Alan
Fisher's
World

Tuesday 23 September 
There's been another school shooting. This time Finland has to bear the pain. Twenty-two year-old Matti Juhani Saari walked into a college carrying a big black bag and wearing a ski mask. Calmly walking through the building, he fired off a number of shots before turning the gun on himself. By the time he was done, 10 innocent people lay dead. 
     Just last week this disturbed young man posted a video of himself on the internet firing a gun. He says the words 'you die next' and then fires three shots towards the camera. The police found out about it, interviewed him and decided there wasn't enough evidence to revoke his gun licence. No-one thought this might be an example of reckless behaviour. Finland's legal gun ownership per head of population is the second biggest in the world after the United States. There are 5.2 million people in Finland, roughly the same as Scotland, and there are 2.9 million guns. Hunting is a national sport and even 15-year-olds can hold a gun licence.
     The shooting brings back memories of Dunblane, one of the saddest days of my career. And now the little Scottish town is being invoked by Finnish politicians as they cite the steps taken by the government here to curb gun ownership in the wake of that tragedy. There'll be an outcry – there always is. Politicians have to be strong. The Finns insist lessons have to be learned. That's little consolation for those who are mourning tonight.
 
Wednesday 24 September
A Turkish singer who called for peace is facing up to four years in jail. Bulent Ersoy is incredibly popular. A transsexual singer with a huge following, she appeared on TV last February and insisted that Turkey's long running conflict with the Kurds needed a solution, not more deaths. A reasonable position to take perhaps, but enough to provoke the wrath of the authorities in Ankara. She was charged with attempting to turn the public against military service. At the time she made the comments the Turkish army was conducting a major operation against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Around 40,000 people have died in the conflict. The prosecutor says her comments were PKK propaganda, describing military service as the 'sacred duty' of every Turk. There's huge support for the singer outside the court with crowds carrying posters and banners. Ersoy insists she has committed no crime. Her argument is that as a loyal citizen of the country she has the right to express her thoughts freely. Turkey is keen to join the EU and under its present prime minister and president has made great inroads on a number of vital issues, but this case again exposes the limits of free speech in a country where the military remains powerful and its reputation and actions are protected from criticism by the law. On days like this, Turkey moves further away from EU membership.
     In America, the foreign policy education of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has begun. She has been meeting world leaders during the UN General Assembly in New York. The small-town mayor turned governor of Alaska, who has barely travelled overseas, sat with leaders of some of the most troubled places in the world. Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan was first on the list and he'll be joined by the leaders of Ukraine, Georgia, India and Pakistan's new president. The actuarial tables used by big insurance firms predict that, if John McCain is elected, he has a one in three chance of dying in his first four-year term, which would put the hockey mom in charge. Her foreign experience is so limited that a brief touchdown at an airport in Ireland was counted in the number of foreign countries she's visited. Sarah Palin has energised her party and electrified the campaign but it seems the American media – with a few notable exceptions – aren't asking the questions that need to be answered, scared that they'll be branded sexist. Surely those who want power need to be questioned in detail about their abilities, experience and knowledge? 
 
Thursday 25 September
Aid agencies across the Middle East say that not enough is being done to bring peace to the region. Twenty-one prominent charities including Oxfam and Save the Children have issued a report which says that the Middle East Quartet – Russia, the US, the EU and the UN – has fundamentally failed in its mission. The coalition says the Middle East peace process will fall apart unless swift and dramatic progress is made. There has been no change and even marked deterioration on several of the main objectives set by the quartet to help improve the daily lives of the Palestinians. This includes securing the removal of Israeli checkpoints, halting the growth of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land and addressing the isolation of the Gaza strip.  The quartet meets in New York on Friday. One of those attending will be the man who has just made a lot of money signing up to be Yale's newest lecturer, Tony Blair. He is, of course, the quartet's Middle East envoy.