal Colombians living in Venezuelan land by saying they were sabotaging the economy, also accusing them of paramilitary actions, smuggling subsidized products and even plotting to kill him.

The Venezuelan crisis, which has originated from diverse causes such as a drop in oil prices and its currency control policy, has given birth to the so called Bachaquero phenomenon. The “bachaqueros” are individuals who take advantage of the crisis by buying the products that scarce (usually subsidized) as soon as they become available, and then sell them at a higher cost. However, the products scarce not only in the border states, but Nationwide.

The supposed purpose of closing and controlling the border is to give an end to the smuggling of gasoline, food, medicine and other products that are subsidized in Venezuela and then smuggled to Colombia where they are sold at a higher price.

 Will this measure save Maduro in the upcoming elections?

Maduro’s popularity is so low that he had nothing to lose by taking these actions. Fostered in ignorance and xenophobia, this measure can slightly help him in the upcoming parliamentary elections of December. Yet, many would bet that in fully fair elections there would be no chance for the Chavismo to win. However, not only the government is suspected to be under control of the electoral system, but it is undoubtedly in control of the judicial system. Back in 2009, Hugo Chavez proved that there was no such thing as a separation of State and Court, when he publicly condemned Judge Maria Afiuni for giving conditional release to a Banker charged of corruption, suggesting she should be jailed for 30 years.

 The government has jailed  or politically disabled almost every opposition candidate with any chance of winning elections. Leopoldo Lopez, one the most charismatic opposition leaders was detained in 2014 and recently sentenced to 13 years in jail in a very obscure trial. He is accused of “Public instigation and violent speech” amongst other crimes, for calling to a massive wave of civic protest against the crisis and corruption in the country.

 The effectiveness of the decision of deporting Colombians, nevertheless, can only be studied within the next few months with an improbable improvement of the Venezuelan economy. Its results in the elections, per contra, are hard to predict when the whole system seems so rigged and nontransparent. What we do currently know are the reasons why the two sides of citizens will move to the voting rooms. The opposition side, frustrated with the reign of crime, impunity and misery, and the government supporters, fueled by what is left of their loyalty to the deceased Hugo Chavez and whatever happiness this xenophobic measure may have brought to them.

Few months ago, a journalist of YoungDiplomat was invited to an important meeting of IBM and Microsoft executives in Cairo with Egyptians Government officials. Parts of these ministers were the ministers of information technology, investment,economy, health, transportation and energy. An Important aspect of this meeting was that virtually all this ministers showed clear marks of interesteds for the tech World.  They were clearly convinced and aware that these technologies can increase productivity and create innovations in the Egyptian Economy.

This Kind Of Strategic Thinking is critical not just in Egypt but in all emerging countries , especially the BRICS

Modern technologies can transform businesses, economy,  a nation’s critical infrastructure and even society as a whole—it helps the development of the economies of the emerging nations, and provided the citizens hopes for the futures and their children. However in reality there is an important disparity between emerging countries and the developped ones. The developped ones invest approximately 3-4% of their GDPs in technology, and the emerging nations, typically invest 1% or less.

These developping nations have trying hard to developp their own low-cost tech , with more or less sucess.  Some developping countries are trying to produce their own kind of computers0—an activity that has now largely moved to Asia. Others emerging nations are looking to set up operations for offshore outsourcing of software programming, call centers, and assistance desks. This is lucrative business opportunity in Egypt because of its abundance of university graduates with computer science that are fluent in English and other languages., but, for many other developping  countries, it’s not now an interesting  economic-growth strategy.

Clearly an important new kind of oppurnity is appearing . Because there are now a high number of technologies available, including cloud computing, analytics and smart phones, the potential exists for emerging countries all around the globe to developtech economies—societies  pushed by technology across the spheres of business, government, education and auto-entrepreneurship. I believe that every country will need a tech economy strategy to strive to sucess and be competitve on a global basis in the 21^st century.

