SENATE BILL: September 2017 Foreign Relations Review (Passed)

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I have several comments on this review. Firstly, I believe that some restrictions should be placed on several unsanctioned Central Asian dictatorships, particularly Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Both are some of the least democratic countries in the world, and Uzbekistan killed scores of protesters in the 2005 Andijan massacre. Longtime dictator Islam Karimov recently died, but I doubt that this will improve democratic conditions in the country. I also believe that some restrictions should be placed on the authoritarian, undemocratic government of Azerbaijan. Additionally, I believe that Egypt should be sanctioned, as it is ruled by military dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who overthrew the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi.

In Southeast Asia and Africa, there are also several unsanctioned, undemocratic regimes. Vietnam and Laos are Communist dictatorships, and Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Angola have also been ruled by Communist parties for decades, although the latter group of countries are not inherently under one-party Communist rule. In addition, I believe that some economic/trade restrictions should be removed from South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. I believe this because the Emergency Famine Relief Act stated that the Famine Relief Commission would work with national governments as part of the famine relief plan. However, I don't know if this will be possible, and it will surely be made harder, if substantial economic/trade restrictions exist on these three countries. It is true, though, that they are all undemocratic countries, so maybe instead of lifting restrictions, an exception should be made for foreign aid.

Finally, the last topic that I have to address is Saudi Arabia. It is true that Atlasia has good relations with the Saudis, and we do trade often and cooperate militarily together. However, I am uncomfortable with no restrictions being placed on this country. Firstly, Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy and one of the least democratic countries in the world. Secondly, it is a Wahhabist country in which women were indefinitely banned from driving until today, when Saudi Arabia announced that the ban will be lifted next year. Thirdly, Saudi Arabia has links to terrorism, and it is possible that it played a role in 9/11. Due to all of these factors, I believe that partial military and economic restrictions should be placed on Saudi Arabia.

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I will not object to Senator Spiral's amendment, as a majority of Senators seem to support it, although I do personally disagree with it. Thailand has been run by a military junta since 2014, when democratically elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was overthrown in a military coup. It is my opinion that the Thai military dictatorship should be sanctioned, but as I said earlier, I will not object to this amendment. As for the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte is an authoritarian and is guilty of numerous human rights abuses. Although I will not object to this amendment, I am hesitant about removing sanctions on the Philippines. Also, in the amendment that I am about to propose, I will not propose sanctions against Egypt, as a majority of the Senate has come out against that idea.

With that said, I offer the following amendment:

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Aye

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Seeing that my previous amendment failed on the grounds that it placed sanctions on Southeast Asian countries, I propose a revised amendment:

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I oppose Catalan independence. While the police crackdown was brutal and overbearing, in my mind this does not justify independence. Although over 90% of voters voted for independence, turnout was less than 50%, which in my opinion invalidates the referendum. Because the Spanish government declared that the referendum was illegal, almost everyone who opposed independence didn't vote, meaning that the results of the referendum were highly skewed towards pro-independence voters because they were hugely overrepresented.

Also, I believe that in some cases, being a diverse state with a multitude of different ethnic groups is a good thing. However, there are some cases where I do support independence, and that is if the ethnic group has been subject to a lot of discrimination, as is the case for the Kosovars and the Kurds.

One of the main reasons why Catalonia wants independence is because they are one of the richest regions in Spain, and they don't want to help out the poorer regions. I see this as selfish and wrong. This is why I also oppose nationalists in Northern Italy and Flanders.

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Nay

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The amendment seems fine.

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I support this amendment. Russia is a belligerent, enemy power that has violated international law numerous times. Russia has shown time and time again that it has no respect for world peace and order, as evidenced by their illegal annexation of Crimea, provocation of a territorial war with Georgia, and support for the murderous Syrian regime. Russia should under no circumstances receive military aid from Atlasia, and so I vote AYE.

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Aye