Since blogging Gwynne Dyer‘s column about security fences around the world, readers alerted us to some interesting details about those projects. Makes us wonder about the fuss over Israel’s security fence.
* Some 3,000 Yemeni tribesman are preparing to resist construction of a Saudi barrier. The Yemen Times explains why:
The sheik claims that Saudi Arabia has already built a security fence 4 to 7 km beyond the neutral zone inside Yemen….
Didn’t the Saudis criticize the Israeli security for not sticking to the Green Line?
The Saudis are also building a 550 mile fence along the Saudi-Iraqi border.
* In six years, India has walled off 1,300 miles of the barrier’s planned 2,500 mile length along the Bangladeshi border. The Times of London writes:
While the world’s attention has been focused on the Israeli security barrier sealing off the West Bank, India has been building a far longer fence to keep out Islamic militants, thwart cross-border smuggling and stop human trafficking.
At the time Israel’s cabinet first approved construction plans, India’s barrier was already in the building stage.
* Thailand and Malaysia agreed to triple the length of the barrier along their border.
* Pakistan is fencing off sections of its border with Afghanistan to keep out the Taliban. Sound familiar?
All these countries joined the UN General Assembly’s condemnation of Israel’s security fence in 2003. We’re not holding our breaths waiting for critical coverage of these border projects.
UPDATE MAY 2, 2007: See Reuters for more “wall to wall” coverage.