This Chance exists because data is emerging as a new natural resource—vital for helping leaders and organizations of all types understand their challenges and opportunities more deeply so they can make better decisions. With advanced tracking and results-oriented tactics, every nation has the potential to mine this resource, but only if they possess the talents with which to do so.

Cloud computing enables entrepreneurs to establish businesses without having to buy expensive computers and data storage equipment. They can also take advantage of cloud-based software development platforms, which provide a wide variety of software components—relieving them of the burden of writing all the software they need. The cloud enables them to experiment, innovate, and grow rapidly.

Mobile devices make it possible for governments and businesses to provide services to people who have been hard to reach. One example: Mobile phones and apps are bringing basic banking services, including the ability to get loans, to individuals and small businesses across Africa.

Egypt’s government and business leaders understand the tech economy imperative. Their long-term strategic goals include transforming Egypt into a digital society, developing an IT industry, and establishing Egypt as a global digital hub. Toward these ends, the government plans on investing more than 16.2€ billion in the development of the country’s IT and communications infrastructure by 2020. A key priority is improving access to high-speed Internet services. The government is working with telecom operators to expand the reach of fiber-optic cables, which will likely result not only in broader access to services but also in declining prices.

Large global technology companies have an important role to play in helping Egypt and other aspiring nations to establish strong tech economies. This requires not only significant investments in modern technologies but improvements in education at all levels—including updating of university computer science curricula so they are relevant for today’s technologies and business challenges.

While many Egyptian government and business leaders are aware of the benefits of cloud computing, the approach has not yet been adopted widely in the country—or in the region. At IBM, we see a tremendous potential for cloud computing in Egypt and across the Middle East and Africa. This approach enables governments and businesses to access some of the most advanced applications and analytics capabilities available in the world. It gives small and medium-size businesses, a mainstay of Egyptian society, access to the technologies that the biggest businesses possess.

Already, IBM is teaming with the Egyptian Information Technology Industry Development Agency to help local software vendors convert their traditional software products to run in the cloud or create new cloud services. These kinds of public-private partnerships will be critical elements of efforts to build tech economies.

So far, 118 companies are participating. One example is EME International Co., a Cairo-based company that has developed a mobile app called M-Connect, which helps companies engage with their employees. Because M-Connect is a cloud service rather than a traditional software product, EME International’s CEO, Nader Iskandar, hopes to quickly market it not just in Egypt but also throughout North Africa and the Middle East.

IBM has been doing business in Egypt since 1954. We have participated in most of the major information infrastructure projects undertaken by the government, including the national identity card system and the social insurance system; and by private industry, including the banking technology infrastructure. Today, we have six facilities in Egypt, including software development and business process outsourcing. Our newest initiative is a digital sales center in Cairo, where IBMers speaking Arabic, English, French and Portuguese interact with clients throughout the region using digital and social platforms. I envision the center becoming a driver of digital innovation across Egypt and the region.

The global technology business is changing rapidly. In the past, tech companies built distribution networks of local wholesalers, retailers and service providers for handling their hardware and software products. They controlled those networks. Today, IBM offers industry expertise, innovation partnerships and cloud services. That means the distribution networks of the past are becoming less important. In their place, we’re fostering business ecosystems made up of IBM, our business partners, our clients, local entrepreneurs, and government agencies. We don’t control the ecosystems; instead, we enable them.

I believe that this new approach will help Egypt and emerging countries around the world to establish strong tech economies, which, in turn will help them achieve sustainable growth, industrial diversification, and economic inclusiveness. We’re on the verge of a major shift globally, and technology has a critical role to play in it.

This Article was written by DeLeo

Few months ago the Nigerians discovered the Multi National Joint Task  forces consisting of their National Army, seconded by other National Armies such as Chad, Niger and Cameroon. This Task Force is fighting Boko Haram and  was commissioned by Mohammodu Buhari, the newly elected Nigerian President to deal with the Boko Haram problem in the North-East of the Country. Their mission as he mentioned was to ‘reshape the region and destroy the Terror Organization “Boko Haram”.

