Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 30, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba A11 Winnipeg free press comment editor wednesday August 30, 2006 Gerald flood 697-7269 and beyond Don to count on the in for peace i f Ever there was an example of George Orwell a 1984 doublethink the West a View of United nations peacekeeping operations is it. Calling the Pap the in offers up As peacekeeping does to make it that ? no matter How much we wish it were so ? any More than Orwell a ministry of peace was about peacekeeping. And our orwellian determination to ignore the Over whelming num Bers of failed peacekeeping efforts ? those ending in Emer gency pullouts genocidal Slaugh ters mass rapes and starvation think Rwanda the former Yugoslavia Soma Lia to name a few ? and cloak in peacekeeping in almost religious reverence prevents us from solving issues implicit in peacekeeping assignments whose mandates must be so watered Down to receive approval by Security Council members ? More concerned about their own political goals than keeping the peace ? that they Are doomed to failure. Hence Frances initial reluctance to deliver on its Promise of a Strong con Tingent of reinforcements for the in Mission in Lebanon and its agreement earlier this month to provide 2,000 troops ? Only after reassurances its sol Diers would have rules of engagement robust enough to actually defend them selves never mind enforce a ceasefire and create a weapons free Buffer zone. But we shall see. The in has always been Long on promises ? and criminally Short on delivery. In fact experts on the in such As the University of Toronto Saurel Braun have an easier time naming myriad examples of failures than successes. Its not encouraging Braun says of even the most pro in studies. At their Best peacekeeping operations which Cost $5 billion a year can keep parties from actually resolving issues ? think Cypress site of a peacekeeping operation for More than 40 years ? and at their worst can allow one party to plan the annihilation of the other. Consider How huts planned the Geno cide of Tutsi in Rwanda under the Wor ried but impotent gaze of Canadian led in peacekeepers whose Meek mandate meant they could Only Monitor the Slaughter of 800,000 innocents. It want As if the in had to Learned from the former Yugoslavia where Sim Ilar rules of engagement stopped in peacekeepers from preventing the Sre Renica Slaughter of 8,000. Nor from the More recent Hezbollah plan to annihilate Israel ? arming terrorists moving missile launchers into civilian neighbourhoods ? under the eyes of yet another impotent in Force installed in Lebanon since 1978. There a More there a the rape of women by peacekeepers in the Congo. And of course the in Oil for food scandal that enabled Iraq a Saddam Hus Sein to sell Oil for his profit ? and those he bribed ? while under a in Embar go. Among those who allegedly benefited from the billions French and russian corporate leaders French and British politicians and in officials All of whom would have lost Access to their blood Money if the Security Council had voted for military action against Hussein ? so much for pea Cenik exaltation the in Only wanted to give peace a Chance. What made it More criminal was the Cost children who starved or died from Lack of medical care because Money for food and medicines went to Hussein and his in political and corporate cronies. But still we consider in peacekeeping to be our Saviour ? despite a shame Ful history of failure deceit and sell outs of slaughtered innocents and countries who entrusted the in to do the right thing. And still supporters argue if we did to have the in wed have to invent it. Maybe says Braun. Or maybe wed have invented something perhaps something that did to run on an expensive bureaucracy so mired in corruption and political correctness that it allows the worlds worst human rights abusers to not Only sit on human rights bodies but to chair them. In the end a joint military Force might have better Success enforcing peace than the in ? no matter How we wish in ideals were reality. So while the headlines Are filled with Hope for this latest in peacekeeping Effort watch carefully for the upcoming Small print on the rules of engage ment an impotent ? and politically corrupt ? Security Council actually approves. Dianne Rinehart is a Toronto based writer who has reported on in issues from Vienna Beijing and Ottawa. F Ort Lauderdale ? i know what i was doing last year at this time ? awaiting katrina ? and it pains me that i am doing it All Over again awaiting Ernesto. Yesterday aug. 29, will always be one of those Days that everyone ? or at least everyone i know from new Orleans ? will remember for Many years to come. It was the Day that Hurri Cane katrina hit new Orleans and changed our individual and collective lives forever. I remember exactly where i was and what i was doing and also what i was thinking. The Odd part of the Story is that most of us thought that because the Hurricane had Only glanced past the City that we would be Back at Home in a matter of Days. And then the levees broke and we knew that All we had known had changed and we faced an entirely different and very t he recent decision by a Manitoba court of Queens Bench judge to declare the provincial statute outlawing smoking in restaurants and bars As unconstitutional because the Law does not also apply to premises on first nations reserves has raised the Issue of whether the province has the authority to regu late behaviour on reserves. On these pages recently two separate aboriginal writers have proclaimed forcefully and unequivocally that the province does not because of first nations sovereignty. The argument runs that because the govern ment entered into treaties with the various first nations of this country and because treaties Are Only entered into Between sover eign states the individual first nations have sovereignty that is Complete Power and authority Over the Terri tory they occupy. Accordingly it is for the various first nations and them alone to determine whether smoking is banned on their reserves not the provincial government. With respect and without getting into All of the Legal complexities of first nations governmental relations the argument simply does to hold water. At the risk of straying beyond the Bounds of political correctness and even being accused of racism ? it was the late Johnnie Cochrane one of . Simpsons defence lawyers who said that when your Case is weak play the race card ? the facts of first nations behaviour within the Canad an and Manitoba polity suggest anything but sovereignty. A Quick list the criminal Law of Canada applies to residents of first nations reserves and while