A French diplomat was shot dead in his apartment in the EU complex in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Two Americans, dependents of an American diplomat, were killed in a carjacking in Nairobi last month (another American was killed on Sunday in a similar incident). Last year a US official was shot, and the Russian ambassador stabbed in separate incidents in Kenya.
This is where the line between terrorism and violent crime blurs. Clearly the 1998 bombing was an act of terrorism. The recent incidents could be both.
Diplomatic immunity is one of the oldest traditions of state-to-state relations. How to respond to non-state violations of the principle will increasingly be a problem for states and could change the nature of diplomacy itself. Especially because diplomats are often not seen as neutral (Iranian diplomats arrested in Iraq…) or non-state proxies are used by governments to attack embassies (eg in Damascus).
[...] Another diplomat killed in Africa [...]
Left by Pacific Empire » Blog Archive » War/Crime on February 8th, 2007