The Coalition, according to many Nigerian experts such as Oyije Ogbenjuwa, the coalition have reclaimed ‘dozens of villages and strategic places that were initially controlled by the insurgents’. This claim seems to be supported by different local medias.

In these last few months of fightings, scores of Boko Haram’ Insurgents have surrendered to the Task Force, following confrontations, helpless against the fire-power of the coalition. According to the Premium Times, the military introduced unusual strategies such as “sustained offensive operations, pre-emptive air strikes by the air force, road blocking by the ground soldiers in an order to cut the logistics and supply to Boko Haram leading to dissension among the insurgents , and possibly into cases of starvations‘.

It seems that Boko Haram has admit a temporary defeat, leaving the members to surrender without counter-attacking and keeping a low profile. The inhabitants of these regions declared to the Premium Times, that they have this will make their life easier and end the bloodshed.

The reasons for this temporary success follows the appointment of Lieutenant general Buratai Tukur as Nigeria’ Army Chief of Staff. This nomination send a signal to the insurgent and permitted to rise the moral of Nigerians Soldiers. The army became fully preparated for this operation and trained to perform “Search and Destroy Operations”. This military readiness , is happening in a context in which Nigeria is starting to realize its potential, and where the Army , as well as the society are modernizing quickly. Nigeria’ President even declared that he was confident that the Boko Haram problem will be resolved in less than three months

The fourth time may have been the right one: after a series of tensions with the transition authorities in Burkina Faso, the men of the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) have taken the plunge and burst Wednesday, September 16 in the open cabinet in Ouagadougou, stopping the Prime Minister, Lt. Col. Isaac Zida Yacouba, the president of the transitional authorities, Michel Kafando and two ministers.

Nowthree weeks from the elections that have to be held on October 11, Burkina enters a potentially serious crisis. These elections should theoretically close the “transition” period established with the fall in October 2014,  of President Blaise Compaore, who had been ousted in the street as he tried to run for another term. There was no bloodshed.
Now, nothing of all this is certain, in a climate where forces loyal to the former president are in opposition to the associations of civil society, relieved the starting Blaise Compaore and his regime, or politicians opposed to any form of “restoration.”
Is there a coup in Burkina Faso?

It has the appearance, since military RSP, an elite regiment are loyal to the former president, which now lives in exile between several countries, including Ivory Coast and Morocco. Blaise Compaore, for now, remained silent.
Men of the  RSP just arrested the two heads of the transitional authorities, which has obvious consequences. However, technically, the military did not issue a claim and have not made additional moves to extend their control of the capital, where protest rallies began. The possibility that they commit to negotiations is not to be excluded, while other politicians who are hostile to them are still at large, as President of the National Transitional Council (meeting) Cheriff Sy, who confirmed in a statement Wednesday that “military” had burst “in the room cabinet at 14 h 30 and [had] kidnapped the president of Burkina Faso, Michel Kafondo, Prime Minister, Isaac Zida” and two ministers.
The President of the Transitional Parliament also says:
“Duty calls us because the Burkinabe nation is in danger (…) This is a call of duty for all actives forces: political forces, civil society and the international community with all the people of Burkina Faso to defeat this operation . ”

Is this a Surprise?

Three times already, very sharp tensions erupted between the Prime Minister and the RSP, which it is nevertheless produced. The lieutenant colonel was number two when the trouble started in October 2014 and it was considered at this point Blaise Compaore faithful who had him in some way, entrusted the keys of the country when everything threatened to s ablaze in order to preserve the appearance of a transition, hoping to continue to lead Burkina covertly. This strategy failed, partly because of the ambitions and beliefs yacouba isaac zida.
In the months that followed, serious tensions moments have men Celeste Coulibaly, the commander of the RSP, struggling with their former companion. At the end of June, shots were even held in the camp Naaba Koom, close to the presidency. RSP officials had demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, without success. Meanwhile, attempts to dissolve their regiment had also failed.
Read also: In Burkina Faso, the transition from crisis to crisis ahead
Will it had a trigger?