there Are some special provisions applicable to aboriginals convicted of crimes these have been introduced by the parliament of Canada. The provincial Highway traffic act governs the operation of motor vehicles on first nations reserves. The Manitoba schools act and provincial educational requirements apply to first nations Chil Dren except where there is a specific treaty provision with a specific first nation. Admittedly this is a Grey area. When it comes to the health and welfare of Resi dents of first nations the Federal government pro Vides the funding and generally the provincial government provides the services. First nations do not have separate licensing provisions for medical practitioners practising in their territories nor do they regulate the nurses who operate their nursing stations and health care facilities. First nations residents Are entitled to and indeed do vote in Canadian Federal and Manitoba provincial elections. First nations residents have stood for election to both parliament and the provincial legislature. All of these rights Are exercised As citizens of Canada and Manitoba. None of the first nations exercise any of the nor Mal Powers of Sovereign states issuing their own postage Stamps and passports setting up Borders and controlling immigration and collecting Cus Toms. Perhaps the most telling reality in the Lack of sovereignty discussion has to do with lotteries and gaming on reserves. The supreme court of Canada the highest court in the land by a nine to Zero ruling has declared that first nations do not have the authority to conduct gambling activities on reserves on their own but rather like every other citizen of Manitoba require provincial approval licensing control and accountability. The problem with the use of the term Sovereign in the first nations context is How to define what is really meant and what applies. The classical Defini Tion an entity which has exclusive control Over what happens within its territory Complete Power and authority As is normally applied to Sovereign states Falls far Short of reality and applicability when one examines first nations relationships with Canada and Manitoba. There Are three possible scenarios. The first would be separate political entities separate autonomous states with All the Power and authority of separate states and exercising All of the trap pings of statehood existing along Side of Canada. That a clearly not the current situation. The second contemplates a self governing Struc Ture. A first nation governs itself and guides the destiny of its residents within the larger context of the Canadian political Structure and As part of the fabric of the country As a whole. The difficulty is in How to define not just the Powers but the Lim its of authority without ending up with a state within a state. The last Structure is one which emerges out of treaty or aboriginal rights. This is part of the ongo ing negation Between individual first nations and the governments. It is misleading in the extreme to simplistically suggest that because treaties were entered into Many years ago Between aboriginals and the Crown and because treaties Are Only entered into Between Sovereign nations that the first nations enjoy sovereignty Over what takes place in their territory. That a just not the Case. Advocating this posture Only creates artificial expectations. i went from katrina to Ernesto fast Forward to the present and history seems to be repeating itself at least for me As i sit in my apartment in Florida waiting for Hurricane Ernesto to make up its mind in terms of its strength and direction. After spending a week in Winnipeg my Hometown i arrived Back in Florida two Days ago. My first phone Call was not to my Friend who was picking me up but to my employer wanting to know what Hurricane provisions had been made at work would there be work to go to and what my role would be during this period of time. I got Home unpacked and went to the grocery store to get what i needed ? More batteries More water More snack food and More canned goods that i could have for food if the Power went out for a two or three Day period. Anything More than that and i know i would leave and stay with friends in a different City most Likely and ironically new Orleans. Yesterday was filled with poignant reminders of katrina with friends email ing and calling me reminiscing in an Odd Way about where we were and what we were doing on that fateful Day. But i was also Busy watching television and scan Ning the internet to find out More about the direction of Ernesto. From Hurricane to Hurricane it appears that we Are some what cursed with aug. 29 being the Day to be concerned about the weather. For most floridians the process of getting ready for a Hurricane or Tropi Cal storm is nothing new. So by the time i got to the store the drinks were almost gone Gas stations out of fuel everyone stocking up on the essentials and asking everyone else if they were ready for the storm and where would they be holing up for the next few Days. The governor had already issued a state of emergency school had been cancelled and the preparations were Well underway. Both they and i have done it before and for Many it has become second nature. But of course to do this in the Shadow of aug. 29, the one year anniversary of Hurricane katrina is what separates me ? and anyone else from Louisiana living Here now ? from the rest of the people in this state. By this time last year i was already in the office of a sister organization in hous ton having evacuated two Days earlier. Most of us left new Orleans in a Rush. This time the storm is taking longer to come and the danger appears to be much less than the ominous category 5 that katrina was As it swirled in the Gulf. And yes it is More than just ironic that All of this is taking place on the anniversary of katrina. It is eerie because almost the very same concerns i had exactly one year ago Are Here again and once again i am watching the news talk ing emergency strategies and concerned for the state of my Community. And All the while i am simultaneously thinking about last year watching memorials and one year after programs emailing and talking to friends about How our worlds have changed them checking up on me and me on them and finally them Mak ing sure that i am Safe from Ernesto. My residence has changed but it appears that on aug. 29, i cannot get away from a Hurricane. Only this time i know we will be spared the Fate that awaited us in new Orleans. It is Only a slightly pleasing thought As i sit in my apartment awaiting Ernesto. Adam Bronstone is a Winnipeg Ger who resided in new Orleans for five years and is now working in Florida for the jewish federation of Broward county ;