My weekend observations on international affairs

A very brief post on three countries. If you are the ruler of the your country, rest assured that your incumbency--you being there, sitting on the throne--helps you hang on to power. If your are a critic of your country's ruler, you better find safety by your independent means. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda was reelected after twenty years in his job. President Museveni enjoyed international praise in the past for increasing economic growth and getting a handle on fighting AIDS in Uganda. However, there were recent criticisms that Uganda invaded Congo during Congo's civil war and that the president reneged on his promise to retire in 2001. His government had jailed his main challenger, Kizza Besigye, on rape, treason and terrorism charges in the middle of the campaign. Associated Press reported that a European Union observers' mission criticized Museveni for using all the resources of the government to win and said that the vote -- although an improvement on past ballots -- was marred by serious problems. President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines declared emergency rule on Friday and banned rallies marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of Ferdinand Marcos, the former dictator, saying that the Philippine government had foiled a military coup attempt and still faced the threat of violent overthrow. It also warned the news media not to "recklessly" publish rebel statements. The government said it had arrested an army general, the commander of the elite Scout Rangers unit, and 14 junior officers it said were involved in a plot to use the rallies to incite an armed rebellion. Finally, Pope Benedict XVI appointed as cardinal Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong, a move to open diplomatic relations between China and the Vatican. The former Bishop, now Cardinal Zen was a critic of religious suppression in China and a particpant in the democracy movement in Hong Kong. Incidentally, Cardinal Zen is about the only important person in Hong Kong or China to be considered able to criticize China without personal loss. Foreign countries and corporations, local business leaders and politicians, and lonely academic leaders, students and writers oppose China at their own peril. A religious figure with independent backing from the Vatican State, operating by diplomatic protocol, is probably safe from jail if he acts on his conscience.