On Monday, the Commission reconciliation and reforms, which presented reforms to the transitional government, proposed to dismantle the unit of twelve hundred men, described as “an army within the army.”
Moreover, Saturday, September 12, six of the twenty-two candidates in the presidential elections of 11 October had learned they had been disqualified by the Constitutional Council and could take part. Among them is Eddie Constance Komboïgo, candidate of the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), the former ruling party, loyal to Blaise Compaoré. The latter had stated: “The right has not been said, it is rather the policy that has weighed heavily. “This decision had weighed just over climate, raising fears that the approach of the ballot is the opportunity to see violence erupt.

There are no large avenues in Barcelona that have not succumbed yet to push for the

sovereignty of Catalonia. If last year the Diagonal and Gran Vía formed a woven path filled in

by people dressed in red and yellow shirts, yesterday, on the 11th September, was the

Meridian, the artery of the slums, which hosted hundreds of thousands of people who, for

the fourth day straight, rallied for independence of Catalonia. Around a million and a half

people took out in the streets to express their will for an Independent Catalonia from Spain.

But yesterday was different from previous years, for the following crucial reason: Catalonia

is already witnessing an election campaign. Citizens will vote on September 27 in an election

of regional format, but to which the separatists want to give a plebiscitary aspect (meaning

that it’s not needed a majority of votes in the election, but rather a 50% +1 result). The

leaders of Catalonia have stressed their preference for issuing a referendum on the matter,

instead of elections; however, the central government has blocked the initiative. The main

leaders of Junts pel Sí, except for Artur Mas, have participated in the march, and stressed the

importance of imposing the separatist ideology during the elections polls.

Although he was not at the rally to preserve its “institutional role” the president of the

Generalitat (Catalonia) did not miss the chance to try to emphasize his position on the

matter during the momentum once more. At 20:30 hours, after receiving the organizers of

the march, Mas spoke live on TV3 to remind Catalans’ that “in the streets people influence,

but at the ballot box people make decisions”.

The pro-independence demonstration was as impressive as in previous years, and was also

designed to impress those who followed on television. But the symbolism this year was even

more confusing and impressive than the human chain made in 2013 and “V” for “victory”

made in 2014: more than five kilometers from the Meridian yesterday were divided into 10

sections, each dedicated to the most varied subjects represented by this demonstrations.

The Free Way, the official name of the demonstration, claimed a range of different

elements: culture, innovation, social justice, equality, sustainability, diversity, solidarity,

regional balance and, eventually, democracy. According to the organizers of the

demonstration, these are the “great challenges of the new country, Catalonia”. Citizens of

Catalonia have asked the President, Mariano Rajoy, to forget the imperialist motivation of

the Spanish Old Crown, and to rather adapt to the current democracy which is to allow the

self-determination right of a people.

The Spanish government has replied to the demonstrations: Saenz de Santamaria launched

an eloquent message through social networks asking to end the rally: ” A democracy is not

only going to the polls but also ensuring the application of the law and the respect for

human rights through the courts”. The government assures that as many people as

participated in the demonstrations, the same amount of people, if not more, have not gone

out to the streets to rally for the separatist cause. In fact, they have accused Artur Mas

(current leader of Catalonia) of expulsing from the rally those who issued claims against the

separatist idea.

The bottom line of this continued fight between Catalonia and the Central Government of

Spain is that the Meridian is clearly the “starting point” to fight for freedom of the Catalan

people, although we won’t know what the reality holds until the polls reveal the results of

the elections. Even then, thee spanish government has an important saying on the matter.

As if reality scenarios weren’t enough in numbers, a video game has been created to reproduce the refugees’ parcours as announced in the communications media in the last weeks. As a result of the ongoing flux of refugees from the Middle East to the European shores, especially consequently to the Syrian Civil War, the new video game ambition is to make people understand the refugees’ current situation. It could further be argued that the creators of the video game aim to target people and to introduce them into this complicated world, in order to make them sensitive to the matter and give them the tools to decide whether it is morally correct, or not, to reject these refugees after their long and dangerous journey.

