Under President Obama’s Presidency, I remember very well how Marco Pannella was strongly criticizing and condemning the use of drones for “eliminating” targets outside war zones. He immediately saw the risk of abuses when using these machines guided by humans and the big issue of responsibility and accountability. When I read this article in the Economist, published on 16th March,
Today 14 years ago, on 18 March 2003, the then Leader of the House of Commons the late Robin Cook stepped down from Government with a remarkable resignation speech in dissent with the imminent decision to attack Iraq. When he took the floor in the House, he explained why he could not support “a war without international agreement or domestic
On 13 March, during the debate on Brexit, Lord Taverne took the floor in the House of Lords and highlighted the reasons why Brexit sets a dangerous precedent for democracy. Lord Taverne said: It is a very dangerous step towards the doctrine that the people’s will must always prevail. My Lords, this is the doctrine that has always been favoured
Letter to the Editor of the Phnom Penh Post Every observer of Cambodia recognises that the country is dangerously adrift. Local and national elections are scheduled for June 2017 and July 2018 and these elections have the potential to end the autocratic power that has been in place for decades. Fear of democratic change has led those in power into
Rita Bernardini: “Zero Effect” of Pre-Trial Detention Law Damages also for the community: in 24 years, 630 million euro in compensation “Zero Effect. Nothing. The law on pre-trial detention issued in April of 2015 has produced no effect whatsoever, while Minister of Justice Andrea Orlando defined it a “legislative effort” during a Parliamentary hearing at the beginning of March.” Rita
Joseph Shapira, Israel’s State Comptroller, is an official elected by the Knesset for one mandate of seven years with the task of controlling the executive branch of the Government. On February 28, 2017, the State Comptroller published a critical report regarding operation “Protective Edge”, an attack executed in 2014 by the Israeli army against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the launch
On 12 February the families of British soldiers who died in Iraq (founders of the Iraq War Family Group, IWFG) have launched a new fundraising to pay the team of lawyers that examines the Chilcot report. After collecting £ 150,000, the aim is now to raise £ 22,000 to add additional counsel and “consider some significant constitutional issues” in view
On Saturday 11 February, Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, now in exile in Paris, resigned as president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power for more than 30 years, has passed a law explicitly directed against Sam Rainsy and aiming to dissolve the CNRP if the Rainsy retained the presidency. This