Time Hasn't Changed Anything

Yesterday 15 years ago, the Berlin Wall fell. 15 years ago we thought the world will be a better place soon enough. We were dead wrong.

The icon of progressive communism under Tito, Yugoslavia, that multi-cultural haven is now not recognisable. Torn apart by irrational hatred. The promise of reform in Soviet Union brought by Comrade Gorbachev is gone. Instead we have former-Soviet states that are antagonistic to one another. We have lives lost in Chechnya. And corruption grew more rampant in Russia after the 1991 coup which heralded democracy Russian-style. And we have unaccounted nuclear and smallpox stockpiles.

We have had 2 major wars in in the Gulf since then. Wye River and Oslo Accords failed. Arafat is as good as dead by now. Rabin murdered in broad daylight. The peace effort ended in Camp David four years ago. Deadlocked. Intifada is burning Jerusalem and Palestine. Same story 15 years down the road.

Closer to home, Mindanao is still in turmoil, even after a peace accord with the effort of Ramos back in the 90s. Now Abu Sayyaf and splinter groups of the MNLF reign terror. Southern Thailand is brewing again after nearly 20 years of relative peace. Achehnese are still being mistreated and murdered. Thank goodness East Timor is free now. But Irian Jaya isn't. We allow the Myanmar junta to lock away the landslide victors of a democratic election and we still trade with them. Constructive engagement isn't working here obviously.

China is growing in importance. But I can never forget Tiananmen. And I do not trust her ambitions. North Korea is still belligerent, but now is it the son that's doing the deed. Afganistan is still poor, and uncertain. No different from the times of the mujahideen fighters. Now it is the Talibans and Osama's merry men. We now have a terrorist network more far-reaching than ever. And the worst thing is, we have a hawk for a Vice President in the US of A, who ironically was never a military man and never fought in a any war. And his side-kick, the President is hell-bent on unilateral actions. They refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol showing complete disregard to the environment. Well, Australia pulled out too, suprisingly. They made the world a more dangerous place by pulling out of CTBT and the ABM disarmament programme. And they invaded a sovereign country.

From father to son. From optimism and possibilities to a long violent, uncertain road for humanity

We haven't improved much in 15 years, have we?