Cloud Chasers is a game in which two main characters appear to reflect the entire range of obstacles that a refugee father—Francisco— may face in his journey towards a “better country”, together with his daughter—Amelia. The player of the game leads them both through a set of deserts full of dangers and designed in certain conditions that get the player closer to reality. Such conditions could be the lack of water, feelings of desperation, the anxiety to protect the child, and the impotence of the refugees.

Moritz Zumbühl—a Swiss citizen from the Blindflug studio—, claims that the major objective has been to touch upon this current problem of difficult solution, to try and call upon awareness in the Western societies. Moritz and his team aimed to treat every kind of refugee with its due respect. “Cloud Chasers” will get out in the European market on October 15th, in 8 languages.

The bottom line of this game is to induce empathy amongst people. The reward is “a fantasy world” where water and food are abundant, and where the characters can feel safe.

Ever since the field of diplomacy was created, and international relations between countries

emerged, there have been two different trends for message deliveries amongst those countries.

Being media the tool to express and diffuse those messages from one country to another and from a

government to his people, there are two forms of such media transmission: a politically correct

media and a more direct one. It’s a clear sign of the Impact of Words on Foreign Relations.

Many countries use a politically correct way of spreading messages, they put in the write words to

show respect, politeness and care towards the countries to which it directs its message. Australia,

Canada, the U.S, are a few examples amongst this media form. Other countries, in the contrary, care

less about the decorating of the message, and rather emphasize the content of it. These countries

convey more straight forward ideas. As such, North Korea, Venezuela or Israel, appear to rather

follow this trend. The question posed here is whether this phenomenon derives from the assumption of a country’s

position in the international arena (as a powerful and leading country, or rather as a small, discrete

and little influencing one), or does it steam from a cultural gap amongst countries across the globe?

For the matter, this article disposes to compare the United States’ release of messages, on the one

hand, and on the other hand, Israel’s way of doing so. We will surprisingly find out that the answer to

our question is quite inclined towards the cultural analysis, which becomes rather complicated to

research in depth.

As known, the U.S. is currently a world superpower, probably the most powerful and influential one

on the globe as of now. However, despite its strength in the global arena, the United States uses a

very respectful, appeased and politically soft way of expressing its messages on the media, in front of

its citizens and the entire world. But, we could think that precisely the U.S. being so powerful could

speak to other countries in any way, given that they have nothing to lose. No relation whatsoever

between any country and the U.S. would be broken if the U.S. decided to be less politically correct

and more straight forward towards this other country. Why? Because that relation is sustained by

more important interests, which cannot be given up upon just because of an offensive message

coming from the White House.

On the other hand, Israel, a small country, not quite influencing, hardly in good relations with the

rest of the countries in the world, is a country that spreads its messages in a straight forward way vis-

à-vis other countries. However, it could be said that specifically Israel should rather pay attention to

the impolite messages sent out to the world; Israel does have a lot to lose if offending a country out.

It is quite ironic !

Thus, the size, the power, the position in the international arena, are not the elements that

determine the way of media release of a country. It has rather to do with a cultural aspect. While the

U.S. has long cultivated a path of peaceful, democratic and politically correct approach towards the

world, Israelis have rather developed a direct character, which allows for less smooth and less polite

format of messages. However, does this bring any good to Israel’s image in the international

scenario? Not at all. Israel should probably take more care of this aspect, release more smooth, less

accusing, and more polite messages to the rest of countries. The words put in to express an idea, no

matter what the idea is, should be carefully weighted and thought through in order to avoid more

than one political tension with other countries. Making the idea sound good, applying a less-sincere-

way-of-talking, would definitely help out in Israel’s foreign relations efforts.

To conclude, there is a curious element lacking existence in the Hebrew language, which possibly

takes a big part of the blame for the “direct character” of Israelis. This is, the lack of the equivalent to

the word should. In Hebrew there is not such an expression, which is usually employed for the

purpose of giving advice. When directing a message to another country, using verbs without putting

should before it, may rather sound like an order, instead of sounding like a gentle proposition. This

may be too extreme.